Sci-Tech news

• Could Earth's other 'moon' reveal the solar system's secrets? Cruithne's strange orbit may shed light on how planets evolve

  25-02-2015 23:50 via
  
  Dr Duncan Forgan from St Andrews University in Scotland believes its strange orbit (pictured) is an ideal testing ground for our understanding of how the solar system evolves under gravity.
  
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• Apple's maps get real in bid to outdo Google: Update shows the correct time on Big Ben and reveals the London Eye rotating 

  25-02-2015 23:36 via
  
  Apple hopes that adding 'real time' features to its Maps app it can steal a march on Google. It is believed the firm will roll out more of the tricks around the world.
  
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• Pink clouds visible in Arizona after New Mexico rocket launches into Earth's atmosphere

  25-02-2015 23:21 via
  
  Residents in Phoenix, Tucson, Lake Havasu City and Flagstaff reported seeing the pink cloud from the Terrier-Black Brant rocket launch that took place early this morning.
  
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• Scientists witness carbon dioxide trapping heat in air

  25-02-2015 22:54 via
  
  Berkeley scientists have witnessed carbon dioxide trapping heat in the atmosphere above the United States, and say it 'confirms the science of climate change'.
  
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• Scarlett and Alessandro top the attractive names list, study finds

  25-02-2015 21:30 via
  
  The results were collated by Laura Wattenberg, founder of New York-based BabyNameWizard.com who asked tens of thousands of visitors to rate names for sexiness.
  
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• Is YOUR name sexy? Scarlett and Alessandro top the attractive names list - but it's bad news for Bob and Gertrude

  25-02-2015 20:49 via
  
  The results were collated by Laura Wattenberg, founder of New York-based BabyNameWizard.com who asked tens of thousands of visitors to rate names for sexiness.
  
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• Mysterious comet to be visible from Earth: Space telescope spots unusual comet 'never seen before' SURVIVE close encounter with the sun

  25-02-2015 20:39 via
  
  Scientists at Nasa and the European Space Agency have released a video showing a previously unknown comet pass within 2.2 million miles of the sun's surface.
  
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• Samsung's Galaxy S6 to cost over $1,000 and the firm is struggling to make its curved display 

  25-02-2015 20:39 via
  
  Samsung's Galaxy S6 is expected to appear in a radical Edge version with curved screens when it is unveiled on Sunday - but according to Ars Technica, the firm is struggling to make the screen.
  
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• Giant crab normally found in the ARCTIC washes up on English coast

  25-02-2015 20:37 via
  
  Oceanographer David McCreadie found the red king crab on a beach in Redcar, north Yorkshire. The species is normally found in the Bering Sea off the Alaskan coast.
  
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• Monster black hole discovered and it's 12 BILLION times larger than our own sun

  25-02-2015 19:37 via
  
  Astronomers from the Australian National University and other institutions discovered the black hole (Illustrated) at the centre of a quasar - an intensely powerful galactic radiation source.
  
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• Paris night drone mystery deepens

  25-02-2015 19:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Drones appear over central Paris overnight, for the second time, and police are no nearer knowing who is operating them.
  
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• ISS LIVE cameras give you astronauts' view of mission to prepare 'space taxis'

  25-02-2015 19:34 via
  
  Station commander Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, left the station's airlock after 7 am EST (1200 GMT) and headed to the space shuttle's old docking port.
  
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• Wisconsin-Madison university scientists create 'Bach for CATS' music

  25-02-2015 19:09 via
  
  Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland have composed tunes that cats preferred to human classical music like Bach's Air on a G String.
  
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• VIDEO: Computer teaches itself to play games

  25-02-2015 19:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers say they have developed an artificial intelligence system that has taught itself how to win 1980s computer games.
  
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• Rockies or the Scottish Highlands would give you the most time in a zombie apocalypse

  25-02-2015 19:08 via
  
  The sparsely populated Northern Rockies would be the best place escape to in the event of a zombie outbreak in the United States, according to scientists at Cornell University.
  
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• Machine learns to play video games

  25-02-2015 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A machine inspired by the human brain has learned how to play 49 classic Atari video games - a step towards self-thinking robots, scientists say.
  
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• Take a spacewalk above the ISS: Cameras give you astronauts' view of second mission to prepare station for 'space taxis'

  25-02-2015 18:52 via
  
  Station commander Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, 52, and flight engineer Terry Virts, 47, left the station's airlock after 7 am EST (1200 GMT) and headed to the space shuttle's old docking port.
  
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• In pictures: Vintage Nasa photographs for sale

  25-02-2015 18:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A collection of vintage Nasa photos is set for auction
  
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• Dutch town terrorised by rogue owl

  25-02-2015 18:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Residents of the Dutch town of Purmerend are advised to take umbrellas out at night after a rogue owl leaves man requiring stitches to head wounds.
  
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• Yo app adds Store that lets you get updates from your favourite sites

  25-02-2015 18:28 via
  
  Yo's San Francisco developers have launched the Yo Store designed to notify users of new articles, funny videos, tweets, sports scores and more. There are more than 150 services in 10 categories.
  
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• Network of computers spreading malware to enable criminals to steal passwords is shut down

  25-02-2015 17:17 via
  
  The 'malware' was spread by Windows users opening links sent out via phishing emails and social networks, inadvertently downloading a virus onto their computers.
  
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• Robots may take our jobs and cause the economy to crash

  25-02-2015 16:59 via
  
  Experts from the National Bureau of Economic Research in Massachusetts used a simulated economy to create a model that plotted a range of possible robot scenarios.
  
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• Major zombie botnet forced offline

  25-02-2015 16:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Officers say they shut down a network being used to take control of unsuspecting users' computers and steal sensitive information.
  
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• Russia extends space station role

  25-02-2015 16:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Russia commits itself to operations on the International Space Station until 2024, matching the intentions of the Americans.
  
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• Funerals are being held for ROBOTIC dogs in Japan because owners believe they have souls

  25-02-2015 16:43 via
  
  In Japan, owners of a robotic dog called AIBO believe their mechanical pets have souls, and have started to stage funerals in temples after Sony discontinued repair centres
  
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• Endangered Amur leopards have doubled in number in less than 10 years

  25-02-2015 16:37 via
  
  At least 57 Amur leopards now exist in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, up from just 30 cats counted in 2007, according to a new census.
  
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• Sahara fertilises the AMAZON with 182 million tones of DUST every year

  25-02-2015 16:14 via
  
  Nasa's Calipso satellite found dust clouds carry on average 182 million tons of dust each year between the Sahara desert and the Amazon rainforest.
  
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• Buzz Aldrin urges next US president to send humans to live and DIE on Mars

  25-02-2015 16:04 via
  
  Buzz Aldrin, who was the second man to walk on the Moon, told a special US Senate hearing that the US should focus on sending astronauts on one way trips to Mars.
  
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• Isle of Man declared 'bee pest-free'

  25-02-2015 15:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Union officially declares Isle of Man bees to be free of the deadly Varroa pest which has wiped out billions around the world.
  
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• Is the world ready for GM animals?

  25-02-2015 15:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Is the world ready for modified mosquitoes and engineered salmon?
  
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• Clampdown on cold call companies

  25-02-2015 15:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Companies behind cold calls and nuisance text messages are to face tougher rules after thousands of complaints about their conduct.
  
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• Robots may take our jobs and cause the economy to crash - and experts suggest you start saving money NOW, claims report

  25-02-2015 15:14 via
  
  Experts from the National Bureau of Economic Research in Massachusetts used a simulated economy to create a model that plotted a range of possible robot scenarios.
  
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• First ever baby woolly rhino unearthed in Siberian ice after 10,000 years

  25-02-2015 14:55 via
  
  A local hunter found the infant woolly rhino in a ravine by a stream in Russia's largest and coldest region, the Sakha Republic, in September.
  
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• 5G researchers achieve record speed

  25-02-2015 14:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists researching 5G at the University of Surrey achieve data connection many thousands of times faster than the average 4G.
  
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• Rarest wild cat on Earth back from the brink: Endangered Amur leopards have doubled in number in less than 10 years

  25-02-2015 14:31 via
  
  At least 57 Amur leopards now exist in Russia’s Land of the Leopard National Park, up from just 30 cats counted in 2007, according to a new census.
  
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• Apple ordered to pay $530 million for patent infringement

  25-02-2015 14:20 via
  
  Texas-based Smartflash sued Apple for infringing patents on storing downloaded media. It accused Apple of using technology from its patents to create and develop its iTunes software (pictured).
  
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• Apple hit by huge iTunes patent bill

  25-02-2015 14:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple is ordered to pay $533m to a company that does not make products of its own but sues others for payments, in a dispute over iTunes.
  
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• Where to hide in a zombie apocalypse: Rockies or the Scottish Highlands would give you the most time to plan your last stand against the undead

  25-02-2015 14:02 via
  
  The sparsely populated Northern Rockies would be the best place escape to in the event of a zombie outbreak in the United States, according to scientists at Cornell University.
  
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• Nasa's Curiosity Mars rover sends back SELFIE from mountain on the red planet

  25-02-2015 13:14 via
  
  Looking straight into the camera, Nasa's Curiosity rover used its robotic arm to take dozens of images that were then stitched together to produce the final image.
  
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• What happened to the air-conditioned stadium?

  25-02-2015 12:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Can you really air condition an open stadium?
  
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• Dragonflies see in UltraHD, study claims

  25-02-2015 12:49 via
  
  Scientists from four universities in Japan, have discovered dragonflies have up to 30 different types of light sensitive proteins, meaning that they see in the equivalent of UltraHD.
  
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• First ever baby woolly rhino unearthed: 18-month-old 'Sasha' is found in the Siberian ice after being buried for 10,000 years

  25-02-2015 12:30 via
  
  A local hunter found the infant woolly rhino in a ravine by a stream in Russia's largest and coldest region, the Sakha Republic, in September.
  
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• Sim card firm confirms hack attacks

  25-02-2015 12:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Sim card maker at the centre of NSA-GCHQ hacking claims says it believes that the US and UK cyberspy agencies did attack it.
  
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• Customers to pay each other and small businesses using just TWITTER handle

  25-02-2015 11:39 via
  
  Launching on both Android phones and iOS devices on March 10, people using Barclays’s Pingit payment service will be able to link their Twitter handle to the service.
  
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• Why Orange Wednesdays are ending

  25-02-2015 11:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As mobile phone company EE ends its weekly Orange Wednesdays cinema deal, we find out why it's being ditched.
  
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• Expert warns the Arctic could be ice-free in just 40 years

  25-02-2015 10:58 via
  
  Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Oleg Anisimov said there is evidence that temperatures are rising four times faster in the Arctic than the rest of the planet.
  
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• Exploring Greenland's wilderness on a FLYING DINGHY

  25-02-2015 10:58 via
  
  The dinghy is attached to a light aircraft so it can take off on land and water, and reaches altitudes of almost 10,000ft (3,000 metres). It It is used by the Centre of Geogenetics to explore remote lakes in Greenland.
  
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• Exploring Greenland's wilderness on a FLYING DINGHY: Rubber boat reaches altitudes of almost 10,000ft before it glides down into remote lakes

  25-02-2015 10:35 via
  
  The dinghy is attached to a light aircraft so it can take off on land and water, and reaches altitudes of almost 10,000ft (3,000 metres). It It is used by the Centre of Geogenetics to explore remote lakes in Greenland.
  
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• Europe's 'Landsat' ready for launch

  25-02-2015 10:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The "workhorse" satellite in Europe's new multi-billion-euro Earth observation programme is built and ready to go into orbit.
  
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• How your credit card turned into a mini computer

  25-02-2015 10:04 via
  
  Credit cards are about to get their biggest makeover in decades, transforming them from simple slivers of plastic to mini-computers in your wallet.
  
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