Science Friday 100308

Want To See The History Of The Computer In Under Four Minutes?
by DOT MATRIX REVOLUTION* from superbrothers on Vimeo.
There are some who'd try to convince you that the history of computing is a lengthy and in depth topic that would take literally hours - maybe even days - to explain properly....

More Science/Technology News . . .

• Searching for Clarity: A Primer on Medical Studies By GINA KOLATA, NYTimes
  There are three basic principles that underlie the search for medical truth and the use of clinical trials to obtain it. Graphic: The Fine Print
• Applying Science to Alternative Medicine By WILLIAM J. BROAD, NYTimes
  While sweeping claims are often made for alternative medicine treatments, the scientific evidence for them often lags behind.
• Is Facebook Really Where You Go to Watch?
  Slide will create an application with video from CBS, Hulu and others for use on Facebook. One problem: Why do people want to watch TV on Facebook?
• Technology-savvy visitors awed by work of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci by Sharon Noguchi, Mercury News . . .The collection of genius under one roof probably set a record Saturday at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, if only a genius-o-meter had been on hand to measure it.
• Study traces AIDS virus origin to 100 years ago, AP
  The AIDS virus has been circulating among people for about 100 years, decades longer than scientists had thought, a new study suggests.
• It's snowing on Mars, SFGate
  It's snowing on Mars and winter is icumen in - to misquote the Middle English paean to springtime. Scientists studying the coded...
• Rocket company's 4th launch makes orbit, SFGate
  An Internet entrepreneur's latest effort to make space launch more affordable paid off Sunday when his commercial rocket, carrying a...
• Supercomputers merge senses, data at school, SFGate
  On a hillside overlooking this college town on the banks of the Hudson, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has erected a...
• China celebrates its first spacewalk, SFGate
  The Chinese celebrated their nation's first spacewalk Saturday, gathering at outdoor TV screens to cheer live video of the milestone...