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Sep 24, 2020

SpaceX’s Starlink Could Lower Internet Prices by Up to 40%

Posted by in categories: internet, satellites

From the beginning, SpaceX has had a goal of bringing high speed internet service to underserved locations, creating competition in areas that currently have limited options or, in many cases, monopolies causing higher prices.

With its constellation of low orbit satellites, Starlink will be able to shake up the broadband industry by offering a new category of broadband. Without the need to place expensive infrastructure like underground or pole-based wiring required for current broadband options, SpaceX could more easily reach rural areas and begin to close the digital divide.

A study from Broadband Now shows that, in addition to working toward closing that gap, introducing a new internet provider could reduce the price of internet service by up to 40%. The chart below shows how adding additional providers in an area significantly reduces the average monthly cost of internet service.

Sep 24, 2020

Google Approaches Bert-Level Performance Using 300x fewer Parameters with Extension of Its New NLP model PRADO

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The trimmed-down pQRNN extension to Google AI’s projection attention neural network PRADO compares to BERT on text classification tasks for on-device use.

Sep 24, 2020

Possible Detection of a Black Hole So Big It ‘Should Not Exist’

Posted by in category: cosmology

Researchers have confirmed rumors of a black hole collision that challenges our ideas about how black holes form.

Sep 24, 2020

Microsoft’s camera-based AI app solves your math problems

Posted by in categories: information science, mathematics, robotics/AI

Microsoft has made several quirky and useful apps that can help you with daily problems and its new app seeks to help you with math.

Microsoft Math Solver — available on both iOS and Android — can solve various math problems including quadratic equations, calculus, and statistics. The app can also show graphs for the equation to enhance your understanding of the subject.

Sep 24, 2020

Close look at Tesla Cyberquad electric ATV prototype [Gallery]

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Tesla’s Cyberquad electric ATV prototype had its first public outing this week since the unveiling last year, and here we bring you a closer look with a gallery of pictures.

When Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck last year, CEO Elon Musk had a little “one more thing” moment on stage when they brought the Tesla Cyberquad, an electric ATV, to show the loading capacity of Cybertruck’s bed.

At the time, it wasn’t clear whether Tesla planned on making the electric ATV available, but Musk later confirmed that it will be an option for Cybertruck buyers.

Sep 24, 2020

SLAC invention could make particle accelerators 10 times smaller

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Particle accelerators generate high-energy beams of electrons, protons and ions for a wide range of applications, including particle colliders that shed light on nature’s subatomic components, X-ray lasers that film atoms and molecules during chemical reactions and medical devices for treating cancer.

As a rule of thumb, the longer the accelerator, the more powerful it is. Now, a team led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has invented a new type of accelerator structure that delivers a 10 times larger energy gain over a given distance than conventional ones. This could make accelerators used for a given application 10 times shorter.

The key idea behind the technology, described in a recent article in Applied Physics Letters, is to use to boost particle energies.

Sep 24, 2020

Novel cell membrane model could be key to uncovering new protein properties

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

The cell membrane, the wall-like boundary between the cell interior and its outside environment, is primarily made up of two kinds of biomolecules: lipids and proteins. Different lipid species closely pack together to form a double layer, or “bilayer,” the membrane’s fundamental structure, while proteins are embedded within or attached to the bilayer.

Membrane proteins are responsible for various important cellular activities, and their dysfunction can lead to serious health issues. Studying protein structures and how they behave will help scientists better understand their connection to diseases and aid in developing therapeutics.

A team of researchers led by Vanderbilt University has recently shed light on how membrane proteins could be influenced by the lipids around them. By developing a novel type of membrane model, the scientists were able to show that the shape and behavior of a protein can be altered by exposure to different compositions.

Sep 24, 2020

Space Coast gearing up for three rocket launches before end of the month

Posted by in category: space travel

After a brief hiatus, the Space Coast appears to be on course to host a spate of rocket launches from three separate pads before the end of the month.

The latest Eastern Range schedule has both United Launch Alliance and SpaceX launching three missions starting early Saturday through late Tuesday, all of which will be handled by Delta IV Heavy and Falcon 9 rockets, respectively.

Two of the launches come after several delays due to weather and technical issues while the third is a last-minute addition by the Space Force.

Sep 24, 2020

There’s a new weapon against COVID-19. And it’s dogs

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

That’s a good boy.

Sep 24, 2020

Tesla is getting into the mining business, buys lithium claim on 10,000 acres in Nevada

Posted by in categories: business, engineering, sustainability

Tesla is now officially getting into the mining business with a lithium claim on 10,000 acres in Nevada.

At the Battery Day event yesterday, as part of its entire new battery supply strategy, Tesla announced that it is developing its own lithium processing method.

Drew Baglino, SVP of engineering at Tesla, said: