Sci-Tech news

• Fish might be shrinking

  28-08-2017 23:23
  
  From Our Blogs: Nexus Media News And climate change is to blame.
  Rising temperatures are robbing the ocean of oxygen, causing fish to get smaller and smaller.
  
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• Mark Zuckerberg welcomes second daughter in Facebook post

  28-08-2017 22:40
  Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife welcomed their second daughter—August—to the world on Monday with a post on the leading social network.
  
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• Algae fortifies coral reefs in past and present

  28-08-2017 22:39
  The Great Barrier Reef, and most other large reefs around the world, owe their bulk in large part to a type of red algae that grows on corals and strengthens them. New research led by Anna Weiss, a Ph.D. candidate at The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, has found that ancient coral reefs were also bolstered by their bond with red algae, a finding that could help scientists better understand how reefs will respond to climate change.
  
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• NASA calculates Tropical Storm Harvey's flooding rainfall

  28-08-2017 22:37
  At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, an analysis of Hurricane Harvey's tremendous rainfall was created using eight days of satellite data.
  
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• New liquid-metal membrane technology may help make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles viable

  28-08-2017 22:28
  While cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells offer clear advantages over the electric vehicles that are growing in popularity (including their longer range, their lower overall environmental impact, and the fact that they can be refueled in minutes, versus hours of charging time), they have yet to take off with consumers. One reason is the high cost and complexity of producing, distributing, and storing the pure hydrogen needed to power them, which has hindered the roll-out of hydrogen refueling st
  
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• Last week in tech: New gadgets bask in the post-eclipse glow

  28-08-2017 22:15
  
  GadgetsThere are lots of new (and mostly expensive) devices to meet this week.
  Would you like some $2,000 headphones to go with your new Lamborghini smartphone?
  
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• Why Sheep Calls Have That Unmistakable Vibrato

  28-08-2017 22:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Animals from sheep to fur seals share a curious acoustic trait: Their calls feature a vibrato-like trill.Vibrato is the small, quick oscillation in pitch that musicians use to accentuate certain notes. It makes a note sound a bit wobbly and helps catch our attention. It's found all over the animal kingdom, too — think the staccato "baaaaa's" of a goat. But animals' pulsating cries are far more than stylistic. A new study from University College Dublin says that these characterist
  
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• The best gear for going back to school

  28-08-2017 21:30
  
  GadgetsYou should never stop learning—or getting excited about truly excellent highlighters.
  PopSci's back to college gear guide. Here is a list for students—and their parents hint hint—of gear that will make your collegiate experience more organized, more…
  
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• Engineers Are Working on Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments (AREE)

  28-08-2017 21:04 via scitechdaily.com
  Scientists are working on a rover that might be able to better explore Venus. The planet’s hellish atmosphere creates pressures that would crush most submarines....
  The post Engineers Are Working on Automaton Rover for Extreme Environments (AREE) appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Electricity consumption in Europe will shift under climate change

  28-08-2017 21:00
  Rising temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions will fundamentally change electricity consumption patterns in Europe. A team of scientists from Germany and the United States now analyzed what unchecked future warming means for Europe's electricity demand: daily peak loads in Southern Europe will likely increase and overall consumption will shift from Northern Europe to the South. Further, the majority of countries will see a shift of temperature-driven annual peak demand from winter to summe
  
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• Dispersants improved air quality for responders at Deepwater Horizon

  28-08-2017 21:00
  A study published Aug. 28, 2017, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences adds a new dimension to the controversial decision to inject large amounts of chemical dispersants immediately above the crippled oil well at the seafloor during the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010. The dispersants may have significantly reduced the amount of harmful gases in the air at the sea surface—diminishing health risks for emergency responders and allowing them to keep working to stop the unc
  
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• Coral skeletons may resist the effects of acidifying oceans

  28-08-2017 21:00
  Coral skeletons are the building blocks of diverse coral reef ecosystems, which has led to increasing concern over how these key species will cope with warming and acidifying oceans that threaten their stability.
  
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• Flame retardants may be messing with women’s fertility—and they’re in way more than yoga mats

  28-08-2017 20:35
  
  HealthPotentially harmful chemicals are in everything from car seats to nail polish.
  We might not be that great at retarding fires, but we’re fantastic at putting retardants in things that then leach into our bodies.
  
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• WATCH: Facebook sets up safety check for Hurricane Harvey survivors

  28-08-2017 20:21
  People in the storm's path can mark themselves as safe on the site.
  
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• Social Media Becomes a Savior in Harvey Relief

  28-08-2017 20:16 via nbcnews.com
  When calls for help wouldn't go through, people affected by Hurricane Harvey have been turning to social media for help.
  
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• Hurricane Harvey is far from over

  28-08-2017 20:08
  
  EnvironmentThe storm is unprecedented, and it isn't going anywhere.
  Hurricane Harvey looks like it will extend its misery until at least the end of this week.
  
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• Cassini Spacecraft Views Turbulent Clouds at the Top of Saturn

  28-08-2017 20:03 via scitechdaily.com
  This newly released image from NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft shows turbulent clouds are on top of the world at Saturn. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view...
  The post Cassini Spacecraft Views Turbulent Clouds at the Top of Saturn appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Black hole models contradicted by hands-on tests at Sandia's Z machine

  28-08-2017 19:56
  A long-standing but unproven assumption about the X-ray spectra of black holes in space has been contradicted by hands-on experiments performed at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine.
  
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• Black hole models contradicted by hands-on tests

  28-08-2017 19:56
  A long-standing but unproven assumption about the X-ray spectra of black holes in space has been contradicted by hands-on experiments performed at Sandia National Laboratories' Z machine.
  
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• NASA takes potential Tropical Cyclone 10's temperature

  28-08-2017 19:55
  Cloud top temperatures are an important factor when it comes to determining the strength of storms. NASA's Aqua satellite gathered cloud top temperature data from potential tropical cyclone 10, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast.
  
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• NASA gets an infrared view of Tropical Cyclone Sanvu

  28-08-2017 19:54
  NASA's Aqua satellite used infrared light to gather cloud top temperature data from the newest tropical cyclone in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Tropical Depression Sanvu formed just north of the Northern Marianas islands.
  
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• Oldest white supremacist site shut down after complaint

  28-08-2017 19:34
  The founder of the internet's oldest white supremacist site said he was trying to get back online Monday after a company revoked its domain name following complaints that it promotes hatred and is linked to dozens of murders.
  
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• Five essential Dropbox tools you might be missing

  28-08-2017 19:20
  
  DIYGet more out of the app.
  Do you back up your files with the storage and syncing service Dropbox? These five expert tips and tricks will help you get the most out of the essential app.
  
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• PPPL physicists essential to new campaign on world's most powerful stellarator

  28-08-2017 19:08
  Physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) are providing critical expertise for the first full campaign of the world's largest and most powerful stellarator, a magnetic confinement fusion experiment, the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) in Germany. The fusion facility resumes operating on August 28, 2017, and will investigate the suitability of its optimized magnetic fields to create steady state plasmas and to serve as a model for a future power plant
  
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• Country's largest estuary facing increasing acidification risk

  28-08-2017 19:07
  Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States and one of the largest in the world, is facing new risks from a layer of highly acidified water some 10 to 15 meters below the surface, a new study has found.
  
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• NASA’s InSight Mission to Investigate Interior of Red Planet

  28-08-2017 18:49 via scitechdaily.com
  NASA’s InSight Mission will be the first mission to focus on the deep interior of Mars, boosting our understanding of how all rocky planets formed....
  The post NASA’s InSight Mission to Investigate Interior of Red Planet appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Business Is Booming at Samsung, Scandal and All

  28-08-2017 18:40 via nbcnews.com
  It truly is both the best of times and the worst of times for Samsung.
  
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• Scores treated after mystery 'chemical haze' hits UK coast

  28-08-2017 18:37
  A mysterious chemical haze that left scores of people on the English coast with streaming eyes, sore throats and breathing problems has dissipated, but its cause remains a mystery, police and emergency services said Monday.
  
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• Study of bee health finds no natural medicine in once-promising compound

  28-08-2017 18:36
  A new study of possible self-medicating behavior in bumble bees conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports that a once-promising finding was not supported by further experiments and analysis.
  
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• NASA sees Tropical Storm Harvey moving back into the Gulf

  28-08-2017 18:28
  On Monday, Aug. 28 at 7 a.m. CDT the National Hurricane Center said the center of Harvey is emerging into the Gulf of Mexico. A NASA animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES East satellite shows Harvey as it lingered over southeastern Texas over the weekend of Aug. 26 and 27 and moving back toward the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 28.
  
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• 'Marrying up' is now easier for men, improves their economic well-being, study finds

  28-08-2017 17:50
  As the number of highly educated women has increased in recent decades, the chances of "marrying up" have increased significantly for men and decreased for women, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas sociologist.
  
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• Hubble Image of the Week – MCG+01-38-004 and MCG+01-38-005

  28-08-2017 17:45 via scitechdaily.com
  This Hubble image of the week shows galaxy MCG+01-38-004 and galaxy MCG+01-38-005, which are located roughly 400 million light-years away. Phenomena across the Universe emit...
  The post Hubble Image of the Week – MCG+01-38-004 and MCG+01-38-005 appeared first on SciTech Daily.
  
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• Keeping pandas off endangered list ledge

  28-08-2017 17:30
  Things aren't all black and white for giant pandas.
  
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• Fruit fly protein dual duties may make it model for studies of protein function in context

  28-08-2017 17:30
  An essential fruit fly protein called CLAMP may help biologists answer the key question of how the same protein can manage to coordinate two completely different processes on distinct chromosomes in the same cell.
  
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• Scientists analysed how a special treatment improves cheap metal oxide photoelectrodes

  28-08-2017 17:22
  The fossil fuel age is bound to end, for several strong reasons. As an alternative to fossil fuels, hydrogen seems very attractive. The gas has a huge energy density, it can be stored or processed further, e. g. to methane, or directly provide clean electricity via a fuel cell. If it is produced using sunlight alone, hydrogen is completely renewable with zero carbon emissions.
  
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• Helping corals to cope with pressure

  28-08-2017 17:20
  Tiny plant cells, known as dinoflagellates, that live within coral tissue can help to regulate the osmotic pressure in corals to better cope with a highly saline environment. KAUST researchers suggest this may be one of the secrets of corals from the Red Sea and Persian/Arabian Gulf, which are extremely tolerant of heat in extraordinarily salty waters.
  
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• Computer Chips Bonded With Living Brain Cells Give AI Ability To Smell

  28-08-2017 17:13 via technocracy.news
  This is mind-boggling technology, but will completely overtake many existing security functions. Basically, humans cannot escape their odors, and every human has a unique odor signature. ⁃ TN EditorA technology expert has created a computer chip based on mice neurons that could recognise the smell of explosives.
  The device could be implanted into the brain of future robots, which could be trained to recognise danger via odours, replacing traditional airport security.
  The Koniku Kore d
  
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• Optical control of magnetic memory—New insights into fundamental mechanisms

  28-08-2017 17:10
  This is an important clue for our theoretical understanding of optically controlled magnetic data storage media. The findings are published at August 25th in the journal Scientific Reports.
  
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• Beetle's best friend: Trained dogs most efficient in monitoring hermit beetle larvae

  28-08-2017 17:10
  Hermit beetles (Osmoderma eremita) are considered at risk, but in order to be effectively protected, they first need to be identified and consistently monitored.
  
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• Researchers develop simple device to recreate complex birdsongs

  28-08-2017 17:06
  Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a simple device that mimics complex birdsongs. The device, developed by the group of L. Mahadevan, the Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and of Physics, uses air blown through a stretched rubber tube to recreate birdsongs found in nature, including the songs of Zebra and Bengalese finches.
  
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• VLA reveals distant galaxy's magnetic field

  28-08-2017 17:00
  With the help of a gigantic cosmic lens, astronomers have measured the magnetic field of a galaxy nearly five billion light-years away. The achievement is giving them important new clues about a problem at the frontiers of cosmology—the nature and origin of the magnetic fields that play an important role in how galaxies develop over time.
  
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• Repetitive elements shape embryonic chromatin landscape

  28-08-2017 17:00
  Retrotransposons are repetitive elements that form almost half of the mammalian genome. Even though they are so common, they have previously been considered to be fairly insignificant. Together with colleagues from the USA, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now shown in Nature Genetics that retrotransposons play an important role in embryonic development.
  
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• Climate may quickly drive forest-eating beetles north, says study

  28-08-2017 17:00
  Over the next few decades, global warming-related rises in winter temperatures could significantly extend the range of the southern pine beetle—one of the world's most aggressive tree-killing insects—through much of the northern United States and southern Canada, says a new study. The beetle's range is sharply limited by annual extreme temperature lows, but these lows are rising much faster than average temperatures—a trend that will probably drive the beetles' spread, say the
  
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• NASA sees Tropical Storm Pakhar after landfall

  28-08-2017 16:58
  Just after Tropical Storm Pakhar made landfall in southeastern China and NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of the storm.
  
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• NASA infrared data shows Harvey's powerful rainmaking capability

  28-08-2017 16:52
  Tropical Storm Harvey's center of circulation did not move much during the day on Sunday, Aug. 27 and NASA's infrared data identified powerful storms within Harvey that had the capability to produce heavy rain.
  
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• Fin24.com | WATCH: We’re on track to R3bn turnover - Adapt IT CEO

  28-08-2017 16:45
  
  Despite being one of the JSE’s underperforming tech firms, local IT solutions company Adapt IT reported a 25% rise in turnover to R994m for the year to end-June.
  
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• Oil and gas wells as a strong source of greenhouse gases

  28-08-2017 16:44
  The pictures went around the world. In April 2010, huge amounts of methane gas escaped from a well below the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This "blow-out" caused an explosion, in which eleven people died. For several weeks, oil spilled from the damaged well into the ocean. Fortunately, such catastrophic "blow-outs" are rather rare. Continuous discharges of smaller amounts of gas from active or old and abandoned wells occur more frequently.
  
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• NASA sees a slow-moving, soaking Tropical Storm Harvey

  28-08-2017 16:01
  Hurricane Harvey has weakened to Tropical Storm while still centered over southeastern Texas, but continues to generate a tremendous amount of rainfall. Satellite imagery revealed the eye had disappeared as the storm weakened.
  
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• Rhesus monkeys found to see faces in inanimate objects too

  28-08-2017 16:00
  A team of researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has found that rhesus monkeys, like humans, recognize face-like traits in inanimate objects. In their study published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers describe experiments they carried out with monkeys looking at photographs and what they learned from them.
  
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• NASA analyzes Hurricane Harvey's rainfall, sees landfall

  28-08-2017 16:00
  Satellites have been providing forecasters with valuable information as Harvey intensified to a Category 4 hurricane before making landfall in southeastern Texas. NASA's GPM satellite and NOAA's GOES-East satellite provided a look at Harvey's heavy rainfall, cloud heights, temperatures and extent of the storm.
  
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