New Theory on How Homing Pigeons Find Home

Jane J. Lee Homing pigeons (Columba livia) have been prized for their navigational abilities for thousands of years. They've served as messengers during war, as a means of long-distance communication, and as prized athletes in international races.But there are places around the world that seem to confuse these birds—areas where they repeatedly vanish in the wrong direction or scatter on...

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Former Police Captain Cleared of Ex-Wife's Murder

A former Ohio police captain has been cleared in the murder of his ex-wife and released from prison, where he had been for 15 years -- but prosecutors say they plan to appeal the ruling."I'm just a jumble of emotions and I just can't wait to hug all of my family," Douglas Prade told reporters outside the prison when he was released Tuesday afternoon, according to ABC News' Cleveland...

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Today on New Scientist: 29 January 2013

Creatures of the air caught in the mist Photographer Todd Forsgren uses mist nets to briefly ensnare a variety of tropical South American birds before releasing them, unharmedDrug reduces enlarged prostate with few side effects Shrinking enlarged prostates by blocking a potent growth factor could avoid problems - such as erectile dysfunction - that accompany current treatmentsClimate change blamed...

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Million mourners set to honour Cambodia's ex-king

PHNOM PENH: More than one million mourners are expected to line the streets of the Cambodian capital on Friday for a lavish funeral procession for their revered former King Norodom Sihanouk, officials say.The late monarch's body will be transported atop a golden float shaped like a mythological bird from the royal palace -- where he has been lying in state for three months -- to a funeral...

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Obama backs immigration reform for skilled tech workers

Obama announced today that he backs immigration reform.(Credit:White House)Tech companies may score a victory in their hopes to get immigration reform passed for skilled tech workers. President Obama urged Congress today to work on immigration policy that would allow foreign-born startup founders to stay in the country. At the same time, several U.S. senators introduced a bill focusing on the same....

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Timbuktu’s vulnerable manuscripts are city’s "gold"

French and Malian troops surrounded Timbuktu on Monday and began combing the labyrinthine city for Islamist fighters. Witnesses, however, said the Islamists, who claim an affiliation to al Qaeda and had imposed a Taliban-style rule in the northern Malian city over the last ten months, slipped into the desert a few days earlier. But before fleeing, the militants reportedly set fire to several...

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Clinton Talks 2016, Stands by Benghazi Testimony

In her final television interview as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton told ABC's Cynthia McFadden that she is "flattered and honored" at the intense interest in whether she might run for president in 2016.But Clinton maintained that right now she's "not focused" on a presidential campaign; instead she said she wants to return to a "normal" life when she steps down from office...

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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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"Off the scale" smog envelops Beijing again

BEIJING: Pollution levels in Beijing rose above index limits on Tuesday, the US embassy said, as a dense cloud of haze shrouded large swathes of northern China.Mask-wearing residents of the capital battled through a second consecutive day of pollution at hazardous levels, despite Beijing municipal authorities warning those with respiratory difficulties to stay indoors.It is at least the...

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'Citizen cartographers' help Google update maps of N. Korea

City center or Pyongyang, North Korea.(Credit:Google)Maps of North Korea's landscape have for decades been largely blank, but thanks to "a community of citizen cartographers," Google Maps has managed to fill in some of the blanks.Tapping input submitted to its Google Map Maker tool, the Web giant has added more detailed, up-to-date information to its maps of the reclusive nation, including streets,...

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