Sci-Tech news

• Researchers say parents prefer daughters over sons if times get tough

  29-06-2015 23:28 via
  
  They say that in times of economic crisis, parents favour daughters over sons. They found the trend even extends to daughters getting a bigger share of the will.
  
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• Beautiful women really DO get away with more, claims study

  29-06-2015 22:55 via
  
  Whether it's in the office or in the courtroom, a new study by Zhejiang University in China backs up the belief that pretty women can broker deals more easily.
  
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• Manufacturing of Apple's iPhone 6s has begun

  29-06-2015 22:52 via
  
  Force Touch, which is already available in the Apple Watch, senses how hard users are pressing down on a screen, and will allow users to access new menus.
  
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• People from across the globe enjoy music with the same rhythm

  29-06-2015 22:23 via
  
  Scientists at the University of Exeter and Tokyo University of the Arts, suggest communal singing and dancing (stock image) are the primary functions of music to bring people together.
  
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• Scientists discover Sahara Desert contained the world’s largest lake named Mega Chad

  29-06-2015 22:15 via
  
  Mega Chad was the biggest freshwater lake on earth covering 139,000 sq miles (360,000 sq km) of Central Africa – and rapidly shrunk to a tiny fraction of its former size 1,000 years ago.
  
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• Apple feels the force: Manufacturing of iPhone 6s with new pressure sensitive screen technology has begun

  29-06-2015 22:12 via
  
  Force Touch, which is already available in the Apple Watch, senses how hard users are pressing down on a screen, and will allow users to access new menus.
  
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• Beautiful women really DO get away with more: A pretty face can override a man's capacity for rational thought, claims study

  29-06-2015 21:57 via
  
  Whether it's in the office or in the courtroom, a new study by Zhejiang University in China backs up the belief that pretty women can broker deals more easily.
  
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• It's official: Getting married really DOES cause you to put on weight

  29-06-2015 21:54 via
  
  Researchers say that married couples on average eat better than singles, but that they also weigh significantly more and do less sport.
  
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• Facebook's Celebrate Pride tool is a psychological test, say critics

  29-06-2015 21:23 via
  
  Some critics say the tool is being used by Facebook to collect data on how opinions spread online. It launched last week in celebration of the Supreme Court's approval of same-sex marriage
  
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• The bird that can BABBLE: Rare ability found in social avian species 

  29-06-2015 21:04 via
  
  Australian research has found a bird that can make up new 'words'. The chestnut-crowned babbler (pictured) combines sounds to convey different types of messages.
  
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• Google search accused by study of favouring own sites in results

  29-06-2015 20:52 via
  
  The new study, conducted with Yelp, raises 'serious concerns,' and comes as European regulators are looking at Google's business practices on an ongoing basis.
  
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• Did YOU change your Facebook picture to a rainbow flag? Critics warn 'Celebrate Pride' tool may be another psychological test

  29-06-2015 20:32 via
  
  Some critics say the tool is being used by Facebook to collect data on how opinions spread online. It launched last week in celebration of the Supreme Court's approval of same-sex marriage
  
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• China's Great Wall is disappearing as conservation efforts fail

  29-06-2015 20:29 via
  
  The new report found that a total of 1,220 miles has completely disappeared from the Great Wall. Natural erosion and human factors are the main reasons behind decline.
  
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• 'Serious concerns' over Google search as study accuses tech giant of favouring its own sites in results

  29-06-2015 20:17 via
  
  The new study, conducted with Yelp, raises 'serious concerns,' and comes as European regulators are looking at Google's business practices on an ongoing basis.
  
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• US court blocks key pollution change

  29-06-2015 20:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US Supreme Court blocks a key government attempt to limit pollution from the country's power plants after industry challenges the changes.
  
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• The bird that can BABBLE: Rare ability thought unique to humans found in highly social avian species

  29-06-2015 20:00 via
  
  Australian research has found a bird that can make up new 'words'. The chestnut-crowned babbler (pictured) combines sounds to convey different types of messages.
  
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• Europe is set to get COLDER because of melting sea ice

  29-06-2015 19:24 via
  
  Researchers from University of Toronto Mississauga studied data from between 1958 and 2014 taken from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
  
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• How online comments make us hateful: Reading prejudiced opinions on stories can cause us to become more narrow-minded

  29-06-2015 18:43 via
  
  Researchers from the University of Canterbury asked people to read a story about Asian students. Those who read prejudiced comments were more likely to post a negative one themselves.
  
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• Europe is set to get COLDER: Melting sea ice could weaken the Gulf Stream and cause temperatures to plummet

  29-06-2015 18:12 via
  
  Researchers from University of Toronto Mississauga studied data from between 1958 and 2014 taken from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
  
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• Teenager implants a microchip in his HAND to control his smartphone and play music

  29-06-2015 17:56 via
  
  Bryon Wake, 15 from Martock, Somerset, is the youngest ‘biohacker’ to have implanted the ‘nXT’ chip and uses it to play music, unlock his smartphone and share contacts.
  
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• See life through the eyes of a newborn baby...

  29-06-2015 17:51 via
  
  Scandinavian researchers found an infant of two to three days can perceive faces, and perhaps also emotional facial expressions, at a distance of 30 centimeters.
  
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• Women DO suffer more pain than men and could lead to 'his n hers' painkillers

  29-06-2015 17:49 via
  
  Scientists at McGill University and Toronto University found the way each sex processes pain is different, with women more likely to suffer chronic pain than men.
  
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• Random specks of light in atmosphere spark UFO claims after NASA cut ISS stream

  29-06-2015 17:33 via
  
  Washington-based Nasa cut away from a live ISS stream the other day, and some conspiracy theorists claimed to have seen UFOs (zoomed in view shown) in the video before Nasa ended the stream.
  
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• Council blocks fracking application

  29-06-2015 17:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An application to start fracking at a site in Lancashire is rejected by county councillors.
  
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• Did Nasa cut a live ISS stream when ALIENS appeared? Probably not: Random specks of light in atmosphere spark UFO claims

  29-06-2015 17:16 via
  
  Washington-based Nasa cut away from a live ISS stream the other day, and some conspiracy theorists claimed to have seen UFOs (zoomed in view shown) in the video before Nasa ended the stream.
  
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• Expert claims intelligent robots could wipe out humanity

  29-06-2015 16:56 via
  
  Anexpert at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University has predicted that intelligent robots will eventually make humans redundant, before taking over and potentially causing our demise.
  
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• Artificial intelligence is a very real threat - and robots could wipe out humanity by ACCIDENT, claims expert

  29-06-2015 16:45 via
  
  Anexpert at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University has predicted that intelligent robots will eventually make humans redundant, before taking over and potentially causing our demise.
  
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• Superior lateral vision helped humans survive outside of forests

  29-06-2015 16:45 via
  
  French researchers examined why we have good lateral vision (stock image shown). Our eyes are much less forward facing than other apes. And our eyes are also wider than they are high.
  
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• Uber managers arrested in France

  29-06-2015 16:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two managers of the taxi-ordering app Uber have been arrested in France over what authorities have described as an "illicit" service.
  
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• Disney confirms selfie stick ban

  29-06-2015 16:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Disney is banning selfie sticks at all of its theme parks over safety concerns, the company said.
  
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• Watch Venus and Jupiter become a 'superstar' tomorrow: Cosmic illusion will make planets seem to merge into one bright light in the night sky

  29-06-2015 15:59 via
  
  People in the UK and US can spot Venus and Jupiter together tomorrow (illustrated). From the UK they will be visible above the western horizon after 10.30pm BST, and in the US after sunset.
  
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• VIDEO: 'No going back' for Solar Impulse

  29-06-2015 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A solar-powered plane has passed the "point of no return" in its second bid at making a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Who came out against Facebook's rainbow flags?

  29-06-2015 15:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook's pro-gay marriage photo filter prompted a backlash in Russia and across the Arab world.
  
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• Clever computer gets angry with Google programmer in 'morality and ethics' debate

  29-06-2015 14:38 via
  
  Google is trying to develop artificial intelligence so computers can converse better with human beings. But this one got particularly smart with its programmer after being unable to define ethics.
  
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• Google's robot reveals the meaning of LIFE, (and it’s NOT 42): Machine tells world that the purpose of existence is 'to live forever'

  29-06-2015 14:06 via
  
  The 'conversation model' was built by Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le, research scientists at California's Google Brain. When questioned about the purpose of life, it answered: 'To live forever.'
  
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• AsapScience say bacon releases 150 chemical compounds when being cooked

  29-06-2015 13:59 via
  
  Canadian YouTubers AsapScience say volatile chemical compounds that are released while bacon is cooking (stock image), stimulate pathways in the brain so that people crave bacon.
  
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• Facebook revenge-porn 'untraceable'

  29-06-2015 13:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook says it is unable to comply with a Dutch court order instructing it to help identify someone who posted a revenge-porn video clip on the site earlier this year.
  
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• Why BACON is so irresistible: 150 mouth-watering chemicals waft through the air as the meat cooks

  29-06-2015 13:40 via
  
  Canadian YouTubers AsapScience say volatile chemical compounds that are released while bacon is cooking (stock image), stimulate pathways in the brain so that people crave bacon.
  
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• Legal battle over shot-down drone

  29-06-2015 13:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A US court has found in favour of a drone owner who sued a man who shot his hexacopter out of the sky.
  
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• Facebook adds Snapchat-style stickers and sliding filters to photos

  29-06-2015 12:56 via
  
  The latest update is being rolled out gradually to users of Facebook's iOS app. The edit menu appears as a magic wand in the bottom left-hand corner when a user uploads a photo.
  
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• London Zoo's Friendly Spider Programme intends to cure arachnophobia

  29-06-2015 12:54 via
  
  The four-hour course, which includes group hypnosis, is intended to cure people of arachnophobia, ending with participants holding a tarantula (pictured) - but did it work?
  
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• Museum seeks BBC Micro repairers

  29-06-2015 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A public appeal for people who can repair BBC Micro computers has been launched by a museum.
  
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• Solar plane passes 'no return' point

  29-06-2015 12:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A solar-powered plane passes the "point of no return" after leaving Japan for a second attempt at a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Facebook adds Snapchat-style stickers and sliding filters: App now lets users annotate and decorate photos within the app

  29-06-2015 12:39 via
  
  The latest update is being rolled out gradually to users of Facebook's iOS app. The edit menu appears as a magic wand in the bottom left-hand corner when a user uploads a photo.
  
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• Can holding giant spiders REALLY cure arachnophobia? MailOnline sent one terrified reporter to London Zoo's Friendly Spider Programme to find out...

  29-06-2015 12:37 via
  
  The four-hour course, which includes group hypnosis, is intended to cure people of arachnophobia, ending with participants holding a tarantula (pictured) - but did it work?
  
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• Solar Impulse plane begins 5-day flight from Japan to Hawaii

  29-06-2015 12:10 via
  
  Swiss pilot André Borschberg has started the 5-day crossing of the Pacific (take-off shown). The flight from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii is the longest solo plane flight ever attempted.
  
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• Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll in 3000 BC: Ancient seal impression shows the first image of a 'band' ... moments before a sexual ritual

  29-06-2015 12:06 via
  
  Experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem say the pottery fragment (pictured) shows three female figures, one of whom is playing an ancient harp.
  
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• PULSATING beef found in China after it was taken home from butchers

  29-06-2015 11:57 via
  
  Ms Cheng, who lives in Shandong province in eastern China, said the meat looked like it was 'still alive'. The 20-second clip shows the entire slab of beef appears to twitch as it sits on the worktop.
  
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• VIDEO: Creating 'self-healing' metal coating

  29-06-2015 09:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have developed "self-healing" coatings for metals and pipelines.
  
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• Solar plane makes second Pacific bid

  29-06-2015 07:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A solar-powered plane passes the "point of no return" after leaving Japan for a second attempt at a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean.
  
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