Sci-Tech news

• Dutch team launches free 'Airbnb' site for refugees

  22-09-2015 23:03
  
  Three young Dutch start-up entrepreneurs have launched a website to find temporary accommodation for refugees fleeing to Europe, modelled on the popular Airbnb home rental site.
  
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• R&D yields new standard for safer ambulances

  22-09-2015 23:01
  
  Thanks to a newly updated standard for ambulance design based on research and development by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and two federal partners, emergency runs should soon be much safer for paramedics and other first responders.
  
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• Geolocators used to link breeding and wintering populations of Prothonotary Warblers

  22-09-2015 23:00
  
  Prothonotary Warblers are stunningly beautiful and highly migratory birds closely tied to their preferred breeding habitat: swamps and other forested wetlands in the eastern United States. Scientists have noted that Prothonotary Warbler populations have experienced precipitous declines in recent years, prompting new research investigating the little known migratory behavior of this remarkable bird. As part of this effort, researchers from the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Statio
  
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• Study shows whale microbiome shares characteristics with both ruminants and predators

  22-09-2015 22:58
  
  To some, it may not come as a surprise to learn that the great whales are carnivores, feeding on tiny shrimp-like animals such as krill. Moreover, it might not be surprising to find that the microbes that live in whale guts -the so-called microbiome- resemble those of other meat eaters.
  
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• Judge largely upholds Berkeley cellphone ordinance

  22-09-2015 21:13
  
  A federal judge has mostly upheld a new Berkeley ordinance that requires cellphone sellers to warn customers about keeping their cellphones too close to their bodies.
  
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• Judge largely upholds Berkeley, California, cellphone rules

  22-09-2015 21:13
  
  A federal judge has mostly upheld a new ordinance in the college town of Berkeley, California, that requires cellphone sellers to warn customers about keeping their cellphones too close to their bodies.
  
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• Fossil fuel divestment movement reaches $2.6 trillion

  22-09-2015 21:11
  
  A campaign to abandon fossil fuels to boost the fight against climate change has rapidly picked up steam, with institutions worth $2.6 trillion pledging to divest, a study said Tuesday.
  
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• Open-science van der Waals interaction calculations enable mesoscale design and assembly

  22-09-2015 21:09
  
  As molecular-level electronic, photonic and biological devices grow smaller, approaching the nanometer scale, chemists, physicists and materials scientists strive to predict the magnitude of the fundamental intermolecular interactions, and whether new hierarchical combinations of these material components will assemble and function as designed.
  
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• Watch: Clock Controversy Teen Gets Warm Welcome From Google

  22-09-2015 20:34
  
  The Texas high school freshman also has plans to visit President Obama next month.
  
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• Terra satellite sees Tropical Storm Ida meandering

  22-09-2015 20:33
  
  When NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Ida on September 22, it was meandering and going in circles in the Central Atlantic Ocean.
  
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• Satellite sees Tropical Storm Malia moving away from Hawaiian Islands

  22-09-2015 20:32
  
  Tropical Storm Malia is on a northwesterly track and continued to move away from the Hawaiian Islands on Sept. 22 as NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an image of the storm.
  
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• Ecofriendly catalyst for a certain type of precious metal-mediated chemical reaction discovered

  22-09-2015 20:26
  
  Green chemistry is akin to baking. Both require precision and specific ingredients to produce the desired results. The trick is figuring out exactly which ingredients to use, and in what combinations.
  
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• End of story at Oyster, e-book subscription startup

  22-09-2015 20:10
  
  Oyster, the startup seeking to be the "Netflix for e-books" by offering unlimited reading for a monthly fee, says its story is coming to an end.
  
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• Apple Plans Steps to Prevent Future App Store Attacks

  22-09-2015 20:02 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  A senior Apple executive on Tuesday said the company would make it easier for Chinese app developers to download its tools for building mobile apps.
  
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• New weapon against the reef eaters

  22-09-2015 20:00
  
  James Cook University scientists in Australia have made a breakthrough in the war against a deadly enemy of the Great Barrier Reef.
  
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• 3 Smartphone Apps That Can Help Keep Your Kids Safe

  22-09-2015 19:57 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Three new phone apps can help your kids safe when you can't be with them, and they're free: Companion, Circle of 6 and Lifeline Response.
  
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• Q&A: What is a sage grouse and why is the bird imperiled?

  22-09-2015 19:50
  
  The Interior Department said Tuesday it won't propose federal protections for the greater sage grouse, a chicken-sized bird of the sagebrush that ranges from California to the Dakotas.
  
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• VW CEO says he's 'endlessly sorry' for tarnishing brand

  22-09-2015 19:40
  
  Volkswagen AG's emissions scandal crisis escalated Tuesday as the company issued a profit warning, set aside billions to cover the fallout and saw its shares take another battering. The CEO of the world's top-selling carmaker declared he was "endlessly sorry" that the company had squandered worldwide trust in its brand.
  
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• Archeologists recover cannon from sunken Confederate warship

  22-09-2015 19:38
  
  Marine archeologists say they've recovered another cannon from a Confederate warship that's been at the bottom of the Savannah River since the American Civil War.
  
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• Archaeologists recover cannon from sunken Confederate ship

  22-09-2015 19:38
  
  Marine archaeologists have recovered the fifth cannon from a Confederate warship that's been at the bottom of the Savannah River since the American Civil War, officials said.
  
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• Research uncovers microsopic key to reducing ocean dead zones

  22-09-2015 19:37
  
  Along the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico is a 6,000-square mile dead zone of oxygen-depleted water filled with dead plants, dead fish and a damaged ecosystem.
  
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• Starbucks Releases 'Mobile Order & Pay' Nationwide

  22-09-2015 19:33 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Just in time for pumpkin spice latte season, Starbucks is letting people order and pay for their coffee with their smartphones.
  
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• US rejects protections for greater sage grouse across West

  22-09-2015 19:30
  
  The greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird whose vast range spans 11 Western states, does not need federal protections, the Interior Department said Tuesday, following a costly effort to reverse the species' decline without reshaping the region's economy.
  
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• Official says Egypt approves radar for Nefertiti tomb quest

  22-09-2015 19:20
  
  The Egyptian Antiquities Ministry granted preliminary approval for the use of a non-invasive radar to verify a theory that Queen Nefertiti's crypt may be hidden behind King Tutankhamun's 3,300-year-old tomb in the famous Valley of the Kings, a ministry official said Tuesday.
  
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• Amazon offers Prime membership for $67 for 1 day

  22-09-2015 19:10
  
  Amazon is cutting the price of its $99 annual Prime membership program to $67 on Friday for new members to celebrate its original series "Transparent" winning 5 Emmys at the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
  
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• Microsoft launches 'collaborative' new Office software

  22-09-2015 19:08
  
  Microsoft launched its new Office suite, touting the key software as a collaborative tool which can work across multiple devices.
  
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• Groupon slashing 1,100 jobs in new retrenchment

  22-09-2015 19:08
  
  Online deals giant Groupon said Tuesday it was cutting some 1,100 jobs over the coming months in another sign of cooling in the once-hot sector.
  
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• New York regulator issues first bitcoin license to company

  22-09-2015 19:07
  
  State regulators have approved their first license to a company dealing in virtual currency such as bitcoin.
  
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• Tiny endangered songbirds given second chance at survival

  22-09-2015 19:01
  
  Seven Florida grasshopper sparrows, among the world's most endangered birds, have been given a second chance at survival in the care of researchers working to save threatened species across the planet.
  
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• Cyber security firm offers $1 million for Apple hack

  22-09-2015 19:01
  
  Computer security firm Zerodium on Tuesday offered a $1 million (890,000-euro) bounty to hackers who can find a way to breach Apple's latest iOS 9 mobile operating system.
  
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• Researchers reveal when global warming first appeared

  22-09-2015 19:00
  
  The indications of climate change are all around us today but now researchers have revealed for the first time when and where the first clear signs of global warming appeared in the temperature record and where those signals are likely to be clearly seen in extreme rainfall events in the near future.
  
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• New report examines regulation of federally funded research

  22-09-2015 18:59
  
  Continuing expansion of federal research regulations and requirements is diminishing the effectiveness of the U.S. scientific enterprise and lowering the return on the federal investment in research by directing investigators' time away from research and toward administrative matters, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The report identifies specific actions Congress, the White House, federal agencies, and research instit
  
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• The Karoo Basin and the end Permian mass extinction

  22-09-2015 18:57
  
  Earth's biosphere witnessed its greatest ecological catastrophe in the latest Permian, dated to about 251.9 million years ago. The current model for biodiversity collapse states that both marine and terrestrial animals were impacted simultaneously, as a consequence of global climate change.
  
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• Remnants of Tropical Depression 16E raining over US Southwest

  22-09-2015 18:55
  
  The remnants of Tropical Depression 16E (TD16E) have moved over the U.S. Southwest and an infrared image from NOAA's GOES-West satellite showed the associated clouds over Arizona and New Mexico.
  
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• New resource will help growers manage the olive fruit fly

  22-09-2015 18:52
  
  A new, open-access article in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management aims to support California olive producers with an overview of the olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae), which has become the key pest of olives since its introduction in 1998.
  
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• Changes in dairy industry benefit dairy cattle health and welfare and consumers

  22-09-2015 18:52
  
  Profound changes in the dairy industry in recent decades have benefited the health and welfare of dairy cows, as well as consumers. A team of dairy science experts provides valuable insights into these changes, as well as the science behind them, and also identify knowledge gaps and further research needs. Their review is published in the current issue of the Journal of Dairy Science.
  
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• Hell hath no fury like a female superhero scorned (by fans)

  22-09-2015 18:51
  
  The devoted followers of comic book heroes are diversifying beyond the likes of Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard as depicted on the CBS Network's "The Big Bang Theory." Rebecca Borah, a pop culture researcher and associate professor of English at the University of Cincinnati, says that's partly what caused the Internet to "Hulk out" after fans flocked to "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Borah is among the UC faculty presenting at the regional conference of the Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwe
  
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• Are we wiser about tsunamis? Expert says yes and no

  22-09-2015 18:51
  
  The world may not be well prepared for the next significant tsunami, reports Northwestern University tsunami expert Emile A. Okal in a new study that includes a "wisdom index" for 17 tsunamis since 2004.
  
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• Researchers try to halt march of destructive pest preying on tomatoes

  22-09-2015 18:43
  
  The rapid spread of a highly destructive invasive species that threatens tomato crops has prompted a Virginia Tech scientist to lead the charge in issuing a set of recommendations, including quarantine measures, designed to thwart the advance of the pest around the globe.
  
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• A new view of the content of Earth's core

  22-09-2015 18:33
  
  There is more oxygen in the core of Earth than originally thought.
  
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• Superbug study reveals how E. coli strain acquired deadly powers

  22-09-2015 18:31
  
  A strain of E. coli became a potentially fatal infection in the UK around 30 years ago, when it acquired a powerful toxin, a gene study has revealed.
  
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• Love's labors: Study shows male lizards risk becoming lunch for a bird to attract a mate

  22-09-2015 18:31
  
  In the animal kingdom, the flashiest males often have more luck attracting a mate. But when your predators hunt by sight, this can pose an interesting problem.
  
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• New smart robot accelerates cancer treatment research

  22-09-2015 18:22
  
  A new smart research robot accelerates research on cancer treatments. The new robot system finds optimal treatment combinations. Today Scientific Reports is publishing an article about the robot, authored by Dr Mats Gustafsson, Professor of Medical Bioinformatics at Uppsala University.
  
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• Matt Damon of ‘The M

  22-09-2015 18:22 via pinterest.com
  
  Matt Damon of ‘The Martian’ Explains NASA’s Journey to Mars – ISS Crew Previews Film on Orbit
  
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• NASA sees formation of Tropical Depression 21W

  22-09-2015 18:17
  
  NASA's Aqua satellite passed over a developing tropical low pressure area in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean on September 21 when the latest depression was coming together. The AIRS instrument aboard Aqua used infrared light to determine temperatures of cloud tops and where the strongest storms were located.
  
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• iPhone Buyers Get Tool For Obsessively Tracking Purchase

  22-09-2015 18:15 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  When the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus became available for pre-order, Apple fans began the arduous process of waiting for their new gadgets to arrive.
  
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• Radio telescopes could spot stars hidden in the galactic center

  22-09-2015 18:05
  
  The center of our Milky Way galaxy is a mysterious place. Not only is it thousands of light-years away, it's also cloaked in so much dust that most stars within are rendered invisible. Harvard researchers are proposing a new way to clear the fog and spot stars hiding there. They suggest looking for radio waves coming from supersonic stars.
  
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• Scientists Discover the Remains of Cold Weather Dinosaurs

  22-09-2015 18:00 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Scientists from Florida State University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks have uncovered a new species of duck-billed dinosaur, a 30-footlong herbivore that endured months of winter darkness and probably experienced snow. The skeletal remains of the dinosaurs were found in a remote part of Alaska. These dinosaurs were the northernmost dinosaurs known to have […]
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• From dig to digital: Australia's iconic dinosaurs as you've never seen them before

  22-09-2015 17:58
  
  It's Australia's largest known meat-eating dinosaur but until now we've never seen how Australovenator moved - not even the man who dug it up and named it.
  
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• Researchers set speed records for zinc-based transistors with argon plasma process

  22-09-2015 17:56
  
  If you're reading this story on a screen with a liquid crystal display, thank thin-film transistors. Thin-film transistors function like standard semiconductor transistors, but are deposited on top of a layer of glass. In LCD screens, this allows the transistors to be embedded directly in the screen, which improves image stability.
  
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