Warm sea water is melting Antarctic glaciers

Warm sea water is melting Antarctic glaciers: The ice sheet in West Antarctica is melting faster than expected. New observations may improve our ability to predict future changes in ice sheet mass.

Arctic continues to break records in 2012: Becoming warmer, greener region with record losses of summer sea ice and late spring snow

Arctic continues to break records in 2012: Becoming warmer, greener region with record losses of summer sea ice and late spring snow: The Arctic region continued to break records in 2012 -- among them the loss of summer sea ice, spring snow cover, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. This was true even though air temperatures in the Arctic were unremarkable relative to the last decade, according to a new report.

As Fish Stocks Collapse, Overpopulated Lobsters Resort to Cannibalism

As Fish Stocks Collapse, Overpopulated Lobsters Resort to Cannibalism: The Maine lobster population is booming, but it turns out that's bad news if you're a little lobster: "'We've got the lobsters feeding back on themselves just because they're so abundant,' said Richard Wahle, a marine sciences professor at the University of Maine, who is supervising the research. 'It's never been observed just out in the open like this,' he said." Abundance caused by populations of their predators collapsing.

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Obesity reversed in mice by manipulating production of an enzyme

Obesity reversed in mice by manipulating production of an enzyme: Approximately 68 percent of US adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Cancer Institute, which puts them at greater risk for developing cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a host of other chronic illnesses. Scientists have now successfully reversed obesity in mice by manipulating the production of an enzyme.

National disagreement over NASA's goals and objectives detrimental to agency planning

National disagreement over NASA's goals and objectives detrimental to agency planning: Without a national consensus on strategic goals and objectives for NASA, the agency cannot be expected to establish or work toward achieving long-term priorities, says a new report.

Speeding up electronics to light frequencies

Speeding up electronics to light frequencies: New results on the interaction of femto- and attosecond light pulses with a solid insulator hold promise for reaching electronic switching rates up to the petahertz domain.

Fastest light-driven process ever

Fastest light-driven process ever: A discovery that promises transistors -- the fundamental part of all modern electronics -- controlled by laser pulses that will be 10,000 faster than today's fastest transistors has now been made.

Mitigating our carbon footprint

Mitigating our carbon footprint: Scientists keep producing increasingly complex modelling tools to evaluate urgently needed mitigating strategies of our carbon footprint. However, it is policy makers who have to decide on measures to curb our CO2 emissions. Therefore the science of carbon emissions needs to be translated into useful information to serve their needs.

If Tech Is So Important, Why Are IT Wages Flat?

If Tech Is So Important, Why Are IT Wages Flat?: dcblogs writes "Despite the fact that technology plays an increasingly important role in the economy, IT wages remain persistently flat. This may be tech's inconvenient truth. In 2000, the average hourly wage was $37.27 in computer and math occupations for workers with at least a bachelor's degree. In 2011, it was $39.24, adjusted for inflation, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. That translates to an average wage increase of less than a half percent a year. In real terms, IT wages overall have gone up by $1.97 an hour in just over 10 years, according to the EPI. Data from professional staffing firm Yoh shows wages in decline. In its latest measure for week 12 of 2012, the hourly wages were $31.45 and in 2010, for the same week, at $31.78. The worker who earned $31.78 in 2010 would need to make $33.71 today to stay even with inflation. Wages vary by skill and this data is broad. The unemployment rate for tech has been in the 3-4% range, but EPI says full employment has been historically around 2%."

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Swimming Robot Reaches Australia After Record-Breaking Trip

Swimming Robot Reaches Australia After Record-Breaking Trip: SternisheFan writes "A self-controlled swimming robot has completed a journey from San Francisco to Australia. The record-breaking 9,000 nautical mile (16,668km) trip took the PacX Wave Glider just over a year to achieve. Liquid Robotics, the US company behind the project, collected data about the Pacific Ocean's temperature, salinity and ecosystem from the drone. The company said its success demonstrated that such technology could 'survive the high seas.' The robot is called Papa Mau in honor of the late Micronesian navigator Pius 'Mau' Piailug, who had a reputation for finding ways to navigate the seas without using traditional equipment. 'During Papa Mau's journey, [it] weathered gale-force storms, fended off sharks, spent more than 365 days at sea, skirted around the Great Barrier Reef, and finally battled and surfed the east Australian current to reach his final destination in Hervey Bay, near Bundaberg, Queensland,' the company said in a statement. Some of the data it gathered about the abundance of phytoplankton -plant-like organisms that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and provide food for other sea life -could already be monitored by satellite. However, the company suggested that its equipment offered more detail, providing a useful tool for climate model scientists."

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Star Trek: TNG Season 3 Blu-ray trailer appears, PADD iOS app gets an update

Star Trek: TNG Season 3 Blu-ray trailer appears, PADD iOS app gets an update:

If you're a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan who bypassed seasons one and two waiting for the pivotal third season to arrive on Blu-ray, you can finally get a taste of the experience in high definition. While you're enjoying memories of the Borg, season-ending cliffhangers and all the other highlights of season three with this new trailer, you can also check out an updated version of the PADD app that's out on iPhone and iPad. Originally launched in 2011 to bring home a database of Star Trek info in true TNG form, version 2.0 brings an additional 170 entries, Siri-powered voice search, messages from Starfleet, a smaller size and the ability to live update content in the future. Check after the break for the trailer and beyond the source link for the apps (still $4.99 on iPad / $1.99 on iPhone.)
Continue reading Star Trek: TNG Season 3 Blu-ray trailer appears, PADD iOS app gets an update
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Source: Star Trek.com (1), (2), iTunes

Breath test could possibly diagnose colorectal cancer

Breath test could possibly diagnose colorectal cancer: A new study has demonstrated for the first time that a simple breath analysis could be used for colorectal cancer screening.