Sci-Tech news

• Researchers find spatial scale changes ecological processes driving disease

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  Researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) and a colleague at the Institute of Zoology in Beijing, China have found that outbreaks of three emerging diseases and parasites - West Nile virus, Lyme disease and amphibian chytridiomycosis - are driven by different ecological processes at different spatial scales. Their data also suggests that focusing on a single spatial scale can lead to inaccurate estimations of the impact humans are having on biodiversity, disease emergence, and the e
  
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• Remains of rice and mung beans help solve a Madagascan mystery

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  Researchers have helped solve one of the enduring mysteries of the ancient world: why the inhabitants of Madagascar speak Malagasy, a language otherwise unique to Southeast Asia and the Pacific - a region located at least 6,000 km away. An international research team has identified that ancient crop remains excavated from sites in Madagascar consist of Asian species like rice and mung beans. This is thought to be the first archaeological evidence that settlers from South Asia are likely to have
  
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• Increased marrying, and mating, by education level not affecting genetic make-up

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  While the latter half of the 20th century showed a widening gap between the more and less educated with respect to marriage and fertility, this trend has not significantly altered the genetic makeup of subsequent generations, a team of researchers has found.
  
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• Heme, a poisonous nutrient, tracked by 'Green Lantern' sensor

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  A pinch of poison is good for a body, at least if it's heme.
  
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• 'Dirty Blizzard' sent 2010 Gulf oil spill pollution to seafloor

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  Scientists working in the Gulf of Mexico have found that contaminants from the massive 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill lingered in the subsurface water for months after oil on the surface had been swept up or dispersed. In a new study, they also detailed how remnants of the oil, black carbon from burning oil slicks and contaminants from drilling mud combined with microscopic algae and other marine debris to descend in a "dirty blizzard" to the seafloor.
  
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• Dancing hairs alert bees to floral electric fields

  30-05-2016 21:00
  
  Tiny, vibrating hairs may explain how bumblebees sense and interpret the signals transmitted by flowers, according to a study by researchers at the University of Bristol.
  
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• Bombs and buses 600 metres deep

  30-05-2016 20:50
  
  German forces in Norway have surrendered, and after five long years of occupation, the country is finally free.
  
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• Uncharted waters: Restoring deep Gulf fouled by BP spill

  30-05-2016 20:40
  
  Far offshore and a mile deep in the dark world below the Gulf of Mexico's gleaming surface, the catastrophic BP oil spill of 2010 did untold damage on the ocean floor. But scientists are unsure they can do much to heal places in the deep that were hurt the most as they undertake what's being called the largest ecosystem restoration effort ever.
  
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• Scammers Get Victims to Pay With iTunes Gift Cards

  30-05-2016 20:37 via nbcnews.com
  
  Everyone likes gift cards — even scammers.A gift card is like cash — a quick, convenient and untraceable way for con artists to get money. And ev
  
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• Feds give thumbs-up to fracking off California coast

  30-05-2016 20:30
  
  An environmental assessment from two federal agencies released Friday determined that fracking off the coast of California causes no significant impact, thus lifting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing that was instituted earlier this year.
  
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• Hydropower dams worldwide cause continued species extinction

  30-05-2016 19:02
  
  New research led by the University of Stirling has found a global pattern of sustained species extinctions on islands within hydroelectric reservoirs. 
  
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• Watch: War Against ISIS: Meet the U.S. Military Spy Plane Known as the Dragon Lady

  30-05-2016 18:42
  
  The U-2 spy plane has gathered surveillance images for the military since its first flight in 1955.
  
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• Striking Verizon workers to return Wednesday; deal inked

  30-05-2016 18:01
  
  Nearly 40,000 striking Verizon employees will return to work Wednesday after reaching a tentative contract agreement that includes 1,300 new call center jobs and nearly 11 percent in raises over four years but also makes health care plan changes to save the company money, the company and a union said Monday.
  
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• Deep, old water explains why Antarctic Ocean hasn't warmed

  30-05-2016 17:00
  
  The waters surrounding Antarctica may be one of the last places to experience human-driven climate change. New research from the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds that ocean currents explain why the seawater has stayed at roughly the same temperature while most of the rest of the planet has warmed.
  
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• 4-H program aims to grow next generation of ag scientists (Update)

  30-05-2016 16:50
  
  One team is developing GPS ear tags so cattle farmers can track herds from afar. Another thinks drones can protect livestock from predators. Yet another is developing a rechargeable portable warmer to prevent vaccines from freezing when dairy producers inoculate their herds in the winter.
  
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• 4-H program aims to grow next generation of ag scientists

  30-05-2016 16:50
  
  Several teams of teenagers competing in Minnesota's 4-H Science of Agriculture Challenge may be the next generation of agricultural scientists in a country facing a critical shortage.
  
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• Experimental installations put the social in social science

  30-05-2016 15:36
  
  The truck-size metal container sitting in a downtown park here isn't meant to raise awareness about the global shipping industry, though it may nudge some people's curiosity in that direction.
  
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• Plasmonic pixels could be used to make non-fading paint

  30-05-2016 15:30
  
  (Phys.org)—Researchers are developing a technology that could one day make paint and color packaging labels that never fade. The color is produced by a type of nanostructure called a "plasmonic pixel." These pixels are made of aluminum nanoantennas, and when the free electrons in the metal collectively vibrate at specific frequencies, they produce a specific color.
  
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• Shark alert! Warnings high- and low-tech seek to protect (Update)

  30-05-2016 15:10
  
  From drones and smartphone apps to old-school flags and signs, a growing great white shark population along the East Coast has officials and researchers turning to responses both high- and low-tech to ensure safety for millions of beachgoers this summer.
  
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• Shark alert! Warnings high- and low-tech seek to protect

  30-05-2016 15:10
  
  From drones and smartphone apps to old-school flags and signs, a growing great white shark population along the East Coast has officials and researchers turning to responses both high- and low-tech to ensure safety for millions of beachgoers this summer.
  
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• Poachers in Zimbabwe use cyanide to kill five elephants

  30-05-2016 15:10
  
  Zimbabwean officials say poachers killed five elephants by poisoning them with cyanide.
  
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• Astronomers observe the intriguing near-Earth asteroid Phaethon

  30-05-2016 15:00
  
  (Phys.org)—Discovered in 1983, the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon is an intriguing object, primarily due to its unusual orbit. Recently, an international team of astronomers has conducted a detailed study of this unique space rock, deriving a shape model that characterizes the orbit, spin state, and thermophysical parameters of the asteroid. The findings were presented in a paper published online on May 27 on arXiv.org.
  
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• Fin24.com | Cable theft costs Telkom over R200m

  30-05-2016 14:44
  
  Local telecommunications company Telkom says cable theft has cost it over R200m in losses during its 2015 financial year.
  
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• Computer generated math proof is largest ever at 200 terabytes

  30-05-2016 14:40
  
  (Phys.org)—A trio of researchers has solved a single math problem by using a supercomputer to grind through over a trillion color combination possibilities, and in the process has generated the largest math proof ever—the text of it is 200 terabytes in size. In their paper uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, Marijn Heule with the University of Texas, Oliver Kullmann with Swansea University and Victor Marek with the University of Kentucky outline the math problem, the means by whic
  
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• Calibrating exoplanetary atmospheres using benchmark brown dwarfs

  30-05-2016 14:40
  
  An EU-funded researcher has developed an innovative new tool, furthering our understanding of giant planet atmospheres and, ultimately, how planets are formed.
  
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• Why Africa could do with a dose of punctuality and cleanliness

  30-05-2016 14:30
  
  There are two features of life on the African continent that are fundamentally deadly to socioeconomic development. These are lack of cleanliness and punctuality.
  
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• Neutron reflectivity gives insight to the role of the N-terminal sequence in Alzheimer's beta-amyloid peptide assembly

  30-05-2016 14:20
  
  IIn 2013 the UN published a report estimating that by 2050 over 20% of the world's population will be 65 or older - the advance of medicine and the increase in global living standards means that the human race is living longer than ever before. An ageing population means that more of us are being diagnosed with age-related illnesses such as Alzheimer's. In 2015, there were 46.8 million people living with dementia, costing the world economy over $800 billion. With an estimated 131.5 million Alzhe
  
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• Fin24.com | Court dismisses SA Google AdWords appeal

  30-05-2016 14:17
  
  Perimeter security barrier company Cochrane Steel has failed in its bid to overturn a high court judgment on South Africa’s first ever Google AdWords case.
  
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• Ancient Egyptian pigment provides modern forensics with new coat of paint

  30-05-2016 14:10
  
  It was during a trip to Indianapolis that Professor Simon Lewis, a forensic and analytical chemist, was approached by Gregory Smith from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) with an idea.
  
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• What is the coldest planet of the solar system?

  30-05-2016 14:00
  
  The solar system is pretty huge place, extending from our sun at the center all the way out to the Kuiper Cliff – a boundary within the Kuiper Belt that is located 50 AU from the sun. As a rule, the farther one ventures from the sun, the colder and more mysterious things get. Whereas temperatures in the inner solar system are enough to burn you alive or melt lead, beyond the "Frost Line", they get cold enough to freeze volatiles like ammonia and methane.
  
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• Transforming ordinary photos into clean, high-resolution 3D worlds

  30-05-2016 14:00
  
  It is no longer unusual for computers to display our world in three dimensions. 3D scanners can scan faces, buildings or entire landscapes, and the data can be used to generate 3D models. In most cases though, this process is very complex. In the 'Harvest4D' research project, led by TU Wien (under the direction of Prof. Michael Wimmer from TU Wien's Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms), algorithms are therefore being developed that can be used to generate these three-dimensional worlds
  
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• It's raining men! Sweden sees historic gender balance shift

  30-05-2016 14:00
  
  Famous for its efforts to put women on an equal footing with men, Sweden is experiencing a gender balance shift that has caught the country by surprise: For the first time since record-keeping began in 1749, it now has more men than women.
  
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• Blue Origin test to include deliberately failed crew capsule parachute deployment

  30-05-2016 14:00
  
  Blue Origin, the builder of the New Shepard re-usable rocket, has announced plans for the fourth flight of the rocket. With a recent successful launch and landing in their pocket, the company is anticipating another similar result. But this time, something will be done differently.
  
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• Watch: Amazon Releases Web-Based Version of Alexa

  30-05-2016 13:57
  
  The latest edition of Amazon's voice-activated assistant has streamlined functionality.
  
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• Do female birds mate with multiple males to protect their young?

  30-05-2016 13:57
  
  Blue tit females mate with more than one male. Several possible blue tit fathers may then work together to stop predators from attacking their young, according to new research from the University of Bergen. Philosopher Claus Halberg believes this research challenges established ideas about the passive female.
  
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• Hydrogen synthesis—when enzymes assemble themselves in the test tube

  30-05-2016 13:56
  
  Researchers from Bochum have engineered a hydrogen-producing enzyme in the test tube that works as efficiently as the original. The protein – a so-called hydrogenase from green algae – is made up of a protein scaffold and a cofactor. The latter is the reaction centre where the substances that react with each other dock. When the researchers added various chemically synthesised substances to the protein scaffold, the cofactor spontaneously assembled.
  
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• Video game feeds soccer's growth in the U.S.

  30-05-2016 13:55
  
  The popularity of soccer in the United States has grown exponentially in the past decade due to increased media exposure, demographic changes and the proliferation of social media.
  
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• Fatter really is better

  30-05-2016 13:50
  
  In a divergence from normal thinking, research has shown that being fatter really is better, at least when it comes to being a sheep!
  
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• New catalyst found for clean energy fuel

  30-05-2016 13:49
  
  A team of UConn chemists led by professors Steven Suib and James Rusling has developed a new material that could make hydrogen capture more commercially viable and provide a key element for a new generation of cheaper, light-weight hydrogen fuel cells.
  
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• Water on the moon?

  30-05-2016 13:40
  
  Prior to the Apollo missions to the moon, scientists speculated that volatiles - including water - may have accumulated in permanently shaded regions at the poles. Then the Apollo era brought the return of lunar samples, enabling real measurements: They found none of the water-bearing minerals common on Earth. Over the past ten years, however, several developments have reinvigorated the discussion. In particular, new analyses of volcanic glasses in the sample returns have inferred the presence o
  
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• Decentralized production of hydrogen peroxide using surplus renewable power

  30-05-2016 13:39
  
  Wood-colored pulp from which white paper is to be produced, objectionable tooth discolorations or disinfecting work areas in hospitals and food production facilities: Due to its highly oxidizing and cell toxic effects hydrogen peroxide is widely used as a bleaching agent and disinfectant in many technical areas, the production of cosmetics and medical applications. Hydrogen peroxide has also become firmly established in oxidative water treatment. Here, under the influence of ultraviolet light, h
  
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• Warm springs, early laying don't harm bird flocks

  30-05-2016 13:20
  
  A new study has found that many bird species lay their eggs earlier when spring is warmer, but that the timing has no damaging impact on their overall numbers.
  
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• Quantum photonic researchers start new company, Sparrow Quantum

  30-05-2016 13:10
  
  There is incredible potential in quantum technology for unbreakable communication and new superfast computers and with a new technological invention quantum technology is storming ahead. Researchers in the research group Quantum Photonics at the Niels Bohr Institute have formed a new company, Sparrow Quantum, which will produce photonic chips that could be used for quantum technology based on light (photons) – that is, photonics instead of electronics (electrons).
  
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• Parasites' winner-takes-all mechanism to evade immune defenses

  30-05-2016 13:10
  
  A genetic game of 'winner takes all' that sustains the parasitic infections which cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle – devastating diseases particularly in rural areas of Africa - has been identified in a research breakthrough led by the University of Dundee.
  
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• Engineering nanodevices to store information the quantum way

  30-05-2016 12:54
  
  Creating quantum computers which some people believe will be the next generation of computers, with the ability to outperform machines based on conventional technology—depends upon harnessing the principles of quantum mechanics, or the physics that governs the behavior of particles at the subatomic scale. Entanglement—a concept that Albert Einstein once called "spooky action at a distance"—is integral to quantum computing, as it allows two physically separated particles to stor
  
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• Image: Hubble gets in on a galactic gathering

  30-05-2016 12:53
  
  Nearly as deep as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, which contains approximately 10,000 galaxies, this incredible image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals thousands of colorful galaxies in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). This vibrant view of the early universe was captured as part of the Frontier Fields campaign, which aims to investigate galaxy clusters in more detail than ever before, and to explore some of the most distant galaxies in the universe.
  
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• A cross-language search engine enables English monolingual researchers to find relevant foreign-language documents

  30-05-2016 12:52
  
  "About 6,000 languages are currently spoken in the world today," says Elizabeth Salesky of MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Human Language Technology (HLT) Group. "Within the law enforcement community, there are not enough multilingual analysts who possess the necessary level of proficiency to understand and analyze content across these languages," she continues.
  
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• 'Genetically engineered' crops not adverse to environment or human health

  30-05-2016 12:47
  
  Genetically engineered crops have not hurt the environment and are not adversely affecting human health, according to a comprehensive study coordinated by the National Academy of Sciences.
  
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• Researchers use strain to engineer first high-performance, two-way oxide catalyst

  30-05-2016 12:40
  
  Catalysts make chemical reactions more likely to occur. In most cases, a catalyst that's good at driving chemical reactions in one direction is bad at driving reactions in the opposite direction. However, a research team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has created the first high-performance, two-way oxide catalyst and filed a patent application for the invention. The accomplishment is reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
  
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• A cougar's epic journey east

  30-05-2016 12:38
  
  A male cougar in search of a mate traveled more than 1,500 miles from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Connecticut, leaving a trail of clues that enabled scientists to verify his odyssey.
  
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