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Google smartphones with next-generation 3D sensing technology are about to blast into orbit, where they will become the brains and eyes of ball-shaped hovering robots on the International Space Station. NASA plans to use the handsets to beef up its Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or SPHERES, which could eventually take over daily chores for astronauts or even handle risky duties outside of the vessel. The phones, part of Google's Project Tango augmented reality initiative, will be aboard a cargo spacecraft scheduled to launch on July 11. Inspired by a scene from the movie Star Wars where Luke Skywalker spars with a hovering globe, the soccer-ball sized robots can be guided around the space station's microgravity interior, propelled by tiny blasts of CO2 at about an inch per second. When NASA sent its SPHERES to the space station in 2006 they were capable of precise movement but little else. In 2010, engineers at NASA's Ames Resea

British scientists have identified a set of 10 proteins in the blood that can predict the onset of Alzheimer's and call this an important step towards developing a test for the incurable brain-wasting disease. Such a test could initially be used to select patients for clinical trials of experimental treatments being developed to try to halt progression of Alzheimer's, the researchers said, and may one day move into routine use in doctors' clinics. "Alzheimer's begins to affect the brain many years before patients are diagnosed (and) many of our drug trials fail because by the time patients are given the drugs the brain has already been too severely affected," said Simon Lovestone of Oxford University, who led this work from King's College London. "A simple blood test could help us identify patients at a much earlier stage to take part in new trials and hopefully develop treatments," he said. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dement

Russia test launched its first new design of space rocket since the Soviet era on Wednesday, Russian news agencies quoted a source at the country's northern Plesetsk cosmodrome as saying. _0"> "The launch has taken place," the source was cited by Interfax as saying of the new generation Angara rocket, a vital part of President Vladimir Putin's efforts to revive Russia's once-pioneering space industry. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Celgene Corp said a drug being tested to treat a type of arthritis that affects the spine failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage trial, sending the company's shares down 3 percent premarket. _0"> The drug, Otezla, failed to show improvement of at least 20 percent at week 16 when tested on patients with ankylosing spondylitis, or arthritis of the spine, compared to those on a placebo, the company said. [ID:nBw6S6bVra] The company said an analysis of the data showed "meaningful efficacy" in a large subset of patients with early-stage disease at week 24. Celgene said it would continue the study unchanged based on a recommendation by an independent data monitoring committee. The drugmaker also said it planned to start another late-stage trial for further data analysis. Otezla is already approved by U.S. health regulators for treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis and is being studied for use in psoriasis and other indications including Behcet

U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States is committed to building a "new model" of relations with China that is defined by cooperation and the constructive management of differences. _0"> "The United States welcomes the emergence of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous China," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House as officials from both countries began high-level annual talks in Beijing. "We are committed to the shared goal of developing over time a 'new model' of relations with China defined by increased practical cooperation and constructive management of differences," he said. "We remain determined to ensure that cooperation defines the overall relationship." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton ; Writing by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Dean Yates )

A man shouted "get that man a beer" and sure enough, President Barack Obama soon had a cold pint in his hand and prepared to play billiards with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. This Tuesday night out on the town in Denver, which included slices of pizza with a group of people who had written to him, was Obama's way of escaping the confines of Washington, where partisan gridlock reigns supreme. It was a case of "the bear is loose," the president's own description of the times when he is able to break free of the trappings of Washington and experience what everyday Americans see. Of course that's nearly impossible with the crowds that are attracted to his every move and his security detail. Shaking hands with dozens of bystanders along a Denver street, the "bear" came face-to-face with a person wearing a horse's head mask, in honor of the Denver Broncos NFL football team. Inside Wynkoop Brewing Company, a local brewery that prides