Researchers have developed novel membranes, whose selectivity can be switched dynamically with the help of light. For this purpose, azobenzene molecules were integrated into membranes made of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Depending on the irradiation wavelength, these azobenzene units in the MOFs adopt a stretched or angular form. In this way, it is possible to dynamically adjust the permeability of the membrane and the separation factor of gases […]
The Ostrich-like dinosaur Limusaurus inextricabilis that lived in what is now China 160 million years ago has a unique trait. It is born with teeth but eventually become toothless as it gets older. The creature was a two-legged dinosaur characterized by short arms and long, slender legs. The largest ones measured about 6 feet long or under 2 meters. Scientists believe they have down-like feathers that covered some parts […]
Each year at the Ira Sohn conference a group of the world’s best known hedge fund managers present their top ideas for what to buy in the stock market. The event is so closely followed by investors that it is not unknown for shares in companies that are picked to start rising before presenters have even left the stage. More recently, however, some of these celebrity investors […]
IDC predicts that 35 percent of leading organizations in logistics, health, utilities, and resources will explore the use of robots to automate operations by 2019. What does the future hold for robotics? It’s hard to say, given the rapid pace of change in the field as well as in associated areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. But one thing seems certain: Robots will play an […]
By Wa Lone and Simon Lewis | YANGON YANGON Before entering the courthouse in the capital of eastern Myanmar’s Shan State, Maw Maw Oo said it was ominous that several blue police vans were already waiting in the parking lot. “But I don’t want to guess what the court’s decision will be,” she told a Reuters reporter by phone. Hours later she was jailed for a month […]
After the heavy attention on ocean-based plastic pollution, the focus is moving to plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. According to a new study by Rochester Institute of Technology researchers, approximately 10,000 metric tons of plastic waste has been entering the Great Lakes every year from the United States and Canada. The study, “Inventory and transport of plastic debris in the Laurentian Great Lakes,” has Matthew Hoffman, assistant […]
America’s biggest defence contractors cannot decide whether to be thrilled or terrified by Donald Trump. The titans of the US defence establishment beat a path to Mr Trump’s Florida resort on Wednesday to hear the president-elect warn that the US government is spending too much money on wasteful, over-budget, out-of-control defence programmes. At the same time, however, Mr Trump has consistently promised a build-up in America’s military — including his […]
Good morning. A media A-list’s favorite books of 2016 Jake Tapper, the CNN reporter-show host, needed far less time than even a hyperactive wire service rewrite guy to answer a question about his favorite book this year: “‘Moonglow’ by Michael Chabon.” Bam, that didn’t take long. But it’s why amid a Trump- and-terrorism-centric moment, I asked busy and smart journalists to go high when so many others […]
Lately, cybersecurity has been the place where IT’s optimism goes to die. It’s been a tough road for companies and organizations the past few years as their network defenses have been bent and broken on a consistent, and often dramatic, basis. Hacks that topple over a billion user accounts are shocking and make a solution seem impossible. But IT is resilient despite on-going challenges in staffing, budgeting, […]
The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable to industry. In Nature Communications, engineers from The Ohio State University describe how they used magnetism on a composite of nickel and platinum to amplify the voltage output 10 times or more — not in a […]
Net redemptions from emerging market equity funds reached a five-week high in the latest week amid pressure from the rising dollar and uncertainty about trade policy in the US, especially with China. Investors withdrew $3.7bn from emerging market equity funds in the week to Wednesday, according to EPFR Global, with Asia ex-Japan equity funds seeing net redemptions of $2.36bn, the largest since September of 2015. China equity […]
Nearly a decade ago, Warren Buffett bet Protege Partners, a fund of hedge funds, that over the course of 10 years the S&P would outperform Protege’s returns net of all fees, costs and expenses. To make it real, the loser agreed to pay $1 million to the charity of the winner’s choice. At this past year’s annual meeting, Warren Buffett provided an update on the now […]
A UCI professor and colleagues have created an online survey platform called the Moral Machine to learn what people think a self-driving car should prioritize in the event of a fatal accident – and it’s not necessarily the lives of its occupants. Credit: Thinkstock Despite dramatic reductions in accident-related fatalities, injuries and damages, as well as significant improvements in transportation efficiency and safety, consumers aren’t as excited […]
The volcanic eruption that formed the Campi Flegrei caldera about 39,000 years ago is believed to be the largest eruption in Europe in the past 200,000 years. The supervolcano on the coast of Italy last erupted in 1538. Now, the 7.5-mile-wide cauldron-like depression of the volcano shows signs of stirring up again after nearly 500 years of inactivity. Sleeping Supervolcano Shows Signs Of Reawakening In a new […]
By Kate Kelland A vaccine developed by Merck is the first shown to be highly effective in preventing human infection with Ebola, according to final results from a clinical trial. Among 5,837 people who received the rVSV-EBOV vaccine in the trial in Guinea in 2015, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination, signalling 100 percent protection. More than 11,300 people died in West […]
Georgia led the nation in executions this year, as the number of death sentences carried out in the United States fell to a 25-year low, according to capital punishment researchers. States executed 20 inmates this year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. That’s eight fewer than last year’s total and a fraction of the […] (via WSJ)
Constellation Research hopes you all have a great holiday season this year with friends and family. In the spirit of recognizing memorable achievements in the tech industry, we also want to use this occasion to announce the winners of Constellation’s first annual Enterprise Awards. The winners were selected through a combination of internal voting and heated debate among Constellation’s analyst team. Each category also includes a number […]
Donald Trump turned up the heat under Lockheed Martin about the cost of its F-35 fighter jet, tweeting on Thursday that he had asked rival defence contractor Boeing to price its F-18 Super Hornet as an alternative. “Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!” Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday evening. […]
Mr. Trump, who last week nominated as ambassador to Israel a bankruptcy lawyer who heads a fund-raising effort for a West Bank settlement, made clear on Thursday that he would not wait for his inauguration to weigh in. In a statement, he said bluntly that the resolution should be vetoed. Continue reading the main story “As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and […]
US trade policies under Donald Trump will be key to agricultural commodities next year, as the world continues to grapple with high levels of grain production and inventories, according to a leading forecaster. “The area of concern is whether anything is going to happen that is going to affect our trade with China, which is a big agricultural buyer,” said Don Riffe, senior vice-president for agribusiness intelligence […]
A Hoaxy search reveals articles that claim cannabis cures cancer. The graph on the left shows the rise in these claims over the past five months. The graph on the right shows the claim’s spread on social media. Credit: Indiana University The Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University has launched a powerful new tool in the fight against fake news. The tool, called Hoaxy, visualizes how […]
As journalists grapple with the rise of fake news, it’s worth examining what happens when policymakers embrace misinformation instead of evidence when it comes to climate change. In September, YourNewsWire breathlessly told its readers that thousands of scientists had declared climate change “a hoax.” This was big news — at least on Facebook — where the YourNewsWire post was shared more than 550,000 times, making it the […]
In the wake of reports that Fitbit has dominated the wearables segment and with its acquisition of Pebble, it would seem that the picture for the wearable industry is all rosy. A new report, however, shows that it is not the case. Wearables’ Negative Outlook Research firm eMarketer has downgraded its outlook on the wearable devices market. It estimates a 24.7 percent growth this year for an industry […]
In a step that brings silicon-based quantum computers closer to reality, researchers have built a device in which a single electron can pass its quantum information to a particle of light. (via WSJ)
