Researchers working in Ethiopia have detailed what they believe to be a newly-discovered ancestor species of humans. It means as many as four such species, known as hominins, could have coexisted. The results, published in Nature, are from analysis of 14 teeth and jaw bones discovered beween 2006 and 2013. The bones appear to come […]
Microsoft says it’s found a way to cut the bandwidth needed for cloud-based gamingย by 80 percent. It shifts part of the work to the user’s device, so results will likelyย be variable. The company has been working with researchers at Duke University and has come up with a tool named Kahawai, the Hawaiian word for “stream.” […]
A solar-powered plane travelling round the world is about to take on its most challenging leg: the Pacific Ocean. Solar Impulse 2 has so far made it from Abu Dhabi in the Middle East to Nanjing in Eastern China over six legs, all without using fossil-derived fuels. But its next leg, from Nanjing to Hawaii, […]
Admit it: If you grew up in the ’90s/’00s, you know that Hot Topic was basically the only place you could buy geek, sci-fi, and video game-themed apparel and accessories (& of course, “goth” stuff). And lately, the store has struck deals with such influential and geek chic businesses like Her Universe and has even […]
Google says security questions on accounts are “neither secure nor reliable enough” to use in cases of forgotten passwords. It’s urging other firms to follow its lead by making such questions solely a last resort. In a paper presented this week at a World Wide Web conference in Italy, five Google researchers detailed their study […]
KFC in Germany has run a one-week promotion making it easier for customers to keep using their gadgets while enjoying finger licking goodness. They did so by creating special tray mats with a built-in keyboard that can connect to your smartphone or tablet by Bluetooth, meaning you can type without touching your screen — something […]
Engineering design students have struck another blow against idiom by successfully flying a lead balloon. They responded to a challenge by British TV’s The One Show, which last year asked chocolate producers Nestle to make a chocolate teapot, based around the idiom that such a receptacle is the epitome of uselessness. In fact it proved […]
L’Oreal is to 3D-print human skin for use in cosmetics testing. It’s a development of an existing program of producing the skin in a lab. According to the BBC, L’Oreal already uses donated tissue to grow more than 100,000 skin samples a year for testing purposes, avoiding the need for testing on animals or live […]
Modern meteorology is nothing short of amazing. The way they can use doppler radar to track a storm front, where it is going, and how long it will be there is a marvel of modern science (even if the weatherman are off here and there), But you take a look at this old school weather […]
Reddit has announced new policies to crack down on harassment. It’s not given specific details of the consequences, but it has prompted heated debate among users who believe unrestricted speech should be paramount. The site says it has based its decision on a survey of 15,000 users, as well as changes in the nature of […]