Sci-Tech news

• Innovation, safety sought in self-driving car guidelines

  20-09-2016 23:30
  
  Saying they were doing something no other government has done, Obama administration officials rolled out a plan Tuesday they say will enable automakers to get self-driving cars onto the road without compromising safety.
  
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• Spotify-Tinder hookup adds music to romance

  20-09-2016 23:20
  
  Spotify and Tinder said Tuesday they are hooking up to give people a little extra help in the dating game, by adding music preferences to the matchmaking application.
  
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• Samsung says replacements available for recalled Note 7 (Update)

  20-09-2016 23:11
  
  Samsung says new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will be available in U.S. stores starting Wednesday to replace about 1 million devices that are being recalled because their batteries can catch fire.
  
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• Samsung says replacements available for recalled Note 7

  20-09-2016 23:11
  
  Samsung says new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones will be available in U.S. stores starting Wednesday to replace about 1 million devices that are being recalled because of a problem with batteries catching fire.
  
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• 3-D animated video simulates landscape changes over 150 years

  20-09-2016 22:58
  
  If you see photos of the Jornada Basin from the early 1900s, the vegetation is quite different than it is now. But explaining the story of how and why the vegetation changed on the land northeast of Las Cruces is difficult with just words and pictures.
  
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• Researchers develop more efficient, reliable means of electrically contacting graphene

  20-09-2016 22:43
  
  Researchers from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) devised a new way to electrically contact graphene with liquid metals rather than typical rigid electrodes such as gold and silver. Using this new method, the team demonstrated low-contact resistance with a graphene material that is comparable to the best examples published in scientific literature, but with added advantages such as flexibility and low cost.
  
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• New Hikari supercomputer starts solar HVDC

  20-09-2016 22:41
  
  The roar can be deafening. Cooling fans and power supplies whoosh and whine from rows and rows of supercomputers at the main data center of the Texas Advanced Computing Center in Austin. The power bill at TACC can reach over a million dollars a year to keep the machines humming. But there's a stranger in town that might change how data centers power their systems.
  
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• As the Govt Takes the Wheel, How Will Self-Driving Tech Change?

  20-09-2016 22:40 via nbcnews.com
  
  "This is just the first step," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, after the Dept released federal guidelines for self-driving vehicles.
  
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• Rare sea life found in mysterious underwater 'mountains'

  20-09-2016 22:30
  
  Scientists recently traveled thousands of miles below the ocean's surface to explore underwater mountain ranges of cone-shaped dormant and active volcanoes with peaks rising 9,843 feet (3,000 meters) above the seafloor off the coast of Hawaii
  
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• Google ad hints of new smartphones to come on Oct. 4 - Computerworld

  20-09-2016 22:13
  
  Computerworld
  Google ad hints of new smartphones to come on Oct. 4
  Computerworld
  Google released an intriguing new video on prime time TV Monday that hints of an Oct. 4 announcement of two new smartphones -- the Pixel X and Pixel XL. The 30-second spot, also posted on Google-owned YouTube, shows a search bar rectangle that ...
  Google Pixel phones: Everything we know about the release date, price and specs of Google's rumored Nexus ...CNET
  Google teases mysterious October 4th launch with mo
  
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• New Comprehensive Approach to Inland Fisheries Management

  20-09-2016 22:00
  
  Managing inland fisheries in the 21st century presents several obstacles including the need to view fisheries from multiple scales, which usually involves populations and resources spanning sociopolitical boundaries. Inland fisheries managers are increasingly using Transboundary Fisheries Science, a strategy that involves organization, cooperation, analytics and implementation, as an interdisciplinary and holistic approach for understanding and managing ecosystems across larger scales. A new stu
  
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• Study explores thermoelectric screen printing

  20-09-2016 21:59
  
  What if you could easily print a thin layer of material – for use anywhere – that would allow you to create flexible energy harvesters or coolers? That may soon be a reality.
  
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• How the TV show "Mr. Robot" won the prize for hacker realism

  20-09-2016 21:49
  
  Finally, the computer hackers of the world have a TV show they can call their own.
  
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• Sierra update arrives on Macs: Four things to look for

  20-09-2016 21:48
  
  The latest software update for Mac computers, MacOS Sierra, brings iPhone services to Apple laptops and desktops and further breaks down walls between devices. It also borrows an iPad feature for watching video while you work and offers ways to automatically free up storage space.
  
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• Bison decapitated, three missing from Spanish reserve

  20-09-2016 21:47
  
  Spanish police were on Tuesday investigating the decapitation of a European bison and the disappearance of three others from a nature reserve which was set to start a breeding programme for the species.
  
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• 2016's hellish summer weather: A told-you-so climate moment?

  20-09-2016 21:43
  
  This summer's weather was relentless and hellish, crowded with the type of record-smashing extremes that scientists have long warned about.
  
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• Soil management may help stabilize maize yield in the face of climate change

  20-09-2016 21:42
  
  How will we feed our growing population in the face of an increasingly extreme climate? Many experts suggest the answer lies in breeding novel crop varieties that can withstand the increases in drought, heat, and extreme rainfall events predicted in the not-too-distant future. But breeding is only part of the equation, according to new research from the University of Illinois and several collaborating institutions across the Midwestern U.S.
  
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• WATCH: Nozzle of Rocket Booster Blows Apart During NASA Test Firing

  20-09-2016 21:22 via abcnews.go.com
  
  NASA has released new slow-motion footage showing the June 28 test of a booster that will help power the Space Launch System, a rocket that will allow for deep-space missions including a hoped-for trip to Mars.
  
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• Removing cellular bookmarks smooths the path to stem cells

  20-09-2016 20:25
  In reading, a bookmark tells where you stopped. Cells use bookmarks too, specific proteins that help the cell remember what collection of genes needs to be turned on again after the brief halt of gene expression during cell division. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are exploring the implications removing those bookmarks has on the promise of stem cells.
  
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• MIT Scientists Develop New Method to Deliver Beneficial Bacteria to the GI Tract

  20-09-2016 19:53 via scitechdaily.com
  
  By coating bacteria with polymer layers that protect them from the acids and bile salts found in the digestive tract, scientists from MIT have developed a new strategy for delivering large numbers of beneficial bacterial to the human gut. The human digestive tract contains trillions of bacteria, many of which help digest food and fight […]
  The post MIT Scientists Develop New Method to Deliver Beneficial Bacteria to the GI Tract appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• CfA Astronomers Confirm and Characterize Exoplanet K2-33b

  20-09-2016 19:33 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics take a closer look at migrating exoplanets. Many known exoplanets orbit close to their host star, within one-tenth of an astronomical unit (one AU is the average distance of the Earth from the Sun). Since their orbital periods are therefore very short and their gravitational influences on the […]
  The post CfA Astronomers Confirm and Characterize Exoplanet K2-33b appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Archaeologists unearth fisherman's house in Israel

  20-09-2016 19:30
  
  Dozens of Israeli children participating in an archaeological project aimed to educate them about their past have uncovered buildings used by fishermen along the Mediterranean coast as much as half a millennium ago.
  
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• New research shows how amyloid beta enters brain cells

  20-09-2016 19:25
  
  Researchers have known that the peptide amyloid beta plays a role in causing Alzheimer's disease, but they are still working to determine how it becomes toxic.
  
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• Volkswagen emissions cheat may lead to 50 premature deaths, $423 million in economic costs, study finds

  20-09-2016 19:24
  
  Beginning in 2008, Volkswagen installed software to circumvent emissions testing by turning off the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions control system in real-world driving in nearly half a million cars. A new analysis using a tool developed and used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the health and economic impacts related to air quality calculates that a single year of elevated emissions from the affected VW vehicles could lead to as many as 50 premature deaths, 3,000 lost workd
  
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• Using nonlinearity in understanding market forces: Researchers clarify factors affecting competitive advantage

  20-09-2016 19:22
  
  There are certain markets within the U.S. and global economies in which two major corporations dominate. For example, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. are the two major firms that compete with each other in the soft drink market. These situations are called duopolies and they create an interesting set of dynamics within the market.
  
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• Novel physical cryptographic technique may have applicability to future nuclear disarmament agreements

  20-09-2016 19:20
  
  A system that can compare physical objects while potentially protecting sensitive information about the objects themselves has been demonstrated experimentally at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). This work, by researchers at Princeton University and PPPL, marks an initial confirmation of the application of a powerful cryptographic technique in the physical world.
  
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• Acoustic metamaterial panel absorbs low-frequency sound

  20-09-2016 19:16
  
  When it comes to low-frequency sound waves, traditional sound-absorbing materials tend to be undesirably bulky, heavy or thick.
  
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• Scientists discover interplay of yin-yang antagonists vital for cell division

  20-09-2016 19:13
  
  How a cell transitions from the G1 phase of the cell cycle to the S phase – a fundamental process of cell division for all eukaryotic cells on Earth – has been a long-studied question in biology. Now UNC School of Medicine scientists discovered that this boundary is regulated by a pair of large enzyme complexes that attack each other in turn to form a molecular switch, which eventually allows the cell cycle to enter into S phase.
  
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• Want More Ways to Be Judged on Tinder? Spotify Can Help.

  20-09-2016 19:11 via nbcnews.com
  
  There's now another way for potential matches to judge Tinder users.
  
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• Researchers Measure Magnetic Fields in the Vicinity of a Black Hole

  20-09-2016 18:58 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A team of researchers has measured the magnetic fields in the vicinity of the supermassive black hole at the center of NGC 1052. Two particle jets shoot out from the heart of active galaxy NGC 1052 at the speed of light, apparently originating in the vicinity of a massive black hole. A team of researchers […]
  The post Researchers Measure Magnetic Fields in the Vicinity of a Black Hole appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Introducing the Daily Minor Planet: Delivering the latest asteroid news

  20-09-2016 18:43
  
  Have you ever wondered what piece of cosmic debris is whizzing past the Earth right now? Do you crave up-to-the-minute information about asteroids large and small? Well you're in luck because today you can subscribe to a new service: the Daily Minor Planet.
  
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• Inexpensive semiconducting organic polymers can harvest sunlight to split carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels

  20-09-2016 18:41
  
  Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have been the first to demonstrate that an organic semiconductor polymer called polyaniline is a promising photocathode material for the conversion of carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels without the need for a co-catalyst.
  
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• US music business in rare growth as streaming doubles

  20-09-2016 18:39
  
  The US music industry Tuesday posted its strongest growth in more than a decade in the first six months as streaming subscriptions doubled, but weakness reigned in other formats.
  
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• August shatters global heat records for 16th month in a row

  20-09-2016 18:38
  
  Last month was the hottest August in modern times and marked the 16th month in a row when global records for heat were shattered planet-wide, US authorities said Tuesday.
  
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• Amsterdam to pilot world's first 'self-drive' boats

  20-09-2016 18:38
  
  Amsterdam's iconic canals may soon see the world's first driverless boats, doing everything from moving people and goods to providing "pop-up" bridges and cleaning up thousands of dumped bicycles, the project's scientists said.
  
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• 'Water bear' protein shields human DNA from X-rays: researchers

  20-09-2016 18:37
  
  A protein unique to a miniscule creature called a water bear, reputedly the most indestructible animal on Earth, protects human DNA from X-ray damage, stunned researchers reported Tuesday.
  
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• Wireless signals can detect your feelings with new device

  20-09-2016 18:33
  
  What if your computer or smartphone could tell if you're happy or sad?
  
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• Feds preview rules of the road for self-driving cars

  20-09-2016 18:30
  
  Obama administration officials are previewing long-awaited guidance that attempts to bring self-driving cars to the nation's roadways safely—without creating so many roadblocks that the technology can't make it to market quickly.
  
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• Monsanto, Bayer officials defend proposed $66 billion merger

  20-09-2016 18:29
  
  Top officials for Monsanto and Bayer defended their proposed $66 billion merger before skeptical senators on Tuesday, insisting that the deal would lead to greater investments in technology that could help American farmers.
  
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• Comcast plans to launch wireless service next year

  20-09-2016 18:29
  
  Comcast plans to launch a cellphone service roughly in the middle of next year, although it would be limited to areas of the country where it's a cable provider.
  
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• Ancient skeleton discovered at Antikythera wreck site

  20-09-2016 17:43
  
  A 2,100-year-old skeleton has been discovered at the famous Antikythera wreck site.
  
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• Fin24.com | Controversial Samsung Note 7 still coming to SA

  20-09-2016 16:57
  
  Samsung says its Note 7 smartphone, which has become synonymous with dangerous explosions across the globe, is still going on sale in South Africa later this year.
  
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• Fin24.com | Instagram, Snapchat are SA's new social media hotshots

  20-09-2016 16:41
  
  Instagram and Snapchat are South Africa's fastest growing social networks, with Facebook still holding the top spot, according to a local survey.
  
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• In the 1950s, Russian scientists set out to domesticate foxes, and succeeded

  20-09-2016 16:22
  
  For more than 50 years, scientists have been gathering foxes from the Russian wilderness and breeding them, picking the most human-friendly to mate to domesticate the supposedly untamable animals, much as dogs once were, Phys.org reports.
  
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• Fin24.com | SA allocates R2.5bn for high-speed broadband push

  20-09-2016 16:03
  
  The South African government has allocated R2.5bn for a push to roll out broadband networks across the country over the next three years, a potential boon to telecommunications carriers such as Telkom.
  
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• Discovery could lead to safer, cheaper production of amine-boranes

  20-09-2016 15:54
  
  Purdue University researchers have developed a way to produce amine-boranes that promises to be safer and cheaper, and could lead to new uses in medicine, energy storage, rocket propulsion and other technologies.
  
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• Cow farts can now be regulated in California

  20-09-2016 15:53
  
  California Gov. Jerry Brown kept up his assault on climate change Monday, pushing through a law meant to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from dairy farms and landfills.
  
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• A low-cost sensor for cystic fibrosis diagnosis

  20-09-2016 15:47
  
  A new, inexpensive method for detecting salt concentrations in sweat or other bodily fluids has been developed by Penn State biomaterials scientists. The fluorescent sensor, derived from citric acid molecules, is highly sensitive and highly selective for chloride, the key diagnostic marker in cystic fibrosis.
  
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• Climate change means land use will need to change to keep up with global food demand, researchers say

  20-09-2016 15:42
  A team of researchers led by the University of Birmingham warns that without significant improvements in technology, global crop yields are likely to fall in the areas currently used for production of the world's three major cereal crops, forcing production to move to new areas.
  
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• Nine innovative approaches that utilities are using to plan for increased rooftop solar

  20-09-2016 15:24
  
  When an individual utility customer decides to add rooftop solar to their home or business, the utility needs to deliver less power to that customer from other sources. A small number of solar adopters may not have much of an impact, but rapid growth in rooftop solar in some parts of the country has the potential to significantly impact the need for generating resources and transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure.
  
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