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Research News
3:03 am
Wed May 22, 2013

Quantum Or Not, New Supercomputer Is Certainly Something Else

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Credit Courtesy of D-Wave
Google and NASA are betting that quantum forces are at work inside D-Wave's 512-bit chip.
Credit Courtesy of D-Wave
The D-Wave processor must be shielded from outside interference inside an ultra-cold refrigerator in order to enter a quantum state.
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By Geoff Brumfiel

It's exactly the sort of futuristic thinking you'd expect from Google and NASA: Late last week, the organizations announced a partnership to build a Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at NASA's Ames Research Center.

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The Two-Way
5:43 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Storm Chasers Seek Thrills, But Also Chance To Warn Others

Credit Alonzo Adams / AP
A tornado moves past homes in Moore, Okla. on Monday.
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By Steve Mullis

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 6:33 pm

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Business
4:41 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Apple CEO Defends Tax Practices At Senate Hearing

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Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 5:43 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

The top executives of Apple faced tough questions today on Capitol Hill. They came at a hearing about Apple's alleged avoidance of billions of dollars in U.S. income taxes. Yesterday, Senate investigators released a study describing how the maker of the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers used subsidiaries based in Ireland to avoid income taxes on a big chunk of its global profits.

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Business
4:41 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

'Reinventing The Register' May Take Time For Square

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Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 6:43 pm

Square is the much buzzed-about digital payments company started by the founder of Twitter. With the launch of a new product last week, we check in on the company's promise to revolutionize how we buy things.

The Two-Way
4:32 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Microsoft Reveals New Xbox One Game System

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
The new Xbox One entertainment and gaming system was unveiled Tuesday by Microsoft. The console includes live TV and advanced voice commands.
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Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox One Tuesday, displaying a device that takes new steps in game consoles' journey to becoming all-purpose entertainment and communication devices. The new console replaces the Xbox 360, which has been on the market for nearly eight years.

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The Salt
3:35 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Vertical 'Pinkhouses:' The Future Of Urban Farming?

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Credit Courtesy of Caliber Therapeutics
This "pinkhouse" at Caliber Biotherapeutics in Bryan, Texas, grows 2.2 million plants under the glow of blue and red LEDs.
Credit Courtesy of Plantagon
An artist's rendering of what a planned vertical farm in Linkoping, Sweden, will look like.
Credit Courtesy of Purdue Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell
Cary Mitchell and Celina Gomez, of Purdue University, harvest tomatoes grown next to a tower of blue and red LEDs.
Credit Courtesy of Caliber Biotherapeutics
Plants at Caliber Biotherapeutics grow under blue and red LEDs, with wavelengths of light that match those that get absorbed by the photosynthetic machinery.
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By Michaeleen Doucleff

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 4:01 pm

The idea of vertical farming is all the rage right now. Architects and engineers have come up with spectacular concepts for lofty buildings that could function as urban food centers of the future.

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The Picture Show
1:28 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

'Nanogardens' Sprout Up On The Surface Of A Penny

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Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Nanoflowers, each smaller than the thickness of a dollar bill, sprout up spontaneously on a surface dipped in salts and silicon.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
A field of microviolets sprouts up on a glass plate dipped into a solution of minerals and silicon.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
The flowers grow in a stepwise process. First, Noorduin seeds crystals at the glass plate's surface to create the pink vase. The green stems nucleate inside the vases. And then a burst of carbon dioxides triggers the violets to blossom.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
All of the flowers are crystals of silicon and minerals. Wim Noorduin sculpts the stems and blossoms by tweaking the environment in which the crystals grow.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
The images are falsely colored (because the electron microscope only photographs in black and white). But in this image, the colors represent the ones you'd actually see if the human eye could detect such small objects.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Noorduin creates ripples in the petals by sending pulses of carbon dioxide through the solution.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
This flower would fit perfectly on Abraham Lincoln's jacket lapel on the backside of a penny.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
Each rose sculpture is about half the thickness of a dollar bill. The only way to see the sculptures is with a microscope.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin/Harvard University
This microcorsage is sized perfectly for Abraham Lincoln's jacket lapel on the back of a penny.
Credit Courtesy of Wim Noorduin
Sense Of Scale: Microflower sculptures row in front of the Lincoln Memorial imprinted on the back of a penny.
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By editor

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 5:36 pm

April showers bring May flowers. But in this case, the blossoms are too small for even a bumblebee to see.

Engineers at Harvard University have figured out a way to make microscopic sculptures of roses, tulips and violets, each smaller than a strand of hair.

To get a sense of just how small these flower sculptures are, grab a penny and flip it on its back. Right in the middle of the Lincoln Memorial, you'll see a faint impression of Abraham Lincoln. These roses would make a perfect corsage for the president's jacket lapel.

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The Two-Way
12:55 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Airbnb Stays Are Illegal In New York, Court Rules

Credit Airbnb
A search for places to stay in New York City via Airbnb returns plenty of results, despite the practice of short-term rentals being found to be illegal under city and state law.
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People who use Airbnb, the web company that pairs travelers with residents who rent out their homes on a short-term basis, are breaking New York City's laws, according to an administrative law judge. The vacation rental business was found to run afoul of the city's occupancy code; it also doesn't conform with a state law.

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Technology
12:05 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

My Social Security Number Is Posted Where?

Credit Matt Anzur / Scripps Howard News Service
The private information Linda Mendez submitted to get discount cellphone service appeared on a publicly accessible website.
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By NPR Staff

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 2:26 pm

Sensitive personal information belonging to thousands of applicants to a government phone program was exposed to the public on the Internet, according to a new investigative report from Scripps Howard News Service.

The federal program is called Lifeline, and it reimburses phone companies for providing service to low-income Americans.

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