Fredsförhandlingarna om kriget i Syrien tog ett viktigt steg framåt när sidorna enades om grunderna för fortsatta förhandlingar.

En man i bil körde i kväll över en kajkant i Fiskebäcks hamn i Göteborg.

vinces99 writes "A substantial fraction of the Neanderthal genome persists in modern human populations. A new analysis (abstract) of 665 people from Europe and East Asia shows that more than 20 percent of the Neanderthal genome survives in the DNA of this contemporary group, whose genetic information is part of the 1,000 Genomes Project." Another study published today (abstract) finds that Neanderthal genes are present in some parts of our genome that we've found to be important. Some of the genes influence fertility skin pigment, and others actually increase our susceptibility to diseases like diabetes and lupus. The researchers are now taking these known genetic markers and seeing if they correlate with any other health conditions.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

This video is a conversation between Slashdot's Timothy Lord and informal OpenStreetMap spokesman Serge Wroclawski. Serge stresses the point that OpenStreetMap isn't a mapping application, but consists of the data behind mapping applications; that there are many apps that use OpenStreetMap data; and that you are free to use OpenStreetMap as the data engine behind a map-based application. You are also welcome, even encouraged, to contribute, and you may want to check out the OpenStreetMap Foundation, which is "an international not-for-profit organization supporting, but not controlling, the OpenStreetMap Project." Now comes the question: Do you really want Google or MapQuest or another commercial (or government) entity to know where you are and where you're going? With OpenStreetMap you can download maps of your area, country or even the whole world and keep your travels confidential. You can also help create accurate maps of the areas you know best, including points of interest chosen by actual users like you, not because they paid to have their names on a commercially-produced map. A last thought: In addition to watching Serge in the video, you might want to read an article Serge wrote for The Guardian about the need for OpenStreetMap. The 195+ comments attached to the article are interesting, too.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dave Winer is becoming a Node.js developer:

Now I have a server on an Amazon EC2 Ubuntu micro instance. It’s running my fargoPublisher prototype. I have a pretty smooth deploy method with a folder shared between my desktop and the server, and the Macintosh Terminal program. I can upload a changed version of the software and reload the app in a few commands, a few seconds.

It’s cool that, after all these years, Dave and I are developing on the same platform again.

* * *

Were I looking to run a contracting business (I most emphatically am not), it occurs to me that there might be a business in being the server-person-for-hire for other Mac and iOS developers. Knowing the client side of development so well would give me an advantage over people who know the server side only.

Take that as a hint. There are other people like me who know both worlds — maybe that describes you — and there are plenty of iOS and Mac developers whose apps need online services. Could be a good business.

En person befaras vara kvar i vattnet efter en olycka i Fiskebäcks hamn i Göteborg.

”Det finns inget bättre typexempel”.

Regeringens förslag: Mord bör ”regelmässigt” ge livstid.

Stängde i kväll ner den omskrivna sajten.

Lucas123 writes "In a report released today, Gartner predicts that the time is drawing near when 3D-bioprinted human organs will be readily available, an advance almost certain to spark a complex debate involving a variety of political, moral and financial interests. For example, some researchers are using cells from human and non-human organs to create stronger tissue, said Pete Basiliere, a Gartner research director. 'In this example, there was human amniotic fluid, canine smooth muscle cells, and bovine cells all being used. Some may feel those constructs are of concern,' he said. While regulations in the U.S. and Europe will mean human trials of 3D printed organs will likely take up to a decade, nations with less stringent standards will plow ahead with the technology. For example, last August, the Hangzhou Dianzi University in China announced it had invented the biomaterial 3D printer Regenovo, which printed a small working kidney that lasted four months. Apart from printing tissue, 3D printing may also threaten intellectual property rights. 'IP will be ignored and it will be impossible or impractical to enforce. Everything will change when you can make anything.' said John Hornick, an IP attorney."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A little over a year ago I switched my primary development platform to browser-based JavaScript. Fargo came out of that, and soon there will be Fargo 2.

http://static.scripting.com/larryKing/images/2014/01/29/enterpriseBig.gif

But we needed a solid back-end, and we didn't have one as of the end of the summer. It was obvious that it had to run in Node.js. I made a bunch of approaches, but it didn't come together until my longtime friend Brent Simmons gave me a Hello World server app in Node. That was what I needed.

Now I've been immersed in Node on Unix for the last few weeks. Last time I seriously used Unix was in the late 70s when I was a computer science grad student at UW-Madison. Unix is still the same, but the tools have developed, deepened. It's a little like time travel for me, having missed about 34 intervening years. ;-)

The Unix docs rarely put it together for you. I need to do X. Fumble around, and read a bunch of Stack Overflow pages, but I'm still not getting it. Or maybe I'm more acclimated to the client side, and I just have to develop stronger sea legs on server Unix. I'll let you know.

Dan MacTough, also a longtime friend, helped guide me through the Unix/Node setup. I started by reading the code he released on GitHub, and eventually we Skyped so I could ask a series of questions. Every answer saved me days.

Now I have a server on an Amazon EC2 Ubuntu micro instance. It's running my fargoPublisher prototype. I have a pretty smooth deploy method with a folder shared between my desktop and the server, and the Macintosh Terminal program. I can upload a changed version of the software and reload the app in a few commands, a few seconds.

I miss the easy setup I had in Frontier. I could have a table of scripts that all ran concurrently. They could attach themselves to a port and off we go. Servers were easy to write and deploy. I want that same smoothness on Unix.

Ideally I'd like a browser-based Node app that let me manage a list of concurrently running Node apps. A checkbox next to each enables or disables (load or unload as necessary). Stats about each app, how long it's been running, how many hits its taken, etc. I want it to "just work" of course. ;-)

I'm also considering various hosted setups. But I like having my own server. I'm trying to do it without a GUI interface, all through web interfaces and the command line.