Sci-Tech news

• Faraway Object Being Destroyed by Real-Life 'Death Star'

  21-10-2015 23:50
  
  Cue "The Imperial March."
  
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• Cuba launches shark protection plan produced with US group

  21-10-2015 23:40
  
  Cuba announced Wednesday that it is launching a long-term plan to preserve its sharks in cooperation with a U.S. environmental group, part of a rapidly accelerating partnership between the two countries aimed at preserving their shared waters in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits.
  
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• MIT to fight climate change, but won't divest fossil fuels

  21-10-2015 23:30
  
  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a five-year plan Wednesday to combat climate change but said it won't divest its $12.4 billion endowment from fossil fuels, despite pressure from students and a campus committee.
  
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• Why Top Microsoft Exec Is Taking a Year Off From Work

  21-10-2015 23:25
  
  One of the most public faces of Microsoft is stepping away from his work to go on a new adventure: sailing around the world with his wife and two children.
  
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• Hawaii faces winter drought despite wettest summer in years (Update)

  21-10-2015 23:18
  
  The strong El Nino has flipped Hawaii's seasons, making the normally dry summer months extremely wet while the traditionally wet winter months will be dry, forecasters said Wednesday.
  
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• Despite wettest summer in years, Hawaii faces winter drought

  21-10-2015 23:18
  
  Heavy rains this past summer only did so much to alleviate drought conditions in Hawaii.
  
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• WikiLeaks publishes CIA director John Brennan's emails

  21-10-2015 23:16
  
  The WikiLeaks organization posted material Wednesday from what appears to be CIA Director John Brennan's personal email account, including a draft security clearance application containing personal information.
  
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• Former telescope to be removed from Hawaiian mountain

  21-10-2015 23:16
  
  The University of Hawaii has announced the third Mauna Kea observatory that will be decommissioned, fulfilling the governor's request to remove 25 percent of the telescopes from the mountain.
  
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• Ocean heat content reveals secrets of fish migration behaviors

  21-10-2015 23:15
  
  Researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science developed a new method to estimate fish movements using ocean heat content images, a dataset commonly used in hurricane intensity forecasting. With Atlantic tarpon as the messenger, this is the first study to quantitatively show that large migratory fishes, such as yellowfin and bluefin tunas, blue and white marlin, and sailfish have affinities for ocean fronts and eddies.
  
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• GPM satellite sees Typhoon Champi still going strong

  21-10-2015 23:15
  
  The Global Precipitation Measurement mission, or GPM, core satellite is getting a workout in the western North Pacific Ocean as it gathered rainfall and cloud height data on Typhoon Champi.
  
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• GPM checks rainfall rates in Category 4 Hurricane Olaf

  21-10-2015 23:15
  
  Hurricane Olaf has been a Category 4 hurricane for three days in the Central Pacific Ocean. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) analyzed rainfall rates occurring in the major hurricane.
  
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• Satellite sees Tropical Storm Patricia form near Western Mexico coast

  21-10-2015 23:14
  
  The low pressure area that was designated as System 97E on October 20 developed into the Eastern Pacific Ocean's twentieth tropical depression of the season at 11 a.m. EDT. By 11 p.m. the depression became Tropical Storm Patricia and was seen strengthening by NOAA's GOES-West satellite.
  
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• NASA adds up Typhoon Koppu's deadly Philippine rainfall

  21-10-2015 23:13
  
  Extremely heavy rainfall from the once Super Typhoon Koppu has caused deadly flooding and mudslides in the Philippines. The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core satellite estimates rainfall totals from space and that data was used to create rainfall maps at NASA. By October 21, Koppu had weakened to a depression and continued slowly moving away from the northern Philippines.
  
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• Federal agents will no longer use 'Stingray' cellphone trackers without warrants - USA TODAY

  21-10-2015 23:11 via
  USA TODAY
  Federal agents will no longer use 'Stingray' cellphone trackers without warrants
  USA TODAY
  WASHINGTON — Immigration, Secret Service, and Homeland Security investigators must now obtain search warrants before using "Stingray" trackers that reveal the locations of scores of cellphone users, a Department of Homeland Security official told a ...
  Homeland Security Backs Some Warrantless Cellphone SearchesWall Street Journal
  Feds detail how they secretly track Americans' phonesCN
  

• Dynamic social-network analysis reveals animal social behaviors

  21-10-2015 23:08
  
  Communities are defined by flux: friendships that form and break, loyalties that shift, and visitors passing through. But these dynamic interactions aren't represented in static maps of social networks. Snapshot diagrams-with lines drawn between individuals to show the ties that connect them based on data collected over time-can't tell the whole story.
  
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• Berkeley Lab scientists to help build world's first total-body PET scanner

  21-10-2015 23:07
  
  Scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have set out to help build the world's first total-body positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, a medical imaging device that could change the way cancers and other diseases are diagnosed and treated.
  
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• Microsoft finally has a laptop to compete with Apple - Fortune

  21-10-2015 22:59 via
  Fortune
  Microsoft finally has a laptop to compete with Apple
  Fortune
  Reviews say it's 'seriously impressive.' Microsoft unveiled its Surface Book “ultimate laptop” earlier this month, pitting itself directly against Apple's MacBook Pro. It sounds like a tough sell, but looking at early reviews, Apple may be facing some ...
  Microsoft Surface Pro has laptop feel, appealMLive.com
  6 Cool Microsoft Surface Book FeaturesPC Magazine
  Microsoft's Surface Book should have other PC builders wo
  

• Pig-snouted turtle from dinosaur era discovered in Utah - Fox News

  21-10-2015 22:56 via
  Fox News
  Pig-snouted turtle from dinosaur era discovered in Utah
  Fox News
  A strange pig-snouted turtle that lived alongside tyrannosaurs and duck-billed dinosaurs has been discovered in Utah. The University of Utah announced the finding in a news release Wednesday. A team from the Natural History Museum of Utah discovered ...and more »
  

• Google's YouTube Red Will Let You Watch Videos Ad-Free For $9.99 Per Month - Forbes

  21-10-2015 22:48 via
  Forbes
  Google's YouTube Red Will Let You Watch Videos Ad-Free For $9.99 Per Month
  Forbes
  YouTube Red, YouTube's new $9.99-per-month service that blocks ads and gives access to a music app and original content. (Courtesy YouTube). Are YouTube's viewers ready to pay to avoid its ads? The world's biggest video site will find out in a week ...
  What You Need to Know About YouTube's Subscription Service, YouTube RedAdweek
  Google Challenges Netflix With Ad-Free YouTube SubscriptionBloomberg
  YouTu
  

• Historic Delft Experiments tests Einstein's 'God does not play dice' using quantum 'dice'

  21-10-2015 22:47
  
  Random number generators developed at ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences, by the groups of ICREA Professors Morgan W. Mitchell and Valerio Pruneri, played a critical role in the historic experiment was published online today in Nature by the group of Ronald Hanson at TU Delft. The experiment gives the strongest refutation to date of Albert Einstein's principle of "local realism," which says that the universe obeys laws, not chance, and that there is no communication faster than light.
  
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• Ebay profit beats, shares jump after-hours - Reuters

  21-10-2015 22:47 via
  Reuters
  Ebay profit beats, shares jump after-hours
  Reuters
  EBay Inc reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast, helping to allay concerns about the company's prospects following the spinoff of PayPal, its main engine of growth. EBay, whose shares were ...
  EBay Beats 3Q Profit ForecastsNew York Times
  EBay Boosts Forecast as Profit Falls Less Than ExpectedWall Street Journal
  eBay Q3 Earnings Beats Expectations Following Its Split From PayP
  

• Bats important to survival of rare frog, other species

  21-10-2015 22:45
  
  Bat poop matters. So says a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, study examining a little-known species, the Caucasian parsley frog, and its reliance on insects that breed in bat guano.
  
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• Chinese star Xiaomi aims beyond smartphones

  21-10-2015 22:40
  
  Leading Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is aiming for a future as an Internet company with the potential to cross swords with titans such as Alibaba.
  
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• Pig-Snouted Turtle From Dinosaur Era Discovered in Utah

  21-10-2015 22:25
  Bizarre looking pig-snouted turtle that lived alongside dinosaurs discovered in Utah
  
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• Twitter officially opens Moments publishing tools to everyone - Mashable

  21-10-2015 21:59 via
  Mashable
  Twitter officially opens Moments publishing tools to everyone
  Mashable
  SAN FRANCISCO — Weeks after unveiling Moments, Twitter is offering up a new set of tools to publishers and developers that makes it easier for them to use tweets on their sites and apps. The company announced it was opening up two of its tools ...
  Twitter Inc (TWTR) Tweets Across Web And On Mobile Are About To Look A Lot ...International Business Times
  Twitter Says It Reaches More Than One Billion People, Want
  

• Biologists Fly Drone to Track Health of Endangered Orcas

  21-10-2015 21:55
  NOAA biologists use drone to capture images of endangered orcas, track their health
  
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• Cracking the code for selling into the developing world

  21-10-2015 21:34
  
  Consumers in the developing world are some of the world's best customers - emerging economy markets have contributed more than half of the Coca-Cola Co.'s global revenue since 2006, and Mexico, China, and Brazil were the three largest non-US contributors. But the best way for large consumer packaged goods companies to reach these markets remains a challenge. New research suggests that different combinations of package sizes, price, and merchandising work more effectively depending on whether the
  
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• Domino's launches delivery car with oven inside - Nation's Restaurant News

  21-10-2015 21:31 via
  Nation's Restaurant News
  Domino's launches delivery car with oven inside
  Nation's Restaurant News
  One of the biggest challenges of restaurant delivery is how to keep food warm from the time it leaves the oven to when it reaches its destination. Ann Arbor-based Domino's Pizza Inc. may have solved this problem with the help of some local Michigan ...
  Domino's DXP Car Is a Mobile Pizza Headquarters for the 21st CenturyNBCNews.com
  Domino's Gets into the Car Business with DXP Pizza-Delivery VehicleA
  

• Dash Robotics: Origami-style robots for build-and-play fun

  21-10-2015 21:20
  
  Parents eager to see children better prepared for their future digital world like projects that offer DIY tasks combined with simple programming. Summer camps do it; some schools are taking to it; there is also interest in finding toys where children can control objects from smartphone apps and learn about electronics, robotics and programming.
  
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• Apple releases iOS 9.1, complete with champagne and a hot dog - CNET

  21-10-2015 21:19 via
  CNET
  Apple releases iOS 9.1, complete with champagne and a hot dog
  CNET
  Apple released on Wednesday the first significant update to its iOS 9 software for iPhones and iPads, though it might matter most to those who like to send emoji-laden messages about food. The iOS 9.1 update is available now to all iOS 9 users. Outward ...
  Apple's iOS 9.1 Shuts Down The Pangu Hacking Team's JailbreakTechCrunch
  The new iPhone emojis are here!CNNMoney
  Apple fixes 49 security bugs in iOS 9.1; kills jailbr
  

• Twitter to 'reboot' growth, relationship with developers: Dorsey

  21-10-2015 20:52
  
  Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said Wednesday the struggling messaging platform is in the midst of "rebooting" as it seeks to fulfill what he sees as its vital mission as a rapid source of information.
  
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• California 2100: More frequent and more severe droughts and floods likely

  21-10-2015 20:51
  
  In the future, the Pacific Ocean's temperature cycles could disrupt more than just December fishing. A study published in Nature Communications suggests that the weather patterns known as El Nino and La Nina could lead to at least a doubling of extreme droughts and floods in California later this century.
  
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• Apple Updates iOS, watchOS And OS X, Including Support For New Emoji (And The ... - TechCrunch

  21-10-2015 20:39 via
  TechCrunch
  Apple Updates iOS, watchOS And OS X, Including Support For New Emoji (And The ...
  TechCrunch
  The next major update to Apple's mobile operating system since the debut of version 9.0 released in September, is now rolling out. In iOS 9.1, Apple is introducing a number of new features and improvements, including one involving those GIF-like “Live ...
  Apple releases iOS 9.1, complete with champagne and a hot dogCNET
  The new iPhone emojis are here!CNNMoney
  Drop Everything: Here'
  

• Twitter Inc (TWTR) Tweets Across Web And On Mobile Are About To Look A Lot ... - International Business Times

  21-10-2015 20:31 via
  International Business Times
  Twitter Inc (TWTR) Tweets Across Web And On Mobile Are About To Look A Lot ...
  International Business Times
  Twitter released new tools for creating, collecting and sharing tweets on desktop and mobile web, product manager Michael Ducker announced at Twitter Flight, a mobile developers conference in San Francisco, Oct. 21, 2015. Kerry Flynn/International ...
  Twitter Says It Reaches More Than One Billion People, Wants Tweets EverywhereRe/code
  Twitter Announces Ne
  

• Scientists give 'outlaw' particles less room to hide

  21-10-2015 20:30
  
  Studying the highest-energy particles in the cosmos provides scientists with a way to test how well they understand the cutting edge of physics. Recently, scientists using a giant particle detector at the South Pole have set records for the highest-energy observations of mysterious subatomic entities called neutrinos. If neutrinos happen to be traveling faster than light, a feat that violates Einstein's relativity theory but is allowed by some newer rival theories, these measurements provide a w
  
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• Wikileaks warns is about to leak CIA chief's emails

  21-10-2015 20:05
  
  Anti-secrecy campaign Wikileaks boasted Wednesday that it had obtained CIA director John Brennan's personal emails and was about to make them public.
  
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• Beavers take a chunk out of nitrogen in Northeast rivers

  21-10-2015 20:05
  
  Beavers, once valued for their fur, may soon have more appreciation in the Northeastern United States. There they are helping prevent harmful levels of nitrogen from reaching the area's vulnerable estuaries. By creating ponds that slow down the movement of water, they aid in removing nitrogen from the water.
  
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• Samsung Pay lands on Verizon - CNET

  21-10-2015 20:00 via
  CNET
  Samsung Pay lands on Verizon
  CNET
  Samsung Pay is now available on all the major US carriers. Sarah Tew/CBS Interactive. Samsung is finally going to help Verizon customers at the checkout counter. The nation's largest wireless carrier now supports Samsung Pay, the Korean electronic ...
  Get a grip: Samsung's 18.4-inch Galaxy View tablet has a built-in handleZDNet
  Samsung Galaxy S7 Specs And Features: Rumors Suggest Stronger Materials And ...iDigitalTimes.com
  Verizon customers can finall
  

• Prawns reveal the secrets of innovation

  21-10-2015 20:00
  
  Small and hungry prawns are more likely to be resourceful in the face of adversity than their less desperate counterparts according to new research published today in the journal PLOS ONE. However the study found that size and hunger have different effects depending on whether the prawns are acting alone or in a group. Small individuals were more likely to innovate when alone, but when in a group, size didn't matter and it was the hungry prawns that tended to be most resourceful.
  
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• Cats retain multiple functional bitter taste receptors

  21-10-2015 20:00
  
  According to new research from the Monell Center, cats have at least seven functional bitter taste receptors. Further, a comparison of cat to related species with differing dietary habits reveals that there does not appear to be a strong relationship between the number of bitter receptors and the extent to which a species consumed plants in its diet. The findings question the common hypothesis that bitter taste developed primarily to protect animals from ingesting poisonous plant compounds.
  
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• Garmin Releases Three New Exercise Watches To Keep You Unflabby - TechCrunch

  21-10-2015 19:56 via
  TechCrunch
  Garmin Releases Three New Exercise Watches To Keep You Unflabby
  TechCrunch
  Another day, another fitness device that can track your distance, pace, heart rate, and nag you when you don't exercise. This time we have the Garmin 230, 235, and 630, three great smartwatches with exercise freaks in mind. The 230 and 235 have ...
  Garmin Tips 3 New Forerunner Running WatchesPC Magazine
  ​Garmin debuts three new GPS running watches with all-day tracking, smart alertsCNET
  Garmin Announces
  

• Opinion: Even with technology, you can't have it all

  21-10-2015 19:51 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Technology has always been about choice: Fire allowed us to choose to live in colder climates. Electric lighting offered us the choice to read at night. Drugs give us the freedom to choose stressful, self-destructive lifestyles.
  
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• Quantum Theory Experiment Said to Prove 'Spooky' Interactions - New York Times

  21-10-2015 19:50 via
  New York Times
  Quantum Theory Experiment Said to Prove 'Spooky' Interactions
  New York Times
  In a landmark study, scientists at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands reported they have conducted an experiment they say proves one of the most fundamental claims of quantum theory — that objects separated by great distance can ...
  Historic Delft Experiments tests Einstein's 'God does not play dice' using ...Phys.Org
  Einstein wouldn't like it: New test proves universe is "s
  

• Dive of the RoboBee: First insect-size robot capable of flying and swimming (w/ Video)

  21-10-2015 19:45
  
  In 1939, a Russian engineer proposed a "flying submarine"—a vehicle that can seamlessly transition from air to water and back again. While it may sound like something out of a James Bond film, engineers have been trying to design functional aerial-aquatic vehicles for decades with little success. Now, engineers may be one step closer to the elusive flying submarine.
  
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• Alibaba boss calls on Western SMEs to enter Chinese market

  21-10-2015 19:30
  
  Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese online commerce giant Alibaba, on Wednesday urged small and medium-sized Western companies to take advantage of China's expanding middle-class by entering the country's markets.
  
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• Scientists find cells rhythmically regulate their genes

  21-10-2015 19:22
  
  Even in a calm, unchanging environment, cells are not static. Among other actions, cells activate and then deactivate some types of transcription factors—proteins that control the expression of genes—in a series of unpredictable and intermittent pulses. Since discovering this pulsing phenomenon, scientists have wondered what functions it could provide for cells.
  
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• Study finds the warmer it gets, the more world economy hurts

  21-10-2015 19:15
  
  With each upward degree, global warming will singe the economies of three-quarters of the world's nations and widen the north-south gap between rich and poor countries, according to a new economic and science study.
  
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• 'Death Star' Vaporizes Its Own Planet: 1st Evidence - Space.com

  21-10-2015 19:14 via
  Space.com
  'Death Star' Vaporizes Its Own Planet: 1st Evidence
  Space.com
  The planet-destroying Death Star from "Star Wars" may be fictional, but a star at the end of its life and only a bit bigger than Earth could be its real-world twin: The star is currently destroying and disintegrating an orbiting planet bit by bit. The ...
  Real life 'Death Star' caught in the act of destroying a planetWashington Post
  Zombie white dwarf star caught destroying an orbiting planetThe Verge
  Greedy white dwarf sta
  

• YouTube to launch $10-a-month ad-free video, music plan Red

  21-10-2015 19:12
  
  YouTube is launching a subscription plan in the U.S. called Red that combines ad-free videos, new original series and movies from top YouTubers like PewDiePie, and on-demand unlimited streaming music for $10 a month.
  
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• Fossil's first Android Wear smartwatch arrives this holiday season for $275 - CNET

  21-10-2015 19:06 via
  CNET
  Fossil's first Android Wear smartwatch arrives this holiday season for $275
  CNET
  Android Wear has another nice-looking smartwatch. This time around it comes to us from veteran watchmaker Fossil, a newcomer to the increasingly crowded Android Wear field. The Fossil Q Founder looks similar to the new Moto 360. It features a circular ...
  Fossil debuts Android smartwatch and (beautiful) smart braceletsMashable
  Fossil reveals its Android Wear smartwatch — the $275 Fossil Q FounderPha
  

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