Long-time Slashdot reader Faizdog writes: The “sensitivity” conjecture stumped many top computer scientists, yet the new proof is so simple that one researcher summed it up in a single tweet. “This conjecture has stood as one of the most frustrating and embarrassing open problems in all of combinatorics and theoretical computer science,” wrote Scott Aaronson of the University of Texas, Austin,…
Tag: Columbia University
Himalayan glaciers melting double fast since 2000
A new study, which used declassified images from spy satellites, shows that glaciers in the Himalayas melted twice as fast from 2000 to 2016 as they did from 1975 to 2000. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/himalayan-glaciers-melting-double-fast-since-2000…
The Himalayas Are in Even Worse Shape Than We Thought
New research shows just how much global warming is eating away at the glaciers on the world’s highest peaks. From a report: A new study published this week in Science Advances offers one of the most comprehensive views of what’s happening to the glaciers in the Himalayas — and what it means for the people who live below them. The study,…
Insights from the Administrator Track of the 2019 Coursera Partners Conference
By Cathryn Richter, Principal Partnership Manager We wrapped the 2019 Coursera Partners Conference at the University of London last month, and program quality was a primary topic of discussion as more partners invest in for-credit programs on Coursera like degree programs and MasterTrack™ Certificates. The Administrator Track (AT) sessions convened top institutional decision-makers to discuss […]
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Researchers suggest collapsar accretion disks might be source of heaviest elements
A trio of researchers at Columbia University is suggesting that collapsar accretion disks might be the major source of the heaviest elements. In their paper published in the journal Nature, Daniel Siegel, Jennifer Barnes and Brian Metzger describe their study of the accretion disks that form as neutron stars collapse into black holes, and what they found. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-05-collapsar-accretion-disks-source-heaviest.html…
Two neutron stars collided near the solar system billions of years ago
Astrophysicists Szabolcs Marka at Columbia University and Imre Bartos at the University of Florida, have identified a violent collision of two neutron stars 4.6 billion years ago as the likely source of some of the most coveted matter on Earth. Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-05-neutron-stars-collided-solar-billions.html…
10 ways to accelerate progress against climate change
Source: https://www.vox.com/2018/10/10/17952334/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report-solutions-carbon-tax-electric-vehicles…
Charles Van Doren, a Quiz Show Whiz Who Wasn’t, Dies at 93
A charismatic and well-pedigreed contestant, he confessed to Congress that his ballyhooed TV performances in the 1950s had been scandalously rigged. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/obituaries/charles-van-doren-dead.html?partner=rss&emc=rss