World’s oldest DNA sheds light on mammoth evolution

A mammoth tooth uncovered from the Siberian permafrost yields the oldest DNA yet discovered and provides insight into the evolution of the giant beasts. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/worlds-oldest-dna-mammoth-evolution-video…

Coca-Cola Begins Testing a Paper Bottle

“Coca-Cola is to test a paper bottle as part of a longer-term bid to eliminate plastic from its packaging entirely,” reports the BBC: The prototype is made by a Danish company from an extra-strong paper shell that still contains a thin plastic liner. But the goal is to create a 100% recyclable, plastic-free bottle capable of preventing gas escaping from carbonated…

Google To Allow Gambling Apps In the Play Store

Android users in the U.S. will soon gain access to betting and gambling apps through the Play Store, Google announced Thursday. CNET reports: As of March 1, online casino games, sports betting, lotteries and daily fantasy sports apps will be allowed in certain states. You can see a complete list of what types of gambling apps are allowed in each state…

Google Workers To Form Global Union Alliance

Google employees from across the globe are forming a union alliance, weeks after more than 200 workers at the search engine giant and other units of parent company Alphabet formed a labor union for U.S. and Canadian offices. From a report: Alpha Global was formed in coordination with UNI Global Union, a union federation that represents about 20 million workers globally,…

Walmart’s E-Commerce Chief Is Leaving To Build ‘a City of the Future’

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Recode: Marc Lore, a serial entrepreneur who sold his startup Jet.com to Walmart for $3 billion and then oversaw the transformation of the retail giant’s e-commerce business over the last four years, is leaving his full-time role with the company at the end of the month, he told Recode. His next big entrepreneurial swing…

Global Sales of Electric Cars Accelerate Fast In 2020 Despite Pandemic

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Global sales of electric cars accelerated fast in 2020, rising by 43% to more than 3 million, despite overall car sales slumping by a fifth during the coronavirus pandemic. Tesla was the brand selling the most electric cars, delivering almost 500,000, followed by Volkswagen. Sales of electric cars more than doubled in…

Seabirds raise fewer chicks as the pandemic keeps tourists away

With fewer tourists flocking to see guillemot breeding sites in Sweden, white-tailed eagles have taken up residence nearby – spooking the seabirds so they raise fewer chicks Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264933-seabirds-raise-fewer-chicks-as-the-pandemic-keeps-tourists-away/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Google Stadia, Nvidia GeForce Now Support is Coming To LG’s 2021 TVs

Game streaming has been slowly growing in recent years with the launches of Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Google’s Stadia, Microsoft’s xCloud and Amazon’s Project Luna. This year, however, it looks to finally be picking up more steam. At CES 2021, LG announced that some of its 2021 TVs will support apps for playing games from Google Stadia and GeForce Now right on…

Bitcoin Miners in Nordic Region Get a Boost From Cheap Power

The Nordic region once again has become a lucrative place to mine crypto-currencies, thanks to a plunge in electricity prices. From a report: The wettest weather in at least 20 years boosted production from hydro-electric plants, leaving Sweden and Norway with some of the lowest power prices in the world. The resulting glut in the most important raw material for making…