Science news

• Colombians vote in referendum on peace deal, 'yes' win likely

  02-10-2016 18:44
  By Helen Murphy and Julia Symmes Cobb BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombians look set to back a peace accord with Marxist rebels in a referendum on Sunday, the final hurdle for a deal that would end 52 years of war and allow FARC fighters to re-enter society and form a political party. The plebiscite asks for a simple "yes" or "no" on whether Colombians support the accord signed on Monday by President Juan Manuel Santos, who has staked his legacy on peace, and the rebel commander known as Timochenko. The
  
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• India ratifies Paris climate change agreement

  02-10-2016 17:41
  
  NEW DELHI (AP) — India, which accounts for about 4.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, ratified the Paris climate change agreement Sunday at the United Nations, officials said.
  
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• Call to close ivory markets agreed at Cites conference

  02-10-2016 17:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Delegates at a UN wildlife conference in South Africa endorse calls for the closure of all domestic ivory markets.
  
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• No more violence in God's name, Pope says on visit to mosque

  02-10-2016 17:12
  By Philip Pullella and Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - Pope Francis visited a mosque in overwhelmingly Muslim Azerbaijan on Sunday and told leaders of all faiths that God should never be used to justify fundamentalism. Francis has made similar appeals before and also has visited mosques on his world travels. The pontiff's first stop after he arrived in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, on Sunday morning was a modern church where he said a Mass for the miniscule Catholic community.
  
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• New book tells strange tales of evolution

  02-10-2016 14:00
  
  'The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar' features a cadre of critters that have evolved seemingly bizarre solutions to some of life’s biggest problems.
  
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• UN wildlife conference bans trade in African grey parrot

  02-10-2016 13:13
  A U.N. wildlife conference has approved a ban on international trade in wild populations of the African grey parrot, which is heavily sought after as a pet because of its ability to mimic words. The decision ...
  
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• India set to ratify Paris climate change agreement at UN

  02-10-2016 12:37
  
  NEW DELHI (AP) — India will ratify the Paris climate change agreement at the United Nations on Sunday, an Environment Ministry official said.
  
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• Pope pays homage to tiny Catholic flock in Muslim Azerbaijan

  02-10-2016 12:05
  By Philip Pullella and Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) - Pope Francis said a Mass on Sunday for the miniscule Catholic community in Shi'ite Muslim Azerbaijan, urging the "precious little flock" to keep the faith and paying tribute to those persecuted during the Soviet era. Many of them are foreigners, including staff from embassies and domestic workers and some in the oil and gas industries. Go ahead without fear", Francis said, praising them for being a close-knit and vibrant "community on the p
  
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• 'Piece of crap': Apple hit with proposed class action lawsuits over iPhone 'touch disease'

  02-10-2016 11:00 via cbc.ca
  
  It’s known as ‘touch disease,' when Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus freeze up and won’t respond to touch. Apple is facing proposed class-action lawsuits in both Canada and the U.S., alleging the California-based tech giant knew about the defect and failed to take action.
  
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• Scientists hail 'remarkable' progress in bid to cure HIV

  02-10-2016 10:31
  
  A collaboration of five universities has tested a “kick and kill” technique to to first expose then destroy the virus.
  
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• Coronal loops arch above the Sun in Nasa images

  02-10-2016 10:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory captures a magnificent display of coronal loops above an area with strong magnetic fields.
  
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• Arab coalition says targets Houthi forces after ship attack

  02-10-2016 08:43
  Arab coalition forces have launched operations against militia boats of Yemen's Houthi group that struck a civilian logistics ship on a humanitarian voyage in a strategic Red Sea shipping lane, the Saudi-led alliance said. The vessel, an Australian-built high speed logistics catamaran under lease to the United Arab Emirates military, was attacked by Houthi fighters near the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen's southern coast on Saturday. In a statement late on Saturday, the coalition said the vessel
  
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• Startup earns commercialization grant for new technology

  02-10-2016 06:00
  
  (University of Houston) GuidaBot, a joint venture between the University of Houston and Fannin Innovation Studio, has received a one-year, $225,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop and commercialize a robotic manipulator designed to work within the powerful magnetic field of an MRI machine.
  
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• NIST-made 'sun and rain' used to study nanoparticle release from polymers

  02-10-2016 06:00
  (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)) In a recently published paper, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describe how they subjected a commercial nanoparticle-infused coating to NIST-developed methods for accelerating the effects of weathering from ultraviolet (UV) radiation and simulated washings of rainwater. Their results indicate that humidity and exposure time are contributing factors for nanoparticle release from the coatings, findin
  
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• Lock-up to library: France reinvents its decrepit prisons

  02-10-2016 04:51
  
  The ad on the French finance ministry website is deadpan and succinct: "For sale: late 19th century prison in the centre of Grasse, 1,277.42 square metres (13,750 square feet). No garage or parking space. Needs renovating."
  
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• Heightened earthquake alert issued for Southern California

  02-10-2016 03:36
  SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Southern California residents should remain on heightened alert until Tuesday for the increased possibility of a major earthquake, officials said.
  
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