Swarm of black holes discovered

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of a throng of black holes crowding near the center of an ancient globular cluster. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/group-black-holes-found-globular-cluster-ngc-6397…

Australian Law Could Make Internet ‘Unworkable’, Says World Wide Web Inventor Tim Berners-Lee

Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee has said Australia’s plan to make tech giants pay for journalism could render the internet as we know it “unworkable.” From a report: The inventor of the World Wide Web claimed that proposed laws could disrupt the established order of the internet. “Specifically, I am concerned that that code risks breaching a fundamental principle of the web…

New Version of Microsoft Office Won’t Require You To Pay For a Subscription

In a company blog post Thursday, Microsoft released more details about the new, flat-price version of its Office productivity software coming later this year. The company emphasized that while its main focus remains in its subscription offering, Microsoft 365, it will release the one-time purchase Office 2021 for those who aren’t ready to move to the cloud. From a report: Office…

Watch Live as Perseverance, NASA’s Newest Rover, Lands on Mars

It took six and a half months for Perseverance to travel from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the atmosphere of the red planet. It will now take about seven minutes to get from the atmosphere to the sandy ground. The highly-anticipated 293-million-mile journey of Perseverance is moments away from its conclusion. NASA’s newest rover is set to touch…

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…

After Researchers Raise Spying Concerns, Clubhouse Promises Blocks on Transmitting to Chinese Servers

“The developers of audio chat room app Clubhouse plan to add additional encryption to prevent it from transmitting pings to servers in China,” reports The Verge, “after Stanford researchers said they found vulnerabilities in its infrastructure.” In a new report, the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) said it confirmed that Shanghai-based company Agora Inc., which makes real-time engagement software, “supplies back-end infrastructure…

Cryptocurrency Magnate’s Plan to Turn 67,000 Acres into Blockchain-Based ‘Smart City’

“A cryptocurrency company that owns 67,000 acres in rural northern Nevada wants state government to grant technology companies power to form local governments on land they own,” reports the Associated Press. Jeffrey Berns, CEO of Nevada-based Blockchains LLC, ultimately envisions “a city where people not only purchase goods and services with digital currency but also log their entire online footprint —…

Microsoft Urges America to Force Google and Facebook to Pay for News

“Microsoft has said the USA should copy Australia’s plan to force Google and Facebook to pay for links to news content,” reports The Register, “and suggested that doing so will help improve social cohesion and strengthen democracy.” But Google has fired back with a statement asserting that Microsoft’s motives are impure. “Of course they’d be eager to impose an unworkable levy…

InSight is meeting the challenge of winter on dusty Mars

As dust collects on the solar panels and winter comes to Elysium Planitia, the team is following a plan to reduce science operations in order to keep the lander safe. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-insight-winter-dusty-mars.html…

Resilient Teaching During Times of Change with Dr. Rebecca Quintana, University of Michigan

The pandemic has accelerated the global need for online learning. In the short term, educators mitigated disruption of campus closures by moving their courses, assessments, and even graduation ceremonies online.  In many educational settings, the focus has shifted to adaptability—how can we design courses that withstand all kinds of changes, including a pandemic? It has […]
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