Prison inmates at San Quentin get contract to build satellite parts for NASA

The NASA Ames Research Center is known for establishing innovative partnerships and Pete Worden, the former Air Force general who serves as the Center’s director, is known as a maverick. Still, the latest joint venture to come to light has caught even some longtime NASA observers by surprise. Under supervision from NASA Ames, inmates working in the …

Amazon makes a bid to own the most top-level domains

If Amazon.com gets its way — and that’s still a big “if” — it will soon control 76 new domain extensions on the Internet. Most observers had expected the company to apply for .amazon and .kindle, but it seems that was just for starters: Amazon’s ambitions also include a host of generic terms, including the …

Marine Corps ordered to open certain ground combat billets to women

The Marine Corps wants “a few good men” and some women too: Commandant Gen. James Amos this week ordered that certain jobs previously meant for men now be opened to women as well. In some cases, the change is meant as a test to help Amos make recommendations about a possible permanent shift. Amos’ order …

Soon cars will be ultra-light-weight and made out of carbon-fibre composites

The race is on to replace steel cars with carbon-fibre cars. All of the major automakers have inked deals to make the switch. The reason being that carbon-fibre is: “10 times stronger than regular-grade steel and one-quarter of steel’s weight.” “Using carbon fiber in lieu of conventional steel can lower the weight of a vehicle …

“Trust, but verify” – the code of nuclear treaties

English – “trust but verify” Russian – “doveryai, no proveryai” The phrase was used by U.S. President Ronald Reagan at a press conference with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev during the of the signing the INF Treaty at the White House in 1987. After Reagan used the phrase, Mikhail Gorbachev responded: “You repeat that at …