Sci-Tech news

• US approves Amazon drone trial

  19-03-2015 23:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US Federal Aviation Administration approves Amazon's plans to begin testing drones for online deliveries.
  
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• Google claims its FaceNet system has almost perfected recognising human faces

  19-03-2015 23:36 via
  
  Facebook and Google have been involved in a Silicon Valley algorithm war to come up with the perfect facial detection system.
  
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• Ceres' 'alien' flashes may be WATER VOLCANOES: Images suggest mysterious spots on dwarf planet are plumes of ice

  19-03-2015 23:26 via
  
  The images, presented by the Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, glimmers of light are visible even when they are near the edge of Ceres, suggesting are high above the surface.
  
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• The ultimate American road trip - and you'll never need to touch the wheel: Self driving car sets off on coast to coast trip

  19-03-2015 23:00 via
  
  Detroit firm Delphi Automotive is set to attempt what it bills as the 'longest automated drive ever attempted in North America', driving from San Francisco to New York.
  
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• Uber overtakes yellow taxis in NYC

  19-03-2015 22:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  For the first time, there are more black Uber cars on the streets of New York City than traditional yellow taxis, latest figures reveal.
  
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• Amazon wins U.S. regulators' approval to test-fly drone

  19-03-2015 22:47 via
  
  The FAA said on Thursday it had issued an experimental airworthiness certificate to Amazon allowing it to conduct outdoor test flights on private, rural land in Washington State.
  
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• The secret of getting a pay rise: Avoid asking for an exact number

  19-03-2015 22:43 via
  
  Scientists at the Columbia Business School in New York have revealed that so-called 'bolstering' range offers work particularly well when negotiating a better salary.
  
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• Is Virgin Electric set to join Virgin Galactic?

  19-03-2015 22:43 via
  
  Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group may take on Tesla Motors and other companies in developing electric cars, the entrepreneur revealed in Miami.
  
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• Streaming revenue edges out CDs in US

  19-03-2015 22:05 via
  
  Streaming has topped CD sales in revenue for the first time in the United States as music listeners flock to on-demand services and Internet radio.
  
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• Urban Death Project proposes to allow human corpses to become plant food

  19-03-2015 22:01 via
  
  Called the Urban Death Project, the Seattle firm proposes corpses are placed into a giant tower by families and left to decompose - with compost being taken from the bottom.
  
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• Climate change as ART: Stunning images reveal the Earth's ecosystem as a colourful 'painted' globe

  19-03-2015 21:51 via
  
  The models, by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, is used to simulate eddy transportation of heat within the ocean and help understand climate change.
  
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• Google claims its FaceNet system has almost perfected recognising human faces - and is accurate 99.96% of the time

  19-03-2015 21:48 via
  
  Facebook and Google have been involved in a Silicon Valley algorithm war to come up with the perfect facial detection system.
  
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• Is Virgin Electric set to join Virgin Galactic? Richard Branson hints firm may take on Tesla and create electric car

  19-03-2015 21:42 via
  
  Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group may take on Tesla Motors and other companies in developing electric cars, the entrepreneur revealed in Miami.
  
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• End online humiliation says Lewinsky

  19-03-2015 21:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The surprise guest of Ted 2015 gave one of the most well-received speeches, about online humiliation and cyberbullying.
  
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• Twitter puts your tweets up for sale so firms can use your data to offer services online

  19-03-2015 21:17 via
  
  In an interview with The Guardian, Twitter’s data strategy chief Chris Moody (pictured) said the data could also be used by police to gauge the mood of a football crowd, for example.
  
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• Arctic sea ice hits record low

  19-03-2015 21:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has fallen to the lowest recorded level for the winter season, according to US scientists.
  
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• Elon Musk reveals software to banish 'range anxiety'

  19-03-2015 20:52 via
  
  The Californian company's updated software will map out the best route to a driver's destination based on the location of charging stations. It will also warn drivers if battery power is low.
  
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• AdvicyDrive band rings an alarm if you fall asleep at the wheel

  19-03-2015 20:30 via
  
  Italy-based AdvicyDrive monitors heart rate while driving to determine how awake you are. If it detects a drop in heart rate, which suggests you're dozing off, it sounds an alarm on a phone (illustrated).
  
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• Corpse compost: Seattle firm campaigning to allow human plant food to be added to ways to dispose of a body

  19-03-2015 20:17 via
  
  Called the Urban Death Project, the Seattle firm proposes corpses are placed into a giant tower by families and left to decompose - with compost being taken from the bottom.
  
  Read more

• The secret of getting a pay rise: Avoid asking for an exact number - instead give your boss a range, claims study

  19-03-2015 20:12 via
  
  Scientists at the Columbia Business School in New York have revealed that so-called 'bolstering' range offers work particularly well when negotiating a better salary.
  
  Read more

• Carnufex carolinesis, the 9-feet long crocodile that hunted on two legs before the dinosaurs

  19-03-2015 19:40 via
  
  Palaeontologists at North Carolina State University say Carnufex carolinesis - which means Carolina Butcher - was probably one of the top predators in the equatorial regions during the Triassic Period.
  
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• Anti-censorship activists 'attacked'

  19-03-2015 19:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Greatfire, which campaigns against internet censorship in China, says it has come under a cyber-attack that is taking sites offline.
  
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• Twitter puts your tweets up for sale: Firms will be able to use your data to offer services online and in the real world

  19-03-2015 19:31 via
  
  In an interview with The Guardian, Twitter’s data strategy chief Chris Moody (pictured) said the data could also be used by police to gauge the mood of a football crowd, for example.
  
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• Crystal with 'forbidden symmetry' found in 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite that formed at the start of the solar system

  19-03-2015 19:24 via
  
  Scientists at Princeton University, New Jersey studied an ancient meteorite (shown) and found a quasicrystal with a structure that it was not thought could form in nature.
  
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• VIDEO: Students go social media cold turkey

  19-03-2015 19:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Students from Haggerston School in Hackney gave up their social media accounts for a week for BBC News School Report.
  
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• Live-stream your LIFE using Meerkat app

  19-03-2015 19:11 via
  
  The app was built by architecture student Ben Rubin and was on display at this week's SXSW Festival in Austin. Tweet s are posted with a [LIVE NOW] message and an optional #meerkat tag.
  
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• Scotland Yard's 'Black Museum' to finally go on display

  19-03-2015 19:03 via
  
  A selection of 500 items from Scotland Yard's Crime Museum, known as the 'Black Museum' for its grisly collection of memorabilia, is set to go on public display for the first time.
  
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• Cars that automatically call for help set to become law from 2018: EU rules demand all makers to install emergency 'black boxes'

  19-03-2015 18:58 via
  
  The European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted in favour of the draft rules on Tuesday. They are set to become law April. BMW i3 with eCall is shown.
  
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• Elon Musk reveals software to banish 'range anxiety' - and says Tesla model S cars could drive themselves

  19-03-2015 18:57 via
  
  The Californian company's updated software will map out the best route to a driver's destination based on the location of charging stations. It will also warn drivers if battery power is low.
  
  Read more

• Live-stream your LIFE: Meerkat app turns your phone into a mobile webcam by broadcasting footage to Twitter followers

  19-03-2015 18:56 via
  
  The app was built by architecture student Ben Rubin and was on display at this week's SXSW Festival in Austin. Tweet s are posted with a [LIVE NOW] message and an optional #meerkat tag.
  
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• TAG Heuer to partner with Google, Intel to create smartwatch

  19-03-2015 18:24 via
  
  The trio revealed at a Basel luxury fair they hope to develop a high end luxury smartwatch to take on Apple's $349 watch - and said it will be on sale by the end of the year.
  
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• Elon Musk reveals software to banish 'range anxiety' - and says Tesla model S cars could soon be able to drive themselves

  19-03-2015 18:17 via
  
  The Californian company today claimed that the two new software updates will make it 'impossible to run out of range' for the entire Tesla model S fleet.
  
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• The bracelet that could prevent car crashes: AdvicyDrive tracks heart rate and rings an alarm when you start to nod off at the wheel

  19-03-2015 18:13 via
  
  Italy-based AdvicyDrive monitors heart rate while driving to determine how awake you are. If it detects a drop in heart rate, which suggests you're dozing off, it sounds an alarm on a phone (illustrated).
  
  Read more

• The crocodile that hunted on TWO legs: Fearsome 9-foot-long predator terrorised world millions of years before the dinosaurs

  19-03-2015 17:39 via
  
  Palaeontologists at North Carolina State University say Carnufex carolinesis - which means Carolina Butcher - was probably one of the top predators in the equatorial regions during the Triassic Period.
  
  Read more

• Beavers on River Otter 'native'

  19-03-2015 17:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wild beavers found living on the River Otter in Devon are a species which was once native to the UK, tests confirm.
  
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• Live-stream your LIFE: Merrcat app turns your phone into a mobile webcam by broadcasting footage to Twitter followers

  19-03-2015 17:28 via
  
  The app was built by architecture student Ben Rubin and was on display at this week's SXSW Festival in Austin. Tweet s are posted with a [LIVE NOW] message and an optional #meerkat tag.
  
  Read more

• Live stream your LIFE using Meerkat: App turns your phone into a mobile webcam by broadcasting footage to Twitter followers

  19-03-2015 17:20 via
  
  The app was built by architecture student Ben Rubin and was on display at this week's SXSW Festival in Austin. Tweet s are posted with a [LIVE NOW] message and an optional #meerkat tag.
  
  Read more

• Where to watch the solar eclipse in the UK: Central and south west England to get the best views - but Northern Ireland might miss out

  19-03-2015 17:16 via
  
  Much of the UK will be covered in cloud during the solar eclipse tomorrow. However, in the south east, cloud cover will be thin - and may break. Cornwall, Leicester and Cardiff will all get good views
  
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• Darpa 'cure' for Ebola could protect us against ALL diseases

  19-03-2015 16:56 via
  
  US military's Darpa has developed a method to stop infectious diseases (Ebola shown). It involves encoding RNA and DNA with instructions for antibodies. Testing could begin in two years.
  
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• Uber endures nightmare week

  19-03-2015 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UberPop is banned by a German court, while police in France raid the company's offices and people connected to it in South Korea face charges
  
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• iCub robot displays six emotions and responds to being touched

  19-03-2015 16:27 via
  
  The humanoid was originally created by the Italian Institute of Technology and its latest iteration can be seen playing a game and responding to touch in a video.
  
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• Solar aeroplane arrives in Myanmar

  19-03-2015 15:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Solar Impulse, the solar-powered plane attempting to fly around the world, completes leg four from Varanasi in India to Mandalay in Myanmar.
  
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• Lava tubes safe enough for Moon base

  19-03-2015 15:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Natural tunnels known as lava tubes could safely house permanent bases on the Moon, scientists have said.
  
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• Is your EMAIL address affecting your career? Employers less likely to recruit people who use underscores or 'cute' words

  19-03-2015 14:45 via
  
  Researchers from VU University in Amsterdam created six fictional résumés and asked recruiters to assess the applicants for cognitive ability, personality, and hirability.
  
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• What do YOUR tweets say about you? Interactive tool psychoanalyses language to reveal your true personality

  19-03-2015 14:25 via
  
  The tool, created by a psychologist at the University of Texas, analyses tweets to create a profile showing a user's emotional, social and thinking styles.
  
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• VIDEO: 'The passion gives you energy to fly'

  19-03-2015 14:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Bertrand Piccard, one of the pilots taking it in turns to fly Solar Impulse 2, the solar-powered plane, around the world talks to the BBC from the plane.
  
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• Extinction threat to Europe's bees

  19-03-2015 14:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Many of Europe's native wild bees are threatened with extinction, according to the first comprehensive assessment of risks.
  
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• Eggstraordinary! FOOT-LONG elephant bird egg complete with embryo remains could fetch £50,000 at auction

  19-03-2015 14:04 via
  
  The egg belonged to a German biologist who collected it but is being sold by his children following his death. It is thought to be one of only 25 intact elephant bird eggs in the world.
  
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• Water Nest 100 sleeps a family of four and is completely powered by the sun

  19-03-2015 14:03 via
  
  The Water Nest 100 (pictured) was designed by Italian architect Giancarlo Zema. It has a 39ft (12 metre) diameter and is 13ft (4 metres) tall and prices start at €500,000 (£358,000).
  
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• Tag Heuer to make Android Wear watch

  19-03-2015 14:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer partners with top tech firms to build an Android Wear-powered smartwatch.
  
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