Thursday - August 24 2023, 08:57 UTC - 1 year ago

Researchers have recently found that large national parks have significant benefits in promoting biodiversity. These parks boost bird diversity within their boundaries, but also mammal diversity in adjacent unprotected areas. This discovery provides a much-needed conservation win for large reserves in the mega-biodiverse Southeast Asian region, inspiring large park designs in the UN's 30 by 2030 goal of increasing protected areas to 30 percent of all land.

Thursday - August 24 2023, 04:31 UTC - 1 year ago

The University of Arizona is training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals using CyberApolis, a virtual city built for online education and hosting cyber intelligence operations and training. The virtual city is home to more than 15,000 virtual personas and acts as a secure and controlled training ground for students to practice and hone their cybersecurity skills, preparing them for real-world challenges in the field without exposing them to the risks associated with performing the same work on the open internet. Representatives from the college and the University of Arizona Applied Research Corporation will showcase CyberApolis at the National TechNet Augusta conference in August.

Thursday - August 24 2023, 00:13 UTC - 1 year ago

Creating the LK99 Superconductor is no easy task, given the complexity and precision needed. It requires a Lead and Copper combination and crystal matrix with an exact Lead to Copper ratio. To successfully create it, the thin film superconductor must also be carefully measured for accuracy and purity. JH Kim and his team of researchers have made great advancements, however, there is still more work that needs to be done.

Wednesday - August 23 2023, 19:26 UTC - 1 year ago

Researchers from the Stevens Institute of Technology have used a 350 year old mechanical theorem to explain the complex behaviors of light. By using intense of light as the equivalent of physical objects' mass, the team has been able to visualize light as part of a mechanical system and connections between wave properties can be seen, helping deduce properties of quantum systems as well.

Wednesday - August 23 2023, 14:34 UTC - 1 year ago

The Muon g-2 anomaly is a decades-long effort to tease out the exact values of the muon’s magnetic moment and its g-factor. The discrepancy between real and hypothetical values arises because the muon constantly interacts with other "virtual" particles. The Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab is twice as precise as the 2021 figure and the statistical significance of the discrepancy has jumped to 5 sigma. The g-2 anomaly might be evidence of a new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Wednesday - August 23 2023, 09:41 UTC - 1 year ago

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission will launch to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 25, 2021. The Crew-7 mission marks the return of crew transport to the International Space Station from the United States in over a decade, and the mission will be part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The mission will benefit from lessons learned by the teams over the years in spacecraft design, launch preparations, and mission operations, and the crew will conduct many scientific investigations, technology demonstrations, maintenance works, and educational activities during their stay.

Wednesday - August 23 2023, 05:13 UTC - 1 year ago

A marine heat wave in late July 2023 has triggered widespread coral bleaching off Florida and beyond, putting the foundation species of shallow tropical waters at risk. Scientists and volunteers are in a race against time, collecting thousands of corals and transplanting them to cooler waters in an effort to save them before the long periods of high heat kills them.

Wednesday - August 23 2023, 00:33 UTC - 1 year ago

The new plugin ScholarAI for ChatGPT is revolutionising cardiothoracic surgery research by providing real papers from respected journals, and harnessing the power of AI and NLP. The journal Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery published the paper.

Tuesday - August 22 2023, 20:08 UTC - 1 year ago

The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is back in the news, with yet another obstacle to overcome. She is schedule to replace her guns with hypersonic missile tubes, and is due to arrive at the Ingalls shipyards in Pascagoula, Mississippi on Saturday the 19th of August 2023. The Navy is planning to upgrade USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) and USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) in the same way, however, there are doubts as to whether the missiles will be ready by 2025 when the USS Zumwalt completes the installation process.

Tuesday - August 22 2023, 16:08 UTC - 1 year ago

Cruise AVs have the potential to reduce traffic fatalities, however public safety remains the top concern. The company has implemented multiple safety protocols and obtained the necessary permits to operate its driverless vehicles, but is also considering making its own dedicated cell towers to further ensure safety.

Tuesday - August 22 2023, 11:29 UTC - 1 year ago

Stem cells have huge potential for medicine, and trials are currently under way using stem cells to replace damaged cells in diseases like Parkinson’s. One way to get stem cells is from human embryos, but this has ethical concerns and practical limitations. Another way is to turn adult cells from the skin or elsewhere into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). However, these cells sometimes carry a 'memory' of the kind of cell they used to be, which can make them less predictable or efficient. In a study published in Nature, the author and colleagues have found a way to erase this memory, making iPS cells as functional as embryonic stem cells.

Tuesday - August 22 2023, 06:36 UTC - 1 year ago

The campaign to fight US inflation by increasing interest rates is having an impact on other countries around the world. Monetary policy decisions in the US, such as raising interest rates, have a ripple effect in developing countries due to its central role of the dollar in the global economy. The rising cost of borrowing is making it increasingly difficult for governments to cover their debt repayments and any attempt to slow down US growth to lower inflation will have a knock-on effect on other countries. As recently as 1998, when the US imposed a series of rate hikes, currency valuation crises occurred in developing countries, and U.S. economic policy today could potentially have the same effect.

Tuesday - August 22 2023, 02:17 UTC - 1 year ago

China has developed its own version of the Iranian weapon drone, the 'Shahed 136', at its 'Army-2023' exhibition, ominously raising concerns about the potential for military drone proliferation. The 'Sunflower 200' Chinese drone appears to have impressive capabilities, with a range up to 1,553 miles, a fuel capacity of 42 U.S. gallons, and a formidable warhead weighing around 66–110 pounds. It is unclear how quickly China plans to manufacture and deploy the drones and whether they are intended for Chinese military purposes only or for export.

Monday - August 21 2023, 21:48 UTC - 1 year ago

The Associated Press has issued guidelines for AI use in news organizations, saying that AI cannot produce publishable materials yet and must be carefully vetted and controlled to maintain quality. Companies like Open AI and Wired magazine have similar guidelines in place for AI material. Poynter Institute urges news organizations to set standards and make policies clear to readers and viewers.

Monday - August 21 2023, 17:32 UTC - 1 year ago

Car theft has evolved from physical carjacking into high-tech hijacking. Thieves can use wireless keys, device-to-device relaying, RFID tags, and immobilizers to gain access to the vehicles. Recent technology aims to make the theft more difficult but might backfire on the vehicle's owner if not used properly.

Monday - August 21 2023, 12:34 UTC - 1 year ago

The specter of downtown decline is again haunting American cities as a result of the pandemic. Pre and post-pandemic urbanism is leading to tightening city government finances and growing service demands that are producing Donut City 2.0. Making matters worse, federal pandemic relief money is beginning to dry up, and there is an ever increasing demand for city services, such as mitigating homelessnes, hiring law enforcement officers, and addressing large budget deficits. As cities navigate these issues, they must find creative solutions to ensure that urban restructuring works for everyone.

Monday - August 21 2023, 08:05 UTC - 1 year ago

Scientists have uncovered a startling discovery concerning the interplay between the brain, body, and blood, and its potential implications on longevity research: platelet factor 4, a protein produced in the body since childhood, is the key to regaining cognitive functions of memory, learning, and reasoning that fade with age. Early testing on mice has revealed promising results, and clinical trials on humans suggest PF4 may prove itself to be a revolutionary elixir for treating age-related ailments such Alzheimer's, stroke, and brain injury.

Monday - August 21 2023, 03:25 UTC - 1 year ago

Mircoplastics are dangerous environmental substances that can be inhaled by humans, having detrimental health implications. A research study published in 2021 studied the transport and deposition of these particles in the respiratory system, and found that the flow speed and particle size affects the overall microparticle deposition rate in the airways. This highlights the need for greater awareness of the presence and potential health impacts of microplastics in the air we breathe.

Sunday - August 20 2023, 22:56 UTC - 1 year ago

Enbridge Energy's Line 5 pipeline has become a heated debate for the state of Michigan and the Bad River Tribe in Wisconsin, due to the potential environmental impacts, spiritual importance for Great Lakes tribes, and environmental hazards which could arise from it. The Line 5 carries oil and natural gas across Wisconsin and Michigan, and the parallel route for Line 5 is Line 6b, which had a major oil spill in 2010. In my view, the future of Line 5 has become a defining issue for the future of the Great Lakes region.