Kenyan elephant numbers plummet by 1000 in four years

IT'S a case of up then down for Kenya's second largest population of elephants. After a promising growth spurt, the elephants are now dying faster than they are being born. The decline is being blamed on illegal poaching, driven by Asia's demand for ivory. ...

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China's inflation rises to 2.0 percent in November

BEIJING: China's inflation rate accelerated slightly to 2.0 percent in November, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday.It is the first increase in the consumer price index since August. Inflation stood at 1.7 percent in October.The result compares with a median 2.1 percent forecast for November in a survey of 12 economists by Dow Jones Newswires.Producer prices -- which measure...

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Handcuffs that give you an electric shock?

Progress?(Credit:Patent Bolt)Sometimes an invention comes along that makes you excited about the future.For a long time, it seems that handcuffs have been stuck in the movies of old. They restrain you, but, odd for our interactive world, that's all they seem to do.Might I tempt you toward futuristic handcuffs that will offer you a small involuntary judder?I am grateful to Gizmodo for discovering that...

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't...

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Gay Marriage: Will Justices Follow Popular Opinion?

The Supreme Court's announcement that it would hear two cases challenging laws prohibiting same-sex marriage has reinvigorated one of the most hotly contentious social debates in American history, a debate that has been fueled by a dramatic change in attitudes.With some states taking significant steps towards legalizing gay marriage, the hearings come at a critical moment.This...

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Today on New Scientist: 9 December 2012

Climate talks stumbling towards a deal As the Qatar climate summit looks set to run into the weekend, we look at some key issues, such as compensation for poor countries harmed by climate changeTwin spacecraft map the mass of the man in the moon Two satellites called Ebb and Flow have revealed the fine variations in the moon's surface with the most detailed gravity map everJust cut down on...

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Thailand's 'War Elephants' face Malaysia test

KUALA LUMPUR: Thailand have impressively swept into the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals but the "War Elephants" face a stern test against Malaysia as they bid to end a 10-year Southeast Asian title drought.The three-time champions, twice losing finalists since last lifting the trophy in 2002, edged the Philippines 2-1, thumped qualifiers Myanmar 4-0 and then dismissed Vietnam 3-1 during their...

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Hot new games for iOS

The stars lined up just right this week (read: gift-giving season is here!) to have a number of awesome game sequels and new releases launch all at once. Frankly, there are so many new games that there is no better time than the present to check out what the App Store has to offer.Rick Broida already wrote about Grand Theft Auto: Vice City earlier today, but there are plenty more that would make nice...

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Plants Grow Fine Without Gravity

When researchers sent plants to the International Space Station in 2010, the flora wasn't meant to be decorative. Instead, the seeds of these small, white flowers—called Arabidopsis thaliana—were the subject of an experiment to study how plant roots developed in a weightless environment.Gravity is an important influence on root growth, but the scientists found that their space plants didn't...

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Baby Gabriel's Mother Sentenced to Prison

Elizabeth Johnson -- who at one point admitted to killing her son, the missing infant Gabriel Johnson, before saying she gave him away -- told a judge she "deserved the maximum" sentence, before receiving a prison term of 5.25 years, half of the max.In October, Johnson, 26, was found guilty of custodial interference and unlawful imprisonment stemming from the disappearance of...

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Space bigwigs offer billion-dollar private moon trips

Robots aren't the only ones heading to the moon. The first private company offering regular trips to the lunar surface plans to start flights in 2020, shuttling people two at a time on exploratory missions. However, with an expected price tag of $1.4 billion per flight, or around $750 million per person, the trek...

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Australian police seize US$81 million of cocaine

SYDNEY: Australian police Friday said they had seized cocaine shipped from Chile worth up to A$77 million (US$81 million), the third global drug syndicate busted in as many weeks.The 135-kilogram (298-pound) seizure followed a three-month Australian Federal Police investigation and led to the arrest of five men -- three Australians, one Italian and one Mexican."The Australian Federal Police...

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Washington Post said to add paywall for online news

It's looking like one of the last vestiges to provide free online national news may be coming to a close. Joining its other paywall comrades, the Washington Post is said to start charging for its online content in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. Inside sources told the Journal that the details are still being ironed out, but most likely the D.C. paper will start charging a subscription...

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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano

Cassiopeia’s BubbleImage courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSFA new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible...

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Not 'Wild West': Talking Cyber Ops at Iran's Backdoor

Robert Clark, the operational attorney for U.S. Cyber Command, stood in a grand ballroom with gold flaked ceilings and sparkling chandeliers to address an audience that included men in flowing white robes and veiled women and tried to hammer home a single point: cyber warfare is not the "Wild West."Clark, who emphasized that he was speaking only in a personal capacity and not on...

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Chemical key to cell division revealed

In each of our cells, most of the genetic material is packaged safely within the nucleus, which is protected by a double membrane. The biochemistry behind how this membrane transforms when cells divide has finally been unravelled, offering insights that could provide new ways of fighting cancer and some rare genetic disorders. ...

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US sends offers aid after deadly Typhoon Bopha

WASHINGTON: The United States offered disaster relief and sent condolences Wednesday to the Philippines and Palau in the wake of Typhoon Bopha, which left hundreds dead.At least 325 people were killed and hundreds remain missing in the Philippines following the deadliest typhoon to hit the country this year, the Philippines civil defence chief said in Manila."The United States offers condolences...

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Zeus botnet steals $47M from European bank customers

A new version of the Zeus botnet was used to steal about $47 million from European banking customers in the past year, security researchers report.Dubbed "Eurograbber" by security vendors Versafe and Check Point Software Technologies in a report (PDF) released today, the malware is designed to defeat the two-factor authentication process banks use for transactions by intercepting bank messages sent...

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A 2020 Rover Return to Mars?

NASA is so delighted with Curiosity's Mars mission that the agency wants to do it all again in 2020, with the possibility of identifying and storing some rocks for a future sample return to Earth.The formal announcement, made at the American Geophysical Union's annual fall meeting, represents a triumph for the NASA Mars program, which had fallen on hard times due to steep budget cuts....

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Fiscal Cliff: Do You Trust the Polls?

Dec 5, 2012 4:49pm National polls show that Republicans would take the brunt of the blame for a dive over the so-called fiscal cliff.  A Washington Post/Pew Research Survey released this week found that a majority of the public (53 percent) would point the finger at Republicans if Congress fails to reach a deal on taxes and government spending. Just 27 percent...

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When is a baby too premature to save?

It was never easy, but trying to decide whether to save extremely premature babies just got harder. A study called EPICure compared the fates of babies born 22 to 26 weeks into pregnancy in the UK in 1995 with similar babies born in 2006. In...

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Philippines rescuers scramble as 82 dead in typhoon

MANILA - The death toll from a powerful typhoon that ravaged the southern Philippines rose to 82 Wednesday, as rescuers battled to reach areas cut off in flash floods and mudslides.Typhoon Bopha churned across the island of Mindanao, toppling trees and blowing away homes on Tuesday before weakening overnight as it headed towards the South China Sea.It was however expected to dump more...

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