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Nov 9, 2020
Two new species of marsupials discovered in Australia
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: habitats, sustainability
Australian researchers have identified two new mammals in the Land Down Under — both cousins of the doe-eyed flying marsupials known as greater gliders, according to a report.
A study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports journal found two new distinct and smaller species of gliders in northern and central Australia, outside of the marsupial’s known habitat in the country’s southern end, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“Australia’s biodiversity just got a lot richer,” Andrew Krockenberger, a professor at James Cook University and a co-author of the study, told the outlet. “It’s not every day that new mammals are confirmed, let alone two new mammals.”
Nov 9, 2020
Astronauts arrive at launch site for 2nd SpaceX crew flight
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space travel
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for SpaceX’s second crew launch, coming up next weekend.
For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. There will be double the number of astronauts as the test flight earlier this year, and their mission will last a full six months.
“Make no mistake: Every flight is a test flight when it comes to space travel. But it’s also true that we need to routinely be able to go to the International Space Station,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in welcoming the astronauts to Kennedy.
Nov 9, 2020
Pfizer says early data signals COVID-19 vaccine is effective
Posted by Heather Blevins in category: biotech/medical
#BREAKING: Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19. bit.ly/3leFbzp
Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, indicating the company is on track later this month to file an emergency use application with U.S. regulators.
Monday’s announcement doesn’t mean a vaccine is imminent: This interim analysis, from an independent data monitoring board, looked at 94 infections recorded so far in a study that has enrolled nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. and five other countries.
Continue reading “Pfizer says early data signals COVID-19 vaccine is effective” »
Nov 9, 2020
FBI: Hackers stole source code from US government agencies and private companies
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: cybercrime/malcode, government
Nov 9, 2020
Electric Volkswagen camper van road trips 7,500 km to top of Europe
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: energy, sustainability, transportation
All-electric camper vans are still quite rare. Those that are available tend to be designed for camping and commuting locally, not road-tripping indefinitely. But VW fanatic Frank Eusterholz had different ideas. He threw a PlugVan camper module into the e-Crafter cargo van and hit the road … the long road. Eusterholz’s 7,500-km (4,660-mile) journey sent him highway-cruising, switchback-climbing and island-hopping across Europe, from VW van HQ Hannover, Germany to the northernmost tip of Continental Europe. His journey serves as an inspiring early look at the electric RVing possibilities that will only grow with time.
Electric camper vans have been available for years, but a practical version with enough range always seems just a few years off. Next-generation EV campers from the Rivian R1T overland truck to VW’s own ID. Buzz promise more practical ranges and capabilities, but for now e-campers remain limited to small, modest-range minis like the Sussex e-NV200 Camper Car.
In an announcement released last month, Volkswagen painted a different picture of electric camper van touring. It described the story of 54-year-old Frank Eusterholz, a longtime EV driver determined not to let the modest ranges of contemporary electric vans deter him from EV van life. A resident of Samsø, a Danish island that’s been committed to sustainable energy for decades, Eusterholz considered the e-Crafter a natural vehicle choice, and the perfect camper base.
Nov 9, 2020
The ‘Sun machine’ that could provide the world with clean energy
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: nuclear energy
Leo Cendrowicz reports from Provence on a technological marvel 35 years and counting in the making that could provide the world with clean power… for ever.
Nov 9, 2020
Tesla electric aircraft: Elon Musk responds to ‘Model V’ concept VTOL
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation
The Tesla CEO has responded to new concept art that imagines a Tesla-designed vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
Four decades of supersonic-combustion ramjet propulsion research culminated in a successful flight of the X-43A hypersonic technology demonstrator in March 2004, the first time a scramjet-powered aircraft had flown freely. After being launched by Dryden’s venerable B-52B mothership off the coast of Southern California, a modified first-stage Pegasus booster rocketed the X-43A to 95,000 feet before the X-43A separated and flew under its own scramjet power at an airspeed of Mach 6.8, or about 5,000 mph, for about 11 seconds. On Nov. 16, another identical scramjet-powered X-43A did it again, this time reaching hypersonic speeds above Mach 9.6, or about 6,800 mph, in the final flight of the X-43A project. Both flights set world airspeed records for an aircraft powered by an air-breathing engine, and proved that scramjet propulsion is a viable technology for powering future space-access vehicles and hypersonic aircraft.
Nov 9, 2020
CERN is offering a free quantum computing course online
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: computing, quantum physics
Developers who want to understand the complicated new field of computing can tune in for free weekly lectures.