Mysterious ‘kick’ just after the Big Bang may have created dark matter

A mysterious “kick” in the early universe may have produced more matter than antimatter. And that imbalance may have also led to the creation of dark matter, researchers now say. Source: https://www.livescience.com/dark-matter-birth-explained.html

New evidence for multiple ice ages on Mars

Earth has had at least 5 major ice ages. Now it appears Mars – the next planet outward from the sun – has undergone anywhere from half a dozen to 20 ice ages in the past several hundred million years. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-evidence-for-multiple-ice-ages-on-mars…

When galaxies collide: Models suggest galactic collisions can starve massive black holes

It was previously thought that collisions between galaxies would necessarily add to the activity of the massive black holes at their centers. However, researchers have performed the most accurate simulations of a range of collision scenarios and have found that some collisions can reduce the activity of their central black holes. The reason is that certain head-on collisions may in fact…

Does Facebook Have a Joe Biden Problem?

Last week the Democratic party took control of all three branches of the U.S. government — and the BBC’s North America technology reporter notes they dislike Facebook even more now than during the Cambridge Analytica scandal: Since then, Democrats — Joe Biden included — have been appalled by what Facebook has allowed on its platform. Talking to a CNN anchor in…

Mercury’s greatest evening elongation January 23-24

Mercury will be at its greatest elongation January 23. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/mercurys-greatest-evening-elongation…

Intel Says Hacker Obtained Financially Sensitive Information

Intel said it was the victim of a hacker who stole financially sensitive information from its corporate website on Thursday, prompting the company to release its earnings statement ahead of schedule.ÂFrom a report: The US computer chipmaker believed an attacker had obtained advanced details about a strong earnings report it was due to publish after the stock market closed, said George…

Scientists Use Satellite Imagery To Count Elephants

Scientists from a trio of universities have combined satellite imagery with deep learning to detect elephants from space. The goal is to help protect these endangered species from poachers or habitat destruction. Their study was published in the journal Ecology and Conservation. Interesting Engineering reports: The team’s method proved comparable to human detection accuracy and could help solve a number of…

Researchers discover the earliest supermassive black hole and quasar in the universe

Nearly every galaxy hosts a monster at its center—a supermassive black hole millions to billions times the size of the Sun. While there’s still much to learn about these objects, many scientists believe they are crucial to the formation and structure of galaxies. What’s more, some of these black holes are particularly active, whipping up stars, dust and gas into glowing…

Report: US Halts Huawei’s Suppliers, Including Intel, in Last Blow to China’s 5G

“The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications,” Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter: One of the sources said eight licenses were yanked from four companies. Japanese flash memory chip maker Kioxia Corp had at least one license…