Alphabet announced last month that it was winding down Loon, a nine-year-old project and a two-and-a-half-year-old spin off firm, after failing to find a sustainable business model and partners for one of its most prominent moonshot projects. Business Insider shares more details on why the project failed. From the report, which may be paywalled: CEO Alastair Wingarth told The New York…
Tag: Peru
When will Betelgeuse explode?
The red supergiant star will explode in a supernova, close enough to shine brightly during the day but far enough away that Earth won’t be in danger. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/betelgeuse-will-explode-someday…
The 10 biggest archaeology discoveries of 2020
Despite the difficult year, many archaeological and historical discoveries came to light, including a sprawling geoglyph in Peru, a trove of mummies, the tomb of the legendary Romulus and more. Source: https://www.livescience.com/biggest-archaeological-findings-2020.html
What’s the birthstone for December?
If you were born December, you’ve got 2 birthstones, turquoise and zircon. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/december-birthstone-zircon-turquoise…
Building the University of the Future
By Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO Even before COVID-19 changed the ways we live, work, and learn, universities were facing major challenges. Almost half of the higher education institutions in the U.S. had no formal online programs in 2018, and last year, fewer than 50 percent of faculty had ever taught an online course. Meanwhile, universities […]
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How Ex-Facebook Data Experts Spent $75 Million On Targeted Anti-Trump Ads
The night before America’s election, Fast Company reported: On the internet, we’re subject to hidden A/B tests all the time, but this one was also part of a political weapon: a multimillion-dollar tool kit built by a team of Facebook vets, data nerds, and computational social scientists determined to defeat Donald Trump. The goal is to use microtargeted ads, follow-up surveys,…
Ancient burial of fierce female hunter (and her weapons) discovered in Peru
Early hunter-gatherer women in the ancient Americas hunted big game just as much as men did, a new study suggests. Source: https://www.livescience.com/ancient-burial-female-hunter-peru.html
Men and women in early Americas shared hunting duties equally
A young woman, buried with stone weapons 9000 years ago in what is now Peru, has led to a reassessment of the role women played as hunters across the Americas in prehistory Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2258985-men-and-women-in-early-americas-shared-hunting-duties-equally/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Loon Sets Stratospheric Sustained Flight Record With 312-Day Balloon Trip
Alphabet’s Loon, the company focused on creating new networking capabilities using stratosphere-based infrastructure, has set a new world record for a continuous stratospheric flight. One of Loon’s ultra high-altitude balloons flew for 312 days straight, beating the existing record of 223 days by a considerable margin, and nearly racking up a full year of sustained time aloft. From a report: The…
Sacrificed llama mummies unearthed in Peru
These five naturally mummified llamas were sacrificed by the Inca about 500 years ago. Source: https://www.livescience.com/inca-llama-sacrifices-naturally-mummified.html