Sci-Tech news

• Humans, 'unicorns' may have walked Earth at same time: study

  29-03-2016 23:44
  
  A long-extinct animal known as the Siberian unicorn—which was actually a long-horned rhinoceros—may have walked the Earth 29,000 years ago, at the same time as prehistoric humans, researchers say.
  
  Read more

• FBI iPhone solution may not necessarily crack other cases

  29-03-2016 23:44
  
  The FBI's discovery of a way to hack into the phone of one of the San Bernardino killers may not be the master key that allows prosecutors across the country to unlock iPhones in hundreds of more ordinary criminal cases.
  
  Read more

• DC-area hospital chain getting back online after cyberattack

  29-03-2016 23:44
  
  A large chain of Washington-area hospitals says it's made "significant progress" toward restoring its computer systems after a cyberattack and it has "no evidence" that patient information was stolen or compromised.
  
  Read more

• How hostile states' immigration policies changed Latino migration in the late 2000s

  29-03-2016 23:41
  
  For many immigrants in this country, anti-immigration rhetoric is not just something that you hear on the campaign trail but a reality. In fact, about a third of U.S. states, have had restrictive laws directed at undocumented immigrants in place since the late 2000s. As a result, many Latinos have become averse to moving to these states according to a new University of Washington - Dartmouth study just published in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers).
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Hubble Space Telescope spies galaxy 32 billion light years away

  29-03-2016 23:28
  
  When a team of astronomers found a galaxy in the direction of Ursa Major two years ago, they weren't sure what to make of it.
  
  Read more

• Eating green could be in your genes

  29-03-2016 23:00
  
  Could there be a vegetarian gene? Cornell University researchers have found evidence of a genetic variation - called an allele - that has evolved in populations that have historically favored vegetarian diets, such as in India, Africa and parts of East Asia. They also discovered a different version of this gene adapted to a marine diet discovered among the Inuit in Greenland, who mainly consume seafood.
  
  Read more

• In search of compromise among climate risk management strategies

  29-03-2016 22:55
  
  Balancing the impacts of climate change risks for all involved may not be within the realm of economics or physics, but a novel approach may help to achieve a better compromise, according to Penn State and Cornell climate researchers.
  
  Read more

• Continuing the search for gravitational waves

  29-03-2016 22:41
  
  In February, the LIGO Scientific Collaboration announced it had detected gravitational waves for the first time, confirming the last prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Somewhat overlooked in the excitement that followed is the fact that scientists don't know the exact location the waves were coming from. University of Notre Dame astronomer Peter Garnavich is leading a group of researchers who are hoping to more precisely locate where future gravitational waves originate.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Apple remains in dark how FBI hacked iPhone without its help

  29-03-2016 22:40
  
  The FBI's announcement that it mysteriously hacked into an iPhone is a public setback for Apple Inc., as consumers suddenly discover they can't keep their most personal information safe. Meanwhile, Apple remains in the dark about how to restore the security of its flagship product.
  
  Read more

• Be A Cooking Show Host With New Social Network 'Nom'

  29-03-2016 22:37 via feeds.nbcnews.com
  YouTube co-founder Steve Chen's latest project is a social network for food lovers, fittingly called "Nom." Just after the new site's launch, Chen and NBC's Olivia Sterns took the new platform for a live test, broadcasting a mixology demo together from a bar in Austin, Texas.
  
  Read more

• Google unveils landline phone, which lives in cloud

  29-03-2016 22:33
  
  Google on Tuesday unveiled a new landline telephone service aimed at helping consumers stay connected in the Internet cloud.
  
  Read more

• Snapchat ramps up messaging service with 'chat 2.0'

  29-03-2016 22:28
  
  Snapchat is dressing up its messaging with an upgraded video chat and animations, part of the social network's efforts to be the preferred service for young users.
  
  Read more

• Internet on a chip: Researchers step towards energy-efficient multicore chips

  29-03-2016 22:27
  
  In their recent paper, Wireless NoC for VFI-enabled multicore chip design: performance evaluation and design trade-offs, researchers from Carnegie Mellon's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Washington State University identify a new approach for enabling energy-efficient multicore systems. Much like bypassing road congestion when traveling long distances, by using wireless on-chip communication between individually controllable clusters, researchers were able to provide an ef
  
  Read more

• Baby giraffe born at Santa Barbara Zoo seen on video

  29-03-2016 22:16
  
  The public is getting its first glimpse of a baby Masai giraffe born over the weekend at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Alaska volcano drops ash on several communities

  29-03-2016 22:15
  
  The Latest on the eruption of Alaska's Pavlof Volcano (all times local):
  
  Read more

• Atlantic drilling off table but survey permits pending

  29-03-2016 22:15
  
  While drilling for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic is off the table for now, permits are still pending that could allow seismic surveys to map just how much might be out there.
  
  Read more

• An up-close view of bacterial 'motors'

  29-03-2016 22:10
  
  Bacteria are the most abundant form of life on Earth, and they are capable of living in diverse habitats ranging from the surface of rocks to the insides of our intestines. Over millennia, these adaptable little organisms have evolved a variety of specialized mechanisms to move themselves through their particular environments. In two recent Caltech studies, researchers used a state-of-the-art imaging technique to capture, for the first time, three-dimensional views of this tiny complicated machi
  
  Read more

• NASA sees Tropical Cyclone 17S form

  29-03-2016 22:04
  
  Tropical Cyclone 17S formed in the Southern Indian Ocean late on March 28. NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead.
  
  Read more

• Market reactions to sudden CEO deaths highlight CEOs' importance

  29-03-2016 22:03
  
  When Tootsie Roll chairman and CEO Melvin Gordon died unexpectedly on Jan. 20, 2015, the firm's value saw an immediate 7 percent increase, which was equivalent to about $140 million. Craig Crossland, an assistant professor of management at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business, and his research colleagues examined 240 sudden and unexpected CEO deaths like Gordon's to determine how shareholders' perceptions of CEO significance have changed over time. They found that market re
  
  Read more

• Nanoparticles deliver anticancer cluster bombs

  29-03-2016 20:45
  
  Scientists have devised a triple-stage "cluster bomb" system for delivering the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, via tiny nanoparticles designed to break up when they reach a tumor.
  
  Read more

• Beach replenishment may have 'far reaching' impacts on ecosystems

  29-03-2016 20:09
  
  UC San Diego biologists who examined the biological impact of replenishing eroded beaches with offshore sand found that such beach replenishment efforts could have long-term negative impacts on coastal ecosystems.
  
  Read more

• Conservation research is not happening in the right places

  29-03-2016 20:00
  
  Conservation research is not being done in the countries where it is most needed - a situation which is likely to undermine efforts to preserve global biodiversity. That's the conclusion of a new study publishing in the Open Access journal PLOS Biology on 29th March, led by Associate Professor Kerrie Wilson from The University of Queensland and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).
  
  Read more

• Paris to revamp main squares to make way for bikes, pedestrians

  29-03-2016 19:56
  
  Paris authorities on Tuesday approved a plan to give seven major squares in the French capital a massive makeover to make way for pedestrians, cyclists and more greenery.
  
  Read more

• NASA selects Penn State to lead next-generation planet finder

  29-03-2016 19:51
  
  A Penn State-led research group has been selected by NASA's Astrophysics Division to build a $10-million, cutting-edge instrument to detect planets orbiting stars outside our solar system. The team, led by Suvrath Mahadevan, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, was selected after an intense national competition. When completed in 2019, the instrument will be the centerpiece of a partnership between NASA and the National Science Foundation called the NASA-NS
  
  Read more

• Siberian unicorns? More like massive rhinos, say scientists - Christian Science Monitor

  29-03-2016 19:49 via
  Christian Science Monitor
  Siberian unicorns? More like massive rhinos, say scientists
  Christian Science Monitor
  New radiocarbon testing of Siberian unicorn fossils reveal they lived hundreds of thousands of years longer than previously believed. By Corey Fedde, Staff March 29, 2016. Save for later Saved. close. Elasmotherium sibiricum, also known as the Siberian ...
  Did 'unicorns' co-exist with humans? Yes, but they were just rhinos.Washington Post
  Unicorns walked the Earth more recently t
  

• Will bleaching of Australian reef spur renewed interest climate action? - Christian Science Monitor

  29-03-2016 19:43 via
  Christian Science Monitor
  Will bleaching of Australian reef spur renewed interest climate action?
  Christian Science Monitor
  Extensive bleaching has been caused by higher ocean temperatures. To prevent further damage, governments should commit to lowering emissions, an Australian team says. By Molly Jackson, Staff March 29, 2016. Save for later Saved. close. The Great ...
  El Niño's warmth devastating reefs worldwideScience Magazine
  'Severe' Coral Bleaching Is Destroying Large Portion
  

• Video Game Hall of Fame reveals finalists for May induction

  29-03-2016 19:42
  
  "Sonic the Hedgehog," ''Space Invaders" and "John Madden Football" are among 15 games named Tuesday as finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame.
  
  Read more

• Jay-Z's Tidal streaming service hits three million users

  29-03-2016 19:42
  
  Tidal, the streaming service led by Jay-Z that launched to a mixed reception a year ago, said Tuesday it has climbed up to three million subscribers.
  
  Read more

• One crop breeding cycle from starvation

  29-03-2016 19:40
  
  In the race against world hunger, we're running out of time. By 2050, the global population will have grown and urbanized so much that we will need to produce 87 percent more of the four primary food crops - rice, wheat, soy, and maize - than we do today.
  
  Read more

• Infradian oscillation of circadian genes in a mouse model of bipolar disorder

  29-03-2016 19:40
  
  Molecular basis of changes in mood and mood-associated behaviors are unknown. Researchers in Japan have succeeded in predicting states of mood-change-like behavior by studying the gene expression patterns in the brain in a bipolar disorder mouse model. They found that expressions of circadian rhythm-associated genes concomitantly change with mood-change-like behaviors in these mice. The current results also provide a novel insight into the molecular basis of bipolar disorder in the brain.
  
  Read more

• Fracking—not wastewater disposal—linked to most induced earthquakes in Western Canada

  29-03-2016 19:35
  
  A survey of a major oil and natural gas-producing region in Western Canada suggests a link between hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" and induced earthquakes in the region, according to a new report published online in the journal Seismological Research Letters.
  
  Read more

• Earth-Space telescope system produces hot surprise

  29-03-2016 19:34
  
  Astronomers using an orbiting radio telescope in conjunction with four ground-based radio telescopes have achieved the highest resolution, or ability to discern fine detail, of any astronomical observation ever made. Their achievement produced a pair of scientific surprises that promise to advance the understanding of quasars, supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies.
  
  Read more

• Instagram now lets you share 60-second videos - VentureBeat

  29-03-2016 19:00 via
  VentureBeat
  Instagram now lets you share 60-second videos
  VentureBeat
  Instagram has begun rolling out a update that lets you record longer videos on the media-sharing application. Starting today, you'll be able to post videos as long as 60 seconds, an increase from the 15 seconds you had before. It'll be available on ...
  Instagram Is Expanding Videos to 60 SecondsHollywood Reporter
  Instagram Asks Everyone to Calm Down After Algorithm UproarFortune
  You can now post 60-second videos on InstagramM
  

• When Is A Launch Not A Launch? When It's The Oculus Rift - Forbes

  29-03-2016 18:33 via
  Forbes
  When Is A Launch Not A Launch? When It's The Oculus Rift
  Forbes
  Photo: Oculus. Yesterday marked the “launch” of the Oculus Rift, the world's first high-end retail VR headset. It's certainly kind of a “one small step for man” moment in tech history, and it's amazing how far the project has come from its Kickstarter ...
  Is the Oculus Rift a Hit or a Flop?Fortune
  Oculus ushers in a Golden Age of masturbationNew York Post
  Oculus Rift review roundup: Enthusiasts love i
  

• New 'smart' bottle helps uncorked wine keep longer

  29-03-2016 18:25
  
  A US startup says it has created the world's first "smart" bottle which can keep wine as fresh as the day it was uncorked for up to a month.
  
  Read more

• Study reveals how diet shaped human evolution

  29-03-2016 18:11
  
  Homo sapiens, the ancestor of modern humans, shared the planet with Neanderthals, a close, heavy-set relative that dwelled almost exclusively in Ice-Age Europe, until some 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals were similar to Homo sapiens, with whom they sometimes mated—but they were different, too. Among these many differences, Neanderthals were shorter and stockier, with wider pelvises and rib-cages than their modern human counterparts.
  
  Read more

• Just 50p a week could decide the UK's future in Europe, study finds

  29-03-2016 18:09
  
  If people feel Brexit will reduce their income - even by as little as £25 a year, or 50p a week - then a majority will vote to remain. If people think they'll be better off out, then a majority will vote to leave.
  
  Read more

• FBI Hacking of iPhone Raises Questions About Method, Who Helped

  29-03-2016 18:08
  
  Federal officials announced Monday night they successfully cracked into an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters and no longer needed Apple's help.
  
  Read more

• Longer-term weather and environmental forecasts will provide enormous benefit

  29-03-2016 18:05
  
  Weather and environmental forecasts made several weeks to months in advance can someday be as widely used and essential as current predictions of tomorrow's weather are, but first more research and sustained investment are needed, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The committee that conducted the study and wrote the report developed a research agenda, outlining strategies to address the scientific and capability gaps that currently limit the ac
  
  Read more

• Big Data-driven method could save money, increase efficiency in pharmaceutical management

  29-03-2016 18:04
  
  Researchers at Binghamton University and pharmacy solutions provider Innovation Associates have developed an optimized approach for determining prescribed medication associations within a high-volume pharmacy environment that could save money and time.
  
  Read more

• Snapchat seamlessly combines video, audio, GIFs, stickers in “Chat 2.0” - TechCrunch

  29-03-2016 18:00 via
  TechCrunch
  Snapchat seamlessly combines video, audio, GIFs, stickers in “Chat 2.0”
  TechCrunch
  Say what you want, how you want. That's how Snapchat's reps say CEO Evan Spiegel describes Chat 2.0, a massive set of new features launching today. It lets private conversations morph between mediums depending on what users want to show or tell, and ...
  Snapchat redesigns chat to add stickers, audio, and video notesThe Verge
  Snapchat adds a boatload of voice and video calling featuresM
  

• New harmonized test protocols for PEM fuel cells in hydrogen vehicles

  29-03-2016 17:52
  
  A lack of standards for testing polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells - the most attractive type of fuel cells for powering vehicles - has hampered objective comparative assessment of their performance and durability under operating conditions and hence of their technological progress. By proposing a test methodology including a set of representative operating conditions and getting European industry and research stakeholders to agree on it, the JRC has helped fill the gap.
  
  Read more

• Effective graphene doping depends on substrate material

  29-03-2016 17:52
  
  Juelich physicists have discovered unexpected effects in doped graphene - i.e. graphene that is mixed with foreign atoms. They investigated samples of the carbon compound enriched with the foreign atom nitrogen on various substrate materials. Unwanted interactions with these substrates can influence the electric properties of graphene. The researchers at the Peter Gruenberg Institute have now shown that effective doping depends on the choice of substrate material. The scientists' results were pu
  
  Read more

• Unravelling a geological mystery using lasers from space

  29-03-2016 17:49
  
  It's a mystery that has stumped geologists for more than a century.
  
  Read more

• Mimicking a blood vessel to create a 'bridge' to better medicine and precision treatment

  29-03-2016 17:49
  
  Nanotechnology has led to better diagnostic techniques and more effective treatments for a variety of illnesses. Tiny devices measuring between 1 and 100 micrometers—one micrometer is equal to one millionth of a meter—enable scientists to observe cell activity and deliver drugs to individual cells—a breakthrough that is on the verge of revolutionizing precision medicine for treatment of diseases such as cancer.
  
  Read more

• FBI Hacking of iPhone Raises Questions About Method, Who Helped - ABC News

  29-03-2016 17:37 via
  Fortune
  FBI Hacking of iPhone Raises Questions About Method, Who Helped
  ABC News
  Federal officials announced Monday night they successfully cracked into an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters and no longer needed Apple's help in unlocking the device. In doing so, authorities succeeded in their goal of breaking ...
  FBI Wants Access To Another ISIS-Linked iPhone -- Will It Demand Apple Aid?Forbes
  Questions Linger After FBI Hacks Into iPhone Without Apple's HelpCBS Local
  Why the
  

• A New Approach to Designing Hydrogen-Resistant Zirconium Alloys

  29-03-2016 17:35 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Researchers from MIT have developed a new approach to designing hydrogen-resistant zirconium alloys, which could be useful in nuclear reactors. High-tech metal alloys are widely used in important materials such as the cladding that protects the fuel inside a nuclear reactor. But even the best alloys degrade over time, victims of a reactor’s high temperatures, […]
  The post A New Approach to Designing Hydrogen-Resistant Zirconium Alloys appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
  Read more

• FTC Sues Volkswagen Over Advertising of Diesel Vehicles - Wall Street Journal

  29-03-2016 17:32 via
  Wall Street Journal
  FTC Sues Volkswagen Over Advertising of Diesel Vehicles
  Wall Street Journal
  The Federal Trade Commission added to Volkswagen AG VLKAY -0.37 % 's legal woes with the filing of a complaint on Tuesday claiming the auto maker's advertising falsely touted its diesel vehicles as environmentally friendly. The FTC said in October that ...
  US FTC sues Volkswagen over diesel advertising claimsReuters
  FTC sues Volkswagen over 'deceptive' diesel claimsUSA TODAY
  What have we learned sinc
  

• Cassini Views Saturn’s Moons Enceladus and Janus

  29-03-2016 17:25 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Cassini image shows Saturn’s Moons Enceladus and Janus. When taking images in directions opposite from the sun, most objects appear dark. Surprisingly, however, some of Saturn’s rings get brighter. Parts of Saturn’s main rings appear dark in backlit views, particularly the dense B ring. However, some rings are comparatively tenuous and made […]
  The post Cassini Views Saturn’s Moons Enceladus and Janus appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
  Read more

• Astronomers Investigate the Mystery of Migrating ‘Hot Jupiters’

  29-03-2016 17:16 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Using infrared light, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope measured the extreme temperature swings of exoplanet HD 80606b. The last decade has seen a bonanza of exoplanet discoveries. Nearly 2,000 exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — have been confirmed so far, and more than 5,000 candidate exoplanets have been identified. Many of these exotic worlds […]
  The post Astronomers Investigate the Mystery of Migrating ‘Hot Jupiters’ appeared first on SciTech Da
  
  Read more

Follow @NewslockSciTech on Twitter!