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20,568 articles from Sci-Tech Today

FDA Study Finds Little Evidence of Antibiotics in Milk

In an encouraging development for consumers worried about antibiotics in their milk, a new Food and Drug Administration study showed little evidence of drug contamination after surveying almost 2,000 dairy farms. In response to concerns, the agency in 2012 took samples of raw milk from the farms and tested them for 31 drugs, almost all of them antibiotics. Results released by the agency...

Epic Snows Cause Economic Woes Across All Industries

Ignore anyone who tells you snow is free. Every work day lost during New England's historic winter has meant millions of dollars taken out of the regional economy. IHS Global Insight, an economic analysis firm, estimates Massachusetts alone suffered roughly $1 billion in lost wages and profits, as storm after storm pummeled the region, delivering over eight feet of snow in roughly a month....

Mystery Deepens Over Ancient Greek Tomb

A geologist who took part in the excavation of the ancient burial mound in Amphipolis in northern Greece says the ancient tomb found together with a series of vaulted rooms wasn't built at the same time, but somewhat later than the rooms themselves. Geologist Evangelos Kambouroglou also said Saturday that the mound inside which the rooms and the tomb were found is not man-made, as...


SUNDAY 8. MARCH 2015


Samsung Galaxy S6: Lost Key Features, No Better than iPhone?

A sleek glass and metal body, no removable battery or waterproof capabilities, fixed storage space, and a new mobile payment service. No, not the iPhone. It's the newest Samsung smartphone. The South Korean electronics giant introduced its redesigned smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, over the weekend with an emphasis on design...

Clinton's Homebrew E-Mail Server: Risky or Genius?

No, it's not always a room filled with wires and glowing blue lights. It's probably not even the size of your furnace. The personal email server used by Hillary Rodham Clinton during her time as secretary of state was probably about the size of your office desktop computer and could have been tucked quietly in a corner somewhere. She's come a long way since 1997, when Clinton's staff bought the...

Supernova in 'Einstein Cross' Is a Cosmic Trick

An exploding star goes supernova only once -- but if you're really, really lucky, you might just get to see it happen four times. An international team has discovered four separate images of the same distant supernova arranged in the shape of a cross -- and this unusual trick of the light could help scientists test the structure of the cosmos. The formation of the four supernova images, in the...


SATURDAY 7. MARCH 2015


D'oh! Homer Simpson Won Race to Find Higgs Boson Mass

Does Homer Simpson deserve a share of the 2013 Nobel Prize in physics? Did the European Organization for Nuclear Research and its scientific partners waste $10 billion constructing the Large Hadron Collider? In short, could particle physicists have saved themselves a lot of trouble and simply watched a 1998 episode of "The Simpsons" to figure out the mass of the Higgs boson? In the episode,...

Samsung Plans Virtual Reality Push with Gear VR

Virtual reality enthusiasts can expect a full consumer version of the Samsung/Oculus Gear VR later this year, according to Oculus Chief Technology Officer John Carmack. Speaking at the Game Developers Conference that ran March 2-6 in San Francisco, Carmack announced that a market-ready edition of the mobile virtual reality headset would roll out with Samsung's next major product release....

Why Apple's Watch Will -- Or Won't -- Change the Game

No one can argue that many Apple devices have changed the way people live their lives. The company's iTunes, iPhone and iPad have shaken up music, phone and computer markets worldwide. Is the Apple Watch going to be able to do the same? The stakes are big for Apple CEO Tim Cook: the watch is the first brand-new Apple product to be launched without legendary co-founder Steve Jobs. But the market...

Google Motors Into Car Insurance in Latest Expansion

Google is helping California drivers shop for car insurance as part of a new service that could foreshadow the Internet company's latest attempt to shake up a long-established industry. The feature unveiled Thursday compares vehicle insurance quotes from up to 14 carriers that are participating in the comparisons. The policies can then be bought online or through an agent. Google will receive a...

For Virtual Reality Creators, It's a Question of Control

At the Game Developers Conference [which ran March 2-6 in San Francisco], it was easy to imagine what virtual reality will look like when it eventually hits the marketplace. What it will feel like, however, is an entirely different matter. From wand-shaped controllers to motion-detecting sensors, VR creators are trying out all sorts of input methods on the road to bringing the immersive...

Silicon Valley Gender Bias Suit Puts the Pressure On

A sex discrimination trial against one of Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firms is providing a rare peek into the elite investment companies vying to fund the next Google and Amazon. Their partnership rosters are stacked with some of the nation's most accomplished graduates -- multiple-degree holders from schools such as Harvard and Stanford universities who are competing...

Facebook Exec, NBA Want Men To 'Lean In' for Women

Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg has enlisted NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and some of the basketball league's other top players to convince more men to join the fight for women's rights at home and at work. The players will deliver the message in public service announcements aired during NBA games on major TV networks over the next few months. Sandberg (shown here) is hoping to...


FRIDAY 6. MARCH 2015


Microsoft Confirms Windows Vulnerable to Freak Flaw

Microsoft on Thursday confirmed that Windows is indeed vulnerable to the dreaded FREAK attacks that were reported earlier this week. Microsoft said it was aware of a security feature bypass vulnerability in Secure Channel, or Schannel, that affects all supported versions of Microsoft Windows. Information security firm IANS has determined the FREAK flaw, which stands for Factoring RSA-Export...

Java for Mac Now Comes with Unwanted Adware

Mac users who install Oracle's Java are finding it comes with unwanted baggage: the Ask Search toolbar that many call adware, bloatware or worse. The toolbar has long appeared as a sponsor offering with Java for Windows, but it's recently started appearing in the Mac version as well. MalwareTips describes the Ask toolbar's search function as a "browser hijacker" that can reset a user's browser...

Alibaba To Open Cloud-Computing Data Center in Silicon Valley

Alibaba continues to make inroads in the U.S. In a move that directly competes with Amazon.com, the Chinese Internet juggernaut announced Wednesday that Aliyun, its 5-year-old cloud-computing business, will open its first overseas cloud-computing data center in Silicon Valley. Alibaba did not specify which city would house the center, when the facility would open or how much the company would...

Microsoft Plans to Bridge Xbox and PC Video Gaming

Microsoft is attempting to break down the walls surrounding console gaming. Phil Spencer, head of the company's video game division, detailed Microsoft's plan for game makers to create universal apps that can run on both Xbox One consoles and PCs with Windows 10, as well as smartphones, tablets and other devices running the forthcoming version of Windows. That includes HoloLens, Microsoft's...

Oxytocin Makes Men Eat Less, Choose Healthier Foods

First, we learn that the "love hormone" oxytocin makes men more trusting, nurturing and sociable. Then, we learn that a shot of the stuff makes partnered men less likely to stray or even flirt with other women. Now, we learn that a puff of oxytocin up the nose makes men eat less, and choose foods that are less fatty. If there were a scientific conspiracy to turn men into cuddly, highly evolved...

Bubbles From Glacier Ice Turn Up the Noise in Alaska Fjords

Glaciologist Erin Pettit began a research project to find out what humpback whales heard when a big piece of ice falls from a glacier and crashes into the ocean. But the sound generated by ice drifting in the water turned out to be just as interesting. Acoustic research in Alaska's Icy Bay and other glacier ice-filled waters found that the fizz created by the release of pressurized air bubbles...

Eastern Oregon Dig Uncovers Ancient Stone Tool

Archaeologists have uncovered a stone tool at an ancient rock shelter in the high desert of eastern Oregon that could turn out to be older than any known site of human occupation in western North America. The find was announced Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which controls the land on which the site was found. University of Oregon archaeologist Patrick O'Grady, who...

NASA Craft Circling Ceres in First Visit to Dwarf Planet

A NASA spacecraft for the first time has arrived at a dwarf planet to begin a 16-month exploration. The space agency on Friday confirmed that the Dawn craft entered orbit around Ceres in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. "It went exactly the way we expected. Dawn gently, elegantly slid into Ceres' gravitational embrace," said mission chief engineer Marc Rayman at NASA's Jet Propulsion...

Apple Beats Samsung To Become No. 1 Smartphone Maker

Apple topped Samsung in smartphone sales for the first time since 2012, selling 74.8 million units in the fourth quarter of last year, surpassing Samsung as the No. 1 smartphone maker globally. Apple's success was driven by huge demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the U.S. and in China, according to research firm Gartner. "Samsung's performance in the smartphone market deteriorated further...


THURSDAY 5. MARCH 2015


Mark Cuban Warns of the Risk in this Tech Bubble

Over a giddy four-year period, from 1997 through 2000, investors in the United States who purchased stocks in Internet-related businesses saw rapid and profound growth in the value of their portfolios. There was tremendous enthusiasm for companies poised to take advantage of the new communication and marketing network, and dot-com fever swept the land. Things came to a crashing halt almost...


MONDAY 2. MARCH 2015


Your Next Ikea Table May Wirelessly Charge Your Phone

The next nightstand or coffee table you buy from Ikea could also charge your cell phone and tablet. The Swedish furniture retailer announced Monday that it will be launching a new line of products capable of charging all of your devices wirelessly using the Qi wireless power standard, with the first pieces expected to be made available in Europe and North America in April, to be followed by a...

Samsung Rolls Out 'Redefined' Galaxy S6 Smartphones

Calling its design "entirely redefined," Samsung Electronics has unveiled its latest smartphones: the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. Among the phones' most notable features are bodies made of Corning's Gorilla Glass, wireless charging technology and batteries that you can't remove. Samsung unveiled the new devices in Barcelona on Sunday, one day ahead of the kickoff to the Mobile World...

HP To Acquire Aruba Networks for $3 Billion

With an eye to expanding its reach into mobile services, HP has announced it will acquire Aruba Networks, which provides networking equipment, software and services for IT departments and end-users. The $3 billion transaction is expected to close later this year. HP said combining its wired switching portfolio with Aruba's mobility software and WLAN hardware will create a "potent combination"...

Spacewalking Astronauts Finish Extensive, Cable Job

Spacewalking astronauts successfully completed a three-day cable job outside the International Space Station on Sunday, routing several-hundred feet of power and data lines for new crew capsules commissioned by NASA. It was the third spacewalk in just over a week for Americans Terry Virts and Butch Wilmore, and the quickest succession of spacewalks since NASA's former shuttle days. The...

Legal Patchwork Rules Internet of Things and Its Users

With smart gadgets already flooding the market and thousands more expected in coming years, the Internet of Things is emerging amid a regulatory wilderness. The breakneck pace of this technology has far outpaced the legal system's ability to keep up with it, many experts contend. Because of legal loopholes, consumers often lack any right to control how long their data is kept, who it is shared...

New Plane Tracking Tech Planned After Malaysia Mystery

Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia will lead a trial of an enhanced method of tracking aircraft over remote oceans to allow planes to be more easily found should they vanish like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australia's transport minister said Sunday. The announcement comes one week ahead of the anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 370, which vanished last year during a flight from Kuala...

Study: Smokers Tap into Multiple Sources for Nicotine

The first peek at a major study of how Americans smoke suggests many use combinations of products, and often e-cigarettes are part of the mix. It's a preliminary finding, but it highlights some key questions as health officials assess electronic cigarettes. "Are e-cigarettes a step toward a cigarette smoker getting off of cigarettes? Or are e-cigarettes a crutch so they can get nicotine in...


SATURDAY 28. FEBRUARY 2015


Will Apple Watch Sell Millions or Fall Flat?

Apple just sent out invitations for a March 9 event that many predict will see the technology giant debut the Apple Watch, or at least offer some strategic news. With a "Spring Forward" tagline, it's not hard to guess that the Apple Watch is at the center of the event. Apple Watch will let you communicate from your wrist by sending and receiving messages and answering calls to your iPhone. With...

Women Are Leaving the Tech Industry in Droves

Ana Redmond launched into a technology career for an exciting challenge and a chance to change the world. She was well-equipped to succeed too: An ambitious math and science wiz, she could code faster, with fewer errors, than anyone she knew. In 2011, after 15 years, she left before achieving a management position. Garann Means became a programmer for similar reasons. After 13 years, she...

Net Neutrality Euphoria Passed, Now Will It Work?

In the afterglow of the Federal Communications Commission's decision favoring Net Neutrality, supporters are having to face some tough issues that lie ahead. The order prohibits broadband providers from blocking, slowing or selling faster delivery of content flowing through their networks. By approving the regulations, the FCC granted the longstanding wishes of public-interest advocates,...

Review: The Sublime Tesla Model S P85D

Forget the Tesla Model S P85D's jaw-dropping zero-to-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds, though that's as fast as a Porsche 911 Turbo. It's the face-distorting zero-to-30-mph blast that truly sets the car apart. The P85D isn't entirely new. It's a faster version of the electric automaker's Model S sedan that first appeared in 2012. In addition to the original electric motor powering the rear wheels,...

Scientists Offer Reasons for Global Warming 'Hiatus'

It's been dubbed both a "pause" and a "faux pause," and it's ignited debate among climate scientists and their critics. After a period of rapid global warming throughout most of the 20th century, the pace of global temperature rise has slowed greatly over the last 10 to 15 years. This unexpected slowdown has raised questions about the accuracy of climate change forecasts, and sent scientists...

Another Reason To Drink Coffee: It May Reduce MS Risk

Drink up, coffee lovers: Neurologists say a healthy appetite for coffee may reduce your risk of developing multiple sclerosis. We're not talking a cup or two of joe in the morning. Even a triple espresso might not be enough to register a difference. In a new study, researchers found that Americans who downed at least four cups of coffee per day were one-third less likely to develop multiple...

Facebook Gender Options Are Now Unlimited

Facebook users who don't fit any of the 58 gender identity options offered by the social media giant are now being given a rather big 59th option: fill in the blank. "Now, if you do not identify with the pre-populated list of gender identities, you are able to add your own," said a Facebook announcement published online Thursday morning and shared in advance with The Associated Press....

Nickelodeon Debuts Mobile Service Noggin for Tykes

Nickelodeon is creating brand-new content and resurrecting old shows for a mobile subscription service aimed at preschoolers. The $6-a-month service called Noggin will have new games and activities alongside archives of shows no longer on any of Nickelodeon's TV channels. That includes videos of characters Moose and Zee teaching letters, shapes and other pre-kindergarten skills. And on the...


FRIDAY 27. FEBRUARY 2015


Google Bows to Pressure on Blogger Explicit Content Limits

Just 3-1/2 days after Google announced a ban on the public sharing of sexually explicit content on its Blogger Web site, the tech giant has reversed course, saying it will instead step up enforcement of its existing policy prohibiting commercial porn. Earlier this week, Google had announced that as of March 23, users of Blogger.com (which is owned by Google) would no longer be able to share...

Mobile World Congress Highlights Bleeding Edge Innovation

The theme for the 2015 Mobile World Congress event, which runs March 2 - 5 in Barcelona, is "The Edge of Innovation." Expected to draw more than 85,000 mobile industry professionals, the annual conference and exhibition is adding several new features and events this year. Among the new additions are an expanded program bringing together startup entrepreneurs and investors, a "Connected Women...

Look Out, Travel Web Sites: Here Comes Google Flights

Travel Web sites beware: Google is muscling in on your territory. The technology giant announced an update to its Google Flights service that lets users search for flights by price and date. The new Google service is expected to compete with the likes of Orbitz, Expedia (which recently acquired Travelocity) and Kayak, bringing the Internet behemoth into yet another marketplace. The new Google...

Ericsson Goes after Apple on 41 Mobile Tech Patents

Swift on the heels of a Texas jury ordering Apple to pay $532.9 million to a patent troll, the Swedish multinational tech giant Ericsson is also lodging complaints about patent infringement against the Mac- and iPhone-maker. On Thursday, Ericsson filed two complaints against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission and seven lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...

New York Surveying Banks on Cybersecurity Defenses

New York financial regulators are considering tougher cybersecurity requirements for banks to mandate more complex computer sign-ins and certifications from the contractors of their cyberdefenses, the state's top regulator said Wednesday. They already are revamping regular examinations of banks and insurance companies by adding targeted assessments of barriers against hackers, Department of...

Big Melt: Antarctica's Retreating Ice May Re-Shape Earth

From the ground in this extreme northern part of Antarctica, spectacularly white and blinding ice seems to extend forever. What can't be seen is the battle raging underfoot to re-shape Earth. Water is eating away at the Antarctic ice, melting it where it hits the oceans. As the ice sheets slowly thaw, water pours into the sea -- 130 billion tons of ice (118 billion metric tons) per year for the...

Ancient Wheat Points to Stone Age Trading Links

Britons may have discovered a taste for bread thousands of years earlier than previously thought, thanks to trade with more advanced neighbors on the European continent. That's the conclusion scientists have drawn after discovering that samples from a now-submerged prehistoric camp in southern England contained traces of ancient wheat DNA. The findings, published Thursday in the journal...

Sleep a Lot? You May Have a Heightened Risk of Stroke

There's no way to diagnose a stroke before it happens, but researchers say they've identified a clue to help doctors predict who's at risk -- the amount of sleep they get at night. Older adults who said they slept more than eight hours were 46% more likely to suffer strokes in the next decade than adults who slept for six to eight hours, according to an analysis published Wednesday in the...

Scientists Tackle the Mysteries of the Eyelash

The mysterious function of eyelashes has been revealed at last -- thanks to science. After measuring the dimensions of nearly two dozen mammal eyes, performing a series of wind tunnel experiments and engaging in some complex fluid dynamic modeling, researchers determined that most mammal eyelashes are one-third the length of their eyes -- just the right length to minimize the flow of air over the...

Ceres: Bright Spot on Dwarf Planet is a 'Twofer'

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has snapped even clearer views of Ceres, but its surface just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. A strange bright spot on the dwarf planet now appears to have a companion spot shining right next to it. Bright spots are often thought to have icy origins, though a Dawn project member has said that the readings from Ceres don't appear consistent with pure water ice....

Facebook's 2014 Bug Bounty Program Awarded $1.3M

Facebook paid $1.3 million to 321 hackers worldwide last year who helped spot security flaws in the social network's software. "Every year we are surprised by what we learn from the security community, and 2014 was no exception," Collin Greene, Facebook's security engineer, wrote in a blog post Wednesday morning. Started in 2011, Facebook's "bug bounty" program awards money to people who...

Phone and Voice Recognition Issues Plague Vehicles

Getting a phone connected to a car and getting the car to understand voice commands are the two most frequently reported problems in late model vehicles, according to new J.D. Power study of difficulties people encounter with their vehicles. Complaints about Bluetooth connectivity and built-in voice recognition systems dominated the automotive research firm's 2015 Vehicle Dependability Study...