Astronomers observing the young protostar MM 1a have discovered an unusual method of binary star formation. While binary stars are not uncommon — they may account for half or more of all visible stars — the mechanics at work in the case of MM 1a are quite different than what …
Read More »Astronomers Discover ‘Farout’ Dwarf Planet at Edge of Our Solar System
Our simplistic nine-planet view of the solar system was shattered years ago when scientists learned Pluto was not unique in the outer solar system. We have since discovered more “dwarf planets,” and an international team of astronomers has just spotted the most distant such planetoid yet. The object known as …
Read More »Bumble now lets you filter potential matches on Bumble Date, Bizz and BFF
Bumble has come up with a new way for its dating app and related businesses to generate revenue. The company this week launched filters — a way to sift through potential matches by a set of specific criteria. For example, Bumble Date users can now filter matches by astrological sign …
Read More »Pterosaurs Had Four Types of Feathers, New Study Shows
Pterosaurs lived side by side with dinosaurs, some 230 to 66 million years ago. They were the first vertebrates to achieve true flapping flight, but in the absence of living species, many questions concerning their biology and lifestyle remain unresolved. It has long been known that they had some sort …
Read More »Experimental Vaccine Protects Rhesus Macaques from HIV-Like Infection
A study led by researchers from the Scripps Research Institute, the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School shows that rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) can be prompted to produce neutralizing antibodies against one strain of HIV that resembles the resilient viral form that most commonly infects people, called a Tier …
Read More »Saturn’s Rings are Disappearing at Rapid Pace
A team of planetary researchers from the United States and the United Kingdom has discovered that Saturn’s rings are younger than previously thought and that they are actually disappearing at a rapid pace through a process called ‘ring rain.’ The findings were published in the journal Icarus. With Saturn hanging …
Read More »Get a Birds-Eye View of NASA’s Mars 2020 Rover Landing Zone
NASA’s next Mars rover doesn’t have a name yet, but it does have a landing zone. You can take a closer look at the Mars 2020 rover’s home-to-be in a new video assembled from the latest NASA orbital imagery. Get ready to take a trip across Jezero Crater, an ancient …
Read More »In emerging markets there are no copycats, just budding entrepreneurs
Every year I teach an MBA course at Stanford about the exciting opportunities for tech investors and entrepreneurs in developing economies. When we designed the syllabus back in 2013, Rocket Internet was still firing on all cylinders on four continents. The unapologetic machine built to copy big American internet companies …
Read More »3D-Printed Head Shows Face Unlock on Most Phones Isn’t Secure
We live in a world were simply looking at your phone can unlock it, but the way that happens varies wildly between phones. There was less “wiggle room” with fingerprint sensors — you either have the right fingerprint or you don’t. With face unlock, there are ways to do …
Read More »Intel Launches B365 Chipset, Welcomes 22nm Back to Production
Intel is once again launching chipsets on its 22nm process node, freeing up 14nm production to be used with other parts. The B365 is part of the 300-series of chipsets, so it supports the latest Intel CPUs — but it’s also officially part of the Kaby Lake family since it’s …
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