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Big star energy: record-breaking explosion recorded

When gigantic stars run out of fuel they collapse under their own gravity and, in a last hurrah, send out a blast of light and matter in the most violent known explosions in the universe.

Now astronomers have discovered that these cataclysmic events, known as gamma ray bursts, release roughly twice as much energy as previously thought.

The rethink comes after an international team registered a record-breaking observation of the highest-energy radiation ever measured from gamma ray bursts.

Earth’s magnetic song recorded for the first time during a solar storm

Data from ESA’s Cluster mission has provided a recording of the eerie “song” that Earth sings when it is hit by a solar storm.

The song comes from that are generated in the Earth’s magnetic field by the collision of the storm. The storm itself is the eruption of electrically charged particles from the sun’s atmosphere.

A team led by Lucile Turc, a former ESA research fellow who is now based at the University of Helsinki, Finland, made the discovery after analyzing data from the Cluster Science Archive. The archive provides access to all data obtained during Cluster’s ongoing mission over almost two decades.

First detection of sugars in meteorites gives clues to origin of life

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2019/sugars-in-meteorites

An international team has found sugars essential to life in meteorites. The new discovery adds to the growing list of biologically important compounds that have been found in meteorites, supporting the hypothesis that chemical reactions in asteroids—the parent bodies of many meteorites—can make some of life’s ingredients. If correct, meteorite bombardment on ancient Earth may have assisted the origin of life with a supply of life’s .

The team discovered ribose and other bio-essential sugars including arabinose and xylose in two different meteorites that are rich in carbon, NWA 801 (type CR2) and Murchison (type CM2). Ribose is a crucial component of RNA (). In much of modern life, RNA serves as a messenger molecule, copying genetic instructions from the DNA molecule (deoxyribonucleic acid) and delivering them to molecular factories within the cell called ribosomes that read the RNA to build specific proteins needed to carry out life processes.

The New Normal Is Digital Cities — Not Smart Cities

New “space as a service” initiatives are evolving. As a result of WeWork pulling its IPO, I expect you will see renegotiated leases and direct competition across the globe, with a $3 billion fund to start. Real estate development is moving in two directions — technology and experience — but firms need to figure out what that means for them, and how to spend their money.

Delete Technology, Add Humans

Many smart city projects have not met their goals. IoT may make some efficiency gains, but it doesn’t automatically improve quality of life or reduce complexity. City planners and real estate developers need to take a longer view and understand that ROI is directly tied to the GDP of the area.