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			<title>GlobalSpec - Engineering News - Today's Headlines</title>
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			<description>GlobalSpec - Engineering News - Today's Headlines</description>
			<copyright>Copyright 2006</copyright>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:08:02 EST</pubDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Large Hadron Collider reboots, makes first protonic bang!]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10830%2FLarge%2DHadron%2DCollider%2Dreboots%2Dmakes%2Dfirst%2Dprotonic%2Dbang]]></link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:08:02 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that most epic triumph of human engineering and physics research has finally taken place, and strangely enough our planet&apos;s still in one piece too. The search for the Higgs boson particle resumed yesterday, somewhere under the Franco-Swiss border, with the CERN research team successfully executing what the LHC was built to do -- accelerating proton beams to nearly the speed of light, then filming the wreckage as they crash into each other. Having encountered a number of bumps in the road, the researchers have had to significantly scale down the energy at which their early collisions will take place, with the very first ones said to have happened at 900 billion electron volts. Still, plans are afoot for an imminent shift up to 1.2 trillion electron volts (TeV), which would be the highest energy level any particle accelerator has achieved yet, before a ramp up to 7 TeV over the coming year if all goes well.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Astronauts to Spend Last Day At Space Station (SPACE.com)]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10825%2FAstronauts%2Dto%2DSpend%2DLast%2DDay%2DAt%2DSpace%2DStation%2DSPACE%2Dcom]]></link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:18:04 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[SPACE.com - The crew of the shuttle Atlantis plans to spend today wrapping up work at the International Space Station (ISS) in preparation for departure tomorrow.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Beams Collide in Big Bang Machine]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10826%2FBeams%2DCollide%2Din%2DBig%2DBang%2DMachine]]></link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:18:03 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Engineers operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have smashed together proton beams in the machine for the first time.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[British Car Aims for 1,000mph Record]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10827%2FBritish%2DCar%2DAims%2Dfor%2D1%2D000mph%2DRecord]]></link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:18:03 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[British engineers are gearing up for an attempt on the world land speed record with a vehicle they believe will be capable of 1,000mph. The design for the Bloodhound SSC - SuperSonic Car - is now complete. Built from aerospace-grade aluminium, it is based on a 14-foot hybrid rocket and a jet engine from the Eurofighter Typhoon. A third engine pumps fuel through to the rocket.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[For Search, Murdoch Looks to a Deal With Microsoft]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10828%2FFor%2DSearch%2DMurdoch%2DLooks%2Dto%2Da%2DDeal%2DWith%2DMicrosoft]]></link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:18:02 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[The News Corporation, the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has engaged in early stage discussions with Microsoft about an agreement under which Microsoft would pay the company to remove its news content from Google&apos;s search engine, according to a person briefed on the matter who spoke anonymously to discuss confidential negotiations.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Spain mandates affordable broadband for all]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10820%2FSpain%2Dmandates%2Daffordable%2Dbroadband%2Dfor%2Dall]]></link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:28:02 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Spanish officials said earlier this week that the government will require service providers to offer broadband with speeds of at least 1 Mbps at regulated rates to residents living anywhere in the country. The Spanish telecommunications minister issued a statement Tuesday declaring that broadband would be added to the country&apos;s so-called &quot;universal service,&quot; which guarantees reasonably priced telephone service to citizens, Reuters reported. The goal is to offer affordable broadband with speeds of at least 1 Mbps to residents by 2011. To achieve this goal the Spanish government will require any service provider that gets universal service funds to also include broadband services to any home as part of its service. Last month, Finland&apos;s minister of communications announced a similar plan. By July 1, 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a 1 Mbps connection. While the 1Mbps speeds don&apos;t sound like much, Spanish and Finnish officials say it&apos;s just the beginning. They hope this speed will serve as a starting point. And they believe that network operators will increase speeds over time. Finland has already established aggressive public policies in place to encourage more ubiquitous and faster broadband deployments. In 2008, the Finnish government said it would pay a third of the cost to wire the country with fiber by 2015. These mandates come at a time when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is drafting a national broadband policy that outlines a plan for policies to help provide universal broadband to every American. The plan will be presented to Congress in February 2010. In a report this week to the FCC, the task force working on the national broadband policy highlighted several barriers to universal broadband, including problems with the U.S. Universal Service Fund. But taking action to change the system is difficult. The U.S. Universal Service Fund subsidizes the cost of building telephone infrastructure throughout the country in places where it is too expensive to deploy such services. Much of the money from this fund, which is collected from consumers as part of their monthly phone bills, is still being used to subsidize regular telephony service. Many policy makers and government officials say the program needs to be revised to include broadband. And the funding mechanism also needs to be revised. While many consumer advocates believe the U.S. government should take a more active role in directing policy in way similar to what is happening in Finland and Spain, it&apos;s important to note that the U.S. is a much larger country by population and geography than either of these countries. To put it in context, Finland has about 5.3 million residents, compared to more than 300 million people who live in the U.S. Developing and funding universal broadband access in the U.S. will cost anywhere between $20 billion and $350 billion, according to government estimates. That said, establishing a clear policy road map could help pave the way to truly affordable high speed Internet access everywhere in the U.S.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Indian engineer invents device to stop rampaging elephants]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10815%2FIndian%2Dengineer%2Dinvents%2Ddevice%2Dto%2Dstop%2Drampaging%2Delephants]]></link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:18:03 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Zachariah Mathew&apos;s Violent Elephant Control Gear has been designed to provide a humane alternative to sedating the animals, which are often used in religious festivals and are revered in Hinduism. &quot;During these festivals sometimes the animal is not well and might not be feeling comfortable but he can&apos;t express his feelings to you, so he will react,&quot; said James George, from Mathew&apos;s firm Senzo Engineering, in Mumbai. &quot;People close by fire sedative shots. They don&apos;t want to kill the animal but just bring it under control. Due to panic and fear, instead of one or two shots, they fire three, four, five, six and the animal gets an overdose.&quot; Mathew&apos;s device involves attaching a fibreglass box weighing six to eight kilogrammes (13 to 18 pounds) to one of the elephant&apos;s back legs. At the first sign of the animal turning violent, the mahout or elephant driver can activate the battery-operated device by remote control, sending a nylon belt contained inside to wrap around the tusker&apos;s other hind leg. &quot;The elephant is a very clever animal. He knows he won&apos;t be able to move. He won&apos;t fall at a great speed that may damage his leg. There&apos;s no problem,&quot; George, the firm&apos;s marketing manager, told AFP. Trials have been conducted successfully in Mathew&apos;s home state of Kerala, in south India, where elephants are also used in agriculture, said George, expressing hope the device will be sold across India and the world.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Scientists engineer greener plastics]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10816%2FScientists%2Dengineer%2Dgreener%2Dplastics]]></link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:18:03 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[South Korean scientists have engineered new plastics -- without using fossil fuel based chemicals. A team of South Korean scientists have produced the polymers used for everyday plastics through bioengineering, rather than through the use of fossil fuel-based chemicals. It is believed that the technique may now allow for the production of environmentally-friendly plastic that is biodegradable and low in toxicity. The research focused on Polylactic Acid (PLA), a bio-based polymer which holds the key to producing plastics through natural and renewable resources. Polymers are molecules found in everyday life in the form of plastics and rubbers. &quot;The polyesters and other polymers we use everyday are mostly derived from fossil oils made through the refinery or chemical process,&quot; Professor Sang Yup Lee, who lead the research, said in a press statement. &quot;The idea of producing polymers from renewable biomass has attracted much attention due to the increasing concerns of environmental problems and the limited nature of fossil resources. PLA is considered a good alternative to petroleum-based plastics, as it is both biodegradable and has a low toxicity to humans.&quot; Until now PLA has been produced in a two-step fermentation and chemical process of polymerization, which is both complex and expensive. The team used a metabolically engineered strain of E. coli and developed a one-stage process.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Astronaut Self-Portrait]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10817%2FAstronaut%2DSelf%2DPortrait]]></link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:18:02 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Some time during a six-hour space walk last week, astronaut Robert Satcher managed to capture this shot of himself...via himself. Today, the STS-129 will be completing their third and final spacewalk.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Cheap 3D Solar Cells Are 6x More Efficient, Work Underground]]></title>
			<link><![CDATA[http://www.globalspec.com/Goto/GotoWebPage?gotoType=engnews&rss=1&gotoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcr4%2Eglobalspec%2Ecom%2Fblogentry%2F10813%2FCheap%2D3D%2DSolar%2DCells%2DAre%2D6x%2DMore%2DEfficient%2DWork%2DUnderground]]></link>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:58:06 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology have created the world&apos;s first 3-D photovoltaic solar system that actually works underground. Using optical fibers common to the telecommunications industry, researchers seeded them with zinc oxide nanostructures--much like the white stuff found on a lifeguard nose. Those nanostructures were then coated with a dye-sensitized material that converts light into electricity. The electricity is then captured using a liquid electrolyte surrounding the nanostructures. So only the very tip of the cable needs to be exposed to actual sunlight.]]></description>
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