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How do people choose what plants to use![]() Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jan 24, 2017 There are about 400,000 species of plants in the world. Humans use approximately 10-15% of them to cover our basic needs, such as food, medicine and shelter, as well as other needs, such as recreation, art, and craft. But why and how have humans selected only a small fraction of all plants to utilize? A new study published in Nature Plants sheds new light on these questions by investigating how people use palms in South America. The overall conclusion is that people are very selective when it come ... read more |
China jails key suspects in vaccine scandalChina sentenced two key suspects in an out-of-date immunisations scandal, a local court said Tuesday, in a case which fuelled public concern about vaccine safety and sparked outrage about official delays in revealing details. ... more
Zuckerberg charity buys AI startup to battle diseaseA charitable foundation backed by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife said Monday it has bought a Canadian artificial intelligence startup as part of a mission to eradicate disease. ... more
China's online population reaches 731 millionThe number of internet users in China - already the world's highest - reached 731 million in December, authorities said, as e-commerce drives consumer demand across the Asian giant. ... more
The skin cure fad threatening Myanmar's elephantsUnder the shadow of Myanmar's famed "Golden Rock" punters haggle for the latest traditional medicine cure - slices of skin from the country's fast disappearing wild elephants sold for a few dollars a square inch. ... more |
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Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review |
Probable cause and potential prevention of vision deterioration in space foundVision deterioration in astronauts who spend a long time in space is likely due to the lack of a day-night cycle in intracranial pressure. But using a vacuum device to lower pressure for part of eac ... more
NASA Glenn RED Team Helps EP+R Sterilize AmbulancesWhen a small business in Kent, Ohio was looking for help to advance one of their products, it came from an unexpected source. Emergency Products and Research (EP+R) designs and manufactures em ... more
Why Lyme disease is common in the north, rare in the southThe ticks that transmit Lyme disease to people die of dehydration when exposed to a combination of high temperature and lowered humidity, a new USGS-led study has found. In an earlier related study, ... more
China roast duck vendor dies of H7N9 bird flu: XinhuaA roast duck vendor has died of bird flu in central China, the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday, the latest human casualty of the disease this winter. ... more
Retroviruses 'almost half a billion years old'Retroviruses - the family of viruses that includes HIV - are almost half a billion years old, according to new research by scientists at Oxford University. That's several hundred million years older ... more |
![]() Study: Retroviruses are nearly 500 million years old
French hospitals overwhelmed by flu epidemicFrench hospitals are being stretched to their limits by a major flu epidemic sweeping the country, France's health authorities warn. ... more
Zimbabwe bans street food over typhoid, cholera fearsZimbabwe has banned street food vendors in the capital Harare after a typhoid outbreak blamed on poor sanitation and erratic water supplies. ... more |

The death toll from an avalanche that swamped an Italian mountain hotel rose to 15 Tuesday, with 14 still missing, as a nearby helicopter crash left six people dead and dealt another blow to a region reeling from earthquakes and the heaviest snowfall in decades.
The emergency response helicopter came down in thick fog near Campo Felice, a popular ski resort 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of ... more BHP, Vale agree date to settle Brazil mine disaster claim Archaeologists shed new light on collapse of Mayan civilization Lice, lung troubles plague migrants in freezing Serbia |
Experts from the Russian Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMash) will construct a ground Glonass satellite navigation tracking station in Nicaragua, the TsNIIMash's press service said Monday.
"The TsNIIMash's specialists will construct a station for tracking data of the Glonass and other global satellite navigation systems in Nicaragua," the press release reads.
Ac ... more Clocks 'failed' onboard Europe's navigation satellites: ESA Russia, China Work on Joint High-Precision Satellite Navigation System Raytheon completes qualification testing of next-gen GPS Launch and Checkout System |
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New evidence involving the ancient poop of some of the huge and astonishing creatures that once roamed Australia indicates the primary cause of their extinction around 45,000 years ago was likely a result of humans, not climate change.
Led by Monash University in Victoria, Australia and the University of Colorado Boulder, the team used information from a sediment core drilled in the Indian ... more What humans and primates both know when it comes to numbers Study: Pueblo architects understand advanced geometry Discovery adds rock collecting to Neanderthal's repertoire |
Be it the Mima mounds of Washington state or the famous "fairy circles" of Namibia in southwestern Africa, people are captivated by the regular patterns of plant growth that blanket desert and grassland landscapes, often with mesmerizing consistency.
Scientists have long debated how these phenomena originate and persist. Now, a new theory suggests that instead of a single overarching cause ... more Snap, digest, respire TSRI scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism From tiny phytoplankton to massive tuna |
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The ticks that transmit Lyme disease to people die of dehydration when exposed to a combination of high temperature and lowered humidity, a new USGS-led study has found. In an earlier related study, the researchers found that southern black-legged ticks, unlike northern ones, usually stay hidden under a layer of leaves, where they are less likely to encounter people.
The research group, wh ... more China roast duck vendor dies of H7N9 bird flu: Xinhua Study: Retroviruses are nearly 500 million years old French hospitals overwhelmed by flu epidemic |
US president Donald Trump will strut through the Year of the Rooster, thriving as Hong Kong geomancers predict 2017 will be marked by the arguments and aggression that are characteristic of the animal.
With Trump at the top of the pecking order, the volatile traits of the rooster - combined with the year's signature element of fire - mean rocky times ahead, particularly in the western wor ... more 2016 baby bump after China relaxes one-child rule Hong Kong's 'Mr Pringles' announces leadership bid Hong Kong leader slams independence movement in final speech |
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Stemming the astronomical losses caused by crime in the oceans surrounding Africa is the focus of a major continental summit on Saturday in the Togolese capital, Lome.
"Over recent decades, the accumulated revenue losses resulting directly from illegal activities in the African maritime sector add up to hundreds of billions of US dollars, without counting the loss of human lives," the Africa ... more US to deport ex-navy chief drug trafficker to Guinea-Bissau Gunmen ambush Mexican military convoy, kill 5 soldiers Mexican army to probe killings of six in their home |
Chinese growth stabilised in the third quarter, data showed Wednesday, as ample credit and hot property markets propped up the world's second-largest economy.
But while the forecast-beating reading was in line with state targets, it came as experts warned that authorities have relied too much on easy credit, which has in turn increased financial risks.
The economy grew 6.7 percent in Jul ... more China data and US banks propel equities higher No debt-for-equity cure for zombie firms, says China China's ranks of super-rich rise despite economic slowdown |
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Retired Marine general James Mattis was sworn in Friday as US defense secretary, praising intelligence agencies and calling for stronger ties with allies in a break from positions taken by President Donald Trump.
Mattis was confirmed by a 98-1 vote earlier Friday in the first action taken by US senators after Trump took the oath of office, and was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence.
" ... more US faces stiff China pushback in S. China Sea China says it will not back down on South China Sea New Pentagon chief to visit Japan, South Korea next month |
Cosmologists trying to understand how to unite the two pillars of modern science - quantum physics and gravity - have found a new way to make robust predictions about the effect of quantum fluctuations on primordial density waves, ripples in the fabric of space and time.
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have revealed quantum imprints left on cosmological structures in the very ... more China to set up gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet MIT researchers reveal new technique for measuring gravity A population of neutron stars can generate gravitational waves continuously |
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In the darkened offices of a tech start-up, a handful of computer engineers sifts through a mountain of intelligence data that would normally be the work of a small army of Indian security agents.
"We use artificial intelligence (AI) to look for patterns in the past to predict future behaviour," says Tarun Wig as he explains why he hopes his company Innefu can do more business with India's g ... more SEC probing Yahoo over cyberattacks: media Big Brother will have some difficulty 'watching you' in future China cracks down on bids to bypass online censorship |
Three quarters of a million civilians living in west Mosul are at "extreme risk", the United Nations warned Tuesday as Iraqi forces prepared for a push into the jihadist bastion.
A hundred days into a massive offensive to retake the Islamic State group's last major stronghold in Iraq, federal forces and jihadists took up positions on either side of the Tigris River that divides Mosul.
Th ... more As dust of war settles, east Mosul buries its dead anew IS expel residents to defend river bank in Mosul Baghdad car bomb kills three: police |
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Two years after NATO handed responsibility for Afghanistan's security to local forces, the country remains crippled by corruption and its troops can barely hold the Taliban at bay, a US inspector said Wednesday.
Since US-led NATO troops stopped leading patrols and stepped into an advisory and support role at the end of 2014, Afghan army and police forces have suffered thousands of casualties ... more Syrian Kurds say not invited to Astana talks Obama's toughest decision? 30,000-troop Afghanistan 'surge' Chinese police kill three "rioters" in Xinjiang |
When the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Clean Power Plan in 2015 it exercised its authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions to protect public welfare. The Plan, now the focus of escalating debate, also put the nation on course to meet its goals under the Paris Climate Agreement. Given that other pollutants are emitted from power plants - along with carbon dioxide - research h ... more China to cut coal capacity by 800 million tonnes by 2020 Norway fund blacklists more coal groups over climate concerns Black coal, thin pickings: China's miners face decline |
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There are about 400,000 species of plants in the world. Humans use approximately 10-15% of them to cover our basic needs, such as food, medicine and shelter, as well as other needs, such as recreation, art, and craft. But why and how have humans selected only a small fraction of all plants to utilize?
A new study published in Nature Plants sheds new light on these questions by investigatin ... more Intense industrial fishing Wheat virus crosses over, harms native grasses Harvests in the US to suffer from climate change |
A mission to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid moon to alter its trajectory, a possible dry-run for an exercise in saving the Earth from Armageddon, has run into a cash crunch.
The proposed joint European-US mission, which sounds like it could form the plot for a sci-fi Hollywood blockbuster, has been dubbed AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment).
In 2022, the idea is to launch ... more Today's rare meteorites were once common Micro spacecraft investigates cometary water mystery Rare meteorites challenge our understanding of the solar system |
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