Sci-Tech news

• Bullet fragment shows Wallace the rhino survived poaching attempt

  23-12-2016 23:42
  
  Now there's no more doubt about it: Wallis the rhino was shot. A trail of clues that started more than a year ago with a wound on the left side of Wallis' chest, right over her heart, led the 3,000-pound mammal's caretakers to suspect that someone tried to kill the rhinoceros before she came to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in November 2015.
  
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• Arizona Governor Welcomes Uber Fleet of Self-Driving Cars

  23-12-2016 23:02 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday morning welcomed a fleet of Uber self-driving cars delivered via a self-driving truck that transported them from California
  
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• US allowing work to restart at nuke dump three years after leak

  23-12-2016 22:59
  
  The U.S. Energy Department authorized its contractor Friday to begin disposing of radioactive waste again at the nation's only underground repository, setting the stage for the first barrel to go below ground since a radiation release forced the facility to shut down nearly three years ago.
  
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• US Allowing Work to Restart at Nuke Dump 3 Years After Leak

  23-12-2016 22:15 via abcnews.go.com
  
  The U.S. Energy Department is authorizing its contractor to begin disposing of radioactive waste again at the nation's only underground repository
  
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• Microsoft CMO: Forced Windows 10 upgrades were 'pretty painful' - PCWorld

  23-12-2016 22:00 via pcworld.com
  
  PCWorld
  Microsoft CMO: Forced Windows 10 upgrades were 'pretty painful'
  PCWorld
  This year, Microsoft pushed users on taking advantage of its offer to upgrade their PCs to Windows 10 for free. That meant the company used a variety of tactics to get people to install an updater and run it to replace their old operating systems with ...
  YubiKey for Windows Hello brings hardware-based 2FA to Windows 10ZDNet
  Microsoft Admits Overly Aggressive Windows 10 Upgrade Campaign Was 'Pretty Painful' And Obno
  
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• Valve hit with $2.1 million fine by Australian courts over Steam refunds - PC Gamer

  23-12-2016 21:27 via pcgamer.com
  
  PC Gamer
  Valve hit with $2.1 million fine by Australian courts over Steam refunds
  PC Gamer
  Valve lost its legal battle against Australia's competition watchdog earlier this year, and now it's time to pay up. Shares. An Australian court has ruled that Valve must pay a whopping $AU3 million ($2.15 million US) fine following the loss of its ...
  Valve has been ordered to pay $3 million for violating Australia's consumer lawsDestructoid
  Valve Gets Fined For $2.1 Million By Australian Court For Not P
  
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• Fungus-infecting virus could help track spread of white-nose syndrome in bats

  23-12-2016 20:00
  
  A newly discovered virus infecting the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats could help scientists and wildlife agencies track the spread of the disease that is decimating bat populations in the United States, a new study suggests.
  
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• Watch a Drone Soar Above the Tesla Gigafactory - PC Magazine

  23-12-2016 19:46 via pcmag.com
  
  PC Magazine
  Watch a Drone Soar Above the Tesla Gigafactory
  PC Magazine
  After more than two years of construction, the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada started churning out electric car batteries in 2016, but judging by recent drone footage, it is far from completed. Photographer Matthew Roberts sent a DJI Phantom 3 drone ...
  Drone footage shows Tesla's Gigafactory taking shapeEngadgetall 15 news articles »
  
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• The Arctic is showing stunning winter warmth, and these scientists think they know why - Washington Post

  23-12-2016 19:30 via washingtonpost.com
  
  Washington Post
  The Arctic is showing stunning winter warmth, and these scientists think they know why
  Washington Post
  Last month, temperatures in the high Arctic spiked dramatically, some 36 degrees Fahrenheit above normal — a move that corresponded with record low levels of Arctic sea ice during a time of year when this ice is supposed to be expanding during the ...
  Arctic heatwave could break recordsBBC News
  New data estimates the Arctic lost enough ice this week to cover the UKQu
  
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• Clarification: Uber-Self-Driving Cars-Arizona Story

  23-12-2016 18:40 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Clarification: Uber-Self-Driving Cars-Arizona story
  
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• It's Not Too Late! Last-Minute Stocking Stuffers

  23-12-2016 18:17 via nbcnews.com
  
  Ok, we won't sugar coat it... you're a little late. But not toooooo late! Here are some last-minute tips for low-cost high-tech stocking stuffers.
  
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• NJIT's 'Lead Tank' motors to a medal at the Chem-E-Car Championship

  23-12-2016 18:14
  
  The "Lead Tank," a 25-pound driverless car with an intimidating name and an intricate timing mechanism, made NJIT history by medaling for the first time in the championship round of the Chem-E-Car Competition, held in San Francisco in November. In clinching third place, the shoe-box sized roadster edged out nearly 40 of the best teams from around the world.
  
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• NASA sees wind shear's effects on Tropical Cyclone Yvette

  23-12-2016 16:46
  
  Tropical Storm Yvette was being battered by vertical wind shear when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean.
  
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• Hard-wired: The brain's circuitry for political belief

  23-12-2016 16:43
  
  A USC-led study confirms what seems increasingly true in American politics: People become more hard-headed in their political beliefs when provided with contradictory evidence.
  
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• Arizona governor welcomes Uber fleet of self-driving cars (Update)

  23-12-2016 16:43
  
  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Friday welcomed the arrival of a fleet of Uber self-driving cars delivered via a self-driving truck that transported them from California.
  
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• Arizona governor to welcome Uber self-driving cars

  23-12-2016 16:43
  
  Gov. Doug Ducey plans to welcome the scheduled arrival Friday of Uber self-driving cars as a self-driving truck transports them to Arizona from California.
  
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• NASA tracking a stronger Tropical Storm Nock-Ten

  23-12-2016 16:42
  
  NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Nock-ten as it continued to move west toward the Philippines where it is locally called "Nina."
  
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• Carbanion analogs derived from naturally-occurring aldehydes

  23-12-2016 15:50
  
  (Phys.org)—Researchers from McGill University in Montreal have devised a novel carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction that serves as an alternative to a nucleophilic addition reaction of an organometallic compound to a carbonyl (e.g., Grignard reaction). Common aldehydes, when reacted with hydrazine to form hydrazones, are then activated with a ruthenium-based catalyst and serve as the nucleophilic carbanions that attack an electrophilic carbonyl, forming secondary or tertiary alcohols. This
  
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• Meet the cost-efficient wave turbine

  23-12-2016 15:30
  
  Marmok-5, a new device using wave-powered turbines to generate up to 30kW of electricity, has recently been deployed at the BiMEP site, on the northern coast of Spain. The device produces enough energy to run a medium-sized business.
  
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• Mapping the risk of wolf attacks on livestock in central Italy

  23-12-2016 15:20
  
  The Apennine's areas in the Umbria region of central Italy, in particular Gubbio and Norcia, are at the greatest risk of wolf attacks on livestock farms, according to new research from the University of Portsmouth.
  
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• Still no violation of Lorentz symmetry, despite strongest test yet

  23-12-2016 15:10
  
  (Phys.org)—Physicists have found the strongest evidence yet for no violation of Lorentz symmetry, one of the fundamental symmetries of relativity. Lorentz symmetry states that the outcome of an experiment does not depend on certain aspects of its surroundings, namely the velocity and the direction of its moving reference frame—properties that become relevant when studying astronomical objects and launching satellites, for instance, as well as for unifying quantum mechanics and genera
  
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• Keeping tabs on aging power cables to prevent outages

  23-12-2016 15:10
  
  Switzerland's power grid comprises over 250,000 kilometers of lines. Composed of a transmission and a distribution network, the voltage is gradually reduced from 380,000 to 230 volts enroute to the consumer. The aboveground transmission network, some sections of which are more than 40 years old, measures 6,700 kilometers. As it is designed for considerably smaller amounts of electricity from predominantly central power stations, it only partially satisfies today's needs. Nowadays, considerably l
  
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• Wild strawberry that inhibits the development of the spotted-wing Drosophila fly

  23-12-2016 15:00
  
  The so-called spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) was first described from Japan in the 1930s. In 2008 it was recognized as an emerging global pest of soft-fruit crops. Among commercially important fruits, D. suzukii can drastically diminish yields of cherries, raspberries, peaches, plums, grapes and strawberries. Unlike other drosophilid species, the females of the species lay their eggs in fresh rather than fermenting fruits. When the larvae hatch, they consume the fruit pulp within a
  
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• Eye tracking technology to assist navigation and other applications

  23-12-2016 14:50
  
  Pedestrians often try to find their way about using their smartphones. The computer scientist Peter Kiefer and the geomatics expert Martin Raubal are at work together trying to make things easier for them. They work at the GeoGazeLab at ETH Zurich and are trying to refine smartphone maps so that pedestrians will find their way perfectly in any new environment. To this end they are developing special systems that involve attaching an eye-tracking module to one's head. These modules comprise diffe
  
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• Astronomers observe rise and fall of the dust shell of nova V339 Delphini

  23-12-2016 14:50
  
  (Phys.org)—A team of astronomers led by Aneurin Evans of the Keele University, U.K., has observed the classical nova V339 Delphini (V339 Del for short) and spotted some peculiar changes in its dust shell. These observations could improve our knowledge about dust formation around stellar remnants. The results of the observational campaign are presented in a paper published Dec. 19 on the arXiv pre-print repository.
  
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• 'DiplomaCity'— Learning networks of cities for a sustainable future

  23-12-2016 14:46
  
  "I'm out to prove the obvious," says best-selling author Parag Khanna, "More connectivity is better." "The transfer of technology and best practices" through learning networks of cities are "incredibly important, more important than every climate summit that's ever been held in the world."
  
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• Robot 'learns' how to function in human environments

  23-12-2016 14:45
  
  Think your office is too cluttered for a robot to deal with? New research from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm shows how robots can autonomously 'learn' their way around a dynamic human environment.
  
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• A house designed for drought

  23-12-2016 14:42
  
  A team of UC Davis students are tackling the California drought through innovative housing design with their entry for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 Solar Decathlon.
  
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• Multi-core processors for mobility and industry 4.0

  23-12-2016 14:41
  
  Safety-critical applications in automobility, aviation, and industry 4.0 will require far more digital computation capacity in the future. This requirement can be met by multi-core technologies. Using demonstrators, the ARAMiS project coordinated by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) proved that multi-core processors are suited in principle for safety-critical applications. On this basis, the ARAMiS II project was started recently to study and optimize development processes, development too
  
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• Study of bat vocalizations shows they are communicating with one another

  23-12-2016 14:40
  
  (Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with Tel Aviv University has found that when Egyptian fruit bats make noises in their colonies, they are actually communicating with one another. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Yosef Prat, Mor Taub and Yossi Yovel describe their study of 22 captive bats for over two months and what recordings of them revealed.
  
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• 3-D-compatible germanium nMOS gate stack with high mobility and superior reliability

  23-12-2016 14:40
  
  International Electron Devices Meeting 2016 (IEDM) - Dec. 7, 2016 - At this week's IEEE IEDM conference, imec, the world-leading research and innovation hub in nano-electronics and digital technologies showed for the first time a silicon (Si)-passivated germanium (Ge) nMOS gate stack with dramatically reduced interface defect density (DIT) reaching the same level as a Si gate stack and with high mobility and reduced positive bias temperature instability (PBTI). These promising results pave the w
  
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• What will you do with your extra second?

  23-12-2016 14:39
  
  This New Year's countdown will be one second longer as the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) introduces the 27th leap second into UTC(NPL), the UK's timescale. The additional second will keep the timescale based on atomic clocks in sync with time based on the Earth's rotation.
  
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• Silence—everyday betrayals of research participants

  23-12-2016 14:37
  
  Many of them were watching the evening TV news on the BBC, with no idea of the blow that was about to hit. They were cancer patients at a center in Bristol, and participating in a study. The researchers had reported in The Lancet that the patients were 3 times as likely to have their cancer return, and twice as likely to die. There was a press release and a press conference – but no communication with the participants. Liz Hunt interviewed some of them:
  
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• Dinosaur bonebeds and biogeography—what the tiniest fossils tell us about the largest patterns

  23-12-2016 14:36
  
  Discovering new dinosaurs is very romantic, isn't it? A team of plucky explorers stumbles across a small bone sticking out of a cliff, and after a bit of digging around it reveals a complete dinosaur skeleton, and a totally new species to science! I mean, that's how it always happens, right?
  
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• Stability challenge in perovskite solar cell technology

  23-12-2016 14:35
  
  While solar cell technology is currently being used by many industrial and government entities, it remains prohibitively expensive to many individuals who would like to utilize it.. There is a need for cheaper, more efficient solar cells than the traditional silicon solar cells so that more people may have access to this technology. One of the current popular topics in photovoltaic technology research centers around the use of organic-inorganic halide perovskites as solar cells because of the hi
  
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• Would you eat a 3-D printed pizza?

  23-12-2016 14:34
  
  Could you imagine serving a 3-D printed turkey for Christmas lunch? Or munching on a 3-D printed pizza for an afternoon snack?
  
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• Small wind turbines—a glimmer of hope for Poland's wind energy sector?

  23-12-2016 14:34
  
  A new Polish law imposing rules for the installation of wind turbines is likely to limit the development of renewables in the country, which continues to focus on its main energy source, coal. However, small wind turbines, which fall outside the scope of the recent measures, could represent a loophole for the wind energy sector
  
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• Biologist disputes conclusions of recent papers on biological magnetism

  23-12-2016 14:34
  
  Caltech biologist Markus Meister is disputing recent research claiming to have solved what he describes as "the last true mystery of sensory biology"—the ability of animals to detect magnetic fields. This "magnetic sense" provides a navigational aid to a variety of organisms, including flies, homing pigeons, moles, and bats. 
  
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• World's first vertically stacked gate-all-around Si nanowire CMOS transistors

  23-12-2016 14:30
  
  At this week's IEEE IEDM conference, world-leading research and innovation hub for nano-electronics and digital technology, imec, reported for the first time the CMOS integration of vertically stacked gate-all-around (GAA) silicon nanowire MOSFETs. Key in the integration scheme is a dual-work-function metal gate enabling matched threshold voltages for the n- and p-type devices. Also, the impact of the new architecture on intrinsic ESD performance was studied, and an ESD protection diode is propo
  
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• System of flat optical lenses that can be easily mass-produced and integrated with image sensors

  23-12-2016 14:23
  
  Engineers at Caltech have developed a system of flat optical lenses that can be easily mass-produced and integrated with image sensors, paving the way for cheaper and lighter cameras in everything from cell phones to medical devices.
  
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• New tag revolutionizes whale research

  23-12-2016 14:23
  
  A sophisticated new type of "tag" on whales that can record data every second for hours, days and weeks at a time provides a view of whale behavior, biology and travels never before possible, scientists from Oregon State University reported today in a new study.
  
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• Breakthrough work that advances path for nanoscale spin-wave majority gates

  23-12-2016 14:20
  
  At the Annual Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, imec, the world-leading research and innovation center in nano-electronics and digital technologies, presented breakthrough results supporting the building of technology-relevant majority gates based on spin waves. Reporting two industry-first achievements that are crucial for ultralow-power beyond-CMOS technology, imec demonstrated the generation and detection of spin waves in sub-micron-sized magnetic waveguides with wavelengths sma
  
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• Tapping into long-lived sound waves in glass

  23-12-2016 14:16
  
  Yale scientists have shown how to enhance the lifetime of sound waves traveling through glass—the material at the heart of fiber optic technologies. The discovery will be described in the January edition of the journal Nature Materials.
  
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• Family of Bears Likely Killed From Eating Poisonous Plant

  23-12-2016 14:15 via abcnews.go.com
  Game commission officials say a poisonous ornamental shrub likely killed a black bear and her three cubs found dead on a church parking lot in northeastern Pennsylvania
  
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• Before You Fly — How Hackable Is In-Flight Wi-Fi?

  23-12-2016 14:03 via nbcnews.com
  
  With holiday travel stress, internet security may be the last thing on your mind.
  
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• Consumer Reports Gives MacBook Pro the Thumbs Down

  23-12-2016 13:37 via nbcnews.com
  
  Apple's latest MacBook Pro laptops have failed to achieve recommended ratings from Consumer Reports for the first time in the product's history.
  
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• WATCH: Tesla Tops 2016 Consumer Satisfaction Survey

  23-12-2016 13:25 via abcnews.go.com
  
  The luxury electric automaker beats out Porsche in owner satisfaction.
  
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• Image: Pandora up close

  23-12-2016 12:55
  
  This image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft is one of the highest-resolution views ever taken of Saturn's moon Pandora. Pandora (52 miles, 84 kilometers) across orbits Saturn just outside the narrow F ring.
  
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• Devices that convert heat into electricity one step closer to reality

  23-12-2016 12:48
  
  The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry.
  
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• Researchers achieve ultimate resolution limit in fluorescence microscopy

  23-12-2016 12:42
  
  It is the holy grail of light microscopy: improving the resolving power of this method such that one can individually discern molecules that are very close to each other. Scientists around the Nobel laureate Stefan Hell at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have now achieved what was for a long time considered impossible – they have developed a new fluorescence microscope, called MINFLUX, allowing, for the first time, to optically separate molecules, which
  
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