Quantum skyfall puts Einstein's gravity to the test

DIVIDING a falling cloud of frozen atoms sounds like an exotic weather experiment. In fact, it's the latest way to probe whether tiny objects obey Einstein's theory of general relativity, our leading explanation for gravity. General relativity is based...

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Australian government pension fund dumps tobacco

SYDNEY: The Australian government's pension fund for public servants Thursday announced it would sell off its A$222 (US$228) million holdings in tobacco companies following the nation's move towards plain packaging.The Future Fund, which manages some A$80 billion in retirement savings for government workers, said it had decided to "exclude primary tobacco producers from its investment...

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Urine sample app lets users detect diseases with iPhones

The Uchek app lets users take urine samples with their smartphones.(Credit:Uchek)Ever thought a smartphone could detect what was in your urine? Well, now it can. A new iPhone app developed by MIT entrepreneur Myshkin Ingawale, unveiled at the TED conference this week lets people take urine samples with their mobile device. Obviously, pee and electronics don't mix, so this app instead uses the smartphone's...

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Why African Rhinos Are Facing a Crisis

The body count for African rhinos killed for their horns is approaching crisis proportions, according to the latest figures released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). To National Geographic reporter Peter Gwin, the dire numbers—a rhinoceros slain every 11 minutes since the beginning of 2013—don't come as a surprise. "The killing will continue as long as...

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Arias Prosecutor Too Combative, Experts Say

He has barked, yelled, been sarcastic and demanded answers from accused murderer Jodi Arias this week.And in doing so, prosecutor Juan Martinez and his aggressive antics may be turning off the jury he is hoping to convince that Arias killed her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, experts told ABCNews.com today."Martinez is his own worst enemy," Mel McDonald, a prominent...

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Newly spotted comet to buzz Mars in 2014

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporterA Martian sunset, as seen by NASA's Spirit rover in 2005. (Image: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Texas A&M, Cornell, JPL, NASA)There's a new comet in town, and it is making a beeline for Mars. If projections of its orbit are correct, the icy visitor will buzz the Red Planet in October 2014.Dubbed C/2013 A1, the comet was discovered on 3 January by prolific...

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Blaze in illegal Kolkata market kills 13: officials

KOLKATA: A fire swept through a six-storey building housing an illegal market in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Wednesday, killing 13 people who were unable to escape the inferno, local officials said."The death toll in the Surya Sen Market fire has jumped to 13," state fire services minister Javed Khan told AFP. "The market has only one exit point and those who stayed in the market...

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Feds strike a deal with alleged illegal streaming site operator

Homeland Security banner that goes on seized domain name sites.(Credit:Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET)After taking down Channelsurfing.net and arresting its alleged owner in 2011, the Feds now seem to be easing up. Before going to trial, the government struck a deal earlier this month with the alleged site owner Brian McCarthy. In a "Deferred Prosecution" memo filed on February 11, which was obtained...

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A History of Balloon Crashes

A hot-air balloon exploded in Egypt yesterday as it carried 19 people over ancient ruins near Luxor. The cause is believed to be a torn gas hose. In Egypt as in many other countries, balloon rides are a popular way to sightsee. (Read about unmanned flight in National Geographic magazine.)The sport of hot-air ballooning dates to 1783, when a French balloon took to the skies with a sheep,...

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Inside Organized Retail Crime Raids

We used to call it shoplifting, but these days the foot soldiers of retail crime rings are known as boosters. Police even have an acronym for these operations: ORC, which stands for Organized Retail Crime."It's just like a Fortune 500 company," said Sergeant Eric Lee of the Gardena Police Department in Gardena, Calif. "All of this is just organized."Watch the full story on "Nightline"...

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