SCIENCE BOND

Mr Cook told ABC his company first learned of the controversial request when it was reported in the news media.  "I don't think that's the way the railroad should be run," he said.  "I don't think that something so important to this country should be handled in this way."  However, a source close to the investigation told the BBC Mr Cook's claim was "simply not true", and that Apple's legal team was "the first to know". A spokeswoman for the FBI said she did not wish to comment on Mr Cook's remarks.  Elsewhere, the New York Times reported that Apple had begun working on an upgrade to its devices which would make it impossible to break into an iPhone using the method proposed by the FBI in this case.Mr Cook was defending the company's refusal to comply with the FBI's order that it remove security blocks on Farook's device so data on it could be accessed. He said the FBI was asking the company to m...

The event, which has only just come to light, occurred off the coast of Brazil at 13:55 GMT on 6 February.  As it burned up, the space rock released the equivalent of 13,000 tonnes of TNT.  This makes it the most powerful event of its kind since an object exploded overChelyabinsk in Russia in 2013.  That blast was much bigger, releasing the equivalent of 500,000 tonnes of TNT.  More than 1,000 people were injured in that incident on 15 February three years ago, most from flying glass from shattered windows. But the fireball over the Atlantic probably went unnoticed; it burnt up about 30km above the ocean surface, 1,000km off the Brazilian coast.  Nasa listed the event on its Fireball and Bolide Reports web page.  Measurements suggest that about 30 small asteroids (between 1m and 20m in size) burn up in the Earth's atmosphere every year.  Because most of the Earth's surface is covered by water, most of these fall over the ocean and do not aff...

The three skeletons unearthed at Nimes show indications of Islamic burial rites and are thought to date to the eighth century AD.  A team used DNA, radiocarbon dating and archaeological analysis to show the individuals may have been North African soldiers from a brief occupation of southern France by an Islamic army. Details of the analysis are published in the journal Plos One.  In each of the three graves, the bodies were placed on their right-hand sides facing south-east - in the direction of Mecca. The way the burial pit was dug, with a lateral niche closed off by slabs or stones also corresponds to a traditional Islamic burial practice.  Analysis of the skeletons reveals that two of the three males were in their late twenties or early thirties, while the other was about 50 years of age.  Radiocarbon dating of all three burials gave age ranges within the 7th and 8th centuries.  The scientists also carried out genetic analysis on the remains. They ...

Health officials said she had been admitted for further investigations after routine monitoring but did not give specific details of her condition.  The 40-year-old from South Lanarkshire is said to be "stable" at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.  An RAF Hercules aircraft has arrived at Glasgow Airport. It is believed this will take her to hospital in London.  Ms Cafferkey was treated at London's Royal Free Hospital twice in 2015 after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone.  NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "Ms Cafferkey was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital under routine monitoring by the Infectious Diseases Unit. "She is undergoing further investigations and her condition remains stable."She spent almost a month in isolation at the Royal Free at the beginning of 2015 after the virus was detected when she arrived back in the UK.  The nurse was later discharged after apparently making a full recovery, and in Mar...

Speaking on stage in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, the Facebook CEO said he doesn't think requiring back doors would be "the right thing to do" nor would it be an effective way to get data from the iPhone of deceased San Bernardino shooter, Syed Farook. "We've already shared our statement," said Zuckerberg. "We're pretty sympathetic with Tim and Apple on this one." Last Thursday, Facebook (FB, Tech30) joined other Silicon Valley companies in backing Apple, which has vigorously opposed an FBI demand to alter part of its iOS software so that authorities won't get locked out of the iPhone that Farook used. Such demands "create a chilling precedent and obstruct companies' efforts to secure their products," Facebook said in a statement at the time. Zuckerberg had stayed silent on the subject until Monday, while leaders from Google (GOOG) andTwitter (TWTR, Tech30) made public comments supporting Apple last week....

There has only ever been one way to get something into space: blast it up there. It is expensive - every ounce of weight costs thousands of pounds. If we are ever going to survive in space, this simply will not do. Sooner or later, we are going to have to start making things without relying on Earth. The first step of this inspiringly significant process was unveiled recently by Nasa at its research park in Silicon Valley.On 23 March, a 3D printer will be blasted up to the six-strong crew in the ISS. It will be used to make spare parts, as well as experiments.  A prototype printer - the first manufacturing device ever in space - has already been trailed by the ISS crew. This new model, however, will see the project move into being fully operational.  "You can bring us a USB stick with your file, and we can digitally send it to space," says Andrew Rush, chief executive of Made In Space, the Nasa-funded start-up developing the technology. "Via 3D printing we...

Using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the National Science Foundation has detected gravitational waves.  Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in his general theory of relativity a century ago, and scientists have been attempting to detect them for 50 years. Einstein pictured these waves as ripples in the fabric of space-time produced by massive, accelerating bodies, such as black holes orbiting each other. Scientists are interested in observing and characterizing these waves to learn more about the sources producing them and about gravity itself. The LIGO detections represent a much-awaited first step toward opening a whole new branch of astrophysics. Nearly everything we know about the universe comes from detecting and analyzing light in all its forms across the electromagnetic spectrum – radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. The study of gravitational waves opens a new window on the unive...

The glyptodonts roamed South America for millions of years until the last Ice Age, and some grew as big as cars.  Their physical attributes - notably an impenetrable shell - already placed them as likely cousins of armadillos.  Now, researchers say they are not even a sister group, but a subfamily.  "Glyptodonts should probably be considered a subfamily of gigantic armadillos," said Frederic Delsuc, from the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) and Montpellier University in France.  Dr Delsuc and his colleagues used computer predictions to reconstruct some likely DNA sequences of armadillo ancestors, based on the genes of living species. They then made RNA "bait" based on these sequences and used it to fish for glyptodont DNA in a tiny, mashed-up sample of shell from a fossil in a Buenos Aires museum.This technique allows scientists to confidently identify real DNA sequences from the ancient target species, without worrying about contaminating ge...

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge both accept MicroSD cards, allowing their storage to be expanded, and can also be submerged underwater.  In addition, they feature new gaming tech and a rear camera that should cope better in low-light conditions.  Their overall design, however, is similar to the Galaxy S6 line-up.  Some experts suggested that could pose a challenge."Although there are significant improvements under the bonnet with the camera, the chipset, the removable storage and the water resistance, Samsung will have to make sure that's visible to consumers," commented Ian Fogg from the IHS Technology consultancy.  "Because at a glance they look to be the same as last year's model." Samsung does not disclose smartphone sales numbers. However its share of the market dropped by 2% in 2015, according to research firm IDC, at a time when Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi made gains.  Even so, IDC's data still indicates the South Korean firm remains the be...

The MateBook is designed to be an alternative to laptops and is thinner than Microsoft's rival Surface Pro 4 thanks to its use of a USB-C port.  The Chinese firm is already the world's third-bestselling mobile phone-maker, but until now had only made tablets powered by Android.  Experts said it made good business sense to expand into the new category.  However, there was no mention of the much-rumoured P9 smartphone at Huawei's event. Thinner, lighter The MateBook features a 12in (30.5cm) display and can be clipped into an add-on keyboard and used with a stylus.  Its advantages over Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 are that it is: nearly 20% thinner, measuring 6.9mm (0.3in) deep about 20% lighter, weighing 630g (1.4lb) has a fingerprint sensor built into its side, unlike the Surface Pro which requires its cover to be attached to use the feature However, the disadvantages are that Huawei's machine is only offered with a sixth generation Core M pro...

Ringing Bells unveiled its Freedom 251 smartphone on Wednesday, touting features that included a 4-inch display, 1.3-GHz quad-core processor and 8 GB of storage.  The "made-in-India" product was listed for just 251 rupees ($3.65), a price with the potential to revolutionize India's devices market and make Internet access affordable for tens of millions of people.  One problem: Industry insiders say the deal is too good to be true. "This seems to be a joke or a scam. It is something we are very upset about," said Pankaj Mohindroo, national president of the Indian Cellular Association. "This is being investigated by various government authorities."  In a letter to India's Minister for Communications and I.T., Mohindroo said that even when using the cheapest components, such a phone would cost at least 2700 rupees ($40) to produce. After counting taxes and duties, the price should be at least 3500 rupees ($52). Richard Windsor, an analyst...

White blood cells were taken from patients with leukaemia, modified in the lab and then put back.  But the data has not been published or reviewed and two patients are said to have died from an extreme immune response.  Experts said the trial was exciting, but still only "a baby step."  The news bubbled out of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in Washington DC.  The lead scientist, Prof Stanley Riddell from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, said all other treatments had failed in these patients and they had only two-to-five months to live. He told the conference that: "The early data is unprecedented."In the trial, cells from the immune system called killer t-cells were taken out of dozens of patients. The cells normally act like bombs destroying infected tissue.  The researchers genetically modified the t-cells to engineer a new targeting mechanism - with the technical name of chimeric antigen...

Porn industry representatives argued that condoms were a turn-off for viewers and could destroy the industry. They warned such a ruling in favour of condoms could lead to actors also being required to wear safety goggles and dental dams. Performers are currently required to be tested every two weeks for STDs. The vote came after the Aids Healthcare Foundation lobbied California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health's Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) for stricter workplace safety rules in porn. But industry representatives also said making actors wear condoms could push the industry underground, where health risks would be greater. They also said stricter safety provisions could be interpreted as requiring sex workers to ensure their eyes were protected from infection by blood-borne pathogens by wearing goggles like those worn by doctors. Such a requirement would spell the end of many porn film scenes, they said. "If one performer in a scene wants a condom, everyb...