Thursday, December 20, 2007

12-20-07

Starting January 7th, Jon Stewart & Steven Colbert will be ad libbing on Comedy Central. In other words, their shows will be back on the air, but without any writing staff.

ABC & NBC have shuffled their January schedules again.

Harvard researchers have developed a microchip that can detect traces of cancer circulating in the bloodstream. This will help with treatment decisions, diagnosis, and provide more intact cells for researchers looking for a cure.

Under pressure from RIAA, Congress is looking at removing the exemption and making radio stations pay performers of the music they play (they currently only pay songwriters). Satellite radio and internet radio already pay this. It looks like it will be quite a fight, the radio stations are already asking Congress to reexamine the way recording contracts are written.

Toshiba has made a small, self-contained nuclear reactor that can power a city block for up to 40 years. They will install the first one in Japan next year (with Europe and the US to follow). I guess off-the-grid communities have more options now, but it seems strange.

UC Davis researchers have established a date for the formation of the solar system: 4,568 million years ago, plus or minus 2.08 million.

Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Army of Darkness, etc...) has been named director for The Hobbit.

Borders has an exclusive for the Stardust dvd. It is $3 more than the regular version and includes a 10 page book with Charles Vess drawings (sketches and a painting) from a new edition of the graphic novel. Neil Gaiman's blog has a preview of the cover & comments from Charles Vess.

Researchers now believe that the moon is 30 million years younger than previously believed.

Again, absolutely nothing new on TV tonight.

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