Sci-Tech news

• Research shows left-handed people make less money

  05-12-2014 23:54
  
  A new study out of Harvard says left-handed people are more likely to work in manual labor and make less money than their right-handed peers.
   
  
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• Glitch drops gas prices to 29 cents

  05-12-2014 23:16 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Word spread fast in Natchitoches, Louisiana, when a technical glitch dropped gas prices to just 29 cents. KSLA reports
  
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• Photos: Tiger Triplets Debut at Washington Zoo

  05-12-2014 22:39
  
  Absolutely adorable baby animals!
  
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• Steve Jobs' video testimony transfixes courtroom

  05-12-2014 22:38
  
  (AP)—Three years after his death, legendary Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs held a federal courtroom transfixed on Friday as attorneys played a video of his testimony in a class-action lawsuit that accuses Apple of inflating iPod prices by locking music lovers into using its players.
  
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• Sony Hack Exposed 47K Social Security Numbers: Expert

  05-12-2014 22:27 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  The Sony Pictures hack revealed more than 47,000 Social Security numbers, some possibly belonging to Hollywood celebs, according to a new report.
  
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• Rare insect found only in glacier national park imperiled by melting glaciers

  05-12-2014 22:24
  
  The persistence of an already rare aquatic insect, the western glacier stonefly, is being imperiled by the loss of glaciers and increased stream temperatures due to climate warming in mountain ecosystems, according to a new study released in Freshwater Science.
  
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• Researchers discover intact 'ghost ship' off Hawai'i

  05-12-2014 22:20
  
  Researchers from the University of Hawai'i (UH) and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced the discovery of an intact "ghost ship" in 2,000 feet of water nearly 20 miles off the coast of Oahu. Sitting upright, its solitary mast still standing and the ship's wheel still in place, the hulk of the former cable ship Dickenson, later the USS Kailua, was found on the seabed last year on a maritime heritage submersible mission with the UH Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory's (HU
  
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• Agency: 6 workers inhaled uranium at Wyoming mine

  05-12-2014 22:11
  
  (AP)—The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says six workers at a Wyoming uranium mine inhaled the radioactive element while cleaning up a spill inside a building.
  
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• Tiger triplets have debut at Washington state zoo

  05-12-2014 22:10
  
  (AP)—Sumatran tiger triplets born two months ago have gone on public display Friday at a zoo in Washington state.
  
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• Climate change already showing effects at Kennedy Space Center

  05-12-2014 22:10
  
  The effects of climate change are already showing up in places from Miami to Alaska, scientists say, but two University of Florida geologists are focusing their attention on one especially noteworthy and vulnerable piece of waterfront real estate: Kennedy Space Center.
  
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• Scientists find a way to make shRNA gene knockdown more effective

  05-12-2014 22:09
  
  Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have devised a powerful algorithm that improves the effectiveness of an important research technology harnessing RNA interference, or RNAi.
  
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• Apple Watches for everybody at Buzzfeed

  05-12-2014 21:55 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Apparently, all those clicks over at Buzzfeed are paying off in more ways than one.
  
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• Chemicals released during natural gas extraction may harm reproduction and development

  05-12-2014 21:51
  
  Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations combine directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to release natural gas from underground rock. Recent discussions have centered on potential air and water pollution from chemicals used in these processes and how it affects the more than 15 million Americans living within one mile of UOG operations. Now, Susan C. Nagel, a researcher with the University of Missouri, and national colleagues have conducted the largest review to date of
  
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• Nobel Prize medal fetches record-breaking $4.76M

  05-12-2014 21:26
  
  James Watson, one of the scientists credited with discovering the structure of DNA, recently made history when he became the first-ever living Nobel laureate to put his prize medal up for auction.
  
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• Thousands of Einstein's Papers Released Online

  05-12-2014 20:53 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Starting on Friday, 5,000 of Albert Einstein's personal papers will be put online.
  
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• Supreme Court takes up Cisco patent dispute

  05-12-2014 20:26
  
  (AP)—The Supreme Court is taking up a patent infringement dispute between computer networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. and rival Commil USA LLC.
  
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• Coast Guard proposes Bering Straits shipping route

  05-12-2014 20:26
  
  (AP)—The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing an 8-mile wide shipping route through the Bering Strait region to try to protect Arctic waters, as global warming has increased traffic in the vulnerable area.
  
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• 'Family' matters when predicting ecosystems' reaction to global change, study finds

  05-12-2014 20:23
  
  Humans are rapidly changing the look and function of earth's ecosystems, from the increase of greenhouse gases to the unintentional and harmful spread of plants and animals to new environments. A major challenge for ecologists is to understand how and why communities respond to factors that underlie global change.
  
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• Desolenator has tech for water independence, looks to 2015 (w/ Video)

  05-12-2014 20:00
  
  (Phys.org) —What else is new: Earnest people who are aware of the difficulties very poor families face in many regions of the world wish for safe, cheap drinking water for everyone on the planet. The difference is that there is something new in a team who think that their Desolenator can actually deliver water for those in need.
  
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• Romark Laboratories to open plant in Puerto Rico

  05-12-2014 19:55
  
  (AP)—Puerto Rico's governor says Florida-based pharmaceutical company Romark Laboratories L.C. is building a $110 million plant in the U.S. territory.
  
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• 45-year physics mystery shows a path to quantum transistors

  05-12-2014 19:45
  
  An odd, iridescent material that's puzzled physicists for decades turns out to be an exotic state of matter that could open a new path to quantum computers and other next-generation electronics.
  
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• Why Do Start-Up Companies Need So Much Money?

  05-12-2014 19:15 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Talent is expensive, money is cheap, marketing is hard and there's a land grab for customers that are shifting to cloud computing.
  
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• Planets in Habitable Zones of M Dwarfs May Have Burned Away Chances for Life

  05-12-2014 19:02 via scitechdaily.com
  
  New research reveals that planets in the habitable zone of low-mass stars may have long since lost their chance at hosting life because of intense heat during their formative years. Planets orbiting close to low-mass stars — easily the most common stars in the universe — are prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. […]
  The post Planets in Habitable Zones of M Dwarfs May Have Burned Away Chances for Life appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• France orders Internet providers to block Pirate Bay

  05-12-2014 19:00
  
  A French court has ordered the country's main Internet service providers to block notorious file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, according to a ruling published Friday on digital news website Numerama.
  
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• Sony hackers leaked data on 47,000 people: researchers

  05-12-2014 19:00
  
  The hackers who breached Sony's computer network have leaked sensitive personal information on some 47,000 individuals, including celebrities, security researchers said Friday.
  
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• New technique offers spray-on solar power

  05-12-2014 19:00
  
  Pretty soon, powering your tablet could be as simple as wrapping it in cling wrap.
  
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• NASA analyzes Super Typhoon Hagupit's rains and wind on Philippine approach

  05-12-2014 18:51
  
  Super Typhoon Hagupit is forecast to make landfall in the eastern Philippines bringing heavy rainfall, damaging winds and storm surge. NASA/JAXA's TRMM satellite and the RapidScat instrument provided rainfall and wind data, while NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of the storm. In the Philippines, Hagupit is known locally as "Typhoon Ruby."
  
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• Can anyone be a journalist? Researcher examines citizen journalism

  05-12-2014 18:50
  
  A new article detailing the relationship of two U.S. Supreme Court cases and how they work together to uphold freedom of expression has been published in the Georgia Law Review by William E. Lee, professor of journalism in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
  
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• Astronomers observe two stars so close to each other that they will end up merging into a supermassive star

  05-12-2014 18:50
  
  A study of "MY Camelopardalis" binary system, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, shows that the most massive stars are made up by merging with other smaller stars, as predicted by theoretical models.
  
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• Orion flight marks 'milestone' for US space program: NASA

  05-12-2014 18:49
  
  The US space agency's Orion capsule circled the Earth twice before plunging into the ocean Friday in a flawless test flight that NASA called a "significant milestone" in the journey to Mars.
  
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• Australia won't pay to climate fund

  05-12-2014 18:48
  
  (AP)—Australia will continue to directly pay for climate change adaptation in vulnerable South Pacific island nations through its aid budget rather than donate to a U.N. Green Climate Fund designed for the same purpose, the foreign minister said Friday ahead of traveling to climate talks in Peru.
  
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• Ku Klux Klan's lasting legacy on the US political system

  05-12-2014 18:46
  
  The Ku Klux Klan's failure to defeat the black civil rights moment is well documented, but the group's lesser-known legacy may be its lasting impact on the U.S. political system, according to a paper published in the December issue of the American Sociological Review.
  
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• Social networking during a campus emergency

  05-12-2014 18:40
  
  Emergencies at educational establishments are on the increase in recent years and campus officials are beginning to recognize that better communications with their students are now needed. Writing in the International Journal of Business Information Systems, US researchers describe how social networking sites might be exploited when an emergency situation arises to help safeguard students as well as keeping those not directly involved in the situation informed of events. The same insights might
  
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• Research Reveals New Strategy to Control Cellular Identity and Fate

  05-12-2014 18:37 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Newly published research suggests a new strategy to control cellular identity and fate, revealing that depleting or knocking out a chemical tag on RNA keeps embryonic stem cells in suspended animation. A team of scientists that included researchers from UCLA has discovered a novel mechanism of RNA regulation in embryonic stem cells. The findings are […]
  The post Research Reveals New Strategy to Control Cellular Identity and Fate appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Dawn snaps its best-yet image of dwarf planet ceres

  05-12-2014 18:36
  
  The Dawn spacecraft has delivered a glimpse of Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt, in a new image taken 740,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from the dwarf planet. This is Dawn's best image yet of Ceres as the spacecraft makes its way toward this unexplored world.
  
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• Asteroid explorer "Hayabusa2": Completion of critical operation phase

  05-12-2014 18:35
  
  The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed the completion of a sequence of the important operations for the Asteroid Exploration "Hayabusa2" mission including the deployment of the horn part of the sampler that captures samples from the asteroid's surface, the release of the locks for the launch that ratchet the gimbal that controls the direction of the ion engine, and functional verification of the three-axis stabilization controls and the ground precision orbit determination syste
  
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• Woman learns koalas have 'big teeth' the hard way

  05-12-2014 18:33
  
  It wasn't the koala's fault, says an Australian woman who was savaged by one of the planet's cutest and most cuddly-appearing creatures.
  
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• Electric eels paralyze prey���using remote control

  05-12-2014 18:31
  
  Electric eels have long been known to deliver low-voltage pulses as a form of natural sonar—but now researchers out of Vanderbilt University have discovered the eels also deliver high-voltage shocks, which they use to paralyze their prey—from a distance, with no physical contact—in just three milliseconds.
  
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• Electric eels paralyze prey using remote control

  05-12-2014 18:31
  
  Electric eels have long been known to deliver low-voltage pulses as a form of natural sonar—but now researchers out of Vanderbilt University have discovered the eels also deliver high-voltage shocks, which they use to paralyze their prey—from a distance, with no physical contact—in just three milliseconds.
  
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• NASA's Orion craft hits high point of 3,600 miles

  05-12-2014 18:31
  
  (AP)—NASA's new Orion spacecraft has hit its intended high point of 3,600 miles above Earth, the farthest a spacecraft built for humans has traveled in four decades.
  
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• Endangered Puget Sound killer whale found dead

  05-12-2014 18:31
  
  (AP)—The Center for Whale Research in Washington state says an endangered Puget Sound orca has been found dead in British Columbia.
  
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• UN: climate change costs to poor underestimated

  05-12-2014 18:31
  
  (AP)—The cost to poor countries of adjusting to ever-hotter temperatures will be twice or even three times higher than previously thought, the U.N.'s environment agency said Friday—and that assumes a best-case scenario in which greenhouse gas emissions are dramatically reduced.
  
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• Drugs in the environment affect plant growth

  05-12-2014 18:30
  
  The drugs we release into the environment are likely to have a significant impact on plant growth, a new study has revelealed.
  
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• Looking at El Niño's past to predict its future

  05-12-2014 18:20
  
  The El Niño Southern Oscillation is Earth's main source of year-to-year climate variability, but its response to global warming remains highly uncertain.
  
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• Evidence suggests California's drought is the worst in 1,200 years

  05-12-2014 18:17
  
  As California finally experiences the arrival of a rain-bearing Pineapple Express this week, two climate scientists from the University of Minnesota and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have shown that the drought of 2012-2014 has been the worst in 1,200 years.
  
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• MIT Startup LiquidPiston Develops a More Efficient Rotary Engine

  05-12-2014 18:15 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A new rotary engine from MIT startup LiquidPiston is lighter, quieter, and more efficient than its counterparts. Noise, excessive vibration, and relative inefficiency are drawbacks of the piston-based internal combustion engines (ICE) that power today’s lawn and garden equipment, such as leaf blowers and lawn trimmers. But now MIT startup LiquidPiston has developed a rotary […]
  The post MIT Startup LiquidPiston Develops a More Efficient Rotary Engine appeared first on SciTech Dail
  
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• NASA: 'There's your new spacecraft, America!"

  05-12-2014 18:11
  
  (AP)—NASA's new Orion spacecraft made a "bull's-eye" splashdown in the Pacific on Friday following a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars.
  
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• New Observations Confirm Variability of Young Stellar Objects

  05-12-2014 17:53 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Using the Spitzer Space Telescope to monitor the variability of light from 882 previously identified young stellar objects, astronomers confirm that probably all YSOs are variable at infrared wavelengths to some degree, and moreover that the younger, more deeply embedded stars often have longer and larger intensity variations, consistent with the current disk evolution picture. […]
  The post New Observations Confirm Variability of Young Stellar Objects appeared first on SciTech Daily
  
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• NASA’s Orion spacecraft returns safely to Earth, splashes down in the Pacific Ocean

  05-12-2014 17:49
  
  NASA’s Orion spacecraft has returned safely to Earth after its historic test flight, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean 275 miles west of Baja California at 11:29 a.m. ET.
  
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• Social Media Experiments with 'Buy' Button

  05-12-2014 17:44 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Facebook and Twitter are experimenting with buttons that let you "Buy" in addition to "Like" and "Follow". Mark Barger reports.
  
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