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A research team at the University of Wisconsin – Madison has identified a new way to convert ammonia to nitrogen gas through a process that could be a step toward ammonia replacing carbon-based fuels.

The discovery of this technique, which uses a metal catalyst and releases, rather than requires, energy, was reported on November 8, 2021, in Nature Chemistry and has received a provisional patent from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

“The world currently runs on a carbon fuel economy,” explains Christian Wallen, an author of the paper and a former postdoctoral researcher in the lab of UW–Madison chemist John Berry. “It’s not a great economy because we burn hydrocarbons, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We don’t have a way to close the loop for a true carbon cycle, where we could transform carbon dioxide back into a useful fuel.”

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NASA ’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will use laser communications systems to transmit data from space to Earth. Below are six things you need to know about NASA’s revolutionary LCRD mission.

1. Laser communications will transform how NASA gets info to and from space.

Since the dawn of space exploration, NASA has used radio frequency systems to communicate with astronauts and spacecraft. However, as space missions generate and collect more data, the need for enhanced communications capabilities increases. LCRD leverages the power of laser communications, which uses infrared light rather than radio waves, to encode and transmit information to and from Earth.

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The price of decentralized blockchain network Algorand (ALGO) surged after the announcement of a new strategic partnership with a real estate firm powered by artificial intelligence.

In a press release, the Algorand Foundation says it’s joining forces with Lofty AI to create a marketplace for investment in tokenized real estate.

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Think about the last time that you found yourself driving a particularly treacherous blind curve.

Pretty darned scary, I’d bet.

Indeed, I realize that even the mere act of thinking about such an alarming encounter can be traumatic, so no need to reflectively linger on that reenactment in your mind. Go ahead and change your thought patterns to something less stressful such as mulling over the latest online cat videos or perhaps that delicious scoop of ice cream you recently consumed.

Meanwhile, let’s have a heart-to-heart serious talk about blind curves.

When first learning to drive, few newbies are specifically instructed about blind curves. Sure, there might be discussions about what to do when reaching an especially sharp curve, but the whole conundrum of dealing with a sharp and blind curve is not necessarily resolutely covered.

Continue reading “Here’s How Blind Curves Could Stir Up Knuckle-Gripping Jitters About AI Self-Driving Cars” | >

No pressure.

We’re just weeks away from the next generation of astronomy.

When the James Webb Space Telescope launches in December, it will signal the beginning of a new day for the study of the universe, and officials at NASA and elsewhere think it could discover signs of atmospheres capable of supporting life on alien worlds beyond our solar system. But what will the process of evaluating these planets look like, and how long will it take?… See more.

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Including ‘cloud, AI, and machine learning-enabled automation’.

The US National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) announced on Thursday that it has chosen Microsoft to build advanced chips for the military.

“Historically, the security requirements associated with developing microelectronics have limited the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) ability to leverage the latest innovations,” wrote in a blog Tom Keane, Corporate Vice President, Azure Global, Microsoft Azure.

“Through a recent DoD-sponsored project, Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes (RAMP) using Advanced Commercial Capabilities, the goal is to leverage commercial best practices to help accelerate the development process and bring reliable, secure state-of-the-art microelectronic design and manufacturing to national security and defense applications.”

Full Story:

Continue reading “It’s Official. Microsoft Will Build Advanced Chips for the US Military” | >

Did you see the full “Beaver Moon?” Here it is, captured by photographers around the world as our satellite rose spectacularly—and from some locations was eclipsed by the Earth.

If you were in Europe it looked liked any other rising full Moon—spectacular, for sure, though nothing out of the ordinary… if you can call a glowing orbiting orb “ordinary.”

For those in North America, Australia, and eastern Asia the full Moon went a copper-reddish color at all but a slither of its surface entered Earth’s shadow in space.

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As part of its recently announced rebranding, Facebook is doubling down on its vision of the metaverse, an immersive virtual-reality environment for gaming, work meetings, and socializing. In promotional materials, Mark Zuckerberg and his friends enter the metaverse via the company’s own Oculus headsets, and are transformed into cartoon-y animated torsos, often while arranged around a virtual boardroom.

According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse promises an at-work reality better than our own, with lush backdrops and infinite personal customization (as long as that customization stops at the waist for humanoid characters). Borrowing elements from world-building games and environments like Second Life and Fortnite, and inspiration from science-fiction referents like Ready Player One and the Matrix, the insinuation is that working within the metaverse will be fun. (This despite the irony that all of these virtual worlds are positioned as dystopias by their creators.)

Full Story:

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This is a farm in China.
This is a Mcdonalds in New York.
This is an apartment complex in Mumbai.
And this is a skyscraper in London.

What do all these have in common? Well as it turns out. All of these places’ successes or failures…
Economic booms or collapses…
And even population growth or famines…
Might soon be decided by the nation of Morocco.

And probably not for the reasons that you might think. In fact, this future economic trajectory was likely decided by a tiny little creature a couple centuries ago.

This a bat. In the modern world, we view bats as things that both control insect population, as well as creatures that spread rare diseases.

Continue reading “How Morocco Secretly Controls China, India, The United States, And the World” | >