Science Summary: United Launch Alliance rocket blasts off from Florida and more

Staring at seagulls can stop them from stealing food, research shows

Britain's seaside towns are at war with their seagulls, urging visitors not to feed the birds in an effort to stop them snatching titbits like potato chips from tourists' hands. Warning signs deck promenade railings from Scarborough to Broadstairs and beyond but now research from the University of Exeter has suggested an easy way for holidaymakers to deter the gulls - just stare at them.

United Launch Alliance rocket blasts off from Florida carrying Air Force communications satellite

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp, blasted off into space on Thursday morning, one of the final satellites for the U.S. Air Force's new secure communications network. The satellite was launched at 6:13 a.m. (1030 GMT) from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop ULA's Atlas V rocket, the same vehicle primed to send a manned space capsule into orbit for NASA by 2020.

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(With inputs from agencies.)