A new study from Northwestern University shows that solar flares – space weather – might not always be as dangerous for life on exoplanets as typically thought. In fact, it might even help astronomers discover alien life on distant worlds. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/hostile-space-weather-might-not-be-all-bad-for-exoplanet-life…
Tag: host
GitHub Secures License To Operate In Iran
Last July, GitHub prevented users in Iran and several other nations from accessing portions of the service due to U.S. sanction laws. Today, the world’s largest host of source code announced that it has secured a license from the U.S. government to operate in Iran. It’s also working to secure similar licenses for developers in Crimea and Syria as well. MSPoweruser…
Uber Wasted $100 Million On Useless Digital Ad Campaigns
Uber apparently squandered an estimated $100 million on third-party digital advertising campaigns. Input Mag reports: Former Sleeping Giants alum and co-founder of Check My Ads, Nandini Jammi, caught most of us up on the whole situation yesterday in a lengthy Twitter thread detailing just how Uber, the poster child of startup capitalism’s unethical robber baron mentality, managed to recently waste a…
Are Tech Companies Censoring Their Users For Access to China’s Market?
This week MSNBC published an opinion piece from a researcher on China (who works on internet censorship and freedom of expression issues) from the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. It examines specific exchanges between a China-based Zoom executive and employees at the company’s California headquarters (taken from the 47-page complaint filed by America’s Justice Department) showing how Zoom disrupted video meetings…
VISA Continues Pornhub Ban, To Allow Card Use On Some of Its Parent’s Sites
Visa said on Wednesday it would allow usage of its cards on Pornhub-owner MindGeek’s platforms that host professionally produced adult studio content, but would continue to decline processing payments coming from Pornhub itself. Reuters reports: Visa said its ban remains in effect for those websites that host user-generated content, the most popular being Pornhub, until an ongoing investigation was completed. “Following…
Image: Hubble sees a ‘molten ring’
The narrow galaxy elegantly curving around its spherical companion in this image is a fantastic example of a truly strange and very rare phenomenon. This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, depicts GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (the Furnace). GAL-CLUS-022058s is the largest and one of the most complete Einstein rings ever discovered in our…
New strain of Covid-19 explained
A new strain of the virus that causes Covid-19 appears to be spreading fast in the the UK. Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing, and what it means for vaccine effectiveness. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/new-strain-of-covid-19-explained…
Robust stellar flares might not prevent life on exoplanets, could facilitate its detection
Although violent and unpredictable, stellar flares emitted by a planet’s host star do not necessarily prevent life from forming, according to a new Northwestern University study. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-robust-stellar-flares-life-exoplanets.html…
How the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Fought the Pandemic
In a long article titled “Gates versus the Pandemic,” Fast Company looks at the many mitigation efforts launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. – It’s one of the largest funders of the World Health Organization. – It’s partnered with the governments of Norway and India, the World Economic Forum, and the research-charity Wellcome Trust to launch an important group…
Moon rocks in hand, China prepares for future moon missions
Following the successful return of moon rocks by its Chang’e 5 robotic probe, China is preparing for future missions that could set the stage for an eventual lunar base to host human explorers, a top space program official said Thursday. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-moon-china-future-missions.html…