Tag: Ohio

California Wildfires Spark Interest In DIY Home Protection

As California struggles through a wildfire season that has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and burned hundreds of homes, researchers are seeking ways to protect buildings including by wrapping them in “fire blankets.” Reuters reports: Last month, Fumiaki Takahashi, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, published the findings of 10 years of research on the…

One Bitcoin ‘Whale’ May Have Fueled the Currency’s Price Spike in 2017

A single Bitcoin holder — called a “whale” in cryptocurrency parlance — likely manipulated the market and helped fuel the big rise in Bitcoin’s price in 2017, according to researchers. That year, Bitcoin’s price jumped from under $1,000 in January to more than $19,000 in December. From a report: Last year, University of Texas professor John Griffin and Amin Shams, an…

Should High School Computer Science Classes Count as a Math Credit?

“In a widely-reprinted essay, Ohio State University assistant professor of physics Chris Orban ponders whether the tech world did students a favor or disservice by getting states to count computer science as high school math credit,” writes long-time Slashdot reader theodp. The assistant physics professor writes:
In 2013, a who’s who of the tech world came together to launch a new nonprofit…

Analyst: Strike at GM ‘Is Really About the Switch to Electric Cars’

MarketWatch just published an interesting analysis by the head of automotive industry consulting at one of America’s top business advisory firms. It argues that a strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at General Motors is really about the future of the electric car: UAW members’ anxieties and uncertainties are actually shared by General Motors (GM) and most other automakers,…

T. rex had an air conditioner in its head

How did the huge dinosaurs stay cool?  According to a new study, they did it much as today’s alligators do, with a built-in ‘air conditioner’ on the top of their skulls. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/t-rex-stay-cool-air-conditioner-head-video…

Squirrels Listen To Birds’ Conversations As Signal of Safety

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the “chatter” from multiple bird species can be a useful cue to squirrels and other animals that there is no imminent threat in the area. Phys.Org reports: To test this hypothesis, the researchers observed the behavior of 54 wild Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in public parks and residential areas…

New York Attorney General is Investigating Facebook For Possible Antitrust Violations

New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday she is launching a multistate investigation into Facebook for possible antitrust violations. From a report: Attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and the District of Columbia will join the probe, according to the announcement. It will focus “on Facebook’s dominance in the industry and the potential anticompetitive…

Walmart Ends All Handgun Ammunition Sales and Asks Customers Not To Carry Guns Into Stores

Walmart on Tuesday announced it will reduce its gun and ammunition sales, one month after more than 20 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Walmart also pressured Congress to enact gun safety measures. From a report: The company, America’s largest retailer, said it will stop selling handgun ammunition and ammunition for short-barrel rifles…

The Plan To Use Fitbit Data To Stop Mass Shootings Is One of the Scariest Proposals Yet

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo: Last week, the Washington Post reported that the White House had been briefed on a plan to create an agency called HARPA, a healthcare counterpart to the Pentagon’s research and development arm DARPA. Among other initiatives, this new agency would reportedly collect volunteer data from a suite of smart devices, including Apple Watches,…