One of the biggest question marks surrounding the fate of the planet’s coastlines is dangling from its underbelly. The melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has long been a relatively minor factor in the steady ascent of high-water marks, responsible for about an eighth of the 3 millimeters of annual sea-level rise. But when it comes to climate change, Antarctica is the elephantine ice sculpture in the boiler room. The ice sheet is so massive that its decline is, according to the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment , “the largest potential source” of future sea level rise. Accurately forecasting how much of it will be unleashed as seawater, and when that will happen, could help coastal communities plan for surging flood risks. A study published Aug. 14 in Earth System Dynamics — one that took more than 2 years and 50,000 computer simulations to complete, combining information from 26 atmospheric, oceanic, and ice sheet models from four polar regions — … [Read more...] about Antarctic Riddle: How Much Will the South Pole Melt?
Appointed high court judges
Citrix partners with Microsoft on Windows 365 integration
In context: One of the longest running, and yet least understood, partnerships in the tech world is between Microsoft and Citrix. For more than 30 years, the companies have worked together to help deliver business applications and desktops to a wide variety of devices over a broad range of network connections. Yet, despite this shared goal, it seems like there has been an underlying question about the relationship between the two companies for a good portion of those three decades. The problem stems from the fact that Citrix built much of its early business on extending core capabilities for Windows, and many of those extensions were eventually subsumed by Microsoft into subsequent versions of the platform. As a result, the perennial question seemed to be: when would Microsoft just buy Citrix? Thankfully, the two companies continued to find ways to partner with each other at both a technology and business level, and this latest news makes it clear that the relationship between … [Read more...] about Citrix partners with Microsoft on Windows 365 integration
Dell’s “hardware as a service” Apex expands to include analytics and data recovery
In context: Way back in 2006, British mathematician Clive Humby coined the now oft-repeated phrase that "data is the new oil". Since then, there have been numerous, vigorous debates about the accuracy or validity of the comment. Regardless of where you fall in those discussions, it seems fairly obvious now that for most businesses and organizations, data does represent a type of lifeblood, providing information and opportunities that can drive further success—or point to potential concerns and failure. The importance of data has become particularly apparent in light of the rapidly expanding range of analytics tools that can be used to glean useful insights from it as well as the staggering number of efforts to steal or destroy it via cybersecurity threats. While the needs and requirements necessary to best address these two sides of the data coin are radically different, they do highlight how important the proper use and care of data has become. In that context, the latest … [Read more...] about Dell’s “hardware as a service” Apex expands to include analytics and data recovery
New York Times pulls potentially controversial Wordle answer due to recent events
A hot potato: You wouldn't normally associate everyone's favorite word-based puzzle game, Wordle, with potential controversy, but it's why owner The New York Times has removed an answer that many could associate with recent news events. Wordle saw a surge of popularity last year when it jumped from around 90 players to over 300,000 in just two months. Soon after that, millions were trying to solve the puzzle, which changes to a new word every day. All the attention led to The New York Times purchasing Wordle from creator Josh Wardle. Today, the publication removed an answer in order to keep the game "distinct from the news." The word in question was 'Fetus,' though not all Wordle players saw a different answer. Some of you may have a different Wordle answer than the official answer. Please refresh your browser to receive the correct answer word. For more information, please read our editor's note. https://t.co/3dY5nRu7yu — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 9, 2022 The … [Read more...] about New York Times pulls potentially controversial Wordle answer due to recent events
Rethinking air conditioning amid climate change
It was a monumental day for the environmental movement more than 30 years ago when all 198 countries in the world agreed on something for the first and only time ever. They signed on to the Montreal Protocol , making a pact to phase out a roster of chemicals that damage the Earth’s ozone layer. Chief among these were the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons used by the cooling and refrigeration industry. Alternatives, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), were quickly found. But in recent years, scientists have come to realize that the Montreal Protocol of 1987 might have traded an immediate problem for a long-term one. Though HFCs don’t cause the same damage to the ozone layer as CFCs do, the chemicals have warming potentials hundreds to thousands of times higher than that of CO 2 —making their growing global use a cause for concern. The 20th-century industrial revolution saw a major boom in the air-conditioning and refrigeration industry in Europe and North … [Read more...] about Rethinking air conditioning amid climate change
Mining museums’ genomic treasures
Natural history’s golden age, when Charles Darwin and like-minded scientists pondered connections between creatures and their environments, largely revolved around collecting stuff. Explorers fanned out across the world and picked up as many plants and animals as they could, drying them or stuffing them or storing them in alcohol in small glass jars. They carried them home to grand museums where the public might get a peek at them and be amazed. These venerable collections can seem like relics today—musty storehouses, shrines to imperial plunder. But with billions of samples catalogued among them, museum collections are a treasure for modern evolutionary biologists studying DNA, RNA, proteins and other biomolecules. Sampling decades- or even centuries-old tissues allows scientists to capture snippets of genetic code from plants and animals—including extinct ones—and track molecular changes that took place long before biologists even understood what DNA was. Younger specimens are … [Read more...] about Mining museums’ genomic treasures
Stop Putting Your Phone in Rice
For nearly as long as smartphones have existed, people have been putting them in rice after dropping them in water. This often-repeated “trick” to save a water-logged phone has gone too far. Allow us to explain. Where Did It Come From? The rice trick has been around forever and there’s probably a good chance you’ve done it before—I know I have. Where did this common advice originate from? That’s an interesting question. One of the first high-profile examples of the rice “trick” being recommended dates back to a Lifehacker post from June 2007. The claim was that dry rice “sucks up the surrounding moisture.” That same line of reasoning has been repeated ever since. The trick certainly predated smartphones, but it really caught on as more people began carrying around expensive, fragile devices that don’t play nice with water . People want to know what to do when they drop their phone in water and the rice trick filled that need. RELATED: Water Resistant Gadgets … [Read more...] about Stop Putting Your Phone in Rice
samsung: Samsung’s groundbreaking ceremony for $27 billion US chip plant next month
Samsung Electronics is expected to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for a $17 billion chip fabrication plant in Taylor , Texas, next month, industry sources said on May 27, 2022. Samsung 's Austin office has recently shared the photo of the construction site and the preparation works for the massive construction via its newsletter, according to the sources. Leveling the ground for construction has almost finished, and workers are building the roads inside the 5 million-square-metre facility, which is around 1 1/2 times the size of Central Park in New York, reports Yonhap news agency . A groundbreaking ceremony is widely expected to take place at the site next month, with dignitaries and company officials in attendance. The company said it expected the facility to go fully operational in the second half of 2024. The tech giant announced in November it will build an advanced chip facility in Taylor to "help boost production of advanced logic … [Read more...] about samsung: Samsung’s groundbreaking ceremony for $27 billion US chip plant next month
madras: IIT Madras develops first-of-its-kind ‘Rotary Furnace’
IIT Madras CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras ( IIT Madras) developed an indigenous municipal solid waste combustor pilot plant based on a first-of-its-kind 'Rotary Furnace Technology' to efficiently process un-segregated municipal solid waste generated in India. This Combustor Plant was inaugurated on Friday by V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, was deployed within the Combined Cycle Demonstration Plant premises at the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited factory at Trichy. The MSW generated in India is around 133 million tonnes a year of which more than 85 per cent ends up in landfills. The total solid waste generation in Tamil Nadu is 14,600 tonnes/day with around 5,400 tonnes/day generated in Chennai (TNPCB, 2021). The MSW generation is increasing at 1.3 per cent a year with a current per capita generation of around 0.5-1 kg/day. After the segregation and utilisation of bio-organic wastes for composting, vermin-composting and biogas … [Read more...] about madras: IIT Madras develops first-of-its-kind ‘Rotary Furnace’