Bioprinting a 3D liver-like device to detoxify the blood
San Diego CA (SPX) May 13, 2014 -
Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a 3D-printed device inspired by the liver to remove dangerous toxins from the blood.
The device, which is designed to be used outside the body - much like dialysis - uses nanoparticles to trap pore-forming toxins that can damage cellular membranes and are a key factor in illnesses that result from animal bites and sti ...
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IT experts urge E-stonia to drop Internet voting
Tallinn (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
A team of global IT experts on Tuesday urged cyber-savvy Estonia to drop electronic voting from this month's European elections, saying they had identified major security risks.
"Estonia's Internet voting system blindly trusts the election servers and the voters' computers," said US computer scientist J. Alex Halderman, a co-author of the report released Tuesday.
"Either of these would b ...
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China detains man in online 'rumour' crackdown
Beijing (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
A Chinese man apologised on state television Tuesday after being detained for "publishing false stories" on an overseas news portal alleging gross rights abuses, the latest step in a wide-ranging crackdown on "Internet rumours".
Xiang Nanfu, 62, had posted untrue stories on the Chinese-language site Boxun since 2009 that "seriously harmed the image of the state" and "had a very bad impact", ...
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China releases 'social harmony index'
Beijing (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
China has released its first-ever "rural social harmony index", state media reported Tuesday, with Communist authorities apparently able to measure happiness down to the nearest ten-thousandth of a decimal point.
The first-of-its-kind index shows social harmony in the countryside currently at 59.2526 on a 100-point scale, according to the official Xinhua news agency, citing a report by the C ...
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Preschool teacher depression linked to behavioral problems in children
Columbus, Ohio (UPI) May 13, 2013 -
New research suggests preschoolers cared for by a teacher suffering symptoms of depression are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems.
Researchers at Ohio State University arrived at the conclusion after analyzing data from a nationwide health study that collected family info from mostly low-income, single-mother households and their children's caretakers.
"We were interested ...
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Large increase seen in emergency department visits for traumatic brain injury
Pittsburgh (UPI) May 13, 2013 -
Emergency rooms are seeing an increasing number of patients visiting due to traumatic brain injury.
According to new analysis by doctors and health researchers at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, there was a nearly 30 percent increase in the rate of TBI ER visits from 2006 to 2010.
In a study in published this week in the latest issue of JAMA, researchers suggest that ...
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Imploding sub a 'tragic loss': Titanic director
Wellington (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
Hollywood director James Cameron Tuesday mourned a "tragic loss" after a deep sea research vessel imploded nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
The Nereus robotic research vehicle was exploring the Kermadec Trench, several hundred kilometres north of New Zealand, when it was crushed by the extreme water pressure.
"I feel like I've lost a friend," C ...
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Hollywood revives Godzilla, Japan's 'king of monsters'
Los Angeles (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
Godzilla - born in a post-war Japan traumatized by Hiroshima - gets eye-popping special effects in his latest Hollywood remake, combined with a reflection on the nuclear threat.
The giant reptile, the rights for whom are still owned by Japanese studio Toho, was already adapted by Hollywood in 1998, with German disaster movie director Roland Emmerich at the helm.
For the new version, ...
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Art Basel puts spotlight on Hong Kong
Hong Kong (AFP) May 11, 2014 -
Hong Kong's tallest building will transform into a glowing art installation this week, a beacon showing off the city's ambition to be recognised as a major cultural hub with its second Art Basel fair.
With its knack for bringing in a global mix of wealthy buyers, artists, gallerists, VIPs and celebrities, the five-day show is the catalyst to a champagne-soaked itinerary of art fairs, exhibit ...
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House of Cadres: China cracks down on US TV
Beijing (AFP) May 09, 2014 -
Six hours into the back-to-back "24" marathon, Jack Bauer was foiling Russian assassins, trying to save the world from nuclear catastrophe - and holding a Chinese audience spellbound.
"It's really great; I've seen every season," said university student Niu Dajun, 23, one of about 100 Red Bull-fuelled watchers at an all-night viewing in a Beijing cinema.
"American TV shows are really inn ...
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Beijing launches armed police patrol force
Beijing (AFP) May 12, 2014 -
Beijing launched armed police patrols Monday to handle violent incidents in the capital, city authorities said, three weeks ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown and after a series of attacks on civilians.
The armed division, which has 150 vehicles, aims to "strike on terrorist and violent crimes in a rapid and effective way", the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau ( ...
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China detains 60 people over incinerator protest
Beijing, China (AFP) May 12, 2014 -
China detained 60 people on Monday for their role in a violent demonstration that prompted officials to promise to suspend construction of a waste incinerator, local police said.
The protest in the eastern city of Hangzhou over the weekend marked the latest eruption of popular frustration with the environmental damage that has accompanied decades of breakneck development.
Chinese autho ...
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Reefs cheaper than concrete to protect coast cities
Paris (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
Coral reefs are as good as concrete defences at protecting tropical coastal cities from rising seas but are far cheaper, scientists said in a study published on Tuesday.
Instead of committing billions of dollars to build breakwaters and sea walls, many tropical cities should consider conserving or restoring their coral reefs, they said.
The paper, published in the journal Nature Communic ...
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Fishermen condemn European feeding frenzy in Senegal
Dakar (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
For years European trawlers have plied Senegal's abundant waters without permission, removing thousands of tonnes of fish without contributing a dollar to the local economy.
A long-overdue deal to regulate the industry and claw back cash for the impoverished west African nation has finally been signed between Dakar and the European Union - but it has been met with dismay by environmentalist ...
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Namibia caught in net of elephant, rhino poaching
Windhoek (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
The rising tide of elephant and rhino poaching in Africa is spreading to the sparsely-populated vastness of Namibia in the southeast of the continent, latest official figures show.
Between 2005 and 2011 just two elephant were killed, while 121 have been killed in the past two and a half years, according to figures presented by the environment ministry.
And while no rhino were poached bet ...
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Australia commits up to $84 million to MH370 search
Canberra (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
Australia has committed up to Aus$89.9 million (US$84 million) towards the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over two years, budget papers released Tuesday show.
Australia has been leading the hunt for the plane which was carrying 239 people when it disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
It is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocea ...
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Questions remain as China remembers 6 years since quake
Beijing (AFP) May 12, 2014 -
Six years after a huge earthquake killed tens of thousands of people in China, questions over poor building work and corruption were still being asked on Monday's anniversary, as online posters remembered the dead.
More than 80,000 were left dead or missing when a 8.0 magnitude tremor struck Sichuan on the afternoon of May 12 2008, including 5,335 school pupils.
The disaster provoked wid ...
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Which has a more efficient 'engine': A tuna or a whale?
Chicago IL (SPX) May 14, 2014 -
A large gray whale and a much smaller skipjack tuna each propels itself through water. Which is the more efficient swimmer? It has been difficult to compare propulsion efficiencies of animals of different sizes, like comparing apples and oranges, but now Northwestern University researchers have developed a new metric, or standard, to measure individual energy consumption efficiency and make such ...
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Italy warns EU on asylum as shipwreck survivors land
Catania, Italy (AFP) May 13, 2014 -
An Italian warship on Tuesday unloaded the 17 victims and 206 survivors of a migrant boat shipwreck, as Italy threatened to send asylum-seekers across Europe without more help to stem a wave of arrivals from North Africa.
Hearses carrying the 17 coffins could be seen lined up in the port of Catania in Sicily as the Grecale frigate docked and dozens of medical personnel stood by to assist the ...
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Ice-loss moves the Earth 250 miles down
Newcastle UK (SPX) May 14, 2014 -
At the surface, Antarctica is a motionless and frozen landscape. Yet hundreds of miles down the Earth is moving at a rapid rate, new research has shown.
The study, led by Newcastle University, UK, and published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, explains for the first time why the upward motion of the Earth's crust in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula is currently taking place so quick ...
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