Sci-Tech news

• Nasa reveals video of re-entry of Orion capsule as it arrives back at Florida base

  19-12-2014 23:54 via
  
  Nasa has revealed the full video of its Orion capsule's re-entry, recorded from the windows of the capsule as it reached 20,000 mph (32,000 kph) enduring temperatures of 2,200°C (4,000°F).
  
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• Graphs reveal the similar plotlines of hit TV shows and films

  19-12-2014 23:23 via
  
  A Northwestern University professor has plotted a series of graphs revealing some of Hollywood's scripting tricks. They include leaving the phrase 'love you' until the last possible moment.
  
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• Blackberry in revenue slide

  19-12-2014 21:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Troubled smartphone maker Blackberry reports a larger than expected drop in revenue, as it struggles to convince consumers to buy its phones.
  
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• Scientists have reconstructed what hot springs looked like before tourists

  19-12-2014 21:23 via
  
  Tourists have contaminated the pools with make-a-wish coins and rubbish. Researchers say they were originally a deep blue (pictured) - rather than the current orangey green.
  
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• What is FBI evidence for North Korea hack attack?

  19-12-2014 21:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why the FBI linked North Korea to the Sony hack attack
  
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• Apple CEO Tim Cook 'deeply offended' by BBC report

  19-12-2014 20:06 via
  
  The BBC's Panorama report into conditions in the firm's iPhone 6 production line at the Pegatron factories near Shanghai claimed Apple was breaching its standards.
  
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• WATCH: Call Of Duty Advanced Warfare Exo Zombies Mode first chapter revealed

  19-12-2014 19:37
  
  CALL OF DUTY: Advanced Warfare's zombies mode has a new trailer for fans to check out, including fresh details on the soon-to-be-released Havoc DLC content - UPDATE December 19.
  
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• Are there waves on Titan? Increasing evidence for tiny ripples in moon's lakes and seas spotted by Cassini spacecraft

  19-12-2014 19:00 via
  
  Scientists at the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco say they may have spotted waves on Titan (illustration shown). Radar data from Cassini suggests there are tiny ripples on the moon.
  
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• Older people make the worst drivers: Motorists aged over 45 are FOUR times more likely to swerve while texting

  19-12-2014 18:56 via
  
  A study using driving simulators at Wayne State University in Detroit showed 100 per cent of drivers aged between 45 and 59 years old strayed while sending text messages with one hand.
  
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• Crows solve task previously only thought solvable by people, apes and monkeys

  19-12-2014 18:48 via
  
  Research led by Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia tested the intelligence of crows. It was found they could solve a task that involved picking similar - but not matching - shapes (shown).
  
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• 'Instagram Rapture' causes millions of accounts to be deleted

  19-12-2014 18:43 via
  
  The California-based app announced the plans earlier this year and began purging unwanted accounts last night. The biggest celebrity loser was Akon (pictured), who shedded 3.2 million.
  
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• Minecraft Story Mode will be released on consoles and phones next year

  19-12-2014 18:31 via
  
  Swedish-based Mojang is teaming up with Telltale Games to create Minecraft: Story Mode. The first episode will be released in 2015, although the exact date wasn't announced.
  
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• Suspects deny 'sextorting' teenager

  19-12-2014 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC goes to the Philippines to investigate a rise in blackmail of people duped into taking part in explicit online chats and videos.
  
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• LA River's flood role is 'paramount'

  19-12-2014 17:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Any moves to modify the concrete Los Angeles River, to return parts of it to a more natural setting or to capture water, must not compromise its flood-protection function, say scientists.
  
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• Rosetta mission to comet named greatest scientific breakthrough of 2014

  19-12-2014 17:20 via
  
  The journal Science has released its annual top ten of scientific breakthroughs, putting the mission to duck-shaped comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko at the top.
  
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• Minecraft spin-off gets the go-ahead: Story Mode version of the game will be released on consoles and phones next year

  19-12-2014 17:10 via
  
  Swedish-based Mojang is teaming up with Telltale Games to create Minecraft: Story Mode. The first episode will be released in 2015, although the exact date wasn't announced.
  
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• Steam Holiday Sale: GTA 5, Counter Strike Go and Call of Duty in deal bonanza

  19-12-2014 16:58
  
  STEAM'S annual Holiday Sale has kicked off and includes 12-hour special discounts, featured deals and community voted price cuts.
  
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• 'Smell-O-Vision' phones able to send scented messages are among ten new technologies for 2015

  19-12-2014 16:47 via
  
  Six months ago scientists managed to send the smell of champagne and macarons from Paris to New York with an iPhone app using a device called the oPhone Duo.
  
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• 'Deeply offended' Apple hits out over BBC allegations on Chinese staff working conditions

  19-12-2014 16:41
  
  APPLE has hit out at BBC Panorama after it accused the tech giant of failing to protect its workers.
  
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• VIDEO: Greenpeace to aid Nazca Lines inquiry

  19-12-2014 16:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Greenpeace will co-operate with an investigation by a Peruvian court to determine responsibility for damage caused by activists at the Nazca Lines, the group's chief executive says.
  
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• Kepler finds a new 'Super-Earth' despite being crippled in space

  19-12-2014 16:11 via
  
  Dubbed HIP 116454b, the planet is 2 and a half times the diameter of Earth and follows a nine-day orbit around its star. It is located 180 light-years from our planet, according to Houston-based Nasa.
  
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• £200,000 Santa claus sled comes complete with a chimney cam and rocket boosters

  19-12-2014 16:03 via
  
  The concept Gadget Sleigh 900, which also has GPS, parking sensors and bulletproof windows, has been designed by Metals4U in Pontefract, West Yorkshire in time for Christmas Eve.
  
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• World's deepest fish, snailfish is found 27,000ft deep at bottom of Pacific's Mariana Trench

  19-12-2014 15:50 via
  
  Aberdeen University researchers have set a new record for the deepest fish ever found (shown). It was spotted 26,722ft down in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Kepler is reborn 'like a phoenix rising': Crippled telescope proves it can still find planets after discovery of a 'Super-Earth'

  19-12-2014 15:44 via
  
  Dubbed HIP 116454b, the planet is 2 and a half times the diameter of Earth and follows a nine-day orbit around its star. It is located 180 light-years from our planet, according to Houston-based Nasa.
  
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• Entrance to King Herod the Great's palace unearthed

  19-12-2014 15:39 via
  
  Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology, discovered the colossal entrance to the Herodyan Hilltop Palace at the Herodium National Park.
  
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• Apple 'deeply offended' by BBC story

  19-12-2014 15:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple has said it is "deeply offended" by a BBC investigation into conditions for workers involved in manufacturing its devices.
  
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• Call of Duty Advanced Warfare: The new PS4 and Xbox One exclusive content and rewards

  19-12-2014 14:51
  
  CALL OF DUTY fans on the Xbox One, PC and PS4 are getting exclusive daily supply drop challenges for Advanced Warfare, Sledgehammer Games have confirmed.
  
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• Steve Wozniak hits out at Google Glass and smartwatches

  19-12-2014 14:39 via
  
  In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Mr Wozniak (pictured) said Google Glass owners were brave, but the technology 'makes no sense in terms of what it does.'
  
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• Shake your bottle of champagne to STOP it overflowing, says University of Reims researchers

  19-12-2014 14:17 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Reims in France findings suggest that those celebrating this festive season might do well to give their bottles of bubbly a shake a few minutes before opening.
  
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• Skype Translator beta is released and it could banish language barriers around the world

  19-12-2014 14:05 via
  
  Washington-based Microsoft has released a preview of Skype Translator (shown). It lets people of different languages talk to each other on video calls.
  
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• Study finds 6% of people around the world are addicted to the internet

  19-12-2014 14:01 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Hong Kong collected data from from academic papers that referenced internet addiction, before looking into internet penetration rates in those regions.
  
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• 'Google Glass is an admirable failure and smartwatches are disappointing': Steve Wozniak hits out at the latest tech trends

  19-12-2014 13:36 via
  
  In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Mr Wozniak (pictured) said Google Glass owners were brave, but the technology 'makes no sense in terms of what it does.'
  
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• Microsoft takes on tech scammers

  19-12-2014 13:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US software giant takes legal action against firms it alleges have been offering bogus tech support in its name to unwitting consumers.
  
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• Stem cell scandal scientist resigns

  19-12-2014 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Japanese stem cell scientist at the heart of a scandal over false claims and fabricated research has resigned.
  
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• SpaceX's incredible attempt to land a rocket on a floating barge is delayed

  19-12-2014 12:47 via
  
  SpaceX was planning to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a barge (shown) at Cape Canaveral in Florida today. But the launch has been delayed until Tuesday 6 January due to an issue with one of the engines.
  
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• 'How are you?' 'Bien gracias!': Skype Translator beta is released - and it could banish language barriers around the world

  19-12-2014 12:39 via
  
  Washington-based Microsoft has released a preview of Skype Translator (shown). It lets people of different languages talk to each other on video calls.
  
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• Millions deleted in Instagram purge

  19-12-2014 12:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Photo-sharing app Instagram has removed millions of accounts believed to be posting spam, angering many legitimate users.
  
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• Are YOU addicted to the internet? Study finds 6% of people around the world - that's a staggering 182 million - now struggle to stay offline

  19-12-2014 12:27 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Hong Kong collected data from from academic papers that referenced internet addiction, before looking into internet penetration rates in those regions.
  
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• Nasa emails spanner into space

  19-12-2014 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronauts on the International Space Station use a 3-D printer to make a wrench from instructions sent up in an email.
  
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• 3D printer makes tool in space

  19-12-2014 11:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronauts on the International Space Station use a 3-D printer to make a wrench, from instructions sent up in an email.
  
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• SpaceX's incredible attempt to land a rocket on a floating barge is delayed: Falcon 9 launch will take place in the new year because of 'engine issues'

  19-12-2014 11:33 via
  
  SpaceX was planning to land a Falcon 9 rocket on a barge (shown) at Cape Canaveral in Florida today. But the launch has been delayed until Tuesday 6 January due to an issue with one of the engines.
  
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• GTA 5: Rockstar give Xbox One and PS4 exclusive content warning as DLC plans are revealed

  19-12-2014 10:38
  
  ROCKSTAR have announced that due to the technical limitations of the older PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, some newly planned content may not be released on them and could become exclusive to next-gen consoles - UPDATE 09:28.
  
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• 7ft marine reptile fossil beach find

  19-12-2014 10:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a 7ft skeleton of a carnivorous marine reptile on a beach in south Wales.
  
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• VIDEO: Is this the future of bionics?

  19-12-2014 10:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How motion capture technology is being used to create better prosthetics
  
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• Huge security flaw in mobile phone networks revealed

  19-12-2014 10:10 via
  
  The flaws, to be reported at a hacker conference in Hamburg this month, are in a system called SS7 that allows the world’s cellular carriers to route calls, texts and other services to each other.
  
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• The massive supernova that could annihilate life on Earth

  19-12-2014 09:46 via
  
  Experts claim the Eta Carinae star system is on the brink of a supernova detonation - and could destroy life on Earth.
  
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• Smell-O-Vision for the 21st Century: Phones able to send scented messages are among ten emerging technologies for 2015

  19-12-2014 09:40 via
  
  Six months ago scientists managed to send the smell of champagne and macarons from Paris to New York with an iPhone app using a device called the oPhone Duo.
  
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• VIDEO: The dog with 3D printed legs

  19-12-2014 09:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click looks at some of the week's technology highlights.
  
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• Double amputee uses TWO mind-controlled prosthetic arms for the first time 

  19-12-2014 08:42 via
  
  Les Baugh, who lost both arms in an electrical accident 40 years ago, was able to operate the system by simply thinking about moving his limbs after a groundbreaking procedure in Baltimore.
  
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• VIDEO: 'Easy to hack companies like Sony'

  19-12-2014 03:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Marc Maiffret, a former hacker who is now an internet security expert, says it is easy for a hacker to break into a company Sony.
  
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