Sci-Tech news

• US Army concept video reveals bold plan for low cost launches

  06-02-2015 22:54 via
  
  The Virginia-based US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency says the plan will bring down the cost of launch from $60 million (£39 million to $1 million (£650,000);
  
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• Second time lucky? SpaceX set to try and land rocket onto a barge on Sunday after first attempt ended in 'rapid unscheduled disassembly'

  06-02-2015 22:52 via
  
  The firm is targeting a 6:10 p.m. ET launch on Sunday of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
  
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• The algorithm that can spot the 'beauty' in holiday snaps and tell you which selfies to delete

  06-02-2015 22:44 via
  
  Yahoo Labs in Barcelona say their software can spot the best holiday snap, and even analyse your selfies - and even found men smile less than women in snaps..
  
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• Meet the US Navy's latest recruit, a humanoid robot firefighter called Saffir

  06-02-2015 22:02 via
  
  The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot walked across uneven floors, using thermal imaging a hose to extinguish a small fire in a series of experiments in Virginia.
  
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• Having a 'frenemy' in the office makes you BETTER at your job

  06-02-2015 21:42 via
  
  Researchers at the University of North Carolina believe that people who we love to hate can motivate us and encourage us to see things from another person's perspective.
  
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• Scientists say settling for 'Mr Right Now' is better than waiting for 'Mr Right' 

  06-02-2015 21:24 via
  
  Using computer models, researchers at Michigan State University have found that the human race's survival has been helped by the fact people are risk-averse when it comes to relationships.
  
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• Babies get microbes from breast milk that makes them 'more ready' for solid food

  06-02-2015 21:24 via
  
  Carolina researchers say babies exclusively given breast milk have microbial communities in their gut that seem 'more ready for the introduction of solid foods'.
  
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• Lemmings use multicoloured fur and loud shrieks to warn predators to stay away

  06-02-2015 21:23 via
  
  Biologists from the University of Gothenburg have found that Norwegian lemmings use their distinctive yellow, black and white fur as a warning that they are dangerous.
  
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• A new look for the View-Master? Google and Mattel tease big announcement 'to view what's possible' with retro invite

  06-02-2015 20:45 via
  
  A mystery product that's been jointly created by Google and toy company Mattel will be unveiled next Friday morning in New York City.
  
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• Having a 'frenemy' in the office makes you BETTER at your job: Colleagues who we love to hate boost productivity, says study

  06-02-2015 20:45 via
  
  Researchers at the University of North Carolina believe that people who we love to hate can motivate us and encourage us to see things from another person's perspective.
  
  Read more

• The first stars are 100 MILLION years younger than we thought, Planck satellite reveals

  06-02-2015 20:44 via
  
  Europe's Planck satellite reveals the first stars (illustration shown) were younger than thought. They now think they began to shine 540 million years after the Big Bang.
  
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• Breast IS best: Researchers say babies get microbes from mother's milk that makes them 'more ready' to digest solid food

  06-02-2015 20:36 via
  
  Carolina researchers say babies exclusively given breast milk have microbial communities in their gut that seem 'more ready for the introduction of solid foods'.
  
  Read more

• Care-O-Bot 3 responds to commands to bring you drinks and open doors

  06-02-2015 20:12 via
  
  A UK team has designed a robot butler called Care-O-Bot 3 (shown). The machine has a flexible arm that can pick up drinks. It also has a tray - which doubles as a face - to rest objects on.
  
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• The Senzati Jet Sprinter looks more like a private jet than a car

  06-02-2015 19:48 via
  
  A Coventry-based firm set out to design a vehicle to provide passengers with ‘the space uniquely found in a decent sized private jet’ that is able to be manoeuvred in cities.
  
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• When lemmings ATTACK: Aggressive rodents use multicoloured fur and loud shrieks to warn predators to stay away

  06-02-2015 19:47 via
  
  Biologists from the University of Gothenburg have found that Norwegian lemmings use their distinctive yellow, black and white fur as a warning that they are dangerous.
  
  Read more

• Technology used to make Bina 48 could one day let us upload our minds to computers

  06-02-2015 19:31 via
  
  Internet radio entrapreneur Martine Rothblatt is attempting to build 'Mind Clones' to save the opinions, memories and personalities of people onto computers.
  
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• Why you SHOULDN'T wait for the perfect partner: Scientists say settling for 'Mr Right Now' is better than waiting for 'Mr Right' 

  06-02-2015 19:27 via
  
  Using computer models, researchers at Michigan State University have found that the human race's survival has been helped by the fact people are risk-averse when it comes to relationships.
  
  Read more

• Interactive map plots the possible locations of buried treasure around the world

  06-02-2015 19:25 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The map (pictured) was created for California-based eBay and plots the location of 35 treasures. These include real troves, mythical loots and heists that feature in fictional films.
  
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• VIDEO: Island home for red squirrels

  06-02-2015 18:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mersea Island is the only place in the east of England where red squirrels are living wild.
  
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• The first stars in the universe formed 100 MILLION years later than thought, Planck satellite reveals

  06-02-2015 18:41 via
  
  Europe's Planck satellite reveals the first stars (illustration shown) were younger than thought. They now think they began to shine 540 million years after the Big Bang.
  
  Read more

• Your old gadgets are costing you AND the environment: Outdated devices use much more energy than new models

  06-02-2015 18:08 via
  
  Researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York estimated energy use based on the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment database.
  
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• Europe's war with big US tech firms

  06-02-2015 18:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe and the US go head-to-head over tech firms
  
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• Weather on other planets reveals why we shouldn't complain about ours

  06-02-2015 18:02 via
  
  WEB EXCLUSIVE: The weather on other planets puts ours to shame. On Mars, US rovers have to content with dust storms and radiation.
  
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• Emergency declared in the Galápagos Islands after ship with hazadous cargo runs aground

  06-02-2015 17:56 via
  
  The Floreana ran aground in the Galápagos Islands (stock image shown) on Wednesday 28 January, and remains stuck. It had 10,000 gallons of fuel and other hazardous cargo on board.
  
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• Watch a giant parasitic worm erupts from a spider's body

  06-02-2015 17:49 via
  
  The disgusting sight was filmed by YouTube member BaskWith2 in Australia, who was shocked to see the writhing worm after spraying the spider with insecticide.
  
  Read more

• Do you REALLY like chilli sauce? Men pretend to like it to appear macho, study claims

  06-02-2015 17:34 via
  
  Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that men who liked to eat chilli peppers had personalities that meant they may be driven by macho cultural associations.
  
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• Is the age of robotic BUTLERS upon us? £180,000 AI helper responds to commands to bring you drinks and open doors

  06-02-2015 17:18 via
  
  A UK team has designed a robot butler called Care-O-Bot 3 (shown). The machine has a flexible arm that can pick up drinks. It also has a tray - which doubles as a face - to rest objects on.
  
  Read more

• GCHQ censured over data deal with US

  06-02-2015 17:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK agency GCHQ was not open enough on how it shared intelligence gathered by US mass internet surveillance, a tribunal rules.
  
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• The Mercedes with a private BATHROOM: £209,000 luxury people carrier looks more like a private jet than a car

  06-02-2015 16:57 via
  
  A Coventry-based firm set out to design a vehicle to provide passengers with ‘the space uniquely found in a decent sized private jet’ that is able to be manoeuvred in cities.
  
  Read more

• Study finds society shited towards individualism a CENTURY ago

  06-02-2015 16:50 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Waterloo studied baby names, birth and divorce rates over the past 150 years to see when our narcissistic traits developed (Kim Kardashian is pictured).
  
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• Google block Store apps infected by harmful adware

  06-02-2015 16:45
  
  GOOGLE have confirmed they have blocked access to several apps known to be spreading adware - update Feb 5.
  
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• Millennium Falcon quadcopter drone takes flight in amazing video

  06-02-2015 16:43 via
  
  A French inventor has unveiled a Star Wars-inspired quadcopter (shown). The drone itself cost about £750, but the modifications were under £20.
  
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• Could this creepy robot be the answer to eternal life? Technology used to make Bina 48 could one day let us upload our minds to computers

  06-02-2015 16:25 via
  
  Internet radio entrapreneur Martine Rothblatt is attempting to build 'Mind Clones' to save the opinions, memories and personalities of people onto computers.
  
  Read more

• Could an iPhone replace your CAR KEYS?

  06-02-2015 16:03 via
  
  The US patent relates to ‘a primary portable device [that] can access a vehicle by transmitting an activation message including a vehicle access credential to the vehicle.’
  
  Read more

• Are underwater volcanoes causing global warming?

  06-02-2015 15:54 via
  
  Geophysicists at Columbia University found that underwater volcanoes erupt in cycles that change the Earth's orbit and can contribute more to climate change than previously thought.
  
  Read more

• AirBoard is a Segway crossed with a HOVERBOARD

  06-02-2015 15:35 via
  
  AirBoard (pictured) was created by Latvian-based Elviss Straupenieks. It features four propellers and the prototype can carry a person weighing up to 220lbs (100kg).
  
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• X marks the spot! Interactive map plots the possible locations of buried treasure around the world

  06-02-2015 15:31 via
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The map (pictured) was created for California-based eBay and plots the location of 35 treasures. These include real troves, mythical loots and heists that feature in fictional films.
  
  Read more

• Ubuntu phone has alternative to apps

  06-02-2015 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first Ubuntu-powered smartphones go on sale shortly, featuring a user interface with a card-based system rather than grids of apps.
  
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• VIDEO: DIY solution to share diabetes data

  06-02-2015 15:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One mother finds a way to track her daughter's diabetes data
  
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• Destiny game gets 16 million players

  06-02-2015 15:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 16 million people registered to play sci-fi shooter Destiny, creator Activision Blizzard has revealed.
  
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• State of emergency declared in Galápagos: Ship with hazardous materials runs aground and could threaten islands' unique ecosystem

  06-02-2015 15:00 via
  
  The Floreana ran aground in the Galápagos Islands (stock image shown) on Wednesday 28 January, and remains stuck. It had 10,000 gallons of fuel and other hazardous cargo on board.
  
  Read more

• YUK! Watch the grotesque moment a giant parasitic worm erupts from a spider's body

  06-02-2015 14:55 via
  
  The disgusting sight was filmed by YouTube member BaskWith2 in Australia, who was shocked to see the writhing worm after spraying the spider with insecticide.
  
  Read more

• The bilingual CHIMPS: Video reveals apes learning new 'words'

  06-02-2015 14:47 via
  
  Biologists from the University of York and the University of Zurich studied adult chimps that moved from the Netherlands to join a group at Edinburgh Zoo and found they altered their calls for apple.
  
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• Think the 'Me Me Me Generation' is new? Think again: Society began shifting towards individualism more than a CENTURY ago

  06-02-2015 14:38 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Waterloo studied baby names, birth and divorce rates over the past 150 years to see when our narcissistic traits developed (Kim Kardashian is pictured).
  
  Read more

• Google to 'start again' with Glass

  06-02-2015 14:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google is starting from scratch with its controversial Glass smart-spectacles project, reports the New York Times.
  
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• Lawyers bite over 'Left Shark' model

  06-02-2015 14:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A website has been ordered to remove a design for a 3D-printed model of the "Left Shark" dancer from the Super Bowl half-time show.
  
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• The drone inspired by STAR WARS: Millennium Falcon quadcopter reaches a top speed of 20mph

  06-02-2015 14:03 via
  
  A French inventor has unveiled a Star Wars-inspired quadcopter (shown). The drone itself cost about £750, but the modifications were under £20.
  
  Read more

• Could an iPhone replace your CAR KEYS? Apple patent suggests handset could be used to unlock vehicles

  06-02-2015 13:00 via
  
  The US patent relates to ‘a primary portable device [that] can access a vehicle by transmitting an activation message including a vehicle access credential to the vehicle.’
  
  Read more

• Are underwater volcanoes causing global warming? Oceanic eruptions may have a greater effect on climate than first thought

  06-02-2015 12:36 via
  
  Geophysicists at Columbia University found that underwater volcanoes erupt in cycles that change the Earth's orbit and can contribute more to climate change than previously thought.
  
  Read more

• China rejects health hack accusation

  06-02-2015 12:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China has rejected accusations it was behind a hack that stole huge amounts of data from health insurer Anthem.
  
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