Life

SpaceX’s Elon Musk renames his big rocket “Starship”

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has announced he is changing the name of his monster rocket BFR, aimed at carrying people to the Moon and possibly one day to Mars, to “Starship.” BFR has long been the unofficial name of the rocket, which is still under development. The letters were initially presumed to stand for “Big Fucking Rocket,” before company executives began formally referring to it as “Big Falcon Rocket.” […]

In photos: Elderly people join EBC Fun Run

  (Eagle News) —  People of all ages joined the Eagle Broadcasting Corporation’s Fun Run marking its 50th year held on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Ciudad de Victoria in Bulacan, the site of the world-famous Philippine Arena. Elderly people joined the run not only to express support for EBC’s 50th anniversary this year, but also to stay fit and healthy even in their old age. There were four categories to choose from:  the 1.062 […]

Instagram ousting fake followers from accounts

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram on Monday said it is booting fake followers, likes, and comments generated by applications tailored to make accounts appear more popular than they actually are. The crackdown comes as Instagram parent Facebook strives to assure people that the leading social network and its services can be trusted. “Recently, we’ve seen accounts use third-party apps to artificially grow their audience,” Instagram said in a blog post. “Starting today, we […]

The science of how cats’ tongues keep them clean

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US researchers, armed with high-speed video cameras, have revealed the secret to cat grooming. It’s all in the tongue. Just not the way they thought. A cat’s tongue contains 300 little scoop-shaped spines called filiform papillae which they moisten with saliva to clean their fur, said the report Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. Until now, the scientific consensus on the matter was […]

Humanity faces simultaneous climate disasters: study

by Marlowe HOOD Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — By century’s end, many parts of the world may have to cope with up to six climate catastrophes at once, ranging from heat waves and wildfires to diluvian rains and deadly storm surges, researchers warned Monday. “Human society will be faced with the devastating combined impacts of multiple interacting climate hazards,” said co-author Erik Franklin, a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s Institute of Marine […]

NASA picks ancient Martian river delta for 2020 rover touchdown

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA, United States (AFP) — NASA has picked an ancient river delta as the landing site for its uncrewed Mars 2020 rover, to hunt for evidence of past life on Earth’s neighboring planet, officials said Monday. Even though the Red Planet is now cold and dry, the landing site, Jezero Crater, was filled with a 1,600-foot (500-meter) deep lake that opened to a network of rivers some 3.5 to […]

Looters plunder Albania’s sunken treasures

by Briseida MEMA Agence France-Presse VLORA, Albania (AFP) — Albania’s long under-explored coastal waters have become a hotspot for treasure hunters scooping up ancient pottery, sunken ship parts and other shell-encrusted relics that have lain on the seabed for centuries. The 450-kilometer (280-mile) coastline, which is lapped by the Adriatic and Ionian seas, was off-limits under the communist regime which ruled the Balkan state until 1990, with orders to shoot anyone caught diving without authorization. […]

Cygnus cargo ship launches to ISS

United States (AFP) — An unmanned Cygnus cargo ship blasted off Saturday toward the International Space Station, marking the second supply mission in 24 hours destined to carry food and supplies to the astronauts living in space. An Antares rocket operated by Northrop Grumman lit up the night sky at 4:01 am (0901 GMT) as it propelled the craft loaded with 7,400 pounds (3,350 kilograms) of gear into space. On Friday, a Russian Soyuz rocket […]

Russia set for first ISS launch since accident

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian Soyuz rocket with a cargo vessel is to blast off Friday in the first launch to the International Space Station (ISS) since a manned accident last month. “The mission control center has completed the work set out for the launch of the Progress MS-10 cargo vessel. The takeoff of the Soyuz-FG rocket is set for 1814 GMT,” Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement. The launch from […]