Category: Science

Scientists discover 7 rocky earth-sized exoplanets around nearby star

The illustration released by NASA on Feb. 22, 2017 shows the artist’s concept of what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses and distances from the host star. A compact analogue of our inner solar system about 40 light years away from the Earth has been discovered, NASA announced during a press conference on Wednesday.

Scientists discover 7 rocky earth-sized exoplanets around nearby star

The illustration released by NASA on Feb. 22, 2017 shows the artist’s concept of what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about the planets’ diameters, masses and distances from the host star. A compact analogue of our inner solar system about 40 light years away from the Earth has been discovered, NASA announced during a press conference on Wednesday.

Several Earth-Like Planets Discovered Orbiting Nearby Star

When astronomers eyeball little stars twinkling through their telescopes, they now know for certain that circling around some of them are worlds not unlike our own. On Wednesday, a Dutch-led international research team using both ground and space-based telescopes announced they’d discovered a solar system 40 light-years away with seven Earth-size planets revolving around a small star.

Newly-found star system has SEVEN Earth-like planets

We’ll know if life exists in a decade, but it is likely to take hundreds of thousands of years to reach the system Seven Earth-like planets have been discovered orbiting nearby dwarf star ‘Trappist-1’, and all of them could have water at their surface, one of the key components of life. Researchers claim that they will know whether or not there is life on any of the planets within a decade, and said ‘this is just the beginning.’

It’s time for Canada to drop tariffs on Internet imports

Since the 1940s, farmers in Canada and the United States have been able to ship tractors and tractor parts across the border without paying a dime in duties. Free trade in tractors at a time when agriculture was a critical North American industry? What a sensible idea, and evidence of the strong ties of friendship, commerce and economic common sense that have long existed between our two countries.

Floods that saturated Louisiana also damaged its seed rice

Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says he’s temporarily relaxed certification requirements to ensure farmers can buy enough seed for a chance at a good crop. Farmers will have to buy more of some lots to make up for the problem, but sellers will discount the price to make up for it, department seed programs director Lester Cannon said Tuesday.

EPA Chief Woos Staff Skeptical of Tilt to Pro-Energy Mission

President Donald Trump’s newly installed environmental chief Scott Pruitt laid out his vision for reshaping the way the federal government safeguards air and water, as he tried to convince skeptical federal employees that a refashioned agency can remain effective. Pruitt addressed the Environmental Protection Agency’s workforce — including hundreds who had actively battled his confirmation — on Tuesday, in his first speech since he was sworn in as administrator Friday.

Self-Driving Technology: 8 Tech Companies For Investment

Nowadays, almost every automaker possesses considerable resources to develop self-driving technology for cars, which is the next big step for the automotive industry. The market for autopilot technology is clearly huge, which is evident by an estimation , that approximately 100 million “connected” cars with the capacity of self-driving will be shipped in 2021.

Virtual assistants battling for top spot

The Amazon Echo is a homebased digital assistant that can, among other things, play music, control smart-home devices, adjust the climate, order a pizza and arrange for an Uber ride. It’s no wonder titans of tech are locked in an epic battle of the robots, racing furiously to produce the best virtual assistant.

Cyberon and Andes Collaborate on Voice Interface Solutions for IoT Devices

February 21, 2017 — Conversational assistant or chatbot, an emerging application of Internet-of-Things, comprises microphones, SoCs for processing, connectivity, and the most important part – its cloud counterpart to serve as a big database and machine learning engine for its intelligent capability. This indicates a new way of interaction between machines and human beings and makes us excited about envisioning future applications.

NICER

A new X-ray telescope that’s scheduled for launch as early as April will study the crushed corpses of once-mighty stars. NICER will attach to the International Space Station, as shown in this artist’s concept.

Data is new natural resource; need to be mindful of AI impact on jobs: Satya Nadella

Data is the new natural resource that can empower every citizen in a country like India, Microsoft ‘s India-born CEO Satya Nadella said on Monday during a discussion on the digital world, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. There is need for “recognising that data is the new natural resource instead of looking at it as being unevenly spread” for empowering every citizen of India, Nadella said in a dialogue with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

Is your smartphone making you shy?

During the three years I’ve spent researching and writing about shyness, one of the most common questions people ask is about the relationship between shyness and technology. Are the internet and the cellphone causing our social skills to atrophy? I often hear this from parents of shy teenagers, who are worried that their children are spending more time with their devices than with their peers.

Arctic Apple could be Litmus test for future of GM foods, Rabobank analysts suggest

When the Arctic Apple hits select store shelves this month as one of the first products genetically modified for consumers’ benefit, it will serve as a line in the sand for the tug of war between the non-GMO movement and the future of food innovation. Okanagan Specialty Fruits, which developed the non-browning apple, will test consumers’ willingness to purchase produce that has been genetically modified specifically for their benefit – rather than for farmers as a pesticide and herbicide resistant plant – in 10 stores in the Midwest beginning this month.

FEATURE-Cartoons and calendars help Bolivian farmers dampen fire risk

A mix of high-tech satellite data and brightly colored cartoons is helping subsistence farmers around Riberalta in Bolivia’s northern Amazon pick the best time to burn off their land and reduce the risk of uncontrolled blazes, as persistent drought makes wildfires a hot issue in Latin America. “Fire is a real problem with these communities – it’s something they’re very concerned about,” said Veronica Ibarnegaray, program director at Bolivia’s Fundacion Amigos de la Naturaleza , explaining that slash-and-burn farming for crops and cattle is largely to blame.

Is AI the new spokesperson for your business?

AI has been named as one of the most important emerging trends in business technology for 2017 in a report by Accenture, but are we ready for it? The report, Technology Vision, is a yearly look at the biggest trends in business for the coming year. The 2017 iteration has named AI as one of the principle changes that will shape the landscape in business for years to come.

Examining exploding stars through the atomic nucleus

Imagine being able to view microscopic aspects of a classical nova, a massive stellar explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star , in a laboratory rather than from afar via a telescope. Cosmic detonations of this scale and larger created many of the atoms in our bodies, says Michigan State University’s Christopher Wrede, who presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting.

In 1930, this amateur astronomer discovered this dwarf planet

In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto, now designated a “dwarf planet,” was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. This image made available by NASA on Friday, July 24, 2015 shows Pluto made by combining several images from two cameras on the New Horizons spacecraft, the first spacecraft to visit and photograph the celestial body.