According to Personal SpaceFlight blog, several Russian space tourist candidates are getting their applications vetted by Roskosmos, and that Space Adventures (the group that handles these private space travelers) has two seats set aside on Soyuz flights in fall ’08 and spring of ’09. The names for who’s flying should be coming soon.
I always find it ironic that it’s the Russian space program that’s taking willing, paying passengers, while the US is not. Who would have believed that 20 years ago?
This is wild, but apparently there is a would healant made out of shrimp shells that’s about to get space tested. Apparently they’re curious to see how chitosan, the biopolymer that makes up these space-age bandaids, acts in outer space. According to the New Scientist:
Chitosan is a water-soluble form of chitin, an abundant long-chain natural biopolymer that is a key component of the semi-transparent exoskeletons of arthropods from insects to lobsters, and in the cell walls of fungi.
Some researchers believe natural chitin helps protect arthropods from bacterial infection, important because they lack a conventional immune system. The soluble chitosan carries a positive charge that attracts the negatively charged membranes of bacteria, stopping them from multiplying and in some cases killing them. The charge also initiates clotting of red blood cells.
The Secretary of State of California recently ordered a complete security audit of all electronic voting systems in use in the state of California. Despite some concerns about an unrealistic schedule, this appears to be more than security theater — one system was completely decertified, and several other systems (including Diebold and Sequoia systems) were decertified and conditionally re-certified given the imposition of additional security precautions. Bruce Schenier’s got a good roundup of related articles.
I’ve worked the past couple of California elections and have to say that the physical security, at least at the polling sites, is pretty good. Nonetheless, I was glad to see a paper audit tape used last time around.
So called hot dry rock geothermal technology has the potential to be a huge generator of emissions-free technology for a relatively steep initial investment but very low ongoing costs. The basic concept is simple — dig a big hole in the ground to where the granite is very hot, pump in water, and let the resultant steam power a turbine. [photo by futureatlas][slashdot]
The Secretary of State of California recently ordered a complete security audit of all electronic voting systems in use in the state of California. Despite some concerns about an unrealistic schedule, this appears to be more than security theater — one system was completely decertified, and several other systems (including Diebold and Sequoia systems) were decertified and conditionally re-certified given the imposition of additional security precautions. Bruce Schenier’s got 
So called