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Aug
30

NOVA scienceNOW : 46 – Diamond Factory, Anthrax Investigation, Auto-Tune, Profile: Luis von Ahn

Diamond Factory – 02:15 A blindfolded Neil deGrasse Tyson is led to a top-secret “diamond farm” to investigate breakthroughs in the engineering of artificial diamonds. Indistinguishable from the real thing, these glittering creations may one day adorn more than ring fingers. They could replace silicon transistors in everything from supercomputers to high-speed electric trains. Anthrax Investigation – 16:50 Amazingly, researchers were able to trace the strain of anthrax used in the deadly 2001 attacks to its source flask. How? By relying on a revolutionary technique that highlights key mutations in a microbial strain. In the future, such genetic fingerprinting can help pinpoint source microbes responsible for everything from food-borne poisonings to deadly health epidemics. Auto-Tune – 31:00 NOVA scienceNOW talks to the engineers behind Auto-Tune, the pitch-correction software that turns sour notes into sweet ones. Professional musicians from Madonna to Snoop Dogg use Auto-Tune, but can the software turn host Neil deGrasse Tyson into a singing star? Profile: Luis von Ahn – 37:55 Growing up in Guatemala, where his family owned a candy factory, computer scientist Luis von Ahn seemed like your average video-game-addicted, TV-watching kid. But von Ahn is now heralded as one of the brains behind CAPTCHA, the world’s most ubiquitous computer security program. He is also a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he works to combine the best skills of humans and computers

4 comments

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  1. fattonysullivan says:

    Neil’s effin’ awesome!

  2. jamespgarner1 says:

    Neil is the man!

  3. schinkdiesel says:

    I will never give Neil a dislike! I’m with Neil!!!

  4. eche1492 says:

    super cool show. funny only 110 views. only in the USA.

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