Next-generation steel and metal alloys are a step closer to reality, thanks to an international research project. The work could overcome the problem of hydrogen alloy embrittlement that has led to catastrophic failures in major engineering and building projects. (via WSJ)
Via Stratfor, In his joint address to Congress, U.S. President Donald Trump touted a $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan as a means to stimulate the economy while constructing, if not rebuilding outright, crucial projects around the country. Trump later met with U.S. business leaders on March 8 seeking support from the private sector for the plan. It is key to implementing the administration’s infrastructure goals, primarily as a way […]
Scientists have synthesized the first transparent sample of a popular industrial ceramic. The result is a super-hard window made of cubic silicon nitride that can potentially be used under extreme conditions like in engines. Cubic silicon nitride (c-Si3N4) forms under high pressure and is the second hardest transparent nanoceramic after diamond but can withstand substantially higher temperatures. (via WSJ)
For Diana Sugg, writing a big story is a little bit like eating a slice of pizza. Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew at the beginning, said Sugg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at The Baltimore Sun. Start with the small end. The slice — and the story — gets wider the farther in you go. At the beginning, find something appetizing and easy to “swallow” […]
At 38 years and counting, the clock is ticking against the famed environmental artist for his proposal to create the world’s largest sculpture in the UAE desert. Even though many of Christo’s memories may be cherished, not every anniversary is a cause for celebration. “I am not a masochist, I don’t like to spend 38 years working on this project,” says the white-haired artist who wrapped the […]
ANKARA Iran’s hardline judiciary has sentenced the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to jail for “anti-state propaganda, spreading lies against the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards Corps”, the opposition website Kalemeh reported on Friday. The Islamic Republic has piled pressure on the pro-reform opposition ahead of a presidential election on May 19, when hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani hope to regain control […]
As part of sweeping efforts to reduce regulation and boost business, President Trump this week announced plans to relax fuel economy standards. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which were implemented decades ago but accelerated under President Obama, call for automakers to reach a fleetwide average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. In typical deal-maker fashion, Trump went to Detroit to announce the easing […]
For Indian IT, the world has changed seemingly overnight. The biggest existential threat seems to be US President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration reform that could put substantial barriers to Indian IT being able to corner the market on skilled H-1B visas, thereby threatening the lucrative $75 billion or so that it collects in revenue from the US alone. Equally serious is the fact that the traditional outsourcing […]
RCI Trajectory for entry into the cochlea at the preplanned angle. Yellow: Facial Nerve, Orange: Chorda Tympani, Light Blue: Cochlea, Dark Blue: Posterior Wall of the External Auditory Canal, Purple: Ossicles, Green: Planned Trajectory, Grey: Robot Drill Bit. Credit: ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, University of Bern A team of surgeons and engineers of Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, […]
Last month, it was revealed that Sega was planning a panel for this year’s SXSW 2017 featuring everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog Sonic and his two upcoming games, the classic collection Sonic Mania and the yet-untitled Project Sonic 2017. Sega followed through on its promise and was present at SXSW 2017. However, the announcements that it made elicited mixed reactions from attendees. ‘Sonic Mania’ Delayed The first announcement that Sega […]
Katherine Pace, CEO of children’s lifestyle tech startup Elanation, believes that while children are born “digital natives”, the more they are handed iPads, computers, mobile phones, wearables, and smart garments, the more cases of childhood obesity and digital depression or addiction emerge. In response, Pace and her co-founder Aimee Atkins decided to build a suite of technology products for kids, with a health-focused twist on the usual […]
William “Billy” Walters’ stomach for taking risky bets and reading “tells” of opponents made him one of the most successful sports gamblers of all time. It is the same strategy he used to invest in the stock market, his lawyer told a jury as opening statements began in his $40m insider trading trial. Prosecutors have accused Mr Walters of making over $30m in profits and avoiding $10m […]
Image: Google My kids are spoiled when it comes to technology. I won’t dispute that fact. It’s part of having a dad who is constantly testing and reviewing new products. The three of them get to use the products as well, and at times, actively participate in testing. However, they don’t have the luxury of doing whatever they want, whenever they want on any electronic device. One […]
A grand jury in California has charged four people — including two Russian intelligence officers — in a pair of computer hacks against Yahoo that victimised hundreds of millions of consumers, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday. The men penetrated Yahoo’s email accounts, often using “spear phishing” emails, and used information they obtained to access other accounts at Yahoo and Google. Among those targeted were Russian […]
New research used high pressure and temperature to reveal a kind of ‘structural memory’ in samples of the metal bismuth, a discovery with great electrical engineering potential. (via WSJ)
In this Monday, March 13, 2017 photo, a Uniti employee works on prototype steering controls, at the startup’s temporary production facility in Lund, Sweden. A group of Swedish students that raised 1.2 million euros in crowdfunding for their startup to build electric cars has caught the attention of German industrial heavyweight Siemens. The two sides said Wednesday that they were starting a partnership that will see them […]
According to Google, background tabs are responsible for up to a third of Chrome’s power use on a desktop. Image: Google Google has begun to throttle some background tabs in Chrome as part of a plan to reduce its browser’s impact on power consumption. Chrome 57 introduces the first phase of its plan, which ultimately aims to kill background tab processing and reduce the browser’s impact on […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Nate Silver’s “March Madness” analysis is out and, knock on hardwood, he’s not picking Hillary Clinton. I know, I know. Cheap (jump) shot. It’s that time of year when FiveThirtyEight, the ESPN-owned politics and sports data site founded by Silver, […]
Ride-sharing operator Grab has unveiled two new research facilities in Bangalore and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as plans to add more than 800 jobs across six of such centres worldwide over two years. The new hires would support four other R&D sites including Singapore, Beijing, Jakarta, and Seattle, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Its research efforts would focus on building out Grab’s transport […]
15 March 2017 Dubai, UAE – Al Shafar General Contracting Company (ASGC), a leading and award-winning UAE construction group, was the recipient of the Roads and Transport Authority’s Best Mega Construction Projects Contractor Award. The award was presented by Mohammed Obaid Al Mulla, Board Member of the RTA’s Board of Directors, and received by Abdul Aziz Mohamed Bin Shafar, Vice President and Executive Director of ASGC, during […]
Authored by Charles Hugh-Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, Those urban regions that pursue decentralized, networked, localized solutions will likely prosper as the adaptive advantages of these principles pay self-reinforcing dividends. In yesterday’s entry, I suggested that rather than bemoan the inevitable failure of centralized “fixes,” let’s turn our efforts to the real solutions: decentralized, networked, localized. To commentators such as Richard Florida, decentralized, networked, localized describes cities. He […]
Microsoft has added LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to its board of directors. As of Hoffman’s appointment, announced March 14, Microsoft’s board is back up to 12 members.Hoffman is a partner with Greylock Partners. He cofounded LinkedIn in 2002 and before that, was an executive vice president at PayPal. Microsoft purchased LinkedIn last year for $26.2 billion. Earlier this year, Microsoft made Kevin Scott, LinkedIn’s head of engineering, […]
By Anthony Boadle | BRASILIA BRASILIA Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday called charges “false” that he tried to block an ongoing investigation of the biggest graft scandal in Brazil’s history, which helped end the 13-year rule of his leftist Workers Party. Addressing a packed court, a defiant Lula appeared for the first time in one of five corruption trials in which he is […]
Identity management company Okta has officially filed for an initial public offering, seeking to raise $100 million. The tech IPO scene has been rather sluggish in the past several years, but things are expected to pick up in 2017 and the recent Snap IPO breathed some much-needed new life into the space. Many believe that the Snap IPO opened the door to more tech IPOs and they might just […]
