http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The village of Olympos, located near the ancient city of Rhodiapolis, in the Antalya region of Turkey, escaped a wild fire, on 2 September 2012. This happened thanks to a network of cameras coupled to an intelligent video-based smoke detection algorithm that raised the alarm. This automatic early warning system is being tested as part of a multi-sensor fire detection network developed by an EU funded project called FIRESENSE. Its aim is to protect ancient heritage sites, such as the ancient Olympia in Greece. In the absence of such detection system, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, was only just saved from forest fires, on 26 August 2007, after a three-day fire fight that cost 60 lives. http://phys.org/news280656331.html Technology Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:20:02 EST news280656331 A victorious message of "Four more years" accompanied by a picture of US President Barack Obama hugging his wife topped a collection of Year 2012 Twitter highlights released Tuesday. http://phys.org/news274509030.html Technology Wed, 12 Dec 2012 04:30:37 EST news274509030 Microsoft says it is investing $100 million in a new technology center in Rio de Janeiro. http://phys.org/news271592790.html Technology Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:00:02 EST news271592790 During the opening ceremonies of this summer's Olympic games in London, a musical performance culminated with a stage-set house rising into the rafters to reveal Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, sitting at a computer and typing the words "This is for everyone." http://phys.org/news270108123.html Technology Mon, 22 Oct 2012 07:02:21 EST news270108123 Technology will put the power to make news into the hands of ordinary people and revolutionise the way the vast reservoir of the public's digital content is handled thanks to new research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). http://phys.org/news269087372.html Technology Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:29:40 EST news269087372 Team GB is only likely to clock up 46 medals in the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, say researchers who used a mathematical formula three years ago to predict performance for London 2012, and came up with a medal haul of 63. http://phys.org/news267290970.html Other Sciences Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:30:09 EST news267290970 Television resolution is constantly improving – and this must go hand-in-hand with transmitting the data more efficiently. Reputable manufacturers of televisions, computers and mobile telephones, working jointly with Fraunhofer researchers, are developing a new standard for data transmission: "High Efficiency Video Coding", or HEVC for short. This video codec will be unveiled in Amsterdam at the IBC trade show, from September 7 - 11, 2012 (Hall 8, Booth B80). http://phys.org/news264932154.html Technology Thu, 23 Aug 2012 09:16:03 EST news264932154 Torrential rapids, plunging mud holes and soaring hurdles: in the outdoor competitions at the Olympic Games, athletes pushed themselves to the limit. But it's hard to depict this in pictures alone. This is why researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS created an intelligent camera that instantly delivers additional metadata, such as acceleration, temperature or heart rate. The new INCA can be seen at the IBC trade show in Amsterdam from September 7 - 11 (Hall 8, Booth B80). http://phys.org/news264931853.html Technology Thu, 23 Aug 2012 09:11:01 EST news264931853 Competitiveness amongst NBA teams is more constant throughout seasons than during the ACB basketball league (Spain), which also falls after every Olympic Games. According to a study from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the differences could be attributed to economic and organisational reasons: in the NBA there is just one division, there is a salary cap and the weakest teams have access to good players. http://phys.org/news264087153.html Other Sciences Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:32:47 EST news264087153 British Prime Minister David Cameron was to call on world powers on Sunday to boost their efforts to tackle malnutrition across the globe. http://phys.org/news263976830.html Other Sciences Sun, 12 Aug 2012 08:30:01 EST news263976830 (Phys.org) -- The UK’s appalling summer of weather could have had an unexpected benefit for Olympic athletes and spectators – it could have delivered one of the least polluted Games in history, according to University of Manchester researchers.   Atmospheric scientists are piloting up to eight flights around London, which started in the past month and will continue over the coming weeks, to measure carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and aerosol levels.  They found that the long periods of stormy weather and low pressure have resulted in excellent air quality. http://phys.org/news263796772.html Space & Earth Fri, 10 Aug 2012 05:53:03 EST news263796772 Imagine the following situation. The 100 metres finals in the London Olympic Games. The Jamaican Usain Bolt wins. Up to this point everything sounds normal except for the fact that he would break his own record again with a time of 9.48 seconds. According to the New Zealand researchers, this would be his record if there were a 2 metre per second tailwind (maximum allowable wind) and the race took place at an altitude of 999 metres. This record will of course have to wait because London lies just 24 metres above sea level. Scientists are sure though that environment conditions affect sports performance even to a great extent. http://phys.org/news263122030.html Other Sciences Thu, 02 Aug 2012 10:27:45 EST news263122030 A mounting global threat is of terrorists who act as "lone wolves". Locating and preventing such terrorist activity is more complicated than organizational terror threats. A new study conducted by Prof. Gabriel Weimann of the University of Haifa, reveals that these "lone wolves" are not in fact so isolated and belong to virtual terrorist communities on the Internet. http://phys.org/news263118898.html Other Sciences Thu, 02 Aug 2012 09:35:07 EST news263118898 (Phys.org) -- Billions of people will see London through many different filters and lenses during the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. None of those views will look quite like this one from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. http://phys.org/news262600176.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Jul 2012 09:40:03 EST news262600176 The economic impact of the Olympics has not been the same for all host countries. According to the Olympic Studies Centre at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the games held in the Catalonian capital 20 years ago were a resounding and incomparable success. But it is not always the case. http://phys.org/news262514639.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:44:07 EST news262514639 History offers a warning, but no clear pattern on the true risk of terrorism at the Olympic Games, concludes a new report by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) based at the University of Maryland. http://phys.org/news262514533.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:42:19 EST news262514533 As London prepares to host the 30th modern edition of the Olympic Games, Dr Craig Barker from the University's Nicholson Museum and Michelle Kiss, a Year 10 work experience student from William Carey Christian School, evoke the ancient Olympic spirit with a look at the origins of the world's oldest sporting festival that may provide parallels for the next three weeks of competition in London. http://phys.org/news262507004.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:36:58 EST news262507004 As the 2012 Summer Olympic Games open in London on Friday (July 27) with an internationally televised glitzy ceremony, including a parade of more than 10,000 athletes from around the world who will compete in 32 sports, you might wonder what the ancient Olympics were like. http://phys.org/news262505114.html Other Sciences Thu, 26 Jul 2012 07:05:29 EST news262505114 (Phys.org) -- As Olympic athletes converge on London with dreams of winning gold in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, NASA is also setting records while testing the J-2X powerpack at the Stennis Space Center. The first time was June 8, when engineers went the distance and set the Test Complex A record with a 1,150-second firing of the developmental powerpack assembly. On July 24, engineers surpassed that record with a 1,350-second test of the engine component on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The powerpack is a system of components on the top portion of the J-2X engine. On the complete J-2X engine, the powerpack feeds the thrust chamber, which produces the engine fire and thrust. The advantage of testing the powerpack without the thrust chamber is to operate over a wide range of conditions to understand safe limits. http://phys.org/news262421338.html Space & Earth Wed, 25 Jul 2012 07:49:06 EST news262421338 Social media was buzzing Tuesday with leaks from a rehearsal of the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, despite director Danny Boyle's plea for spectators to "save the surprise". http://phys.org/news262341153.html Technology Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:34:10 EST news262341153 US fans of the Olympics will be tracking the summer games on multiple screens, turning to tablets and smartphones for news, survey results showed Thursday. http://phys.org/news261929736.html Technology Thu, 19 Jul 2012 15:15:59 EST news261929736 When Olympic athletes throw up their arms, clench their fists and grimace after a win, they are displaying triumph through a gesture that is the same across cultures, a new study suggests. New findings due to be published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior suggest this victory pose signals feelings of triumph, challenging previous research that labeled the expression pride. http://phys.org/news261670205.html Other Sciences Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:10:20 EST news261670205 With less than two weeks to go before the Olympic Games, hordes of competitors are pouring into London from across the globe and limbering up -- but they're not athletes. http://phys.org/news261625054.html Technology Mon, 16 Jul 2012 02:37:41 EST news261625054 (Phys.org) -- Whether it rains or shines might actually have an impact on how journalists cover the Olympics, according to researchers at Penn State. http://phys.org/news261118586.html Other Sciences Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:56:32 EST news261118586 An examination of past Olympic Games television coverage shows notable differences in the way sports commentators talk about athletes, depending upon the athletes' races, gender and nationalities. http://phys.org/news259255823.html Other Sciences Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:30:38 EST news259255823 Last week's New York Times adapted a portion of David Sanger's forthcoming "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power," which reveals that the United States has secretly conducted cyberattacks against Iran for several years. Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research Fellow and Maurer School of Law Professor David P. Fidler said the article raises important questions. His commentary follows: http://phys.org/news258017068.html Technology Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:00:01 EST news258017068 US Senator John McCain on Saturday accused President Barack Obama's administration of leaking details of a reported cyber attack on Iran and other secret operations to bolster the president's image in an election year. http://phys.org/news257829694.html Technology Sat, 02 Jun 2012 04:21:42 EST news257829694 US President Barack Obama accelerated cyberattacks on Iran's nuclear program and expanded the assault even after the Stuxnet virus accidentally escaped in 2010, the New York Times reported Friday. http://phys.org/news257758733.html Technology Fri, 01 Jun 2012 08:40:51 EST news257758733 Top German high-jumper Ariane Friedrich has posted the details of an alleged cyber-stalker on her Facebook page, claiming that she wanted to name and shame the individual for sending her explicit pictures of himself. http://phys.org/news254418451.html Technology Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:20:01 EST news254418451 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nosebands on horse bridles are being tightened so much in some equestrian competitions that horses are suffering stress, reduced blood flow in the area and ultimately even deformed nasal bones, according to Professor Paul McGreevy from the University of Sydney. http://phys.org/news249120703.html Biology Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:11:50 EST news249120703