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Google Doodle Pays Tribute to Zoologist Dian Fossey

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Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the birthday of Dian Fossey, American zoologist best known for her study of gorillas. Google Doodle pays tribute to zoologist Dian Fossey Image: Google Fossey studied gorilla groups over the period of 18 years in Africa, founding the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda. A lot of her work consisted of preventing the killing of gorillas by poachers; after one of her favorite gorillas named Digit was killed, she founded the Digit Fund with the purpose of raising money for anti-poaching patrols. Fossey was killed in her cabin in 1985; the perpetrator was never found. Fossey’s life was fictionalized in the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist (based on Fossey’s book of the same name), starring Sigourney Weaver. The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two Golden Globes. Top 10 Animated Google Doodles The Christmas Google Doodle Each package gets larger with a mouse-over, and a click on it returns search results pertinent to a specific country or the particular items featured in a scene. This one is from December 24, 2010. Charlie Chaplin Google Doodle The Google Doodle team stars in an homage to the silent film era’s greatest star’s 122nd birthday, April 15, 2011. Google Logo Repelled by Cursor This one’s done in HTML5 and was published Sept. 7, 2010. To get the full effect, here’s one you can interact with. John Lennon Google Doodle This Doodle commemorated John Lennon’s 70th birthday in October 2010. Martha Graham Debuting May 10, 2011, this Google Doodle marks dance choreographer Martha Graham’s birthday. Robert Bunsen Commemorated the birthday of the inventor of the Bunsen burner, German chemist Robert Bunsen on March 31, 2011. Thomas Edison The great inventor’s birthday was honored on February 11, 2011. Independence Day Marking Independence Day 2010. Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary A real crowd pleaser was this playable Pac-Man game, which appeared on May 21. 2010. Here’s a playable version. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/01/16/google-doodle-dian-fossey/

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American Ebola Patient: ‘I Am Growing Stronger Every Day’

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Dr. Kent Brantly was serving as medical director for the Samaritan’s Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia when he tested positive for Ebola, the organization says.Image: Facebook Samaritan's Purse An American patient who was diagnosed with Ebola and airlifted to the United States for treatment has released his first statement since the ordeal began. Doctor Kent Brantly, an American aid worker from North Carolina, said in a statement Friday he is “growing stronger every day.” He was infected with the Ebola virus while working for U.S. aid group Samaritan’s Purse at a Liberian hospital that treated Ebola patients. Post by Samaritan’s Purse. He released the statement from the isolation unit of Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital where he is being treated. There is no known cure for Ebola, and Brantly is being treated with an experimental serum. Brantly thanked those who have been praying for his recovery, and said his focus remains on following God. The full statement: I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible. I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy and for the people of Liberia and West Africa. My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital. One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror first-hand, and I can still remember every face and name. When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him. Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same – to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God’s call on our lives in these new circumstances. BONUS: The Ebola Outbreak: What You Need to Know window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#appId=116628718381794&xfbml=1&status=1&cookie=1″,”facebook_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/08/american-ebola-patient/

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Ukraine Crisis Close to Civil War, Russian Foreign Minister Says

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Russian’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Havana, Cuba, on April 29, 2014.Image: Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes the crisis in Ukraine is bordering on civil war, and he wants to know if American mercenaries are partly to blame. “When Ukrainians kill Ukrainians, I believe this is as close to a civil war you can get,” the Russian diplomat said to Bloomberg’s Ryan Chilcote in an interview that aired Wednesday morning in the United States. Lavrov then questioned German media reports of American mercenaries at work in Ukraine in the interview. “I sent a message through our ambassador to Washington asking [they] respond to these assertions in the German media,” he said. “Rumors to this effect were spread before and John Kerry rejected them. Now they popped up again and we would like to see whether this is true or not,” he said. German media had reported there were 400 elite mercenaries working alongside the Ukrainian military to fight the pro-Russian separatists laying siege to eastern Ukraine. The rumors of American mercenaries at work in Ukraine last surfaced in a statement on the Russian foreign ministry’s website on April 8. U.S. contractor Academi (formerly Blackwater) denied the accusations at the time. “Academi is not taking part in any operations in Ukraine, and in the future this is not planned,” a spokesperson for the company stated. White House spokesperson Jay Carney called the rumors “bogus,” and the American ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said they were “rubbish.” Dozens have been killed in recent weeks as pro-Kiev forces square off with pro-Russian rebels in a number of east Ukrainian cities. Rebels in two of them — Donetsk and Luhansk — held referendums on Sunday in which residents there voted for autonomy from Ukraine’s central government. A number of Russian and eastern Ukrainian officials have been sanctioned by U.S. and European Union officials for their alleged roles in the unrest. Watch the full interview on YouTube: Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/05/14/ukraine-civil-war-lavrov/

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Google Announces Plans to Fight Illicit Trading Networks

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Google’s taking on an ambitious global initiative — using technology to expose, map and disrupt illicit networks of drug smugglers, arms dealers and human traffickers. The tech giant is hosting its second annual summit, this time called the Illicit Networks: Forces in Opposition (INFO), in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday. The INFO summit will focus on how technology can expose and disable these illegal networks. In attendance will be tech leaders, Googlers, government officials and survivors. Google says it’s been working with frontline fighter groups to gain an understanding of how these criminal trades function. The summit is part of Google Ideas — the “think/do tank” the company launched in Oct. 2010 to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems. The search giant wrote in a blog post Tuesday that it plans to take on illicit networks, expanding from its first challenge, counter-radicalization. Included in the conversations of these networks, are organ harvesting, arms trading and drug smuggling. Google hosted a Summit Against Violent Extremism one year ago, bringing together former right-wing extremists, jihadists, gang members, militants and survivors. The illegal trade of goods is no small problem, representing a trillion-dollar industry and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives annually. This year’s summit is a joint initiative from Google, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Council on Foreign Relations. Google cites a 2003 U.N. estimate that the illegal drug trade alone is worth $320 billion, totaling more than the gross domestic product of 88% of countries. It also points to the more than 50,000 causualties of the ongoing drug cartel war in Mexico over the past five years. As for specific ways Google plans to use technology to disrupt illicit networks, we’ll have to wait until the conference concludes to find out. Google doesn’t highlight any particular technologies it’s using to try to bring an end to criminal business activities. Do you have any ideas about how Google can use technology to expose illegal practices? What would you like to see come out of this summit? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/17/google-drug-cartels/

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Watch This Human-Like Robot Endure Crazy Obstacles

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In what looks like a robot scene pulled from The Terminator, a government agency has released a video of a search-and-rescue robot that can do everything from climb stairs to crossing narrow passages The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — which is a part of the U.S. Department of Defense — uploaded the video to YouTube to bring attention to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). The contest is looking for robots who can maneuver and assist during dangerous and disaster relief situations. The winning team will be rewarded $2 million. The robot in the video — which is called Pet-Proto and is the predecessor to DARPA’s Atlas robot — undergoes a series of obstacles similar to what robots will face in the challenge. The robot has decision-making abilities to determine the best route to go, when to jump and what to avoid. Do you think robots like this will be the future of search and rescue missions? How would you like to see robots used? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 5 Household Robots For Easier Living 1. Neato XV-11 In a market where consumers have plenty of vacuum robots to choose from, the Neato XV-11 really stands out. Unlike many, the Neato doesn’t need to bump into a wall to know it’s there. Rather, it maps out the room before deciding a path to take. Its nimble movements prevent it from scratching your furniture while cleaning room after room. We were fond of the charging plate that sits against the wall, instead of protruding from it. Price: $399.99 2. iRobot Looj 330 Featured once before on Mashable, the Looj is a gutter cleaning bot. From the makers of the popular Roomba, this relatively small robot sits in your gutter and uses augers and brushes to remove leaves and other clutter. You’ll need a ladder to position Looj, but once it’s in place you won’t need to do more than press a button. Price: $299 3. Robomow Forget spending money on gas to fill your lawn mower, and eliminate the pain that comes with pushing one. Robomow is the only robotic mower on the market that mulches your lawn for a professional-looking cut. Simply install wire around your lawn’s perimeter — then the robot will cut your grass on a schedule that you set. Price: From $1,000 4. Windoro WCR-I001 Attached to your windows by four large magnets, Windoro cleans windows small to large. With adjustable magnets, you can fit the window cleaner bot to single or double pane windows. Price: $539 5. Nanda Home Tocky We included the Nanda Home Tocky not only because it’s cute, but because we can all agree that waking up can be a chore. Once the alarm goes off, this robot jumps from your nightstand and starts rolling away from your bed. What’s worse than having to chase your alarm clock around your bedroom? Realizing you forgot to buy coffee. Watch a video of Tocky in action here. Price: $69 […]

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Thousands flee homes as Australian wildfires rage

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Image: Scott James Murphy via Facebook SYDNEY — Thousands of Australians fled their homes, as wildfires raged across the nation’s south on Saturday, with firefighters struggling to contain the blazes fanned by strong winds. Six homes were destroyed by the fires in South Australia and Victoria states, officials said, though no serious injuries have been reported. Dry conditions and temperatures in the upper 30s Celsius (around 100 degrees Fahrenheit) were causing headaches for firefighters battling the blazes. Officials said it would likely take days to get the fires under control. ‘Fire Cloud’ Thankful that the fire hasn’t gone in our direction but feeling for all those friends who had to evacuate and for the towns in the firing line. Have spent a lot of time in Kersbrook, Cudlee Creek etc and it’s just horrible to think what they are facing today. A photo posted by Ben Goode (@benjamingoode) on Jan 1, 2015 at 2:38pm PST The worst of the fires was in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, where the flames had destroyed five homes, and put hundreds of others at risk, state Country Fire Service spokesperson Daniel Hamilton said. Residents of 19 communities had been asked to evacuate, as a predicted shift in the winds later Saturday prompted fears the flames could worsen. Here are some more photos of the fire damage at my grandparents’ property in Lower Hermitage. #SAFires pic.twitter.com/9oovJnC6wz — AliciaMelville-Smith (@alicia_ms) January 3, 2015 The forecast was also calling for increased humidity, which could slow the fire’s progress Saturday night, Hamilton said. “There should be no sense of relief because the temperatures are somewhat lower, or that there are spots of rain about,” South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill told reporters in Adelaide. “The situation remains extremely dangerous, and our warnings that were issued earlier today must be heeded.” South Australia Police also urged people near out-of-control bushfires to “implement their survival plans,” after the state declared an emergency. Flew in to #Adelaide over the #SAFires today. Huge fire front out window, hope all r ok. pic.twitter.com/Sd98ubBeY8 — Guy Tunbridge (@Guy_Tunbridge) January 3, 2015 Up to 2,000 firefighters were battling the blazes across the state from the ground and the air, with more than a dozen aircraft dumping water onto the flames. A photo posted by Morne Saffieboy de Klerk (@photolifemorne) on Jan 1, 2015 at 2:47am PST Six firefighters were treated for minor conditions, mainly smoke inhalation, Country Fire Service Chief Officer Greg Nettleton said. Post by Scott James Murphy. In neighboring Victoria state, firefighters had controlled more than 300 fires since Friday, with only one still considered a danger. One home was destroyed in the blaze in the western Victoria town of Moyston, state Country Fire Service spokesperson Mario Xuereb said. Humbug Scrub fire Adelaide Hills. Still not in control at 2105hrs pic.twitter.com/Gou4lMpY2H — Stan Jezioranski (@Stanjez) January 2, 2015 A shift in the weather Saturday afternoon was expected to bring light rain, wind and lightning to the area, which could exacerbate the blaze. The […]

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Chill Out With This Soothing Voyage Across Antarctica

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It may feel like summer in many cities across the U.S. today, but a cruise through the southernmost place on Earth is never out of season. Chill out with this beautiful timelapse footage through Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Happy Friday, folks. BONUS: Travel the World With These 10 Time Lapse Videos 10 Time-Lapse Videos From Around the World 1. Lake Tahoe This shot of Lake Tahoe by user tlapse is a beautiful capture of Sierra Nevada. 2. Vancouver City This time-lapse of Vancouver City is a collaboration between Innerlife Project and TimeLapseHD. 3. New York City Shot by Mindrelic, this captures some of the best spots across New York City. 4. Ko Olina Beach A day on the beaches of Hawaii, shot by tonnes, sounds pretty good right about now. 5. Edinburgh This was jgolian’s first shot at time-lapse photography, and we think his capture of Scotland’s capital is pretty great. 6. Panama Canal From the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean, this time-lapse journey by radiofreebc rides through the Panama Canal onboard a cruise ship. 7. Crater Lake In the span of a day, user Dan Heller captured a stunning view of Crater Lake, including a crescent moon, the Milky Way and Jupiter. 8. Moscow Next on the list is Moscow, Russia’s capital, captured by user 22zweizwei. 9. Antarctica YouTube user Antzarctica spent a year creating this time-lapse of Artarctica, in and around the McMurdo Station and Scott Base. 10. Las Vegas This time-lapse, shot by user Asianjma123, captures 2 nights and 3 days in sin city. Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/05/10/timelapse-antarctica-video/

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‘The Internet’s Own Boy’ Is a Powerful Homage to Aaron Swartz

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PARK CITY, Utah — The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz received a standing ovation at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival this week just a few days after the one-year anniversary of the web pioneer’s death rattled the Internet. The documentary by Brian Knappenberger (known for directing We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists about the online hacktivist group Anonymous) closely follows the rise and fall of computer programming prodigy and Reddit co-founder Swartz, who emerged as one of the top advocates for Internet freedom and education. In high school, Swartz helped launch the web’s first RSS feeds, founded Creative Commons and ultimately co-created Reddit, before it was sold to Conde Naste in 2006. Most recently, he helped push forward the successful grassroots opposition to SOPA. Although Swartz’s legacy has been widely discussed, especially following his suicide in early January 2013 while facing federal prosecution, the The Internet’s Own Boy shows an intimate, harrowing side to the story that intertwines home footage and interviews with some of his closest friends and family members. The film was funded on popular crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter and raised nearly $100,000 from about 1,500 backers. Those close to Swartz have long attributed his suicide at age 26 to his indictment on federal charges for stealing millions of documents from MIT and scientific journal and article archive JSTOR. Even though JSTOR dropped the charges, the government allegedly told his family they were proceeding to “make a statement out of him” and deter other hackers from gaining access to information in a similar way. The film begins by chronicling Swartz’s brilliance that surfaced at a very young age. He taught himself how to read at age 3, built an ATM machine for a school project in elementary school and began building websites soon after. By age 14, he served on the coveted RDF Core group at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and his respected peers were some of the smartest thinkers in the Internet space, including Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. As his mother simply puts, “people listened to him like he was 40.” With the help of experts, The Internet’s Own Boy makes a clear argument: Swartz unjustly became a victim of the rights and freedoms for which he stood. Much of the film centralizes on the incidents related to the federal charges and the toll it took on his mind, shared through stories by his ex-girlfriends, brothers and parents. It’s these interviews that bring real depth to the film: Swartz wasn’t just an advocate and headline story — he was a son, a brother, a companion. One of the most captivating interviews of the two-hour film comes from his ex-girlfriend Quinn Norton, who details in tears her decision to speak to federal officers during Swartz’s investigation. The film compels you to root for Swartz, who helped the web forward but also wanted to keep it an open place for greater information. However, little light was shed in the […]

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Watch the Famous NYC Pride March From Around the World

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You don’t have to travel to New York City this weekend to experience the NYC Pride March. On Sunday, June 29, the city streets will welcome the march, and Mashable has your front-row seats. We’ll be providing coverage, commentary and interviews live from the march route. Tune in right here on Mashable or via the livestream on the Mashable YouTube page beginning Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET for interviews with Orange Is The New Black‘s Laverne Cox, Frozen‘s Jonathan Groff, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Rea Carey and Kinky Boots‘ Natalie Joy Johnson, among many others attending the march. Influencers and advocacy groups around the world will also join the event remotely through the power of Google+ Hangouts on Air to share their inspiring stories and efforts. The month of June commemorates the Stonewall riots, which took place in New York City in June 1969. Now 45 years later, Pride Month is often observed and celebrated across the U.S. through LGBT Pride marches. To follow the march through social media, keep up with all the action with the #PrideCast hashtag. BONUS: 5 LGBT Influencers Share Their Proudest Moments Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/06/27/nyc-pride-march-livestream/

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This Is What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Mars

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On Thursday, Mars’s Gale Crater was treated to a fantastic sight: a partial solar eclipse. An eclipse very similar to the kind we’re used to seeing from here on Earth, but with the sun blocked, in this case, by a different moon: Phobos, one of the two moons that orbit Mars. Fortunately for us, Curiosity was there to take a picture of Phobos’s transit. Also fortunately for us, as well, Curiosity took precautions to protect its vision as the transit took place. (As NBC’s Alan Boyle put it: “You wouldn’t want Curiosity to blow out its camera on Mars.”) So, to capture the image above, the rover’s Mastcam used a neutral density filter that protected Curiosity’s imaging system in the same way that can be seen from some point on Mars pretty much every day. And it will be only be a year before a transit can be seen again from the Gale Crater. But the relative commonality of the Martian eclipse doesn’t compromise its splendor. And Curiosity isn’t the first rover to capture that view. Below, via Bad Astronomy, is amazing video sent back by Opportunity in November 2010: the sun, eclipsed by one of Mars’s meandering moons. In Defense of Waze, Which Doesn’t Put Police in Danger Introducing the Supertweet Beware the Drone Laws The App Economy Is Now ‘Bigger Than Hollywood’ This article originally published at The Atlantic here Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/17/mars-solar-eclipse/

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