Bats bolster brain hypothesis, maybe technology, too
Providence RI (SPX) Aug 21, 2014 -
Amid a neuroscience debate about how people and animals focus on distinct objects within cluttered scenes, some of the newest and best evidence comes from the way bats "see" with their ears, according to a new paper in the Journal of Experimental Biology. In fact, the perception process in question could improve sonar and radar technology.
Bats demonstrate remarkable skill in tracking targ ...
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Climate change: meteorologists preparing for the worst
Montreal (AFP) Aug 21, 2014 -
Intense aerial turbulence, ice storms and scorching heatwaves, huge ocean waves - the world's climate experts forecast apocalyptic weather over the coming decades at a conference in Montreal that ended Thursday.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) brought together 1,000 specialists to discuss the uncertain future of weather forecasting.
A decade after the entry into force of the ...
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Neanderthals and humans interacted for thousands of years
London (UPI) Aug 21, 2014 -
A new study from Oxford University reveals Neanderthals and humans interacted for up to 5,000 years, 10 times longer than previously thought.
Researchers from across Europe found that humans' ancestors exchanged ideas and culture as well as competed for food.
"I think we can set aside the idea of a rapid extinction of Neanderthals caused solely by the arrival of modern humans. In ...
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Tropical storm Karina shaped like a number 9
Washington (UPI) Aug 21, 2014 -
From the vantage of NASA's Aqua satellite, tropical storm Karina - which is currently weakening as it moves across the Eastern Pacific Ocean - appears like the number nine.
Hurricanes and tropical storms mostly resemble giant zeros, but yesterday, Karina ran into a band of thunderstorms that approached from the southeast and wrapped up and around the tropical storms northeast quadrant ...
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Rescuers comb through devastation of Japan landslide
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 21, 2014 -
Thousands of rescuers combed through the wreckage of homes engulfed by landslides in western Japan on Thursday in the slim hope of finding survivors, a day after a wall of mud claimed at least 39 lives.
Police officers, firefighters and soldiers worked through the night in a desperate bid to find dozens missing among the sludge and rubble.
"The death toll remained the same at 39 while th ...
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Cisco to cut 6,000 jobs in streamlining
New York (AFP) Aug 13, 2014 -
US computer networking giant Cisco Systems said Wednesday it plans to slash some 6,000 jobs, or eight percent of its global workforce in the coming year.
Chairman and chief executive John Chambers called the move a "limited restructuring" that will allow Cisco to "reinvest cost savings in key growth areas."
Chief financial officer Frank Calderoni said the move to streamline comes with C ...
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Canada, Kazakhstan start nuclear cooperation
Ottawa (AFP) Aug 15, 2014 -
Canada heralded Friday the implementation of a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan that allows nuclear technology to be exported to the former Soviet republic.
The deal, which was inked in 2009, "marks our shared commitment to expanding cooperation in the nuclear sector in a safe and secure manner, while strengthening economic ties between our two countries," said Lynne Ye ...
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