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Sep 7, 2021

Who is Starlink really for?

Posted by in categories: internet, satellites

The boom in LEO satellites will probably change the lives of customers who’ve struggled for high-speed internet—but only if they can afford it.

Sep 7, 2021

Dark regions of the genome may drive the evolution of new species

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution

So-called junk DNA plays a key role in the way cells organize information, and new research has found that it might affect species formation.

Sep 7, 2021

El Salvador adopts bitcoin as official currency, first country to do so

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, law

El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, with Pres. Nayib Bukele saying it will save millions in commissions for remittances.

Sep 7, 2021

A Black Hole Triggers a Premature Supernova — First Observation of a Brand-New Kind of Supernova

Posted by in category: cosmology

The first observation of a brand-new kind of supernova had been predicted by theorists but never before confirmed.

In 2,017 a particularly luminous and unusual source of radio waves was discovered in data taken by the Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey, a project that scans the night sky in radio wavelengths. Now, led by Caltech graduate student Dillon Dong (MS ’18), a team of astronomers has established that the bright radio flare was caused by a black hole or neutron star crashing into its companion star in a never-before-seen process.

“Massive stars usually explode as supernovae when they run out of nuclear fuel,” says Gregg Hallinan, professor of astronomy at Caltech. “But in this case, an invading black hole or neutron star has prematurely triggered its companion star to explode.” This is the first time a merger-triggered supernova has ever been confirmed.

Sep 7, 2021

Fast quantum random number generator fits on a fingertip

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Chip-scale device achieves record speeds using vacuum fluctuations as its source of truly random numbers.

Sep 7, 2021

Intel’s turnaround and the future of chipmaking

Posted by in categories: business, futurism

Pat Gelsinger is opening up America’s historically hermetic semiconductor giant — and shaking up its industry in the process | Business.

Sep 7, 2021

‘Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space,’ a docuseries on SpaceX’s 1st all-civilian spaceflight, launches on Netflix

Posted by in categories: education, space travel

Time Studios and Netflix are chronicling the mission, which launches Sept. 15.


The private Inspiration4 astronauts on SpaceX’s first all-civilian spaceflight star in a new Netflix documentary on their historic flight.

Sep 7, 2021

Quantum Machines plans to expand quantum orchestration platform with $50M investment

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Quantum Machines, an Israeli startup that is building the classical hardware and software infrastructure to help run quantum machines, announced a $50 million Series B investment today.

Today’s round was led by Red Dot Capital Partners with help from Exor, Claridge Israel, Samsung NEXT, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Management, LP, as well as TLV Partners, Battery Ventures, 2i Ventures and other existing investors. The company has now raised approximately $83 million, according to Crunchbase data.

While quantum computing in general is in its early days, Quantum Machines has developed a nice niche by building a hardware and software system, what they call The Quantum Orchestration Platform, that helps run the burgeoning quantum machines, leaving it plenty of room to grow as the industry develops.

Sep 7, 2021

The Space Force is starting to lean into innovative launch concepts

Posted by in categories: government, military, satellites

The biggest threat to our success is moving too slowly and refusing to change.


In June, a previously flown Falcon 9 booster lofted a new-generation Global Positioning Satellite for the US Space Force. This marked a watershed moment for the US military and the concept of reusable rockets, as the Space Force entrusted a satellite worth about half a billion dollars to the new technology.

Now, thanks to a recent news release from the US Space Force, we have a little more insight into why the Space Force is leaning into reusable rockets and other technology from innovative companies such as SpaceX.

Continue reading “The Space Force is starting to lean into innovative launch concepts” »

Sep 7, 2021

How artificial intelligence will kill junior private equity jobs

Posted by in categories: employment, finance, robotics/AI

It’s not just salespeople, traders, compliance professionals and people formatting pitchbooks who risk losing their banking jobs to technology. It turns out that private equity professionals do too. A new study by a professor at one of France’s top finance universities explains how.

Professor Thomas Åstebro at Paris-based HEC says private equity firms are using artificial intelligence (AI) to push the limits of human cognition and to support decision-making. Åstebro says t he sorts of people employed by private equity funds is changing as a result.

Åstebro looked at the use of AI systems across various private equity and venture capital firms. He found that funds that have embraced AI are using decision support systems (DSS) across the investment decision-making process, including to source potential targets for investments before rivals.