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Aug 25, 2023

Elon Musk is trying to launch his Starship mega-rocket again after the first attempt ended in an explosion. It’s been 10 years in the making

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Starship could take humans to the moon and Mars in the next decade, Elon Musk says. Here’s everything to know ahead of its second crucial launch.

Aug 25, 2023

SpaceX Reportedly Achieved Profitability In The First Quarter Of 2023

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, finance, internet, satellites

SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has reportedly achievedability in the first quarter of 2023, marking a significant milestone for the privately owned rocket company. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), SpaceX reported a of $55 million on $1.5 billion in revenue for the January-to-March period. This success comes after two years of narrowing losses, with the company managing to cut its 2022 losses to $559 million from the previous year’s $968 million while doubling its revenue to $4.6 billion.

The positive financial results reflect SpaceX’s growing revenue, driven in part by its Starlink internet satellite service and the development of its ambitious Starship rocket. The company’s surging revenue has enabled it to make progress towardability while pursuing its ambitious goals in space exploration and satellite communication.

The WSJ report also sheds light on SpaceX’s significant expenses, with the company recording total expenses of $5.2 billion in 2022, up from $3.3 billion in the previous year. Despite these costs, SpaceX’sability in the first quarter signals the potential for its ongoing success as it continues to innovate and expand its operations in the space industry.

Aug 25, 2023

A New Attack Impacts ChatGPT—and No One Knows How to Stop It

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Researchers found a simple way to make ChatGPT, Bard, and other chatbots misbehave, proving that AI is hard to tame.

Aug 25, 2023

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is winning Big Tech’s AI war. Here’s how

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Microsoft is the AI frontrunner, thanks to its early OpenAI partnership and years of shrewd management. Here’s how CEO Satya Nadella plans to keep his lead.

Aug 24, 2023

Mysterious Dark Vortex on Neptune Seen From Earth For First Time

Posted by in category: space

O.o!!


Ever since Voyager 2 flew past Neptune in 1989, the giant dark smudges that appear in the distant planet’s atmosphere have presented a strange puzzle.

Continue reading “Mysterious Dark Vortex on Neptune Seen From Earth For First Time” »

Aug 24, 2023

Why Is 1/137 One of the Greatest Unsolved Problems In Physics?

Posted by in categories: information science, quantum physics

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Continue reading “Why Is 1/137 One of the Greatest Unsolved Problems In Physics?” »

Aug 24, 2023

The Myth of ‘Open Source’ AI

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

A new analysis shows that “open source” AI tools like Llama 2 are still controlled by big tech companies in a number of ways.

Aug 24, 2023

Finding Hope In The Dark Power Of Fungus

Posted by in categories: energy, space

Disavowal, though, is not only about waste. The disavowal of dark truths is arguably a theme of modernity itself. Modern practices around death are revealing in this regard: In many traditional societies, a corpse is kept in the family space until its burial; in most modern societies, the dead body is carted off immediately. Embalming is common to halt (and hide) the process of decay. It is precisely this approach that Lee’s mushroom burial suit is critiquing.

From a fungal vantage point, this system is indeed psychotic. Mycoremediation may not be the systemic intervention that was hoped for, but as an expression of one’s personal concern for our toxified landscape, it is far from insignificant. Rather, it is a tangible way for people without much institutional power to engage in the ongoing fight against environmental damage, to try to contain the disasters seeping around us. As a domestic intervention, mycoremediation is modest but culturally meaningful — a method of repair and reconnection.

The power of fungi comes from the proximity they have with dark truths: the abject, the mess we need to face, mortality, vitality, kinship. In other contexts, this proximity elicits wariness, but in our current crisis, it holds the possibility of a healing power — a pharmacological power. Fungi can take on the mess and the junk, break it down and transform and incorporate it rather than ignore it.

Aug 24, 2023

Unintended Effects of Anti-Cancer Drugs

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Drug development is a huge component of healthcare research that continues to grow, however, about 90% of drugs generated fail to make it to clinical trials. Drugs designed to target cancer fail due to many different obstacles including the tumor microenvironment (TME), which is the area surrounding the tumor. The TME is comprised of multiple cells generated to suppress the immune system and allow the tumor to grow. Since there are many mechanisms involved that makeup the TME, it is difficult to prescribe patients anti-cancer drugs that completely kill the tumor. Often a combination therapies are needed, but doctors run the risk of adverse side effects in patients due to toxicity of too many drugs.

Recently, a study published in eLife from Dr. Jennifer Gerton at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Missouri reported one critical reason why patients may experience unexpected side effects on the cellular level.

Aug 24, 2023

Satellite built as low-cost way to reduce space junk reenters atmosphere years early

Posted by in categories: mathematics, satellites

SBUDNIC, built by an academically diverse team of students, was confirmed to have successfully reentered Earth’s atmosphere in August, demonstrating a practical, low-cost method to cut down on space debris.

When it comes to space satellites, getting the math wrong can be catastrophic for an object in orbit, potentially leading to its abrupt or fiery demise. In this case, however, the fiery end was cause for celebration.

About five years ahead of schedule, a small cube satellite designed and built by Brown University students to demonstrate a practical, low-cost method to cut down on reentered Earth’s atmosphere sometime on Tuesday, Aug. 8 or immediately after—burning up high above Turkey after 445 days in orbit, according to its last tracked location from U.S. Space Command.