- Other Interesting arXiv Papers This Week
The best of the rest from the Physics arXiv preprint server
First Search for Dark Matter Annihilation in the Sun Using the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope
- Are Surgical Robots Worth It?
The FDA looks into the safety of the da Vinci system in light of increased adverse incidents.
Surgical robots allow surgeons to perform a variety of less invasive operations because their miniaturized instruments can work through small incisions in the body and are more dexterous than traditional laparoscopic tools (see “The Slow Rise of the Robot Surgeon”). The result is that patients leave the operating room with a smaller surgical wound with the promise of faster recovery and less scarring.
- Engineer Plants to Reflect Light Back into Space
Announcing this year’s so-crazy-it-might-work award from the ARPA-E Summit.
Every year at the annual Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy Summit (which took place this week) you can count on there being at least one left-field idea that just might work—or might go horribly wrong.
- Unmasked, but Unfazed—Chinese Hacking Group Is Still Active
An exposé of its methods and technology may not have deterred a group targeting U.S. corporate secrets.
The computer hacking group accused last week of being part of a specific unit of the Chinese military is apparently unfazed by the public attention triggered by a detailed report on its activities published by the security firm Mandiant. Another researcher tracking the group says that most of the infrastructure it had in place to carry out attacks remains in place.
- Maybe Kickstarter’s Just Not That Into You
Quality doesn’t always rise to the top in Kickstarter, as elsewhere. Creators should stay Zen about it.
Eric Johnson over at AllThingsD calls our attention to a “breathtaking” game, the pleasingly literally titled Throw Trucks With Your Mind, on Kickstarter. The game, beloved by those who try it, uses a NeuroSky headset to enable you to control objects onscreen with the sheer force of your mind. Multiple people who’ve played the game say it’s about as close as you’re going to get to feeling like a Jedi. Sounds like a winner, right?
- Ubuntu Off to a Promising Start on Smartphones
An early version of Ubuntu’s touch-centric OS looks smartly designed and worth watching as it develops.
The company that makes the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system, Canonical, recently announced what I like to think of as a Lord of the Rings software philosophy: one operating system for PCs, smartphones, tablets, and TVs. Not only is it an ambitious idea, but early images and videos of smartphones and tablets running the new software look intuitive and impressively touch-focused.
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