Sci-Tech news

• You're binned! App claims to take the pain out of breaking up with someone by doing it for you with an automated voice message

  22-06-2015 23:59 via
  
  A new app, dubbed Binder, claims to make awkward break up conversations easier by letting people dump their partners through an automated voice message.
  
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• Earth's protective shield is weakening, according to Swarm mission

  22-06-2015 23:49 via
  
  The initial results from Swarm are due to be presented at the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics on 22 June to 2 July in Prague, Czech Republic.
  
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• Look out! Sun unleashes 'triple whammy' geomagnetic storm on Earth as forecasters prediction massive aurora and possible problems from severe storm

  22-06-2015 23:21 via
  
  The sun has unleashed three separate solar storms which have combined to smash into Earth's atmosphere. Forecasters say the storm will continue overnight, causing huge aurora.
  
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• Earth's protective shield is weakening: Trio of Swarm satellites could reveal how fast the planet's magnetic field is fading

  22-06-2015 23:08 via
  
  The initial results from Swarm are due to be presented at the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics on 22 June to 2 July in Prague, Czech Republic.
  
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• Earth's protective shied is weakening: Trio of Swarm satellites could reveal how fast the planet's magnetic field is fading

  22-06-2015 22:36 via
  
  The initial results from Swarm are due to be presented at the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics on 22 June to 2 July in Prague, Czech Republic.
  
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• Will Apple's iPhone 7 kill off the home button?

  22-06-2015 22:27 via
  
  Instead of a button, fingerprint sensors would be built into the screen to allow the firm's Touch ID system to work.
  
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• Will the iPhone 7 kill off the home button? claims new model could use 'force touch' instead

  22-06-2015 22:01 via
  
  Instead of a button, fingerprint sensors would be built into the screen to allow the firm's Touch ID system to work.
  
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• Teenage brains are wired to be impatient, Max Planck Institute claim

  22-06-2015 21:11 via
  
  Led by the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, the study found that teenagers reacted more to immediate rewards. Shown is Harry Enfield's Kevin the Teenager, known for his grumpy attitude.
  
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• Left-wingers can't control themselves as well as conservatives, claims study

  22-06-2015 21:06 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Cincinattifound that people on the right of the political scale are more likely to believe they have free-will and that individuals have the power to change things.
  
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• Forget the flying car, meet the personal helicopter: 18 rotor electric craft revealed

  22-06-2015 20:43 via
  
  The Volocopter uses 18 rotors, which its inventors say make it 'safer simpler and cleaner' that current designs.
  
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• What do our nightmares mean? Huge online database reveals the bizarre and intimate dreams of people around the world

  22-06-2015 20:35 via
  
  William Domhoff, from the University of California, Santa Cruz, is building a 'DreamBank', which details more than 22,000 dreams and is free for anyone to look through online.
  
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• Bitcoin drug baron Ross Ulbricht jailed for masterminding Silk Road drug site

  22-06-2015 20:03 via
  
  Ross Ulbright was jailed for life after he was accused of running the online black market site.But his horrified mother Lyn claims he was falsely accused and is fighting for his freedom.
  
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• Latest EU Sentinel set for launch

  22-06-2015 20:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The second of the European Union's Sentinel Earth-observing satellites is ready to launch on a mission that will allow scientists to map the performance of the world's crop harvests.
  
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• Is YOUR cat stressed? Study reveals how to get your pet purring again

  22-06-2015 19:31 via
  
  A group of vets at the Autonomous University of Barcelona have reviewed the scientific evidence for ways of identifying and reducing stress in cats. Signs include hiding (stock image shown).
  
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• 'Pyramid' spotted on surface of Ceres

  22-06-2015 19:23 via
  
  Nasa scientists in California revealed images from the Dawn spacecraft. One shows a mountain the size of Mont Blanc in a relatively flat area (shown in red ring).
  
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• Neanderthals mixed with us in Europe

  22-06-2015 19:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Modern humans and Neanderthals interbred in Europe, according to an analysis of 40,000-year-old DNA.
  
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• Ancient Romanian jawbone sheds light on Neanderthal interbreeding

  22-06-2015 18:44 via
  
  A 40,000 year oldjawbone unearthed in Romania indicates that interbreeding with Neanderthals occurred much more recently than previously known.
  
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• The brain identifies gender in milliseconds using subtle variations in lips and skin colour

  22-06-2015 18:41 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Montreal asked participants to guess people's gender from different parts of their faces using a colour (pictured) and grey tones scale.
  
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• Do STARFISH hold the key to eternal youth?

  22-06-2015 18:33 via
  
  Swedish researchers say they have discovered that starfish - which can reproduce by cloning themselves - produce a special kind of DNA that doesn't age like the human version.
  
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• SoftBank Robotics' Pepper the robot sells out in ONE MINUTE

  22-06-2015 18:12 via
  
  Pepper (pictured) is made by French firm Aldebaran Robotics. Within a minute of going on sale at the weekend in Japan, the first 1,000 units of humanoid had been ordered.
  
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• No wonder student protests always turn into brawls! Left-wingers can't control themselves as well as conservatives, claims study

  22-06-2015 18:05 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Cincinattifound that people on the right of the political scale are more likely to believe they have free-will and that individuals have the power to change things.
  
  Read more

• Pepper the 'emotional' robot sells out in ONE MINUTE: 1,000 models of the Japanese humanoid sell for $1,600 each

  22-06-2015 17:53 via
  
  Pepper (pictured) is made by French firm Aldebaran Robotics. Within a minute of going on sale at the weekend in Japan, the first 1,000 units of humanoid had been ordered.
  
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• A loaf of bread will be more ‘crumpled’ because grains will have less protein

  22-06-2015 17:09 via
  
  Researchers at the Victorian government and Melbourne University carried out a bread-baking experiment - altering the carbon dioxide levels each sample was exposed to.
  
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• Man or woman? Look at the LIPS: Our brains identify gender in milliseconds using subtle variations in the colour of the skin

  22-06-2015 17:08 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Montreal asked participants to guess people's gender from different parts of their faces using a colour (pictured) and grey tones scale.
  
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• Apple Music in Taylor Swift backdown

  22-06-2015 16:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple Music reverses its payment policy, a day after Taylor Swift said she was refusing to allow the company to stream her album 1989.
  
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• The key to eternal youth? STARFISH may hold the secret after scientists discover they can live for hundreds of years without ageing

  22-06-2015 16:42 via
  
  Swedish researchers say they have discovered that starfish - which can reproduce by cloning themselves - produce a special kind of DNA that doesn't age like the human version.
  
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• New groups of 'weird' bacteria are unlike anything discovered before

  22-06-2015 16:21 via
  
  Biologists at the University of California Berkeley have identified 35 new phyla of bacteria in groundwater collected in Rifle, Colorado, that appear to sit on a new branch of the tree of life.
  
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• New Horizons probe sends images ahead of its historic arrival on Pluto in 3 weeks

  22-06-2015 16:18 via
  
  Scientists in Colorado have revealed new images of Pluto and Charon (shown). They are the first colour images of the two by the New Horizons probe.
  
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• Getting into the groove! Mesmerising video shows a needle moving through the ridges of a vinyl record using an electron microscope

  22-06-2015 16:07 via
  
  The animation, and the process behind creating it, is detailed in a video produced by California-based Applied Science host Ben Krasnow.
  
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• Pluto pictured in colour for first time: New Horizons probe sends back images ahead of its historic arrival in just three weeks

  22-06-2015 16:05 via
  
  Scientists in Colorado have revealed new images of Pluto and Charon (shown). They are the first colour images of the two by the New Horizons probe.
  
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• Does the Tree of Life need to be redrawn? New groups of 'weird' bacteria are unlike anything discovered before

  22-06-2015 15:35 via
  
  Biologists at the University of California Berkeley have identified 35 new phyla of bacteria in groundwater collected in Rifle, Colorado, that appear to sit on a new branch of the tree of life.
  
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• Apple's dad-dancing problem-solver

  22-06-2015 15:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A profile of Apple's problem-solving executive, Eddy Cue
  
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• Taylor Swift's demands to pay artists during free trial makes Apple change its tune

  22-06-2015 15:25 via
  
  The superstar penned an open letter on Sunday, shaming the tech giant for its 'shocking' attempt to stream music for free without paying the artists. The company has now bowed to the pressure.
  
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• Chaotic distant world in the outer solar system is the result of an ancient cosmic 'robbery'

  22-06-2015 14:38 via
  
  The study was carried out by Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. It examined Sedna, a dwarf planet with a hugely eccentric orbit, possibly as it was stolen (artist's impression shown).
  
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• Public asked to record seaside sounds

  22-06-2015 14:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The National Trust is asking the public to record the sounds of the UK seaside to create a unique audio archive.
  
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• $179 door handle scans fingerprints to keep criminals out

  22-06-2015 14:15 via
  
  The Ola lock (pictured) has been developed in Beijing and is currently available for $159 (£102) on Kickstarter, and will then go on sale for $179 (£115) in May 2016.
  
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• Intel Remote Keyboard app lets you control your PC from anywhere in your home

  22-06-2015 14:02 via
  
  California-based Intel has launched a new app to connect Android smartphones and tablets to a PC, providing a QWERTY keyboard, trackpad and scroll bar (pictured).
  
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• French telecoms giant bids for rival

  22-06-2015 14:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  French telecoms giant Numericable-SFR makes a €10bn offer for rival Bouygues Telecom, sending its share price sharply higher, but the government expresses reservations.
  
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• Space video cameras to circle globe

  22-06-2015 13:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Canadian group Urthecast plans to put a 16-satellite constellation in orbit to image the Earth, including making small movies of what is happening at the surface of the planet.
  
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• Rule change for broadband migration

  22-06-2015 13:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Britons can now start the process of switching broadband supplier with one phone call.
  
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• Forget keys, unlock your home with your THUMB: $179 door handle scans fingerprints to keep criminals out

  22-06-2015 13:47 via
  
  The Ola lock (pictured) has been developed in Beijing and is currently available for $159 (£102) on Kickstarter, and will then go on sale for $179 (£115) in May 2016.
  
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• China 'graft app' sees tip-offs soar

  22-06-2015 13:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New government app feature lets people report low-level corruption in seconds.
  
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• A desktop computer in the palm of your HAND: Intel Remote Keyboard app lets you control your PC from anywhere in your home

  22-06-2015 13:34 via
  
  California-based Intel has launched a new app to connect Android smartphones and tablets to a PC, providing a QWERTY keyboard, trackpad and scroll bar (pictured).
  
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• Lakes and seas on Saturn’s Earth-like moon Titan are created when rain dissolves the surface

  22-06-2015 13:19 via
  
  Study led by the European Space Agency examined Saturn's moon Titan. They found 'depressions' on the surface were caused by rain, but the process is very slow. Shown is its largest sea, Kraken Mare.
  
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• Mummified Catholic bishop reveals dark secret: Scans show human foetus concealed under feet of 17th century church leader

  22-06-2015 13:05 via
  
  Scientists at Lund University in Sweden conducted CT scans on the mummified remains of the Bishop of Lund Peder Winstrup, discovering a foetus (pictured) had been hidden in his coffin.
  
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• Can't sleep? Your home's ELECTRICITY may be to blame: Access to power is linked to a losing at least an hour's shut-eye

  22-06-2015 12:44 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Washington gave sleep tracking bracelets to villagers in Argentina. One of the Toba/Qom communities has electricity and the other doesn't.
  
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• Mummified bishop reveals dark secret: Scans show human foetus concealed under feet of 17th Century church leader

  22-06-2015 12:04 via
  
  Scientists at Lund University in Sweden conducted CT scans on the mummified remains of the Bishop of Lund Peder Winstrup, discovering a foetus (pictured) had been hidden in his coffin.
  
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• Police team to hunt IS web accounts

  22-06-2015 11:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Europe-wide police team is being formed to track and block social media accounts linked to Islamic State.
  
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• Amazon to start paying authors based on the number of PAGES read in e-books

  22-06-2015 11:44 via
  
  The royalty payment changes will take effect from the 1 July.The changes apply to books published and available on Kindle Unlimited and Kindle Owner's Lending Library.
  
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• VIDEO: Holographic pyramid on your table

  22-06-2015 10:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Will this interactive holographic display help people interact with technology in groups more naturally?
  
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