Sci-Tech news

• Google under fire for investing in smart specs and self driving cars as it misses earnings targets for fifth consecutive quarter (but still makes a $4.8bn profit)

  29-01-2015 23:49 via
  
  The earnings were well below analysts' predictions, marking the fifth consecutive quarter, and led to investors complaining about the firm's 'moonshot' projects.
  
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• Amazon posts modest holiday profits

  29-01-2015 23:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The online retail giant Amazon reports weaker profits for the busy Christmas period, but a 15% rise in sales cheers investors.
  
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• Newborn chicks count left to right just like HUMANS: Pattern suggests the trait is innate rather than a product of culture

  29-01-2015 23:32 via
  
  The trait likely evolved millions of years ago, before human ancestors split from those of modern birds, according to a study by the University of Padova in Italy.
  
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• Google profits up nearly 30%

  29-01-2015 23:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Internet giant Google reports fourth-quarter profits of $4.76bn, up nearly 30% from the same period a year before, but revenue misses Wall Street expectations.
  
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• ESA's IXV 'space taxi' to blast off for first time in February

  29-01-2015 23:03 via
  
  On February 11, the Vega rocket will be launching the unmanned space plane, IXV, from Kourou, French Guiana, to undertake a 100-minute test flight.
  
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• Quantas to give first class passengers virtual reality headsets

  29-01-2015 22:48 via
  
  First class passengers on Quantas flying from Australia to Los Angeles will be escape their flight entirely - by donning a virtual reality headset.
  
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• Mars' two hemispheres are entirely different shapes, researchers reveal

  29-01-2015 22:14 via
  
  Swiss researchers have revealed that Mars has a north/south divide far more pronounced than anywhere else in the solar system.
  
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• Facebook tests ads that know where you are

  29-01-2015 21:38 via
  
  It hopes the service, called Place tips, could help it charge more for ads and take on Yelp by offering information about shops and other locations, and is trialling the service in New York.
  
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• Facebook tests ads that know where you are - and is letting stores install 'beacons' to send you offers as you walk in

  29-01-2015 21:05 via
  
  It hopes the service, called Place tips, could help it charge more for ads and take on Yelp by offering information about shops and other locations, and is trialling the service in New York.
  
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• Baby talk is BAD: Researchers say parents should just speak clearly

  29-01-2015 20:48 via
  
  Speaking more slowly, using a sing-song voice, and using strange words may not, in fact, be the best way to communicate with your child, French and Japanese researchers have revealed.
  
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• Have gamma rays killed off alien life on other planets?

  29-01-2015 20:46 via
  
  Physicists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have calculated that intense gamma ray bursts from supernovae may have prevented complex life evolving in 90 per cent of galaxies.
  
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• Why men REALLY think women want sex

  29-01-2015 20:27 via
  
  Thinking women want sex provides men with an evolutionary advantage when it comes to reproduction, according to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.
  
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• Baby talk is BAD: Researchers say normal speech is easier to understand - and parents should just speak clearly to their child

  29-01-2015 20:26 via
  
  Speaking more slowly, using a sing-song voice, and using strange words may not, in fact, be the best way to communicate with your child, French and Japanese researchers have revealed.
  
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• Chicks place low numbers on the left

  29-01-2015 20:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in Italy find that baby chickens associate low and high numbers with left and right, respectively - suggesting they may count using a "mental number line" like humans do.
  
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• Have gamma rays killed off alien life? Extreme radiation may explain why we have not spotted life on other planets

  29-01-2015 19:54 via
  
  Physicists from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have calculated that intense gamma ray bursts from supernovae may have prevented complex life evolving in 90 per cent of galaxies.
  
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• Battle of the big phones: Samsung down in China, Apple gains

  29-01-2015 19:51 via
  
  Samsung and Apple are in a dead heat for the smartphone wars - but Apple has taken the lead in the lucrative Chinese market, new figures have revealed.
  
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• AncestryDNA's kit can find relatives in SECONDS

  29-01-2015 19:38 via
  
  AncestryDNA studies a person’s genome using a saliva sample. The DNA results are added to a database and cross-checked with family trees to search for potential matches.
  
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• Could cars be controlled like a smartphone?

  29-01-2015 19:28 via
  
  A patent submitted by Google (illustrations shown) hints that the Californian tech giant is working on a hands-free dashboard, enabling future drivers to keep their eyes on the road.
  
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• ISS lowers its orbit to make the commute from Earth to space shorter

  29-01-2015 19:17 via
  
  A European spacecraft was used to lower the orbit of the ISS (shown) yesterday. The ATV was used to 'slow' the station and move it down by 2.5km - but Nasa had to spin the station first.
  
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• Could the origins of life be buried on the MOON?

  29-01-2015 19:07 via
  
  Scientists at Imperial College London claim the molecules and cells were flung towards the moon during the Late Heavy Bombardment when Earth was bombarded by asteroids.
  
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• Bill Gates insists AI is a threat

  29-01-2015 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Microsoft's founder says we should worry that AI escape our control, despite claims to the contrary by a Microsoft Research chief.
  
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• Sound tech for blind film-lovers

  29-01-2015 18:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers use sound technology as an alternative to audio descriptions to try to improve film-watching for blind people.
  
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• The rise and rise of family history DNA tests: AncestryDNA's kit is the latest to launch in the UK - and can find relatives in SECONDS

  29-01-2015 18:17 via
  
  AncestryDNA studies a person’s genome using a saliva sample. The DNA results are added to a database and cross-checked with family trees to search for potential matches.
  
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• 'Adblock' headset pixelates brands to give you freedom of choice

  29-01-2015 18:09 via
  
  A team of students developed the ‘Brand Killer: Adblock for Real Life’ headset over a weekend at the University of Pennsylvania's PennApps Winter 2015 hackathon.
  
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• Office puts chips under staff's skin

  29-01-2015 18:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rory Cellan-Jones visits a building where microchipped workers gain entry and use photocopiers by holding up their hands - and trials the tech himself.
  
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• Sky to launch mobile phone service

  29-01-2015 17:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pay-TV firm Sky is launching a mobile phone service next year as the battle for a slice of the UK's telecoms market intensifies.
  
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• Diplodocus v blue whale: Who'd win?

  29-01-2015 17:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Who'd win fantasy fight between diplodocus and blue whale?
  
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• Mini-Neptunes can become rocky planets like Earth, study claims

  29-01-2015 16:55 via
  
  Researchers at the University of Washington studied mini-Neptunes. They say some of the planets can migrate closer to their host star and become habitable (illustration shown).
  
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• Microsoft's Bill Gates says we SHOULD fear a robot uprising

  29-01-2015 16:46 via
  
  Bill Gates (pictured) - who lives in Washington, US - has joined Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking in warning that AI poses a threat to humanity, and says we should be 'concerned'.
  
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• Sky joins forces with O2 to launch its own mobile network

  29-01-2015 16:24 via
  
  O2's owner Telefónica UK has said it will give London-based Sky wholesale access to 2G, 3G and 4G voice and data services, and the first deals are expected to launch in 2016.
  
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• Visijax Commuter Jacket has built-in indicators that flashes when cyclists raise their arms

  29-01-2015 16:14 via
  
  The Visijax Commuter Jacket contains flashing LEDs on the sleeves which are activated when a cyclist raises their arm and will go on sale at UK shop Halfords this month.
  
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• Shell revives Arctic drilling plans

  29-01-2015 15:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Royal Dutch Shell revives Arctic drilling plans, despite announcing a $15bn cut in global spending and profit figures that disappointed investors.
  
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• US firms object to source code rules

  29-01-2015 15:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Business groups have written to the Chinese government, asking it to rethink rules that would force them to hand over source code and create backdoors for officials in Beijing.
  
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• Sky announce plans to take on EE, O2 & Vodafone in the mobile phone market

  29-01-2015 15:32
  
  SATELLITE broadcaster Sky, has revealed plans to take on EE, O2 & Vodafone in the mobile phone market.
  
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• Boy killed by brain-eating amoeba in tap water: First confirmed case of death by N. fowleri organism in treated water in the US

  29-01-2015 14:54 via
  
  The infection triggered primary amebic meningoencephalitis (stock image pictured), which killed the four-year-old in Louisiana. The findings were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
  
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• Hacker's List lets anyone pay a tech expert to break into email accounts

  29-01-2015 14:22 via
  
  Hacker’s List (pictured) is believed to be registered in New Zealand, and lets hacker’s bid for assignments posted by other users, called ‘employers’.
  
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• Long-necked dinosaur found on construction site may have inspired Chinese dragon legends

  29-01-2015 14:00 via
  
  Construction workers in Qijiang city discovered the 49 feet long fossil while digging. It lived 160 million years ago and had an unusually long neck that could have led to legends of dragons, say scientists.
  
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• Climate concern 'linked to floods'

  29-01-2015 13:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Belief in the reality of climate change has risen among the British public, partly because of the 2013 winter floods, according to a report.
  
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• Land mass forms in the pacific following eruption of the underwater Hunga Ha'apai volcano

  29-01-2015 13:18 via
  
  The island was spotted in an image (pictured) taken by the Pleiades satellite on 19 January 2015 off the coast of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. It is around 0.6 miles (1km) wide and is composed mostly of ash.
  
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• 'Alcohol archaeologist' creates authentic ales and wines using 2,000-year-old residues in pots

  29-01-2015 13:15 via
  
  Dr Patrick McGovern from the University of Pennsylvania Museum has been creating ancient alcoholic drinks (one shown). He collects residues from containers to recreate the drinks.
  
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• Snapchat launches US superhero series

  29-01-2015 13:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A big US phone company is commissioning YouTubers to create 12 episodes of a show called SnapperHero on Snapchat.
  
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• Virtual reality takes to the sky

  29-01-2015 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Qantas becomes first airline to offer passengers in-flight entertainment via a virtual reality headset.
  
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• First-class fliers get virtual reality

  29-01-2015 12:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Qantas becomes first airline to offer passengers in-flight entertainment via a virtual reality headset.
  
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• Icy jellyfish? No, these strange phenomena are frozen METHANE BUBBLES trapped under a lake that can be ignited with a match

  29-01-2015 12:37 via
  
  A photographer has captured amazing images of methane bubbles in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The pictures show a frozen lake with the icy 'circles' trapped (shown).
  
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• Most serial killers don't understand punishment, study reveals 

  29-01-2015 12:25 via
  
  Researchers from Kings College London took MRI brain scans of 12 violent psychopathic and compared them to other violent criminals and non-offenders, finding they had abnormalities in key areas.
  
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• Sony World Photography Awards launches a mobile category

  29-01-2015 12:23 via
  
  The London-based World Photo Organisation has launched the award to recognise the breadth and reach of images taken on phones (an example is shown).
  
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• Taxidermist uses mummified remains to build bust of 2,500-year-old Siberian princess

  29-01-2015 12:12 via
  
  A Swiss taxidermist created the likeness of Princess Ukok (pictured) using a 3D model of her mummified skull as a guide. The project took Marcel Nyffenegger two weeks.
  
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• Samsung profits hit by mobile sales

  29-01-2015 12:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics reports its first drop in full-year profits for three years, in part due to a sharp drop in mobile phone sales.
  
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• VIDEO: Sharp displays become round

  29-01-2015 11:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Richard Taylor looks at the new screen innovations being worked on by display-maker Sharp.
  
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• PlayStation teams up with Spotify

  29-01-2015 11:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The new service will replace Music Unlimited and link up current PlayStation Network and music streaming accounts.
  
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