Sci-Tech news

• Astronomers Discover a New Kind of Galaxy in the Early Universe

  26-05-2017 23:56 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A team of astronomers has discovered a new kind of galaxy in the early universe, less than a billion years after the Big Bang. These...
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• US science agency: Selfies with seal pups a no-no

  26-05-2017 23:28
  
  U.S. officials are warning people not to take selfies with seals, no matter how tempting.
  
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• Marine species distribution shifts will continue under ocean warming

  26-05-2017 23:27
  
  Scientists using a high-resolution global climate model and historical observations of species distributions on the Northeast U.S. Shelf have found that commercially important species will continue to shift their distribution as ocean waters warm two to three times faster than the global average through the end of this century. Projected increases in surface to bottom waters of 6.6 to 9 degrees F (3.7 to 5.0 degrees Celsius) from current conditions are expected.
  
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• Construction begins on the world's first super telescope - Phys.Org

  26-05-2017 23:23
  
  Phys.Org
  Construction begins on the world's first super telescope
  Phys.Org
  Artist's impression of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) in its enclosure on Cerro Armazones, a 3060-metre mountaintop in Chile's Atacama Desert. The 39-metre E-ELT will be the largest optical/infrared telescope in the world — …more.
  Construction begins on world's largest telescope in Chilean desertReuters
  Construction starts on the world's largest optical telescopeEngadget
  Scientists Inching Cl
  
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• Construction begins on the world's first super telescope

  26-05-2017 23:23
  
  Scientists are a step closer to understanding the inner-workings of the universe following the laying of the first stone, and construction starting on the world's largest optical and infrared telescope.
  
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• Trump's budget cuts West Coast quake warning system funding

  26-05-2017 22:06
  
  President Trump's budget would cut funding for West Coast earthquake early warning system
  
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• The Latest: Merkel reminds Trump about German investment

  26-05-2017 20:40
  
  German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she's spoken to President Donald Trump about his reported criticism of Germany for its trade surplus with the U.S.
  
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• Camera on NASA's Lunar Orbiter survived 2014 meteoroid hit

  26-05-2017 20:00
  
  On Oct. 13, 2014 something very strange happened to the camera aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), which normally produces beautifully clear images of the lunar surface, produced an image that was wild and jittery. From the sudden and jagged pattern apparent in the image, the LROC team determined that the camera must have been hit by a tiny meteoroid, a small object in space.
  
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• NASA NICER Mission Set to Study Mysterious Neutron Stars

  26-05-2017 19:59 via scitechdaily.com
  
  A new NASA mission is headed for the International Space Station next month to observe one of the strangest observable objects in the universe. The...
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• 'Tiny clocks' crystallize understanding of meteorite crashes

  26-05-2017 19:54
  
  Almost two billion years ago, a 10-kilometre-wide chunk of space slammed down into rock near what is now the city of Sudbury. Now, scientists from Western University and the University of Portsmouth are marrying details of that meteorite impact with technology that measures surrounding crystal fragments as a way to date other ancient meteorite strikes.
  
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• Canadian accused in Yahoo hack to appeal bail denial

  26-05-2017 19:54
  
  A Canadian man accused in a massive hack of Yahoo emails says he'll appeal a judge's decision to deny him bail.
  
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• Conch shells spill the secret to their toughness

  26-05-2017 19:52
  
  The shells of marine organisms take a beating from impacts due to storms and tides, rocky shores, and sharp-toothed predators. But as recent research has demonstrated, one type of shell stands out above all the others in its toughness: the conch.
  
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• G7 demands internet giants crack down on extremist content

  26-05-2017 19:34
  
  The G7 nations on Friday demanded action from internet providers and social media firms against extremist content online, vowing to step up their fight against terrorism after the Manchester attack.
  
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• Study finds Congo's miners often resort to hunting wildlife for food

  26-05-2017 19:32
  
  A new study by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) has revealed how mining for valuable minerals in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a major driving factor in the illegal hunting of great apes and other wildlife for food.
  
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• NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Sees Partial Solar Eclipse in Space

  26-05-2017 19:06 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) saw a partial solar eclipse in space when it caught the moon passing in front of the sun on May...
  The post NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Sees Partial Solar Eclipse in Space appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Oh baby! DC zoo officials hoping to get panda pregnant

  26-05-2017 18:10
  
  Zoo officials in Washington are hoping to get panda mom Mei Xiang pregnant—again.
  
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• French designer shows off DIY robot in public for first time

  26-05-2017 18:01
  
  A French designer has shown his humanoid DIY robot to the public for the first time.
  
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• Fractious politics leads 'Far Cry' video game to US

  26-05-2017 18:01
  
  The latest edition of the blockbuster shooter video game "Far Cry" plays out on US soil, inspired by angry political divides and intense isolationist passions in rural America.
  
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• Why communication is vital—even among plants and funghi

  26-05-2017 17:58
  
  Plant scientists at the University of Cambridge have found a plant protein indispensable for communication early in the formation of symbiosis - the mutually beneficial relationship between plants and fungi. Symbiosis significantly enhances a plant's ability to take up vital nutrients like phosphate from the soil, and understanding the processes involved holds great promise for the development of sustainable 'biosolutions' to enhancing food production in order to feed a growing global population
  
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• Fungal enzymes team up to more efficiently break down cellulose

  26-05-2017 17:55
  
  One of the biggest barriers in the commercial production of sustainable biofuels is to cost-effectively break down the bioenergy crops into sugars that can then be converted into fuel. To reduce this barrier, bioenergy researchers are looking to nature and the estimated 1.5 million species of fungi that, collectively, can break down almost any substance on earth, including plant biomass.
  
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• A 3-D look at the 2015 El Nino

  26-05-2017 17:52
  
  El Niño is a recurring climate pattern characterized by warmer than usual ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. Two back-to-back 3-D visualizations track the changes in ocean temperatures and currents, respectively, throughout the life cycle of the 2015-2016 El Niño event, chronicling its inception in early 2015 to its dissipation by April 2016. Blue regions represent colder and red regions warmer temperatures when compared with normal conditions.
  
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• High levels of PFOA found in mid-Ohio River Valley residents from 1991 to 2013

  26-05-2017 17:47
  
  New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) reveals that residents of the Mid-Ohio River Valley (from Evansville, Indiana, north to Huntington, West Virginia) had higher than normal levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) based on blood samples collected over a 22-year span. The exposure source was likely from drinking water contaminated by industrial discharges upriver.
  
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• Darwin was right: Females prefer sex with good listeners

  26-05-2017 17:45
  
  Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin first proposed a little-known prediction from his theory of sexual selection, researchers have found that male moths with larger antennae are better at detecting female signals.
  
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• Coroners unable to agree on what caused a person's death

  26-05-2017 17:43
  
  A former top detective turned University of Huddersfield researcher has published his findings that coroners in England and Wales are seemingly unable to agree on what caused a person's death or whether it merits an inquest, even when faced with identical case information.
  
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• No green light for latest traffic light app following expert evaluation

  26-05-2017 17:34
  
  FROM sat-nav to automated parking and collision avoidance systems - cars are equipped with an increasing array of electronic aids designed to reduce the scope for human error. One of the latest pieces of kit is an app that provides assistance at traffic lights, telling drivers when they will have to stop and how long before they can move off.
  
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• SDO sees partial eclipse in space

  26-05-2017 17:33
  
  On May 25, 2017, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, saw a partial solar eclipse in space when it caught the moon passing in front of the sun. The lunar transit lasted almost an hour, between 2:24 and 3:17 p.m. EDT, with the moon covering about 89 percent of the sun at the peak of its journey across the sun's face. The moon's crisp horizon can be seen from this view because the moon has no atmosphere to distort the sunlight.
  
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• French designer shows off DIY robot in public for 1st time

  26-05-2017 17:32
  
  French designer shows off DIY robot in public for 1st time at Romania tech fair
  
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• Laptops and tablets in the classroom: How to integrate electronic devices in the university

  26-05-2017 17:31
  
  Researchers from the University of Seville have published the study "To take or not to take the laptop or tablet to classes, that is the question", which has been selected for publication by the internationally recognised review Computers in Human Behavior, which deals with the social implications of new technology. In the article, the socio-economic factors that determine the use of laptops and tablets in university classrooms in Seville are analysed, as well as the factors that limit their use
  
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• Tornado spawning Eastern US storms examined by GPM satellite

  26-05-2017 17:30
  
  On Wednesday May 24, 2017 severe weather affected a large area of the eastern United States. That's when the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over the area and found extremely heavy rainfall and towering clouds in the system.
  
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• Research develops world's highest gain high-power laser amplifier

  26-05-2017 17:30
  
  The world's highest gain high power laser amplifier - by many orders of magnitude - has been developed in research led at the University of Strathclyde.
  
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• Venetian physician had a key role in shaping early modern chemistry

  26-05-2017 17:26
  
  Newly discovered notes show for the first time the Venetian doctor who invented the thermometer and helped lay the foundations for modern medical treatment also played a key role in shaping our understanding of chemistry.
  
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• New GBP3.5 million microscope and ion accelerator now operational

  26-05-2017 17:24
  
  The completion of a £3.5 million research facility means that the University of Huddersfield is established as one of Europe's leading centres for the use of ion beams as a tool for the investigation of issues ranging from nuclear technology and nanoparticles to semiconductors and the effects of radiation exposure on materials in space.
  
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• WATCH: Apps that help find refunds after a purchase

  26-05-2017 15:57
  
  ABC News' Becky Worley shows you how to use apps to save even more money during this weekend's Memorial Day sales.
  
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• Avideh Zakhor: The brains behind Google Earth and Street View

  26-05-2017 15:50
  
  For one of Silicon Valley's most important inventions, we can thank Avideh Zakhor, creator of the technology that brought us Google Earth and Street View.
  
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• The high cost of communication among social bees

  26-05-2017 15:30
  
  (Phys.org)—Eusocial insects are predominantly dependent on chemosensory communication to coordinate social organization and define group membership. As the social complexity of a species increases, individual members require a greater diversity of signals. The communications of highly social insects such as wasps are well documented, but relatively little is known about the evolutionary transition between solitary and social living.
  
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• Three teams find a way to measure frequencies with far better precision than previous techniques

  26-05-2017 15:10
  
  (Phys.org)—Three teams working independently have found a nearly identical way to boost the resolution of quantum magnetic sensors, allowing frequency measurements with far higher precision than previous techniques. Two teams, one with ETH Zurich, the other based at Ulm University in Germany, have published their results in the journal Science. The third team working at Harvard has yet to publish their results, though they have uploaded a copy of their paper to the arXiv preprint server. A
  
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• The problem of treating play like work – how esports can harm well-being

  26-05-2017 14:40
  
  We are mid-way through the annual esports calendar and South Korean team SK Telecom 1 recently scored a resounding victory at the Mid-Seasonal Invitational. The MSI, as it's known, is a tournament where teams compete to win the video game League of Legends. This year, for the first time, there were world-class players from 13 regions across the globe battling for a US$1.69m prize pool. SK Telecom 1 skirmished through three weeks of matches to retain their title, taking home nearly US$700,000 (&p
  
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• Study examines role of business angels during periods of austerity

  26-05-2017 14:30
  
  Government support for 'business angels' is essential even in times of austerity, according to research involving the University of East Anglia (UEA) and University of Glasgow.
  
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• Atmospheric carbon dioxide causing global greening making some areas warmer and some colder

  26-05-2017 14:30
  
  (Phys.org)—A small team of researchers with the Directorate for Sustainable Resources in Italy and Ghent University in Belgium has found evidence that shows some parts of the planet are becoming cooler and others warmer due to an increase in localized greening. As the team notes in their paper published in the journal Science, much of the increase in greening is due to an increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
  
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• Dog DNA influences face shape

  26-05-2017 14:20
  
  A study of dog DNA has revealed a genetic mutation linked to flat face shapes such as those seen in pugs and bulldogs.
  
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• Minimizing the risk of electric shock around pools and lakes

  26-05-2017 14:19
  
  A danger that you can't see or hear—electric shock in water—can easily go undetected. Electricity is deadly and often discovered only after it is too late.
  
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• Has Everest's famous Hillary Step really collapsed? Here's the science

  26-05-2017 14:19
  
  The Hillary Step, a rocky outcrop at 8,770m, just beneath the summit of Everest (8,850m), has finally succumbed to gravity and partially collapsed. At least it has according to mountaineer Tim Mosedale, who climbed the mountain this year. His claim has been refuted by the chair of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, however, sparking a debate which looks set to rage for some time yet. The definitive answer, after all, is located only a few metres short of the top of the world.
  
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• How do the chemicals in sunscreen protect our skin from damage?

  26-05-2017 14:10
  
  Not so long ago, people like my Aunt Muriel thought of sunburn as a necessary evil on the way to a "good base tan." She used to slather on the baby oil while using a large reflector to bake away. Aunt Muriel's mantra when the inevitable burn and peel appeared: Beauty has its price.
  
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• Fin24.com | Communications minister wants to speed up SA's digital migration

  26-05-2017 14:05
  
  Minister of Communications Ayanda Dlodlo says her department will expedite South Africa’s digital migration process so that it can take place before December 2018.
  
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• Designing games that change perceptions, opinions and even players' real-life actions

  26-05-2017 14:00
  
  In 1904, Lizzie Magie patented "The Landlord's Game," a board game about property ownership, with the specific goal of teaching players about how a system of land grabbing impoverishes tenants and enriches property owners. The game, which went on to become the mass-market classic "Monopoly," was the first widely recognized example of what is today called "persuasive play."
  
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• Self-healing catalyst films for hydrogen production

  26-05-2017 13:50
  
  Chemists at the Centre for Electrochemical Sciences at Ruhr-Universität Bochum have developed a catalyst with self-healing properties. Under the challenging conditions of water electrolysis for hydrogen production, the catalyst material regenerates itself, as long as the components required for this are present in the electrolyte solution. A team involving Stefan Barwe, Prof Dr Wolfgang Schuhmann and Dr Edgar Ventosa from the Bochum Chair of Analytical Chemistry reports on this in the journ
  
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• WATCH: Introducing T-Mobile 'Digits'

  26-05-2017 11:56
  
  Customers are now able to access one phone number on multiple devices or multiple numbers on one device.
  
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• How dinosaurs may have evolved into birds

  26-05-2017 11:34
  
  Tohoku University researchers and their international collaborators have identified a possible genetic mechanism underlying the evolution of birds, according to a recently published study in Nature Communications.
  
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• Solid acetylene reagent for laboratory applications

  26-05-2017 11:33
  
  Acetylene is one of the primary starting materials for chemical synthesis. However, acetylene is a highly flammable gas, dangerous and difficult to use in regular research laboratories. A novel solid acetylene regent has been developed to make chemical applications safer.
  
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• New metamaterial-enhanced MRI technique tested on humans

  26-05-2017 11:32
  
  Scientists from the Netherlands and Russia have designed and tested a new metasurface-based technology for enhancing the local sensitivity of MRI scanners on humans for the first time. The metasurface consists of thin resonant strips arranged periodically. Placed under a patient's head, it provided much higher signals from the local brain region. The results published in Scientific Reports, show that the use of metasurfaces can potentially reduce image acquisition time, thus improving comfort fo
  
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