Ghana Scientist Tries Gene Editing To Create Healthier Sweet Potatoes

The Cornell Alliance for Science seeks to build “a significant international alliance of partners” to “correct misinformation and counter conspiracy theories” slowing progress on climate change, synthetic biology, agricultural innovations, and other issues. Slashdot reader wooloohoo shares their article about research on Ghana’s first gene-edited crop — a high-yielding sweet potato with increased beta carotone content. “For sweet potatoes, we want…

Uber Loses Gig Workers Rights Challenge in UK Supreme Court

Uber has lost a long running employment tribunal challenge in the UK’s Supreme Court — with the court dismissing the ride-hailing giant’s appeal and reaffirming earlier rulings that drivers who brought the case are workers, not independent contractors. From a report: The case, which dates back to 2016, has major ramifications for Uber’s business model (and other gig economy platforms) in…

How To Fall 35,000 Feet and Survive

Massachusetts-based amateur historian Jim Hamilton, who developed the Free Fall Research Page — an online database of nearly every imaginable human plummet, documents one case of a sky diver who, upon total parachute failure, was saved by bouncing off high-tension wires. Contrary to popular belief, water is an awful choice. Like concrete, liquid doesn’t compress. Hitting the ocean is essentially the…

How to find astronomy’s handiest reference point – the ecliptic

Want an easy way to locate the planets or find out where an eclipse is likely to happen? Use the ecliptic, says Abigail Beall Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933223-600-how-to-find-astronomys-handiest-reference-point-the-ecliptic/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Our interview with 5-time NBA All-Star Chris Webber about his Sports Activism online course, new on Coursera

By Shantelle Williams-Valadié, BOLD ERG Chair and Associate Director, University Partnerships, Coursera In the 1968 Olympics, medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos punched defiant fists into the summer air, decrying oppression of Black communities in the country whose colors they wore on their tracksuits. The act seized the world of sports and was widely condemned […]
The post Our interview with 5-time…

Rescue plan for nature: How to fix the biodiversity crisis

We’ve been ravaging the planet’s ecosystems for too long, but crucial decisions this year could be the turning point that help us restore our relationship with nature Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933223-300-rescue-plan-for-nature-how-to-fix-the-biodiversity-crisis/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

How to spot Mars: See the red planet in the sky the day NASA’s Perseverance rover lands

Last year was the year of Mars launches, and this one will be the year of Mars landings. The Hope Mars mission, launched by the United Arab Emirates, entered its orbit around Mars on February 9, while China’s Tianwen-1 rover, now orbiting the planet, will land in May. Meanwhile, Nasa’s Perseverance rover will land on the red planet come February 18….

Insect brains will teach us how to make truly intelligent robots

We need a revolution in artificial intelligence and learning from insects will help us achieve it, says James Marshall Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933220-100-insect-brains-will-teach-us-how-to-make-truly-intelligent-robots/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…