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Earth-like planets closer than thought?CAMBRIDGE,[url=http://www.parajumpersjackenoutlet.de/]parajumpers jacken outlet[/url], Mass., Feb. 6 () -- Six percent of red dwarf stars, the most common stars in our galaxy, have habitable planets, meaning an Earth-like planet could be nearby, U.S. astronomers say.Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics reported using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope to determine the likelihood of a red dwarf having a planet that is both habitable and Earth-sized."We thought we would have to search vast distances to find an Earth-like planet," Harvard astronomer Courtney Dressing said. "Now we realize another Earth is probably in our own back yard, waiting to be spotted."Red dwarf stars are smaller, cooler, and on average only one-third as large and one-thousandth as bright as the sun.While none are visible to the naked eye from Earth they are good candidates for a search for Earth-like planets, astronomers said, since they make up three out of every four stars in our galaxy for a total of at least 75 billion.Statistically, a red dwarf hosting an Earth-like habitable planet could be as close as 13 light years to Earth, they said."We now know the rate of occurrence of habitable planets around the most common stars in our galaxy," study co-author David Charbonneau said. "That rate implies that it will be significantly easier to search for life beyond the solar system than we previously thought." Apple hints at solar-powered iPhoneWASHINGTON, Feb. 6 () -- Apple has filed for a patent for a combined touch screen/solar panel that could be used to allow solar charging of its iPhones and iPods, U.S. documents show.A patent application from Apple published Wednesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office describes solar-paneled technology designed for devices with small screens, CNET reported.The application is for an "integrated touch sensor and solar assembly" that would utilize electrodes that can serve the dual purposes of solar cell and touch sensor.Apple's patent application says the technology could be utilized in handheld devices like "a media player or phone," but the application also includes an image of a screen that matches, in size, that of the iPad.Apple has filed applications for a number of solar-related patents in recent years, but due to high productions costs many solar-related technologies have been slow to take off, so it could be some time before consumers see any solar-equipped devices from the Cupertino, Calif., company. Study: Elephants know where they are safeDAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Feb. 6 () -- Wild African elephants prefer to live in safer, protected areas like national parks to avoid humans and become stressed when they leave them, researchers say.Writing in the African Journal of Ecology, scientists reported finding elephants living inside Tanzania's Serengeti National Park showed less stress than those living outside the protected area, suggesting they "know" which areas are safer to live in.Protected areas in the Serengeti are not fenced, researchers said, meaning elephants can enter areas where they are at greater risk of conflicts with humans.Scientists tested elephant dung both inside the protected areas and outside for levels of the stress hormone gluccorticoid.Elephants outside Serengeti National Park may have learned to associate humans and vehicles with the hunting activity and illegal poaching that put them at risk, researchers said."Elephants probably remember where they are, and that bad experiences stress them," Eivin Roskaft from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim told the BBC."I think elephants know where they are safe or not," he said. "However, sometimes they also are tempted by nice food outside the park which attracts them to such areas.""The biggest threat to African elephants and other wildlife is the human population increase outside all such parks," he said. Video chat site tightens requirementsTEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 6 () -- Video chat site Rounds says it's retiring its "Meet New People" feature out of a commitment to the safety and privacy of its users, mostly teens and tweens.Rounds will now require a pre-existing Facebook friendship between users to begin video chatting, the company said Wednesday in a release from its Tel Aviv, Israel, headquarters."The phenomenon of random video chatting a different stranger every five seconds is over," Rounds co-founder Dany Fishel said.Rounds said its Facebook app, which formerly used a social matching algorithm allowing users to meet like-minded new people, would now require pre-existing Facebook friendship for users to interact.Seventy percent of Rounds users are less than 25 years old, a significant factor in the decision to put new requirements in place, the company said."Our users' privacy and safety is our first and foremost priority; it's a subject on which we will not compromise," Fishel said. "Although random chatting with a different stranger every five seconds may still appeal to certain crowds, we decided to retire this feature and leave our competitors to cater to them."