Science News - UPI.com

Immigration reform legislation sent to Senate floor

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:58:47 -0400

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 Tuesday night to send U.S. immigration reform legislation to the Senate floor.

Images in smartphone software raise rumors of fingerprint security

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:37:31 -0400

SEOUL, May 21 (UPI) -- Images found in the file system of Samsung's Galaxy S III phone suggest the company may be working a fingerprint scanning security system, a tech website says.

U.S. said well-positioned to grow pond scum as fuel source

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:08:12 -0400

RICHLAND, Wash., May 21 (UPI) -- U.S. land and water resources could support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year, researchers say.

NASA releases satellite images of storm that spawned Oklahoma tornado

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:25:37 -0400

GREENBELT, Md., May 21 (UPI) -- NASA released a satellite photo that shows the system that generated severe weather and a tornado Monday afternoon that devastated Moore, Okla.

Apple CEO: Offshore units not a 'tax gimmick'

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:23:04 -0400

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) -- Apple Inc.'s top executive, Tim Cook, defended the U.S. technology giant's tax strategy in front of a Senate panel Tuesday, saying it abides by the law.

Microsoft unveils Xbox One, aims to be center of home entertainment

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:08 -0400

REDMOND, Wash., May 21 (UPI) -- Microsoft has unveiled its latest console, the Xbox One, making it clear it's about much more than just games and pushing it as the ultimate family digital hub.

Salamanders' regenerative abilities could bring human therapies

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:49:34 -0400

MELBOURNE, May 21 (UPI) -- Salamanders' ability to re-grow lost limbs could yield clues to future therapies for healing spinal cord injuries in humans, Australian researchers say.

Climate change could bring more heatwave deaths to New York City

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:23:36 -0400

NEW YORK, May 21 (UPI) -- Climate change will increase New York's heat wave deaths, pushing up the incidence of temperature-related deaths within decades, researchers say.

Study: Penguins made evolutionary 'choice' of swimming over flying

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:58:23 -0400

ABERDEEN, Scotland, May 21 (UPI) -- British researchers say they've solved the puzzle of why penguins can't fly: Their survival hinged on swimming underwater not soaring in the air.

Study: 'Practice makes perfect' no guarantee of achieving skills

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:20:55 -0400

EAST LANSING, Mich., May 21 (UPI) -- Practice makes perfect? No so much, maybe; U.S. researchers say natural talent and other factors likely play a role in mastering a complicated activity.

Extensive gold reserves discovered in northwest China

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:59:11 -0400

URUMQI, China, May 21 (UPI) -- Geologists in China say they've found gold reserves in a northwestern province that could be worth $32 billion to the country's economy.

New fabric can wick away sweat while staying dry and breathable

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:39:21 -0400

DAVIS, Calif., May 21 (UPI) -- Researchers in California say they've developed a fabric that is waterproof and yet can whisk away sweat like human skin does.

Scientists use DNA to finger culprit in historic Irish potato famine

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:31:05 -0400

TUBINGEN, Germany, May 21 (UPI) -- Researchers in Germany say they've identified a unique strain of potato blight responsible for the disastrous potato famine in 19th-century Ireland.

Prehistoric crocodiles ruled the roost in South America, study finds

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:16:37 -0400

ZURICH, Switzerland, May 21 (UPI) -- Modern alligators and crocodiles rarely share the same environments but that was not true of their prehistoric ancestors in South America, paleontologists say.

Milwaukee Zoo says death of young orangutan caused by tapeworm

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:53:29 -0400

MILWAUKEE, May 21 (UPI) -- Officials at the Milwaukee County Zoo say the death of Mahal, a young orangutan immensely popular with visitors, was caused by a severe tapeworm infection.

Report: Japan, India set to resume nuclear cooperation talks

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:48:45 -0400

TOKYO, May 20 (UPI) -- Japan is likely to restart talks with India on bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation as it seeks markets for nuclear plant exports, sources told Kyodo News.

Mars rover Curiosity drills second hole to gather samples for analysis

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:29:43 -0400

PASADENA, Calif., May 20 (UPI) -- NASA says its Mars rover Curiosity has drilled a hole in a second rock target to gather samples for analysis in the rover's internal science lab instruments.

Security experts identify hacking group operating out of India

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:02:54 -0400

OSLO, Norway, May 20 (UPI) -- An espionage-for-hire service run by a group of Indian hackers was behind spyware recently found on Angolan activist's laptop, security experts say.

Apple rumored to be testing hardware for smart 'iWatch'

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:40:29 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 (UPI) -- Apple is testing a 1.5-inch OLED display for its rumored smart watch and may have ordered an initial iWatch production run, a Taiwanese newspaper says.

British school takes lecture classes to new depths -- 60 feet down

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:56:57 -0400

ESSEX, England, May 20 (UPI) -- Britain's University of Exeter says it has taken its marine biology lecture classes to a new level -- 60 feet beneath the sea off Indonesia, to be exact.

European Space Agency names first Briton for space station mission

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:44:53 -0400

LONDON, May 20 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says a former army helicopter pilot is to be Britain's first official astronaut to go to the International Space Station.

Young scientist wins $50,000 for quick phone-charging invention

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:59:17 -0400

SARATOGA, Calif., May 20 (UPI) -- A young California woman has won a $50,000 science award for inventing a "supercapacitor" that could allow a smartphone to be charged in 20 seconds.

Blue whales making comeback in New Zealand waters

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:26:08 -0400

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 20 (UPI) -- Blue whales, the world's largest animal almost hunted to extinction in the 19th Century, are making a comeback in waters off New Zealand, scientists say.

LG to introduce flexible smartphone display at Canada exhibition

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:49:31 -0400

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 20 (UPI) -- South Korea's LG Electronics says it will unveil an unbreakable and flexible plastic OLED display panel at an industry exhibition in Canada.

Older twin of sun may foretell Earth's future

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:36:00 -0400

NATAL, Brazil, May 20 (UPI) -- A distant star that's a twin to the sun but 2 billion years older may foretell Earth star's future and that of the planet, a team of Brazilian astronomers says.