Sci-Tech news

• 'Squishy Robot Fingers' Sample Fragile Marine Life

  20-01-2016 23:19 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Researchers have developed a set of robotic spongy grippers that could hold onto things like kelp and soft coral without crushing them.
  
  Read more

• Researchers pinpoint place where cancer cells may begin

  20-01-2016 23:00
  
  Cancer cells are normal cells that go awry by making bad developmental decisions during their lives. In a study involving the fruit fly equivalent of an oncogene implicated in many human leukemias, Northwestern University researchers have gained insight into how developing cells normally switch to a restricted, or specialized, state and how that process might go wrong in cancer.
  
  Read more

• Ice-like phonons in liquid water discovered

  20-01-2016 22:58
  
  For more than 100 years, scientists have debated what the underlying molecular structure of water is, and the common view has been that H2O molecules are either "water-like" or "ice-like." Now through computer simulation conducted at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS) at Stony Brook University, researchers can illustrate that the structure and dynamics of hydrogen bonding in liquid water is more similar to ice than previously thought. The finding, published in Nature Communi
  
  Read more

• Researchers Discover Largest Prime Number to Date

  20-01-2016 22:42 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Researchers at the University of Central Michigan have discovered the largest prime number to date — and it's really big.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Microsoft Will Replace Some Surface Pro Power Cords

  20-01-2016 22:39
  
  Microsoft said today it will replace power cords for some users of its Surface Pro line of computers after "a very small proportion" of customers reported issues.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Biden, Netanyahu to Meet on Davos Sidelines

  20-01-2016 22:22
  The Latest: US VP Biden, Israel's Netanyahu to meet Thursday on sidelines of Davos forum
  
  Read more

• GenomeSpace 'recipes' help biologists interpret genomic data

  20-01-2016 22:17
  
  Many biomedical researchers are striving to make sense of the flood of data that has followed recent advances in genomic sequencing technologies. In particular, researchers are often limited by the challenge of getting multiple bioinformatics tools to "talk" to one another. To help address this need, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with labs at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Stanford University, Weizmann Institute and Pennsylvania
  
  Read more

• Research reveals mechanism for direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide

  20-01-2016 22:13
  
  From the polyurethane that makes our car seats to the paper made from bleached wood pulp, chlorine can be found in a variety of large-scale manufacturing processes. But while chlorine is good at activating the strong bonds of molecules, which allows manufacturers to synthesize the products we use on a daily basis, it can be an insidious chemical, sometimes escaping into the environment as hazardous byproducts such as chloroform and dioxin.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Can performance brands cause a placebo effect?

  20-01-2016 22:12
  
  From the middle-school child considering the premier brands of soccer shoes, to the college graduate weighing which graduate test prep course to take, a common marketing message from consumer brands is "you will perform better with us."
  
  Read more

• New Evidence Points to Giant 9th Planet on Solar System Edge

  20-01-2016 21:36
  Scientists present 'good evidence' for Planet X _ a true 9th planet on the outskirts of our solar system
  
  Read more

• Facebook's Free Internet Project Hits Snag in India

  20-01-2016 21:01 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Mark Zuckerberg wants to bring Internet to the world through Facebook's Free Basics program.
  
  Read more

• Emergency planners plan for deadly 'Big One' earthquake

  20-01-2016 20:30
  
  As military helicopters ferry search and rescue teams over the Pacific Northwest, below them are scenes of devastation from a giant earthquake that could strike the region at any time.
  
  Read more

• Leica Unveils Camera for Luxury Underwater Photography

  20-01-2016 20:25 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Leica has an alternative to cheap underwater cameras and bulky DSLR enclosures — if you're willing to pay for it.
  
  Read more

• Neutral result charges up antimatter research

  20-01-2016 20:23
  
  Scientists of the international ALPHA Collaboration have once again pushed the boundaries of antimatter research with their latest breakthrough studying the properties of antihydrogen. Published today in the prestigious journal Nature, the collaboration's result improved the measurement of the charge of antihydrogen, essentially zero, by a factor of 20. Their work is the latest contribution in the quest to chase down the answer to the basic antimatter question, "If matter and antimatter were cre
  
  Read more

• Preventative measures can help to control squash bugs

  20-01-2016 20:21
  
  If there's one word that describes the squash bug (Anasa tristis), it is frustrating, according to Hélène Doughty, the lead author of an article that appears in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management.
  
  Read more

• Earth's temperature depends on where you put thermometer

  20-01-2016 20:20
  
  When it comes to measuring global warming, it's all about altitude.
  
  Read more

• The Newest TASER Can Fit in Your Purse

  20-01-2016 20:09
  
  Stun gun manufacturer TASER has addressed what the company says is customers' biggest complaint -- size -- with a weapon so small it can fit in a purse or pocket.
  
  Read more

• Nearly all 400K birds at Indiana farms with bird flu killed

  20-01-2016 20:07
  
  Animal health officials responding to a bird flu outbreak in southwest Indiana say crews have nearly finished killing more than 400,000 birds ordered euthanized at the 10 affected commercial poultry farms.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Expert: Gulf leak can't be compared to BP spill

  20-01-2016 20:02
  
  The latest on a decade-old oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico (all times local):
  
  Read more

• Small but deadly: The chemical warfare of sea slugs

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  Brightly coloured sea slugs are slurping deadly chemicals and stockpiling the most toxic compounds for use on their enemies.
  
  Read more

• New genus of tree hole breeding frogs found in India

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  Scientists describe and name a new genus of tree hole breeding frogs from India, according to a study published January 20, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by S. D. Biju from the University of Delhi and colleagues.
  
  Read more

• Neolithic tomb reveals community stayed together, even in death

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  A Neolithic Spanish burial site contains remains of a closely-related local community from 6000 years ago, according to a study published January 20th, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kurt W. Alt from Danube Private University, Austria, and colleagues.
  
  Read more

• Exercise helps young baleen whales develop ability to store oxygen for extended dives

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  Baleen whale calves develop oxygen-carrying myoglobin as they mature, and exercise may drive the key component of early development, according to a study published January 20, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Rachel Cartwright from the California State University, Channel Islands, and colleagues.
  
  Read more

• 200 million-year-old Jurassic dinosaur uncovered in Wales

  20-01-2016 20:00
  
  A new carnivorous dinosaur species named Dracoraptor hanigani uncovered in the south of Wales is possibly the oldest known Jurassic dinosaur from the UK, according to a study published January 20, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by David Martill from the University of Portsmouth, England, and colleagues from National Museum Wales and University of Manchester.
  
  Read more

• Zuckerberg or Buffett—Is youth or experience more valuable in the boardroom?

  20-01-2016 19:58
  
  Approximately half of the companies listed with Standard & Poor have adopted policies mandating retirement based on age. A new study from the University of Missouri has found that although these mandatory retirement polices represent an effective way to address underperforming CEOs, accumulated job experience improves performance and counters age-related declines.
  
  Read more

• Advance improves cutting and pasting with CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing

  20-01-2016 19:56
  
  University of California, Berkeley, researchers have made a major improvement in CRISPR-Cas9 technology that achieves an unprecedented success rate of 60 percent when replacing a short stretch of DNA with another.
  
  Read more

• Coal formation linked to assembly of supercontinent Pangea

  20-01-2016 19:53
  
  The consolidation of the ancient supercontinent Pangea 300 million years ago played a key role in the formation of the coal that powered the Industrial Revolution and that is still burned for energy in many parts of the world today, Stanford scientists say.
  
  Read more

• Dutch Police Arrest 10 Men for Bitcoin Money Laundering

  20-01-2016 19:50 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  The men are suspected of using the digital currency to launder up to 20 million euros made from online drug deals.
  
  Read more

• NASA measures winds in Tropical Cyclone Victor

  20-01-2016 19:49
  
  NASA's RapidScat instrument found the strongest winds in Tropical Cyclone Victor were occurring south of its center on Jan. 20, 2016. Imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite revealed that Victor still maintained hurricane-strength and an eye.
  
  Read more

• Biologists discovered a new facet of the mechanism of protein biosynthesis

  20-01-2016 19:36
  
  A significant proportion of our genetic information encoded in DNA is expressed in a living cell as proteins. In order to synthesize a protein, this information needs to be converted from nucleotide sequence to the language of amino acids. The process of the decoding is called translation, and it involves the distinct nucleic acid molecule, messenger RNA (mRNA) - the "temporary carrier" of the information, which is a copy of one particular gene. Special molecular machine - the ribosome - moves a
  
  Read more

• Why FAA Registration Might Not Make Drones Much Safer

  20-01-2016 19:21 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Thursday is the last day drone operators can register their device without paying a $5 fee.
  
  Read more

• Structure of protein complex that plays key role in modulating immune system revealed

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have solved the atomic structure of a unique ubiquitin ligase complex. Ubiquitin is best known for its role in protein degradation, but more recently seen as important for cell signaling, DNA repair, anti-inflammatory, and immune responses.
  
  Read more

• Self-heating lithium-ion battery could beat the winter woes

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  A lithium-ion battery that self heats if the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit has multiple applications, but may have the most impact on relieving winter "range anxiety" for electric vehicle owners, according to a team of researchers from Penn State and EC Power, State College.
  
  Read more

• Rising carbon dioxide emissions pose 'intoxication' threat to world's ocean fish

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  UNSW Australia researchers have found that carbon dioxide concentrations in seawater could reach levels high enough to make fish "intoxicated" and disoriented many decades earlier than previously thought, with serious implications for the world's fisheries.The UNSW study, published in the journal Nature, is the first global analysis of the impact of rising carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels on natural variations in carbon dioxide concentrations in the world's oceans.
  
  Read more

• How 2 degrees rise means even higher temperatures where we live

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  At the recent COP21 climate conference in Paris, delegates reached an agreement that plans to limit global warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius. This stems from the fact that scientists and politicians now agree: the global average temperature must rise by no more than two degrees if we are to prevent serious, irreversible damage to humans and the environment.
  
  Read more

• Evidence of a prehistoric massacre extends the history of warfare

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  The fossilised bones of a group of prehistoric hunter-gatherers who were massacred around 10,000 years ago have been unearthed 30km west of Lake Turkana, Kenya, at a place called Nataruk.
  
  Read more

• Crowdfunding grows for new journalism projects

  20-01-2016 19:20
  
  Crowdfunding has been growing as a way to finance journalism projects around the world as news media industry struggles deepen.
  
  Read more

• Will warming records keep tumbling?

  20-01-2016 19:05
  
  US scientists on Wednesday confirmed that 2015 was the hottest year in the hottest decade on record, and by the widest margin yet. Will the records keep tumbling?
  
  Read more

• Invasive amphibian fungus could threaten US salamander populations

  20-01-2016 19:05
  
  A deadly fungus causing population crashes in wild European salamanders could emerge in the United States and threaten already declining amphibians here, according to a report released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.
  
  Read more

• Have an Old Netflix HD Plan? Expect to Pay $2 More

  20-01-2016 19:05 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Longtime Netflix customer? You could get hit with a $2 increase in your monthly bill.
  
  Read more

• Cost burden of Quebec's carbon market seen as modest

  20-01-2016 19:03
  
  The cost burden of Quebec's carbon-pricing policy, is likely to be modest across income groups and industries, according to a McGill University research team.
  
  Read more

• Watch: The Worst Passwords of 2015

  20-01-2016 18:45
  
  You may be putting yourself at risk by choosing the simple and hackable passwords on this list.
  
  Read more

• New Mexico sues Volkswagen over emissions scandal

  20-01-2016 18:40
  New Mexico is suing Volkswagen and other German automakers over an emissions cheating scandal that involves millions of cars worldwide, the first state to do so but almost certainly not the last.
  
  Read more

• British vets warn against throwing sticks for dogs

  20-01-2016 18:37
  British vets on Wednesday warned against throwing sticks for dogs to chase, saying that thousands of pets every year impale themselves or get dangerous infections from biting into the wood.
  
  Read more

• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi sensing from mobile devices may help improve bus service

  20-01-2016 18:35
  
  On any given bus ride, a good share of passengers are reading, texting or rocking out to music on their phones or tablets. In the future, though, those mobile devices may add more value to our transit commutes than simply filling time.
  
  Read more

• The lizard of consistency: New iguana species which sticks to its colors found in Chile

  20-01-2016 18:34
  
  During a field trip at 3000 metres above sea level, a group of scientists, led by Jaime Troncoso-Palacios, Universidad de Chile, discovered a new endemic iguana species, in the mountains of central Chile, scientists. Noticeably different in size and scalation, compared to the rest of the local lizards, what initially grabbed the biologists' attention was its colouration. Not only was it unlike the already described ones, but also appeared surprisingly consistent within the collected individuals,
  
  Read more

• Researchers developing sponge-like material to more efficiently store natural gas

  20-01-2016 18:30
  
  Although compressed natural gas represents a cleaner and more efficient fuel for vehicles, its volatile nature requires a reinforced, heavy tank that stores the gas at high pressure and therefore limits vehicle design. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering are utilizing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to develop a new type of storage system that would adsorb the gas like a sponge and allow for more energy-efficient storage and use.
  
  Read more

• Policy fights over climate change, commercial chemicals on deck for 2016

  20-01-2016 18:30
  
  These days, Congress is known for partisan bickering rather than legislating, but the upcoming year could still prove to be an interesting one for science-related issues, including climate change and consumer protection from harmful substances. The cover story of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, delves into the details.
  
  Read more

• New species of bird discovered in India and China by international team of scientists

  20-01-2016 18:27
  
  A new species of bird has been described in north-eastern India and adjacent parts of China by a team of scientists from Sweden, China, the US, India and Russia, led by Professor Per Alström, Uppsala University and Swedish University of Agricultural Science.
  
  Read more

• Gloop from the deep sea

  20-01-2016 18:18
  
  ETH scientists are researching the unusual secretions of the hagfish. Over the next three years, the researchers will try to find out how this natural hydrogel can be harnessed for human use.
  
  Read more

Follow @NewslockSciTech on Twitter!