Life

Noise pollution risks animals’ survival in the wild: study

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Human noise is polluting more than half of natural protected areas in the United States, to such an extent that it could interfere with animals’ ability to hunt and survive, researchers said Thursday. Sounds were recorded at 492 sites meant as havens for biodiversity across the country, said the report in the journal Science. Researchers found that background noise exceeded three decibels (dB) in 63 percent of protected areas, it […]

Rare albino orangutan rescued on Borneo island

(AFP) — A rare albino orangutan has been rescued on the Indonesian part of Borneo island where villagers were keeping the white-haired, blue-eyed creature in a cage, a protection group said Tuesday. In an extremely unusual discovery, authorities picked up the female, estimated to be five years old, in a remote village in Kapuas Hulu district. The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), which is caring for the critically endangered ape — believed to be albino […]

Tesla revenues surge as it ramps for Model 3 launch

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Tesla said Wednesday that revenues more than doubled in the past quarter compared with a year ago, as the electric carmaker prepared for production of its new mass-market vehicle. In its update for the first quarter Tesla said its Model 3 development “is nearly complete.” The company expects to produce 5,000 of these cars per week at some point this year and 10,000 per week in 2018. The California firm led […]

Hong Kong firm snaps up London skyscraper in $1.47-bn deal

HONGKONG, China (AFP) — A Hong Kong property developer has confirmed the near-completion of its almost $1.5 billion purchase of London’s “Cheesegrater” tower, as it takes advantage of the pound’s slump to snap up addresses in the British capital. C C Land’s acquisition of the 224-meter-high Leadenhall Building, which earned its nickname from its wedge shape, is the biggest single property purchase in the United Kingdom since 2014 when a Qatari wealth fund bought London’s HSBC Tower […]

Vulture vision study reveals raptor-like hunting ability

HAMPSHIRE, United Kingdom (Reuters) — Vultures are synonymous with scavenging – feeding off the carcasses of other animals. Naturalists have long believed that many aspects of these species’ biology evolved to maximize the efficiency of this feeding behavior, and this seems to crucially include their vision which is specialized for scanning the ground while flying and keeping the sun out of their eyes while doing so. This has led to a troubling phenomenon: vultures are […]

UK firm says fusion on the grid by 2030; Skeptics disagree

OXFORD, United Kingdom (Reuters) — A British fusion reactor, the ST40, has been turned on and officially achieved first plasma, says the company behind it – Tokamak Energy. The firm, based in Oxfordshire, aims to produce a record-breaking plasma temperature of 100 million degrees – seven times hotter than the center of the Sun and the temperature necessary for controlled fusion. Tokamak Energy, one of the world’s leading private fusion energy ventures, says it believes […]

1.4 million children acutely malnourished in Somalia this year: UN

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Somalia, hit by drought and on the verge of famine, will count 1.4 million acutely malnourished children by the end of the year, up 50 percent from late 2016, the United Nations said Tuesday. The UN children’s agency warned that 275,000 of those children were expected to be so severely malnourished that they could easily die. Severe acute malnutrition is the most extreme and visible form of undernutrition, with victims often appearing […]

A trick of the light: How the hatchetfish hides

PARIS, France (AFP) — Hatchetfish, tiny “alien-looking” creatures known for an uncanny ability to hide out in open water, use mirror-like scales to deflect and diffuse light to make themselves invisible to predators, scientists reported Wednesday. Like other silvery fish, hatchetfish are known for using their reflective, aluminium-like skin as a mirror to confuse fellow sea creatures in ambient light. But scientists have long wondered how they manage to hide in deeper water, where a […]

Fares as high as $10,000 on board Japan luxury sleeper train

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — East Japan Railway Co. launched its new luxury sleeper train on Monday (May 1) that comes with a $10,000 price tag for the top-class suite for a four-day trip from Tokyo to Hokkaido. The slick gold-colored “Train Suite Shiki-shima” features Japan’s traditional tatami (pronounce tah-tah-mi) rice straw mats and Hinoki (pronounce hee-noh-ki) wooden bath tubs, sky-view glass ceilings and live piano music in the dining car. Despite the hefty price tags […]

Microsoft unveils Windows 10 S for its Surface laptops

NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — Microsoft Corp on Tuesday (May 02) unveiled Windows 10 S, a streamlined version of its popular operating system, geared toward low-cost laptops for students, as it tries to take share from Google’s Chrome OS-run computers. The company said the Surface laptop integrated with Windows 10 S is priced from $999 and will be available for pre-order starting Tuesday. The new version of the operating system comes days after Microsoft […]

Ice loss in southwest Antarctica may be slower than thought: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Global warming has caused ice to melt faster than normal in the Antarctic, but a study Tuesday suggested the rate of loss in some areas may be slower than previously thought. Researchers in Britain mapped the change in the speed of ice loss using data from five different satellites, said the report in Geophysical Research Letters, a US scientific journal. After studying changes at more than 30 glaciers since 1992 […]