Sci-Tech news

• Why the giant squid isn't as big as you think: Infographic reveals the actual size of the sea's elusive monsters

  14-01-2015 23:50 via
  
  Researchers at Washington University found that while people believe giant squid are around 60 feet in length, they are in fact closer to 40 feet long.
  
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• Look out! Nasa warns January 26th asteroid will be Earth's closest call until 2027

  14-01-2015 23:47 via
  
  The asteroid, designated 2004 BL86, will safely pass about three times the distance of Earth to the moon on January 26. It will be the closest by any known space rock this large until 2027.
  
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• International Space Station evacuated after computer fault

  14-01-2015 23:22 via
  
  Crew members in the US section of the station were forced to take refuge in the Russian part of the ISS while the problem was being investigated.
  
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• Groundbreaking Cytell microscope reveals the hidden world around us

  14-01-2015 23:14 via
  
  Each image was taken using a new generation of microscope, dubbed Cytell. They were put together by Gary Sarkis, who works for GE Healthcare Life Sciences in New York.
  
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• Smart personalised windshield displays could slash stop signs by 60%

  14-01-2015 22:25 via
  
  Carnegie Mellon University researchers are working on a system that would replace conventional traffic lights with virtual personal signals on a dashboard or windscreen.
  
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• The end of the traffic light? Smart personalised windshield displays could slash stop signs by 60%

  14-01-2015 22:15 via
  
  Carnegie Mellon University researchers are working on a system that would replace conventional traffic lights with virtual personal signals on a dashboard or windscreen.
  
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• Whale vomit is an APHRODISIAC: Chemical in mammal's sick is shown to turn on rats

  14-01-2015 21:52 via
  
  The study, by Kind Saud University in Saudi Arabia, found that ambergris, found in the vomit of sperm whales, caused the male rats to crave sex more often.
  
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• VIDEO: Pardon? Testing new Google Translate

  14-01-2015 21:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rory Cellan-Jones tries out Google's enhanced translation tool to see if it delivers on its ambitious promises.
  
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• Google's real-time language translation app to make traveling a breeze

  14-01-2015 21:35
  
  GOOGLE have updated their translation app to include a new real-time feature that will make working out the local lingo a breeze.
  
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• Cat trackers and TV headset at Wearable Device Technology Expo

  14-01-2015 21:01 via
  
  The gadgets are on display at the Wearable Device Technology Expo in Tokyo. AirScouter (pictured) beams images onto a wearer’s retina to create the illusion they are looking at a 13-inch display.
  
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• Is that a power station in your pocket? Charger has fuel cell built in to replenish gadgets using lighter gas

  14-01-2015 20:46 via
  
  A German firm has revealed a pocket charger which contains its own fuel cell. It runs on gas usually used in lighters, converted into electricity by the internal fuel cell.
  
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• Rate of sea-level rise 'steeper'

  14-01-2015 20:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The rate at which the global oceans have risen in the past two decades is more significant than previously recognised, say US-based scientists.
  
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• Were Neanderthals smarter than we thought?

  14-01-2015 19:58 via
  
  The tool, uncovered in Burgundy, France, suggests Neanderthals understood how to use bones to make useful devices. This skill was previously attributed to our species, Homo sapiens.
  
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• Nintendo 3DS XL set to take on phones and tablets

  14-01-2015 19:54 via
  
  The Japanese firm has overhauled the console in the face of increased competition from mobile phones and tablets.
  
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• Testing 'better than badger cull'

  14-01-2015 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Stepping up cattle testing is a far more effective bovine TB control strategy than shooting badgers, according to computer modelling work.
  
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• Hacker Samy Kamkar creates KeySweeper that can steal banking details remotely

  14-01-2015 19:13 via
  
  The device, known as KeySweeper (pictured), was created by Poland-based security researcher Samy Kamkar. All of these strokes are decrypted, logged and sent to a hacker over the web.
  
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• Facebook expands into the office

  14-01-2015 19:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook releases an app offering office workers a private alternative to email, challenging Microsoft's Yammer, LinkedIn and others.
  
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• Xiaomi: A bluffer's guide

  14-01-2015 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A bluffer's guide to smartphone upstart Xiaomi
  
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• ISS evacuation after leak fears

  14-01-2015 18:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Crew members were evacuated from a US segment of the International Space Station after an ammonia leak was suspected.
  
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• Oh look, our first ever Facebook pics

  14-01-2015 18:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The latest craze is posting your first profile picture on Facebook and then nominating people, but why?
  
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• Facebook at Work has begun rolling out to select partners

  14-01-2015 18:33 via
  
  Facebook at Work is available on the web, Android and iOS (pictured) and the Californian tech giant described it as 'a separate experience that gives employees the ability to connect.'
  
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• Smart handlebars vibrate to tell you when to turn

  14-01-2015 18:17 via
  
  A company in Montreal, Canada, has invented smrtgrips, which when fitted to a bike's handlebars, can also be used to track bikes and keep groups of cyclists together.
  
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• Human muscle tissue that FLEXES grown in lab

  14-01-2015 17:52 via
  
  The study was led by Nenad Bursac, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University. The muscle (pictured) could be used to study diseases, and in place of human drug trials.
  
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• Reach79 case boasts built-in antenna to double your signal strength

  14-01-2015 16:49 via
  
  The case (pictured), made by engineers in Encinita, California, is made to fit the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and claims to provide better coverage, faster data speed and longer battery life.
  
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• Prehistoric Eskimos mined giant space rocks to make tools and weapons

  14-01-2015 16:47 via
  
  Danish archaeologists claim early hunters in Greenland broke iron from fragments of a giant meteorite that fell onto the ice sheet 10,000 years ago, helping to kick start their iron age.
  
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• Illusion that clock is speeding up when you're stressed can be eliminated

  14-01-2015 16:47 via
  
  Study by Duke University in NC found conflicting goals make time go fast. People who had multiple things to do and were stressed (stock image shown) felt more pressed for time.
  
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• Detroit Motor Show 2015: In pictures

  14-01-2015 16:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The latest models on display at the Detroit Motor Show
  
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• Gold rush threat to tropical forests

  14-01-2015 16:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rising demand for gold is leading to the loss of tropical forests in South America, scientists warn.
  
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• Ryanair to test smartphone movies

  14-01-2015 16:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ryanair says it plans to start streaming movies and TV shows to passengers' tablets and smartphones within the coming months.
  
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• Video game auction nears $100,000

  14-01-2015 16:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An auction on the site, which runs until Friday, has gone from $5,000 to nearly $100,000 in a little more than a week.
  
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• Curiosity rover clobbers Mars rock

  14-01-2015 15:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The American space agency's Curiosity rover smashes up the latest rock it was trying to drill on Mars.
  
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• ZX Spectrum production set to begin

  14-01-2015 14:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Production is set to start on a remodelled version of the ZX Spectrum, which will come pre-installed with 1,000 classic game titles.
  
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• WATCH: Assassin's Creed Unity's free DLC, Dead Kings makes a splash

  14-01-2015 14:39
  
  Assassin's Creed: Unity's free DLC, Dead Kings has a new trailer released today, following its launch on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC this week.
  
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• International Space Station evacuated after toxic leak or faulty sensor

  14-01-2015 14:38 via
  
  An 'escape of hazardous substances from an air conditioning unit' was discharged into the space station's atmosphere at around 8.45am (GMT), said Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency.
  
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• Orrb pod lets employees relax inside a hi-tech bubble

  14-01-2015 14:30 via
  
  A London-based designer has revealed a seclusion pod for workers. Called Orrb (shown) it lets people take a 10, 20 or 30 minute break. The small space has a door that can be closed for privacy.
  
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• Phone bug wakes Australians early

  14-01-2015 14:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A computer systems bug causes smartphone alarms to trigger an hour early in Queensland, Australia, causing confusion.
  
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• International Space Station evacuates US astronauts after ammonia leak

  14-01-2015 14:05 via
  
  An 'escape of hazardous substances from an air conditioning unit' was discharged into the space station's atmosphere at around 8.45am (GMT), said Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency.
  
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• Butter dish warms butter so it's soft enough to spread and keeps it cool in the summer

  14-01-2015 14:01 via
  
  David Alfille, 54, from Ticehurst in East Sussex created the dish, which is powered by mains electricity to that butter can be constantly stored at the perfect temperature.
  
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• PSN down: Sony announce PS4 and PS3 going offline

  14-01-2015 13:56
  
  UPDATE January 14: The PSN is currently accessible to users in the UK following an earlier outage, the Express can confirm.ORIGINAL: SONY have announced the PlayStation Network will go offline for four hours, starting 5pm UK time on Thursday January 15.
  
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• Chicks of the Cinereous Mourner bird mimic a CATERPILLAR to scare off predators

  14-01-2015 13:39 via
  
  Researchers from the University of California found the chicks of the Cinereous Mourner bird that develop bright orange spiky feathers and move their heads from side to side when disturbed.
  
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• Google Trends plots the changing face of drug use across the US

  14-01-2015 13:34 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The graphics were created by detox site Withdrawal.net. It used Google Trends to track the popularity of drug searches since 2004, including meth, cocaine, Xanax, Adderall and heroin.
  
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• Google Translate 'turns interpreter'

  14-01-2015 13:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google says its Translate app can now act as an interpreter, with the addition of a real-time voice-translation mode.
  
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• 1D now more tweeted than Obama

  14-01-2015 13:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Louis Tomlinson's tweet to Harry Styles is now the second most shared tweet of all time behind that Oscar selfie.
  
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• Online sexual blackmailer jailed

  14-01-2015 13:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A man who subjected dozens of young people to online sexual blackmail is jailed for 53 months.
  
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• Magic mushrooms in the Seattle and heroin in Philadelphia: Google Trends plots the changing face of drug use across the US

  14-01-2015 13:14 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The graphics were created by detox site Withdrawal.net. It used Google Trends to track the popularity of drug searches since 2004, including meth, cocaine, Xanax, Adderall and heroin.
  
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• Samsung sells first Tizen phones

  14-01-2015 12:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Samsung launches the first smartphones to be powered by its Tizen operating system after aborted launches elsewhere.
  
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• Do 'photonic booms' occur when the light-speed barrier is broken?

  14-01-2015 12:41 via
  
  A scientist from Michigan Tech University studied faster than light effects. Dr Robert Nemiroff said a laser swept across the moon (telescope laser shown) will appear to break light-speed.
  
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• Loft insulation damages bird populations, study claims

  14-01-2015 12:39 via
  
  By filling in the nooks and crannies of lofts, sparrows (pictured) and house martins are among the British garden bird species that are struggling to find somewhere to nest.
  
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• LAVENDER scent promotes bonding, study claims

  14-01-2015 12:33 via
  
  Researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands say lavender (stock image shown) can make you seem more trustworthy, and possibly make it easier to negotiate with others.
  
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• Make a lie-in more productive! Upside-down desk supports a laptop to let you to type while lazing in bed

  14-01-2015 12:28 via
  
  Japanese company Thanko created the foldable desk, which is designed to suit a worker’s needs, whether they are lying in bed, (pictured) kneeling down, or sitting on the floor.
  
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