Sci-Tech news

• Most electronics being banned on certain US-bound flights

  20-03-2017 23:04 via abcnews.go.com
  The U.S. government is temporarily barring passengers on certain U.S.-bound nonstop flights from eight Middle Eastern and North African countries from bringing most types of electronics in their carry-on luggage starting Tuesday
  
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• This iPhone 8 concept design is the best we've seen yet — check it out - Business Insider

  20-03-2017 23:00
  
  Business Insider
  This iPhone 8 concept design is the best we've seen yet — check it out
  Business Insider
  This fall, Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone. And because 2017 marks 10 years since Steve Jobs first introduced the revolutionary Apple product, expectations are high. Predictions for what new features Apple might introduce with ...
  New Details Emerge on Apple's Augmented Reality AmbitionsMotley Fool
  Apple's 'iPhone 8' to use 'water drop design' with curved, 3D gla
  
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• Some electronics to be banned on some US-bound flights

  20-03-2017 22:42
  
  The U.S. government is barring passengers on Royal Jordanian Airlines flights from bringing laptops, iPads, cameras and other electronics in carry-on luggage on certain U.S.-bound flights starting Tuesday, the airline said in a tweet Monday.
  
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• Samsung voice-assistant Bixby to debut with new phone

  20-03-2017 22:42
  
  Samsung announced Monday that a voice-powered digital assistant named "Bixby" will debut with a flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone set to be unveiled by the South Korean consumer electronics giant.
  
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• More winter-time haze in Beijing with global warming

  20-03-2017 22:40
  
  Global warming has boosted the frequency and severity of deadly air pollution peaks in northern China, scientists said Monday.
  
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• Wild chimpanzees have surprisingly long life spans

  20-03-2017 22:37
  
  A 20-year demographic study of a large chimpanzee community in Uganda's Kibale National Park has revealed that, under the right ecological conditions, our close primate relatives can lead surprisingly long lives in the wild.
  
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• Parsley and other plants lend form to human stem cell scaffolds

  20-03-2017 22:32
  
  Borrowing from nature is an age-old theme in science. Form and function go hand-in-hand in the natural world and the structures created by plants and animals are only rarely improved on by humans.
  
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• Mars volcano, Earth's dinosaurs went extinct about the same time

  20-03-2017 22:29
  
  New NASA research reveals that the giant Martian shield volcano Arsia Mons produced one new lava flow at its summit every 1 to 3 million years during the final peak of activity. The last volcanic activity there ceased about 50 million years ago—around the time of Earth's Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, when large numbers of our planet's plant and animal species (including dinosaurs) went extinct.
  
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• YouTube investigating restrictions on gay-themed content

  20-03-2017 22:11 via abcnews.go.com
  After several days of complaints, Google is hinting that it might have made a mistake in how it deems some gay-themed videos unsuitable for minors
  
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• US says Canadian accused in Yahoo hack poses flight risk

  20-03-2017 21:25 via abcnews.go.com
  U.S. authorities say a Canadian man accused of breaking into hundreds of millions of Yahoo email accounts poses an "extremely high flight risk" due to alleged ties to Russian intelligence agents
  
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• Wi-Fi on wheels: Google helps students get online, on the go

  20-03-2017 21:05 via abcnews.go.com
  
  For some rural U.S. schoolchildren, tech giant Google is stepping in to help ensure they can get online to do their homework during often lengthy commutes to and from school
  
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• Russian pleads guilty to charge related to Citadel malware

  20-03-2017 21:03 via abcnews.go.com
  A Russian man who helped develop and distribute a malicious software designed to steal personal financial information has pleaded guilty to a computer fraud charge
  
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• Mutants in microgravity

  20-03-2017 20:49
  
  Bacteria may mutate more rapidly in space and scientists theorize patterns of those mutations could help predict how pathogens become resistant to antibiotics. Such predictions could, in turn, be used to develop new drugs to use against those pathogens. Antibiotic resistant pathogens or bacteria is a growing world-wide health concern. The long-term use of many common antibiotics has led to some diseases becoming resistant to drug therapy, which can lead to longer and more complicated illnesses.
  
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• Chicago's red-light camera program has significant safety benefits

  20-03-2017 20:43
  
  Chicago's red-light cameras reduce serious injury crashes at intersections where they are placed and also have a measurable "spillover effect" that improves safety at intersections without cameras, according to a Northwestern University Transportation Center study released today (March 20).
  
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• Does Mars have rings? Not right now, but maybe one day

  20-03-2017 20:35
  
  As children, we learned about our solar system's planets by certain characteristics—Jupiter is the largest, Saturn has rings, Mercury is closest to the sun. Mars is red, but it's possible that one of our closest neighbors also had rings at one point and may have them again someday.
  
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• Companies Pull Ads From Google, YouTube Over Racist, Terrorist Content

  20-03-2017 20:34 via nbcnews.com
  
  A French ad firm and a number of U.K. banks have exited the platforms because they want guarantees their ads won't help fund extremists.
  
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• Hacked websites on the rise: Google

  20-03-2017 20:32
  
  Google painted a bleak picture of cybersecurity trends Monday, saying the number of websites hacked rose 32 percent last year, with little relief in sight.
  
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• Altering pH bumps prions out of danger zone

  20-03-2017 20:28
  
  Prion diseases are scary, incurable and fatal. They first gained notoriety when cows became infected by prion proteins and, in turn, infected people. Fervor surrounding mad cow disease resulted in the U.S. banning imports of beef from the European Union for 15 years.
  
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• Orbital ATK Cygnus set to deliver research to space station

  20-03-2017 20:27
  
  Orbital ATK is targeted to launch its Cygnus spacecraft into orbit for a resupply mission to the International Space Station March 24, 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Cygnus will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying crew supplies, equipment and scientific research to crew members aboard the station. The flight will deliver investigations that study magnetic cell culturing, crystal growth and atmospheric reentry.
  
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• Video: How to make tomatoes taste awesome again

  20-03-2017 20:04
  
  Why are so many supermarket tomatoes tasteless and rock hard? In the 1990s, breeders developed a tomato that produces less of the hormone ethylene, so they stay hardened for shipping and then ripen in store. That delayed ripening combined with other breeding moves have made tomatoes bigger, redder and great for shipping, but also less satisfying in salad.
  
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• Studies of scientific bias targeting the right problems, study finds

  20-03-2017 20:00
  
  In all fields of science, small studies, early studies and highly cited studies consistently overestimate effect size, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
  
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• Dead zones may threaten coral reefs worldwide

  20-03-2017 20:00
  
  Dead zones affect dozens of coral reefs around the world and threaten hundreds more according to a new study by Smithsonian scientists published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Watching a massive coral reef die-off on the Caribbean coast of Panama, they suspected it was caused by a dead zone—a low-oxygen area that snuffs out marine life—rather than by ocean warming or acidification.
  
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• Anti-bacterial discovery will prevent infections spreading on medical devices

  20-03-2017 20:00
  
  Microbiologists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new way to prevent bacteria from growing on medical devices such as hip replacements or heart valves implanted in the human body. The discovery is a step towards developing new preventive strategies that could have a direct impact on the recovery of patients in the immediate aftermath of a surgical operation.
  
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• Parasitic fish offer evolutionary insights

  20-03-2017 19:59
  
  Lamprey are slimy, parasitic eel-like fish, one of only two existing species of vertebrates that have no jaw. While many would be repulsed by these creatures, lamprey are exciting to biologists because they are so primitive, retaining many characteristics similar to their ancient ancestors and thus offering answers to some of life's biggest evolutionary questions. Now, by studying the lamprey, Caltech researchers have discovered an unexpected mechanism for the evolution of the neurons of the per
  
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• Uber in Turmoil as Two Key Executives Flee Troubled Company

  20-03-2017 19:28 via nbcnews.com
  
  Uber has lost two key executives in as many days.
  
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• Leadership change at Comcast cable as CEO Smit changes role

  20-03-2017 19:08 via abcnews.go.com
  Comcast's cable unit is switching up its leadership ranks, with longtime executive Dave Watson taking over for Neil Smit as CEO
  
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• New twist on sofa problem that stumped mathematicians and furniture movers

  20-03-2017 18:56
  
  Most of us have struggled with the mathematical puzzle known as the "moving sofa problem." It poses a deceptively simple question: What is the largest sofa that can pivot around an L-shaped hallway corner?
  
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• Stephen Hawking to Visit Space Aboard Virgin Galactic - Seeker

  20-03-2017 18:55
  
  Seeker
  Stephen Hawking to Visit Space Aboard Virgin Galactic
  Seeker
  The renowned physicist says he has accepted an invitation from Richard Branson to voyage into space on a Virgin Galactic trip, which would be a major milestone in space tourism. BY ELIZABETH HOWELL. 0. Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images.
  Stephen Hawking: Trump America May Not Welcome Me AnymoreNewsmax
  Stephen Hawking Is Heading Into Space on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic SpaceshipFortune
  Astronaut Stephen Hawking? Richard B
  
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• Uber Is Losing A Ton Of People - Jalopnik

  20-03-2017 18:52
  
  Jalopnik
  Uber Is Losing A Ton Of People
  Jalopnik
  I guess it's to be expected when your company is accused of widespread sexual harassment, is run by an arrogant jerkwad, and could be entirely derailed thanks to the alleged theft of self-driving car designs—but damn, Uber is losing a flurry of people.
  Things keep getting worse for Uber as president and mapping VP both just quitYahoo News
  Uber President Leaves Company Following ControversiesAndroid Headlines
  Uber president resigns after six
  
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• Microbes evolved to colonize different parts of the human body

  20-03-2017 18:38
  
  As the human species evolved over the last six million years, our resident microbes did the same, adapting to vastly different conditions on our skin and in our mouths, noses, genitalia and guts.
  
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• Engineers design 'tree-on-a-chip': Microfluidic device generates passive hydraulic power

  20-03-2017 18:36
  
  Trees and other plants, from towering redwoods to diminutive daisies, are nature's hydraulic pumps. They are constantly pulling water up from their roots to the topmost leaves, and pumping sugars produced by their leaves back down to the roots. This constant stream of nutrients is shuttled through a system of tissues called xylem and phloem, which are packed together in woody, parallel conduits.
  
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• Stem cells seem speedier in space

  20-03-2017 18:32
  
  Growing significant numbers of human stem cells in a short time could lead to new treatments for stroke and other diseases. Scientists are sending stem cells to the International Space Station to test whether these cells proliferate faster in microgravity without suffering any side effects.
  
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• Last remnant of North American ice sheet on track to vanish

  20-03-2017 18:31
  
  The last piece of the ice sheet that once blanketed much of North America is doomed to disappear in the next several centuries, says a new study by researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and the University of Colorado Boulder.
  
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• New feedback system could allow greater control over fusion plasma

  20-03-2017 17:46
  
  Like a potter shaping clay as it spins on a wheel, physicists use magnetic fields and powerful particle beams to control and shape the plasma as it twists and turns through a fusion device. Now a physicist has created a new system that will let scientists control the energy and rotation of plasma in real time in a doughnut-shaped machine known as a tokamak.
  
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• Outside auditors should be wary of information provided by management, study shows

  20-03-2017 17:45
  
  Companies and shareholders depend on auditors to provide unbiased, independent analyses of financial statements, but new research from the University of Missouri shows auditors can be influenced and misled by information provided by management.
  
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• Primate-parasite network analyses show how germs jump from host to host

  20-03-2017 17:40
  
  An extensive review of research on wild primate social networks and parasites underscores the importance of super-spreaders, or central individuals that play an outsized role in transmission of a pathogen.
  
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• Google sorry for adverts alongside extremist content

  20-03-2017 17:40
  
  A top Google executive on Monday apologised after UK company and government adverts appeared alongside extremist content on its Internet platforms.
  
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• Carnegie Mellon University launches carbon emissions index

  20-03-2017 17:36
  
  Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) today announced the creation of a new index that will measure carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. electrical power generation sector. The Carnegie Mellon Power Sector Carbon Index will track the environmental performance of U.S. power producers and compare current emissions to historical data collected nationwide for more than two decades. A quarterly press release will inform interested parties of power sector carbo
  
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• NASA’s HiRISE Views Layered Deposits in Uzboi Vallis

  20-03-2017 17:34 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released image from NASA’s high resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) shows layered deposits in Uzboi Vallis. Layered deposits in Uzboi Vallis sometimes occur...
  The post NASA’s HiRISE Views Layered Deposits in Uzboi Vallis appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Engineers Design Microfluidic Device That Generates Passive Hydraulic Power

  20-03-2017 17:30 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Engineers have designed a microfluidic device that mimics the pumping mechanism of trees and plants, generating passive hydraulic power that may be used to make...
  The post Engineers Design Microfluidic Device That Generates Passive Hydraulic Power appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• New Evidence Yields Clues to Breakup of Multiple-Star System

  20-03-2017 17:22 via scitechdaily.com
  
  In the search for rogue planets and failed stars astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have created a new mosaic image of the Orion...
  The post New Evidence Yields Clues to Breakup of Multiple-Star System appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Sharers rather than authors more important on social media

  20-03-2017 17:13
  
  The person who shares a news story on social media is more important than the story's actual source in determining whether readers believe it, a study by the Media Insight Project has found.
  
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• Molecular scale transporter with a twist, powered by liquid crystal defects

  20-03-2017 17:11
  
  Defects that break the symmetry of otherwise orderly material are called topological defects. In solid crystals, they are called dislocations because they interrupt the regularly structured atom lattice. In contrast, topological defects called disclinations take the form of loops in liquid crystal of the nematic variety, whose elongated molecules look like a shoal of fish. New experiments supported by a theoretical model show how defects forming loops around twisted plastic fibres dipped in liqu
  
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• Hubble's glittering frisbee galaxy

  20-03-2017 17:07
  
  This image from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows a section of NGC 1448, a spiral galaxy located about 50 million light-years from Earth in the little-known constellation of Horologium (The Pendulum Clock). We tend to think of spiral galaxies as massive and roughly circular celestial bodies, so this glittering oval does not immediately appear to fit the visual bill. What's going on?
  
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• Unforeseen impacts of the fair trade movement

  20-03-2017 17:05
  
  Fair trade certified coffee is the kind of phrase that sounds good on a Whole Foods shelf, the type of marketing that merges first world affluence with third world resource. For the average consumer, it implies fairness in labor and wealth, the idea that small producers profit directly from the products and goods they produce.
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week -The Interacting Galaxies of NGC 3447

  20-03-2017 17:05 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Hubble image shows two interacting galaxies located some 60 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo. Some galaxies are harder to...
  The post Hubble Image of the Week -The Interacting Galaxies of NGC 3447 appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• For this New Zealand parrot, 'laughter' is contagious

  20-03-2017 17:03
  
  When people are feeling playful, they giggle and laugh, making others around them want to laugh and play too. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on March 20 have found that the particularly playful kea parrot from New Zealand has a "play call" with a similarly powerful influence. When other kea hear that call, it puts them into a playful mood.
  
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• 'Flying saucer' quantum dots hold secret to brighter, better lasers

  20-03-2017 17:01
  
  Fresh insights into living cells, brighter video projectors and more accurate medical tests are just three of the innovations that could result from a new way of fabricating lasers.
  
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• Tracing down linear ubiquitination: New technology enables detailed analysis of target proteins

  20-03-2017 17:00
  
  Researchers at the Goethe University Frankfurt, together with partners from the University of Tübingen in Germany and Queen Mary University as well as Francis Crick Institute from London (UK) have developed a novel technology to decipher the secret ubiquitin code.
  
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• Selectively blocking immune cells can prevent formation of scar tissue around medical devices

  20-03-2017 17:00
  
  Medical devices implanted in the body for drug delivery, sensing, or tissue regeneration usually come under fire from the host's immune system. Defense cells work to isolate material they consider foreign to the body, building up a wall of dense scar tissue around the devices, which eventually become unable to perform their functions.
  
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