Today on New Scientist: 25 January 2013

Hagfish gulped up in first video of deep-sea seal hunt Watch the first sighting of a seal's underwater eating habits spotted by a teenager watching a live video feedWorld's oldest portrait reveals the ice-age mind A 26,000-year-old carved ivory head of a woman is not just an archaeological find - a new exhibition in London wants us to see works like this as artDung beetles navigate using the...

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Body of last Japanese victim in hostage crisis arrives in Tokyo

TOKYO: The body of the last of 10 Japanese nationals killed in the Algerian hostage crisis arrived in Japan on Saturday as the prime minister proposed setting up a security council to deal with future threats.The body of Tadanori Aratani, 66, a former vice president of engineering firm JGC, arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport on a commercial flight accompanied by vice foreign minister Minoru...

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Egypt sends troops to stop 'out of control' clashes

STORY HIGHLIGHTSArmored vehicles and soldiers are deployed to the coastal city of Suez, EGYNews reportsThe troops are deployed after a security chief declares the area "out of control"Seven people are killed and hundreds more are injured in the clashes, ministry officials sayCairo (CNN) -- Egypt deployed troops Saturday to the coastal city of Suez after a security chief declared the area "out of control"...

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Notre Dame president defends handling of Te'o case

SOUTH BEND, Ind. Top administrators at Notre Dame decided within hours of hearing about the Manti Te'o dead girlfriend hoax that it did not involve a crime and within two days had concluded there was no NCAA violation, according to a letter sent by the university president to board of trustee members on Friday. The Rev. John Jenkins told trustees that despite "the unrelenting scrutiny of hundreds...

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WH, Senators to Begin Push on Immigration Reform

The White House and a bipartisan group of senators next week plan to begin their efforts to push for comprehensive immigration reform.President Barack Obama will make an announcement on immigration during a Tuesday trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, the White House said on Friday. The Senate group is expected make their plans public around the same time, the Associated Press reported.See...

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Greek economic crisis has cleared the air

EVEN the darkest cloud may have a silver lining. The sharp drop in air pollution that accompanied Greece's economic crisis could be a boon to the nation's health. Mihalis Vrekoussis of the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia and colleagues used three satellites...

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AXA, estate of Ma Chi reach deal on compensation

SINGAPORE: The insurers of the Ferrari car involved in a high-speed crash that left two others dead and two injured have reached a settlement with the estate of the deceased driver Ma Chi.AXA Insurance Singapore and Ma's estate jointly announced that they have mutually agreed on a deal.They will settle all financial claims between the parties.All third-party victims or their families will...

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Te'o reveals biggest regret

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Te'o says he was embarrassed to discuss girlfriend upon learning she was fakeNEW: But while admitting some were misled, he says he "didn't lie" publicly Te'o has his first on-camera interview since news broke of the girlfriend hoax"I wasn't as forthcoming about (the story), but I didn't lie," he tells Katie Couric(CNN) -- He had wanted to help someone in need, this beautiful girl...

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Battery expert: "I would not fly in a Dreamliner"

(CBS News) WASHINGTON - Investigators say they still don't know what caused batteries to burn in two Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and until they figure that out and how to fix the problem, none of the planes will be allowed to fly. More than any other plane, the Dreamliner relies on lithium ion batteries to help power its advanced electrical system. They're lighter and more powerful than older battery...

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It's Official: Women Will Serve in Combat

Women will soon be able to serve in combat, as things officially changed with the stroke of a pen today at the Pentagon.At a joint news conference, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Charman Gen. Martin Dempsey signed a memorandum rolling back a 1994 directive prohibiting women from doing so."They serve, they're wounded, and they die right next to each...

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Ford's open-source kit brings era of smart car apps

OpenXC will set the hacker community loose on Ford's car computer systems – expect a host of apps to improve vehicles' performance and efficiency MIRROR, signal, manoeuvre - now set your engine to "supercar". Car maker Ford has just released OpenXC - an open-source hardware and software toolkit that will let...

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Dreamliner battery probe rules out voltage surge

TOKYO: Officials probing the emergency landing of a Boeing Dreamliner said Thursday they will dismantle its battery pack, after the investigation found no evidence of a sudden surge in voltage.A fire risk from overheating powerpacks emerged as a major concern after pilots were forced to land the domestic All Nippon Airways flight in western Japan on January 16 due to smoke thought to be...

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Martin: You want black votes, GOP?

Roland Martin says one reason the GOP draws mainly white voters is its leaders' reluctance to reach out and listen to minorities.STORY HIGHLIGHTSRoland Martin: GOP National Committee's Priebus dodges appearing on Martin showsHe says GOP leaders in general avoid interacting with blacks; they lose black votes this wayHe says GOP leaders seem to think blacks don't have same concerns as all AmericansMartin:...

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Romney to be honored Friday at D.C. luncheon

Mitt Romney will make it to Washington, D.C. for inauguration week after all. The 2012 GOP presidential nominee and his wife Ann are scheduled to attend a luncheon in their honor Friday at Washington's J.W. Marriott hotel, National Journal reported this afternoon. The reception will be hosted by two of Romney's biggest campaign fundraisers: Virginia philanthropist Catherine Reynolds and hotel...

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Pentagon to Allow Women in Combat

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will lift a longstanding ban on women serving in combat, according to senior defense officials.The services have until this May to come up with a plan to implement the change, according to a Defense Department official.That means the changes could come into effect as early as May, though the services will have until January 2016 to complete the...

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MIT website hacked in tribute to Aaron Swartz

Hal Hodson, technology reporterA tribute to internet activist Aaron Swartz replaced the homepage for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today, in an apparent act of protest over the university's role in the legal case that led up to Swartz's suicide on 11 Jan.For a short time, visitors to the MIT.edu home page found a message that read: "R.I.P. Aaron Swartz. Hacked by grand wizard of Lulzsec,...

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Malaysia citizenship-for-votes probe stirs outrage

KUALA LUMPUR: For years, charges have swirled that a secret Malaysian scheme gave citizenship to huge numbers of illegal migrants in a politically important state in exchange for votes for the ruling coalition.Now, an inquiry is finally airing detailed allegations that have the government on the defensive ahead of elections that pose the greatest threat yet faced by the ruling bloc that...

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Tapper talks Benghazi and his book

on your computer or on the CNN Apps for iPhone® and iPad®. iPhone, iPad and Mac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. If you get CNN and HLN at home, you can watch them online and on the go for no additional chargeStart watching ...

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Netanyahu likely clings to job in Israel election

JERUSALEM Israel's parliamentary election ended Wednesday in a stunning deadlock between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line bloc and center-left rivals, forcing the badly weakened Israeli leader to scramble to cobble together a coalition of parties from both camps, despite dramatically different views on Mideast peacemaking and other polarizing issues. Israeli media said that with 99.8...

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A theory of everything won't provide all the answers

We shouldn't be obsessed with finding a theory of everything, says Lisa Randall, one of the world's most prominent theoretical physicists Doesn't every physicist dream of one neat theory of everything?There are lots of physicists!...

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Wen urges "healthy" devt as China's economy slows

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged the central bank to promote "healthy" economic development, the government said, after the economy expanded at its slowest pace for 13 years in 2012.Speaking on a visit to the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, Wen called on the central bank to push financial reform and use monetary policy to support the economy, the government said...

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