Science and Technology

Android users know this all too well: repeatedly tapping "check for update" will eventually yield a software update to arrive. Just keep at it and it will come. Except usually, nothing ever comes, causing that button to become pretty much useless. That's changing now. According to Google software engineer Elliott Hughes, as long as users have the latest version of Google Play Services installed, tapping the check for update button will finally reveal an update, suppose there is one. 'Check For Update' Now Works As Intended Hughes confirmed the change via Google+, posted Sept 23: "If you're running a current Google Play Services, you shouldn't need to sideload an OTA or flash a system image just because you're impatient," he wrote. In other words, it doesn't matter if a certain user is part of Google's current rollout group or not — they will still get the update if they keep hammering away the check for update button. D...

This Ancient Frog Had Jaws Strong Enough To Eat Small Dinosaurs And Crocodiles

Beelzebufo ampinga, an ancient frog also known as the "devil frog," had a strong-enough jaw to include small dinosaurs and crocodiles in its diet, according to a new study. The chilling revelation came from a study that analyzed the biting power of South American horned frogs, which are the closest living descendants of Beelzebufo. Beelzebufo Ampinga: The Devil Frog The frogs of today do not exactly inspire horror stories, but a certain species of horned frogs in South America, the Ceratophrys cranwelli, are very aggressive and can eat animals that are the same size as they are. Researchers thought that by using the C. cranwelli as their model, they can estimate the biting power of the extinct Beelzebufo, which used to live in Madagascar about 65 million to 70 million years ago. In a paper that was published in the Scientific Reports , the researchers used contraptions known as bite force sensors on small horned frogs. For frogs with heads that m...

Skeleton Shows Neanderthal Kids Grew Up Like Modern Human Children

Analysis of the skeleton of a Neanderthal boy revealed that the primitive relative of modern humans grew much like modern kids do, providing another evidence that the now extinct human species were similar to us. Skeleton Of 7-Year Old Neanderthal In a new study, Antonio Rosas, from the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, and colleagues analyzed the 49,000-year-old skeleton found in the archeological site of El Sidron in Northern Spain to determine how children from the ancient species of humans developed. Christopher Dean, from the University College London, determined the age of the child by counting the daily growth lines in slices of one of the molars. The results revealed that the child was between 7 and 8 years old at the time of death. Growth Similar To That Of A Modern Human Child The researchers measured the maturation of the skull, teeth, elbow, spine, hand, wrist, and knee to assess the development of the child, who is believed to...