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☆ Ancient giant dolphin discovered in the Amazon
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

And though there are Amazonian freshwater dolphin species alive today, they aren’t close kin to that ancient cetacean. There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies. Researchers discovered the Amazonian dolphin fossil in 2018, near the Napo River in Loreto, Peru. At first, they thought it would turn out to be an ancient relative of modern Amazonian river dolphins. “That was a moment where everybody freaked out, because it wasn’t an Amazonian river dolphin,” Benites-Palomino said.

Persons: ”, Jorge Velez, ” Velez, Juarbe, Aldo Benites, Palomino, John J, Flynn, Palomino “, John, freaked, Benites, yacuruna, Rodolfo Salas, Gismondi, ” Benites, Pebanista, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, American Association for, Advancement of Science, Juarbe, of Los, International Union for, Nature, IUCN, University of Zurich’s Department of Paleontology, American Museum of, of, World Wildlife Fund, Velez, Scientific Locations: Peruvian, South Asia, America, of Los Angeles County, Loreto , Peru, New York City, Peru, of Lima, Amazonia

☆ Astronomers used JWST to finally solve a 37-year mystery over one of the brightest cosmic explosions ever seen in modern history
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A neutron star is the collapsed core of a supergiant star that's gone supernova. Pulsar neutron stars, like the one astronomers believe SN 1987A left behind, emit pulses of X-rays. AdvertisementStudying SN 1987A has deepened astronomers' understanding of supernovae and the role they play in our ever-evolving universe. Before JWST, astronomers lacked a telescope powerful enough to observe the compact object that SN 1987A left behind. Advertisement"We interpreted this as being conclusive evidence that the emission lines we were seeing were the result of radiation from the neutron center," Kavanagh said.

Persons: What's, James Webb, David Malin AAT, Patrick Kavanagh, Everest, hadn't, Kavanagh, SN1987A, Chandra, ALMA, JWST, J, Larsson, Claes Fransson, P.J . Kavanagh, " Kavanagh Organizations: Business, Science, Maynooth University, American Association for, Advancement of Science, NASA, Wikimedia, SN, Hubble, ESA, Stockholm University

☆ Federal Civil Rights Investigation Opened Into Antisemitism at Harvard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Anemona Hartocollis | More About Anemona Hartocollis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Education Department has opened an investigation into allegations of antisemitism at Harvard University, where the campus, like many others, has been roiled by demonstrations and confrontations between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students in the weeks since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The complaint against Harvard, filed on Tuesday, joins a growing list of federal civil rights investigations into complaints of discrimination based on “shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics,” including at Columbia, Cornell, Wellesley College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Tampa and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. The list includes a handful of school districts as well, including New York City public schools, Clark County School District in Las Vegas and Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa. The Office for Civil Rights announced on Nov. 16 that it was investigating such complaints as part of its efforts to “take aggressive action to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the October 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.”

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Civil Rights, U.S . Education Department, Harvard University, Israel, Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Wellesley College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Tampa, Cooper Union for, Advancement of Science, New, Clark County School District, Hillsborough County Schools Locations: Israel, New York City, Las Vegas, Hillsborough, Tampa

☆ Scientists discovered a new way these bats with shockingly large penises mate, and it's unlike anything ever observed in mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Maiya Focht | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

By chance, researchers noticed that one bat species had a very large penis. In fact, the researchers explained in the paper, the male bat's penis is seven times longer and wider than the female bat's vagina. A scientific peep show and future bat porn boxThe researchers observed the serotine bat in the attic of a church and a bat rehabilitation center. The researchers observed 97 mating rituals. Then, the male bat held the female in an "extended embrace".

Persons: —, uglies, Nicolas Fasel, Fasel, Olivier Glaizot Organizations: Service, American Association for, Advancement of Science, University of Lausanne, Diversity Locations: Europe, Ukraine

☆ Several Schools Under Investigation for Allegedly Failing to Protect Jewish, Muslim Students
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The University of Pennsylvania is under investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Photo: Hannah Beier for The Wall Street JournalThe Education Department is investigating several schools over reports of harassment against Jewish and Muslim students in response to ongoing campus tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war. The department is investigating Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, Wellesley College, Lafayette College, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and the Maize Unified School District in Kansas. The schools are under investigation for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects students from, among other things, discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

Persons: Hannah Beier Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, Civil, Wall Street, Education Department, Jewish, Columbia University, Cornell University, Wellesley College, Lafayette College, Cooper Union for, Advancement of Science, Maize Unified School District Locations: Israel, Kansas

☆ What is a quantum dot?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Quantum dot research won three scientists the Nobel Prize in chemistry. A quantum dot is a tiny particle that changes color based on its size. Quantum dots are essentially minuscule, inorganic particles that shine different colors when exposed to light. How quantum dots are usedLinke said that quantum dots are now found in daily life, inside "the very best TV screens" with the brightest colors. AdvertisementAdvertisement"The pixels consist of red and green quantum dots, and the blue light from the back controls those colors," Linke said.

Persons: —, Heiner Linke, Linke, Chris Woodford, Woodford, Moungi, Louis Brus, Alexei Ekimov Organizations: Service, Chemistry, Linke, American Association for, Advancement of Science, MIT, Louis Brus of Columbia University, Nanocrystals Technology Inc Locations: Woodford

Five hedge funds shared five trading ideas on global property markets, adding that they cannot reveal trading positions for regulatory reasons. CM REITs are companies that own mortgages of multi-family residential homes as well as commercial real estate loans. Cell phone data Litt bought to research a REIT run by Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE.N), showed that buildings which that were supposed to be almost fully occupied were only half full. Alexandria Real Estate responded pointing to public filings which said that it was the advancement of science and related intellectual property in Alexandria’s Labspace buildings, and not employee foot traffic that drove its demand for space. But Litt believes that the shift away from office working will also hurt life and sciences real estate, generally.

Persons: Jonathan Mizrachi, CMBSs, David Amaryan, Ben Hunsaker, Hunsaker, Jonathan Litt, Litt, ANSON, Moez Kassam, Vistry, Kassam, Nell Mackenzie, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alison Williams Organizations: Property, Capital, Beach, Beach Point Capital Management, REITs, Alexandria Real, Reuters, Vistry, Thomson Locations: York, Russia, Russia's, Ukraine, Armenia, Beach Point, Alexandria, Alexandria’s, London, Carolina, New York

☆ Lewis Branscomb, Champion of Science Across Fields, Dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Daniel E. Slotnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As the Cold War was waning, the physicist Lewis Branscomb feared that America’s economic and scientific superiority was in jeopardy. Declining scientific literacy and critical thinking in American education, he believed, could have disastrous consequences for the country. Students, he told “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” on PBS in 1986, “don’t need to know a lot of facts about science, but they really do need to understand how to think in the way scientists think — that is, in a problem-solving approach, given a complex environment within which to make decisions.”Whether in academia, private industry or government, Dr. Branscomb made it his job to push for the advancement of science and give it a bigger role in public policy. He held out hope for a brighter future through technology, but only if scientists and policymakers could get the public behind the idea. Dr. Branscomb, who worked at the nexus of science, technology, policy and business throughout his career, died on May 31 at a care facility in Redwood City, Calif., his son, Harvie, said.

Persons: Lewis Branscomb, “ The MacNeil, Lehrer, ”, Branscomb, Harvie Organizations: Students, PBS Locations: Redwood City, Calif

☆ Corporations are 'greenwashing' you. An expert explains how big companies mislead us into thinking they're making better choices for the environment when they could be making things far worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tom Lyon | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

For example, a company may tout the $5 million in its renewable energy investments for the year. Lyon: Greenwashing is any communication that leads the listener to adopt an overly favorable impression of a company's greenness. You may get a company that says: Look at this, we invested US$5 million in renewable energy last year. Instead they're coming from a voluntary offset that's offered by some free-standing producer that's not included in a cap. You can look at the whole movement toward renewable energy and companies that produce solar or wind energy.

☆ Making Medical Science More Democratic
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Amy Dockser Marcus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Members of the nascent British Association for the Advancement of Science gathered in Cambridge in 1833 to discuss the state of the field. Science was an increasingly popular pursuit and was helping to expand knowledge about the natural world. One of the association’s founders, William Whewell , was ready with an answer: scientists. In the century that followed, science was transformed from a vocation to a profession. Universities became the central venue for the pursuit of science.

☆ The US is home to only 7 offshore wind turbines. But one startup is betting on autonomous underwater vehicles to map the seafloor up to 10 times as fast as current methods.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Lily Katzman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bedrock's seafloor-mapping technologies have the potential to spur offshore wind developments. In spring 2021, the Biden administration set a lofty goal of producing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Baldwin said Ørsted had a dedicated team of more than 100 people to interpret marine data for the company's offshore wind developments. Bedrock's goal is to make the seafloor process up to 10 times as fast as current methods, DiMare told Emerging Tech Brew. "I'm hoping that we get that seafloor map so that we can make wise decisions about where to put our resilience infrastructure, our wind farms," she said.

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