Sci-Tech news

• Fetal Onanism: A Surprising Scientific Debate

  03-07-2017 23:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  The medical journal Prenatal Diagnosis recently played host to a vigorous debate over whether a male fetus was spotted engaging in masturbation on ultrasound.The alleged case of antenatal autoeroticism was reported by Spanish gynecologists Vanesa Rodríguez Fernández and Carlos López Ramón y Cajal in September last year. Their paper was called In utero gratification behaviour in male fetus. Here's the ultrasonic evidence of the act:Rodríguez Fernández and
  
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• Microsoft could lay off 'thousands' as it focuses more on cloud services - The Verge

  03-07-2017 23:08 via theverge.com
  
  Washington Post
  Microsoft could lay off 'thousands' as it focuses more on cloud services
  The Verge
  Microsoft reorganized its global sales force today to heighten its focus on selling cloud services instead of standalone pieces of software, according to The Wall Street Journal. The reorganization, just the latest in a series of structural changes the ...
  Microsoft is undergoing another huge reorganization to sell more cloud subscriptions and less softwareBusiness Insider
  Microsoft set to announc
  
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• Frog evolution linked to dinosaur asteroid strike - BBC News

  03-07-2017 22:49 via bbc.com
  
  BBC News
  Frog evolution linked to dinosaur asteroid strike
  BBC News
  The huge diversity of frogs we see today is mainly a consequence of the asteroid strike that killed off the dinosaurs, a study suggests. A new analysis shows that frog populations exploded after the extinction event 66 million years ago. It would ...
  How Frogs Benefited From The Dinosaurs' ExtinctionNPR
  Extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs cleared way for frogsPhys.Org
  Dinosaurs' loss was frogs' gainUC Berkeley
  Live Scienc
  
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• Why does a Yellowstone microorganism prefer meager rations over rich ones?

  03-07-2017 22:36
  
  Arizona State University geoscientist Everett Shock has collaborated with a team of life scientists from Montana State University to discover a puzzle at the junction of geochemistry and biology. 
  
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• Jay-Z album boosts his Tidal streaming site

  03-07-2017 22:29
  
  Jay-Z's upstart Tidal streaming service has enjoyed a surge of interest after the rap mogul released his latest album exclusively on the platform.
  
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• Europe's Galileo satnav identifies problems behind failing clocks

  03-07-2017 22:29
  
  Investigators have uncovered the problems behind the failure of atomic clocks onboard satellites belonging to the beleaguered Galileo satnav system, The European Commission Monday.
  
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• UK pilots warn of disaster, seek tougher rules for drones

  03-07-2017 22:28
  
  The British Airline Pilots Association is warning of a looming catastrophe unless drones are subject to tougher regulations.
  
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• Silicon Valley's sexism problem: Could the tide be turning?

  03-07-2017 22:28
  
  Sexism in Silicon Valley has been an open secret for years. What's changing: A growing number of women are coming forward with personal stories of sexual harassment and discrimination, prompting apologies, resignations and plenty of hand-wringing.
  
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• Activision: The Passion for Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy “Could Lead to Other Things” - PlayStation LifeStyle

  03-07-2017 22:27 via playstationlifestyle.net
  
  PlayStation LifeStyle
  Activision: The Passion for Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy “Could Lead to Other Things”
  PlayStation LifeStyle
  Released at the end of last week, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy for PlayStation 4 saw the second biggest launch of 2017 so far in the UK, proving that the franchise is still popular. Speaking with Games Industry recently, Activision CEO Eric ...
  More Crash Games Could Happen, Activision TeasesGameSpot
  Crash Bandicoot is hard, Dark Souls is not, nosta
  
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• Tilted microscopy technique better reveals protein structures

  03-07-2017 22:25
  
  The conventional way of placing protein samples under an electron microscope during cryo-EM experiments may fall flat when it comes to getting the best picture of a protein's structure. In some cases, tilting a sheet of frozen proteins—by anywhere from 10 to 50 degrees—as it lies under the microscope, gives higher quality data and could lead to a better understanding of a variety of diseases, according to new research led by Salk scientist Dmitry Lyumkis.
  
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• Molecular electronics scientists shatter 'impossible' record

  03-07-2017 22:25
  
  An international research team that includes University of Central Florida Professor Enrique del Barco, Damien Thompson of the University of Limerick and Christian A. Nijhuis of the National University of Singapore has cracked an important limitation that for nearly 20 years has prevented the practical use of molecular diodes.
  
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• Microsoft plans layoffs in sales force shake-up: reports

  03-07-2017 22:15
  
  Microsoft is planning layoffs as it refocuses its sales force on making the software colossus a pivotal part of businesses relying on cloud computing, according to media reports.
  
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• 72.8% Of World’s Renewable Energy Is Made By Burning Wood & Dung

  03-07-2017 22:01 via technocracy.news
  
  The hysteria over solar and wind power as the only feasible source of future ‘renewable’ energy flies in the face of the facts. Wood and animal feces are both renewable, and account for almost 73% of the world’s renewable energy, but you never hear about planting more trees. Of course, the Technocrats cannot control wood or feces as energy, so it is completely ignored. ⁃ TN EditorRenewable energy advocates have claimed for decades that solar and wind power are the fu
  
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• Microsoft is undergoing another huge reorganization to sell more cloud subscriptions and less software - Business Insider

  03-07-2017 21:52 via businessinsider.com
  
  Business Insider
  Microsoft is undergoing another huge reorganization to sell more cloud subscriptions and less software
  Business Insider
  Microsoft is reorganizing its entire sales organization to better focus on its fast-growing cloud-computing business, according to an internal memo sent to employees on Monday morning. Most people believe this reorganization is likely to include ...
  Microsoft could lay off 'thousands' as it focuses more on cloud servicesThe Verge
  Reports: Microsoft set to anno
  
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• Stephen Hawking: Trump Could Push Earth Over Brink To Wipe Out Humanity

  03-07-2017 21:47 via technocracy.news
  
  Hawking’s alarmist speech has the audience in tears and near-panic. When Science is held up as a god, and scientists as its priesthood, then any imaginable proposition can be made, no matter how outrageous or illogical. In this case, Hawking has lost his scientific mojo. ⁃ TN EditorStephen Hawking fears Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement could be the “tipping point” which wipes out humanity and turns our planet into a livi
  
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• Designing a Safer Explosive

  03-07-2017 21:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  This Fourth of July, as you and your family settle on a sandy beach or grassy lawn to watch a fireworks display, you’re probably not thinking about the science behind the explosives you’re witnessing. In fact, you probably are not even thinking of them as explosives. But that’s exactly what they are—-and there’s a lot of science that goes into creating that dazzling display of fire and colors.Fireworks often comprise mixtures of oxidizers and fuels that are ready to
  
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• Wage Spiral In China Displaces Chinese Workers With Robots

  03-07-2017 21:38 via technocracy.news
  
  The grass was not greener on the other side of the ocean, and turns out to be a cheap plastic imitation. Companies are not looking for cheaper labor markets since it is cheaper to invest in robotics right where they are. This trend will hit the west like a ton of bricks over time. Read the entire story and pull out the displacement numbers for China alone.⁃ TN EditorAs he marches through a gritty factory that makes baby strollers and wheels, Hu Chengpeng says finding workers is his number
  
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• Self-Wrinkling Mini-Mazes Could Serve as Cybersecurity Moats

  03-07-2017 21:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists are bringing wrinkles into style with self-organizing mini-mazes that could someday serve as digital fingerprints for secure technology.In a study published Friday in Science Advances, a team of researchers, led by Wook Park of Kyung Hee University in South Korea, demonstrated a fabrication technique that offers greater control over how wrinkling, usually a random process, occurs on a silica-based substrate.The new technique coats a piece of polymer with a silica substrate
  
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• 'There Goes Dragon': ISS Astronaut Snaps Incredible Shots of Departing Capsule - Space.com

  03-07-2017 21:15 via space.com
  
  Space.com
  'There Goes Dragon': ISS Astronaut Snaps Incredible Shots of Departing Capsule
  Space.com
  A Dragon cargo vehicle departs from the International Space Station on July 3. Photo by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer. Credit: Jack Fischer/NASA. Astronaut Jack Fischer caught some amazing pictures of SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule leaving the ...
  Dragon capsule returns home with animals and station equipmentSpaceflight Now
  SpaceX's capsule 're-flight' is a space travel milestoneEngadget
  Another
  
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• What's in a name? Big Data reveals distinctive patterns in higher education systems

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  Using lists of names collected from publicly available websites, two University of Chicago researchers have revealed distinctive patterns in higher education systems, ranging from ethnic representation and gender imbalance in the sciences, to the presence of academic couples, and even the illegal hiring of relatives in Italian universities.
  
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• Utah is home to earliest use of a wild potato in North America

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  The town of Escalante in southern Utah is no small potatoes when it comes to scientific discovery; a new archaeological finding within its borders may rewrite the story of tuber domestication.
  
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• Study sheds new light on extinction risk in mammals

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  Researchers have long assumed that habitat fragmentation contributes to extinction risk for animals, but until now, they have not been able to measure it for a major group of animals on a global scale. In a first-of-its-kind study, an international research team led by Colorado State University successfully measured habitat fragmentation for over 4,000 species of land-dwelling mammals. Among the findings, researchers discovered that species with more habitat fragmentation are at greater risk of
  
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• Seeing the colored light: Bee brains open way for better cameras

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  New research into the way that honeybees see colour could pave the way for more accurate cameras in phones, drones and robots.
  
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• Greater understanding of plant hormone results in stem cells that grow shoots

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  Researchers at Dartmouth College have identified how a well-known plant hormone targets genes to regulate plant growth and development. The finding could allow scientists to establish organ-growing stem cells for grains like rice and corn, and may ultimately lead to solutions to stubborn agricultural problems.
  
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• Extinction event that wiped out dinosaurs cleared way for frogs

  03-07-2017 21:00
  
  The mass extinction that obliterated three-fourths of life on Earth, including non-avian dinosaurs, set the stage for the swift rise of frogs, a new study shows.
  
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• Silicon Valley's sexism problem: Could the tide be turning? - Washington Times

  03-07-2017 20:59 via washingtontimes.com
  
  Washington Times
  Silicon Valley's sexism problem: Could the tide be turning?
  Washington Times
  FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. Kalanick resigned amid criticism surrounding a culture of harassment at the company. Reports of sexism ... more ...
  Christine Tsai is suddenly the face of 500 StartupsSilicon Valley Business Journal
  'I'm a creep. I'm sorry.' Another tech investor apologizes for mist
  
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• Mississippi 'Clean Coal' Project Flops

  03-07-2017 20:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  A once-promising clean coal plant in Mississippi is set to switch to natural gas instead.The facility, run by utility provider Southern Company, is over budget and behind schedule, and has failed to achieve its goal of producing electricity from coal with significantly reduced carbon emissions. A review by the Mississippi Public Service Commission gave the plant until July 6 to begin planning its future and recommended a switch to natural gas, reports the New York Times. 
  Small Su
  
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• Secret of how Roman concrete survived tidal battering for 2000 years revealed - Telegraph.co.uk

  03-07-2017 19:01 via telegraph.co.uk
  
  Telegraph.co.uk
  Secret of how Roman concrete survived tidal battering for 2000 years revealed
  Telegraph.co.uk
  It is a mystery that continues to baffle modern engineers. Why do 2,000-year-old Roman piers survive to this day, yet modern concrete seawalls embedded with steel crumble within decades? Even Pliny the Elder, writing in Naturalis Historia in 79AD ...
  New studies of ancient concrete could teach us to do as the Romans didEurekAlert (press release)
  Seawater makes ancient Roman concrete str
  
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• New studies of ancient concrete could teach us to do as the Romans did

  03-07-2017 19:00
  
  Around A.D. 79, Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote in his Naturalis Historia that concrete structures in harbors, exposed to the constant assault of the saltwater waves, become "a single stone mass, impregnable to the waves and every day stronger."
  
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• NASA examines Tropical Storm Nanmadol inside and out

  03-07-2017 18:47
  
  Two NASA satellites provided a look at the Northwestern Pacific Ocean's latest tropical storm from outside and inside. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided an outside look at Nanmadol when it's maximum sustained winds peaked, and the GPM Core satellite provided an inside look at the rainfall within the storm.
  
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• Juno Spacecraft Set to Fly Over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

  03-07-2017 18:27 via scitechdaily.com
  
  NASA’s Juno Spacecraft will fly directly over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot on July 10th, helping astronomers better understand how this giant storm works and what...
  The post Juno Spacecraft Set to Fly Over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Improved representation of solar variability in climate models

  03-07-2017 18:20
  
  How much do solar cycle variations influence our climate system? Could the rising Earth temperatures due to anthropogenic effects partly be compensated by a reduction of solar forcing in the future? These questions have been in the focus of climate research for a long time. In order to answer these questions as precisely as possible, it is required to know the fluctuations of solar forcing on the timescale of the 11-year sunspot cycle as precisely as possible in order to use these as input param
  
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• Computer scientists use wave packet theory to develop realistic, detailed water wave simulations in real time

  03-07-2017 18:19
  
  Think about the last time you were at a lake, river, or the ocean. Remember the ripples of the water, the waves crashing against the rocks, the wake following a boat, the sun reflecting off the crests? Amazingly, the mathematical equations describing many of these phenomena have been known for over a hundred years. The trouble is, actually solving them is extremely difficult and costly, making accurate, realistic simulations a significant problem for computer scientists, visual artists, and othe
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week – Hidden Galaxy IC 342

  03-07-2017 18:17 via scitechdaily.com
  
  This Hubble image of the week shows “Hidden Galaxy” IC 342, which is located 11 million light-years away. IC 342 is a challenging cosmic target....
  The post Hubble Image of the Week – Hidden Galaxy IC 342 appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Do probiotic deodorants really work?

  03-07-2017 18:00
  
  HealthWe tested 6 brands, risking pit stains and smelliness, so you don’t have to.
  Probiotic deodorants supposedly use a healthy mix of bacteria to combat body odor—but do they really work?
  
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• Invasive weevil spreads north, endangering California's palms

  03-07-2017 17:20
  
  An invasive beetle that crossed from Mexico into southern San Diego County more than five years ago is continuing to head north, threatening widespread destruction of ornamental palm trees and date palms that could add up to millions of dollars in damage.
  
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• UK student, 18, arrested in international cyberattack

  03-07-2017 17:04
  
  An 18-year-old student in northwestern England has been charged in a series of cyberattacks on the websites of nearly a dozen multinational firms.
  
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• Greening the city—a measurement for a mindful environment

  03-07-2017 17:01
  
  Scientists at the University of Bradford have developed the world's first Tranquillity Rating Prediction Tool (TRAPT), a scientific process for measuring how relaxing urban environments and public spaces are.
  
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• 'Perfect storm' led to 2016 Great Barrier Reef bleaching

  03-07-2017 16:57
  
  Researchers from James Cook University and the Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium say unprecedented oceanographic conditions in 2016 produced the perfect storm of factors that lead to a mass coral bleaching.
  
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• The Science Behind ‘Sticky’ Ice

  03-07-2017 16:54 via nytimes.com
  
  Ice is sticky, but only to certain kinds of surfaces when conditions are just right for a shared ice layer to form between the surfaces and link them.
  
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• Researchers find new way to tackle cancer cells

  03-07-2017 16:45
  
  In-situ assembly of amphiphilic peptides with accompanying cellular functions inside a living cell (i.e., intracellular assembly) and their interaction with cellular components have been emerging as a versatile strategy in controlling cellular fate. However, achieving spatiotemporal control (i.e., inside cellular organelles or other sub-compartments) over the self-assembly of synthetic molecules inside the cell is challenging because of the difficulty of studying their behaviors in the complex i
  
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• Team invention may help to protect astronauts from radiation in space

  03-07-2017 16:44
  
  Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have designed a new nano material that can reflect or transmit light on demand with temperature control, opening the door to technology that protects astronauts in space from harmful radiation.
  
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• Last week in tech: iPhone turns 10, Facebook crosses 2 billion, and Nintendo teases everyone

  03-07-2017 16:42
  
  TechnologyHere's something to read while you avoid your family at cookouts
  It was a week of milestones in the tech world.
  
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• How a backyard weather station works

  03-07-2017 16:30
  
  TechnologyYou won't need a meteorologist after you install one of these.
  The Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station ($650) delivers a personal, hyperlocal forecast from your own backyard. Read on.
  
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• New technique 'sees' radioactive material even after it's gone

  03-07-2017 15:58
  
  A new technique allows researchers to characterize nuclear material that was in a location even after the nuclear material has been removed – a finding that has significant implications for nuclear nonproliferation and security applications.
  
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• Research team develops record laser on chip

  03-07-2017 15:55
  
  Working in collaboration with the Lionix company, researchers from the University of Twente's MESA+ research institute have developed the world's most narrowband diode laser on a chip. This laser represents a breakthrough in the fast-growing field of photonics, and will bring applications like 5G internet and accurate GPS closer. Research leader Professor Klaus Boller presented the research results during a prestigious scientific conference in Munich.
  
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• Chemist explains the science behind fireworks

  03-07-2017 15:40
  
  Whether you'll be watching fireworks along Boston's Esplanade or somewhere else this Fourth of July, you won't be the only one relaxing this holiday.
  
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• Ming-Chi Kuo Predicts iPhone 8 Will Omit Touch ID Entirely, Come in Limited Color Options - Mac Rumors

  03-07-2017 15:32 via macrumors.com
  
  Mac Rumors
  Ming-Chi Kuo Predicts iPhone 8 Will Omit Touch ID Entirely, Come in Limited Color Options
  Mac Rumors
  KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today made ten predictions related to the 2017 debut of the "iPhone 8," "iPhone 7s," and "iPhone 7s Plus," which are expected to be announced in September and launch sometime afterwards (via StreetInsider).
  Rumor: Apple intends to replace Touch ID fingerprint scanner with advanced facial recognitionAppleInsider (press release) (blog)
  Rumor: iPhone 8
  
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• SpaceX craft returns to Earth after second space station trip

  03-07-2017 15:31
  
  A SpaceX Dragon capsule that brought supplies to the International Space Station has splashed down as planned in the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Hi-Tech Gizmos to Help You Catch Some Z's

  03-07-2017 15:31 via nbcnews.com
  
  Does snoring keep you awake? Can't get up in the morning? These new high-tech gadgets hope to help you get a good night's sleep.
  
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