Seaweed Could Drastically Cut Methane Emissions from Cows
November 24th, 2018Via: MIT Technology Review:
There’s growing momentum behind the seaweed approach, thanks to almost shockingly effective results in initial scientific studies. In 2014, Australian researchers found that low doses of a red algae known as Asparagopsis taxiformis virtually eliminated methane production in lab experiments. Field trials with live sheep cut emissions as much as 80%, while the UC Davis experiment, the first on live cattle, showed a 58% reduction on average when a related seaweed made up 1% of their diet.
Texas Is About to Create OPEC’s Worst Nightmare
November 24th, 2018Via: Bloomberg:
The map lays out OPEC’s nightmare in graphic form.
An infestation of dots, thousands of them, represent oil wells in the Permian basin of West Texas and a slice of New Mexico. In less than a decade, U.S. companies have drilled 114,000. Many of them would turn a profit even with crude prices as low as $30 a barrel.
OPEC’s bad dream only deepens next year, when Permian producers expect to iron out distribution snags that will add three pipelines and as much as 2 million barrels of oil a day.
“The Permian will continue to grow and OPEC needs to learn to live with it,’’ said Mike Loya, the top executive in the Americas for Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil-trading house.
The U.S. energy surge presents OPEC with one of the biggest challenges of its 60-year history. If Saudi Arabia and its allies cut production when they gather Dec. 6 in Vienna, higher prices would allow shale to steal market share. But because the Saudis need higher crude prices to make money than U.S. producers, OPEC can’t afford to let prices fall.
Silent and Simple Ion Engine Powers a Plane with No Moving Parts
November 21st, 2018I found a video of the flight:
Via: Scientific American:
Behind a thin white veil separating his makeshift lab from joggers at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology indoor track, aerospace engineer Steven Barrett recently test-flew the first-ever airplane powered with ionic wind thrusters—electric engines that generate momentum by creating and firing off charged particles.
Quantum Computers Put Blockchain Security at Risk
November 20th, 2018Disclosure: I am long Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL).
Via: Nature:
By 2025, up to 10% of global gross domestic product is likely to be stored on blockchains. A blockchain is a digital tool that uses cryptography techniques to protect information from unauthorized changes. It lies at the root of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency2. Blockchain-related products are used everywhere from finance and manufacturing to health care, in a market worth more than US$150 billion.
When information is money, data security, transparency and accountability are crucial. A blockchain is a secure digital record, or ledger. It is maintained collectively by users around the globe, rather than by one central administration. Decisions such as whether to add an entry (or block) to the ledger are based on consensus — so personal trust doesn’t come into it. Any party inside or outside the network can check the integrity of the ledger by making a simple calculation.
But within a decade, quantum computers will be able to break a blockchain’s cryptographic codes. Here we highlight how quantum technology makes blockchains vulnerable — and how it could render them more secure.
Apple and Samsung Fined for Deliberately Slowing Down Phones
November 19th, 2018Via: Guardian:
Apple and Samsung are being fined €10m and €5m respectively in Italy for the “planned obsolescence” of their smartphones.
An investigation launched in January by the nation’s competition authority found that certain smartphone software updates had a negative effect on the performance of the devices.
Believed to be the first ruling of its kind against smartphone manufacturers, the investigation followed accusations operating system updates for older phones slowed them down, thereby encouraging the purchase of new phones.
In a statement the antitrust watchdog said “Apple and Samsung implemented dishonest commercial practices” and that operating system updates “caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones’ substitution”.
Inside the British Army’s Secret Information Warfare Machine
November 19th, 2018Via: Wired UK:
They are soldiers, but the 77th Brigade edit videos, record podcasts and write viral posts. Welcome to the age of information warfare.
Ivanka Trump Used Personal Email for Government Business
November 19th, 2018
Via: Guardian:
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka used a personal email account to send hundreds of emails about government business, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
The revelation prompted immediate accusations of hypocrisy. Trump branded his 2016 election rival “Crooked Hillary” Clinton over her use of a private email server and encouraged supporters in chants of “Lock her up!”
The Post report said Ivanka, a White House senior adviser, used a personal account to send hundreds of emails last year to White House aides, cabinet officials and her assistants – many in violation of federal records rules.
White House ethics officials learned of her practice when reviewing emails gathered last autumn by five cabinet agencies to respond to a public records lawsuit, according to the report. They found that Ivanka often discussed or relayed official White House business using a private email account with a domain that she shares with her husband, Jared Kushner, during much of last year.
Her excuse is that she was unaware of some details of the records rules, her assocates told the Post.
Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Ivanka’s lawyer and ethics counsel, Abbe Lowell, told the Post: “While transitioning into government, after she was given an official account but until the White House provided her the same guidance they had given others who started before she did, Ms Trump sometimes used her personal account, almost always for logistics and scheduling concerning her family.”
He denied that any of the messages contained classified information.
ADVChina: “We’ve Been Censoring 70% of What We Say”
November 19th, 2018SerpentZA and Laowhy86 are distancing themselves from China because of the collapsing situation there.
If you don’t want to spend the time necessary to watch the videos, it’s easy to sum up: China is a filthy, dangerous, corrupt dictatorship and these guys were worried about their families.
Via: ADVChina:
More:
SerpentZA’s Important Announcement
Laowhy86’s Important Announcement
Triggered: Monopoly for Millennials
November 19th, 2018Via: Independent:
Monopoly has released a new edition targeted towards millennials – and it has everything from avocados to thrift stores, but no houses.
Hasbro, the game makers behind the iconic board game created the millennial version to appeal to people born between 1981 and 1996 – by including all types of stereotypical millennial content.
The point of the new game, rather than buying real estate, is to enjoy experiences – because as the box explains: “Forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway.”
Experiences include activities such as travel, dining at vegan restaurants, and sleeping on a friend’s couch, and the winning player is the one who collects the most.
Related:
University Lecturers Told DON’T USE CAPS as It Frightens Students
Research Credit: GB
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Official Leading Efforts to Lower Prescription Drug Prices Found Dead
November 19th, 2018Via: cleveland.com:
The Nov. 1 death of Daniel Best , a pharmaceutical executive from Bay Village who led U.S. Department of Health and Human Services efforts to lower prescription drug prices, has been ruled a suicide, officials in Washington, D.C., said Thursday.
Police say Best was found “unresponsive” near the garage door exit of an apartment building in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood at 5:25 a.m. on Nov. 1, and was pronounced dead by medical personnel who responded to the scene.
The city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Thursday said Best died from “multiple blunt force injuries” and it ruled his death a suicide. It would not release further information.
Research Credit: cgroove69
