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May 30, 2023

New York City Sinking Under Weight of Skyscrapers

Posted by in categories: futurism, materials

New York City is sinking under the weight of its massive buildings, leaving it more vulnerable to rising seas, a new study finds.

Most coastal cities are slowly sinking as the earth beneath them settles and groundwater is drained away. In some metropolises, the weight of large, concrete-and-steel skyscrapers may be hastening this slump, but experts rarely, if ever, account for the mass of large buildings in projections of future sinking.

For the new study, scientists tallied the weight of every building in New York, which they put at 842 million tons, and estimated the downward force of these structures across the city. They found that buildings are leaving a bigger imprint in areas rich in clay than in areas where sand or bedrock predominate.

May 30, 2023

Octopuses torture and eat themselves after mating. Science finally knows why

Posted by in categories: food, science

Octopus mothers slam themselves against rocks and eat their own arms before their eggs hatch. Scientists have discovered what leads to the self-destruction.

May 30, 2023

How long does it take for a body to decompose?

Posted by in category: futurism

Once a person is dead, their body usually starts to decay immediately, although a good embalming job can delay decay.

May 30, 2023

Battle against superbugs: E. coli resistance in UTIs shows slight decline

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

In a recent study published in the Open Forum Infectious Diseases, researchers assess the resistance of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) over time in adults who received uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) outpatient care.

Study: Multi-drug resistance of Escherichia coli from outpatient uncomplicated urinary tract infections in a large U.S. integrated health care organization. Image Credit: 220 Selfmade studio / Shutterstock.com.

May 30, 2023

Your First Robot Butler Will Need Human Eyes

Posted by in categories: habitats, policy, robotics/AI

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May 30, 2023

World’s First “Battery Tanker” Slated For 2026 Sea Trials

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

“For instance, in Japan, a battery tanker can carry power from regions with high renewable energy supply potential, such as Kyushu and Hokkaido, to high-demand areas of Honshu or for inter-island power transmission,” the company explained.

While electric propulsion vessels might be the future to decarbonize the shipping industry, there appears to be a need to haul stored renewable power to other grids worldwide via a new tanker class.

May 29, 2023

Hope for age-related hearing loss with novel gene therapy

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Age-related hearing loss impacts one in three adults between the ages of 64 and 75 in the US, and around half of these numbers are down to genes.

The extra kicker, though, is that because hearing involves a complex genetic toolkit, it also makes this kind of hearing loss incredibly difficult to treat.

A team of researchers has for the first time targeted age-related genetic hearing loss in a much older cohort of mice, which had a mutation of the human transmembrane serine protease 3 (TMPRSS3) gene that results in autosomal recessive deafness 8/10 (DFNB8/DFNB10).

May 29, 2023

As rising oceans threaten NYC, study documents another risk: The city is sinking

Posted by in categories: futurism, habitats

If rising oceans aren’t worry enough, add this to the risks New York City faces: The metropolis is slowly sinking under the weight of its skyscrapers, homes, asphalt and humanity itself.

New research estimates the ’s landmass is sinking at an average rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year, something referred to as “subsidence.”

That happens everywhere as ground is compressed, but the study published this month in the journal Earth’s Future sought to estimate how the massive weight of the city itself is hurrying things along.

May 29, 2023

A Mutation Turned Ants Into Parasites in One Generation

Posted by in category: genetics

A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly and potentially split species.

May 29, 2023

IBM planning 100,000-qubit quantum computer for 2033

Posted by in categories: quantum physics, supercomputing

IBM has announced a 10-year, $100 million initiative with the University of Tokyo and the University of Chicago to develop a quantum-centric supercomputer powered by 100,000 qubits.

Quantum-centric supercomputing is an entirely new – and as of now, unrealised – era of high-performance computing. A 100,000-qubit system would serve as a foundation to address some of the world’s most pressing problems that even the most advanced supercomputers of today may never be able to solve.