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India’s richest man wants to turn every TV into a PC

Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, has launched a virtual desktop service for set-top box users. This means that India’s richest man, Reliance’s chairman Mukesh Ambani, hopes to turn millions of TVs in the world’s most populous country into PCs.

Called JioPC, the service offers a cloud-based PC experience through Jio’s set-top box, which comes bundled for free with the telco’s home broadband service or can be purchased separately for ₹5,499 ($64). Currently in free trial and available via waitlist, users can access the virtual desktop on their TV by plugging in a keyboard and mouse once they receive an invite and set up their account.

At present, the service has some limitations, including no support for external peripherals, such as cameras and printers. Similarly, it supports open source LibreOffice, which is pre-installed. To use Microsoft Office apps, users need to access them via the available browser.

Chinese team says carbon dioxide can be turned into sugar

“Artificial conversion of carbon dioxide into food and chemicals offers a promising strategy to address both environmental and population-related challenges while contributing to carbon neutrality,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin in May.

Reducing carbon dioxide to less complex molecules has proven successful, though the researchers said that generating long-chain carbohydrates – the most abundant substances in nature – has proven to be a challenge for scientists.

“In vitro biotransformation (ivBT) has emerged as a highly promising platform for sustainable biomanufacturing,” the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology wrote.

Human-Constructed Dams Have Shifted the Earth’s Poles, Scientists Say

Humans have built so many dams around the world that the Earth’s poles have wandered away from the planet’s rotational axis, new research suggests.

Over the last 200 years, humans have constructed nearly 7,000 massive dams, impounding enough water to nudge the Earth’s poles by about three feet (one meter) and cause a 0.83-inch (21-millimeter) drop in global sea levels, according to a new study in Geophysical Research Letters.

This drift is possible because Earth’s solid crust forms a hard shell around a molten layer of gooey magma. This means that whenever a significant amount of mass is redistributed across the planet’s surface, the outermost rock layer wobbles, shifting relative to Earth’s molten interior. When this happens, different areas on the Earth’s surface end up directly over the planet’s rotational axis. As a result, the planet’s poles pass through different surface locations than before, a phenomenon known as true polar wander.

Wireless induction concept demonstrates self-recharging mechanism in batteries

A research team led by the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) has demonstrated a new induction-based mechanism that enables partial self-recharging in batteries, using a symmetric iron-based configuration as a proof of concept. The study, published in Electrochimica Acta, lays the groundwork for future battery systems that integrate wireless recharging capabilities through induced redox reactions.

First electronic–photonic quantum chip created in commercial foundry

In a milestone for scalable quantum technologies, scientists from Boston University, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern University have reported the world’s first electronic–photonic–quantum system on a chip, according to a study published in Nature Electronics.

SpaceX officially announced Starship Flight 10 Launch Date after…No More This Month!

🧑🚀 Q: What are the details of the upcoming Crew-11 mission? A: Crew-11 is set to launch on July 31st, 2025, with NASA astronaut Zena Cartman as commander, for a 6-month stay on the ISS.

Technical Improvements.

🔧 Q: What new system has SpaceX installed at Pad A for Starship? A: SpaceX installed a new Ship Quick Disconnect (QD) system at Pad A, which is smaller, temporary, and designed for static fire tests only.

🪂 Q: What upgrades have been made to the Dragon spacecraft Endeavor? A: Endeavor now features the Drogue 3.1 parachute system with reinforced crown material and a new packing system for more controlled deployment.

Program Challenges.

🚁 Q: What issues is Boeing’s Starliner program facing? A: Starliner is experiencing helium leaks and thermal management problems affecting its thrusters, delaying the next mission.

Continue reading “SpaceX officially announced Starship Flight 10 Launch Date after…No More This Month!” | >

Novel molecular mechanisms inform targeted therapies for chronic kidney disease

A recent study led by Paul DeCaen, Ph.D., associate professor of Pharmacology, has identified novel molecular mechanisms by which genetic mutations in the PKD2 gene cause the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

PKD2 encodes an localized to the primary cilia of cells lining the kidney collecting ducts, a series of tubules and ducts that helps achieve electrolyte and fluid balance in the body. Both inherited and acquired mutations in PKD2 are known to cause (ADPKD), a condition characterized by the growth of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys that can lead to and other serious complications.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one in 1000 individuals will develop ADPKD and more than 95% of patients carry disease-causing genetic variants in PKD1 or PKD2. However, there are no available therapies that target these disease-causing variants.