During the past 25 years astronomers have discovered a wide variety of exoplanets, made of rock, ice and gas, thanks to the construction of astronomical instruments designed specifically for planet searches. Also, using a combination of different observing techniques they have been able to determine a large number of masses, sizes, and hence densities of the planets, which helps them to…
Tag: variety
Hackers Exploit Websites To Give Them Excellent SEO Before Deploying Malware
schwit1 shares a report from ZDNet: Cyberattackers have turned to search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to deploy malware payloads to as many victims as possible. According to Sophos, the so-called search engine “deoptimization” method includes both SEO tricks and the abuse of human psychology to push websites that have been compromised up Google’s rankings. SEO optimization is used by webmasters to…
How Microsoft Plans To Give Virtual Reality Apps a Big Boost
The market for virtual and augmented reality products has developed slower than expected, but Microsoft is seeking to accelerate the sector by making it much easier for people to connect from different locations and with different kinds of devices. From a report: The ultimate goal of the new effort, dubbed Microsoft Mesh, is to allow, for example, a person in an…
A ‘Terminator’ Anime Series is Coming to Netflix
Variety magazine reports that Netflix has ordered Terminator anime series: “‘Terminator’ is one of the most iconic sci-fi stories ever created — and has only grown more relevant to our world over time,” said John Derderian, Netflix’s vice president of Japan and anime. “The new animated series will explore this universe in a way that has never been done before. We…
Parker Solar Probe captures a glimpse of Venus
The Parker Solar Probe turned its camera on Venus as the spacecraft flew by during a gravity assist. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/solar-probe-flyby-photo-of-venus…
Biden To Order Review of US Reliance on Overseas Supply Chains For Semiconductors, Rare Earths
President Joe Biden will direct his administration to conduct a review of key U.S. supply chains including semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, medical supplies and rare earth metals. From a report: The assessment, which will be led by members of both Biden’s economic and national security teams, will analyze the “resiliency and capacity of the American manufacturing supply chains and defense industrial base…
Experimental demonstration of measurement-dependent realities possible, researcher says
Shoe shops sell a variety of shoe sizes to accommodate a variety of foot sizes—but what if both the shoe and foot size depended on how it was measured? Recent developments in quantum theory suggest that the available values of a physical quantity, such as a foot size, can depend on the type of measurement used to determine them. If feet…
Misleading Viral Claims Show Dangers of Preprint Servers, Researchers Warn
Scientific researchers worry that the capacity for spreading misinformation “goes far beyond the big-name social media sites,” warns the Washington Post. Citing pre-print servers and unvetted “research repositories,” they note that “Any online platform without robust and potentially expensive safeguards is equally vulnerable.” “This is similar to the debate we’re having with Facebook and Twitter. To what degree are we creating…
A new way of forming planets
In the last 25 years, scientists have discovered over 4000 planets beyond the borders of our solar system. From relatively small rock and water worlds to blisteringly hot gas giants, the planets display a remarkable variety. This variety is not unexpected. The sophisticated computer models, with which scientists study the formation of planets, also spawn very different planets. What the models…
Facebook will start showing some of its users less political content
Facebook will start reducing the amount of political content users see while scrolling their primary feeds. From a report: The social media platform will “temporarily reduce the distribution of political content in News Feed for a small percentage of people” in Brazil, Indonesia and Canada this week, it said in a blog post on Wednesday. The changes will be applied to…