Science news

• Zootly is a New York moving app with a Canadian connection

  20-02-2016 14:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Canadian-designed moving app Zootly has been compared to Uber, but unlike the ride-sharing app, Zootly doesn't bypass existing companies but collects them under one umbrella, much like a dispatch or booking service for movers.
  
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• Ferocious cyclone strikes Pacific island nation of Fiji

  20-02-2016 12:21
  
  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Residents of Fiji hunkered down Saturday as a ferocious cyclone tore through the Pacific island chain, prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and declare a monthlong state of disaster.
  
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• Pluto's largest moon likely fractured by sub-surface ocean: NASA

  20-02-2016 09:30
  
  Images from the New Horizon space probe suggest that Pluto's moon Charon once had a sub-surface ocean that has since frozen and expanded, causing the surface to stretch and fracture, NASA said.
  
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• Irradiated mosquitoes to help zap Zika's power

  20-02-2016 07:57
  
  The atmosphere inside the laboratory on the outskirts of Vienna is literally buzzing with armies of male mosquitoes locked up inside net-covered boxes. Their sole mission in life: stop females from breeding.
  
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• NASA sees record number of astronaut applications

  20-02-2016 06:02
  
  NASA has received a record 18,300 resumes from people keen on becoming astronauts, the US space agency said.
  
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• Scientists have found a way to cheapen a search for effective pesticides

  20-02-2016 06:00
  
  (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) Scientists from MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology) and MSU (Moscow State University), under the leadership of Yan Ivanenkov, were first to develop a computer model predicting agrochemical activity -- the beneficial influence of simple molecules on the plants.
  
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• New material to enhance battery life

  20-02-2016 06:00
  
  (Lomonosov Moscow State University) An international team of scientists including MSU chemists created a cathode material for li-ion batteries with a very high charge rate -- down to 90 seconds -- retaining more than 75% of an initial capacity. The discovery may stipulate the development of batteries where expensive lithium could be replaced with cheaper potassium.
  
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• Fiji hunkers down as formidable cyclone nears main islands

  20-02-2016 05:32
  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Pacific island nation of Fiji was hunkering down Saturday as a formidable cyclone with winds of 300 kilometers (186 miles) per hour bore down.
  
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• Antarctica penguins unable to return home due to iceberg grounding

  20-02-2016 05:10
  
  Tens of thousands of Antarctic penguins are estimated to be unable to return to their colony after a massive iceberg grounded there, according to a newly published study.
  
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• VIDEO: Richard Branson unveils new spaceship

  20-02-2016 04:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sir Richard Branson unveils a new version of his Virgin Galactic Spaceship.
  
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• Branson's Virgin Galactic unveils new passenger spaceship

  20-02-2016 03:33
  
  MOJAVE, Calif. (Reuters) - Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic venture unveiled a new passenger spacecraft on Friday, nearly 16 months after a fatal accident destroyed its sister ship during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert.
  
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• New Virgin Galactic Space Plane Unveiled

  20-02-2016 02:15
  
  Sir Richard Branson has told Sky News he believes Virgin Galactic is "back on track" in the race to take tourists into space. The billionaire tycoon was speaking at the unveiling of Virgin's new SpaceShipTwo in the Mojave Desert in California. The six-seater vehicle replaces the previous SpaceShipTwo which broke up high over the same desert in October 2014.
  
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• Virgin Galactic Unveils New SpaceShipTwo 'Unity' for Space Tourists

  20-02-2016 01:29
  
  VSS Enterprise, for what it's worth, made its first captive-carry flight in March 2010, and executed a total of 55 successful test flights before that fateful day in October 2014. The trial regime will not be as extensive or as lengthy for VSS Unity, since it's so similar to Enterprise, whose flights generated a wealth of data. "By and large, if you looked at serial number one and serial number two under the hood, you couldn't tell the difference," said Doug Shane, president of The Spaceship Co.
  
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• How to Spot Gemini, the Heavenly Twins, in the Night Sky

  20-02-2016 01:29
  
  Here's an interesting question to set up this week's night sky column: What do actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, comedians Randy and Jason Sklar, glamor models Kristina and Karissa Shannon and astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly all have in common? Gemini is conventionally referred to as a winter constellation, yet such seasonal designations are rather loose. In fact, some astronomers actually think that Gemini should be considered a spring constellation.
  
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• U.S. could still cancel Raytheon GPS ground system: general

  20-02-2016 01:02
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon and the U.S. Air Force could still cancel the ground control system Raytheon Co is developing to operate new GPS satellites, if the company does not improve its performance on the troubled system, a top U.S. general said.
  
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• Hawking Helps Unveil Virgin Galactic Space Plane

  20-02-2016 00:33
  
  Professor Stephen Hawking has said the world is "entering a new space age" as he helped unveil the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo. Sir Richard Branson's project to send passengers into space has been relaunched more than a year after a mid-air crash killed one pilot and left another seriously injured . He said: "A man with the vision and persistence to open up space flight for ordinary, earth-bound citizens, Richard Branson made it his mission to make space flight a reality for thos
  
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• Virgin Galactic unveils new spaceship 16 months after deadly crash

  20-02-2016 00:27
  
  Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company owned by British billionaire Richard Branson, on Friday unveiled a new commercial spaceship, more than a year after its predecessor crashed and killed one of its pilots.
  
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• Shift in U.S. sanctions could ground Russian rocket engines: general

  20-02-2016 00:11
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force would ground the Russian-built RD-180 engines that power its Atlas 5 rockets if a U.S. government review determines that several sanctioned Russian individuals have too close a relationship with the engine maker, a top U.S. general said on Friday.
  
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