Sci-Tech news

• Utah is fastest-growing state as West bucks sluggish trend

  20-12-2016 23:29
  
  Utah is the fastest-growing state in the country, leading a cluster of Western states with populations on the upswing despite sluggish national growth, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday.
  
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• Scientists invented method to take material out of theory and make it into real electrode

  20-12-2016 23:27
  
  A little sodium goes a long way. At least that's the case in carbon-based energy technology. Specifically, embedding sodium in carbon materials can tremendously improve electrodes—which could streamline solar cell and supercapacitor production.
  
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• Arctic Inuit, Native American cold adaptations may originate from extinct hominids

  20-12-2016 23:25
  
  In the Arctic, the Inuits have adapted to severe cold and a predominantly seafood diet. After the first population genomic analysis of the Greenland Inuits (Fumagalli, Moltke et al. 2015, Science doi:10.1126/science.aab2319), a region in the genome containing two genes has now been scrutinized by scientists: TBX15 and WARS2. This region is thought to be central to cold adaptation by generating heat from a specific type of body fat, and was earlier found to be a candidate for adaptation in the In
  
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• Small troughs growing on Mars may become 'spiders'

  20-12-2016 23:24
  
  Erosion-carved troughs that grow and branch during multiple Martian years may be infant versions of larger features known as Martian "spiders," which are radially patterned channels found only in the south polar region of Mars.
  
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• Naples astride a rumbling mega-volcano

  20-12-2016 23:07
  
  A slumbering Campi Flegrei volcano under the Italian city of Naples shows signs of "reawakening" and may be nearing a critical pressure point, according to a study published Tuesday.
  
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• Google eyes fix after snafu on Holocaust denial

  20-12-2016 23:06
  
  Google said Tuesday it was working to refine its algorithm to weed out "non-authoritative" information after a British news report showed a Holocaust denial website ranked highly in search queries.
  
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• Oklahoma warns of more quakes from energy drilling

  20-12-2016 23:04
  
  Oklahoma regulators said Tuesday that the number of induced earthquakes could increase as oil and gas production expands in a broad area of the state, and they're telling energy companies that they need to be ready to shut down if a temblor exceeds magnitude 3.5.
  
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• Avalanche statistics suggest Tabby's star is near a continuous phase transition

  20-12-2016 22:55
  
  In its search for extrasolar planets, the Kepler space telescope looks for stars whose light flux periodically dims, signaling the passing of an orbiting planet in front of the star. But the timing and duration of diminished light flux episodes Kepler detected coming from KIC 846852, known as Tabby's star, are a mystery. These dimming events vary in magnitude and don't occur at regular intervals, making an orbiting planet an unlikely explanation. The source of these unusual dimming events is the
  
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• Studies lead to use of melanin as material for bioelectronic devices

  20-12-2016 22:54
  
  Bioelectronics, sometimes called the next medical frontier, is a research field that combines electronics and biology to develop miniaturized implantable devices capable of altering and controlling electrical signals in the human body. Large corporations are increasingly interested: a joint venture in the field has recently been announced by Alphabet, Google's parent company, and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
  
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• Report: Russian cybergang scored millions in fake-ad scam (Update)

  20-12-2016 21:08
  
  A Russian criminal group is running a massive fraud that has been siphoning off millions of digital advertising dollars a day for a couple of months, a firm that specializes in detecting online-ad fraud says.
  
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• Report: Russian cybergang scored millions in fake-ad scam

  20-12-2016 21:08
  
  A firm that specializes in detecting online-ad fraud says a Russian criminal group has run a massive digital-ad fraud over the past few months.
  
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• Neutron diffraction probes forms of carbon dioxide in extreme environments

  20-12-2016 21:07
  
  Carbon dioxide is a key component in the carbon cycle of Earth, both in the atmosphere and in the mantle, or hot layer under Earth's crust. Studies of high pressure, high temperature phases of solid carbon dioxide are important to understand the forms that carbon may adopt at the extreme pressures and temperatures of Earth's interior.
  
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• 'Watershed' discovery reveals plants' medicinal secrets

  20-12-2016 21:05
  
  Metabolons, near-mythical clusters of enzymes, have been discovered for the first time. Using fluorescent tags and microscopy—molecular movie technology - scientists have confirmed their existence, thus unlocking plants' secret medicinal toolbox.
  
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• Computer models find ancient solutions to modern problems

  20-12-2016 21:05
  
  Washington State University archaeologists are at the helm of new research using sophisticated computer technology to learn how past societies responded to climate change.
  
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• Sex cells evolved to pass on quality mitochondria

  20-12-2016 20:23
  
  Mammals immortalise their genes through eggs and sperm to ensure future generations inherit good quality mitochondria to power the body's cells, according to new UCL research.
  
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• Scientists discover new natural source of potent anti-cancer drugs

  20-12-2016 20:20
  
  Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed an efficient process to rapidly discover new "enediyne natural products" from soil microbes that could be further developed into extremely potent anticancer drugs.
  
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• Coffee-ring phenomenon explained in new theory

  20-12-2016 20:20
  
  The formation of a simple coffee stain has been the subject of complex study for decades, though it turns out that there remain some stones still to be turned. Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno have modeled how a colloidal droplet evaporates and found a previously overlooked mechanism that more accurately determines the dynamics of particle deposition in evaporating sessile droplets, which has ramifications in many fields of today's technological world.
  
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• Online sites court procrastinators with speedy shipping

  20-12-2016 20:18
  
  Forget ordering online weeks in advance or dashing out to the drug store for a gift card on Christmas Eve. Procrastinating holiday shoppers are finding a haven online as retailers ramp up expedited shipping and same-day delivery services.
  
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• Study finds ideal method to minimize waffle loss in industrial production

  20-12-2016 20:16
  
  Just under half of U.S. households (48%) opt for frozen varieties of waffles, pancakes, and French toast as their choice for breakfast (Packaged Facts). A study published in the December issue of Journal of Food Science found that waffles baked on steel plates at a high temperature for a short amount of time minimizes the likelihood egg waffle batter will stick to the plate.
  
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• Festive nebulae light up Milky Way Galaxy satellite

  20-12-2016 20:15
  
  The sheer observing power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is rarely better illustrated than in an image such as this. This glowing pink nebula, named NGC 248, is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, just under 200 000 light-years away and yet can still be seen in great detail.
  
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• VLA, ALMA team up to give first look at birthplaces of most current stars

  20-12-2016 20:10
  
  Astronomers have gotten their first look at exactly where most of today's stars were born. To do so, they used the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to look at distant galaxies seen as they were some 10 billion years ago.
  
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• Chemicals of 'emerging concern' mapped in three Great Lakes

  20-12-2016 20:05
  
  For the first time, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have mapped the location of thousands of tons of polyhalogenated carbazoles in the sediment of the Great Lakes and estimated their amount.
  
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• Good news and bad news about forest fragmentation

  20-12-2016 20:02
  
  Over the past centuries, as we humans have cleared fields for farms, built roads and highways, and expanded cities ever outward, we've been cutting down trees. Since 1850, we've reduced global forest cover by one-third. We've also changed the way forests look: much of the world's woodlands now exist in choppy fragments, with 20 percent of the remaining forest within 100 meters of an edge, like a road, backyard, cornfield, or parking lot.
  
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• Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets—using only data as a guide

  20-12-2016 20:00
  
  Yale researchers have found a data-driven way to detect distant planets and refine the search for worlds similar to Earth.
  
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• New point of attack against stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori

  20-12-2016 20:00
  
  There is a strong suspicion that Helicobacter pylori is linked to the development of stomach cancer. Now an international team of researchers led by Prof. Donald R. Ronning (University of Toledo) has used neutrons to unlock the secret to the functionality of an important enzyme in the bacterium's metabolism. This could be used as a point of attack for new medications. The team made the corresponding measurements at the neutron sources in Oak Ridge and at the research neutron source FRM II of the
  
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• NASA sees Tropical Cyclone 02S develop in Southern Indian Ocean

  20-12-2016 20:00
  
  NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Tropical Cyclone 02S in the Southern Indian Ocean and infrared imagery showed that the storm had developed some strong thunderstorms. The new tropical cyclone developed northwest of Western Australia.
  
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• Mapping the molecules made by a lichen's resident microbes

  20-12-2016 19:59
  
  An international team of researchers has spatially mapped molecules produced by an intact, complex microbial community for the first time. Using a tiny slice of lichen, the team used imaging mass spectrometry to track and plot metabolites made by both bacterial and fungal lichen members. Their approach, published this week in mSystems, an open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, shows how researchers can tease apart the chemistry that shapes and maintains a complex, three-di
  
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• Moth's eye inspires critical component on SOFIA's newest instrument

  20-12-2016 18:47
  
  Nature, and more particularly a moth's eye, inspired the technology that allows a new NASA-developed camera to create images of astronomical objects with far greater sensitivity than was previously possible.
  
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• Study pinpoints when the Galapagos Islands developed their unique ecology

  20-12-2016 18:31
  
  The Galápagos Islands are home to a tremendous diversity of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. But why this is, and when it all began, remains something of an open question.
  
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• Black language matters: A linguistic analysis

  20-12-2016 18:29
  
  A new scientific study reveals the critical role that dialect unfamiliarity and prejudice against speakers of African American Vernacular English [AAVE] and other non-standard dialects can play in the criminal justice system. The study, "Language and Linguistics on Trial: Hearing Vernacular Speakers in the Courtroom and Beyond," by John R. Rickford and Sharese King of Stanford University, was published in the December, 2016 issue of the scholarly journal Language.
  
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• Egypt receives ancient stolen limestone relief

  20-12-2016 17:52
  
  The Ministry of Antiquities says Egypt's embassy in London has received a limestone relief that had been stolen from Queen Hatshepsut's temple in Luxor.
  
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• Scientists zero in on biological diversity in 'poor man's rainforest'

  20-12-2016 17:49
  
  The soil beneath our feet is not as biologically diverse as scientists previously thought, according to a research team that includes a Virginia Tech soil microbial ecologist.
  
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• Testing Stem Cells in Tiniest Hearts to Fight Birth Defect

  20-12-2016 17:45 via abcnews.go.com
  Doctors inject stem cells into a baby's heart, a novel experiment to tackle a rare but devastating birth defect
  
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• EU Watchdog Probes Facebook Over WhatsApp Merger

  20-12-2016 17:45 via abcnews.go.com
  The European Commission is investigating whether Facebook gave misleading information about its takeover of mobile messaging service WhatsApp
  
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• Chimpanzees are 'indifferent' when it comes to altruism

  20-12-2016 17:00
  
  New research into chimpanzees suggests that, when it comes to altruistically helping a fellow chimpanzee, they are 'indifferent'.
  
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• Maker of Signal Says App Is Being Blocked in Egypt

  20-12-2016 16:46 via abcnews.go.com
  The maker of an encrypted messaging app often used by journalists and activists in Egypt says the program been blocked by authorities there
  
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• Golden jackals might be settling in the Czech Republic, hint multiple observations

  20-12-2016 16:45
  
  The first living golden jackal in the Czech Republic was reported by researchers from Charles University, Prague. The scientists captured the canid on camera multiple times over the span of a year and a half some 40 km away from the capital. Once considered native to northern Africa and southern Eurasia, the species seems to be quite rapidly extending its range towards the north of Europe. The study is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
  
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• Male bumblebees leave home without looking back

  20-12-2016 16:13
  
  Male bumblebees leave home and fly away without looking back, making no effort to remember the location of the nest, researchers at the University of Exeter have found.
  
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• Stabilizing evolutionary forces keep ants strong

  20-12-2016 16:12
  
  Hokkaido University researchers are finding evidence of natural selection that maintains the status quo among ant populations.
  
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• Predicting future sports rankings from evolving performance

  20-12-2016 16:06
  
  Competitive sports and games are all about the performance of players and teams, which results in performance-based hierarchies. Because such performance is measurable and is the result of varied rules, sports and games are considered a suitable model to help understand unrelated social or economic systems characterised by similar rules-based complexity. Now, a team of Mexican scientists have used the performance of national teams in tennis, chess, golf, poker and football as a test-bed for iden
  
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• Closer ties for silver clusters

  20-12-2016 16:05
  
  Tiny clusters of silver atoms arranged with atomic level precision could become more versatile and useful due to a simpler way to hold them together.
  
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• Preparing for air traffic control via satellite

  20-12-2016 16:00
  
  ESA recently completed its first flight trials using satellites to help bring Europe closer to its goal of modernising air traffic control.
  
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• 'Porch Pirates' on the Prowl: How to Protect Your Packages

  20-12-2016 15:59 via nbcnews.com
  
  You've scoured the internet for deals, ordered your holiday gifts — but the most stressful part might just be ensuring you actually get your packages.
  
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• Scientists bear witness to birth of an ice cloud

  20-12-2016 15:57
  
  Scientists have witnessed the birth of atmospheric ice clouds, creating ice cloud crystals in the laboratory and then taking images of the process through a microscope, essentially documenting the very first steps of cloud formation.
  
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• Fin24.com | Facebook launches Group Video Call through Messenger

  20-12-2016 15:57
  
  First Snapchat announced that users could snap in groups in time for the festive season – now Facebook is allowing Group Video Chats through Facebook Messenger.
  
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• ACA repeal could cost California more than 200,000 jobs

  20-12-2016 15:56
  
  Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act could take away health insurance from millions of Californians, while also eliminating 209,000 jobs and costing the state economy $20.3 billion in GDP, says a new report from the Center for Labor Research and Education at the University of California, Berkeley.
  
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• Characterization of magnetic nanovortices simplified

  20-12-2016 15:53
  
  Magnetic nanovortices, so-called "skyrmions", count among the most promising candidates for the future of information technology. Processors and storage media making use of these tiny structures could one day lead to the further miniaturization of IT devices and improve their energy efficiency significantly. Materials possessing suitable vortices can be identified in particular by their topological charge, an essential characteristic of skyrmions. To determine this property experimentally has up
  
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• Warmer climate threatening to northern birds

  20-12-2016 15:50
  
  Will northern birds such as the Siberian jay and the red-flanked bluetail be gone in 50 years? There is a huge risk since a deteriorating climate for breeding is imminent. Another six species are also under threat and will require particular conservation actions in order to survive, according to Anouschka Hof, former researcher at Umeå University, who has developed a species analysis method.
  
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• Fully functional 'nano-snowman' has applications for providing greener energy

  20-12-2016 15:50
  
  Scientists at the University of Birmingham have captured the formation of a platinum encrusted nanoparticle that bears a striking resemblance to a festive snowman. As well as providing some Christmas cheer, the fully functional 'nano-snowman' has applications for providing greener energy and for advancements in medical care.
  
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• 'Battolyser' technology combines electricity storage and hydrogen production in a single system

  20-12-2016 15:49
  
  For the first time, TU Delft researchers led by Prof. Fokko Mulder have produced an integrated battery electrolysis system – known as a 'battolyser' – that can not only store or supply electricity efficiently as a battery but can also split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. This week the first article about it was published Energy & Environmental Science, and a research programme has been awarded funding by the Technology Foundation STW with the support of severa
  
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