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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Public skydiving event in S'pore may become yearly affair

SINGAPORE: Daredevils can rejoice, as there are plans for a yearly public skydiving event to be held in Singapore, subject to authorities' approval.The first of the plunges took place on Saturday above Sentosa, where 15 thrill-seekers took the leap of faith.It was held in conjunction with Asia Pacific's inaugural indoor skydiving world championships, which runs from 14 to 16 December at...

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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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Egyptians vote on Islamist-backed constitution

CAIRO Egyptians were voting Saturday on a proposed constitution that has polarized their nation, with President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters backing the charter, while liberals, many secular Muslims and Christians oppose it.With the nation divided by a political crisis defined by mass protests and deadly violence, the vote has turned into a dispute over whether Egypt should move toward...

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School Shooting: Officials Seek Details on Gunman

The FBI is in at least three states interviewing relatives and friends of the elementary school gunman who killed 20 children, seven adults and himself, trying to put together a better picture of the shooter and uncover any possible explanation for the massacre, ABC News has learned.The authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview relatives...

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Satellite upgrade should let planes slash emissions

A CONSTELLATION of next-generation communications satellites has a surprise in store for the environment. When Iridium Communications begins launching replacement orbiters in 2015, it will do much more than upgrade its satphone services. Piggybacking on the satellites will be a set of transmitters that could revolutionise...

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Golf: Garcia shows his class at Johor Open

KUALA LUMPUR: World number 20 Sergio Garcia of Spain charged up the leaderboard to hold the second-round lead at nine-under through 12 holes at the weather-interrupted $2 million Iskandar Johor Open on Friday.Almost three hours of play was lost to bad weather and play was suspended as darkness began falling, leaving 117 players to return at 7.30 am on Saturday to resume their round.Opening...

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Nuke watchdog close to deal with Iran

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at an October press conference that Iran will not back down on its nuclear program.STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: IAEA and Iran close to an agreement, nuclear watchdog chief saysIran calls the talks "constructive" but does not address access to ParchinProf. Fereydoun Abbasi Davani is among those being slapped with sanctionsAbbasi Davani, the head of Iran atomic agency,...

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As "fiscal cliff" looms, health reform questions linger

Washington lawmakers this month are squarely focused on deficit reduction as they attempt to scramble off the so-called "fiscal cliff." All the while, however, the government is proceeding with the costly and ambitious rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Key components of President Obama's health care law won't go into effect for about another year, but federal and state lawmakers are obligated...

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Critics Faulted Rice's Work on Benghazi, Africa

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice removed herself from possible consideration as secretary of state after becoming yet another player in the divide between the left and right.Rice, who withdrew her name Thursday, has faced months of criticism over how she characterized the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. She also has come under fire for her approach...

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World's loneliest bug turns up in Death Valley

An improbable microbe, first found living 3.3 kilometres below South Africa, has been glimpsed half a world away in California. Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator was found in water-filled fractures in South Africa's deep gold mines,...

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Land parcel in Sembawang receives top bid of S$211.9m

SINGAPORE: The tender for a land parcel located at Sembawang Crescent/Sembawang Drive closed on Thursday with a top bid of $211.92 million.The site, measuring 21,718.4 square metres, received a total of eight bids. In a statement, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said the top bid came from boutique developer JBE Holdings, while the second highest bid of S$210.1 million was handed...

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Court: Prank call nurse found hanging by co-workers

STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe nurse's body was formally identified by her husband, the inquest hearsAustralia's media watchdog opens an investigation into the prank call by 2Day FMCourt: Jacintha Saldanha was found by co-workers hanging from a scarfThe nurse left three notes, two of them at the scene, a police officer saysLondon (CNN) -- A nurse who took a prank call from an Australian radio station apparently...

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Etan Patz suspect: He was alive when I left him

NEW YORK Pedro Hernandez told New York City Detectives that, when he left Etan Patz's body in a doorway, he believed the little boy was still alive. The 1979 disappearance of the six year old became the most symbolic kidnapping case since the murder of the Lindberg baby, stirring the movement that put missing children on milk cartons and billboards. The stunning revelation and other new details...

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McAfee Returns to US, Admits Playing 'Crazy Card'

John McAfee's month-long international run from police through two Central American nations ended with a flight to Miami, where the businessman who says he abandoned his fortune admitted to playing the "crazy card."As a gaggle of media waited near several exit doors at the airport Wednesday night, federal authorities whisked the founder of McAfee anti-virus software off the...

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Artificial muscle for soft robots can bend in sunlight

Douglas Heaven, reporter!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and C found at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/. -->!-- This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soonas the line is read by the browser. If you wish to have the player instantiated only afterthe rest of the HTML is processed and the page...

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PM to "carefully consider" whether to call by-election

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said he will carefully consider whether to call a by-election in Punggol East and, if so, when. This follows the resignation of Michael Palmer as MP for the area.In a statement to the media on Wednesday, Mr Lee also assured Singaporeans that he will make his decision based on what he said, "is best for the constituents of Punggol East and...

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Shopper: We 'felt like sitting ducks'

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The gunman was believed to be in his early 20s, a sheriff's official saysThe victims and the deceased gunman have not been identifiedOne woman says she saw a rifle-wielding man wearing a hockey mask inside Macy's"Kids were crying. Parents were crying, too," a mall employee saysFollow continuing local coverage on CNN affiliates KPTV, KATU, KGW and KOIN. (CNN) -- The masked gunman...

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Motive unclear in Oregon mall shooting that left three dead

PORTLAND, Ore. A masked gunman wearing camouflage opened fire Tuesday in a busy Portland mall, leaving the gunman and two others dead and one person injured, and forcing the mall's Santa Claus and hundreds of Christmas shoppers and employees to flee or hide among store displays. Austin Patty, 20, who works at Macy's, said he saw a man in a white mask carrying a rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest....

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Mall Gunman Wanted to Kill 'Total Strangers'

The masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two and seriously injuring a third before killing himself, was trying to "kill as many people as possible."The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's...

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Injured Navy serviceman expected to be in ICU for a few days: CGH

SINGAPORE: Changi General Hospital (CGH) said on Tuesday that Navy serviceman ME2 Jason Chee Weng Fai is still in critical condition and is expected to be in the Intensive Care Unit for a few days.The hospital says Mr Chee has undergone surgery and is in the process of recovery.The Weapon Systems Supervisor was injured on Monday when he got caught between a motorised winch and a rope on...

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Obama 'willing to compromise a little' on fiscal cliff

STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: President Obama reiterates his call for the wealthy to pay more taxesObama, House Speaker John Boehner have three weeks to reach a deal Automatic tax hikes and spending cuts are set to take effect on January 1The two sides are talking to each other, but revealing littleWashington (CNN) -- It's crunch time for avoiding the fiscal cliff as President Barack Obama and House Speaker...

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