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Showing posts from May, 2020

Simulation Recipe to Make Matter Out of Light

New simulations by a research team led by UC San Diego’s Alexey Arefiev point the way toward making matter from light. The process starts by aiming a high-power laser at a target to generate a magnetic field as strong as that of a neutron star. This field generates gamma ray emissions that collide to produce—for the very briefest instant—pairs of matter and antimatter particles. Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) high-power laser facilities in Eastern Europe could produce real results in one to two years. New simulations suggest that by increasing the size of the focal spot and boosting the laser power

Ten Minute COVID-19 Detection Test Using Nanoparticles

Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed an experimental diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can visually detect the presence of the virus in 10 minutes. It uses a simple assay containing plasmonic gold nanoparticles to detect a color change when the virus is present. The test does not require the use of any advanced laboratory techniques, such as those commonly used to amplify DNA, for analysis. Once a nasal swab or saliva sample is obtained from a patient, the RNA is extracted from the sample via a simple process that takes about 10 minutes. The test

Precise Measurements of Nearest Earth-Sized Exoplanet

Breakthrough measurements of exoplanet Proxima B were made with radial velocity measurements of unprecedented precision using ESPRESSO, the Swiss-manufactured spectrograph – the most accurate currently in operation – which is installed on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Proxima b was first detected four years ago by means of an older spectrograph, HARPS – also developed by the Geneva-based team – which measured a low disturbance in the star’s speed, suggesting the presence of a companion. Above – This artist’s impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the

The 3 Big Issues With Open Source Code Scanners

Open source code scanners were once an effective tool, but there are now better options available. When first launched, open source code scanners were revolutionary, giving organizations a convenient and intuitive tool they could use to conduct open source audits. However, there are now some major issues associated with open source code scanners—and some much better approaches available. What Is an Open Source Code Scan? In case you aren’t familiar, an open-source code scan is a practice designed to help organizations scan all their open source components, as well as underlying licenses that were included in their ultimate products. They

Cap Off Your Day With This Wholesome Interview With The Last Jedi's Broom Boy

Temirlan Blaev is a lucky kid. At twelve years old, he’s featured in major roles like a recent appearance on Killing Eve and, of course, the Broom Boy on Star Wars: The Last Jedi , making him perhaps the most iconic person to ever clean a stable in pop culture. Read more...

Red Bull Summer Edition Is A Great New Flavor And Bad New Slushie

Summer is fast approaching. Days are getting warmer. The sun seems brighter and I’m wearing more shorts. And Red Bull has released a new Summer-inspired flavor but in two forms. The traditional canned energy drink and an icy slush drink at Sonic. Which is better? Read the headline. And the rest of this post! Read more...

Y'all, Look At This Adorable $8 Game Boy Color Lunch Box

Gameboy Leather Lunch Box (Pink) | $8 | Amazon | Use code E75HZ37W Read more...

The United Kingdom Authorizes Media Companies Like Warner Bros. and Netflix to Resume Film and TV Production

Big productions like The Batman might resume filming in the United Kingdom sooner rather than later. Read more...

Josh Gad, Who Never Sleeps, Reunites Lord of the Rings Cast For Latest Zoom Reunion

Everywhere I turn, Josh Gad is in the news. For starring in a new TV show; for making jokes with some reporter somewhere about Frozen ; for hosting a bevy of online quarantine reunions, bringing together the casts of classic movies to raise money for good causes and entertain us in these trying times. Josh Gad must be… Read more...

Watchmen's Adrien Veidt Is a Terrifying Presence in This Clip From the Show's Blu-Ray Release

Adrien Veidt, Ozymandias himself , didn’t do it thirty-five minutes ago—it was decades ago. And he’s not quite the same man he used to be. Read more...

Sunday's Best Deals: Loads of Candy, Kindle eBooks, Game Boy Lunchboxes, and More

A super cute Game Boy Color lunchbox , $3 best-sellers , Haggar pants and shorts , a ton of candy , and more headline Sunday’s best deals. Read more...

Police Prove Point of Protests by Instigating Violence Across the Country

The blaze of protests that continue to spread across the country this weekend in response to the police killing of George Floyd and countless others throughout American history is being responded to by policing so brutal even Alanis Morissette could clock the irony. Read more...

Here Are the Winners of the 2020 Nebula Awards

Last night, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America held the 55th annual Nebula Awards, designed to honor the best science fiction and fantasy released any given year across prose, film, television, and, as of last year, video games. Read more...

Massively Profitable and Beneficial Path Needed to AGI

A lot of resources will be needed to create an Artificial General Intelligence. There are many efforts to make various narrow super-intelligence. Narrow Superintelligence are AI-related software systems that are beyond humans in some area of activity. Google makes a beyond human capability search engine. Google is a trillion-dollar company. Tesla is leading the way to self-driving cars. This will be beyond human capability in driving. This is taking billions of dollars and the data from millions of cars. Deep Mind was acquired by Google in 2014 for $500 million and had losses of nearly $500 million in 2018. AlphaZero

Star Trek: Voyager's 'Year of Hell' Episodes Could Have Been a Whole Season, According to Bryan Fuller

If the writers had had their way. Read more...

I Heard Planescape Torment Was Good, So Get It and Icewind Dale for $30 on Switch

Planescape Torment & Icewind Dale: Enhanced Editions (Switch) | $30 | Amazon Planescape Torment & Icewind Dale: Enhanced Editions (Xbox One) | $18 | Amazon Read more...

The Best Video Games Starring Sharks

There have been a lot of video games released over the years that feature sharks , but not as many let you play as these smooth and deadly beasts. And often shark games aren’t very good. But some stand out. Read more...

Tomorrow Docking With the Space Station

Astronauts Bob and Doug are successfully in orbit. There will be a series of adjustments to move them to the Space Station. Tomorrow they will dock with the space station. They will move through a series of checkpoints as they move closer to the station. SOURCES- SpaceX Written by Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

Demo 2 Mission and Astronauts Bob and Doug

Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966, 53) is an American engineer, former Marine Corps pilot, and current NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle missions STS-127 (July 2009) and STS-135 (July 2011), the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. He launched into space for the third time as Commander of Crew Dragon Demo-2, the first crewed spaceflight from American soil since STS-135. Robert Louis Behnken (born July 28, 1970 in St. Ann, Missouri, 49) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Bob flew aboard Space Shuttle missions STS-123 (2008) and STS-130 (2010) as a

Kit Harrington, At Least, Is Happy With Jon Snow's Ending in Game of Thrones

It’s been a little over a year since the last episode of Game of Thrones aired, giving us a lot of time to reflect on whether or not we were satisfied with how things ended up. This is true for the actors who brought those characters to life, too. And for Kit Harrington, at least, it turned out okay. Read more...

SpaceX and NASA Has Successful Launched a Manned Flight

It appears to be a successful launch. The main engine cutoff and there has been stage separation. This is SpaceX Falcon 9’s launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This test flight with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board the Dragon spacecraft will return human spaceflight to the United States. Demo-2 is the final major test for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX is returning human spaceflight to the

This Time-Lapse Video Showcases a Gandalf Sculpture Ready to Lead the Fellowship

Let’s be real: Gandalf was always the leader. Read more...

Game On and Keep Your Back Straight With This $130 Gaming Chair

Fortnite OMEGA-Xi Gaming Chair | $130 | Newegg Read more...

Ronald D. Moore Dishes on the Original, Four-Hour Concept For the Battlestar Galactica Finale

This is a really long finale, said the joker to the thief. At roughly 141 minutes, the three-parter that ended Battlestar Galactica way back in 2009 wasn’t a short ending by any stretch of the imagination. But the original cut, which clocked in at around four hours, was even more extensive. The only problem was, it… Read more...

SpaceX Launching Astronauts on Crew Dragon if Weather Permits

SpaceX is streaming the launch countdown for the first US launched crews since the Space Shuttle was retired. Thrusters on the Dragon Enable Crew Escape if Needed There is a crew escape system and many other changes that should make the system about four times safer than the Space Shuttle. NASA’s space shuttle had a LOC of about 1 in 68. Two Shuttle missions out of 135 missions lost crew. SpaceX dragon crew-risk number is 1 in 276 and its mission-risk number is 1 in 6. The instantaneous launch window opens at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC, with a

Facebook Says It'll Do Fuck All About Trump's Post Calling for Military to Shoot Protesters

Facebook will not remove an incendiary post from President Donald Trump essentially calling for authorities to enter Minneapolis and open fire on Americans protesting police brutality there, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday. Earlier in the day, Twitter flagged identical posts on both the official White House… Read more...

Tom Ellis Signs On for an Almost Inevitable Sixth Season of Lucifer

Lucifer , Fox’s formerly orphaned Satanriffic procedural and now Netflix’s beloved child , is one step closer to yet another season renewal. Read more...

Saturday's Best Deals: Birds of Prey, Gaming Chairs, Stylish Chinos, and More

A three-piece multi-function wrench set , JACHS NY chinos , a sleek gaming chair , the Show Your Pride bundle , and more are some of Saturday’s best deals. Read more...

2020s Will See Trillions of Molecular Devices on CMOS Chips

The Roswell Biotechnology and IMEC Molecular Electronics chips will seek to master the integration of molecular devices with nanometer precise CMOS. Molecular electronics will be the next era of biotechnology for next level gene sequencing, many new devices and massive new data storage using DNA. CMOS is reaching 1-2 nanometer precise features using EUV lithography. Molecules have been anchored onto CMOS to create hybrid electronics and the means to read out any bonded or sensed actions on the molecules. This can be used for a wide variety of molecular sensors, billions and possibly trillions of parallel DNA readers, protein readers

Commercial Molecular Electronics Chips in 2021

Roswell Biotechnologies and IMEC are partnering to develop the first molecular electronics chips for disease surveillance, precision medicine and DNA storage. They are targeting 2021 for commercial molecular electronic chips. * Disease surveillance Rapid, low cost, mobile detection systems for diverse biomarkers. Enabling powerful, in-the-field pathogen detection, infectious disease monitoring, environmental monitoring, and identification of bio-specimens, species or individuals. * Precision Medicine Genome Roswell wants to deliver the $100, 1-hour Genome for precision medicine. Simple, fast, low cost and with clinical-grade accuracy including phasing, assembly and direct reading of epigenetic data. * Exabyte storage using DNA DNA writing technologies enable

Dielectric Supercooled Supercomputers at 50 Petaflops and Soon 250 Petaflops

DownUnder GeoSolutions (DUG) has four data centres have been recently upgraded and DUG’s global compute power now exceeds 50 PF (single-precision petaflops). Petaflop supercomputers generate a lot of heat and need efficient cooling technology. Installations such as these are traditionally air-cooled, which is inefficient, expensive, and environmentally unfriendly. DUG has developed (Patent Publication WA 2017/091862 A1) an advanced, flexible, and modular dielectric-fluid cooling solution which greatly reduces energy usage and costs and increases the life and efficiency of the hardware. The cooling system fully submerges standard, high-performance computing (HPC) servers into specially-designed tanks that are filled with polyalphaolefin dielectric fluid.

In This Tense Short Film, an Isolated Man Chooses How Far He'll Go to Return Home

The few first weeks are easy. The next couple of months, maybe a bit harder . But after almost four years in space , under deep isolation as part of an experiment, you’d be willing to do anything to return home. In the Black Mirror -esque short film 1460 , one man has to decide how far he’ll go to survive. Read more...

The Best Drawing Tablets to Bring out Your Inner Picasso

While everyone’s busy brushing up on new skills, why not pick up something to appease the artist in you? Unleashing your inner Bob Ross is probably easier said than done, though. We’ve moved past easels and paints, so you might need something a bit more high-tech to keep up. Read more...

Friday's Best Deals: Switch Lite, Fire TV, Vibrating Foot Spa, Rachel Parcell Nordstrom Collection, Huckberry Shorts, Funko Pops, and More

A return of the Nintendo Switch Lite , a $40 Amazon Fire TV Stick , a vibrating foot spa , a discount on Rachell Parcell’s retro-inspired Nordstrom collection , a 30% markdown on Huckberry shorts , and an assortment of price-reduced Funko Pop vinyls pave the way for Friday’s best deals. Read more...

The Clow Cards, Ranked

The not-so-secret appeal to the practice of reading tarot cards is that people have always longed for ways of gleaning their futures in spiritual ways. The appeal of a franchise like CLAMP’s Cardcaptor Sakura is that it borrowed heavily from tarot traditions to tell a sprawling story about a young girl’s quest to… Read more...

SpaceX SN4 Has Exploded

SpaceX Starship prototype SN4 has exploded after a static fire. SpaceX is building these prototypes at a rate of two every month. Each destroyed prototype only causes a two week delay. SpaceX expects to need 20 prototypes before they have a commercial vehicle finalized. Hopefully SN5 will finally have the first hop and SN6 or SN7 will fly to 20 kilometers. SOURCES – LabPadre, SpaceXCentric Written by Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

9 New Minutes of Baby Yoda Magic Will Make Your Day

The Gallery has finally gotten to the Baby. Read more...

Sunscreen Stains Are So Bad You Should Skip the Stuff Entirely (OMG But Don’t!)

As far as personal philosophies go, I’m one of those people who believe in the power of the sun and of sex to heal the mind, body, and soul. Taking in both, and often, is good for one’s physical and emotional health. However, both require some measure of protection. Mmm-hm. Fortunately for you, Sex Week has come and… Read more...

Shameik Moore Dives Deep Into the Spider-Curse of Respectability Politics

When audiences finished the Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse , there was one particular scene that stuck in everyone’s minds: the moment Miles Morales officially became Spider-Man . After many minutes of self-doubt, Miles finally took a leap of faith and we all realized he wasn’t falling, but… Read more...

The Wraith Deserves to Be Mentioned Among the Iconic '80s Cult Movies

A murdered teen is resurrected as a revenge-driven alien who picks off the gang members who killed him in a series of deadly car races. That’s the basic plot of The Wraith , the 1986 film written and directed by Mike Marvin . I had an odd affinity for it growing up but hadn’t watched from the beginning in several… Read more...

Billy Porter Sees Little Shop of Horrors As a 'Faustian Story' He's Ready to Be a Part Of

As more of the shape of Greg Berlanti’s upcoming Little Shop of Horrors comes into focus, American Horror Story ’s Billy Porter would like everyone to know that he’s more than ready to portray Audrey II, the carnivorous plant at the center of the messed-up musical’s story. Read more...

About Twenty SpaceX Starship Prototypes to Reach Starship V1.0

Felix Schlang at What About It? provided another great update on SpaceX. He noted the new alloy 304L that will be used for some parts and progress on the heat shield. There was a reminder that Elon expected to go through about twenty Starship prototypes before reaching the first commercial-ready Starship. Spacexvision.com had an animation of a fleet of 100 SpaceX Starships leaving the Earth. Some parts will use 304L, as it has higher toughness at cryo temps. Will move to internally developed alloys probably end of year. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2020 We’re now building flight design

Geek out Your Desk With up to 50% off Funko Pops

Up to 50% off Pop Vinyls | Amazon Read more...

HBO Max Botched Its Launch-Day List, Too

HBO Max’s odd and decidedly messy release this week just got a little stranger. Despite promising a number of popular titles that the company said would be available immediately in a press release last week, those titles were nowhere to be found as of Wednesday. And now, it appears the company has yanked the memo from… Read more...

Every Disney Animated Musical's Best Song

Disney has produced dozens of animated musicals over the decades, with hundreds of songs in their repertoire. It might be hard to quantify the best songs Disney has ever made (although the answers can probably be found on The Little Mermaid soundtrack), but we can give an opinion on which songs are best from each film. Read more...

The Nerd's Watch: The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Streaming in June

Streaming is more important than ever. As huge numbers of people stay home during the global pandemic, many have turned to the plethora of services for a much-needed escape. At the start of each month , most streaming services do a little shuffle, adding new movies and taking some off, and we’re here to help with your… Read more...

Get Some Storage Space for Your Switch For Just $21

SanDisk 128GB Ultra microSD | $21 | Newegg | Use code SNDK522MEM SanDisk 128GB Ultra microSD | $21 | Amazon | Clip coupon Read more...

Check This Out: Mornings

You step outside, finding the usually bustling streets peaceful and empty. Despite a weather forecast pushing 80 degrees, the air is refreshingly cool. And while your schedule is filled with work, errands, and work that’s basically just one big errand, in this little moment you have no responsibilities at all. What is… Read more...

Family Secrets and Dark Curses Abound in the First Trailer for Netflix's Curon

It’s Channel Zero meets Red Riding Hood —with a little bit of Midsommar thrown in there for good measure. Netflix has released the first trailer for its Italian fantasy series Curon , about twins who return to their mom’s hometown, only to find it’s the center of a dark, evil, and possibly wolfy, curse. Read more...

Star Trek's Michelle Yeoh Reminisces About Being 'The Nice Captain' Again in Short Treks

Poor Phillipa Georgiou. We didn’t get to spend all that much time with Michelle Yeoh’s noble captain of the Shenzhou in Star Trek: Discovery before she got a Klingon knife to the chest, but her performance lived on as she got to take on Georgiou’s cartoonishly villainous Mirror Universe self . But as fun as that is,… Read more...

Nintendo Switch Lite Returns to Amazon for $200

Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray) | $200 | Amazon Nintendo Switch Lite (Yellow) | $200 | Amazon Read more...

A Brief History of Medical Face Masks

If you happened to find yourself in 17th-century Naples, you were in for a rough time. The Plague of 1656 was in full swing and would claim an estimated 300,000 lives in Naples alone. If you were one of the unlucky souls to come down with the buboes and high fever symptomatic of the disease, a visit from the plague… Read more...

New Mutants Director Josh Boone Has a Trilogy Planned Out

Sonic the Hedgehog will live to run another day. Paul Feig is getting into fairytales and the creators behind the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie discuss crit-ical thinking. Plus updates from The Umbrella Academy , a tiny new look at Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, and more. TGIF, spoilers! Read more...

In the Latest Trailer for Kipo Season 2, the Greatest Weapon Is Karaoke

Sure, there are giant anthropomorphized animals threatening to take over the world and destroy humanity, but have you heard this song ? A new trailer for Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts shows Scarlemagne on the hunt for Kipo, but she’s got a new weapon up her furry sleeve. It’s the power of music...and jaguars. Read more...

Running Out of Juice? These Five Power Banks Will Supercharge Your Travels

Most smartphones are built to give you a solid day of usage, but as anyone who has gone sightseeing, navigated a new city, or tried to survive a full day at a concert festival can tell you, there are times in which that “all-day” battery will fall short. Read more...

MicroRNA Biomarkers Analyzed for 86% Accurate Cancer Diagnosis

Early and precise cancer diagnosis substantially improves patient survival. Recent work has revealed that the levels of multiple microRNAs in serum are informative as biomarkers for the diagnosis of cancers. Researchers designed a DNA molecular computation platform for the analysis of miRNA profiles in clinical serum samples. A computational classifier is first trained in silico using miRNA profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas. This is followed by a computationally powerful but simple molecular implementation scheme using DNA, as well as an effective in situ amplification and transformation method for miRNA enrichment in serum without perturbing the original variety and quantity

The Next Star Wars VR Game Will Take You to Galaxy's Edge

Don’t wanna risk any of that “ severe illness and death ” Mickey keeps warning you about as his parks begin to re-open ? Well, good news/bad news: the good news is you’ll be able to visit an approximation of Disney’s Star Wars land later this year. The bad- ish news is it’ll still cost you a pretty penny , although not as… Read more...

Gear up for Your Next Bike Ride With $40 off the Bontrager Circuit Mips Road Bike Helmet

Bontrager Circuit MIPS Road Bike Helmet | $110 | REI Read more...

HBO Max Is a Mess

HBO Max was supposed to launch as the new, jam-packed streaming service of our wildest dreams—an HBO Now revamped, essentially, with all of HBO’s library plus all of WarnerMedia’s vast catalog. But despite the fanfare, HBO Max launched this week as a muddled mix of confusing brand identities that neither honors HBO’s… Read more...

Portrait of a Cosplayer on the Front Lines

Two months ago, as the novel coronavirus pandemic flared, nurse Frank Gualta was called to help in England’s intensive care units. Except he’d never operated a ventilator before. He’d never had to wear full personal protective equipment . Now, after weeks of helping patients the best he can, and seeing some die, Gualta… Read more...

Of Course John Cho Gets to Be 'Super Fucking Cool' in Cowboy Bebop

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop adaptation has seen its share of delays, and not just because of the novel coronavirus. Last October, star John Cho suffered a knee injury that set the production back at least seven months. But according to the adaptation’s co-writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach, replacing Cho was absolutely out of… Read more...

Find All Your Things With a Tile Pro 2-Pack, Now $40

Tile Pro 2-Pack | $40 | Amazon Read more...

I Don’t Know How Much Waiting There’s Left in Me to Do

Have you been laid off or furloughed? Are you a frontline worker dealing with new stresses or irresponsible management? Is working (or not working) from home starting to take a psychological toll? Submit a story using   this Google form or send me an email with the subject line “My Covid Story” and provide as much … Read more...

Batwoman's Ruby Rose on Why She Left: 'Those Who Know, Know'

DC fans were shocked when it was announced that Ruby Rose would be leaving the role of Kate Kane on CW’s Batwoman after just one season . Rose did not provide a reason for her departure at the time but has now shared a statement on social media about her exit. Read more...

SpaceX Starship Is Bigger and Cheaper Than the External Shuttle Tank

The SpaceX Starship will have six Raptor engines but will still be larger and cheaper than the external fuel tanks of the Space Shuttle. Elon Musk has a goal of building Starships for $5 million. Elon Musk has indicated that one of the reasons for switching to stainless steel for the SpaceX Super Heavy Starship was to use $3 per kilogram of steel instead of $200 per kilogram for carbon composite. SpaceX will save $10-24 million on cost of materials. If the Raptor and Merlin engines had similar cost then each Starship upper stage should be about half of the

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: An Oral History

Robert Zemeckis ’ animated/live-action hybrid noir murder mystery broke boundaries of filmmaking technology and technique , and 32 years later it’s every bit as fresh, warm, and funny as it ever was. Starring Bob Hoskins as gumshoe PI Eddie Valiant on the trail of a sex scandal involving a Hollywood studio bigwig, Who… Read more...