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In response to a request from the province of British Columbia (BC), from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026, adults (18 and over) in BC will not be subject to criminal charges for the possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs for personal use.

The federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health granted the province of British Columbia (BC)’s request for a subsection 56 exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for adults (18 years of age and older) in the province to possess small amounts of certain illegal drugs for personal use. BC has referred to this as “decriminalization of personal possession of illegal drugs”.

What this means is that from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026, adults (18 and over) in BC will not be subject to criminal charges for the possession of a cumulative total of up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs for personal use. Instead, all individuals found in possession of substances listed in the exemption of up to 2.5 grams for personal use will, at minimum, be provided with information on available local health and social services. They can also be provided with assistance to connect with those services if requested. The exemption only covers possession for personal use by adults (18 and over) in BC with no intent to traffic, produce or export.

British Columbia has been greatly impacted by overdose deaths and related harms, and declared the overdose crisis a public health emergency in 2016. As part of the province’s comprehensive public health response, BC requested a subsection 56 exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) so that adults in the province will not be subject to criminal charges for personal possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs.

Continue reading “Exemption from Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: Personal possession of small amounts of certain illegal drugs in British Columbia (January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2026)” | >

The world’s first exascale computer, capable of performing a billion billion operations per second, has been built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the US.

A typical laptop is only capable of a few teraflops, or a trillion operations per second, which is a million times less. The exaflop machine, called Frontier, could help solve a range of complex scientific problems, such as accurate climate modelling, nuclear fusion simulation and drug discovery.

“Frontier will offer modelling and simulation capabilities at the highest level of computing performance,” says Thomas Zacharia at ORNL.

Continue reading “World’s first exascale supercomputer Frontier smashes speed records” | >

Most 3D printing methods currently in use rely either on photo (light)- or thermo (heat)-activated reactions to achieve precise manipulation of polymers. The development of a new platform technology called direct sound printing (DSP), which uses soundwaves to produce new objects, may offer a third option.

The process is described in a paper published in Nature Communications. It shows how focused ultrasound waves can be used to create sonochemical reactions in minuscule cavitation regions—essentially tiny bubbles. Extremes of temperature and pressure lasting trillionths of a second can generate pre-designed complex geometries that cannot be made with existing techniques.

“Ultrasonic frequencies are already being used in destructive procedures like laser ablation of tissues and tumors. We wanted to use them to create something,” says Muthukumaran Packirisamy, a professor and Concordia Research Chair in the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. He is the paper’s corresponding author.

Continue reading “Direct sound printing is a potential game-changer in 3D printing, according to researchers” | >

Astronomers have used a cloud-based technique pioneered at the University of Washington to identify and track asteroids in bunches of a hundred or more. Their achievement could dramatically accelerate the quest to find potentially threatening space rocks.

The technique makes use of a cloud-based, open-source analysis platform known as Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping, or ADAM; plus a recently developed algorithm called Tracklet-less Heliocentric Orbit Recovery, or THOR. The THOR algorithm was created by Joachim Moeyens, an Asteroid Institute Fellow at UW; and Mario Juric, director of UW’s DiRAC Institute.

Continue reading “Astronomers demonstrate how using the cloud can rev up the rate of discovery for asteroids” | >

IDRA has posted a video showcasing the assembly process of its 9,000-ton Giga Press, arguably one of the largest casting machines in the market. The 9,000-ton Giga Press is expected to be used in the production of the Tesla Cybertruck’s single-piece rear underbody.

IDRA has been teasing the 9,000-ton Giga Press for some time now, with the company posting several teasers of the gigantic machine on its official LinkedIn page over the past weeks. The company will be previewing the 9,000-ton Giga Press at an open house event from June 6–14, 2022, where attendees will be able to see the assembled monster up close.

The recent assembly video from IDRA is likely part of the company’s subtle promotional efforts for the 9,000-ton Giga Press. The sheer size of the machine’s components was highlighted in the clip, as even the contraption’s parts dwarfed IDRA’s staff. One thing was evident in the recently-posted video — the 9,000-ton Giga Press is a daunting machine.

Continue reading “IDRA posts assembly video of its 9,000-ton Giga Press, which is rumored for the Tesla Cybertruck” | >

Musk’s focus on asking and answering the right questions has played a major role in the Tesla CEO’s success, as recently reported by Inc.com. With the billionaire’s net worth floating around $200 billion, even critics have to admit that a few different factors put Musk in that position, and his business savvy is definitely one of them.

Beyond being a founder of both Tesla and SpaceX, Musk’s brands have increased mainstream awareness of both EVs, a necessary step forward for the climate, and for space exploration, a huge and growing industry, for lack of a better description.

But asking the right questions is central to Musk’s ethos as a CEO, and he’s revealed this time and time again. Musk’s leadership style has discouraged the chain of command mentality in favor of the free flow of information, and he has used this to encourage anyone to search for the right questions at the right times — a strategy crucial to Musk’s approach.

Continue reading “Elon Musk Says His “Questions Philosophy” Has Helped Him Succeed” | >