In The News

Sea Urchin Nickel “Trick” Key to Capturing Carbon?

Matt McGrath February 18, 2013
It seems too easy. Newcastle University researchers have discovered that sea urchins use the metal nickel to turn carbon dioxide into shell or chalk, reports Matt McGrath for BBC News, and the process could serve as a model for a carbon capture-and-storage system. The researchers, including physicists and chemists, were studying sea-urchin larvae. McGrath reports, “Working with extremely small...

Meteorite Explodes Over Russia, More Than 1,000 Injured

Andrey Kuzmin February 16, 2013
Chelyabinsk, transportation hub and one-time Russian industrial center for weapons manufacture, was closed to foreigners until 1992. The combination of crisscrossing highways, a million-plus population and Russians’ fondness for dashboard cameras in vehicles to collect evidence in the event of potential mishaps has given the world ample footage of a rare event – a large meteorite blazing across...

Middle East Rivers Losing Critical Water Reserves

Lee Rannals February 13, 2013
Water shortages and secrecy over how much is used will only exacerbate tensions in the Middle East. Researchers, in the journal Water Resources Research, report a rapid decline of freshwater in the Middle East region. Lee Rannals of redOrbit.com reports on the University of California’s Center for Hydrologic Modeling study that relied on NASA satellite images to show that most of the loss in...

The Virtual Middle Class Rises

Thomas L. Friedman February 5, 2013
The poor around the globe may still live on a few dollars per day. But price pressure on electronics like smart phones and computers have lowered costs of education and communications and increased the ranks of a virtual middle class. Expanded numbers of people connecting via the internet will have political and economic repercussions, notes Thomas L. Friedman in his column for the New York Times...

Hackers in China Attacked the New York Times

Nicole Perlroth January 31, 2013
Hackers attacked the New York Times after the newspaper reported on an investigation suggesting that relatives of former Premier Wen Jiabao had accumulated a fortune of billions while he was in office, a report based on public US records. The hackers routed the attacks through US universities, sending malware to individuals, before entering the system and obtaining passwords. Computer security at...

Cuba First High-Speed Internet Connection Activated

January 29, 2013
Cuba is now connected to the global internet with high-speed cable, and that could invigorate public debate and political criticism. The country has delayed the rollout to control connections and also blamed the US trade embargo for failure to hook up to US cables. Venezuela shipped the $70 million cable nearly two years ago, reports BBC News. “Investments will first have to be made in Cuba'...

US General Warns Over Iranian Cyber-Soldiers

January 24, 2013
Iran’s industries and infrastructure are under repeated cyber-attacks, and that in turn is prompting the country to step up its own computer security and offensive capabilities, warns General William Shelton, in charge of US cyber-operations. Iran’s enemies can anticipate becoming targets of cyber-attacks in years ahead, explains the article in BBC News. The US has about 6000 so-called cyber-...