Iran launches monkey into space

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporterLast summer, the Iranian Space Agency announced their plan to send a monkey into space - and now they've apparently done it.According to Iranian state-run television, a press release on the space agency's website, and photos of the event, Iran sent a live rhesus monkey into sub-orbital space aboard a small rocket called Pishgam, or Pioneer. There's even a...

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HDB offers 3,346 new flats under 6 BTO projects

SINGAPORE: The HDB has launched six Build-To-Order (BTO) projects where there will be a total of 3,346 new flats in three non-mature towns - Choa Chu Kang, Hougang and Yishun - and three mature towns - Ang Mo Kio, Kallang Whampoa and Tampines.This is the first tranche of the 23,000 BTO flats which HDB has planned for 2013.Eligible first-timer households can enjoy up to S$60,000 of housing...

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House panel demands answers regarding Swartz prosecution

Saying they had "many questions" about the prosecution of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide earlier this month, two key members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have requested a briefing with the Justice Department.Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) sent a letter (see below) today to Attorney General Eric...

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Space Pictures This Week: Martian Gas, Cloud Trails

Image courtesy SDO/NASAThe sun is more than meets the eye, and researchers should know. They've equipped telescopes on Earth and in space with instruments that view the sun in at least ten different wavelengths of light, some of which are represented in this collage compiled by NASA and released January 22. (See more pictures of the sun.)By viewing the different wavelengths of light given off by the...

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US Mom Missing in Turkey Took Side Trips

Sarai Sierra, the New York mother who disappeared in Turkey while on a solo trip, took several side excursions out of the country, but stayed in contact with her family the entire time, a family friend told ABC News.Turkish media reported today that police were trying to establish why Sierra visited Amsterdam and Munich. Police were also trying to establish the identity of a...

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DNA privacy: don't flatter yourself

The secrets contained in our individual genomes are less valuable than we like to believe IMAGINE donating your DNA to a project aimed at discovering links between genes and diseases. You consent to your genome sequence being released anonymously into the public domain, though you are warned there is a remote possibility that it might...

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Govt to tighten law to better protect timeshare consumers

SINGAPORE: The government is tightening safeguards and plugging loopholes in the law to better protect consumers in timeshare deals.The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday that it is making the changes because timeshare businesses continue to account for the most number of consumer complaints. The number of timeshare cases totalled 389 in 2010 and 358 in 2011, according...

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Nokia to offer paid upgrade to Lumia-only music service

Music+ will offer premium music options to subscribing Lumia owners.(Credit:Nokia)A few months after jumping in to the free music streaming sector, Nokia is getting ready to give its Lumia-only service a jump-start with a premium upgrade.Nokia Music+, an upgrade to the free Mix Radio service that Nokia launched last September, will offer Lumia owners unlimited skips and unlimited downloads, the Finnish...

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Doomed Dolphin Speaks to New York's Vibrant Wildlife

By the time New Yorkers spied a dolphin swimming through the superfund sludge of the Gowanus Canal last Friday, it was too late. The marine mammal didn't even survive long enough for a rescue plan to come together. First sighted on Friday afternoon, the dolphin perished at 6:00 p.m.The reason the marine mammal died, and why the dolphin swam up the...

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'Barrier of Bodies' Trapped Nightclub Fire Victims

A fast-moving fire roared through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, within seconds filling the space with flames and a thick, toxic smoke that killed more than 230 panicked partygoers who gasped for breath and fought in a stampede to escape.It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Firefighters responding to the blaze at...

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