Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms

The polar ice sheets are indeed shrinking—and fast, according to a comprehensive new study on climate change. And the effects, according to an international team, are equally clear—sea levels are rising faster than predicted, which could bring about disastrous effects for people and wildlife.Rising seas would increase the risk of catastrophic flooding like that caused by Hurricane Sandy...

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Obama Lunches With Romney as 'Cliff' Talks Falter

President Obama and Mitt Romney met face to face today for the first time since the election, breaking bread at the White House as talks over the looming "fiscal cliff" appeared to be faltering on Capitol Hill."I bet it was and is quite tasty," Obama spokesman Jay Carney said of the lunch as it was underway, "because [the chefs] know how to prepare very fine meals."The menu...

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Today on New Scientist: 28 November 2012

Out-of-proportion black hole is a rare cosmic fossil A fairly small galaxy is host to a strangely enormous black hole, which could be a remnant of a quasar from the dawn of timeFlowing lithium atoms form accidental transistor A transistor that controls the flow of atoms, rather than electrons, could be used as a model to probe the mysterious electrical property of superconductivityEurope in...

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Football: Fulham deny Benitez a first Chelsea goal

LONDON: Rafael Benitez was still searching for his first win since his controversial appointment as Chelsea manager after they were held to a goalless draw by Fulham in a west London derby at Stamford Bridge.Wednesday saw Benitez largely spared the hostile reception he received during his first game in charge against Premier League champions Manchester City -- also a scoreless draw --...

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3D printer on moon or Mars could make tools from local rocks

No blue cheese: Manufacturing with moon rocks is feasible, researchers have shown.(Credit:Tim Hornyak/CNET)NASA is already experimenting with printing components for rockets to Mars, but the fun doesn't have to stop at liftoff. Researchers at Washington State University and NASA have published a paper suggesting that rocks on the moon or Mars could be used to print useful objects like tools or replacement...

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Black Hole Blast Biggest Ever Recorded

Astronomers have witnessed a record-breaking blast of gas and dust flowing out of a monster black hole more than 11.5 billion light-years away.The supermassive gravity well, with a mass of one to three billion suns, lurks at the core of a quasar—a class of extremely bright and energetic galaxies—dubbed SDSS J1106 1939. (See "Black Hole Blasts Superheated Early Universe.")"We discovered...

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Dos, Don'ts of Powerball Office Pools

Powerball fever is sweeping the nation.The Powerball jackpot is at a record high of $550 million. And with the winnings so high, everyone is rushing to buy a ticket in the hope that they'll be the lucky winner.A popular means of lotto ticket purchasing is an office pool -- in which a group of colleagues pools their money, buys a slate of tickets together and promises to share the...

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Football: Redknapp's QPR debut yields point

LONDON: Harry Redknapp's first match as Queens Park Rangers manager saw the Premier League basement club collect a point in a goalless draw away to Sunderland on Tuesday.It was QPR's first point since they drew 1-1 with Reading on November 4 but the result meant the west London club, who last week sacked Mark Hughes as their manager, remained bottom of the table.But in the day's other...

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Yelp CEO: Yep, Google can be pretty evil

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman speaks during a Business Insider conference in New York.(Credit:Dan Farber/CNET) NEW YORK--Sure, Google can be pretty evil, Yelp Chief Executive Jeremy Stoppelman said. Stoppelman, speaking at a Business Insider conference, responded to a question from Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider deputy editor, about whether Google is evil. While he didn't straight out call the larger...

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Pictures: Falcon Massacre Uncovered in India

Photograph courtesy Conservation IndiaA young boy can sell bundles of fresh Amur falcons (pictured) for less than five dollars. Still, when multiplied by the thousands of falcons hunters can catch in a day, the practice can be a considerable financial boon to these groups.Since discovering the extent of Amur hunting in Nagaland this fall, Conservation India has taken the issue to the local Indian...

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