By Alison McCook, TheScientist.com

You put your name into Google, and the first entry is about a transgression from 20 years ago, the penalty for which only lasted three years. Now you can't get a job.

Each year, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) investigates dozens of charges of scientific misconduct. And each year, the ORI adds a handful of names to a list of researchers found guilty of falsifying figures, fabricating data, or committing other academic infractions. As of April 1, 2009, this Administrative Actions list, presented on the ORI Web site, carried 38 names. These people are barred from receiving federal funds and/or serving on a Public Health Service committee, typically for a period of 3–5 years. Once the debarment term is up, the name disappears from the list. In theory, the punishment—and the shame—of the ordeal is over.

By Ben Purvis, Gizmag.com

Entrepreneur behind the Segway developing eco hybrid that will run on anything that burns

Dean Kamen – the multimillionaire inventor behind the Segway personal transporter – is well down the road in the development of a new bike that combines electric power and a radical generator which will allow it to burn almost any fuel.

"If It Feels Good Do It" : Using Neuromarketing to Go Beyond Click-Through: the Emerging Understanding of the Links Between Biometric Measures and Consumer Response to Media, presented by André Marquis.

At a press event in London on Wednesday, HTC unveiled its latest Google Android device, the HTC Hero, featuring a new user interface called HTC Sense.

Sergey Brin and Steve Horowitz discuss the availability of the SDK, that it will be open source in the future, and demo applications on the Android platform.

The real beauty of the smartphone lies beneath the surface. The new Sense UI allows users to customize the device to their needs and give them more access to the information they want at a glance through widgets, customized profiles, and consolidated views of all communication with a contact, whether it be e-mail, text or multimedia message, Facebook status updates, or photos. In addition, HTC said that all of its future devices will use Sense UI.

Already a leader in advanced diesel engine technology, Fiat recently added to its arsenal a new advancement for petrol engines the company claims significantly boosts power and torque, while cutting emissions. The new technology has been labeled it MultiAir and it will be debuting in Europe this September in the Alfa Romeo MiTo hatch. More importantly, this technology could eventually end up in the U.S. once sales of the stylish hatch kick off locally.

Mary Spiro, Baltimore Science News Examiner

Scientists and engineers can spend hours toiling away in their laboratories. When they emerge for a break, there are a host of fascinating and informative websites to enrich their lives. You don’t need to be a scientist to enjoy any of these sites, just be anyone interested in science or engineering topics. Below is a list of 20 great websites that every scientist, engineering, or geek-at-heart ought to know about. Some may be familiar, but I hope the majority on this list are new to you. This list is by no means comprehensive, so please add your favorites in the comments section below.

The reason GM is so interested in Fuel Cell vehicles is it allows us to do a number of unique things we don't get from other vehicles. The first is it allows us to run with zero petroleum – the vehicle uses hydrogen as a fuel. The second is we have zero emission , so we basically take the vehicle out of the environmental debate all together.

Source: ScienceDaily.com

Scientists have for the first time devised a multi-pixel modulator for light waves at terahertz (THz, or 1012 Hz) frequencies. The formal study of THz radiation, which can be described as far-infrared light, dates back many years, but has become increasingly widespread since around 1990, when efficient methods for generating and detecting the radiation become available. The expected applications include carrying out biological spectroscopy and imaging buried structures in semiconductors.

Philips today staked its claim as the world's largest lighting solutions provider by introducing a wide range of new technologies, products and services that address both current and new uses of light. These innovations reflect a vastly expanded portfolio, the breadth of which is unique to the lighting industry. Ranging from components, electronics and fixtures to complete solid-state lighting systems with advanced controls.

Some might say that Mathematica and A New Kind of Science are ambitious projects.

But in recent years I’ve been hard at work on a still more ambitious project—called Wolfram|Alpha.

And I’m excited to say that in just two months it’s going to be going live:

Wolfram|Alpha

Mathematica has been a great success in very broadly handling all kinds of formal technical systems and knowledge.

But what about everything else? What about all other systematic knowledge? All the methods and models, and data, that exists?

By Wolfgang Gruener, TG Daily

Brussels (Belgium) – The European Union (EU) is preparing binding guidelines for wireless carriers to allow VoIP services such as Skype to run over their cellular network. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding stated that there “action” should be taken against carriers that use their market power to block “innovative services.”

Abnormal glucose tolerance can be detected by a carbon-13 labeled oral glucose tolerance test in which 13-CO2 excreted in the breath is measured with a standard breath analyzer, according to research conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

“This novel breath test method may assist in recognition of pre-diabetes or early-stage diabetes in at-risk persons without the need for invasive blood sampling, thus making it an attractive option for large-scale testing of at-risk populations, such as children,” Dr. Melinda Sheffield-Moore of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and co-investigators report in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

By: Quinn Norton, Wired.com

First of two parts.

(image: right) Dr. Boyden replaces acover on sensitive laser equipment at the Neuroengineering and Neuromedia Lab at MIT. Photo: Quinn Norton

Dr. Ed Boyden is showing off his lab's equipment with naked delight. We've whizzed past a laser table, a 3-D printer and some rattling biological shakers, and come to rest beside a water cutter.

Boyden picks up a piece of scrap metal and demonstrates how the cutter uses a powerful stream of water and fine bits of garnet (nearly as hard as diamond) to slice precisely through almost any material. It can be used to build nearly anything. He pauses, and considers. "We're probably the only lab in the world that uses a water cutter to build neural interfaces."

A new firm thinks it has found a way to turn inventions from the nation's biggest research institutions into cash.

By: Jonathan Fahey, Forbes.com

After ten years of research, David Martin, a materials scientist at the University of Michigan, came up with a polymer that could help deaf people hear and blind people see. His poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), or Pedot, could coat the electrodes used for stimulating and recording from the brain, making them smaller, more sensitive and more effective at treating deafness, blindness and Parkinson's disease, among other conditions.

By Jacob Franek, Entertainment Correspondent, AskMen.com

Tiny robots that fight cancer? Shock-resistant and energy-absorbing body armor? Invisible disinfectants? Is this all science fiction or impending reality? The hype surrounding nanotechnology has waned since the early ‘80s when American engineer Dr. K. Eric Drexler brought the concept to the forefront, but what began as a simple topic of conversation at physicists’ cocktail parties is now being realized in a sweeping movement that is going largely unnoticed.

IBM Research scientists, in collaboration with the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University, have demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with volume resolution 100 million times finer than conventional MRI. This result, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), signals a significant step forward in tools for molecular biology and nanotechnology by offering the ability to study complex 3D structures at the nanoscale.

Toshibas Zero Waste to Landfill Supply Recycling Program

Toshiba America Business Solutions is pleased to offer our customers a process for returning used Toshiba toner bottles, printer cartridge, fax cartridges, drums units and waste bottles/toner bags free of charge. This is TABS most comprehensive environmental sustainability initiative to date, allowing for the 100-percent recycling of collected consumable supplies. Our customized collection program from Close The Loop provides you with recyclable collection boxes and supplies, freight, transportation and recycling services.

By: Nathan Schulhof

In 1994, I was patenting and building the first devise known as "The MP3 Player," and making plans to engage the predominant cable companies for the delivery method. That same year, we received a lot of national Press and TV coverage over the announcement of our intentions to build the first portable digital downloadable player which drove mail and phone calls. Cable companies had the only infrastructure in place, high speed cable lines in place with which to send color and video for TVs. I could see a perfect marriage to download audio content through their high speed cable to your computer and then to a portable device… hence The MP3 Player ( www.nathanschulhof.com ).

“Washington Is Killing Silicon Valley” (Opinion- WSJ: 12/22/08, by Michael S. Malone) is “on point”, but doesn’t address some of the additional culprits, the VC industry being partially responsible as well, because of their own culpability/cupidity.

Last month, Apple took a big step towards becoming environmentally-friendly by eliminating Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinylchloride (PVR) from its iPods. Now the company is taking another huge step with its notebook computers.

Apple announced today that all new MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air will be PVC and BFR-free. And if you think those chemicals aren’t a big deal, well, they are. PVCs release dioxin, a known carcinogen, and BFRs are reproductive and developmental neurotoxins that build up over time in the human body. The substances put workers and recyclers at risk during the production and discarding of products.