Sci-Tech news

• 100m radio telescope maps the complete northern sky in the light of neutral hydrogen

  15-12-2015 23:57
  
  Radio astronomers from Bonn University and the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie have reached a scientific milestone with their publication in the January issue of the international science journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
  
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• Citizen scientists name planet

  15-12-2015 23:55
  
  Volunteers from the Perth based citizen astronomy project theSkyNet have won the right to name a planet around a distant star as part of a global contest run by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
  
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• Scientists launch NASA rocket into auroral "speed bumps" above Norway

  15-12-2015 23:51
  
  A team of scientists led by Marc Lessard of the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center launched an instrument-laden, four-stage sounding rocket from Norway's Andøya Space Center about 280 miles above Earth to study how particles move in a region near the North Pole where Earth's magnetic field is directly connected to the solar wind. The launch occurred Sunday, Dec. 13, at 2:34 a.m. EST.
  
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• 3 Charged in Spamming Scheme That Targeted 60 Million People

  15-12-2015 23:42 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say the scheme netted more than $2 million in profits.
  
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• North Slope permafrost thawing sooner than expected

  15-12-2015 23:30
  
  New projections of permafrost change in northern Alaska suggest far-reaching effects will come sooner than expected, scientists reported this week at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
  
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• Russian capsule docks safely at International Space Station

  15-12-2015 23:20
  
  A Russian spacecraft carrying three astronauts from the United States, Britain and Russia has docked successfully at the International Space Station.
  
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• Gorilla Glass, used for cell phones, is coming to cars

  15-12-2015 23:03
  
  The thin, lightweight glass on your smartphone could soon be found on your car.
  
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• EU mulls age limit for social media use

  15-12-2015 22:58
  
  The European Union was mulling the possibility Tuesday of setting an age for parental consent, perhaps as high as 18, for users of social media such as Facebook, EU sources said.
  
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• EU gets provisional deal on data protection rules

  15-12-2015 22:58
  
  The European Union late Tuesday took a major step toward approving sweeping new data protection rules that would strengthen online privacy, streamline legislation between the 28 member states and boost police and security cooperation.
  
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• British astronaut docks with ISS as country cheers debut trip (Update)

  15-12-2015 22:58
  
  Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to travel to the International Space Station, on Tuesday docked with the orbiting laboratory with two other spacemen, to cheers and excitement back home.
  
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• Google's new data-only Project Fi tablet plans don't charge device fees - Ars Technica

  15-12-2015 22:57 via
  TechCrunch
  Google's new data-only Project Fi tablet plans don't charge device fees
  Ars Technica
  Android and iOS tablets use T-Mobile's network, same pool of data as your phone. by Andrew Cunningham - Dec 15, 2015 1:57pm PST. Share · Tweet · Google · Reddit · 0. Google. Further Reading. How Google's Project Fi pricing stacks up to the competition.
  Google's Project Fi adds support for iPads, other data-only devicesThe Verge
  Google's Fi wireless service now supports dat
  

• British police arrest 21-year-old man in VTech hacking

  15-12-2015 22:53
  
  Police in the UK say they've made an arrest in the hacking of kids' technology maker VTech, which compromised the personal information of more than 6 million children around the world.
  
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• In Tech: AI research center, Android Pay, OneDrive storage

  15-12-2015 22:45
  
  Three billionaires who launched PayPal and then went on to even greater success in their next ventures are now trying to make sure that artificial intelligence does more good than harm to humans.
  
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• Researchers find what makes 'black market' water vendors work more reliably and fairly

  15-12-2015 22:44
  
  In areas of the world with no piped water, people rely on 'black market' water—sold by informal vendors who have no oversight—which can be high-priced and have dangerously poor quality. But when informal vendors establish their own unions, they adopt rules that self-regulate and provide improved water pricing, quality and delivery.
  
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• Google's Star Wars browser game turns your smartphone into a lightsaber - Entertainment Weekly

  15-12-2015 22:41 via
  PressOracle.com
  Google's Star Wars browser game turns your smartphone into a lightsaber
  Entertainment Weekly
  Ever wanted to turn your smartphone into an elegant weapon for a more civilized age? Your wish has been granted. In the final days leading up to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Google and Disney have unveiled Lightsaber Escape, a free ...
  New Chrome experiment turns your phone into a Star Wars lightsaberVentureBeat
  Thanks To Google, Your Phone Now Doubles As A Lightsabe
  

• A Photographer's Dive Into Palau's Jellyfish Lake

  15-12-2015 22:40 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Jellyfish Lake is one of a kind, a place where 20 million non-stinging jellyfish roam freely alongside tourists and locals.
  
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• East Antarctic Ice Sheet has stayed frozen for 14 million years

  15-12-2015 22:32
  
  Antarctica was once a balmier place, lush with plants and lakes. Figuring out just how long the continent has been a barren, cold desert of ice can give clues as to how Antarctica responded to the effects of past climates and can perhaps also indicate what to expect there in the future as Earth's atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide grows.
  
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• Seal tagging improves ocean forecasts

  15-12-2015 22:28
  
  Data from animal-borne sensors, including seal tags, can help scientists produce analyses and forecasts of ocean temperature and salinity, according to a UK led study.
  
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• Researchers demonstrate how the brain can handle so much data

  15-12-2015 22:25
  
  Humans learn to very quickly identify complex objects and variations of them. We generally recognize an "A" no matter what the font, texture or background, for example, or the face of a coworker even if she puts on a hat or changes her hairstyle. We also can identify an object when just a portion is visible, such as the corner of a bed or the hinge of a door. But how? Are there simple techniques that humans use across diverse tasks? And can such techniques be computationally replicated to improv
  
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• Fuel economy improvements in US climate commitment on par with 1970s gains

  15-12-2015 22:24
  
  To hold up its end of the landmark climate deal signed in Paris last week, the U.S. will need to make cars and trucks of the future far more fuel efficient.
  
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• Researchers to make virtual energy audits a reality

  15-12-2015 22:22
  
  Case Western Reserve University researchers were awarded a $1.4 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to develop software to perform virtual energy audits of light commercial buildings.
  
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• Yelp falls 9% as Facebook tests local business reviews - USA TODAY

  15-12-2015 22:21 via
  USA TODAY
  Yelp falls 9% as Facebook tests local business reviews
  USA TODAY
  SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is quietly testing a new feature that guides users to reviews of local businesses, heating up competition with Yelp and Angie's List. The feature, spotted by technology blog Search Engine Land which was tipped by a post, says ...
  Facebook wants to tell you about local businesses, and Yelp investors freaked outMarketWatch
  Facebook Joins Crowded Market for Local ServicesWall Street Journal (b
  

• Enlisting distributed energy devices to balance the power grid

  15-12-2015 22:20
  
  The electric grid has to balance power supply and demand nearly in real-time, requiring power plants to be adjusted on a second-by-second basis. This instantaneous balance is made significantly more complex by renewable energy such as wind and solar, which add more uncertainty and variability.
  
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• Small metal grate makes big impact on environment, health

  15-12-2015 22:18
  
  An inexpensive metal insert for primitive cookstoves created by a University of Iowa researcher may decrease global warming and potentially save the lives of thousands of women and children.
  
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• 'Flipped' classrooms improve physics education

  15-12-2015 22:18
  
  A feather is dropped on the moon from a height of 1.40 metres. The acceleration of gravity on the moon is 1.67 m/s2. Determine the time for the feather to fall to the surface of the moon.
  
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• NASA examines global impacts of the 2015 El Nino

  15-12-2015 22:10
  
  People the world over are feeling, or soon will feel, the effects of the strongest El Niño event since 1997-98, currently unfolding in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. New satellite observations are beginning to show scientists its impact on the distribution of rain, tropospheric ozone and wildfires around the globe.
  
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• Physicist celebrate expansion of international agreement at Auger Observatory

  15-12-2015 22:09
  
  LSU Physicist James Matthews and an international team of scientists are reconstructing the path of the universe's most energetic cosmic rays, bringing new insights into the origin and nature of this intergalactic phenomenon. A founding member of the worldwide research collaboration at the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina, Matthews is celebrating 15 years of achievement at the observatory and the extension of a new international agreement that will allow this work to continue for the next 1
  
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• Current climate models misrepresent El Nino

  15-12-2015 22:09
  
  An analysis of fossil corals and mollusk shells from the Pacific Ocean reveals there is no link between the strength of seasonal differences and El Niño, a complex but irregular climate pattern with large impacts on weather, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and air quality worldwide.
  
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• Police Arrest Man In Hack of 6.4 Million Kids' Toys - Fortune

  15-12-2015 21:39 via
  Fortune
  Police Arrest Man In Hack of 6.4 Million Kids' Toys
  Fortune
  A creepy hack last month exposed millions of children's data. There's now a suspect, but the extent of the harm is still unknown. A hacker broke into the servers of toymaker VTech last month, compromising the personal information of millions of ...
  Bits | Man Arrested in VTech Breach of Children's DataNew York Times (blog)
  British Police Arrest 21-Year-Old Man in VTech HackingABC News
  Suspect is arrested in Britain after the ha
  

• Apple Continues To Showcase Its Own Apps In The App Store's Top Charts - TechCrunch

  15-12-2015 21:06 via
  TechCrunch
  Apple Continues To Showcase Its Own Apps In The App Store's Top Charts
  TechCrunch
  It seems Apple is continuing to use the App Store's “Top Charts” section to promote its own applications, by allowing apps like iMovie and those from its iWork suite to appear in the Top 10 Free apps on users' iPhones. This gives the appearance that ...
  Apple TV Review (2015): Living with big-screen SiriSlashGear
  10 paid iPhone apps on sale for free for a limited timeBGR
  The Best Apps of 201
  

• Facebook Revises How It Enforces 'Real Name' Policy

  15-12-2015 20:32 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Problems with and abuse of Facebook's name reporting system have prompted the company to make some changes in how the policy will be enforced.
  
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• Pew Study Finds Half of Americans Play Video Games

  15-12-2015 20:28 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  If people who play video games are nerds, then there are a lot of nerds in America.
  
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• Digital dollars: Apple Pay adds 66 banks while Android Pay comes to apps - ZDNet

  15-12-2015 20:26 via
  Ausdroid
  Digital dollars: Apple Pay adds 66 banks while Android Pay comes to apps
  ZDNet
  Tech companies continue to vie for attention with their digital wallet offerings. Today is a perfect example: Apple Partners has a slew of additional financial partners and Android Pay is finally moving to apps. 9to5 Mac caught the news on Tuesday that ...
  Android Pay adds in-app purchasing feature, catches up to Apple PayArs Technica
  Android Pay Debuts in Apps and Will Expand to AustraliaFortune
  Google's An
  

• This is what happens when the Arctic warms twice as fast as the rest of the planet - Washington Post

  15-12-2015 19:56 via
  Washington Post
  This is what happens when the Arctic warms twice as fast as the rest of the planet
  Washington Post
  For a second straight year, the Arctic is warming faster than any other place in the world, and walrus populations in the area's Pacific and Atlantic ocean regions are thinning along with the ice sheets that are critical for their survival, researchers ...
  Record Arctic Air Temperatures Are Wreaking Havoc on Walruses and Everything ...Newsweek
  Arctic Gets Check-Up: Temperature High
  

• Netflix's Ongoing Quest To Save Bandwidth - TechCrunch

  15-12-2015 19:37 via
  TechCrunch
  Netflix's Ongoing Quest To Save Bandwidth
  TechCrunch
  Netflix has a bandwidth problem. It currently represents 36.5 percent of U.S. Internet traffic and it's going to increase as 4K becomes more popular, and LTE and fiber Internet improve. As Variety reported, the company is taking a first step by re ...
  How Netflix plans to curb its massive thirst for bandwidthTechHive
  Netflix Streams Will Soon Use Less DataPC Magazine
  How Netflix Video Will Soon Use Less DataFortune
  Mashable -D
  

• Arrest Made in VTech Toy Security Breach

  15-12-2015 19:33
  
  An arrest has been made in the security breach of children's educational toy maker VTech, which left the information of millions of customers at risk.
  
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• Arctic air temps highest since 1900, global report says

  15-12-2015 18:40
  
  The Arctic is heating up, with air temperatures the hottest in 115 years, and the melting ice destroying walrus habitat and forcing some fish northward, a global scientific report said Tuesday.
  
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• Can't Quit Facebook? Study Finds Why We Relapse

  15-12-2015 18:27 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Feel like Facebook is an addiction? You're not the only one. A team of researchers studied more than 5,000 people who tried to stay off for 99 days.
  
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• Study examines motivations behind adult learners' engineering degree pursuit

  15-12-2015 18:25
  
  Students who transfer from a community college to an engineering program at a four-year university often do so because they are motivated to solve problems and understand how things work.
  
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• Fracking plays active role in generating toxic metal wastewater, study finds

  15-12-2015 18:23
  
  The production of hazardous wastewater in hydraulic fracturing is assumed to be partly due to chemicals introduced into injected freshwater when it mixes with highly saline brine naturally present in the rock. But a Dartmouth study investigating the toxic metal barium in fracking wastewater finds that chemical reactions between injected freshwater and the fractured shale itself could play a major role.
  
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• NASA's GPM measured Super Typhoon Melor's heavy rainfall

  15-12-2015 18:22
  
  Super-Typhoon Melor moved through the central and northern Philippines and dropped heavy rainfall on Dec. 14, 2015 and Dec. 15, 2015. The Global Precipitation Measurement or GPM core satellite measured the rainfall within Typhoon Melor as it affected the Philippines on Dec. 14, 2015. Early on Dec. 15, 2015, Melor reached the South China Sea still maintaining typhoon status.
  
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• Europe readies for satellite launch, moves closer to own satnav

  15-12-2015 18:21
  
  Europe was set to launch the next two satellites Thursday for its multi-billion-euro Galileo satnav system, a rival to America's GPS, according to space firm Arianespace.
  
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• Increased spread rate of the fish round goby in the Baltic Sea

  15-12-2015 18:19
  
  The invasive fish species round goby is spreading at an incredible rate in the Baltic Sea. In his doctoral dissertation, Magnus Thorlacius at Umeå University in Sweden, presents evidence of asocial behaviour, higher risk tolerance and high activity levels in new populations correlating to the spread. Already three to five years, the fish starts to spread in large numbers to surrounding areas leaving a short window for measures to prevent further spread.
  
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• Three miles high: Using drones to study high-altitude glaciers

  15-12-2015 18:18
  
  While some dream of the day that aerial drones deliver their online purchases, scientists are using the technology today to deliver data that was never available before.
  
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• Transparent metal films for smart phone, tablet and TV displays

  15-12-2015 18:17
  
  A new material that is both highly transparent and electrically conductive could make large screen displays, smart windows and even touch screens and solar cells more affordable and efficient, according to the Penn State materials scientists and engineers who discovered it.
  
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• MSU leads the world's efforts to prevent food fraud

  15-12-2015 18:16
  
  Michigan State University has not only defined the term "food fraud," but the university also is helping the United States and other countries establish the strategies to fight it.
  
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• Scientist unravels the mysteries of a beetle that lived a million centuries ago

  15-12-2015 18:11
  
  About 100 million years ago, a tiny beetle flew into a coniferous tree and became engulfed in its resin.
  
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• Astronomers Use Galaxy Clusters to Shed Light on the Universe’s Dark Side

  15-12-2015 18:07 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Astronomers hope that by studying the properties of galaxy clusters at different stages in the history of the Universe they can shed light on the dark matter and dark energy. ESO telescopes have provided an international team of astronomers with the gift of the third dimension in a plus-sized hunt for the largest gravitationally bound […]
  The post Astronomers Use Galaxy Clusters to Shed Light on the Universe’s Dark Side appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Warmer air and sea, declining ice continue to trigger Arctic change

  15-12-2015 18:00
  
  A new NOAA-sponsored report shows that air temperature in 2015 across the Arctic was well above average with temperature anomalies over land more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, the highest since records began in 1900. Increasing air and sea surface temperatures, decreasing sea ice extent and Greenland ice sheet mass, and changing behavior of fish and walrus are among key observations released today in the Arctic Report Card 2015.
  
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• Small satellites to pave way for future space-borne weather observations

  15-12-2015 17:52
  
  A typical environmental monitoring satellite is a big deal, literally. These satellites contain thousands of kilograms of remote sensing equipment, hurtling through space, making critical observations.
  
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