News: US to shoot down spy satellite

The U.S. has directed one of their warships to shoot down a satellite, but it's not as bad as it sounds. The satellite in question is a U.S. spy satellite carrying 1000 pounds of propellant and is expected to enter the atmosphere on its own in February or March. They intend to hit it when it falls to an altitude of 210 kilometres, targeting the propellant tank so that the explosion will spread the debris out as it enters the atmosphere. The alternative is to allow a large piece of metal fall to earth over, spreading its toxic hydrazine propellant over a populated area (although some experts consider that an unlikely occurrence). Of course, this could be just an excuse to shoot something. For those of you who want the details, Wired has an article on the missile they plan to use. The SM-3 has no warhead, but plenty of kinetic energy to destroy whatever it hits. They plan to reprogram the targeting system to go after satellites instead of missiles. What could go wrong?

News: solar system similar to our own discovered

Astronomers have discovered a solar system that appears to mirror our own. At the very least, it has the equivalent of our Jupiter and Saturn at approximately the same distance from its sun. Previously discovered solar systems consisted only of  gas giants close to the star. The planets, about 80% as large os Saturn, circle a star about half the size of our sun. The configuration means that it is likely a set of rocky planets may exist closer to the star. The planets were found using a technique known a gravitational microlensing and requires a specific set of circumstances for the gravitational blips to be detectable. Specifically, the star has to pass in front of a more distant star so that the planets can affect the light received from the more distant star. The fact that a solar system-like configuration was detected during the first such event makes it likely that such systems may be common.

News: Titan contains more hydrocarbons than earth

Where's the best place to find liquid hydrocarbons? Scientists estimate that Titan, one of Saturn's moons, may contain more hydrocarbons than could be found in all of earth's oil reserves.

Tech: Clothing that generates electricity

U.S. scientists has developed  a set of brush-like fibres that can be woven into clothing to generate electricity from movement. Each wire consists of a Kevlar stalk onto which zinc oxide nanowires are grown, although just about any material could be used as the stalk, including hair. Wires are paired with one being coated in gold, and when the brush together they generate electricity. They expect that they can eventually generate 80 milliwatts per square metre of fabric... but that fabric may be dry-clean only. Zinc oxide is highly sensitive to moisture.

A mixed bag of news stories

When selling sex on the internet, get the person's name - A German woman auctioned herself off to six men who paid for the opportunity to have sex with her without revealing their names. Lo, unto her a child is formed, and into court she goes to get the father's name. The court sided with her, citing that the child's right to know their father's identity trumps any ill-conceived agreement.

Eavesdropping telecos get government protection - The U.S. Senate approved a bill that provides protection for telecommunications companies that eavesdrop on customers without a warrant. There are currently more than 40 lawsuits in the courts against telecos, claiming they violated privacy and wiretapping laws.

Americans more likely to consider nanotechnology immoral - A recent study indicated that only 29% of Americans considered nanotechnology morally acceptable, compared with 54% in the UK and 72% in France. The authors believe the difference is the strong religious beliefs of Americans that do not take kindly to researchers "playing God".

Blanket your brain with electrodes - Researchers have suggested a third option for brain-computer interfaces: create a polymer sheet with a grid of electrodes and use it to cover the surface of the brain. It avoids having to puncture neural tissue , while at the same time the electrodes don't have to detect faint signals through the scalp. Experiments with 5 test subjects showed that they could learn to control a cursor on a screen in a little as 20 minutes, as good as results obtained for implanted electrodes.