Science news

• Oklahoma rocked by one of its strongest earthquakes

  03-09-2016 22:01
  By Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton PAWNEE, Okla. (Reuters) - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled the area northwest of Pawnee on Saturday, fuelling growing concern about seismic activity linked to energy production, a federal agency said. The magnitude 5.6 quake, which was felt from South Dakota to Texas, prompted the closure of some 35 wastewater disposal wells in the area, officials said. It shallow quake struck 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Pawnee in north-central Oklahoma
  
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• He wanted to fly: Montreal inventor's hoverboard is taking him to the next level

  03-09-2016 20:57 via cbc.ca
  
  The CBC News video of Alexandru Duru flying has now reached over 320 million people through social media, and its sky-aiming creator has attracted interest and investment from around the world.
  
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• Tension eases in Gabon capital after riots over disputed election

  03-09-2016 20:38
  By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Tension eased in Gabon's capital on Saturday after days of deadly rioting triggered by an announcement that President Ali Bongo narrowly won re-election in a vote the opposition said was stolen. More than 1,000 others were arrested in the protests that began on Wednesday and the opposition, led by Jean Ping who claims he is now president, said five people also died. At the same time, some impoverished residents of Libreville who purchase food d
  
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• Hailing cooperation, US and China join global climate deal

  03-09-2016 17:22
  
  HANGZHOU, China (AP) — Setting aside their cyber and maritime disputes, President Barack Obama and China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday sealed their nations' participation in last year's Paris climate change agreement. They hailed their new era of climate cooperation as the best chance for saving the planet.
  
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• Inventor who starred in viral CBC hoverboard video aims higher

  03-09-2016 17:08 via cbc.ca
  
  The CBC News video of Alexandru Duru flying has now reached over 320 million people through social media, and its sky-aiming creator has attracted interest and investment from around the world.
  
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• 'Star Trek' Forever: USPS Stamps Commemorate Series' 50th Anniversary

  03-09-2016 16:46
  
  Call it the final frontier of mail: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic science-fiction series "Star Trek," the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new set of Forever stamps Friday (Sept. 2). The new stamps were revealed just ahead of the Sept. 8 anniversary of the show's debut episode in 1966. Four different colorful designs are included on the stamp sheet, including the show's starship Enterprise, a Starfleet insignia, Spock's famous Vulcan salute and a crewmember beaming away via
  
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• Moderate quake hits temblor-prone Oklahoma

  03-09-2016 16:41
  By Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled a state where seismic activity has become a growing concern and sent tremors that were felt in six neighbouring states, the United States Geological Survey said on Saturday. The quake, which struck 14 km (9 miles) northwest of Pawnee in north-central Oklahoma at 7:02 a.m. CDT (1302 GMT), had a magnitude of 5.6, matching in strength a temblor that hit the state in 2011, the USGS re
  
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• Paris climate deal: US and China formally join pact

  03-09-2016 16:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - formally join the Paris global climate agreement.
  
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• Moderate 5.6 quake hits Oklahoma, rattling Midwest

  03-09-2016 15:55
  (Reuters) - One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled the state on Saturday morning, the United States Geological Survey said, and tremors were felt throughout the region. The quake, which struck 14 km (9 miles) northwest of Pawnee in north-central Oklahoma at 7:02 a.m. CDT (1302 GMT), had a magnitude of 5.6, matching in strength a temblor that hit the state in 2011, the USGS reported on its website. The earthquake, which was 6.6 km (4.1 miles) deep, could offer fresh am
  
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• Robot Designed to Test NASA's Pre-Apollo Spacesuits Heads to Auction

  03-09-2016 15:05
  
  Before NASA launched men to walk on the moon, the space agency almost turned to a human-like robot to test its astronauts' prototype spacesuits. Now, 50 years after its rejection, one of the robot dummies is set to be sold among 100 "Remarkable Rarities" offered by RR Auction. "Only two of the test robots were produced — the other is on display and owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum," Robert Livingston, RR Auction executive vice president, in a statement.
  
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• Nigerian gunmen kidnap 14 local oil workers and driver in southern Rivers state

  03-09-2016 13:58
  Gunmen in Nigeria's restive southern Niger Delta region, which has been hit by a series of militant attacks on energy facilities since the start of the year, have kidnapped 14 local oil workers and their driver, police said on Saturday. Kidnapping for ransom is a common problem in some parts of Nigeria and the southern Delta energy hub has seen an increase in crime since the start of attacks by militants calling for more oil wealth to go to the impoverished region. The abduction took place on a
  
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• Plastic microbeads to be banned by 2017, UK government pledges

  03-09-2016 13:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Plastic microbeads used in cosmetics and cleaning products are to be banned by the end of next year, the UK government pledges.
  
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• Alaska Has Been Mapped as Precisely as Mars

  03-09-2016 12:20
  
  Alaska is one of the most poorly mapped places on Earth. In fact, topographic maps of Mars and the moon are typically more detailed than those of the Arctic state — until now. This week, the White House, National Science Foundation and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) released the most accurate digital elevation maps of Alaska ever created.
  
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• Crocodile Carving Played Ritual Role in Ancient Mesoamerican City

  03-09-2016 12:19
  
  A centuries-old stone crocodile carving used in Mesoamerican rituals was recently discovered in Mexico, offering clues about an ancient city's ceremonial practices, and its relationship with a larger city nearby. Archaeologists found the slab of carved rock in what is now Oaxaca, near a temple in the ruins of the city Lambityeco, which archaeologists first uncovered in the 1960s and dates back between 500 and A.D. 850. Their work yielded hints that Lambityeco may have begun distancing itself fro
  
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• We now know what Jupiter sounds like and it's spooky

  03-09-2016 11:32
  
  Eerie noise from the giant planet.
  
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• Toronto-made indie game Alone With You mixes sci-fi adventure with dating simulators

  03-09-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  Alone With You, a game made by Toronto-based indie developer Benjamin Rivers, explores what it means to be human by marrying a sci-fi setting with the usually niche genre of dating simulators.
  
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• Littersweet Symphony: Album For Cats Released

  03-09-2016 10:13
  
  David Teie, a scientist and cellist in the US National Symphony Orchestra, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding and sold 10,000 copies of his record independently. Mr Teie said that the music was created based on his scientific theory that cats appreciate music through the sounds they hear as kittens, such as their mother's purr or birds chirping. The music is played at shelters, where Mr Teie says it can cut down the time it takes for a feral cat to interact with hu
  
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• Russian, Japanese leaders express new resolve to settle island row

  03-09-2016 07:57
  By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Denis Pinchuk VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday spoke of their joint resolve to settle once and for all a territorial row over a string of tiny islands that has marred ties for more than seven decades. In a speech delivered at a business conference in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, with Putin in attendance, Abe urged Putin to work with him to solve the dispute. "As the leader of Japan
  
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• Japan PM urges Putin to work together to resolve island dispute

  03-09-2016 06:09
  By Kiyoshi Takenaka VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to work together to resolve once and for all an island row that has marred ties for more than seven decades. Abe made the appeal in a speech delivered at a business conference in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, with Putin in attendance. "As the leader of Japan, I am firmly convinced of the correctness of the Japanese position, while you, Vladimir, as
  
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• Experts warn booming seaweed industry

  03-09-2016 06:00
  
  (Terry Collins Assoc) UN University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science, today publish policy advice to the multi-billion dollar seaweed farming industry, warning that the rapidly growing industry could easily and needlessly drop into pitfalls previously experienced in both agriculture and fish farming.Seaweed farms now produce more than 25 million metric tonnes annually valued at US$6.4 billion (2014), exceeding the value of world lemon
  
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• Jupiter's North Pole 'Like Nothing We've Seen Before'

  03-09-2016 03:53
  The NASA spacecraft Juno has sent the first pictures back to Earth of Jupiter's north pole, leaving scientists stunned. Juno came within 2,500 miles of the mysterious planet's swirling clouds. Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said: "First glimpse of Jupiter's north pole, and it looks like nothing we have seen or imagined before.
  
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• Mognificent? Music Album For Feline Listeners

  03-09-2016 03:40
  David Teie, a scientist and cellist in the US National Symphony Orchestra, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowdfunding and sold 10,000 copies of his record independently. Mr Teie said that the music was created based on his scientific theory that cats appreciate music through the sounds they hear as kittens, such as their mother's purr or birds chirping. The music is played at shelters, where Mr Teie says it can cut down the time it takes for a feral cat to interact with hu
  
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• Ubisoft's For Honor, Batman VR among gaming standouts at Fan Expo

  03-09-2016 03:03 via cbc.ca
  
  Several video game publishers were showing off demos of upcoming video games they're hoping to hype up for the holiday season at Fan Expo in Toronto. CBC's Jonathan Ore gives his report on some of the more impressive offerings.
  
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• SpaceX scouring data for clues to launch pad explosion

  03-09-2016 02:55
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX is scouring computer and video data for clues to the devastating launch pad explosion that destroyed a rocket and satellite.
  
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• SpaceX to shift Florida launches to new pad after explosion

  03-09-2016 02:32
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX said on Friday it would shift Florida flights to a nearly completed second site after damage to its launch pad on Thursday from the explosion of a rocket belonging to the space services company run by Elon Musk.
  
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• NASA unveils photos of Jupiter's poles

  03-09-2016 01:46
  
  NASA published the first-ever images of Jupiter's north pole and its southern aurora, taken during the Juno spacecraft's first orbital flyby of the gaseous giant.
  
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