Sci-Tech news

• Scientists Eye 3 New Earth-Sized Worlds in Hunt for E.T.

  02-05-2016 23:32 via nbcnews.com
  
  Astronomers searching for life beyond our solar system may need to look no farther than a little, feeble nearby star.
  
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• Three Earth-like planets discovered orbiting dwarf star

  02-05-2016 23:31 via cnn.com
  
  For the first time, researchers have discovered three potentially habitable, Earth-like worlds orbiting an ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years away in another star system, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
  
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• Bitcoin's creator unmasks himself—well, maybe

  02-05-2016 23:20
  
  The mystery creator of the digital currency bitcoin has finally stepped forward. Or has he?
  
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• IMERG analyzes severe weather in Tornado Alley and eastward

  02-05-2016 23:04
  
  Severe spring thunderstorms frequently spawned tornadoes from the Gulf Coast north and eastward during the past seven days. NASA's IMERG data were used to estimate the amount of rain that fell from April 25 to May 2, 2016.
  
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• Circus elephants' retirement home promises pampered life

  02-05-2016 22:52
  
  When Mysore performed in the Ringling Brothers' traveling circus, she waltzed, she hooked her trunk onto another elephant's tail, and she stood on her hind legs in a line for a trick known as the long mount.
  
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• Froggie went a courtin' and waved goodbye to rival wooers

  02-05-2016 22:22
  
  Most frogs use acoustic signals - or croaks - to communicate during mating season, but some species have also developed a wave, called a foot flag, as a signal to deter the competition.
  
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• Gear for Mom and Star Wars Toys: What to Buy in May

  02-05-2016 22:00 via nbcnews.com
  
  May is here, and limited-time deals are beginning to blossom.A number of retail categories are seeing some sweet sales including camping
  
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• Economy flyers unite—Research shows air rage a product of class difference

  02-05-2016 22:00
  
  We blame air rage on long flight delays, shrinking seats and a general decline in civility. But the first empirical research study into the phenomenon pegs another culprit—class inequality—for the reason passengers lose it when taking to the so-called friendly skies.
  
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• New health sensing tool measures lung function over a phone call, from anywhere in the world

  02-05-2016 21:56
  
  Most people in the developing world who have asthma, cystic fibrosis or other chronic lung diseases have no way to measure how well their lungs are functioning outside of a clinic or doctor visit.
  
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• 230 million-year-old dinosaur footprint found in north Spain

  02-05-2016 21:20
  
  Spain says a footprint of a dinosaur that roamed the area 230 million years ago has been found in northeastern Catalonia, and says it's the best preserved dinosaur print seen so far in the Iberian Peninsula.
  
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• Brazilian Judge Orders WhatsApp Blocked for 72 Hours

  02-05-2016 21:17 via nbcnews.com
  
  A judge in Brazil has once again ordered a temporary block on the popular messaging app WhatsApp.
  
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• Military tests unmanned ship designed to cross oceans

  02-05-2016 21:10
  
  The military is launching tests on the world's largest unmanned surface vessel—a self-driving, 132-foot ship designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board.
  
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• New study shows warmer temperatures are affecting lakes in the oilsands region

  02-05-2016 21:08
  
  A recent collaborative research project between scientists from academia and government agencies has identified climate warming as the dominant driver of an increase in algal growth in the Athabasca oilsands region of northern Alberta.
  
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• Brazil judge blocks WhatsApp for 72 hours

  02-05-2016 21:04
  
  A Brazilian judge issued an order Monday blocking the popular WhatsApp smartphone messaging application nationwide, the second such shut-down in six months.
  
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• Boiling water may be cause of Martian streaks, study says

  02-05-2016 21:02
  
  The results of Earth-bound lab experiments appear to back up the theory that dark lines on Martian slopes are created by water—though in an otherworldly manner, scientists said Monday.
  
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• US climate-adaptation plans long on ideas, short on details, priorities

  02-05-2016 21:00
  
  An analysis of more than 40 climate-adaptation plans from across the U.S. shows that local communities are good at developing strategies to combat the harmful effects of climate change but often fail to prioritize their goals or to provide implementation details.
  
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• New nanoparticle drug-delivery approach holds potential for treating obesity

  02-05-2016 21:00
  
  Researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed nanoparticles that can deliver antiobesity drugs directly to fat tissue. Overweight mice treated with these nanoparticles lost 10 percent of their body weight over 25 days, without showing any negative side effects.
  
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• Little ANTs: Researchers build the world's tiniest engine

  02-05-2016 21:00
  
  Researchers have developed the world's tiniest engine - just a few billionths of a metre in size - which uses light to power itself. The nanoscale engine, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, could form the basis of future nano-machines that can navigate in water, sense the environment around them, or even enter living cells to fight disease.
  
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• Largest-ever analysis of microbial data reveals ecological law concluding 99.999 percent of species remain undiscovered

  02-05-2016 21:00
  
  Earth could contain nearly 1 trillion species, with only one-thousandth of 1 percent now identified, according to a study from biologists at Indiana University.
  
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• Californian sudden oak death epidemic 'unstoppable,' new epidemics must be managed earlier

  02-05-2016 21:00
  
  New research shows the sudden oak death epidemic in California cannot now be stopped, but that its tremendous ecological and economic impacts could have been greatly reduced if control had been started earlier. The research also identifies new strategies to enhance control of future epidemics, including identifying where and how to fell trees, as "there will be a next time".
  
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• Chrome crowned top Internet browser by market tracker

  02-05-2016 20:58
  
  Google Chrome on Monday was crowned the top Internet browser, officially ending the long reign of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE).
  
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• New study found ocean acidification may be impacting coral reefs in the Florida keys

  02-05-2016 20:50
  
  In a new study, University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science researchers found that the limestone that forms the foundation of coral reefs along the Florida Reef Tract is dissolving during the fall and winter months on many reefs in the Florida Keys. The research showed that the upper Florida Keys were the most impacted by the annual loss of reef.
  
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• Improving utilization of ammonia and carbon dioxide in microalgal cultivation

  02-05-2016 20:50
  
  Algaculture or algae farming, like any form of agriculture, is highly sensitive to fertilizer costs. A major roadblock to commercial algae farming is efficient utilization of volatile nutrients, specifically ammonia and carbon dioxide (CO2), to feed the algae being farmed. Currently, society produces large quantities of waste streams in the air and water that are not being efficiently treated or not treated at all. This includes multiple agricultural and industrial waste streams that can provide
  
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• Hurricanes key to carbon uptake by forests

  02-05-2016 20:49
  
  While hurricanes are a constant source of worry for residents of the southeastern United States, new research suggests that they have a major upside—counteracting global warming.
  
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• River food webs threatened by widespread hydropower practice

  02-05-2016 20:48
  
  The decline of aquatic insects downstream from some hydroelectric dams has been linked to a widespread practice known as hydropeaking, whereby river flows are increased during the day when electricity demands are large, according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey, along with researchers from Oregon State University, Utah State University and Idaho State University. Findings show it may be possible to mitigate these negative effects by using alternative hydropower practices.
  
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• Method stabilizes, enhances phosphorene

  02-05-2016 20:37
  
  Two years ago, Northwestern University's Mark Hersam discovered a way to stabilize exfoliated black phosphorus—or phosphorene—a layered semiconductor that chemically degrades in open air but shows great promise for electronics. By encapsulating it in aluminum oxide, he was able to stabilize phosphorene's reactivity to oxygen and water.
  
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• Making invisible physics visible

  02-05-2016 20:32
  If using a single atom to capture high-resolution images of nanoscale material sounds like science fiction, think again.
  
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• Hydropeaking extirpates river insects

  02-05-2016 20:25
  
  Hydropower produces 19% of the world's electricity—far more than all other renewable sources combined. In the face of mounting climate-change effects, the rush to this profuse energy source is expected to continue. However, hydroelectric dams can also produce a number of environmental consequences, many of which are unrecognized or understudied.
  
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• Endangered venomous mammal predates dinosaurs' extinction, study confirms

  02-05-2016 20:20
  
  The University of Illinois and University of Puerto Rico have completely sequenced the mitochondrial genome for the Hispaniolan solenodon, filling in the last major branch of placental mammals on the tree of life.
  
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• Federal Judge Orders Woman to Unlock iPhone Using Her Fingerprint

  02-05-2016 20:05
  
  A California woman was ordered to unlock her smartphone using her fingerprint, according to a warrant.
  
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• Apple May Do Something It Hasn't Done in Almost Two Decades

  02-05-2016 20:04 via nbcnews.com
  
  Apple's stock declined nearly 1 percent in midday trading Monday, putting it on track to do something it hasn't done in nearly two decades.
  
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• CPR kiosks ... learn to save a life in 5 minutes!

  02-05-2016 18:56 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Hands-only CPR kiosks are now in America's busiest airports. CNN's Kelly Bowman reports on how a few minutes of training could help save a life.
  
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• Captain Cook's ship Endeavour 'found' in Newport Harbor

  02-05-2016 18:30
  
  Marine archaeologists say they have likely found HMS Endeavour, which Capt. Cook sailed on when he discovered Australia, at the bottom of Newport Harbor.
  
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• Satoshi Nakamoto No More: Bitcoin Founder Revealed

  02-05-2016 18:23 via nbcnews.com
  
  Australian computer scientist Craig Wilson revealed that he was involved in the creation of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency created in 2009.
  
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• Yale Engineers Develop a New Tool to Fight Dust

  02-05-2016 17:46 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Inspired by gecko feet, Yale researchers have developed a promising tool in the war on dust. Micrometric and sub-micrometric contaminant particles — what most of us call “dust” — can cause big problems for art conservators, the electronics industry, aerospace engineers, and others. These nanoparticles can prevent a cellphone from working or rob the vitality […]
  The post Yale Engineers Develop a New Tool to Fight Dust appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Newly Released Cassini Image – The Dew Drop of Saturn

  02-05-2016 17:32 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released image of Saturn and Enceladus was taken by NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft last May. The water-world Enceladus appears here to sit atop Saturn’s rings like a drop of dew upon a leaf. Even though it appears like a tiny drop before the might of the giant Saturn, Enceladus reminds us that even small […]
  The post Newly Released Cassini Image – The Dew Drop of Saturn appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• New Elevation Map of Pluto’s ‘Heart’ from New Horizons

  02-05-2016 17:23 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA releases a new elevation map of Pluto’s heart-shaped surface area. This newest shaded relief view of the region surrounding the left side of Pluto’s heart-shaped feature – informally named Sputnik Planum – shows that the vast expanse of the icy surface is on average 2 miles (3 kilometers) lower than the surrounding terrain. Angular […]
  The post New Elevation Map of Pluto’s ‘Heart’ from New Horizons appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week – NGC 4394

  02-05-2016 17:13 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Hubble images shows NGC 4394, which is located about 55 million light-years away. Discovered in 1784 by the German–British astronomer William Herschel, NGC 4394 is a barred spiral galaxy situated about 55 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy lies in the constellation of Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair), and is considered to be […]
  The post Hubble Image of the Week – NGC 4394 appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Bioengineers create first online search engine for functional genomics data

  02-05-2016 17:10
  
  University of California San Diego bioengineers have created what they believe to be the first online search engine for functional genomics data. This work from the Sheng Zhong bioengineering lab at UC San Diego was just published online by the journal Nucleic Acids Research. This new search engine, called GeNemo, is free for public use at: http://www.genemo.org.
  
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• Fin24.com | Mystery solved? Australian says he's Bitcoin founder

  02-05-2016 17:09
  
  An Australian man has publicly identified himself as the Bitcoins creator, a claim that would end one of the biggest mysteries in the tech world.
  
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• Viewing a catalytic reaction in action: Team monitors steps of chemical reaction mediated by metallic surface

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  To be able to follow and directly visualize how the structure of molecules changes when they undergo complex chemical transformations has been a long-standing goal of chemistry. While reaction intermediates are particularly difficult to identify and characterize due to their short lifetimes, knowledge of the structure of these species can give valuable insights into reaction mechanisms and therefore impact fields beyond the chemical industry, such as materials science, nanotechnology, biology an
  
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• Raindrop splash is a surprise source of fine soil particles in the atmosphere

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Most of us think of that sweet smell after a storm as the aftereffect of rain that has rinsed the air of pollutants and dust. But it turns out that rain also triggers the release of a mist of particles from wet soils into the air, a finding with consequences of its own for how scientists model our planet's climate and future.
  
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• Quantum sensors for high-precision magnetometry of superconductors

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Scientists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel have developed a new method that has enabled them to image magnetic fields on the nanometer scale at temperatures close to absolute zero for the first time. They used spins in special diamonds as quantum sensors in a new kind of microscope to generate images of magnetic fields in superconductors with unrivalled precision. In this way the researchers were able to perform measurements that permit
  
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• Just 40 light years from Earth, three planets might host life forms adapted to infrared worlds

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Is there life beyond our solar system? If there is, our best bet for finding it may lie in three nearby, Earth-like exoplanets.
  
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• Influence of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming is shaped by temperatures in the Pacific Ocean

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Influence of sea-ice loss on Arctic warming is shaped by varying temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, new study shows
  
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• How much does groundwater contribute to sea level rise?

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Groundwater extraction and other land water contribute about three times less to sea level rise than previous estimates, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study does not change the overall picture of future sea level rise, but provides a much more accurate understanding of the interactions between water on land, in the atmosphere, and the oceans, which could help to improve future models of sea level rise.
  
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• How DNA can take on the properties of sand or toothpaste

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  When does DNA behave like sand or toothpaste?
  
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• Genetic analysis of Ice Age Europeans

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Analyses of ancient DNA from prehistoric humans paint a picture of dramatic population change in Europe from 45,000 to 7,000 years ago, according to a new study led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator David Reich at Harvard Medical School.
  
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• First structural views of the NMDA receptor in action will aid drug development

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  Structural biologists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and Janelia Research Campus/HHMI, have obtained snapshots of the activation of an important type of brain-cell receptor. Dysfunction of the receptor has been implicated in a range of neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, seizure, schizophrenia, autism, and injuries related to stroke.
  
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• Demographic changes increase the risk of natural fires

  02-05-2016 17:00
  
  In many parts of the world, grass and forest fires pose a threat to animals and humans. According to a new study from Lund University in Sweden, while climate change is likely to cause more and larger fires, in the future, more and more people will become directly affected as a result of demographic changes.
  
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