I I considered leaving Twitter shortly after Elon Musk bought it in 2022 because I didn't want to be part of a community that could potentially be bought, much less by a guy like him. Soon, the nasty “long and intense” bullying of staff began. But I've had some of the most interesting conversations of my life on Twitter, randomly, hanging out, or being invited to talk. “Has anyone else been devastatingly lonely during the pandemic?” “Has anyone had a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend from middle school?” We called Twitter a place to tell the truth to strangers (Facebook is a place to lie to friends), and the breadth of it was mutual and wonderful.

After the BlueCheck fiasco, things got even more unpleasant: identity verification became something you could buy, which made you less trustworthy. So I joined a rival platform, Mastodon, but quickly realized I'd never get 70,000 followers like I did on Twitter. I wasn't looking for attention. In itself, But my peers were less diverse and less loud, and my infrequently updated social media feeds gave me the eerie, slightly depressing feeling of walking into a mall only to find that half the stores are closed and the rest are all selling the same thing.

In 2023, the network now known as X began. Sharing advertising revenue with “premium” usersthen I joined Threads (owned by Meta), where all I see are strangers confessing to petty misdemeanors. I stayed with X, where everything is darker. People get paid for engagement indirectly through ads. It's also a bit vague. It's described as “revenue sharing,” but it doesn't tell you which ad revenues were shared with you. So you can't measure revenue per impression. Is X splitting it 50/50? Or is it 10/90? Are they actually paying you to generate hate?

Elon Musk: “Infiltrated into far-right politics” Photo: Getty Images

“What we've seen is that controversial content drives engagement,” says Ed Saperia, president of the London School of Politics and Technology. “Extreme content drives engagement.” It's become possible to make a living creating harmful content. My 16-year-old son noticed this long before I did with Football X. People are going to say obviously wrong things for the clicks of hate. David Cameron Similar to Catherine the GreatBut that's nothing compared to the engagement you get when attacking, say, transgender people. High-profile tweets are surfaced directly to the top of the “for you” feed by a “black box algorithm designed to keep you scrolling,” said Rose Wang, COO of another rival, Blue Sky, which serves up a constant stream of repetitive topics designed to annoy users.

As a result of these changes, “the platform has become inundated with individuals who were previously banned from the platform, ranging from extremely niche accounts to people like Tommy Robinson and Andrew Tate,” says Joe Mulhall, head of research at Hope Not Hate. We saw the impact of this reality this August when misinformation about the identity, ethnicity and religion of the killer of three girls in Southport sparked overtly racist unrest across the UK the likes of which had not been seen since the '70s. “Not only was X responsible for creating an atmosphere for rioting, it was also a central hub for the organisation and distribution of content that led to rioting,” says Mulhall.

A man named Wayne O'Rourke, a “keyboard warrior,” was convicted of inciting racial hatred on social media after the August race riots. Monthly salary of £1,400 From his activities at X. The vocal Laurence Fox last month Earn a similar amount Posted on X. O'Rourke had 90,000 followers, but Tommy Robinson has over a million followers and presumably makes a lot more money.

Meanwhile, governments have no surefire remedy, even when, as Mulhall puts it, “decisions made on the US West Coast clearly impact our communities.” In April, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sought to suspend fewer than 100 X accounts for hate speech and fake news, mainly as supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro challenged the legitimacy of his defeat. X refused, and also declined to defend itself in court. On Monday, Brazil's Supreme Court unanimously upheld the platform-wide ban, saying the platform “considers itself above the rule of law.” From a business perspective, it's surprising that Musk didn't try harder to avoid it, but there may be other things he values more than money, such as exemption from government and democratic constraints.

Tommy Robinson…Musk has rescinded the ban from X. Picture: James Manning/PA

So is it moral to remain on a platform that has done so much to help bring the politics of division and hate from our keyboards into real life? Is X worse than Facebook or TikTok or (wow!) YouTube? And is it intentionally bad? In other words, are we watching Musk's master plan unfold?

“This is not the first time that extremist content has been circulating online,” Saperia says. “There are a lot of bad platforms, and a lot of bad things are happening there.” X's problem may not be bad regulation, he points out, but bad enforcement. And it's not just X's problem. “Have you seen the UK court system these days? Cases from five years ago are being tried. Without the law, society would be impossible.”

While X may be a catalyst for inciting and rallying civil unrest, from the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol to Southport and beyond, Saperia says it's important to keep in mind that “politics is shifting rightward, but not just because of the media environment, but also for complex economic reasons: the middle-class West is getting poorer.” Donald Trump may have shocked the traditional U.S. media by speaking directly to voters with his crude and increasingly insane messages, but it's naive to think that a complacent public resting on a prosperous future would embrace his authoritarian moves. Whether social media is funding it or not, the anger is there, and “all the mainstream platforms have generally failed at hate speech,” Mulhall says. “They didn't want this content, but they were struggling to deal with it. And after Charlottesville, they made some progress.” [the white supremacist rally in 2017] Or Capitol Hill.”

Still, Hope Not Hate divides far-right online activity into three strains: mainstream platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook that are not interested in fascism but are struggling to eradicate it and perhaps do not invest enough in moderation and regulation; hijacked platforms like Discord and Telegram that started as chat sites and messaging services and became the far-right’s favorite chat apps, probably due to their superior privacy or encryption; and bespoke platforms like Rumble (partially funded by fundamentalist libertarian billionaire Peter Thiel), Gab (which became a center of mainly anti-Semitic hate after the gunman of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting posted his manifesto there) or Parler, which was acquired by Kanye West in 2022 after he was banned from Instagram and Twitter for anti-Semitism.

Synthesis: Guardian Design; X

“Twitter is unconventional,” Mulhall says. “It's ostensibly a mainstream platform, but now it has its own moderation policies. Elon Musk himself is steeped in far-right politics, so it's behaving like it's its own platform, which is what makes it so different. And it's so much more harmful, so much worse. And it's also because, although it has terms of service, it doesn't necessarily enforce them.”

Musk's commitment to free speech is surprisingly unconvincing. He used it to veto Lula's demands in Brazil, but was happy to oblige Narendra Modi's demands in India, where he suspended hundreds of accounts linked to the Indian farmer protests in February. “Free speech is a tool, not a principle, for Musk,” Mulhall says. “He's a techno-utopian with no attachment to democracy.”

But global civil society finds it very difficult to summarily reject the free speech argument because the counterargument is so dark: that many billionaires – not just Musk, but Thiel of Rumble, Parler's original backer, Rebecca Mercer (daughter of Breitbart funder Robert Mercer), and indirectly, billionaire sovereigns like Putin – have succeeded in transforming society and destroying the trust we have in each other and in institutions. It is much more comfortable to think that they are doing it by chance, simply because they love “free speech,” than to think that they are doing it deliberately. “The key to understanding neo-reactionary and ‘dark enlightenment’ movements is that these individuals have no interest whatsoever in maintaining the status quo,” says Mulhall.

“In some jurisdictions, the actions of state rulers and billionaires are pretty much correlated,” Saperia says. We see that in Russia. “Putin is using the state to manipulate social media to create polarization. That's pretty much proven,” Mulhall says. But where tech and politics don't line up, politics doesn't often prevail. Governments seem pretty powerless in the face of these tech giants. “Racial hatred and attempted murder are being nurtured on these platforms,” Mulhall says. “And people don't even believe it's possible to get Musk to Congress.”

Andrew Tait leaves court in Bucharest. Photo: Alexandre Dobre/AP

In Paris, Telegram founder Pavel Durov is under formal investigation over allegations that the app is linked to organized crime, and Musk is named as a defendant in a cyberbullying lawsuit brought by gold medallist Imane Kheriff. The boxer, who was born female and has never identified as transgender or intersex, has faced defamatory claims about her gender with an X from a number of public figures, including British politician J.K. Rowling and Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Andrew Tait has Charged by Romanian authorities He writes about human trafficking and rape, but his online The fantasy of misogyny The policy, which has far-reaching implications around the world, of treating women as a slave class has not received the same condemnation as YouTube, Insta, TikTok and Facebook's bans from their platforms, while the freedom to operate freely on X has lessened the impact of these bans and led to them being reversed. The EU has at least been more successful than the US in holding social media giants to the same corporate responsibility as, say, pharmaceutical or oil companies, but regulations are still scrambling to keep up with a changing reality where the sector is moving from the virtual to the real world at an ever-increasing rate.

But governments don't need to step in and tell us to stop using X. We can do it ourselves. Brazilians who don't use Twitter are migrating to Bluesky, which Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey founded in 2019. “We've had a tumultuous four days alone. As of this morning, we've added nearly 2 million new users,” Bluesky's Wang said Monday. If we all did that (I did!), would the power of X disappear? Or will it just be divided into good and bad places?

Bluesky serves a similar purpose to X, but is designed quite differently. Wang explains: “No one organization controls the platform. All the code is open source, and anyone can copy and paste the entire code. We don't own your data; you can take it wherever you want. We have to acquire your users through performance, or you'll go away. It's a lot like how search engines work: if you make them attractive by putting ads everywhere, people will go to another search engine.”

www.theguardian.com

New Species of Titanosaur Discovered in Spain by Paleontologists

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Paleontologists have unearthed the skeletal remains of a previously unknown species of rock-backed dinosaur at the Lo Hueco fossil site in Cuenca, Spain.

Artist’s Reproduction Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra. Image credit: José Antonio Peñas Artero.

Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra It lived in Europe during the Cretaceous period, about 75 million years ago.

This ancient creature SaltasauridaeA superfamily that belongs to the titanosaur dinosaur clade. Lithotropia.

“Titanosaurs were a successful group of sauropod dinosaurs that underwent an important diversification event during the Early Cretaceous, establishing several different lineages, including the lithosaurs,” said Dr Pedro Mocho from the University of Lisbon and his colleagues.

“The Lithostrotians dominated the Late Cretaceous sauropod fauna and were represented by two major groups, Saltasauroidea and Colossals, which included the smallest to the largest terrestrial animals.”

“They survived until the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, after which they became extinct, like all other non-avian dinosaurs.”

Paleontologists found a jointed, partially articulated skeleton. Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra At the Lo Hueco ruins Villalba de la Sierra Formation In Cuenca, Spain.

“Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra “This fossil stands out as one of the most complete sauropod skeletons ever found in Europe, including cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, parts of the pelvic girdle and limb elements,” the researchers said.

“The unique morphology of the caudal vertebrae in particular provides new insights into a historically poorly understood group of non-avian dinosaurs from the Iberian Peninsula.”

This discovery reveals for the first time the existence of at least two distinct saltasauroid lineages in the Iberian region.

“One of these groups is Relaisaurinae“They are relatively well known from the Iberian Peninsula and are characterised by small to medium-sized species that have evolved in island ecosystems,” Dr Mocho said.

“In other words, Late Cretaceous Europe was a huge archipelago made up of several islands.”

“but, Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra It is a medium to large-sized species that belongs to a separate group of sauropods and lived on the Iberian Peninsula about 73 million years ago.”

“This suggests that this lineage arrived on the Iberian Peninsula much later than other dinosaur groups.”

“we Cuncasaura Pintikiniestra “As a representative of the opisthocoelicaudine family Saltasauridae inhabiting the Northern Hemisphere (Laurasia),” the researchers said.

“On the other hand, most of the Late Cretaceous sauropods of southwestern Europe Roecotitan Panda FilandiPreviously discovered at Lo Hueco, the dinosaur belongs to the Relaisaurinae, a group of sauropods thought to have lived only in continental Europe.”

“Our study suggests that Roeco is the only place where both groups are known to coexist, and we propose a new group of titanosaurs, called Roecosauridae, that contains representatives of both lineages.”

“Roeucosaurus may have originated on the southern continent (Gondwana) before spreading around the world.”

of Survey results Published in a journal Communication Biology.

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P. Mocho others2024. Spanish saltasauroid titanosaur reveals Late Cretaceous Europe as a melting pot of endemic and introduced sauropods. Communication Violet 7, 1016; doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06653-0

Source: www.sci.news

Research: Collaboration between oceans and continents led to Mesozoic marine extinctions

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

in paper Published in the journal Nature ChemistryScientists have proposed a new explanation for a series of severe environmental crises known as marine anoxia, which occurred between 185 and 85 million years ago (during the Mesozoic era) when the amount of dissolved oxygen in the oceans became extremely low.

Oceanic anoxia was a geologically abrupt phase of extreme oxygen depletion in the oceans that disrupted marine ecosystems and led to evolutionary shifts. These events, which usually lasted about 1.5 million years, occurred frequently during the Mesozoic Era, between about 183 and 85 million years ago. One hypothesis suggests that anoxia resulted from increased chemical weathering of the Earth's surface on a greenhouse world with high volcanic carbon emissions. Gernon othersA combination of plate reconstructions, tectonic geochemical analyses and global biogeochemical modelling tested this hypothesis. Image courtesy of the University of Southampton.

“Ocean anoxia is like hitting the reset button on the Earth's ecosystems,” said Prof Tom Gernon, from the University of Southampton.

“The challenge was to understand what geological forces pushed the button.”

The researchers investigated the influence of plate tectonic forces on ocean chemistry during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, collectively known as the Mesozoic Era.

“This period in Earth's history is also known as the Age of the Dinosaurs and is well exposed along the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast on the south coast of England, Whitby in Yorkshire and Eastbourne in East Sussex,” Prof Gernon said.

Scientists have combined statistical analysis and advanced computer modelling to investigate how the ocean's chemical cycle may have responded to the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, the giant landmass once home to dinosaurs.

“During the Mesozoic Era, the continents broke apart and intense volcanic activity occurred around the world,” Prof Gernon said.

“As the plates shifted and new ocean floor was formed, phosphorus, a nutrient essential to life, was released in large quantities into the ocean from weathered volcanic rocks.”

“Importantly, we found evidence of multiple instances of chemical weathering on both the ocean floor and the continents, alternating between destroying the oceans — like a geological tag team.”

The authors find that the timing of these weathering waves coincides with most of the marine anoxic events in the rock record.

They argue that phosphorus that entered the ocean through weathering acted as a natural fertilizer, promoting the growth of marine life.

However, this fertilization phenomenon came at a great cost to marine ecosystems.

“Increased biological activity caused huge amounts of organic matter to sink to the seafloor, consuming huge amounts of oxygen,” said Prof Benjamin Mills, from the University of Leeds.

“This process ultimately left large swaths of the ocean anoxic, or 'dead zones' where oxygen was depleted and most marine life died.”

“The anoxic conditions typically lasted for one to two million years and had profound effects on marine ecosystems, the effects of which are still felt today.”

“The organic-rich rocks that accumulated during these events are the source of the world's largest commercial oil and gas reserves to date.”

The findings explain the causes of extreme biological chaos during the Mesozoic Era and highlight the devastating effects of nutrient overload on marine environments today.

“Studying geological events provides valuable insights that help us understand how Earth will respond to future climatic and environmental stresses,” Professor Gernon said.

Overall, the results reveal stronger-than-expected connections between Earth's solid interior and its surface environment and biosphere, especially during periods of tectonic and climatic upheaval.

“It is remarkable how a series of events occurring inside the Earth can have such profound, often devastating, effects on the surface,” Prof Gernon said.

“Continental breakup could have profound effects on evolutionary processes.”

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TM Gernon othersSolid Earth forcing of Mesozoic oceanic anoxia. National GeographyPublished online August 29, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01496-0

This article has been adapted from an original release from the University of Southampton.

Source: www.sci.news

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth without astronauts on Friday

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

NASA announced on Wednesday that the troubled Boeing spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station on Friday and attempt to return to Earth without any astronauts on board. The uncrewed liftoff of the Starliner spacecraft is set to take place, assuming the weather is clear at the landing site in New Mexico. The return journey is expected to last about six hours, with the spacecraft scheduled to land at White Sands Spaceport early Saturday morning.

This return flight marks the final phase of a challenging test flight that did not go as planned. The mission was supposed to demonstrate Boeing’s capability to safely transport astronauts to the space station, leading to NASA certification. However, after encountering issues with thrusters and a helium leak from its propulsion system, the mission had to be aborted, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stranded on the space station for an extended period of time.

During a press conference, Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, expressed excitement about Starliner’s return and the lessons learned from this test flight. The spacecraft is set to undock from the space station on Friday evening and land in New Mexico early Saturday morning.

The undocking process will be different without astronauts on board, with precautions taken to protect the space station in case of any malfunctions. After departing from the space station, Starliner will perform a deorbit burn before landing in New Mexico with the help of parachutes and airbags.

A successful return would be significant for Boeing, potentially signaling the safe return of NASA astronauts aboard the spacecraft. However, NASA has requested SpaceX to handle the return flight to minimize risks.

The certification process for Starliner remains uncertain, with NASA and Boeing working together to address issues and improve the spacecraft’s thrusters.

Boeing, along with SpaceX, was awarded a contract under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to develop spacecraft for transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has been successfully ferrying NASA astronauts to the space station since 2020.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Possible Unstoppable Landslide Strikes California City

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The city of Rancho Palos Verdes has already faced setbacks in its potential efforts to mitigate land transfers. Last month, the city Deeper landslides discovered. The region is also experiencing active earthquakes, and officials said earthquakes deeper than 300 feet are fast-moving and penetrate too far underground to dig drains or pumps to remove the water.

Now that a state of emergency has been declared, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruickshank said the allocated funds will go to support city government and landslide prevention efforts, but won’t go to individual homeowners.

Homeowners whose electricity has been cut off will need to come up with tens of thousands of dollars or more to switch to off-grid alternatives like solar or battery technology, Cruickshank said. He told a local CBS affiliate. He expects the state to cover those costs.

Cruickshank added that typical home insurance policies would not cover the hundreds of landslides, so residents are already responsible for damage to their homes. Documented It is held annually in California.

Tim Kelly, a mechanical engineer who moved to the Portuguese Bend neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes 30 years ago, said he now generates electricity with solar panels and is staying in his home. Kelly attended a rally Tuesday where residents appealed to city officials for a solution.

“We’re resilient,” Kelly said of the community. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Kelly said other homes in the area have shifted foundations and some are cracked and split in parts, but his house is not moving. He added that he and his neighbors have no plans to abandon their homes and are hoping government leaders and scientists can figure out how to best “stop the landslide.”

Kelly said that for decades, local governments have been unable to come up with a long-term solution to stop water from flooding the canyon and flowing into the ocean. Now, the issue has reached a critical point for the city, and time is of the essence.

“Patients are sick,” Kelly said. “You have to do something to bring them back to life.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com

2024 RW1: Tiny asteroid strikes Earth and disintegrates above the Philippines

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Predicted trajectory of asteroid CAQTDL2 over the Philippines

Catalina Sky Survey/ESA

The asteroid struck Earth and burned up in the atmosphere east of the Philippines. Astronomers spotted it just hours before it streaked across the sky in a bright fireball, but many on the ground couldn’t see it because of cloudy skies caused by Typhoon Enteng.

The asteroid, estimated to be about one meter in diameter, was a NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey. It was originally designated CAQTDL2 and was later renamed 2024 RW1.

As expected, the asteroid struck the east of the northernmost island of the Philippine archipelago at around 1645 GMT, 1745 London time, 1245 New York time, or 0045 local time. The impact speed was predicted to be 17.6 kilometers per second, or 63,360 kilometers per hour. Alan Fitzsimmons. That’s average for such an object, says a researcher at Queen’s University in Belfast, UK. “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies where you see something screaming into the sky and you have time to run out the house, grab your cat, hop in your car and drive somewhere. You don’t have time for that,” he says.

Asteroid CAQTDL2 can be seen moving across the sky in a purple circle.

Catalina Sky Survey

Luckily, no evacuations were necessary: NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office posted on social media that the asteroid “safely impacted Earth’s atmosphere.”

“Something that small wouldn’t do any damage on the ground because the Earth’s atmosphere blocks that,” Fitzsimmons said. Video shared on social media from Cagayan province in the northern tip of the Philippines shows a flickering green fireball appearing behind a cloud, followed by an orange tail, before disappearing a few seconds later.

☄️? Wow! The newly discovered 1-1.5m diameter asteroid 2024 RW1 (discovered by US near-Earth asteroid hunters) burned up over the Philippines just hours after it was first sighted.

This asteroid was not a danger, but if it had been, it could have been a warning to hunker down and take cover. pic.twitter.com/Fht4yqRsBP

— Dr. Robin George Andrews ☄️ (@SquigglyVolcano) September 4, 2024

Fitzsimmons said two to three objects this size hit Earth every year, and early detection is becoming more common – astronomers detected the first near-Earth asteroid before it fell to Earth in 2008. 2024 RW1 will be the ninth asteroid to be accurately predicted to hit Earth.

“The really good thing about this is that our survey telescopes are now good enough to detect these objects as they approach and to provide a warning,” he says. “In other words, if this object was bigger and potentially threatening to people on the ground, it would have appeared brighter and projected farther. So this is a really cool demonstration that our current survey systems work really well. Right now, we’re probably averaging about one asteroid per year that gets detected before it hits the atmosphere, and survey systems are getting better and better.”

Not only is Earth developing and improving its early warning systems, but in 2022 NASA’s Dual Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) spacecraft proved it could potentially save Earth from a catastrophic impact with a larger object. DART struck the 160-meter-wide moonlet Dimorphos, slowing it slightly, demonstrating that in theory such a disaster could be averted. Next month, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera mission to study the consequences of the impact in detail and further our understanding of planetary defense.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

NASA’s wise decision to implement a backup plan proved crucial in wake of the Starliner grounding

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Whenever a rocket launch or mission goes wrong, experts always say the same thing: “Space is hard.” As advances in the space industry accelerate, this mantra has only grown more important, if not less, as we face—and, for the most part, overcome—the challenges of spaceflight with increasing frequency.

The situation that has unfolded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over the past few months is a case in point: Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully completed its first manned flight on June 5, but a hardware problem meant that after arriving at the ISS it was unclear whether the two NASA astronauts on board would be able to safely return to Earth as scheduled.

So after ground tests and much deliberation, NASA reversed course, announcing that its astronauts would stay longer and return instead in February 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft (see “Astronauts stranded on ISS reveal U.S. space program not in peril.”) A potentially catastrophic problem was reduced to a mere inconvenience thanks to NASA’s wise decision a decade ago to hire not one but two companies to build the capsules that would carry astronauts into space. We’d always known space was a tough place, and preparation paid off.

The first ever private spacewalk will likely be the most dangerous one ever.

Hopefully, the thorough preparations will also pay off for the crew of SpaceX’s upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, which, if all goes well, will conduct the first-ever civilian spacewalk, and perhaps the most dangerous one ever (see page 8).

If the flight goes well, it will be another big win for commercial spaceflight, and especially for SpaceX, as it will be the first test of the company’s new spacesuit. Aging spacesuits have been a big problem for NASA and other space agencies for decades. The spacesuits NASA uses are the same ones astronauts wore in the 1980s and are long past their prime. A new spacesuit that is comfortable for civilians to wear, has better mobility, better temperature regulation and is more reliable would be a big win. It would make life in space a little easier.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

NVIDIA’s stock price drops as US ramps up antitrust probe

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Shares in AI chip designer Nvidia have been falling overnight following reports that US authorities are stepping up an investigation into whether the company has violated competition laws.

The company’s shares fell 2.4% in after-hours trading, supplementing a fall of nearly 10% in regular trading, sending its market capitalisation down by $279bn (£212bn) to $2.6trn, the biggest one-day fall ever for a US company.

Bloomberg reported that overnight, the Department of Justice sent subpoenas to Nvidia and other tech companies, taking steps to legally compel recipients to hand over information.

Nvidia executives are said to be concerned that the company is making it difficult for customers to switch to other semiconductor suppliers and penalizing buyers that refuse to give them exclusive use of Nvidia’s AI chips.

The moves mark an intensification of the U.S. antitrust investigation and bring the government one step closer to filing formal charges against Nvidia.

Tuesday’s sell-off came amid a market-wide sell-off sparked by weak U.S. manufacturing data that raised broader concerns among investors about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Manufacturing contracted at a moderate pace in August, with new orders, production and employment levels declining, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly survey of factories.

That sent the S&P 500 down more than 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell nearly 3.3%. Uncertainty spread to Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei fell 4.2% on Wednesday and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.9%.

This has exacerbated recent volatile trading for Nvidia and other AI-related stocks, including Google, Apple and Amazon, as investors worry that the real impact — and tangible benefits — of the much-touted AI revolution may still be a long way off.

Founded in 1993, Nvidia primarily designed chips for video games, but during the cryptocurrency boom it realized its processing technology could be used to mine digital coins. Since then, the company has shifted its focus to artificial intelligence, riding a new wave of excitement about the potential of large-scale language models.

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The company last week reported a 122% increase in second-quarter revenue, but signs of slowing growth, especially around its next-generation AI chip, code-named “Blackwell,” have spooked investors.

An Nvidia spokesman said: “We win on merit, as reflected in our benchmark results and value to customers, so they can choose the solution that’s best for them.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Amazon boosts pay for tens of thousands of UK employees by nearly 10%

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Amazon has announced a pay increase of nearly 10% for tens of thousands of UK workers, rejecting attempts by the GMB union to gain negotiating rights over pay and working conditions.

The online retailer said the increase will see the minimum wage rise by 9.8%, to between £13.50 and £14.50 an hour depending on location. Staff with more than three years of service will receive a minimum wage of between £13.75 and £14.75 an hour.

The pay increase will apply to thousands of employees from September 29th, including those working in Amazon’s UK fulfilment centres.

Amazon’s UK workers have recently staged a series of strikes. The company is investing £550 million in pay increases for staff from 2022 onwards, adding that staff receive benefits such as subsidised meals and discounts.

A spokesman said: “That’s why we’re proud to announce that we’re increasing the minimum starting salary for all frontline employees to the equivalent of at least £28,000 per annum and continuing to offer industry-leading benefits from day one.”

GMB organiser Rachel Fagan said: “Forced to act by workers striking, Amazon’s management has done too little, too late. Amazon’s reputation has been tarnished by the way it treats its workers and now management is trying to cover up the facts. Unsafe working conditions, low pay and excessive oversight are ruining the lives of Amazon workers every day.”

In July, GMB narrowly lost a statutory vote at an Amazon warehouse outside Coventry that led to the union’s formal recognition. In a hotly contested vote, 50.5% of workers rejected recognition of the union.

Workers in Coventry have staged a series of strikes over the past 18 months demanding a £15 an hour minimum wage and the right to negotiate directly with management, and last November they were joined on the picket lines by trade unionists from Europe and the US who have been raising similar issues in their home countries.

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Amazon, which has a global policy of refusing to work with labor unions, preferring to deal directly with employees, is the retail-to-cloud services group founded by Jeff Bezos in his garage in 1994 and now worth nearly $2 trillion.

Some workers at the Coventry warehouse have accused Amazon of using union-busting tactics, such as displaying QR codes which, when scanned, would send an email to GMB’s membership department to cancel employees’ membership.

The Labour government has promised to make it easier for trade unions to gain recognition as part of a package of measures aimed at increasing the bargaining power of British workers.

Source: www.theguardian.com

20% of Global Plastic Waste ends up Incinerated or Dumped

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

More than half of uncollected plastic waste is incinerated

Tim Gainey/Alamy

Approximately 1.5 billion people around the world have no access to waste collection services, making how to dispose of plastic waste a serious environmental issue.

Most of these households resort to incinerating their plastic waste or dumping it in the environment, new analysis argues, arguing that comprehensive collection services are the only way to curb global plastic pollution.

Costas Bellis Researchers from the University of Leeds in the UK used municipal waste data and census data to model plastic waste flows in cities around the world, then used this data to train an AI algorithm to predict how waste is generated and disposed of in more than 50,000 urban areas around the world.

Bellis says this bottom-up approach offers an “unprecedented” look at how plastic waste is processed and why it becomes a pollutant in different countries. “It's never been done before,” he says.

Velis' team estimates that 52.1 million tonnes of plastic waste (one-fifth of the global total) becomes polluting each year. Most of it occurs in poor countries where waste collection is unreliable or not available at all. Rather than being properly treated, most of this plastic waste is burned in homes, on the streets or in small dumps, without any environmental controls.

Researchers estimate that about 57% of uncollected plastic waste is disposed of in this way, while the remaining 43% is dumped into the environment. Burning plastic not only releases greenhouse gases, but also carcinogenic dioxins, particulate pollution, and heavy metals. All of these are harmful to human health..

Low-income countries generally produce much less plastic waste per capita, but much of that waste ends up polluting the environment, whereas in high-income countries, where the majority of waste is collected and treated, littering is the biggest source of plastic pollution.

The findings highlight the need for low-income countries to receive support to establish comprehensive waste collection systems for all their citizens, Velis said. India, Nigeria and Indonesia were named as countries with the highest rates of plastic pollution.

The study comes ahead of a conference in Busan, South Korea, in November to consider adopting the world's first plastic waste treaty. Velis calls for the treaty to include measures requiring countries to steadily increase the proportion of waste treated in appropriate facilities and for high-income countries to increase financial support. “Lack of waste collection is the biggest cause of the decline in plastic waste,” he says. [plastic pollution] “That's where the problem lies,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

“Meta moderation board stands by decision to permit use of ‘River to Sea’ in posts” | Meta

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Meta’s content moderation board decided that implementing a complete ban on pro-Palestinian slogans would hinder freedom of speech. They supported the company’s choice to allow posts on Facebook that include the phrase “from the river to the sea.”

The oversight committee examined three instances of Facebook posts featuring the phrase “from the river to the sea” and determined that they did not break Meta’s rules against hate speech or incitement. They argued that a universal ban on the phrase would suppress political speech in an unacceptable manner.

In a decision endorsed by 21 members, the committee upheld Meta’s original decision to keep the content on Facebook, stating that it expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and did not promote violence or exclusion.

The committee, whose content judgments are binding, mentioned that the phrase has various interpretations and can be used with different intentions. While it could be seen as promoting anti-Semitism and the rejection of Israel, it could also be interpreted as a show of support for the Palestinians.

The majority of the committee stated that the use of the phrase by Hamas, although banned from Meta’s platform and considered a terrorist organization by the UK and the US, does not automatically make the phrase violent or hateful.

However, a minority within the committee argued that as the phrase appeared in Hamas’s 2017 charter, its use in the post could be construed as praising the banned group, particularly following an attack by Hamas. The phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” refers to the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Opponents of the slogan claim it advocates for the elimination of Israel, while proponents like Palestinian-American author Yousef Munayyer argue it supports the idea of Palestinians living freely and equally in their homeland.

The ruling pointed out that due to the phrase’s multiple meanings, enforcing a blanket ban, removal of content, or using the phrase as a basis for review would impinge on protected political speech.

In one of the cases, a user responded to a video with the hashtag “FromTheRiverToTheSea,” which garnered 3,000 views. In another case, the phrase “Palestine will be free” was paired with an image of a floating watermelon slice, viewed 8 million times.

The third case involved a post by a Canadian community organization condemning “Zionist Israeli occupiers,” but had fewer than 1,000 views.

A Meta spokesperson, overseeing platforms like Instagram and Threads, remarked: “We appreciate the oversight committee’s evaluation of our policies. While our guidelines prioritize safety, we acknowledge the global complexities at play and regularly seek counsel from external experts, including our oversight committee.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Top tech discounts for Black Friday 2024

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

If you’re looking to upgrade your home with some new tech gadgets, Black Friday is the perfect opportunity to do so. With a wide range of deals available, you’re bound to find some great discounts on everything from phones and laptops to electric scooters and smart home devices.

Keep an eye out for sales starting as early as November, with Black Friday falling on November 29th and Cyber Monday on December 2nd this year. Sales can start much earlier, so be sure to stay informed and bookmark this page for updates on the best tech deals.

When is Black Friday 2024?

This year, Black Friday falls on November 29th and Cyber Monday on December 2nd. Sales can start much earlier in November, so be sure to keep an eye out for deals throughout the month.

How to save money on Black Friday shopping in 2024

With so many promotions available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Before the sale begins, make note of the prices of items you’re interested in to ensure you’re getting a true bargain. Bookmark this page to stay updated on the best deals throughout the month.

Signing up for retailer newsletters and using tools like Camel Camel Camel or Keeper for Amazon shopping can also give you an edge in securing the best deals.

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Where to find Black Friday tech deals in the UK

Amazon – Offers end at midnight on November 27th
ao – Save on games consoles, white goods, and more
Sonos – Upgrade your home sound system
Emma – Up to 65% off on mattresses
Very – Great deals for gamers
Currys – Up to 40% off mobile phones, TVs, and more
Robert Dyas – Discounts on vacuum cleaners, air fryers, and more
Carphone Warehouse – Savings on monthly plans
Argos – Deals on Lego, gadgets, and more
Jessop’s – Save on cameras

Where to find Black Friday tech deals in the US

LG – Discounts on laptops, monitors, and more
Amazon – Tech deals for every room in your home
Breville – Deals for foodies
Samsung – Savings on smart TVs
Walmart – Discounts on audio and home appliances

Looking for speakers? Check out our top Sonos deals for Black Friday.

The best Black Friday tech deals in the UK for 2023

Samsung Galaxy A34 5G 128GB – £339 £269 (20% discount)

The Samsung Galaxy A34 5G (Awesome Silver) with 128GB storage and a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display is a powerful and stylish device perfect for capturing every moment with its 48MP triple camera.

This Android 13 smartphone offers 5G connectivity for fast speeds and an immersive experience, making it a great choice for tech enthusiasts.

buy now from Amazon (£244.00), AO (£269.00)

Amazon Fire Max 11 Tablet – £249.99 £134.99 (46% discount)

The Amazon Fire Max 11 Tablet boasts an 11-inch screen with 2.4 million pixels for incredible detail in movies and games, along with a powerful octa-core processor and 4GB of memory for responsive performance. It also features Alexa for smart home control and up to 14 hours of battery life.

buy now from Amazon (£134.99), Very (£134.99)

Ring Video Doorbell – £99.99 £49.99 (50% discount)

If you’re looking to enhance your home security, the Ring Video Doorbell is a great choice, allowing you to see and speak to visitors at your door. With a 50% discount, it’s a must-have smart home device for added convenience and security.

buy now from Amazon (£49.99), Ebay (£63.49)

T-fal Easyfry Classic 2in1 Air Fryer – £99.99 £49.00 (51% discount)

Don’t Panic: Small Asteroid CAQTDL2 is Approaching Earth

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Predicted trajectory of asteroid CAQTDL2 over the Philippines

Catalina Sky Survey/ESA

Astronomers have discovered that an asteroid is on its way to collide with Earth at thousands of kilometers per hour, likely somewhere east of the Philippines, over the ocean. Fortunately, this relatively small object won’t pose any harm and will simply burn up in the atmosphere in a fireball.

The asteroid, estimated to be about one meter in diameter, was a NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey. The asteroid has been named CAQTDL2 and is scheduled to impact Earth at approximately 16:45 GMT, 17:45 London time, 12:45 New York time, and at approximately 00:45 local time at the impact site in the Philippines.

It is currently estimated that CAQTDL2 will impact at a speed of 17.6 kilometers per second, or 63,360 kilometers per hour. Alan Fitzsimmons That’s average for such an object, says a researcher at Queen’s University in Belfast, UK. “Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies where you see something screaming into the sky and you have time to run out the house, grab your cat, hop in your car and drive somewhere. You don’t have time for that,” he says.

Fortunately, no such evacuation is necessary. Although the impact would be dramatic and could shine as brightly as the moon in the night sky, it poses no danger to people on the ground. “An object this small can’t do any damage on the ground because it’s protected by the Earth’s atmosphere,” Fitzsimmons says. “It would just burn up harmlessly and then explode in a very impressive fireball.”

Fitzsimmons said two to three objects this size hit Earth each year, and early detection is becoming more common – astronomers first spotted a near-Earth asteroid before it fell to Earth in 2008. CAQTDL2 is the ninth asteroid to be accurately predicted to hit Earth.

Not only is Earth developing and improving its early warning systems, but in 2022 NASA’s Dual Asteroid Reorientation Test (DART) spacecraft proved it could potentially save Earth from a catastrophic impact with a larger object. DART struck the 160-meter-wide moonlet Dimorphos, slowing it slightly, demonstrating that in theory such a disaster could be averted. Next month, the European Space Agency will launch the Hera mission to study the consequences of the impact up close and further our understanding of planetary defense.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists are worried about the changing speed of deadly, unpredictable hurricanes worldwide

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Yes, hurricanes are getting worse. While there isn’t a significant increase in the frequency of hurricanes compared to 40 years ago, there is evidence that they are becoming more intense and destructive due to climate change. In 2022, it was predicted that the Atlantic hurricane season would be exceptionally severe with storms having more energy than before because of warmer sea levels.

According to the 2021 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, North Atlantic storms are more likely to intensify into “major hurricanes,” making them harder to predict and prepare for. This intensification trend is attributed to the warmer climate.

On a scale of 1 to 5 based on maximum sustained wind speed, hurricanes are classified. Category 5 storms with wind speeds exceeding 262 km/h are the most powerful and can cause catastrophic damage. However, storms of lower categories can also be devastating, as seen with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Climate change, by raising sea levels and affecting atmospheric conditions, is making hurricanes more destructive. The increase in extreme precipitation, slower storm movement across the Earth’s surface, and longer-lasting torrential rains are some of the impacts observed.

The forecast for the current Atlantic hurricane season suggests an above-average number of hurricanes due to the record heat in the region. The evidence points to hurricanes becoming more powerful, unpredictable, and persistent in a warmer world.

This article is a response to the question “Are hurricanes getting worse?” (asked by Johnny Adams of Peterborough).

If you have any questions, please send them to the email address below. For further information:or send us a message Facebook, Xor Instagram Page (be sure to include your name and location).

Ultimate Fun fact More amazing science pages.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Black Ops 6: Omni Movement – Revolutionizing Gameplay

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

HHere’s a fact I’m not entirely proud of: I’ve played every Call of Duty game since the series launched in 2003. I’ve experienced the very good (Call of Duty 4) and the very not so good (Call of Duty: Roads to Victory). There have been times when I was put off by narrative decisions, the mindless bigotry pervasive in online multiplayer servers, and the series-wide “America is the best!” mentality, but I’ve always come back to the games.

In that time, I’ve seen a lot of attempts to tweak the core feel of the game, from perks to jetpacks (thanks, Advanced Warfare!), but after spending a weekend testing the multiplayer beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, I think developer Treyarch may have stumbled upon their best thing yet: something called Omni-Movement.

In essence, this seemingly minor addition allows players to sprint and dive in any direction, not just forward, and also allows for a degree of aftertouch, so you can glide around corners and change direction in the air. Being able to run sideways and jump backwards over couches isn’t all that important in a fast-paced game anyway, but this seems to have really changed the game. The beta test only features three of the full version’s 16 online multiplayer maps and a small selection of online game modes, but it’s already ridiculously fun.

There are always people flying around during the game. AnywhereIn the Skyline map, players dive through windows, run across hallways, and leap off the balconies of a ridiculously luxurious modern penthouse. In the Rewind map, they slide on their backs across the polished floors of a video rental store, pounce on each other from various heights, and dodge gunfire and remote-controlled bomb cars at the last moment. At critical moments, it feels like a giant John Woo shootout, with equal parts balletic choreography and bloodshed.

But rather than feeling chaotic and unbalanced like jetpack-era titles Advanced Warfare and Infinite Warfare, it actually seems to bring more depth and variety to the moment-to-moment experience. The ability to slip under gunfire gives you a way out of encounters that were previously deadly, and it also lets you move very quickly to different cover positions, which is extremely useful in modes like Domination and Hardpoint, where you have to capture and defend specific areas. I like the longer durations between spawns, which allows you to think in more spatially interesting ways.

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Why did it take so long? A recent interview with gaming site VGCTreyarch associate design director Matt Scronce and production director Yale Miller said the game’s unusual four-year development cycle (CoD games are typically two-years max) allowed the team to experiment with fundamental elements and refine new features. Omni Movement was born out of that process; the team even read a white paper from the Air Force Academy about how fast a human could run backwards.

Otherwise, the game feels more solid than innovative. Skyline is the most fun map, with sleek multi-storey interiors and hidden ventilation ducts, while Squad is a standard Middle Eastern CoD map with sandy trenches, caves and a destroyed radar station. Rewind is a deserted shopping mall with store interiors, fast food joints, parking lots and extremely long sightlines along storefronts that could be called Sniper’s Avenue. The new game mode, Kill Order, is a familiar old-school FPS staple. One player on each team is designated as a high-value target, and the opponent must eliminate that target to score. This leads to very dense skirmishes and a ton of chases around the map, with HVTs trying to hide in little nooks and crannies. It’s like a Benny Hill sketch, but with high-end military weaponry.

It’s like a Benny Hill sketch, but with high-end military weaponry… Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Photo: Activision

There are also some new weapons, such as the Ames 85, a fully automatic assault rifle similar to the M16, and the Crazy Jackal PDW, a small Scorpion-esque machine pistol like the ones Ernie used in 1980s action movies. The latter has an incredible rate of fire, but is also highly accurate at long range, making it a devastating force in beta matches. It will most likely be significantly nerfed before the game is released. Perhaps the most controversial addition is the body shield. This is a new ability that allows you to sneak up behind an enemy player and take them hostage by double tapping the melee attack button. The victim can then be used as a human shield for a few seconds, and Treyarch says you’ll be able to actually talk to the hostage via the headset’s microphone. This will inevitably lead to the most offensive homophobic trolling imaginable. It’s exactly what Call of Duty needs.

Black Ops 6 looks set to be a strong addition to the series, at least in terms of multiplayer. I’m not proud of the fact that I spent an entire weekend happily recreating my favorite scenes from Hard Boiled, darting sideways through modern interiors and firing shiny fetish rifles at strangers. But I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and for some reason, I have no plans to stop just yet.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Newly discovered abalone species found in the waters of New Zealand

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Named Haliotis pilimoana, the newly identified gastropod species is found only on the Manawatawi Three Kings Islands, off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Shell Haliotis pilimoana Manawatawhi Three Kings Islands (AD) and Haliotis virginia (EG). Scale bars – 5 mm in. (AC) and 0.5 mm in. (DG). Image courtesy of Jean-Claude Stahl.

Abalone Family Haliotidae) are herbivorous marine gastropods that inhabit hard substrates in shallow, non-polar regions worldwide.

Several haliotiids are the basis of wild capture and/or aquaculture fisheries.

Additionally, the shells are often used in art, cultural practices, jewelry, and are prized among shell collectors.

Currently, there are approximately 70 species recognized by science, with many subspecies and forms, all belonging to this genus. Haliotis.

Haliotis pilimoana It lives under rocks and in crevices in the Manawatawhi Three Kings Islands at depths of 5-47 metres.

The new species differs subtly but consistently from New Zealand’s native abalone in that its spiral threads are thinner and more numerous. Haliotis virginia are at the same stage of development.

“Haliotis pilimoana Superficially it resembles specimens from the North Island (except near Wellington) population. Haliotis virginia “The shell morphology is similar but differs significantly in that at comparable stages of development, the dorsal surface has consistently thinner spiral threads that are more evenly spaced and closely spaced, and the stigma is more tightly coiled,” said Dr Kelly Walton, a researcher at the University of Otago and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and colleagues.

“These differences are between shells from the northernmost part of the North Island, closest to the Three Kings Islands, and Haliotis pilimoana“The former is obviously a cruder carving.”

“Haliotis pilimoana The mainland population is even more different. Haliotis virginia Average shell shape: Generally, the carapace has a lower profile, more angular carapace margin, and a flatter, wider, and more clearly delimited umbilical edge, especially in the carapace.

According to the study authors: Haliotis pilimoana Has a remnant distribution in or diverged from the Three Kings Islands Haliotis virginia It is unclear what his status will be after the quarantine period.

“The shallow coastal fauna of the Three Kings Islands is highly endemic,” the researchers said.

“The cause of the increase in local endemism in the Three Kings Islands is unknown, but the phenomenon is certainly influenced by successive periods of connectivity and isolation during glacial periods since the Miocene.”

“Strong upwelling can make water quality more stable during glacial cycles.”

“Given the Three Kings region’s small size, easy access from mainland New Zealand, proximity to major shipping lanes and high abundance of endemic species, the area has the potential to benefit from enhanced marine protection.”

Discovery Haliotis pilimoana It has been reported paper In the journal Mollusc Research.

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Kelly Walton others. Haliotis virginia Gmelin, 1791 and a new species of abalone (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Abaloneidae) from New Zealand. Mollusc ResearchPublished online August 30, 2024; doi: 10.1080/13235818.2024.2390476

Source: www.sci.news

Researchers claim that the widespread issue of alien visitation claims is a significant societal concern

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Around a fifth of Brits believe that extraterrestrials have visited Earth, and an estimated 7% think they have seen a UFO. In the US, the figures are even higher and rising: the number of people who believe that UFO sightings are likely evidence of extraterrestrial life has risen from 20% in 1996 to 34% in 2022. Around 24% of Americans say they have seen a UFO. New Paper of Proceedings of the International Astronomical UnionDr Tony Milligan of King’s College London argues that belief in alien visitors is no longer an eccentricity but a widespread societal problem.

The idea that aliens may have visited Earth is becoming more and more popular. Image by Fernando Ribas.

This belief has now grown to the point that politicians, at least in the United States, feel they must respond.

The Department of Defense’s alleged disclosure of information about UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) has attracted bipartisan attention across the country.

Many of them draw on familiar anti-elitist tropes that both parties are happy to employ, such as the idea that a cabal of military and private commercial interests is hiding the deeper truth about alien visitation.

The truth is thought to involve sightings, abductions, and the reverse engineering of alien technology.

People who believe in a cover-up are even more numerous than those who believe in alien visitations: A 2019 Gallup Poll found that a staggering 68% of Americans believe the U.S. government knows more about UFOs than it is releasing.

This political bias has been decades in the making: Jimmy Carter promised to release the documents during his 1976 presidential campaign, several years after his own UFO sightings were reported. As with many other sightings, the simplest explanation is that he saw Venus.

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Source: www.sci.news

Phoenix Endures Triple-Digit Temperatures for 100 Consecutive Days

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

When Cam Ferguson arrived at a spot near Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in downtown Phoenix, he prepared his usual supplies of cold water, sports drinks, peanuts, and candy about four hours before the first pitch.

The temperatures in downtown Phoenix were expected to reach around 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39.4 degrees Celsius) on a Labor Day afternoon, promising brisk business for vendors like Ferguson.

Despite the scorching heat, Ferguson and other vendors at the game were determined to provide some relief for the fans, pointing out the price difference between buying a bottle of water outside versus inside the stadium.

The summer of 2024 in Phoenix was proving to be exceptionally hot, with the city experiencing its 100th consecutive day of temperatures at or above 100 degrees, breaking previous records. Meteorologist Shawn Benedict from the National Weather Service highlighted the significance of this streak.

Experts attribute the escalating temperatures to climate change caused by human activities, leading to extreme heatwaves, wildfires, severe storms, and prolonged droughts. The relentless heat in Phoenix was evident, with temperatures surpassing 100 degrees Fahrenheit every day since late May.

The upcoming week was expected to bring unseasonably high temperatures across the Western U.S., with extreme heat warnings in effect for cities like Phoenix and Lake Havasu City in Arizona, as well as parts of Nevada and California.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, which includes Phoenix, public health officials reported a concerning number of heat-related deaths so far this year, with many cases still under investigation. The scorching conditions in 2024 were setting records not only in Phoenix but also in other Western states.

Amid the heatwave, California issued red flag warnings due to the increased risk of wildfires. Blazes had already started in some areas, leading to power outages and evacuations. The dangerous heat was a growing concern for residents and outdoor workers alike.

Although Chase Field provided some relief with its air-conditioned facility and closed retractable roof for most games, outdoor workers like Ferguson and landscaping professional Ramiro Lopez had to find ways to cope with the extreme heat during their work shifts.

As the record-breaking summer continued in Phoenix, staying cool and hydrated became essential for survival in the blistering heat. The challenges posed by the relentless heatwave were felt by everyone, especially in low-income communities where access to cooling facilities was limited.

Climatologists emphasized the importance of staying cool and hydrated to mitigate the health risks associated with prolonged exposure to high temperatures.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

The Kakapo Parrot: A Species with Ancient Origins in New Zealand, According to Paleontologist

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) is a species of flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand.

Kakapo (Strigops habroptilusImage courtesy of Jake Osborne.

“Our research has prompted us to rethink our native fauna,” said Dr Paul Schofield, from Canterbury Museum.

“Many species that were thought to be iconic natives of New Zealand – the classic example being the takahe – are now known to be relatively recent species that arrived from Australia only a few million years ago.”

In their study, Dr Schofield and his colleagues focused on the so-called St Bathans Fauna, a collection of more than 9,000 specimens from 33 palaeontological sites and individual deposits near the village of St Bathans in Central Otago, New Zealand’s South Island.

These sites, once the bed of a large prehistoric lake, provide the only significant insight into non-marine life in New Zealand from 20 million years ago (the Early Miocene).

Rare creatures in the St Bathans fauna include: Hercules’ Unexpected a giant parrot that scientists have named Squawkzilla, two mysterious mammals, flamingos, a three-metre crocodile, a giant horned turtle, and a giant bat.

“Twenty-three years of excavations at St Bathans have changed our ideas about the age of New Zealand’s fauna and the importance of some animals over others,” Dr Schofield said.

“For example, we previously thought that birds like kiwis and moas were the oldest representatives of New Zealand’s fauna.”

“We are now beginning to realise that the kakapo, New Zealand’s little wrens and bats, and even the odd freshwater limpet are the true ancient inhabitants of New Zealand.”

The authors conclude that this rare group of animals became extinct as a result of a dramatic drop in temperature over the past five million years or so.

“The work at St Bathans has transformed our understanding of the non-marine vertebrate fauna of New Zealand during the Early Miocene, around 20 million years ago,” Dr Trevor Worthy, from Flinders University, said.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be part of a project that continues to discover brand new things about what animals lived in New Zealand’s lakes, rivers, and surrounding forests at such a pivotal time in history.”

“Every year we find new specimens – amazing discoveries of new species that we never could have imagined when we first started working there.”

“The animals that lived in New Zealand 20 million years ago were very different to those found today,” said Dr Vanessa De Pietri, from the University of Canterbury.

“For example, there was another giant eagle that was not related to Haast’s eagle (Hieraethus Moulay)”

“We had a lot of pretty unusual songbirds, we had alligators and maybe even some small mammals that we call waddling mice.”

“Research is still ongoing to understand what it was exactly.”

This study paper Published in the journal Geobios.

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Trevor H. Worthy othersSummary of the Early Miocene St Bathans fauna of New Zealand. GeobiosPublished online August 6, 2024; doi: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.03.002

This article has been adapted from an original release by Canterbury Museum.

Source: www.sci.news

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Photo of NGC 346 in Ultraviolet Light

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The Hubble team has released a striking new photo taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 346, an open star cluster in one of our Milky Way galaxy’s closest neighbors.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the open star cluster NGC 346, located about 210,000 light-years away in the constellation Sigurd. Image courtesy of NASA/ESA/C. Murray, Space Telescope Science Institute/Gladys Kober, NASA, and The Catholic University of America.

NGC 346 is located in the constellation Tucana and is about 210,000 light-years away.

Also known as ESO 51-10, Kron 39, and Lindsay 60, the star cluster was discovered on August 1, 1826, by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.

NGC 346 is part of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is a satellite of the Milky Way galaxy.

The cluster was formed approximately 3 million years ago, has a diameter of 150 light years, and a mass 50,000 times that of the Sun.

“NGC 346’s hot stars are unleashing torrents of radiation and energy outflows that are eating away at the dense gas and dust of the surrounding nebula N66,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“Dozens of hot, blue, high-mass stars shine within NGC 346, and the cluster is thought to contain more than half of the known high-mass stars in the entire Small Magellanic Cloud.”

The Hubble Space Telescope has previously observed NGC 346, but this new image shows the cluster in ultraviolet light, along with visible light data.

“Ultraviolet light helps us understand star formation and evolution, and Hubble is the only telescope capable of sensitive ultraviolet observations thanks to its sharp resolution and its location above the ultraviolet-blocking atmosphere,” the astronomers write.

“These particular observations were collected to learn more about how star formation shapes the interstellar medium – the gas distributed throughout seemingly empty space – in metal-poor galaxies like the Small Magellanic Cloud.”

“Elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are called ‘metals’, and the Small Magellanic Cloud has a lower metal content than most of the Milky Way.”

“This situation serves as an excellent example of a galaxy similar to those that existed in the early universe when there were few heavy elements to take up.”

Source: www.sci.news

Gaming: PlayStation 5 shooter Concord goes offline only two weeks post release

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Sony has made an announcement regarding its new PlayStation 5 shooter game “Concord,” which was released on August 23. The game will be taken offline just two weeks later, and refunds will be offered to all players who purchased it.

Concord, a team-based hero shooter similar to Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch, puts teams of five against each other in intense combat arenas. However, it turned out to be one of the year’s most high-profile launch failures with only a few hundred players on Steam and fewer than 25,000 copies sold, as reported by GameDiscoverCo Analyst.

In a statement on the PlayStation blog, Sony expressed gratitude towards Concorde fans and acknowledged the mixed feedback received. As a result, the decision was made to explore options, including taking the game offline from September 6, 2024, and halting sales while providing full refunds to players who bought the game on PS5 or PC.

Warner Bros. also faced a similar situation with their game Suicide Squad: Defeat the Justice League, which failed to meet player expectations. On the other hand, the squad shooter Helldivers II has been a huge success for Sony since its release, boasting over 12 million copies sold in the first three months.

It’s uncommon for a struggling multiplayer game like Concord to be pulled off shelves so quickly, as failed games like Evolve, Lawbreakers, and Paragon typically lasted around a year. The future of Concord remains uncertain, with no indication in the statement of whether the game will be permanently canceled or potentially resurrected at a later date.

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Concord is a game that has been in development for around 8 years. Sony acquired the developer Firewalk Studios in 2023, along with other live service game developers, as part of their strategy to focus on long-tail multiplayer games for the PlayStation 5 platform.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Recent research indicates that a giant asteroid collided with Ganymede 4 billion years ago

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is home to an ancient impact structure called the Groove System, the largest impact structure in the outer Solar System, whose impact would have had a major impact on Ganymede’s early history.

The distribution of grooves and the location of the center of the groove system are always shown on the hemisphere away from Jupiter (top) and on a cylindrical projection of Ganymede (bottom). Grey areas represent geologically new terrains that are devoid of grooves. Gutters (green lines) are only present in geologically older terrains (black areas). Image courtesy of Naoyuki Hirata, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69914-2.

Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and has many unique features, including tectonic valleys known as grooves.

The grooves are the oldest surface features identified on Ganymede, as they are crossed by impact craters over 10 km in diameter. The grooves provide clues to the moon’s early history.

The trench is thought to be a fragment of a multi-ring impact basin structure similar to the Valhalla basin on Callisto and the Asgard basin.

The largest trench system lies across the Galileo-Marius region, the so-called Galileo-Marius trench system, which is the remnant of an ancient giant impact that radiates in concentric circles from a single point on Ganymede.

“Jupiter’s moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto each have interesting features, but what caught my attention were the grooves on Ganymede,” said planetary scientist from Kobe University. paper Published in the journal Scientific Reports.

“We know that this feature was created by an asteroid impact about 4 billion years ago, but we didn’t know how large that impact was or how it affected the Moon.”

First, Dr. Hirata noticed that the estimated location of the impact was almost exactly on the meridian farthest from Jupiter.

“Similarities with the Pluto impact that shifted the dwarf planet’s rotation axis, as seen through NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, suggest that Ganymede underwent a similar reorientation,” he said.

The asteroid that struck Ganymede was probably about 300 kilometers (180 miles) in diameter, roughly 20 times larger than the Chicxulub asteroid that smashed into Earth 65 million years ago, ending the age of the dinosaurs, leaving a temporary crater 800 to 1,000 miles (1,400 to 1,600 kilometers) across, according to the study.

Only an impact of this magnitude would be likely to shift the Moon’s rotation axis to its current position due to the change in mass distribution, regardless of where on the surface the impact occurred.

“We want to understand the origin and evolution of Ganymede and other Jupiter moons,” Dr. Hirata said.

“The giant impact must have had a major impact on Ganymede’s early evolution, but the thermal and structural effects of the impact on Ganymede’s interior remain largely unexplored.”

“We think that further research into the application of the internal evolution of icy moons could be done next.”

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N. Hirata. 2024. Giant impact on early Ganymede and subsequent reorientation. Scientific Reports 14, 19982. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69914-2

Source: www.sci.news

New study uncovers common, mysterious I motif structure in human genome DNA

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

The so-called i-motif is a knot-like DNA structure that forms in the nuclei of human cells and is thought to provide important genome control. Garvan Institute of Medical Research Other studies have used immunoprecipitation and next-generation sequencing to identify i-motif structures in human DNA.

Peña Martinez othersIn total, we observed 53,000 i-motifs across three human cell lines (MCF7, U2OS, and HEK293T). Image courtesy of Peña Martínez. others., doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00210-5.

The I motif is a DNA structure that differs from the iconic double helix shape.

These form when runs of cytosine letters on the same DNA strand pair up with each other to form a four-stranded twisted structure that juts out from the double helix.

In 2018, scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research were the first to successfully directly visualize i-motifs inside living human cells, using new antibody tools they developed to recognise and bind to the i-motifs.

The new study expands on these findings by using the antibody to identify the location of i-motifs throughout the genome.

“In this study, we have mapped more than 50,000 i-motif sites in the human genome that are found in all three cell types we looked at,” said Professor Daniel Crist from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, lead author of the study.

“This is a surprisingly high number for a DNA structure whose presence in cells was once a matter of debate.”

“Our findings confirm that the i-motif is not just an object of laboratory study, but is widespread and likely plays an important role in genome function.”

The researchers found that i-motifs are not scattered randomly, but are concentrated in important functional regions of the genome, including those that control gene activity.

“We found that the i-motif is associated with genes that are highly active at specific times in the cell cycle,” said lead author Cristian David Peña Martinez, PhD, also of the Garvan Medical Institute.

“This suggests that it plays a dynamic role in regulating gene activity.”

“We also discovered that i-motifs are formed in the promoter regions of cancer genes. For example, MYC Oncogenes encode one of cancer’s most notoriously ‘untreatable’ targets.”

“This opens up exciting opportunities to target disease-related genes through i-motif structures.”

“The widespread presence of the i-motif near these 'holy grail' sequences implicated in hard-to-treat cancers opens up new possibilities for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches,” said study co-author Sarah Kummerfeld, PhD, a researcher at the Garvan Medical Institute.

“It may be possible to design drugs that target the i-motif to affect gene expression, potentially expanding current treatment options.”

Team result Published in EMBO Journal.

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Christian David Peña Martinez othersi-motif structures are widely distributed in human genomic DNA. Embo JPublished online August 29, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00210-5

Source: www.sci.news

Exploring Tech Trends: From the TikTok Debate to Foldable Phones, We’ve Got Your Tech Questions Covered

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

aAfter three years, over 100 issues, two parental leaves, two AI summits and a cycle of cryptocurrency booms and busts, this will be my last newsletter. It also marks the end of 11 years at The Guardian. My first day was the launch of the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 16 launches on September 9th. It’s been an eventful time.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been asking readers for questions and I’ve been bombarded with them. I apologize if I wasn’t able to answer all of your questions, but I’m so grateful to everyone who asked.

What was the most shocking thing you discovered in the TechScape study/report? – Alexandria Weber

In 2019, I received leaked internal TikTok moderation documents that revealed for the first time that the company had a written, global policy to enforce Chinese foreign policy on its platform. According to the leaks, the company censored videos that mentioned Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, and the banned religious group Falun Gong.

TikTok argued that the document was outdated at the time and had been revoked several months ago, replaced with new, more locally sensitive guidelines. As a sign of the direction the company was heading, it was a good sign. But the leak remains grounds for concern to this day that the company may not be all that independent from the Chinese government.

Computer Scientist Ray Kurzweil He says that within 20 years, we will have the ability to replicate the human mind with a computer.including all memories, Their personalities and Consciousness. Do you think this claim is credible? – David

Kurzweil’s “singularity” has been around 20 years into the future for the past 30 years, so I don’t see much reason to attach much importance to his predicted date, but my bigger issue with his predictions is that the order has changed somewhat over the last few years.

The traditional singularity theory holds that computers will continue to get faster and faster until they are finally fast enough to mimic the brain, at which point uploading will become possible. This is because AI will continue to become more and more powerful, eventually AI Solving the problem of uploading human brains.

In that vision of the future, brain uploading will only be possible after a superintelligent AI has already been created and remade the world. That seems like an odd thing to focus on.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at a U.S. Senate hearing. Photo: Brendan Smiarowski/AFP/Getty Images

Do you think Facebook and Google have peaked?and slowly but inevitably slide towards relative insignificance? – Bernie

Never say never. Companies are constantly reinventing themselves. Of course, the tech industry is the best example of this. Apple almost lost its leading position in the 1990s, but has since made a remarkable comeback, from the iMac to the iPhone. Meta and Google are both competing to assume leadership positions in AI, which could once again make them some of the most important companies on the planet.

But I agree with the premise of the question: excitement and attention around technology is shifting, and Google and Meta’s existing businesses are on the downside of that shift. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Google Search will continue to make money for the foreseeable future, but none of them are at the exciting forefront of their industries anymore.

And, of course, it’s hard not to peak when your company is the fourth or sixth largest in the world – there’s only so much room to “rise” further.

Where is the smartphone going from here? How can new smartphone models differentiate themselves from other models? – John Brown

The boring but true answer is that foldable phones will steadily fall in price and improve in quality until hardware design creativity suddenly blossoms again. Samsung has led the way with two approaches: the clamshell-style Flip, popular around the time of the Olympics, and the folio-style Fold. The screen technology is still not perfect—there’s a noticeable bump in the middle of the unfolded phone—and prices range from high to eye-wateringly expensive, but the devices are the only truly novel design the industry has seen in the past decade.

Then, in a year or two, Apple will release a foldable phone and everyone will know it exists.

The atmosphere surrounding technology seems to have changed dramatically over the last five years or so. There seems to be more anxiety about how technology will develop. Society is deteriorating, and few people are optimisticDo you think the industry can overcome it? – Ido Vock

I think the tech industry is in a very similar place to where the finance industry was 15 years ago. It will continue to attract smart, talented people because the work is interesting and the pay is good, but the atmosphere has clearly changed. I don’t think the industry can turn back the clock, but I wonder how much it needs to. Money solves a lot of problems, and it’s better to be rich than to be optimistic.

The real question for me is whether these changes in technology threaten to spill over into widespread skepticism about the whole notion of science and technology improving the world. I hope not. I remain fundamentally optimistic about human progress and think some of the upcoming breakthroughs in areas like health, green energy, and even space flight will be exciting.

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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Photo: Nintendo

The Greatest Game of All Time (And Why It’s the Best) Soulsborne)? – Chris M

For those unfamiliar, Soulsborne games are a genre created by developer FromSoftware and its director Hidetaka Miyazaki, characterized by a punishing difficulty curve, an indirect narrative structure, and a tone that can be memorably summed up as “a goddamn little man snickering at you from behind a locked door.” I personally have a soft spot for the series’ Bloodborne, which released on PlayStation 4 in 2015, but I’ve just spent 50 hours playing the latest Soulsborne entry, Elden Ring, and it’s fantastic.

But the greatest game of all time is still The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Six years on from the release of the Switch and the console’s defining launch title, nothing has yet surpassed that game, not even its perfect sequel, Tears of the Kingdom. That said, Elden Ring is a great game for adults who feel embarrassed about playing an all-ages title, but it does have a bit of a goth Zelda about it.

If I continue any more I’ll have to co-brand my last newsletter with Pushing Buttons, so I’d like to stop here.

During the time you’ve worked in this role, what’s the best example of where technology has made a real, valuable, positive difference to the world? – Steve Parks

In my professional life, the answer is undoubtedly machine transcription. It’s not flashy, but being able to generate imperfect real-time transcripts from recorded interviews is truly transformative for reporting, speeding up the process of turning an idea into a published news story by hours.

More broadly, I think the rise of machine translation is a similar answer. These tools have improved slowly and steadily over the past 20 years, to the point where a significant portion of humanity is now able to communicate with one another in a basically intelligible way, in near real time. One of the most interesting consequences of this is that, at least in the short term, nothing has actually changed: language ability is still valuable, people still consume content primarily in their own language or that has been professionally translated, and online communities have not consolidated into one giant global conglomerate.

Maybe it will be. Or maybe this science fiction-turned-reality technology will continue to be useful mainly for making my holidays more comfortable and for reading funny Bluesky posts from Japan.

What’s next? Thank you to all 17 readers

After 11 years at The Guardian, I’m not jumping right into another job and will be taking six weeks off. In the meantime, you can keep in touch with me on these unconventional social networks: Blue Sky or Backlog; I don’t plan on returning to writing a weekly newsletter anytime soon, but I do plan to post occasional round-up articles if you’re interested in occasional updates on where I’ve posted articles. My dormant Substack.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many of you TechScape readers over the years, and thank you for reading, emailing, sharing your stories, and continuing to support me. I have some great writers who will be taking over for me.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Upgrade Your Gaming Setup this Fall

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

circleNow that summer is over and the skies are starting to turn grey in preparation for six months of rain, you might be thinking more seriously about video games. September and October are when we see some of the biggest releases of the year, so you’ll likely be spending a lot of evenings hiding from the world while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or Mario Party Jamboree. If your gaming setup is starting to get a little stale and you’re looking to give it a serious seasonal upgrade, here are some suggestions.

tv set

If you have a PS5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll need at least a 4K TV, but also a model that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, which provides super smooth and fluid picture quality in compatible games. Your TV will need at least one HDMI 2.1 port, and you’ll need a 2.1 HDMI compatible cable to connect your console.

Support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting is also a must. This is a technology that produces more detail and color in both high and low brightness. Confusingly, there are multiple versions. HDR10 is the basic version supported by both PS5 and Xbox. However, if you have a Microsoft machine, you’ll also get Dolby Vision, which is basically an improved version of HDR. These days, almost all TVs have a special game mode or game optimizer that turns off unnecessary image processing effects to reduce input lag and improve response times, but it’s still worth checking exactly what the TV you’re thinking of buying offers in this regard.

Recommended: LG C4 Series

LG C4 Series OLED TV Photo: LG

I recently tested one of these for a month and really liked it. The C4 is LG’s latest mid-range OLED set, with amazingly sharp images, vibrant colors, and support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and a 120Hz refresh rate. I tested it with a variety of titles, from Elden Ring to Helldivers 2, and they all looked beautiful. The Game mode is particularly good, allowing users to tweak the settings depending on the type of game they’re playing. You can even connect your PC and use it as a monitor, with a 144Hz option and support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies that help maintain smooth frame rates when playing demanding action games. If it’s a bit too expensive, the Samsung Q80D series is a very good alternative, but it’s hard to beat the LG C4.

monitor

If you play on PC instead of console and want to update your monitor, you need to think about the three R’s: refresh rate (the number of frames the display can show per second, measured in Hz), resolution (the detail of the image, measured in pixels), and response time (the time it takes each pixel to react to a change in the image, measured in milliseconds). What you need depends on the type of games you play. If you like fast-paced shooters, refresh rate and response time are the most important factors. If you like graphically rich adventure games, resolution is a key consideration. For general play, look for a model with at least a 144Hz refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and a response time of around 5ms.

You should also think about what type of panel your new monitor uses (VA, TN, IPS, OLED, etc., each with their own pros and cons – here’s a good guide. here), HDR, Nvidia G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, and other technologies.

Recommended: This one is tough. I still have my 5 year old Acer Predator and it still performs great, but I also have the much newer Samsung Odyssey, LG UltraGear and Gigabyte Aorus and they’re all great. Acer, Dell and MSI all make very capable low cost displays.

Headset

What you’re looking for here is comfort and quality, especially if you’re going to play for long periods of time. We also recommend noise cancellation (if you’re playing in a noisy living room) and support for virtual surround sound technologies such as Dolby Atmos. This not only enhances the atmosphere of the game, but also helps if you’re playing an online shooter and want to hear where your enemies are coming from. A good, clear microphone is also essential if you want to chat with friends while you play. You should also consider whether you want a wired or wireless headset and whether the model is compatible with your console.

Recommended: Audeze Maxwell (319 pounds)

Maxwell PS5 Photo: Audeze

Source: www.theguardian.com

Evidence shows pregnant sharks are preyed on by larger sharks

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Prior to giving birth, the pregnant porbeagle shark was expected to give birth soon, when one of the two tracking tags attached to the shark by marine scientists resurfaced near Bermuda.

Surprisingly, the tag emerged much earlier than anticipated. It had been affixed to the 7-foot-long shark only 158 days prior, after conducting an ultrasound scan off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in October 2020. The tag was supposed to remain attached for about a year.

“Something seemed amiss,” stated Brooke Anderson, a shark researcher at Arizona State University during that time.

The second tag, which was designed to transmit a signal when the shark’s fin breached the surface, never sent a signal again.

Data collected from the retrieved “pop-off” tag revealed an unusual pattern: for the initial five months, the depth and temperature information appeared normal for this species, but then deviations started to occur.

“Unexpectedly, temperatures suddenly spiked and remained high even at depths of 600 meters,” recounted Anderson.

The diving patterns of the creatures also became peculiar.

Of the 11 porbeagle sharks that researchers tagged, eight were pregnant, including this one.
John Dodd

“All the data pointed in one direction: she had been consumed,” remarked Anderson.

The researchers ascertained that the irregular readings from the tag were due to it having been inside another animal’s stomach for several days.

Their conclusions were detailed in a study published in the Frontiers in Marine Science journal, shedding light on the fact that porbeagle sharks are being preyed upon by much bigger animals.

Naming a few possible predators, the researchers narrowed down their suspects based on biological characteristics – the data didn’t align with a mammal like a killer whale, leading them to focus on warm-blooded sharks with some heat-generating capacity.

“The predator needed to elevate its body temperature above the ambient water, have the size to inflict damage on the porbeagle, and reside in the area of the predation,” explained Anderson.

The researchers inferred that a great white shark or mako shark likely devoured the pregnant porbeagle, temporarily swallowing the tag.

“Our estimation is that it was a mature female great white shark, possibly exceeding 15 feet in length,” disclosed Anderson.

Previously, the notion that porbeagle sharks might fall prey to larger creatures had not been considered, she added.

Originally, their team aimed to track pregnant porbeagle sharks during their gestation period and pinpoint where they typically give birth.

Across two Atlantic seasons, they located and tagged a total of 11 porbeagle sharks, hauling each one onto the boat, treating them with aerated seawater, and concealing their eyes with wet towels.

“We operated like a NASCAR pit crew,” described Anderson. Eight of these sharks were pregnant.

Their expectations didn’t encompass uncovering a profound deep-sea mystery.

Matt Davis, a marine resources scientist from the Maine Department of Marine Resources not involved in the research, acknowledged that the study’s conclusions were plausible.

This incident underscores the continued need for scientific exploration of mid-depth ocean life and predator-prey interactions, added Davis.

The porbeagle shark is categorized as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Overfishing activities began in the 1960s, causing a population decline of 75 to 80 percent by 2001, as per Anderson.

While the species is recuperating due to fishing regulations, their longer lifespan and lower reproductive rate mean a protracted recovery process.

“We must continue tagging and monitoring these sharks to understand the frequency of such incidents,” emphasized Anderson regarding the predation. “In an instant, this critically endangered species lost not just its essential breeding females, but all its developing offspring as well. It is crucial to grasp both the frequency and impact of such events.”

Their research could play a pivotal role in restoring a healthy shark population in the Atlantic, where sharks prey on sharks.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Marmosets use names to communicate among themselves

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem recorded the natural “phee call” conversations between pairs of marmosets. They found that the marmosets use these calls to vocally address each other. Moreover, these non-human primates respond more consistently and accurately to calls directed at them.

Humans, dolphins, elephants, and marmosets are the only species known to vocalize names for other animals of their own species. Image credit: Oren others., doi: 10.1126/science.adp3757.

In the study, Guy Oren, a graduate student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his colleagues recorded natural conversations between pairs of marmosets and interactions between the monkeys and a computer system.

The researchers discovered that these monkeys use a “fee” call to address specific individuals.

Even more interesting, the marmosets were able to discern calls directed at them and responded more accurately when called.

“This discovery highlights the complexity of social communication between marmosets,” Omer said.

“These calls are not simply used to locate themselves, as previously thought. Marmosets use these specific calls to label and call to specific individuals.”

The authors also found that family members within marmoset groups use similar phonetic labels when calling different individuals and use similar phonetic features when encoding different names, which is similar to human use of names and dialects.

This learning appears to occur even among unrelated adult marmosets, suggesting that they learn both phonetic labels and dialects from other members of their family group.

Scientists think that the acoustic signatures may have evolved to help marmosets stay connected in dense forest habitats where visibility is often limited.

These calls allow primates to maintain social bonds and keep their groups cohesive.

“Marmosets live in small, monogamous family groups and care for their young together, just like humans do,” Omer said.

“These similarities suggest that they faced similar evolutionary social challenges as their early ancestors before acquiring language, which may have led to the development of similar ways of communicating.”

This study provides new insights into how social communication and human language have evolved.

“Our findings shed light on the complexity of social vocalizations in non-human primates and suggest that marmoset vocalizations may serve as a model for understanding aspects of human language and provide new insights into the evolution of social communication,” the researchers said.

of Survey results Published in a journal Science.

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Guy Oren others2024. Speech labelling of others by non-human primates. Science 385 (6712): 996-1003; doi: 10.1126/science.adp3757

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers find breathtaking galaxy collision in ancient universe

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Subaru Telescope, astronomers have discovered a merging pair of gas-rich galaxies that existed 12.8 billion years ago and housed a faint central quasar that may be the ancestor of some of the brightest and most massive quasars in the early universe.

Artist's impression of the quasars HSC J121503.42-014858.7 and HSC J121503.55-014859.3. Image courtesy of Izumi others., doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad57c6.

Quasars are luminous objects that gained energy from matter falling into supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies in the early universe.

The most accepted theory is that when two gas-rich galaxies merge to form one larger galaxy, the gravitational interaction between the two galaxies causes gas to fall towards a supermassive black hole in one or both of the galaxies, triggering quasar activity.

To test this theory, Dr. Takuma Izumi of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan used ALMA to study the oldest known pair of close quasars.

The quasars, named HSC J121503.42-014858.7 and HSC J121503.55-014859.3, were discovered by the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam.

These objects are very faint, about 10 to 100 times fainter than highly luminous quasars at the same redshift.

“It is located approximately 12.8 billion light-years away, corresponding to the 'cosmic dawn' era when the universe was only 900 million years old, making it the farthest such quasar pair on record,” the astronomers said.

“Because of their faintness, we thought these objects were in the pre-merger stage, before the supermassive black holes rapidly grow.”

“However, observations with the Subaru Telescope only provide information about the central supermassive black hole, and it remains unclear whether the host galaxy is destined to merge and ultimately grow into a luminous quasar.”

“As a next step, we used the ALMA radio telescope to carry out observations of the host galaxies of these quasar pairs.”

“The results were surprising: the observed distribution of interstellar material and the nature of its motions indicated that these galaxies are interacting with each other.”

“They are definitely on a path to merge into one galaxy in the near future.”

“Furthermore, calculations from observational data reveal that the total gas mass of these galaxies – about 100 billion times the mass of the Sun – is comparable to or exceeds the gas mass in the host galaxies of most luminous quasars, which have extremely bright cores.”

“This enormous amount of matter should easily trigger and sustain the post-merger burst of star formation and fueling of the supermassive black hole.”

“These discoveries therefore represent a significant achievement in identifying the ancestors of luminous quasars and starburst galaxies, the most luminous objects in the early universe, from various perspectives, including galactic structure, motion and the amount of interstellar material.”

of Survey results Appears in Astrophysical Journal.

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Takuma Izumi others2024. Gas-rich galaxy merger harboring a low-luminosity twin quasar at z = 6.05: a likely progenitor of the most luminous quasars. ApJ 972, 116;doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad57c6

Source: www.sci.news

A newly discovered herbivorous dinosaur species

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A new genus and species of non-hadrosaur hadrosauroid dinosaur, Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi was identified from a specimen discovered in southwestern China in 2022.

Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi Image credit: Hai Xing/Sci.News.

Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi lived in China during the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago.

The 8-metre (26-foot) long herbivore Hadrosauroidea is a superfamily of ornithischian dinosaurs that includes the so-called duck-billed dinosaurs and their relatives.

“Hadrosauroids are a diverse and highly specialized clade of ornithischian dinosaurs whose fossils have been found in Early to Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia, Europe, America, Africa and Antarctica,” said paleontologist Dr. Hai Xin from the National Museum of Natural History of China, the Canadian Museum of Nature and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and his colleagues.

“Phylogenically, it is defined as the most inclusive taxon, Parasaurolophus but, Iguanodon It is noted for its duck-billed snout and complex skull dentition.”

“Since the early 20th century, hadrosauroids have been considered an important component of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of the entire Cretaceous.”

“The fossil record of this group contains a large amount of loose elements, dozens of heavily articulated skeletons, egg and fetal material, and bone bed assemblages that produce soft-tissue impressions and footprints.”

“Within the hadrosauroidea, non-hadrosaur species form a paraphyletic group that reveals a transitional morphology from early-diverging iguanodonts to hadrosaurids.”

“Most non-hadrosaur hadrosaurids are found in Cretaceous Asia, especially in northern and central China, and in the Early Cretaceous Exhibits, Xu Wulong and Probactrosaurus and the Late Cretaceous Tanius, Gilmoreosaurus and Zhang Henglong has been recovered.”

“However, comparable material from the Cretaceous of southwestern China is extremely scarce and fragmentary.”

Incomplete, partially articulated skeleton Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi Collected in 2022 Positive Yang Layer Chongqing, southwest China.

“Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi is the second officially named hadrosauroid dinosaur discovered in South China. Nanningosaurus dassiensis” the paleontologist said.

This specimen represents a transitional morphology between hadrosauroid and non-hadrosauroid dinosaurs and enhances our understanding of the diversity and evolution of non-hadrosauroid dinosaurs.

“The age distribution of eight hadrosaurids is Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi. Phylogenetically, it corresponds to the apex of the Zhengyang Formation during the Santonian to early Maastrichtian period. Chienjiangsaurus chanshengi “Fossils found are probably limited to the late Late Cretaceous,” the authors say.

“Hierarchical clustering of 12 hadrosauroid dinosaur assemblages from Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia revealed strong correlations between the Zhongyang Formation and the Djadokhta and Barungoyot Formations in Mongolia, supporting contemporaneous exchange of dinosaur faunas across East Asia.”

Team paper Published in the journal on August 27, 2024 Cretaceous Research.

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Huy Dai others A new late-divergent non-hadrosaur hadrosauroid species (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from southwestern China: supports Late Cretaceous dinosaur fauna exchange across East Asia. Cretaceous Research Published online August 27, 2024; doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105995

Source: www.sci.news

The solution to the mysterious link between clouds and climate

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Eric S. Neitzel Fireground Communications LLC/AdobeStock

Central Park Reservoir is one of the few places in New York City to get a good view of the clouds. Looking north from the reservoir’s edge, there’s a large gap between the buildings that lets you see the clouds rolling in from the harbor. Meteorologist Kara Lamb suggested we try our hand at cloud watching here.

At the time, the sky is full of fluffy cumulus clouds beneath a ceiling of altostratus. One of them looks a lot like a whale. But Lam, who studies clouds at Columbia University in New York, doesn’t think they’re so strange. “Clouds are fascinating because they’re cool to look at,” he says. “But I think about clouds in terms of climate” – understanding how the sunlight they reflect and the heat they trap beneath them affect the Earth’s temperature.

What the casual cloud watcher might not know is that clouds are the biggest unknown in predicting future climate change to determine how this balance will change in a warming world. If we double carbon dioxide from pre-industrial levels, will the world get a manageable 1.5°C warming or a hellish 4.5°C warming? The biggest source of this uncertainty is our lack of understanding of clouds.

But researchers are making progress. Lamb is looking at ice crystals in the clouds, which play a surprisingly large role in influencing the climate. Some researchers are using cloud chambers, and are planning to set up cloud chambers…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Breakthrough in cancer treatment: Lab-grown stem cells offer new hope

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Stem cells are produced in the bone marrow and develop into different types of blood cells.

Katerina Conn / SPL/ Alamy

Human blood stem cells have been grown in a laboratory for the first time, which could dramatically improve how certain types of cancer are treated.

The lab-grown cells have so far only been tested in mice, but when injected into the animals, they resulted in functional bone marrow similar to levels seen after umbilical cord blood cell transplants.

Treating cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma with radiation and chemotherapy can destroy blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. A stem cell transplant means new healthy bone marrow and blood cells can grow. The umbilical cord is a particularly rich source of stem cells, but there is a limited amount they can provide, and the transplant may be rejected by the body.

The new method allows researchers to create stem cells from actual patients, eliminating supply issues and reducing the risk that the patient's body will reject the stem cells.

First, they transformed human blood and skin cells into so-called pluripotent stem cells through a process called reprogramming. “This involves temporarily switching on four genes, so that the patient's cells revert to an earlier stage of development that can become any cell in the body,” he said. Andrew Elefanti At the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Melbourne.

The second step is to turn the pluripotent cells into blood stem cells. “You start by making thousands of tiny, free-floating balls of cells, each containing a few hundred cells, and then you induce them to turn from stem cells to blood vessels to blood cells,” Elefanti says. This process, called differentiation, takes about two weeks and produces millions of blood cells, he says.

When these cells were then injected into mice that lack immune systems, they produced functional bone marrow in up to 50 percent of cases. That means they made the same cells that carry oxygen and fight infection as healthy human bone marrow, Elefanti says. “This unique ability to make all blood cell types over an extended period of time defines them as blood stem cells,” he says.

Abbas Shafi A researcher from the University of Queensland in Brisbane said the work was an “exciting step forward” towards new treatments for blood cancers. “It's never been done before and has great potential for the future.” But even once animal testing is complete, he said a lot of human research still needs to be done before the technique can be used in the clinic.

Simon Cohn Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, say a key advantage of their approach is that it can be scaled up to produce “an essentially limitless supply” of blood stem cells, but they add that the work is based on blood or skin cells, and success rates and blood cell diversity depend on the starting cell type.

“This suggests that treatments are inconsistent even at the preclinical stage in mice, and will need to be addressed before clinical trials in human patients,” he says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Study finds earthquake-triggered piezoelectric effect is essential in the creation of sizable gold nuggets

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Gold nuggets reside primarily in quartz veins, and the current paradigm holds that gold precipitates from hydrothermal and carbon dioxide-rich fluids due to changes in temperature, pressure, and/or fluid chemistry. However, the widespread occurrence of large gold nuggets is inconsistent with the dilute nature of these fluids and the chemical inertness of quartz. Quartz is the only abundant piezoelectric mineral on Earth, and the cyclical nature of the seismic activity that drives the formation of gold deposits means that quartz crystals within veins are stressed thousands of times. New research by scientists from Monash University, CSIRO Mineral Resources and the Australian Neutron Scattering Centre suggests that stress on quartz crystals may generate enough voltage to not only electrochemically precipitate gold from solution, but also accumulate gold nanoparticles.

Energy dispersive spectroscopy map of the sample studied by Voysey othersImage courtesy of Chris Voisey.

“Prized for their rarity and beauty, gold nuggets have been at the heart of gold rushes for centuries,” says Monash University geologist Chris Voisey.

“The standard explanation is that gold precipitates from hot, water-rich fluids that flow through cracks in the Earth's crust.”

“As these fluids cool and undergo chemical changes, the gold separates and becomes trapped in the quartz veins.”

“Although this theory is widely accepted, it does not fully explain the formation of large gold nuggets, especially considering the extremely low concentrations of gold in these liquids.”

Dr. Voysey and his colleagues tested a new concept called piezoelectricity.

Quartz, the mineral that typically contains these gold deposits, has a unique property called piezoelectricity, which means it generates an electric charge when subjected to pressure.

This phenomenon is already well known in everyday items such as quartz watches and barbecue lighters, where small mechanical forces generate large voltages.

What if earthquake stresses caused something similar to happen within the Earth?

To test this hypothesis, the researchers conducted experiments designed to replicate conditions that quartz might experience during an earthquake.

They submerged the crystals in a gold-rich liquid and used a motor to apply pressure to it, replicating the shaking of an earthquake.

After the experiment, the quartz samples were examined under a microscope to see if any gold had been deposited.

“The results were surprising,” said Professor Andy Tomkins, from Monash University.

“The stressed quartz not only electrochemically deposited gold on its surface, but also formed and accumulated gold nanoparticles.”

“Surprisingly, the gold tended to deposit on top of existing gold grains rather than forming new gold grains.”

“This is because quartz is an electrical insulator, while gold is a conductor.”

“Once the gold is deposited, it becomes a focus for further growth, effectively attaching even more gold to the gold particle.”

“Our findings provide a plausible explanation for why large gold nuggets form in quartz veins,” Dr Voysey said.

When the quartz is repeatedly compressed by an earthquake, a piezoelectric voltage is generated, causing dissolved gold to be reduced and precipitated from the surrounding liquid.

Over time, this process can accumulate large amounts of gold, eventually producing giant gold nuggets that fascinate treasure hunters and geologists.

“Essentially, the quartz acts like a natural battery, with the gold as its electrodes, slowly accumulating gold with each earthquake,” Dr Voysey said.

“This process may explain why large gold nuggets are frequently associated with quartz veins that form in earthquake-related deposits.”

“This new understanding of the formation of gold nuggets not only solves a long-standing geological mystery, but also highlights the interrelationships between Earth's physical and chemical processes.”

a paper A paper describing the results was published today in the journal Nature Chemistry.

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CR Voysey othersThe formation of gold nuggets due to earthquake-induced piezoelectric effect in quartz. National GeographyPublished on September 2, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41561-024-01514-1

Source: www.sci.news

Earthquakes as a possible explanation for the formation of giant gold nuggets in quartz rock

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

A replica of the “Welcome Stranger,” a 100 kg gold nugget discovered in Australia in 1869.

Ian Dagnall/Alamy

Earthquakes can create electric fields that attract gold dissolved in liquids pushed up from deep within the earth, causing gold nuggets to form in the quartz.

Giant gold nuggets are often associated with quartz, a ubiquitous but chemically inert mineral. The world's largest gold nuggets can weigh nearly 100 kilograms, but until now no one has been able to explain how such masses of precious metal formed.

“The mystery was how someone could create such a large nugget of gold in one place without any obvious chemical or physical traps,” he said. Chris Voysey At Monash University, Melbourne.

Voysey and his colleagues discovered a possible mechanism: applying pressure to the quartz creates a voltage that attracts gold dissolved in water.

The secret lies in the structure of quartz, Voysey explains. Quartz is the only abundant mineral whose crystals have no center of symmetry. This means that when these crystals are strained or stressed by seismic activity, their internal electromagnetic makeup changes, generating electricity. Electricity generated in response to mechanical stress is known as piezoelectricity.

Gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids rise up through fissures during seismic activity from the mid-to-lower crust, 15-20 km below the surface, but gold is so dilute that it would take the equivalent of five Olympic swimming pools of hydrothermal fluid to produce 10 kg of gold.

Voysey and his colleagues hypothesized that the piezoelectric properties of quartz would cause the gold to concentrate in nodules within the veins during repeated earthquakes. To test this idea, the team performed experiments in which they placed quartz crystals in a gold-containing solution and applied moderate pressure from an actuator.

Quartz samples that were not subjected to pressure did not attract gold, but samples subjected to force generated a voltage and attracted the metal. Some of the samples were coated with iridium to accentuate the piezoelectric response of the quartz and artificially mimic the expansion of seismic activity. In these samples, large gold flakes grew, over 6000 nanometers, compared to 200-300 nanometers in uncoated quartz.

Once gold starts to deposit on the quartz, it quickly attracts other gold, Voysey says. “Gold is a conductor, so gold in solution tends to deposit on top of existing gold,” he says. “It becomes like a lightning rod that attracts more gold.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Activists advocate for public transparency of ride-hailing app data to tackle exploitation and reduce emissions | Gig Economy

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Activists are urging Uber and other ride-hailing apps to disclose data on their drivers’ workload to combat exploitation and reduce carbon emissions.

Analysis by Worker Info Exchange suggests that drivers for Uber and its competitors may have missed out on over £1.2 billion in earnings and expenses last year due to payment structures.

The report argues that these platforms are built on an oversupply of vehicles and the exploitation of workers, leading to financial struggles and debt.

Uber collects anonymized trip data in several North American cities and claims this covers around 40% of drivers’ miles before picking up passengers.

Despite Uber’s response that drivers earn money on other platforms during idle times, Worker Info Exchange maintains that better compensation and expense coverage could have resulted in an additional £1.29 billion industry-wide in 2023.

The report also highlights issues with monitoring drivers’ mileage, leading to potential exhaustion and safety hazards.

Similar concerns are raised about food delivery apps, with calls for more transparency in journey data.

Efforts in New York to limit vehicle licenses to support taxi drivers and reduce congestion have been noted, although recent changes exempt electric vehicles.

Uber’s carbon emissions in the UK are projected to surpass those of Transport for London, prompting calls for stricter control and transparency from regulators.

The ongoing debate around worker classification and rights in the gig economy is also highlighted, with promises from lawmakers to address issues of “false self-employment”.

Worker Info Exchange, founded by a key figure in the Uber Supreme Court case, aims to empower gig workers by providing more control over their data and decision-making processes.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Possible Future Solutions for Slowing, Stopping, or Eradicating Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Alzheimer’s disease is, understandably, one of the most feared diseases of old age. It robs people of their memories, places a tremendous strain on caregivers, and imposes a huge economic burden on both individuals and society. Tens of millions of people have already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and if predictions are correct, that number will more than double by 2050.

Until recently, it seemed there was no hope of averting this catastrophe, but rapid advances in medical science have made it realistic prospects that Alzheimer’s may be treatable and eventually eradicated (see “A new kind of vaccine could lead to Alzheimer’s eradication”).

The first of a new class of drugs is already creating buzz, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Last week, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the drug, called lecanemab. But NICE, the body that advises on whether new treatments are cost-effective, has made a provisional decision that taxpayers will not fund the drug in England. No decision has yet been made in the rest of the UK.

This is obviously a tough pill to swallow for Alzheimer’s patients and their families. But in the grand scheme of things, this is good news. Lecanemab is not a particularly effective drug. Its effects are modest, it has serious side effects, and it is expensive. But it does show that the causes of Alzheimer’s are now understood and treatable. This is further reinforced by the fact that the drug is also approved in the United States and Japan, but the European Medicines Agency has refused to approve it.

So the way is almost paved for the next wave of drugs to target the causes of Alzheimer’s, which could be ready around 2030. These are vaccines, not in the traditional sense of conferring immunity against an infection, but they work in essentially the same way, by stimulating an immune response against the misfolded proteins that cause the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. The first vaccines will be therapeutic, slowing or stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s, but the next generation will be preventative, preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s. Eventually, the only memory that will fade will be Alzheimer’s itself.

Source: www.newscientist.com

What is the unusual sound emanating from Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft carried astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station.

NASA/Johnson Space Center

update: A statement was sent to SpaceNews’ Jeff Faust.NASA said the sound had stopped and explained why: “The feedback from the speakers was the result of an audio configuration between the space station and Starliner,” NASA said. “The space station’s audio system is complex, with multiple interconnected spacecraft and modules, and it is common for noise and feedback to occur.” They added that the feedback had no technical impact to the crew or spacecraft operations.

The ill-fated mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has run into trouble once again. The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who only recently learned they would be staying on the ISS until at least February, began hearing strange noises coming from the Boeing spacecraft over the weekend.

“We’re hearing some strange noises coming from the speakers,” Wilmore told Mission Control in Houston, Texas, on August 31. Recorded by an enthusiast“We don’t know what caused it.”

Mission Control told Wilmore they would investigate the regular pulsating noise. New ScientistBoeing referred requests for comment to NASA, which did not immediately respond.

The Starliner spacecraft delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS on June 5, but a thruster failure and helium leak made the planned return trip with passengers deemed too risky.

The noise has puzzled space industry experts and mission control. “It’s very strange,” one person said. Martin Barstow Professor at the University of Leicester in the UK. “I’ve never been on a spacecraft, so I have no idea.”

Social media posts have speculated about the possibility of sonar interference, but say such interference couldn’t come from outside the capsule because sound waves cannot travel in space. Jonathan Aitken “I don’t think it’s a big deal,” said the researcher at the University of Sheffield in the UK. “The bigger question for me is whether it’s a single speaker that’s making the noise, or the whole communications system.”

To investigate the source of the noise, Barstow recommends a thorough inspection of the aircraft. “Find out where there are microphones that might be providing input and isolate them,” he says. “But the sound could also be coming from the audio system electronics.”

Barstow noted that the regular but occasionally erratic nature of the pulse may support the idea that this is a problem with electronic interference.

This hypothesis is Phil Metzger “Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is very common and difficult to eliminate,” said John F. Kennedy, a professor at the University of Central Florida who helped test the ISS intercom system as co-founder of NASA’s Swamp Works research facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He wrote to X.

Metzger said: New ScientistIn response to an interview request from SpaceX, astronaut John McClellan explained on social media that the interference could be coming from outside the Starliner: “During one test, we heard a noise that we tracked down to its source and found to be coming from a power inverter that is part of the test facility and not the spacecraft,” he wrote. “We believe that the noise on Starliner was due to electromagnetic interference leaking into something like an audio cable with a loose braid at the connector interface.”

What to do about it is another matter: Wilmore’s radio communications with Mission Control suggest that neither he nor Williams were overly concerned about the noise, but were confused as to its source.

There’s no rush to find out what the problem is, since Starliner is scheduled to return to Earth on its own on September 6. “I don’t think it’s significant since there won’t be a crew on board, but anything unusual should always be investigated,” Barstow said. “It might shed some light on an underlying problem.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Experience the Healing Benefits of Forest Bathing for Better Health – Here’s How

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Forest bathing is an ancient Japanese therapeutic technique dating back to the 1980s. It involves spending restorative time in forests and natural environments to connect with nature and achieve sensory relaxation. Despite sounding like hippie nonsense, there is scientific evidence emerging that supports the benefits of forest bathing.

This practice does not involve any nudity or water activities; instead, it encourages mindfulness, disconnecting from technology, light exercise, and escaping the sensory overload of the modern world. Research has shown that spending time in nature can have a positive impact on mental and physical health, reducing blood pressure, cortisol levels, and heart rate.

Studies on green space exposure have demonstrated significant improvements in various health markers, such as lower rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Forest bathing is taken seriously in Japan and South Korea, where doctors prescribe it as a therapeutic intervention for stress and hypertension.

A UK study on forest bathing led by Dr. Kirsten McEwan has shown promising results, including a 12% improvement in heart rate variability and enhanced mood. The mechanism behind these health benefits is believed to involve the stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system and the release of chemicals by trees that boost the immune system.

Nature’s impact on long-term health outcomes is still being studied, but initial findings suggest that spending time in nature can have significant health benefits. Perhaps Western medicine is beginning to recognize and embrace the benefits of traditional practices like forest bathing, aligning with generations of knowledge that being outside in nature is good for overall well-being.

About our experts

Dr. Kirsten McEwan, Associate Professor of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Derby, is leading research on forest bathing through the Forest Therapy Hub.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Cygni: All Guns Blazing Review – Exploring the Exciting Space Frontier | Games

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

yesIn front of your ears Star WarsVideo game designers began exploring intergalactic dogfights in 1962. spacewar!The first proper computer game, , was a rudimentary but influential attempt: two skinny triangles spiraling around a star's gravity well and firing torpedoes at each other. After establishing the medium's basic principles, hundreds of developers attempted to refine and perfect the genre, which has gone in and out of fashion but never completely disappeared. Cygnus It's probably the best production attempt to date. A small studio in Scotland Answering the Impossible Question: What if Steven Spielberg had directed it? Space Invaders?

As a lone warrior, you'll race across an alien planet, attacking UFOs and swirling swarms of purple space jellyfish that fly across the screen, in a style reminiscent of polarity-swapping arcade classics. Ikaruga, Cygnus is a master class in technology: a spaceship hurtles through a remote robot battlefield, rocked by the blasts of thousands of fireworks. The orchestra, frantic one moment, melancholic the next, complementarily backs up the action, which ebbs and flows, with moments of rest between the activity.

Enemies fly through the air or glide along the ground far below, forcing you to switch weapons to focus your attacks on either target. Every few minutes you'll be facing off against a much larger enemy, and you'll need to adjust your angle of attack while dodging their attacks and lunges. Enemies drop chunks of power-ups (you lose one every time you take damage), which can be swapped between a shield system or a weapon system, a slightly tedious complexity that adds an extra layer of strategy.

The game is a formidable challenge, and most players should start on the easiest difficulty level. Laser bullets fall like showers rather than hail, and lives are replenished at reasonable intervals between the seven long levels. It can get repetitive at times, Cygnus's innovative mechanics will no doubt be polarizing among the genre's most dedicated and old-school fans, but for those who approach it with an open mind and deft fingers, it remains a thrilling vision.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Active Spiral Galaxy Discovered by Hubble Telescope

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Astronomers have captured stunning photos of the lenticular spiral galaxy IC 4709 using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a beautiful picture of IC 4709's swirling disk, filled with stars and dust bands, and the faint halo that surrounds it. The color image is composed of observations in the near-infrared and visible parts of the spectrum by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The image is based on data obtained through two filters. The colors are obtained by assigning a different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Koss / A. Barth.

No. 4709 It is located in the Southern Telescope constellation and is about 240 million light years away from Earth.

Also known as ESO 182-14 or LEDA 61835, the galaxy has a diameter of 60,000 light years.

IC 4709 is Found It was discovered on September 14, 1901 by American astronomer DeLisle Stewart.

In the galaxy Active galactic nucleiIt is a compact region at the center, and the material inside it is being pulled towards the supermassive black hole.

“If IC 4709's core were simply filled with stars, it would not be as bright as it is,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.

“Instead, we have a massive black hole with a mass 65 million times that of the Sun.”

“A disk of gas swirls around and eventually enters this black hole. As it spins, the gas collides with itself and heats up.”

“It reaches such high temperatures that it emits electromagnetic radiation ranging from infrared to visible light to ultraviolet light and beyond, including in this case x-rays.”

“The active galactic nucleus of IC 4709 is obscured by a dark dust belt that is barely visible in the galaxy's centre in Hubble Space Telescope images, blocking optical radiation from the nucleus itself,” the researchers added.

“But Hubble's incredible resolution gives us a detailed picture of very small active galactic nuclei and their interactions with their host galaxies.”

“This is essential for understanding supermassive black holes in galaxies much more distant than IC 4709, where it's impossible to resolve such fine detail.”

Source: www.sci.news

Ghostface Killah aspired to become a deadly Eagle! – Def Jam: Battle of NYC Marks 20 Years with a Bang | Gaming Community rejoices

Posted on September 2, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

'I I remember visiting Ghostface Killah. [of the Wu-Tang Clan] “He was mad at us!” recalls Darryl Anselmo, a former EA employee and art director on 2004's groundbreaking hip-hop fusion fighting game Def Jam: Fight for NY. “Ghost Face was holding four pounds of solid gold. eagle bracelet And he claimed that his character's signature move would be for the bird to come to life and peck the other rappers out of their eyes. But the limitations of the PlayStation 2's technology and its violence restrictions meant that it couldn't happen. It wasn't possible.”

“When Ghost Face first asked about the eagle, Lauren… [Wirtzer Seawood, another one of the game’s producers] He told me to just nod and smile, and when I met him again at the studio for the sequel, I apologized. [for misleading him] He quickly moved on to recording extended insults for his character for the new game, one of which I remember: “Go home and cry to your mother. And tell her you're hungry!”

Whether or not Ghostface Killah transforms into a giant killer eagle, the resulting game, Def Jam: Fight for NY, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month and remains one of the fighting game genre's most vibrant spins. It's the rare '00s game that's still dominating social media conversation despite never being remade or re-released. The 67 characters include rap legends like Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Ice-T, Scarface, Ludacris, Flavor Flav, Slick Rick, Warren G, and Mobb Deep, and it's an improvement over the slower-paced gameplay of its predecessor, Def Jam: Vendetta, in every respect.

Vendetta was essentially publisher EA's best take on an engine made for a defunct WCW wrestling game that was mired in development hell and causing executives to lose their heads. At one stage, in their desperation, they even suggested that it could be salvaged and remade into an intergalactic wrestling game full of alien characters. But because Holmes and Anselmo had helmed the 2001 success NBA Street (which added a faster, cartoony, hip-hop aesthetic to basketball multiplayer and far outsold that year's bigger-budget (and much more boring) NBA Live 2002), they were deemed the perfect duo to turn what began as a vague boardroom idea (what if rappers wrestled each other?) into a fleshed-out, retail game.

“It was a controversial concept”…Def Jam battles in NYC. Photo: EA

This meant traveling back and forth to Japan to work with development company AKI Corporation, while also touring the US to meet with rappers signed or affiliated with legendary label Def Jam, and ultimately winning their trust. They shaped the character's mannerisms, from moves to taunts. “It's been a dream life, to be honest,” Holmes adds. “I grew up obsessed with hip-hop. As a teenager, I worked in a music store and sold a bass guitar to Flavor Flav when Public Enemy played in Vancouver. Flavor actually remembered me! It was an amazing time. Who would have thought I'd end up recording with my idols and going to Snoop Dogg's family home?”

But he acknowledges that the core concept behind Def Jam: Vendetta and its sequel, Def Jam: Fight for NY, wasn't easily embraced: “Execs had a hard time understanding the concept of a fighting game about rappers. It was a controversial concept,” says the producer, who went on to work on Halo 4 at Microsoft and 343 Industries.

“Once I explained to them that to be the best lyricist in hip-hop, it's all about arguing, dissing, and competing for the throne, they finally got it,” Anselmo reveals. “Hip-hop is full of vibrant, competitive personalities, so the character roster could have a Street Fighter II or Tekken 3 vibe.”

Def Jam: Fight for NY's concept of rappers punching each other was a huge success, and critics loved it, too, with a score of 83 on Metacritic. “We rushed to make Vendetta, but it still sold well,” says Holmes. “That success gave us the opportunity to expand on the gameplay with Fight for NY and take our time to get it right.” AKI Corporation took the ever-changing, momentum-based combat from the legendary WWF: No Mercy game, released on Nintendo 64 in 2000, and sped everything up with hyper-active Blazin' Moves (my personal favorite is Busta's backbreaker, which is more destructive than Batman's spine-crushing Bane).

The art design is somewhere between The Wire and a comic book, with an ambitious range of dynamic fighting styles (kickboxing, street fighting, martial arts, wrestling, submission). There's a storyline, with Snoop Dogg playing the cunning vampire villain The Crow, who'll hit you with a cane and cleverly taunt you with, “Do you have dental insurance?” You can wear Roc-A-Wear or Ecko tracksuits, getting increasingly better dressed as you rise through the ranks of your boss D-Mob's underground fighting syndicate, slowly earning you respect. It's as if Fight Club had been directed by glossy rap music vid…

Rappers Joe Budden vs. Sticky Fingaz compete in Def Jam's New York Battle. Photo: EA

The key mission was to choose either 128-bit's Lil' Kim or Carmen Electra as his new girlfriend, and the next day Method Man would call and ask if they'd slept together. The latter was one part of the game that Anselmo now regrets: “Lil' Kim could beat any of the male MCs, but… [reduced to that]”In 2004,” he admits, “all of the rap music videos were about objectifying women, which in retrospect is a real shame. The reality is that there was a push to make the game more sex appealing and more culturally relevant.”

As I recalled after recently replaying my dusty GameCube copy, Fight for NY is still exhilaratingly challenging. The boss fight featuring Fat Joe's crack Zangief-esque character had me hurling my WaveBird controller against the wall as a teenager. You can't beat your opponent unless you take the time to figure out how to counter their attacks, and while this process can be brutal at times, it makes it all that much more satisfying when you finally triumph.

“This game is designed in such a way that you have to sweat and really learn something new to win!” Anselmo says with a smile. “AKI's Hiro Abe (programmer) and Hiroya Tamura (artist) were geniuses. To get good at Def Jam: Fight for NY, you had to master the gameplay and get used to losing. In modern games, fighting games are just too easy. I think that's why so many people still play our game over and over.”

“Fighting games are too easy in today's gaming world”…Def Jam Fight for NY. Photo: EA

And there are still a lot of people playing Fight for NY. Not a week goes by without someone playing. Nostalgic post A gameplay video that went viral on TikTok has gone viral to the point where people can't believe it even exists. Even rappers (Including Ice TThe actor who played the character in the game(?) is still responding to tweets from fans begging for an updated version.

A$AP Rocky has labelled modern rap the “new wrestling” due to the commercialisation of petty infighting and mainstream MCs treating rap personas like WWE bad-mouthing tough guys. Holmes agrees with my theory that Def Jam: Fight for NY, with its constant depictions of MCs embroiled in diss tracks and gang politics, now feels like a documentary, especially considering how much more public conflict there has become in rap. “Rap is becoming more and more dramatic,” he agrees. “You see a lot of social media videos of rappers fighting each other, and it's interesting that the violence of the game doesn't seem so ridiculous today.”

Some will argue that a game that trivializes the conflict in hip-hop is wrong and deserves more criticism, especially with so many rappers losing their lives to violence every year. Anselmo counters: “I get that, and I don't think we could make the game right now because of drill, the environment is too tough. But Def Jam: Fight for NY was just meant to be a fantasy, escapist experience. It was like a gangsta rap version of The Warriors. It was just a little fun. We trusted that the audience would know that in real life, throwing someone through a window is not cool. We were really trying to res…tement is too tough. But Def Jam: Fight for NY was just meant to be a fantasy, escapist experience. It was like a gangsta rap version of The Warriors. It was just a little fun. We trusted that the audience would know that in real life, throwing someone through a window is not cool. We were really trying to respect the culture of hip-hop.”

The original Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube discs of Def Jam: Fight for NY are highly sought-after and command high prices on the second-hand market. But there hasn't been a Def Jam game released since 2007's disappointing Def Jam: Icon, and there hasn't been a remaster of Fight for NY. Why?

The sequel may be one of the most expensive games ever made…Def Jam Fight for NY. Photo: EA

Lauren Wurtzer Seawood, former vice president of marketing for the Def Jam label, played a pivotal role in the development of the first two games, serving as the liaison introducing the timid development team to the feisty MCs, and working hard to sort out complex licensing agreements ranging from image rights to music to in-game brand partnerships.

She says this complicated business mechanic is a big reason why it's highly unlikely the franchise will ever be revived. Def Jam: Fight for NY cost about $15 million to make, but with both hip-hop and video games now multi-billion dollar businesses worldwide, licensing fees would be astronomical. “If this game was re-released today, many

Source: www.theguardian.com

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How to save money on Black Friday shopping in 2024

Where to find Black Friday tech deals in the UK

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About our experts