Sci-Tech news

• NASA's GPM examines exceptionally heavy Louisiana rainstorms

  12-08-2016 22:25
  
  The low pressure center that has been gyrating over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico for days has now dropped very heavy precipitation over southeastern Louisiana. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission, or GPM, core satellite gathered rainfall data on the system and looked at it in three dimensions.
  
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• Seeing the invisible: Visible light superlens made from nanobeads

  12-08-2016 21:50
  
  Nanobeads are all around us- and are, some might argue, used too frequently in everything from sun-screen to white paint, but a new ground-breaking application is revealing hidden worlds.
  
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• Southern California having smoggiest summer since 2009

  12-08-2016 21:25
  
  Southern California sunshine means sparkling beach weather, but this summer it's contributing to a return of a traditional nemesis: smog.
  
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• Kepler watches stellar dancers in the Pleiades cluster

  12-08-2016 21:24
  
  Like cosmic ballet dancers, the stars of the Pleiades cluster are spinning. But these celestial dancers are all twirling at different speeds. Astronomers have long wondered what determines the rotation rates of these stars.
  
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• NASA's Fermi mission expands its search for dark matter

  12-08-2016 21:14
  
  Dark matter, the mysterious substance that constitutes most of the material universe, remains as elusive as ever. Although experiments on the ground and in space have yet to find a trace of dark matter, the results are helping scientists rule out some of the many theoretical possibilities. Three studies published earlier this year, using six or more years of data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, have broadened the mission's dark matter hunt using some novel approaches.
  
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• Material for polymer solar cells may lend itself to large-area processing

  12-08-2016 20:40
  
  For all the promise they have shown in the lab, polymer solar cells still need to "get on a roll" like the ones employed in printing newspapers so that large sheets of acceptably efficient photovoltaic devices can be manufactured continuously and economically. Polymer solar cells offer advantages over their traditional silicon-based counterparts in numerous ways, including lower cost, potentially smaller carbon footprint and a greater variety of uses.
  
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• California may beef up electric vehicle mandate

  12-08-2016 20:36
  
  A California lawmaker told The Associated Press on Friday that she's introducing legislation to require that 15 percent of new vehicles be emission-free in less than a decade, a significant escalation in the state's efforts to speed the evolution of new car technology.
  
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• Scientists to unveil new Earth-like planet: report

  12-08-2016 20:27
  
  Scientists are preparing to unveil a new planet in our galactic neighbourhood which is "believed to be Earth-like" and orbits its star at a distance that could favour life, German weekly Der Spiegel reported Friday.
  
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• Sounds from your hard disk drive can even be used to steal a PC's data - PCWorld

  12-08-2016 19:53 via pcworld.com
  
  Tech Times
  Sounds from your hard disk drive can even be used to steal a PC's data
  PCWorld
  Researchers have found a way to steal a PC's data by using the mechanical noise coming from the hard disk drives inside. It's not a very practical hack, but the scheme has been designed for “air-gapped” systems, or computers that have been sectioned ...
  Hard drive sounds used to steal data from air-gapped computersExtremeTech
  Even Hard Disk Sounds Can Be Used By Hackers Now To Crack SystemsTech
  
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• Alleged iPhone 7 assembly schematics seem to kill hope for dual-speakers & more - 9 to 5 Mac

  12-08-2016 19:18 via 9to5mac.com
  
  9 to 5 Mac
  Alleged iPhone 7 assembly schematics seem to kill hope for dual-speakers & more
  9 to 5 Mac
  These alleged iPhone 7 schematics, according to NWE, leaked from an assembly plant that is presumably now kicking into production with little more than a month to go before the introduction of the device. While the leak doesn't claim to show anything ...
  The iPhone 7 is going to be so much more exciting than you thinkBGR
  If you want a cheap iPhone, wait until SeptemberCult of Mac
  Alleg
  
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• Facebook is Using Humans to Make Your News Feed Better

  12-08-2016 19:08 via nbcnews.com
  
  Facebook is once again tweaking its news feed algorithm to make sure its 1.71 billion users walk away feeling informed.
  
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• Perseid Meteor Shower Peak Lights Up Night Sky

  12-08-2016 18:51
  
  The "shooting stars" travel up to 132,000 mph, according to NASA.
  
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• Puerto Rico Reports 10,690 Zika Cases Amid Ongoing Epidemic

  12-08-2016 18:09
  
  The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has reported 1,914 new Zika cases over the past week
  
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• Researchers demonstrate acoustic levitation of a large sphere

  12-08-2016 17:00
  
  When placed in an acoustic field, small objects experience a net force that can be used to levitate the objects in air. In a new study, researchers have experimentally demonstrated the acoustic levitation of a 50-mm (2-inch) solid polystyrene sphere using ultrasound—acoustic waves that are above the frequency of human hearing.
  
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• Fin24.com | Union embarks on ‘fully-blown’ Telkom strike

  12-08-2016 16:47
  
  Hundreds of Telkom staff have launched strike action against the company this week over a pay dispute.
  
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• Smiley faces at small company making popular emoji apps

  12-08-2016 16:40
  
  Mobile apps that allow users to create their own emojis or share the stylized images of NBA star Stephen Curry and other celebrities are paying off for a small upstate New York company.
  
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• Discovery of a unique subcellular structure determining the orientation of cell division

  12-08-2016 16:30
  
  Cell division is a fundamental process of life, producing two cells from one single cell at each cell division. During animal development, a fertilized egg divides many times, increasing the number of cells, which are precisely organized within the animal's body. How many times a cell undergoes cell division and how the two daughter cells are positioned after the division can be critical for shaping the animal. Although the machinery essential for cell division is well characterized and evolutio
  
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• India court lifts ban on large diesel cars in Delhi

  12-08-2016 16:17
  
  India's top court Friday lifted a ban on the registration of new high-end diesel vehicles in New Delhi after carmakers said they had been left stranded with thousands of unsold SUVs.
  
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• Study establishes the first public collection of bacteria from the intestine of mice

  12-08-2016 16:04
  
  Mouse models are extensively used in pharmaceutical and medical research, and it is known that the communities of microbes in their intestine can have a significant impact on the research output. However, there is still insufficient information available about many bacteria inhabiting the intestine of mice. For the first time, a collection of cultured bacterial strains provides comprehensive information on the mouse gut microbiota: Scientists at the Technical University of Munich were able to is
  
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• Global crosstalk limits gene regulation

  12-08-2016 15:57
  
  Scientists at the interface of biophysics, evolutionary biology and systems biology develop new framework to analyze effects of global crosstalk on gene regulation | interdisciplinary collaboration between three IST Austria research groups leads to publication in Nature Communications.
  
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• 'Chemtrails' not real, say leading atmospheric science experts

  12-08-2016 15:50
  
  Well-understood physical and chemical processes can easily explain the alleged evidence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program, commonly referred to as "chemtrails" or "covert geoengineering," concludes a new study from Carnegie Science, University of California Irvine, and the nonprofit organization Near Zero.
  
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• Ad blockers strike back against Facebook

  12-08-2016 15:37 via rss.cnn.com
  
  It's Facebook versus the ad blockers, round two.
  
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• WATCH: Volkswagen Owners Susceptible to Thefts

  12-08-2016 15:33
  
  Hackers have created a wireless device that can clone the keys to select Volkswagen model cars.
  
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• 'Rogue One' trailer brings back Darth Vader

  12-08-2016 15:33 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Darth Vader made his evil, yet very brief, return to the "Star Wars" universe as Disney (DIS)'s new trailer for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" gave us a small glimpse of the classic galactic villain in the upcoming film.
  
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• Fin24.com | Couple wrongly ID'd as scammers sue internet firm

  12-08-2016 15:24
  
  A couple living on a farm in the US state of Kansas is suing an internet company for incorrectly identifying their home as the source of countless illicit activities.
  
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• Persistence makes the difference in minority participation in science, researchers say

  12-08-2016 15:00
  
  The problem of persistence has long troubled undergraduate programs hoping to guide promising students from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups into science careers, but a new study by science education researchers at the University of Wisconsin says that the problem appears to be translating students' initial interest into confidence that they can proceed in science. About half of all students from historically underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds say they want to pursue science when t
  
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• Panel offers advice on how to combat climate-change "neoskepticism"

  12-08-2016 15:00
  
  A small panel of researchers has addressed what they suggest is a new threat to combating climate change—neoskepticism—where people believe climate change is real, but do not believe there is anything that can be done about it, by penning a letter addressing adherents in a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science. The essayists, Paul Stern with the National Research Council, John Perkins with The Evergreen State College, Richard Sparks with the University of Illinois and Robert Knox
  
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• New measurement with deuterium nucleus confirms proton radius puzzle is real

  12-08-2016 14:00
  
  A large team made up of researchers from across the globe has repeated experiments conducted several years ago that showed a different radius for a proton when it was orbited by a muon as opposed to an electron—a finding dubbed the proton radius puzzle—using a deuterium nucleus this time and has found the same puzzle. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes the experiments they conducted, what they found and offer a few possible ideas to help dispel the no
  
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• Missing for a century, Singapore-born manatees re-settle in Caribbean

  12-08-2016 13:58
  
  Two Singapore-born manatees which were flown halfway around the world this week under a programme to restore Caribbean populations of the endangered sea cows are settling in well in Guadeloupe, their carers said.
  
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• Dig extended at site of 1750s British, American encampments

  12-08-2016 13:53
  
  An archaeological dig that was supposed to wrap up this week at an 18th century military site has yielded such intriguing artifacts the project has been extended, the archaeologist leading the excavations said.
  
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• White lasers demonstrates data speeds of up to 2 Gbps

  12-08-2016 13:40
  
  A nanocrystalline material that rapidly makes white light out of blue light has been developed by KAUST researchers.
  
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• See the light, get the data

  12-08-2016 13:40
  
  A nanocrystalline material that rapidly makes white light out of blue light has been developed by KAUST researchers1.
  
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• The rights of men: Medieval charter from King Edward I authenticated

  12-08-2016 13:36
  
  Medieval scholars at the University of Lincoln, UK, have authenticated a 700-year-old king's charter that put an end to a tax scandal blighting the historic city.
  
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• New computer programme replicates handwriting

  12-08-2016 13:33
  
  In a world increasingly dominated by the QWERTY keyboard, UCL computer scientists have developed software which may spark the comeback of the handwritten word by analysing the handwriting of any individual and accurately replicating it.
  
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• Scientists find de-icing agent remains stable at more than a million atmospheres of pressure

  12-08-2016 13:32
  
  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have combined X-ray diffraction and vibrational spectroscopy measurements together with first-principle calculations to examine the high-pressure structural behavior of magnesium chloride.
  
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• Performance Review Company Ditches Performance Reviews

  12-08-2016 13:27 via nbcnews.com
  
  Germany's SAP, maker of software used to grade the performance of millions of employees worldwide, is ditching its own annual performance reviews.
  
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• Twitter Denies #SaveTwitter Rumors of its Demise

  12-08-2016 13:19 via nbcnews.com
  
  Twitter denied on Thursday rumors that the social media messaging service will be shutting down in 2017.
  
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• South Korea to review toxins data disclosure process

  12-08-2016 13:00
  
  South Korea plans to review if there was any negligence in the government's handling of sick workers' inquiries about workplace toxins, after an Associated Press investigation found the government repeatedly withheld such information following requests from Samsung.
  
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• Fin24.com | Vodacom 'responds' to Telkom FreeMe data deals

  12-08-2016 12:55
  
  Vodacom has become the first network to respond to drastic mobile price cuts from Telkom – quietly unveiling a variety of new contract packages.
  
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• Not all is green in Mexico City's Aztec garden district

  12-08-2016 12:50
  
  Colorful gondolas lazily ferry tourists around the floating gardens of Mexico City's Xochimilco district, but not all is green in this idyllic vestige of the Aztec empire increasingly choked by urbanization.
  
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• Dead trees don't fuel megafires

  12-08-2016 12:45
  
  In the western United States, warming temperatures and insects like pine beetles and bark beetles have killed trees across more than half a million square kilometers of forest in recent decades, leading to widespread concern that abundant dead fuels may lead to megafires in our forests.
  
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• Developing the next generation of solar cells

  12-08-2016 12:15
  
  Through a $900,000 grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the George Washington University has joined a partnership to develop novel solar cells and create what has the potential to be the world's most efficient solar panel.
  
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• Researchers develop a low-power always-on camera with gesture recognition

  12-08-2016 12:11
  
  Smart devices that wake up with voice commands have gained popularity in recent years, and now researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have taken it one step farther: an always-on camera.
  
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• School quality, genetics play role in child's reading ability

  12-08-2016 11:57
  
  Good genes can give a young child a head start when it comes to learning to read, but it's not enough to overcome the effects of a poorly rated school.
  
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• Forest fragmentation a danger to vulnerable species

  12-08-2016 11:53
  
  Research stemming from the EU-funded TERRAGEN project has found that forest fragmentation has prompted a decline in species sensitive to changes in light, moisture and temperature.
  
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• Global business to China: Scrap cyber rules

  12-08-2016 11:45 via rss.cnn.com
  
  China's plan to tighten its grip on the Internet is upsetting companies around the world.
  
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• Atlantic hurricane season still expected to be strongest since 2012

  12-08-2016 11:40
  
  In its updated 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook, NOAA calls for a higher likelihood of a near-normal or above-normal season, and decreases the chance of a below-normal season to only 15 percent, from the initial outlook issued in May. The season is still expected to be the most active since 2012.
  
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• July warmer than average, year to date 3rd warmest for Lower 48

  12-08-2016 11:39
  
  July's reputation for sizzle didn't disappoint, bringing record warm temperatures to Florida and New Mexico and much above-average temperatures across the South, the East Coast and Alaska.
  
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• Random walk into captivity

  12-08-2016 11:30
  
  The cell's internal skeleton undergoes constant restructuring. LMU physicists now show that its constituent proteins can be efficiently transported to their sites of action by diffusion – provided they can be arrested when they get there.
  
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• Scientists work on an alternative to carry data

  12-08-2016 11:29
  
  Installing new optical fibres is expensive. So network operators want to make better use of their existing capacities. A new type of laser diode from Darmstadt could help. It has now been put into practice with the industry.
  
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