Each year, editors and writers choose a top research achievement as Science’s Breakthrough of the Year. This year, that honor goes to the multiple COVID-19 vaccines that have succeeded in large human trials—and are now being deployed around the world. But there are a lot of other advances to talk about, from figuring out the origin of Fast Radio Bursts to the discovery of the earliest known figurative art. Check out a few of the runners-up candidates—and this year’s Breakthrough of the Year—in this video rundown. Read the stories here: https://scim.ag/37v20ds
VIEWS: Birds Of The World In ‘8K ULTRA HD’ (VIDEO)
Aerial Travel: ‘Brazil & Amazon Rain Forest’
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers and with over 211 million people, Brazil is the world’s fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous.
The Amazon rainforest, covering much of northwestern Brazil and extending into Colombia, Peru and other South American countries, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, famed for its biodiversity. It’s crisscrossed by thousands of rivers, including the powerful Amazon. River towns, with 19th-century architecture from rubber-boom days, include Brazil’s Manaus and Belém and Peru’s Iquitos and Puerto Maldonado.
World Travel: ‘Amazing Places’ In 2020 (Video)
2020 – Year in Review: Best selection from all 34 Amazing Places videos released in the channel in 2020.
Video Timeline: 0:07 1. Garden of the Gods, Colorado, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga_4v… 0:41 2. Maui, Hawaii, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n58bd… 1:23 3. Bolivia Altiplano & Salar de Uyuni https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hn-p… 1:47 4. Ngorongoro Crater & Conservation Area, Tanzania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45edd… 2:28 5. Red Rock Country, Sedona, Arizona, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQBvt… 3:00 6. Seychelles Islands https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzeA1… 3:50 7. Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing, China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT73C… 4:16 8. Olympic National Park, Washington, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHsR7… 4:57 9. Socotra, Yemen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga4Dn… 5:40 10. Historic Heidelberg, Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0NWt… 6:01 11. Kauai, Hawaii, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-3vy… 6:32 12. Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXzYK… 7:07 13. 1000 Islands, Canada & USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThxuG… 7:33 14. Around San Pedro de Atacama, Chile https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xvnQ… 8:02 15. Superstition Mountains, Arizona, USA https://youtu.be/jkQg1mmJVeI 8:29 16. New Zealand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jypK… 9:04 17. Coyote Gulch, Utah, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhDbs… 9:35 18. Bukhara, Uzbekistan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlCxQ… 10:08 19. Goblin Valley, Utah, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLI6R… 10:40 20. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfxoZ… 11:11 21. Orcas Island, Washington, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BHBZ… 11:44 22. Chittorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, India https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrBxb… 12:13 23. Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona, USA https://youtu.be/D3cTVN5wsMo 12:38 24. Big Island, Hawaii, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7z8y… 13:16 25. White Pocket, Arizona, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_kOB… 13:42 26. Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcOvQ… 14:17 27. Saguaro National Park, Arizona, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2bjj… 14:42 28. Lahore, Pakistan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUdDK… 15:08 29. North Cascades National Park, Washington, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGVG… 15:46 30. Around Salta, Northern Argentina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWVx… 16:06 31. Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCem6… 16:42 32. Buckskin Gulch, Utah, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZf6L… 17:10 33. Tarangire National Park, Tanzania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMDsM… 17:35 34. Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado, USA
Architectural Home Tour: Tranquil ‘Jungle Home’ In Llanogrande, Columbia
PAIMED 2.0 ‘Jungle House’ in LLANOGRANDE – COLOMBIA by 5 SOLIDS Architects.
Technology: ‘2021 CAnoo VAN’ – The Most Versatile Electric Delivery Vehicle
California EV startup Canoo has announced a new multipurpose electric vehicle aimed at last-mile deliveries and other small businesses, which starts at $33,000 but scales up in size and cost. It’s Canoo’s second vehicle, following the subscription-only van it debuted last year. Canoo still plans to make that EV — in fact, the new multipurpose vehicle is built on the same technological platform that Canoo developed for the van, and they share similar design features.
The new vehicle will initially be sold in two variants, though Canoo says more will eventually be offered. The smaller one (which is the one that starts at $33,000) is 14.4 feet long, 6.4 feet wide, and 6.2 feet tall, and has 230 cubic feet of cargo space. Canoo will offer three different battery pack options, too: 40kWh (with an estimated 130 miles of range), 60kWh (190 miles), and 80kWh (230 miles). The company will also make a larger version that is 17.1 feet long, 7.2 feet wide, and 8.4 feet tall, with 500 cubic feet of cargo space. The same battery pack options will be available, though the range estimates drop to 90 miles, 140 miles, and 190 miles, respectively, thanks to the extra weight.
Walking Tour Video: Little Venice Canal In London
Filmed on Thursday 3 December 2020, Walk along Paddington Basin, Grand Union Canal, to Little Venice London in the rain. You will see many narrowboats as we walk along the canal.
Route Timestamps 00:00 Paddington Basin 24:15 Delamere Terrace 24:59 Westbourne Terrace Road Bridge 26:14 Blomfield Road 29:25 Warwick Avenue
Top Short Film: ‘Gullwing’ – Story Of ‘Most Iconic Car Of All-Time’ (Video)
Animated and Directed by: João Elias
Have you ever seen a car spreading its wings? Now you do.
This is a full cgi shortfilm featuring the most iconic car of all time, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, at least in my opinion…
I always loved this car, and when I first started this project, I didn’t just wanna make a car rolling by in the desert, I knew there was a bigger story to make, it had to fly. Following its name legacy, I dived deep in this crazy rollercoaster of assembling car parts, raging though the desert of Bonneville salt flats, in order to build a full chassis so the flying body kit could land. After this, the rest is music. A symphony of a few animated shots of this beauty gloriously riding through the desert, creating clouds of smoke through the landscape while hearing that amazing engine roaring.
This is “Gullwing”.
Music: Evan Macdonald.
Sound design: João Elias
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car that was produced by Mercedes-Benz as a gullwinged coupe (1954–1957) and roadster (1957–1963). It was based on the company’s 1952 racer, the W194, with mechanical direct fuel-injection which boosted power almost 50% on its 3-litre overhead camshaft straight-6 engine. Capable of reaching a top speed of up to 263 km/h (163 mph), it was both a sports car racing champion[4] and the fastest production car of its time.
Max Hoffman, Mercedes-Benz’s authorized United States importer at the time, inspired the 300 SL and correctly perceived an American market for such a car. The company introduced the 300 SL in February 1954 at the International Motor Sports Show in New York City instead of in Europe to get it into U.S. buyers’ hands sooner.
SL is the short form for “super-light” in German, Mercedes’ first use of the designation, referring to the car’s racing-bred light tubular frame construction.
The 300 SL was voted the “sports car of the century” in 1999.
Walking Tour: ‘Barcelona’ – Northeast Spain (Video)
Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. The fantastical Sagrada Família church and other modernist landmarks designed by Antoni Gaudí dot the city. Museu Picasso and Fundació Joan Miró feature modern art by their namesakes. City history museum MUHBA, includes several Roman archaeological sites.
Recorded on July 2020.
Morning News Podcast: Moderna Vaccine, Major Computer Hack, Stimulus
NPR reports: Another COVID-19 vaccine nears authorization. A major computer hack poses a ‘grave risk’ to the U.S. And, Congress gets closer to a new coronavirus relief package.
Boomers Daily 