Top of the hacks
Hackers now have their own league table. British electronic security group mi2g has started releasing a monthly list of hacks carried out around the globe. Top of July鈥檚 table comes 鈥渉ax0rs Lab鈥�, who perpetrated 706 attacks, nearly three times as many as second-placed 鈥淐yb3r Attack鈥�.
Hit-and-miss
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This week will see the fifth test of the US鈥檚 controversial National Missile Defense programme. Its aim is to create a system capable of intercepting missiles en route to targets in the US. In tests so far the system has proved less than reliable, scoring two hits and two misses.
Net profit
Online music lovers could turn out to be the saviours of the music industry, rather than its scourge. A survey conducted by US analysts Forrester showed Internet music piracy is not responsible for the 15 per cent drop in music sales in the past two years. The study instead blames economic recession and competition from DVD sales, and says with the right marketing, online sales could generate an additional $2 billion in revenue.
Mind reader
NASA is developing sensors to measure the brain waves of passers by. 杏吧原创s from the agency told security experts at Northwest Airlines that the sensors could be used in airports to detect passengers who 鈥減otentially might pose a threat鈥�.
Is it a bird?
Tests of a hypersonic jet engine have been declared a success. The supersonic ramjet or 鈥渟cramjet鈥� fired briefly during a 10-minute flight over the Australian outback, according to programme leader Allan Paull at the University of Queensland.
For a lovely shiny coat鈥�
Horse shampoo has emerged as the cleaning fluid of choice for scientists working on the eight-metre mirror that鈥檚 part of the Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii. 鈥淲e鈥檝e found the combination of the natural sponges and horse soap to be the most efficient way to get the mirror surface completely clean,鈥� said technician Clayton Ah Hee.