2012 review: The year in health science

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year" The first half of 2012 will be remembered for the saga over whether or not to publish controversial research involving versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus engineered to spread...

Read More..

Football: Pardew blasts Ba's advisors as star eyes move

LONDON: Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has accused Demba Ba's agents of giving bad advice to their client as the Senegal striker continues to be linked with a move away from St James' Park.Ba, who has scored 13 goals this season, has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave Newcastle if a club bids£7 million and the former West Ham star has been linked with a host of teams ahead of...

Read More..

Some of my favorite iOS apps of 2012

Angry Birds Star Wars was one of my favs for the year.(Credit:Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)2012 was another year that kept me glued to my iPhone andiPad checking out the latest batch of iOS games and other apps. So which ones proved to be among my favorites? In alphabetical order...Angry Birds Star WarsMy wife and I love to play Angry Birds, and the Star Wars edition is a great take on the familiar...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

Happy TrailsPhotograph by Alex Cherney, TWANAmateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in...

Read More..

Time's Up: Sides Closing In on 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

Congressional and White House negotiators are closing in on a deal to avert across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that take effect at midnight, as the nation teeters on the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff.An emerging tentative agreement would extend current tax rates for households making $450,000 or less; extend the estate tax at its current level of 35 percent...

Read More..

Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012

Best videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK 2012 review: The year in life science The year's...

Read More..

Brahimi says he has Syria plan all world powers may back

CAIRO: International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi warned Sunday that the Syrian war was worsening "by the day" as he announced a peace plan he believed could find support from world powers, including key Syria ally Russia.Brahimi's comments came as Russia despatched a third warship to its naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus in readiness for a possible evacuation of its nationals and as Turkish...

Read More..

Foursquare to show users' full names, share more data

Foursquare has begun notifying users of privacy policy updates that will begin making more user information and data public next month.Beginning January 28, 2013, users' "full names" will be displayed across the check-in service and venue owners will have increased access to users' check-in data, the company announced in an e-mail sent to users late last night. It also published a document called...

Read More..

How to Banish That New Year's Eve Hangover

For those of us who enjoy the occasional cocktail, the holiday season would be incomplete without certain treats of the liquid variety. Some look forward to the creamy charms of rum-laced eggnog; others anticipate cupfuls of high-octane punch or mugs of warm, spiced wine.No matter what's in your glass, raising one as the year winds down is tradition. What could be more festive? The problem...

Read More..

President Suggests Small 'Cliff' Deal Likely

Dec 30, 2012 11:26am With less than two days remaining for Congress to reach a budget agreement that would avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” President Obama today suggested that a small deal remains the best hope to avoid the perilous package of spending cuts and tax increases.In an interview aired this morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press” the president said if Republicans...

Read More..

Best videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy

Joanna Carver, reporter!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/. -->This rare amateur footage of the Challenger disaster comes in at number 1 in our best videos of 2012 countdown.The television image of the space shuttle Challenger exploding minutes after lift-off is still seared into the memories...

Read More..

China tightens Internet rules

BEIJING: China has approved new rules that require Internet users nationwide to provide real-name identification, state media reported on Friday, as the government increases its already tight online grip.The National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature, adopted the measures at a meeting on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency and other media said.According to Xinhua,...

Read More..

Instagram said to lose millions of daily users -- but did they?

AppData reported a decline in Instagram traffic.(Credit:AppData)The number of people using Instagram daily declined sharply over Christmas, just over a week after a flap over the Facebook-owned company's revised terms of service led to widespread user outrage. As first reported by the New York Post, analytics firm AppData recorded a nearly 25 percent drop in the number of daily active Instagram users...

Read More..

Body Under British Parking Lot May Be King Richard III

For centuries, William Shakespeare seemed to have the last word. His Richard III glowered and leered from the stage, a monster in human form and a character so repugnant "that dogs bark at me as I halt by them." In Shakespeare's famous play, the hunchbacked king claws his way to the throne and methodically murders most of his immediate family—his wife, older brother, and two young nephews—until...

Read More..

Did the Exodus of Moses Really Happen?

In the Bible, he is called Moses. In the Koran, he is the prophet Musa.Religious scholars have long questioned whether of the story of a prophet leading God's chosen people in a great exodus out of Egypt and the freedom it brought them afterwards was real, but the similarities between a pharaoh's ancient hymn and a psalm of David might hold the link to his existence.Tune in...

Read More..

Best videos of 2012: Spiderman skin stops a bullet

Joanna Carver, reporter!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/. -->This bullet-dodging hybrid skin comes in at number 4 in our best videos of 2012 countdown.Imagine facing a speeding bullet without fear of it tearing through your flesh. By reinforcing human skin cells with spider silk, artist Jalila...

Read More..

Football: Cole and Gibson win red card appeals

LONDON: West Ham striker Carlton Cole and Everton midfielder Darron Gibson have both had their suspensions quashed after the pair were sent off in Saturday's Premier League match at Upton Park.Cole was dismissed by referee Anthony Taylor for a high challenge on Leighton Baines and Gibson also saw red for a similar challenge on Mark Noble during Everton's 2-1 win.Everton appealed against...

Read More..

Christmas 2012 sees record iOS and Android activations, app downloads

More stockings were stuffed withAndroid and iOS devices this Christmas than ever before, according to new data released today. And new device owners spent much of December 25 downloading apps for their new toys. The analytics firm Flurry said device activations soared from their daily December average of 4 million to 17.4 million on Christmas Day, a 332 percent increase. And it's more than double...

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Green Lantern, Supersonic Star

Green LanternImage courtesy Caltech/SSI/NASAAnother glorious, backlit view of the planet Saturn and its rings has been captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, as seen in a picture...

Read More..

Putin Will Sign Ban on Adoptions to United States

Activists protest against a bill banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children in St.Petersburg, Russia, Dec. 26, 2012. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP PhotoMOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will sign a controversial ban on adoptions to the United States, defying domestic and international criticism that the move is playing politics with the lives of orphans.The ban was added last week to...

Read More..

Three gods: The hardest logic puzzle ever

* Required fields * First name * Last name * Country * Email address * Password Password must contain only letters and numbers, and be at least 8 characters * Confirm password...

Read More..

Football: Thirteen proves lucky for Mata and Chelsea

NORWICH, United Kingdom: Juan Mata was the Chelsea match-winner after his goal turned out to be enough to defeat Norwich City 1-0 at Carrow Road on Wednesday.The Spain international broke the deadlock seven minutes before half-time to record his 13th goal of the season.It turned out to be a valuable one as Rafa Benitez's side were able to close the gap on Manchester City, beaten 1-0 at...

Read More..

ZTE officially unveils high-end Nubia Z5

The ZTE Nubia Z5(Credit:ZTE)Though it isn't slated for the U.S. anytime soon, ZTE's ultra high-end device, the Nubia Z5, finally launched today.The handset comes in black or white, and has a 5-inch 1080p touchscreen with a 1,920x1,080-pixel resolution and 443ppi. The display itself is manufactured by Sharp.Its aluminum uni-body design measures 5.43-inches tall, 2.71-inches wide, and it has a thin,...

Read More..