…Human Error and the Mars Probe, RFID for Branding People, Alcohol and Mutant Genes, and More.

Belated Christmas Gift Idea: Buy a Country
But buyers beware: The world’s smallest country is a wartime fort perched on two concrete towers in the North Sea.

The self-proclaimed sovereign principality of Sealand, built atop a World War II artillery platform, is on the chopping block for $977 million.

Built by the British Navy in 1941 in international waters off the coast of Harwich, England, the approximately 1,800-square-foot steel platform was abandoned after WWII.

Then Paddy Roy Bates, along with his family, occupied the structure in 1967 and proclaimed its sovereign principality, dubbing himself and his wife prince and princess of the island. In 1974, Roy of Sealand introduced a constitution, and a flag, currency, national anthem and official passport followed.

Of late, the platform has been home to an offshore Internet company. Spanish property firm InmoNaranja is listing the property as a micronation. This is your opportunity to play out your Bond villain fantasies.

Invisible RFID Ink Safe for Branding Cattle, People
Somark Innovations announced this week that it successfully tested biocompatible RFID ink, which can be read through animal hairs, on cattle and laboratory rats. The passive RFID technology could be used to identify and track cows to reduce financial losses from mad cow disease scares, according to Tech Web.

Somark’s process involves a geometric array of micro-needles and a reusable applicator with a one-time-use ink capsule. It takes five to 10 seconds to “stamp or tattoo” an animal, and there is no need to remove the fur. The ink remains in the dermal layer, and a reader can detect it from 4 feet away.

The start-up company hopes to license the technology to secondary markets, which could include laboratory animals, dogs, cats, prime cuts of meat, and military personnel. Because people just love to be branded like cattle.

Speaking of Tracking People…Spy Coins
The Defense Department is warning its American contractor employees about a new espionage threat: It discovered Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters hidden inside.

In a U.S. government report, it said the mysterious coins were found planted on U.S. contractors with classified security clearances on at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006 as the contractors traveled through Canada, Tech Web reports.

The U.S. report doesn’t suggest who might be tracking American defense contractors or why. Moreover, it doesn’t describe how the Pentagon discovered the ruse, how the transmitters might function or even which Canadian currency contained them.

Man Pays Library Book Fine: 47 Years Overdue
Robert Nuranen checked out “Prince of Egypt” as a ninth-grader. That was in 1960. He found the book last week at the bottom of a box in the attic while looking for family archives, returned to Hancock High School in Michigan the following day, and returned the book to an understandably stunned librarian.

The library had long ago lost any record of the book, librarian Sue Zubiena told The Associated Press. Nonetheless, Nuranen cut a $171.32 check.

The book’s last due date was stamped June 2, 1960.

Mutant Gene Influences Craving for Alcohol
(Possession of Adamantium Claws?)
Researchers have discovered a mutant gene that influences craving for alcohol. The researchers believe the finding could have important implications for identifying at-risk drinkers, as well as for selecting the best treatment for a patient’s dependence.

According to Reuters:

The gene mutation involves a cell structure called the mu-opioid receptor. In previous studies, this receptor has been shown to bind beta-endorphin, a pain-relieving chemical the body releases in response to alcohol intake and other stimuli. Further research has shown that when the gene variant, or the “G allele, is present, the receptor binds to beta-endorphin more strongly than when the more common “A allele” is present.

Though not discussed in the research, perhaps this new alcohol-mutant gene finding may provide further insight into why Wolverine was so often obnoxious and out of control.

Human Error May Have Doomed Mars Probe
NASA is investigating whether incorrect software commands may have doomed the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, which abruptly fell silent last year after a decade of meticulously mapping the Red Planet.

The space agency on Wednesday announced the formation of an internal review board to investigate why the Global Surveyor lost contact with controllers during a routine adjustment of its solar array. John McNamee, deputy director of solar system exploration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said a preliminary investigation points to incorrect software commands uploaded to the spacecraft in June.

The software was aimed at improving the spacecraft’s flight processors. Instead, bad commands may have overheated the battery and forced the spacecraft into safe mode, McNamee said in an AP report.

If the Global Surveyor’s demise is traced to a technical error, the mistake raises questions about why engineers did not catch the problem before the software program was sent to the spacecraft, AP says.

High Electricity Bill? Make Babies.
Next week, the South Korea government will cut electricity rates for families with three or more children, the energy ministry said.

“People worry about paying higher electricity bills as their family gets bigger,” Jang Seok-gu, an energy ministry official, said. “So, to free them of those worries and have more babies, we are giving discounts.”

South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the developed world, with an average of 1.08 children per woman, notes Reuters. Its population will peak in 2018 at 49.3 million and then begin to fall, putting a strain on social welfare systems as the country ages, according to government data.

Small Biz Managers Read Your E-mail in Bathroom
Nearly one in five small business managers read work-related e-mail and other documents while in the bathroom, according to a new survey commissioned by office-supply retailer Staples Inc.

On Staples’s behalf, a research firm conducted telephone interviews with a random sample of 300 U.S. business owners and executives of firms with no more than 20 employees, a significant customer segment for Staples, reports The Boston Globe.

WHY?

Nano Advertising
An alert IMT reader sent along this site to us: Nanobliss. It includes a fantastic gallery of “visualizations of fabricated carbon nanotube structures” — created for artistic expression and for promoting popular awareness and education about nanotechnologies — including those that follow…

Cheers.