Sci-Tech news

• A hurricane shouldn't bankrupt your insurance company.

  27-02-2017 23:05
  
  When a storm puts a tree branch through your roof, or a flood damages your foundation, you turn to your insurance company to pay for the repairs. And when it's only one, or two, or even 10 claims, insurance can cover the costs, no problem. But when it's an entire city? An entire state? The price of paying all of those claims at once can sometimes be enough to not only bankrupt the company, but to collapse the economy of an entire region.
  
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• Transforming the carbon economy

  27-02-2017 23:04
  
  Most strategies to combat climate change concentrate on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by substituting non-carbon energy sources for fossil fuels, but a task force commissioned in June 2016 by former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz proposed a framework in December 2016 for evaluating research and development on two additional strategies: recycling carbon dioxide and removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These strategies were developed under a single framework wit
  
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• AT&T-Time Warner deal may have easier path to approval

  27-02-2017 22:53
  
  AT&T's $85 billion purchase of Time Warner may be getting an easier path to approval after the chief telecommunications regulator says it isn't likely to review the deal.
  
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• SpaceX says it will fly two people to moon next year

  27-02-2017 22:52
  
  SpaceX says it will fly two people to the moon next year.
  
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• Study: Less pollution in New Jersey streams, but more salt

  27-02-2017 22:51
  
  A new federal study shows less pollution in most New Jersey streams, but salt levels rising in some places.
  
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• Scientists reach back in time to discover some of the most power-packed galaxies

  27-02-2017 22:50
  
  When the universe was young, a supermassive black hole—bloated to the bursting point with stupendous power—heaved out a jet of particle-infused energy that raced through the vastness of space at nearly the speed of light.
  
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• Newfound primate teeth take a big bite out of the evolutionary tree of life

  27-02-2017 22:46
  
  Fossil hunters have found part of an ancient primate jawbone related to lemurs—the primitive primate group distantly connected to monkeys, apes and humans, a USC researcher said.
  
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• Matching up fruit flies, mushroom toxins and human health

  27-02-2017 22:45
  
  Pulling data from 180 different lines of fruit flies, researchers from Michigan Technological University compared resistance to a toxin found in mushrooms like the Death Cap and Destroying Angel. Their results were published by PLOS ONE this week.
  
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• Kinase discovery sheds new light on several disease processes

  27-02-2017 22:45
  
  New light on a key factor involved in diseases such as Parkinson's disease, gastric cancer and melanoma has been cast through latest University of Otago, New Zealand, research carried out in collaboration with Australian scientists.
  
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• Taking aim at a key malaria molecule

  27-02-2017 22:44
  
  The iron-containing molecule heme is necessary for life. Cells require heme to perform the chemical reactions that produce energy, among other critical tasks.
  
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• Light beam replaces blood test during heart surgery

  27-02-2017 22:42
  
  A University of Central Florida professor has invented a way to use light to continuously monitor a surgical patient's blood, for the first time providing a real-time status during life-and-death operations.
  
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• Slower snowmelt in a warming world

  27-02-2017 22:40
  
  As the world warms, mountain snowpack will not only melt earlier, it will also melt more slowly, according to a new study by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).
  
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• Millennials in PR don't feel ready to give companies advice on moral dilemmas, study finds

  27-02-2017 22:38
  
  Millennials pursuing careers in public relations don't feel ready to give advice on moral dilemmas to their companies. In fact, they don't expect to face ethical dilemmas at work, according to a Baylor University study.
  
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• Dogs, toddlers show similarities in social intelligence

  27-02-2017 22:38
  
  Most dog owners will tell you they consider their beloved pets to be members of their families. Now new research suggests that dogs may be even more like us than previously thought.
  
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• Will naming the Anthropocene lead to acceptance of our planet-level impact?

  27-02-2017 22:36
  
  "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." This phrase—from William Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo & Juliet—is among the most famous acknowledgements in Western culture of the power of naming to shape human perception.
  
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• Invasive and native marsh grasses may provide similar benefits to protected wetlands

  27-02-2017 22:35
  
  An invasive species of marsh grass that spreads, kudzu-like, throughout North American wetlands, may provide similar benefits to protected wetlands as native marsh grasses. According to new research from North Carolina State University, the invasive marsh grass's effects on carbon storage, erosion prevention and plant diversity in protected wetlands are neutral. The findings could impact management strategies aimed at eradicating the invasive grass.
  
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• Volcanic hydrogen spurs chances of finding exoplanet life

  27-02-2017 22:06
  
  Hunting for habitable exoplanets now may be easier: Cornell University astronomers report that hydrogen pouring from volcanic sources on planets throughout the universe could improve the chances of locating life in the cosmos.
  
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• Nano 'sandwich' offers unique properties

  27-02-2017 22:03
  
  Rice University researchers have modeled a nanoscale sandwich, the first in what they hope will become a molecular deli for materials scientists.
  
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• Recovering predators and prey

  27-02-2017 21:59
  
  If you build it, they will come. That's historically been a common approach to species recovery: Grow the prey population first and predators will quickly return. As it turns out, that's not quite the case. A new study has found that restoring predator and prey species simultaneously speeds the recovery efforts of both.
  
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• International team reports ocean acidification spreading rapidly in Arctic Ocean

  27-02-2017 21:57
  
  Ocean acidification (OA) is spreading rapidly in the western Arctic Ocean in both area and depth, according to new interdisciplinary research reported in Nature Climate Change by a team of international collaborators, including University of Delaware professor Wei-Jun Cai.
  
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• Keeping our cool in space

  27-02-2017 21:55
  
  As spacecraft become larger, the heat they produce also increases. That means vehicles built for long-term space exploration need more efficient cooling systems.
  
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• Humans sparked 84 percent of US wildfires, increased fire season over two decades

  27-02-2017 21:00
  
  Humans have dramatically increased the spatial and seasonal extent of wildfires across the U.S. in recent decades and ignited more than 840,000 blazes in the spring, fall and winter seasons over a 21-year period, according to new research.
  
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• A rose to store energy: In vivo polymerization and manufacturing of wires and supercapacitors in plants

  27-02-2017 21:00
  
  A special structure for storing energy known as a supercapacitor has been constructed in a plant for the first time. The plant, a rose, can be charged and discharged hundreds of times. This breakthrough is the result of research at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at Linköping University.
  
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• Online security apps focus on parental control, not teen self-regulation

  27-02-2017 20:00
  
  Mobile apps designed to keep teens safe online are overwhelmingly focused on parental control, which may be only a short-term solution that hinders a teen's ability to learn coping strategies in the long run, according to a team of researchers.
  
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• WSU research advances energy savings for oil, gas industries

  27-02-2017 18:56
  
  A Washington State University research team has improved an important catalytic reaction commonly used in the oil and gas industries. The innovation could lead to dramatic energy savings and reduced pollution.
  
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• A traffic cop for the cell surface: Researchers illuminate a basic biological process

  27-02-2017 18:55
  
  On the surfaces of our trillions of cells is a complex crowd of molecules moving around, talking to each other, occasionally segregating themselves, and triggering basic functions ranging from pain sensation to insulin release.
  
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• Chatting robots and music: fun gadgets on show in Barcelona

  27-02-2017 18:50
  
  While smartphones get top billing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, it's the quirky, under-the-radar products that are getting a lot of the visitors' attention.
  
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• From tools to trash: Marshall's payload stowage team tracks it

  27-02-2017 18:49
  
  For many of us spring cleaning is an annual ritual and it will be here before we know it. Imagine trying to keep everything organized year-round in a five-bedroom house where everything floats. And that house is moving 17,500 miles per hour orbiting the Earth 250 miles above us. That's exactly the job of a small team at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
  
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• ESO Image of the Week – Dawn of a New Era for Supernova 1987A

  27-02-2017 18:41 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This composite image shows Supernova 1987A, one of the brightest supernovae detected since the invention of the telescope. Three decades ago, astronomers spotted one of...
  The post ESO Image of the Week – Dawn of a New Era for Supernova 1987A appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Cassini Tracks Small Objects in Saturn’s F Ring

  27-02-2017 18:17 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft is tracking several small, persistent objects in Saturn’s F ring. These images show two such objects that Cassini originally detected in spring...
  The post Cassini Tracks Small Objects in Saturn’s F Ring appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Gumtree bans donkey sales in S.Africa over skin trade

  27-02-2017 18:10
  
  Online sales website Gumtree said Monday that it had banned advertisements offering donkeys in South Africa to prevent inhumane killings of the animals to meet Chinese demand for their skins.
  
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• S. Africa rhino poaching dipped in 2016, stays above 1,000

  27-02-2017 18:09
  
  Poachers killed 1,054 South African rhinos for their horns in 2016, a 10 percent dip on a year earlier, the environment ministry said Monday, as officials struggle to quell the slaughter.
  
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• 5 bn mobile phone users in 2017: study

  27-02-2017 18:09
  
  The number of mobile phone users globally will surpass five billion by the middle of this year, according to a study released Monday by GSMA, the association of mobile operators.
  
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• Sponge bacterium found to encapsulate arsenic drawn from environment

  27-02-2017 18:08
  
  Arsenic is the leading freshwater contaminant on the planet, affecting millions of people worldwide and causing an untold number of deaths every year. Removing arsenic from groundwater and freshwater is a major challenge still facing scientists and policymakers. Now a new Tel Aviv University study published in Nature Communications sheds light on a unique biological model of arsenic detoxification.
  
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• It may not have been too late to save 'extinct' pigeon

  27-02-2017 18:06
  
  The Passenger Pigeon, a species of pigeon that died out in the early years of the 20th century, could have been saved even after it was considered doomed to extinction.
  
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• Detailed Las Vegas earthquake site classifications could lower construction costs

  27-02-2017 18:00
  
  Results of a massive new project to map and classify the earthquake shaking potential across most of the Las Vegas metropolitan area will help developers there build in safer and less expensive ways.
  
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• NASA’s Cassini Views the North Pole of Saturn

  27-02-2017 17:54 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft captured this new image of Saturn with its wide-angle camera on December 2, 2016. The north pole of Saturn sits at the...
  The post NASA’s Cassini Views the North Pole of Saturn appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Yale Study Shows Fructose is Generated in the Human Brain

  27-02-2017 17:41 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A new study from Yale University shows that fructose, a form of sugar linked to obesity and diabetes, is produced in the human brain from...
  The post Yale Study Shows Fructose is Generated in the Human Brain appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Court may strike law barring sex offenders from social media

  27-02-2017 17:37
  
  The Supreme Court appears likely to strike down a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites.
  
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• Coming soon: Oil spill-mapping swarms of flying drones

  27-02-2017 17:29
  
  Thousands of ants converge to follow the most direct path from their colony to their food and back. A swarm of inexpensive, unmanned drones quickly map an offshore oil spill.
  
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• Scientists develop new tool to reduce risk of triggering manmade earthquakes

  27-02-2017 17:25
  
  A new, freely available software tool developed by Stanford scientists will enable energy companies and regulatory agencies to calculate the probability of triggering manmade earthquakes from wastewater injection and other activities associated with oil and gas production.
  
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• Offline AI revolution awaits smartphones

  27-02-2017 17:25
  
  The smartphone revolution is poised to go onto the next level—with "superphones" equipped with artificial intelligence now on the horizon.
  
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• New technology offers fast peptide synthesis

  27-02-2017 17:22
  
  Manufacturing small proteins known as peptides is usually very time-consuming, which has slowed development of new peptide drugs for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and bacterial infections.
  
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• IRS warns firms, beware of phishing email scam

  27-02-2017 17:21
  
  The IRS is warning employers about a spreading phishing email scam whose targets include companies and that seeks to get employees' Social Security numbers and other information.
  
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• Study shows stem cells fiercely abide by innate developmental timing

  27-02-2017 17:20
  
  The mystery of what controls the range of developmental clocks in mammals—from 22 months for an elephant to 12 days for a opossum—may lie in the strict time-keeping of pluripotent stem cells for each unique species.
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week – S0/Sa Galaxy UGC 12591

  27-02-2017 17:20 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Hubble image shows galaxy UGC 12591, which is located roughly 400 million light-years away. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image showcases the...
  The post Hubble Image of the Week – S0/Sa Galaxy UGC 12591 appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Smart multi-layered magnetic material acts as an electric switch

  27-02-2017 17:16
  
  The nanometric-size islands of magnetic metal sporadically spread between vacuum gaps display unique conductive properties under a magnetic field. In a recent study published in EPJ Plus, Anatoliy Chornous from Sumy State University in Ukraine and colleagues found that the vacuum gaps impede the direct magnetic alignment between the adjacent islands—which depends on the external magnetic field—while allowing electron tunneling between them. Such externally controlled conducting behav
  
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• Super resolution imaging helps determine a stem cell's future

  27-02-2017 17:15
  
  Scientists at Rutgers and other universities have created a new way to identify the state and fate of stem cells earlier than previously possible.
  
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• Triboelectric nanogenerators boost mass spectrometry performance

  27-02-2017 17:00
  
  Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) convert mechanical energy harvested from the environment to electricity for powering small devices such as sensors or for recharging consumer electronics. Now, researchers have harnessed these devices to improve the charging of molecules in a way that dramatically boosts the sensitivity of a widely-used chemical analysis technique.
  
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• Study opens new questions on how the atmosphere and oceans formed

  27-02-2017 17:00
  
  A new study led by The Australian National University (ANU) has found seawater cycles throughout the Earth's interior down to 2,900km, much deeper than previously thought, reopening questions about how the atmosphere and oceans formed.
  
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