Ben Bova “was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction,” according to Wikipedia, and was also a six-time winner of the Hugo Award. “He was also president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.” Tor.com reports Bova has passed “due to complications from COVID-19 and a stroke…” Born in 1932,…
Tag: authors
How Prestige Journals Remain Elite, Exclusive And Exclusionary
An anonymous reader shares a report: Last week, Nature journals unveiled their “landmark” open-access option. Nature journals will charge authors, starting in January 2021, up to $11,400 to make research papers free to read, as an alternative to subscription-only publishing. Scientists from around the world received this news with outrage and disappointment on social media. Nature’s announcement comes on the heels…
1% of Farms Operate 70% of World’s Farmland
One percent of the world’s farms operate 70% of crop fields, ranches and orchards, according to a report that highlights the impact of land inequality on the climate and nature crises. The Guardian reports: Since the 1980s, researchers found control over the land has become far more concentrated both directly through ownership and indirectly through contract farming, which results in more…
Assigning Homework Exacerbates Class Divides, Researchers Find
“Education scholars say that math homework as it’s currently assigned reinforces class divides in society and needs to change for good,” according to Motherboard — citing a new working paper from education scholars:
Status-reinforcing processes, or ones that fortify pre-existing divides, are a dime a dozen in education. Standardized testing, creating honors and AP tracks, and grouping students based on perceived ability…
Pluto’s landscape more like Earth’s than previously thought
New analysis of data gathered from New Horizons’ 2015 flyby of Pluto shows evidence of Earth-like snow-capped mountains and the potential for glaciers made of methane ice. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pluto-landscape-more-like-earths-than-previously-thought…
Ending Greenhouse Gas Emissions May Not Stop Global Warming, Study Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org : Even if humanity stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, Earth will warm for centuries to come and oceans will rise by meters, according to a controversial modeling study published Thursday. Natural drivers of global warming — more heat-trapping clouds, thawing permafrost, and shrinking sea ice — already set in motion by carbon pollution…
Scientists 3D Print Microscopic Star Trek Spaceship That Moves On Its Own
fahrbot-bot shares a report from CNN: A team of physicists at a university in the Netherlands have 3D-printed a microscopic version of the USS Voyager, an Intrepid-class starship from Star Trek. The miniature Voyager, which measures 15 micrometers (0.015 millimeters) long, is part of a project researchers at Leiden University conducted to understand how shape affects the motion and interactions of…
What is the Common Era?
If you encounter a date in the CE (Common Era) or BCE (Before Common Era) format, don’t fret. They mean exactly the same thing as AD (anno Domini) and BC (before Christ). Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/definition-common-era-bce-ce-bc-ad…
Scientists manipulate the properties of quantum dots
Scientists at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (MEPhI) have demonstrated an increase in the intensity and emission rate of quantum dots. According to the authors of the study, the development could help to solve one of the key problems in creating a quantum computer and elevate biomedical monitoring to a new level. The research results were published in Optics Express….
Should Computer Programming Classes Focus on Projects Instead of ‘Logic Puzzles’?
Long-time Slashdot reader theodp writes: Writing in the November Communications of the ACM, MIT’s Mitchel Resnick and Natalie Rusk explain that the educational use of coding in schools is at a crossroads. The good news? “School systems and policymakers are embracing the idea that coding can and should be for everyone.” The bad news? “In many places, coding is being introduced…