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May 4, 2007 A computer model designed by a mathematician at the University of Liverpool has shown that it is possible to make objects, such as aeroplanes and submarines, appear invisible at close range. Scientists have already created an ‘invisibility cloak’ made out of ‘metamaterial’ which can bend electromagnetic radiation – such as visible light, radar or microwaves – around a spherical space, making an object within this region appear invisible. Until now, scientists could only make objects appear invisible from far away. Liverpool mathematician Dr Sébastien Guenneau, together with Dr Frédéric Zolla and Professors André Nicolet from the University...

The number of applications to Yale declined 9.7 percent from the class of 2010 to the class of 2011, while the number of minority applications declined 7 percent.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2006 -- Military children interested in helping Santa this year have until Nov. 21 to submit their application to participate in the first “Top of the World Toy Summit” at the North Pole. America Supports You and Operation Homefront, with the support of Wal-Mart, are facilitating this “meeting of the minds” Nov. 29, to help Santa ensure kids around the world have a fun-filled holiday season. Operation Homefront will select 20 servicemembers’ children from applications received through its Web site to serve as “ambassadors of fun” during the summit to be held in North Pole, Alaska,...

ECONOMIC REPORT Mortgage applications fall even as rates plunge Purchase loans sink to lowest in nearly three years By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch Sep 27, 2006 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Unmoved by a big drop in interest rates, the volume of applications for mortgages at major U.S. banks declined 4.9% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted number of applications for purchase loans fell 5.5% on a week-to-week basis, to the lowest level since November 2003. The number of refinancing applications decreased by 4.1%.

Recently, I overheard an IT professional complaining about her users. Veronica's company has 300 employees, many of whom would have been called "paper pushers" in an earlier era. Some of those employees download software and install it on their computers, and it often causes havoc for the support staff. Veronica's specific rant was about screensavers (some of which carry a payload of spyware, making it a security issue as well as a support problem), but it could have been any sort of application. Veronica had looked at a $10,000 hardware solution, but even that required 10 hours a week for...

9/11 staff report focuses on immigration Hijackers' visa applications were incomplete - A new report from the now-defunct Sept. 11 commission details the lax controls on immigration and customs that the hijackers exploited to carry out their plot. The report, compiled by the commission’s staff, says 13 of the 19 hijackers applying for visas presented passports that were less than three weeks old, yet their visa applications were met with no increased scrutiny. Two of the hijackers, the report said, lied on their applications “in detectable ways” but were not questioned about those lies. And all 19 of the hijackers’...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of Americans applying for a loan to buy a home and those looking to refinance their homes dropped last week, according to an industry survey, but demand for refinancings remained robust. Improved consumer confidence as the war in Iraq ends may prop up demand for loans to buy homes that has waned in recent months. The Mortgage Bankers Association of America said on Wednesday mortgage applications fell for the sixth straight week. But demand for refinancings -- a lifeline for the struggling economy because they have encouraged spending -- remained very high. "We are...