May 21, 2013 Edition

What if you could fully charge your mobile phone in less than a minute? 18-year-old California-native Eesha Khare invented a device that could do just that. The super capacitor is small enough to fit inside mobile phone batteries and could potentially charge a cellphone in 20-30 seconds. Khare’s invention won her $50,000 as part of Intel Foundation’s Young Scientist Awards.


Read more on Huffington Post 

Smart phone image via Shutterstock

Diagnosing leukemia? There’s a computer algorithm for that. According to Mashable, 18-year-old whiz kid Brittany Wenger from Florida taught a computer to diagnose mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL), an aggressive form of cancer, by building a cloud-based “artificial neural network.” Prognosis for MLL is poor, with the 5-year survival rate hitting only 40%. This isn’t Wenger’s first science breakthrough–before teaching a computer to diagnose leukemia, the high school senior developed technology that could diagnose breast cancer.


Learn more about Wenger and her algorithm on Mashable

With the opening of the classes set to occur next month, thousands of volunteers troop to public elementary and high schools nationwide for the annual Brigada Eskwela program. A flagship project of the Department of Education, the program brings together volunteers, teachers, parents and students to clean up the classrooms and prepare the school buildings for another school year. Rappler contributor and teacher Samuel Macagba writes about how his students from the Xavier University High School in Cagayan de Oro City volunteered for the first time. “They realized that their participation was meaningful most especially in the lives of students who deserve to be in a conducive environment for learning,” wrote Macagba. The Brigada Eskwela program will run from May 20 to 24, 2013.



Read the full story on Rappler

After much buzz and speculation, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer announces Yahoo’s acquisition of popular blogging platform Tumblr. In an announcement made on Yahoo!’s new Tumblr account, the search portal promised “not to screw it (Tumblr) up” as they enter a “definitive agreement”. Tumblr will, however, continue to operate independently as it aligns with Yahoo. The strategic move is designed to harness users from the 18- 24 year old bracket, a group popular with the blogging platform Tumblr, as the older Internet company Yahoo has been forced in the background by more popular websites like Google in recent years.


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Almost as important as winning a senatorial elections is topping the polls in one’s bailiwick – a candidate’s home province or city. While it is common for voters to rally behind a home-grown candidate it is not always the case.  Post elections, Rappler tracked the performance of senatorial candidates and found out that of the 33 candidates, only nine bets won in their home provinces and of this number only four made it to the Top 12 in the national count. Find out who they were in this Newsbreak report.


Read more on Rappler 

A British climber, who made history by making the first live video call from the top of Mt. Everest, is now in a row with the Nepalese government over the ‘illegal call’. Daniel Hughes scaled the highest mountain on May 20 and placed a call to the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) via a satellite phone. But the Nepalese government is now angry at hughes for placing the call to the media. “’Mr Hughes has broken the law by not seeking permission from the communication ministry to film, broadcast or conduct media related events on Everest,” said Mr Purnachandra Bhattarai, joint secretary of Nepal’s tourism Ministry. The Nepalese government is unclear on what it intends to do when Hughes returns to Base Camp.


Read the full story in the Daily Mail

Is Apple in trouble? A US Senate panel on Monday, May 20, said Apple avoided paying billions in taxes by using foreign firms, many of which had “no declared tax jurisdiction.” The panel has called Apple employees, including CEO Tim Cook to testify on Tuesday, May 21, as the US government investigates tactics Apple and other companies take to avoid paying taxes in America. Cook, meanwhile, told The Washington Post that we would make proposals to lawmakers that would make is easier for companies to repatriate offshore profits.


Read more on Rappler 

The Philippines and Taiwan will be conducting a “parallel investigation” in the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman in Philippine territory. “There would be coordinated efforts between the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Taiwan team. But results of one probe will support that of the other,” Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said. The confirmation on this action came after it was initially announced that there would be a joint investigation by Philippine and Taiwanese officials in the matter. The issue has sparked tensions between the two countries involved which has led to at least 3 Filipinos being attacked in Taiwan.


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Chinese state media reports that North Korea released 16 Chinese fishermen and their boat Tuesday following reports that armed assailants had taken the sailors hostage fueling strains between the two countries. While no details about the incident were provided, the vessel’s owner said that armed North Koreans seized the boat in waters between the two countries on May 6 and demanded 600,000 yuan ($98,000) for the men’s release, adding they were probably from Pyongyang’s military. The incident is the latest strain in the relationship between China and North Korea. Beijing is Pyongyang’s sole major ally and its key provider of aid and trade, but China said it “firmly opposed” the nuclear-armed North’s atomic test in February. North Korea has for years done most of its banking through China, but with the imposition of stronger UN sanctions after the nuclear test, Beijing has come under greater pressure to tighten its control on Pyongyang’s financial flows.


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A powerful tornado swept through an Oklahoma City suburb on Monday, May 20 (Tuesday Manila time), tearing down blocks of homes, at least two schools and leaving at least 91 people dead including at least 20 children. The number is expected to rise as emergency crews comb through smashed homes and the collapsed remains of an elementary school in Moore, Oklahoma. Stunned weather forecasters reported a three-kilometer wide swathe of vicious winds and television news helicopters tracked a dark and deadly funnel plowing through densely-packed suburbs. Monday’s tornado followed roughly the same track as a May 1999 twister that killed 44 people, injured hundreds more and destroyed thousands of homes. Tornadoes frequently touch down on Oklahoma’s wide open plains, but Monday’s twister struck a populated urban area and raised fears of a high casualty toll.


Red more on Rappler