24/7 News Coverage
December 30, 2016
24/7 Disaster News Coverage
EXO WORLDS
The blob can learn and teach



Paris, France (SPX) Dec 26, 2016
It isn't an animal, a plant, or a fungus. The slime mold (Physarum polycephalum) is a strange, creeping, bloblike organism made up of one giant cell. Though it has no brain, it can learn from experience, as biologists at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CNRS, Universite Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier) previously demonstrated.1 Now the same team of scientists has gone a step further, proving that a slime mold can transmit what it has learned to a fellow slime mold when the two combine. These ne ... read more

FARM NEWS
After Asia, palm oil faces backlash in Africa
Its lower cost has made it popular in commercial food production, but after being blamed for deforestation in Asia, palm oil plantations are now getting a similar rap in Africa. ... more
EARTH OBSERVATION
China launches TanSat to study atmospheric carbon dioxide processes
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major greenhouse gases, and causes great concern due to the rapid increase in its atmospheric concentrations. China launched its first minisatellite dedicated to t ... more
SINO DAILY
Born again: baby boom after China ends one-child rule
As soon as China abandoned its one-child policy a year ago, Zheng Xiaoyu and her husband started trying for a sibling for their nine-year-old son. ... more
FARM NEWS
Research reveals movement and evolution of potato famine pathogen
The pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine that killed more than a million people may have originated in South America. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists from North Carolina State University who recently analyzed the movement and evolution of the potato pathogen. ... more
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FLORA AND FAUNA
China in biggest-ever pangolin scale seizure: reports
Chinese customs seized over three tonnes of pangolin scales, state media said, in the country's biggest-ever smuggling case involving the animal parts. ... more
WATER WORLD
Bangladeshi fishermen claim Myanmar navy attacked trawler
Four Bangladeshi fishermen were injured when Myanmar's navy allegedly opened fire on them while they were fishing along the countries' troubled border in the Bay of Bengal, an official said Wednesday. ... more
WOOD PILE
Obama creates two new national monuments
President Barack Obama has created two new US national monuments, bringing vast desert areas under federal protection. ... more
FLORA AND FAUNA
Hong Kong's feline friends offer insight into city's past
Busy traffic, loud noise and constant passers-by? Not a problem for these cats. ... more
SINO DAILY
Hong Kong's ousted anti-China lawmakers make final appeal over ban
Two ousted pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers on Wednesday announced they were making a final bid to overturn a controversial Beijing-linked ban preventing them from taking up their seats in parliament. ... more


Strong quake hits northeast Japan, no tsunami risk

FLORA AND FAUNA
Scientists measure genetic variation as a species divides
New research highlights the "gray zone" of speciation, the intermediary or transitionary zone in which one species become two. ... more
FROTH AND BUBBLE
In Spain first, Madrid bans half of cars to fight smog
Madrid's city hall announced Wednesday it had ordered half of most private cars off the roads to fight a particularly bad bout of pollution, a first in Spain. ... more


US prosecutors ask Alexa: whodunit?
Amazon's connected personal assistant Alexa may have witnessed a murder. But will she talk? Investigators in Arkansas recovered the Amazon Echo speaker infused with artificial intelligence from a murder scene, and want to know what Alexa heard, according to lawyers on both sides. The case centers around Victor Collins, 47, who was found strangled in November 2015 in a bathtub of the Bent ... more
'Tiny earthquakes' help scientists predict mountain rock falls

58,000 people died on Chinese roads in 2015: report

66,000 workplace deaths in China last year: report

Russian static discharge measure unit to prolong satellite equipment lifespan
The Russian Space Systems holding, which belongs to the state-run Roscosmos space corporation, has created a new miniature electrostatic discharge measurement unit that can help extend the lifespan of satellite electronic equipment, the company said Tuesday in a statement. "A miniature measurement unit for the electrostatic discharge parameters, created by the Russian Space Systems holding ... more
'Just the first stage': unique 3D-printed Siberian satellite to orbit Earth

Meet a 'Spacecraft Dressmaker'

European Defense Agency to explore 3D printing feasibility



Newly discovered 'Casper' octopod at risk from deep-sea mining
Last spring, researchers made Newly discovered 'Casper' octopod at risk from deep-sea minings with the discovery of what was surely a new species of octopod, crawling along the seafloor at a record-breaking ocean depth of more than 4,000 meters (about 2.5 miles) off Necker Island near Hawaii. The octopod's colorless and squishy appearance immediately inspired the nickname "Casper." Now, a ... more
Rising sea level estimates require collaborative response

Bangladeshi fishermen claim Myanmar navy attacked trawler

Rebels blamed for 'poisoning' Damascus water

Satellites observe 'traffic jams' in Antarctic Ice Stream caused by tides
For the first time, researchers have closely observed how the ocean's tides can speed up or slow down the speed of glacial movement in Antarctica. The new data will help modelers better predict how glaciers will respond to rising sea levels. Caltech's Brent Minchew (PhD '16) and Mark Simons, along with their collaborators and in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), exploited fo ... more
Arctic lakes thawing earlier each year

Scientists measure pulse of CO2 emissions during spring thaw in the Arctic

Landsat provides global view of speed of ice



China's Sichuan cannot get enough spicy marinated rabbit heads
Chinese diners greedily crack open delicate rabbit skulls and slurp down their contents, tucking into a delicacy so popular in one province that it has to import supplies from France. Sichuan is renowned for its spicy, peppery local dishes: one of its favourites are bunny brains, often eaten as a late night treat on the streets of its capital, Chengdu. At the "Shuangliu Laoma Tutou", a w ... more
After Asia, palm oil faces backlash in Africa

Myanmar farmers reap rewards from 3D printing

China's giant cow farms leave neighbours up milk creek

Control algorithms could keep sensor-laden balloons afloat in hurricanes for a week
Controls engineers at UC San Diego have developed practical strategies for building and coordinating scores of sensor-laden balloons within hurricanes. Using onboard GPS and cellphone-grade sensors, each drifting balloon becomes part of a ``swarm'' of robotic vehicles, which can periodically report, via satellite uplink, their position, the local temperature, pressure, humidity and wind ve ... more
Indonesia marks tsunami 12 years ago with prayers

Strong Christmas Day quake alarms Chile, but no deaths reported

Christmas typhoon leaves four dead in Philippines



Nigerian army 'crushes' Boko Haram in key stronghold
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday claimed the military had routed Boko Haram in a key northeastern stronghold, a year after saying the Islamist militants had been "technically" defeated. A campaign lasting for months in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno state led to the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sam ... more
UN cancels controversial Gambia army chief's Darfur visit

Influx of Chinese investors angers Madagascans

Mobile money lifts Kenyan households out of poverty

Chimpanzees are 'indifferent' when it comes to altruism
New research into chimpanzees suggests that, when it comes to altruistically helping a fellow chimpanzee, they are 'indifferent'. The paper, published in Nature Communications, found no evidence that chimpanzees had a tendency to help others - or conversely to be spiteful - when there was no anticipated benefit to themselves. In two experiments, chimpanzees could determine whether or ... more
Earliest evidence discovered of plants cooked in ancient pottery

Dental hygiene, caveman style

Neurons paralyze us during REM sleep



Seizing environmental opportunities under a Trump presidency
Australian, South African and US researchers say that although the environmental movement is in shock at US President-elect Donald Trump's election victory and its implications, it is not all doom and gloom. "The environmental movement should proactively seize opportunities over the next four years," said lead author Dr Duan Biggs of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions ... more
Climate report says 2016 on pace to be hottest year yet

Glee to gloom: Climate and the 'Trump effect'

'Fear is palpable' among US climate scientists over Trump moves

There's a jet stream in our core
We would normally associate jet streams with the weather but, thanks to ESA's magnetic field mission, scientists have discovered a jet stream deep below Earth's surface - and it's speeding up. Launched in 2013, the trio of Swarm satellites are measuring and untangling the different magnetic fields that stem from Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and magnetosphere. Toget ... more
exactEarth to study Small Vessel Tracking for UK Space Agency

China launches TanSat to study atmospheric carbon dioxide processes

Airbus DS ships payload module for MetOp-C for final assembly



A fertilizer dearth foiled animal evolution for eons
For three billion years or more, the evolution of the first animal life on Earth was ready to happen, practically waiting in the wings. But the breathable oxygen it required wasn't there, and a lack of simple nutrients may have been to blame. Then came a fierce planetary metamorphosis. Roughly 800 million years ago, in the late Proterozoic Eon, phosphorus, a chemical element essential to a ... more
Dino discovery may explain why birds have beaks

New prehistoric bird species discovered

Mammals packed a powerful bite during age of dinosaurs

MIT Energy Initiative report provides guidance for evolving electric power sector
Distributed energy resources - relatively small-scale power technologies such as solar, wind, energy storage, and power electronics and control devices - are being deployed rapidly in the global shift toward a low-carbon energy future. To ensure that both distributed and centralized energy resources are integrated efficiently, however, electric power systems in the U.S., Europe, and other ... more
Toward energy solutions for northern regions

Energy-hungry Asia slowing down, lender says

US push to low-carbon future 'unstoppable': Biden

Daily Newsletters - Space - Military - Environment - Energy

Bright future for energy devices
A little sodium goes a long way. At least that's the case in carbon-based energy technology. Specifically, embedding sodium in carbon materials can tremendously improve electrodes. A research team led by Yun Hang Hu, the Charles and Carroll McArthur Professor of materials science and engineering at Michigan Tech, created a brand-new way to synthesize sodium-embedded carbon nanowalls. Previ ... more
World's smallest electrical wire made from world's smallest diamonds

Lifetime of organic light-emitting diodes affected by impurities in vacuum

Scientists build bacteria-powered battery on single sheet of paper

Ant-like bees among newly discovered desert species
Researchers at Utah State University have discovered nine new desert bee species, including two featuring males that look very much like ants. "It's unclear why these males have this unique form, but it could indicate they spend a lot of time in the nest," entomologist Zach Portman said in a news release. "We may find more information as we learn more about their nesting biology." ... more
Cheetahs 'sprinting' towards extinction: wildlife study

Scientists decipher meaning in bat calls

Baby orangutans rescued in Thai police sting



Nine 'rebel' villagers jailed in China
Nine residents of the Chinese "rebel" village of Wukan have been jailed for "disrupting social order" after September protests against officials turned violent, leading police to shut down the settlement and impose a media blackout. Wukan, a 13,000-strong fishing village in the southern province of Guangdong, became a symbol of resistance against corruption after a mass uprising over alleged ... more
Hong Kong's ousted anti-China lawmakers make final appeal over ban

Born again: baby boom after China ends one-child rule

Dalai Lama will not visit Mongolia again: govts

Obama creates two new national monuments
President Barack Obama has created two new US national monuments, bringing vast desert areas under federal protection. Bears Ears and Gold Butte National Monuments protect over one million acres (0.4 million hectares) of sacred sites, spectacular scenery, and important natural and cultural resources in the desert landscapes of Utah and southern Nevada, the White House said Wednesday. Oba ... more
Amazonia's best and worst areas for carbon recovery revealed

Warming could slow upslope migration of trees

Better road planning could boost food production while protect forests



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