Still | Common News Update

Oct42017 by adminNo Comments

Scientists still confounded by Milky Way's most mysterious star

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Tabby's Star continues to confound astronomers. New analysis shows the Milky Way's 'most mysterious star' has experienced brief periods of brightening amid its prolonged dimming.The star, officially titled KIC 8462852, and sometimes called Boyajian's Star, first caught astronomers attention in 2015. While monitoring the F-type main-sequence star, NASA's Kepler Space Telescope captured a series of rapid dimming events.When researchers analyzed archival observation of the star, they found Tabby's Star has been gradually dimming for some time. Astronomers came up with a variety of explanations for the dimming episodes, including periodic transits by exoplanets or dust clouds.However, a more recent survey of 11 years of KIC 8462852 observations revealed two brief brightening st...

Sep62017 by adminNo Comments

Humans are still evolving, study suggests

Science

Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Some have suggested modern medicine has frozen human evolution. With advanced medicine and reproductive technologies, the vast majority of humans enjoy lifespans long enough to pass on their genes to the next generation.But a new study suggests natural selection is still altering the human genome in subtle ways. When researchers surveyed the genomes of 210,000 people from the United States and Britain, they found genetic anomalies linked to Alzheimer's disease and heavy smoking were less common among those with longer lifespans. Scientists also found those who lived longer were less likely to carry genetic mutations linked with heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity, and asthma.The findings -- detailed this week in the journal PLoS Biology -- suggest humans are still inf...

Sep12017 by adminNo Comments

Investors Are Still Overlooking Macy's Real Estate Potential

Finance

After an extremely weak first quarter, Macy's (NYSE: M) began to steady its sales and earnings performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Adjusted comparable store sales fell 2.5% in the period. While that's hardly cause for celebration, it was a big improvement relative to the 4.6% decline that Macy's logged in Q1.Nevertheless, Mr. Market wasn't impressed. Macy's stock has plumbed new multiyear lows in the past month, even falling below the $ 20 mark briefly.Macy's Stock Performance, data by YCharts .Based on its Wednesday closing price of $ 20.83, Macy's had a meager $ 6.4 billion market cap. Furthermore, the stock trades for just seven times earnings, based on management's 2017 guidance. This indicates that investors are still underestimating th...

Aug162017 by adminNo Comments

Employment at record high – but wages still weak

Business

The UK's jobless rate hit its lowest level since 1975 - but average earnings continued to lag behind inflation in the three months to June, official figures show.Wages grew by 2.1% compared with the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics said.This is a slight increase on the previous March to May quarter when the ONS revised down its preliminary figure to 1.9%.However, once inflation is taken into account, total pay in real terms sank by 0.5% both including and excluding bonuses.It comes a day after official data showed inflation remained unchanged in July at 2.6%. Economists had expected it to climb to 2.7%.The figures are significant as they show a continuation in the squeeze on living costs, largely thanks to the collapse in the pound following the Brexit vote, which ...

Aug102017 by adminNo Comments

Animal products will still be used for notes

Business

The Bank of England has decided to carry on using chemicals derived from animal products to make its new plastic banknotes despite an outcry.An extensive consultation saw the vast majority of those who responded say they were against the use of the additives.But the Bank said the alternative of using palm oil raised environmental concerns and would cost the Treasury an extra £16.5m over the next ten years.The Government told the Bank it did not believe a switch would be achieve value for money for taxpayers.Campaigners launched a petition last autumn after it emerged that the new plastic £5 note contained traces of an animal product derivative.The Bank launched a review following the outcry and earlier this year decided not to scrap the notes, though it said it would hold a public consulta