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May 19, 2021

Unknown Physics on the Cosmic Scale? 1000 Supernova Explosions Chart the Expansion History of the Universe

Posted by in categories: cosmology, information science, physics

An international research team analyzed a database of more than 1000 supernova explosions and found that models for the expansion of the Universe best match the data when a new time dependent variation is introduced. If proven correct with future, higher-quality data from the Subaru Telescope and other observatories, these results could indicate still unknown physics working on the cosmic scale.

Edwin Hubble’s observations over 90 years ago showing the expansion of the Universe remain a cornerstone of modern astrophysics. But when you get into the details of calculating how fast the Universe was expanding at different times in its history, scientists have difficulty getting theoretical models to match observations.

To solve this problem, a team led by Maria Dainotti (Assistant Professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI in Japan and an affiliated scientist at the Space Science Institute in the U.S.A.) analyzed a catalog of 1048 supernovae which exploded at different times in the history of the Universe. The team found that the theoretical models can be made to match the observations if one of the constants used in the equations, appropriately called the Hubble constant, is allowed to vary with time.

May 19, 2021

Nvidia’s ownership of ARM could drive customers to RISC-V, other alternatives if not careful, says Xilinx CEO

Posted by in category: futurism

If ARM doesn’t prove it can be a level playing field in Nvidia’s ownership, customers will defect to alternatives.

May 19, 2021

Deconstruction of high-density polyethylene into liquid hydrocarbon fuels and lubricants

Posted by in categories: chemistry, sustainability

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues now that the rapidly increased production of disposable plastic products is far beyond the world’s capacity for recycling and upcycling waste plastics. Although recent studies have provided a few catalytic strategies for producing value-added fuel and chemical products from polyethylene (PE) waste, the kinetic rates and/or selectivities are unsatisfactory, even with extended processing time (24 h) and high temperatures (280°C). This work reports a liquid-phase catalytic hydrogenolysis process that highly efficiently converts high-density PE to jet-fuel-and lubricant-range hydrocarbons under relatively mild conditions. The application of this efficient liquid-phase catalytic hydrogenolysis process could provide a promising approach for selectively producing high-value products, such as lubricants, from waste PE and other polyolefin polymers.

May 19, 2021

VoloConnect: Expanding Volocopter’s Coverage of the Urban Air Mobility Ecosystem

Posted by in category: transportation

Bruchsal/Munich, 17 May 2021 Today, Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility (UAM), unveiled its newest aircraft, VoloConnect, at EBACE Connect. This electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) is designed to connect suburbs to cities and complements the company’s existing family of aircraft for the intra-city mission. VoloConnect’s distinctive hybrid lift and push design is expected to achieve certification within the next 5 years.

With the capacity to travel longer distances, VoloConnect joins Volocopter’s aircraft family and extends the company’s UAM ecosystem coverage to the suburbs. The new aircraft will be seamlessly integrated into Volocopter’s existing portfolio of UAM ecosystem solutions: VoloDrone, VoloCity, VoloPort, and the digital platform, VoloIQ.

May 19, 2021

Sperm help ‘persuade’ the female to accept pregnancy

Posted by in category: futurism

Conditions like recurrent miscarriage, preeclampsia, preterm birth and stillbirth are affected by the female’s immune response in ways that the partner’s sperm contribute to.


Sperm are generally viewed as having just one action in reproduction—to fertilize the female’s egg—but studies at the University of Adelaide are overturning that view.

Published in Nature Research journal Communications Biology, new research shows that sperm also deliver signals directly to the female reproductive tissues to increase the chances of conception.

Continue reading “Sperm help ‘persuade’ the female to accept pregnancy” »

May 19, 2021

Eating a Western Diet Impairs the Immune System in the Gut – May Increase Risk of Inflammation, Infection

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

“This was a short-term experiment, just eight weeks,” Liu said. “In people, obesity doesn’t occur overnight or even in eight weeks. People have a suboptimal lifestyle for 20, 30 years before they become obese. It’s possible that if you have Western diet for so long, you cross a point of no return and your Paneth cells don’t recover even if you change your diet. We’d need to do more research before we can say whether this process is reversible in people.”


Eating a Western diet impairs the immune system in the gut in ways that could increase risk of infection and inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cleveland Clinic.

The study, in mice and people, showed that a diet high in sugar and fat causes damage to Paneth cells, immune cells in the gut that help keep inflammation in check. When Paneth cells aren’t functioning properly, the gut immune system is excessively prone to inflammation, putting people at risk of inflammatory bowel disease and undermining effective control of disease-causing microbes. The findings, published today (May 18, 2021) in Cell Host & Microbe, open up new approaches to regulating gut immunity by restoring normal Paneth cell function.

Continue reading “Eating a Western Diet Impairs the Immune System in the Gut – May Increase Risk of Inflammation, Infection” »

May 19, 2021

Despite Chip Shortage, Chip Innovation Is Booming

Posted by in categories: computing, innovation

Even as a chip shortage is causing trouble for all sorts of industries, the semiconductor field is entering a surprising new era of creativity, from industry giants to innovative start-ups seeing a spike in funding from venture capitalists that traditionally avoided chip makers.


While a variety of industries struggle with supplies, semiconductor experts say there are plenty of new ideas and, most surprising, start-ups.

May 19, 2021

Waymo self-driving taxi confused by traffic cones flees help

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

The vehicle became stuck multiple times and repeatedly drove away when roadside assistance approached.

May 18, 2021

Astronomers Nix Idea Of Super-Earth Around Barnard’s Star

Posted by in category: cosmology

At the time the proposed planet signal is strongest, stellar activity on the surface of the star was Also strong, says Lubin. Thus, he notes, the signal associated with the planet can be explained by activity emanating from stellar activity instead of from the telltale periodic tug on Barnard’s Star from a putative super-earth.

As I noted here previously, Barnard’s Star, which lies only 6 light years away in Ophiuchus, has long fascinated astronomers both due to its proximity to Earth and the fact that it has the largest apparent motion across our line of sight as any known stellar object. In the 105 years since its discovery by astronomer E.E. Barnard, it is the nearest star to our own Sun in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere, the authors note.

One of the more infamous claims of planets around barnard’s star came in in 1963, when Swarthmore College astronomer Peter van de Kamp announced that he had detected a planet using Swarthmore’s 24-inch refractor at Sproul Observatory. Van de Kamp later updated his findings three more times, proposing a second planet in the system with periods of 12 and 20 years, respectively, the authors note.

May 18, 2021

Commentary: Giving COVID survivors just one dose of the vaccine could help end the pandemic faster

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Giving COVID survivors just one dose of the vaccine could help end the pandemic faster In South Korea, an analysis that included more than 500000 people age 60 and older found that the Pfizer vaccine was 89% effective in preventing infection just two weeks after the first shot. AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has not been authorized for emergency use in the U.S., was found to be 86% effective in that same time period. Again, that’s after a single dose, and it’s regardless of prior COVID history.


Commentary: Getting a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine might not be necessary for COVID survivors.