Sci-Tech news

• Nearly 100 Volcanoes Discovered Beneath Antarctica's Ice

  14-08-2017 23:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  You could say Antarctica sings a song of fire and ice.The continent's frigid reputation is well known, but researchers from the University of Edinburgh analyzed radar scans of the West Antarctic Rift System and found 138 volcanoes hiding under the thick ice sheet. Of those, 91 were previously unidentified, they say, and the discovery could change our understanding of how the overlaying ice layer grows and shrinks.
  Hidden Volcanoes
  The West Antarctic Rift is bounded by the Transantarcti
  
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• Researchers describe neural mechanisms for gregariousness and monogamy in zebra finches

  14-08-2017 22:37
  How do gregarious songbirds such as zebra finches, where both males and females live in close proximity and where females may be attracted by the songs of many potential suitors, sustain monogamy? A new study appearing in eLife sheds light on how males have evolved a high tolerance to birdsong while females have evolved a high selectivity to these songs.
  
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• Netflix wins 'Scandal' creator Rhimes in blow to Disney, ABC

  14-08-2017 22:37
  Netflix has lured Shonda Rhimes, the well-regarded creator of TV series "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy," from ABC, its latest big get as media companies old and new fight for viewers' attention.
  
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• DC Hot Stick developed for first responder, worker safety

  14-08-2017 22:36
  With more volts than ever before in electric vehicles (EVs) and on solar-paneled rooftops, first responder and electrical worker safety is a growing concern. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are addressing the challenge with the development of a probe to accurately detect direct-current (DC) energy.
  
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• Tidally locked exoplanets may be more common than previously thought

  14-08-2017 22:33
  Many exoplanets to be found by coming high-powered telescopes will probably be tidally locked—with one side permanently facing their host star—according to new research by astronomer Rory Barnes of the University of Washington.
  
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• Probiotics help poplar trees clean up toxins in Superfund sites

  14-08-2017 22:32
  Trees have the ability to capture and remove pollutants from the soil and degrade them through natural processes in the plant. It's a feat of nature companies have used to help clean up polluted sites, though only in small-scale projects. Now, a probiotic bacteria for trees can boost the speed and effectiveness of this natural cycle, providing a microbial partner to help protect trees from the toxic effects of the pollutants and break down the toxins plants bring in from contaminated groundwater
  
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• Call of MRI: Action Video Games And The Brain

  14-08-2017 22:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  No sooner had I published my last post, on the much-discussed "women's brains are more active than men's" study, than another neuroscience paper triggered a fresh media storm. This time, the subject was videogames, and the headlines were alarming: Playing shooter video games damages the brain, study suggestsViolent shooter video games really DO rot your brainPlaying these video games could lead to brain disease
  Here's the paper, published in Molecular Psychiatry by University of M
  
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• In Paris, a Glimpse of Public Transportation's Driverless Future

  14-08-2017 21:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  France may be famous for its cheese and wine, but it’s also a longtime leader in driverless transit. Paris boasted one of the earliest models of automatic trains in 1983, when two metro lines ran without a conductor onboard. And the push toward driverless transportation continues in this city, with several planned upgrades before it plays host to the summer Olympics in 2024.So it was with high expectations and a sense of history that I boarded the driverless Line 1 to the bustling busine
  
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• How to make sure your eclipse glasses actually work

  14-08-2017 21:57
  
  SpaceDon't fry your eyeballs with counterfeits.
  With the Great American Eclipse approaching, there are counterfeit glasses everywhere. Don't get fooled.
  
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• GoDaddy, Google to Pull Plug on Neo-Nazi Website The Daily Stormer

  14-08-2017 21:23 via nbcnews.com
  Both GoDaddy and Google said they would not host the domain for neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, after the site published a mocking article about Charlottesville.
  
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• Viruses up their game in arms race with immune system

  14-08-2017 21:00
  In a classic example of the evolutionary arms race between a host and a pathogen, the myxoma virus—introduced to control the rabbit population in Australia in 1950—has developed a novel and deadly ability to suppress the immune response of its host rabbits. New research shows that viruses collected in the 1990s are much more effective at shutting down the immune systems of rabbits that have never been exposed to the virus than are viruses from the 1950s.
  
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• The origin of the chloroplast

  14-08-2017 21:00
  A new study, led by the University of Bristol, has shed new light on the origin, timing and habitat in which the chloroplast first evolved.
  
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• Lower-income children raised in counties with high upward mobility display fewer behavioral issues

  14-08-2017 21:00
  Children who grow up in urban counties with high upward mobility exhibit fewer behavioral problems and perform better on cognitive tests, according to a study led by Princeton University.
  
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• Cancer-fighting T cells are smarter, stronger than experts thought

  14-08-2017 21:00
  Scientists studying the body's cancer-fighting T cells have a serious problem: When they culture them in the lab, the T cells sit around at equilibrium, waiting to bump into cancerous cells. But that's not how they operate inside the body. There, they are motorized little bloodhounds, actively seeking out infected cells.
  
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• Bacteria can feel their surroundings

  14-08-2017 21:00
  For humans, our sense of touch is relayed to the brain via small electrical pulses. Now, University of Colorado Boulder scientists have found that individual bacteria, too, can feel their external environment in a similar way.
  
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• SpaceX launching research to space station

  14-08-2017 20:51
  SpaceX launches science experiments to the International Space Station _ plus ice cream
  
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• How to avoid spoilers online

  14-08-2017 19:44
  
  DIYIgnorance is bliss.
  To steer clear of plot twists and big reveals for your favorite shows—without going entirely offline—simply follow these tips for avoiding internet spoilers.
  
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• The Latest: Experiments, ice cream launched to space station

  14-08-2017 19:42
  SpaceX launches science experiments to the International Space Station _ plus ice cream
  
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• GoDaddy boots neo-Nazi site after post on protest violence

  14-08-2017 19:34
  A leading neo-Nazi website is losing its internet domain host after its publisher posted an article mocking the woman who was killed in a deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.
  
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• Target moves to shore up grocery, improve delivery service

  14-08-2017 19:33
  Target announced moves Monday aimed at helping it shore up two key areas: groceries and delivery.
  
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• Target buys tech company to help it offer same-day delivery

  14-08-2017 19:33
  Target said Monday it is buying a delivery logistics company to help it offer same-day delivery service to in-store shoppers.
  
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• Wisconsin Assembly committee to vote on Foxconn incentives

  14-08-2017 19:32
  The Wisconsin state Assembly planned a committee vote Monday on a $3 billion tax incentive package for Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, the start of what could be an intense month of legislative action to approve the massive deal.
  
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• Lawyer: British hacking suspect will be vindicated

  14-08-2017 19:30
  A lawyer for a 23-year-old British computer security researcher accused of creating malware to attack the banking system on Monday called him a "hero" and predicted he would be "fully vindicated."
  
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• Yes, you can still get the bubonic plague. Here's what to look out for.

  14-08-2017 19:29
  
  HealthIt's less terrifying than you might think.
  When headlines proclaim that the bubonic plague is alive in Arizona (or New Mexico, or wherever) it feels like some archaic monster has risen from the grave. The reality…
  
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• How testosterone regulates singing in canaries

  14-08-2017 19:25
  Testosterone controls specific features of birdsong in two distinct regions of the canary brain that resemble the human motor cortex, according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. The research points to a role for sex hormones in the regulation of this complex behavior that is more precise than merely increasing motivation to sing.
  
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• Observations of a supernova colliding with a nearby companion star take astrophysicists by surprise

  14-08-2017 19:23
  In the 2009 film "Star Trek," a supernova hurtles through space and obliterates a planet unfortunate enough to be in its path. Fiction, of course, but it turns out the notion is not so farfetched.
  
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• Get them while they're young: Astronomers catch exploding supernova early (Update)

  14-08-2017 19:23
  For the first time, astronomers have observed a cosmic event in great detail that they only had glimpses of before: a supernova and its explosive ejecta slamming into a nearby companion star. The discovery was made possible by a specialized survey taking advantage of recent advances in linking telescopes across the globe into a robotic network.
  
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• WATCH: Amazon issues refunds for potentially phony eclipse glasses

  14-08-2017 19:02
  Also, out of precaution, Amazon has removed a few listings for glasses on its website.
  
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• Trophic coherence explains why networks have few feedback loops and high stability

  14-08-2017 19:00
  (Phys.org)—Complexity – defined as having emergent properties or traits that are not a function of, and are therefore difficult or inherently impossible to predict from, the discrete components comprising the system – is a characteristic of complex systems at a wide range of scales (such as genes, neurons and other cells, brains, computers, language, and both natural and sociopolitical ecosystems) that comprise interconnected elements capable of self-modification via feedback l
  
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• Wildfires hit Greenland after record temperatures

  14-08-2017 18:28
  Police in Greenland warned people to stay away from western areas of the island as wildfires scorched swathes of scrubland.
  
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• Four arrested in India for leaking 'Game of Thrones' episode

  14-08-2017 18:28
  Four people have been arrested in India for leaking an episode from HBO's "Game of Thrones" television series before it was aired in the country, police said Monday.
  
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• NASA sees a tightly wound Typhoon Banyan

  14-08-2017 18:26
  Satellite imagery from NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite showed powerful storms tightly would around Typhoon Banyan's center as it moved through the Pacific Ocean.
  
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• Studying the Sun's atmosphere with the total solar eclipse of 2017

  14-08-2017 18:25
  A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months. But because Earth's surface is mostly ocean, most eclipses are visible over land for only a short time, if at all. The total solar eclipse of Aug. 21, 2017, is different - its path stretches over land for nearly 90 minutes, giving scientists an unprecedented opportunity to make scientific measurements from the ground.
  
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• Coke or Pepsi? Partner's choices can make you miserable

  14-08-2017 18:24
  It might not seem like a big deal if you like Coke while your partner likes Pepsi—but new research suggests preferring different brands can affect our happiness in relationships more than shared interests or personality traits.
  
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• Understanding smartphone separation anxiety and what smartphones mean to people

  14-08-2017 18:19
  What factors determine nomophobia, otherwise known as smartphone separation anxiety, and what behaviors and descriptors can help identify people with high nomophobia who tend to perceive smartphones as their extended selves? A new study that compares how people with high and low nomophobic tendencies perceive and value their smartphones is published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
  
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• Rescued Aleppo lion gives birth after Jordan move

  14-08-2017 18:15
  A charity has successfully transferred 13 animals to a new home in Jordan via Turkey from a neglected Syrian zoo, including a lioness who gave birth to a healthy cub just hours after arriving, it said Monday.
  
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• Can offshore fish farming feed a hungry world?

  14-08-2017 18:15
  Harvesting fish and shellfish from offshore farms could help provide essential protein to a global population set to expand a third to 10 billion by mid-century, researchers said Monday.
  
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• What can genetic testing really tell you?

  14-08-2017 18:13
  
  Ask Us Anything Risk is not a diagnosis.
  Have you wondered what your genes might mean for your future health and wellbeing? Genetic tests can give you some insight, but it's more complex than it seems.
  
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• Varroa mites—bees' archenemies—have genetic holes in their armor

  14-08-2017 18:10
  Seemingly indestructible Varroa mites have decimated honeybee populations and are a primary cause of colony collapse disorder, or CCD.
  
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• Last week in tech: It’s all fun and games until robots take over

  14-08-2017 18:03
  
  GadgetsIt's been an interesting week here at Camp PopSci! Let's recap all the interesting tech stories you may have missed.
  Robots beat us at video games, Netflix and Disney had a breakup, and all the other interesting stuff you missed while you were enjoying summer leisure.
  
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• NASA sees strengthening Tropical Storm Gert west of Bermuda

  14-08-2017 18:00
  Tropical Depression Eight (TD8) formed around 11 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 12 about 260 miles northeast of the southeastern Bahamas. By 5 p.m. the depression strengthened into a tropical storm and was named Gert.
  
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• Automated fingerprint analysis is one step closer to reality

  14-08-2017 17:50
  The first big case involving fingerprint evidence in the United States was the murder trial of Thomas Jennings in Chicago in 1911. Jennings had broken into a home in the middle of the night and, when discovered by the homeowner, shot the man dead. He was convicted based on fingerprints left at the crime scene, and for most of the next century, fingerprints were considered, both in the courts and in the public imagination, to be all but infallible as a method of identification.
  
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• Ozone treaty taking a bite out of US greenhouse gas emissions

  14-08-2017 17:40
  The Montreal Protocol, the international treaty adopted to restore Earth's protective ozone layer in 1989, has significantly reduced emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals from the United States. In a twist, a new study shows the 30-year old treaty has had a major side benefit of reducing climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S.
  
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• How did the Franklin expedition crew die?

  14-08-2017 17:34
  A University of Michigan dentistry professor drew upon his expertise in oral health in developing a new theory to help explain the deaths of the famed Franklin naval expedition crew, a mystery that has captivated historians for more than 150 years.
  
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• The critical point in breaking the glass problem

  14-08-2017 17:33
  Famously described as 'the deepest problem in solid state physics' by Nobel Laureate, Philip Andersen, the glass transition, by which a liquid transforms into a solid without freezing, is shedding its mystique.
  
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• 2-faced 2-D material is a first at Rice

  14-08-2017 17:33
  Like a sandwich with wheat on the bottom and rye on the top, Rice University scientists have cooked up a tasty new twist on two-dimensional materials.
  
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• Fin24.com | Angry Birds maker said to plan IPO at $2bn value

  14-08-2017 17:19
  
  Rovio Entertainment is planning an initial public offering as early as next month that could value the maker of the Angry Birds mobile games and movie at about $2bn.
  
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