Recommended Stories
- Popular Mechanics
Surreal Destinations You Wouldn’t Think Are in America
Pictures just won’t do these places justice.From Popular Mechanics
- Popular Mechanics
Humans Have Tried to Build a Real Flying Saucer Many Times, But Every Single One Failed
Maybe aliens are just better engineers.
- GeekWire
After losing launch competition, Blue Origin delays New Glenn rocket’s first flight until late 2022
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says it’s targeting the fourth quarter of 2022 for the first flight of its orbital-class New Glenn rocket — which marks a major schedule shift. The company had previously planned to conduct its first New Glenn launch from Florida by the end of this year, although it was becoming increasingly clear that timeline wouldn’t hold. In a blog posting, Blue Origin said its team “has been in contact with all of our customers to ensure this baseline meets their launch needs.” Blue Origin noted that the updated timeline follows the U.S. Space… Read More
- Popular Mechanics
Whiskey’s Age Isn’t Everything, and Older Doesn't Mean Better
Older doesn’t mean better.
- GeekWire
NASA backs concepts for deep-drilling Mars rover and interstellar-object probe
The latest crop of NASA-backed concepts for far-out space exploration includes “borebots” that could drill as far as a mile beneath the Martian surface in search of liquid water, and a nuclear-powered spacecraft that could intercept interstellar objects as they zip through our solar system. Researchers in Washington state are behind both of those ideas. The borebots and the interstellar-object checker are among 16 proposals winning Phase I funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, or NIAC. For more than two decades, NIAC (which started out as the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts) has backed early-stage projects that could… Read More
- GeekWire
Human genome sequencing rises to the next level of diversity and accuracy
Twenty years after the first human genome sequence was published, an international research team has kicked the sequencing game to the next level with a set of 64 reference genomes that reflect much higher resolution and more genetic diversity. Since the Human Genome Project completed the first draft of its reference genome, decoding the human genetic code has been transformed from a multibillion-dollar endeavor into a relatively inexpensive commercial service. However, commercial whole-genome sequencing, or WGS, often misses out on crucial variations that can make all the difference when it comes to an individual’s health. “As a metric, 75% of… Read More
- GeekWire
Stoke Space raises $9.1 million to create a new breed of reusable upper-stage rockets
Stoke Space Technologies, the Renton, Wash.-based company founded by veterans of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture, has attracted $9.1 million in seed investments for extending rocket reusability to new frontiers. The first goal will be to develop a new kind of reusable upper stage, Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa said. “That’s the last domino to fall in the industry before reusability is commonplace,” Lapsa told GeekWire. “Even right now, I think space launch is in a production-limited paradigm.” Rocket reusability is the watchword, to be sure — not only at Blue Origin, where Lapsa was an award-winning rocket… Read More
- Popular Mechanics
10 Low-Calorie Beers That Are High In Deliciousness
Six-packs. For your six-pack. From Popular Mechanics
- The Independent
‘He won’t let the grift go’: Mary Trump thinks Donald’s 2024 ‘ambitions’ are a money-maker
Dr Mary Trump thinks her uncle’s ego is too fragile to risk losing again - though he has much to gain by pretending he’ll run.
- LA Times
Tina Fey, Amy Poehler lampoon HFPA, life in lockdown in Golden Globes monologue
The hosts returned to the ceremony with a set that took on the controversy around the group's lack of Black members and poked fun at the awards' film/TV divide.
- Reuters
New Zealand's Auckland starts second COVID-19 lockdown this month
Exactly a year after New Zealand recorded its first coronavirus case, the biggest city of Auckland woke on Sunday to a second lockdown this month, as authorities try to rein in a cluster of the more contagious UK variant. The seven-day lockdown of a population of nearly 2 million, announced late on Saturday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, was prompted by the case of a person who had been infectious for a week but not in isolation. "It is more than likely there will be additional cases in the community," Ardern told a televised news conference, although no new cases were recorded on Sunday.
- The Independent
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has mic muted at CPAC for spouting vaccine and election conspiracies
Lindell equates getting coronavirus vaccine to receiving ‘mark of the beast’ pledging allegiance to the devil
- INSIDER
'The Walking Dead' showrunner on revisiting Maggie's trauma caused by Glenn's death: 'It's a painful thing to acknowledge'
Insider caught up with showrunner Angela Kang to discuss the first of six bonus "TWD" episodes and how Maggie and Negan are an integral part of them.
- Reuters
U.S. doubles down on protecting university research from China
A U.S. national security commission is recommending that American universities take steps to prevent sensitive technology from being stolen by the Chinese military, a sign of growing concerns over the security of academic research. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI), led by former Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, on Monday voted unanimously to approve its final report https://www.nscai.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Full-Report-Digital-1.pdf to Congress. A new section on university research was added to the final report, which also features numerous recommendations in areas including competition in artificial intelligence and the semiconductor supply chain.
- Reuters
Spanish government says all cattle on pariah ship should be killed
More than 850 cows that have spent months on a ship in the Mediterranean are no longer fit for transport and should be killed, Spain's Agriculure Ministry said on Saturday, confirming an earlier Reuters report. The cows were kept in what an animal rights activist called "hellish" conditions on the Karim Allah, which docked in the southeastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after struggling to find a buyer for the cattle during the past two months. The animals were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus.
- Reuters
Runaway schoolgirl who joined IS cannot return to Britain, top court says
A UK-born woman who went to Syria as a schoolgirl to join Islamic State should not be allowed to return to Britain to challenge the government taking away her citizenship, because she poses a security risk, Britain's Supreme Court ruled on Friday. Shamima Begum left London in 2015 when she was 15 and went to Syria via Turkey with two school friends. While there, she married an Islamic State fighter.
- Reuters
Philippines' Duterte signs indemnity bill for COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday signed into law a bill that gives indemnity to vaccine makers if their COVID-19 shots cause adverse side-effects, days before the country starts its lagging inoculation programme. Despite having one of the highest number of coronavirus infections in Asia, the Philippines will be the last Southeast Asian nation to receive its initial set of vaccines. It covers the creation of a 500 million pesos ($10.26 million) indemnity fund to cover compensation for potential serious adverse effects stemming from the doses' emergency use.
- Reuters
Analysis: U.S. seeks to put Saudi crown prince in his place - for now
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have been spared direct punishment after a U.S. intelligence report implicated him in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but he has not emerged unscathed. The declassified report, based on CIA intelligence, concludes that the prince approved an operation to "capture or kill" Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. President Joe Biden's decision to publish a report that his predecessor Donald Trump had set aside brings with it a broad refocusing of Washington's stance on dealing with the kingdom, on its human rights record, and on its lucrative arms purchases.
- The Independent
Nasa’s DC headquarters renamed after ‘Hidden Figures’ engineer Mary Jackson
Jackson became Nasa’s first Black female engineer in 1958