Slack Technologies Becomes Latest Hacking Victim

Medicine & Technology Mar 29, 2015

Slack Technologies is the latest company to fall victim to hackers, exposing the private information of up to 500,000 users, such as email addresses, telephone numbers, Skype IDs and any other information that its users might have entered.

The Charming Tale of Giant Pandas—Why These Wall Flowers are the Life of the Party

Mar 29, 2015

When they’re chomping down on bamboo shoots they may not seem like the lives of the party, but in a new study published this week in the Journal of Mammalogy researchers with Michigan State University provided the first in-depth look into the lives of Giant Pandas and revealed that there may be more than meets the eye with this not so colorful bunch. Though the endangered species has been the face of many international campaigns, little is truly known about the species and their behavior in the wild. So to find out the truth, researchers electronically tracked five wild pandas for more than 2 years, while they explored the bamboo forests of southwestern China and revealed that though they seem like solitary creatures it appears that panda bears can party with the best of them.

Yawunik Arthropod Revealed—The Toothsome Creature that Gave Rise to Lobsters, Spiders and Butterflies

Mar 29, 2015

When you watch butterflies flutter through the sky and lobsters waddle in the sea, you may not readily believe that the two far off species have anything in common. But along with spiders, butterflies and lobsters share quite an interesting collective history-one where an ancient ancestor may have emerged from the sea. Cover the ocean, the land and the skies above the radiation of species into many forms are believed to have originated with a common ancestor as long as 508 million years ago. And in a new study published this week in the journal Paleontology researchers are finally giving a face to ancestor known as Yawunik kootenayi.

Large Hadron Collider Could Prove the Existence of Star Trek's Parallel Universe

Mar 27, 2015

Every science fiction fan is familiar with the notion of parallel universes with the Star Trek series being one of the first to popularize the notion. However, thanks to the Large Hadron Collider, we may soon have proof that a parallel universe does, in fact, exist.

Bringing Extinct Animals Back to Life No Longer Just Part of the Movies

Mar 27, 2015

Move over Jurassic Park, it seems the idea of bringing extinct animals back to life is now becoming more science rather than science fiction. The idea of reviving long extinct species has fascinated scientists for generations. Now, they have brought the idea one step closer to reality as scientists from Harvard University have managed to insert wooly mammoth DNA into the code of Asian elephants.

Driver Caution: Your Car Could Be Watching You

Mar 26, 2015

Using wireless connectivity and telematics, cars are now collecting vast amounts of personal data, according a new study from B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association.

New Morphing Frog Reveals Its Spiny Ability

Mar 26, 2015

In the wild, camouflage and mimicry are powerful abilities that often mean the difference between life and death. But while merely hiding in the background may mean going unnoticed, being able to change one’s form can change odds of survival astronomically when it comes to predation. And though the ability to camouflage may be an uncommon attribute that most species can live without, one fingernail-sized frog in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador is revealing a far rarer ability—making it the first shape-shifting amphibian ever found.

Gulf Stream Slowed by Greenland Ice Sheet Melting

Mar 26, 2015

The 2014-15 winter was one of the warmest ever recorded in history according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. However, there is one area of the North Atlantic that hasn't been affected by this warming trend and the phenomenon has been the same since around 1970.

Facebook Drone Could Bring the Internet to Billions

Mar 26, 2015

Facebook showed off plans to bring the Internet to billions of people around the world by way of a solar-powered laser drone this week. The drone, codenamed Aquila, the V-shaped unmanned vehicle has the wingspan of a Boeing 767, but is surprisingly light, weighing less than a small car.

Opportunity Sets Marathon Record on Mars

Mar 26, 2015

It seems NASA's Opportunity Rover isn't just content with exceeding its originally designated lifespan by over a decade, it has not set another new record that the space agency's other rovers will have a tough time beating.

The Connection Between Autism and Gut Bacteria May Be Real

Mar 25, 2015

Parents of autistic children all understand what to expect with their children, and John Rodakis is no different. Like so many, he was familiar with many of the symptoms that include lack of energy, delayed speech, the strict need to routine and more. However, when John's son came down with strep throat and placed on antibiotics, his son's symptoms began to decrease dramatically.

To Corned Beef and Beyond, A Sandwiches Trip into Space

Mar 25, 2015

Fifty years ago, on March 23, 1965, an astronaut onboard the Gemini 3 probe took with him something that nobody at NASA ever would have expected - a corned beef sandwich.

Can Magnetism Bend Heat And Sound? Study Reveals A New Dimension to Magnetic Fields

Mar 23, 2015

For many years researchers have sought to discover just how many uses magnetic fields can have. To date they have become essential in quantum computing, they are vital in medical imaging, and astronomers have even used natural magnetism to amplify the signals of light from far off supernovae and galaxies so that we here on Earth can see them hundreds or thousands of light-years away. But in a new study from researchers at Ohio State University, nanotechnologists have revealed that magnetic fields can impact our lives in far more real ways—controlling heat and sound waves that exhibit magnetic properties of their own.

Finding Bright Solutions to Smog in the ‘City of Lights’

Mar 22, 2015

Can’t find the Eiffel Tower? It appears that most of Paris is choking on a thick smog that is plaguing most of northern France. In recent months French authorities have claimed that major cities in northern France, such as Paris, have been contributing greatly to an ever-growing problem of air pollution in the area. So in order to combat the haze of smog, French officials are coming up with a bright solution to save the tarnished facade of the “City of Lights”.

Supernovae Dust ‘Goldmine’ Found at the Center of the Milky Way

Mar 22, 2015

One of the largest questions to date has been what building materials were present at the formation of our Milky Way galaxy? Astronomers have long theorized that the building material may have come from the death of supermassive stars, however, the galaxy-building dust is thought to burn up in a supernova like that. But now researchers are saying that may not be the case at all. In a new study published this week in the journal Science Express, researchers with Cornell University have made the first direct discovery of dust used to build the cosmos at the center of the Milky Way, and they believe it may have resulted from an ancient supernova.