technical updates

In nearly three decades, it has launched more than 45 Indian payloads from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2Y7IHRh

The cell wall of the bacteria is made up mostly of one large molecule called peptidoglycan from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/37WlLZZ

NEW DELHI: The WhatsApp snooping row that involves privacy infringement of 121 Indian users out of 1,400 globally via third-party Israeli Pegasus spyware is now witnessing serious questions on the part of the government in handling such a crucial matter in the absence of a robust digital legal framework. In a legal memorandum sent to IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the petitioner KN Govindacharya, founder of Rashtriya Swabhimaan Aandolan, said that the Minister's statement in the Rajya Sabha last week on WhatsApp-Pegasus snooping matter did not reveal the complete truth. Reacting to the Minister's claim that no complaint has been made in the IT Ministry till date by anyone in the WhatsApp spyware case, the memorandum said that a petition filed on behalf of Govindacharya by advocate Virag Gupta in Supreme Court on November 2 clearly sought an NIA investigation into the WhatsApp-NSO data Leak and perjury proceedings against WhatsApp and Facebook. "In earlier...

Here's how to see planets visible in December's night sky. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2slBjnS

Find out what's up in your night sky during December 2019 and how to see it in this Space.com stargazing guide. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2sYlS4N

See what's up in the night sky for December 2019, including stargazing events and the moon's phases, in this Space.com gallery courtesy of Starry Night Software. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2urdmcT

As NASA presses forward with the agency's mission to the Moon, Mars and beyond, the development of top-tier technology is critical to success. With emphasis on lunar exploration and scientific investigation, the desire to deliver a wide variety of payloads to the Moon has increased. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2rCqP51

Air pollution forced the closure of schools and universities in parts of Iran on Saturday, including Tehran, which was cloaked by a cloud of toxic smog, state media reported. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2r2oFeN

Mass protests, a last-minute venue change and talk of climate tipping points are adding some unplanned drama to this year's international talks on tackling global warming. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2rCqJub

In temperatures millions of times colder than interstellar space, researchers have performed the coldest reaction in the known universe. But that's not all. In such intense cold, their molecules slowed to such glacial speeds, they could see something no one has been able to see before: the moment when two molecules meet to form two new molecules. In essence, they captured a chemical reaction in its most critical and elusive act. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2q5B6WN

Sharks, penguins, turtles and other seagoing species could help humans monitor the oceans by transmitting oceanographic information from electronic tags. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/37S1XXu

Extinct rodent lived 145-66 mya in what is now northeastern China from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2L9fcJu

The treatment led to near-complete clearance of the bacteria from the mice lungs in just two months from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2L6vUsU

No medical community has come forward to spread awareness on this captivating yet unscientific business from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2XZ5sa4

Sixty-five years ago, a few days after Thanksgiving, Ann Hodges was snuggled up on the sofa in her Alabama home when a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite crashed through the ceiling and struck the left side of her body. Not the best interruption to the holiday season. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2Rc3Lo6

Can 42 years really feel so long ago and in such a galaxy far, far away? from Space.com https://ift.tt/33uDwMk

While black holes are famously known for devouring any matter that gets too close, these cosmic behemoths may have a nurturing side, too. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2OzMBPJ

NEW DELHI/NOVOSIBIRSK :  A puppy said to be buried for 18,000 years has been found in amazingly perfect condition in Siberia, though the scientists are unable to decide if it is a dog or a wolf, a media report said. Named Dogor, a local word for friend, it was found near Yakutsk in eastern Siberia last summer, the Sky News reported. The male pup's nose, teeth and fur were in remarkable condition. Researcher Love Dalen said it was possibly the oldest dog ever found and was "amazingly well-preserved". It looked as if it was a "very recently dead animal", he said. The body's age was measured by carbon dating its rib bone, though DNA tests did not confirm its lineage. David Stanton, a researcher at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Sweden, said it could be from a species that was ancestral to both dogs and wolves. –– IANS We now have some news on the 18,000 year old #wolf or #dog puppy. Genome analyses shows it's a male. So we asked our Russian colle...

MELBOURNE Scientists, including one of Indian origin, on Friday claimed to have developed a novel method to turn banana plantation waste into biodegradable and recyclable packaging material. According to the researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, the banana growing industry produces large amounts of organic waste, with only 12 per cent of the plant being used while the rest is discarded after harvest. "What makes the banana growing business particularly wasteful compared to other fruit crops is the fact that the plant dies after each harvest," said UNSW Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot. "We were particularly interested in the pseudostems—basically the layered, fleshy trunk of the plant which is cut down after each harvest and mostly discarded on the field. Some of it is used for textiles, some as compost, but other than that, it is a huge waste," Arcot said in a statement. Arcot and Martina Stenzel, a professor at UNSW, wonde...

MELBOURNE Scientists, including one of Indian origin, on Friday claimed to have developed a novel method to turn banana plantation waste into biodegradable and recyclable packaging material. According to the researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, the banana growing industry produces large amounts of organic waste, with only 12 per cent of the plant being used while the rest is discarded after harvest. "What makes the banana growing business particularly wasteful compared to other fruit crops is the fact that the plant dies after each harvest," said UNSW Associate Professor Jayashree Arcot. "We were particularly interested in the pseudostems—basically the layered, fleshy trunk of the plant which is cut down after each harvest and mostly discarded on the field. Some of it is used for textiles, some as compost, but other than that, it is a huge waste," Arcot said in a statement. Arcot and Martina Stenzel, a professor at UNSW, wonde...

Beijing, November 30 China has issued new rules banning online video and audio providers from using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality technologies to produce “fake news”. The   regulation published Friday by China’s cyberspace authority said that both providers and users of online video news and audio services are “not allowed” to use new technologies such as deep learning and virtual reality to create, distribute and broadcast “fake news”. “Fake news” has been generalised to mean anything from a mistake to a parody or a deliberate misinterpretation of facts. The rules come into effect on January 1, 2020. Failure to follow them could be considered a criminal offence, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said, without offering details on punishments. The rules require videos and audio tracks produced using AI or virtual reality technologies to carry clear labels warning users. The regulations particularly stressed the dangers of “deepfakes,” or technol...

Here are the best binoculars to buy, if you can buy only one. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2rnB2Ns

Within 20 years, 'e-babies' – babies born to parents who met online, will be more common than babies born to couples who met by traditional means. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Dv4NDG

Biodegradable 'plastic' bags made out of banana plants sounds a bit...bananas, but a couple of UNSW researchers have found a way to do it, and it could solve two industrial waste problems in one. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2L5W672

This week, the UN World Meteorological Organization announced that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached yet another high. This ongoing trend is not only heating up the planet, but also affecting the chemical composition of our oceans. Until recently, it has been difficult to monitor 'ocean acidification', but scientists are exploring new ways to combine information from different sources, including from ESA's SMOS mission, to shed new light on this major environmental concern. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qKHkvL

Strange ribbons of purple light that appeared in the sky—known as Steve—became the subject of debate in 2017, as their origins were unbeknown to scientists. Now, photographs of this remarkable phenomena have been studied to understand their exact position in the night sky. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2q2GdqR

Large antennas are our only current way of communicating through space across vast distances, and every now and then they need to be spruced up to ensure we can keep in touch with our deep-space exploration spacecraft. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2q6jjim

As millions of people begin their holiday shopping, they'll come across many familiar tricks online. In some cases, sites will hype limited-time deals with a countdown clock, warn you that the product you're looking at is running out of stock, or tell you that 65 people in your area have recently purchased the item. In others, they'll quietly add items to your cart, or sign you up for recurring payments under the guise of a free trial. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2R1puPN

When new pests, diseases or environmental issues are identified in Texas wheat, expertise in doubled haploid development can help find solutions in less than half the time of traditional breeding practices. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XUTIW6

Young fish can be drawn to degraded coral reefs by loudspeakers playing the sounds of healthy reefs, according to new research published today in Nature Communications. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37OrbWI

WASHINGTON: Fires in the Amazon rainforest are melting glaciers more than 2,000 kilometres away in the Andes mountain range in South America, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that aerosols from biomass burning, such as black carbon, can be transported by wind to tropical Andean glaciers. There they are deposited in snow, and have the potential to increase glacier melting, as snow that is darkened by black carbon or dust particles reflects less light (reduced albedo), the researchers said. Newton de Magalhaes Neto from Rio de Janeiro State University in Brazil, and his colleagues modelled the possible effect of biomass burning in the Amazon Basin on the Bolivian Zongo Glacier. They used data collected between 2000 and 2016 on fire events, the movement of smoke plumes, precipitation, and glacier melting. The researchers focussed their analyses on the years 2007 and 2010, when fire seasons were the most critical for the Amazon Basin...

India ranks fifth along with newbie New Zealand and each have 6% of the orbital launch pie from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2XWhcKt

RIO DE JANEIRO Researchers have found that burning of the rainforest in southwestern Amazonia (the Brazilian, Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon) may increase the melting of tropical glaciers in the Andes, South America. For the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, researcher Newton de Magalhaes Neto and colleagues from Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil, modelled the possible effect of biomass burning in the Amazon Basin on the Bolivian Zongo Glacier using data collected between 2000 and 2016 on fire events, the movement of smoke plumes, precipitation and glacier melting.  They found that aerosols from biomass burning, such as black carbon, can be transported by wind to tropical Andean glaciers.  There they are deposited in snow and have the potential to increase glacier melting as snow that is darkened by black carbon or dust particles reflects less light (reduced albedo). Focusing their analyses on the years 2007 and 2010 when fire seasons were the most c...

Protesters in smoke-covered Sydney kicked off a fresh round of global demonstrations against climate change on Friday, with activists and schoolchildren picketing the headquarters of bushfire-ravaged Australia's ruling party. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Owc2l7

Newly-hatched tortoises take their first steps at a Bangladesh conservation park, their feet barely visible under hard shells that carry the weight of the species on their backs. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2R2HoSm

Five of nine tigers that narrowly survived a gruelling journey across Europe will be moved to a new home at an animal refuge in Spain after spending weeks recovering at zoos in Poland. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Owr8am

"It's like getting stabbed," a tourist exclaims as he plunges into the three degree Celsius (37 Fahrenheit) water, all under the intrigued gaze of a group of penguins. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qLLy6p

It may be remote and uninhabited but Antarctica is suffering from man's activities, says the director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute, Marcelo Leppe, in an interview with AFP. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/34xL3LA

The swimsuit-clad tourists leap into the icy water, gasping at the shock, and startling a gaggle of penguins. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2rG4G5x

LONDON: Small populations, inbreeding, and random demographic changes could have been enough to cause Neanderthal extinction, according to a new study which suggests that humans alone are not to blame for wiping out our closest cousins. Paleoanthropologists agree that Neanderthals disappeared around 40,000 years ago. This is about the same time that anatomically modern humans began migrating into the Near East—a transcontinental region roughly comprising Western Asia, Turkey and Egypt—and Europe. However, the role modern humans played in Neanderthal extinction is disputed, according to the researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. The latest study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, used population modelling to explore whether Neanderthal populations could have vanished without external factors such as competition from modern humans. Using data about existing hunter-gatherer populations as parameters, the researchers developed population models for s...

Nine parameters such as Arctic sea ice, permafrost, warm-water corals etc. may be dangerously close to tipping points, the article argues from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/33uvItV

San Francisco, November 29 After a backlash from its users, Twitter has decided not to remove inactive accounts until it finds a way to memoralise accounts of the deceased. The micro-blogging platform on November 26 announced to permanently delete inactive accounts from December 11 that have not been used for more than six months. The action was to impact accounts belonging to the deceased. "We've heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased. This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialise accounts," Twitter said late Thursday. "This impacts accounts in the EU only, for now. We've always had an inactive account policy but we haven't enforced it consistently. We're starting with the EU in part due to local privacy regulations (eg, GDPR)," it added. The company had said that as part of its commitment to serve the public conversation, it i...

Los Angeles Fibre-optic cables that make up the global undersea telecommunications network may help researchers assess offshore earthquakes, and hidden geologic structures in the depths of the ocean, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Science, describes an experiment which turned a 20 kilometre section of undersea fibre-optic cable into the equivalent of 10,000 seismic stations monitoring quakes along the ocean floor. The researchers, including those from the University of California (UC) Berkeley in the US, recorded a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, and seismic scattering from underwater fault zones during their four-day experiment. They used a technique where a device with components for creating, manipulating and detecting light sent short pulses of laser down the cable, and detected how this was backscattered due to strain in the cable caused by stretching. The researchers then measured the scattering at every two metres of the cable, and turned a 20-kilometre...

The study, published in Science, describes an experiment which turned a 20-km section of undersea fibre-optic cable into the equivalent of 10,000 seismic stations from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/33wXTIC

A new article in the Review of English Studies argues that a manuscript translation of Tacitus's Annales, completed in the late sixteenth century and preserved at Lambeth Palace Library, was done by Queen Elizabeth I. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/33wFGuM

Scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD) have developed a novel elastocaloric cooling material, comprised of a nickel (Ni)-titanium (Ti) alloy and sculpted using additive technology, that is highly efficient, eco-friendly and easily scaled-up for commercial use. The study was published in the journal Science on November 29. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35L15Sq

The deadly volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatoa in 2018 unleashed a wave at least 100m high that could have caused widespread devastation had it been travelling in another direction, new research shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/34rMDig

The European Parliament voted on Thursday to declare a "climate and environment emergency" in a symbolic gesture just ahead of the latest UN global crisis summit. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XWebtr

European Space Agency (ESA) members agreed Thursday a record 14.4 billion euros budget, promising to maintain Europe's place at the top table as the United States and China press ahead and industry disruptors such as Elon Musk's Space X present new challenges. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OsNPMt

Snoopy, "the world famous astronaut," has reached new heights — above the streets of New York City and aboard the International Space Station. from Space.com https://ift.tt/33tNe1F

Burning of the rainforest in southwestern Amazonia (the Brazilian, Peruvian and Bolivian Amazon) may increase the melting of tropical glaciers in the Andes, according to a study in Scientific Reports. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qT4aBh

There's a reason California is the largest zero-emission vehicle market in the country. If automakers want to sell cars in the state, then a certain percentage of their vehicles must be electric models. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/33upDhg

A drone flying around the Kennedy Space Center recently captured incredible footage of a small step forward for NASA's delayed commercial crew program. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2XUW4nF

Amazon has slashed the Sphere RVR price by 20% for Black Friday. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2OTzqrH

They may be circling hundreds of miles above the United States, but the three American residents of the International Space Station have a plan to celebrate Thanksgiving. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2OqJl9k

There are, arguably, only two interesting facts about bogs. The first is that some people have a jolly good time swimming through them, notably at the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held each year in central Wales, UK. The second is that they could help save the world. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OPIrlP

The monster black hole is located 15,000 light-years from Earth and has been named LB-1 by the researchers at National Astronomical Observatory of China from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/37NaSJx

New research by NOAA and a visiting scientist from India shows that warming of the Indo-Pacific Ocean is altering rainfall patterns from the tropics to the United States, contributing to declines in rainfall on the United States west and east coasts. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35Iu4GQ

Scientists at the University of Surrey have developed a novel vaccine and complementary skin test to protect cattle against bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB). from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35Iu2ic

Making methanol just got a lot easier, now that chemists at Yale have opened up a new electron highway. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qH3izL

Bacteria can overcome significant challenges to transfer from one species and flourish in another, research has shown. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ONR9Rs

South Korea will suspend up to a quarter of its coal-fired power plants in the next three months, even as demand for electricity peaks during the bitter winter, as it seeks to tackle air pollution, Seoul said Thursday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OSkhqH

For most outsiders, Los Angeles is all about Hollywood, palm trees and sunny skies. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/34qisrK

BEIJING An unpredicted ‘monster’ black hole, 70 times as massive as the Sun, has been discovered in our Milky Way galaxy, which challenges the existing models of how stars evolve, scientists said on Thursday. Milky Way is estimated to contain 100 million stellar black holes—cosmic bodies formed by the collapse of massive stars and so dense even light can’t escape. Until now, scientists had estimated the mass of an individual stellar black hole in our galaxy at no more than 20 times that of the Sun, the researchers said. However, the discovery of the huge black hole by an international team, led by scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has toppled that assumption. The study, published in the journal Nature, described the stellar black hole named LB-1, located 15 thousand light-years from the Earth. “Black holes of such mass should not even exist in our Galaxy, according to most of the current models of stellar evolu...

Sharks, penguins, turtles and other seagoing species could help humans monitor the oceans by transmitting oceanographic information from electronic tags. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/33r765i

BEIJING An unpredicted ‘monster’ black hole, 70 times as massive as the Sun, has been discovered in our Milky Way galaxy, which challenges the existing models of how stars evolve, scientists said on Thursday. Milky Way is estimated to contain 100 million stellar black holes—cosmic bodies formed by the collapse of massive stars and so dense even light can’t escape. Until now, scientists had estimated the mass of an individual stellar black hole in our galaxy at no more than 20 times that of the Sun, the researchers said. However, the discovery of the huge black hole by an international team, led by scientists at the National Astronomical Observatory of China of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has toppled that assumption. The study, published in the journal Nature, described the stellar black hole named LB-1, located 15 thousand light-years from the Earth. “Black holes of such mass should not even exist in our Galaxy, according to most of the current models of stellar evolu...

LONDON: Structures previously thought to be fossils, or preserved remains of long dead organisms, may actually be minerals, according to a study that may aid the search for extraterrestrial life during future missions to Mars.  The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, noted that microscopic tubes and filaments resembling the remains of tiny creatures may have been formed by a process called ‘chemical gardening’ involving iron-rich minerals. According to study author Sean McMahon from the University of Edinburgh in the UK, earlier research had suggested such structures to be among the oldest fossils on Earth. “Such microstructures should therefore not be assumed to represent fossil microbes without independent corroborating evidence,” he wrote in the study. The current study may save future Mars missions valuable time and resources in determining possible signs of life on the Red Planet, McMahon said in a statement.  As part of the research,...

For species trying to boost their chances of avoiding predation, it could be a classic case of 'it's not what you know, it's who you know that matters,' according to new research. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OPKMgn

At some point, the rules of the subatomic give way to the rules of the macroscopic. But how? We're not exactly sure, and it's been a long, strange journey in trying to answer that question. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2qP7rl5

Researchers at McMaster University have created a new coating to prevent clotting and infection in synthetic vascular grafts, while also accelerating the body's own process for integrating the grafted vessels. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OO691J

It is the the dream of every molecular geneticist: an easy-to-use program that compares datasets from different cellular conditions, identifies enhancer regions and then assigns them to their target genes. A research team led by Martin Vingron at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin has now developed a program that does all of this. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35IzVMh

There's chaos in the night sky about 60 to 600 miles above Earth's surface. Called the ionosphere, this layer of Earth's atmosphere is blasted by solar radiation that breaks down the bonds of ions. Free electrons and heavy ions are left behind, constantly colliding. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KZsU1B

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of an isolated system always tends to increase over time until it reaches a maximum. In other words, disorganization increases without outside intervention. Electrical equipment inevitably heats up as part of the energy is dissipated in the form of heat instead of being used for mechanical work, and objects deteriorate over time but do not spontaneously regenerate. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2rqtqPf

Singapore showed off two critically-endangered eagles Wednesday that were loaned from the Philippines as part of a breeding programme to reverse the dwindling numbers of the feathered giants. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2OMBTo4

A new technique in chemistry could pave the way for producing uniform nanoparticles for use in drug delivery systems. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2P1wcCT

TORONTO: Social media use, television viewing and computer use are associated with increase in the symptoms of anxiety among adolescents, according to a study. The research, published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, shows that a higher than average frequency of social media use, television viewing and computer use over four years predicts more severe symptoms of anxiety over that same time frame. In the study, when adolescents decreased their social media use, television viewing, and computer use, their symptoms of anxiety became less severe, according to the researchers from the University of Montreal in Canada. A recent study by the team found associations of social media use and television viewing on symptoms of depression. The study, however, did not find the same relationship with computer use. It appears that computer use is uniquely associated to increases in anxiety, potentially in relation to using the computer for homework activities, the researchers said. The st...

Yale astronomers have taken a new, close-up image of the interstellar comet 2l/Borisov. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37Eb6mm

Dust storms are common on Mars. But every decade or so, something unpredictable happens: A series of runaway storms breaks out, covering the entire planet in a dusty haze. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QVQfF2

Companies that make top brands including Kit Kat chocolate and Dove soap may face fines if they fail to buy more green palm oil under new rules aimed at improving the controversial industry's environmental sustainability. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37Jt9HE

China has realized its 2020 target for reducing carbon emissions ahead of schedule, the ecology and environment ministry reported Wednesday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2rympM8

In the melting Arctic, communities are racing to maintain their way of life. In the rising Pacific, residents are sounding alarm bells. And in Rhode Island, Kate Schapira and her husband are not having a baby. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37H8xQm

Japanese chicken yakitori kebabs, one of the country's most-loved fast foods, will soon be making an appearance in orbit after Japan's space agency cleared them for astronaut meals. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KUpUU8

New UBC research suggests restoring habitat may not be enough to save threatened woodland caribou—an iconic animal that's a major part of boreal forests in North America and a key part of the culture and economy of many Indigenous peoples in Canada. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2DxaPE9

A literature review out of Oklahoma State University focused on notable woody plants that can disrupt biodiversity by behaving as a weed or an invasive plant. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37KbHCX

Looking at the night sky can be an inspiring moment for kids, and the right telescope can drive an interest in astronomy for a lifetime. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2zzh45Y

A new way of measuring wealth inequality better accounts for the way we experience it. In a paper published in Economics Letters, economists Samuel Bowles of the Santa Fe Institute and Wendy Carlin of University College London and the Santa Fe Institute propose a novel twist on the widely used Gini coefficient—a workhorse statistical measure for gauging the gap between haves and have-nots. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KVsZDC

EI is part of the global effort to sequence the DNA all of the known species of animals, plants and fungi on earth, known as the Earth BioGenome Project. Contributing to the UK arm Darwin Tree of Life Project, one aspect from EI is unearthing useful new medicines that are produced in plants by decoding their genomic data profile. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XNuOYq

San Francisco, November 27 Twitter is set to permanently delete inactive accounts from December 11 that have not been used for more than six months. The action will also impact accounts belonging to the deceased. In a statement given to The Verge, Twitter said on Tuesday that as part of its commitment to serve the public conversation, it is working to clean up inactive accounts to present more accurate, credible information people can trust across the platform. "Part of this effort is encouraging people to actively log-in and use Twitter when they register an account, as stated in our 'Inactive Accounts Policy'. "We have begun proactive outreach to many accounts who have not logged into Twitter in over six months to inform them that their accounts may be permanently removed due to prolonged inactivity," said Twitter. Any account that hasn't signed in for more than six months will receive the Twitter alert before the micro-blogging platform takes the act...

PSLV-C47 lifted-off in cloudy skies at 09.28 hrs from the second launch pad at the space port in Sriharikota from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2QXXU5R

An Indian rocket delivered 14 satellites to orbit tonight (Nov. 26), including 12 for U.S. Earth imaging company Planet and a prototype for Analytical Space. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2XUwXRZ

A unique group of dogs helped the Inuit conquer the tough terrain of the North American Arctic, major new analysis of the remains of hundreds of animals shows. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qEzX99

A newly reported, 16-million-year-old fossil is shedding light on how a group of tiny arthropods may have traversed the globe -- by hitchhiking. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2OkzNfW

Children's average daily time spent watching television or using a computer or mobile device increased from 53 minutes at age 12 months to more than 150 minutes at 3 years, according to a recent analysis. By age 8, children were more likely to log the highest amount of screen time if they had been in home-based childcare or were born to first-time mothers. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/34r2hKE

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers examined the effects of baloxavir treatment on influenza virus samples collected from patients before and after treatment. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2pRAXpP

A team of researchers has unearthed a well-preserved Styracosaurus skull -- and its facial imperfections have implications for how paleontologists identify new species of dinosaurs. Nicknamed Hannah, the dinosaur was a Styracosaurus -- a horned dinosaur over five meters in length with a fan of long horns. Paleontologists have learned much from those horns -- because they aren't symmetrical. from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2OneSca

A technology developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and scaled up by Vertimass LLC to convert ethanol into fuels suitable for aviation, shipping and other heavy-duty applications can be price-competitive with conventional fuels while retaining the sustainability benefits of bio-based ethanol, according to a new analysis. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KVBkaq

An enormous library of products derived from more than 10,000 fungi could help scientists find new drugs. Researchers from the group of Jeroen den Hertog at the Hubrecht Institute, in collaboration with researchers from the Westerdijk Institute and Utrecht University, have set up this library and screened it for biologically active compounds. They tested the biological activity of these fungal products first using zebrafish embryos. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KUX9GN

An international team of researchers has used a new spectrometer to find and set an upper limit for the mass of a neutrino. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes how they came up with the new limit and why they believe finding it was important. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2sbW8Ui

Is 2020 the celestial payoff year, in which astronomers finally confirm a "technosignature" coming from an advanced alien civilization? from Space.com https://ift.tt/37EtY4y

NASA's Orion spacecraft just took a ride on one of the weirdest airplanes in the world. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2OnhCGD

This week, Venus and Jupiter are very low in the southwest during the chilly November dusk. from Space.com https://ift.tt/2qCUUBl

Could humanity's future on Mars be built on a foundation of … bacteria? from Space.com https://ift.tt/2QSAVsN

A Queen's University Belfast researcher has developed a low cost technique to convert left over barley from alcohol breweries into carbon, which could be used as a renewable fuel for homes in winter, charcoal for summer barbecues or water filters in developing countries. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2sdMiBm

The maximum heart rate scientists recorded was 37 beats per minute after the blue whale returned to the surface from a foraging dive from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/2sdOCZ3

Countries have procrastinated for too long and need to begin making steep cuts to their greenhouse gas emissions immediately, or risk missing agreed targets for limiting global warming, a senior United Nations official said Tuesday. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QPrrP1

Mario Da Cruz could only watch in horror as a small army of crocodiles killed a child on an East Timor beach—another victim of the tiny nation's soaring rate of attacks. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KXCP7Y

From the surface, these 22 square miles of water are unexceptional. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2KW93At

A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has unearthed a well-preserved Styracosaurus skull—and its facial imperfections have implications for how paleontologists identify new species of dinosaurs. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Oif9wW

When trying to better the odds for survival, a major dilemma that many animals face is dispersal—being able to pick up and leave to occupy new lands, find fresh resources and mates, and avoid intraspecies competition in times of overpopulation. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2QTTpcy

The tropical cyclone season in the Southern Pacific Ocean has kicked off with Tropical Cyclone Rita, and NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the storm and analyzed it in infrared light for temperature data. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XWL89r

Fire ants build living rafts to survive floods and rainy seasons. Georgia Tech scientists are studying if a fire ant colony's ability to respond to changes in their environment during a flood is an instinctual behavior and how fluid forces make them respond. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/33gmOjz

The advanced earth observation satellite is being orbited on the PSLV-C47 launch vehicle on November 27 at 9.28 a.m. IST from The Hindu - Science https://ift.tt/34hmuCy

Inspired by their use in mechanical systems, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers are testing a magnetically-actuated fluidic valve to use in trauma patients suffering from hemorrhage. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/37CJ0rO

Computational fluid dynamics can be used to study how extinct animals used to swim. Scientists studied 65 million-year-old cephalopod fossils to gain deeper understanding of modern-day cephalopod ecosystems. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35yE4SH

Mobility is essential to urban life. It contributes to people's ability to access work, food, education, leisure and more. It also contributes to climate change. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2XLY1Tx

Audrey Schillings recently defended her doctoral thesis about atmospheric loss from Earth and how it varies with solar wind conditions. Audrey was employed at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and enrolled at Luleå University of Technology as a member of its Graduate School in Space Technology. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2qzDfdO

For most people, continents are Earth's seven main large landmasses. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35wMkTh

The national dietary guidelines in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, and Slovenia benefit nutrition, environment and animal welfare, Leiden environmental scientists write in the journal One Earth. However, the national guidelines of other countries face trade-offs, negatively impacting at least one of these three factors. "Win-win-wins are possible for dietary changes, but rarely realized," says lead author Laura Scherer. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/35rR38K