Innovation and science

We generally think of vision as a simple mirror -- there are certain objects out there and our eyes and brains process light to let us see those things -- but science shows reality is a lot weirder and more complicated than that. Creative people, for instance, literally see things that others do not , and your mood can affect whether you perceive another face as smiling or sad. In other words, we don't perceive the world so much as we construct it. And if we change our emotions or our ideas we quite literally see things differently. If you want a fresh perspective, you can go to new places , or you can look at the same old places with fresh eyes. If you're looking to do the latter, Big Think recently put together a great list for you. The roundup of perspective-shifting books on science from writer Derek Beres promises titles that "push boundaries by confronting common wisdom and updating our collective knowledge." Read them and the world will look strange and new. … [Read more...] about 5 Science Books That Will Totally Change How You See the World

The heads of SK Inc. and TerraPower pose after signing an agreement at the heqduarters of SK Inc. in central Seoul on Tuesday. From left: SK Inc. VIce Chairman Jang Dong-hyun, SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun and TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque. [SK INC.] SK Inc. signed an agreement with TerraPower, a U.S. start-up co-founded by Bill Gates, to jointly conduct the projects based on small modular reactors (SMRs), a new breed of nuclear power reactor. Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) announced on Tuesday, SK Inc., SK Innovation and TerraPower will work towards the development, construction and marketing of SMRs and potentially the development of a chemical element with the promise of selectively targeting and destroying cancerous tissue. “Given that the MoU stipulates ‘a comprehensive cooperation,’ all possibilities remain open,” a spokesperson at SK Inc. said. “Since the TerraPower specializes in the design of SMRs, the discussion will be centered around the … [Read more...] about SK Inc. and SK Innovation sign an MOU with TerraPower

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin To find life on other planets, scientists have to know what they’re looking for. To know what they’re looking for, they have to unravel the mystery of how life originated and evolved in the first place. For answers, NASA is delving into Earth’s ancient past. A worldwide network of astrobiologists, scientists who study the origins and evolution of life in the universe, will be brought together to research how life evolved on the early Earth from single-celled organisms, like bacteria, to complex organisms. NASA unveiled their plans for the new “research coordination network” on May 16 at the 2022 Astrobiology Science Conference held by the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The work produced from the collaboration, entitled “ LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity ,” will be used toward understanding how to search for life on other planets. “This is the only planet known to harbor life,” said Betül Kaçar, … [Read more...] about NASA Announces New Collaboration Probing How Life Evolved From Single-Cells On Earth

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Technology billionaires need to stay in the technology game. We need their help now more than ever. They need to stop trolling and strolling around and get back to work. Gates is on the right path. Others should follow. Technology-enabled solutions can change the world. Help wanted. Musk Trolling Musk is buying Twitter. Probably. Maybe. Sort of. If you listen to him, it’s on hold on Sunday – but not on Tuesday – until Friday. By the time you read this, he may have changed his mind and launched billions toward another target. Then there’s the plan: algorithm transparency, free speech, bot controls, Trump freedom, the protected public square, the 1 st amendment, privatization, feature improvement, % of fake users – you name it – all from a TEO (Twitter Executive Officer). Is all this “good” for Twitter, the technology industry, social media – anyone? Bezos Trolling Meanwhile back at the Amazon Ranch, … [Read more...] about Musk, Bezos & Gates Technology Billionaire Trolling & Strolling. Please Just Get Back To Work.

Representative photo Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, and The Derma Co, has bought a majority stake in dermatologist-formulated skincare brand Dr Sheth’s, valuing the company at Rs 28 crore. The primary round of funds will be directed to accelerate the growth of the Dr Sheth’s brand, Honasa Consumer said on May 16, without sharing more financial details of the deal. “This partnership as it will help us widen our portfolio offerings under the HCPL (Honasa Consumer) umbrella. It will be a symbiotic relationship wherein there will be knowledge sharing across brands and collaboratively build the brand and its product portfolio, said Varun Alagh, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Honasa Consumer. Dr Aneesh Sheth, who founded Dr Sheth’s in 2016, will continue to lead the business and product innovation for the brand. The company manufactures products for skin concerns like pigmentation, acne, dryness, and wrinkles and houses popular brands like Amla VC20 … [Read more...] about Mamaearth parent buys majority stake in skincare brand Dr. Sheth’s

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Every legendary investor worth their salt has some sort of phrase to describe what investors should be doing right this very minute. “Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful.” “Buy when there’s blood in the streets.” Largely speaking, most stocks on the market are on sale to some extent. And sure, we could go out and make a few targeted bets on these bargains. But I’d prefer to squeeze even more value out of the stock market. Enter closed-end funds (CEFs). Why CEFs Are Our Best Option Now If we were to go out and buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in, say, the Nasdaq Composite or Russell 2000, or really any area of the market you felt was underpriced, you’d be able to enjoy in the collective discounts of all their holdings. No more, no less. But with CEFs , we can do even better. My mom, to this day, refuses to pay the sticker price. If there’s a … [Read more...] about This 9.2% Monthly Dividend Portfolio Is In The Bargain Bin

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Fashion’s environmental impacts are often calculated (and communicated) through Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). LCAs assess the impact of goods or services, typically from cradle (raw materials) to gate (when they are shipped to consumers); And they are commonly used to determine ‘how sustainable’ something is. This makes LCAs critical decision-making tools as the industry stares down a target of 45% emissions reductions by 2030 (amongst other environmental targets). Life Cycle Assessment is typically conducted using primary and/or secondary data according to International Standards Organisation guidelines (specifically, ISO 14040:2006 ). It is often arduous, expensive and highly subjective, providing high levels of specificity, but low levels of comparability with other materials, products or processes. However, in practice, that’s precisely what LCAs are regularly used for, leading to ‘apple and oranges’ comparisons and … [Read more...] about Environmental Impact Assessments Could Undermine Sustainable Fashion—Experts Explain Why.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin There have been several successful biographies of Erwin Schrödinger, the Nobel Prize winning scientist who contributed impressively to quantum physics, chemistry, electrodynamics, molecular biology, and color theory. Schrödinger in Oxford differs from the others in focusing at least initially on Schrödinger’s years in Oxford, where he was employed in 1933 after abruptly fleeing Berlin and the developing Nazi maelstrom. It also raises skeptical questions about the evidence of Schrödinger’s pedophilia that was reported in two earlier biographies. (For a quick summary, see the January 24, 2022 Forbes.com article, “Schrödinger’s Pedophilia: The Cat Is Out Of The Bag (Box). ” Author Sir David Clary is a fellow of the Royal Society and a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. His look at Schrödinger ‘s life and career is more history book than science text. Clary foregoes mathematical equations and explanations of … [Read more...] about Book Review: ‘Schrödinger In Oxford’ By Sir David Clary FRS

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The House Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence and Counterproliferation Subcommittee held a hearing this week on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs). If you are old school like me, you probably think of these as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). UAP is just a more contemporary and apparently less stigmatized labeling of what many of us called UFOs. As I watched a portion of the hearing, it was mentioned that meteorological expertise is among the selection of disciplines consulted by the United States Office of Naval Intelligence Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) program. Here are five weather-related things that likely get reported as UFOs (or UAPs). Weather Balloons are certainly a culprit. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) website , “Weather balloons carry an instrument called a radiosonde which is tracked by specialized ground equipment.” These balloons are … [Read more...] about 5 Weather-Related Things Often Reported As UFOs

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When NASA sent its InSight lander to Mars in 2018 it knew it may have to land during a dust storm. Its heat shield was thick to withstand being “sandblasted” by suspended dust and it had a super-strong parachute to cope with the extra air resistance during a dust storm. In the event it landed safely in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars —the flattest area of the red planet nicknamed the “parking lot”—and has been measuring “marsquakes” ever since. However, the dust devils that NASA had assumed would frequently blow over it haven’t materialized and, as a consequence, InSight is now quickly being covered in red Martian dust. As dust accumulates on its solar panels it’s experiencing declining power. It even had to be switched-off on May 7 after a massive drop in power. It’s now in terminal decline. When it arrived InSight’s solar panels were collecting about 5,000 Watt hours per Martian day. It’s now about a tenth … [Read more...] about Our ‘Marsquake’ Mission On The Red Planet Will Bite The Dust By Mid-July Says NASA