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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago. The find, announced Wednesday, can help explain how solar systems across the Milky Way galaxy came to be. The six found so far are roughly two to three times the size of Earth, but with densities closer to the gas giants in our own solar system. This solar system is unique because all six planets move similar to a perfectly synchronized symphony, scientists said. All solar systems, including our own, are thought to have started out like this one, according to the scientists.

Persons: Tess, —, Adrien Leleu, they're, ”, Enric Palle, Palle, University of Bern’s Hugh Osborn Organizations: —, University of Geneva, of Astrophysics, University of Bern’s, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, Canary

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica is creating the world’s first marine protected area for one of earth’s largest animals: the endangered sperm whale. Sperm whales defecate near the surface because they shut down non-vital functions when they dive to depths of up to 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). And sperm whales in Dominica are believed to defecate more than whales elsewhere, said Shane Gero, a whale biologist and founder of the Dominica Sperm Whale Project, a research program focused on sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean. He noted that sperm whales are a matrilineal society, with young males leaving and switching oceans at some point in their lives. Another sperm whale was nicknamed “Fruit Salad” because a researcher happened to be snacking on that at the time.

Persons: “, Roosevelt Skerrit, Shane Gero, Gero, ” Gero, Vincent, ”, Enric Sala, ‘, ’ ” Gero, Margaret Atwood Organizations: JUAN, ”, Geographic Locations: Puerto Rico, Dominica, ” Dominica, St, Guadeloupe, Caribbean, ‘ I’m

☆ Kuss close to overall Vuelta victory as Evenepoel wins stage 18
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Belgium's Remco Evenepoel claimed his third victory in this year's Vuelta a Espana with a solo attack on a mountainous stage 18 and Jumbo-Visma's Sepp Kuss moved a step closer to winning his first Grand Tour on Thursday. Evenepoel's hopes of fighting the Jumbo-Visma riders for the overall title evaporated on stage 13 when he was dropped on the Col d'Aubisque and lost 27 minutes. "It was a super good opportunity to take the points for my jersey -- I took all the points -- and my third stage win is amazing to end the Vuelta with." Provided he avoids any mishaps on Friday and Saturday, Kuss will be a popular champion in Madrid. Vingegaard, who has been helped often by Kuss, warned that there is still a tough stage on Saturday and that the team needed to keep fighting.

Persons: Remco Evenepoel, Sepp Kuss, Evenepoel, La Cruz de, Pola de Allande, Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, rojo, Vingegaard, It's, Evenepoel's, d'Aubisque, Italy's Damiano Caruso, Denmark's Andreas Kron, Roglic, Juan Ayuso, Sepp, Dane, Martyn Herman, Toby Davis Organizations: La, La Cruz de Linares, Pola de, de France, Giro, Eurosport, UAE Team Emirates, Enric, Thomson Locations: Puerto, Pola, Madrid, Bahrain, American

☆ Vingegaard wins Vuelta stage 13 on terrible day for Evenepoel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sept 8 (Reuters) - Jonas Vingegaard tamed the Tourmalet to win stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana, on a dramatic day which saw last year's winner Remco Evenepoel's challenge wither in the Pyrenees on Friday. The relentless climbing and downhill racing took its toll on many, including last year's winner Evenepoel, who now finds himself out of contention. Any early attacks had all been reeled in by a Jumbo-Visma team looking to control the race. With the five-man group left to battle behind Vingegaard, it was Kuss who attacked in the final kilometre to close the gap. Saturday's stage 14 is another mountain stage, a 156.5 kilometre ride from Sauveterre-de-Bearn to Larra-Belagua.

Persons: Jonas Vingegaard, Remco, du Tourmalet, Evenepoel, Sepp Kuss, Primoz, Vingegaard, I'm, Kuss, d'Aubisque, Joao Almeida, Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso, Almeida, Robert Gesink, Wilco Kelderman, Lenny Martinez, Michael Storer, Enric Mas, Roglic, Visma, Dane, Trevor Stynes, Christian Radnedge, Toby Davis Organizations: UAE Team Emirates, de France, la, Belgian, Thomson Locations: Espana, Pyrenees, Formigal, Roglic, American, Vingegaard, Sauveterre, Bearn, Larra

☆ Adam beats twin brother Simon in Yates one-two on Tour's opening stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Adam got the better of his identical twin to claim his first grand tour stage win, while his UAE Emirates team leader Tadej Pogacar finished third, also raising his arms in celebration. Adam was the stronger in the final uphill drag to prevail by four seconds, with Pogacar, who showed great legs in his first stage race since breaking a wrist in April, crossed the line 12 seconds off the pace. Overall, Yates leads his brother by eight seconds after picking up 10 seconds for the stage win, while Pogacar is 18 seconds off the pace. That Adam seized the opportunity to get the yellow jersey is a team dream coming true," said Pogacar. Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jayco – AlUla's Simon Yates, Adam Yates, Papon Bernard BILBAO, Britain's Adam Yates pipped, Simon, Adam, Tadej Pogacar, Yates, Pogacar, We're, Jonas Vingegaard, France's Victor Lafay, Spain's Enric Mas, Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, Julien Pretot, Andrew Cawthorne, Hugh Lawson Organizations: de, UAE Team Emirates, Papon, Tour de France, UAE Emirates, de France, MAS, Pike, Espana, EF Education, Thomson Locations: Bilbao, Spain, Slovenian, Basque

☆ Tour de France: Vingegaard vs. Pogacar Is the Race to Watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Kevin Draper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many teams are structured around a single rider who they believe can win the race’s overall title, known as the general classification. Other teams have more than one race contender, and will decide during the Tour which one has the best chance of victory. Then there is the pride in winning even a single day’s stage, which for many cyclists can rank as a career highlight. There are two overwhelming favorites: Jonas Vingegaard, a Danish cyclist on Team Jumbo-Visma who won last year, and Tadej Pogacar, the Slovene cyclist on UAE Team Emirates who won in 2020 and 2021. The overarching story line of this year’s race, and the battle that dictates much of the strategy, will be based around the assumption that Vingegaard and Pogacar will duke it out all the way to Paris.

Persons: Jonas Vingegaard, Visma, Tadej Pogacar, Pogacar, David Gaudu of, Jai Hindley, Richard Carapaz Organizations: UAE Team Emirates, Enric Mas Locations: Danish, Slovene, Paris, Spain, David Gaudu of France, Australia, Ecuador

☆ Smaller valuations and a lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene avoid some of Europe's shocking collapse in VC funding, investors say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spain's startup scene has evaded some of the collapse in VC funding that has rocked Europe in 2023. Smaller check sizes and a lack of "ego" has somewhat protected the ecosystem, investors say. Smaller valuations, check sizes, and a distinct lack of ego helped Spain's startup scene evade some of the shocking collapse in venture capital funding that has rocked Europe so far this year. Smaller rounds give Spain's startups an edge in the downturnWhat correction was felt was eased by the fact there is less "ego" in Spain's ecosystem, according to Max Bray, an investor at early-stage firm K Fund. As well as the birth of local growth funds, investors see corporations playing a role in closing the funding gap.

Persons: SoftBank, Catalyst, Pablo Pedrejón, Max Bray, Dalia Silberstein, Pedro Arribas Gridilla, Juliette Simonin, Margarita Albors, Tasmin Lockwood, Bray, Marc Sabas, Fund's Bray, Wallbox cofounders Enric Asunción, Eduard Castañeda, Glovo, Wallbox, Oscar Pierre, Ship2B's Sabas, Danae Vara, Danae Vara Ship2B, hasn't, Sabas, CVCs, There's, Félix Ortega, K Fund's Bray, Sérgio Massano Organizations: Accel, Pedrejón, Venture, Fund, Esade Center, Social, Foundation, Spanish, K Fund, Investors, Danae Vara Ship2B Ventures, Investment, Corporations, Barcelona Activa, Telefónica, BBVA, Proeduca Locations: Europe, Spain, Madrid, France, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Seaya, Bray, Vara, Barcelona, Silicon, London

☆ Spain's startup scene has gone from a desert crossing to a $4 billion burgeoning industry. Now, it plans to cut red tape to birth a new batch of unicorns.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spanish startups lured a record $4.1 billion from investors in 2021, according to PitchBook. The government hopes its new Startup Law will help birth an array of new unicorns. In 2016, Lucas Carné sold his fashion marketplace startup Privalia for around 500 million euros (around $495 million) in a landmark deal for the Spanish tech ecosystem. Privalia's sale to its enlarged French counterpart Ventee-Privee – since rebranded as VeePee – illustrated just how far the Spanish startup scene had changed in the space of 10 years. Spanish startups secured a record $4.1 billion in 2021 – more than double that of 2020 –, according to PitchBook data.

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