The British government has warned citizens to not visit the Caribbean due to the approaching Hurricane Dean and now the space shuttle Endeavour could be moved forward by 24 hours due to the hurricane growing in strength in the Caribbean, a NASA official said.

Storms are categorized on a scale of 1 – 5 and Dean has intensified to a 4. It’s winds are now flying at 215 kilometres per hour.

US space officials are concerned that if the hurricane veers toward the Texas coast, where the Johnson Space Center is located, it could affect the spacecraft’s landing.

The shuttle is currently scheduled to return to earth on Wednesday.

Reference for posting: http://www.nst.com.my

In another step to make us that cool Sci-Fi civilization of the future, Scientists have developed an artificial plastic blood which could act as a substitute in emergencies.

The artificial blood is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body.

Hopefully the blood will be a huge advantage in war zones as it is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool and can be kept for longer. It could also be fairly inexpensive to produce.

A sample of the artificial blood prototype will be on display at the Science Museum in London from 22 May as part of an exhibition about the history of plastics.

Now all we need are robot doctors to administer the plastic blood.

Reference for posting: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Think paying $800 for a Series3 HD TiVo box just to record your favorite Sci-Fi shows is insane? You are not alone. Consumers weren’t exactly excited about coughing up that much $$$ for the Series3 and TiVo sales have slumped. In fact, TiVo just reported a Q4 net loss of $18.7 million.

With products like Apple TV and a Windows Vista CableCARD coming out soon, TiVo has to do something before they are quickly beamed out of the digital living room.

So what’s their solution? Just make it cheaper I guess. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers had this to say in his quarter results commentary: “We will be highly focused this year on launching a lower-priced, mass appeal High Definition product.”

That vague quote doesn’t exactly guarantee a cheap HD TiVo during 2007, but hopefully they can come up with something during the next 9 months. Whatever they are going to do, they better do it quick. I already pre-ordered an Apple TV and if it lives up to expectations, my Series2 TiVo will be making a brief cameo on eBay before it leaves my living room.