Sci-Tech news

• Twitter scraps restrictive 140-character limit on direct messages

  12-08-2015 23:34 via
  
  The feature is today rolling out globally, with Twitter saying the aim is to allow users to 'express themselves' more freely. e The character limit for regular tweets, which is 140, will remain
  
  Read more

• 'Aliens tried to save America from nuclear war', says former astronaut

  12-08-2015 23:20 via
  
  The bizarre claim was made by Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, who says UFO eye-witness accounts from high-ranking military officials back up his claims.
  
  Read more

• A 'monster' emerges from the Baltic sea: Ferocious wooden figurehead that adorned a Danish warship surfaces after 500 years

  12-08-2015 23:01 via
  
  This figurehead was lifted from the sea in southern Sweden this week by divers bringing up treasures from the wreck of the 'Gribshunden', a ship which belonged to Danish King John.
  
  Read more

• Sneaky octopus uses shoulder tap prank to catch its prey

  12-08-2015 22:39 via
  
  Researchers at the University of California, Berkley found the larger Pacific striped octopus use a hunting technique straight from the school playground (pictured).
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Finally! Twitter scraps restrictive 140-character limit on direct messages to lure users away from Whatsapp and Facebook

  12-08-2015 21:44 via
  
  The feature is today rolling out globally, with Twitter saying the aim is to allow users to 'express themselves' more freely. e The character limit for regular tweets, which is 140, will remain
  
  Read more

• Tinder hits back at 'dating apocalypse claims' in rant on Twitter 

  12-08-2015 21:16 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  A series of tweets from Tinder's official handle hit back at the Vanity Fair article, defending the dating-app for 'bringing people together'. A series of tweets within minutes, criticizing the article.
  
  Read more

• Chinese city recruits 'smell specialists' to sniff out air pollution 

  12-08-2015 21:15 via
  
  The city of Guangzhou in south China has recently recruited a team of trained 'smell specialists' whose job is to identify possible pollution by sniffing air samples collected across the city of 13 million.
  
  Read more

• Chinese city recruits 'smell specialists' to sniff out air pollution 

  12-08-2015 21:15 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The city of Guangzhou in south China has recently recruited a team of trained 'smell specialists' whose job is to identify possible pollution by sniffing air samples collected across the city of 13 million.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 'Aliens tried to save America from nuclear war': UFOs shot at missiles in White Sands to protect Earth, claims former astronaut

  12-08-2015 21:06 via
  
  The bizarre claim was made by Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, who says UFO eye-witness accounts from high-ranking military officials back up his claims.
  
  Read more

• It's behind you! Sneaky octopus tricks prey by TAPPING shrimps on the shoulder so they run straight into its clutches

  12-08-2015 20:01 via
  
  Researchers at the University of California, Berkley found the larger Pacific striped octopus use a hunting technique straight from the school playground (pictured).
  
  Read more

• Comet 67P passes closest point to Sun

  12-08-2015 19:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Comet 67P has passed the closest point to the Sun in its 6.5-year orbit, with the Rosetta spacecraft still in orbit around it.
  
  Read more

• BMW owns Alphabet.com domain and it doesn't want to sell it to Google

  12-08-2015 19:15 via
  
  Google rebranded as Alphabet on Monday. BMW's Alphabet is fleet services company. Alphabet's CEO Larry Page is pictured.
  
  Read more

• England to test 'electric motorways'

  12-08-2015 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Highways England plans to test under-road wireless charging equipment that could be buried beneath motorways to top-up cars as they drive.
  
  Read more

• Victims of 1665 Great Plague 'found'

  12-08-2015 19:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A mass burial site that may contain 30 victims of the Great Plague is found underneath Liverpool Street station as part of Crossrail works.
  
  Read more

• Got a sensitive nose? Chinese city recruits 'smell specialists' to sniff out air pollution 

  12-08-2015 18:15 via
  
  The city of Guangzhou in south China has recently recruited a team of trained 'smell specialists' whose job is to identify possible pollution by sniffing air samples collected across the city of 13 million.
  
  Read more

• Technology is making us tardy: Phones make it easy to tell friends we're running late...and almost half of us lie about why we're delayed

  12-08-2015 18:13 via
  
  A rise in the use ofsmartphones and technology is shifting Britons' attitudes towards being late - and we're more likely to be later than ever, according to a new survey.
  
  Read more

• Black Death victims found beneath London's Liverpool Street station

  12-08-2015 18:12 via
  
  Archaeologists made the gruesome find during the excavation of the Bedlam burial ground at the Crossrail site in the east of London under Liverpool Street Station.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: With the elephants orphaned by poachers

  12-08-2015 17:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  One World Elephant day, the BBC is told how poaching could see the end of elephants in the wild by 2030.
  
  Read more

• Should've googled it first! BMW owns Alphabet.com and has no plans to sell it to Google's new parent company

  12-08-2015 17:33 via
  
  Google rebranded as Alphabet on Monday. BMW's Alphabet is fleet services company. Alphabet's CEO Larry Page is pictured.
  
  Read more

• World's biggest Scalextric track designed by Formula One ace Martin Brundle and featuring 150ft of the sport's most famous turns goes up for sale 

  12-08-2015 17:24 via
  
  The 'Ultimate 2015 Track' is made up of 177 pieces and features 40 corners, chicanes, and sections from the 2015 Formula One calendar, including the Ascari chicane from the Italian GP.
  
  Read more

• World's biggest Scalextric track designed by Formula One ace Martin Brundle and featuring 150ft of the sport's most famous turns goes up for sale 

  12-08-2015 17:24 via dailymail.co.uk
  
  The 'Ultimate 2015 Track' is made up of 177 pieces and features 40 corners, chicanes, and sections from the 2015 Formula One calendar, including the Ascari chicane from the Italian GP.
  
  Read more

• R70i Ageing Experience reveals what it's like to be a PENSIONER with arthritis

  12-08-2015 16:47 via
  
  The R70i Ageing Experience (pictured) was built by New York-based life insurance firm Genworth to mimic how age related diseases can impair body movement.
  
  Read more

• Piracy sites lose big name adverts

  12-08-2015 16:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An anti-piracy police squad claims success at preventing adverts from well known brands appearing on file-sharing sites.
  
  Read more

• Tinder hits back at 'dating apocalypse claims' in rant on Twitter 

  12-08-2015 16:19 via
  
  A series of tweets from Tinder's official handle hit back at the Vanity Fair article, defending the dating-app for 'bringing people together'. A series of tweets within minutes, criticizing the article.
  
  Read more

• Explore the Pacific Ocean with live feed from Deep Discoverer

  12-08-2015 16:14 via
  
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's robotic submersible Deep Discoverer is exploring Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Monument off Hawaii.
  
  Read more

• Facebook's rumoured to be building a breaking news app

  12-08-2015 15:06 via
  
  While in its infancy, Facebook's news app will ask users to select their favourite publications and topics or ‘stations’ that they would like to receive news about, rumours suggest.
  
  Read more

• Read all about it! Facebook is reportedly working on a breaking news app that will send tweet-style alerts to your phone

  12-08-2015 14:25 via
  
  While in its infancy, Facebook's news app will ask users to select their favourite publications and topics or ‘stations’ that they would like to receive news about, rumours suggest.
  
  Read more

• The solar system had a fifth gas giant that crashed into Neptune

  12-08-2015 14:22 via
  
  David Nesvorny, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder used a computer simulation of the solar system to rewind 4 billion years to find evidence for the planet.
  
  Read more

• 'Mother' robot builds 'children' models to make each generation better than last

  12-08-2015 14:18 via
  
  In five experiments by the University of Cambridge, the 'mother' designed, built and tested generations of ten 'children', using the information gathered from one generation to inform the design of the next.
  
  Read more

• R70i Aging Experience reveals what it's like to be a PENSIONER with arthritis

  12-08-2015 14:00 via
  
  The R70i Aging Experience (pictured) was built by New York-based life insurance firm Genworth to mimic how age related diseases can impair body movement.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: The Perseid meteors - in 60 seconds

  12-08-2015 13:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A look at some of your photos of the Perseid meteor shower in 60 seconds.
  
  Read more

• Kardashian selfie rebuked by watchdog

  12-08-2015 13:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US drugs regulator attacks a selfie posted by the celebrity Kim Kardashian that advertised a medicine without detailing its side effects.
  
  Read more

• NASA primed for 9-minute live test of mighty rocket motor

  12-08-2015 13:33 via go.theregister.com
  
  Window-rattling Space Launch System burn scheduled for tomorrow NASA will tomorrow broadcast live a test firing of its RS-25 powerplant, "one of four engines that will power the core stage of NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS), and carry the agency’s Orion crew capsule as part of the journey to Mars and other deep-space destinations".…
  
  Read more

• The robot that BREEDS: 'Mother' machine builds and tests 'children' models to make each generation better than the last

  12-08-2015 13:23 via
  
  In five experiments by the University of Cambridge, the 'mother' designed, built and tested generations of ten 'children', using the information gathered from one generation to inform the design of the next.
  
  Read more

• The search for the missing planet: Our early solar system may have had a fifth gas giant that disappeared after a crash with Neptune

  12-08-2015 13:11 via
  
  David Nesvorny, an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder used a computer simulation of the solar system to rewind 4 billion years to find evidence for the planet.
  
  Read more

• 'Old age suit' reveals what it's like to be a PENSIONER: Futuristic exoskeleton mimics arthritis, hearing loss and blindness

  12-08-2015 12:29 via
  
  The R70i Aging Experience (pictured) was built by New York-based life insurance firm Genworth to mimic how age related diseases can impair body movement.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Why the Perseids happen every year

  12-08-2015 11:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The BBC's Pallab Ghosh explains why the Perseid meteor shower happens every year.
  
  Read more

• Chinese Army trains students to control machines with their minds

  12-08-2015 11:36 via
  
  The People's Liberation Army Information Engineering University in Zhengzhou is developing technology to allow robots to be controlled using thought alone.
  
  Read more

• Rise of the brain-controlled robot ARMIES: Chinese military trains students to control machines with their minds

  12-08-2015 11:29 via
  
  The People's Liberation Army Information Engineering University in Zhengzhou is developing technology to allow robots to be controlled using thought alone.
  
  Read more

• Alcoho-Lock breathalyser tells your partner if you try to cycle drunk

  12-08-2015 11:17 via
  
  Japanese company Koowho has built a bike lock that doubles as a breathalyser to stop cyclists from risking their lives by grassing them up to their partner if they've had one too many.
  
  Read more

• Los Angeles releases millions of plastic balls to protect its water

  12-08-2015 10:13 via
  
  The plastic balls form a protective barrier across the water's surface that helps keep birds, animals and other contaminants out. It also helps prevent the water from evaporating.
  
  Read more

• Zebra's stripes make it easier for them to be caught by predators

  12-08-2015 09:26 via
  
  Cambridge University scientists say that, contrary to popular opinion, the distinctive stripes don't seem to protect zebras from lions and leopards and instead make them easier to catch.
  
  Read more

• Perseids meteor shower will show hundreds of shooting stars across Europe

  12-08-2015 09:18 via
  
  Stargazers across Britain were treated to a stunning lightshow overnight as hundreds of shooting stars filled the sky, with further dazzling displays expected from the annual Perseids shower tonight.
  
  Read more

• Shell Arctic drilling 'risky'

  12-08-2015 08:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Arctic oil drilling may harm Shell's reputation and cost it dear, says the former BP boss Lord Browne, but Shell says the risks are manageable.
  
  Read more

• 'World's largest great white shark' named Deep Blue shows off teeth in new video

  12-08-2015 07:39 via
  
  New footage has emerged of a giant great white shark named 'Deep Blue' which is believed to be the largest of its kind in the world.
  
  Read more

• Scientist outlines what would happen if America was hit by a nuclear bomb

  12-08-2015 03:18 via
  
  Professor Cham Dallas at University of Georgia says that many people are in denial over the threat of nuclear weapons, and as a result, the nation is not prepared for the consequences.
  
  Read more

• 'We are not prepared': Scientist outlines terrifying vision of what would happen if America was hit by a nuclear bomb

  12-08-2015 02:51 via
  
  Professor Cham Dallas at University of Georgia says that many people are in denial over the threat of nuclear weapons, and as a result, the nation is not prepared for the consequences.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Medieval 'sea monster' raised from Baltic

  12-08-2015 02:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The figurehead from a 15th century ship, the Gribshunden, has been raised from the Baltic Sea near Ronneby, Sweden, more than 500 years after it sank.
  
  Read more

• England to trial technology which charges electric cars on the move

  12-08-2015 02:05 via
  
  The trials are expected to begin this year and, if successful, Highways England said it would look at the feasibility of installing the technology on motorways and major A roads.
  
  Read more

• Lost in space? Nasa under pressure

  12-08-2015 01:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Are Nasa's robotic spacecraft plans in trouble?
  
  Read more

Follow @scitech_UK on Twitter!