The discovery of 70-million-year-old fossils from Antarctica could shed new light on the sounds of prehistoric birds and the evolution of dinosaurs, according to experts in Argentina. A 1992 expedition to Antarctica’s Vega Island unearthed fossils belonging to the prehistoric Vegavis Iaai bird. But it wasn’t until 2013 that investigators in Buenos Aires found that it revealed the prehistoric bird’s vocal organs. Argentine palaeontologist Fernando Novas told media that this new evidence provides new insights […]
Sci-Tech
When batteries explode: five questions
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Samsung has told customers worldwide to stop using their Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after a spate of battery explosions threatens to derail the powerhouse global brand. It is the latest in a string of lithium-ion battery fires on products ranging from laptops to hoverboards to planes — and a reminder that pushing the technology envelope can sometimes be problematic. Here are some things to know about Samsung’s snowballing safety crisis, […]
Facebook launches intra-office ‘Workplace’ network
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Social network giant Facebook on Monday launched new global product Workplace, a platform that it hopes will replace intranet, mailbox and other internal communication tools used by businesses worldwide. The platform allows employees to collaborate in real-time and is intended to compete with similar office communication products including Microsoft’s Yammer, Salesforce’s Chatter and Slack. The Silicon Valley company developed the concept, hitherto called “Facebook at Work”, two years ago in […]
U.S. carriers halt Samsung Note 7 exchanges on safety concerns
SEOUL/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Two U.S. mobile carriers said they will stop issuing Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones due to safety concerns, a further setback for the world’s top smartphone maker trying to manage a growing recall crisis. AT&T Inc said on Sunday it will stop exchanging new Note 7 smartphones due to reports of fires from replacement devices that Samsung has said used safe batteries. T-Mobile said in a separate statement […]
Facebook’s Oculus pushes virtual reality with new gear
by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN JOSE, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Thursday worked to ramp up enthusiasm for its virtual reality line, unveiling new gear including a lower-end wireless headset prototype. The company’s Oculus virtual reality division is set to release in coming months a new “Touch” controller and a more affordable computer for powering virtual experiences using Rift headsets. “We are here to make virtual reality the next major computing platform,” Facebook cofounder and […]
Mini “Pepper” robots start new jobs in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A shiny new cohort joined the workforce in Taiwan Thursday — a troop of mini robots all going by the name “Pepper”, enlisted to entertain customers and give them the hard sell. Chinese-speaking Pepper was introduced into two banks and an insurance company in the capital Taipei, dancing to music, playing with children in lobbies and leading staff aerobics sessions. The pint-size white automatons are designed to flatter queueing customers, declaring: […]
Google unveils new “pixel” phone
Google makes a new hardware push and attempts to take on apple with their pixel phone, complete with a 12.3 mega pixel rear-facing camera. https://youtu.be/AwYy7N9roow
Cells’ garbage disposal may hold key to healthier life
PARIS, France (AFP) – by Mariëtte Le Roux Autophagy, the little-understood method by which human cells dispose of harmful waste and unwelcome intruders, may one day be central to therapies for longer, healthier living, experts said. Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Medicine Prize Monday for discovering genes involved in autophagy, a non-stop housecleaning process that keeps cells healthy, and is thought to spur ageing and disease when disrupted. Scientists are […]
Toyota unveils mini robot to interact with Japan’s lonely
(Reuters) — Toyota Motors will begin selling the KIROBO mini robot in Japan next year, potentially appealing to an ageing, shrinking population where human interactions for some have decreased. Although project manager and engineer Fuminori Kataoka says KIROBO mini isn’t targeting a specific demographic, its sale comes at a time when official data showed that Japan has 34.6 million people aged 65 and older, or 27.3 percent of the population – the highest proportion […]
Should we activate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant?
QUEZON City, Philippines (September 27) – The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is an atomic power plant, finished yet never energized. It is located on the Bataan Peninsula, 100 kilometers west of Manila. It is situated on a 3.57 square kilometer government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines’ lone endeavor at building an atomic power plant. The Philippine Atomic Project began in 1958 with the founding of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission or PAEC […]
Google gifts Bugdroid statue to French ‘nougat’ city
US tech giant Google unveils its gift to France’s nougat capital Montélimar… a statue of the Android logo Bugdroid. The gift celebrates the launch of the new Android OS ‘Nougat’. https://youtu.be/wZOj7GVc_Do
World’s largest radio telescope starts operating in China
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The world’s largest radio telescope began operating in southwestern China Sunday, a project Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), nestled between hills in the mountainous region of Guizhou, began working around noon, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Built at a cost of 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million), the telescope dwarfs the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico as the world’s largest […]
