Life

Well-preserved dinosaur unearthed in Canada gets name, backstory

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — An extraordinarily well-preserved 110-million-year-old dinosaur found in a mine pit in Canada now has a name and evidence of a troubled past, researchers said Thursday. With fossilized skin and scales, the dragon-like creature is actually a new kind of nodosaur, coined Borealopelta markmitchelli, after the museum technician Mark Mitchell who spent more than 7,000 hours painstakingly removing rock from around the specimen. The report in the journal Current Biology described […]

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Russia’s Lake Baikal ‘extremely polluted’, Putin warns

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest freshwater lake, has extremely high pollution levels, President Vladimir Putin warned Friday while visiting the Siberian lake. Lake Baikal is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the world’s deepest lake at 1,700 meters (5,580 feet) and also the oldest at 25 million years. Tourists flock there to enjoy the unique wildlife and clear waters. Putin, while meeting officials in a room looking onto the shimmering waters […]

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Russia’s diamond giant says mine flooded with 150 inside

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia’s diamond giant Alrosa said Friday that one of its mines in eastern Siberia has suffered flooding with around 150 miners inside. Alrosa, Russia’s largest diamond producer, said in a statement on its website that water had broken through into the mine at around 4:30 pm (0730 GMT), while there were “more than 100 people” inside. The company later increased the figure to 148 in statements to Russian news wires. It […]

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Smart ring provides a voice in your ear at the touch of a hand

HONG KONG, China (Reuters) — A voice in your ear at the touch of a hand? The Orii ring allows people to take phone calls, handle text messages and interact with a phone’s digital assistant, all by transferring sound to a user’s ear through bone conduction. The wearable device connects to smartphones using Bluetooth. The ring, designed by Hong Kong-based start-up Origami Labs, was inspired by Peter Wong, the visually impaired father of the firm’s […]

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SINEBATA 2017 launched: Nationwide search on for best video produced for, by and with children

  With the launching of SINEBATA 2017, the nationwide search is on for the best video produced for, by and with children. “SINEBATA 2017: On The Road to First Southeast Asia Prix Jeunesse” was launched on Tuesday, August 1, 2017 in Quezon City. ANAK TV, President Elvira Yap Go signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Council for the Welfare of Children, headed by Executive Director V, Ms. Mary L. Cajayon-Uy and Deputy Executive […]

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Watch: Six giant panda cubs born in one week at Sichuan’s panda base

SICHUAN Province, southwest China (Reuters) — A total of six giant panda cubs were born in succession from four different giant pandas within a week at the Wolong Giant Panda Reserve in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The giant pandas namely “Jun Zhu”, “Qing Qing”, “Hai Zi” and “Zhen Zhen” gave births to two twins and two singles from July 23 till July 30. “Followed by giant panda ‘Jun Zhu’ giving birth on July 23, four […]

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Craftsmen to help UNESCO rebuild old Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) — Aleppo’s beleaguered Old City, shelled, burned and shot up during years of fighting in Syria’s civil war, could be rebuilt with the help of local craftsmen and trainees, according to the United Nations cultural body UNESCO. There are detailed plans for the Old City’s great medieval mosques, souks, bath houses and citadel from an earlier restoration that should allow exact reconstruction, a local UNESCO representative said. The fighting in Aleppo ended […]

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Hyperloop startup says superfast rail a reality

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The near-supersonic rail system known as hyperloop has passed another key milestone on its path to become reality, the United States startup Hyperloop One said Wednesday. Hyperloop One, which is developing a system theorized by entrepreneur Elon Musk, said that a test last week of a full hyperloop system at its private facility in the desert near Las Vegas was a success, hitting record speeds. “That’s a huge milestone […]

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Idle spiders’ epic sea journey from Africa to Australia: study

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A species of spider that usually travels no further than a few feet from where it was hatched, likely made an epic sea journey on a “land raft” from South Africa to call Australia home, a study said Thursday. The Australian trapdoor spider, known scientifically as Moggridgea rainbow, is only found on Kangaroo Island off the south Australian coast and lives a sedentary land-based lifestyle, rarely moving far. Research in the […]

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Heat in S. Asia could exceed survivable levels by 2100: study

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — South Asia, home to one-fifth of the world’s population, could see humid heat rise to unsurvivable levels by century’s end if nothing is done to halt global warming, researchers said Wednesday. The study in the journal Science Advances warned of “summer heat waves with levels of heat and humidity that exceed what humans can survive without protection.” The research is based on two climate models. One is a “business-as-usual” scenario […]

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Global warming reduces protein in key crops: study

    by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Rising carbon dioxide levels from global warming will drastically reduce the amount of protein in staple crops like rice and wheat, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of growth stunting and early death, experts warned Wednesday. Researchers say they still don’t understand how or why carbon dioxide emissions sap protein and other nutrients from plants, but the mystery is one that could have […]

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Satellite launched to monitor climate change and vegetation

  CAYENNE, France (AFP) — Two satellites including one dedicated to monitoring the effects of climate change on vegetation were successfully launched into orbit late Tuesday, launch company Arianespace said. They were launched from Korou, in French Guiana, at 10:56 pm (0136 GMT). The Vegetation and Environment monitoring on a New Micro Satellite — or Venus — is a joint effort between France’s National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and Israel’s space agency. Venus will […]

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