Tag: computer

How Bill Gates Is Funding the Fight Against Climate Change

Bill Gates was interviewed tonight on the CBS News show 60 Minutes about his efforts to combat climate change: The good news is Gates believes it’s possible to prevent a catastrophic rise in temperatures. The bad news? He says in the next 30 years we need scientific breakthroughs, technological innovations and global cooperation on a scale the world has never seen….

Misleading Viral Claims Show Dangers of Preprint Servers, Researchers Warn

Scientific researchers worry that the capacity for spreading misinformation “goes far beyond the big-name social media sites,” warns the Washington Post. Citing pre-print servers and unvetted “research repositories,” they note that “Any online platform without robust and potentially expensive safeguards is equally vulnerable.” “This is similar to the debate we’re having with Facebook and Twitter. To what degree are we creating…

Nevada Department of Education Has No Direct Say In Who Gets Tesla’s $37.5 Million K-12 Donation

theodp writes: The Nevada Legislature in 2014 approved a $1.3 billion tax break — the largest tax break in the history of the state — to woo Tesla into locating its battery factory in Northern NV. In return, Tesla made a $37.5 million pledge to support K-12 education ($7.5M annually, for 5 years, beginning in 2018). Lawmakers are now expressing surprise…

Microsoft’s Big Win in Quantum Computing Was an ‘Error’ After All

In a 2018 paper, researchers said they found evidence of an elusive theorized particle. A closer look now suggests otherwise. From a report: In March 2018, Dutch physicist and Microsoft employee Leo Kouwenhoven published headline-grabbing new evidence that he had observed an elusive particle called a Majorana fermion. Microsoft hoped to harness Majorana particles to build a quantum computer, which promises…

Applying quantum computing to a particle process

A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) used a quantum computer to successfully simulate an aspect of particle collisions that is typically neglected in high-energy physics experiments, such as those that occur at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. …

Is the Dyatlov Pass incident solved?

The Dyatlov Pass incident has intrigued people for generations, but a new theory pointing to a slab avalanche as the culprit does a thorough job of explaining how the 9 Russian trekkers died. A new video and more here. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/dyatlov-pass-incident-mystery-solved-slab-avalanche…

Bitcoin Consumes ‘More Electricity Than Argentina’

Thelasko shares a report from the BBC: Bitcoin uses more electricity annually than the whole of Argentina, analysis by Cambridge University suggests. ‘Mining’ for the cryptocurrency is power-hungry, involving heavy computer calculations to verify transactions. Cambridge researchers say it consumes around 121.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year — and is unlikely to fall unless the value of the currency slumps. Critics say…

Daniel’s inspiring story shows how learning new skills can benefit your own career as well as your community!

Meet Daniel, an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He’s currently pursuing a bachelor of science in medical laboratory science, but as a passionate learner, he also has many other interests. Daniel came to Coursera to explore topics outside of his field of study such as IT, computer science, and more. Today, […]
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A new way of forming planets

In the last 25 years, scientists have discovered over 4000 planets beyond the borders of our solar system. From relatively small rock and water worlds to blisteringly hot gas giants, the planets display a remarkable variety. This variety is not unexpected. The sophisticated computer models, with which scientists study the formation of planets, also spawn very different planets. What the models…