Latest science news in Mathematics & Economics
Green Blog: A Boom Year for Illicit Elephant Ivory
Once hundreds of small ivory seizures are accounted for, 2011 could prove to be the worst year for ivory trafficking since officials began keeping global data 23 years ago, a...
Verizon reverses on $2 fee for one-time payments
(AP) -- After a customer backlash, Verizon Wireless on Friday dropped a plan to start charging $2 for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their...
China Unveils Ambitious Plan to Explore Space
A five-year development timeline unveiled Thursday by the Chinese government could establish it as a major rival in space at a moment when the American program is in retreat.
Security Breaches at Rocket Plant Trouble Russian Space Officials
A group of bloggers apparently got into the factory on five separate occasions.
Quitting smoking is tough, but not impossible
Many people pick quitting smoking as their New Year's resolution. But if quitting smoking was easy, most smokers would have already done it.
University sees food waste as resource
COLUMBIA, Mo., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Missouri say they hope to develop a system for turning uneaten food from the school's dining halls into...
Build-A-Bear recalls 300,000 toys
Build-A-Bear Workshop is recalling about 300,000 Colorful Hearts Teddy Bears sold in the United States and Canada because of a choking hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says.
DHS Misled Congress About Chemical Facility Program, Top Republican Says
Plant security: Dire assessment of anti-terrorism program for chemical facilities contradicts Homeland Security officials’ assurances
Researchers hope to use bugged bugs for search and rescue
(PhysOrg.com) -- While search and rescue dogs are currently used to help locate survivors of earthquakes or other disasters, new research hopes to make this job easier by turning to...
Need help avoiding hangover? Less booze, more H2O
CHICAGO (AP) -- Attorney Colleen Gorman has a holiday ritual that doesn't involve buying presents or counting down to midnight: She goes online to look for...
Mobile commerce will take off in 2012
It won't be long before just about every new smartphone will allow users to wirelessly exchange information or make financial transactions at stores and banks.
Well Blog: The Provider Will See You Now
When did doctors become "providers"? The term has a deliberate sterility to it that wrings out any sense of humanity, and connotes a widgetlike framework for that which is being...
Corporate monopolies 'may dominate green economy'
The new model of sustainable development ― the 'green economy' ― could benefit large firms at the expense of the poor, warns a report.
US-CERT says Wi-Fi hole open to brute force attack
(PhysOrg.com) -- The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has issued a warning about a security hole in the Wi-Fi Protected Set-up protocol for Wi-Fi routers. Security researcher Stefan Viehbock...
Video: "Big App for Meat" promises butcher's know-how
Butcher Pat LaFrieda's "Big App for Meat" was picked as an Apple "app of the week" in 2011. CNET's Bridget Carey spoke to LaFrieda about the app, which promises users...
Social robotics: Beyond the uncanny valley
(PhysOrg.com) -- From science fiction and academia through assembly lines and telemedicine, robots have become both physically and conceptually ubiquitous. Technologically, of course, robots have advanced dramatically since their namesake introduction in R.U.R. (Rossum's...
Review: 'W.E.L.D.E.R.' leads parade of iPad gems
So you just got an iPad for Christmas. You already have all the essentials loaded - Facebook, Twitter, iBooks, whatever news app you prefer.
MIT student builds self-balancing electric unicycle
(PhysOrg.com) -- If ever you go look outside at all the traffic on the road, it's hard to not come to the conclusion that what’s needed is a smaller vehicle;...
Spain cuts science ministry in government changeover
Spain cuts science ministry in government changeoverNature News , 23122011 doi: 10.1038/nature.2011.9725Michele CatanzaroResponsibility for research handed to minister of economy.
Citizen scientists' climate-impact survey wraps up
Citizen scientists' climate-impact survey wraps upNature News , 29122011 doi: 10.1038/nature.2011.9697Priya ShettyForest-monitoring project has measured 150,000 trees and provided researchers with reams of data.
Apple archive: Jobs, Wozniak starting out
Stanford's Apple Collection of historical materials will help historians, entrepreneurs and policymakers understand how a startup launched in a Silicon Valley garage became a global technology giant.
‘South Asian science collaboration hostage to political agendas’
South Asian countries should drop political agendas in favour of collaboration in sustainable development research, experts say.
US eyes first BP criminal charges over Gulf spill: WSJ
US prosecutors are readying criminal charges against British oil giant BP employees over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident that led to the catastrophic Gulf oil spill, The Wall Street Journal...
Singapore's SPH says Yahoo! plagiarised content
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which is suing Yahoo! for copyright infringement, has accused the US Internet company of plagiarising its works.
New York Schools Fail to Get Medicaid Money for Special-Needs Services
New York City has failed to recover tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements for services it provided to special-needs students in recent years.
Sensor technology helps Alberta seniors stay at home
Seniors in two Alberta cities are taking part in a pilot project to see if cameras and sensors connected to computers and smartphones can help them stay in their homes...
Train-switching system said vulnerable
BERLIN, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A shift to a mobile digital communications technology for train-switching could expose European rail networks to hackers, a security expert says.
Cast your vote for the year's weirdest science
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: 2011 had plenty of scientific weirdness, ranging from doomsday predictions to game-playing chimps. It's up to you to decide which weird tales take the prize.