Zebrafish made to grow pre-hands instead of fins

PERHAPS the little fish embryo shown here is dancing a jig because it has just discovered that it has legs instead of fins. Fossils show that limbs evolved from fins, but a new study shows how it may have happened, live in the lab. ...

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Philippines says rebels violating typhoon truce

MANILA: The Philippine government on Saturday accused Maoist rebels of violating a self-imposed truce in typhoon-hit areas with attacks on government forces involved in rescue and relief work.The New People's Army (NPA) guerrilla group began a 29-day unilateral ceasefire on December 5 to allow what it said would be unhampered rescue and relief work for victims of Typhoon Bopha that had...

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Do I really need insurance for my smartphone?

You may have only paid $200 for your latest smartphone, but if you had to replace that device before you are eligible for a subsidy from your carrier it cost your more than $600. Is it worth it to get device insurance?That's the question I answer this time in Ask Maggie. I also offer some advice to an Apple iPhone fan who wants to know if he should wait for the next iPhone rumored to be out in June...

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National GeographicThe aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles...

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School Shooting: Officials Seek Picture of Gunman

The FBI is in at least three states interviewing relatives and friends of the elementary school gunman who killed 20 children, seven adults and himself, trying to put together a better picture of the shooter and uncover any possible explanation for the massacre, ABC News has learned.The authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview relatives...

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Touchpad steering wheel keeps eyes on the road

DRIVING would be less of a cognitive burden if you could keep your eyes on the road, instead of looking down to check your speed, fuel gauge or satnav. That's the thinking behind a new touch-sensitive steering wheel, which allows drivers to call up information on a head-up display on the windscreen, just off the...

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Philippines' agriculture sector suffers US$270m damage from typhoon

COMPOSTELA VALLEY, Mindanao: Damage caused by Typhoon Bopha to agriculture in the Philippines has reached more than US$270 million.Victims lost not just their homes, but also their livelihood.In an instant, 60-year-old Aurelia Yray lost everything to Typhoon Bopha.The storm also wiped out the banana plantation that serves as her family's main source of income."We do not have anymore livelihood....

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Crave giveaway: Sprint LG Optimus G smartphone

Congrats to Oliver M. of Anaheim, Calif., for winning a copy of Symantec's Norton 360 Multi-Device security suite in last week's giveaway. Now, for this week's prize... Is your smartphone starting to look (and act) a bit shabby? You're in luck! We're offering up a free LG Optimus G from Sprint (please note: you'll be responsible for your own voice and data plan; Sprint includes an unlimited data plan...

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Global Checkup: Most People Living Longer, But Sicker

If the world's entire population went in for a collective checkup, would the doctor's prognosis be good or bad? Both, according to new studies published in The Lancet medical journal.The vast collaborative effort, called the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010, includes papers by nearly 500 authors in 50 countries. Spanning four decades of data, it represents...

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What Is a Right-to-Work Law?

This week Michigan became the 24th state in the country to adopt a right-to-work law. The passage of the bill by the state legislature, and eventual signing by Rick Snyder, the state's Republican governor, brought a huge wave of protests in a state with deep union roots.Right-to-work laws have garnered a lot of national attention in recent years as more states have implemented...

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'Robot ecosystem' in sight as apps get a cash boost

APPS aren't just for your smartphone. The one-year-old Robot-App Store got a cash boost this week in the form of $250,000 from the first company dedicated to investing in consumer robotics. Dmitry Grishin, founder of Grishin Robotics,...

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35-year-old man jailed for causing death of motorcyclist

SINGAPORE: A man who caused the death of a motorcyclist, and cajoled his friend into lying for him to escape punishment, was sentenced to 30 months' jail on Thursday.35-year-old Sivabalan Suppiah, who is self-employed, was also disqualified from driving for 12 years.Suppiah was found guilty of one count of causing the death of 51-year-old Jalal Abdul Rahman by driving dangerously, and...

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U.N. summit derailed over human rights controversy

China's delegation, shown here at the Dubai summit that ends Friday, cited the "security of the state" when objecting to human rights language.(Credit:ITU)A United Nations summit suddenly ran aground today after China, Algeria, and Iran objected to a U.S.-backed proposal that would include a mention of "human rights obligations" in a proposed telecommunications treaty.Algeria's delegate warned at...

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Hubble Discovers Oldest Known Galaxy

The Hubble space telescope has discovered seven primitive galaxies formed in the earliest days of the cosmos, including one believed to be the oldest ever detected.The discovery, announced Wednesday, is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field campaign to determine how and when galaxies first assembled following the Big Bang."This 'cosmic dawn' was not a single, dramatic event," said astrophysicist...

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N. Korean Missile Hits Target of Alarming the World

North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile hit its target: it bolstered the standing of its young tyrant Kim Jong Un and raised the specter of being able to eventually strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon.The pride in the success of the launch -- after several failures -- is a huge boost for Kim Jong Un, 29, who took power one year ago. He has...

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Boxing: Philippines' Pacquiao promises to 'rise again'

MANILA: Philippines boxing icon Manny Pacquiao vowed to "rise again" as he flew home Wednesday after a brutal knockout defeat that prompted some fans and experts to urge him to retire."Don't worry, we will rise again," he told well-wishers as arrived in Manila from the United States, where he suffered his second consecutive loss with a sixth-round knockout by Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez...

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MediaTek joins Samsung, Nvidia quad-core club

MediaTek will take on Samsung and Nvidia in the emerging market for mobile quad-core chips. The Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company today announced the MT6589, a quad-core system-on-a-chip (SoC) that integrates a modem supporting HSPA+ and other international standards. Integration of a modem into a quad-core chip is a first, the company says. The processor is based on ARM's Cortex-A7 design, the same...

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Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal ObservatoryThis image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon...

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Gunman 'Tentatively' Identified in Oregon Shooting

A masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two individuals before killing himself, has been "tentatively" identified by police, though they have not yet released his name.The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing, and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering...

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Mandela has lung infection, says government

  JOHANNESBURG: Ailing Nelson Mandela has a lung infection but is responding to treatment, South Africa's government said Tuesday, as the revered anti-apartheid icon spent his fourth day in hospital."Doctors have concluded the tests, and these have revealed a recurrence of a previous lung infection, for which Madiba is receiving appropriate treatment and he is responding to the treatment,"...

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Twitter vs. Instagram in a knock-down, drag out filters fight

With one bold step Monday, Twitter took the photo filtering fight directly to Instagram.Until yesterday, Instagram was the undisputed leader when it comes to mobile photo filtering and sharing. But with its release of a new version of its mobile app that enables filters, Twitter has launched a very credible challenge to the crown.To be sure, Instagram has a massive lead, and a very passionate community....

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U.K. Dash for Shale Gas a Test for Global Fracking

Thomas K. Grose in London The starting gun has sounded for the United Kingdom's "dash for gas," as the media here have dubbed it.As early as this week, a moratorium on shale gas production is expected to be lifted. And plans to streamline and speed the regulatory process through a new Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil were unveiled last week in the annual autumn budget statement by...

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SEAL Killed in Rescue Mission Identified

The Pentagon has identified Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque as the Navy SEAL who died of injuries sustained in the successful rescue of an American doctor from the Taliban over the weekend.Checque, who hailed from Monroeville, Pa., died of "combat related injuries," according to a Pentagon release. Though the release only said Checque was assigned to "an East Coast-based...

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Why the world is arguing over who runs the internet

The ethos of freedom from control that underpins the web is facing its first serious test, says Wendy M. Grossman WHO runs the internet? For the past 30 years, pretty much no one. Some governments might call this a bug, but to the engineers who designed the protocols, standards, naming and numbering systems...

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Greece extends debt buyback to Tuesday

ATHENS: Greece announced it had extended until Tuesday a debt buyback offer, the success of which is key for it to receive bailout funding from the EU and IMF without which it could soon go bankrupt."We have decided to extend the invitation to offer designated securities for exchange to 11 December 2012," the head of Greece's PDMA debt management agency, Stelios Papadopoulos, said in a...

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