Sci-Tech news

• Why emojis are a no-brainer for digital communication

  10-02-2016 23:40
  
  When the Oxford English Dictionary declared an emoji its 2015 word of the year, it was a bit of a head-scratcher.
  
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• Tesla Says It Expects to Turn a Profit in 2016

  10-02-2016 23:39 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  The electric-car company said it planned to deliver 80,000-90,000 Model S and Model X vehicles this year.
  
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• Tesla's 4Q net loss doubles

  10-02-2016 23:34
  
  Electric car maker Tesla Motors says its net loss more than doubled to $320 million in the fourth quarter, hurt by lower-than-planned production of its new Model X SUV.
  
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• Rwanda hopes to use drones to deliver medical supplies

  10-02-2016 23:34
  
  Rwanda's government has signed an agreement with a U.S.-based robotics company to build infrastructure for drones that would deliver medical supplies to health facilities across the country.
  
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• For virtual reality pioneers, no rush to succeed in 2016

  10-02-2016 23:31
  
  Palmer Luckey doesn't just want to sell a bunch of virtual reality headsets. He wants buyers to use them every day.
  
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• Estrogen, antibiotics persisted in dairy farm waste after advanced treatment, study finds

  10-02-2016 23:30
  
  When University at Buffalo chemists began studying waste disposal at a dairy farm in New York State, they thought that the farm's advanced system for processing manure would help remove estrogens and antibiotics from the excrement.
  
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• Why you may skimp on your Valentine's Day gift

  10-02-2016 23:27
  
  Imagine that you're buying a box of chocolates for a loved one on Valentine's Day, and the store is offering a free gift if you buy a slightly inferior box of chocolates instead of the best chocolates in the store. Which do you buy?
  
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• Watch, meet smartwatch: Fossil and Misfit think they're a perfect match

  10-02-2016 23:20
  
  It seems like everyone came back to work from Christmas vacation with a rubber or plastic band on their wrist.
  
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• Twitter Shares Sink As User Growth Stalls

  10-02-2016 23:10 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Twitter said its monthly active users were 305 million, down from 307 million in the previous quarter.
  
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• Battle for net neutrality isn't over

  10-02-2016 23:00
  
  If you thought the fight over net neutrality ended when the Federal Communications Commission issued its strong new "Open Internet" rules last year, think again.
  
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• The scaled king and his knight: Two new giant bent-toed gecko species from New Guinea

  10-02-2016 22:50
  
  The extremely complex geological history of New Guinea has allowed many of its animals and plants the chance to grow different enough to make a name for themselves. In the case of two newly described and unusually large gecko species - only a noble name would do. The two new species whose names respectively mean 'knight' and 'king' were discovered by a team led by Dr. Paul Oliver, The Australian National University and University of Melbourne, are described in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
  
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• Twitter user base stalls at 320 million

  10-02-2016 22:49
  
  Twitter said Wednesday its growth stalled at the end of last year, holding at 320 million active monthly users, in a disappointing quarterly update for the struggling messaging platform.
  
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• Senate Panel Preps Legal Fight With Backpage Over Sex Ads

  10-02-2016 22:35 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Senators say Backpage failed to comply with a congressional subpoena into how it screens ads for possible sex trafficking.
  
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• Studying climate change impact on maple syrup quality

  10-02-2016 22:34
  
  As maple sugaring season approaches, plant ecologist Kristina Stinson at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently received a two-year, $149,800 grant to study the impact of climate change on the quantity and quality of sugar maple sap, including its chemical composition, and of sap from red maples, a species less sensitive to climate change.
  
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• Fish fins can sense touch

  10-02-2016 22:33
  
  The human fingertip is a finely tuned sensory machine, and even slight touches convey a great deal of information about our physical environment. It turns out, some fish use their pectoral fins in pretty much the same way. And do so through a surprisingly similar biological mechanism to mammals—humans included.
  
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• Real Tinker Bell? Disney Parks Plan to Use Drones

  10-02-2016 22:31 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  There's a new Disney star, and it's not a character, a cartoon, or a movie. It's a drone that beams light and performs acrobatics during shows.
  
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• Trail-Following Drones Could Locate and Guide Lost Hikers

  10-02-2016 21:59 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Drones with specialized vision systems could make search and rescue processes quicker and easier, researchers suggest.
  
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• Watch: Lithium Ion Batteries Could Pose Explosion Risk

  10-02-2016 21:16
  
  The Federal Aviation Administration issues warning that the batteries should be separated from other flammable cargo.
  
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• Key things to know about changes in Twitter's timeline

  10-02-2016 21:04
  
  Twitter's tweaking its timeline to emphasize certain tweets from people you follow, but don't expect dramatic changes from the chronological feed you're used to.
  
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• 5 Tech Hacks to Make It a Great Valentine's Day

  10-02-2016 20:23
  
  Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!
  
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• Forget butterflies and bees, box like an ant: Study measures speed of trap-jaw ant boxing

  10-02-2016 20:08
  
  Boxer Muhammad Ali famously declared his intent to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," but perhaps boxers should look to another type of insect for inspiration: the trap-jaw ant.
  
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• Scientists take nanoparticle snapshots

  10-02-2016 20:06
  
  Just as a photographer needs a camera with a split-second shutter speed to capture rapid motion, scientists looking at the behavior of tiny materials need special instruments with the capacity to see changes that happen in the blink of an eye.
  
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• Amazon Waives Terms of Service in Event of Zombie Attack

  10-02-2016 20:01 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Amazon has some very strict rules about how you can use its new video game software ... unless there are zombies around.
  
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• Inhibitory control may affect physical problem solving in pet dogs

  10-02-2016 20:00
  
  Inhibitory control may be an indicator of a dog's ability to solve a problem, according to a study published February 10, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Corsin Müller from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and colleagues.
  
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• Clues about human migration to Imperial Rome uncovered in 2,000-year-old cemetery

  10-02-2016 20:00
  
  Isotope analysis of 2000-year-old skeletons buried in Imperial Rome reveal some were migrants from the Alps or North Africa, according to a study published February 10, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Kristina Killgrove from University of West Florida, USA, and Janet Montgomery from Durham University, UK.
  
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• Study finds beliefs about all-knowing gods fosters co-operation

  10-02-2016 19:31
  
  Beliefs about all-knowing, punishing gods—a defining feature of religions ranging from Christianity to Hinduism—may have played a key role in expanding co-operation among far-flung peoples and led to the development of modern-day states, according to a UBC-led study published in Nature.
  
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• Study challenges widely accepted theory of Yellowstone formation

  10-02-2016 19:25
  
  Understanding the complex geological processes that form supervolcanoes could ultimately help geologists determine what triggers their eruptions. A new study using an advanced computer model casts doubt on previously held theories about the Yellowstone supervolcano's origins, adding to the mystery of Yellowstone's formation.
  
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• New Bill Could Stop States From Getting a Backdoor Into Your Smartphone

  10-02-2016 19:18
  
  A pair of lawmakers are introducing a new bill today that, if passed, would squash any potential state-level bills that could weaken encryption.
  
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• HBO Now has 800,000 paying subscribers since April launch

  10-02-2016 19:14
  
  HBO Now has gained about 800,000 paying subscribers since it launched on Apple TV in April, contributing significantly to the 2.7 million net new HBO customers last year.
  
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• London black cab drivers block streets in Uber demo

  10-02-2016 19:11
  
  Drivers of London's traditional black cabs blocked some of the city's busiest streets Wednesday in a protest at the lack of regulations imposed on Uber.
  
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• NASA sees development of Tropical Storm 11P in Southwestern Pacific

  10-02-2016 19:10
  
  The tropical low pressure area previously known as System 97P has developed into a tropical storm named 11P in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean. NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and gathered cloud top temperatures that showed powerful storms within, while NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of the storm east of Vanuatu.
  
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• Healing the soil: Repurposing abandoned urban lots starts with soil test

  10-02-2016 19:09
  
  Four empty lots in Chicago's South Side bear scars of the past. Their surfaces are strewn with construction debris and foundation rubble. However, the most incriminating evidence of the past lies beneath the surface, in the soil.
  
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• NASA sees Tropical Storm 10S form

  10-02-2016 19:08
  
  Tropical Storm 10S developed as NASA's Terra satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean. The tropical storm developed from tropical low pressure area 96S between Madagascar and La Reunion Island.
  
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• Researchers develop 'LIGHTSABR'—a cheap, portable drug-discovery system

  10-02-2016 19:07
  
  Screening large "libraries" of compounds to find those with a desired biological activity is a powerful method for discovering new drugs, but requires a large, expensive and dedicated facility. Now, scientists at the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised the central component of a screening system that would be orders of magnitude smaller and cheaper.
  
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• Overconfidence, loss aversion are key predictors for investment mistakes

  10-02-2016 19:04
  
  The recent stock market decline from its high point has caused concerns for many investors who are affected by short-term market trends. However, experts say now is an important time for investors to remember that many mistakes can be made in this economic environment. In a new study, a personal financial planning expert from the University of Missouri has identified several risk factors for people who are more likely to make investment mistakes during a down market. Rui Yao, an associate profes
  
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• The most accurate optical single-ion clock worldwide

  10-02-2016 19:03
  
  Atomic clock experts from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) are the first research group in the world to have built an optical single-ion clock which attains an accuracy which had only been predicted theoretically so far. As early as 1981, Hans Dehmelt, who was to be awarded a Nobel prize later, had already developed the basic notions of how to use an ion kept in a high-frequency trap to build a clock which could attain the—then unbelievably low—relative measure-ment un
  
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• X-ray laser turns crystal imperfections into better images of important biomolecules

  10-02-2016 19:00
  Often the most difficult step in taking atomic-resolution images of biological molecules is getting them to form high-quality crystals needed for X-ray studies of their structure. Now researchers have shown they can get sharp images even with imperfect crystals using the world's brightest X-ray source at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
  
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• Water plus magma = increased explosivity

  10-02-2016 19:00
  
  When water interacts with magma, it can dramatically increase the explosivity of the eruption. However, water in the eruption cloud can also increase the rate at which the particles aggregate into larger clumps, allowing them to settle out faster.
  
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• Radical carbon dioxide removal projects could be a risky business

  10-02-2016 19:00
  
  Radical new ways of removing CO2 from the atmosphere could prove to be a risky business—according to an environmental scientist at the University of East Anglia.
  
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• Plankton carries carbon to safe resting spot, ocean study reveals

  10-02-2016 19:00
  
  The ocean's power to rein in carbon and protect the environment is vast but not well-understood.
  
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• New hope in global race to beat malaria parasite's deadly new resistance

  10-02-2016 19:00
  
  Scientists have made a major breakthrough in the global search for a new drug to beat the malaria parasite's growing resistance to first-defence treatments.
  
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• A new method furthers understanding of evolutionary genetics

  10-02-2016 19:00
  Since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have been fascinated by how different organisms are from one another. The ultimate goal is to understand how mutations in DNA, the genetic blueprint, shape the growth and behavior of animals, plants, and microbes around us. Standard research tools have been available for some time to study the genetics of closely related individuals—for example, the variation of lactose intolerance between humans. But understanding differences between long-separated sp
  
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• Optical strontium atomic clock sets new stability record

  10-02-2016 18:59
  Researchers from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) have thoroughly analyzed the noise processes in their optical lattice clock with neutral strontium atoms. This analysis proves that their optical atomic clock has reached the best stability worldwide thanks to a newly developed laser system whose frequency is extremely stable. This allows high-precision measurements in a short time and considerably facilitates the future reduction of the total measurement uncertainty down to a few
  
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• Study of Asian common toad reveals three divergent groups

  10-02-2016 18:55
  Most species are negatively affected when humans transform natural habitats into urban areas and agricultural lands, but a few species actually benefit from these activities. These species—called human commensals—thrive in human-modified environments. One example, the Asian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), is extremely abundant in villages, towns, cities and agricultural areas across much of Southeast Asia, where it feeds on insects that are attracted to artificial lights. B
  
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• Researchers present new findings on magnetic spin waves

  10-02-2016 18:19
  
  An international team of researchers gained new insights into magnetic spin waves. Spin waves can evolve in electrically non-conducting materials given a specific temperature gradient and then be converted into electrical energy in an adjacent metallic layer. Thus, thermal energy can be converted into electrical energy. This recently discovered principle allows to think of new ways to recover waste heat and can improve a great variety of processes to be more energy-efficient and environmentally
  
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• IRS Says ID Thieves Used Stolen Social Security Numbers

  10-02-2016 17:55 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  The IRS said that the attack was not related to an outage of its computer systems that hampered its ability to process tax returns last week.
  
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• NATO, EU sign agreement on cyberdefense cooperation

  10-02-2016 17:44
  
  NATO and the European Union have signed an agreement to improve cooperation in cyberdefense, which NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called a concrete example of the two Brussels-based organizations joining forces to counter modern forms of hybrid warfare.
  
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• Whooping cranes' predatory behavior key for adaptation, survival

  10-02-2016 17:41
  
  The whooping crane, with its snowy white plumage and trumpeting call, is one of the most beloved American birds, and one of the most endangered. As captive-raised cranes are re-introduced in Louisiana, they are gaining a new descriptor: natural killer.
  
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• Creating a color printer that uses a colorless, non-toxic ink inspired by nature

  10-02-2016 17:40
  
  From dot-matrix to 3-D, printing technology has come a long way in 40 years. But all of these technologies have created hues by using dye inks, which can be taxing on the environment. Now a team reports in ACS Nano the development of a colorless, non-toxic ink for use in inkjet printers. Instead of relying on dyes, the team exploits the nanostructure of this ink to create color on a page with inkjet printing.
  
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• Electric-car battery materials could harm key soil bacteria

  10-02-2016 17:37
  
  The growing popularity of battery-powered cars could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they are not entirely Earth friendly. Problems can creep in when these batteries are disposed of. Scientists, in a new study in ACS' journal Chemistry of Materials, are reporting that compounds increasingly used in lithium-ion batteries are toxic to a type of soil-dwelling bacteria that plays an important environmental role.
  
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