Tag: host

Space telescope to study quasars and their host galaxies in three dimensions

Supermassive black holes, which likely reside at the centers of virtually all galaxies, are unimaginably dense, compact regions of space from which nothing—not even light—can escape. As such a black hole, weighing in at millions or billions of times the mass of the Sun, devours material, it is surrounded by a swirling disk of gas. When gas from this disk falls…

Researchers track slowly splitting ‘dent’ in Earth’s magnetic field

A small but evolving dent in Earth’s magnetic field can cause big headaches for satellites. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/researchers-track-dent-in-earths-magnetic-field…

Secret Service Paid To Get Americans’ Location Data Without a Warrant, Documents Show

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: A newly released document shows the U.S. Secret Service went through a controversial social media surveillance company to purchase the location information on American’s movements, no warrant necessary. Babel Street is a shadowy organization that offers a product called Locate X that is reportedly used to gather anonymized location data from a host…

Microsoft Launches New Web Site Describing How It’s Embracing Open Source

Microsoft just launched a new website “to showcase how it’s embracing open source to ‘bring choice, technology and community to our customers,'” reports ZDNet: Microsoft, under CEO Satya Nadella, has said and done a lot to shed its image as a pariah of Linux and open-source software communities. With a Linux kernel for Windows 10, GitHub, a new Android Surface Duo,…

‘Zombie Cicadas’ Are Under the Influence of a Psychedelic, Mind-controlling Fungus

Slashdot reader quonset shares CNN’s report on “zombie cicadas” under the influence of “a psychedelic fungus” called Massospora containing the chemicals found in hallucinogenic mushrooms (citing a new study published in PLOS Pathogens).
After infecting its host, the fungus results in “a disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions,” West Virginia University said in a press release. First Massospora spores eat away at…

Why the Pandemic Is So Bad in America

A virus has brought the world’s most powerful country to its knees. From a report: A pandemic can be prevented in two ways: Stop an infection from ever arising, or stop an infection from becoming thousands more. The first way is likely impossible. There are simply too many viruses and too many animals that harbor them. Bats alone could host thousands…

Termite intruders evolved cowardice to squat in another species’ nest

Inquiline termites can’t build their own nests and instead sneak into the homes built by another termite species. When the host attacks, the freeloaders run away Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2250732-termite-intruders-evolved-cowardice-to-squat-in-another-species-nest/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Interstellar medium of SDSS J2310+1855 explored with ALMA

Using the ALMA Observatory, an international team of astronomers has conducted an observational campaign of interstellar medium (ISM) in a host galaxy of a high-redshift quasar known as SDSS J231038.88+185519.7 (SDSS J2310+1855 for short). Results of the observations, published July 24 on arXiv.org, could improve the knowledge of the properties and nature of this quasar. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-08-interstellar-medium-sdss-j23101855-explored.html…

Some stars could host seven habitable planets

Other stars may be able to host more than our own solar system’s solitary habitable world, a new study suggests. As things stand, the Earth is the onl… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/338572/some-stars-could-host-seven-habitable-planets…