China's economic boom thwarts its carbon emissions goals
Norwich, UK (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Efforts to reduce China's carbon dioxide emissions are being offset by the country's rampant economic growth, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Research published in Nature Climate Change reveals how carbon efficiency has improved in nearly all Chinese provinces. But the country's economic boom has simultaneously led to a growth in CO2-emitting activities ...
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New frontier in error-correcting codes
Boston MA (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Error-correcting codes are one of the glories of the information age: They're what guarantee the flawless transmission of digital information over the airwaves or through copper wire, even in the presence of the corrupting influences that engineers call "noise."
But classical error-correcting codes work best with large chunks of data: The bigger the chunk, the higher the rate at which it c ...
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Smallest world record has 'endless possibilities' for bio-nanotechnology
Leeds, UK (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Scientists from the University of Leeds have taken a crucial step forward in bio-nanotechnology, a field that uses biology to develop new tools for science, technology and medicine. The new study, published in the journal Nano Letters, demonstrates how stable 'lipid membranes' - the thin 'skin' that surrounds all biological cells - can be applied to synthetic surfaces.
Importantly, the new ...
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Smartphone understands gestures
Zurich, Switzerland (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
It does seem slightly odd at first: you hold the phone in one hand, and move the other in the air above its built-in camera making gestures that resemble sign language. Sometimes you move your index finger to the left, sometimes to the right.
You can spread out your fingers, or imitate a pair of pliers or the firing of a pistol. These gestures are not, however, intended for communicating w ...
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Eradicating harmful impacts of manufacturing
Plymouth, UK (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
The human and environmental dangers posed by a widely used manufacturing technique could be almost eradicated thanks to research led by Plymouth University. Fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites are employed in a vast array of industries, and are painted or sprayed onto products to provide a high-quality finish in transport applications, chemical plants, renewable energy systems and pipelin ...
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NIST quantum probe enhances electric field measurements
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Michigan have demonstrated a technique based on the quantum properties of atoms that directly links measurements of electric field strength to the International System of Units (SI).*
The new method could improve the sensitivity, precision and ease of tests and calibrations of antennas, sensors, ...
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Reflected smartphone transmissions enable gesture control
Seattle WA (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
With almost all of the U.S. population armed with cellphones - and close to 80 percent carrying a smartphone - mobile phones have become second-nature for most people.
What's coming next, say University of Washington researchers, is the ability to interact with our devices not just with touchscreens, but through gestures in the space around the phone.
Some smartphones are starting to ...
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Egypt raises over 8 bln USD for new canal project
Cairo (XNA) Oct 10, 2014 -
Egyptians' purchases of the New Suez Canal investment certificates on Monday hit 60 billion Egyptian pounds (about 8.4 billion U.S. dollars), an amount the authorities said was required for financing the new canal project, official MENA news agency reported.
"Congratulations to Egypt! We hit the required 60 billion Egyptian pounds," Central Bank Governor Hesham Ramez boasted in phone call ...
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Will Ukraine Commit Economic Suicide
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com
Ukraine is on the brink of committing economic suicide after imposing a crippling 55 percent tax on private gas producers, while parliament prepares to vote on next year's budget, which aims for a continuation of the same.
The Oct. 14 budget vote-which is already a month late-is a major condition for Ukraine's next credit tranche from the European Union, ...
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New subatomic particle sheds light on fundamental force of nature
Warwick, UK (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
The discovery of a new particle will "transform our understanding" of the fundamental force of nature that binds the nuclei of atoms, researchers argue. Led by scientists from the University of Warwick, the discovery of the new particle will help provide greater understanding of the strong interaction, the fundamental force of nature found within the protons of an atom's nucleus.
Named Ds3 ...
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Emerald ash borer continues to move north
Washington (UPI) Oct 9, 2014 -
In Pennsylvania, one power company is preparing to remove more than 1,500 dying ash trees, damaged by the invasion of emerald ash borers. But ash trees, rotted from the inside out by the invasive insect, aren't just found overhanging power lines. They're everywhere.
"They rot at the root system," Todd Meyers, spokesman for West Penn Power, said in a statement. "They can just keel over a ...
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Massive burn scar in Australia's Northern Territory visible by satellite
Darwin, Australia (UPI) Oct 8, 2014 -
NASA's Terra satellite captures a lot of neat stuff using its uber high-tech camera known as MODIS, short for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The satellite's latest subject was the sparse desert of Australia's Northern Territory, where MODIS tracked the growing burn scar left by a wildfire that sizzled for nearly a month.
As is the case in the United States, wildfires in ...
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World's oldest rock art found in Indonesian cave
Maros, Indonesia (UPI) Oct 8, 2014 -
Archaeologists recently matched a date to the perfect hand stencil discovered on the wall of a cave in Indonesia roughly half a century ago. The painting is at least 40,000 years old, researchers claim in a study published this week in the journal Nature.
On the same wall, just inches from the hand stencil, are large painted animal figures - babirusas, native pig-like animals, and a ty ...
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Kerry on climate change: Time running out for action
Washington (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday issued a stark warning about the mounting effects of climate change, from food shortages to devastating droughts, saying time was running out for real action.
Kerry said the window for facing the challenge was "closing quickly" and warned of dire consequences if climate change skeptics are wrong about the future and nothing is done.
"If they'r ...
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HK demonstrators vow no retreat as pressure mounts on city's leader
Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
Protesters calling for full democracy in Hong Kong vowed Thursday to ratchet up their occupation of key parts of the city if they fail to win concessions from the government ahead of crunch talks tomorrow.
The threat was issued as the city's embattled leader came under pressure to explain why he kept large payments from an Australian company secret with pro-democracy lawmakers saying they wo ...
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Malaysia's Sime Darby to acquire PNG palm oil leader
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
Malaysian palm-oil giant Sime Darby said Thursday it had made an offer to acquire Papua New Guinea's UK-listed New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL) in a $1.7 billion deal.
The acquisition would give Sime Darby, the world's largest listed palm oil producer by acreage, control of one of the world's biggest producers of sustainably produced palm oil.
NBPOL also is a key supplier to the growing Euro ...
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Parts of Easter Island evacuated after Chile quake
Santiago (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
A 6.8-magnitude quake struck off Chile's Pacific coast overnight, followed by a large aftershock, prompting the evacuation of parts of Easter Island but causing no deaths or injuries, officials said Thursday.
The quake struck at 0215 GMT some 580 kilometers (360 miles) south of Easter Island, according to the US Geological Survey. It had a depth of 15.5 kilometers (9.6 miles).
The quake, ...
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China's 'mass line' campaign a success: Xi
Beijing (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared victory after a 15-month-long austerity campaign that cut $8.6 billion in public spending, state media said, as he pledged not to relent against official corruption.
The "mass line" initiative - a Maoist term for the need to align the ruling Communist Party with the people - saw more than 160,000 "phantom" government employees removed and 74,000 pa ...
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EU well armed to prevent an Ebola epidemic: experts
Brussels (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
The European Union must fill gaps to stop the spread of Ebola now that an infected nurse in Spain has exposed these failings, but it is well armed to prevent an epidemic, EU officials and experts said.
Taking into account the level of health and medical standards in Europe, "the situation cannot be compared to what is happening in Africa," said the spokesman for the European health commissio ...
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Woman survives 17 days lost in Australian rainforest
Sydney (AFP) Oct 09, 2014 -
A woman missing for more than two weeks in a rugged Australian rainforest has stumbled out alive after surviving a chase by a crocodile and eating small fish, officials and reports said Thursday.
Shannon Fraser, 30, went missing on September 21 near the remote Josephine Falls in Queensland state after becoming disorientated, wearing just leggings, a shirt and flip flops.
She was spotted ...
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Automated imaging system looks underground to help improve crops
Atlanta GA (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Plant scientists are working to improve important food crops such as rice, maize, and beans to meet the food needs of a growing world population. However, boosting crop output will require improving more than what can be seen of these plants above the ground. Root systems are essential to gathering water and nutrients, but understanding what's happening in these unseen parts of the plants has un ...
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Low concentrations of heavy metals contributes to antibiotic resistance
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
New Swedish research shows that plasmids containing genes that confer resistance to antibiotics can be enriched by very low concentrations of antibiotics and heavy metals. These results strengthen the suspicion that the antibiotic residues and heavy metals (such as arsenic, silver and copper) that are spread in the environment are contributing to the problems of resistance. These findings have n ...
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Brazil rainforests releasing more carbon dioxide
Leipzig, Germany (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Because of the deforestation of tropical rainforests in Brazil, significantly more carbon has been lost than was previously assumed. As scientists of the Hemholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) write in the scientific journal Nature Communications, the effect of the degradation has been underestimated in fragmented forest areas, since it was hitherto not possible to calculate the loss o ...
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Easy recipe to make bone and cartilage
Houston TX (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Monash University and RIKEN Centre for Developmental Biology have used a combination of small molecules to generate mouse cells that can form bone and cartilage.
This new method is easily scalable, and hence is a promising approach for the repair of human bone and cartilage defects. The research has just bee ...
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River flow by design
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 10, 2014 -
Last spring, the Colorado River reached its delta for the first time in 16 years, flowing into Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of California after wetting 70 miles of long-dry channels through the Sonoran Desert.
The planned 8-week burst of water from Mexico's Morelos Dam on the Arizona-Mexico border was the culmination of years of diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Mexico and ...
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