Here is the latest Science News from Phys.Org.
The complex reality of the non-driving millennial
It’s a well-worn media trope. Twenty-first century millennials are leading the way to a green transportation future, moving to cities, riding public transit, biking and walking and often delaying car purchases indefinitely, to Detroit’s growing dismay.
Computer simulation reveals new effect of cavitation
Researchers have discovered a so far unknown formation mechanism of cavitation bubbles by means of a model calculation. In the Science Advances journal, they describe how oil-repellent and oil-attracting surfaces influence a passing oil flow. Depending on the viscosity of the oil, a steam bubble forms in the transition area. This so-called cavitation may damage material of e.g. ship propellers or pumps. However, it may also have a positive effect, as it may keep components at a certain distance and, thus, prevent damage.
New Horizons imagery reveals small, frozen lake on Pluto
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft spied several features on Pluto that offer evidence of a time millions or billions of years ago when – thanks to much higher pressure in Pluto’s atmosphere and warmer conditions on the surface – liquids might have flowed across and pooled on the surface of the distant world.
Scientific roadmap for European astrobiology
The first scientific Roadmap for European Astrobiology was published on 21 March 2016. This strategic landmark for European astrobiology was produced through the European Commission-funded AstRoMap project (2013-2015). In putting this research roadmap document together, the 19 authors relied on the outcome and findings of the AstRoMap project as well as on wide community consultation and four disciplinary workshops organised between 2013 and 2014. The AstRoMap European Astrobiology Roadmap considers astrobiology in a wide context: it is understood as the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the context of cosmic evolution; this includes habitability in the Solar System and beyond. This makes this roadmap a transdisciplinary document of relevance for many communities, from astronomers to planetary scientists and from atmospheric physicists to life scientists.
Image: Hubble looks into a cosmic kaleidoscope
At first glance, this cosmic kaleidoscope of purple, blue and pink offers a strikingly beautiful—and serene—snapshot of the cosmos. However, this multi-colored haze actually marks the site of two colliding galaxy clusters, forming a single object known as MACS J0416.1-2403 (or MACS J0416 for short).
Historic nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll may hold clues to long-term impacts on modern urban cities
With increasing international threats of nuclear terror blasts, dirty bombs and the potential for nuclear power-plant accidents, long-term radiation impacts on modern urban cities can be difficult to predict.
Songbirds ‘teach chicks before they hatch’
Many birds learn their songs from their parents, but what if they could get a head start? A new paper, published in The Auk: Ornithological Advances, expands Flinders University research into how Australian fairy-wrens start learning to imitate their parents before they even hatch.
New unconventional superconductors and Weyl semi-metal dynamics
Unconventional superconductivity and topological quantum phenomena are two frontier research directions of condensed matter physics. A special topic published in a recent issue of Science China Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy collected several articles covering important progress in these two directions.
Chinese researchers develop new battery technology
A Chinese research team has developed a novel, environmentally friendly, low-cost battery that overcomes many of the problems of lithium ion batteries (LIB). The new aluminum-graphite, dual-ion battery (AGDIB) offers significantly reduced weight, volume, and fabrication cost, as well as higher energy density in comparison with conventional LIBs. AGDIB’s electrode materials are composed of environmentally friendly, low cost aluminum and graphite, while its electrolyte is composed of conventional lithium salt and carbonate solvent.
Brussels suicide attacks ‘shocking but not surprising,’ experts say
The coordinated suicide bombings that killed at least 30 people and wounded hundreds more at an international airport and downtown subway station in Brussels on Tuesday were “shocking but not surprising” and shared many of the hallmarks of previous European terror attacks, according to Stanford terrorism experts.
Scholar explores changing gestures of digital age
When we sit down to write, for the most part we now do it on a computer. Of course, that was not always the case.
Where to find WA’s most fertile marron
Next time you’re hoping to snare a marron in the South West, spare a thought for the fertility of the animals in the murky water below.
Preparing for Cassini’s last act
SETI Institute researcher Matt Tiscareno will continue to be on the front lines as the famed Cassini spacecraft embarks on its final mission. NASA has announced that Tiscareno will be a Participating Scientist as Cassini prepares to take the best images of Saturn’s rings ever made.
Robo-dogs to the rescue
Scientists in Japan have developed a system using information technology to augment and enhance the capabilities of canine search and rescue (SAR) teams. Outfitted with special suits, these cyber-enhanced SAR dogs can transmit information about disaster sites and victims to their handlers and rescue workers.
Possible signature of dark matter annihilation detected
We live in a dramatic epoch of astrophysics. Breakthrough discoveries like exoplanets, gravity waves from merging black holes, or cosmic acceleration seem to arrive every decade, or even more often. But perhaps no discovery was more unexpected, mysterious, and challenging to our grasp of the “known universe” than the recognition that the vast majority of matter in the universe cannot be directly seen. This matter is dubbed “dark matter,” and its nature is unknown. According to the latest results from the Planck satellite, a mere 4.9% of the universe is made of ordinary matter (that is, matter composed of atoms or their constituents). The rest is dark matter, and it has been firmly detected via its gravitational influence on stars and other normal matter. Dark energy is a separate constituent.
Researchers begin tracking crape myrtle bark scale populations
Black, sooty splotches pepper a line of 10 crape myrtle trees along Broadway Avenue in Tyler. The popular ornamental trees wear the tell-tale signs of bark scale infestations.
Athletes look for an edge in virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) appears ready to take the entertainment world by storm in 2016. In addition to the much-hyped Oculus Rift, major corporations such as Facebook, Sony and Samsung are poised to release high-quality VR headsets to the public this year. After years of VR being discussed as the “next big thing,” this may be the year consumers will be able to get their hands on actual products.
Researcher studies high-value vegetable crop production under high tunnels
When planting season comes around this summer, Dr. Charlie Rush, Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist in Amarillo, won’t be planting traditional crops or in traditional fields.
Can we replace politicians with robots?
If you had the opportunity to vote for a politician you totally trusted, who you were sure had no hidden agendas and who would truly represent the electorate’s views, you would, right?
Japan: Trouble reaching innovative new space satellite
Japan’s space agency says communication has failed with a newly launched, innovative satellite with X-ray telescopes meant to study black holes and other space mysteries.
Facebook apologizes for Safety Check glitch after Pakistan blast
Facebook apologized on Sunday for a bug that sent a Safety Check notification to users around the world following a deadly suicide bombing in Pakistan.
Caveman’s best friends? Preserved Ice Age puppies awe scientists
The hunters searching for mammoth tusks were drawn to the steep riverbank by a deposit of ancient bones. To their astonishment, they discovered an Ice Age puppy’s snout peeking out from the permafrost.
Is algebra an unnecessary stumbling block in US schools?
Who needs algebra?
Traffic backed up? Bridge out? More states deploying drones
That buzzing sound overhead may soon signal the arrival of the 21st-century version of a guy in a hardhat and bucket truck.
Bison coming ‘home’ to Montana Indian reservation
Descendants of a bison herd captured and sent to Canada more than a century ago will be relocated to a Montana American Indian reservation next month, in what tribal leaders bill as a homecoming for a species emblematic of their traditions.
The secret to a better shopping trip
Should you bring a shopping list when heading to the store or trust your memory?
‘Blocking-high’ pressure systems spawn most of the warming that melts Greenland surface ice, study says
Vanishing Arctic sea ice. Dogged weather systems over Greenland. Far-flung surface ice melting on the massive island.
Empowering stakeholders: EU BON project shares know-how on biodiversity data policies
Engagement with relevant political authorities and other stakeholders is of crucial importance for a research project, making sure its objectives are in tune with the real-world problems and its results provide adapted solutions. The EU FP7 project Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) shares the outcomes, lessons learned and conclusions from a series of three roundtable meetings designed to identify stakeholder needs and promote collaboration between science and policy.
Running out of money linked to fear of death
Roughly 52 percent of American households will not have enough retirement income to maintain their standard of living if they retire at 65.
Drought-hit Thailand sends up the Royal Rainmakers
When drought strikes, Thailand turns to its Royal Rainmakers—an airborne team which seeds the clouds over the kingdom.
“Do not drink” water advisory lifted in Louisiana town
Louisiana health officials say tests confirmed that the water in the town of Donaldsonville is safe to drink.
Law enforcement investigators seek out private DNA databases
Investigators are broadening their DNA searches beyond government databases and demanding genetic information from companies that do ancestry research for their customers.
Easter delivery: Cargo ship arrives at space station
The six astronauts at the International Space Station got an early Easter treat this weekend with the arrival of a supply ship full of fresh food and experiments.
World’s nations gather to rescue ocean life
It took a decade to get to the negotiating table, and it could easily take another to finish the job, but UN talks in New York to safeguard life in the high seas finally begin in earnest Monday.
Cargo ship reaches space station on resupply run
An unmanned cargo ship packed with science experiment materials plus food, water and clothes successfully docked at the International Space Station on Saturday, NASA partner Orbital ATK said.
Federal oil, gas leases stall over bird concerns in US West
Concerns over a bird that ranges across the American West continue to delay federal oil and gas lease sales, five months after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell proclaimed the Obama administration had found a way to balance drilling and conservation.
Study: Juneau Ice Field to shrink if warming continues
A Rhode Island-size ice field in the mountains behind Alaska’s capital could disappear by 2200 if climate-warming trends continue, according to a University of Alaska Fairbanks study.
Prestigious Texas lab cited again for animal deaths
A prestigious laboratory in Texas already under federal investigation after inspectors determined it didn’t do enough to prevent the suffering of primates is facing more scrutiny after animals in another study were found dead.
Dung, offal make clean gas at Costa Rica slaughterhouse
Imagine tons of stinking dung, blood and offal, tipped into a giant tub for germs to feed on.
Poland approves logging Europe’s last primeval forest
Poland on Friday gave the go ahead for large-scale logging in the Bialowieza forest intended to combat a spruce bark beetle infestation, despite scientists, ecologists and the EU protesting the move in Europe’s last primeval woodland.
Engineers develop material that can sense fuel leaks and fuel-based explosives
Alkane fuel is a key ingredient in combustible material such as gasoline, airplane fuel, oil—even a homemade bomb. Yet it’s difficult to detect and there are no portable scanners available that can sniff out the odorless and colorless vapor.
What’s in a name? In some cases, longer life
Black men with historically distinctive black names such as Elijah and Moses lived a year longer, on average, than other black men, according to new research examining 3 million death certificates from 1802 to 1970.
For first time, drone delivers package to residential area
A drone has successfully delivered a package to a residential location in a small Nevada town in what its maker and the governor of the state said Friday was the first fully autonomous urban drone delivery in the U.S.
Biologists discover sophisticated ‘alarm’ signals in honey bees
Bees can use sophisticated signals to warn their nestmates about the level of danger from predators attacking foragers or the nest, according to a new study.
New class of molecular ‘lightbulbs’ illuminate MRI
Duke University researchers have taken a major step towards realizing a new form of MRI that could record biochemical reactions in the body as they happen.
Ancient bones point to shifting grassland species as climate changes
More rainfall during the growing season may have led to one of the most significant changes in the Earth’s vegetation in the distant past, and similar climate changes could affect the distribution of plants in the future as well, a new study suggests.
Physicists demonstrate a quantum Fredkin gate
Researchers from Griffith University and the University of Queensland have overcome one of the key challenges to quantum computing by simplifying a complex quantum logic operation. They demonstrated this by experimentally realising a challenging circuit—the quantum Fredkin gate—for the first time.
One atom can make a difference: Hydrogen-bonding pairing helps design better drugs to neutralize gut
Infections with bacterium Clostridium difficile have rapidly become a significant medical problem in hospitals and long-term care facilities. The bacteria cause diarrhea and life-threatening inflammation of the colon by producing toxins that kill the endothelial cells that form the lining of the gut. Although a natural inhibitor of these toxins, called InsP6, works in the test tube, it is not very efficient when administered orally. Traditional methods to optimize InsP6 have until now not been successful, but researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered that changing one atom in InsP6 can increase its ability to neutralize the toxins by 26-fold. The results appear in Science Advances.
Botulism in waterbirds: Mortality rates and new insights into how it spreads
Outbreaks of botulism killed large percentages of waterbirds inhabiting a wetland in Spain. During one season, more than 80 percent of gadwalls and black-winged stilts died. The botulinum toxin’s spread may have been abetted by an invasive species of water snail which frequently carries the toxin-producing bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, and which is well adapted to wetlands polluted by sewage. Global warming will likely increase outbreaks, said corresponding author Rafael Mateo, PhD. The research was published March 25th in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
Baby seal found 4 miles from water in San Francisco Bay Area
Authorities say a baby seal made it 4 miles from the water to the front yard of a home in the San Francisco Bay Area.
North America’s oldest orangutan born in zoo dies in Seattle
The Seattle zoo says North America’s oldest orangutan born in a zoo has died after struggling with respiratory problems.
Japan court orders dolphin-hunt town to pay damages to Australian
An anti-dolphin hunting activist is being paid damages by a Japanese town made notorious by the Oscar-winning film “The Cove,” after it refused to let her into its aquarium.
Micro-sanctuaries key to survival of wildlife in human-dominated landscapes
A new study by a team of researchers from the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Manipal University, Centre for Wildlife Studies and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-India, says that maintaining even the tiniest wildlife sanctuaries will help preserve some biodiversity in increasingly urbanized landscapes.
Citing FBI quest, Apple asks judge to delay iPhone data case
Apple wants a judge to delay government demands for data from a locked iPhone in a Brooklyn drug case while the FBI sees if it can get contents from a San Bernardino attacker’s phone without Apple’s help.
Iron nitride transformers could boost energy storage options
A Sandia-led team has developed a way to make a magnetic material that could lead to lighter and smaller, cheaper and better-performing high-frequency transformers, needed for more flexible energy storage systems and widespread adoption of renewable energy.
Not all communities benefit equally from pollution mitigation
There’s a phenomenon called “environmental injustice” – it characterizes the reality whereby environmental burdens, such as toxic and other waste disposal, are more pronounced in economically disadvantaged communities than in more well-off areas.
‘Popping rocks’ with robots
When I was offered a spot in the science team for the Popping Rocks cruise I got really excited: My first research cruise! The open ocean! Mid-ocean ridge basalts! HOV Alvin dives! Escaping the New York City winter! At the same time, I was a little apprehensive. Over the past decade I’ve studied lava flows on four continents and four planets, but I’ve never studied submarine flows beyond a few classroom assignments when I was a student. How are submarine flows different from subaerial flows? How do we collect data? Will I know how to process the data? Will I recognize submarine flows in data and imagery? So I started doing some research.
The time for unmanned ships has arrived
Unmanned ships have received relatively little media attention compared to aerial drones and self-driving cars. Researchers in Korea have been developing technologies to enable and facilitate the realization of unmanned autonomous ships in the near future.
Electrical engineers create device to diagnose patients more quickly
When a person contracts a disease, it takes time to diagnose the symptoms. Cell culturing, immunoassay and a nucleic-acid based diagnostic cycle all take several days, if not a week to determine the results. Not only do sick patients suffer during this time period, the wait can also lead to unnecessary disease spreading and perhaps avoidable antibiotic use.
Beaver Hills area named UNESCO biosphere reserve
An ecologically rich area of Alberta that is home to a University of Alberta research station and fertile ground for dozens of researchers over the years has won international recognition.
Study finds links between school climate, teacher turnover, and student achievement in NYC
Teacher turnover decreased and academic achievement increased in New York City middle schools that improved their learning environment, finds a new report from the Research Alliance for New York City Schools at NYU.
Digital caliper levels playing field for blind pre-med student
Senior computer science major Daryl Claassen thought building a digital caliper for a blind student was going to be a weekend project.
Image: Alluvial fans in Saheki Crater, Mars
Alluvial fans are gently-sloping wedges of sediments deposited by flowing water. Some of the best-preserved alluvial fans on Mars are in Saheki Crater, an area that has been imaged many times previously.
Task allocation—computing the logistics of snow-plowing
In winter, snowfall can rapidly disrupt daily life and impact on Japan’s economy. Snowplowing is a considerable annual expense, and methods for co-ordinating plowing activity are needed to ensure an efficient, cost-effective service. Clever computer models are needed to manage such complex activities, which involve many agents and interactions.
Comet flying by Earth observed with radar and infrared
Astronomers were watching when comet P/2016 BA14 flew past Earth on March 22. At the time of its closest approach, the comet was about 2.2 million miles (3.5 million kilometers) away, making it the third closest comet flyby in recorded history (see “A ‘Tail’ of Two Comets”). Radar images from the flyby indicate that the comet is about 3,000 feet (1 kilometer) in diameter.
What if America’s next big fuel source is its trash?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States produced 254 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2013. And though 87 million tons of that material from the landfill was diverted through recycling and composting, what if the nation could do better? What if landfills could become local sources of clean energy production? Better yet, what if all waste streams, like those from agricultural, livestock, and food production, could essentially become fuel refineries at a local level?
ExoMars mission narrowly avoids exploding booster
On March 14, the ExoMars mission successfully lifted off on a 7-month journey to the planet Mars but not without a little surprise. The Breeze-M upper booster stage, designed to give the craft its final kick toward Mars, exploded shortly after parting from the probe. Thankfully, it wasn’t close enough to damage the spacecraft.
A wrench fends off injury, feeds the economy
The gas meters that measure energy consumption in buildings pose as great a threat to workers who service them as downed power lines do to electric utility workers. Left in place for decades, the meters are often painted over and rusted, making nuts difficult to budge. Heavy pipe wrenches can slip when workers apply excessive force, violently jolting shoulders and backs.
Tropical species are especially vulnerable to climate change, according to researchers
Changes in temperature and weather patterns pose a serious threat to the millions of animal, plant and fungi species found in the tropics. In an article published in Science, lead authors and biology Ph.D. students Timothy Perez and James Stroud explain how species found in environments such as the tropics have lower tolerances to climate change. With greater amounts of thermally sensitive species than environments found at higher latitudes, the threat of global climate change puts tropical species at a greater risk of extinction than their temperate counterparts. The article is coauthored with biology professor Kenneth Feeley.
New climate services program in Rwanda aims to reach one million farmers
To build a more climate-resilient agriculture sector, the Rwandan government and partners are taking action to provide nearly a million farmers timely access to essential climate information services. The Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture project will ultimately help transform Rwanda’s rural farming communities and national economy through improved climate risk management. The project builds on ongoing innovations made by IRI’s Enhancing National Climate Services initiative (ENACTS), which filled in a 15-year gap in Rwanda’s historical meteorological records.
Researchers study health issues linked to wildlife-human interactions
Sri Lanka is a global biodiversity hotspot with many forms of wildlife found nowhere else on the planet. Unique subspecies such as the Sri Lankan leopard and the largest Asian elephant are an important tourist draw for a country finding its feet after decades of civil war.
New research ensures car LCDs work in extreme cold, heat
One of UCF’s most prolific inventors has solved a stubborn problem: How to keep the electronic displays in your car working, whether you’re driving in the frigid depths of winter or under the broiling desert sun.
Evaporated whisky inspires new type of coating technique
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers at Princeton University, along with assistance from a photographer in Arizona, has uncovered the secret behind why whisky does not leave behind “coffee rings” when in dries. In their paper published in Physical Review Letters, the team describes their analysis of various whiskies and other fluids and why they believe their results suggest the possibility for a new type of industrial coating.
Image: The Etosha salt pan in northern Namibia, from orbit
The Sentinel-2A satellite takes us over northern Namibia in this image from 18 September 2015.
Microbes and toxins frozen within glaciers could reveal the future of human life on Earth—or threaten it
Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous literary detective Sherlock Holmes once noted that “the little things are infinitely the most important.” It’s a belief that investigators at the University of Alberta obviously share. Whether they’re seeking to understand the tiniest forms of life, taking small steps toward major breakthroughs or influencing students in subtle but profound ways, U of A researchers and educators are proving that little things can make a big impact.
Antarctic birds recognize individual humans
You may have heard of crows, magpies, and mockingbirds recognizing individual people. These birds live among people, so it may be natural that they learn to differentiate people. But what about the animals that live in remote areas?
Mathematician finds his ‘new’ solution to Poisson formula problem buried in 1959 paper
(Phys.org)—As Yves Meyer was getting ready to publish a detailed mathematical proof that he had spent months working on, he decided do a final search of the existing literature. In the reference list of one of the papers he had just peer-reviewed, he noticed what he describes as a “bizarre” paper published in 1959 by Andrew Paul Guinand. Upon further investigation, he was shocked to discover that Guinand had formulated the exact same proof to solve the same problem that Meyer had been working on, though the solution had remained deeply buried and completely forgotten.
Protein recipe requires precise timing
The activation of genes is a complicated biochemical endeavor akin to cooking a meal, and a new Yale study details just how precisely choreographed those steps need to be.
New simulation of the sun shows both large and small scale processes
(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from the U.S., China, and Japan has developed a computer simulation of the sun that is able to show both large and small scale processes. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes how their simulation works and why they believe it will help solve one of the big questions in solar research.
How astronomers could find the ‘real’ planet Krypton
The search for exoplanets, worlds orbiting stars other than our own, has become a major field of research in the last decade – with nearly 2,000 such planets discovered to date. So the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice got me thinking: does Superman’s home planet of Krypton actually exist? Or at least a planet very much like it?
The first 3-D atlas of the extinct dodo
The dodo represents one of the best-known examples of extinction caused by humans, yet we know surprisingly little about this flightless pigeon from a scientific perspective. Now, for the first time since its extinction, a 3-D atlas of the skeletal anatomy of the dodo has been created, based upon two exceptional dodo skeletons that have remained unstudied for over a century.
Boost fundraising with something simple: Sandpaper
Not getting enough charitable donations? Try having people to touch sandpaper before you ask for money. A new study shows that touching rough surfaces triggers the emotion of empathy, which motivates people to donate to non-profit organizations.
Over 300 new beetle records for New Brunswick, Canada
Beetles diversity in New Brunswick, Canada, has elicited the interest of biologists for over a century and continues to do so. In 1991, 1,365 species were known from New Brunswick. That number had increased to 2,703 by 2013, as a result of a series of publications in three previous special ZooKeys issues and other publications. In spite of that work, there were still gaps in the knowledge of the Coleopteran fauna.
Streaks galore as Cygnus soars, chasing station for science
Tuesday evening, March 22, turned into ‘streaks galore’ on Florida’s space coast, as the nighttime launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo freighter atop an Atlas V rocket was captured in unforgettable fashion by talented space photographers as it chases down the International Space Station (ISS), loaded with hundreds of science experiments.
A new twist on educational testing
The two UC Santa Barbara students, Tiffini Gillespie and Ricquel Santos, stood in front of their classmates and pitched their idea for a slick new app. They’d identified a need, done their marketing research, surveyed potential customers and figured out how they would generate revenue. They were prepared and persuasive.
Defending Nigeria’s last elephants against poachers
For years, blacksmith Hashimu Abdullahi was making guns for ivory poachers and hunters invading the Yankari Game Reserve, one of the last wildlife areas home to elephants in Nigeria.
Project confirms NY fort’s old guns came from Florida wreck
Research has determined nine historic cannons displayed for the past 60 years at a recreated French and Indian War fort in upstate New York were originally aboard a British warship that sank in the Florida Keys in the 18th century, according to an underwater archaeologist who led the project.
Australia slams Japan Antarctic whale hunt
Australia on Friday branded Japan’s killing of 333 whales “abhorrent”, saying there was no scientific justification for the Antarctic hunt.
The rise of on-demand viewing divides Hollywood
Hollywood’s traditional media players are facing an unprecedented challenge to their business model as “cord-cutters” opt to cancel their expensive cable subscriptions in favor of on-demand streaming services.
Read my lips: New technology spells out what’s said when audio fails
New lip-reading technology developed at the University of East Anglia (UEA) could help in solving crimes and provide communication assistance for people with hearing and speech impairments.
GOES-R satellite could provide better data for hurricane prediction
The launch of the GOES-R geostationary satellite in October 2016 could herald a new era for predicting hurricanes, according to Penn State researchers. The wealth of information from this new satellite, at time and space scales not previously possible, combined with advanced statistical hurricane prediction models, could enable more accurate predictions in the future.
ExxonMobil, Chevron told to allow investor climate votes
US regulators have told ExxonMobil and Chevron to permit shareholders to vote on resolutions requiring assessments of how climate change policies might affect them, according to documents released Thursday.
Microsoft grounds foul-mouthed teen-speak bot
A Microsoft “chatbot” designed to converse like a teenage girl was grounded on Thursday after its artificial intelligence software was coaxed into firing off hateful, racist comments online.
Shadowy hacking industry may be helping FBI crack an iPhone
Turns out there’s a shadowy global industry devoted to breaking into smartphones and extracting their information. But you’ve probably never heard of it unless you’re a worried parent, a betrayed spouse—or a federal law enforcement agency.
Review: Beyond size, what you get and give up with iPhone SE
Unless you take a lot of selfies or need a bigger phone, Apple’s new 4-inch iPhone SE is a good choice at a good price.
Developing nations became top investors in renewables in 2015: UN
Investment in renewable energy hit a record $286 billion (256 billion euros) in 2015, more than half of which came from developing countries for the first time, according to a UN report released Thursday.
Researchers examine ways to break down, track synthetic compound in herbicides
To examine the fate and persistence of glyphosate, one of the most common commercial herbicides used for agricultural and urban applications, and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), a major byproduct of glyphosate, in soils and other environments, researchers at the University of Delaware have used isotopic signatures as a method of source tracking.
Microneedle patch delivers localized cancer immunotherapy to melanoma
Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. In animal studies, the technique more effectively targeted melanoma than other immunotherapy treatments.
Damage-signalling protein shows parallels between plant and human immune systems
A protein that signals tissue damage to the human immune system has a counterpart that plays a similar role in plants, report researchers at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI).
Researchers find new mechanism to explain the birth of cloud droplets
There is enough known about cloud formation that replicating its mechanism has become a staple of the school science project scene. But a new study by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) reveals that much more is going on at the microscopic level of cloud formation than previously thought.
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