|  Apple CEO: More computer science and coding education needed  | Apple CEO Tim Cook says teaching coding to kids is just as important as teaching any other foreign language. And the younger kids start learning it, the better. Cook spoke to a group of New York third ...
| Read More » Modest Chinese dinosaur was forerunner to later horned behemoths  | By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With their elaborate horns, bony neck frills and bulldozer-like bodies, members of the horned dinosaur group like Triceratops were among Earth's most impressive beasts during the Cretaceous Period near the end of the age of dinosaurs. At about 3 feet long (1 meter), it was much smaller than later members of the group, formally called ceratopsians. Triceratops, which lived alongside Tyrannosaurus rex in western North America about 67 million years ago, exceeded 30 feet (9 meters) in length.
| Read More » First ever test-tube dogs give 'puppy love' a new meaning  | By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rarely is a major scientific breakthrough so darn cute. Dogs share more than 350 similar heritable disorders and traits with humans, almost twice as many as any other species, according to the paper.
| Read More » 5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Make Your Gifts Meaningful Holiday gift buying can feel a little empty, when all of those endless lists, long lines at the mall and dollars spent lead to a 5-minute frenzy of flying wrapping paper and ribbon. Years of scientific research on gift giving have turned up a few ways to make the whole process a little more fulfilling. The following tips can help make gift giving more meaningful for both the giver and the recipient. Read More » Novel Chemical 'Washes Away' Alzheimer's Plaque in Mice Scientists in Korea have found a small molecule that, when added to the drinking water of mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease, washed away the protein plaques associated with the disease and improved the mice's learning and memory functions. The chemical, called EPPS — short for 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1- piperazinepropanesulphonic acid — posed no ill effect for the mice even at high doses. The scientists hope to conduct further studies to determine whether the EPPS is safe and effective for humans with Alzheimer's disease. Read More » Only Half of Overweight Americans Are Serious About Weight Loss Most overweight Americans want to lose a few pounds, but only half say they are seriously trying to do so, a new poll suggests. The poll was conducted last month, and participants were asked to report their actual weight and their ideal weight. For men, the average weight was 196 lbs. (89 kg), and the average ideal weight was 183 lbs. (83 kg). Read More » Being Happy Doesn't Really Increase Your Life Span  | In other words, poor health, and not unhappiness, was the true cause of early death, the researchers said. "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you ill," study researcher Bette Liu, of the University of New South Wales in Australia, said in a statement.
| Read More » 50 Shades of Green? Environmental Attitudes Vary Widely in US  | You don't have to be a nature lover to be "green." A new survey suggests that Americans' attitudes about protecting the environment aren't just linked to their love of the great outdoors. Turns out, religion and politics might be strongly tied to how people perceive environmental issues, according to the survey of 1,500 Americans who answered questions about their interactions with the natural world, their religious and political beliefs and their stance on environmental issues, such as global warming. Based on the answers, the researchers created nine distinct profiles, or "shades" of green: Only 10 percent of Americans fall into the group that the researchers labeled "outdoor greens." This group consists of staunch environmentalists who also spend a lot of time enjoying nature.
| Read More » Dinosaur Blood Vessels Survived 80 Million Years Without Fossilizing  | Tiny, delicate vessels that carried blood through a duck-billed dinosaur 80 million years ago never fossilized and still contain the beast's tissue, a new study finds. Researchers discovered the prize specimens on the femur (leg bone) of Brachylophosaurus canadensis, a 30-foot-long (9 meters) duck-billed dinosaur that was excavated in Montana in 2007. Now, several tests show that the specimens are the original blood vessels, making them the oldest blood vessels on record to survive with their original components, the researchers said.
| Read More » IVF Puppies: First Litter Born by In Vitro Fertilization  | The first-ever litter of puppies conceived through in vitro fertilization was born recently, unlocking a reproductive secret in domestic dogs that has helped researchers solve a decades-old canine biology puzzle. The findings, published online today (Dec. 9) in the journal PLOS ONE, outline the eggs-ceptional process that produced seven healthy puppies — five with two beagle parents and two with a cocker spaniel father and a beagle mother — born by scheduled caesarian section to a host female dog. In vitro ("outside the body") fertilization, also known as IVF, combines the egg and sperm in an artificial environment, creating an embryo that is then implanted in a host that carries it to full term.
| Read More » Angkor Wat Yields Astounding Buried Towers & Spiral Structure  | Eight buried towers and the remains of a massive spiral structure created from sand have been discovered at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The massive structure — almost a mile long — contains a spiral design, with several rectangular spirals that form a giant structure, archaeologists say. "This structure, which has dimensions of more than 1,500 m × 600 m (about 1 mile by 1,970 feet) is the most striking discovery associated with Angkor Wat to date.
| Read More » Da Vinci Droid & Dancing Machines: Japan Convention's Coolest Bots  | Leonardo da Vinci (or rather, a robot that looks a heck of a lot like the Renaissance painter and inventor) made an appearance at a robotics show in Japan last week. The humanoid da Vinci bot was on display at the Robot Exhibition 2015 (iREX), a biannual convention that opened in Tokyo on Dec. 2. With its long white beard, bright blue eyes and pensive facial expressions, the da Vinci robot really does bear a striking resemblance to the man best known as the inventor of flying machines and painter of the Mona Lisa.
| Read More » Bigger Smiles, Less Hair: How Yearbook Photos Have Changed  | People now may have more to smile about — at least when it comes to their yearbook photos. High school seniors today are much more likely to smile for the camera in their senior- year snaps, compared with the turn of the 20th century, new research finds. Few young women now would contemplate shellacking their hair into a beehive, instead opting for longer, more natural locks, said study lead author Shiry Ginosar, a doctoral candidate in computer science at the University of California at Berkeley.
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