Scientists develop spray-on battery

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists in the United States have developed a paint that can store and deliver electrical power just like a battery.

Traditional lithium-ion batteries power most portable electronics. They are already pretty compact but limited to rectangular or cylindrical blocks.

Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, have come up with a technique to break down each element of the traditional battery and incorporate it into a liquid that can be spray-painted in layers on virtually any surface.

[Related: Phones that learn by touching?]

"This means traditional packaging for batteries has given way to a much more flexible approach that allows all kinds of new design and integration possibilities for storage devices," said Pulickel Ajayan, who leads the team on the project.

The rechargeable battery is made from spray-painted layers, with each representing the components of a traditional battery: two current collectors, a cathode, an anode and a polymer separator in the middle.

The paint layers were airbrushed onto ceramics, glass and stainless steel, and on diverse shapes such as the curved surface of a ceramic mug, to test how well they bond.

One limitation of the technology is in the use of difficult-to-handle liquid electrolytes and the need for a dry and oxygen-free environment when making the new device.

[Related: 13 tech sounds you don't hear anymore]

The researchers are looking for components that would allow construction in the open air for a more efficient production process and greater commercial viability.

Neelam Singh, who worked on the project, believes the technology could be integrated with solar cells to give any surface a stand-alone energy capture and storage capability.

The researchers tested the device using nine bathroom tiles coated with the paint and connected to each other. When they were charged, the batteries powered a set of light-emitting diodes for six hours, providing a steady 2.4 volts.

The results of the study were published on Thursday in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

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Human Genome unlikely to attract a higher bid - BMO

(Reuters) - There is a high risk of GlaxoSmithKline dropping its pursuit of Human Genome Sciences Inc , BMO Capital Partners said, adding that a rival bid for the biotechnology company also seemed unlikely.

The brokerage, which downgraded Human Genome stock to "market perform" from "outperform", said chances of the company attracting a better price were low as negotiations with Glaxo have become more "adversarial."

On Wednesday, Glaxo said it would proceed with its $2.6 billion offer only if the U.S. biotech firm removes a poison pill adopted on May 17.

"Human Genome's decision to enact a one-year shareholder rights plan suggests that a competitive process is unlikely to produce an alternate offer in the near term," BMO's Jim Birchenough said.

Glaxo and Human Genome together sell Benlysta, a new drug for the autoimmune condition known as lupus. They are also collaborating on two other experimental drugs for diabetes and heart disease, currently in late-stage trials, that could become significant sellers.

Birchenough said it would be hard for Glaxo or any other buyer to quote a higher price since a hike would have to be justified on the basis of a higher valuation for Human Genome's late-stage heart drug, and not the currently marketed lupus drug.

BMO's Birchenough, who cut his price target on Human Genome to $13 from $17, pointed to flat Benlysta sales trends as a reason for the limited upside to Glaxo's $13-per-share offer.

Glaxo chief Andrew Witty has already played down the possibility of increasing the offer price and said his company was the only obvious owner for Human Genome.

Human Genome shares, which have nearly doubled in value since GSK made its bid in April, were up 1 percent at $13.69 on Thursday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Vidya P L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

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15 Ways to Accelerate Your PC’s Slowest Component: You!

There's nothing more soul-sucking than sitting there picking your earwax while you watch Windows 7's blue ring of fire. Yet, to be fair, your poor laptop spends a lot more time waiting for you to act than you waste watching it load applications, boot up or finish processing. If your computer takes .8 seconds to load your browser, but you take 5 unnecessary seconds to type in a username and password, who's the slow poke?

Fortunately, you can reduce the human bottleneck if you take just a few simple steps that will double your personal processing power. To show the benefits of overclocking yourself, I've put my stop watch where my mouth is and recorded the amount of time you'll save by following each of my tips. Sure, you may only save a few seconds by using a particular shortcut, but those moments really add up, particularly when you're performing scores of similar actions every hour.

Follow these time-saving tricks to keep your computer from sitting around and twiddling its fans when it should be turbo boosting to keep up with you:

1. Assign Keyboard Shortcuts to Favorite Apps

Any time you have to roll your mouse pointer across the screen, you're wasting precious milliseconds of your life that you'll never have again.  Just imagine that your pointer is sitting in the upper right corner of the screen and you have to roll it all the way over to the Start button, click to open the menu and then navigate your way through the folders, just to find and launch PowerPoint. That's 5.46 wasted seconds, according to our estimates. 

However, if you assign a keyboard shortcut to the application, you can launch it in under .5 seconds, the amount of time it takes to hit a combo like CTRL + ALT + C.  To assign a hot key to an application, simply right click on its shortcut icon, select properties, click the shortcut tab, and then enter some combination of CTRL + ALT + (Letter or Number) into the Shortcut key box. To make remembering them easy, I recommend using letters that match the name of the software you want to load. For example, assign CTRL + ALT + W to Microsoft Word.

Time saved: 5 seconds per app open

[5 Things to Look for in Your Next Notebook Keyboard]

If you have something you type frequently such as "Dear PR crony, For the 100th time, I'm a tech journalist. I don't cover the Oak Ridge Boys. Now please go away," you can accomplish that with just one key stroke rather than 17 seconds of touch typing. Even if you're just entering your email address, you'll save a good 3 seconds.

A number of programs allow you to assign text to hot keys, but Quick Paste is my favorite, because it's totally free and very easy to use. After downloading Quick Paste, be sure to select "Start with Windows" from the #Options menu and "Minimize to tray if Close" so that it will always run in the background. 

Time Saved: 17 seconds more or less.

There are few bigger time sucks than remembering dozens of different username / password combos and typing them in every time you need to log in to your email client, social media service, favorite shopping site or bank account.  And while you could use the same simple set of credentials everywhere, that leaves you wide open to hacking and identity theft.

The fastest and most secure way to type in your login credentials is with a password manager like the totally-free and popular KeePass. With this utility, you can keep all your credentials in a single encrypted key file and then set the program to type them into any form, online or offline, when you hit a key like CTRL + ALT + A. A number of KeePass plugins allow you to keep your password file synced across multiple computers and to integrate it with your browser for even faster web logins.

Time Saved: 4 Seconds to 5 Minutes per login, depending on your long-term memory.

[Lock Down Your Log-in: 6 Password Managers to Protect Your Accounts]

If you're like me, you need to know right away when someone references you on a social network and you need to know about every email the second it arrives. However, you waste precious moments every time you navigate  to your accounts  just to see if you've gotten anything new.

I recommend installing some browser extensions that will alert you the instant you get a new message, even if you don't have the web page for that service open. Though you can get some plug-ins for Firefox and IE that provide some alerts, Chrome Browser puts your alert icons in the most prominent place, right next to its address bar.

For Chrome, I recommend the following extensions:

Time Saved: 30 seconds every 5 to 10 minutes (or however often you would have been irresistibly compelled to check your accounts).

[Facebook vs. Google +: Which Social Network is Best?]

Most of us need several windows open at once to do our work. If you're writing a report in Word and need to glance at the assignment your boss sent via email, check the results of a calculation in Exel, and grab some additional data from a website, you'll have at least four windows you really need to look at. If you can only fit one of these windows on the screen at a time, you'll spend an eternity switching between them. Pivoting your eye balls from one side of the desktop to another is infinitely faster than moving your pointer or hitting a key.

To save time, try putting more windows next to each other on-screen. Hit Window Key + Left on one window and Window Key + Right on another to snap two applications right next to each other. Add a second monitor to give you more windows on the screen at once or two windows running at full screen. The Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 portable monitor is a great second screen for laptop users on the go, because it weighs less than 3 pounds and is powered by USB.

Time Saved: 1.5 to 2 seconds per window switch, which adds up to several minutes per hour. 

If you can't type without looking at the keyboard and using all 10 fingers, you need to learn touch typing. Every time you sit there pecking at the keys, your computer is secretly laughing at you and texting all its friends on the network to tell them what kind of noob it has caressing its keys.

Fortunately, many online programs can help you learn how to touch type or improve your touch typing to where it should be, 80 or more words per minute.  TypingWeb provides some good, free typing lessons, but I really like the paid service at Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor which costs $25.95. 

Time Saved: Enter text 300 percent faster or more.

If you need to perform a web search there is absolutely no reason to waste time by navigating to Google.com or Bing.com and then typing your query into the search box. Instead, all the modern browsers will query your search engine of choice if you just type the text you're looking for right into the address bar.

In a test, we found that navigating to Google.com, waiting for the page to load, typing in the search term "laptops," hitting enter and waiting for the results took 9 seconds while simply typing "laptops" into the Chrome address bar, hitting Enter and waiting for results took 4 seconds.

Time Saved: 5 seconds per query

[Web Browser Tips and Apps to Save You Time]

When you need to find a file or program, there's no reason to go fumbling through dozens of folders like some kind of Watergate burglar. It's not necessary to launch a dedicated explorer window either. Simply hit the Windows key or CTRL + Esc to pop-up the start menu and start typing into the "Search for programs or files" box.

You may need to only type the first few letters of a file name before Windows starts making suggestions for you. This instant search feature is particularly useful when you know exactly what you're looking for. For example, when I wanted to find a document I had written about SSDs, I typed "SSD" into the start menu and had my results in 3 seconds. When I browsed the documents folder to find the same file, it took 6 seconds.

Time Saved: 3 seconds

Unless you just bought your computer yesterday, you probably have at least five different programs that can open JPEGs, four programs that can play MP3s, two that can display PDFs and six that can edit TXT files. Unfortunately, the default program which launches when you double click on a file isn't necessarily the one you need.For example, if you want to crop a picture and remove red eye from it, you'll need to open the JPEG in Photoshop, not Windows Gallery. 

To change file associations in Windows, type the term "file type" into the Start menu search box and then select "Make a file type always open in a specific program." Then select the file extension you wish to change (ex: .jpg) and click the Change program button. Finally, you'll need to pick the program you want to open with and click Ok.

Time Saved: 10 seconds

Every time you roll your mouse pointer over to the scroll bar on the right side of a window and use it to move down the page, you've wasting time, a lot of it. If you have a mouse, the answer is obvious: use the scroll wheel to slide down your documents, emails and web pages. However, if you don't have a mouse, use two finger scrolling on your touchpad; just place your index and middle finger next to each other and drag them down the pad.  Pointing sticks like Lenovo's TrackPoint provide dedicated scroll buttons as well.

In web browsers, hitting the spacebar key is even faste,  as a single tap takes you down exactly one screen. In my tests, using the scroll bar to navigate down to the "display" section of a smartphone review took 4 seconds, using the mouse scroll wheel took 2 seconds, and hitting the space bar to jump down two screens took just 1 second.

Time Saved: 2 to 3 seconds

I've explained already explained how you can assign keyboard macros to commonly typed text or to opening programs, but it's equally important to memorize Windows' own built-in hot keys. Every time you use one of the following key combinations, you save precious seconds you'd otherwise spend rolling the pointer across the screen until you found these options on various menus and sub-menus.

ALT + F4: Close the current window [save 1.3 seconds]Windows Key or CTRL + ESC: Open start menu [ save 1 second]F5 or CTRL + R: Refresh web page [ save 1 second]CTRL + F: Find within document [save 3 seconds]CTRL + D: Bookmark this page (in browsers) [save 1.5 seconds]CTRL + Left or Right Arrow: Jump forward or back one word [save 2 seconds]CTRL + Up or Down: Jump up or down a paragraph (only works in some programs) [save 1.5 seconds]CTRL  + A: Select All [save 2 seconds per full page of text, save 17 seconds on an 8 page document]CTRL + Shift + Arrow Key: Select Text [save .5 seconds over scrolling, but be more accurate]F2: Rename file (used primarily when browsing folders) [save 2 seconds]CTRL + S: Save (hit this instinctively every few seconds when working on documents) [save 1.4 seconds]CTRL + Z / CTRL + Y: Undo / Redo [save 1.5 seconds]CTRL + C / CTRL + X / CTRL + V: Copy / Cut / Paste (but you knew that already, right?) [save 1.5 seconds]

When you conduct a web search on Google or Bing, you see just the first 10 results by default. If you don't see the exact result you want on the first page you have to click again and again to see the second, third or fourth page of results. All that clicking and loading takes time, approximately 3.6 seconds per extra page of results you visit. 

Fortunately, you can configure the two major search engines to show you more than 10 results on a page, allowing you to scroll through more results without clicking on a next button and waiting for another page to load. 

To change the number of results in Google:

Select Search Settings from the gear menu in the upper right corner of the screen.Set Google Instant Predictions to "Never"
Slide the Results per Page bar to 50 or 100. I find that 50 provides the best balance between speed and selection.Click Save.

To change the number of results in Bing:

Click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen.Click the Web button in the left column.Select 50 from the Results dropdown. Click save.

Time Saved: 3.6 seconds per search result page.

By default, Windows 7 takes all the open windows from a particular program and combines them into a single taskbar icon. While this may provide a neater looking taskbar, it saps precious seconds of your life away every time you have to hover over an icon to change windows.

For example, I had six Word documents open and wanted to select the one labeled "Smartphone Buyer's Guide." When I had to hover over the single Word icon to look for that document, it took me 2.5 seconds to locate the document and click it. When the document had its own button on the task bar, it took me just 1.5 seconds to select it.

To stop Windows 7 from combining all of a program's windows into one taskbar icon:

Right click on the Start button and select PropertiesSelect the Taskbar tab.Select Never Combine from the Taskbar buttons menu.Click Ok.

Time Savings: 1 second

When you first plug in a new USB flash drive, hard drive, smartphone, MP3 player or other USB device with storage, by default you are hit with Windows 7's Autorun menu, which gives you a slew of choices that range from "viewing" the content to editing it.

However, most of the time, what you want is to see a view of all the files and then decide whether to copy them, open them or add to them with other files you drag over. Selecting the Autoplay window and then choosing the "Open folder to view files" option took me a mind-bending 3.5 seconds, enough time to observe millions of particle collisions in CERN.

Fortunately, you don't need to be prompted every time you pop in a new storage device. Here's how to configure Autoplay so it automatically opens all your drives in folder view:

Type "Autoplay" into the Start Menu search box.Click Autoplay.
Select Open folder to view files using Windows Explorer for Pictures, Video Files, Audio Files and Mixed content. You may also want to select that option for specific devices that may appear on your list like your camera or phone.

Time Saved: 3.5 seconds

Every notebook user has had this experience. Your notebook is sitting open on your lap,  you need to reach into your bag that's on the ground and you're in a tight space so you close the lid to prevent the notebook from falling over as you bend. The notebook lid is only closed for a couple of seconds, but when you open it again, you have to wait a while for the system to wake. If your system has password protection, it may even prompt you to enter your password when you lift the lid.

Even if you're traveling down the hallway at work for a full two minutes, it doesn't pay to put your laptop to sleep. You want to keep your notebook safe by closing the lid before you carry it, but you don't want to waste time logging back in. The easiest way to avoid this whole sleep/wake problem is to configure your notebook not to sleep on lid close. 

To stop your PC laptop from sleeping on lid close:

Type "Lid" into the Start Menu search box.Click "Change what closing the lid does"
Select Do nothing under On battery and Plugged in.Click Save Changes

After making this change you can still put  your notebook to sleep. You'll just need to press the power button or use the sleep option on the Start Menu. 

Time Saved:10 to 15 seconds (a lot more if you wake the notebook before it has gone to sleep)

This story was provided by Laptopmag.com, a sister site to LiveScience.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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GSK to drop Human Genome bid if "poison pill" stands

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said it would not proceed with its $2.6 billion offer for Human Genome Sciences unless the U.S. biotechnology company dropped a "poison pill" shareholder rights plan imposed to block the deal.

Human Genome adopted the stockholder rights plan earlier this month in an attempt to ward off GSK in what is becoming an increasingly acrimonious battle between the companies that together sell new Lupus drug Benlysta.

The British company is taking its $13-a-share offer direct to investors after Human Genome's board said it was inadequate.

The plan allows shareholders to buy additional shares at a discount if one investor buys or launches a tender offer for more than 15 percent of the group's stock without the board's approval, effectively blocking an unwanted bidder.

"Because Human Genome has adopted a poison pill, GSK has added a condition to its offer requiring Human Genome to redeem the pill or, alternatively, GSK being satisfied in its reasonable judgment that the pill has been invalidated or is otherwise inapplicable to GSK's acquisition of Human Genome," GSK said in a statement on Wednesday.

Human Genome, an early pioneer of gene-based drug discovery, had said the rights plan would allow it to complete a strategic review.

Analyst Navid Malik at Cenkos Securities said Human Genome had taken an aggressive approach.

"It is certainly not going to endear GSK towards upping their offer in my view; it increases the risk of them just walking away, and I don't think there is a white knight that can offer a meaningfully higher offer for the shares," he said.

GSK said its tender offer was still scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight New York time on June 7.

GSK's shares were down 1.4 percent at 1,396.5 pence at 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT), while Human Genome's shares were down 1.5 percent at $13.78.

(Reporting by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Grill Science: 5 Sizzling Tips for a Tasty Memorial Day

Pools open and dusty grills come out of hiding this Memorial Day weekend, as we remember fallen war heroes and honor the living. To ensure your Memorial Day cookouts sizzle, rather than fall flat with dry burgers and pouty pals, here are some tips served up with a healthy side of science.

Also, if you're feeling extra saucy this weekend, you may want to try out a bison cheeseburger, the creation of Dave Joachim, a food writer and author of "Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manuel for Outdoor Cooking" (Chronicle Books, 2007) and "Fire It Up. 400 Recipes for Grilling Everything" (Chronicle Books, 2011).

1. Know your outdoor cooking method

Although the word barbecue is sometimes used to describe any act of outdoor food preparation, the word actually refers to meat slow-cooked over charcoal or wood. The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, held annually in Memphis, Tenn., defines barbecue even more strictly, as "pork meat (fresh or frozen and uncured) prepared only on a wood and/or charcoal fire."

Because authentic barbecue is cooked at low temperatures, it rarely blackens, though soot from the wood fire may turn it dark brown.

For a crispy-charred crust on your chicken breasts or steak, try cooking on a grill over high heat. The black stuff is made by a simple combustion reaction; the heat causes the amino acids (which make up the meat's proteins) react with sugars inside the meat, leaving behind blackened, partially combusted carbon.

A little bit of charred carbon can lend a smoky flavor to meat, but a lot can be dangerous. A study presented at the 2006 American Association for Cancer Research meeting found that the chemicals in charred meat raised the risk of prostate cancer in rats, and a 2009 study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting found that pancreatic cancer in humans is linked to consumption of well-done meat. [7 Foods Your Heart Will Hate]

2. Grill a healthier patty

Eating red meat can come with some guilt, as the juicy goodness has been linked to all kinds of health hazards, from cancer to cardiovascular disease. But if you're hankering after a juicy burger, guilt-free, try an herbal topping.

Studies show that herbs in the Lamiaceae family — such as rosemary, sage, and oregano — may keep meat from causing cancer. As part of an ongoing Food Safety Consortium project at Kansas State University, researchers found that burgers marinated with rosemary had 70 to 80 percent less heterocyclic amines (HCAs) than those soaked in a plain marinade. (HCAs can mutate DNA and are suspected carcinogens.)

When you throw a raw steak or patty on a hot grill, the meat's amino acids and sugars produce unstable compounds called free radicals. These radicals then react with beef's creatine to make HCAs, Kansas State researcher J. Scott Smith, a professor of food chemistry, explained to LiveScience in a past article on healthy burgers.

Herbal antioxidants halt this process, chemically soothing the free radicals before they start creating mutagens all over your basic backyard burger or a beautiful porterhouse steak. While marinades are best because they cover the whole surface, simply shaking on dried herbs may reap the same health benefits.

3. Choose a gas, charcoal or wood grill

This decision can be an important one, as the grills burn at different temperatures with different amounts of moisture. Charcoal and wood burn hotter, and drier, than gas.

That's because propane contains moisture, Joachim said. For every hour of grilling on gas, you release a half-cup to a cup of water vapor into your grill. That keeps the temperature down and prevents the formation of a seared, browned crust on your meat. [Top 10 Gas Grills of 2012]

Some gas grills now come with a sear burner, or a ceramic block that holds heat better than the grill grates. Because the burner can build up more heat, home grillers can use it to brown the outside of a steak or pork chop to get that dark crust, he added.

Speaking of sear, why is it so yummy? The secret is the Maillard reaction, named after Louis-Camille Maillard, who was the first to study this chemistry in the late 1900s. When you apply heat to your burger or other meat, the amino acids hidden inside react with sugars to create hundreds of flavor compounds. Maillard reactions make pretty much everything taste amazing, including roasted coffee, grilled vegetables and even your morning toast.

4. The secret to the juiciest burgers

"The trick with ground meat is once you grind up meat, you're grinding up the muscle fibers, and these are what hold the moisture in," Joachim told LiveScience. "What I recommend doing is adding moisture back in."

That added moisture can take many different forms: Try apple butter in turkey burgers and steak sauce in hamburgers. And if you're exhausted from Memorial Day preparation, you can just mix ice water into the ground meat, along with whatever seasonings you're adding. Not only does the ice water add moisture, it also keeps the center of the burger cool so it doesn't overcook.

The other key component of the perfect burger — turn off the nutritionist in you — is fat. Joachim recommends ground beef with 80 percent protein and 20 percent fat. Rather than making a burger juicier, the extra fat stimulates saliva production, moistening your mouth.

5. Grab the veggies

To entertain even the pickiest of vegetarians, the grill may be your best bet.

The trick to grilling vegetables is remembering that they're edible raw, Joachim said, so you don't need to leave them on the grill until they scream for mercy. Just oil them, sear them over medium-high heat and enjoy. For firmer veggies like corn, you'll need a little more time. For corn, simple is best: Throw the ears, husks and all, on the grill over medium-high heat and let them cook for 15 or so minutes, turning occasionally, until the husks are blackened. Inside, the corn will be perfectly done. [10 New Ways to Eat Well]

If you're cooking up veggie burgers, try to dress them up with masculinity — by searing in those manly grill marks or covering it with the usual burger toppings — as a recent study found guys may snub such vegetarian alternatives due to their "girly" image.

Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Is China poor? Key question at climate talks

BONN, Germany (AP) — Another round of U.N. climate talks closed without resolving how to share the burden of curbing man-made global warming, mainly because countries don't agree on who is rich and who is poor.

China wants to maintain a decades-old division between developed and developing countries, bearing in mind that, historically, the West has released most of the heat-trapping gases that scientists say could cause catastrophic changes in climate.

But the U.S. and Europe insisted during the two-week talks that ended Friday in Bonn that the system doesn't reflect current economic realities and must change as work begins on a new global climate pact set to be completed in 2015.

"The notion that a simple binary system is going to be applicable going forward is no longer one that has much relevance to the way the world currently works," U.S. chief negotiator Jonathan Pershing said.

Countries like Qatar and Singapore are wealthier than the U.S. per capita but are still defined as developing countries under the classification used in the U.N. talks. So is China, the world's second largest economy.

Finding a new system that better reflects the world today, while also acknowledging the historical blame for greenhouse gas emissions, is the biggest challenge facing the U.N. process as it seeks a global response to climate change.

"That is a fundamental issue," said Henrik Harboe, Norway's chief climate negotiator. "Some want to keep the old division while we want to look at it in a more dynamic way."

The U.N. climate talks are based on the premise that industrialized countries must take the lead on climate change by committing to reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. They are also expected to provide money to help poor countries grow in a sustainable way and to protect the most vulnerable nations from rising sea levels, droughts and other consequences of a warming world

Disputes on how to categorize countries going forward was behind much of the procedural wrangling that slowed down the talks in Bonn. Delegates failed to agree on an agenda until the last day, leaving most of the work for a bigger summit in Qatar in November.

A separate dispute between developing countries delayed the appointment of officials to steer the talks. That stalemate was also unlocked on the last day.

The slow pace frustrated climate activists who fear that there won't be enough political will to rein in emissions to avoid dangerous levels of warming in coming decades.

"The talk here doesn't match the action that science says is required," said Mohamed Adow, senior climate change adviser at Christian Aid.

China's lead negotiator Su Wei told The Associated Press that the proposed new deal, which would have binding commitments for all countries after 2020, must be based on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" enshrined in previous climate agreements.

"That means we still would continue the current division between developed and developing countries," Su said.

He said China is still a developing country because if you look at wealth per capita, it barely makes the world's top 100. More than 100 million Chinese live below the poverty line, which Beijing has defined as about $1 a day.

Still, Western officials say China's fast-growing energy needs and rising emissions mean it can no longer be off the hook in climate negotiations.

"We need to move into a system which is reflecting modern economic realities," EU negotiator Christian Pilgaard Zinglersen said.

In the early 1950s, China accounted for just 2 percent of global emissions while the U.S. accounted for more than 40 percent, according to Climate Analytics, a climate research group based in Potsdam, Germany.

Today China's share of global emissions exceeds 25 percent, while the U.S. share has fallen toward 20 percent.

China and its supporters reject blame for stalling the climate talks, saying it is the U.S. and other developed nations that are unwilling to live up to their obligations to cut carbon emissions.

The U.S. refused to join the only binding accord to limit emissions — the 1997 Kyoto Protocol — partly because it didn't include China.

Seyni Nafo, spokesman for a group of African countries in the climate talks, noted that the U.S. also said that joining Kyoto would harm the U.S. economy. Years later, the U.N. climate effort still has little support in the U.S. Congress, which includes outspoken climate skeptics.

"We are hoping that they will get on board this time, which is not a given," Nafo said.

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Climate scientists say warming could exceed 3.5 C

Climate researchers said Thursday the planet could warm by more than 3.5 degrees Celsius (6.3 degrees Fahrenheit), boosting the risk of drought, flood and rising seas.

The UN's target is a 2 C (3.6 degree Fahrenheit) limit on warming from pre-industrial levels for manageable climate change.

In a report issued on the penultimate day of new UN talks in Bonn, scientists said Earth's average global temperature rise could exceed the dangerous 3.5 C (6.3 F) warming they had flagged only six months ago.

Marion Vieweg, a policy researcher with German firm Climate Analytics, told AFP the 3.5 C (6.3 F) estimate had been based on the assumption that all countries will meet their pledges, in themselves inadequate, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

New research has found this is not "a realistic assumption," she said, adding that right now "we can't quantify yet how much above" 3.5 C (6.3 F) Earth will warm.

The monitoring tool is called Climate Action Tracker (CAT), a joint project of Climate Analytics, Ecofys and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

Her colleague, Bill Hare, said the gap between countries' promised interventions and the reality was "getting bigger."

Projections are for greenhouse-gas overshoot of between nine and 11 billion tonnes per year beyond the annual 44-billion-tonne ceiling needed by 2020 to achieve the 2 C (3.6 F) target.

At the moment, the world emits about 48 billion tonnes of these gases, including CO2 and methane.

The United States accounts for six billion tonnes, China seven and the European Union (EU) five, the CAT said.

The 195 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are meeting in the former German capital of Bonn for the first time since they agreed in Durban, South Africa, last December to forge a new global pact.

The accord would be completed by 2015 and take effect in 2020.

View the original article here

California Science Center Names New Wing for Space Shuttle Endeavour

When NASA's space shuttle Endeavour lands at the California Science Center in Los Angeles this fall, it will be displayed in a temporary exhibit, and later a new museum facility named for an entrepreneur, explorer and philanthropist.

The California Science Center (CSC) announced last week that it was naming its space shuttle display pavilion and planned Air and Space Center after the late Samuel Oschin. The exhibit's dedication was made in appreciation for a "transformational gift" from the Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Oschin Family Foundation, which was founded in 1981 to support a variety of causes related to astronomy, the arts, medicine, advocacy, and education.

"We're tremendously grateful to receive this extraordinary gift," Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center, said in a statement. "Combined with the generous support already provided by foundations, individuals, and corporations throughout our community, we are now close to the halfway point in achieving our $200 million [Team Endeavour] campaign goal."

Launch pad for creativity

With Endeavour standing vertically as its centerpiece, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center will invite guests to investigate scientific and engineering principles related to atmospheric flight and the exploration of the universe. [Gallery: Shuttle Endeavour Construction Photos]

"Integrating hands-on exhibits to encourage active learning and a unique collection of aircraft and spacecraft, this new facility will be a launch pad for creativity and innovation," Rudolph said. "It'll inspire the next generation of explorers and scientists and strengthen the science center's ability to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning."

While the air and space center is developed over the next five years, the youngest of NASA's winged orbiters will be exhibited in the Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion, which will open this fall. A NASA Boeing 747 jumbo jetliner is scheduled to ferry Endeavour to Los Angeles in September. Soon after, the shuttle will be transported over land to the science center.

Dedicated dreamer

"Today pays tribute first and foremost to my husband, and his passion for discovery, philanthropy, and the pursuit of knowledge," Lynda Oschin said. "This is Sam's vision and represents truly everything my husband dreamed, loved and believed in."

Samuel Oschin dedicated himself to improving the quality of life in the Los Angeles community. His success in a range of enterprises, from manufacturing to real estate, enabled his adventures to Africa, the North Pole, the Amazon and a 100-mile trek retracing Hannibal's crossing of the Alps.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came to the CSC to thank the Oschin Family Foundation for their support.

"On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, I express heartfelt thanks," Villaraigosa remarked. "Their generous donation ensures that space shuttle Endeavour has a world-class facility in which to reside, a place that will inspire youth to dream of future space exploration, stimulating science and math education for generations, and stimulating tourism to Los Angeles along with it."

Visit shuttles.collectspace.com for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.

Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @robertpearlman. Copyright 2012 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

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India Declares Open Season on Tiger Poachers

The world's "most dangerous game" is on. A state in western India has given its forest rangers permission to shoot poachers on sight in an effort to curb poaching of tigers and other endangered wildlife.

Forest guards in the state of Maharashtra should not be "booked for human rights violations when they have taken action against poachers," Maharashtra Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam said Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. The state even plans to send more rangers and trucks into the forest, and will offer secret payments to informers who give tips about poachers and animal smugglers, Kadam said.

Although no tiger poachers have ever been shot in Maharashtra before, conservationists believe the threat could significantly deter wildlife criminals. A similar measure permitting guards to shoot poachers in Assam, a state in northeastern India, has facilitated the recovery of the local population of endangered one-horned rhinos.

India's wildlife reserves are home to half of the world's estimated 3,200 tigers, and though tiger hunting is banned there, illegal poaching remains a serious issue thanks to demand for tiger parts driven by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Fourteen tigers have been killed by poachers in India so far this year — one more than in all of 2011 — and eight of the poaching deaths occurred in Maharashtra.

"These poachers have lost all fear. They just go in and poach what they want because they know the risks are low," said Divyabhanusinh Chavda, who heads the World Wildlife Fund in India. In many of the country's reserves, guards are armed with little more than sticks.

Permission to kill poachers with impunity as well as the state's offer to pay informers could change the game.

Copyright 2012 Lifes Little Mysteries, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Astronauts to Spend Memorial Day Unpacking Private Space Capsule

Rather than kick their feet up this Memorial Day weekend, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station will be unloading cargo from the first private spacecraft ever to visit the orbiting lab.

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule docked with the station Friday (May 25), making spaceflight history in the process. Another milestone came Saturday at about 5:53 a.m. EDT (0953 GMT), when the hatches between Dragon and the $100 billion orbiting lab were opened.

The station's crew is now able to access the 1,014 pounds (460 kilograms) of cargo that the Dragon spacecraft brought up. But unpacking the capsule in earnest won't begin until Memorial Day (Monday, May 28), NASA officials said.

"Monday and Tuesday are very big cargo days on the space station with regard to Dragon," NASA flight director Holly Ridings said during a post-docking briefing Friday. "At least one of the crewmembers will be doing cargo operations almost all of their work days those days." [SpaceX's Dragon Arrives at Space Station (Pictures)]

Six spaceflyers are currently living aboard the station: NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Joe Acaba, European astronaut Andre Kuipers, and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin.

Pettit, Acaba and Kuipers will handle most of the unloading operations, which should take a total of about 25 hours, Ridings said. Dragon's cargo consists primarily of food and clothing for the station astronauts, as well as 15 student science experiments.

"There's about as much stuff in here as I can put in the back of my pickup truck and don't think there will be any issue with the three of us working and getting this thing unloaded over the next two or three days," Pettit told reporters Saturday.

SpaceX holds a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to make 12 supply runs to the space station. Dragon's current mission is a demonstration flight to see if the capsule and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket are ready to start the bona fide cargo deliveries.

If all goes well, the first of the 12 contracted missions could launch in September, NASA officials said.

Dragon is slated to stay docked to the orbiting lab until Thursday (May 31), when it will detach and return to Earth with about 1,400 pounds (635 kg) of used gear from the station. The capsule is scheduled to depart and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, where SpaceX personnel plan to retrieve it with a recovery ship.

The six station astronauts have been busy for a while preparing for Dragon's arrival, but they'll get a chance to relax for at least part of the holiday weekend, Ridings said.

"We are going to give our crew some time off," Ridings said. "They've been working very hard over the last couple of days, so they'll have a little bit of time off over the weekend."

SPACE.com staff writer Denise Chow contributed to this story. You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Global warming winner: Once rare butterfly thrives

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming is rescuing the once-rare brown Argus butterfly, scientists say.

Man-made climate is threatening the existence of many species, such as the giant polar bear. But in the case of the small drab British butterfly, it took a species in trouble and made it thrive.

It's all about food. Over about 25 years, the butterfly went from in trouble to pushing north in Britain where it found a veritable banquet. Now the butterfly lives in twice as large an area as it once did and is not near threatened, according to a study in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Decades ago, the brown Argus "was sort of a special butterfly that you would have to go to a special place to see and now it's a butterfly you can see in regular farmland or all over the place," said study co-author Richard Fox, an ecologist at Butterfly Conservation, a science and advocacy group in the United Kingdom.

Global warming helping the brown Argus is unusual compared to other species and that's why scientists are studying it more, said study co-author Jane Hill, a professor of ecology at the University of York.

Biologists expect climate change to create winners and losers in species. Stanford University biologist Terry Root, who wasn't part of this study, estimated that for every winner like the brown Argus there are three loser species, like the cuckoo bird in Europe. Hill agreed that it's probably a three-to-one ratio of climate change losers to winners.

As the world warms, the key interactions between species break down because the predator and prey may not change habitats at the same time, meaning some species will move north to cooler climes and won't find enough to eat, Root said.

"There are just so many species that are going to go extinct," Root said.

What makes the brown Argus different is that it found something new to eat, something even better than its old food, the less common rockrose plant, Hill said. The new food is a geranium and it is more widespread.

"It's almost like the whole of the buffet is now open to it," Hill said.

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Online:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

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Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

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First Video Captured by Google Glasses Hits the Web

Google has publicly unveiled new photos and the first video from the real view of their augmented reality glasses prototype. The images show what the wearer sees while reading a newspaper, catching a football in the backyard and helping a smiling child play on the jungle gym.

Such views don't necessarily represent anything people haven't seen before with head-mounted portable cameras. But they do hint at how Google Glasses could enable many people beyond geeky life-casters to capture a diverse array of moments in their lives — the video shows the bouncy viewpoint of the Google Glasses wearer doing flips on a trampoline.

Google tech lead Max Braun showed off the photos and video at the Google + Photographer's Conference on May 23.

The Internet search giant has yet to show off real images or photos of how the glasses could seamlessly integrate virtual information with what a person sees in the real world. Its earlier unveiling of "Project Glass" included a concept video that imagined a wearer getting social calendar reminders and map directions in his field of view.

Still, many members of the public still seem enthusiastic about just having a pair of glasses with a small camera attached. One of the top comments on the YouTube video of the trampoline jumping simply stated "Shut up and take my money!"

The most popular comment of all had a perhaps tongue-in-cheek suggestion for using the Google Glasses — "Good for POV [point-of-view] porn."

This story was provided by InnovationNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Astronauts enter world's 1st private supply ship

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Space station astronauts floated into the Dragon on Saturday, a day after its heralded arrival as the world's first commercial supply ship.

NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, the first one inside the docked capsule, said the Dragon looks like it carries about as much cargo as his pickup truck back home in Houston. It has the smell of a brand new car, he added.

"I spent quite a bit of time poking around in here this morning, just looking at the engineering and the layout, and I'm very pleased," Pettit said from the brilliant white compartment.

To protect against possible debris, Pettit wore goggles, a mask and a caver's light as he slid open the hatch of the newest addition to the International Space Station. The complex sailed 250 miles above the Tasman Sea, just west of New Zealand, as he and his crewmates made their grand entrance. The atmosphere was clean; no dirt or other particles were floating around.

"This event isn't just a simple door opening between two spacecraft — it opens the door to a future in which U.S. industry can and will deliver huge benefits for U.S. space exploration," the Space Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group, said in a statement.

The California-based SpaceX — formally Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — is the first private company to send a vessel to the space station. It's run by Elon Musk, a billionaire who helped create PayPal and founded the electric car company Tesla Motors.

Now that the space shuttles are retired, NASA is handing over orbital delivery work to American business in order to focus on bigger and better objectives, such as getting astronauts to asteroids and Mars. The space agency hopes astronaut ferry trips will follow soon; SpaceX contends its Dragons could be carrying space station astronauts up and down within three or four years.

Flight controllers were ecstatic to be at the cusp of this new commercial era.

"It's great to see you guys inside Dragon. It looks great," Mission Control radioed.

The six space station residents have until the middle of next week to unload Dragon's groceries and refill the capsule with science experiments and equipment for return to Earth. Unlike all the other cargo ships that fly to the orbiting lab, the Dragon is designed for safe re-entry. It will be freed on Thursday and aim for a Pacific splashdown.

The Dragon contains 1,000 pounds of food, clothes, batteries and other provisions. It will bring back 1,400 pounds' worth of gear.

Until now, only major governments have launched cargo ships to the space station. Russia, Japan and Europe will keep providing supplies, and Russia will continue to sell rocket rides to U.S. astronauts until SpaceX or other companies are ready to take over. Several American enterprises are competing for the honor.

Pettit noted that the Dragon — 19 feet tall and 12 feet wide — is roomier than the Russian Soyuz spacecraft he rode up in.

"Flying up in a human-rated Dragon is not going to be an issue," he assured reporters during a news conference.

The unmanned bell-shaped capsule was launched Tuesday from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Pettit used the space station's robot arm Friday to snare the craft.

During Saturday's news conference, Pettit played down his role in the historic event. He noted that the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, which opened up America's Western frontier, was commemorated by the pounding of a golden spike.

"This is kind of the equivalent of the golden spike," he said. "And one other interesting detail — nobody remembers who pounded that golden spike in. The important thing is to remember that the railroad was completed and was now open for use."

Success or failure of the new commercial space effort — the cornerstone of President Barack Obama's vision for NASA — does not hinge on a single mission but rather many missions over many years, Pettit stressed.

"Commercial spaceflight will blossom due to its own merits," he said.

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Online:

SpaceX: http://www.spacex.com

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/c3po/home/

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Mars or Bust! Scientists Flood NASA With 400 Ideas to Explore Red Planet

Scientists have responded in a big way to NASA's call to help reformulate its Mars robotic exploration strategy, submitting about 400 ideas and Red Planet mission concepts to the space agency.

NASA's Mars program suffered deep cuts in President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 budget, which was released in February. In response, NASA pulled out of the European-led ExoMars mission, which aims to launch an orbiter and a rover to the Red Planet in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The agency also undertook a broad rethink of its Mars strategy, to figure out how best to explore the Red Planet with reduced funding. NASA asked the scientific community for ideas and was expecting to get about 200 proposals at its recent Concepts and Approaches for Mars Exploration Workshop in Houston, officials said.

Instead, twice that many submissions poured in from individuals and teams that included professional researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, NASA centers, federal laboratories, industry and
international partner organizations. [7 Biggest Mysteries of Mars]

"This strong response sends a clear message that exploring Mars is important to future exploration," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. "The challenge now will be to select the best ideas for the next phase."

The ideas that survive the first cut will be presented during a workshop held June 12-14 in Houston. The workshop will help NASA's Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG) develop options for a strategy for exploration beginning as early as 2018, and stretching into the next decade and beyond, officials said.

The MPPG will be guided in part by the goals laid out by the U.S. National Research Council's Planetary Science Decadal Survey, which was released in 2011. The survey ranked a Mars sample-return mission as a top priority.

President Obama has also charged NASA with getting astronauts to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.

The MPPG is expected to produce a report by the end of the summer. This report will be assessed by a team of NASA officials in charge of the agency-wide Mars reformulation strategy. Grunsfeld chairs this group, which also includes Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate; NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati; and NASA chief technologist Mason Peck.

This attempt to figure out its long-term Mars plans won't affect NASA's Red Planet efforts over the next few years. The agency's 1-ton Curiosity rover, for example, is slated to land at Mars' huge Gale Crater on the night of Aug. 5 to assess the Red Planet's habitability.

In 2013, NASA will launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter, the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. And the agency's Opportunity rover, which landed on the Red Planet in January 2004, is still chugging along. It's currently exploring the rim of the 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer) Endeavour Crater.

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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