Today on New Scientist: 18 December 2012

Violent polar storms help control the world's weather

Without the mini-hurricanes which form over the Arctic, the world could face massive weather disruption

Ancient city of Troy rebranded itself after war

Changing styles of pottery 3200 years ago show the Trojans were quick to align themselves with the region's new political power

Court ruling will clarify end-of-life decisions

Canada's supreme court will soon rule on whether doctors can stop treatment for "unconscious" patients, but determining awareness remains a thorny issue

Colourful claw of tiny ocean predator

See a prizewinning photo of the claw of a Phronima: a tiny marine predator whose size belies its ferocity

Gaming chair mimics a full-motion simulator

If you can't afford a full-motion flight or car simulator, here's a cheap way of creating some of the same effects

How an ancient Egyptian code unmasked a cannibal star

Has a papyrus from the time of the pharaohs exposed the ghoulish habits of the baleful Demon Star? Stephen Battersby investigates

Best videos of 2012: Bonobo genius makes stone tools

Watch a creative bonobo fashion tools to retrieve hidden food, at number 9 in our countdown of the year's best videos

Is the obesity epidemic caused by too much sugar?

In Fat Chance, endocrinologist Robert Lustig argues that insidious changes to our eating habits have caused disruptions to our endocrine systems

'The idea we live in a simulation isn't science fiction'

If the universe is just a Matrix-like simulation, how could we ever know? Physicist Silas Beane thinks he has the answer

Fungal frog killer hops into crayfish

Crayfish are vulnerable to the same chytrid fungus already killing frogs all over the world. The discovery provides a clue to how the disease spreads

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Samsung is top 2012 phone brand

WASHINGTON: Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the top mobile phone brand for 2012 and has opened up a decisive lead over Apple in the smartphone market, a research firm said Tuesday.

This will mark the first time in 14 years that Finnish-based Nokia will not sit atop the global mobile phone business on an annual basis, according to IHS iSuppli.

Samsung is expected to account for 29 per cent of worldwide cellphone shipments, up from 24 per cent in 2011, according to the IHS, which said Nokia's share dropped to 24 per cent from 30 per cent.

This will mark the first time the South Korean electronics giant will occupy the top on a yearly basis, IHS said.

Samsung has also extended its lead over Apple as the top maker of smartphones worldwide, the survey said. Samsung will have 28 per cent of the market, up from 20 per cent in 2011, while Apple's share will rise in 2012 to to 20 per cent from 19 per cent.

"The competitive reality of the cellphone market in 2012 was 'live by the smartphone; die by the smartphone,'" said Wayne Lam, senior analyst at IHS.

"Smartphones represent the fastest-growing segment of the cellphone market and will account for nearly half of all wireless handset shipments for all of 2012. Samsung's successes and Nokia's struggles in the cellphone market this year were determined entirely by the two companies' divergent fortunes in the smartphone sector."

IHS said global smartphone shipments are set to rise by 35.5 per cent this year, while overall cellphone shipments will increase by just one per cent. This will propel 2012 smartphone penetration to 47 per cent, up from 35 per cent in 2011.

IHS noted that Samsung produces dozens of smartphone models every year that address all segments of the market, from the high-end to the low-end. Nokia is transitioning its smartphone line to the Windows operating system, resulting in declining shipments for the company.

Sales of Nokia's older Symbian-based phones have plunged, while its new Microsoft Windows-based handsets have been modest so far.

IHS said Samsung, which was in a tight battle in 2011 with Apple, has moved ahead decisively ahead of the California giant with a wide range of Android smartphone offerings, while Apple limited its smartphones to the premium iPhone line.

The report said BlackBerry maker Research in Motion will see its market share fall to five per cent in 2012, from 11 per cent in 2011.

IHS said it expects smartphones gains to accelerate in 2013, and to account for 56 per cent of the mobile phone market.

- AFP/fa

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Shoot and share videos with YouTube Capture for iOS

Google just made it easier to capture and upload videos to YouTube from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Its new YouTube Capture app lets you share a video with as little as two taps (including the tap to launch the app). Here's how it works.

When you first launch the app, it'll ask you to sign into your Google account. You can skip this step and sign into your account later, and instead swipe through a brief, four-slide tutorial.

After the tutorial, you'll be taken to the capture screen, which, when held in landscape mode, features two buttons on the left and three on the right. The buttons on the left turn on the flash and switch between the rear- and front-facing cameras. The buttons on the right let you access the videos on your Camera Roll, start recording, and open settings.

In settings, you can sign into the three sharing options -- Google+, Facebook, and Twitter -- and you can adjust two recording settings. "Landscape lock" disables the record button when your phone is in portrait mode, reminding you rotate into landscape mode. "Rotate to begin recording" is the other setting; with it enabled, you'll start recording as soon as you rotate your phone into landscape mode when the app is open. Lastly, you can choose from two quality settings for your uploads: 480p or 720p.

When you tap or rotate to start recording, the record button turns into a timer, conveniently displaying a running time of your recording. Tap the timer to stop a recording, and you'll be taken to the upload screen. Here, you can add title and location information, set privacy and sharing options, and use four editing tools. Or you can simply tap the blue Share button to upload the video as is.

The four editing tools feature two buttons to add color correction and stabilize a potentially shaky video. The third tool gives you a slider to trim the starting and ending points of your video, while the fourth lets you choose from among 21 YouTube soundtracks. Choose a soundtrack such as Electronic, Pop, or Wedding, and you can then adjust its volume via a slider. If you turn the slider all the way to the right, the soundtrack will replace the audio in your recording.

Videos captured with the app are saved to your Camera Roll. When viewing your videos using the app, swiping on a video brings forth a Hide Video button, which removes the video from the app but not from your Camera Roll. Tapping on a video thumbnail from this list plays it, while tapping on the area to the right of the thumbnail takes you to the app's upload screen where you can tweak its settings and appearance before uploading it. Videos already uploaded to YouTube on this list display their title on a white background (as opposed to "Upload to YouTube" on a gray background); for these videos, you can tap a thumbnail to play a video or tap its title to the right of the thumbnail to tweak its settings or delete it from YouTube. Settings for an uploaded video let you e-mail or copy the link for the video, adjust the privacy settings, add tags, and choose a category and license (standard or creative commons). At the bottom of this screen is a large red button to delete the video from YouTube.

Mileage may vary, but I should close by stating that my phone experienced a rather severe hit to its battery life when uploading a handful of short videos.

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Pictures: "Beautiful" Geminid Meteor Showers Grace Skies

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  Over the Dunes

  
  Photograph courtesy Jack Fusco

  A Geminid meteor streaks across the sky above the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey, in a picture taken December 14. The piles come from sand blown onto city streets during Hurricane Sandy.

  The annual Geminid meteor shower, which peaked last weekend, usually produces dozens of shooting stars per hour—making it one of the strongest and most reliable celestial shows around.

  (Related: "Sky-watchers Get Set for Cosmic Fireworks Show.")

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Radiant Skies

  
  Photograph by Wally Pacholka, TWAN

  Ten meteors on seven different frames combined to show the radiant—the point in the sky from which the Geminid meteors appear to originate.

  The picture was taken December 14 in Yosemite Valley, California.

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Barnstormer

  
  Photograph by Jeffrey Phelps, AP

  A Geminid meteor zooms over a barn in Saukville, Wisconsin, on December 14.

  Historically the Geminids were overlooked by most amateur astronomers simply because the annual event occurs so close to the busy holiday season and frigid winter nights—but that's beginning to change thanks to its rising intensity over the past few decades.

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Soaking It In

  
  Photograph by Abir Sultan, European Pressphoto Agency

  Israelis relax in a hot spring near the Dead Sea during the peak of the Geminid meteor shower in a long-exposure photograph taken December 14.  

  Since Geminids hit the atmosphere at about 20 miles per second (32 kilometers per second)—slower than other meteor showers—they create beautiful long arcs across the sky that can last for a second or two.

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Mountain High

  
  Photograph by Tom Cuccio, Your Shot

  Geminids slice the sky over a glittering Aspen, Colorado, in a picture taken December 14.

  Geminid meteors appear to radiate from the shower's namesake constellation, Gemini, the twins from Greek legend.

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Jersey Geminid

  
  Photograph by Jay Cassario, My Shot

  A Geminid shoots over the Hurricane Sandy-damaged remains of the 59th Street Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, on December 14.

  Most annual meteor showers happen when Earth passes through clouds of debris left behind by passing comets, causing tons of dust to rain down on the planet in short periods of time.

  The Geminids are unusual, though, because they're thought to be the only annual meteor shower created by an asteroid-like object: 3200 Phaethon.

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Night Lights

  
  Photograph by Sunna Gautadottir, Your Shot

  Geminid meteors light the sky over Borgarnes, Iceland, on December 15.

  "There were so many of them," said photographer Sunna Gautadottir, "and it was just way too beautiful to describe in words."

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  











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  Photograph courtesy Dennis di Cicco, Sky & Telescope

  Published December 18, 2012

  
  

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Can Cops Read Shooter's Sabotaged Computer?

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza may have tried to sabotage his own computer before going on a murderous rampage that claimed the lives of 20 children, but experienced investigators said today that law enforcement forensic experts could still recover critical evidence from the damaged drives.

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance revealed Monday that a computer crimes unit was working in conjunction with a forensics laboratory to "dissect" any evidence relevant to the case, but he declined to comment further on what type of evidence was involved and in what condition it was in. Later that day, law enforcement officials told ABC News that police recovered a badly damaged computer from Lanza's home that appeared to have been attacked by a hammer or screwdriver.

Sources said if they can still read the computer's hard drive, they hope to find critical clues that may help explain Lanza's motives in the killing.

Former FBI forensic experts told ABC News that in cases similar to this one, damage to the computer does not necessarily mean the computer files cannot be accessed.

"If he took a hammer to the outside, smashed the screen, dented the box, it's more than likely the hard drive is still intact," said Al Johnson, a retired FBI special agent who now works privately examining digital evidence and computer data. "And even if the hard drive itself is damaged, there are still steps that can be taken to recover everything."

Gun Control Debate Resurfaces After Sandy Hook Shooting Watch Video

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Sandy Hook Elementary Shooter: What Caused Shooting? Watch Video

Brett Harrison, a former FBI computer forensics expert who now works with a D.C. consulting firm, said that authorities have a great deal of technology at their disposal to retrieve that data. How much is recovered, he said, will depend entirely on how much damage was done to the well-insulated "platters" -- discs lodged deep inside the machine -- where Lanza's every digital footstep was recorded.

It is likely, he said, that Lanza's computer has been moved to a "clean room" where, if the discs are intact, they could be removed and then carefully re-inserted in a fresh hard drive. If the calibrations are done correctly, investigators would still be able to unlock the clues on the discs.

If the discs aren't in perfect condition, Harrison said, "There is equipment they can use to read the data off a record even if a portion of it is damaged."

Johnson said it is tedious work done in a clean environment because the tolerances of the discs is so precise – even a particle of dust could destroy crucial evidence.

"We're talking about a tolerance of less than a human hair," said Johnson, who now does computer forensics for a South Carolina-based investigative firm.

Police have not said exactly what they expect to find on the computer's hard drive, but the former FBI experts said typically there could be record of visits to violent web sites, or to online stores that sell ammunition, or to email that might reveal if Lanza shared any hints of his plans with others.

"I'm not big on speculation," Harrison said, "but you're talking about potentially finding all the normal things that people do with their computer – Facebook pages, internet activity, email, you name it."

For now, the FBI is keeping mum on what kind of computer forensic help it could be offering in the case.

"At this time, in deference to the ongoing investigation being conducted by the CSP, the FBI is not releasing information regarding operational or forensic assistance provided in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting," an FBI spokesperson said.

Click Here for the Blotter Homepage.

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Fungal frog killer hops into crayfish

Crayfish are vulnerable to the same fungus that is killing frogs all over the world. The discovery helps explain how the disease spreads even after all the amphibians in an area have been wiped out. Worryingly, chemicals released by the fungus may alone be enough to kill.

Taegan McMahon of the University of South Florida, Tampa, and colleagues discovered infected crayfish in field surveys in Louisiana and Colorado. They found that up to 29 per cent of the animals carried the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Lab studies proved that crayfish can become infected and die, the first time this has been shown in non-amphibians.

Infected crayfish can pass the disease to tadpoles, and crayfish exposed to water from which the fungus had been filtered still died. McMahon says the distribution of crayfish around the world may explain why the fungus is so widespread.

She adds that it is "is certainly possible" that other invertebrates might carry the fungus. Her team are currently investigating this and are working on possible ways to stop the spread of the toxin.

"It's very compelling, their evidence for crayfish as a disease vector and for a toxic effect secreted in the water," says Trenton Garner at London's Institute of Zoology.

PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1200592110

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Big turn-out at Punggol East Meet-the-People Session

SINGAPORE: While a typical Meet-the-People Session (MPS) at Punggol East would see about 50 residents seeking their Member of Parliament (MP) each week, Monday night's session - the first since former MP Michael Palmer resigned last week over an extramarital affair - saw a queue of about 50 people even before the session began.

The Monday night's MPS was conducted by Deputy Prime Minister and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Teo Chee Hean, who held a combined session with residents from his Pasir Ris West ward.

Nevertheless, grassroots leaders said that most of the residents who turned up at the MPS, which was held at the PAP Community Foundation's Punggol East Education Centre at Blk 124A Rivervale Drive, were from the Punggol East Single Member Constituency.

Residents who TODAY spoke to were there mainly to seek help on getting rental flats or appealing against penalties for their traffic offences.

One resident, Madam Mani, 64, said she was worried about whether there would be continuity for her case after Mr Palmer's resignation.

She is looking for a rental flat and said she had seen Mr Palmer a few times and he told her not to worry about her case. "I hope they will take care of us, just as what Mr Palmer has done," she said.

Another resident, a taxi driver who declined to be named, said he felt assured by the fact that a minister was handling the MPS. "He has weight, let's put it that way."

- TODAY

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Israeli embassy deletes 'Christmas Thought' Facebook comment

I want to believe that this is the time of year for human harmony.

But who am I to talk? My future wife won't even acknowledge me, believing I am Beelzebub's kin. Servers at fine restaurants won't even refill my water glasses.

Oh, and then there was a Facebook "Christmas thought" from Israel's embassy in Ireland that Jesus would likely be lynched if he was in Bethlehem this year.

As The New York Times describes it, someone at Israel's embassy wrote the following:

A thought for Christmas...If Jesus and mother Mary were alive today, they would, as Jews without security, probably end up being lynched in Bethlehem by hostile Palestinians. Just a thought...Thanks Daniel for sharing

More Technically Incorrect

These heartfelt words were atop a serene picture of Jesus and the Virgin.

You might imagine that some found this a touch provocative. The post was, indeed, removed, as was the apology that followed it, as was the whole Facebook page.

An embassy spokesman told the Times that he didn't know who had posted the thought. However, he added: "People who post on the embassy Facebook page include embassy staff and also people based in Israel itself."

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Crayfish Harbor Fungus That’s Wiping Out Amphibians

Scientists have found a new culprit in spreading the disease that's been driving the world's frogs to the brink of extinction: crayfish.

In the last few decades, the disease caused by the chytrid fungus has been a disaster for frogs and other amphibians. More than 300 species are nearly extinct because of it. Many probably have gone extinct, but it can be difficult to know for sure when a tiny, rare species disappears from the face of the Earth. (Related photos: "Ten Most Wanted 'Extinct' Amphibians.")

"This pathogen is bad news. It's worse news than any other pathogen in the history of life on Earth as far as we know it," says Vance Vredenburg, a conservation biologist at San Francisco State University who studies frogs but did not work on the new study.

The chytrid fungus was only discovered in the late 1990s. Since then, scientists have been scrambling to figure out how it spreads and how it works.

One of the biggest mysteries is how chytrid can persist in a frogless pond. Researchers saw it happen many times and were perplexed: If all of a pond's amphibians were wiped out, and a few frogs or salamanders came back and recolonized the pond, they would also die—even though there were no amphibians in the pond to harbor the disease. (Learn about vanishing amphibians.)

One possible reason is that chytrid infects other animals. For a study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Taegan McMahon, a graduate student in ecology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, looked at some possible suspects and focused on crayfish, those lobsterlike crustaceans living in freshwater. They seemed like a good possibility because they're widespread and because their bodies have a lot of keratin, a protein the fungus attacks.

In the lab, McMahon exposed crayfish to the disease and they got sick. More than a third died within seven weeks, and most of the survivors were carrying the fungus. She also put infected crayfish in the water with tadpoles—separated by mesh, so the crustaceans wouldn't eat the baby frogs—and the tadpoles got infected. When McMahon and her colleagues checked out wetlands in Louisiana and Colorado, they also found infected crayfish.

That means crayfish can probably act as a reservoir for the disease. The fungus seems to be able to dine on crayfish then leap back to amphibians when it gets a chance. No one knows for sure where the fungus originally came from or why it's been such a problem in recent decades, but this research suggests one way that it could have been spread. Crayfish are sometimes moved from pond to pond as fish bait and are sold around the world as food and aquarium pets. (Related photos: "New Giant 'Bearded' Crayfish Species.")

The study doesn't answer every last question about the disease. For one thing, crayfish are common, but they aren't everywhere; there are no crayfish in some of the places where frogs have been hardest hit, Vredenburg says. But, he says, the new research shows that "we need to start looking a little more broadly at other potential hosts."

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Gunman's Computer Damaged, Drive Possibly Ruined

A computer at the Connecticut home where Newtown, Conn., school shooter Adam Lanza lived with his mother was badly damaged, perhaps smashed with a hammer, said police who hope the machine might still yield clues to the gunman's motive.

The computer's hard drive appeared to have been badly damaged with a hammer or screw driver, law enforcement authorities told ABC News, complicating efforts to exploit it for evidence.

Officials have "seized significant evidence at [Lanza's] residence," said Connecticut State Police spokesman Paul Vance, adding that the process of sifting through that much forensic evidence would be a lengthy and "painstaking process."

Authorities also told ABC News that the weapons used in Friday's rampage at Sandyhook Elementary School, which left dead 20 children and seven adults including Lanza's mother Nancy, were purchased by his mother between 2010 and 2012.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Lanza visited shooting ranges several times in recent years, and went at least one time with his mother.

The first funeral for a child killed in the massacre was held today in Fairfield, Conn., where mourners gathered to remember the too-short life of first-grader Noah Pozner.

Authorities also revealed this morning that two adult women shot during the rampage survived and their accounts will likely be integral to the investigation.

"Investigators will, in fact, speak with them when it's medically appropriate and they will shed a great deal of light on the facts and circumstances of this tragic investigation," Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance said at a news conference today.

Both survivors are women and are now home from the hospital after being shot, police said. Officials had previously mentioned just one adult survivor. The women have not been identified and police did not give details on their injuries.

READ MORE: School nurse hid from gunman.

Both adults, Vance said, were wounded in the "lower extremities," but did not indicate where in the building they were when they were injured.

Moving trucks were seen outside Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning, as school officials prepare to move furniture and supplies to a vacant school in neighboring Monroe.

Sandy Hook itself will remain a secure crime scene "indefinitely," said Vance.

Calls for Gun Control Surge Following Newtown Shootings Watch Video

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CLICK HERE for complete coverage of the tragedy at Sandy Hook.

Police say Adam Lanza, 20, forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, spraying bullets on students and faculty. Lanza killed 20 children and six adults before turning the gun on himself.

Lanza also killed his mother Nancy Lanza at the home they shared before going to school.

"There are many, many witnesses that need to be interviewed," Vance said. "We will not stop until we have interviewed every last one of them."

Vance said the investigation could take weeks or months to complete. "It's not something done in 60 minutes like you see on T.V."

Some of the other key witnesses will be children who survived the shooting spree by playing dead, hiding in closets and bathrooms and being rescued by dedicated teachers.

"Any interviews with any children will be done with professionals...as appropriate," Vance said. "We'll handle that extremely delicately when the time arises."

CLICK HERE for a tribute to the shooting victims.

The first funerals for victims of the shooting are today, beginning with 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto.

Officials said today that the Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting took place, will be closed "indefinitely."

Both the school and the home where shootings took place are being held by police as crime scenes and Vance predicted authorities would spend "months" investigating the elementary school.

All Newtown schools are closed today to give residents more time to cope. Every school except for Sandy Hook is expected to re-open Tuesday.

The town of Monroe has offered to open to Sandy Hook students the Chalk Hill School, a former middle school that currently houses the town's EMS and recreational departments.

Officials in Monroe, less than 10 miles from Newtown, say the building could be ready for students by the end of the week, but have not yet set a date to resume classes.

Nearly 100 volunteers are working to ensure the building complies with fire and security regulations and are working to retorfit the school with bathroom facilities for young children.

"We're working to make the school safe and secure for students," said Monroe Police Department spokesman Lt. Brian H. McCauley.

The neighboring community's school is expected to be ready to accommodate students in the next few days, though an exact schedule has not yet been published.

While the families grieve, federal and state authorities are working around the clock to answer the question on so many minds: "Why?"

ABC News has learned that investigators have seized computers belonging to Adam Lanza from the home he shared with his mother. Three weapons were found at the school scene and a fourth was recovered from Lanza's car. Lanza had hundreds of rounds and used multiple high-capacity magazines when he went on the rampage, according to Connecticut State Police.

Vance said that every single electronic device, weapon and round will be thoroughly examined and investigated as well as every aspect of Lanza's life going "back to the date of birth."

ABC News has learned that both the shooter and his mother spent time at an area gun range; however it was not yet known whether they had shot there.

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