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All Tech Considered
1:46 pm
Fri February 8, 2013

Twitter's Vine App Raises Questions About Social Media Age Restrictions

Credit NPR
Vine now has a 17+ rating in the Apple App Store, but is it enforceable?
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By Lizzy Duffy

Originally published on Fri February 8, 2013 3:01 pm

Vine, Twitter's new microvideo-sharing app for the iPhone, this week added a 17+ rating, saying that the app "contains age-restricted material." The change came after some users uploaded pornographic clips onto the app, which features 6-second (or

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Technology
1:16 pm
Fri February 8, 2013

Automakers Drive Towards Hydrogen Cars

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By editor

Toyota and BMW have formed an alliance to work on fuel cell cars. So have Daimler, Ford, and Nissan, with hopes of having cars on the road by 2017. But why now, and what obstacles still stand in the way? Jennifer Kurtz discusses the current state of hydrogen fuel technology.

NPR Story
12:57 pm
Fri February 8, 2013

Tracking Privacy and Ownership In An On-Line World

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By editor

Originally published on Mon February 11, 2013 1:03 pm

Transcript

JOE PALCA, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY; I'm Joe Palca. Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched? These days if you're not careful, your phone knows where you are, and there's a good chance somebody else does, too. Or you've noticed that the ads on sites you visit are starting to look a little too personalized, like how did they know I was planning a vacation to New Orleans.

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The Two-Way
9:04 am
Fri February 8, 2013

Bush Family's Emails Hacked; Probe Underway

Credit Matt Slocum/Pool / Getty Images
Former presidents George H.W. Bush (left) and George W. Bush at a 2010 World Series game in Arlington, Texas.
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Originally published on Fri February 8, 2013 9:35 am

A Smoking Gun report about the hacking of several email accounts belonging to members of presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush's family and some family friends has prompted a criminal investigation.

The Houston Chronicle says that Bush family spokesman Jim McGrath confirmed an investigation is under way, but declined further comment.

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The Two-Way
12:44 pm
Thu February 7, 2013

What Nations Were The Most Forward-Looking In 2012?

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Credit Suzy Moat and Tobias Preis
The Future Orientation index shows a strong correlation between Internet activity and its gross domestic product. Countries in blue are deemed forward-looking.
Credit Suzy Moat and Tobias Preis
A chart ranks countries whose Internet users were more likely to seek information about the future than the past, based on Google searches.
Credit Suzy Moat and Tobias Preis
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Originally published on Thu February 7, 2013 10:16 pm

Germany was the world's most future-oriented country in 2012, followed by Switzerland and Japan, according to the "Future Orientation Index." Researchers found that in Germany and 10 nations last year, more people used Google to search for "2013" than for "2011."

The 11 countries represent a gain over 2011, when only seven countries had as many searches for the upcoming year as for the prior one.

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The Two-Way
3:21 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Mothra? No, It's Just A Robot Exoskeleton Controlled By A Moth

Credit Institute of Physics
That's a moth controlling that robot. But don't worry.
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Originally published on Wed February 6, 2013 9:24 pm

What could go wrong?

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All Tech Considered
3:05 am
Wed February 6, 2013

Using 3-D Printers To Make Gun Parts Raises Alarms

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Credit Courtesy of Defense Distributed Dev Blog
This AR-15 rifle's lower receiver (in soft green color) was produced with a 3-D printer. The 3-D printing industry has criticized the use of the technology for gun part making.
Credit Jae C. Hong / AP
A 3-D desktop printer on display at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas demonstrates how designs are translated into plastic objects.
Credit Courtesy of DEFCAD
This is a computer-generated design for a vital part, called a lower receiver, of the AR-15 rifle. The design can be used to make the part on a 3-D printer.
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By editor

Originally published on Wed February 6, 2013 2:48 pm

You may have heard about 3-D printing, a technological phenomenon that uses a robotic arm to build objects one layer at a time. As people get imaginative and create items in a one-stop-shop fashion, one more creation has been added to the printing line: gun parts.

On the West Side of Manhattan, behind large glass windows, a dozen 3-D printers build plastic toys and jewelry. Hilary Brosnihan, a manager at 3DEA, an events company that sponsored a print pop-up store, says things are moving rapidly.

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