Sci-Tech

Twitter to free room for links and photos: report

SAN FRANCISCO , United States (AFP) — Twitter plans to let people fire off links or pictures without eating into the 140-character limit set for posts at the one-to-many messaging service, Bloomberg reported on Monday The change could take place by the end of this month, according to a Blomberg report that cited someone familiar with the matter. Twitter declined to comment, but the move would come as the San Francisco-based company strives to ramp […]

Pentagon’s research agency showcases future tech

by Thomas WATKINS WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnny Matheny’s handshake is friendly, confident and firm — though not in the bone-crushing manner favored by some of the alpha types here in the Pentagon. What is remarkable is that Matheny’s proffered hand is not actually his. It is part of a robotic prosthesis researchers hope one day could help transform the lives of countless amputees. “In the beginning, you had to think pretty hard about […]

Solar Impulse 2 set for next leg in round-the-world flight

LOS ANGELES , United states (AFP) — The Solar Impulse 2 will resume its record-breaking quest Thursday to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel, with a flight from Arizona to Oklahoma. The experimental sun-powered plane, piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, is set to take off from Phoenix at 3:00 am (1000 GMT). “After sustained efforts from the entire team, at the Mission Control Center and on the ground, we have found […]

NASA says 1,284 new planets found by Kepler telescope

    by Kerry Sheridan MIAMI, United States (AFP) —  NASA announced Tuesday the discovery of 1,284 new planets outside our solar system, more than doubling the number of exoplanets found with the Kepler space telescope. “This gives us hope that somewhere out there, around a star much like ours, we can eventually discover another Earth,” said Ellen Stofan, chief scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington. The unmanned Kepler space observatory, which launched in 2009, […]

Mercury rising: Astronomers gear for planetary alignment

PARIS, France (AFP) Monday 5/9/2016 by Pascale MOLLARD Mariëtte Le Roux– Astronomers on Monday were preparing for one of the highlights of the skywatchers’ year, when the Sun, Mercury and Earth all line up — a phenomenon that happens just a dozen or so times per century. Mercury will be seen through telescopes as a black dot inching over the face of our star, providing a celestial spectacle — weather permitting — that will last seven and a half […]

Scientists using smartphone app warn of ‘global sleep crisis’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Social pressures are forcing people to cut back on their sleep, contributing to a “global sleep crisis,” according to a new study based on research collected through a smartphone app. It enabled scientists from the University of Michigan to track sleep patterns around the world — gathering data about how age, gender and the amount of natural light to which people are exposed affect sleep patterns in 100 countries — […]

Nasal spray may cure autism

QUEZON City, Philippines – In Norway, experts were able to develop a nasal spray that delivers hormones into the brain, possibly curing psychiatric disorders like autism. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing by Aimee Mendoza and Uploaded by Vince Alvin Villarin)

YouTube plans Internet television service: report

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube plans to launch a service that streams cable television channels to viewers over the Internet for the price of a subscription, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. YouTube has made a priority of creating the service, called Unplugged, which could debut as early as next year, according to the report, which cited unnamed people close to the project. YouTube executives have talked about the plan with major media companies such […]

Facebook CEO urges Brazilians to decry WhatsApp block

(REUTERS) Facebook Inc’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg called on Brazilians to demand his company’s WhatsApp messaging service never be blocked again after an appeals court on Tuesday overturned the application’s second suspension in five months. In a post in English on his Facebook page, the U.S. billionaire and Facebook founder urged Brazilians to gather outside Congress in the capital Brasilia at 6 p.m. (1700 EDT) on Wednesday to rally in favor of legislation that would […]

Chrome crowned top Internet browser by market tracker

SAN Francisco, United States (AFP) — Google Chrome on Monday, May 2 was crowned the top Internet browser, officially ending the long reign of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). NetMarketShare calculated the Chrome had 41.7 percent of desktop browser share in April, narrowly topping the 41.4 share for IE. Mozilla’s Firefox browser was third with 9.7 percent, according to the market tracker. A second market tracker, StatCounter, had given the title to Chrome four years ago […]

Scientists discover three ‘potentially habitable’ planets

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS ,France (AFP) — An international team of scientists said Monday they had discovered a trio of Earth-like planets that are the best bet so far for finding life outside our solar system. The three orbit an ultracool dwarf star a mere 39 light years away, and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and Venus, they reported in a study, published in Nature. “This is the first opportunity to […]

Solar-powered plane to soar again on round-the-world flight

SAN FRANCISCO , United States (AFP) — Solar Impulse 2, an experimental aircraft flying around the world to draw attention to clean energy technologies, is to take flight again on Monday, organizers said. Pilot Andre Borschberg will take off at 12:00 GMT (5:00AM PT) taking advantage of a “clear weather window” for him to fly from the Mojave Desert to Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Arizona — an effort that should take about 16 hours, they […]