52429733
submission
Philip Ross writes:
Astronomers have warned that our planet is long overdue for a defense plan against catastrophic asteroid collisions. When it comes to deflecting Earth-obliterating celestial bodies, short of a superhero capable of punching the approaching rock back into outer space, there is no single force dedicated to stopping cosmic bullies from striking our little blue planet straight in the eye. That’s why the United Nations said it will establish an International Asteroid Warning Group to intercept and divert dangerous asteroids.
52421815
submission
Philip Ross writes:
Australia’s oldest bird footprints were made 100 million year ago when dinosaurs still roamed the Australian landscape. The Early Cretaceous period fossilized footprints survive today in a slab of rock recovered from the cliffs of Dinosaur Cove, a fossil-rich area on the coast of southern Victoria near Melbourne. The discovery of the prehistoric bird tracks helps paleontologists better understand Australia’s prehistoric timeline.
52139057
submission
Philip Ross writes:
Neanderthals, modern man’s close primitive relative, may have favored the flavor of a food-gorged animal gut now and then, according to scientists studying Neanderthals’ dental records. Anthropologists from London’s Natural History Museum describe the plant material found in the plaque of 50,000-year-old Neanderthal teeth as having come from the stomach contents of their prey. Researchers revisited the dental records of Neanderthals from El Sidrón Cave in Spain, where Neanderthal remains were first uncovered in 1994. The records were assembled last year as part of a study into Neanderthal diets.
51753659
submission
Philip Ross writes:
Scientists at the University of Texas looked at the interactions between bacteria in 3D-printed environments to better understand what makes some microbes resistant to antibiotics, something health officials have been warning us about for a long time. They used high-precision lasers to print multiple two-dimensional images, using a chip modified from a digital movie projector, onto a layer of flexible gelatin where bacteria were growing. As layers of protein were added to the gelatin, which contains photosensitive molecules that become aroused and bond together after being hit with a laser, they formed a tiny encasing around the bacteria.
51718219
submission
Philip Ross writes:
Archaeologists from the Donetsk Museum of Regional Studies found a carved sundial while excavating a 3,200- to 3,300-year-old Bronze Age grave between the Ural Mountains and Ukraine’s Dnieper River. The ancient sundial may be the oldest of its kind ever found. The analemmatic sundial which, unlike traditional sundials, doesn't have a fixed vertical that casts a shadow. Instead, an analemmatic sundial’s vertical, called a gnomon, must be moved every day of the year as the sun’s position in the sky changes.
51717309
submission
Nate the greatest writes:
Guilford County Schools' headline grabbing tablet program is back in the news again. The program came to an abrupt end last Friday when the school district announced that they were recalling all of the Amplify tablets. GCS had leased over 15 thousand of the tablets (at a cost of $200 a year) for its middle school students, but decided to recall the tablets just one month into the school year after some 1500 students reported a broken screen. Around 2 thousand complained of improperly fitting cases, and there were also 175 reports of malfunctioning power supplies. There's currently no explanation for the cases or power supplies, but GCS has stated that the tablets broke because they lacked a layer of Gorilla Glass. This was listed in the contract, but the school district did not confirm the condition of the tablets before accepting them.
This program was the poster child for Newscorps' entry into the educational market. It was the single largest program to use the Amplify tablet, and its failure represents a serious setback. The Amplify tablet now has a record for poor construction quality and a breakage rate that is 12 times higher than what Squaretrade reported in early 2012 for the iPad 2.
