Sci-Tech news

• Climate models used to explain formation of Mars valley networks

  12-10-2015 23:56
  
  The extensive valley networks on the surface of Mars were probably created by running water billions of years ago, but the source of that water is unknown. Now, a team of Penn State and NASA researchers is using climate models to predict how greenhouse warming could be the source of the water.
  
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• Streaming TV services: What they cost, what you get

  12-10-2015 22:18
  
  Cable or satellite packages, excluding promotions, can easily run $70 to $100 a month. That gets you hundreds of diverse channels—ESPN for sports lovers, premium channels like HBO and Showtime, the major networks and niche options. But maybe you can find more cost-effective options online.
  
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• Sea level rise will swallow Miami, New Orleans, study finds

  12-10-2015 22:18
  
  Say goodbye to Miami and New Orleans. No matter what we do to curb global warming, these and other beloved US cities will sink below rising seas, according to a study Monday.
  
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• Google joins funding round for secure messaging service Symphony

  12-10-2015 22:06
  
  Symphony, a financial industry messaging startup, announced Monday that it has raised $100 million in a new round of funding from backers that included Google.
  
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• Big technology deals don't always compute for buyers

  12-10-2015 22:06
  
  Dell's proposed $67 billion acquisition of data storage company EMC is the most expensive ever done involving two technology companies. Many of the tech industry's other notable deals haven't panned out as well as the buyers planned. Here's a look back at some of those past acquisitions:
  
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• Scientists say vines strangle carbon storage in tropical forests

  12-10-2015 21:00
  
  Although useful to Tarzan, vines endanger tropical forests' capacity to store carbon. In a major experimental study in Panama, Smithsonian researchers showed that woody vines, or lianas, slow tropical forest tree growth and may even cause premature tree death. Lianas reduced aboveground carbon uptake by more than three-quarters, threatening the forests' ability to buffer climate change.
  
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• More extreme weather projected in the Amazon could have global climate consequences

  12-10-2015 21:00
  
  A new paper co-authored by WHRC scientists Philip Duffy and Paulo Brando evaluates the accuracy of current climate models and uses them to project future drought and wet periods in the Amazon. They conclude that the whole of the Amazon will confront more hydrological extremes, and that most of the region will experience much more frequent and extensive drought. These changes would have profound implications for forest structure, composition, biomass, and carbon emissions.
  
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• Global marine analysis suggests food chain collapse

  12-10-2015 21:00
  
  A world-first global analysis of marine responses to climbing human CO2 emissions has painted a grim picture of future fisheries and ocean ecosystems.
  
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• What is quantum in quantum thermodynamics?

  12-10-2015 18:10
  
  (Phys.org)—A lot of attention has been given to the differences between the quantum and classical worlds. For example, quantum entanglement, superposition, and teleportation are purely quantum phenomena with no classical counterparts. However, when it comes to certain areas of thermodynamics—specifically, thermal engines and refrigerators—quantum and classical systems so far appear to be nearly identical. It seems that the same thermodynamic laws that govern the engines in our
  
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• Interview: EU climate boss says emissions cuts not enough

  12-10-2015 17:38
  
  Europe's climate chief has acknowledged for the first time that climate pledges made by national governments ahead of a major U.N. conference fall short of meeting the international goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
  
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• New Research Reveals Earth’s Inner Core Was Formed 1 – 1.5 Billion Years Ago

  12-10-2015 17:37 via scitechdaily.com
  
  New data from the University of Liverpool reveals that the Earth’s inner core was formed 1 – 1.5 billion years ago as it “froze” from the surrounding molten iron outer core. The inner core is Earth’s deepest layer. It is a ball of solid iron just larger than Pluto which is surrounded by a liquid […]
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• New Epigenetic Algorithm Accurately Predicts Male Sexual Orientation

  12-10-2015 17:19 via scitechdaily.com
  
  By using epigenetic information from just nine regions of the human genome, a new algorithm can predict the sexual orientation of males with up to 70 percent accuracy. “To our knowledge, this is the first example of a predictive model for sexual orientation based on molecular markers,” said Tuck C. Ngun, PhD, first author on […]
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• Southwest operations appear on track after day of delays

  12-10-2015 17:17
  
  A day after technological problems delayed hundreds of flights, operations appear to have returned to normal Monday for Southwest Airlines.
  
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• Establishment of systems metabolic engineering strategies to develop microbial strains

  12-10-2015 17:13
  
  Although conventional petrochemical processes have generated chemicals and materials which have been useful to mankind, they have also triggered a variety of environmental problems including climate change and relied too much on nonrenewable natural resources. To ameliorate this, researchers have actively pursued the development of industrial microbial strains around the globe in order to overproduce industrially useful chemicals and materials from microbes using renewable biomass. This discipli
  
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• New study projects that melting of Antarctic ice shelves will intensify

  12-10-2015 17:00
  
  New research published today projects a doubling of surface melting of Antarctic ice shelves by 2050 and that by 2100 melting may surpass intensities associated with ice shelf collapse, if greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel consumption continue at the present rate.
  
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• New Drug Significantly Reduces Mortality Rate After Stroke

  12-10-2015 16:53 via scitechdaily.com
  
  New medical trials reveal that the intravenous drug Cirara significantly reduces brain swelling following a stroke. An existing drug administered intravenously reduces the chances of dying from major stroke by 60%, according to results of a phase II trial announced October 9 at the annual Neurocritical Care Society meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. “We’ve never seen […]
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• Hubble Image of the Week: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4639

  12-10-2015 16:39 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Hubble image shows Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 4639. NGC 4639 is a beautiful example of a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral. It lies over 70 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo and is one of about 1500 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. In this image, […]
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• Watch: TechBytes: Apple Reportedly Blocks Access to News App in China

  12-10-2015 16:33
  
  The new feature is supposed to work when users travel outside the United States.
  
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• Cyber Insurance Premiums Rocket After Big Attacks

  12-10-2015 15:40 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  A rash of hacking attacks on U.S. companies over the past two years has prompted insurers to massively increase cyber premiums for some companies.
  
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• Best of Last Week—White holes, elephants and cancer and the impact of dominating parents

  12-10-2015 14:40
  
  (Phys.org)—It was another good week for physics; the Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to Takaaki Kajita of Japan and Arthur McDonald of Canada for discovering a missing piece in the neutrino mass puzzle. And a team working in Australia announced that a crucial hurdle was overcome in quantum computing—they demonstrated a two-qubit logic gate, and did it in silicon. Also a pair of physicists Hal Haggard and Carlo Rovelli in France asked: What are white holes? They are looking into wh
  
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• Stop that drone: UAV freeze technique readied by British firms

  12-10-2015 14:06
  
  A system with rays that can freeze drones mid-flight has been developed by three British companies, said BBC News earlier this month.
  
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• Princeton's Angus Deaton wins Nobel economics prize

  12-10-2015 13:56
  
  Princeton University's Angus Deaton has won the Nobel prize in economics for "his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Monday.
  
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• Dell buying EMC in a transaction valued at about $67 billion

  12-10-2015 13:56
  
  Dell is buying data storage company EMC in a deal valued at approximately $67 billion.
  
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• Dell buying EMC in $67 billion bet on data storage

  12-10-2015 13:56
  
  Dell is buying data storage company EMC for $67 billion in a huge bet on a segment of technology that has proven to be more profitable than the slumping personal computer market.
  
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• Angus Deaton wins Nobel economics prize for work on poverty

  12-10-2015 13:56
  
  Angus Deaton of Princeton University won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for improving understanding of poverty and how people in poor countries respond to changes in economic policy.
  
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• China plans stricter regulation of Uber-like services

  12-10-2015 13:54
  
  China plans to more strictly regulate online ride-booking services, according to draft rules and state media, in what analysts said Monday could be a "devastating blow" to an industry pioneered by US firm Uber.
  
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• VW diesel cars recalled in China, sales halted in Singapore

  12-10-2015 13:51
  
  Volkswagen said Monday it is recalling 1,950 diesel vehicles in China to change engine software it has admitted cheats on emissions tests and Singapore suspended sales of the company's diesel cars.
  
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• Ford to invest $1.8 billion in China research

  12-10-2015 13:51
  
  Ford Motor Co. is investing $1.8 billion to develop technologies aimed at attracting Chinese car buyers, underlining China's importance to automakers despite slowing sales growth.
  
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• Fruit fly pheromone flags great real estate for starting a family

  12-10-2015 13:50
  
  In what they say was a lucky and unexpected finding, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they've discovered that male fruit flies lay down an odorant, or pheromone, that not only attracts females to lay eggs nearby, but also guides males and females searching for food. The discovery, they say, offers clues about how flies, and probably other creatures, navigate complex environments and use odors to guide important behavioral decisions.
  
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• New approach for 'nanohoops' could energize future devices

  12-10-2015 13:48
  
  When Ramesh Jasti began making tiny organic circular structures using carbon atoms, the idea was to improve carbon nanotubes being developed for use in electronics or optical devices. He quickly realized, however, that his technique might also roll solo.
  
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• Dielectric film has refractive index close to air

  12-10-2015 13:47
  
  Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a dielectric film that has optical and electrical properties similar to air, but is strong enough to be incorporated into electronic and photonic devices - making them both more efficient and more mechanically stable.
  
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• Supercoiled DNA is far more dynamic than the 'Watson-Crick' double helix

  12-10-2015 13:46
  
  Researchers have imaged in unprecedented detail the three-dimensional structure of supercoiled DNA, revealing that its shape is much more dynamic than the well-known double helix.
  
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• RNA's part in determining the health of stem cells

  12-10-2015 13:39
  
  What makes stem cells so interesting is that they are pluripotent: they have the potential to become any cell in an organism.Their ability to differentiate into any cell and be used to replace those that are damaged or diseased holds promise, but only once the secret to controlling them has been unlocked.
  
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• Could Tesla's Model X drive us towards electric cars for all?

  12-10-2015 13:35
  
  The launch of Tesla's long-awaited Model X electric car has received the sort of adulation that we've come to expect of new products from Apple. The Model X is a SUV with gull-wing doors – as made famous by the DeLorean from the film "Back to the Future" – giving it the appearance of a supercar, to go with its hefty pricetag. But filter out the hype, and the question is whether this will make the slightest difference to encouraging a broader shift away from fossil fuel-powered cars t
  
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• Scare-mongering about kids and social media helps no-one

  12-10-2015 12:47
  
  The way children and young people use social media is often portrayed in the mainstream media via stereotypes in a way that inspires fear and concern.
  
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• Vehicle fuel economy standards as global climate policy: How much can they deliver and at what cost?

  12-10-2015 11:30
  
  Over the past decade, many countries and regions seeking to reduce climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions have adopted more aggressive fuel economy standards designed to boost the efficiency of new, light-duty cars and trucks. Economists, however, generally argue that a more cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to price carbon through a system such as cap-and-trade, in which emitters across all sectors of the economy pay for each ton of CO2 they put into the atmosphere. Impacts of the
  
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• Recreating embryonic development '“in a dish”' to study drugs that cause birth defects

  12-10-2015 11:30
  
  Researchers in Singapore, for the first time, have recreated two key processes essential for fetal formation in vitro. The team has not only controlled the differentiation of stem cells into other cell types, but they have also demonstrated the successful migration of these transformed cells.
  
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• Fast solar wind causes aurora light shows

  12-10-2015 11:30
  
  On the night of Oct. 8, 2015, a photographer in Harstad, Norway captured this image of the dancing northern lights. Auroras are created when fast-moving, magnetic solar material strikes Earth's magnetic bubble, the magnetosphere. This collision rattles the magnetosphere in an event called a geomagnetic storm, sending trapped charged particles zooming down magnetic field lines towards the atmosphere, where they collide brilliantly with molecules in the air, creating auroras.
  
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• Engineers develop sonar navigation, mapping system for unmanned aircraft

  12-10-2015 11:20
  
  Researchers at the University of Georgia are working to bring a new level of precision to the navigation systems used to guide drones. The work is supported through a contract with Southern Company, one of the nation's largest energy companies, which plans to use unmanned aircraft to enhance safety for crews in the field and improve reliability for customers.
  
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• Hubble sees an aging star wave goodbye

  12-10-2015 11:16
  
  This planetary nebula is called PK 329-02.2 and is located in the constellation of Norma in the southern sky. It is also sometimes referred to as Menzel 2, or Mz 2, named after the astronomer Donald Menzel who discovered the nebula in 1922.
  
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• CubeSat to demonstrate miniature laser communications in orbit

  12-10-2015 11:00
  
  NASA and The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, California, have received confirmation the Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD) CubeSat spacecraft is in orbit and operational. OCSD launched aboard an Atlas V rocket Thursday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
  
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• Have your drug nano-delivered via microbubble

  12-10-2015 10:53
  
  "Colloidal delivery system" and "nanoparticle" are probably not terms you find yourself using in day-to-day interactions, but for UC's Yoonjee Park, assistant professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science biomedical engineering professor, these words are central to every conversation relating to her cutting edge research on drug delivery vehicles.
  
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• NASA image: Morning aurora from the space station

  12-10-2015 10:51
  
  NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station on Oct. 7, 2015.
  
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• Electronics that better mimic natural light promise more vivid, healthy illumination

  12-10-2015 10:44
  
  Despite technological leaps in modern electronics, the quality of lighting they provide still leaves much room for improvement.
  
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• Ecotourism can put wild animals at risk, scientists say

  12-10-2015 10:43
  
  cotourism, in which travelers visit natural environments with an eye toward funding conservation efforts or boosting local economies, has become increasingly popular in recent years. In many cases it involves close observation of or interaction with wildlife, such as when tourists swim with marine animals.  
  
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• Physicists trace origin of electromagnetic interaction to Dirac equation

  12-10-2015 10:38
  
  An international group of physicists has traced the origin of an electromagnetic interaction to the Dirac equation, a fundamental equation of quantum physics.
  
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• India's Infosys posts 9.8% profits rise but cuts forecast

  12-10-2015 08:55
  
  Indian software giant Infosys on Monday reported a 9.8 percent rise in quarterly net profit, beating expectations, on the back of a weak rupee and robust demand from the United States.
  
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• Mobile ad-blockers could wipe out billions in ad revenue

  12-10-2015 08:30
  
  Mobile Internet sites face a new threat as millions download ad-blockers to their phones and tablets, removing pesky adverts but potentially wiping out billions of dollars in advertising revenue.
  
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• Shift from fossil fuels risks popping 'carbon bubble': World Bank

  12-10-2015 08:20
  
  The transition from fossil fuels must be carefully managed to avoid an economically disastrous bursting of the "carbon bubble," the World Bank's top climate official said on Saturday.
  
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• Southwest warns Monday travelers to plan ahead after delays

  12-10-2015 08:10
  
  Southwest Airlines said hundreds of flights have been delayed by technical issues and warned passengers flying Monday to arrive two hours early and print boarding passes before coming to the airport.
  
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