Sci-Tech news

• How hunter-gatherers preserved their food sources

  17-02-2016 23:45
  
  A new study of humans on Sanak Island, Alaska and their historical relationships with local species suggests that despite being super-generalist predators, the food gathering behaviors of the local Aleut people were stabilizing for the ecosystem.
  
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• Transgenic sweet corn no more susceptible to Goss's wilt disease

  17-02-2016 23:40
  
  Transgenic crops expressing resistance to the herbicide glyphosate (GR) have been commercialized and planted widely across the U.S. for two decades. The majority of transgenic corn (Bt) also has been engineered to produce toxins effective against certain corn insect pests. In recent years, claims have been made that glyphosate and transgenic traits result in corn plants that are more susceptible to crop diseases.
  
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• Laws allowing companies to prioritize stakeholders boost innovative activity

  17-02-2016 23:39
  
  Want to encourage innovation? A new study co-authored by an MIT professor finds that little-known state laws called "constituency statutes" have significant effects on the quantity and quality of innovative business actions.
  
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• CU-Boulder ultrafast microscope used to make slow-motion electron movie

  17-02-2016 23:38
  
  University of Colorado Boulder researchers have demonstrated the use of the world's first ultrafast optical microscope, allowing them to probe and visualize matter at the atomic level with mind-bending speed.
  
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• Hackers Taking Aim at Poorly Secured Smartphones: Report

  17-02-2016 22:56 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  The last couple years have seen breaches of unprecedented scale — but the cyber-war of 2016 will take place on smartphones, suggests a new report.
  
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• We Take the World's First Hybrid Motorbike for a Test Drive

  17-02-2016 22:11 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Olivia Sterns takes the world's first hybrid motorbike for a test ride in Brisbane, California.
  
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• Orchid's scent stronger in Swiss lowlands than mountains

  17-02-2016 20:00
  
  Pollinators select orchids with stronger scents in the Swiss lowlands, than in the mountains, according to a study published Feb. 17, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Karin Gross at the University of Zurich, Switzerland and colleagues.
  
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• Eight new species of Whip spider found in the Brazilian amazon

  17-02-2016 20:00
  
  Eight new whip spider species have been found in the Brazilian Amazon, almost doubling the number of known charinid whip spider species in Brazil, according to a study published Feb. 17, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alessandro Ponce de Leão Giupponi and Gustavo Silva de Miranda from Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil and the Center of Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), respectively.
  
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• Cyber extortionists zap computers at Hollywood hospital - Los Angeles Times

  17-02-2016 19:45 via
  Los Angeles Times
  Cyber extortionists zap computers at Hollywood hospital
  Los Angeles Times
  Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center was the target of a ransomware extortion plot in which hackers seized control of the hospital's computer systems and then demanded that directors pay in bitcoin to regain access, according to law enforcement sources.
  A Hospital Paralyzed by HackersThe Atlantic
  Does the Hollywood Presbyterian Hack Represent a Frightening New Chapter in Healthcare Cybersecurity?Healthc
  

• Appeals court upholds Apple e-book settlement

  17-02-2016 19:33
  
  A US appeals court rejected Wednesday a challenge to a settlement between Apple and consumers which could have voided a $450 million payout deal in the Apple e-books antitrust case.
  
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• NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Winston intensifying near Tonga

  17-02-2016 19:32
  
  NASA's Aqua satellite provided a visible picture of Tropical Cyclone Winston as it continued to intensify over the Southern Pacific Ocean and affect Tonga.
  
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• NASA catches Tropical Cyclone Uriah nearing peak

  17-02-2016 19:31
  
  NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Uriah early on Feb 17 when the storm was nearing peak intensity and showed a powerful storm with an eye wide open. Earlier, NASA's GPM core satellite found heavy rainfall occurring south of the intensifying storm's center.
  
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• Feeding a city with better food sources

  17-02-2016 19:30
  
  Access to clean water hasn't been the only health issue facing Flint.
  
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• FBI-Apple standoff puts encryption on front burner (Update)

  17-02-2016 19:30
  
  Apple's challenge of a court order to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers opens up a new front in the long-running battle between technology companies and the government over encryption.
  
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• FBI-Apple case forces encryption debate into courts

  17-02-2016 19:30
  
  Apple's challenge of a court order to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers opens up a new front in the long-running battle between technology companies and the government over encryption.
  
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• New study is 'a leap forward' in our understanding of ice sheet behavior

  17-02-2016 19:27
  
  In recent years, climate scientists have grown increasingly concerned that massive rivers of ice flowing into the ocean from Greenland and Antarctica could accelerate as the planet warms, leading to a catastrophic collapse of Earth's ice sheets.
  
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• For budding female game designers, a new source of support

  17-02-2016 19:22
  
  The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences wants to empower women to create video games.
  
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• US planned major cyberattack on Iran, Berlin fest doc claims

  17-02-2016 19:20
  
  Oscar winner Alex Gibney said Wednesday he hopes his new documentary "Zero Days" exposing the secret scope of the US cyber warfare programme will "rattle some cages" to trigger a debate about a global IT arms race.
  
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• Automatic braking for cars: Private talks on technology pace

  17-02-2016 19:19
  
  Federal regulators and the auto industry are taking a more lenient approach than safety advocates like when it comes to phasing in automatic braking systems for passenger cars, according to records of their private negotiations.
  
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• Auto industry, regulators move slowly on automatic braking

  17-02-2016 19:19
  
  Federal regulators and the auto industry are taking a more lenient approach than safety advocates like when it comes to phasing in automatic braking systems for passenger cars, according to records of their private negotiations.
  
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• Benevolence can boost buying at the luxury counter

  17-02-2016 19:17
  
  If buying a Rolex is a guilt-inducing extravagance, would the knowledge that a portion of the price is donated to Save the Children ease one's conscience and smooth the sale? New research seems to indicate that it will, upending common wisdom among luxury retailers that such tactical marketing actions - co-branding with charity at the point of sale - are too risky.
  
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• Oxygen-starved oceans held back life's recovery after the 'Great Dying'

  17-02-2016 19:16
  
  Stanford scientists have found that chronically low levels of oxygen throughout the oceans hampered the recovery of life after the Permian-Triassic extinction, the most catastrophic die-off in our planet's history. Also known as the "Great Dying," global ecosystems collapsed as some 90 percent of species perished in this extinction event 250 million years ago.
  
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• Assessing carbon capture technology

  17-02-2016 19:13
  
  Carbon capture and storage could be used to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and thus ameliorate their impact on climate change. The focus of this technology is on the large-scale reduction of carbon emissions from fossil-fuelled power plants.
  
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• Evolution silences harmful mutations

  17-02-2016 19:12
  
  Sometimes so-called synonymous mutations occur in DNA. These do not lead to a change in the protein sequence but which may still have major negative effects on the ability of bacteria to survive. New research from Uppsala University has now shown that an organism can efficiently compensate for the negative effects. These findings have been published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.
  
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• Best regions for growing bioenergy crops identified

  17-02-2016 19:12
  
  New research has identified regions in the United States where bioenergy crops would grow best while minimizing effects on water quantity and quality.
  
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• Researchers suggest gene drive strategy to combat harmful virus spread

  17-02-2016 19:09
  
  With the outbreak of viruses like Zika, chikungunya, and dengue on the rise, public health officials are desperate to stop transmission.
  
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• Ancient Humans May Have Left a Genetic Mark on Neanderthals - New York Times

  17-02-2016 19:09 via
  New York Times
  Ancient Humans May Have Left a Genetic Mark on Neanderthals
  New York Times
  In 1997, scientists found the first scrap of Neanderthal DNA in a fossil. Since then, they have recovered genetic material, even entire genomes, from a number of Neanderthal bones, and their investigations have yielded a remarkable surprise: Today, 1 ...
  Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought, study findsEurekAlert (press release)
  Out of Africa, and into the arms of a Ne
  

• Aston Martin's Electric Car Concept Might Soon Be a Reality - PC Magazine

  17-02-2016 19:07 via
  PC Magazine
  Aston Martin's Electric Car Concept Might Soon Be a Reality
  PC Magazine
  Step aside, Tesla: An Aston Martin electric vehicle is on the horizon. Nextcar Bug art The British luxury sports car maker on Wednesday announced it has partnered with Chinese technology company LeEco (formerly LeTv) to develop a production version of ...
  Aston Martin Plans to Develop an Electric VehicleFortune
  Aston Martin Gets a Boost From China for Its First Electric CarBloomberg
  All-Electric Aston Marti
  

• Tiny fly rattling Florida fruit industry 'eradicated'

  17-02-2016 19:05
  
  The Oriental fruit fly, which all but shut down south Florida's $1.6 billion agricultural industry when it was discovered in the state last year, has been "successfully eradicated," authorities said Wednesday.
  
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• Q&A: A look at the Apple vs US Justice Dept. court fight

  17-02-2016 19:04
  A U.S. magistrate judge has ordered Apple to help the FBI break into a work-issued iPhone used by a gunman in the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. Apple chief executive Tim Cook immediately objected, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal fight between high-tech region Silicon Valley and the federal government.
  
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• Puzzling asteroid observations explained by destruction of asteroids close to sun

  17-02-2016 19:00
  
  For two decades it was thought that most near-Earth objects (NEOs)—asteroids and comets that may pose a hazard to life on Earth—end their existence in a dramatic final plunge into the Sun. A new study published on Thursday, Feb. 18, in the journal Nature finds instead that most of those objects are destroyed much farther from the Sun than previously thought. This surprising new discovery explains several puzzling observations that have been reported in recent years.
  
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• Protein structure illuminates how viruses take over cells

  17-02-2016 19:00
  
  Using cutting-edge imaging technology, Salk Institute and Harvard Medical School researchers have determined the structure of a protein complex that lets viruses similar to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) establish permanent infections within their hosts.
  
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• Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought

  17-02-2016 19:00
  
  Using several different methods of DNA analysis, an international research team has found what they consider to be strong evidence of an interbreeding event between Neanderthals and modern humans that occurred tens of thousands of years earlier than any other such event previously documented.
  
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• Call for changes in EU policy to address migrant crisis

  17-02-2016 18:59
  
  A series of proposed changes to EU policy on refugees and migrants has been released by researchers at the University of Warwick.
  
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• The real value of taking your business offshore

  17-02-2016 18:49
  
  Over the last two decades, an increasing number of companies have set up subsidiaries in offshore financial centres. So why don't they move the entire business, and establish headquarters there too?
  
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• 3-D Printer Lets Your Kids Make Their Own Toys

  17-02-2016 18:48 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Mattel is on a mission to make 3D printing as easy as building with Legos.
  
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• Researchers study prevalence, impact of 'serial inventors'

  17-02-2016 18:45
  
  Researchers from Louisiana Tech University have published a study on the prevalence and impacts of "serial inventors" - scientist and engineers within university research communities who are particularly inventive and produce patents at a high level.
  
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• Dynamical systems theory enhances knowledge of Jupiter's atmosphere

  17-02-2016 18:43
  
  Jupiter, which has a mass more than twice that of all the planets combined, continues to fascinate researchers. The planet is characterized most often by its powerful jet streams and Great Red Spot (GRS), the biggest and longest-lasting known atmospheric vortex. Although still images provide some insight into the features of Jupiter's atmosphere, the atmosphere itself is unsteady and turbulent, and its features are time-dependent.
  
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• Toward longer-lasting fragrances

  17-02-2016 18:39
  
  Fragrances can be powerful. They can sooth or revitalize, evoke the forest or sea, and remind us of the past. To capture them, manufacturers infuse scents into products from toilet bowl cleaners to luxury perfumes. But once released from a bottle, fragrances evaporate quickly. Now researchers report in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces a new way to encapsulate fragrance molecules to make a product's scent last.
  
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• Rolling stones, turbulence connect evolution to physics

  17-02-2016 18:38
  
  A law of physics explaining why larger animals live longer and travel further also extends to the simplest forms of mass migration on the planet—like rolling stones and turbulent eddies in water and air currents, according to research at Duke University.
  
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• Apple Fights 'Dangerous' Order to Unlock Shooter's iPhone

  17-02-2016 18:38 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  Apple is opposing a court order to unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters, accusing the federal government of an "overreach."
  
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• Google Launches “Gmailify” – A Way To Use Gmail's Best Features With Non-Gmail Accounts - TechCrunch

  17-02-2016 18:37 via
  TechCrunch
  Google Launches “Gmailify” – A Way To Use Gmail's Best Features With Non-Gmail Accounts
  TechCrunch
  Since early 2015, Google's Gmail Android app has allowed users to manage their mail from non-Gmail accounts, like Yahoo and Outlook. Now the company is taking things a step further. It's today introducing a new feature called “Gmailify” that will allow ...
  Gmailify From Google Gives You Google Now, No Gmail RequiredMarketing Land
  'Gmailify' gives you G
  

• Pairing pain medicine with metal ions to battle cancer

  17-02-2016 18:35
  
  Fighting chemoresistant cancer remains a huge challenge that scientists are tackling from as many angles as they can. One alternative approach involves pairing two groups of compounds—pain medicine and metal ions—that have individually shown promise as anti-cancer agents. Scientists report in the ACS journal Inorganic Chemistry that combining the two led to new compounds that could destroy drug-resistant cancer cells and leave most normal cells alone in lab tests.
  
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• The chemistry behind Flint's water crisis

  17-02-2016 18:34
  
  When the city of Flint switched drinking water sources in 2014, it triggered a health emergency as startlingly high levels of lead turned up in the water. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explains the chemistry behind the water contamination.
  
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• Why Are Apple and the FBI Battling Over an iPhone? - NBCNews.com

  17-02-2016 18:30 via
  Washington Post
  Why Are Apple and the FBI Battling Over an iPhone?
  NBCNews.com
  There might not be an easy iFix for this feud. A long-brewing conflict between one of the world's largest and most recognizable companies and the FBI leapt into public view on Tuesday after a federal judge ordered Apple to help government investigators ...
  Should the Authorities Be Able to Access Your iPhone?New York Times
  Donald Trump Criticizes Apple for Opposing iPhone 'Backdoor' Order: 'Who Do They Think They Are
  

• MIT Develops New Imaging System with Open-Ended Bundle of Optical Fibers

  17-02-2016 18:30 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A new imaging system developed at the MIT Media Lab uses an open-ended bundle of optical fibers — no lenses, protective housing needed. The fibers are connected to an array of photosensors at one end; the other ends can be left to wave free, so they could pass individually through micrometer-scale gaps in a porous […]
  The post MIT Develops New Imaging System with Open-Ended Bundle of Optical Fibers appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Why Are Apple and the FBI Battling Over an iPhone?

  17-02-2016 18:29 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  
  There might not be an easy iFix for this feud.
  
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• Chandra Discovers a Jet from a Very Distant Black

  17-02-2016 18:18 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Using the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered a jet from a very distant black hole, called B3 0727+409. The light from this jet was emitted just 2.7 billion light years after the Big Bang when the Universe was only one fifth its current age. This discovery shows that black holes with powerful jets may […]
  The post Chandra Discovers a Jet from a Very Distant Black appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Twitter rolls out GIF button - USA TODAY

  17-02-2016 18:17 via
  USA TODAY
  Twitter rolls out GIF button
  USA TODAY
  SAN FRANCISCO — GIF fans rejoice: Twitter is adding a button on iOS, Android and the Web so you can search for GIFs by keyword and insert them into tweets and direct messages with a single tap. GIFs have become a mainstay of pop culture, illustrating ...
  Twitter will now help you find the perfect GIFCNET
  Twitter adding GIF search feature to Android and iOS appsPhoneDog
  Twitter announces native GIF search support for its iOS app9 to 5 Mac
  Gi
  

• Instagram tightens security with 2-factor authentication - PCWorld

  17-02-2016 17:32 via
  PCWorld
  Instagram tightens security with 2-factor authentication
  PCWorld
  Instagram will soon let users hack-proof their accounts with two-factor authentication, following the footsteps of other big social networks like Facebook and Twitter. With two-factor authentication, users receive a text message containing a one-time ...
  Instagram Bulks Up Security With Two-Factor AuthenticationPC Magazine
  Instagram is Rolling Out Two-Factor Authentication to Protect Your AccountPetaPixel (blog)
  Instagram
  

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