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Oct 20, 2012
TALON: The Modern Day Terminator
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| The Original Terminator |
The most common robots currently in use by the military are small, flat robots mounted on miniature tank treads. These robots are tough, able to tackle almost any terrain and usually have a variety of sensors built in, including audio and video surveillance and chemical detection. These robots are versatile, with different sensor or weapon packages available that mount to the main chassis. Virtually all of them are man-portable.
The TALON is a man-portable robot operating on small treads. It weighs less than 100 lbs (45 kg) in its base configuration. TALON is designed to be very durable -- one of the robots reportedly fell off a bridge and into a river in Iraq. Some time later, the soldiers set up the TALON's control unit and simply drove it out of the river [ref]. That brings up another important feature of the TALON -- it's amphibious.
TALON is operated with a joystick control, has seven speed settings (top speed is 6 feet/1.8 meters per second) and can use its treads to climb stairs, maneuver through rubble and even take on snow. Versatility has been designed into the TALON as well, with multiple possible configurations available that adapt the robot to the situation at hand. The basic TALON includes audio and video listening devices and a mechanical arm. A lightweight (60-lb/27-kg) version omits the arm. TALONs were used for search and rescue at WTC Ground Zero, and they have been used in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq for the disposal of live grenades, improvised explosive devices and other dangerous explosives.
Human Hunting Robots?
Swine flu strains could mutate and infect humans, study says - Los Angeles Times
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| H1N1 Man Made? |
Nobody knows where the next pandemic flu will come from. Now, scientists have evidence that influenza strains common in commercial pig herds can mutate in a way that would allow them to infect humans and spread easily among them. The study, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that a flu strain isolated from pigs was able to spread among ferrets and killed them with ease. Ferrets are commonly used in flu studies because they have human-like responses to flu.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
Oct 19, 2012
Infanrix hexa vaccine recall
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| Vaccinations Equal Sterilizations |
Health professionals and consumers are advised that, after consultation with the TGA, six batches of Infanrix hexa (AUST R 132881) have been recalled by the sponsor, GlaxoSmithKline Australia (GSK). Infanrix hexa is a vaccine used to prevent six diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, poliomyelitis (polio) and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). It is given to children as part of the National Immunisation Program (NIP) and may be given to young children under the age of 8 years who have not been previously vaccinated. This precautionary recall is being taken because a surface in the area where one of the manufacturing steps for the vaccine takes place was found to have a small amount of contamination with the bacterium Bacillus cereus
Vaccine Exemption Forms
Kestrel surveillance systems to US NAVAIR
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| Blimp Cam |
The US Naval Air Warfare Command (NAVAIR) has awarded a modification contract to Logos Technologies to provide Kestrel wide-area persistent surveillance systems. Under the $111.8m deal, a follow-on to previous awarded contract, Logos will deliver 20 Kestrel systems along with two other units for testing and upgrading, as well as spares to provide increased protection and ISR support for forward deployed units.
Human Hunting Robots?
RFID Chipped Electronic Socks
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| Self Tagging Human Device |
Of all the household items that have been enhanced with technological components, this product may be the most unexpected. A Swiss company called BLACKSOCKS has put RFID chips in – you guessed it – socks. But it isn’t to track down those oft-joked-about missing socks that go AWOL from the dryer; it is actually part of a very sophisticated system to keep your foot clothes looking and feeling just right.
The Smarter Socks system involves an RFID scanner and an iPhone app, along with regular deliveries of fine Italian socks. After a load of socks is washed, the user scans each sock with the RFID scanner. The scanner sends the sock’s info to the app via Bluetooth, telling how old the sock is, which matching sock is its sole mate, how many washes it has endured, and which foot it goes on.
MicroChips in the Medications?
Oct 18, 2012
2.2m Children in Balochistan to be Vaccinated Polio
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| BioWeapons |
A three-day anti-polio campaign will kick off today (Monday) across Balochistan, covering 30 districts. At least 2,234,425 children below the age of five years will be administered anti-polio vaccine during the drive, for which the government has formed 6,095 teams – comprising health workers and volunteers – to ensure 100 percent coverage. At least three polio cases were reported in Quetta in during the current year. Addressing a press conference, the focal person of the anti-polio campaign, Dr Ghafar Lashari, said that polio is a dangerous virus that has been driven out of almost all countries.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
NASA’s X1 Robotic Exoskeleton
Via: GCN
The X1 currently has joints for leg movement, and plans are in the works to add powered and controllable joints for the ankles and around the hips. That should provide much greater range of movement, and walking without crutches or any other aid. As the technology gets smaller, it’s even possible that someday people could wear these suits under their clothes and walk normally without anyone even knowing about their disability.
NASA seems pretty happy with the progress so far. Michael Gazarik, director of the agency’s Space Technology Program, issued a statement saying, "It's exciting to see a NASA-developed technology that might one day help people with serious ambulatory needs begin to walk again, or even walk for the first time. That's the sort of return on investment NASA is proud to give back to America and the world."
Human Hunting Robots?
Killer Viruses Being Created By Vaccines?
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| Vaccines Mutating Viruses |
It is called Novel Coronavirus, it is deadly and it is a nightmare: it seems the virus that causes the common cold has mutated to a pathogenic strain which causes severe respiratory problems and kidney failure. It has been confirmed that this type of virus has never been found before in humans. The epicenter seems to be Saudi Arabia; to date there is one death and one person in the ICU.
The human toll so far is one man dead in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (a 60-year-old Saudi national) and one Qatari national with a history of travel to Saudi Arabia seriously ill in an Intensive Care Unit in a London hospital, where he is in isolation with serious respiratory problems and kidney failure.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
Oct 17, 2012
Meningitis Outbreak Just One of Many Tainted Products
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| Injecting Meningitis |
The compounding pharmacy suspected in a deadly meningitis outbreak settled a lawsuit alleging it produced a tainted shot that caused a man's death in 2004, while a pharmaceutical firm with common owners was accused this summer of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile supplies.
Officials have identified Framingham, Mass., based-New England Compounding Center as the source of steroid shots suspected in the outbreak of rare fungal meningitis that has killed at least 12 people and made more than 130 others sick.
Allegations of a product that caused a different form of meningitis were at the heart of a lawsuit filed against the company over the 2004 death. An 83-year-old man died about a year and a half after receiving an injection produced by the company. And another drug company that has some of the same owners, Ameridose LLC, was accused by a customer this year of failing to separate sterile and non-sterile products in its warehouse.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
SWORDS Todays Terminator Robots
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| Todays Terminators! |
The Special Weapons Observation Remote Direct-Action System (SWORDS) capability is in theater. The SWORDS robot represents a new technological concept currently in the developmental stage. Three robots have been built so far; and while there has been considerable interest in fielding the system, some technical issues still remain and SWORDS is not currently funded. The U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division has used the robots for surveillance and peacekeeping/guard operations. The robot is armed with Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), M249 Light Machine Gun, and has not yet been used with this weapon in combat.
Genetically Modified Soldiers?
The Bird Flu: H5N1 A Man Made Bio Weapon?
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| Weaponized Viruses |
Virologists making mutated versions of the H5N1 bird flu halted their research in January after a U.S. government advisory panel suggested that their work, though well-intentioned, had the potential to endanger the public.
That voluntary moratorium was intended to last 60 days. Nearly nine months later, it remains in place, and scientists are still hashing out if, when and how the research might resume. In a series of essays commissioned this week by mBio, a journal published by the American Society for Microbiology, key players in the controversy set out their thoughts on the matter.
First, a brief review of the controversy: H5N1 bird flu has been circulating in parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East for more than a decade, resulting in the deaths of millions of chickens, ducks and other fowl. It’s rare in humans and does not appear to pass easily from person to person. But when bird flu does strike in people, it is often deadly.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
Oct 16, 2012
States Mandate Flu Vaccinations For Health Workers
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| Vaccines Damage The Immune System |
The Rhode Island Department of Health on Friday adopted regulations that require all health workers in the state to receive flu vaccinations. The vaccinations are mandatory for all workers, students, trainees and volunteers who come into direct contact with patients, unless they have a medical exemption from their provider or if they are opposed to it and submit a form, according to the state health department.
Meanwhile, in Colorado, the state requires 60 percent hospital employees get flu vaccines. Although the state health mandate for all employees won't take effect for several years, hospitals, including Denver Health Medical Center, Centura Health and Banner Health, are threatening to suspend and fire employees who refuse the flu shot, CBS Denver reported.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
CVS/pharmacy Survey: Flu Shots Refused By 50% Store Shoppers
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| People Are Becoming Aware! |
More than half of consumers say they do not plan to get a flu shot this season, according to a recent survey conducted by CVS/pharmacy.
Despite recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that everyone 6 months or older get a flu vaccine every year, just over half (51%) of the respondents say they do not plan to get a flu shot this season. The top reasons consumers cited in the survey for not getting vaccinated are being worried about potential side effects of a flu shot and not being sure that flu shots are effective.
However, the CDC recommends an annual flu vaccine as the first and best way to protect against influenza. Also, the flu shot cannot give people the flu because the viruses used in the vaccine are inactivated. Possible minor side effects include soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given or a low-grade fever that usually lasts one to two days. Almost all people who receive a flu shot have no serious problems from it, the company stated.
Vaccine Exemption Forms
Genetically Modified Rats Have Immunity Poisons
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| Super Rats |
A University of Huddersfield scientist has alerted the UK to the mounting problem of destructive "super rats" immune to conventional poison. His research has created nationwide interest, especially in the West of England, where it might be that as many as 75 per cent of rats are the resistant type.
Dr Dougie Clarke, who is Head of Biological Sciences at the University of Huddersfield's School of Applied Sciences, leads the UK Rodenticide Resistance Mapping Project. It takes DNA samples from hundreds of rats around the country in order to establish which regions have the highest prevalence of rats that have genetic mutations that protect them from the most commonly used rat poisons.
Genetically Modified Soldiers?
Live Mice Stem From Reprogrammed Skin Cells
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| Rewriting Nature? |
Two teams of Chinese scientists have done just that by producing a live mouse from adult mouse skin cells. The cells were effectively “reprogrammed” with a virus to become every type of cell needed to produce a new mouse (other than a placenta). While both teams experienced some abnormalities and deaths in the first generation of petri dish mice, one of the teams was able to produce hundreds of second- and third-generation mice.
Genetically Modified Soldiers?
Oct 15, 2012
Smart Protective Fabric Tells Exact Locations of Breaches | Gadgets, Science & Technology
Imagine for a moment that you’re a thief bent on stealing something really valuable – is a piece of cloth really going to seem like a dangerous barrier? It might be just that once the smart fabric developed at Berlin’s Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM makes its way into real-world settings. The fabric is made of regular fibers on regular weaving equipment, but it has a couple of key differences. First, there is a network of silver-coated conductive threads running through the fabric and connected to a microcontroller. Secondly, this bad-ass fabric can tell you if it’s been cut – and precisely where the cut is.
Genetically Modified Soldiers?
Student Objecting to Mandatory Vaccination's
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| Mandating Madness |
A Mercer County student whose family objected to new mandatory vaccinations will be schooled at home while a Kanawha County court decides the vaccination issue, the student’s attorney said Friday. A hearing was conducted on Sept. 25 in Mercer County Circuit Court concerning whether a student had to take two new state-mandated vaccinations, said the student’s attorney, Patrick Lane.
“Within a few hours, we got phone calls from the court stating that the board of education was going to be ordered to provide education because the child has a fundamental right to education under our West Virginia Constitution,” Lane told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. “Because of the judge’s caseload, it took a few days to draft the order.”
“The upshot of the order is the court found that the student does have a fundamental right to an education and the board must provide education to the student,” Lane said. “We had to show that we are more than likely to succeed on the underlying merits of the case just to get the injunction.”
Military's "Luke Skywalker" Binoculars Use Brain Waves to Spot Threats - Forbes
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| Here Come The Cyborgs |
Five years after the Pentagon first conceived of them, the binoculars of the future have arrived: Scopes that not only allow soldiers to scan wide-ranging areas and lengthy distances, but that tap into their brains to vastly improve threat-detection.
Called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS), the initiative was first launched in 2007 by — not surprisingly — DARPA. Today, the agency announced the results of field tests using the futuristic system, which was nicknamed “Luke Skywalker” early on in the program. According to DARPA, the binoculars yielded a 91 percent success rate in detecting threats. By comparison, soldiers using conventional binoculars or camera systems currently miss around 47 percent of potential dangers.
Human Hunting Robots?
Oct 14, 2012
Harvard Scientists Create World’s First Living Cyborg Tissues
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| Cyborg Skin |
Scientists at Harvard have brought to the world a futuristic advance which may or may not be the human race’s first step toward a violent cyborg uprising. For the first time ever, they have created a 3D hybrid of living tissue and electronics. They've mixed muscle cells, neurons, and blood vessels with nanowires and transistors, effectively creating cyborg tissues.
This first generation of the cyborg tissues are limited in their function, but future generations have almost endless possibilities. They could be used for all kinds of monitoring activities, from drug testing to medical observation of ongoing conditions.
Human Hunting Robots?
HALO Corporation Security Firm Hold Zombie Drill In San Diego
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| Real Zombie Drill In San Diego |
Forget the H1N1 pandemic. Could a future crisis arise from an outbreak of viruses that destroy brain cells and render people violently catatonic, like zombies? The far-fetched scenario of a government grappling a zombie like threat — think movies like “Night of the Living Dead” or, more comically, “Zombieland” — has captured the attention and imagination of Brad Barker, president of the security firm HALO Corp.
CDC Zombie Preparedness Guide
Flying Micro Drones Used To Build Structures
Via: Gadjitz
In the future, robots will do literally everything for us (if we have anything to say about it). So why not build our office buildings, apartment towers and single-family homes? A small fleet of flying robots recently built a scale model of a building using Styrofoam bricks and a complex navigation system.
Conceived by a team of architects, the Flight-Assembled Architecture project was an exercise in design and in technology. The small quadrocopters were programmed with the coordinates of the room they were in and the locations of the bricks they were expected to put into place. Then, without any further intervention, the ‘bots built a six-meter-high structure one brick at a time.
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| Flying Micro Drones |
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