Fish that have their own fish finders
St. Louis MO (SPX) Aug 05, 2015 -
The more than 200 species in the family Mormyridae communicate with one another in a way completely alien to our species: by means of electric discharges generated by an organ in their tails.
In a 2011 article in Science that described a group of mormyrids able to perceive subtle variations in the waveform of electric signals, Washington University in St. Louis biologist Bruce Carlson, PhD ...
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Feed supplement greatly reduces dairy cow methane emissions
University Park PA (SPX) Aug 05, 2015 -
A supplement added to the feed of high-producing dairy cows reduced methane emissions by 30 percent and could have ramifications for global climate change, according to an international team of researchers.
In addition, over the course of the 12-week study conducted at Penn State's dairy barns, cows that consumed a feed regimen supplemented by the novel methane inhibitor 3-nitrooxypropanol ...
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Almost 80 species scavenge hunting remains worldwide
Madrid, Spain (SPX) Aug 05, 2015 -
Human activities such as livestock farming, fishing or hunting yearly waste tons of food into natural ecosystems. A large part of this anthropogenic food is provided as carrion and subsidizes a wide range of vertebrate species. Spanish scientists have described for the first time the general structure of scavenger communities worldwide, which consist mainly of birds (66%) and mammals (34%).
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Biology, not just physics, controls release of scent compounds from plants
West Lafayette IN (SPX) Aug 05, 2015 -
Purdue University research suggests active biological mechanisms transport scent and taste compounds known as volatiles from plant cells to the atmosphere, a finding that could overturn the textbook model of volatile emission as a process that occurs solely by diffusion.
Volatiles play key roles in plant pollination, reproduction, defense and communication. Researchers thought volatiles di ...
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Lenders back Azeri gas project with European focus
Manila (UPI) Aug 7, 2015 -
Asian and European lenders unveiled a $1 billion finance package Friday to help fund an Azeri natural gas field meant to diversify the European energy sector.
The Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with support from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, announced funding support for the second stage of the Shah Deniz natural gas field of ...
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Canadian oil exports hit low mark for year
Calgary, Alberta (UPI) Aug 7, 2015 -
Canada reported total oil exports for May were at their lowest level for 2015, though slight increases have emerged while the country moves into recession.
The National Energy Board in Canada reported total exports through May, the last full month for which it has data. Government data show total crude oil exports for May at 2.8 million barrels per day, about 10 percent less than April ...
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China July exports, imports drop amid worry for economy
Shanghai (AFP) Aug 8, 2015 -
China's foreign trade performance worsened in July with both exports and imports falling on an annual basis, customs said on Saturday, spelling more worry for the world's second largest economy.
Exports plunged 8.3 percent year-on-year to $195.10 billion while imports dropped 8.1 percent to $152.07 billion, it said in a statement on its website.
The country still recorded a trade surplus ...
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Chinese dragon losing its shine for foreign firms
Beijing (AFP) Aug 9, 2015 -
The once irresistible allure of the Chinese market to foreign multinationals is losing some of its lustre as slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy hits their sales.
The latest figures from firms reporting during the current results season in Europe, the United States and Japan paint a picture of overseas firms facing a worsening of operating conditions in China.
Volkswagen ...
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EDF deal for new UK nuclear plant to be signed in October: press
London (AFP) Aug 5, 2015 -
A Pounds 25 billion ($39 billion, 36 billion euro) deal for French energy company EDF to build Britain's new nuclear power station will be confirmed when China's President Xi Jinping visits London in October, Britain's press reported Wednesday.
Chinese firms CGN and CNNC are expected to get a stake of around 40 percent in - and provide much of the construction financing for - the two new EPR rea ...
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Fermilab experiment sees neutrino oscillation
Ann Arbor, Mich. (UPI) Aug 8, 2015 -
The NOvA experiment at Fermilab is already proving a success. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have reported observing neutrino oscillation.
Neutrinos are neutral subatomic particles unaffected by most atomic forces and with only a smidgen of mass. They're produced by a variety of high-energy reactions, including the Big Bang, solar fus ...
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France steps up Reunion island search for MH370 wreckage
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) Aug 6, 2015 -
France said Thursday it would launch new searches by air, land and sea from Reunion in the hopes of finding more wreckage from MH370, after Malaysia said a wing part washed up on the Indian Ocean island came from the ill-fated flight.
A Casa military aircraft will begin surveying the area from Friday morning, the French government said in a statement. The search will also be stepped up with ...
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Oil prices move ever closer to yearly lows
New York (UPI) Aug 7, 2015 -
Oversupply fears continued to drag on crude oil prices, which dipped into negative territory Friday after the release of U.S. labor figures for July.
Brent crude oil prices moved ever closer to the low point for 2015, losing 1 percent in early Friday trading at $49.01 per barrel. Brent traded at $45.13 on Jan. 13 and rallied to $66.33 in mid-May.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. ...
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U.S. adds rigs in July, Baker Hughes said
Houston (UPI) Aug 7, 2015 -
While down year-on-year, oil services company Baker Hughes said Friday there were a net five more rigs deployed across the United States in July than in June.
Baker Hughes reported net rig counts for July. Rig counts serve as a barometer for the health of the exploration and production side of the energy sector, which has been depressed because of the low price of crude oil.
Crud ...
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'Sharing economy' surge creates labor conundrum
Washington (AFP) Aug 9, 2015 -
They drive for Uber, deliver groceries for Instacart, run errands for TaskRabbit, and rent spare rooms on Airbnb.
Are these the new, empowered participants in the "sharing economy," or workers being exploited by well-funded technology companies?
That is an open question as millions of people shift from traditional employment to freelance "gig" work, giving them more independence, but wit ...
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France hunts for more MH370 debris off Reunion island
Saint-Denis De La Reunion (AFP) Aug 7, 2015 -
France launched a hunt for more wreckage from the ill-fated MH370 plane off Reunion island on Friday in a fresh effort to shed light on one of aviation's biggest mysteries.
The tiny French Indian Ocean territory has been under intense scrutiny since a beach cleaner found a washed-up wing part last week, which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak later declared was part of the Boeing 777 that ...
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Turning cow poo into power is profitable for US farm
Plymouth, United States (AFP) Aug 9, 2015 -
For most farms, manure is a pungent problem. At Homestead Dairy, it smells like money.
The family-run American farm invested in a biogas recovery system which transforms cow poo and other waste into electricity.
Enough electricity, in fact, to power 1,000 homes, a service which the local utility company pays for handsomely.
But that's just a side benefit.
"It works economically, ...
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Mobile makeover for Britain's scandal-hit banks
London (AFP) Aug 9, 2015 -
With reputations tarnished by the financial crisis and a string of scandals, Britain's top banks are trying to adapt and move ahead by embracing mobile technology.
Four years ago, Lloyds Banking Group did not have a single customer accessing services via a smartphone, but today there are five million using such apps - and counting.
"This provides huge opportunities for how we serve our ...
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TV industry sees digital threats rising
San Francisco (AFP) Aug 8, 2015 -
Is it time for big television to start worrying about digital?
For years, the threats to traditional television have been present, but the digital revolution now appears to be gathering momentum, raising the prospect of shifts in viewing habits which could devastate an industry that has been lucrative for years.
The decades-old model for the industry has been built around cable and satel ...
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Tesla courts hackers to defend high-tech cars
Las Vegas (AFP) Aug 9, 2015 -
Hackers swarmed a Tesla sedan in a 'hacking village' at the infamous Def Con conference on Saturday as the high-tech electric car maker recruited talent to protect against cyber attacks.
It was the second year in a row the California-based company was at the world's largest gathering of hackers in Las Vegas, and came on the heels of a massive recall of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles vehicles to p ...
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Drivers challenge Uber business model in California
San Francisco, 7 Août 2015 -
Taxi service Uber's classification of drivers is being challenged in California, threatening the company's business model within the state.
A hearing was held Thursday in San Francisco over whether to authorize a challenge by Uber drivers as a class-action lawsuit. The drivers want to be considered employees rather than independent contractors at the smartphone-based startup.
Drivers fo ...
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Eastern Colorado shale good to Bill Barrett
Denver (UPI) Aug 7, 2015 -
Colorado energy company Bill Barrett Corp. credited drilling efficiency and targeted spending for the boost in production from the Denver-Julesburg shale basin.
"Our drilling results continue to reflect the quality of our Denver-Julesburg assets and position us to achieve our goals for the remainder of the year, while providing a strong foundation heading into 2016," Chief Executive Off ...
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Disney Research produces 3D objects with variable elasticity using single material
Glendale CA (SPX) Aug 07, 2015 -
A 3D-printed teddy bear can have a stiff head, a pliable tummy and bendable arms, even though all of it is made of the same relatively stiff material, using a new method developed by Disney Research.
By using the printer to alter the small-scale structure of the material, the Disney researchers showed they could vary its elasticity dramatically within the same object. They developed famili ...
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Two spin liquids square off in an iron-based superconductor
Upton NY (SPX) Aug 07, 2015 -
Despite a quarter-century of research since the discovery of the first high-temperature superconductors, scientists still don't have a clear picture of how these materials are able to conduct electricity with no energy loss. Studies to date have focused on finding long-range electronic and magnetic order in the materials, such as patterns of electron spins, based on the belief that this order un ...
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Molecular trick alters rules of attraction for non-magnetic metals
Leeds, UK (SPX) Aug 07, 2015 -
Scientists have demonstrated for the first time how to generate magnetism in metals that aren't naturally magnetic, which could end our reliance on some rare and toxic elements currently used.
In a study led by the University of Leeds and published today in the journal Nature, researchers detail a way of altering the quantum interactions of matter in order to "fiddle the numbers" in a math ...
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