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Flying Man

world’s only flying man. He attaches himself to a custom-built wing and 4 turbojets, and simply takes to the skies (dropping from a helicopter for now), tilting his body to control his flight path. He’s been making headlines for a while, especially when he first crossed the English channel with his wing, back in 2008. And now he can add another feather to his cap: he’s flown in formation with two L-39C Albatros planes from the Breitling Jet Team, flying at their minimum speed. You can see what it looked like in the video below.

A little on the wing itself. It has a wingspan of 2m and weighs 55kg (121lbs) fully fueled and with smoke solution, 30kg (66lbs) dry. It’s propelled by 4 Jet-Cat P200 turbojet engines, with 22 kilograms thrust each. It has an average speed of 200 km/h (120mph) and a top speed (in descent mode) of 300 km/h (180mph). Finally, the amount of fuel on board lets Yves fly autonomously for 10 minutes. After that, it’s parachute time

Eurozone ministers OK $10.7 billion Greek loan

BRUSSELS -- With Italy sinking rapidly into financial chaos, the eurozone's 17 finance ministers scrambled Tuesday to find enough money to give their rescue fund a veneer of credibility and the markets some reason to believe their embattled currency won't break up.
Italy's borrowing rates shot up above 7 percent, an unsustainable level in the long term and a shocking increase over rates just last month. Markets rose for the second day Tuesday on hopes that the enormous pressures on the ministers would produce some results.
Early in their meeting, the finance ministers averted an imminent disaster in Greece, approving the next installment of the country's bailout loan - euro8 billion ($10.7 billion). Without that money, Greece would have run out of cash before Christmas, leaving it unable to pay its employees or provide services. Two officials in Brussels reported the development, speaking on condition of anonymity while the meeting was still going on.
The installment is part of a euro110 billion ($150 billion) bailout package from eurozone nations and the International Monetary Fund that has kept Greece afloat since May 2010. The new cash came after the EU demanded, and received, letters from top Greek political leaders pledging their support for tough new austerity measures.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/29/2523438/pressure-builds-as-eurozone-ponders.html#ixzz1f85I62jK

Stock futures rise on euro hopes, holiday optimism

Today 2011-11-29: Wall Street is poised for further gains amid ongoing evidence of a strong start to the U.S. holiday shopping season and hopes for a plan to deal with the European debt crisis. Dow futures are up 0.5 percent at 11,555. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 futures are up 0.6 percent at 1,198. Markets overseas were boosted again on Tuesday by hopes that the 17 countries that use the euro will finally come up with a plan to deal with their crushing debt crisis. Italy's borrowing rates shot up Tuesday to above 7

source: wall street

Electric Ferrari

The Ferrari Millenio, as the name might allude, is a futuristic super-car concept that features a complex combination of materials and technologies that we can hope will become a serious reality before the end of the next millenium. The two-seater includes a buckypaper reinforced body that is stronger than steel and lighter than carbon fiber as well as dual electric engines that can be recharged via solar panels or through an inductive power transfer system.

Designer: Marko Petrovic

Next Generation Camera Pill, Streams HD Video From Inside The Body

Norwegian scientists are currently developing a next-generation pill that once swallowed will stream HD video images of the inside a patient’s digestive tract, in real time. The camera equipped endoscopic capsule is equipped with a HD video camera, radio transmitter, light source, radio transmitter and miniature battery. Due to the size of the HD stream the researchers have had to create an algorithm that compresses the video to three percent of its original size.

The research project, named “Melody ,” is a collaboration between Oslo University Hospital, the University of Oslo, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, and 22 other partners.

Source: Gizmag : Melody

Human Neurons Successfully Implanted Into Mice

It is now entirely possible to put parts of one species’ brain into another. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) recently published a medical research study which demonstrated how human embryo stem cell neurons can be successfully integrated with neurons from mice. The scientists grew the stem cell neurons along with those of mice neurons in a culture and then implanted that combined tissue into a living mouse’ hippocampus.

The mice neurons used had a specific trait. They were activated by light. The results of the study showed that the human neurons actually adopted this behavior. The human cells also functioned normally with the mouse’s nervous system after it was implanted.

Before you start imagining singing and tap dancing mice, take note that one of the aims of the study was to see if human stem cell neurons could be ‘reprogrammed’. This research could open up new methods for curing nervous system diseases such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s. Take out the defective neurons, grow and modify them, and put them back in.

South Korean Prison To Be Run By Robots

South Korean prison will introduce robot guards next year, and the guards will stand 150cm tall and will be introduced to the City of Pohang Prison in March of next year.

The prison has spent a total of $850,000 on these new robots, and the plan is that the human guards will spend more time rehabilitating the offenders, whilst the robot guards will do some of the more menial tasks like patrolling at night.

“The robots are not terminators. Their job is not cracking down on violent prisoners. They are helpers. When an inmate is in a life-threatening situation or seriously ill, he or she can reach out for help quickly.” said professor Lee Baik-chul of the South Korean Kyonggi University.

I wonder what the robots will look like, lets hope they don’t look like the original Terminator or the robots from iRobot.

Source Gigmodo

Air Propulsion Yacht

What a beaut!  Aguila Design’s Xi yacht uses a remarkable series of aero and hydrodynamic qualities to maximize steering ability, maneuverability, payload, and of course… speed!  Immediately apparent is the yacht’s unusual, spaceship-like, fluid shape- purely arisen from its functionality. The interior features unique, transformable spaces that are convertible at different levels to accommodate for varying numbers of crew and passengers as well as all the necessities for living a life of luxury at sea.