Life

Twitter gets lift from uptick in user numbers

by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twitter shares surged Wednesday after its quarterly update showed improving growth in user numbers, offsetting concerns over a decline in revenue and another net loss for the social network. The first quarter results came in better than most forecasts for Twitter, which has struggled to keep pace in the fast-moving world of social media. The closely watched metric of monthly active users grew nine […]

How technology helps freezing city grow tomatoes all year round

YAKUTSK, Russia (Reuters) — One of the coldest cities in the world could grow its own vegetables in Japanese-designed greenhouses in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Yakutsk, a city 5,000km from Moscow in eastern Siberia, has just five hours of daylight in the winter months and an average temperature of minus 34 degrees Celsius. No crops can be grown in the frozen soil. The region’s authorities teamed up with partner Hokkaido Corporation […]

NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon lifts off in New Zealand

WANAKA, New Zeland (Reuters) — A stadium-sized super pressure balloon launched by NASA in New Zealand began collecting data in near space on Wednesday (April 25), beginning a 100-day planned journey after several launch attempts were thwarted by a series of storms and cyclones. The balloon, designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to detect ultra-high energy cosmic particles from beyond the galaxy as they penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, is expected to circle […]

Los Angeles mayor declares April 25 “La La Land Day”

(Reuters) — Brightly dressed dancers abseiled down the facade of Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday (April 25) as Mayor Eric Garcetti declared the day to be ‘La La Land Day’ in the city. The declaration honors the Oscar-winning musical romance that tells the story of a struggling actress who falls in love with a jazz musician, set against the backdrop of a dreamy Los Angeles. “A day when you can celebrate your dreams, you […]

Scientists develop fluid-filled artificial womb to help premature babies

(Reuters) — Scientists in the United States have developed a fluid-filled womb-like bag known as an extra-uterine support device that could transform care for extremely premature babies, significantly improving chances of survival. In pre-clinical studies with lambs, details of which were published on Tuesday (April 25) in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers were able to mimic the womb environment and the functions of the placenta, giving premature offspring a crucial opportunity to develop their […]

Little Facebook could do amid rise in live murders – expert

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) — For the second time in two weeks, a murder, this time showing a Thai man filming himself killing his 11-month-old daughter was posted on Facebook before committing suicide. The murder-suicide, filmed in two parts, was online roughly 24 hours and viewed more than 360,000 times on the father’s Facebook page. Last week, Facebook said it was reviewing how it monitored violent footage and other objectionable material after a posting of the […]

More Antarctic protections urged on World Penguin Day

by Martin Parry Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The world needs to do more to protect the Antarctic wilderness and its wildlife, scientists warned Tuesday, as they marked World Penguin Day. The flightless seabirds — a favorite with children for their clumsy, waddling gait — offer a useful yardstick for researchers to judge the health of their habitat. “Penguins are great ambassadors for understanding the need to conserve Southern Ocean resources,” Christian Reiss, an Antarctic […]

DIGITAL NEST Feature: Cherry Blossoms in Newark New Jersey?

DIGITAL NEST|Newark, New Jersey By: Tennie Sumague, New York Bureau April is known as cherry blossom season and the best place to see a plethora of trees in its splendor? Not in Washington D.C. but in Newark, New Jersey. Only 40 minutes away by train from New York Penn Station, one can travel to Newark Penn Station and take the New Jersey Light Rail to Branch Brook Park, the first county park and home to […]

Watch: Magnificent sight of Hukou Waterfall (courtesy CCTV)

JIXIAN COUNTY, China (CCTV) — A section of the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in Jixian County, north China’s Shanxi Province, has turned the water from yellow to clear, presenting a magnificent sight that attracts crowds of visitors. Water flows of the Yellow River usually become low in the period from April to June every year, when minor waterfalls have disappeared, leaving only the major one, with the water turning from yellow sandy into […]

Samsung to update software over ‘red screen’ smartphone

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Electronics giant Samsung will this week offer an unusually early software update for its newly released Galaxy S8 phone, it said Monday, after some consumers complained of red-tinted screens. The launch of the device is a key step for the South Korean tech firm as it seeks to move on from last year’s humiliating withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 over exploding batteries, which hammered the firm’s once-stellar reputation. The Galaxy S8 […]

Rare green Sakura, namulaklak sa east China; Milyong tulips namukadkad naman sa US

Sikat ang mga sakura flower sa China, pero ang mas agaw pansin ngayon sa lugar ay ang paglutang ng mga green Sakura na syang bihira lamang at syang nagpadagdag sa ganda ng iba pang bulaklak. Kaya naman agad itong dinayo ng mga residente at turista sa lugar upang makapagpa-litrato sa unique green flowers na ito. Ayon sa residente sa lugar,  ang nasabing puno ng sakura ay nasa edad na ng 30s O 40s na syang […]