Sci-Tech news

• Volkswagen owners should be nervous about emissions scandal, experts say - Chicago Tribune

  21-09-2015 23:51 via
  Chicago Tribune
  Volkswagen owners should be nervous about emissions scandal, experts say
  Chicago Tribune
  Automobile recalls, even huge, highly publicized ones, typically don't hurt new or used car sales, but the Volkswagen scandal involving tricking emissions testers is different and could be cause for worry among VW diesel vehicle owners, experts say. At ...
  Own a VW diesel? Here's what you need to know.Washington Post
  Congress to hold hearing on VW air emissions violationDetroit Free Press
  Vo
  

• Mobile Threat Monday: XcodeGhost in the Shell - PC Magazine

  21-09-2015 23:45 via
  USA TODAY
  Mobile Threat Monday: XcodeGhost in the Shell
  PC Magazine
  You may have noticed that Mobile Threat Monday, a series ostensibly about malware on all mobile platforms, tends to focus almost exclusively on Android afflictions. The fact is Apple's strict content restrictions do keep iPhones and iPads more secure ...
  Rare malware outbreak hits some Apple appsUSA TODAY
  Apple iOS 9: 42 New Features And How To Use ThemForbes
  How Did Hundreds of iPhone Apps Get Hacked?Fox News
  Fast Company 
  

• Feds plan announcement on protections for imperiled bird

  21-09-2015 23:44
  
  U.S. officials plan to make a major announcement Tuesday on efforts to protect an imperiled bird that could have implications for the energy and ranching industries.
  
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• Obama administration declares broadband 'core utility' in report - The Hill

  21-09-2015 23:20 via
  NBCNews.com
  Obama administration declares broadband 'core utility' in report
  The Hill
  The Obama administration on Monday declared broadband Internet a “core utility,” while announcing three dozen steps federal agencies are taking to get more people online. The administration's “Broadband Opportunity Council,” which was created in March, ...
  Billions of people in developing world have no access to Internet, UN report saysGlobalPost
  Billions of people in developing wo
  

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• Digital song downloads slipped further in first half of year

  21-09-2015 23:17
  
  Digital downloads of songs continued to fall out of favor with Americans in the first half of the year, while free and paid music-streaming revenue kept growing, even without much of a bump from the launch of Apple Music.
  
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• Apple's electric-car project speeds ahead - CNET

  21-09-2015 23:09 via
  CNET
  Apple's electric-car project speeds ahead
  CNET
  Apple's plans to build a car are heating up, with hiring expected to ramp up and a ship date targeted for 2019, according to a new report. Car Tech. September 21, 20152:08 PM PDT. Ben Fox Rubin mugshot. by Ben Fox Rubin · @benfoxrubin. facebook. twitter.
  Report: Apple Targeting 2019 for Electric Car LaunchPC Magazine
  Apple committed to producing an electric car by 2019Computerworld
  Report: Apple's electric car to hit the road in 2019 bu
  

• UN climate chief presses speedy action after pledges

  21-09-2015 23:07
  
  The UN climate chief urged nations Monday to ensure the speed of future efforts, saying the planet was on course for warming of a still-dangerous three degrees Celsius.
  
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• 4chan sold to founder of hit Japanese message board

  21-09-2015 23:07
  
  The popular anonymous online forum 4chan on Monday announced that it has been bought by the founder of hit Japanese-language message board 2channel.
  
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• Lawyer: US needs to present better data in encryption debate

  21-09-2015 23:02
  
  The federal government needs to be clearer about the importance of accessing encrypted smartphone evidence in order to prosecute criminals, a Justice Department lawyer acknowledged Monday.
  
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• Dropbox says no immediate IPO plan

  21-09-2015 23:02
  
  Cloud storage firm Dropbox, one of the best-known Silicon Valley startups, has no imminent plans for a public share offering, founder and chief executive Drew Houston said Monday.
  
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• Oldest traces of heavy metal pollution caused by humans uncovered

  21-09-2015 22:57
  
  The oldest signs of heavy metal pollution caused by human activity, dating from the early Stone Age, have been found in caves in Spain and Gibraltar, officials said Monday.
  
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• Online 'Open Tree of Life' Traces Origins of 2.3 Million Species - NBCNews.com

  21-09-2015 22:52 via
  NBCNews.com
  Online 'Open Tree of Life' Traces Origins of 2.3 Million Species
  NBCNews.com
  The combined efforts of thousands of scientists worldwide have produced the most complete "tree of life" yet, showing the evolutionary heritage of 2.3 million species from amoebas to aardvarks -- and it's free for everyone to browse online. Such trees ...
  How digital 'tree of life' embodies the potential of open scienceChristian Science Monitor
  This new, 'complete' tree of life shows how 2.3 million species
  

• Apple revving work on electric car

  21-09-2015 22:41
  
  Apple aims to have an electric car on the road some time in the year 2019, according to a report on Monday in the Wall Street Journal.
  
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• Earliest evidence of ancient North American salmon fishing verified

  21-09-2015 22:31
  
  Researchers in Alaska have found the earliest known evidence that Ice Age humans in North America used salmon as a food source, according to a new paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  
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• Video: How do deodorants and antiperspirants work?

  21-09-2015 22:29
  
  We rely on them every day to keep the stink away. But have you ever wondered how those deodorants and antiperspirants we roll, spray or rub under our arms work?
  
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• Pushing the limits of lensless imaging

  21-09-2015 22:27
  
  Using ultrafast beams of extreme ultraviolet light streaming at a 100,000 times a second, researchers from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, have pushed the boundaries of a well-established imaging technique. Not only did they make the highest resolution images ever achieved with this method at a given wavelength, they also created images fast enough to be used in real time. Their new approach could be used to study everything from semiconductor chips to cancer cells.
  
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• Why The 4chan Sale Returns The Controversial Forum To Its Anime Roots - Forbes

  21-09-2015 22:26 via
  Forbes
  Why The 4chan Sale Returns The Controversial Forum To Its Anime Roots
  Forbes
  Christopher Poole. Credit: shareconference. Less than a year after stepping down as 4chan administrator, Christopher Poole is selling the controversial Internet forum to Hiroyuki Nishimura, founder of 2Channel, the Japanese anime forum that inspired ...
  4chan Just Sold to the Founder of the Original 'Chan'WIRED
  Imageboard sites 4chan, 8chan announce new ownership arrangementsArs Technica
  Bits | 4chan Message Boa
  

• How The 4chan Sale Returns The Controversial Forum To Its Anime Roots - Forbes

  21-09-2015 22:26 via
  Forbes
  How The 4chan Sale Returns The Controversial Forum To Its Anime Roots
  Forbes
  Christopher Poole. Credit: shareconference. Less than a year after stepping down as 4chan administrator, Christopher Poole is selling the controversial Internet forum to Hiroyuki Nishimura, founder of 2Channel, the Japanese anime forum that inspired ...
  4chan Just Sold to the Founder of the Original 'Chan'WIRED
  Bits | 4chan Message Board Sold to Founder of 2Channel, a Japanese Web Culture ...New York Times (blog
  

• Rare malware outbreak hits some Apple apps - USA TODAY

  21-09-2015 22:24 via
  USA TODAY
  Rare malware outbreak hits some Apple apps
  USA TODAY
  SAN FRANCISCO — Apple began pulling tainted apps from its App Store over the weekend, after the discovery of a rare malware outbreak. The malicious software has thus far been found in 39 iOS apps, many of them aimed at the Chinese market, though ...
  Apple Confirms Malware-Infected Apps Found And Removed From Its Chinese App StoreTechCrunch
  Apple Weathers The First Major Malware Attack On Its App StoreFast Company
  Apple pu
  

• Microsoft's Rumored Band 2 Could Have a Curved Display - eWeek

  21-09-2015 22:17 via
  eWeek
  Microsoft's Rumored Band 2 Could Have a Curved Display
  eWeek
  As Microsoft's Oct. 6 press event approaches, rumors say that the company could be unveiling its next fitness wearable, the Band 2. Microsoft's Band fitness band could be getting a makeover with a new curved display and other improvements as the ...
  Leaked Microsoft Band 2 Images Tease Curved DesignPC Magazine
  Microsoft Band 2 Images Suggest Curved ScreenInformationWeek
  Microsoft Band 2 Details LeakedGotta Be Mobile
  GameSpot&nbs
  

• Report: Apple's electric car to hit the road in 2019 but it won't be driverless - Macworld

  21-09-2015 22:16 via
  Macworld
  Report: Apple's electric car to hit the road in 2019 but it won't be driverless
  Macworld
  A new report claims that Apple's has accelerated work on its first electric vehicle, with the final product expected in 2019. chevrolet apple carplay may 27 2015 Chevrolet. Oscar Raymundo | @oscarraymundo. Staff Writer, Macworld. Sep 21, 2015 1:16 PM.
  Apple has target ship date of 2019 for electric car project, but it won't be ...Apple Insider
  Report: Apple's electric car arriving in 2019USA TODAY
  

• Team develops new light source with unprecedented sensitivity to molecular finger prints of cancer cells

  21-09-2015 21:56
  
  Researchers from the Attoscience and Ultrafast Optics Group led by ICREA Prof. at ICFO Jens Biegert, in collaboration with the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics (MPQ) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich, have developed a worldwide unique broadband and coherent infrared light source. The record peak brilliance of the light source makes it an ultrasensitive detector for the infrared molecular finger print region, ideal to detec
  
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• Apple watchOS 2: All About the Software Update

  21-09-2015 21:53
  
  The Apple Watch is getting a number of cosmetic and performance enhancements with today's release of the watchOS 2 software update.
  
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• British Egyptologist on quest to find Nefertiti's tomb

  21-09-2015 21:39
  
  A British archaeologist who believes the legendary Queen Nefertiti may be buried in a secret room adjoining her son Tutankhamun's tomb is coming to Egypt to test his theory, authorities said Monday.
  
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• Satellites see Tropical Depression 16E's landfall in northwestern Mexico

  21-09-2015 21:35
  
  Tropical Depression 16E made landfall in northwestern Mexico on September 21 and NASA's Aqua satellite and NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured imagery of the storm that is bringing heavy rainfall.
  
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• Building a biofuel-boosting Swiss Army knife

  21-09-2015 21:31
  
  Researchers at Michigan State University have built a molecular Swiss Army knife that streamlines the molecular machinery of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, making biofuels and other green chemical production from these organisms more viable.
  
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• GPM sees powerful storms within Tropical Storm Ida

  21-09-2015 21:30
  
  The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM mission satellite looked at Tropical Storm Ida in the Central Atlantic and identified the areas of heaviest rainfall.
  
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• Kim Dotcom Extradition Hearing: What's at Stake

  21-09-2015 21:23
  
  Internet mogul says his court case is about whether he's an innovator or pirate.
  
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• Physicists determine the three-dimensional positions of individual atoms for the first time

  21-09-2015 21:19
  
  Atoms are the building blocks of all matter on Earth, and the patterns in which they are arranged dictate how strong, conductive or flexible a material will be. Now, scientists at UCLA have used a powerful microscope to image the three-dimensional positions of individual atoms to a precision of 19 trillionths of a meter, which is several times smaller than a hydrogen atom.
  
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• Report: Immigrants come to resemble native-born Americans over time, but integration not always link

  21-09-2015 21:15
  
  As immigrants and their descendants become integrated into U.S. society, many aspects of their lives improve, including measurable outcomes such as educational attainment, occupational distribution, income, and language ability, but their well-being declines in the areas of health, crime, and family patterns, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. At the same time, several factors impede immigrants' integration into society, such as their legal stat
  
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• The Martian Winds WON'T Blow You Away - Discovery News

  21-09-2015 21:14 via
  Discovery News
  The Martian Winds WON'T Blow You Away
  Discovery News
  Mars is known for its dust storms and these storms can be huge, encircling the entire planet. On smaller scales, the Martian surface is peppered with countless dustdevils that zigzag across the red planet's plains, kicking up dust and feeding into a ...
  NASA Reveals What Actually Happens in a Martian Dust StormABC News
  Astronaut photographs a single airplane from spaceCNET
  Sneak peek: 'The Martian' premieres on space stationChr
  

• Choosing interactive tools for virtual museums mixes art and science

  21-09-2015 21:12
  
  Museum curators planning to develop virtual exhibits online should choose communication and navigation technologies that match the experience they want to offer their visitors, according to a team of researchers.
  
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• 4chan Just Sold to the Founder of the Original 'Chan' - WIRED

  21-09-2015 21:02 via
  Forbes
  4chan Just Sold to the Founder of the Original 'Chan'
  WIRED
  One of the web's weirdest and most influential sites has been sold. Today 4chan founder Christopher “moot” Poole announced that the anonymous image sharing site 4chan, which he created when he was just 15, was acquired by Hiroyuki Nishimura.
  4chan Sale Returns Controversial Forum To Its Anime RootsForbes
  Bits | 4chan Message Board Sold to Founder of 2Channel, a Japanese Web Culture ...New York Times (blog)
  Infamous W
  

• Team re-engineers virus to deliver therapies to cells

  21-09-2015 21:00
  
  Stanford researchers have ripped the guts out of a virus and totally redesigned its core to repurpose its infectious capabilities into a safe vehicle for delivering vaccines and therapies directly where they are needed.
  
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• Researchers create fatigue-free, stretchable conductor

  21-09-2015 21:00
  
  Researchers have discovered a new stretchable, transparent conductor that can be folded or stretched and released, resulting in a large curvature or a significant strain, at least 10,000 times without showing signs of fatigue.
  
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• Printing lightweight, flexible, and functional materials

  21-09-2015 21:00
  
  3D printing is revolutionizing the production of lightweight structures, soft robots and flexible electronics, but the technology struggles with complex, multimaterial integration.
  
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• Engineers invent transparent coating that cools solar cells to boost efficiency

  21-09-2015 21:00
  
  Every time you stroll outside you emit energy into the universe: Heat from the top of your head radiates into space as infrared light.
  
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• Meet the computer that could pass high school geometry - Fortune

  21-09-2015 20:58 via
  Fortune
  Meet the computer that could pass high school geometry
  Fortune
  A system called GeoS correctly answered 49% of SAT geometry questions, on par with average human test-takers. Some top Silicon Valley executives and a members of the public at-large fear that super-intelligent computers will someday use their smarts to ...
  AI system solves SAT geometry questions as well as average human test takerPhys.Orgall 12 news articles »
  

• Review: Apple Watch improves with new software

  21-09-2015 20:44
  
  Apple Watch's new software brings useful enhancements, though it's not the same as getting a new watch.
  
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• Apple's App Store suffers worst-ever malware attack

  21-09-2015 20:42
  
  Apple acknowledged Monday that malicious code had found a way into some of its popular Chinese mobile apps, raising security concerns as the US tech giant prepares its newest iPhone launch.
  
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• Apple App Store suffers 'worst' malware attack

  21-09-2015 20:42
  
  Hackers infiltrated the vaunted Apple ecosystem by injecting malicious software into popular Chinese mobile apps, potentially affecting hundreds of millions of users and raising security concerns as the US tech giant prepares its newest iPhone launch.
  
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• Perfect pre-Roman era tomb discovered at Pompeii

  21-09-2015 20:41
  
  Archaeologists have discovered a Pre-Roman era tomb in perfect condition at Pompeii, the team at the archaeological site buried in a 79AD volcanic eruption announced Monday.
  
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• Deforestation can have devastating impacts on frog populations

  21-09-2015 20:40
  
  Increasingly, forests in Borneo, the world's third largest island, are being converted to plantations, which poses considerable threats to amphibians. If this continues unabated, almost three-quarters of the current forest is expected to disappear by 2100.
  
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• Mind your manners, robot: How social cues influence human-robot interaction

  21-09-2015 20:39
  
  Robots are increasingly being considered for use in highly tense civilian encounters to minimize person-to-person contact and danger to peacekeeping personnel. Trust, along with physical qualities and cultural considerations, is an essential factor in the effectiveness of these robotic peacekeepers. New research to be presented at the HFES 2015 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles in October examines the importance of social cues when evaluating the role of trust in human-robot interaction.
  
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• How mercury contamination affects reptiles in the Amazon basin

  21-09-2015 20:39
  
  Mercury contamination in water and on land is of worldwide concern due to its toxic effects on ecosystems and human health. Mercury toxicity is of particular concern to reptiles because they are currently experiencing population declines. Also, reptiles are ideal indicators of mercury contamination in aquatic environments because they are long lived and occupy diverse habitats.
  
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• Facebook 'dislike' button a comeback for negative thinking

  21-09-2015 20:33 via rss.cnn.com
  
  We have all had the experience of being gagged by the "like" button on Facebook. As we scroll through our news feed, we sometimes come across stories that trigger loathing, sadness or even rage. But all we have is a like button. Sure, we can write a long message in the comment field. But there is no button to instantly express negative emotions.
  
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• Pairs of supermassive black holes in galaxies may be rarer than previously thought

  21-09-2015 20:32
  
  There may be fewer pairs of supermassive black holes orbiting each other at the cores of giant galaxies than previously thought, according to a new study by astronomers who analyzed data from the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope.
  
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• Kickstarter makes social good part of business model

  21-09-2015 20:32
  
  Crowd-funding platform Kickstarter on Monday officially made social good part of its business model by changing its US corporate status.
  
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• One-two punch of rising seas, bigger storms may greatly magnify US East coast floods

  21-09-2015 20:30
  
  Many studies predict that future sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts will increase flooding. Others suggest that the human-caused warming driving this rise will also boost the intensity and frequency of big coastal storms. Up to now, though, these two hazards have been assessed mostly in isolation from each other. Now, a new study quantifies how they could interact to produce alarming spikes in the combined height and duration of flooding. It projects that coastal flooding cou
  
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• How a frog's molecules 'leaped,' and 'crawled,' to evolve violet vision

  21-09-2015 20:28
  
  The African clawed frog is tongue-less, has long, curvy toes and eyes that are perched on top of its head, but that's not all that's odd about it. This species of frog also took a strange evolutionary path to change from ultraviolet to violet vision: Some of its visual pigment molecules kept trying to leap ahead, but other molecules shut them down and kept the process moving at a crawl.
  
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