Sci-Tech news

• What Lara Croft would look like as a REAL woman: Bulimia charity reimagines female gaming characters with normal bodies

  24-07-2015 23:56 via
  
  Bulimia.com redesigned characters like, Halo's Cortana, Final Fantasy's Rikku, and Mortal Kombat's Jade to represent the average American woman's measurements.
  
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• America's Thor wins the RoboCup as organisers pledge to take on humans by 2050

  24-07-2015 23:08 via
  
  It's not just America's women who have triumphed in a soccer world cup. Thor, a 5-foot-tall,humanoid robot built by UCLA and University of Pennsylvania has won the 'RoboCup'.
  
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• Music can trigger a physical response similar to orgasms in some people

  24-07-2015 22:54 via
  
  Scientists at Wesleyan University in Connecticut have revealed that while 80 per cent of listeners experience physical reactions to music, a small number experience 'skin orgasms'.
  
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• VIDEO: What is Google's Project Jacquard?

  24-07-2015 22:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google senior executive Regina Dugan discuses the projects coming out of the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) unit
  
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• America wins robot soccer world cup: Thor triumphs in China as organisers pledge to take on a human team by 2050

  24-07-2015 22:41 via
  
  It's not just America's women who have triumphed in a soccer world cup. Thor, a 5-foot-tall,humanoid robot built by UCLA and University of Pennsylvania has won the 'RoboCup'.
  
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• Nasa launches Quest for Quakes challenge to monitor mysterious signals 

  24-07-2015 22:16 via
  
  A Nasa challenge is looking for concrete proof to support the theory by asking the public to develop software codes or algorithms to search through data on electromagnetic pulses.
  
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• Pluto may have 'nitrogen glaciers'

  24-07-2015 21:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pluto would appear to have glaciers of nitrogen ice, the latest pictures from the New Horizons probe suggest.
  
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• Entire US national security system at risk following year-long 'mind boggling' cyber-assault that saw information of 21.5 million federal employees stolen

  24-07-2015 21:16 via
  
  Experts warn the entire U.S. national security clearance system could be compromised, on the day it is finally being restarted after the unprecedented security breach.
  
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• VIDEO: The bag designed to thwart terrorists

  24-07-2015 21:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have developed what they're describing as a bomb proof material that could be a major step forward in aircraft security.
  
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• Is dark matter actually a particle discovered in the 1930s?

  24-07-2015 21:03 via
  
  A team of physicists at the University of Tokyo has offered a new hypothesis that suggests dark matter acts like a particle called the pion, which is responsible for binding atomic nuclei together.
  
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• Stealing data from contactless cards is easy, Which? warns

  24-07-2015 21:00 via
  
  Holders of contactless bank cards could be exposed to the risk of fraud as thieves can use scanners to steal account details, consumer group Which? has warned.
  
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• Pluto's mysterious hazy atmosphere revealed as stunning new images also show its icy 'dark heart' has moving GLACIERS 

  24-07-2015 20:37 via
  
  The latest images reveal signs of recent geologic activity, something scientists hoped to find but didn't expect, along with unexplained layers of haze several times higher than scientists predicted.
  
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• Mystery of a Mayan king revealed in 1,600-year-old stone tablet found in Guatemala

  24-07-2015 19:43 via
  
  Archaeologists at Tulane University have discovered a stone tablet hidden inside the ruins of a shrine at an ancient palace in the jungle of Peten in Guatemala.
  
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• Could electromagnetic pulses give a warning of the big one? Nasa launches plan to monitor mysterious signals 

  24-07-2015 19:37 via
  
  A Nasa challenge is looking for concrete proof to support the theory by asking the public to develop software codes or algorithms to search through data on electromagnetic pulses.
  
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• Drone video shows crop circles in Russia's Tolyatti which appeared in same place 10 years ago

  24-07-2015 19:28 via
  
  A drone captured some incredible footage of a series of mysterious crop circles in Russia. Strangely, the unexplained patternsappeared in the same location exactly 10 years ago to the day.
  
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• Youtube to get 3D video and 360-degree VIRTUAL REALITY after app update released

  24-07-2015 19:19 via
  
  Virtual reality is coming to Youtube with full 360 degree viewing angles and 3D videos, the company announced today in a tantalizing tweet after the launch of the company's new app.
  
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• New York Blood Center abandons 66 apes on Liberian island after they experimented on them

  24-07-2015 19:03 via
  
  The chimps were captured by the New York Blood Centre and held on small islets in the south of Liberia where they were infected with diseases in a bid to find vaccines for them.
  
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• Device limits aircraft bomb impact

  24-07-2015 19:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new system that contains the explosion of bombs smuggled onto aircraft has been successfully tested.
  
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• Mystery of a Mayan king: 1,600-year-old stone tablet reveals reign of early ruler in the ancient South American civilisation

  24-07-2015 18:38 via
  
  Archaeologists at Tulane University have discovered a stone tablet hidden inside the ruins of a shrine at an ancient palace in the jungle of Peten in Guatemala.
  
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• WTO strikes 'landmark' IT trade deal

  24-07-2015 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The World Trade Organisation (WTO) strikes 'landmark' deal to cut tariffs on $1.3 trillion (£838bn) worth of technology products.
  
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• Jeep hack prompts 1.4m car recall

  24-07-2015 17:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Car giant Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.4 million vehicles in the US after security researchers showed that one of its cars could be hacked.
  
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• Youtube to get 3D video and 360-degree VIRTUAL REALITY: New features announced after app update released

  24-07-2015 17:49 via
  
  Virtual reality is coming to Youtube with full 360 degree viewing angles and 3D videos, the company announced today in a tantalizing tweet after the launch of the company's new app.
  
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• 3D-printed plane flies from UK ship

  24-07-2015 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 3D-printed aircraft is launched from a Royal Navy ship and landed safely on a Dorset beach.
  
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• E.coli found lurking on car steering wheels and handbrakes

  24-07-2015 15:13 via
  
  Cars were put under the microscope by scientists from the University of Nottingham. They found evidence of potentially deadly bugs staphylococcus and Ecoli lurking on steering wheels.
  
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• Black ring hovered above Nottingham industrial estate after propane unit exploded

  24-07-2015 14:50 via
  
  A strange black ring has been spotted hovering over rooftops in Nottingham following an explosion, leading to wild speculation as to what it might be. Experts say it is a type of smoke ring.
  
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• At least 8M humans may have lived and farmed the Amazon basin

  24-07-2015 14:50 via
  
  Scientists in Brazil have uncovered evidence that between eight and 50 million people lived around the Amazon river by 1492 and farmed extensively in the region, shown in the map pictured.
  
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• Oklahoma weather forecasters spot unexpected rain but find it is GRASSHOPPERS

  24-07-2015 14:36 via
  
  After previously predicting clear, sunny skies, meteorologists in Oklahoma were baffled when they spotted fast-moving heavy rainclouds hovering over northwest Texas.
  
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• AI software creates realistic handwriting by mimicking the brain

  24-07-2015 14:24 via
  
  A computer scientist at the University of Toronto has created an artificial neural network that can mimic real handwriting and even create styles of its own. It even makes errors and slants text like a person.
  
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• Broadband 'levy' for super-fast net

  24-07-2015 14:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Broadband bills could rise as the UK government decides how to bring very high speed net access to remote areas.
  
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• Robo-Mate lets humans pick up objects TEN times heavier than normal

  24-07-2015 14:17 via
  
  Dubbed Robo-Mate, the German technology adds metallic supports to arm, legs and the back to allow workers to lift ten kilograms, making it feel like just one.
  
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• Three ‘communications satellites’ launched by Russia have potential to be weapons

  24-07-2015 14:15 via
  
  Russia has launched three mystery spacecrafts in 18 months, under cover of routine satellite launches. U.S. analysts say the unusually nimble satellites have the potential to be weaponised.
  
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• Facebook posts CAN be used to prosecute benefit cheats in New York test case

  24-07-2015 14:09 via
  
  Facebook has been told it can not block nearly 400 search warrants seeking users' postings as part of a fraud investigation, a New York appeals court said on Tuesday. Facebook said the request was too broad.
  
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• VIDEO: Why a smile could change this advert

  24-07-2015 14:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How our emotions and biometrics could change the way advertising works.
  
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• Turning factory workers into SUPERHEROES: Exoskeleton lets humans pick up objects TEN times heavier than they would normally be able to carry

  24-07-2015 14:06 via
  
  Dubbed Robo-Mate, the German technology adds metallic supports to arm, legs and the back to allow workers to lift ten kilograms, making it feel like just one.
  
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• 'Dark web' drug dealer is jailed

  24-07-2015 14:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 29-year-old man from Ceredigion is jailed for two years after admitting 'dark web' drugs offences.
  
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• Apple warns of laptop data problem

  24-07-2015 14:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Apple is warning users of its latest Macbook Pro about an issue with the laptop that may cause data corruption.
  
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• Facebook posts CAN be used to prosecute benefit cheats in New York test case: Ruling forces social network to comply with warrants - angering privacy campaigners

  24-07-2015 13:36 via
  
  Facebook has been told it can not block nearly 400 search warrants seeking users' postings as part of a fraud investigation, a New York appeals court said on Tuesday. Facebook said the request was too broad.
  
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• Gamers face tournament drug tests

  24-07-2015 13:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's biggest video game tournament company launches an anti-doping scheme, after a top player admits taking a performance-enhancing drug.
  
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• 'Earth 2.0' Kepler 452b is most similar planet to ours, Nasa says

  24-07-2015 12:56 via
  
  Named Kepler-452b, it is the smallest planet to date discovered orbiting in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. The planet, 1,400 light years away, has the same size orbit as Earth.
  
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• Can this COMPUTER write better than you? AI software creates realistic handwriting by mimicking the structure of the human brain

  24-07-2015 12:34 via
  
  A computer scientist at the University of Toronto has created an artificial neural network that can mimic real handwriting and even create styles of its own. It even makes errors and slants text like a person.
  
  Read more

• Uber sued for £198m in Canada

  24-07-2015 12:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Taxi-booking app Uber is hit with £198m joint legal action by taxi drivers in Canada's biggest city Toronto.
  
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• My Canary app tells drivers if their cannabis consumption puts them over the limit

  24-07-2015 12:28 via
  
  American cannabis advocacy group Norml have released a controversial new app which they claim will be able to asses cannabis users' suitability to drive safely.
  
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• VIDEO: Air traffic control's busiest day

  24-07-2015 11:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  As thousands head off on their summer holidays, air traffic control in the UK is expecting its busiest day.
  
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• Men exaggerate how tall they are to compensate for feelings of inadequacy

  24-07-2015 11:35 via
  
  If a man feels like his masculinity is being questioned he is more likely to lie about various physical and mental attributes, University of Washington researchers found.
  
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• 'Handsome offspring' are a sign of good genes, study reveals

  24-07-2015 11:06 via
  
  A man’s ability to sire a handsome child is an instinctive sign that he has good-quality genes, say researchers at the University of Trnava, Slovakia.
  
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• Trip Book Smiles uses GPS to adapt its plot to include nearby landmarks

  24-07-2015 11:05 via
  
  The Trip Book Smiles storycan change to weave a tale of several cities including Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, London, New York, Paris and Rome.
  
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• How Instagram and Facebook can leave teenagers suicidal

  24-07-2015 10:47 via
  
  Researchers from Ottawa Public Health say parents should consider frequent use of social networking sites a sign of psychological problems.
  
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• Step forward for computing by light

  24-07-2015 10:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Engineers and physicists have discovered a property of silicon which could aid the development of faster computers.
  
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• Australia's role in search for alien life

  24-07-2015 08:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Searching for alien life with a telescope down under
  
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• VIDEO: All the Pluto pictures in 60 seconds

  24-07-2015 07:59 via bbc.co.uk
  It's the dwarf planet that keeps on giving. Now Newsround has compiled all the pictures of Pluto so far into one manageable minute.
  
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