Sci-Tech news

• Trump signs NASA bill, ponders sending Congress to space

  21-03-2017 23:39 via abcnews.go.com
  
  The bill adds exploration of Mars as a NASA goal.
  
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• Comey corrects Trump's tweets in real time

  21-03-2017 23:33 via abcnews.go.com
  
  As FBI Director James Comey was in the hot seat, being grilled on Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the White House was busy trolling him on Twitter
  
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• No new threat led to airline laptop limits, officials say

  21-03-2017 22:30
  
  U.S. and British officials said Tuesday the decision to bar laptops and tablets from the cabins of some international flights wasn't based on any specific threat but on longstanding concerns about terrorists targeting jetliners.
  
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• Wells Fargo: All ATMs will take phone codes, not just cards

  21-03-2017 22:19
  
  Wells Fargo plans to upgrade all 13,000 of its ATMs next week to allow customers to access their funds using their cellphones instead of traditional bank cards.
  
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• Bird flu confirmed in two poultry flocks in north Alabama

  21-03-2017 22:19
  
  Alabama officials have confirmed bird flu in two poultry flocks, just a week after three commercial breeders had to kill their chickens across the state line in Tennessee.
  
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• New security measure could cause travelers to reroute trips

  21-03-2017 22:18
  
  A new U.S. security measure banning many electronic devices on flights from eight mostly Muslim countries is leading travelers to reconsider their plans to fly through some airports in the Middle East.
  
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• Scientists discover new 'boat' form of promising semiconductor GeSe

  21-03-2017 22:13
  
  Princeton researchers have discovered a new form of the simple compound GeSe that has surprisingly escaped detection until now. This so-called beta-GeSe compound has a ring type structure like graphene and its monolayer form could have similarly valuable properties for electronic applications, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
  
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• Before and after: Unique changes spotted on comet 67p/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

  21-03-2017 22:06
  
  A study published March 21, 2017 in the journal Science summarizes the types of surface changes observed during the two years that the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft spent investigating comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Notable differences are seen before and after the comet's most active period—perihelion—when it reached its closest point to the Sun along its orbit.
  
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• HIV co-infection influences natural selection on M. tuberculosis

  21-03-2017 22:00
  
  Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global health problem, with 10 million cases and 2 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. The only available vaccine is effective in children but its effect wanes in older children and adults.
  
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• Apple cuts prices on lower-end iPads, releases red iPhones

  21-03-2017 21:35 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Apple is cutting prices on two iPad models and introducing red iPhones, but the company held back on updating its higher-end iPad Pro tablets
  
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• Texas Grand Jury Says a GIF Is a 'Deadly Weapon'

  21-03-2017 20:38 via nbcnews.com
  
  A Texas grand jury has decided that a GIF can be just as deadly as a gun or knife.
  
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• New drug strategy: Target ribosome to halt protein production

  21-03-2017 19:00
  
  The discovery of a chemical compound that halts the production of a small set of proteins while leaving general protein production untouched suggests a new drug search strategy: Find compounds that target undesired proteins before they are even made.
  
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• Trump Adds to NASA Budget, Approves Crewed Mission to Mars

  21-03-2017 18:33 via nbcnews.com
  
  President Trump has signed a bill funding a crewed mission to Mars.
  
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• France to probe Fiat for emissions cheating

  21-03-2017 18:31
  
  French investigating magistrates will open a probe into carmaker Fiat Chrysler for suspected cheating in diesel emissions tests, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
  
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• Amazon invests in Costa Rica as tiny nation carves out profitable niche in world economy

  21-03-2017 18:10
  
  In the 19th century, the customs house here brimmed with the imported wares that first helped this tiny Spanish-speaking nation become part of the wider world economy.
  
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• Twitter suspends more accounts linked to 'terrorism'

  21-03-2017 18:04
  
  Twitter said Tuesday it suspended 376,890 accounts in the second half of 2016 for "promotion of terrorism," an increase of 60 percent over the prior six-month period.
  
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• Pulverizing electronic waste is green, clean—and cold

  21-03-2017 17:56
  
  Researchers at Rice University and the Indian Institute of Science have an idea to simplify electronic waste recycling: Crush it into nanodust.
  
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• HiRISE Views the Colorful Hills of Juventae Chasma

  21-03-2017 17:51 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This new HiRISE Image shows the hills of Juventae Chasma on Mars. There are many hills about 1 kilometer high in Juventae Chasma, which is...
  The post HiRISE Views the Colorful Hills of Juventae Chasma appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Rosetta comet orbiter films deep-space landslide

  21-03-2017 17:40
  
  Landslides are not unique to Earth, researchers revealed on Tuesday.
  
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• A chance for the Pluto-huggers? Scientist leads effort to restore underdog's planetary stature

  21-03-2017 17:40
  
  Ejected a decade ago from its place among the planets, the distant, icy world of Pluto still has its admirers.
  
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• Icahn pressed EPA candidates on ethanol rule he wants scrapped

  21-03-2017 17:32
  
  Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who helped President Donald Trump vet candidates to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, pressed them for their views on a regulation that he says is costing his oil refineries hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
  
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• NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Zooms in on Saturn’s A Ring

  21-03-2017 17:27 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This newly released Cassini image gives us a closer look at Saturn’s A ring. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft zoomed in on Saturn’s A ring, revealing narrow,...
  The post NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Zooms in on Saturn’s A Ring appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Does the universe have a rest frame?

  21-03-2017 17:26
  
  Physics is sometimes closer to philosophy when it comes to understanding the universe. Donald Chang from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China, attempts to elucidate whether the universe has a resting frame. The results have recently been published in EPJ Plus.
  
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• Transparent silver: Tarnish-proof films for flexible displays, touch screens

  21-03-2017 17:22
  
  The thinnest, smoothest layer of silver that can survive air exposure has been laid down at the University of Michigan, and it could change the way touchscreens and flat or flexible displays are made.
  
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• Livestock can uproot protected wildlife from prime real estate

  21-03-2017 17:20
  
  The story of wildlife conservation is usually framed as man vs. treasured wildlife. But there's growing evidence that the narrative deserves to have leading roles for livestock such as sheep, yaks or cows.
  
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• New species of terrestrial crab found climbing on trees in Hong Kong

  21-03-2017 17:19
  
  A new species of terrestrial crab has been found to climb trees on the eastern coast of Hong Kong. All specimens spotted during the survey have been collected at a height of approximately 1.5 - 1.8 m, walking on the bark of the branches at ebbing and low tides. The species is described in the open access journal ZooKeys.
  
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• Earth’s Dinosaurs Went Extinct About the Same Time Arsia Mons Volcanic Activity Ceased

  21-03-2017 17:19 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A new study from NASA reveals that the giant Martian shield volcano Arsia Mons produced one new lava flow at its summit every 1 to...
  The post Earth’s Dinosaurs Went Extinct About the Same Time Arsia Mons Volcanic Activity Ceased appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Boys secure in their racial identity seek more diverse friendships

  21-03-2017 17:19
  
  Kids often seek answers from parents, friends and media to better understand their racial identity.
  
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• Supreme Court sympathetic to Microsoft in Xbox owners' suit (Update)

  21-03-2017 17:17
  
  The Supreme Court suggested Tuesday that it is sympathetic to Microsoft Corp. in a dispute with disgruntled owners of the Xbox 360 video-game system who sued saying the console has a design defect that scratches game discs.
  
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• How can a legally binding agreement on human cloning be established?

  21-03-2017 17:10
  
  Since Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1996, the question of whether human reproductive cloning should be banned or pursued has been the subject of international debate. In an attempt to address the issue, the UN formulated a Declaration on Human Cloning in 2005, but this was ambiguously worded and received ambivalent support from UN member states. Now Adèle Langlois of the University of Lincoln, UK, argues that those in pursuit of a robust global governance framework on human cloning will d
  
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• New brain-inspired cybersecurity system detects 'bad apples' 100 times faster

  21-03-2017 17:08
  
  Cybersecurity is critical—for national security, corporations and private individuals.
  
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• NASA's hybrid computer enables Raven's autonomous rendezvous capability

  21-03-2017 17:08
  
  A hybrid computing system developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the enabling technology behind an ambitious experiment testing a relative navigation and autonomous docking capability known as Raven.
  
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• Revealing the microscopic mechanisms in perovskite solar cells

  21-03-2017 17:04
  
  A material with the perovskite crystal structure has become very popular for solar cells. While most perovskites are inorganic compounds, this new material is a hybrid of relatively inexpensive organic and inorganic materials. In just a few short years, researchers have achieved remarkable power conversion efficiency with these perovskites, comparable with the best photovoltaic materials available.
  
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• Manipulating magnetic textures

  21-03-2017 17:03
  
  While the ability to easily control the magnetic properties of small electronic systems is highly desirable for future small electronics and data storage, an effective solution has proven to be extremely elusive.
  
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• Spintronic technology advances with newly designed magnetic tunnel junctions

  21-03-2017 17:02
  
  For the last two decades, magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) have played a central role in spintronic devices such as read heads of hard disk drives and nonvolatile magnetoresistive random access memories (MRAMs), and researchers are constantly working to improve their performance. One of the most prominent achievements that accelerated the technology's practical applications was the realization of giant tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratios by using rock-salt type MgO crystalline barrier. Now, in
  
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• NASA’s Swift Reveals a Star’s Plunge into a Black Hole

  21-03-2017 17:02 via scitechdaily.com
  
  Using observations from NASA’s Swift satellite, a team of astronomers detail the tidal disruption event named ASASSN-14li. Some 290 million years ago, a star much...
  The post NASA’s Swift Reveals a Star’s Plunge into a Black Hole appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Estimating the glass transition temperature for polymers in 'confined geometries'

  21-03-2017 17:02
  
  Polymers are used for myriad applications today, and perhaps the most important property that dictates which polymer is chosen for a given application is its "glass transition temperature." Many industrial polymers possess an irregular molecular structure that makes it impossible for them to crystallize. As a polymer material cools from a high temperature above its glass transition temperature, it morphs from a liquid to a glass when the transition temperature is reached.
  
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• A new model for capillary rise in nano-channels offers insights into fracking

  21-03-2017 17:00
  
  In the last decades, hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," a method of oil and gas extraction, has revolutionized the global energy industry. It involves fracturing rock with a pressurized liquid or "fracking fluid" (water containing sand suspended with the aid of thickening agents) to draw out small oil and gas deposits trapped in stone formations.
  
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• Google Apologizes After Major Brands Yank YouTube Ads Over Racist Content

  21-03-2017 16:59 via nbcnews.com
  
  Google's European head has apologized for the misplacement of advertising next to extremist content on its video site YouTube.
  
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• Video: What's the best way to cook pasta?

  21-03-2017 16:58
  
  Pasta noodles contain only three ingredients: eggs, water and flour. But how can you achieve a tasty result every time? Cooking pasta chemically changes how the proteins and starches interact, making the noodles sticky and springy. Therefore, what you do—or don't do—to the cooking water can change the edible result.
  
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• Trump signs bill authorizing NASA funding, Mars exploration

  21-03-2017 16:57
  
  President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill that adds exploration of Mars as a NASA goal.
  
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• Evolutionary biology professor explains how to 'walk the Tree of Life'

  21-03-2017 15:27
  
  Pop quiz: Are crocodiles more closely related to lizards or to birds? The answer may surprise you. Although traditional taxonomy classifies birds separately, they are actually closely related to crocodilians, sharing such groupwide characteristics as nest construction, parental care, a four-chambered heart and acoustic communication.
  
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• Breaking the supermassive black hole speed limit

  21-03-2017 15:25
  
  A new computer simulation helps explain the existence of puzzling supermassive black holes observed in the early universe. The simulation is based on a computer code used to understand the coupling of radiation and certain materials.
  
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• Astronomers hazard a ride in a 'drifting carousel' to understand pulsating stars

  21-03-2017 15:24
  
  What sounds like a stomach-turning ride at an amusement park might hold the key to unravelling the mysterious mechanism that causes beams of radio waves to shoot out from pulsars—super-magnetic rotating stars in our Galaxy.
  
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• The foundation of aquatic life can rapidly adapt to global warming, new research suggests

  21-03-2017 15:20
  
  Important microscopic creatures which produce half of the oxygen in the atmosphere can rapidly adapt to global warming, new research suggests.
  
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• Spinning sail technology is poised to bring back wind-powered ships

  21-03-2017 15:20
  
  Over 200 years after steamships first began crossing the ocean, wind power is finding its way back into seafaring. Global shipping firm Maersk is planning to fit spinning "rotor sails" to one of its oil tankers as a way of reducing its fuel costs and carbon emissions. The company behind the technology, Finnish firm Norsepower, says this is the first retrofit installation of a wind-powered energy system on a tanker.
  
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• Apple cuts prices on lower-end iPads, releases red iPhones (Update)

  21-03-2017 15:19
  
  Apple is cutting prices on two iPad models and introducing red iPhones, but the company held back on updating its higher-end iPad Pro tablets.
  
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• Almond-crop fungicides a threat to honey bees

  21-03-2017 15:17
  
  Fungicides commonly used in almond orchards can be harmful to almond growers' primary pollinator: honey bees.
  
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• Enzyme helps bacteria defend themselves against oxidants secreted by immune system

  21-03-2017 15:11
  
  A research project conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil in collaboration with other Brazilian research institutions and abroad has revealed new aspects of the action mechanism of organic hydroperoxide resistance (Ohr) enzyme, which enables several species of bacteria to neutralize oxidizing substances released by the defense system of the host organism, be it a plant or an animal.
  
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• Nepal's rich indigenous medical knowledge is under threat

  21-03-2017 15:10
  
  Nepal is a diverse demography with over 125 ethnic communities. It is equally rich in biodiversity. The diverse ethnic communities have a rich repertoire of knowledge related to the use of the herbs and animals for medicinal purposes. 
  
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