About | Stop The Cyborgs. SIRI RISING: The Inside Story Of Siri's Origins -- And Why She Could Overshadow The iPhone. The world got its first inkling of the quick wit that would make Apple’s Siri an icon during a packed press conference held before an auditorium of tech elite. "Who are you? " an Apple executive asked the assistant. “I am a humble personal assistant,” Siri answered to appreciative laughter. More like humbled personal assistant. That press conference was actually Siri's second coming-out party. When the virtual assistant first launched in early 2010, it was a standalone iPhone app called Siri created by a 24-person startup with the same name, a company Apple would later acquire. Back then, Siri boasted an even more irreverent tone -- and a more robust set of skills. Ask it about gyms, and Siri sent back a mocking, “Yeah, your grip feels weak.” That was before Apple washed Siri’s mouth out with soap and curbed many of its talents, even as it endowed the assistant with new gifts.
Siri's backers know Apple's version of the assistant has not yet lived up to its potential. Siri's co-founders. Hubble Telescope Photographs Potential 'Comet of the Century' NASA's iconic Hubble Space Telescope has snapped stunning new photos of Comet ISON, which could become one of the brightest comets ever seen when it zips through the inner solar system this fall. Hubble captured the new photos on April 10, when Comet ISON was slightly closer than Jupiter.
At the time the icy wanderer was about 386 million miles (621 million kilometers) from the sun and 394 million miles (634 million km) from Earth. The new images are already helping astronomers take a bead on the mysterious Comet ISON, which may shine as brightly as the full moon when it makes its closest pass by the sun in late November. (The comet poses no threat to Earth, NASA has said.) [Photos of Comet ISON in Night Sky] For example, the Hubble telescope photos show that ISON is already becoming quite active, though it's still pretty far from our star.
The comet's dusty head, or coma, is about 3,100 miles (5,000 km) wide, and its tail is more than 57,000 miles (92,000 km) long, astronomers said. DNA Extraction. At 40,000 times thinner than a human hair, our DNA isn't usually much to look at. But if you're curious about your genetic material and don't happen to own an electron microscope, a simple experiment can give you a glimpse of life's instruction manual. All you'll need is water, dish soap, food coloring, table salt, rubbing alcohol and your mouth. The video above, from the PBS science series NOVA, leads you step by step in a do-it-yourself DNA extraction, with scientific asides along the way telling you how, for example, "soap breaks down the cell membranes, releasing the DNA. " When you're done, you'll be left with a stringy, whitish goop—strands of DNA. So how does the DNA appear, seemingly out of nowhere? Loading Slideshow Create plasma with a grapeDON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: A carefully cut grape in a microwave can create superheated gas if you set things up just right.
Universe Neil Tyson. In an interview with Time magazine, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked the question: "What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe? " The famed scientist and author gives an answer that is perhaps as eloquent as it is mind-blowing; as beautiful as it is sublime. It's best to hear Tyson's response in the video, but his answer is perhaps best revealed in one particular quote: "We are part of this universe; we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the universe is in us," he explains. "Many people feel small because they're small and the universe is big, but I feel big," he says. In the clip above, video editor Max Schlickenmeyer ties the insights together with breathtaking visuals to create a powerful representation of the science behind Tyson's answer . Learn more about Tyson's revelation by watching the video above and the full interview below.
WATCH: Time magazine's interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson: