Cultured World

Laptop, cell phone and iPod owners tired of having their devices run out of charge after a few hours have been patiently waiting for the next portable power source to arrive.

Tiny fuel cells, powered by combustible liquids or gasses, have long been touted as the eventual solution. Potentially, they could power a laptop for days between refills. Read More »

French try plane technology in artificial heart. In the race to build a better artificial heart, French scientists have turned to technology from satellites and airplanes to create a heart that they say responds better to the human body. So far, the new device, shown at a news conference in Paris on Monday, has only been tested in animals. Its makers hope it might one day help people survive without needing a human heart transplant.

American companies have already produced artificial hearts, and scientists in Japan and South Korea are also working on versions.

But the French artificial heart is the first to be able to determine its patients’ needs and respond accordingly. And its maker is a subsidiary of the parent company of Airbus, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., or EADS. Read More »

The second expansion to World of Warcraft is just a few weeks away, and it looks like that crafty bad guy, Arthas, is already wreaking havoc on the world… of Warcraft. Tenris Mirkblood

As of a few hours ago, agents of the Argent Dawn have arrived in various locations throughout Azeroth, and in their wake, conspicuous crates in Booty Bay. Upon looting them, you’ll become diseased and, unless you find a cure from the Argent Dawn or a fellow player, you’ll become a zombie after ten minutes.

Once you’re a zombie, you’re able to attack NPCs and players of any faction, thereby further spreading the disease to more players. You’re also given zombie-specific abilities and will be unable to use any of your own abilities.

It’s not particularly difficult to be cured right now — something Blizzard poster Kisirani suspiciously pointed out in a thread on the official WoW forums — but it seems like the disease will inevitably infect everyone and everything. Read More »

123people.com, a free search engine which scours the Internet and gathers and displays information about people, has expanded to the United States.

“After months of private beta tweaking and adding new features to improve the high powered people search, 123 People launches to the US public,” the European-based website announced in a blog posting at 123people.com.

123 People collects publicly available information about people from social network profiles, blog entries, news articles and other sources and displays links, pictures, videos, email addresses and phone numbers. Read More »

Western Kentucky University was locked down for about three hours Wednesday after reports of gunmen on campus, but officials said they could find no evidence that shots had been fired or that anyone had a weapon.
Someone reported seeing people with weapons in a building on a satellite campus and police later received reports that shots had been fired on the main campus, a mile away.

Police searched a South Campus building but did not find any people with guns or witnesses who could confirm those reports. Read More »