Zebrafish made to grow pre-hands instead of fins

PERHAPS the little fish embryo shown here is dancing a jig because it has just discovered that it has legs instead of fins. Fossils show that limbs evolved from fins, but a new study shows how it may have happened, live in the lab. ...

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Body found in Singapore River

SINGAPORE: A man was found dead in the Singapore River along Clarke Quay early Sunday morning. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call at about 1.30am.Someone was spotted jumping into the river near Block A.SCDF officers arrived about four minutes later and conducted a search around the area.Diving at a depth of about 3 metres, rescuers retrieved the body of a...

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The victims

STORY HIGHLIGHTSPrincipal Dawn Hochsprung was "a tough lady in the right sort of sense," friend saysMary Sherlach served as Sandy Hook's school psychologist since 1994Teacher Victoria Soto died while shielding first graders from shooterFirst-grader Emilie Parker "was the sweetest little girl I've ever known," aunt says Editor's note: CNN is listing the full names of children only when their parents...

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Conn. dad recalls loving, creative 6-year-old

NEWTOWN, Conn. Fighting back tears and struggling to catch his breath, the father of a 6-year-old gunned down in Friday's school shooting in Connecticut told the world about a little girl who loved to draw and was always smiling, and he also reserved surprising words of sympathy for the gunman. Robbie Parker's daughter Emilie was among the 20 children who died in the one of the worst attacks on...

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Conn. Victim's Father Remembers 'Loving' Daughter

(Image credit: Emilie Parker Fund/Facebook)Emilie Parker, the little girl with the blond hair and bright blue eyes, would have been one of the first to comfort her classmates at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had a gunman’s bullets not claimed her life, her father said.“My daughter Emilie would be one of the first ones to be standing and giving support to all the victims because that’s the kind...

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CERN becomes first pure physics voice in UN chorus

Lisa Grossman, physical sciences reporter(Image: UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras)If CERN observes the proceedings of the United Nations, will it change the outcome?The international particle physics laboratory, based near Geneva, Switzerland, has been granted observer status in the General Assembly of the United Nations, CERN officials announced today. The lab joins environmental groups and public...

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Police hunt man who threatened shooting at US mosque

LOS ANGELES: Police in California are looking for a man who reportedly walked into a California mosque saying he had a gun and threatened to kill everyone, a spokeswoman said Friday.The man entered the Ibrahim Khalilullah Islamic Center in Fremont, south of San Francisco, during afternoon prayer Wednesday, said mosque leaders, urging official action to track down the man.According to witnesses,...

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Pearlman: I think Bobby Petrino is slime

Bobby Petrino was named head coach at Western Kentucky, months after being embroiled in scandal at University of ArkansasSTORY HIGHLIGHTSBobby Petrino was named the new football coach at Western Kentucky this weekHiring came just months after he was fired from Arkansas amid scandalJeff Pearlman says, sadly, this is no surprise in big-time college sportsHe says the vast majority of players are ultimately...

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Hundreds pack Conn. church for vigil after rampage

Updated 9:13 PM ET NEWTOWN, Conn. A vigil Friday night for the victims of a school massacre in western Connecticut brought out hundreds of community members, including some parents who were struggling with mixed emotions after their own children survived the massacre. With the church filled to capacity, hundreds spilled outside, some of them holding hands in circles and saying prayers. Others lit...

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Conn. Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Adam Lanza of Newtown, Connecticut was a child of the suburbs and a child of divorce who at age 20 still lived with his mother.This morning he appears to have started his day by shooting his mother Nancy in the face, and then driving to nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School armed with at least two handguns and at least one semi-automatic rifle.There, before turning his gun on himself,...

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Today on New Scientist: 13 December 2012

Violent beauty at the end of an Alaskan glacier You can almost hear the crash of ice on water in this stunning image of an ice sheet calving off the Chenega glacier in AlaskaOvereating now bigger global problem than lack of food The most comprehensive disease report ever produced confirms that, for the first time, there is a larger health problem from people eating too much than too littleIn...

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Unemployment low, job vacancies remain up in Q3: MOM

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said employment growth stayed high despite a rise in layoffs in the third quarter of this year.In a statement, MOM noted that job openings rose in the quarter, resulting in a rise in job vacancies to job seekers ratio.Meanwhile, the increase in layoffs remained substantially below recessionary highs. Total employment grew by 26,200 in the third...

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NATO: Syrian regime near collapse

STORY HIGHLIGHTSRights group urges rebels to abide by international accords amid report of "horrible abuses"Collapse of Syrian regime appears inevitable, NATO chief saysSyria's apparent use of Scud missiles is "reckless," Anders Fogh Rasmussen saysOpposition group calls for rebels to protect religious, cultural sites(CNN) -- Defeat could be near for Syria's embattled regime, NATO and Syrian ally Russia...

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Donation-based hospital rescues Afghanistan's wounded

(CBS News) KABUL - In Afghanistan, an American soldier and two Afghans were killed by a car bomb Thursday. It happened near the U.S. airbase in Kandahar, a few hours after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta left there to meet with Afghan President Karzai. Taliban attacks have grown more frequent, causing a sharp rise in civilian casualties. There's one place where many of those lives are saved or lost....

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Health-Exchange Deadline Looms

All of the Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," doesn't go into effect until 2014, but states are required to set up their own health care exchanges or leave it to the federal government to step in by next year. The deadline for the governors' decisions is Friday.The health insurance exchanges are one of the key stipulations of the new health care law. They will offer...

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UK government urged to consider relaxing drug rules

JUST say yes to considering relaxed drug controls, urged a panel of UK parliamentarians this week - but Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected the calls. Many countries have loosened their penalties for drug use, including the Czech Republic and Portugal, which...

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S'pore strongly urges N.Korea to work with international community

SINGAPORE: Singapore has strongly urged the North Korean government to refrain from further actions that would escalate tensions, and work with the international community to preserve peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said North Korea's rocket launch on Wednesday is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.It...

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Mall gunman: 'I have lived one crazy life so far'

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Gunman's mother died at childbirth; he never met father, friend saysNEW: He was an 'outgoing' skateboarder in high school, another friend saysNEW: He told a friend he left aunt's home at age 14 and raised himselfJacob 'Jake' Roberts uses edgy, dark humor on his Facebook page(CNN) -- Intended or not, the central image on the Facebook page of Jacob "Jake" Roberts, the Oregon shopping...

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12-12-12 Sandy benefit: Night of music, stars

Updated: 9:25 p.m. ETMusic filled New York's Madison Square Garden Wednesday night for the "12-12-12" gig all in the name of helping superstorm Sandy victims. 11 Photos12-12-12 Concert for Sandy ReliefBruce Springsteen kicked off the star-studded concert, a fitting start for the benefit, which will aid hard-hit storm areas such as the rocker's native New Jersey. The Boss launched into "Land of Hope...

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McAfee Lands in Miami: I'm Free

Software mogul John McAfee has been released from detention in Guatemala City and has landed in Miami.Immediately upon landing, according to passengers on the plane, McAfee's name was called and he was whisked off the aircraft. Federal officials escorted the 67-year-old Internet antivirus pioneer through customs spirit him out a side door, out of the view of reporters, according...

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Today on New Scientist: 11 December 2012

Out-of-season's greetings from the Arctic frost flowers Season's regards from an icy meadow in the Arctic, but it's no winter wonderland and please don't dash out into itHow hacking a mosquito's heart could eradicate malaria Watch how a double-pronged trick helps mosquitoes remain healthy while carrying disease, a process that could be exploited to eliminate malariaNew drug lifts hard-to-treat...

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Britain 'deplores' N.Korea rocket launch

LONDON: Britain said it "deplored" North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on Wednesday and vowed to summon the Asian country's UK ambassador to the Foreign Office."I strongly condemn the DPRK's satellite launch today," Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement."I deplore the fact that the DPRK has chosen to prioritise this launch over improving the livelihood of its people....

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Two victims, gunman dead after shooting at Oregon mall

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot, a sheriff's official saysMall's Santa says he heard gunshots and "hit the floor"Three people are killed in the mall shooting, including the gunmanOne witness in Macy's says she saw a man wearing a hockey mask, wielding an assault rifle(CNN) -- Panicked customers rushed to the exits when a gunman opened fire Tuesday at a mall outside...

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Suspect, two others, killed in Ore. mall shooting

Updated 9:40 p.m. ET PORTLAND, Oregon A gunman opened fire Tuesday in a Portland, Oregon-area shopping mall Tuesday, killing at least two people before turning the gun on himself, police said. An unknown other number of people were injured. Clackamas County sheriff's Lt. James Rhodes said they were still trying to get more details about the situation at the Clackamas Town Center. So far, the shooter...

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