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The partial meltdown of nuclear fuel at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has created a crisis in Japan. Nature Video provides a brief summary of events at the plant, and what lies ahead for the damaged reactors

As the world of video games continues to evolve, so too should our expectations of how games will positively influence how we work, learn, and live, both online and offline. In a recent blog post , Nicholas Carr, author of the critically acclaimed book The Shallows , reviewed some of the latest studies on the cognitive effects of video games.

As applications for the 2010 Inc. 500|5000 arrive, we thought it would be worthwhile to shine a spotlight on some of the companies that are vying to appear on our ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

By now we're grudgingly accustomed to those Captcha code boxes popping up online to verify we're humans and not bots.

The recession has highlighted the need for affordable, efficient, quick-to-build structures in urban areas. Because while many of us want to live in pricey cities like Seattle and San Francisco, few people can afford the steel and concrete structures that are nice to live in (and hold up in earthquakes).

The Fast Company reader's essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web--updated all day.

A new $29 million Defense Department project makes viewing military intelligence from Afghanistan as easy as ordering a movie from Netflix. The Department of Defense is unveiling a Netflix Instant-style system for military intelligence that will allow military personnel around the world to view war-zone footage. Called the National System for Geo-Intelligence Video Services (NVS), the closed-access system will be accessible only by American and coalition troops and military employees.

Imagine if, after the next Deepwater-esque oil spill, we simply deployed a fleet of inflatable sailboats, equipped with oil-sucking booms, that would autonomously sail to the spill and soak up the oil. Or, if we need accurate data about radiation in the water outside another power plant approaching meltdown, we just sent in our fleet of boats, because we don't feel bad about submitting our robot slaves to radiation.

[video_twistage 1] Don't have the $250,000 to secure a spot on one of Virgin Galactic 's maiden joyrides into space next year?

To explain the complexities of his plan, the House budget chairman and his filmmakers found inspiration in a BBC documentary by a Swedish global health professor. For real.

The Russian federal space agency has revealed that on April 15th, the U.S. and Russia will meet to discuss the development of a future joint nuclear-engine powered rocket project. The announcement was made by agency director Anatoly Perminov, and the joint project will also include other nations with a "high level of reactor manufacturing technology." This list could include France, Britain, Germany, China, and Japan

The Fast Company reader's essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web--updated all day. Hulu's Big Profits Hulu is poised to make half a billion dollars in 2011 and saw a 50% increase in advertisers in Q1. The Sleepless Elite A handful of genetically blessed workaholics need far less sleep than the average person--only a few hours a night, sometimes much less.

Work coming out of MIT's Media Lab has taken the imaging powers of a Microsoft Kinect and used them to power software that reveals how we'll be videoconferencing in the future.

If your YouTube viewing experience seems a little strange this weekend, don't be alarmed. YouTube is aiming to increase awareness of this year's Earth Hour by darkening its video watch page this Saturday from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM (in your local timezone). Check out the video below for more info, and read more about Earth Hour here

A new robotic flying drone , styled like a seagull, has arrived on the scene. It doesn't squawk, poop or steal french fries from your hand, but it's an example of incredible bio-mimicking design that could be the future of airborne robots.