NASA's GL-10 Goes Vertical

No, this picture is not photoshoped.  That really is a drone aircraft with 10 engines installed.

This strange beast is the NASA GL-10 or Greased Lightening and before you ask the question

"is NASA crazy?" I have to explain that those engines on the GL-10 are electric and they have such a radical amount of torque that the plane can haul itself off the ground straight up!

Brought to us by engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center, this wild unmanned drone has only a 10 foot wingspan which means it has lift, speed and maneuverability in excess.  One feature that being incorporated into the GL-10 test bed is extended range.  Greased Lightening is a hybrid instead of a pure electric.  GL's fuselage contains two small 8 hp diesel engines pushing alternators which charge the engine's batteries.  This cuts down on battery weight without the sacrificing range. 

Read the complete article in Extreme Tech HERE 

 

Britain gives nod for animal-human hybrid embryos

Has anyone listened to episode 46 of Beam Me Up? (www.beameup.podomatic.com) in this episode we have a story called "Of Mice and....." by Australian writer Shaun A. Saunders where he takes us to a future where human animal hybrids are common. The story is eminently disturbing. But if you think it's far future sci-fi.....well Shaun sends me this ABC news article to frighten us just a bit more. Here is an excerpt... read this...click the story....and then go listen to Shaun's story...

-Britain cleared the way for scientists to conduct experiments using hybrid animal-human embryos after the government bowed to protests from researchers who said a proposed ban could hurt their work. Scientists want to use the hybrid embryos to find cures for illnesses such as Parkinson's, stroke and Alzheimer's.-

The article goes into more detail, which is all very exciting medical research, one that I really hope succeeds, however, listen to Shaun's story for a frightening possibility of where this could go, without proper control.