Chimpanzees spontaneously initiate and maintain cooperative behavior
Atlanta GA (SPX) Jun 13, 2014 -
Without any pre-training or restrictions in partner choice among chimpanzees, researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, found for the first time that chimpanzees housed in a socially complex, contained setting spontaneously cooperate with multiple partners of their choosing. This finding, which addresses long-standing doubt about the level of cooperation chimp ...
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A virus reveals the physics of nanopores
Providence RI (SPX) Jun 17, 2014 -
Nanopores may one day lead a revolution in DNA sequencing. By sliding DNA molecules one at a time through tiny holes in a thin membrane, it may be possible to decode long stretches of DNA at lightning speeds. Scientists, however, haven't quite figured out the physics of how polymer strands like DNA interact with nanopores. Now, with the help of a particular type of virus, researchers from Brown ...
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Acidification and warming threaten Mediterranean Sea iconic species
Barcelona, Spain (SPX) Jun 13, 2014 -
This is of particular importance to the Mediterranean coastal societies with 300 million inhabitants (living and visiting), unique ecosystems, love of seafood and its role as a focus for tourist worldwide.
Research professor Patrizia Ziveri, from Institute of Environmental Science and Technology at the UAB and the coordinator of the project says "We knew next to nothing about the combined ...
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Tracking the Impact of El Nino Across the US
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 16, 2014 -
By this point, most of you have heard that it looks like El Nino is coming, and maybe you're wondering why you should care. After all, why should it matter if the tropical Pacific Ocean becomes warmer than average? That's thousands of miles away from the continental United States.
Well, it turns out that El Nino often results in changes in the patterns of precipitation and temperature acro ...
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Antarctic species dwindle as icebergs batter shores year-round
London, UK (SPX) Jun 17, 2014 -
The Antarctic shore is a place of huge contrasts, as quiet, dark, and frozen winters give way to bright, clear waters, thick with algae and peppered with drifting icebergs in summer. But as the planet has warmed in the last two decades, massive losses of sea ice in winter have left icebergs free to roam for most of the year.
As a result, say researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal ...
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White Shark Study In Northwest Atlantic Offers Hope For Recovery
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 13, 2014 -
White sharks are among the largest, most widespread apex predators in the ocean, but are also among the most vulnerable. A new study, the most comprehensive ever on seasonal distribution patterns and historic trends in abundance of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the western North Atlantic Ocean, used records compiled over more than 200 years to update knowledge and fill in gaps in info ...
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New evidence for oceans of water deep in the Earth
Chicago IL (SPX) Jun 13, 2014 -
Researchers from Northwestern University and the University of New Mexico report evidence for potentially oceans worth of water deep beneath the United States. Though not in the familiar liquid form - the ingredients for water are bound up in rock deep in the Earth's mantle - the discovery may represent the planet's largest water reservoir.
The presence of liquid water on the surface is ...
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The link between climate change and ocean currents over 6 million years
London, UK (SPX) Jun 13, 2014 -
Scientists have discovered a relationship between climate change and ocean currents over the past six million years after analysing an area of the Atlantic near the Strait of Gibraltar, according to research published Friday, 13 June in the journal Science.
An expedition of scientists, jointly led by Dr Javier Hernandez-Molina, from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, Unive ...
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Companies join forces for new weapon system variant
Paris (UPI) Jun 16, 2013 -
Development and production agreements have been entered into by Raytheon and Thales of France for a new variant of the TOW weapon system.
TOW, or tube-launched, optically-tracked, wireless-guided weapon system, is a long-range, precision anti-armor, anti-fortification and anti-amphibious landing weapon system used throughout the world and expected to be in service with the U.S. military ...
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Breakthrough for information technology using Heusler materials
Mainz, Germany (SPX) Jun 16, 2014 -
It is the breakthrough that physicists and chemists around the world have long anticipated and it will play a pivotal role in information technology in coming years. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have managed, for the first time, to directly observe the 100 percent spin polarization of a Heusler compound.
Heusler alloys are composed of several metallic elements a ...
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A faster path to optical circuits
Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jun 17, 2014 -
Just as electronic circuits work with electrical charges, optical circuits process pulses of light, which gives them a distinct advantage in terms of speed. Optical technologies are therefore the object of intense research, aiming to develop novel optical devices that can control the flow of light at the nanometer scale.
EPFL scientists have developed a new method that can optimally design ...
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Nanoscale composites improve MRI
Houston TX (SPX) Jun 17, 2014 -
Submicroscopic particles that contain even smaller particles of iron oxide could make magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) a far more powerful tool to detect and fight disease.
Scientists at Rice University and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) led an international team of researchers in creating composite particles that can be injected into patients and guided by magnetic fiel ...
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Poland and Raytheon Partner to Develop New Patriot IFF Antenna
Tewksbury MA (SPX) Jun 16, 2014 -
Raytheon has announced that it will partner with Bumar Elektronika on the design and development of a modernized Patriot Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) antenna. This new antenna is a key element of the advanced Patriot 360 degree radar proposed by Raytheon for Poland's medium-range air and missile defense system program named "WISLA."
The component will also be compatible with previous ...
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International community to help Lebanon with Syria spillover
Rome (AFP) June 17, 2014 -
The international community pledged Tuesday to support the Lebanese armed forces by training them to deal with any spillover of the Syrian crisis.
"Countries including the United States, Saudia Arabia, France, Turkey and Italy, have committed to concrete projects, particularly in the area of training Lebanon's armed forces," Italian foreign minister Federica Mogherini said after a conference ...
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Northrop Grumman Receives Funding for Electronic Warfare Systems for US Army and Navy
Rolling Meadows IL (SPX) Jun 12, 2014 -
Northrop Grumman has received funding to produce pre-production units of the APR-39D(V)2 radar warning receiver (RWR)/electronic warfare management system (EWMS).
Under terms of the joint services contract with the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, Northrop Grumman will produce 18 APR-39D(V)2 units. Delivery is anticipated in late 2014 to begin hardware-software and platform integration testing in ...
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Lockheed Martin To Service Minuteman 3 Reentry Subsystem
King Of Prussia PA (SPX) Jun 16, 2014 -
Lockheed Martin received a contract from the U.S. Air Force with an initial value of $109 million for sustainment of the reentry subsystem for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Lockheed Martin's work will include repair, modification and testing of hardware and software components in the reentry system-reentry vehicle (RS-RV) subsystem, as well as related support ...
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US commandos capture Benghazi attack suspect
Washington (AFP) June 17, 2014 -
US commandos have captured the suspected ringleader of the deadly 2012 attack on an American compound in Benghazi, in a raid hailed by the White House as a triumph for justice.
Special forces, working with FBI agents, carried out Sunday's operation under cover of darkness and withdrew without losses.
The suspect, Ahmed Abu Khatallah, is en route to the United States, where he will face c ...
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World's nuclear arsenal reduction slows down: Stockholm institute
Stockholm (AFP) June 15, 2014 -
The number of nuclear weapons in the world continue to decline, but at a slower pace than in previous years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said Monday.
"Over the past five years there has been a steady decline in the overall number of nuclear warheads in the world," the think tank said in its yearly report on world nuclear forces.
"The decrease is due mainl ...
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Longer range, power for Saab's shoulder-launched AT4 weapon system
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) Jun 17, 2013 -
Saab's AT4 family of disposable shoulder-launched weapons is to receive enhanced range and explosive capabilities, the company has announced.
The AT4CS ER variant extends the effective range of the anti-armor weapon to 600 yards. The AT4CS HE, or high explosive variant, is for use as a direct support fire weapon, with air-burst or impact detonation up to a distance of about 1,000 yards, ...
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New Wind Measurement Tech Makes For More Precise Cargo Airdrops
Palo Alto CA (SPX) Jun 16, 2014 -
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has awarded Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a contract to adapt its WindTracer wind measurement system to help C-130 and C-17 aircrews make safer, faster and more accurate airdrops of essential supplies to U.S. ground forces at remote locations.
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will design and build a prototype Precision Air Drop (PAD) unit for ...
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Multiple Xinjiang executions no answer to violence: experts
Beijing (AFP) June 17, 2014 -
When China put 13 people to death in one day for terrorism offences in mainly Muslim Xinjiang, it raised the spectre of the mass executions of years past. But experts say Beijing's "strike hard" campaign is unlikely to curb mounting violence.
The 13 were executed on Monday in connection with seven different cases, the official Xinhua news agency said, including a riot in Lukqun last June whe ...
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ULA Signs Multiple Contracts for Next-Gen Propulsion Work
Centennial CO (SPX) Jun 18, 2014 -
United Launch Alliance (ULA) has signed commercial contracts with multiple American companies to investigate next-generation liquid oxygen/hydrocarbon first stage propulsion concepts. In collaboration with ULA, each company will conduct technical feasibility analysis, develop high fidelity plans, identify schedule, cost and technical risks, as well as cost estimates to meet aggressive recurring ...
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Philippine boat police anger China in fishing fight
Honda Bay, Philippines (AFP) June 17, 2014 -
After a short, intense chase, two Philippine police gunboats catch up with an illegal fishing vessel and circle it like menacing sharks, their armed commandos poised to rappel onboard.
"Their first reaction is to flee, but they stop once they realise they cannot out-run us," boat captain John Rey Zumarraga told AFP during a training exercise in Honda Bay off the Philippines' most western isl ...
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The Role Of Amateur Astronomers In Rosetta's Mission
Paris (ESA) Jun 16, 2014 -
Amateur astronomers play an important role in observational campaigns of almost every celestial object in the sky, but especially so in the area of comets. Given that some comets might be making their first - or only - passage into the inner Solar System, it is important to collect as much information as possible about them.
Then there's the "once-in-a-lifetime" visits, such as the famous ...
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Quantum3D sells ExpeditionDI product line
Ashburn, Va. (UPI) Jun 17, 2013 -
Quantum3D's ExpeditionDI product line of man-worn simulation solutions for infantry training has been acquired by Intelligent Decisions Inc.
Intelligent Decisions, an integrator of information technology solutions, said the acquisition includes all rights, assets and intellectual property associated with the product line, which it used in the original development of its Dismounted Soldi ...
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