SpaceX is acquiring satellite data start-up Swarm Technologies, in a rare deal by Elon Musk’s space company that expands the team — and possibly the technological capabilities — of its growing Starlink internet service. CNBC reports: Swarm, which has…
Make Coal History Says PM Boris Johnson After UN Climate Report
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Coal needs to be consigned to history to limit global warming, says PM Boris Johnson, describing a UN report on climate change as “sobering.” He said the world must shift to clean energy and provide fin…
World’s Strongest Glass That’s As Hard As Diamond Discovered
Hmmmmmm shares a report from The Independent: Scientists in China have developed the hardest and strongest glassy material known so far that can scratch diamond crystals with ease. The researchers, including those from Yanshan University in China, note…
DEF CON: Security Holes In Deere, Case IH Shine Spotlight On Agriculture Cyber Risk
chicksdaddy shares a report from The Security Ledger: A lot has changed in the agriculture sector in the last decade. And farm country’s cybersecurity bill has come due in a big way. A (virtual) presentation at the annual DEF CON hacking conference in …
Synthetic Brain Cells That Store ‘Memories’ Are Possible, New Model Reveals
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Live Science: Scientists have created key parts of synthetic brain cells that can hold cellular “memories” for milliseconds. The achievement could one day lead to computers that work like the human brain. In the…
Virgin Galactic Says Trips To Space Aboard Its Rocket Plane Will Start At $450,000 Per Seat
After a successful sub-orbital test flight last month, Virgin Galactic re-opened ticket sales for rides to space starting at $450,000 per seat. CBS News reports: But Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said fully commercial flights are not expe…
California Shuts Down Edward Hyatt Hydroelectric Power Plant Due To Drought
phalse phace shares a report from Los Angeles Times: In a sign of the region’s worsening drought, state water officials announced Thursday the shutdown of a major hydroelectric power plant at Lake Oroville in Northern California, citing the lowest-ever…
US Air Force Invests In Hermeus’ Hypersonic Aircraft Development
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Interesting Engineering: The U.S. Air Force joins a group of venture capital firms in making a $60 million investment in Hermeus, a Georgia-based startup that is striving to make the world’s first reusable hyper…
Paragon Is Working To Get Its nfs3 Filesystem Into the Linux Kernel
Jim Salter writes via Ars Technica: In March of last year, proprietary filesystem vendor Paragon Software unleashed a stream of anti-open source FUD about a Samsung-derived exFAT implementation headed into the Linux kernel. Several months later, Parago…
The Future of Cryptocurrency Is Being Decided in Biden’s Infrastructure Bill
Two competing amendments to the Senate’s infrastructure bill may shape the future of cryptocurrency in the United States as senators fight over who must be subject to new tax reporting requirements. Motherboard reports: One proposal wants to exempt min…