Scientists sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) have genetically modified a common soil bacteria to create electrical wires that not only conduct electricity, but are thousands of times thinner than a human hair. As electronic devices increasingly touch all facets of people’s lives, there is growing appetite for technology that is smaller, faster and more mobile and powerful than ever before. Thanks to advances in […]
For more than 120 years the Venus Table of the Dresden Codex — an ancient Mayan book containing astronomical data — has been of great interest to scholars around the world. The accuracy of its observations, especially the calculation of a kind of ‘leap year’ in the Mayan Calendar, was deemed an impressive curiosity used primarily for astrology. But UC Santa Barbara’s Gerardo Aldana, a professor of […]
Researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Université de Montréal and McGill University have just achieved a spectacular breakthrough in cancer research. They have developed new nanorobotic agents capable of navigating through the bloodstream to administer a drug with precision by specifically targeting the active cancerous cells of tumours. This way of injecting medication ensures the optimal targeting of a tumour and avoids jeopardizing the integrity of organs and surrounding […]
INTERNATIONAL. What would your ideal robot be like? One that can change nappies and tell bedtime stories to your child? Perhaps you’d prefer a butler that can polish silver and mix the perfect cocktail? Or maybe you’d prefer a companion that just happened to be a robot? Certainly, some see robots as a hypothetical future replacement for human carers. But a question roboticists are asking is: how […]
A new study, led by Prof. Jaesung Jang at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea, has developed a new sensor for early detection of heart attack in humans. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Therefore, a fast and reliable diagnosis of heart attack is urgently needed. A new study, led by Prof. Jaesung Jang (School of […]
Humans have evolved a disproportionately large brain as a result of sizing each other up in large cooperative social groups, researchers have proposed. A team led by computer scientists at Cardiff University suggest that the challenge of judging a person’s relative standing and deciding whether or not to cooperate with them has promoted the rapid expansion of human brain size over the last 2 million years. In […]
Despite recently weakening consumer sales for both the iPhone and iPad, Apple devices and software have enjoyed a growing presence in business enterprises. Out of net sales of nearly $234 billion in 2015, some $25 billion came through sales to large business customers, according to Apple’s most recent annual report, released in October. While those sales were just a small fraction of the company’s overall revenues, they […]
UAE. [ME NewsWire] –The latest Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) from ACCA and IMA, suggested positive signs for businesses in the GCC but a stark forewarning of how the shock of Brexit will hit a fragile recovery in global business confidence. Responding to the findings, Lindsay Degouve de Nuncques, head of ACCA Middle East said: “It is encouraging to see that our members’ business confidence has improved […]
BREMEN, Germany — Believing he was answering a holy call, Harry Sarfo left his home in the working-class city of Bremen last year and drove for four straight days to reach the territory controlled by the Islamic State in Syria. He barely had time to settle in before members of the Islamic State’s secret service, wearing masks over their faces, came to inform him and his German […]
Ronan the sea lion can keep the beat better than any other animal, a study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience found out more. Whether it is Mozart, Hendrix, Miles Davis, or tribal drumming, few activities feel as uniquely human as music. And, indeed, for a long time, most scientists believed that Homo sapiens was the only species capable of creating and responding to rhythm and melody. This […]
HUSAN, West Bank — The Sabateen clan recognized the dewy-eyed boy in the World Vision sponsorship card from his birth date and the striped collar of his cardigan. His mother used to make him wear that sweater on special occasions. It was their Othman, who turned 18 on Monday but at the time was 5. None of his relatives recalled signing him up for the World Vision […]
DUBAI // Two Russians kidnapped a Ukrainian tourist after offering her a lift home before assaulting her and stealing her passport. The men, aged 30 and 34, were convicted of kidnap, physical assault and robbery by Dubai Criminal Court and jailed for two years each. On January 13 this year one of the men approached the woman in Bur Dubai and asked if she knew any good […]
LIBYA. A multi-million redevelopment of Tripoli International Airport is getting ready for take-off following the Libyan Local Investment & Development Fund’s (LLIDF) appointment of PwC as its strategic advisor. The LLIDF is supporting the redevelopment of Libya through its new Investment Programme which includes the redevelopment of Tripoli International Airport into a world-class international airport. Based within a secure hub on the former airport site, the ambition […]
A new research replication project, involving 24 labs and over 2100 participants, failed to reproduce findings from a previous study that suggested that self-control is a depletable resource. The findings are published as part of a Registered Replication Report in Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Over the last twenty years, numerous studies have provided evidence supporting the idea that our […]
Bears, wolves and other large carnivores are frightening beasts but the fear they inspire in their prey pales in comparison to that caused by the human ‘super predator.’ A new study by Western University demonstrates that smaller carnivores, like European badgers, that may be prey to large carnivores, actually perceive humans as far more frightening. Globally, humans now kill smaller carnivores at much higher rates than large […]
Gulfnews.com Tenants of Dubai Marina skyscraper that caught fire allowed to check flats and recover belongings Dubai: Anxious residents of Dubai Marina’s Sulafa Tower, which caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, were on Thursday allowed back in to check any damage to their flats and collect belongings. The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, appears to have damaged the exterior of a number of flats, […]
DHAKA/NEW YORK Jupiter. That single word, by a stroke of luck, helped stop the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from paying nearly $1 billion (£757 million) to the cyber-criminals behind a notorious bank heist earlier this year, according to sources familiar with the incident. When hackers broke into the computers of Bangladesh’s central bank in February and sent fake payment orders, the Fed was tricked into […]
Seldom does a week go by without news, rumors and speculation about new phones, but the past week was especially busy with smartphone chatter. Apple, Motorola and Samsung have all been in the headlines over the past several days regarding phones they have in the works. Apple iPhone 7 Leaks A few days after photos appeared of the upcoming iPhone 7, a video emerged that seemed to […]
During its Shape Tech Expo in San Francisco this weekend, AT&T plans to demonstrate how it is using drones to inspect its cell towers from the air. The company is also looking at other future applications that could include using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to provide improved LTE coverage during crowded events or disasters. AT&T has been testing various uses for drones over the past year, and […]
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia — For most of his adult life, Ahmed Qassim al-Ghamdi worked among the bearded enforcers of Saudi Arabia. He was a dedicated employee of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice — known abroad as the religious police — serving with the front-line troops protecting the Islamic kingdom from Westernization, secularism and anything but the most conservative Islamic practices. […]
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk attends a forum on startups in Hong Kong, China January 26, 2016. Reuters/Bobby Yip/File Photo Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk on Sunday tweeted his intention to soon publish part two of his “top secret Tesla masterplan” following an embattled several weeks for the Silicon Valley heavyweight. The tweet, which read “Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to publish […]
The author of ‘Apple Tree Yard’ on the Indonesian roots of her new novel ‘Black Water’ — and why she’s glad to see the back of ‘chicklit’ Louise Doughty was born in the East Midlands in 1963. She took an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and has written eight novels, including her latest, “Black Water”, which was published by Faber last month. […]
Quantum computers promise to enable faster, far more complex calculations than today’s silicon chip-based computers. But they also raise the possibility that future computers could retroactively break the security of any digital communications that exist today, which is why Google is experimenting with something called “post-quantum cryptography.” While quantum computer development remains in its early stages, some such computers are already in operation. In theory, future generations […]
Researchers have created a robotic mimic of a stingray that’s powered and guided by light-sensitive rat heart cells. The work exhibits a new method for building bio-inspired robots by means of tissue engineering. Batoid fish, which include stingrays, are distinguished by their flat bodies and long, wing-like fins that extend from their heads. These fins move in energy-efficient waves that emulate from the front of the fin […]
