PARIS, France (AFP) – by Marlowe Hood Scientists unveiled Wednesday the gene that allowed the off-white peppered moth to famously evolve dark wings to escape predators in sooty, 19th-century industrial England. That same gene, another team reported, also helps some 40 species of butterflies to flash bright yellow stripes — a sign of toxicity — to ward off hungry birds. The findings, published as separate studies in Nature, are surprising for many reasons, the researchers said. […]
Sci-Tech
China smartphone maker Xiaomi buys Microsoft patents
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Upstart smartphone maker Xiaomi has bought nearly 1,500 patents from US technology giant Microsoft, the companies and reports said, as part of a “global partnership” that will help the Chinese firm expand outside its home market. The patents cover wireless communications, video, cloud and multi-media technologies, Bloomberg News quoted a Xiaomi spokeswoman as saying. “This will help ease of operation in new markets,” spokeswoman Kaylene Hong said. Besides the patent […]
Close encounter between Mars and Earth
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –Mars and Earth got unusually cozy Monday night, drawing closer to each other than they have in more than a decade. The two planets passed at 120.7 million kilometers (75 million miles) away from each other, which NASA said will not happen again until July 31, 2018. The average distance between Earth and Mars is 225 million kilometers (140 million miles), with the neighboring planets sometimes reaching distances as far as […]
SpaceX makes fourth successful rocket landing
Miami, United States (AFP) — SpaceX launched an Asian communications satellite into a distant orbit Friday and for the fourth time managed to recover the rocket that did the work. Under blue skies dotted with clouds, the shiny white Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 5:40 pm (2140 GMT) carrying the Thaicom 8 satellite. The rocket returned to Earth about 10 minutes later, firing its engines and maneuvering with its […]
Pentagon’s research agency showcases future tech
(AFP) The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better know as DARPA, a $3-billion agency shows off some of its projects in the Pentagon’s central courtyard, where scientists set up science-fair-style stalls to showcase their work. https://youtu.be/6k-pBgDjGWg Katie Schubauer / AFPTV / AFP
Facebook extends lead as news gateway: study
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook has become an important news source for close to half of American adults, a study showed Thursday amid increased scrutiny over the social network’s gateway role. The Pew Research Center survey showed 62 percent of US adults get news on social media, and 18 percent do so often. That shows a growing role for Facebook and other social networks as a news source. In 2012, based on a slightly […]
Thermographic camera declares if you’re in love
Spanish researchers believe using a thermographic camera can tell objectively whether a person is in love and say the technology could be developed in mobile phones. Reuters
Overwatch – Game Review by Jed del Rosario (EBC Southwest California Bureau)
Microsoft to end smartphone manufacturing: union
HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Microsoft announced Wednesday it would let go up to 1,850 employees and a Finnish union called it the end of the company’s smartphone manufacturing business, bought from Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia. “Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced plans to streamline the company’s smartphone hardware business, which will impact up to 1,850 jobs,” it said in a statement, adding 1,350 of those jobs would be eliminated in Finland where its smartphones have been […]
Google to open Detroit-area autonomous car center
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) 5/25/2016 – Google announced plans Wednesday to open a Detroit-area technology center for its self-driving car program. The new center in Novi, Michigan, will house engineers and others testing vehicles provided by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a statement by Google parent Alphabet said. “For the past few years, members of our team have been working from the Greater Detroit area,” the statement posted on Google+ said. “Now it’s time to lay […]
Smart home gadgets need to live together
by Glenn CHAPMAN Smart home technology that has long been knocking at doors will settle into the mainstream after rival gadgets and services become hassle-free guests that get along with one another, industry insiders say. While smart home offerings have been around for years, attention has been heightened by Google, Amazon and Apple maneuvering to be at the heart of managing devices capable of wirelessly taking commands or feeding information. “We need to look at […]
London Gamers Expo – Rachel Quilantang reports
EGX Rezzed 2016 is the UK’s biggest games event Rachel Quilantang reports from EBC’s UK bureau
