Sci-Tech news

• Hack warning over SEX TOYS: Researchers say 'teledildonic' devices are unsecure and strangers could take control at any time 

  30-01-2015 23:07 via
  
  British security experts say the toys can be easily hacked, allowing people to intercept communications and take control of them.
  
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• Study fells cosmic inflation claim

  30-01-2015 21:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists who claimed to have found evidence for a cosmic super-expansion at the Big Bang made no such discovery, a soon-to-be published study will say.
  
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• Apple iPad Pro's first case design leaked

  30-01-2015 21:30 via
  
  According to French blog nowhereelse.fr , the case is from a 'reliable source' and the product will be unveiled within months.
  
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• Should under 12s be BANNED from playing football? New study claims risk of damage to young brains is too great

  30-01-2015 21:13 via
  
  Boston researchers found that former National Football League players who participated in tackle football before the age of 12 are more likely to have memory and thinking problems as adults.
  
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• Amazing sounds of an iceberg being born revealed

  30-01-2015 20:29 via
  
  Scientists have recorded the sounds of icebergs crashing into the sea (stock image shown). The recordings were made at the Hans Glacier in Svalbard, Norway.
  
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• What drugs are popular in YOUR country?

  30-01-2015 20:28 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Based on queries made on Yahoo! Answers, a new study has uncovered the drug-related problems on the minds of the US, UK, Canada, Spain, Australia and italy.
  
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• Will the iPhone 7 look like a Nintendo DS?

  30-01-2015 20:09 via
  
  The Californian firm filed the patent (pictured) in September 2008 but it was only awarded this week. It details a range of ‘modular accessories’ for phones and tablets.
  
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• Biological clock predicts lifespan

  30-01-2015 19:40 via
  
  Scottish Scientists have identified a biological clock that could help predict a person's lifespan.
  
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• Simply cracking! Amazing sounds of an iceberg being born revealed as chunks of ice fall from a glacier into the sea

  30-01-2015 19:35 via
  
  Scientists have recorded the sounds of icebergs crashing into the sea (stock image shown). The recordings were made at the Hans Glacier in Svalbard, Norway.
  
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• What drugs are popular in YOUR country? US and Italy top the list for marijuana, but the UK is more curious about cocaine

  30-01-2015 19:28 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Based on queries made on Yahoo! Answers, a new study has uncovered the drug-related problems on the minds of the US, UK, Canada, Spain, Australia and italy.
  
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• How climate affects how we SPEAK: Languages in humid regions use more complex sounds

  30-01-2015 19:09 via
  
  Linguists at the University of Miami examined 3,700 languages and found those with complex tones like Cantonese are found in humid climates where vocal cords are more flexible.
  
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• Jay Z bids for music streaming service

  30-01-2015 18:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Hip hop star could challenge Beats and Spotify with his offer for the HD music service Tidal
  
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• Does technology make people touch each other less?

  30-01-2015 18:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Does technology make people touch each other less?
  
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• The science of SUPERSTORMS: Diagrams reveal the perilous processes taking place in tornadoes, thunderstorms and more

  30-01-2015 18:03 via
  
  Two Texas-based storm chasers are to release a book detailing how severe weather forms. Their amazing images of lightning (shown) and more will be overlayed with diagrams.
  
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• Nokia name row with London start-up

  30-01-2015 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nokia has threatened legal action against a UK start-up over the use of the word "HERE".
  
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• Will the iPhone 7 look like a Nintendo DS? Apple patent reveals plans to add a clip-on gamepad to handsets

  30-01-2015 17:50 via
  
  The Californian firm filed the patent (pictured) in September 2008 but it was only awarded this week. It details a range of ‘modular accessories’ for phones and tablets.
  
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• BT announce ultrafast broadband coming to homes

  30-01-2015 17:27
  
  BT have announced plans to launch ultrafast broadband into millions of homes across the country.
  
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• BT attacked on rural broadband costs

  30-01-2015 17:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  At least £90m will be reinvested in rural broadband services after an underspend by BT, the BBC learns.
  
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• NASA astronaut Leland Melvin sneaks his dogs into official portrait

  30-01-2015 17:02 via
  
  Leland Melvin and his dogs Jack and Scout became a hit on Twitter after a journalist stumbled across the photos and shared it with his followers. It has since been retweeted over 2,000 times.
  
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• A dusty mistake? The 'groundbreaking' Bicep2 Big Bang signal was just interstellar debris in the galaxy, scientists reveal

  30-01-2015 16:49 via
  
  European scientists are to reveal the Bicep2 results were wrong. In March 2014 scientists said Bicep2 had proved cosmic inflation (results of the experiment shown).
  
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• VIDEO: Talking kids' doll 'Cayla' is hacked

  30-01-2015 16:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rory Cellan-Jones sees how Cayla, a talking child's doll, can be hacked to say any number of offensive things.
  
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• Easy as Pi: Your tech round-up

  30-01-2015 16:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Rory Cellan-Jones rounds up the week's big tech stories
  
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• e3light lets you navigate round the bedroom without waking your partner up

  30-01-2015 15:57 via
  
  New York-based e3light has devised a 'smart' £49.99 bed light. Called mylight, it uses motion detectors and is placed under a bed. When someone steps on the ground it turns on (shown).
  
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• Controllers banking on Philae wake-up

  30-01-2015 15:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Space Agency says it will conduct no more dedicated searches for its lost comet lander, and will now wait for the probe itself to call home.
  
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• The answer to early risers' prayers! £50 smart light lets you navigate round the bedroom without waking your partner up

  30-01-2015 15:07 via
  
  New York-based e3light has devised a 'smart' £49.99 bed light. Called mylight, it uses motion detectors and is placed under a bed. When someone steps on the ground it turns on (shown).
  
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• Mellow is a robotic waterbath that allows chefs to make sous-vide items on the move

  30-01-2015 15:07 via
  
  Designers have produced a $400 (£265) robotic waterbath (pictured) that can be controlled by a mobile phone to produce slow cooked foods that will be ready when you get home.
  
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• 'Cold plasma' kills off norovirus

  30-01-2015 15:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Norovirus, the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the world, can be killed with "cold plasma", scientists report.
  
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• Google agrees privacy policy changes

  30-01-2015 14:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The firm will roll out a single, rewritten privacy policy across Europe after coming under fire across the continent.
  
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• Forensic experts create e-fits from DNA: Traces at crime scenes used to build face shapes with accurate eye and skin colours

  30-01-2015 14:34 via
  
  DNA phenotyping is the prediction of physical appearance from DNA tests. The Snapshot Forensic system was designed by Virginia-based Parabon Nanolabs.
  
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• New theory of time suggests that the past, present AND future co-exist in the universe

  30-01-2015 14:03 via
  
  A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of philosophy has presented a new theory of time. Dr Bradford Skow says the idea that time flows like a river (stock image shown) is not necessarily correct.
  
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• Scientists try out 2,500-year-old brain surgery method on a modern skull

  30-01-2015 13:57 via
  
  A Russian doctor has carried out ancient 'brain surgery' on a modern skull (shown). He attempted to recreate the methods of trepanation - one of the oldest known forms of neurosurgery.
  
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• Easy Way Language Centre's map reveals how words have evolved across the continents

  30-01-2015 13:51 via
  
  The map (pictured) was created by Brazil-based Easy Way Language Centre. Type a word in any language into Word Map to hear it being translated globally.
  
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• Will the falling oil price undermine green energy?

  30-01-2015 13:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What do falling oil prices mean for green energy?
  
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• Why humans don't lay eggs: 'Jumping' genes were the origin of pregnancy in our early mammalian ancestors

  30-01-2015 13:20 via
  
  Geneticists at the University of Chicago compared the genes from the wombs of animals including cats, dogs, chickens, lizards and frogs to determine when and how live births first began.
  
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• Is your future already decided? New theory of time suggests that the past, present AND future co-exist in the universe

  30-01-2015 13:14 via
  
  A Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of philosophy has presented a new theory of time. Dr Bradford Skow says the idea that time flows like a river (stock image shown) is not necessarily correct.
  
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• Taste for endangered wild animals in South American cities threatens jungle wildlife

  30-01-2015 13:02 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Experts from Lancaster University and Brazil surveyed households in he cities of Borba and Novo Aripuanã to find out which animals they hunt and eat from the rainforest.
  
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• Google rolls out Gmail feature that lets you 'attach' money to emails

  30-01-2015 12:46 via
  
  The service uses the Californian firm’s Google Wallet that securely stores credit, debit and loyalty cards. The 'Attach money' icon is available in the US and will appear in the UK in the 'coming weeks.'
  
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• Leak suggests cosmic study was wrong

  30-01-2015 12:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists who claimed to have found evidence for a cosmic super-expansion at the Big Bang made no such discovery, a leak of a concluding study suggests.
  
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• Fairmont Hotels' infographic guide to shooting holiday photos plus how to Instagram like a pro

  30-01-2015 11:42 via
  
  Whether using an SLR or your trusty smartphone, Fairmont Hotels have gone to the source - the travel photographers themselves - to compile a list of must-try holiday photography hacks.
  
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• Plotting the spread of language on our planet: Interactive map reveals how words have evolved across the world's continents

  30-01-2015 11:33 via
  
  The map (pictured) was created by Brazil-based Easy Way Language Centre. Type a word in any language into Wordmap to hear it being translated globally.
  
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• Uber sued over India rape allegation

  30-01-2015 07:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Indian woman who says she was raped by a Delhi driver of web-based taxi firm Uber files a lawsuit against the service in a US court.
  
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• Scars reveal ageing whales' secrets

  30-01-2015 03:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists studying one of the most mysterious whale species find they form long-term alliances, sometimes lasting many years.
  
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• When two galaxies go to war: Hubble spots massive 'rollercoaster' loop in space made entirely of stars - caused by gigantic collision

  30-01-2015 02:26 via
  
  The giant 'Loop' was caused when two galaxies drifted too close together between 100 and 200 million years ago and began to drag at and disrupt one another’s structure and shape.
  
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• Google under fire for investing in smart specs and self driving cars

  30-01-2015 01:41 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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• Cities are experiencing MORE heat waves, study claims

  30-01-2015 01:39 via
  
  Researchers from the US and India studied 200 urban areas across the globe from 1973 to 2012. They found that extremely hot days (stock image shown) have increased across the globe.
  
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• What are the odds you will have Wi-Fi on your flight?

  30-01-2015 01:30 via
  
  Travelers only have access to 'some' chance of Wi-Fi on 24 per cent of flights worldwide, and 66 per cent on US domestic flights, according to a report by New York-based Routehappy.
  
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• VIDEO: Giant beaked whales show their scars

  30-01-2015 01:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Baird's beaked whale - one of the most mysterious marine mammals - forms long-term alliances that last many years, footage reveals.
  
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• Tesla's 'insane mode' just got FASTER with over-the-air software upgrade

  30-01-2015 01:20 via
  
  In 'Insane Mode', the Tesla Model S P85D goes from 0 to 60mph in around three seconds. The California-based billionaire said that the upgrade will shave around 0.1 seconds of this time.
  
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• Iceland is RISING by 1.4 inches a year as its glaciers melt from climate change

  30-01-2015 01:14 via
  
  A new Arizona study has found that as global warming melts the island's great ice caps, the crust is 'rebounding' and rising.
  
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• VIDEO: Firing six times faster than sound

  30-01-2015 01:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click looks at some of the week's technology highlights
  
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