Xiaonei, the Facebook of China, raises $430M — better as FB

Xiaonei, the company that likes to call itself the “Facebook of China” has raised a whopping $430 million from financial backers, VentureBeat has learned from the company’s investors. The backing gives it a larger financial warchest than Facebook itself, and sets the scene for a showdown with the American company. Facebook has just started to get s

Mukesh Ambani's $2 bn home world's most expensive

The 27-storey skyscraper being built in Mumbai by Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in India, could be the world's largest and costliest home with a price- tag nearing two billion dollar, according to Forbes magazine.

Harvard's baby brain research lab

Scientists are conducting experiments that reveal not only that humans are born with a range of innate skills, but that our prejudices are formed within the first few months of life Great philosophers have mused for millennia about human consciousness and how it makes sense of its surroundings. Like any good scientist, Spelke has

Colossal Squid Revealed: First In-Depth Look [PICS]

The giant was caught by a fishing boat off the coast of Antarctica in February 20007. At 26 feet (8 meters) long, it is believed to be the largest squid ever captured. Experts froze the animal, a female, soon after its capture to preserve it for study, here are the exclusive pictures.

Spitzer's rise, fall to be published in new book

Not wasting any time! A little more than a month after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation, Penguin Group imprint Portfolio will be publishing a book about his career "from start to finish," president and publisher Adrian Zackheim told CNN.

Physicists Build a Quantum Gambling Machine

Physicists have realized a quantum gambling machine using optical elements. From a helium-neon laser, a polarizer generates a single photon in a definite polarization state (horizontal or vertical). Then, Alice uses half wave plate 1 to transfer the definite state into a superposition state to alter the probability of the photon’s destination.

Former Democratic leader switches to Obama

A leader of the Democratic Party under Bill Clinton has switched his allegiance to Barack Obama and is encouraging fellow Democrats...

Shipwreck loaded with treasure found off Namibia

Geologists searching for diamonds have stumbled upon a shipwreck loaded with gold and silver coins, ivory and cannons to fend off pirates.

Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes expected to be out until July

Guess who just joined Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada on the disabled list?

Baby birds babble like human infants, ...

...a discovery that sheds new light on why younger people are more creative. This adds to evidence that young animals are born with circuitry to make them explore the possibilities of their vocal apparatus and to make sense of the world. This idea that there are circuits in the brain that drive exploration is also exciting

GM Says Americans Won't Give Up SUVs, But They'll Plug Them

Bob Lutz says the future of the automobile can be summed up in two words: Proportion and propulsion. That's a snappy way of saying big cars aren't going anywhere, but at least they'll be electric.

Are gadgets killing the internet?

Tethered appliances' are stifling the innovation that led to the rise of the world wide web, argues academic and author Jonathan Zittrain

I will love you guys thiiiiiis much if you don't move (Pic)

Clinton to O'Reilly: "Rich people, God bless us."

America's favorite working-class hero reminds us of her $109 million post-White House windfall in this revealing moment on Falafel Bill O'Reilly's teevee show. (Plus a bonus clip!)

Users of the first social network at a party 1989

A slice of cyberculture history: Over twenty years ago, people who met online began to meet in person at the WELL office in Sausalito. These interviews are from a WELL party, 1989.

CEOs Rake It In, While Their Companies Tank

Being a CEO these days is like playing on a kiddie soccer team; everyone gets a prize... even the worst player.

People of Lesbos take gay group to court over term 'Lesbian'

Three islanders from Lesbos - home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women - have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.

Gotcha! Olbermann Rips Apart Bush Economy Speech [with video

Last night on "Countdown," Keith Olbermann ripped apart President Bush's speech on the economy, fact-checking each claim and dismantling Bush's case point-by-point.

Virtual Reality for Flies Puts Humans in Control

Life for lab flies just got more interesting, thanks to an interactive virtual-reality system developed by Swiss and US researchers. They have built a wind tunnel for flies with changing scenes or images projected onto its walls. A camera tracks the fly in 3D, making the images move in response to it flying around inside.

Lipstick May Be an Economic Indicator

After the terrorist attacks of 2001 deflated the economy, Mr. Lauder noticed that his company was selling more lipstick than usual. He hypothesized that lipstick purchases are a way to gauge the economy. When it’s shaky, he said, sales increase as women boost their mood with inexpensive lipstick purchases instead of $500 slingbacks.

New Sootiest City in U.S.

A city outside California has for the first time been named the sootiest in the nation, one of the categories the American Lung Association uses to determine the most polluted cities in the country.

iPhone is now the most popular camera phone

5 Megapixel phones from Nokia and Sony are no match for the growing popularity of the iPhone....and this is before 3G!

Report: Trainer Claims He Passed FBI Polygraph on Clemens

A Houston-area trainer, Shaun Kelley, who once employed Roger Clemens' stepsister says he took and passed a polygraph test administered by the FBI, which included questions of whether he knows Clemens and whether he's ever given the seven-time Cy Young Award winner performance-enhancing drugs.

Dang Obama is Popular

Wow.

BREAKING: Woman believed to be 'D.C. madam' kills herself

A woman police believe to be convicted Washington escort service operator Deborah Jeane Palfrey committed suicide officials said Thursday...

Peter Dreier: Sidney Blumenthal Uses Former Right-Wing Foes

anti Obama attacks by Clinton surrogate

Video of the motorized R2-D2 projector in action (omg)

"We knew that there was a motorized, fully-articulated R2-D2 projector with built-in DVD, iPod dock, all kinds of digital media inputs, and Millennium Falcon remote control, but we never—EVER—imagined it would be so amazingly drooltastic as this video shows." I can't believe this. *must*resist*buying*impulse*

17 comedic actors who moved into dramatic television roles

There are those in the industry who say that it is easier to go from acting in a drama to acting in a comedy than it is the other way around. Yet, as you will see, there are plenty of comedic actors who have jumped from the world of comedy films, stand-up comedy, and television sitcoms into the more serious world of drama.

Bacon Vodka? Yeah, it tastes about like you'd expect.

Imagine if you started storing your dog's Beggin' Strips inside your Stoli bottle. For a year. Think you'd feel inclined to take a shot afterward? Surprisingly, some people would.

Data Centers Are Becoming Big Polluters, Study Finds

The world’s data centers are projected to surpass the airline industry as a greenhouse gas polluter by 2020, according to a new study by McKinsey & Co.

Italian tax details posted on web

Privacy watchdogs have ordered the Italian authorities to block access to every Italian's personal tax details.This comes after they were published on the internet and made available for almost 24 hours. Without warning, the tax authority posted on its website every tax payer's declared earnings and tax paid.

Super Bowl generated $500 million for Arizona

We should have one every day to combat the recession...

Six New Technologies to Hit 35 MPG Without Hybrids

There are six new engine technologies that, if implemented, could improve efficiency enough to seemingly get us all the way to CAFE 35 MPG by 2020 goal. Some are currently being phased in, others may still be a few years away, but they're coming.

Dell's new Vostro, crippled by monumental keyboard screw up

Truly unbelievable cock up by Dell. Brand, spanking new Vostro 1310, almost completely unusable due to keyboard mis-alignment. Did I get a faulty unit or are they all like this?!

3 Year Old Wins Statewide Minnesota Mullet Competition

Frankly I don’t know what is more suprising. 1) Three-year-old Brady Arneson rocking one of the finest mullets I have ever seen. 2) Minnesota has a statewide mullet contest. 3) Brady’s older brother won first place in the mullet contest back in 2005.

25 Rejected Ideas From Grand Theft Auto IV

A game called Grand Theft Auto IV came out a couple of days ago (you can Google it). It took years to make and reportedly cost $100 million. We don't know what ideas came and went during development, but we're betting some of them were pretty retarded.

Deluded SCO CEO on witness stand: “Linux is a copy of UNIX”

Darl McBride entered a courtroom to assert his rights regarding legacy System V code, which he still contends exists within Linux. This despite years of discovery turning up zero evidence to support the assertion. Ars reports from the scene of the Novell v. SCO trial.

War on Drugs Destroys Yet Another Family

SAN DIEGO - A woman who escaped from a Detroit prison 32 years ago has been arrested in San Diego, where she was married with three children and living under a false name, authorities said. The decades-old drug charges are from when she was just 19.

U.S. has Nelson Mandela on terrorist list

Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing," and some members of Congress vow to fix it.

OMFG! For me?!?