It can be a lonely business working outside a traditional office environment as a freelancer, independent professional or start-up entrepreneur. Given the costs associated with renting a commercial space, a popular option many choose in those circumstances is to build their empire from home. But while it can save money, this approach has downsides, not least when workers need quick access to a scanner, 3-D printer or […]
Researchers are experimenting with reducing drag on trucks with electric wind devices that mimic the way vortex generators increase lift on airplane wings. (via WSJ)
NEW YORK U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (FNMA.PK) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.PK) may write down $21 billion of tax-related assets if there is a deep cut in the federal corporate tax rate as promised by President Donald Trump, according to an analyst at BMO Capital Markets on Friday. These assets, known as deferred tax assets, are items such as tax credits that may be used to […]
World Health Day is on April 7, and the World Health Organization has released a new statement on a slow and silent killer around the world that many are struggling to deal with- Depression. Between the stigma and the prejudice surrounding the disorder, and the lack of funding for the treatment and recovery of patients, depression has turned into a silent killer that tops the list of […]
Didi Chuxing may have defeated Uber, but China’s dominant ride-hailing platform is no match for the country’s local governments after being forced to gut its urban fleet to comply with regulations. Didi’s core business of cheap ride-hailing now faces a tough fight in the big urban markets, which it built after a bruising battle with local and foreign rivals. Uber ceded the Chinese market — its largest — […]
Understanding how small organic ions stabilize gold nanoparticles may allow for better control, say researchers in a new report. (via WSJ)
A prototype gadget that sends secret keys to encrypt information passed from a mobile device to a payment terminal, could help to answer public concerns around the security of contactless and wireless transactions. Now researchers have devised a system for transmitting quantum keys that ensures data security. (via WSJ)
Mars used to be wetter and warmer back in the past, and maybe a good candidate for life the way we know it. The scientific explanation is that it lost its atmosphere because of solar wind. In 2013, NASA launched a robotic probe, called MAVEN or Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, in an attempt to address this mystery of the red planet. The spacecraft arrived in the planet’s […]
April Fools’ Day is the only “fake news” day that’s almost welcome. Almost. And one of the longstanding masters of the tech prank, Google, is at it again with a fresh batch of trickery. This year, the jokes are more obviously fake this time around in what appears to be an effort to avoid anyone actually thinking these products actually exist. Nevertheless, some of these products […]
Scientists have been working diligently to create engineered tissue implants to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissue and organs; but their success hinges on the ability to build a sturdy connection linking the implant’s blood vessels and the patient’s existing vasculature. Now researchers have created segments of engineered blood vessels to address this critical issue. (via WSJ)
It’s no secret that vending machine offerings are not always the healthiest options for snacks and drinks. As one of the most convenient means to get a quick fix, vending machines are often the sources of high calorie snacks when you’re on the go. According to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, the simple act of making people wait for your snack in […]
SEOUL Australia-based Chinese academic Feng Chongyi said late on Saturday he had boarded a flight leaving China, ending an ordeal that saw him interrogated by authorities and delayed from exiting the country. Feng, an Australian permanent resident who retains his Chinese passport, boarded the flight from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and was scheduled to arrive in Sydney on Sunday morning. Flight tracking websites confirmed the […]
The latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer brings in some much needed good news because results show a downward trend in the overall cancer death rates in the United States between the years of 2010 and 2014. However, researchers find limitations in certain cancer types, and see the need for discovering new strategies for prevention, early detection, and screening. Men And Women The […]
The basic format of political fact-checking is identical the world over: Start from a widely circulated claim by a public figure, then rate the truthfulness of its objectively verifiable components. Tom Rosenstiel, executive director at the American Press Institute, thinks it may be time to rethink this model. Local newsrooms especially, he suggests, should make “the key unit of fact-checking not a claim or a fact, but […]
Quantum information transfer requires reliable information transfer from one quantum system to the other, which is extremely difficult to achieve. Independently, two research teams have now developed a new quantum communication protocol. This protocol enables reliable quantum communication even under the presence of contaminating noise. Both research groups work with the same basic concept: To make the protocol immune to the noise, they add an additional element, […]
I remember the halcyon days when April Fools’ Day was a bit of harmless fun. We’d read fake stories from the newspaper over our cornflakes and have a good chuckle. Fake news was just something that happened once a year. But, those days are gone. We are now living in the age of fake news; where mistruths are presented as truths, and believed at face value. Fake […]
Long queues at certain approaches to some roundabouts could be reduced using magnetic detection devices under the road surface, which would activate a traffic metering signal at another, less congested approach. Researchers have released a guide for technicians to implement this intelligent traffic system, already used on roundabouts in Australia and on various highway on-ramps. (via WSJ)
Those risks have been amplified by President Trump, whose administration has said it is “putting Iran on notice.” The tough talk from Washington has given early movers like Total pause, raising concerns as to whether long-awaited opportunities will materialize, or if the Trump administration will take a harder line and tighten already-complex rules on doing business with Tehran. Continue reading the main story Some major global companies […]
Authored by Daniel Lang via SHTFplan.com, If you’ve been paying attention to the ongoing degradation of the American economy since the last financial crisis, you’re probably flabbergasted by the fact that our economy has managed to make it this far without imploding. I know I am. I find myself shocked with every year that passes without incident. The warning signs are there for anyone willing to see, […]
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner have a combined wealth estimated in the nine-figures, while Ms Trump remains a stakeholder in Washington’s Trump International Hotel, according to new financial disclosures released by the White House on Friday evening. The wealth amassed by Mr Trump’s White House inner circle before he became president is exposed by a series of filings covering around 180 top administration […]
Hedge funds betting on a sharp drop in global equities suffered further this quarter, while the broader industry’s returns lagged behind those of US and European stocks. The flagship fund of Crispin Odey, who for several years has been warning of a violent bursting of a bubble inflated by central banks, is narrowly down for the year. The fund endured a nearly 50 per cent decline last […]
Silicon Valley tech companies should do more to help media companies get subscribers and revenues – this was the gist from six panelists discussing “Journalism + Silicon Valley: The Balance of Power” at a recent event in San Francisco organized by the Tow Center for Digital Journalists. The event marked the release of Tow Center’s report: “The Platform Press: How Silicon Valley reengineered journalism |” It is […]
Aerosols are collections of fine particles, either biological or of other types, in suspension in a gaseous medium. They play a major role in cloud formation and therefore have a strong impact on climate models. They are however extremely hard to study due to the small size and immense variety of their constituent particles. But researchers have now succeeded in linking the composition of marine biological aerosols […]
Silver Lake, the tech-focused private equity group, has teamed up with US chipmaker Broadcom in an attempt to acquire Toshiba’s semiconductor business for nearly $18bn, people briefed about the situation said. The Japanese company is in talks with several other potential suitors for its chipmaking unit, these people said, as it hopes that the sale will help it meet any financial shortfalls related to this week’s bankruptcy filing for […]
