Source: NY Times At 11, Alan Aldawas fascinated by the colorful, translucent undulations of a burning flame. So he asked his teacher, “What is a flame?” “It’s oxidation,” she said. The answer dumbfounded him. A flame is indeed oxidation, a type of chemical reaction that occurs when something burns. But […]
Source: (CNN) — As of February, more U.S. adults own smartphones than simpler feature phones, according to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Well, to be more specific: In answering questions from Pew, 45% of cell phone owners said that their phone is a smartphone. Also, 49% of cell […]
The four-meter-wide Lotus not only looks like nature’s symbol of renewal but folds up the same as nature’s version. In his research, Dr. Hui employs biomimicry, a design discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. The new Lotus is capable of generating enough power (2 […]
(Reuters) – Data protection agencies in European countries have concluded Google Inc’s new privacy policy is in breach of European law, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said Thursday. France’s data […]
Source: NY Times. I.B.M. is jumping into an area of computing that has, until now, been primarily the province of academia: the quest to build a quantum computer. A computer that took advantage of the oddities of quantum physics could solve in seconds certain problems that would occupy present-day […]
The apparent link between parabens and breast cancer. It was in 2004 that researchers reported the occurrence of a series of compounds known as parabens in human breast cancer tissue, […]
By Emily Chung, CBC News A new study gives new meaning to the word “classy” — it turns out wealthier, better educated, more successful people have a greater tendency to […]
Source: NY Times. Dr. Eric Topol is only half joking when he says the smartphone is the future of medicine — because most of his patients already seem “surgically connected” to one. A blood pressure cuff from Withings works with an iPhone or iPad to track blood pressure over time […]
Source: NY Times. Living plants have been generated from the fruit of a little arctic flower, the narrow-leafed campion, that died 32,000 years ago, a team of Russian scientists reports. The fruit was stored by an arctic ground squirrel in its burrow on the tundra of northeastern Siberia and lay […]
Source:Spiegel International Scientists warn that the amount of space debris orbiting the planet has reached a dangerously high level. But a new miniature satellite has been designed to clean up […]
Hepatitis C vaccine a step closer: University of Alberta researchers Researchers at the University of Alberta claim to have developed a formula that could lead to a vaccine for hepatitis […]
Source: ComputerWorld.com. An online encryption method widely used to protect banking, email, e-commerce and other sensitive Internet transactions is not as secure as assumed, according to a report issued by a team of U.S and European cryptanalysts. The researchers reviewed millions of public keys used by websites to encrypt online transactions, […]
Source: The News International Op-Ed by Masood Hasan In a series of steps announced last night by the prime minister of Pakistan at a special session of the National Assembly […]
Source: Red Orbit/NYU. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually easier for top-heavy structures to maintain their balance while hovering in midair than those with lower centers of gravity, claim scientists from New York University (NYU). According to UPI reports on Saturday, the findings counter commonly held theories that […]
by Isobel Leybold-Johnson, swissinfo.ch Global warming could lead to more of the world’s oceans becoming “dead zones” – where a lack of oxygen leads to marine life dying out. This […]
Source: SpaceFlight Now The radar on Europe’s Mars Express orbiter detected sediments beneath the red planet’s surface strongly indicative of an ocean floor that formed billions of years ago, scientists announced this week. Artist’s concept of the Mars Express orbiter at Mars. The thin booms visible in this image […]
Source: Time Most people think that the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is the most powerful stargazing system in the world. It’s understandable, given the astounding images and spectacular science the […]
Source: NY Times. PARIS — European activists who participated in American Internet protests last month learned that there was political power to be harnessed on the Web. Now they are putting that knowledge to use in an effort to defeat new global rules for intellectual property. In the U.S. […]
Courtesy: NY Times: LAST week, Facebook filed documents with the government that will allow it to sell shares of stock to the public. It is estimated to be worth at […]
Source: BBC The eruption of some of the largest volcanoes on the planet could be predicted several decades before the event, according to researchers. Analysis of rock crystals from the Greek island of Santorini suggests eruptions are preceded by a fast build-up of magma underground, which might be detected using […]