Video games take off as a spectator sport

Editorial: "Give video games a sporting chance" EVERY sport has its idols and superstars. Now video gaming is getting them too. Professional gaming, or e-sports, exploded in popularity in the US and Europe last year. ...

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Britain to provide France with logistical support in Mali

LONDON: Britain will provide France with logistical military assistance during its intervention in Mali, but will not deploy any personnel in a combat role, the prime minister's office said Saturday."The Prime Minister has agreed that the UK will provide logistical military assistance to help transport foreign troops and equipment quickly to Mali," David Cameron's office said in a statement."We...

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Megan Fox struggles with Twitter

The pain. The anguish.(Credit:Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Twitter is an acquired taste.There are some who bathe in its immediacy and randomness. Others raise an eyebrow in condescending contemplation.Hundreds of thousands of sentient beings were recently uplifted when Megan Fox, she of many wonderful movies whose names one doesn't always remember -- decided to plunge into Twitter's dark waters.She...

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse CancelmoA fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Kin Were Suspicious

Urooj Khan had just brought home his $425,000 lottery check when he unexpectedly died the following day. Now, certain members of Khan's family are speaking publicly about the mystery -- and his nephew told ABC News they knew something was not right."He was a healthy guy, you know?" said the nephew, Minhaj Khan. "He worked so hard. He was always going about his business and,...

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Today on New Scientist: 11 January 2013

Largest structure challenges Einstein's smooth cosmos One-twentieth the diameter of the observable universe, a group of galaxies dents the cherished idea that the cosmos is uniform at large scalesStraitjacket drug halts herpes virus's escape stunt Herpes infections recur as the virus is adept at evading our defences, but a new drug that suppresses enzymes exploited by the virus seems effectiveZoologger:...

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Rockefeller to retire from US Senate

WASHINGTON: Veteran Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia announced Friday that he will not seek re-election to the US Senate next year, providing Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat.The lawmaker has been a longtime defender of the rights of laborers and the poor, and was an initial supporter of using US military force against the regime of Iraq's Saddam Hussein before...

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John McAfee brings his `Where's Waldo' act to Portland

A photo of software founder of John McAfee on Dec. 12, 2012. McAfee was released from detention in Guatemala and was scheduled to fly to the U.S.(Credit:CBS News) Last time we checked, John McAfee was on the lam from -- well, whoever it was that he said was after him in Belize. But the former software mogul, who was deported to the United States after fleeing to Guatemala, has decided to pitch his...

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Biggest Thing in Universe Found—Defies Scientific Theory

Talk about a whopper—astronomers have discovered a structure in the universe so large that modern cosmological theory says it should not exist, a new study says. (Also see "Giant 'Blob' Is Largest Thing in Universe [2006].")Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an international team of researchers has discovered a record-breaking cluster of quasars—young active galaxies—stretching...

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Poisoned Lottery Winner's Exhumation Approved

A judge has approved the exhumation of the Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning.Judge Susan Coleman of the Probate Division of the Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois today approved the county medical examiner's request to exhume the body of Urooj Khan at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.Khan, 46, died July 20, 2012, from what was initially believed to be natural...

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Muscle mimic pulls electricity from wet surface

Electricity has been squeezed from a damp surface for the first time, thanks to a polymer film that curls up and moves – a bit like an artificial muscle – when exposed to moisture. The film could be used to run small, wearable devices on nothing but sweat, or in remote locations where conventional electricity...

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US focused on Syria's chemical arms after Assad: Panetta

WASHINGTON: The United States is increasingly focused on how to secure Syria's chemical weapons if President Bashar al-Assad falls from power but is not considering sending ground troops into the war-torn country, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.While the US government has issued stern warnings to Damascus against resorting to such arms in its war with rebel forces, Panetta...

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The 3D sensor that could change our mobile lives

PrimeSense's 3D sensor, Capri is designed for mobile devices(Credit:Paul Sloan) LAS VEGAS -- When the company behind the gesture technology in the Kinect came to CES a year ago to show how its 3D sensors can enable people to control their TVs with simple gestures, its execs talked about how their sensors eventually would be embedded in mobile devices, opening up a range of possible applications.At...

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How "Cheating" Slime Mold Escapes Death

Cheaters do prosper—at least if you're a slime mold, a new study says.The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, found in most warm parts of the world, has an unusual life cycle. Most of the time Dicytostelium cells are "happy" single cells that hang out and eat bacteria, according to study leader Lorenzo Santorelli of the University of Oxford, who conducted the research while at Rice University...

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Jodi Arias' Lies Detailed at Murder Trial

The jury in the Jodi Arias murder trial watched a television interview today in which Arias said "no jury will convict me" for killing her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.Arias also said she could never imagine commiting such a violent act as killing Alexander. "I understand all the evidence is really compelling," she said in the interview. "In a nutshell, two people came in...

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Flower Power sensor gives everyone green fingers

Niall Firth, technology editorAre you one of those people that, as soon as they are get a new plant, it is merely a matter of time before the poor thing is just a sad, dried mass of shrivelled leaves? Then a new gadget called Flower Power, unveiled at the International CES trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday, could be just the thing to help you pretend your fingers really are green.Developed...

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Football: Swansea stun Chelsea in fresh League Cup shock

LONDON: Swansea produced the second surprise English League Cup semi-final first leg result after defeating Chelsea 2-0 at the European champions' Stamford Bridge ground on Wednesday.Though not as great an upset as fourth-tier Bradford City's 3-1 defeat of Premier League Aston Villa on Tuesday, Swansea's victory over their top flight rivals was still a surprise.Both Swansea goals in a...

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Medical robot RP-VITA gets FDA approval

Call 911: RP-VITA will show your doctor's face on its screen. It has onboard tools like a phone and stethoscope. (Credit:Tim Hornyak/CNET)LAS VEGAS--How would you feel if you were hospitalized and your doctor were talking to you through a 5-foot robot?RP-VITA (Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant) is a remote-, iPad-operated telepresence bot. It's become the first self-navigating...

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Pictures: Florida Wildlife Corridor to Protect Bears, Panthers

Photograph by Carlton WardBears in Florida aren't just the stuff of Disney—the Sunshine State is home to at least three thousand black bears, including M13, pictured, a male captured in Highlands County (map) in 2006.But due to human activities, bears and other Florida wildlife are increasingly isolated in remote patches of habitat, preventing them from moving freely through their territories and...

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Arias Kissed New Beau Day After Killing Boyfriend

Jodi Arias drove to the home of her new romantic interest, kissed him, and laughed with his friends just 24 hours after she stabbed and shot her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander to death, according to court testimony today.Ryan Burns, whom Arias met in the spring of 2008, took the stand today at the start of the fourth day of testimony in the trial.Arias, 32, is accused of murdering...

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Today on New Scientist: 8 January 2013

Mock Mars mission reveals salty surprise Unexpected findings from the "crew members" of the Mars 500 experiment may overturn a common assumption about how our body stores and excretes dietary salt 'Exocomets' abound in alien solar systems Planets around billions of stars may be getting pummelled by the icy dirt-balls in the same way that the young Earth once wasAustralia faces another week...

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Football: Bradford stun Villa to close on League Cup final

BRADFORD: Fourth-tier Bradford City continued their extraordinary League Cup journey by upsetting Premier League Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday.Nehki Wells, Rory McArdle and Carl McHugh scored for the hosts at a raucous Valley Parade, with Andreas Weimann replying for Villa, as the Yorkshire club closed on a first major final since their FA Cup success...

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Apple prepping a less-expensive iPhone, WSJ reports

Maybe Apple really is developing a low-cost version of its flagship iPhone. Following a rumor floated this morning by the less-than-reliable Taiwanese site Digitimes, the Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple could launch a cheaper iPhone -- presumably aimed at the developing world -- as early as this year.More to c...

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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat

Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto AgencySmoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational...

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CIA Nominee May Have 'Zero Dark Thirty' Problem

Navy SEALs are seen fighting through a dust storm in the new thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty." (Columbia Pictures/AP Photo)There’s only one White House staffer portrayed in the new movie “Zero Dark Thirty,” and it is someone described in the credits as “National Security Advisor.”It’s a position that’s possibly filled in real life by John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism...

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World's oldest pills treated sore eyes

In ancient Rome, physicians treated sore eyes with the same active ingredients as today. So suggests an analysis of pills found on the Relitto del Pozzino, a cargo ship wrecked off the Italian coast in around 140 BC. "To our knowledge,...

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Football: Italy pledges action on football racists

MILAN: Italian interior minister Annamaria Cancellieri on Monday called for "more incisive" action to be taken to end the abuse of non-white players by racist fans.Cancellieri was speaking after AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng last week responded to racist chants by a small group of fans during a friendly against fourth division side Pro Patria by storming off the pitch.He was followed...

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The "Internet of Things" gets a consortium

Buzzword Central, also known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is getting a new entry. In the never-ending quest to hook up the physical and digital worlds -- as we wait for the world of networked computing to spread beyond the boundaries of computers and smartphones to just about anything -- a new consortium will hold its first meeting this week at CES to compare notes. The so-called "Internet of...

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Wasp Larvae Practice Food Safety

From refrigeration and pasteurization to hand washing and health inspections, humans go to great lengths to prevent foodborne illnesses—and it turns out we're not alone. A new study reveals that the parasitic emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa) has developed its own food hygiene technique, cleansing its cockroach victim using a cocktail of antimicrobial liquids.(Read a related article...

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