Quadruple DNA helix discovered in human cells

Sixty years after James Watson and Francis Crick established that DNA forms a double helix, a quadruple-stranded DNA helix has turned up. Quadruple helices that intertwine four, rather than two, DNA strands had been made in the laboratory,...

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Auction for Singapore's F&N begins

SINGAPORE: A rare auction for a listed Singaporean company opened on Monday with Thai and Indonesian tycoons facing off to take over diversified conglomerate Fraser and Neave (F&N).The auction was called by a stock-market watchdog to resolve a protracted battle for F&N after it sold off its most prized asset, Tiger Beer maker Asia Pacific Breweries, to Dutch giant Heineken in September.At...

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Where to watch Obama's inauguration online

President Obama was sworn in for his second term today in a quiet ceremony at the White House. But it was a simple prelude to the festivities that will take place tomorrow when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are sworn in outside of the U.S. Capital before hundreds of thousands of spectators -- and countless more who will be tuning in online to watch the event.The last presidential inauguration...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Obamas Share the Love, Even for Michelle's Bangs

Jan 20, 2013 10:49pm (Charles Dharapak/AP Photo)President Obama used the first public remarks of his second term to address what he called the “most significant” event of this weekend: his wife’s much-talked-about new haircut.“I love her bangs,” Obama told supporters at an inaugural reception at the National Building Museum. “She looks good. She always looks good.”First...

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Hundreds stranded as Scoot flights delayed

SINGAPORE: Hundreds of passengers were stranded after their flights on the budget airline Scoot were delayed.Callers to the MediaCorp News hotline said flights from Singapore to Bangkok in Thailand and back, and flights from Singapore to Tianjin in China were affected.One caller reported that more than 300 passengers were stuck at Changi Airport after their scheduled flight TZ88 to Tianjin...

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Memorial service honors Swartz as activist, individual

Perhaps not surprisingly, one of the main threads running through today's memorial service in New York City for tech activist Aaron Swartz was a call to action.That call arose again and again from varied speakers, and was sounded as one of the final notes of the observance when master of ceremonies Ben Wikler, a political campaigner and friend of Swartz's, announced that the service had come to an...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Algeria Hostage Crisis Over, One American Dead

After the Algerian military's final assault on terrorists holding hostages at a gas complex, the four-day hostage crisis is over, but apparently with additional loss of life among the foreign hostages.One American, Fred Buttaccio of Texas, has been confirmed dead by the U.S. State Department. Two more U.S. hostages remain unaccounted for, with growing concern among U.S. officials...

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NASA planet-hunter is injured and resting

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter(Image: NASA/Kepler mission/Wendy Stenzel)NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has put its search for alien Earths on hold while it rests a stressed reaction wheel.The injured wheel normally helps to control the telescope's orientation, keeping it pointed continuously at the same patch of sky. Kepler stares at the thousands of stars in its field of view...

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