Zebrafish made to grow pre-hands instead of fins

PERHAPS the little fish embryo shown here is dancing a jig because it has just discovered that it has legs instead of fins. Fossils show that limbs evolved from fins, but a new study shows how it may have happened, live in the lab. ...

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Counting under way in Egyptian referendum

CAIRO: Counting was under way early Sunday after a first-round referendum on a divisive new constitution pushed through by President Mohamed Morsi and his Islamist allies despite weeks of opposition protests.Polling stations in half the country, including the biggest cities of Cairo and Alexandria, were tallying the results from Saturday's voting.The second round of the referendum is to...

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Apple rumors never cease

The iPad Mini will be a magnet for lots of rumors in the coming months.(Credit:Apple)Apple rumors are a fact of life. And it's silly to think that tech sites will begin writing fewer stories about the latestiPad/iPhone chatter. It's like asking the Washington press corps to stop writing about Beltway scuttlebutt or Hollywood reporters to cease scribbling about la la land -- however frivolous. Ain't...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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School Shooting Victims Were Shot Multiple Times

The gunman who massacred 20 children in a Connecticut elementary school riddled them with bullets, shooting some of them as many as 11 times, the medical examiner said today."I've been at this for a third of a century so my sensibilities may not be the that of the average man, but it's probably the worst I've ever seen," said Chief Medical Examiner H. Wayne Carver II, who has...

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CERN becomes first pure physics voice in UN chorus

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter(Image: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras)If CERN observes the proceedings of the United Nations, will it change the outcome?The international particle physics laboratory, based near Geneva, Switzerland, has been granted observer status in the General Assembly of the United Nations, CERN officials announced today. The lab joins environmental groups and public...

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US Dollar falls as fiscal cliff worries grow

NEW YORK: The US dollar dropped to its lowest level against the euro in three months Friday, the euro going above US$1.31 as politicians in Washington appeared no closer to averting the economy-crunching fiscal cliff.With just over two weeks to go before the deadline, markets began to show strains from worries that US leaders will not be able to carve out a compromise deal to beat the...

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Dropbox for iOS updated with focus on photos

Forget spring cleaning. The winter holidays seem to be inspiring the impulse to tidy, with everyone sprucing up their mobile apps. Dropbox is the latest to release an update.The cloud storage provider announced that it has revamped its iOS app, and the big focus here is on the photos experience.Based on the new design and features, it looks like Dropbox is diving deeper into the photo-sharing side...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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20 Children Killed at Conn. Grade School, 7 Adults

Twenty children died today when a heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and sprayed staff and students with bullets.The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead in the school.Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital. Six adults were also slain, bringing the total to 26.In addition to the casualties...

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Today on New Scientist: 13 December 2012

Violent beauty at the end of an Alaskan glacier You can almost hear the crash of ice on water in this stunning image of an ice sheet calving off the Chenega glacier in AlaskaOvereating now bigger global problem than lack of food The most comprehensive disease report ever produced confirms that, for the first time, there is a larger health problem from people eating too much than too littleIn...

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EU leaders upbeat on euro future after deal on banks, Greece

BRUSSELS: EU leaders debated the euro's future in a bullish mood Thursday after deals on banks and Greece, despite fears that political uncertainty in Italy could cause new worries for the single currency.As video showed the bloc's 27 leaders smiling and joking with each other at the beginning of a two-day summit, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said leaders should aim to cap a triumphant...

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Facebook launches new iOS app

Click for larger image.(Credit:Facebook)In its ongoing attempts to cash in on mobile, Facebook releases yet another iOS update today, just hours after releasing its Android app.The new iOS app boasts a faster loading times for news feed and Timeline, and the ability to choose which album to upload photos to. Facebook has been releasing these app updates at lighting speed over the last few months as...

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Global Checkup: Most People Living Longer, But Sicker

If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents...

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Rice Withdraws From Sec. of State Consideration

Image Credit: Evan Vucci/AP PhotoUN Ambassador Susan Rice has withdrawn her name from consideration for Secretary of State, saying the criticism surrounding her comments on Benghazi had become an “irresponsible distraction.”“I am fully confident that I could serve our country ably and effectively in that role,” Rice wrote in a letter to President Obama today. “However, if nominated, I am now...

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UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls. Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which...

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Will there be a by-election in Punggol East?

SINGAPORE: While the by-election in Hougang earlier this year was called under identical circumstances - where an incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) vacated his seat because of an extramarital affair - political analysts TODAY spoke to were split over whether it could be used to gauge if and when a by-election will be held in Punggol East, following the resignation of its MP, Mr Michael...

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ReCycle bicycles made from all-recycled aluminum

That's one mean green machine.(Credit:ReCycle)Bike riding is already a more environmentally conscious pursuit than driving around in acar, but you can really take it to the green extreme with a bike made from 100-percent-recycled aluminum. ReCycle is working at raising funds on Kickstarter to put its first full run of bikes into production.There are some nice design tweaks that make the ReCycle bikes...

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Gold “Mining” Termites Found, May Lead Humans to Riches

Want to know if you're literally sitting on a gold mine? Get some termites, a new study suggests.New experiments in West Australia reveal that termites "mine" and stockpile the precious metal while they're collecting subterranean material for their nests.For the study, entomologist Aaron Stewart, with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and colleagues...

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Mall Shooter Quit Job, Was Going to Hawaii

In the days before he stole a semiautomatic weapon and stormed into an Oregon shopping mall, killing two people in a shooting spree, Jacob Roberts quit his job, sold his belongings and began to seem "numb" to those closest to him.Roberts' ex-girlfriend, Hannah Patricia Sansburn, 20, told ABC News today that the man who donned a hockey mask and opened fire on Christmas shoppers...

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Obama recognises Syrian opposition

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the Syrian opposition was now "the legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, in the most significant US intervention yet in the brutal civil war."We have made a decision that the Syrian opposition coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate...

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Facebook Powerball hoaxer: Girlfriend wanted me to nix it

The triumphant pose.(Credit:Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)You've probably not yet got over your disappointment that Nolan Daniels won't be giving you $1 million.This is understandable. It's near Xmas and you've become rather excited about finally owning a four-bedroom McMansion with a Bilirubin-colored Lexus sitting outside.Daniels -- for those who've been secreted in their panic rooms in preparation...

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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal ObservatoryThis image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon...

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Obama Predicts GOP Will Cave on Taxes

As the clock ticks toward a tax hike on all Americans in 20 days, President Obama predicted Republicans would join Democrats to extend current rates for 98 percent of earners before the end of the year."I'm pretty confident that Republicans would not hold middle class taxes hostage to trying to protect tax cuts for high-income individuals," Obama said today in an exclusive interview...

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Doha summit launches climate damage aid

The latest summit to stop climate change, held in Doha, Qatar, over the past two weeks has been roundly slammed. Little was agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions and the latest modelling, carried out by the Climate Action Tracker consortium shows global averages temperatures are still set to rise by at least...

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Dollar dips as investors expect new Fed stimulus

NEW YORK: The dollar dipped against other major currencies Monday as investors bet the Federal Reserve would provide more stimulus to the lackluster US economy at its rate-setting meeting this week.The euro was buying $1.2939 at 2200 GMT, up from $1.2928 at the same time Friday.Against the Japanese currency, the European currency weakened to 106.53 yen from 106.64 yen late Friday, while...

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Instagram improves camera, editing and adds new filter

Instagram new iOS app.(Credit:Instagram)Instagram rolled out new apps today with promises of a better camera, scaling and cropping functions, control over the blurring of photos and -- of course -- another filter.The company touted its upgrades in a blog post , highlighting the camera's new features for iOS. This includes an Instagram-themed shutter and shutter release button, a preview of the most...

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U.K. Dash for Shale Gas a Test for Global Fracking

Thomas K. Grose in London The starting gun has sounded for the United Kingdom's "dash for gas," as the media here have dubbed it.As early as this week, a moratorium on shale gas production is expected to be lifted. And plans to streamline and speed the regulatory process through a new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil were unveiled last week in the annual autumn budget statement by...

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