Mars Rover Finds Intriguing New Evidence of Water

The first drill sample ever collected on Mars will come from a rockbed shot through with unexpected veins of what appears to be the mineral gypsum.Delighted members of the Curiosity science team announced Tuesday that the rover was now in a virtual "candy store" of scientific targets—the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay, is filled with many different materials that could...

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Sandy Aid Clears Huge Hurdle in Congress

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)Seventy-nine days after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Northeast, the House of Representatives voted this evening to approve about $50 billion of additional relief for the region pounded by the storm.The measure passed 241-180, mostly behind Democratic support, winning 49 votes from Republicans and 192 votes from Democrats. Just one Democrat opposed the legislation, while...

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Today on New Scientist: 14 January 2013

Activist's death sparks open-access tribute on Twitter Hundreds of researchers have been offering free access to their work in tribute to internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on Friday Exploding microchip could make arms dumps safer Shrapnel and bullets can set off huge explosions if they hit weapons stores. But microchip-based detonators could help keep them safeThe...

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Tilted jack-up rig in Jurong Shipyard restored

SINGAPORE: Jurong Shipyard has restored and floated the jack-up rig that tilted in 2012 to its original upright position.Eighty-nine workers were injured in the incident at the shipyard on 3 December.Sembcorp Marine said on Tuesday that with the rig now back to its upright position, Jurong Shipyard and the authorities will focus on investigations into what caused it to tilt.Repairs and...

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PayPal's in-store payment partners grow to 23 retailers

Increasingly bringing its service offline, PayPal announced today that it has nearly doubled its brick-and-mortar store lineup to 23 retailers that now accept its payment service. "Delivering valuable digital and mobile payments is alive and thriving, and consumers all over the U.S. will now start seeing PayPal more where they shop every day, including the grocery store and at the gas pump," PayPal's...

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"Fantastic" New Flying Frog Found—Has Flappy Forearms

Scientists have stumbled across a new species of flying frog—on the ground.While hiking a lowland forest in 2009, not far from Ho Chi Minh City (map), Vietnam, "we came across a huge green frog, sitting on a log," said Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney and lead author of a new study on the frog.Rowley later discovered that the 3.5-inch-long (9-centimeter-long)...

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Armstrong Admits Doping in Tour, Sources Say

Lance Armstrong today admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France, sources told ABC News.A goverment source tells ABC News that Armstrong is now talking with authorities about paying back some of the US Postal Service money from sponsoring his team. He is also talking to authorities about confessing and naming names, giving up...

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Benefits of emissions cuts kick in only next century

Are we the altruistic generation? Do we care what happens to our grandchildren, and to their children? Or are we with Groucho Marx when he said: "Why should I care about future generations? What have they ever done for me?" A new study of climate...

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"Homeland", "Girls" big TV winners at Golden Globes

LOS ANGELES: The terrorism-themed thriller "Homeland" and the quirky Brooklyn hipster comedy "Girls" took top television honours Sunday at the 70th annual Golden Globe awards."Homeland", which wrapped its second season on the Showtime cable channel last month, won for best dramatic series, and took home best actress and best actor honours for its two stars, Claire Danes and Britain's Damian...

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Apple reportedly cuts iPhone screen orders on weak demand

Apple's iPhone 5.(Credit:CNET)Apple is reportedly dialing down its iPhone component orders, a possible sign that demand for the smartphone is not quite as strong as Apple expected.Apple cut its orders last month for iPhone 5 screens for the first quarter of the 2013 calendar year by roughly half its original target, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant also...

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