Sci-Tech news

• Science Says: Solar specs needed for safe viewing of eclipse

  10-08-2017 23:26
  With the total solar eclipse right around the cosmic corner, eye doctors are going into nagging overdrive.
  
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• A metabolic pathway that feeds liver cancer

  10-08-2017 23:25
  A little-studied gene may explain how some liver cancer cells obtain the nutrition they need to proliferate, according to new research from the University of Maryland. The results of this research will be published as an Editors' Pick in the Aug. 18 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
  
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• Perseid meteor shower 'warm-up act' for this month's eclipse

  10-08-2017 23:12 via abcnews.go.com
  Consider this weekend's Perseid meteor shower an opening act for this month's total solar eclipse
  
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• Canadians Are First to Sample Genetically Modified Salmon

  10-08-2017 23:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  After a protracted fight, salmon have become the first genetically modified animal to be sold in stores.The salmon, implanted with genes that boost their growth, come from the U.S.-based biotech firm AquaBounty Technologies, which has been attempting to gain regulatory approval for their product for some 25 years. Last week, AquaBounty announced it had indeed sold salmon fillets to customers in Canada after receiving regulatory approval in 2016, though it isn't clear where they were so
  
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• Politicians blocking people on social media ignites debate

  10-08-2017 23:01 via abcnews.go.com
  Politicians at all levels are embracing social media to discuss government business, and their ability to block people from their accounts has led to debate about whether that violates free speech rights
  
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• Groups move to ban cyanide traps that kill predator animals

  10-08-2017 23:00
  Predator-killing cyanide traps such as one that sickened a boy in Idaho and killed his dog should be banned, environmental groups told the federal government Thursday.
  
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• Uber investor lawsuit accuses Kalanick of rigging board

  10-08-2017 22:51
  A major Uber investor on Thursday sued founder Travis Kalanick, accusing the recently departed chief executive of covering misdeeds while rigging the board in order to return to power at the company.
  
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• CubeSats Have 1 Major Shortcoming, But Not for Long

  10-08-2017 22:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Over the past decade and a half, satellites the size of a toaster have opened up new possibilities for using space. Called CubeSats, these diminutive spacecraft offer several appealing virtues for scientific and national security missions and one major handicap—but a fix is on the way.Built to a standard size of roughly 10 centimeters on each side, the featherweight CubeSats can be quickly developed and inexpensively launched, because they piggyback on rockets hauling bigger payloads int
  
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• Archaeologists uncover 3,000-year-old female statue at citadel gate complex in Turkey

  10-08-2017 22:48
  The remains of a majestic female statue uncovered at the archaeological site of Tayinat in Turkey may challenge our understanding of the public role of women in the ancient world.
  
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• Airbnb's impact on Canadian housing markets

  10-08-2017 22:44
  Airbnb has removed as many as 14,000 units of housing from rental markets in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, according to a report released this week by the Urban Politics and Governance Lab in McGill's School of Urban Planning.
  
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• Galactic winds push researchers to probe galaxies at unprecedented scale

  10-08-2017 22:43
  When astronomers peer into the universe, what they see often exceeds the limits of human understanding. Such is the case with low-mass galaxies—galaxies a fraction of the size of our own Milky Way.
  
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• Handheld spectral analyzer turns smartphone into diagnostic tool

  10-08-2017 22:39
  Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed technology that enables a smartphone to perform lab-grade medical diagnostic tests that typically require large, expensive instruments. Costing only $550, the spectral transmission-reflectance-intensity (TRI)-Analyzer from Bioengineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor Brian Cunningham's lab attaches to a smartphone and analyzes patient blood, urine, or saliva samples as reliably as clinic-based inst
  
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• Overwatch, A Game About Teamwork, Is Getting A Free-For-All Deathmatch Mode - Kotaku

  10-08-2017 22:38 via kotaku.com
  Kotaku
  Overwatch, A Game About Teamwork, Is Getting A Free-For-All Deathmatch Mode
  Kotaku
  For the longest time, Blizzard has been staunchly against the idea of deathmatch modes in Overwatch. It's a game about teamwork and objectives, after all. Deathmatch has a way of drastically de-prioritizing both of those things. Now, though, the dev ...
  Overwatch Is Getting a Deathmatch Arcade Mode Along with a New MapTwinfinite
  Deathmatch coming to Overwatch, along with a new mapPolygon
  Overwatch Deathmat
  
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• Benchmark is suing Travis Kalanick (and Uber) over board control, claiming a 'selfish' power grab - Recode

  10-08-2017 22:34 via recode.net
  Recode
  Benchmark is suing Travis Kalanick (and Uber) over board control, claiming a 'selfish' power grab
  Recode
  One of Uber's biggest shareholders, Benchmark Capital, has sued co-founder and ousted CEO Travis Kalanick, claiming he has not honored the terms of his resignation and has been trying to change the makeup of the board to advantage himself. Along with ...
  Uber Investor Sues Travis Kalanick for FraudNew York Times
  Uber investor Benchmark sues Travis Kalanick for fraudVentureBeat
  Ea
  
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• The earliest airborne mammals may have glided among the dinosaurs 160 million years ago

  10-08-2017 22:04
  
  AnimalsIt’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…
  We all know about flying squirrels, but the earliest gliding mammals may have actually evolved separately 160 million years ago.
  
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• Scientists are naming new species after musicians, and it’s kind of amazing

  10-08-2017 22:00
  
  AnimalsFrom Beyoncé to Shakira.
  No one really knows how many species actually inhabit planet Earth—some say millions, others trillions—but regardless, it's the job of taxonomists to name them all.
  
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• A 13 million year old skull could show us what our ancestors looked like

  10-08-2017 21:17
  
  ScienceA complete skull of an ancient infant primate was found in northern Kenya
  A tiny, infant skull discovered in the Napudet area, west of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya could tell us what our ancestors looked like millions of years ago.
  
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• Google Hosts Town Hall to Discuss Diversity in Its Ranks

  10-08-2017 20:53 via nbcnews.com
  Google CEO Sundar Pichai is hosting a town hall on Thursday following the firing of the engineer who wrote the now infamous "Google Manifesto."
  
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• 2030: Medically-Enhanced ‘Elite Super Workers’ Will Be Smarter, Stronger, Faster

  10-08-2017 20:53 via technocracy.news
  The Technocrat and Transhuman dreams are merging on this fantasy, that humans can be fundamentally transformed without any undesirable side-effects. Such human enhancement was originally put into play by DARPA in 2001. ⁃ TN EditorThe year is 2030 and medical enhancement techniques have led to the creation of a new breed of elite super-workers.
  Employee’s performance is measured, monitored and analysed at every step by their corporate overlords.
  These elite super-workers use tech
  
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• Cyberattack leaves millions without mobile phone service in Venezuela

  10-08-2017 20:49
  A massive cyberattack that took down government websites in Venezuela earlier this week also has left seven million mobile phone users without service, the government said Thursday.
  
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• Snapchat's not-growing pains are a boom for Instagram

  10-08-2017 20:48
  Facebook once failed to buy Snapchat; ever since, it's tried to copy it, mostly without success.
  
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• Day to night and back again: Earth's ionosphere during the total solar eclipse

  10-08-2017 20:47
  On Aug. 21, 2017, the Moon will slide in front of the Sun and for a brief moment, day will melt into a dusky night. Moving across the country, the Moon's shadow will block the Sun's light, and weather permitting, those within the path of totality will be treated to a view of the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.
  
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• AI, crowdsourcing combine to close 'analogy gap'

  10-08-2017 20:46
  Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem devised a method enabling computers to mine databases of patents, inventions and research papers, identifying ideas that can be repurposed to solve new problems or create new products.
  
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• Gene editing used to eliminate viruses in live pigs

  10-08-2017 20:44
  eGenesis, a biotechnology company focused on transforming xenotransplantation into a lifesaving medical procedure, announced the publication of a study in the journal Science by eGenesis scientists and their collaborators demonstrating the inactivation of PERV to prevent cross-species viral transmission and a breakthrough in producing the first PERV-free pigs, an important milestone for xenotransplantation.
  
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• Experimental defense unit funds new tech but faces skeptics

  10-08-2017 20:22
  An Obama-era effort enlisting startup companies to come up with solutions to the military's toughest technological challenges is funding experimental drones, new cybersecurity technology and advanced communications systems for soldiers.
  
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• Chemists use electrochemistry to amp up drug manufacturing

  10-08-2017 20:21
  Give your medicine a jolt. By using - electrochemistry - a technique that combines electricity and chemistry, future pharmaceuticals - including many of the top prescribed medications in the United States - soon may be easily scaled up to be manufactured in a more sustainable way.
  
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• China Is Building A Satellite-Based Global Quantum Communication Network

  10-08-2017 20:18 via technocracy.news
  Launched over a year ago, China’s satellite has now demonstrated quantum key distribution to the ground, potentially giving it control over the global communication network. This technology will undoubtedly dovetail with its ambitions to create a dominating global blockchain currency, because it will be “un-hackable”. ⁃ TN EditorChinese scientists have become the first to realize quantum key distribution from a satellite to the ground, laying the foundation for build
  
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• Planet marks new highs for heat, pollutants, sea level in 2016: report

  10-08-2017 20:16
  The Earth set a series of dire records in 2016, including hottest year in modern times, highest sea level and most heat-trapping gases ever emitted, a global climate report said Thursday.
  
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• Crank the AC, cut in-car pollution

  10-08-2017 20:15
  For many, the commute to and from work is a lengthy, stressful process. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it takes the average American about 26½ minutes to get to work. That's nearly an hour each day—to work and back—to face traffic snarls and congested highways. That commute can also be hazardous to your health, exposing drivers to an increased amount of air pollutants that have been linked to a whole host of medical maladies, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory
  
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• Wildfires rage in Portugal as scorching temperatures return

  10-08-2017 20:14
  Nearly 3,000 firefighters battled 80 wildfires that raged across Portugal on Thursday, civil protection officials said, as the return of scorching heat put an end to the respite from a spate of blazes.
  
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• Portuguese firefighters gain upper hand against wildfires (Update)

  10-08-2017 20:14
  Firefighters aided by calmer winds were gaining control of wildfires raging across drought-hit Portugal on Thursday but warned the fire danger remained high in the coming days.
  
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• Pig organs could soon be transplanted into humans after major 'xenotransplantation' breakthrough - The Independent

  10-08-2017 20:01 via independent.co.uk
  The Independent
  Pig organs could soon be transplanted into humans after major 'xenotransplantation' breakthrough
  The Independent
  Scientists have cleared a major barrier to transplanting organs from pigs into humans after removing threatening viruses from the animals' DNA. The new research opens up the possibility of breeding animals to harvest their organs to meet the demand for ...
  Transplanting Pig Organs Into Humans Could Happen In The Near FutureNewsy
  Genetically modified pig organs ma
  
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• San Salvador pupfish acquired genetic variation from island fish to eat new foods

  10-08-2017 20:00
  Pupfish living in salty lakes on San Salvador Island were able to diversify into multiple species with different eating habits, in part, by interbreeding with pupfish from other islands in the Caribbean, report Emilie Richards and Christopher Martin, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, August 10, 2017 in PLOS Genetics.
  
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• Origins of DNA folding suggested in archaea

  10-08-2017 20:00
  In the cells of palm trees, humans, and some single-celled microorganisms, DNA gets bent the same way. Now, by studying the 3-D structure of proteins bound to DNA in microbes called Archaea, University of Colorado Boulder and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have turned up surprising similarities to DNA packing in more complicated organisms.
  
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• Climate change shifts timing of European floods

  10-08-2017 20:00
  A study conducted by TU Wien and 30 European partners shows that the timing of the floods has shifted across much of Europe, dramatically in some areas. When a major flood event occurs it is often attributed to climate change. However, a single event is not proof, and so far it has been unclear whether climate change has a direct influence on river floods at large scales in Europe.
  
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• Circular RNA linked to brain function

  10-08-2017 20:00
  While hundreds of circular RNAs (circRNAs) are abundant in mammalian brains, one big question has remained unanswered: What are they actually good for? In the current issue of Science, Nikolaus Rajewsky and his team at the Berlin Institute of Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), as well as other collaborators within the MDC and Charité, present data that—for the first time—link a circular RNA
  
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• Fin24.com | You might not be able to pay cash for your next Uber trip

  10-08-2017 18:59
  
  Uber has introduced a new, pilot cash indicator feature in South Africa which will allow drivers to choose the method of how they will be paid.
  
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• Political party influences lawmakers' tweets more than gender

  10-08-2017 18:48
  Research has shown that politicians' gender shapes public expectations of their expertise.
  
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• NASA analyzed intensifying Franklin's rains before landfall

  10-08-2017 18:48
  Before Tropical Storm Franklin made landfall in east-central Mexico, the storm was intensifying. Two NASA satellites provided a look at the storm's cloud heights and extent and rainfall within.
  
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• Researchers use CRISPR to manipulate social behavior in ants

  10-08-2017 18:42
  The gene-editing technology called CRISPR has revolutionized the way that the function of genes is studied. So far, CRISPR has been widely used to precisely modify single-celled organisms and, more importantly, specific types of cells within more complex organisms. Now, two independent teams of investigators are reporting that CRISPR has been used to manipulate ant eggs—leading to germline changes that occur in every cell of the adult animals throughout the entire ant colony. The papers ap
  
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• Ohio Supercomputer Center helps researchers map invisible universe

  10-08-2017 18:41
  The Ohio Supercomputer Center played a critical role in helping researchers reach a milestone mapping the growth of the universe from its infancy to present day.
  
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• City-dwelling sea snakes are changing colors for a strange reason

  10-08-2017 18:06
  
  AnimalsIt has nothing to do with camouflage.
  Sea snakes in some urban areas of the Pacific are changing colors.
  
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• New version of DNA editing system corrects underlying defects in RNA-based diseases

  10-08-2017 18:00
  Until recently, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique could only be used to manipulate DNA. In a 2016 study, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers repurposed the technique to track RNA in live cells in a method called RNA-targeting Cas9 (RCas9). In a new study, published August 10 in Cell, the team takes RCas9 a step further: they use the technique to correct molecular mistakes that lead to microsatellite repeat expansion diseases, which include myotonic dystrophy ty
  
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• How urban seasnakes lost their stripes

  10-08-2017 18:00
  Researchers studying turtle-headed seasnakes living on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific noticed something unusual about the snakes' color patterns: seasnakes living in more pristine parts of the reef were decorated with black-and-white bands or blotches. Those in places with more human activity—near the city or military activity—were black.
  
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• Asteroid to shave past Earth on Oct 12: ESA (Update)

  10-08-2017 17:52
  A house-sized asteroid will shave past our planet on October 12, far inside the Moon's orbit but without posing any threat, astronomers said Thursday.
  
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• NASA airborne mission returns to Africa to study smoke, clouds

  10-08-2017 17:51
  NASA's P-3 research plane begins flights this month through both clouds and smoke over the South Atlantic Ocean to understand how tiny airborne particles called aerosols change the properties of clouds and how they influence the amount of incoming sunlight the clouds reflect or absorb.
  
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• Researchers develop innovative way to understand nature of an entire tiny particle

  10-08-2017 17:50
  New research from the University of New Hampshire has led to the development of a novel technique to determine the surface area and volume of small particles, the size of a grain of sand or smaller. Due to their tiny size, irregular shape and limited viewing angle, commonly used microscopic imaging techniques cannot always capture the whole object's shape often leaving out valuable information that can be important in numerous areas of science, engineering and medicine.
  
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• This protein makes your heart fit without actually exercising it

  10-08-2017 17:46
  
  HealthNo gym membership necessary.
  A new study shows how a protein called cardiotrophin can stimulate healthy heart growth, which could be a future treatment for a certain type of heart failure.
  
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• Motorola's gamepad Moto Mod is $80 and exclusive to Verizon - The Verge

  10-08-2017 17:05 via theverge.com
  The Verge
  Motorola's gamepad Moto Mod is $80 and exclusive to Verizon
  The Verge
  The gamepad controller for Motorola's Moto Z line of smartphone is going on sale August 25th for $79.99. That seems pretty expensive, and unfortunately for those who've been awaiting the snap-on accessory, you'll only have one place to get it: Verizon ...
  Moto X4 Leaks and I Don't Get ItDroid Life
  Moto Z2 Force Edition now available on Verizon WirelessAndroid Community
  Possible Moto X4 Leaks In Numerous Real-Li
  
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• Surprise discovery in the search for energy efficient information storage

  10-08-2017 17:04
  Today almost all information stored on hard disc drives or cloud servers is recorded in magnetic media, because it is non-volatile (i.e. it retains the information when power is switched off) and cheap. For portable devices such as mobile phones and tablets, other forms of non-magnetic memory are used because the technology based on magnetism is impractical and is not energy efficient. In an age of mass data storage and portable devices which collect and process information, the search is on to
  
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