The Evening Standard (London, England) back issues from October 2008:
This month in Odyssey.(Science Scoops)
Oct 01, 2008; ... HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE "kissing robot" created by the Japanese company Sega Toys? That's right, for $175 you can buy a 15-inch humanoid robot that puckers up and delivers a kiss when a human comes close. During a demonstration in Tokyo last June, "she" also walked and danced. Are you ...
The real iron man.(Science Scoops)(exeskeleton)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A wealthy businessman invents a suit of power armor and becomes a superhero. This comic book story just came out in May 2008 as the movie Iron Man. Now, science is catching up to fiction. A robotic suit called XOS, short for exeskeleton, invented by ...
This product tested by robots!(Science Scoops)(Kalypsys robot)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Were any animals harmed in the making of your toilet cleaner? Unfortunately, the answer probably is "yes." That's because the most common way to determine the safety of chemical solutions is to test them on creatures like mice or rabbits. After observing ...
Lasers vs. lightning.(Science Scoops)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Do you wish you could look at the sky and command lightning?. Scientists sure do. This flashy force of nature is tough to tame; just ask Benjamin Franklin, who probably didn't fly a kite in a thunderstorm, but did invent the first lightning rod. Brand new super powerful (and portable) ...
Cocky cockroaches.(Science Scoops)(insbots)
Oct 01, 2008; ... In movies and TV shows like Terminator, Battlestar Galactica, and even Transformers, robots disguise themselves as people or everyday objects in order to blend in. Now, a group of scientists at the Free University of Brussels have created robots that can do exactly that, only these robots ...
Help! Robo-buddies through the ages.(Science Scoops)
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE ACCEPTED DEFINITION OF A ROBOT IS: A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control. To be a robot, a machine must sense and react to some feature in its environment (for example, light or heat) to accomplish a specific task (such as vacuuming the ...
Say hello to helper robots.(Cover story)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last spring, Honda's ASIMO robot conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Toyota has a Violin-playing Robot, and Tokhuro University scientists in Japan have designed a Partner Ballroom Dance Robot. These 'bots aren't after your spot in band or ...
Crawls, creeps, swims, or flies: robots go wild!
Oct 01, 2008; ... Wouldn't it be great if a robot could fly like a bird, crawl up a wall like a spider, or swim like a fish? Scientists and engineers have long sought to mimic the efficiency of plants and animals. For example, Velcro's inventor, George de Mestral, got his idea for the innovative fastener by ...
Robo-speak!
Oct 01, 2008; ... Robots come in all shapes and sizes, and fascinate people all over the world. Some seem human, while others look like creatures from another planet. Some are built for intelligence, others for strength or speed. Wouldn't it be great if robots could tell us about their lives? Unfortunately, ...
Your very own robot!(IT'S A CONTEST!)
Oct 01, 2008; ... Mark Cutkosky, creator of StickyBot, has some advice for ODYSSEY readers. "Robotics is still a fairly new field, so there are many discoveries waiting to be made by creative young minds. Go watch some animals and get inspired, like Leonardo da Vinci. Then go to the library and ...
Robo-buddies on the final frontier: an interview with robotics researcher Rachel Kirby.(People to Discover)(Interview)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lieutenant Commander Data has two jobs on TV's Star Trek: The Next Generation. His main job is chief operations officer aboard the starship Enterprise-D. His second, and much harder job, is to get along with people. Data is an artificial life ...
Get me my glasses, please.(People to Discover)
Oct 01, 2008; ... The nurse's fiery red lipstick makes her stand out as she attends to her many patients. She reminds John to take his medicine and helps Lucy with the painful task of opening a jar with her arthritic hands. Sensing where she is needed next and zipping from patient to patient throughout the ...
Bears of Syria Planum.(Short story)
Oct 01, 2008; ... A dying soldier once told THEO that Mars was the color of butterscotch pudding, a favorite dessert from his childhood on Earth. Mars, though, he said in his last breath, was no more a treat than the robot was a teddy bear. THEO975 extract Soldier 7900JH149. Coordinates 13.1.01S, ...
Robots to the rescue.
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On August 6, 2006, 16 coal miners working 1,500 feet underground in the Crandall Canyon mine in Emery County, Utah, felt the earth shift and buckle beneath them. Coal shafts below and around them heaved and walls bulged. A low rumble quickly exploded into ...
Space station jam.(Brain Strain)
Oct 01, 2008; ... You've been circling above Earth in the International Space Station for months. It's 2020, and one day during a space walk you discover a painted, metallic object stuck to a crucial module. Using your space suit's robotic arm designed for utmost precision, you carefully peel away the ...
Welcome to the Robo-Builders lab: construct three helping robots that really work.(Activity to Discover)
Oct 01, 2008; ... They can boost your grades at school, help you get dressed in the morning--even fetch you a snack when you get hungry! They're helping robots, and now you can build them yourself. But don't worry; you don't need to have a fancy robotics lab to assemble these moving, smart machines. Here's ...
Raise your hand! Robots go to school.(Providing Education by Bringing Learning Environments to Students)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you were sick and had to miss months of school, what would you miss most? For Michael Fenn, age 11, it was being with his friends in class and hanging out and having a snack together. Michael couldn't attend class for almost a complete school year. But ...
Smoke detectors: in this annual contest, robotic technology is catching fire ...(Kids Can ... Do Amazing Science)(Home Fire Firefighting Robot Contest)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] There's a fire burning somewhere in the house. A firefighter is racing from room to room to discover the fire's source before it can spread. Found! Suddenly, a powerful blast from the firefighter's equipment extinguishes the blaze. ...
Star chart.
Oct 01, 2008 ... This monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the Moon) as it appears at 7:00 p.m. (your local daylight-saving time) on Oct. 15. Useful all month (except for planet positions), the chart is also accurate for 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 1 and 5:00 p.m. (your local standard time) on Oct. 31. ...
The farthest thing you can see with the naked eye.(Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer)(Cartoon)
Oct 01, 2008; ... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW STARGAZERS! HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT THIS ...? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WELL, DON'T BE FOOLED, BECAUSE EVEN WITH THE NAKED EYE YOU CAN SEE 10 MILES AWAY, AND EVEN FARTHER! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WE CAN SEE THE ...
Teen power!(YOU'VE GOT MAIL!)
Oct 01, 2008 ... In the March 2008 "Poop! What a Waste!" issue, we showcased the Cave of Crystals in northern Mexico, where immense crystals grow. When we asked whether the cave should continue to be drained to let visitors in to see the crystals, or if the draining should be stopped to allow the crystals ...
Splish, splash!(Ask Dr. Cy Borg)(Column)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dear Dr. B, My name is Christopher, and I did a science experiment on "The Effect of the Height of a Water Balloon on the Size of Its Splash." I found that as the height of the water balloon increased, the size of the splash increased as well ....
Boomerang! Rats, snakes, and spiders.(Animal Angles)
Oct 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] These critters are usually right at the top of the Least Loved List. In fact, some people actually have disorders called herpetophobia (abnormal fear of snakes and other reptiles) or arachnopbobia (abnormal fear of spiders). Are you among them? Or do you ...
By a whisker.(Animal Angles)(rat whiskers)
Oct 01, 2008; ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although the Norwegian rat, Rattus norvegicus, is often used to describe all things despicable, their whiskers are pretty clever. According to Chris Schroeder, a researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University in Chicago, ...
Barnsley kid breaks age record
Oct 01, 2008 ... REUBEN NOBLE-LAZARUS last night became the youngest player tofeature in a Football League game when he went on as an 84th-minutesubstitute at Ipswich. The Barnsley striker, aged 15 years and 45 days, made his debutas a substitute to break a record shared by Bradford's ...
THINGS WILL GET BETTER ; Cameron: I have faith in British peoplePressure grows on PM over bank crisis
Oct 01, 2008; ... DAVID CAMERON today told Britons fearful of a deepening economicdisaster: "We will come through." The Tory leader struck a defiantlyoptimistic tone in his keynote party conference speech, saying therewere "better times" ahead. "I know we are in difficult times but I'mnot anxious because ...
Role model: children dressed as Mahatma Gandhi
Oct 01, 2008 ... Role model: children dressed as Mahatma Gandhi join a peace marchin Amritsar today as millions prepare to celebrate the birthdaytomorrow of the ...
Court rules last czar was a political martyr ; WORLD IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... RUSSIA'S Supreme Court today declared the last czar, murderedwith his family, to be a victim of political repression. Thedecision by the presidium, the highest appeal panel, ends years ofefforts ...
121 seized in Spain over internet child porn ; WORLD IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... AT LEAST 121 people have been held in Spain's biggestinvestigation into internet child pornography. Millions of imagesthat show child sex abuse were seized in a series of nationwideraids, which ...
Sniper suspect: I was just picking mushrooms ; WORLD IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... A FRENCH crime boss today denied shooting an inmate as heexercised in a prison yard. Heroin runner Sghair Lamiri, 29, waskilled on Sunday by a sniper on a hill overlooking Varces- Grenoblejail. Marcel Egea, 58, admits being ...
'Extinct' white lions return to natural habitat ; WORLD IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... AFTER 16 years of extinction in their natural habitat, threewhite lions have been born in South ...
Sam tastes life on the council estate
Oct 01, 2008; ... SAMANTHA CAMERON took a break from the Tory party conference inBirmingham today to visit a council estate. The Conservative leader's wife went to Welsh House Farm to see asocial project that aims to keep young people away from crime andimprove community spirit. Mrs Cameron ...
I'm ready to lead us out of bank crisis says Cameron ; Speech aims to persuade public that he is a man to be trusted
Oct 01, 2008; ... DAVID CAMERON today set out to turn the economic crisis to hisadvantage by promising "better times" for Britons. The Tory leader was giving a defiantly optimistic message in hiskeynote speech to the Conservative conference this afternoon. In contrast to Gordon Brown's strategy ...
Britain heads for full recession as services and industry feel crunch
Oct 01, 2008; ... BRITAIN today stood on the brink of full-blown recession as theeconomy showed signs of buckling under the global financial crisis. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed theservices sector, which makes up more than three-quarters of theeconomy, failed to grow for ...
Wilko knee dislocation could let in Cipriani
Oct 01, 2008; ... DANNY CIPRIANI has been presented with the chance of an immediatereturn to the England squad following Jonny Wilkinson's latestinjury setback. Wilkinson is likely be out for several weeks after a scan todayrevealed he has dislocated his left knee, almost certainlyeliminating him ...
Prudish America censors Gilbert and George show ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... THE LAND of the Free is tightening the screws of censorship oncontroversial artists Gilbert and George. The oddball Turner Prizewinning pair, who met at Central St Martins school of art and stilllive in Spitalfields, are to open a new exhibition at the BrooklynMuseum in New York on ...
JEREMY Paxman's done it again. The University ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... JEREMY Paxman's done it again. The University Challenge quiz-master posed the question to the Bristol University team "A treewith reddish brown wood, a revolutionary born in 1783, a Genoeseexplorer and a zero degrees parallel of latitude all give theirnames to countries in which ...
NO SIGN of Lord Archer at the Tory conference ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... NO SIGN of Lord Archer at the Tory conference. Instead he is inBerlin on a five-day holiday. Not ...
PRESENTER Steve Hewlett, reading a trail for... ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... PRESENTER Steve Hewlett, reading a trail for his new Radio 4series The Media Show on the Today programme this morning, trippedover his words at the end and concluded by calling it a "brand newspanking show". Much merriment in the studio over ...
IT'S not only Gordon Brown who has a big ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... IT'S not only Gordon Brown who has a big tent. Cherie Blair,Hazel Blears, Charles Clarke, Derek Draper and Trevor Phillips haveall been spotted at the Tory conference. Draper was with ...
Forgotten and forgiven ; The Londoner's Diary
Oct 01, 2008 ... LADY Thatcher put in an appearance at Jennifer Hart's PoetryEvening at the British Library last night to hear poems by RudyardKipling. She seemed not to balk when the two actors reading the poems Kenneth Cranham and Dominic West declaimed from Kipling's anti-warEpitaphs of the ...
Scots could step in for Euro finals
Oct 01, 2008 ... SCOTTISH Football Association officials are eager to step intothe breach if Poland and Ukraine are stripped of the 2012 EuropeanChampionship finals. The Polish government suspended their country's footballfederation on Monday for allegedly failing to address corruption ...
Brown pressed over [pounds]1.1 trillion savers guarantee
Oct 01, 2008; ... GORDON BROWN was under growing pressure today to clarify whetherhe would offer a [pounds]1.1 trillion safety-net for all savers. The sense of uncertainty over the Government's response to thefinancial crisis came after Irish ministers announced a blanketguarantee scheme for its ...
BA chief condemns Tory 'confusion' on Heathrow
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE Tory plan to refuse a third runway at Heathrow "beggarsbelief ", British Airways chief Willie Walsh said today. In the most savage attack on the Conservatives by a businessleader to date, the BA chief executive said the party's aviationpolicy was "all over the ...
Wall: It's all systems go for Premio Loco
Oct 01, 2008; ... PREMIO LOCO has pleased trainer Chris Wall in his final gallopbefore Saturday's Totesport.com Cambridgeshire. The gelding, who is 6lb well-in on offical ratings, will bepartnered by jockey George Baker in the [pounds]160,000 1m1fhandicap. Premio Loco has shortened into 10-1 ...
China cleared over age of golden girls
Oct 01, 2008 ... CHINA have been cleared of claims that five of their gymnasts atthe Beijing Olympics were underage. There were reports that He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, ...
Best hit by hefty ban
Oct 01, 2008 ... NORTHAMPTON forward Neil Best was today handed an 18-week ban byRugby Football Union disciplinary chiefs. The Ireland internationalcannot play again until 28 January next year. Best admitted illegally making contact with the eye of Wasps andEngland back-row star James Haskell with ...
Lovelorn Lumpur the lonely tiger and a [pounds]5 million problem at the zoo
Oct 01, 2008; ... ROMANCE does not come cheap at London Zoo. At a cost of [pounds]5million, the zoo's tigers are to get a new home in the hope it mightfinally encourage them to breed. A public appeal is being launched to raise the funds to replacethe current tiger paddock. It is too small, ...
Army was put on standby after 21/7, Menezes jury told
Oct 01, 2008; ... ARMY units were put on standby across Britain in the wake of thefailed 21 July London bomb attacks, the Jean Charles de Menezesinquest heard today. Scotland Yard chiefs put soldiers on alert as they launched amassive manhunt for those behind the terrorist attacks. Seniorofficers ...
[pounds]7m winners 'will still work at care home'
Oct 01, 2008; ... NINE care home workers today said they will continue working forjust [pounds]6 an hour after scooping more than [pounds]7 million onthe lottery. The nine usually buy Lotto tickets but last week decided to playEuroMillions for the first time, landing a huge share of ...
Cameron's pitch for hard times
Oct 01, 2008 ... AFTER a Tory conference characterised primarily by sobriety,Conservative leader David Cameron today attempts to strike a moreoptimistic note. Shadow ministers have done their best to reflect nationalanxieties about the economy. But Mr Cameron in his address to theparty today, ...
Gang steals giant crane left overnight in lay-by ; NEWS IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... THIEVES have stolen a large crane from a lay-by on the A10.Workmen left the 18-metre trailer and its 14-metre crane sectionnear the ...
New threat rises on the eastern front ; Biggest danger to English dominance of European game could soon come from Eastern clubs like Chelsea's hosts tonight CFR Cluj. By Tom Collomosse
Oct 01, 2008; ... AT first glance, there seems little in common between ChampionsLeague veterans Chelsea and Romanian debutants Cluj, but a closerexamination reveals just as many similarities as differences betweenthe clubs. No matter what Luiz Felipe Scolari may say, it will be a majorshock if ...
Shopkeeper confronts samurai sword robber ; BEAT KniFE CRIME
Oct 01, 2008; ... THIS is the moment a heroic shopkeeper fought off a robberwielding a Samurai sword and locked him in a cupboard. Drug addict Andrew Speed, 18, slashed at Rameshkumar Rasiah withthe 18-inch blade screaming: "I'm going to stab you, I'm going tokill you." But the brave worker chased ...
Widow: We can't confront gangs
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE WIDOW of a father-of-two who was stabbed to death afterchallenging a gang today criticised calls to stand up to unrulyyouths. Veronique Masosa was speaking after shadow home secretary DominicGrieve said he wanted to end the "walk on by" culture. Mrs Masosa's husband ...
Cardinal Newman to lie in state before beatification
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE remains of Cardinal Newman likely to be the first non-martyred Englishman to become a saint since before the Reformation are to lie in state during the run-up to his beatification, it wasannounced today. John Henry Newman will be exhumed from his grave at Rednal ...
HBOS gets a boost as PM backs Lloyds bid ; FINANCE
Oct 01, 2008; ... SHARES in Halifax owner HBOS jumped more than 35% today after thePrime Minister once again threw his weight behind its takeover byLloyds TSB and a top shareholder said it would back the deal. Fears had been growing that the rescue takeover by Lloyds mightbe rejected by both sets of ...
Icelandic bailout worries High Street ; CRISIS IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... ICELAND saw its second big bank bailout in week today asLandsbanki sold its European investment banking businesses to rivalStraumur-Burdaras for EUR 380 million. Landsbanki was a prime moverbehind ...
UniCredit plan fails to halt shares fall ; CRISIS IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... FEARS rose about the future of Italy's biggest ban k, UniCredit,as its shares continued sliding despite a plan to shore up financeswith a sale of property assets. The bank unveiled its plan today tosell real estate ...
Bankers join the board at Britannia ; CRISIS IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... BRITANNIA building society today appointed two senior bankers toits board as the credit crisis threatened to spread further acrossthe finance industry. It has recruited Stephen Kingsley, the formerhead of ...
Banks face tighter rules in EU plan ; CRISIS IN BRIEF
Oct 01, 2008 ... EUROPEAN Commission heads today unveiled a plan to hugelyincrease the capital banks will have to provide to ensure theirfinancial strength. Measures include tighter regulatory oversight oflenders and curb ...
Bank of England in new $30bn bid to ease the agony ; CREDIT CRUNCH
Oct 01, 2008; ... THE Bank of England today nearly doubled the amount of emergencydollars it is pumping into the banking system but it failed to easethe frozen money markets. The $30 billion ([pounds]16.7 billion) injection available tobanks for one week came on top of the $40 billion ploughed in ...
Market turmoil scuppers [pounds]5bn Xstrata bid for Lonmin ; MINING
Oct 01, 2008; ... FINANCIAL market turmoil has scuppered Xstrata's [pounds]5billion bid for platinum miner Lonmin. Xstrata had until tomorrow afternoon to decide but said it didnot intend to pursue the takeover. In a dawn raid aimed at scuppering rival bids, Xstrata chiefexecutive Mick Davis ...
Fayed beats crunch with a [pounds]30 million Harrods dividend ; RETAIL
Oct 01, 2008; ... DON'T mention the credit crunch to Mohamed Fayed he may not knowwhat you're talking about. The Harrods owner was able to pay a[pounds]30 million dividend to subsidiary companies he controls thisyear, so well is the giant department store faring. The latest accounts filed with ...
Riches to rags at Hardy Amies ; RETAIL
Oct 01, 2008; ... DRESSMAKER to the Queen Hardy Amies was a step closer to goingbust today after talks to find a saviour failed. The shares were suspended last week as the company revealed itsdifficulties and said it was "considering options" and awaiting"clarification of the company's financial ...