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Jun 1, 2021

Curiosity Spots Carbon Dioxide-Ice Clouds in Martian Skies

Posted by in category: space

In March 2021, NASA’s Curiosity rover observed clouds made of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice at high altitudes in the atmosphere of Mars.

But two Earth years ago, the Curiosity team members spotted clouds in the Martian atmosphere earlier than expected.

Jun 1, 2021

Why NASA needs to return to a moon they haven’t visited in 35 years

Posted by in category: space travel

Miranda is a Solar System enigma — and maybe the most unexpected place we could actually find life.


The last time a spacecraft visited Uranus was more than 30 years ago, and scientists are arguing that it’s time to go back.

Jun 1, 2021

Tesla files trademark for restaurant services

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, food, sustainability

Tesla has filed a new trademark for its brand under restaurant services as the automaker is expected to expand amenities around its charging infrastructure, including actual restaurants.

At face value, Tesla doesn’t seem to have much to do with the restaurant industry, but the automaker has actually been talking about going into the food industry for a while.

In 2018, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to open an “old-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles.”

Jun 1, 2021

Deepfake maps could really mess with your sense of the world

Posted by in categories: existential risks, government, mapping, robotics/AI

Satellite images showing the expansion of large detention camps in Xinjiang, China, between 2016 and 2018 provided some of the strongest evidence of a government crackdown on more than a million Muslims, triggering international condemnation and sanctions.

Other aerial images—of nuclear installations in Iran and missile sites in North Korea, for example—have had a similar impact on world events. Now, image-manipulation tools made possible by artificial intelligence may make it harder to accept such images at face value.

In a paper published online last month, University of Washington professor Bo Zhao employed AI techniques similar to those used to create so-called deepfakes to alter satellite images of several cities. Zhao and colleagues swapped features between images of Seattle and Beijing to show buildings where there are none in Seattle and to remove structures and replace them with greenery in Beijing.

Jun 1, 2021

Who’s to Die and Who’s to Live: Mechanical Cue Is at the Origin of Cell Death Decision

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Hydraulic Instability Decides Who’s to Die and Who’s to Live

In many species including humans, the cells responsible for reproduction, the germ cells, are often highly interconnected and share their cytoplasm. In the hermaphrodite nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, up to 500 germ cells are connected to each other in the gonad, the tissue that produces eggs and sperm. These cells are arranged around a central cytoplasmic “corridor” and exchange cytoplasmic material fostering cell growth, and ultimately produce oocytes ready to be fertilized.

In past studies, researchers have found that C. elegans gonads generate more germ cells than needed and that only half of them grow to become oocytes, while the rest shrinks and die by physiological apoptosis, a programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Now, scientists from the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC), the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life (PoL) at the TU Dresden, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS), the Flatiron Institute, NY, and the University of California, Berkeley, found evidence to answer the question of what triggers this cell fate decision between life and death in the germline.

Jun 1, 2021

Wired Android Auto Losing Ground as Everyone Is Going for Wireless

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

The adoption of Android Auto is on the rise, with more and more carmakers bringing it to their new models, but at the same time, there’s also a shift in terms of supported versions.

Jun 1, 2021

Ancient dog breed DNA helps unravel clues about evolution of man’s best friend

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, genetics

An international study led by UNSW researchers has mapped one of the most intact and complete dog genomes ever generated.

The genome sequence of the Basenji dog could have a big impact on the understanding of dog evolution, domestication and canine genetic diseases.

The Basenji—also known as the barkless dog—is an ancient African dog breed which still lives and hunts with tribesmen in the African Congo.

Jun 1, 2021

Germany readies subsidies for satellite internet providers such as Starlink

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet, satellites

Germany wants to help citizens in rural areas get better access to the world wide web by supporting the purchase of hardware for satellite internet services such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, the transport ministry said on Monday.

The planned subsidy scheme will be open to all providers who offer wireless internet connections in rural areas, for example through satellites or directional radio links, the ministry said.

Coalition talks about the details of the voucher scheme are still ongoing and the aim is to subsidize the purchase of the technical equipment, it added.

Jun 1, 2021

Microsoft wants to unite APAC governments with cybersecurity council

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, economics, finance, policy

Microsoft has galvanised policy makers across seven Asia-Pacific markets, including Singapore and Indonesia, in a bid to facilitate the sharing of threat intelligence and resources amongst their respective public sector. The US software vendor says “collective” efforts across the region are critical in combating cybersecurity threats, which are inevitable in an increasingly interconnected world.

It noted that Asia-Pacific saw malware and ransomware attacks at higher frequencies, clocking 1.6 and 1.7 times higher, respectively. than the global average. Citing numbers from its 2019 threat report, Microsoft said developing markets such as Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka were most vulnerable to such threats that year.

It added that cybercrime not only resulted in financial losses and brought down operations, but also posed risks to national security and eroded trust in digital economies.

Jun 1, 2021

These Penn scientists discovered how the brain engages in imagination

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Picture yourself winning the lottery. A telltale pattern of brain activity can be seen on an MRI machine.