First major chunk breaks off world's biggest iceberg

PARIS - An enormous chunk has broken off the world's largest iceberg, in a possible first sign the behemoth from Antarctica could be crumbling.The colossal iceberg -- which is more than twice the size of Greater London and weighs nearly one trillion tonnes -- had largely stayed intact since it started slowly moving north in 2020.It has been drifting toward the remote island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic, raising the prospect it could run aground in shallower water and disrupt feeding for baby penguins and seals.But a chunk about 19 kilometres (12 miles) long has cleaved off, said Andrew Meijers from the British Antarctic Survey, who encountered the iceberg in late 2023 and has tracked its fate via satellite ever since."This is definitely the first significant clear slice of the iceberg that's appeared," the physical oceanographer told AFP.Soledad Tiranti, a glaciologist currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, also told AFP that a section had "broken" away.The jagged piece has an area of roughly 80 square kilometres (31 square miles) -- huge in its own right, but just a fraction of the approximately 3360 square kilometres that remained.Meijers said icebergs were full of deep fractures, and although this monumental specimen had shrunk over time and lost a much smaller piece, it had "held together...
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World’s Largest Genome Discovered in a Tiny Fern: ‘Breaks all records’

A group of small fork ferns – credit Pol Fernandez, released via iScienceOn the island of New Caledonia, a simple, unassuming species of fern has been identified as having the longest genome of any living organism known.It is 50 times longer than a human’s, 7% longer than the previous world record-holding species for longest genome, and 20% longer than the record-holding animal.Compared to 23 pairs of chromosomes in every human cell, the tiny fern contains 416—and if unraveled, would climb higher than Big Ben in London’s Westminster.Questions abound, as does admiration for the majesty and mysteries of biological life.“Compared to other organisms, plants are incredibly diverse when viewed at the DNA level, and that should make us pause to think about their intrinsic value in the wider picture of global biodiversity,” said Dr. Ilia Leitch, Senior Research Leader at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.“This discovery also raises many new and exciting questions about the upper limits of what is biologically possible, and we hope to solve these mysteries one day.”Tmesipteris oblanceolata is a species of New Caledonian fork fern that grows on the ground or out of rotting tree trunks. A team from Kew and the Institut Botànic de Barcelona traveled to New Caledoina’s largest island of Grand Terre to collect this species for study.20,000 species...
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Bobi, known as the oldest dog in the world, dies aged 31

Bobi, who was this year ordained the oldest dog in the world by Guinness World Records, has died at the ripe old age of 31, Portuguese media reported Monday."We have better memories of a long life where he was happy and, above all, where he made a lot of people happy, especially his family," Bobi's owner Leonel Costa told local media from the little village in central Portugal where he lives.A purebreed Rafeiro, a Portuguese livestock guard dog whose normal life expectancy is between 12 and 14, Bobi was not supposed to make it beyond puppyhood.He was born on May 11, 1992, along with three other pups in a wood storage shed owned by the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros.Because the family owned so many animals, the father decided they could not keep the newborn puppies and the parents took them from the shed the next day, while the mother dog Gira was out, said Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time.But they didn't realise they had left one puppy behind, and that puppy became Bobi."He died at the age of 31 years and 165 days," according to the Guinness World Records.After he was declared the world's oldest dog in February, media and curious onlookers from around the world paid Bobi a visit. Bobi, known as the oldest dog in the world, dies aged...
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Telomere lengthening via gene therapy achieved for the first time

U.S. biotech company BioViva has announced the first successful use of gene therapy to extend telomeres, believed to be vitally important in the fight against human aging. In September 2015, then 44 year-old CEO of BioViva, Elizabeth Parrish, received two of her own company's experimental gene therapies: one to protect against loss of muscle mass with age; another to battle stem cell depletion responsible for diverse age-related diseases and infirmities. The treatment was originally intended to demonstrate the safety of the latest generation of the therapies. But if early data is accurate, it is already the world's first successful example of telomere lengthening via gene therapy in a human individual. Gene therapy has been used to lengthen telomeres before in mice and in cultured cells – but never in a human patient, until now. Telomeres are short segments of DNA which cap the ends of every chromosome. Like the plastic tips on shoelaces that stop them from fraying, they act as 'buffers' against wear and tear. With every cell division they become shorter, eventually getting too short to protect the chromosome, causing the cell to malfunction and the body to age. In September 2015, telomere data from Parrish's white blood cells (immediately before therapies were administered), revealed that her telomeres were unusually...
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The world's first nation state in space

Credit: Asgardia At a press conference in Paris this week, plans were announced for the creation of 'Asgardia' – the first nation state in outer space. Named after the city of the skies in Norse mythology, Asgardia is a space-based nation proposed by Dr Igor Ashurbeyli, founder of the Aerospace International Research Centre (Vienna), and Chairman of UNESCO's Science of Space committee. The concept is aimed at creating a new framework for how space activities are regulated and owned, ensuring that "the future of space is peaceful and done for the benefit of humankind." Dr Ashurbeyli, one of the Russian Federation's most distinguished scientists, has consulted globally renowned scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and legal experts on the development of the concept. The project's official website is currently requesting people to register for "citizenship" with the aim of applying to the United Nations for official recognition as a nation state. Already, hundreds of thousands have signed up. As a first step, the organisation plans to crowd-source a satellite for launch in 2017, sixty years after Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite. This will mark a new era in the space age, the organisation claims, as the satellite will be independent of any current nation state on Earth: the satellite will comprise the nation itself...
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China launches spacecraft in longest-ever manned mission

The Shenzhou 11 astronauts are Jing Haipeng, who is flying his third mission, and 37-year-old Chen Dong. The Shenzhou 11 mission took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China. China launched a pair of astronauts into space Monday on a mission to dock with an experimental space station and remain aboard for 30 days in preparation for the start of operations by a full-bore facility six years from now. The Shenzhou 11 mission took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket. It will dock with the Tiangong 2 space station precursor facility within two days, conduct experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies, and test systems and processes in preparation for the launching of the station's core module in 2018. Space program commander-in-chief Gen. Zhang Youxia declared the launch a success at 7:46 a.m. (2346 GMT). Defense Minister Fan Changlong then read a congratulatory message from President Xi Jinping calling for China's astronauts to explore space "more deeply and more broadly." Premier Li Keqiang and propaganda chief Liu Yunshan visited the Beijing control center to congratulate staff. It is the sixth time China has launched astronauts into space...
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First detection of super-Earth atmosphere

Credit: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has detected hydrogen and helium, but no water vapour, in the atmosphere of 55 Cancri e – the first time the atmosphere of a "super-Earth" has been analysed successfully. For the first time, astronomers were able to analyse the atmosphere of an exoplanet in the class known as super-Earths. Using data gathered with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and new analysis techniques, the exoplanet 55 Cancri e is revealed to have a dry atmosphere without any indications of water vapour. The results, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, indicate that the atmosphere consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. The international team, led by scientists from University College London (UCL), took measurements of the nearby exoplanet 55 Cancri e, a super-Earth with a mass of eight Earths. It is located in the planetary system of 55 Cancri, a star about 40 light-years from Earth. Using observations made by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the scientists were able to analyse the atmosphere in detail. The results were only made possible by exploiting a newly-developed processing technique. "This is a very exciting result, because it's the first time that we have been able to find the spectral fingerprints that show the gases...
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Astronaut runs marathon in space — but slower than on earth

British astronaut Tim Peake in action running the London marathon while strapped to a treadmill at the International Space Station on Sunday April 24, 2016. AFP/ PTI photo Washington, April 24: British astronaut Tim Peake became the first man to complete a marathon in space on Sunday, running the classic 26.2-mile distance while strapped to a treadmill aboard the International Space Station. As part of the London Marathon, Britain's biggest mass participation race, the 44-year-old spaceman saw London's roads under his feet in real time on an iPad as, 250 miles below him, more than 37,000 runners simultaneously pounded the streets. Peake covered the distance in three hours 35 minutes 21 seconds, which was a world away from the time recorded by the real race winner, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, whose 2:03:05 was the second fastest ever recorded. Peake's zero gravity effort, while out of this world, was still more than a quarter of an hour slower than the 3:18:50 he had clocked on earth as a keen, ultra-fit fun runner back in 1999. On a six-month stint on the ISS, the astronaut had been the official starter too, sending the runners a good luck video message from the station in the 10-second countdown to the race that concluded: "I hope to see you all at the finish line". He also tweeted a photograph of England's capital from space...
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World's first virtual reality rollercoaster

In a groundbreaking move that could revolutionise the world of theme parks, the UK's Alton Towers Resort announces today it is launching a rollercoaster entirely dedicated to virtual reality. Set to open in April, Galactica is the world's first rollercoaster entirely customised for the full virtual reality experience, transforming riders into astronauts and plunging them into outer space with a G force of 3.5, which is more powerful than the 3G of a real rocket launch. The exhilarating new ride will combine the physical exertion and adrenaline rush of Alton Towers' iconic flying rollercoaster, with the breathtaking sensation of travelling through space. Cutting edge technology launches riders into a different world, complete with virtual space suits, stunning visuals and an exciting adventure. The visuals have been perfectly  synchronised to the thrilling twists, turns and loops of the roller coaster to recreate the sensation of hurtling through space. Visitors will ride in a prone position along the 840-meter long (2,760 ft) track, to recreate the feeling of flying. Galactica's epic space theme is set to be hugely popular following Tim Peake's maiden voyage into space in December 2015. Stunning, high-quality visuals deliver an immersive experience that its designers claim is breathtakingly realistic. Each rider...
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Cheaper, More Reliable Solar Power with New World Record for Polymer Solar Cells

Credit: Stefan Jerrevång/Linkoping university Polymer solar cells can be even cheaper and more reliable thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at Linköping University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This work is about avoiding costly and unstable fullerenes. Polymer solar cells have in recent years emerged as a low cost alternative to silicon solar cells. In order to obtain high efficiency, fullerenes are usually required in polymer solar cells to separate charge carriers. However, fullerenes are unstable under illumination, and form large crystals at high temperatures. Polymer solar cells manufactured using low-cost roll-to-roll printing technology, demonstrated here by professors Olle Inganäs (right) and Shimelis Admassie. Now, a team of chemists led by Professor Jianhui Hou at the CAS set a new world record for fullerene-free polymer solar cells by developing a unique combination of a polymer called PBDB-T and a small molecule called ITIC. With this combination, the sun's energy is converted with an efficiency of 11%, a value that strikes most solar cells with fullerenes, and all without fullerenes. Feng Gao, together with his colleagues Olle Inganäs and Deping Qian at Linköping University, have characterized the loss spectroscopy of photovoltage (Voc), a key figure for solar cells, and proposed approaches...
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The first high-res 3D images of DNA segments

Credit: Berkeley Lab First-of-their-kind images by researchers at Berkeley Lab could aid in the use of DNA to build nanoscale devices. An international team working at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has captured the first high-resolution 3-D images from individual double-helix DNA segments, attached at either end of gold nanoparticles. The images detail the flexible structure of the DNA segments, which appear as nanoscale "jump ropes". This unique imaging capability, pioneered by Berkeley Lab scientists, could aid in the use of DNA segments as building blocks for molecular devices that function as nanoscale drug-delivery systems, markers for biological research, and components for computer memory and electronic devices. It could also lead to images of disease-relevant proteins that have proven elusive for other imaging techniques, and of the assembly process that forms DNA from separate, individual strands. The shapes of the coiled DNA strands, which were sandwiched between polygon-shaped gold nanoparticles, were reconstructed in 3-D using a cutting-edge electron microscope technique called individual-particle electron tomography (IPET).  This was combined with a protein-staining process and sophisticated software that provided structural details down to a scale of just...
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Superluminous Supernova 20 Times Brighter Than 100 Billion Stars Wows Astronomers

Records are made to be broken, as the expression goes, but rarely are records left so thoroughly in the dust. Stunned astronomers have witnessed a cosmic explosion about 200 times more powerful than a typical supernova--events which already rank amongst the mightiest outbursts in the universe--and more than twice as luminous as the previous record-holding supernova. At its peak intensity, the explosion--called ASASSN-15lh--shone with 570 billion times the brightness of the Sun. If that statistic does not impress, consider that this luminosity level is approximately 20 times the entire output of the 100 billion stars comprising our Milky Way galaxy. The record-breaking blast is thought to be an outstanding example of a "superluminous supernova," a recently discovered, supremely rare variety of explosion unleashed by certain stars when they die. Scientists are frankly at a loss, though, regarding what sorts of stars and stellar scenarios might be responsible for these extreme supernovae. These are pseudo-color images showing the host galaxy before the explosion of ASASSN-15lh taken by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) [Left], and the supernova by the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) 1-meter telescope network [Right]. As described in a new study published today in Science, ASASSN-15lh Credit: The...
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New microscope is 2,000 times faster

A new atomic force microscope developed by MIT can scan images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. This allows it to capture near-real-time video of nanoscale processes. State-of-the-art atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are designed to capture images of structures as small as a fraction of a nanometre – a million times smaller than the width of a human hair. In recent years, AFMs have produced desktop-worthy close-ups of atom-sized structures, from DNA strands to individual bonds changing between molecules. But scanning these images is a meticulous, time-consuming process. AFMs have therefore been used mostly for static samples as they are too slow to capture active, changing environments. Now engineers at MIT have designed an atomic force microscope that scans images 2,000 times faster than existing commercial models. With this new high-speed instrument, the team produced images of chemical processes taking place at the nanoscale, at a rate that is close to real-time video. In one demonstration of the instrument’s capabilities, the researchers scanned a 70- by-70-micron sample of calcite as it was first immersed in deionised water and later exposed to sulphuric acid. Zooming into an area of interest, they observed the acid eating away at the calcite, expanding existing nanometre-sized pits in the material that...
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LG debuts 'world’s largest' OLED display

LG has shown off two of the largest OLED displays in the world at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. In creating the installation, LG worked closely with French design firm Wilmotte & Associés to develop the structures which hang above the main terminal of the airport. Each sign is composed of 140 55-in curved OLED panels, resulting in displays that stand 13 metres high and 8 metres across, equivalent to three large-sized shipping containers. The two curved displays will feature a variety of content to demonstrate the capabilities of OLED technology, such as fireworks set against a night sky. And because every pixel in an OLED display emits its own light, there is no need for heavy LED backlighting, making both of the airport displays light and flexible which allows them to hang from the ceiling with minimal support. “These OLED displays perfectly complement the advanced technology that our airport has become known for,” said Park Wan-su, president and CEO at Incheon International Airport. “We are always eager to showcase to the millions of travellers every year the cutting-edge technology that originates from Korea. OLED is a prime example of that.” “While the world’s largest OLED sign is certainly something to be proud of, we are more excited about the opportunity to introduce travellers from across the world...
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Fastest ever brain-computer interface for spelling

Researchers in China have achieved high-speed spelling with a noninvasive brain-computer interface. Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) are a relatively new and emerging technology allowing direct communication between the brain and an external device. They are used for assisting, augmenting, or repairing cognitive or sensory-motor functions. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s and the first neuroprosthetic devices implanted in humans appeared in the mid-1990s. The past 20 years have seen major progress in BCIs. However, they are still limited by low communication rates, caused by interference from spontaneous electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Now, a team of researchers from Tsinghua University in China, State Key Laboratory Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors (IOS), and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a greatly improved system. Their EEG-based BCI speller can achieve information transfer rates (ITRs) of 60 characters (∼12 words) per minute, by far the highest ever reported in BCI spellers for either noninvasive or invasive methods. In some of the tests, they reached up to 5.32 bits per second. For comparison, most other systems in recent years have been at 1 or 2 ITRs. According to the researchers, they achieved this via an extremely high consistency of frequency and phase between...
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New memory technology is 1,000 times faster

Intel and Micron have unveiled "3D XPoint" – a new memory technology that is 1,000 times faster than NAND and 10 times denser than conventional DRAM. Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. have unveiled 3D XPoint technology, a non-volatile memory that has the potential to revolutionise any device, application or service that benefits from fast access to large sets of data. Now in production, 3D XPoint technology is a major breakthrough in memory process technology and the first new memory category since the introduction of NAND flash in 1989. The explosion of connected devices and digital services is generating massive amounts of new data. To make this data useful, it must be stored and analysed very quickly, creating challenges for service providers and system builders who must balance cost, power and performance trade-offs when they design memory and storage solutions. 3D XPoint technology combines the performance, density, power, non-volatility and cost advantages of all available memory technologies on the market today. This technology is up to 1,000 times faster, with up to 1,000 times greater endurance than NAND, and is 10 times denser than conventional memory. "For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis," says Rob Crooke,...
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‘Glaciers worldwide melt to lowest levels on record’

@flickr.com/photos/sergejf/8330762395/cc-by-2.0 Glaciers worldwide have shrunk to levels not seen in 120 years of record-keeping, with melt-off accelerating in the first decade of the 21st century, according to a study released on Monday. On average, glaciers currently lose between 50 to 150 centimetres of thickness every year, reported the study, published in the Journal of Glaciology. “This is two to three times more than the corresponding average of the 20th century,” said Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service and the study’s lead author. More than a billion people, especially in Asia and South America, get more than half of their drinking water from the seasonal melting of snow melt and glacier ice, previous research has shown. The current rate of global glacier melt is without precedent for the 120 years covered by scientific observation, and probably for much longer, Mr Zemp added. Moreover, accelerated ice loss has created a dynamic whereby glaciers in many regions will continue to diminish even if global warming did not continue to boost global temperatures. Preliminary data from the last five years, not covered in the study, suggest that rapid decline of ice mass is continuing apace. The 20th-century record ice loss observed in 1998 “has been exceeded in 2003, 2006, 2011, 2013, and probably...
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World's first e-ink traffic signs installed

The Australian city of Sydney is the first in the world to install e-ink traffic signs. Slovenian digital signage company Visionect has worked with the New South Wales' Road and Maritime Services (RMS) agency to install digital signage around the city to improve daily transit and simplify road sign deployment. The displays will also significantly help cut the costs of changing road signs to reflect upcoming events. The e-ink displays look much the screen on an Amazon Kindle device, and have the advantage of being easy to read in bright sunlight. The devices are also powered via solar panels, so are self-contained and low-cost to run. Messages to the screen can be updated remotely via smartphone or PC, and opens up traffic management to the Internet of Things (IOT) world.  Rok Zalar, Visionect’s head of product development, explains how it works: "The hardware components are managed by server software programmed to 'wake up' the sign for certain pre-scheduled windows of time when the content on the sign will be changed using 3G technology. Outside of the ‘waking’ time, the traffic signs use no power." In addition to saving energy, the fully customisable e-traffic signs help cities save on temporary road sign placement as well. It has been reported, for example, that the city Los Angeles puts up 558,000 temporary...
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Solar-powered plane breaks solo flight record

The solar-powered aircraft, Solar Impulse, flying from Japan to Hawaii, on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid, has beaten the record for the longest solo flight, organisers said yesterday. They admitted though that veteran Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was exhausted after over four days of continuous flying, which made the final 24 hours of flight particularly challenging. The plane was set to land this morning local time at Kalaeloa Airport on the main Hawaiian island of Oahu, some 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Honolulu. By 7:30pm GMT (1am IST, Friday) on Thursday, Solar Impulse 2 had traveled 86 per cent of the way to the tropical US state, after flying 7,075 kilometers. However, it was in the process of crossing a cold front that required careful navigation on the part of Borschberg, which would significantly increase stress levels for the 62-year-old. Borschberg had so far flown over 97 hours easily beating the previous longest solo endurance flight undertaken in 2006. The Japan to Hawaii trip was expected to take 120 hours. The Swiss aviator was napping for only 20 minutes at a time so as to maintain control of the pioneering plane and has on the plane a parachute and life raft, in case he needed to ditch in the Pacific. The experimental solar-powered aircraft left Japan around 6pm GMT (11:30pm IST) on Sunday...
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India became overall Country topper and FIITJEE Classroom students made India Proud in International Junior Science Olympiad"

Delhi. 15 December 2014: A young Science enthusiast from Delhi, a student of India’s most trusted engineering entrance training institute, has made India proud by winning the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) conducted in Mendoza, Argentina this month. The IJSO held between 2nd to 11th December has declared Kushagra Juneja as the World Topper among all the participants represented in IJSO 2014. He won a Gold Medal on the basis of the Individual Performance and Silver Medal in the Experimental Exam. Kushagra, a student of Four Year Classroom Program at FIITJEE Punjabi Bagh centre, is currently studying in class X and his achievement has made FIITJEE proud. The International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) is a competition among brightest students of various countries across the world in the Natural Sciences. Other FIITJEE students who bagged Gold Medals are Irin Ghosh from Durgapur (WB), who also has been declared as Runner Up (2nd World Topper) followed by G. Pradeep from Chennai and finally Debaditya Pramanik from Kolkata. Kushagra was among the top six students from India who were selected through a multi staged competition and filter process to represent the country at the international stage. There were 32 countries across the globe participated and total 19 gold medals were given based on overall performances...
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