Feb
28

Mystery ring of radiation briefly encircled Earth

What were you doing last September? The charged particles that dance around Earth were busy. Unbeknown to most earthlings, a previously unseen ring of radiation encircled our planet for nearly the whole month – before being destroyed by a powerful interplanetary shock wave. ...
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Facebook buys advertising firm from Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook agreed Thursday to buy Atlas Advertiser Suite from Microsoft as part of an effort to boost ad revenues at the massive social network.Terms of the deal were not disclosed."Atlas is a leader in campaign management and measurement for marketers and agencies. We believe this acquisition will benefit both marketers and users," Facebook's Brian Boland said in a blog post.Atlas...
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Bigger, thicker, cheaper, plastic iPhone coming next year (rumor)

Apple's iPhone 5 makes use of aluminum and ceramics. (Credit:Josh Lowensohn/CNET)Holdouts expecting a larger version of the iPhone this year will have to keep on waiting, a new report says.Citing sources, Japanese Apple news site Macotakara says such a device is instead slated for next year, and will use plastic instead of aluminum for its body.Macotakara says the device will sport a polycarbonate...
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Scarred Duckbill Dinosaur Escaped T. Rex Attack

A scar on the face of a duckbill dinosaur received after a close encounter with a Tyrannosaurus rex is the first clear case of a healed dinosaur wound, scientists say.The finding, detailed in the current issue of the journal Cretaceous Research, also reveals that the healing properties of dinosaur skin were likely very similar to that of modern reptiles.The lucky dinosaur was an adult...
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Obama Admin to Court: End Calif. Gay Marriage Ban

Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, plans to file a brief today with the Supreme Court in favor of challengers of Prop. 8, according to an administration source.It would mark the first time that the Obama administration has come out in court against the California ballot initiative that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.As far back as 2008, the president said that...
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Feb
27

Quantum skyfall puts Einstein's gravity to the test

DIVIDING a falling cloud of frozen atoms sounds like an exotic weather experiment. In fact, it's the latest way to probe whether tiny objects obey Einstein's theory of general relativity, our leading explanation for gravity. General relativity is based...
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AIM not bidding for PAP town councils' tender

SINGAPORE: Action Information Management (AIM), which runs the People's Action Party (PAP) town councils' computer systems, will no longer operate the systems when its contract expires on April 30. It said on Wednesday that it will not participate in the latest tender exercise.The arrangement between AIM, a company fully owned by the PAP, and the PAP town councils had caused controversy...
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See a saber duel through Darth Vader's eyes

I've got a bad feeling about this.(Credit:Screenshot by Christopher MacManus/CNET)In the "Star Wars" universe, Jedi and Sith usually settle a score with a good old-fashioned lightsaber duel. Even though all six movies featured lengthy confrontations filled with sizzling sabers, George Lucas never showed an angle of how that type of fight would appear through the eyes of a dueler.Independent filmmakers...
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Why African Rhinos Are Facing a Crisis

The body count for African rhinos killed for their horns is approaching crisis proportions, according to the latest figures released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). To National Geographic reporter Peter Gwin, the dire numbers—a rhinoceros slain every 11 minutes since the beginning of 2013—don't come as a surprise. "The killing will continue as long as...
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Holder Says Sequester Makes America Less Safe

The looming budget sequestration will make Americans less safe, Eric Holder says—and anyone who says otherwise isn't telling the truth."This is something that is going to have an impact on the safety of this country," the U.S. attorney general told ABC's Pierre Thomas on Wednesday in a wide-ranging, exclusive interview."And anybody that says otherwise is either lying or saying...
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