Melting Glaciers: Effects on the Environment, Humans, and Biodiversity

Recently, the temperature in the Arctic appears to have hit a new continental high, close to 70 degrees. That’s leading to continued melting of glaciers in the Arctic and around the world. But how will that impact the world’s ecosystems? Dr. David Hik is an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science as well as […]
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ZX Spectrum Next, An Advanced Version of the Original 8-Bit Home Computer, Has Been Released

hackertourist shares an update on the status of the “ZX Spectrum Next” Kickstarter campaign: In 2017, a Kickstarter campaign was started to design and build “an updated and enhanced version of the ZX Spectrum totally compatible with the original, featuring the major hardware developments of the past many years packed inside a simple (and beautiful) design by the original designer, Rick…

Did early humans in Africa interbreed with a mysterious, extinct species?

New research suggests that early humans in Africa interbred with a ghost population that likely split from the ancestors of humans and Neanderthals between 360,000 and 1.02 million years ago. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/early-humans-africa-interbred-with-extinct-species…

Nonprofit Argues Germany Can’t Ratify the ‘Unitary Patent’ Because of Brexit

Long-time Slashdot reader zoobab shares this update from the Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure, a Munich-based non-profit opposing ratification of a “Unified Patent Court” by Germany. They argue such a court will “validate and expand software patents in Europe,” and they’ve come up with a novel argument to stop it. “Germany cannot ratify the current Unitary Patent due to Brexit…”
The…

IRS Sues Facebook For $9 Billion, Says Company Offshored Profits To Ireland

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fox Business: Facebook is slated to begin a tax trial in a San Francisco court on Tuesday, as the Internal Revenue Service tries to convince a judge the world’s largest social media company owes more than $9 billion linked to its decision to shift profits to Ireland. The trial, which Facebook expects will take…

Can Solar Power Compete With Coal? In India, It’s Gaining Ground

Electricity from sunlight costs less, a hopeful sign for developing nations building out their power grids. From a report: In a dusty northwest India desert dotted with cows and the occasional camel, a solar-power plant is producing some of the world’s cheapest energy. Built in 2018 by India’s Acme Solar Holdings, it can generate 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power…

US Mulls Cutting Huawei Off From Global Chip Suppliers

The Trump administration is considering changing U.S. regulations to allow it to block shipments of chips to Huawei from companies such as Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker. Reuters reports: New restrictions on commerce with China’s Huawei are among several options to be considered at high-level U.S. meetings this week and next. The chip proposal has been drafted but its…

Alternative Browser ‘Waterfox’ Acquired By System1

Waterfox is an open-source web browser for x64, ARM64, and PPC64LE systems, “intended to be speedy and ethical, and maintain support for legacy extensions dropped by Firefox, from which it is forked,” according to Wikipedia. (Its tabs also still have angled sides with rounded corners.) Friday Waterfox’s original creator, 24-year-old Alexandros Kontos, announced that the browser “now has funding and a…

HQ Trivia, the Once-Popular Mobile Game, Is Shutting Down

CNN Business has learned that the once-popular live mobile trivia game “HQ Trivia” is shutting down. From the report: When HQ launched in 2017, its first game HQ Trivia quickly attracted millions of people across the world who stopped whatever they were doing twice a day to play the game on their smartphones. The company was profiled by The New York…

For you, Valentine: 10 reasons we fall in love

On this Valentine’s Day 2020, what the world of science suggests about the mystery we call love. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/for-you-valentine-top-10-reasons-we-fall-in-love…