Newsdesk Archive
SAN FRANCISCO
Like big kids everywhere, I would love to see it happen. The idea of resurrecting woolly mammoths fires the imagination on all cylinders. Last week interest in this marvellous notion was reignited by Professor Ian Wilmut, the man who cloned Dolly the sheep, ruminated about how it might be done. The answer, in brief, is that it pushes at the very limits of plausibility, but there's a tiny chance that, within 50 years or so, it could just happen.
Humanity's dramatic race across the Old World after it left its African cradle has been told countless times. But for a true sense of the rapidity of events, look no further than the Y chromosome. The most comprehensive analysis of the Y yet shows that within 150 years, an evolutionary blink of an eye, the first migrants to make it into Eurasia split into three distinct groups that can still be identified today.
Sunken treasure lies 25 feet beneath the sea off North Carolina, where archaeologists are probing the wreck of the Queen Anne
A fragment of the meteor that injured more than 1,500 people when it exploded over a Russian town earlier this year is to go on sale in Edinburgh next week after it was smuggled out of the country by a British collector.Dramatic footage of the Chelyabinsk meteor in February showed a fireball tearing across the sky at 41,000mph. The chunk of space rock, about 50 feet in diameter and weighing 10,000 tons, exploded into fragments as it hit the earth
Brightly colored little patches that stick on clothing or backpacks could represent an effective new way to fight mosquitoes and the deadly illnesses they spread. A California-based startup is close to getting the patches produced and distributed in areas where they
Material scientists have published a study describing how they engineered a spray-on nanocrystal coating that that can control how much light or heat passes through it using electricity.The team, from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has already struck up a partnership with Californian smart window startup Heliotrope to bring the material to market. Heliotrope in fact came out of the Molecular Foundry, where coauthor on the nanocrystal study Delia Milliron works as deputy director.
Researchers at Northwestern University have designed an invisibility cloak that can temporally hide objects for an indefinite period of time. Objects covered by this invisibility cloak wouldn
A reform that would protect classified information even as it helped tip off Congress and the public to surveillance abusesWhat if every NSA employee and contractor was required, once a year, to fill out an anonymous civil-liberties survey? The anonymity of respondents would be persuasively guaranteed, and a multiple-choice format would prevent disclosing any classified information.Answering would be as easy as putting a No. 2 pencil to an answer sheet.
We might never see Sophia Grace Brownlee's fantastic Nicki Minaj impression, or this adorable ukulele cover of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," or even a young Justin Beiber performance again if the Department of Commerce gets its way.The department's Internet Policy Task Force last week proposed making it a felony to stream copyrighted works. According to Techdirt, such a provision, if interpreted broadly, could apply to people who upload covers of themselves performing songs to YouTube without permission. That could be bad news for people like Bieber, who first won fame in part through YouTube videos of his performances of popular R&B covers.
Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that water fluoridation in the country must end by 2014, according to news reports. This landmark decision goes even further than legislation by the health minister Yael German earlier in the year that would have ended mandatory fluoridation nationwide, reports the Irish publication Hot Press.Israel is one of the few countries that widely fluoridates, besides the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
SAY goodbye to the dreaded Monday morning hangover, thanks to researchers from a Queensland university who have discovered it may be possible to improve the hydrating effects of beer.Since the beginning of time, it seems sipping on a frosty cold beer has been a necessity on a scorching hot day. This can be counter-intuitive at times, given alcohol actually increases dehydration and leads to drunkenness, risky behavior and eventually, the hangover.
As coffee's health risks and benefits are continually debated between studies and tests, one thing has become clear, too much is harmful, a new study said.According to USA Today, a new study, published Thursday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shows heavy consumption of coffee can elevate the risk of death by any cause in men and women under 55.
Excavation work might be challenging enough in itself. When the excavation site is located in a part of Afghanistan containing rich reserves of copper, the archeologists also have to cope with greedy Chinese mining companies, corrupt officials and the Taliban, with their landmines and rocket propelled grenades.
An international team of researchers have announced the discovery of the oldest hominin (early or archaic human) fossil ever found in Western Europe, pushing back the clock on when early humans first colonized Western Europe after their exodus from Africa.The find, a fossil tooth (molar) uncovered through excavations at the site of Barranco León in the Orce region of southeastern Spain, was dated to about 1.4 million years ago using several combined dating techniques, including Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) in combination with paleomagnetic and biochronological data.
The invention of the bow and arrow allowed users to shoot projectiles more rapidly and more accurately than with the traditional spear.A new theory argues that this innovation resulted in more than just a technological revolution. It also had profound social consequences wherever the bow was adopted.
The archaeological site of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, on the Anatolian plain in Central Turkey, has been attracting attention since its initial excavation in the 1960s, directed by James Mellaart. Excavation was restarted in 1993, with a new Research Project, directed by Ian Hodder. The archaeology at Çatalhöyük provides a rich record of the minutiae of the daily life of this early farming community which also produced exceptional architecture and art for the period, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
Scientists have uncovered new evidence of Neanderthal occupation at the Kalamakia cave site on the western coast of the Mani peninsula in Greece, adding to previously recovered finds at other sites in the area. The finds lend additional support to the theory that Greece and the Southern Balkans served as a dispersal corridor and refugium for Pleistocene era human populations.The Middle Paleolithic (300,000 to 30,000 BP) cave site was excavated in 1993 - 2006 by an interdisciplinary team from the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology (Greek Ministry of Culture) and the Muséum national d
SAN FRANCISCO
Like big kids everywhere, I would love to see it happen. The idea of resurrecting woolly mammoths fires the imagination on all cylinders. Last week interest in this marvellous notion was reignited by Professor Ian Wilmut, the man who cloned Dolly the sheep, ruminated about how it might be done. The answer, in brief, is that it pushes at the very limits of plausibility, but there's a tiny chance that, within 50 years or so, it could just happen.
Humanity's dramatic race across the Old World after it left its African cradle has been told countless times. But for a true sense of the rapidity of events, look no further than the Y chromosome. The most comprehensive analysis of the Y yet shows that within 150 years, an evolutionary blink of an eye, the first migrants to make it into Eurasia split into three distinct groups that can still be identified today.
Sunken treasure lies 25 feet beneath the sea off North Carolina, where archaeologists are probing the wreck of the Queen Anne
A fragment of the meteor that injured more than 1,500 people when it exploded over a Russian town earlier this year is to go on sale in Edinburgh next week after it was smuggled out of the country by a British collector.Dramatic footage of the Chelyabinsk meteor in February showed a fireball tearing across the sky at 41,000mph. The chunk of space rock, about 50 feet in diameter and weighing 10,000 tons, exploded into fragments as it hit the earth
Brightly colored little patches that stick on clothing or backpacks could represent an effective new way to fight mosquitoes and the deadly illnesses they spread. A California-based startup is close to getting the patches produced and distributed in areas where they
Material scientists have published a study describing how they engineered a spray-on nanocrystal coating that that can control how much light or heat passes through it using electricity.The team, from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has already struck up a partnership with Californian smart window startup Heliotrope to bring the material to market. Heliotrope in fact came out of the Molecular Foundry, where coauthor on the nanocrystal study Delia Milliron works as deputy director.
Researchers at Northwestern University have designed an invisibility cloak that can temporally hide objects for an indefinite period of time. Objects covered by this invisibility cloak wouldn
A reform that would protect classified information even as it helped tip off Congress and the public to surveillance abusesWhat if every NSA employee and contractor was required, once a year, to fill out an anonymous civil-liberties survey? The anonymity of respondents would be persuasively guaranteed, and a multiple-choice format would prevent disclosing any classified information.Answering would be as easy as putting a No. 2 pencil to an answer sheet.
We might never see Sophia Grace Brownlee's fantastic Nicki Minaj impression, or this adorable ukulele cover of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," or even a young Justin Beiber performance again if the Department of Commerce gets its way.The department's Internet Policy Task Force last week proposed making it a felony to stream copyrighted works. According to Techdirt, such a provision, if interpreted broadly, could apply to people who upload covers of themselves performing songs to YouTube without permission. That could be bad news for people like Bieber, who first won fame in part through YouTube videos of his performances of popular R&B covers.
Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that water fluoridation in the country must end by 2014, according to news reports. This landmark decision goes even further than legislation by the health minister Yael German earlier in the year that would have ended mandatory fluoridation nationwide, reports the Irish publication Hot Press.Israel is one of the few countries that widely fluoridates, besides the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
SAY goodbye to the dreaded Monday morning hangover, thanks to researchers from a Queensland university who have discovered it may be possible to improve the hydrating effects of beer.Since the beginning of time, it seems sipping on a frosty cold beer has been a necessity on a scorching hot day. This can be counter-intuitive at times, given alcohol actually increases dehydration and leads to drunkenness, risky behavior and eventually, the hangover.
As coffee's health risks and benefits are continually debated between studies and tests, one thing has become clear, too much is harmful, a new study said.According to USA Today, a new study, published Thursday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shows heavy consumption of coffee can elevate the risk of death by any cause in men and women under 55.
Excavation work might be challenging enough in itself. When the excavation site is located in a part of Afghanistan containing rich reserves of copper, the archeologists also have to cope with greedy Chinese mining companies, corrupt officials and the Taliban, with their landmines and rocket propelled grenades.
An international team of researchers have announced the discovery of the oldest hominin (early or archaic human) fossil ever found in Western Europe, pushing back the clock on when early humans first colonized Western Europe after their exodus from Africa.The find, a fossil tooth (molar) uncovered through excavations at the site of Barranco León in the Orce region of southeastern Spain, was dated to about 1.4 million years ago using several combined dating techniques, including Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) in combination with paleomagnetic and biochronological data.
The invention of the bow and arrow allowed users to shoot projectiles more rapidly and more accurately than with the traditional spear.A new theory argues that this innovation resulted in more than just a technological revolution. It also had profound social consequences wherever the bow was adopted.
The archaeological site of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, on the Anatolian plain in Central Turkey, has been attracting attention since its initial excavation in the 1960s, directed by James Mellaart. Excavation was restarted in 1993, with a new Research Project, directed by Ian Hodder. The archaeology at Çatalhöyük provides a rich record of the minutiae of the daily life of this early farming community which also produced exceptional architecture and art for the period, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
Scientists have uncovered new evidence of Neanderthal occupation at the Kalamakia cave site on the western coast of the Mani peninsula in Greece, adding to previously recovered finds at other sites in the area. The finds lend additional support to the theory that Greece and the Southern Balkans served as a dispersal corridor and refugium for Pleistocene era human populations.The Middle Paleolithic (300,000 to 30,000 BP) cave site was excavated in 1993 - 2006 by an interdisciplinary team from the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology (Greek Ministry of Culture) and the Muséum national d
SAN FRANCISCO
Like big kids everywhere, I would love to see it happen. The idea of resurrecting woolly mammoths fires the imagination on all cylinders. Last week interest in this marvellous notion was reignited by Professor Ian Wilmut, the man who cloned Dolly the sheep, ruminated about how it might be done. The answer, in brief, is that it pushes at the very limits of plausibility, but there's a tiny chance that, within 50 years or so, it could just happen.
Humanity's dramatic race across the Old World after it left its African cradle has been told countless times. But for a true sense of the rapidity of events, look no further than the Y chromosome. The most comprehensive analysis of the Y yet shows that within 150 years, an evolutionary blink of an eye, the first migrants to make it into Eurasia split into three distinct groups that can still be identified today.
Sunken treasure lies 25 feet beneath the sea off North Carolina, where archaeologists are probing the wreck of the Queen Anne
A fragment of the meteor that injured more than 1,500 people when it exploded over a Russian town earlier this year is to go on sale in Edinburgh next week after it was smuggled out of the country by a British collector.Dramatic footage of the Chelyabinsk meteor in February showed a fireball tearing across the sky at 41,000mph. The chunk of space rock, about 50 feet in diameter and weighing 10,000 tons, exploded into fragments as it hit the earth
Material scientists have published a study describing how they engineered a spray-on nanocrystal coating that that can control how much light or heat passes through it using electricity.The team, from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has already struck up a partnership with Californian smart window startup Heliotrope to bring the material to market. Heliotrope in fact came out of the Molecular Foundry, where coauthor on the nanocrystal study Delia Milliron works as deputy director.
A reform that would protect classified information even as it helped tip off Congress and the public to surveillance abusesWhat if every NSA employee and contractor was required, once a year, to fill out an anonymous civil-liberties survey? The anonymity of respondents would be persuasively guaranteed, and a multiple-choice format would prevent disclosing any classified information.Answering would be as easy as putting a No. 2 pencil to an answer sheet.
We might never see Sophia Grace Brownlee's fantastic Nicki Minaj impression, or this adorable ukulele cover of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours," or even a young Justin Beiber performance again if the Department of Commerce gets its way.The department's Internet Policy Task Force last week proposed making it a felony to stream copyrighted works. According to Techdirt, such a provision, if interpreted broadly, could apply to people who upload covers of themselves performing songs to YouTube without permission. That could be bad news for people like Bieber, who first won fame in part through YouTube videos of his performances of popular R&B covers.
Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that water fluoridation in the country must end by 2014, according to news reports. This landmark decision goes even further than legislation by the health minister Yael German earlier in the year that would have ended mandatory fluoridation nationwide, reports the Irish publication Hot Press.Israel is one of the few countries that widely fluoridates, besides the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
SAY goodbye to the dreaded Monday morning hangover, thanks to researchers from a Queensland university who have discovered it may be possible to improve the hydrating effects of beer.Since the beginning of time, it seems sipping on a frosty cold beer has been a necessity on a scorching hot day. This can be counter-intuitive at times, given alcohol actually increases dehydration and leads to drunkenness, risky behavior and eventually, the hangover.
As coffee's health risks and benefits are continually debated between studies and tests, one thing has become clear, too much is harmful, a new study said.According to USA Today, a new study, published Thursday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, shows heavy consumption of coffee can elevate the risk of death by any cause in men and women under 55.
Excavation work might be challenging enough in itself. When the excavation site is located in a part of Afghanistan containing rich reserves of copper, the archeologists also have to cope with greedy Chinese mining companies, corrupt officials and the Taliban, with their landmines and rocket propelled grenades.
An international team of researchers have announced the discovery of the oldest hominin (early or archaic human) fossil ever found in Western Europe, pushing back the clock on when early humans first colonized Western Europe after their exodus from Africa.The find, a fossil tooth (molar) uncovered through excavations at the site of Barranco León in the Orce region of southeastern Spain, was dated to about 1.4 million years ago using several combined dating techniques, including Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) in combination with paleomagnetic and biochronological data.
The invention of the bow and arrow allowed users to shoot projectiles more rapidly and more accurately than with the traditional spear.A new theory argues that this innovation resulted in more than just a technological revolution. It also had profound social consequences wherever the bow was adopted.
The archaeological site of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, on the Anatolian plain in Central Turkey, has been attracting attention since its initial excavation in the 1960s, directed by James Mellaart. Excavation was restarted in 1993, with a new Research Project, directed by Ian Hodder. The archaeology at Çatalhöyük provides a rich record of the minutiae of the daily life of this early farming community which also produced exceptional architecture and art for the period, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
Humanity's dramatic race across the Old World after it left its African cradle has been told countless times. But for a true sense of the rapidity of events, look no further than the Y chromosome. The most comprehensive analysis of the Y yet shows that within 150 years, an evolutionary blink of an eye, the first migrants to make it into Eurasia split into three distinct groups that can still be identified today.
Decades of research have shown that writing down your emotions has concrete health benefits - even helping wounds heal. But as more and more people publish their intimate feelings online, could they be doing themselves more harm than good?High-profile coverage of cyberbullying might make sharing your deepest emotions online sound like a bad idea, but when it comes to the risks and benefits of writing online, advice is mixed.
High-level League of Legends players can now be awarded the same visas as more traditional pro athletes, says publisher Riot Games. On July 11th, Riot e-sports manager Nick Allen told GameSpot that the company had convinced US immigration services to recognize League of Legends as a professional sport and simplify the visa process accordingly.Related: 'League of Legends' gamer granted US visa recognizing him as professional athlete
Bitcoin's status as a form of unregulated virtual money doesn't mean it's not subject to US currency laws, a federal district court has found. In a published decision from August 6th, Judge Amos Mazzant ruled that the SEC's case against an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme master could go forward. Trendon Shavers, the accused, had argued that the court didn't have jurisdiction to prosecute Bitcoin-related crimes under existing securities law. According to him, "no money ever changed hands"
Another burst of sunlight permeated the National Security Agency's black box of domestic surveillance last week.According to the New York Times, the NSA is searching the content of virtually every email that comes into or goes out of the United States without a warrant. To accomplish this astonishing invasion of Americans' privacy, the NSA reportedly is making a copy of nearly every international email. It then searches that cloned data, keeping all of the emails containing certain keywords and deleting the rest
Information theory
NASA is getting closer to taking 3D printing to the final frontier. Along with manufacturer Made in Space, the space agency has been developing a zero-gravity printing model for the International Space Station. The finished product could produce its first part as early as next year. The 3D Print Experiment performed well during microgravity flight tests this summer, but one last battery of tests remains. The printer must go through vibration, environmental, and vacuum trials to make sure it can withstand fluctuating pressure levels. If all goes as planned, the ISS should get its first 3D printer in the fall of 2014.
In quite an eerie feat, physicists have floated microscopic diamonds in midair using laser beams.Researchers have already used lasers to levitate extremely small particles, such as individual atoms, but this is the first time that the technique has worked on a nanodiamond, which, in this case, measures just 100 nanometers (3.9 x 10-8 inches) across, or more than 1,000 times thinner than a fingernail.
Drones are most often associated with assassinations in remote regions of Pakistan and Yemen but in Peru, unmanned aircraft are being used to monitor crops and study ancient ruins.Forget Reapers and Predators -- the drones used here are hand-held contraptions that look like they were assembled in a garage with gear from a hardware store.
Pull apart any electrical device and you will find a riot of right angles, straight lines and flat, uncompromising silicon wafers. John Rogers is changing that. The 45-year-old materials scientist has spent more than 15 years developing electronics that can bend and stretch without breaking. His devices, from surgical sutures that monitor skin temperature to biodegradable sensors that dissolve when their useful life is done, share a unifying quality: They can slip seamlessly into the soft, moist, moving conditions of the living world.
Using a Japanese super-computer, a team of scientists have carried out the largest ever imitation of the way a brain's cells connect with each other. This will pave the way for a better understanding of the extremely complex human brain, they say.
When it comes to cars, Toyota thinks hydrogen fuel cells are one of the technologies of the future. And the company isn't alone.Offering the promise of a clean ride with long range, it's a technology automakers are racing to perfect, and one they're betting will catch on.
Tensions are rising in Japan over radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a breach that has defied the plant operator's effort to gain control.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday called the matter
Even the tiniest mistake during an operation to extract over 1,300 fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan could lead to a series of cascading failures with an apocalyptic outcome, fallout researcher Christina Consolo told RT.
It's time to recognize that New York City's misguided war on marijuana has failed.Instead of spending millions on low-level drug prosecutions that disproportionally affect communities of color, why not regulate the city's $1.65bn marijuana market
Australian mining company OM Manganese has been prosecuted and fined nearly $134,000 for desecrating an important Aboriginal site. The company was allowed to mine in the area if it steered clear of sacred landmarks, a task at which it failed spectacularly, damaging the most important features of a revered structure.
A ground-breaking scheme that would have preserved swathes of Ecuador
Macaque monkeys that have developed the ability to use stone tools to open shellfish are in danger of losing the skill because of human development.Scientists found that illegal palm oil and rubber plantations in Thailand are disrupting the monkeys' feeding behaviour.Dogs brought in to protect the farms are repelling the macaques from the shoreline, which inhibits their tool-using activities.
Decades of research have shown that writing down your emotions has concrete health benefits - even helping wounds heal. But as more and more people publish their intimate feelings online, could they be doing themselves more harm than good?High-profile coverage of cyberbullying might make sharing your deepest emotions online sound like a bad idea, but when it comes to the risks and benefits of writing online, advice is mixed.
High-level League of Legends players can now be awarded the same visas as more traditional pro athletes, says publisher Riot Games. On July 11th, Riot e-sports manager Nick Allen told GameSpot that the company had convinced US immigration services to recognize League of Legends as a professional sport and simplify the visa process accordingly.Related: 'League of Legends' gamer granted US visa recognizing him as professional athlete
Bitcoin's status as a form of unregulated virtual money doesn't mean it's not subject to US currency laws, a federal district court has found. In a published decision from August 6th, Judge Amos Mazzant ruled that the SEC's case against an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme master could go forward. Trendon Shavers, the accused, had argued that the court didn't have jurisdiction to prosecute Bitcoin-related crimes under existing securities law. According to him, "no money ever changed hands"
Another burst of sunlight permeated the National Security Agency's black box of domestic surveillance last week.According to the New York Times, the NSA is searching the content of virtually every email that comes into or goes out of the United States without a warrant. To accomplish this astonishing invasion of Americans' privacy, the NSA reportedly is making a copy of nearly every international email. It then searches that cloned data, keeping all of the emails containing certain keywords and deleting the rest
Information theory
NASA is getting closer to taking 3D printing to the final frontier. Along with manufacturer Made in Space, the space agency has been developing a zero-gravity printing model for the International Space Station. The finished product could produce its first part as early as next year. The 3D Print Experiment performed well during microgravity flight tests this summer, but one last battery of tests remains. The printer must go through vibration, environmental, and vacuum trials to make sure it can withstand fluctuating pressure levels. If all goes as planned, the ISS should get its first 3D printer in the fall of 2014.
In quite an eerie feat, physicists have floated microscopic diamonds in midair using laser beams.Researchers have already used lasers to levitate extremely small particles, such as individual atoms, but this is the first time that the technique has worked on a nanodiamond, which, in this case, measures just 100 nanometers (3.9 x 10-8 inches) across, or more than 1,000 times thinner than a fingernail.
Drones are most often associated with assassinations in remote regions of Pakistan and Yemen but in Peru, unmanned aircraft are being used to monitor crops and study ancient ruins.Forget Reapers and Predators -- the drones used here are hand-held contraptions that look like they were assembled in a garage with gear from a hardware store.
Pull apart any electrical device and you will find a riot of right angles, straight lines and flat, uncompromising silicon wafers. John Rogers is changing that. The 45-year-old materials scientist has spent more than 15 years developing electronics that can bend and stretch without breaking. His devices, from surgical sutures that monitor skin temperature to biodegradable sensors that dissolve when their useful life is done, share a unifying quality: They can slip seamlessly into the soft, moist, moving conditions of the living world.
Using a Japanese super-computer, a team of scientists have carried out the largest ever imitation of the way a brain's cells connect with each other. This will pave the way for a better understanding of the extremely complex human brain, they say.
When it comes to cars, Toyota thinks hydrogen fuel cells are one of the technologies of the future. And the company isn't alone.Offering the promise of a clean ride with long range, it's a technology automakers are racing to perfect, and one they're betting will catch on.
Tensions are rising in Japan over radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a breach that has defied the plant operator's effort to gain control.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday called the matter
Even the tiniest mistake during an operation to extract over 1,300 fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan could lead to a series of cascading failures with an apocalyptic outcome, fallout researcher Christina Consolo told RT.
It's time to recognize that New York City's misguided war on marijuana has failed.Instead of spending millions on low-level drug prosecutions that disproportionally affect communities of color, why not regulate the city's $1.65bn marijuana market
Australian mining company OM Manganese has been prosecuted and fined nearly $134,000 for desecrating an important Aboriginal site. The company was allowed to mine in the area if it steered clear of sacred landmarks, a task at which it failed spectacularly, damaging the most important features of a revered structure.
A ground-breaking scheme that would have preserved swathes of Ecuador
Macaque monkeys that have developed the ability to use stone tools to open shellfish are in danger of losing the skill because of human development.Scientists found that illegal palm oil and rubber plantations in Thailand are disrupting the monkeys' feeding behaviour.Dogs brought in to protect the farms are repelling the macaques from the shoreline, which inhibits their tool-using activities.
Decades of research have shown that writing down your emotions has concrete health benefits - even helping wounds heal. But as more and more people publish their intimate feelings online, could they be doing themselves more harm than good?High-profile coverage of cyberbullying might make sharing your deepest emotions online sound like a bad idea, but when it comes to the risks and benefits of writing online, advice is mixed.
High-level League of Legends players can now be awarded the same visas as more traditional pro athletes, says publisher Riot Games. On July 11th, Riot e-sports manager Nick Allen told GameSpot that the company had convinced US immigration services to recognize League of Legends as a professional sport and simplify the visa process accordingly.Related: 'League of Legends' gamer granted US visa recognizing him as professional athlete
Bitcoin's status as a form of unregulated virtual money doesn't mean it's not subject to US currency laws, a federal district court has found. In a published decision from August 6th, Judge Amos Mazzant ruled that the SEC's case against an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme master could go forward. Trendon Shavers, the accused, had argued that the court didn't have jurisdiction to prosecute Bitcoin-related crimes under existing securities law. According to him, "no money ever changed hands"
Another burst of sunlight permeated the National Security Agency's black box of domestic surveillance last week.According to the New York Times, the NSA is searching the content of virtually every email that comes into or goes out of the United States without a warrant. To accomplish this astonishing invasion of Americans' privacy, the NSA reportedly is making a copy of nearly every international email. It then searches that cloned data, keeping all of the emails containing certain keywords and deleting the rest
Information theory
NASA is getting closer to taking 3D printing to the final frontier. Along with manufacturer Made in Space, the space agency has been developing a zero-gravity printing model for the International Space Station. The finished product could produce its first part as early as next year. The 3D Print Experiment performed well during microgravity flight tests this summer, but one last battery of tests remains. The printer must go through vibration, environmental, and vacuum trials to make sure it can withstand fluctuating pressure levels. If all goes as planned, the ISS should get its first 3D printer in the fall of 2014.
In quite an eerie feat, physicists have floated microscopic diamonds in midair using laser beams.Researchers have already used lasers to levitate extremely small particles, such as individual atoms, but this is the first time that the technique has worked on a nanodiamond, which, in this case, measures just 100 nanometers (3.9 x 10-8 inches) across, or more than 1,000 times thinner than a fingernail.
Drones are most often associated with assassinations in remote regions of Pakistan and Yemen but in Peru, unmanned aircraft are being used to monitor crops and study ancient ruins.Forget Reapers and Predators -- the drones used here are hand-held contraptions that look like they were assembled in a garage with gear from a hardware store.
Pull apart any electrical device and you will find a riot of right angles, straight lines and flat, uncompromising silicon wafers. John Rogers is changing that. The 45-year-old materials scientist has spent more than 15 years developing electronics that can bend and stretch without breaking. His devices, from surgical sutures that monitor skin temperature to biodegradable sensors that dissolve when their useful life is done, share a unifying quality: They can slip seamlessly into the soft, moist, moving conditions of the living world.
Using a Japanese super-computer, a team of scientists have carried out the largest ever imitation of the way a brain's cells connect with each other. This will pave the way for a better understanding of the extremely complex human brain, they say.