Sci-Tech news

• The smart skin that could give prosthetic hands a sense of touch - and is sensitive enough to let its wearer distinguish between a wet and dry diaper

  10-12-2014 23:40 via
  
  Researchers in South Korea say their skin is extremely similar to human skin. It is stretchy, like real skin, and even has a built-in heater so it feels like living tissue.
  
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• Rosetta space probe finds that Earth's water did NOT come from comets

  10-12-2014 22:46 via
  
  The mystery of where Earth's water came from has got murkier. Swiss researchers say results from the Rosetta space probe prove water did not come from a comet, as had been previously thought.
  
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• US Navy reveals boat mounted laser that can shoot down drones and boats

  10-12-2014 21:03 via
  
  The Navy has carried out tests of a radical new laser weapon it says can shoot down missiles and even drones from a warship. 
  
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• Teachers suffer sexism from their STUDENTS

  10-12-2014 20:33 via
  
  A study by sociologists at North Carolina State University showed that students felt male teachers were more professional, fairer, more enthusiastic and gave more praise than female teachers.
  
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• Is wearing make-up harmful during pregnancy?

  10-12-2014 20:08 via
  
  A controversial study by Columbia University in New York has found that exposure to the highest levels of two phthalate chemicals led to a lowering of IQ scores at age seven by more than six points.
  
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• Comets 'not source of Earth's water'

  10-12-2014 20:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Data from Europe's Rosetta probe suggests that water on Earth may not have come from comets, scientists conclude.
  
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• US Navy reveals boat mounted laser that can shoot down drones, boats and even doubles as a 'hubble on the water' laser surveillance system is ALREADY in use

  10-12-2014 20:04 via
  
  The Navy has carried out tests of a radical new laser weapon it says can shoot down missiles and even drones from a warship. 
  
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• More than five TRILLION pieces of plastic now litter our seas and oceans

  10-12-2014 20:01 via
  
  Towed nets were used to scoop up plastic (stock image) from five sub-tropical 'gyres' - areas of circulating ocean currents - as well as coastal Australia, Bay of Bengal and Mediterranean Sea.
  
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• Do YOU have the heart attack gene? Mutations DOUBLE the chance of suffering attacks in middle age

  10-12-2014 19:54 via
  
  Scientists from the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and other institutions analysed the genomes of 10,000 people, half of whom suffered a heart attack early in life.
  
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• Teachers suffer sexism from their STUDENTS: Study shows that pupils rate men more highly purely due to their gender

  10-12-2014 19:35 via
  
  A study by sociologists at North Carolina State University showed that students felt male teachers were more professional, fairer, more enthusiastic and gave more praise than female teachers.
  
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• Instagram overtakes Twitter with 300 MILLION active users

  10-12-2014 19:25 via
  
  Instagram has overtaken its Silicon Valley rival Twitter, with over 300 million people using its app every month, CEO Kevin system has revealed.
  
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• Forget lions, DRAGONFLIES are the world's deadliest hunters: Insect is four times more likely to catch its prey than big cats

  10-12-2014 19:04 via
  
  Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia, used slow-motion cameras to analyse the insect's (pictured) calculated movements to predict the path of its prey.
  
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• SpaceX gears up to land a reusable rocket on a floating barge - and the breakthrough could make spaceflight more affordable for everyone

  10-12-2014 19:03 via
  
  SpaceX is planning to land a rocket at Cape Canaveral on Monday. The first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket (shown) will attempt to touch down on a barge after launching a Dragon capsule into space.
  
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• Instagram overtakes Twitter as it reveals 300 MILLION people a month use picture sharing app

  10-12-2014 18:22 via
  
  Instagram has overtaken its Silicon Valley rival Twitter, with over 300 million people using its app every month, CEO Kevin system has revealed.
  
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• VIDEO: Seals thriving year after tidal surge

  10-12-2014 18:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A record number of seals have been born at the Donna Nook sanctuary nature in Lincolnshire.
  
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• Destiny: Dark Below poll supports strong player sales as fans have say on new content

  10-12-2014 18:11
  
  DESTINY fans have bought new expansion pack The Dark Below in big numbers but are divided about the content, new polls have found.
  
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• Next stop, the moon! Lunar Mission One reveals more about its plans to build a human base within the next 10 years

  10-12-2014 18:05 via
  
  A probe will drill 330ft (100 metres) below the surface to look at whether it will be possible to someday have observatories on the moon, according to Kent based engineer and financial backer David Iron.
  
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• Great tits pass on traditions and adapt to fit in with the locals

  10-12-2014 17:49 via
  
  Scientists at the University of Oxford say their findings are the first example of cultural conformity in non-primate animals and help to explain how great tits learned to raid milk bottles on household doorsteps.
  
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• Snails learn survival skills BEFORE they are born: Embryos can be taught to sense predators while still in the egg

  10-12-2014 17:33 via
  
  Researchers at Aberystwyth University, the University of Exeter and Plymouth University say pond snails are able to sense chemicals released by their predators while they are still embryos.
  
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• Instagram now bigger than Twitter

  10-12-2014 16:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The photo sharing app has announced a milestone in user numbers and launched verified accounts.
  
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• Orcas spotted attacking and killing Humpback calves during a spate of assaults

  10-12-2014 16:54 via
  
  Researchers tracked Killer and Humpback whales off the coast of Australia. They identified 19 Killer whales preying on Humpback calves (pictured), and in total, witnessed 22 individual attacks,
  
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• Battlefield 4 getting new DLC, will it be Uprise?

  10-12-2014 16:48
  
  EA have confirmed Battlefield 4 will continue to receive new content in 2015.
  
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• Are freak winds on Titan causing Big Ben-sized sand dunes?

  10-12-2014 16:33 via
  
  Scientists in Arizona have found an explanation for sand dunes on Titan (shown). They say the moon's winds occasionally reverse and increase in speed twice every Saturn year - 30 Earth years.
  
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• Arsenal starlet's recent goal glut earns him place beside Liverpool ace in FIFA 15's FUT

  10-12-2014 16:03
  
  EACH week FIFA Ultimate Team assembles the best players from international and club competition around the world.
  
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• Want to boost your memory? 'Download' thoughts onto a PC

  10-12-2014 16:01 via
  
  When files are saved, the brain knows the information is stored, according to the University of California. This frees up cognitive resources that can be used to remember new facts and figures.
  
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• Project is launched to ensure AI can follow rules and make ethical decisions

  10-12-2014 16:01 via
  
  Researchers at the Universities of Sheffield, Liverpool and the West of England, Bristol have set up a new project to address concerns around artificially intelligent robots of the future (illustrated).
  
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• Mathematical formulae reveal how to make the perfect donut every time

  10-12-2014 16:00 via
  
  Mathematician Dr Eugenia Cheng found that the perfect doughnut has an 0.4-inch (11mm) hole, with a ‘squidgy to crispy’ ratio of 3.5 to 1, and 5.8g of sugar.
  
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• 'It's the job on Earth that matters'

  10-12-2014 15:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Singing spaceman Chris Hadfield meets Manchester pupils
  
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• Astronomers spot two stellar bodies on the verge of merging to create MEGA STAR

  10-12-2014 15:55 via
  
  Scientists at the University of Alicante hope that by seeing the merger of binary stars in MY Camelopardalis they can explain how extremely massive stars form (artist's impression pictured).
  
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• Injectable gel could offer temporary birth control for men

  10-12-2014 15:52 via
  
  Scientists based in San Francisco are working on a substance called Vasalgel – an injectable ‘barrier’ that seals the small tube that carries sperm, called the vas deferens.
  
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• Caught in the act: Astronomers spot two massive stellar bodies on the verge of merging to create a MEGA STAR

  10-12-2014 15:29 via
  
  Scientists at the University of Alicante hope that by seeing the merger of binary stars in MY Camelopardalis they can explain how extremely massive stars form (artist's impression pictured).
  
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• Assassin's Creed Unity: Beautiful revolution left frustrated by buggy reality

  10-12-2014 15:20
  
  FROM the original announcement, Assassin’s Creed: Unity had promised to be a revolution - and not just because it’s based in 1789 Paris.
  
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• Does zapping to boost brain power do more harm than good?

  10-12-2014 15:07 via
  
  Researchers at the University of Oxford found that brain stimulation can hamper some people's ability to perform sums but can help those who find maths to be stressful.
  
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• Death of the vasectomy? Injectable gel could offer temporary birth control for men

  10-12-2014 15:07 via
  
  Scientists based in San Francisco are working on a substance called Vasalgel – an injectable ‘barrier’ that seals the small tube that carries sperm, called the vas deferens.
  
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• The science of DONUTS: Mathematical formulae reveal how to make the perfect sugar-dusted treat every time

  10-12-2014 14:38 via
  
  Mathematician Dr Eugenia Cheng found that the perfect doughnut has an 0.4-inch (11mm) hole, with a ‘squidgy to crispy’ ratio of 3.5 to 1, and 5.8g of sugar.
  
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• Uber faces more bans and lawsuits

  10-12-2014 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Uber's week just got worse as it faces a lawsuit in California and Los Angeles as well as bans in India, Spain and Thailand.
  
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• Moses used knowledge of tides to ensure safe crossing for the Israelites

  10-12-2014 13:57 via
  
  Dr Bruce Parker, former chief scientist of the NOAA’s National Ocean Service believes Moses used his knowledge of the moon and tides to save the trapped Israelites from the Pharaoh's army.
  
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• Images from Nasa's Cassini reveal details of Saturn and its moons

  10-12-2014 13:24 via
  
  Croatian programmer Gordon Ugarkovic has improved Cassini's images. He added colour and touched up the snaps to reveal new details. The images include the moons Titan and Dione (shown).
  
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• Pirate Bay goes offline after raid

  10-12-2014 13:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Pirate Bay, arguably the most well-known website for accessing pirated content, has been taken offline following a police raid in Sweden.
  
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• UN's Ban Ki-moon says we must address lack of action on global warming

  10-12-2014 13:07 via
  
  The UN Secretary-General Ban told governments at UN talks in Lima there was still a chance of limiting global warming
  to an internationally agreed ceiling of 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial times.
  
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• VIDEO: Astronaut sets space challenge

  10-12-2014 13:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK astronaut Tim Peake has invited members of the public to suggest digital experiments to be carried out in space.
  
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• Dogs, elephants, chimps and parrots use natural remedies to treat digestive problems

  10-12-2014 13:01 via
  
  The theory, known as zoopharmacognosy, has been spotted in macaws in Brazil, elephants in Kenya and even dogs and cats in the UK and US.
  
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• Did the Big Bang create a 'mirror universe' where time moves BACKWARDS?

  10-12-2014 12:27 via
  
  Scientists have proposed a radical new theory of time for the universe. UK physicist Dr Julian Barbour and others say there are two arrows of time that formed at the Big Bang (illustrated).
  
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• Google CEO Eric Schmidt dismisses fears that robots will spell the end of humanity

  10-12-2014 12:27 via
  
  The California-based Google chief, who is heavily involved in the development of AI for self-driving cars, also claims that the fear of robots stealing human jobs is unwarranted.
  
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• SPACE SLOTH prank highlights dangers of Apple's AirDrop

  10-12-2014 12:14 via
  
  iPhone users in London and New York have reported receiving pictures of Space Sloth from mystery AirDrop users in a prank that highlights how malicious software could be sent to Apple devices.
  
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• 'Concerns over artificial intelligence are misguided': Google CEO Eric Schmidt dismisses fears that robots will spell the end of humanity

  10-12-2014 12:07 via
  
  The California-based Google chief, who is heavily involved in the development of AI for self-driving cars, also claims that the fear of robots stealing human jobs is unwarranted.
  
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• Did the Big Bang create a 'mirror universe' where time moves BACKWARDS? New theory could explain our past - and our future

  10-12-2014 11:57 via
  
  Scientists have proposed a radical new theory of time for the universe. UK physicist Dr Julian Barbour and others say there are two arrows of time that formed at the Big Bang (illustrated).
  
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• Is personality unique to humans?

  10-12-2014 11:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Are personality differences widespread in the animal world?
  
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• Best of Twitter 2014: World Cup takes top spot as Rosetta Comet landing steals show

  10-12-2014 11:42
  
  PEOPLE send more than 500 million tweets per day across the globe and as the year comes to a close, we look back at the biggest Twitter trends of 2014.
  
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• VIDEO: What were 2014's top tweets?

  10-12-2014 11:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC News looks at the topics that preoccupied UK Twitter users in 2014.
  
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