Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, October 23, 2019. Erin Scott | Reuters Four years ago, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called it “a pretty crazy idea” that fake news on Facebook could have influenced the election that handed Donald Trump the presidency. Today, the idea
Month: October 2020
Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here Rosetta’s lander Philae on the surface of a comet (artist’s impression).Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The unfortunate crash landing of the European Space Agency (ESA)’s robotic probe, Philae, on a comet in 2014 has yielded a fresh insight
HELSINKI — China has outlined a proposed architecture for getting astronauts to the moon and back as part of plans for long-term lunar exploration. A presentation at the 2020 China Space Conference in September details infrastructure including a new launch vehicle, new-generation spacecraft and a lunar lander, along with a potential lunar orbit module and
Week in Review Stories discussed this week (4:30). Features VERGE 20 mainstage highlights (16:55) Lisa Jackson, vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives at Apple, reflects on the intersection of racial inequity and climate strategy; how it’s shaping the company’s circular economy strategy. Andrew Zolli, head of global impact initiatives at Planet, on making the most
A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Greece on Friday afternoon, killing at least 19 people, causing buildings to crash down and triggering a “mini tsunami”. Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake The tremor’s magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was at 7.00. Authorities in Turkey said it was 6.6.According to USGS, the quake
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Alphabet’s Google Cloud, speaks at the Google Cloud Next conference in San Francisco on April 9, 2019. Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian told employees Friday that it received confirmation from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol that its technology won’t be used for immigration
Polio vaccination efforts continue in Pakistan, one of the few places in the world where the wild virus has not been eradicated.Credit: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty A vaccine against a type of polio that is spreading in the Southern Hemisphere is expected to receive emergency approval before the end of the year. If it does, it will
WASHINGTON — While NASA and the European Space Agency hailed an agreement this week to work together on the lunar Gateway, both agencies have work ahead to establish international cooperation on the overall Artemis program of human lunar exploration. NASA and ESA announced Oct. 27 that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to
Penguin Gentoo on the beach of the Dobrowolski Glacier with red snow in the background, a phenomenon that happens due to the heating of the water, on January 04, 2020 in King George Island, Antarctica. Alessandro Dahan | Getty Images LONDON — Socially-conscious investing has gathered a lot of momentum this year, with billions of
A NASA spacecraft tucked more than 2 pounds of asteroid samples into a capsule for return to Earth after losing some of its precious loot because of a jammed lid, scientists said Thursday. They won’t know the precise amount of the cosmic haul from asteroid Bennu, more than 200 million miles (322 million kilometres) away,
A man shows AirPods Pro at an Apple store on East Nanjing Road on October 30, 2019 in Shanghai, China. Apple’s new AirPods Pro with active noise cancellation are on sale on October 30 in China. Wang Gang | VCG | Getty Images Apple said on Friday that it’s replacing AirPods Pro headphones that have
Applied mathematician Peter Shor worked out how to overcome a major problem in quantum computing.Credit: BBVA FOUNDATION When physicists first thought up quantum computers in the 1980s, they sounded like a nice theoretical idea, but one probably destined to remain on paper. Then in 1995, 25 years ago this month, applied mathematician Peter Shor published
In a memo Oct. 29, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist said the new position will be filled by Justin Johnson, the acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy. WASHINGTON — The Defense Department announced Oct. 30 it has established the office of the assistant secretary of defense for space policy, a new
When Ross Rachey set out to electrify Amazon’s fleet of last-mile delivery vehicles a few years ago, he thought it would be a matter of matching the company’s needs to the right vehicle on the market. It was not that simple. “We were a little underwhelmed at the vehicles that were available to us when
An inquiry on the bushfires in Australia has warned about the ‘compounding disasters’ that are coming, as the fires continue to displace and kill wildlife and devastate the economy. Devastating bushfires The bushfires in Australia from 2019 to 2020 are historic in that they killed and displaced almost three billion wild animals, and causing losses
Hello Nature readers, would you like to get this Briefing in your inbox free every day? Sign up here New Guinea singing dogs are related to Australian dingoes.Credit: Daniel Heuclin/NPL The largest-ever study of ancient dog genomes has revealed a lot about our four-legged friends. The analysis of more than two dozen Eurasian dogs suggests
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students during a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India, November 12, 2018. Anushree Fadnavis | Reuters Shares of Twitter, Facebook, Apple and Amazon remained down in premarket trading Friday after the companies released quarterly reports that failed to wow Wall Street. Here’s what’s
WASHINGTON — The commercial space industry hopes to continue recent progress in regulatory reform even if there is a new president or a change in party control in Congress after the election. The last six months have seen two major milestones in government regulation of commercial space activities: the publication of revised commercial remote sensing
Michael Wirth, CEO of Chevron. Adam Jeffery | CNBC Chevron reported its second straight quarter of losses on Friday after revenue during the third quarter fell 32% year over year as Covid-19 continues to hammer the industry. Amid declining oil prices Chevron said it implemented aggressive cost-cutting measures. The oil giant lost $207 million during
Rotational grazing is a practice that is being resisted by livestock producers because the cattle ranchers say labor and water are barriers to the practice. The practice of rotational grazing Rotational grazing involves “rotating” the livestock into various paddocks and pastures in order to prevent some parasitic diseases, minimize overgrazing of the vegetation, and utilize
The merging of two black holes releases gravitational waves.Credit: Science Photo Library/Alamy Astronomers observed 39 cosmic events that released gravitational waves over a 6-month period in 2019 — a rate of more than one per week. The bounty, described in a series of papers published on 28 October, demonstrates how observatories that detect these ripples
WASHINGTON — Virgin Orbit plans to invest in Sky and Space Global (SAS), the financially troubled satellite constellation company, and partner with it on launch and satellite services. In an Oct. 28 statement, SAS said that Virgin Orbit will take a stake of no less than 14.7% in the company by purchasing shares in the
The Presidential election looming next week could change everything for the future of the environment, clean air and the markets contributing to the clean economy. And if Vice President Joe Biden wins, there’s a chance it could change everything for California’s clean air chief Mary Nichols, too. Bloomberg recently reported that Nichols, the retiring chair
Netflix on Thursday raised the prices of its standard and premium plans to $13.99 and $17.99 per month, respectively. Prior to Thursday, those plans were priced at $12.99 and $15.00, respectively. Current Netflix customers will see the updated prices on their bill over the next two months, Netflix told CNBC. Customers will get a warning
Scientists have detected 39 gravitational-wave events that they say will further help them understand the universe, as well as explore its population of black holes and neutron stars. The latest events add to the 11 already confirmed events, taking the total number of events to 50. According to astrophysicists, this has been possible due to
The suckers on an octopus’s arms not only help it to capture a crab but also allow it to taste its prey. Credit: Peter Kilian Neuroscience 29 October 2020 Some of the cells on a cephalopod’s suckers respond to substances produced by ocean creatures. The arms of an octopus are lined with hundreds of suckers,
U.S. investment in commercial geoint has been relatively flat over the last five years WASHINGTON — A new study by the MITRE Corp. says the U.S. commercial geospatial intelligence industry is being outpaced by foreign competitors and the U.S. government could do more to help. U.S. investment in commercial geoint has been relatively flat over
A view of the Exxon Mobil refinery in Baytown, Texas. Jessica Rinaldi | Reuters Exxon said Thursday that it intends to reduce its U.S. staff by around 1,900 employees as the energy giant continues to see its operations pressured by the coronavirus pandemic. The layoffs will occur through a mix of voluntary and involuntary programs.
Countries have banded together to propose marine reserves to protect Antarctic krill species from global warming and overfishing. The cornerstone of the biologically diverse Antarctic Peninsula is the shrimp-like, small Antarctic krill. READ: Scientists Determine How Marsh Birds Survive Dangerous Hurricanes and Natural Disasters such as Hurricane Zeta The Importance of and Threats To Krill According to University of Colorado environmental scientist Cassandra Brooks, krill are the
Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the new iPhone 12. Source Apple reported earnings on Thursday and investors did not like the results. Apple stock dropped as much 5% in extended trading even though the company beat Wall Street expectations for both profit and revenue. The drop was likely because iPhone revenue came in at $26.4
Scientists have learnt to produce the relatively unstable element lithium (pictured) inside a microscope, making the metal’s crystallization easy to observe. Credit: Petr Jan Juracka/SPL Materials science 29 October 2020 A standard laboratory tool allows researchers to produce two potentially dangerous metals and to observe them as they form. Lithium and sodium are highly reactive
Braxton, based Colorado Springs, will be merged into Parsons’ space and geospatial business. WASHINGTON — Parsons announced Oct. 29 it will acquire Braxton Science & Technology Group for $258 million. The acquisition broadens the company’s footprint in space and cybersecurity. Braxton, based Colorado Springs, Colorado, will be merged into Parsons’ space and geospatial business, adding
The transportation industry is at a turning point: Ever-more ambitious climate goals are combining with the dropping cost of electric and low-carbon vehicles to make sustainable fleets more of a reality. It’s still early days, but public and private sector organizations alike — all recognized on our top 25 most sustainable fleets list this week
Pinterest led by Chairman, Co-Founder, President and CEO Ben Silbermann and Co-Founder, Chief Design and Creative Officer, Evan Sharp ring the opening bell celebrating the IPO of Pinterest at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, April 18, 2019. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Shares of Pinterest surged more than 31% in premarket trading Thursday,
Scientists wanted to determine how marsh birds survive dangerous hurricanes and natural disasters such as Hurricane Zeta. Zeta is ravaging the Gulf Coast and Louisiana, and people know what to do. It is interesting to find out how wildlife copes with the natural disaster. Coastal dwellers have adaptive abilities that deal with such events. Is
Rosetta’s lander Philae on the surface of a comet (artist’s impression).Credit: ESA/ATG medialab The chaotic crash-landing of a robotic spacecraft called Philae has yielded serendipitous insights into the softness of comets. In 2014, the European Space Agency’s pioneering lander touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, after a ten-year journey aboard its mothership, Rosetta. But rather than
SAN FRANCISCO – Redwire acquired Roccor, a Longmont, Colorado, a company known for deployable spacecraft structures, and signaled its intention to continue expanding in an effort to become a leading space infrastructure company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Roccor is exactly the type of company we are looking to add to the Redwire
A Shell tanker truck delivers fuel to a gas station, operated by Royal Dutch Shell Plc., in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Jasper Juinen | Bloomberg | Getty Images LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and announced plans to increase its dividend to shareholders. The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of
A man walks past the logo of Japans Sony displayed at the company’s showroom in Tokyo on October 28, 2020. KAZUHIRO NOGI | AFP via Getty Images SINGAPORE — Shares of Sony surged in Tokyo on Thursday, a day after the Japanese electronics giant raised its annual profit forecast. Sony shares in Japan were up
In a first, NASA scientists have spotted a molecule of cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) in the atmosphere of the largest of Saturn’s 62 moons, Titan. Calling this development ‘unexpected’, scientists claim that this is the first time that they have detected this molecule in an atmosphere. They found C3H2 by using a radio telescope observatory in northern
Hear the latest from the world of science, brought to you by Benjamin Thompson and Noah Baker. Your browser does not support the audio element. Download MP3 In this episode: 00:59 The ethics of creating consciousness Brain organoids, created by culturing stem cells in a petri dish, are a mainstay of neuroscience research. But as
SAN FRANCISCO — General Atomics announced Oct. 28 the acquisition of Guidestar Optical Systems, a space and defense company based in Longmont, Colorado, which it plans to integrate into the General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group. “We are excited to bring the Guidestar team on board to further enhance our diverse portfolio of laser technologies,”
It may be a little early to start writing about trends for 2021, but I’m going to do it anyway. What’s on my mind? Carbontech, a category of climate tech I’d love to see break through next year. It’s the exciting idea that we can take something that could be considered waste, draw it out
Scientists say reforestation in tropical forest and savannah biomes in Africa must be done properly. Otherwise, they may do more harm than good. According to Université de Montréal geography department visiting researcher Julie Aleman, the state of ecosystems should be taken into consideration in planning for reforestation in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. Savannah versus tropical forest According to Aleman, all the regions they have studied
(L-R) Amazon’s chief Jeff Bezos, Larry Page of Alphabet, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower December 14, 2016. Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images The five most valuable U.S. tech companies all report quarterly earnings this week, marking the last time investors will see
Flying to conduct fieldwork is one reason climate researchers might travel more than other scientists.Credit: Andrew McCaren/LNP/Shutterstock In recent years, a growing number of climate-change researchers have made the conscious decision to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding air travel or flying less. But an analysis suggests that, despite these efforts, climate researchers travel and
Air Force Col. Michael “Hopper” Hopkins, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, will be commissioned into the U.S. Space Force. WASHINGTON — NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, a U.S. Air Force colonel and the commander of the upcoming SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, is transferring to the U.S. Space Force and is expected to be commissioned aboard
A massive 500-meter-tall coral reef was discovered by scientists in the Great Barrier Reef. The coral reef is believed to be taller than the Empire State Building, the Sydney Tower, and the Petronas Twin Towers. Australian scientists discovered the majestic coral reef while they were aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor, which is currently
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