A quasar is an extremely bright and distant point-like source visible to radio telescopes. The source is a so-called Active Galactic Nucleus, fueled by a supermassive black hole. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/definition-what-is-a-quasar…
Tag: poor
Vampire squid fossil ‘lost’ during the Hungarian Revolution rediscovered
The ancestors of vampire squid started trawling deep, oxygen-poor waters around 30 million years ago, a long-lost fossil rediscovery reveals. Source: https://www.livescience.com/vampire-squid-lost-fossil.html
Why do deserts get so cold at night?
Desert temperatures can fluctuate greatly between day and night, due to the poor heat-retaining properties of sand and a lack of humidity. Source: https://www.livescience.com/why-do-deserts-get-cold-at-night.html
Silicon Valley-backed Groups Sue Maryland To Kill Country’s First-Ever Online Advertising Tax
Top lobbying groups backed by Amazon, Facebook, Google and other technology giants sued Maryland on Thursday, seeking to scuttle a new state tax on their massive online-advertising revenue — and stop other local governments from following its lead. From a report: The legal challenge contends that Maryland’s first-in-the-nation tax is unfair, unconstitutional and incompatible with federal laws that prohibit state policymakers…
Chip-based DNA testing wrong more than right for very rare variants
The chips used in some consumer DNA tests are very poor at accurately detecting rare genetic variants linked to cancer compared with full genome sequencing, but are good at detecting more common ones Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2267826-chip-based-dna-testing-wrong-more-than-right-for-very-rare-variants/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
The Rich Got Richer: GameStop’s Trading Frenzy Benefited Wall Street’s Elite
While GameStop’s surge has been heralded as a victory for underdogs, “Growing evidence casts doubt on the idea that the episode mostly benefited small-time investors…” reports the Washington Post. (Alternate URLs here and here “And, in at least some cases, novice investors lost their shirts.” Giant mutual funds that own the largest stakes in GameStop saw the biggest gains in value….
Amazon Uses An App Called Mentor To Track and Discipline Delivery Drivers
Amazon has for years been using an app called “Mentor” to monitor and track delivery drivers’ behavior on the road. “The app, which Amazon bills as a tool to improve driver safety, generates a score each day that measures employees’ driving performance,” reports CNBC. From the report: Just like the AI-equipped cameras rolling out to contracted delivery companies, Mentor is framed…
Is the Dyatlov Pass incident solved?
The Dyatlov Pass incident has intrigued people for generations, but a new theory pointing to a slab avalanche as the culprit does a thorough job of explaining how the 9 Russian trekkers died. A new video and more here. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/dyatlov-pass-incident-mystery-solved-slab-avalanche…
A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?
“Twenty five years ago I made a bet in the pages of Wired. It was a bet whether the world would collapse by the year 2020.” So writes the 68-year-old founding executive editor of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly. He’d made the bet with a “Luddite-loving doomsayer,” according to Wired — author Kirkpatrick Sale. “Sale while a student in the 1950s co-wrote…
Estimated Cost of Poor Software Quality in the U.S. in 2020: $2.1 Trillion
TechRepublic shares a remarkable calculation by the not-for-profit IT leadership group the Consortium for Information and Software Security: CISQ’s 2020 report, The Cost of Poor Software Quality in the U.S., looked at the financial impact of software projects that went awry or otherwise ended up leaving companies with a larger bill by creating additional headaches for them. According to the consortium,…