Thousands of Mysterious Purple Spheres Discovered in the Desert

In Tucson, Arizona, locals have discovered a strange collection of purple spheres in the middle of the desert. It’s not yet certain what these spheres are, but analyses are being made to ascertain their exact nature.

Read more @ Technabob

Dryland Farmers Work With Little Water

A new generation of extremely efficient farmers sees irrigation as a non-viable alternative. These farmers use dryland farming, which has helped farmers to get through the drought and allow their crops to better handle low moisture conditions.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Rising Temperatures & Persistent Drought Threaten to Create a Second Dust Bowl

Rising temperatures, persistent drought, and depleted aquifers could set the stage for a second Dust Bowl, a period of drought and dust storms that affected the prairies in the USA and Canada during the 1930s.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Ranchers in the USA Are Struggling to Adapt to Climate Change

In Boulder, Colorado, local cattle have developed immunity against the poisonous larkspur flowers that grow amongst the more edible grasses, making decisions to sell cattle a tough one. A rancher culling a herd he can’t afford to feed faces a problem restocking once economics improve, the replacements may die if they binge on the larkspur.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

US Concerns about Biosecurity Could Hamper Collaborations in Viral Research

U.S. Federal health agencies have started to tighten security surrounding the research on deadly pathogens. The move is to enhance public safety, but some fear that this might hamper research.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

American Online News Consumption Finally Surpasses Radio & Print

Image Credit: Pew Research Center

The conclusion of Pew Research Center’s latest study is that a new generation of consumers is getting their news from online sources, and no longer relies on radio or print. Even television is increasingly vulnerable.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Bypass Surgery Results in Long Term Health Benefits and Weight Loss

There are more than 30 million Americans that are classified as obese or extremely obese. A new study shows that they might benefit from surgery that reconstructs the stomach to accommodate less food. Gastric bypass surgery leads to weight loss and improvement of health related problems, and may yield long-term health benefits.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

NDM-1 Superbug Discovered in a Cat in the USA

The Indian superbug NDM-1, which has a gene that encodes an enzyme conferring resistance to almost all known antibiotics, has been found in the USA in a household cat.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

3D-Printed Semi-Automatic Rifle Actually Works

I guess it was only a matter of time before 3D printers were able to replicate or start making some more, shall we say “handy” tools. Check out what amateur gunsmith HaveBlue was able to do with his own 3D printer! Yep, that’s an AR-15 rifle.

Read more @ Technabob

Newsroom (HBO)

The last time I regularly watched the news was quite a long time ago. It was probably more than a decade ago, when I had cable and a TV. I haven’t had either for a long time. I had also gotten tired of watching biased and partisan American news, from the big networks including CNN. I never was a fan of FOX news. Most of the time, I watched the BBC World News, which I found less biased and it had better coverage of world events.