Natural catastrophe losses lower in 2014: Munich Re
Frankfurt (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
Financial and human losses from natural catastrophes were lower in 2014 than in 2013, the world's leading reinsurer Munich Re calculated in its annual review published Wednesday.
"Overall losses from natural catastrophes totalled $110 billion (92.6 billion euros) in 2014, down from $140 billion in 2013," Munich Re calculated.
At 7,700, the number of fatalities was also much lower than 21 ...
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2 dead in Lebanon as snowstorm batters Mideast
Beirut (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
A Syrian man and a young boy died in Lebanon as a rare snowstorm Wednesday battered parts of the Middle East, adding to the misery of war refugees from Syria.
The bodies of the two Syrians, including the six-year-old boy, were found in the Shebaa region of south Lebanon, the Red Cross said.
A security source told AFP they were refugees crossing the mountainous border between Syria and Le ...
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Rain brings relief to Australian firefighters
Sydney (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
Australian authorities said Wednesday they had almost fully contained a destructive bushfire in the country's south, as rain in fire-hit areas brought welcome relief for firefighters.
South Australia's fire service said they had 95 percent of a huge blaze in the Adelaide Hills under control, as a scorching afternoon with temperatures rising to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) wa ...
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Tech never sleeps in quest for better slumber
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
This new technology is staying up all night, so you don't have to.
Among the new gadgetry on display at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are a number of solutions to a problem faced by many: a lack of sleep, or what experts call a lack of "quality" sleep that allows you to feel refreshed.
Some new devices monitor nocturnal activity to get a better handle on the issue, w ...
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Sun may determine lifespan at birth: study
Paris (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
Could the Sun be your lucky - or unlucky - star?
In an unusual study published Wednesday, Norwegian scientists said people born during periods of solar calm may live longer, as much as five years on average, than those who enter the world when the Sun is feisty.
The team overlaid demographic data of Norwegians born between 1676 and 1878 with observations of the Sun.
The lifespan o ...
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NASA's GPM Launches Hands-On Field Campaign for Students
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 06, 2015 -
This spring, students worldwide are invited to grab rain gauges and learn how scientists use ground measurements to validate satellite precipitation data.
NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, mission is partnering with the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program to conduct a field campaign where students will measure rain and snow in their ho ...
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Humans erode soil 100 times faster than nature
Burlington VT (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
A new study shows that removing native forest and starting intensive agriculture can accelerate erosion so dramatically that in a few decades as much soil is lost as would naturally occur over thousands of years.
Had you stood on the banks of the Roanoke, Savannah, or Chattahoochee Rivers a hundred years ago, you'd have seen a lot more clay soil washing down to the sea than before European ...
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Levitation recreates nature's dumbbells
Nottingham, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
Splash form tektites are tiny pieces of natural glass created out of spinning drops of molten rock flung from the earth during an extra-terrestrial impact - when the earth is hit by asteroids or comets. They come in a myriad of shapes - from dumbbell to doughnut - and the formation of these shapes has been the subject of scientific investigation for centuries.
Using magnetic levitation to ...
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Satellite shows the snow-covered US deep freeze
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
NOAA's GOES-East satellite provided a look at the frigid eastern two-thirds of the U.S. on Jan. 7, 2015, that shows a blanket of northern snow, lake-effect snow from the Great Lakes and clouds behind the Arctic cold front.
A visible picture captured at 1600 UTC (11 a.m. EST) showed the effects of the latest Arctic outbreak. The cold front that brought the Arctic air has moved as far south ...
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Evolution of life driven by the selfish ribosome
Aarhus, Denmark (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
Since the discovery of how DNA encodes genetic information, most research on the evolution of life has focused on genes. According to the "selfish gene" theory, cells and organisms exist simply as packages to protect and transmit genes. New research challenges this idea, proposing instead that if anything is "selfish" it must be the ribosome. That up-ends everything we think we know about the ev ...
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Energy Crisis As Early As 2016
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 07, 2015 -
Low oil prices today may be setting the world up for an oil shortage as early as 2016. Today we have just 2% more crude oil supply than demand and the price of gasoline is under $2.00/gallon in Texas. If oil supply falls too far, we could see gasoline prices doubling within 18 months. For a commodity as critical to our standard of living as oil is, it only takes a small shortage to drive up the ...
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Lundin's budget latest oil price victim
Stockholm, Sweden (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
With oil prices falling, Swedish energy company Lundin Petroleum said Wednesday it cut its 2015 spending plans by 31 percent from last year.
Lundin said that, combined, its total spending for development, appraisal and exploration for 2015 would total around $1.45 billion. The bulk of the spending, about $750 million, would target ongoing operations in Norway, though the majority would ...
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Shell compensates Nigerians over 'devastating' oil spills
London (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
Royal Dutch Shell is to pay more than $80 million to a Nigerian fishing community "devastated" by two serious oil spills in 2008, it was announced Wednesday, while the clean-up could take years.
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant's Nigerian arm has agreed to pay Pounds 55 million ($83.5 million, 70 million euros) to people in Bodo, a town in southern Nigeria, following a three-year legal battle.
The ...
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North Dakota defiant despite low oil prices
Bismarck, N.D. (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
If low oil prices threaten North Dakota spending plans, the state's governor said he had confidence lawmakers would take measured steps to cope.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple delivered his State of the State address late Tuesday, announcing plans to invest roughly $2.7 billion in state counties behind the oil boom in the state.
"I have recommended increasing the state's suppor ...
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Freezing rain impacts Texas oil operations
Dallas (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
It's not oil prices, but extreme winter weather that's impacting production and drilling operations in the Permian shale oil basin in Texas, an operator said.
Pioneer Natural Resources said severe winter weather in West Texas has left the Spraberry/Wolfcamp area in the Permian basin in the dark and out of reach. The company said an "extensive recovery period is expected," and it could t ...
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Oil mixed in Wednesday session
New York (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
Mixed news on the economic and oil front Wednesday left markets in limbo, with key indices searching for traction after hitting historic lows.
The price for Brent, the global crude oil benchmark, recovered from a brief slump below the $50 per barrel mark to fetch around $51 for the February contract. Despite the early morning rebound, Brent prices are off about half from their June valu ...
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Canada jumps into Keystone XL fray
Edmonton, Alberta (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
Alberta's premier said he was planning a trip to Washington to make the case that the Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the best interest of the region.
"Alberta is committed to responsible energy development, which firmly positions us as a safe, secure and responsible energy supplier and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Keystone XL," Premier Jim Prentice said in a statement issue ...
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Car of the future emerges at Las Vegas electronics show
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
It has four wheels, is always connected and the driver is optional: the car of the future is starting to take shape from collaboration between automakers and their technology partners.
At this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a new breed of cars with nearly complete autonomy and elaborate gadgetry has provided a peek into transportation solutions in the coming years.
One of ...
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Intel CEO says computing 'unleashed' by wearables
Las Vegas (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich said Tuesday that computing is being "unleashed" by the move to wearables as the tech giant unveiled a button-sized device for new connectivity.
Speaking at a keynote at the huge Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Krzanich said he sees wearables and similar technology taking computing power out of the constraints of the traditional screen and keyboar ...
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China firm to bid again for Mexico rail project: govt
Shanghai (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
The Chinese state firm which led a cancelled bid for a $3.75 billion high-speed rail contract in Mexico plans to tender for the project again, a Chinese government agency said Wednesday.
Mexico in early November abruptly cancelled a successful bid from a Chinese-Mexican consortium just days after it was awarded, amid questions over the legality and transparency of the process.
China Rail ...
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Toyota announces release of hundreds of fuel cell patents
Las Vegas (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
Toyota wants to build a hydrogen society. But first, they want the Toyota Mirai - the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to be released commercially - to be a hit on the market. To spur excitement (and to encourage fuel cell innovation, Toyota officials say), the company is releasing some 5,680 patents related to the technology that powers the Mirai.
Of the released patents, 1,970 are r ...
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Shale player pulls plug on Ukraine
London (UPI) Jan 7, 2015 -
The economic climate in Ukraine is no longer conducive to continue investing in shale natural gas opportunities, producer JKX Oil & Gas said Wednesday.
"The board of JKX has decided that the combination of Ukrainian Government-imposed restrictions on selling its gas to industrial clients and the punitive rate of gas production tax requires the company to suspend its planned 2015 capital ...
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China to invest $20 bn in struggling Venezuela: Maduro
Caracas (AFP) Jan 7, 2015 -
China has agreed to more than $20 billion in investments in economically struggling Venezuela, the South American nation's president Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday during a summit meeting in Beijing.
Maduro arrived on Tuesday in Beijing, where he has been meeting China's President Xi Jinping, at a critical time for Venezuela, which is in the throes of financial crisis from falling oil prices. ...
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APS signs Westinghouse fuel contract
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
Westinghouse Electric Company has announced that Arizona Public Service (APS) Company signed a $250 million contract with Westinghouse for fabricating and delivering its newest fuel product for the Combustion Engineering (CE) pressurized water reactor (PWR) fleet.
The contract is an extension with Westinghouse to continue fabricating and delivering fuel to three reactors that APS operates ...
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HKUST develops nanobowl concentrator for organic PVs
Beijing (SPX) Jan 08, 2015 -
Geometrical light trapping is a simple and promising strategy to largely improve the optical absorption and efficiency of solar cells. Nonetheless, implementation of geometrical light trapping in organic photovoltaic (OPV) is challenging due to the fact that uniform organic active layer can rarely be achieved on textured substrate.
Professor Zhiyong Fan and his group from Hong Kong Univers ...
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