Science and Tech

Little did the world realize 40 years ago that a San Francisco stage was featuring the first public glimpse of an invention that would revolutionize not only our daily lives but also our ability to solve the world's problems.
An audience of about 1,000 people had witnessed the premiere of the personal computer.

Cornelius Cronin bought a $900 Chevy S-10 pickup and spent several weeks removing things he didn't like -- mainly its dirty, gas-guzzling engine.
He fitted an electric motor and batteries under the hood, and now purrs around Oldsmar, Fla. in a red truck that uses no gas and emits no air pollution.

Skedded, health. 600

It's not the ache in their joints that tells Mark Engebretson and David Murr the weather's about to change. It's sunspots.

Even in this high-tech era, people with bushel baskets still climb ladders to pick the apples we eat.
Manual labor rules the orchard.
And, excuse the apple puns, but the lack of automation has become the orchard industry's core problem. For years, orchard owners have been craving seed technology to juice up profits, ripen yields and peel away labor costs.

Science has documented that women with curvy hips have more babies and are healthier. But a new study by a university anthropologist suggests that flatter hips come with a different set of benefits: strength, assertiveness, competitiveness and an ability to cope with stress.
Touche, Barbie.

The world's first collaborative online orchestra is finally a reality.
And you can thank YouTube.
Know officially as the "YouTube Symphony Orchestra Project," the groundbreaking project will allow musicians to join an online orchestra through video audition and selection.

There are some holiday-related questions clogging my inbox this week that need attention before we move on to some quick product reviews next week. Let's jump into the mix.

Every spring, dedicated bird-watchers armed with clipboards and binoculars embark on roadside counts to record how many birds they can see and hear. These long-running censuses, such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey, help scientists estimate trends in bird populations.
Or maybe not.

If you're conversing behind the steering wheel, you'll drive more safely if your partner is sitting next to you rather than speaking from the other end of a cell phone.
That's because passengers will adjust a conversation in response to traffic conditions and will even break to remind the driver of hazards, according to new research by University of Utah psychologists.

When sea kayaker Derek Crook set out to circumnavigate Tasmania earlier this year, the Canadian adventurer knew the dangers involved. Midway through his 36-day expedition, a wave flipped his kayak and left him fighting for his life on an offshore reef.