Brontosaurus determined to exist as distinct member of one of 15-18 Diplodocid dinosaur species

A team of paleontologists led by Emanuel Tschopp at the New University of Lisbon in Portugal has just completed a massive computer analysis of fossils in a group of dinosaurs called Diplodocids. They found that Brontosaurus are its own group. Its fossils share distinct, incomparable bone features—enough for it to reclaim its iconic genus name. …

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Parameters of the nuclear framework deal with Iran are trying to get breakout time from 2-3 months to over 12 months

The Whitehouse has issued a press release with details of the parameters of the nuclear framework deal. The US is trying to go for 12+ month to nuclear breakout instead of 2-3 months. Breakout meaning how long to get the first bomb from the point of following the agreement and when they stopped following and …

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FISO Presentation – Status of the VASIMR solar electric propulsion system

Without funding support, the FISO telecon colloquia is an extracurricular activity. The telecon became less a working group tag-up and more, as it is exclusively now, an opportunity for a wide community to be presented with recent work relevant to in-space operations. It is important to understand that the FISO telecon is not a formal …

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Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2 crashed

SpaceShipTwo’s pilot ejected as disaster struck and suffered moderate to severe injuries, it has been revealed. His co-pilot was killed in the crash. Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft SpaceShipTwo has crashed during a test flight following what the firm has called a ‘serious anomaly.’ One of the two pilots on board is reported to have died and …

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Another candidate for inexpensive cancer detection blood tests

A Hong Kong scientist who invented a simple blood test to show pregnant women if their babies have Down syndrome is now testing a similar technology for cancer. Yuk Ming “Dennis” Lo says screening for signs of cancer from a simple blood draw could cost as little as $1,000. The test works by studying DNA …

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China will become a nuclear triad power this year

A nuclear triad refers to a nuclear arsenal which consists of three components, traditionally strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The purpose of having a three-branched nuclear capability is to significantly reduce the possibility that an enemy could destroy all of a nation’s nuclear forces in a first-strike attack; this, …

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HP 3D Printer will be ten faster, cheaper with 5 micron precision

Hewlett-Packard finally is making a big bet on 3D printing. Although HP is targeting a crowded market, the company’s inkjet technology — announced today — looks so revolutionary to analyst Terry Wohlers that he predicts “it could even put some other companies out of business.” HP’s Multi Jet Fusion TM technology can offer new levels …

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Uranium from seawater using metal organic frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are many times lighter than proteins, while still capable of achieving similar local structure. A protein that absorbs one uranium atom extracts less than one-tenth of one percent of its final mass. A MOF cage offers similar three-dimensional connectivity as the protein, but weighs around 100 times less and may have multiple …

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Roger Shawyer still believes Emdrive will Scale to hundreds of Newtons per kilowatt

Roger Shawyer made a presentation of the controversial EMdrive. At the IAC 2014 conference in Toronto, Roger Shawyer stated that 8 sets of test data have now verified EmDrive theory. These data sets resulted from thrust measurements on 7 different thrusters, by 4 independent organisations, in 3 different countries. The NASA experiments did not show …

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China fielding its submarines with nuclear missiles

China is expected to pass a military milestone this year when it sets a different type of sub to sea—a “boomer,” carrying fully armed nuclear missiles for the first time—says the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, or ONI. Chinese already has nuclear-powered submarines and hunter killer submarines. China has fulfilled its four-decade quest to join …

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Scientists make human stomach tissue with stem cells

Scientists used pluripotent stem cells to generate functional, three-dimensional human stomach tissue in a laboratory — creating an unprecedented tool for researching the development and diseases of an organ central to several public health crises, ranging from cancer to diabetes. Scientists used human pluripotent stem cells — which can become any cell type in the …

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