Tag Archives: News

Top Science Podcasts: Quantum Computing, Speediest Ants & Altering The “Deaf” Gene (Nature)

Nature PodcastListen to the latest from the world of science, with Nick Howe and Shamini Bundell. This week, a milestone in quantum computing, and rethinking early mammals.

In this episode:

00:43 A quantum computing milestone

A quantum computer is reported to have achieved ‘quantum supremacy’ – performing an operation that’s essentially impossible for classical computers. Research Article: Arute et al.News and Views: Quantum computing takes flightEditorial: A precarious milestone for quantum computingNews: Hello quantum world! Google publishes landmark quantum supremacy claim

08:24 Research Highlights

The world’s speediest ants, and the world’s loudest birdsong. Research Highlight: A land-speed record for ants set in Saharan dunesResearch Highlight: A bird’s ear-splitting shriek smashes the record for loudest song

10:19 The mammals that lived with the dinosaurs

Paleontologists are shifting their view of Mesozoic era mammals. News Feature: How the earliest mammals thrived alongside dinosaurs

18:00 News Chat

A Russian researcher’s plans to edit human embryos, and ‘prime editing’ – a more accurate gene editing system. News: Russian ‘CRISPR-baby’ scientist has started editing genes in human eggs with goal of altering deaf geneNews: Super-precise new CRISPR tool could tackle a plethora of genetic diseases

Top Science Podcasts: Child Mortality Rates, Evolving New Genes & Vaping Deaths (Nature)

Nature PodcastListen to the latest from the world of science, with Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell. This week, investigating child mortality rates at a local level, and building genes from non-coding DNA.

In this episode:

00:43 A regional view of childhood mortality

Researchers map countries’ progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Developmental Goals. Research Article: Burstein et al.World View: Data on child deaths are a call for justiceEditorial: Protect the census

07:22 Research Highlights

Astronomers identify a second visitor from beyond the solar system, and extreme snowfall stifles animal breeding in Greenland. Research Highlight: The comet that came in from interstellar spaceResearch Highlight: Extreme winter leads to an Arctic reproductive collapse

09:22 Evolving genes from the ground up

Natural selection’s creative way to evolve new genes. News Feature: How evolution builds genes from scratch

15:43 News Chat

A spate of vaping-related deaths in the US, and Japan’s import of the Ebola virus. News: Scientists chase cause of mysterious vaping illness as death toll risesNews: Why Japan imported Ebola ahead of the 2020 Olympics

Top Science Podcasts: Modelling Embryonic Development, Baby Sea Turtles, “Nature” News

Nature PodcastListen to the latest from the world of science, with Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell. This week, modelling embryonic development, and an analysis of male dominated conferences.

In this episode:

00:44 Imitating implantation

Researchers have created a system that uses stem cells to model the early stages of pregnancy. Research article: Zheng et al.News and Views: Human embryo implantation modelled in microfluidic channels

08:03 Research Highlights

Traces of baby turtle tracks, and Titan’s explosive past. Research Highlight: A baby sea turtle’s ancient trek is captured in a fossilResearch Highlight: Giant explosions sculpted a moon’s peculiar scenery

09:36 ‘Manferences’

Nature investigates the prevalence of conferences where most of the speakers are male. News Feature: How to banish manels and manferences from scientific meetings

15:41 News Chat

An update on India’s latest moon mission, drugs that may reverse biological age, and this year’s Breakthrough Prize winners. News: India loses contact with its Moon lander minutes before touchdownNews: First hint that body’s ‘biological age’ can be reversedNews: First-ever picture of a black hole scoops US$3-million prize

Environment: World’s Largest Research Vessel “REV Ocean” Launches, Will Be Towed To Norway

From a REVOcean.org news release:

REV Ocean world’s largest and most advanced research and expedition vessel rear viewREV Ocean will be equipped for conducting missions that cover the entire marine ecosystem. It will be used by scientists and innovators for ‘solutions’ oriented research that explore issues such as the impact CO2 emissions have on the ocean, plastic pollution, and unsustainable fishing. REV Ocean will be an inclusive global vehicle for testing and proliferating ocean solutions. The vessel is 182.9 meters long and will have the capacity of holding 55 scientists and 35 crew. Equipment onboard includes scientific trawls, sonar systems, laboratories, auditorium and classrooms, moonpool, AUV and submarine, an ROV with 6000 meters depth capacity, and advanced communication equipment.

A monumental day for a monumental ship. REV Ocean is thrilled to announce the first water launch of the world’s largest and most advanced research and expedition vessel (REV Ocean). After an extensive and complicated build period over the past 18 months, the vessel was finally lowered into the water today at the VARD Tulcea shipyard in Romania.

Nina Jensen, CEO of REV Ocean, commented: “Today is an especially exciting day, our state-of-the-art research vessel has achieved a major milestone and we are now one step closer to realizing our vision of safeguarding the ocean. We look forward with great anticipation to REV Ocean’s journey to Norway and seeing the next stage of progress towards our ambitions of developing ocean solutions.”

To read more click on the following link: https://www.revocean.org/rev_splash/

Housing Market: Top Ten Destinations For Moving Companies In 2nd Quarter

From a Housing Wire online article:

top-destinations-for-movers-in-u.s..jpg…of the top ten most desired locations to move to, the share of out-of-state searches on realtor.com ranges from 48% to 59.8%.

Charleston, South Carolina, the No. 1 city on the list, was searched by homebuyers who live in Charlotte, New York and Atlanta. Second on the list was Boise, Idaho, which was sought out by Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Sacramento residents. 

“Home prices have risen for seven consecutive years, far outpacing salary growth. Although interest rates are the lowest they have been in three years, cost has become a deal breaker for many buyers, especially in pricey West Coast metros,” said realtor.com Senior Economist, George Ratiu. “But instead of giving up on the American Dream, many buyers have decided to look for a home in medium-sized metros outside their state that offer price relief, and a similar lifestyle.”

To read more click on the following link: https://www.housingwire.com/articles/49903-here-are-the-top-destinations-for-movers-in-the-us?utm_campaign=Newsletter%20-%20HousingWire%20Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=75991104&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Dfy_tm0uUztBU-DX0yqQviGtal9Xe-xPeemrbFQeZ0nm5hWNDE0jb1Xak27NkRD_cBHwS9VBlcwV9QTb_21LqkPDQHw&_hsmi=75991104

Top Political Podcasts: Tamara Keith And Joshua Johnson Discuss Latest From Washington (PBS)

Politics Monday PBS Newshour Aug 19 2019NPR’s Tamara Keith and Joshua Johnson join William Brangham to discuss the latest political news, including policy proposals among 2020 Democrats, rumors of an upcoming recession and how a weakening economy could affect President Trump’s reelection and momentum for new gun security measures after El Paso and Dayton massacres.

Top Political Podcasts: Gerson & Tumulty Discuss Latest In Washington (PBS)

Gerson & Tumulty PBS Newshour Aug 16 2019The Washington Post’s Michael Gerson and Karen Tumulty join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest in politics, including our analysis of upcoming 2020 Senate races and potential candidates, the controversy over Israel’s barring a visit from Reps. Omar and Tlaib, how trade tensions between the U.S. and China are affecting the economy and President Trump’s apparent interest in purchasing Greenland.

Boomers Health Tips: Kaiser Health News And NPR Team Up To Explain Confusing Medical Bills

From a Kaiser Health News article:

In 2018 Kaiser Health News and NPR teamed up to create “Bill of the Month,” a crowdsourced investigative series in which we dissect and explain medical bills you send us. We have received nearly 2,000 submissions of outrageous and confusing medical bills from across the country.

Bill of the Month Video
Click link below to watch video

https://khn.org/news/your-go-to-guide-to-decode-medical-bills/

Each month we select one bill to thoroughly investigate, often resulting in the bill being resolved soon after the story is published. But what about the large number of Americans who receive surprise medical bills that reporters can’t examine?

NPR Kaiser Sample Hospital Bill 2019

Politics: Biden, Harris And Warren Lead Rivals Ahead Of 2nd Debates July 30-31

From FiveThirtyEight.com com article by Nate Silver:

FiveThirtyEight Politics July 10 2019 Democratic Candidates

Biden, Harris and Warren represent three relatively distinct, but fairly traditional, archetypes for party nominees:

  • Biden, as a former vice president, is a “next-in-line” candidate who is rather explicitly promising to perpetuate the legacy of President Obama and uphold the party’s current agenda. It might not be exciting, but these candidates have pretty good track records.
  • Harris is a coalition-builder who would hope to unite the different factions of the party — black, white, left, liberal, moderate, etc. — as a consensus choice.
  • Warren is offering more red meat (or should it be blue meat?) and would represent more of a leftward transformation from the status quo. But she’s simpatico enough with party elites and has broad enough appeal that she isn’t necessarily a factional candidate in the way that Sanders is. Instead, a better analogy for Warren might be Ronald Reagan; they are not comparable in terms of their backgrounds or their political styles, but they are both candidates who straddle the boundary between the ideological wings of their party and the party establishment.

Read more by clicking below:

A Midsummer Overview Of The Democratic Field

“Live Below Your Means”: VW Beetle Ceases Production 70 Years After Coming To America

From NPR.org article by Laurel Wamsley

Volkswagen Beetle ceases production - NPRAn emblem of the hippie era in America, the car was marketed in the U.S. as adorably uncool. Volkswagen promoted the Beetle with cheeky advertising campaigns using slogans like “Live below your means” and “It’s ugly, but it gets you there.” In 1969, one of the vehicles cost $1,799.

It’s the end of an era — an era that has stretched on for a very long time, albeit with slightly different silhouettes.

The last Volkswagen Beetle, a third-generation Denim Blue coupe, will be produced in Puebla, Mexico, on Wednesday.

“It’s impossible to imagine where Volkswagen would be without the Beetle,” said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. “While its time has come, the role it has played in the evolution of our brand will be forever cherished.”

Read more by clicking link below:

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/739865991/the-last-vw-beetle-rolls-off-the-assembly-line-in-mexico-tomorrow