A new digital giant was born in Brazil today:GrupoMulher.com, which boasts a whopping 17.5 million unique users per month. The group is the result of a merger between two women-oriented Brazilian online media groups,Bolsa de Mulherande-Media. Here is what you need to know about the deal, yet another merger in the country. A look behind the scenes “Bolsa de Mulher” means “woman’s handbag” in Portuguese. It’s also the name of the media group whose CEO,Carla Esteves, is to become GrupoMulher’s CEO following its merger with e-Midia....

“Can you see my robot?” asks Japanese roboticist Ron Tajima. In the following video don’t be fooled by the beer can sitting on the table. It’s actually CanBot, the first prototype for a beer can transformer. The three-legged robot looks a bit like R2D2 mixed with a Sapporo and can shuffle and roll across flat surfaces. And just when you thought a robotic beer can couldn’t get any cooler, you can command CanBot with a Wii game controller....

Do you think of a programmer as a socially awkward loner? If you do, then you haven’t metDavid Weekly. He’s been programming since he was five and describes himself as “a nerd who loves people.” He’s attending the Chilean conferenceWebprendedoras a speaker this week and we took the opportunity to ask him how he combines his two passions. A tech-loving entrepreneur While David’s first love was programming and his background is technical, he’s also very much of an entrepreneur....

Say hello to Earth 300, the beautiful research supervessel that aims to be the “Noah’s Ark of science.” Does that mean it only has two of everything on board? Or that the Big Guy Up There is about to smite the planet? No. And I’m not sure. But let’s have another look at it. Earth 300’s mission is to ensure humanity’s survival by addressing its biggest threats, especially regarding environmental and ecological concerns....

Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University, famous for creating android clones of himself, has done it again: meet Elfoid, a little teleoperated fetus looking robot that works as a telepresence cellphone. What do I mean by telepresence? Think: “Can you feel me now?” Elfoid was unveiled in Japan yesterday and our friends at IEEE Spectrum were there to report. Elfoid not only transmits voice, but also motion to convey a person’s “presence” remotely....