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Showing posts from June, 2021

Conservation aquaculture could bring more native oysters to west coast

Ten estuaries on the West Coast of North America have been identified as priority locations for expanding the use of conservation aquaculture in a study led by the Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative and funded by the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP). SNAPP is a research collaboration supported by the National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis (NCEAS) at UC Santa Barbara. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3hlcXST

Protein 'big bang' reveals molecular makeup for medicine and bioengineering

Proteins have been quietly taking over our lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We've been living at the whim of the virus's so-called "spike" protein, which has mutated dozens of times to create increasingly deadly variants. But the truth is, we have always been ruled by proteins. At the cellular level, they're responsible for pretty much everything. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2UVmMzl

Conservatives' sensitivity to pandemic threat suppressed by distrust of science, media

Researchers studying the intersection of politics and psychology have long documented a link between threat sensitivity and social conservatism: People who are more socially conservative tend to react more strongly to threats. Conversely, those who are more socially liberal tend to be less sensitive to threats, viewing the world as a generally safe place and embracing change to explore new possibilities. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3jqZag9

Machine learning algorithm predicts how genes are regulated in individual cells

A team of scientists at the University of Illinois Chicago has developed a software tool that can help researchers more efficiently identify the regulators of genes. The system leverages a machine learning algorithm to predict which transcription factors are most likely to be active in individual cells. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2TmpCNi

How plants quickly adapt to shifting environmental conditions

Scientists—and gardeners—have long known that plants grow taller and flower sooner when they are shaded by close-growing neighbors. Now, for the first time, researchers at the Salk Institute have shown the detailed inner workings of this process. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xarqHM

Researchers looking at oil and water interaction to prevent water contamination

Oil spills in the ocean have a devastating impact on the environment. More than 400,000 gallons of oil are spilled in oceans each year, affecting hundreds of square miles and killing more than 50,000 aquatic animals. In 2019 alone, five oil spills—three classified as major to medium—devastated ecosystems. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3jIv6gj

Solving a murder case with physics

In 2009, famed music producer Phil Spector was found guilty of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was found dead from a single gunshot to her mouth at close range in Spector's California mansion. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3h5SXVi

SpaceX delivers 88 satellites to orbit, lands first stage onshore for first time in 2021

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SpaceX launched 85 satellites for external customers, as well as three Starlink satellites, to orbit on Tuesday, marking the second successful launch of the company’s dedicated rideshare missions. While the Transporter-2 mission will deliver fewer objects to space than the first rideshare mission (the Transporter-1 sent up 143 satellites, a new record ), it launched more mass to orbit overall. The Transporter launches are part of the company’s rideshare business model. Announced in 2019 , these missions split up the rocket’s payload capacity amongst multiple customers, resulting in lower costs for each – many of whom are smaller companies that may find the expenses associated with getting to orbit otherwise impossible to pay. SpaceX still ends up with a full launch and the revenue to operate it. The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at around 3:31 PM Eastern time. It’s the twentieth Falcon 9 launch in 2021 and the first launch this year that featured the first s

BMW i Ventures announces new $300 million fund to invest in sustainable technology

BMW i Ventures , the venture capital arm of BMW Group, has announced a new $300 million fund to further its investment in technologies that make transportation, manufacturing and supply chains more sustainable.  The firm doesn’t operate as a traditional corporate venture capital fund, but rather acts independently from BMW while being fully backed by the German automaker. Its previous €500 million (about $525 million at the time) fund , which was announced when the firm moved to Silicon Valley in 2016, is now at the end of its period for new investments. From now on, new investments  will come from Fund II.  Fund I focused more on autonomous and digital vehicle technology, customer experience and advanced production. For example, autonomous truck company Kodiak Robotics, which last week announced an investment from BMW i Ventures , was a part of this fund. Fund II will further emphasize sustainability and zero emissions in all the sectors that lead up to designing, manufacturing and

Women’s social network Peanut launches microfund StartHER to invest in pre-seed stage startups

Peanut , the maker of a social networking app for women,  is entering into the investing space with today’s launch of a microfund called StartHER . As the name implies, the new fund will focus on investing in women as well as other historically excluded founders “of all ages, life stages, ethnicities and sexual orientations,” the company says. In particular, StartHER aims tackle the difficulties specific groups have in raising their first capital — something typically referred to as the “friends and family round.” Peanut argues there’s inherent bias in assuming that every startup founder has access to what are, essentially, wealthy friends or family who can spare a little startup capital. These rounds often range in size from $10,000 to as large as $150,000 or more, and can make a difference when it comes to getting a new company off the ground. “The assumption that founders should have networks able to invest in their businesses creates an unfair starting line for most groups. If we

After $4.4 billion New York IPO, founders of China's Didi eye global growth

From working at a foot massage company to setting up China's biggest ride-hailing firm, Will Wei Cheng has navigated several hurdles on the path to taking Didi Global Inc public in a $4.4-billion New York float. from Gadgets Now https://ift.tt/2TqsWqB

Volvo Cars sets the tone for its next-gen vehicles with ‘Concept Recharge’ EV

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Volvo Cars wants to completely electrify its lineup by 2030 and on Wednesday offered a glimpse into how it plans to get there and what its next generation of vehicles might look like. But it’s not going to do it alone. Although the automaker plans on developing its own in-car operating system and other parts of the car, Volvo Cars detailed how it plans to work with partners like Northvolt, Google and Luminar to build out its future vehicles lineup. It also unveiled the first images of “Concept Recharge,” a concept EV that has flat floors, two interior screens and rear “suicide doors” that open from the middle of the vehicle. Volvo Concept Recharge. Image Credits: Volvo Cars The Concept Recharge is also outfitted with Luminar sensors, in line with an announcement earlier this month that Volvo Cars’ forthcoming flagship electric SUV will be equipped with Luminar’s technology stack as standard. On the battery front, Volvo Cars is working with Swedish battery developer Northvolt o

How to cut through the promotional haze and select a digital building platform

Brian Turner Contributor Share on Twitter Brian Turner, LEED-AP BD&C, leads strategic planning for product development and project work at Buildings IOT. Throughout his career, Brian has provided hands-on expertise to architects, engineers and building owners to design and implement integrated building systems. Everyone from investors to casual LinkedIn observers has more reasons than ever to look at buildings and wonder what’s going on inside. The property industry is known for moving slowly when it comes to adopting new technologies, but novel concepts and products are now entering this market at a dizzying pace. However, this ever-growing array of smart-building products has made it confusing for professionals who seek to implement digital building platform (DBP) technologies in their spaces, let alone across their entire enterprise. The waters get even murkier when it comes to cloud platforms and their impact on ROI with regard to energy usage and day-to-day opera

Look out language teachers, a synthetic human could be about to take your job

Hour One , a startup that allows businesses to create ‘photoreal’ presenters which can speak pre-set any text or any language in a highly realistic manner, has signed a deal with Berlitz. The language learning giant will use the platform to augment its instructor-led services and grow its online language training programs in a way that would normally be impossible, without hiring thousands of human teachers. Curt Uehlein, Berlitz’s CEO said in a statement: “Berlitz has built our methodology and brand on delivering the best outcomes for students serious about fluency, which requires a very human-centric experience. Our digital experiences had to replicate the classroom experience. Doing that successfully means Berlitz can extend our reach into new markets, and be more accessible to students, removing barriers of location and affordability.” Hour One has been able to almost re-create the in-person instructor experience for Berlitz, with highly-realistic photoreal characters who have (i

Slack’s new voice, video tools should fit nicely on Salesforce platform after deal closes

It’s easy to forget, but Salesforce bought Slack at the end of last year for almost $28 billion, a deal that has yet to close. We don’t know exactly when that will happen, but Slack continues to develop its product roadmap adding new functionality, even while waiting to become part of Salesforce eventually. Just this morning, the company made official some new tools it had been talking about for some time including a new voice tool called Slack Huddles, which is available starting today, along with video messaging and a directory service called Slack Atlas. These tools enhance the functionality of the platform in ways that should prove useful as it becomes part of Salesforce whenever that happens. It’s not hard to envision how integrating Huddles or the video tools (or even Slack Atlas for both internal and external company organizational views) could work when integrated into the Salesforce platform. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield says the companies aren’t working together yet be

Thermal waves observed in semiconductor materials

A study published in Science Advances reports on the unexpected observation of thermal waves in germanium, a semiconductor material, for the first time. This phenomenon may allow a significant improvement in the performance of our electronic devices in a near future. The study is led by researchers from the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB, CSIC) in collaboration with researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and the University of Cagliari. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3jIb7yj

Where are the foreigners of the first international age?

The Bronze Age in the eastern Mediterranean has long been considered by researchers to have been the 'first international age,' especially the period from 1600-1200 BC, when powerful empires from Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt set up large networks of subordinate client kingdoms in the Near East. These empires fought, traded, and corresponded with one another, and ancient texts from the period reveal rich economic and social networks that enabled the movement of people and goods. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3qBG08M

Behavioral study on common marmosets provides new insights into the evolution of language

Language distinguishes us humans; we learn it through experience and social interactions. Especially in the first year of life, human vocalizations change dramatically, becoming more and more language-like. In our closest relatives, non-human primates, language development was previously thought to be largely predetermined and completed within the first few weeks after birth. In a behavioral study now published, researchers from the German Primate Center, the University of Tübingen and the Rockefeller University New York were able to show that the infantile development of vocalizations in common marmosets also includes an extended flexible phase, without which language development in humans would not be possible. The common marmoset is therefore a suitable animal model to better understand the evolution of early infant speech development. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dqUove

Streetonomics: using street names to quantify a city's cultural values

A city's street names can provide a glimpse into its cultural value system and a way to quantify cultural indicators, according to a study published June 30, 2021 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Melanie Bancilhon from Washington University in Saint Louis, U.S., and colleagues. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3h4GfpS

Astronauts demonstrate CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in space

Researchers have developed and successfully demonstrated a novel method for studying how cells repair damaged DNA in space. Sarah Stahl-Rommel of Genes in Space and colleagues present the new technique in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 30, 2021. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2UfLTMZ

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in cattle, but new technology can help with detection

Growing resistance to our go-to antibiotics is one of the biggest threats the world faces. As common bacteria like strep and salmonella become resistant to medications, what used to be easily treatable infections can now pose difficult medical challenges. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/362w0Mn

'Icelandia': Is Iceland the tip of a vast, sunken continent?

Academics believe they have identified a remarkable geological secret: A sunken continent hidden under Iceland and the surrounding ocean,which they have dubbed "Icelandia." from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3xcaoZV

Apple just released the first iOS 15 beta to everyone

This is your opportunity to get a glimpse of the future of iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. Apple just released the first public beta of iOS 15 , iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8 . Those releases are the next major versions of the operating systems for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Unlike developer betas, everyone can download these betas — you don’t need a $99 developer account. But don’t forget, it’s a beta. The company still plans to release the final version of iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8 this fall. But Apple is going to release betas every few weeks over the summer. It’s a good way to fix as many bugs as possible and gather data from a large group of users. As always, Apple’s public betas closely follow the release cycle of developer betas. Apple also released the second developer beta of iOS and iPadOS 15 today. So it sounds like the first public beta is more or less the same build as the second developer build. But remember, you shouldn’t install a beta on your primary iPhone or iPa

Musk set to invest up to $30 billion in Starlink

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk said Tuesday he plans to invest up to 30 billion dollars to develop his ambitious Starlink satellite internet service. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3w4Zgg0

Learning setbacks coming into focus with new testing results

The scores from the first U.S. standardized tests taken during the pandemic are offering an early glimpse of just how far students have fallen behind, with some states reporting that the turbulent year has reversed years of academic progress. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3AbDv1r

Researchers investigate whether exposure to vaporized THC might mellow lobsters bound for the cooking pot

This lobster tale begins a few years ago when the proprietor of a northeastern seafood restaurant publicly asserted that exposing lobsters to a little cannabis prior to cooking produced notable changes in their behavior and a less dramatic scene in the kitchen for all concerned, which was the Maine thing. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3jr9cxV

How a COVID-19 infection changes blood cells in the long run

Using real-time deformability cytometry, researchers at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin in Erlangen were able to show for the first time: COVID-19 significantly changes the size and stiffness of red and white blood cells—sometimes over months. These results may help to explain why some affected people continue to complain of symptoms long after an infection (long COVID). from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3qApaHs

Speedy nanorobots could someday clean up soil and water, deliver drugs

University of Colorado Boulder researchers have discovered that minuscule, self-propelled particles called "nanoswimmers" can escape from mazes as much as 20 times faster than other passive particles, paving the way for their use in everything from industrial clean-ups to medication delivery. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3dryqIz

Research rebuttal paper uncovers misuse of Holocaust datasets

Aerospace engineering faculty member Melkior Ornik is also a mathematician, a history buff, and a strong believer in integrity when it comes to using hard science in public discussions. So, when a story popped up in his news feed about a pair of researchers who developed a statistical method to analyze datasets and used it to purportedly refute the number of Holocaust victims from a concentration camp in Croatia, it naturally caught his attention. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3hi82C1

Research team turns up the heat on 3D printing inks

A process that uses heat to change the arrangement of molecular rings on a chemical chain creates 3D-printable gels with a variety of functional properties, according to a Dartmouth study. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3w65fkH

How plants become good neighbors in times of stress

Scientists have discovered how plants manage to live alongside each other in places that are dark and shady. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3x4RrII

Hunting dark energy with gravity resonance spectroscopy

Dark Energy is widely believed to be the driving force behind the universe's accelerating expansion, and several theories have now been proposed to explain its elusive nature. However, these theories predict that its influence on quantum scales must be vanishingly small, and experiments so far have not been accurate enough to either verify or discredit them. In new research published in EPJ ST, a team led by Hartmut Abele at TU Wien in Austria demonstrates a robust experimental technique for studying one such theory, using ultra-cold neutrons. Named "Gravity Resonance Spectroscopy" (GRS), their approach could bring researchers a step closer to understanding one of the greatest mysteries in cosmology. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2ULYsjb

Study provides first genome-wide evidence for functional importance of unusual DNA structures

Some regions of the human genome where the DNA can fold into unusual three-dimensional structures called G-quadruplexes (G4s) show signs that they are preserved by natural selection. When G4s are located in the regulatory sequences that control how genes are expressed, or in other functional but non-protein coding regions of the genome, they are maintained by selection, are more common, and their unusual structures are more stable, according to a new study. Conversely, the structures are less common, less stable, and evolve neutrally outside of these regions, including within the protein-coding regions of genes themselves. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/2Tc9D4w

Reversal speeds creation of important molecule: Lab makes synthesis of halichondrin B more efficient

The story of halichondrin B, an inspirational molecule obtained from a marine creature, goes back to the molecule's discovery in an ocean sponge in 1986. from Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories https://ift.tt/3jsbSuU

Facebook’s newsletter platform Bulletin is now live

The cool new thing on Facebook is for Mark Zuckerberg to drop product news in live audio rooms. So today, Zuckerberg took to his brand’s Clubhouse competitor to announce its next  new thing: Bulletin, a newsletter platform. Bulletin is built on a separate platform from Facebook — on its website , the FAQ states that this is to “enable creators to grow their audience in ways that are not exclusively dependent on the Facebook platform.” You don’t need a Facebook account to subscribe to a newsletter, but Bulletin relies on Facebook’s infrastructure, including the use of Facebook Pay to purchase premium subscriptions and join subscriber-only groups and live audio rooms. Competitors like Substack take a “ hands-off ” approach to content moderation, allowing anyone to start a newsletter. But every writer currently on Facebook’s Bulletin was hand-picked to contribute. Still, Substack has received scrutiny for subsidizing anti-trans rhetoric through its controversial Substack Pro program

How VCs can get the most out of co-investing alongside LPs

William Kilmer Contributor Share on Twitter William Kilmer is managing partner with C5 Capital , a venture capital fund investing in the secure data ecosystem. He was formerly an operating partner at Mercato Growth Partners and served as CEO and chairman of PublicEngines (acquired by Motorola), and Avinti (merged with M86 Security) and served as chief marketing officer/chief strategy officer of M86 Security (acquired by Trustwave). More posts by this contributor Talent and capital are shifting cybersecurity investors’ focus away from Silicon Valley It has rarely been easier for people looking to invest. Nontraditional investors, which include anyone outside of traditional VC firms investing in venture capital deals, are increasingly making their presence felt in the investing community. McKinsey found that the value of co-investment deals has more than doubled to $104 billion from 2012 to 2018. And by some counts, there are as many as 1,600 “nontraditional” investo

The engineering daring that led to the first Chinese personal computer

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China is one of the world’s wealthiest digital economies today, with a hardware supply chain that is unrivaled and a panoply of prominent and massively profitable companies like Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance taking a leading role in the world. Yet, all of this cutting-edge innovation rests on a 40-year-old solution to one of the great computing challenges: the development of Chinese word processing. Beginning in the early 1980s, China dramatically expanded its computing purchases from the United States and the West, importing just 600 foreign-built microcomputers in the year 1980, as compared to 130,000 in 1985. Companies in the United States, Japan and Europe clamored to get in on this “buying binge,” as one observer called it. There was a major problem, however, both for potential Chinese computer users and Western manufacturers: No Western-built personal computer, printer, monitor, operating system, program or otherwise was capable of handling Chinese character input or output —

How to share your screen during video calls on Telegram app

Steps to share screen on Telegram from Gadgets Now https://ift.tt/3w7BqQR

How to use Clubhouse app on Windows

Steps to use Clubhouse on Windows from Gadgets Now https://ift.tt/3hhoUZN

Bharti to invest $500m in satellite communications company OneWeb

from Gadgets Now https://ift.tt/3AeQjnB

Zomato’s $100 million investment to turn Grofers into a unicorn

Indian food delivery giant Zomato, which is working to explore the public markets later this year, has reached an agreement to invest $100 million in online grocer Grofers for about 10% stake in the seven-year-old startup, according to a source and multiple others familiar with the matter. The proposed investment values Grofers, which counts SoftBank as its largest investor , at over $1 billion. (Indian regulator, the Competition Commission of India, needs to approve the investment.) Zomato’s proposed investment is part of a broader round, in which others including Tiger Global and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 are expected to chip in some capital. Zomato said it had no comment. The leadership teams at Grofers and Zomato have long been close friends and began exploring this investment earlier this year. Both the firms are also open to the idea of Zomato acquiring a majority stake in Grofers in the coming quarters, though a decision hasn’t been reached and won’t be fully explored until Zomat

Family app Life360 announces $2.1M investment round from celebs and influencers

Family communication and tracking app Life360  has announced a new investment round that will see the company bringing on board a number of “celeb” investors and influencers who, combined, will form a new “Family Advisory Council” to help shape Life360’s future product direction and marketing. The round, which is approximately $2.1 million in size, was led by Bryant Stibel, the firm co-founded by the late Kobe Bryant and business partner Jeff Stibel. Others in the round included Vanessa Bryant, Joanna and Chip Gaines, Tony Hawk, Chris and Jada Paul, TikTok influencer Billy Perry, and Nicole and Michael Phelps. Life360 has traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) since listing two years ago, so this round is more about bringing on new stakeholders who can also help attract more attention to Life360’s service. The company says it’s currently on track to top $110 million USD in revenue this year for its app now used by over 28 million monthly users across 195+ countries. As of