Sci-Tech news

• Glance: Apple unveils messaging app, improvements to Siri

  13-06-2016 23:30
  
  Apple unveiled improvements to maps, messaging and its Siri voice assistant. It's also bringing an "SOS" feature to its watch to automatically call for help in an emergency.
  
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• Apple CEO's tearful Orlando tribute

  13-06-2016 23:22 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook started the company's annual developer conference, WWDC, by paying tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.
  
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• Life's origins may result from low-energy electron reactions in space

  13-06-2016 23:20
  
  Professor Chris Arumainayagam will announce findings from his research conducted at Wellesley College today, Monday, June 13, as part of the annual press briefings kicking off the American Astronomical Society (AAS) national conference in San Diego, Calif. Arumainayagam, a professor of chemistry at Wellesley, will discuss his work—the first systematic study to demonstrate that early building blocks of life may be produced when low-energy (
  
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• Writing their name in the stars: Citizen scientists discover huge galaxy cluster

  13-06-2016 22:57
  
  Two volunteer participants in an international citizen science project have had a rare galaxy cluster that they found named after them.
  
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• Marine life quickly recovered after global mass extinction

  13-06-2016 22:56
  
  Reptiles rapidly invaded the seas soon after a global extinction wiped out most life on Earth, according to a new study led by University of California, Davis, researchers.
  
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• Apple opens up Siri, other systems to woo developers

  13-06-2016 22:25
  
  Apple said Monday it was opening up its Siri digital assistant to outside applications, stepping up its artificial intelligence efforts to compete against rival services from Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
  
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• Leaner, cheaper Xbox One model plays for gamers

  13-06-2016 22:24
  
  Microsoft on Monday unveiled a leaner, lower-priced Xbox One model and a lineup of coming games as it strived to make up lost ground on Sony's market-leading rival PlayStation 4.
  
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• Lean Xbox One eyes gamers as PlayStation VR turns heads (Update)

  13-06-2016 22:24
  
  Microsoft unveiled a leaner Xbox One model and a lineup of coming games as it strived to make up lost ground on Sony's market-leading rival PlayStation 4.
  
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• Belgian hospitals introduce robot receptionists

  13-06-2016 22:23
  
  His diction is still a little odd, and his movements sometimes a bit hesitant, but Pepper the robot is all geared up to help patients at two Belgian hospitals.
  
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• Apple makes Siri smarter, rolls out software improvements

  13-06-2016 22:21
  
  Apple kicked off its annual software developer conference with an artificial intelligence upgrade for Siri, its digital assistant, as well as new software features for other devices and an overhaul of its music service.
  
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• The Latest: Siri updated in artificial-intelligence rivalry

  13-06-2016 22:20
  
  The Latest on Apple (all times local):
  
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• Upward trend in fatalities in organized violence was broken in 2015

  13-06-2016 22:18
  
  The alarming upward trend in fatalities in organized violence, witnessed over the last few years, was broken in 2015. This is evident from new data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), Uppsala University. The number of armed conflicts involving states continued to increase, however, going from 41 in 2014 to as many as 50 in 2015.
  
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• Algorithm ranks thermotolerance of algae

  13-06-2016 22:17
  
  Northwestern University researchers have developed a quantitative tool that might help bring back coral from the brink of extinction. The novel algorithm could help assess and predict the future of coral bleaching events by better understanding the coral's symbiotic partner: algae.
  
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• Natural quasicrystals may be the result of collisions between objects in the asteroid belt

  13-06-2016 22:14
  
  Naturally formed quasicrystals—crystal-like solids with supposedly impossible symmetries—are among the rarest structures on Earth. Only two have ever been found.
  
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• A gene called Prkci helps organize organisms and their organs

  13-06-2016 22:12
  
  A gene called Prkci can point cells in the right direction, according to a new study in Developmental Biology.
  
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• Research shows Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot

  13-06-2016 22:11
  
  Remote lakes in a perpetually ice-free area of Antarctica show not only the chemical signature of ancient wildfires, but also some much more recent evidence of fossil-fuel combustion, according to National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
  
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• A common enemy: Through clinical trials, veterinarian fights cancer in animals, humans

  13-06-2016 22:08
  
  Raelene Wouda's passion for improving cancer treatment starts with our four-legged friends.
  
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• New discovery may improve future mosquito control

  13-06-2016 22:05
  
  Major rainfall across most of Texas triggering hordes of mosquitos coupled with seemingly constant mosquito-related Zika virus media reports from around the globe may have set the stage perfectly for what one researcher deems as a very significant discovery in man's war against earth's leading human disease carrier.
  
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• 23-million-year-old brown dwarf flashes brighter than the sun's most powerful flares

  13-06-2016 22:04
  
  Although astronomers often refer to brown dwarfs as "failed stars," scientists at the University of Delaware have discovered that at least one of these dim celestial objects can emit powerful flashes of light.
  
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• Researchers gear up galaxy-seeking robots for a test run

  13-06-2016 22:03
  
  A prototype system, designed as a test for a planned array of 5,000 galaxy-seeking robots, is taking shape at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
  
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• Future summers could be hotter than any on record

  13-06-2016 21:57
  
  This is part 17 in a series on NSF's geosciences risk and resilience interest area. Please see parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.
  
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• Nanosubs gain better fluorescent properties for tracking

  13-06-2016 21:51
  
  The next generation of nanosubmarines being developed at Rice University has been upgraded with tags that fluoresce longer, which enables the submersibles to be tracked for greater periods while being driven through a solution.
  
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• Novel capping strategy improves stability of perovskite nanocrystals

  13-06-2016 21:49
  
  Perovskite materials have shown great promise for use in next-generation solar cells, light-emitting devices (LEDs), sensors, and other applications, but their instability remains a critical limitation.
  
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• Where were you born? Origin matters for species interactions

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  An oft-quoted proverb says it takes a village to raise a child, and new research from ecologists at Rice University and Louisiana State University suggests that a similar concept may be at work in natural ecosystems. The research, which appears in this week's Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that the early life experiences of individual animals can have wide-reaching impacts on entire species.
  
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• Watching 'jumping genes' in action

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  "Jumping genes" are ubiquitous. Every domain of life hosts these sequences of DNA that can "jump" from one position to another along a chromosome; in fact, nearly half the human genome is made up of jumping genes. Depending on their specific excision and insertion points, jumping genes can interrupt or trigger gene expression, driving genetic mutation and contributing to cell diversification. Since their discovery in the 1940s, researchers have been able to study the behavior of these jumping ge
  
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• How scientists inverted the Cheerios effect

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  Liquid drops on soft solid surfaces interact by an 'inverted Cheerios effect', which can be tweaked so that the droplets move towards or away from each other, according to an international group of scientists publishing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  
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• Eastern US needs 'connectivity' to help species escape climate change

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  For plants and animals fleeing rising temperatures, varying precipitation patterns and other effects of climate change, the eastern United States will need improved "climate connectivity" for these species to have a better shot at survival.
  
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• Current diversity pattern of North American mammals a 'recent' trend, study finds

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  It's called the latitudinal diversity gradient, a phenomenon seen today in most plant and animal species around the world: Biodiversity decreases from the equator to higher latitudes. A new study of fossils representing 63 million of the past 65 million years reveals that—for North American mammals, at least—the modern LDG is the exception rather than the rule.
  
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• Arc volcano releases mix of material from Earth's mantle and crust

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  Volcanoes are an explosive and mysterious process by which molten rock from Earth's interior escapes back into the atmosphere. Why the volcano erupts - and where it draws its lava from - could help trace the lifecycle of materials that make up our planet.
  
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• Aerosols strengthen storm clouds, new study finds

  13-06-2016 21:00
  
  An abundance of aerosol particles in the atmosphere can increase the lifespans of large storm clouds by delaying rainfall, making the clouds grow larger and live longer, and producing more extreme storms when the rain finally does come, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.
  
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• Scientists amplify light using sound on a silicon chip

  13-06-2016 19:12
  
  Yale scientists have found a way to greatly boost the intensity of light waves on a silicon microchip using the power of sound.
  
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• Efficient hydrogen production made easy: Sticking electrons to a semiconductor with hydrazine creates an electrocatalyst

  13-06-2016 19:10
  
  In the 2015 movie "The Martian," stranded astronaut Matt Damon turns to the chemistry of rocket fuel, hydrazine and hydrogen, to create lifesaving water and nearly blows himself up. But if you turn the process around and get the hydrazine to help, you create hydrogen from water by changing conductivity in a semiconductor, a transformation with wide potential applications in energy and electronics.
  
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• Kepler-1647b: New planet is largest discovered that orbits two suns

  13-06-2016 19:00
  
  If you cast your eyes toward the constellation Cygnus, you'll be looking in the direction of the largest planet yet discovered around a double-star system. It's too faint to see with the naked eye, but a team led by astronomers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and San Diego State University used the Kepler Space Telescope to identify the new planet, Kepler-1647b. The discovery was announced today in San Diego, at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
  
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• Technique for 'phase locking' arrays of tiny lasers could lead to terahertz security scanners

  13-06-2016 18:58
  
  Terahertz radiation—the band of electromagnetic radiation between microwaves and visible light—has promising applications in security and medical diagnostics, but such devices will require the development of compact, low-power, high-quality terahertz lasers.
  
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• Siri could have big role at Apple conference

  13-06-2016 18:57
  
  Apple's wisecracking digital assistant Siri could have a big role as the company's annual software conference opens in San Francisco.
  
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• Businesses can save 30 percent on electrical bills by adjusting production schedules

  13-06-2016 18:53
  
  Industrial manufacturing businesses can save over 30 percent on electrical bills, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 5 percent, by adjusting production schedules, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
  
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• New research reveals secrets of former subglacial lakes in North America

  13-06-2016 18:52
  
  Researchers at the University of Sheffield have provided a unique glimpse into one of the least understood environments on Earth by revealing for the first time former subglacial lakes and their drainage routes beneath the North American ice sheets.
  
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• Ferroelectric materials react unexpectedly to strain

  13-06-2016 18:50
  
  Up until recently, researchers thought they had the behaviors of ferroelectric materials mostly figured out.
  
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• New research uses novel approach to study plant mimicry

  13-06-2016 18:47
  
  Batesian mimicry is a common evolutionary tool where unprotected species imitate harmful or poisonous species to protect themselves from predators. To date, nearly all examples of Batesian mimicry have come from studies on animals. A new study published today in Botany, provides a compelling example of plant mimicry between two New Zealand plants, Alseuosmia pusilla (known locally as small toropapa) and Pseudowintera colorata (commonly known as horopito or as a pepper tree).
  
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• How Altered Gut Microbes Cause Obesity

  13-06-2016 18:08 via scitechdaily.com
  
  New research from Yale University details how altered gut microbiota causes obesity. Obesity is linked to changes in our gut microbes — the trillions of tiny organisms that inhabit our intestines. But the mechanism has not been clear. In a new study published in Nature, a Yale-led team of researchers has identified how an altered […]
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• Physicists Amplify Light Using Sound on a Silicon Chip

  13-06-2016 17:58 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A team of physicists has discovered a way to greatly boost the intensity of light waves on a silicon microchip using the power of sound. In a study to be published in the journal Nature Photonics, a team led by Peter Rakich describes a new waveguide system that harnesses the ability to precisely control the […]
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• Cheap gas, coal won't hobble renewables: energy report

  13-06-2016 17:54
  
  Weak coal and gas prices will not stop record investment in renewables over the coming decades as the cost of generating clean energy drops, a key energy report said Monday.
  
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• Johnson Controls to spend $245M on N. America battery plants

  13-06-2016 17:53
  
  Auto parts supplier Johnson Controls says it will sink $245 million into building automotive batteries to handle increasing demand for electrical devices in cars and trucks.
  
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• Beyond Microsoft and LinkedIn: Biggest tech acquisitions

  13-06-2016 17:53
  
  Microsoft's plan to buy professional-networking service LinkedIn for about $26.2 billion ranks as one of the biggest acquisitions ever in the tech industry.
  
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• Climate consequences of oil price uncertainty could be significant

  13-06-2016 17:48
  
  Oil prices can have a major impact on the types and quantities of energy sources used—and thus on greenhouse gas emissions. A new study from researchers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and the World Bank is the first to quantify the energy and emissions impacts of future fuel prices and the various unknowns these impacts depend on.
  
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• Extreme trans-Neptunian objects lead the way to Planet Nine

  13-06-2016 17:47
  
  In the race towards the discovery of a ninth planet in our solar system, scientists from around the world strive to calculate its orbit using the tracks left by the small bodies that move well beyond Neptune. Now, astronomers from Spain and Cambridge University have confirmed, with new calculations, that the orbits of the six extreme trans-Neptunian objects that served as a reference to announce the existence of Planet Nine are not as stable as it was thought.
  
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• Cassini Views a Disruption in Saturn’s Narrow F Ring

  13-06-2016 17:42 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft captures a small disruption in Saturn’s F ring; which was likely caused by the interaction of a small object embedded in the ring itself and material in the core of the ring. A bright disruption in Saturn’s narrow F ring suggests it may have been disturbed recently. This feature was mostly likely […]
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• Facebook Ultimatum Prompts Users to Download Moments App

  13-06-2016 17:27
  
  Facebook will delete synced photos if users don't download app before July 7.
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week – Scattered Stars in Sagittarius

  13-06-2016 17:26 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Hubble image shows scattered stars across the constellation of Sagittarius. This colorful and star-studded view of the Milky Way galaxy was captured when the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope pointed its cameras towards the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). Blue stars can be seen scattered across the frame, set against a distant backdrop […]
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• The EU commits to research into ultra-efficient aero engines

  13-06-2016 17:13
  
  The EU is investing over EUR 3 million in innovative aero-engine technologies in the three-year "Ultimate" project, short for "Ultra Low emission Technology Innovations for Mid-century Aircraft Turbine Engines". The project targets radical concepts for new aero engines, in line with the EU's long-term emissions reduction target for 2050. The project is being presented at a conference in South Korea this week.
  
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