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☆ Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Andrea Kane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

NOVA separates foods into four groups, starting with natural and minimally processed foods in the first category to ultraprocessed foods, which use industrial formulations and manufacturing techniques, in the fourth. Here are five things to know about ultraprocessed foods:Ultraprocessed foods are linked to bad health outcomesEating a lot of ultraprocessed foods isn’t healthy. We have one.”Ultraprocessed foods cause weight gainThat one randomized, controlled clinical trial showed that ultraprocessed foods actually caused people to gain weight. So, all those factors probably play a huge role in … the foods that we choose to eat in the real world.”Not all ultraprocessed foods are badSome ultraprocessed foods can provide important nutrients, such as whole wheat bread and yogurt. “Which goes to show that not all ultraprocessed foods necessarily drive this effect.”Hall’s team is conducting a new study to tease out which ultraprocessed foods are harmful and which are neutral, or even healthy.

Persons: Marion Nestle, Meg Tirrell, Paulette Goddard, Nestle, ”, ” Nestle, Kevin Hall, ” Hall, Tirrell, shouldn’t, you’re, we’re Organizations: CNN, University of São Paulo, NOVA, Nestle, New York University, National Institute of Diabetes, National Institutes of Health Clinical, ”, National Health, US Department of Agriculture, US Food and Drug Administration Locations: Brazil, Bethesda , Maryland

☆ ‘Alphabet’ of sounds reveals complexity of sperm whale communication, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They’ve identified previously unknown complexity in whale communication by analyzing thousands of recorded sequences of sperm whale clicks with artificial intelligence. What sperm whales are saying with their clicks remains a mystery to human ears. “This work builds on a lot of prior work focused on understanding the calls of sperm whales. For the new study, the researchers used machine learning to detect patterns in audio data collected by The Dominica Sperm Whale Project, a repository for observations of sperm whales that inhabit the Caribbean Sea. The study authors defined four features in codas: rhythm, tempo, rubato and ornamentation.

Persons: They’ve, ”, Daniela Rus, ” Rus, Luke Rendell, Andrews, Rendell, “, it’s, Rus, ” Rendell, Brenda McCowan, McCowan, ” McCowan, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN —, Nature Communications, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, MIT, University of St, University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Scientific Locations: United Kingdom, Dominica, Eastern, Caribbean, Alaska

☆ MDMA therapy could be legalized by summer. Why are so many advocates sounding the alarm?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +52 min

Last summer, thousands of tie-dyed Burners and Patagonia-clad tech founders converged on the MAPS Psychedelic Science conference in Denver. The experience "broke the spell of this trauma, and she was able to rebuild her life," Doblin told The Guardian . The video team's job was to store recordings of every MDMA therapy session performed in the clinical trials. Grof believes in something called an "inner healing intelligence," an innate capacity for self-healing that psychedelic therapy helps unleash. Another time, a patient who had come to an MDMA therapy session later acknowledged they had been under the influence of LSD during treatment.

Persons: Jaden Smith, Aaron Rodgers, bro, Andrew Huberman, Rick Doblin, Doblin, mainstreaming psychedelics, influencers, Johnson, Elizabeth Nielson, Aubrey Marcus, ayahuasca, Matthew Stockman, Helena —, Timothy Leary, —, Hitler, Stanislav Grof, zombified, Brad Burge, Michael Mithoefer, Annie Mithoefer, Oprah, Sen, Joe Biden, MDMA's neurotoxicity, they'd, Albert Hofmann, David Bronner, Dr, Joe's, Bronner, Bronner's, Richard Rockefeller, John D, Rockefeller Jr, Rockefeller, Neşe, Johns Hopkins, who's, Devenot, Rick Friedman, Betty Aldworth, MAPS's multimillionaire, Tim Ferriss, Cody Swift, Zendo, Aldworth, Erica Siegal, Seth Whitelaw, Amy Emerson, JULIE JAMMOT, Ifetayo Harvey, Harvey, Lauren Unger, Unger, Casey Hardison, Harvey didn't, Hardison, Doblin's, Baylee Ybarra Gatlin, Gatlin, negligently, There's, Michael Pollan's, Steve Jurvetson, Elon Musk's who's, Genevieve, Steve Cohen, Alexandra, Mark Zuckerberg's, Dustin Moskovitz, Cari, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paltrow, Sergey Brin, Joe Green, Green, Zuckerberg, Genevieve Jurvetson, Michael Pollan, Jonathan Lubecky, he'd, Rebekah, Robert Mercer, Elizabeth Koch, Charles Koch, Rachel Nuwer, Koch, she'd, MAPS's, Elizabeth Crystal, Joe Rogan, didn't, Jesus Christ, Crystal, Meaghan Buisson, Richard Yensen, Donna, Yensen, Buisson, weren't, Robert, Rebekah Mercer, Sean Zanni, Grof, They've, Kayla Greenstien, it's, George Sarlo who'd, Vicky Dulai, Sarlo's, Dulai, Gul Dolen, Michael Mullette, who'd, Marla Aufmuth, Mullette, Lily Kay Ross, David Nickles, Ross, Greenstien, Rick, Lenny Ignelzi, biostatisticians, Lykos, Peter Thiel, Kara Swisher, Kris Lotlikar, Federico Menapace, Mo Septimus, Handout, Monnica, Williams, Lotlikar, Henry Elkus, Helena ., Elkus, Emerson, ICER Organizations: Science, New York Jets, rockstar, Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Lykos Therapeutics, and Drug Administration, FDA, Business, Florida's New College, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Sarasota Herald, Tribune, New College, Guardian, Drug, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, eBay, Nevada, Doblin, Pentagon, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Staff, Corporation, PBC, pharma, New Yorker, New York Mets, Bloomberg, CBS, Breitbart, CBC News, BI, Porsche, Santa Cruz, New York Times, longtime, Mullette Corporation, New York, Health Canada, Compass, Sciences, Psychedelic Science, Whole Foods, McKinsey, Big Pharma, Vine Ventures, Lucid, Street Journal, Investments, Gawker, Publicly, PBC alums, Numinus, US Army Locations: Patagonia, Denver, Harvard, Colorado, Skokie , Illinois, Ireland, Czech, Sarasota, Arcturus, Florida, Swiss, Vietnam, Washington, Santa Cruz, Chicago, California, Iraq, British Columbia, New York, Hawaii, Santa, Nature, Moderna, Europe, Helena, Yale, Australia, Canada, Israel, Ukraine, ICER, . Upper

"We're like the engine room of the company," Hassabis told CNBC, speaking about his newly integrated AI unit within Google. Last month, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai merged Hassabis' DeepMind with Google Brain, a separate AI team, and selected Hassabis to lead the group. DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis at a 2017 event in China. During his career at DeepMind and then at Google, Hassabis dominated the field of AI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (R) speaks as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (L) looks on during the OpenAI DevDay event in San Francisco on Nov. 6, 2023.

Persons: He's, Hassabis, Sundar Pichai, It's, Demis Hassabis, Geoffrey Hinton, Hinton, DeepMind, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Justin Sullivan, Critics, they've, ChatGPT, AlphaFold, Eli Lilly Organizations: Google, CNBC, Microsoft, Elixir Studios, Hassabis, Washington Post, Employees, Novartis, TED Locations: China, DeepMind, San Francisco, ChatGPT, LLMs

☆ Floods in Brazil spark conspiracy theories over the cause, including toxic jet vapor trails and antennas in Alaska
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Floods in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul have sparked a number of online conspiracy theories. Jefferson Bernardes/Getty Images"What's happening in Rio Grande do Sul is definitely not natural," one user wrote on X. Advertisementvapor trails — "chemtrails" — spread by the government and then activated by HAARP antennas in Alaska to alter the weather, AFP reported. In the 1990s, a conspiracy theory evolved that they contained dangerous chemicals purposely put in the trails. Advertisement"The warmer atmosphere can store much more water vapor, fueling more frequent and intense episodes of rainfall that lead to disasters like this," he said, while also dismissing the HAARP theory.

Persons: —, Eduardo Leite, El Niño, Porto Alegre . Jefferson Bernardes, Hugo Chavez, Russell Brand, nesta, Gc4PiOiPv1 — Frederico Athia, Carlos Nobre Organizations: Service, National Institute of Meteorology, Research, AFP, BBC, Brazil's National Institute of Science, Technology, United Arab Emirates, University of Cambridge Locations: Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Porto Alegre ., American, Haiti, Alaska, Dubai

☆ Solar storms could create rare aurora displays, impact communications on Earth this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

When the energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth’s magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere to create different colored light in the sky. The Space Weather Prediction Center tracked multiple strong flares emitting from a large cluster of sunspots on the solar surface since Wednesday. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/Getty ImagesThe effects of geomagnetic stormsWhen directed at Earth, these ejections can cause geomagnetic storms, or major disturbances of Earth’s magnetic field. So far, researchers have obseverd only three severe geomagnetic storms during the current solar cycle, which began in December 2019, according to the center. The storms also affect flight patterns of commercial airlines, which are instructed to stay away from Earth’s poles during geomagnetic storms due to loss of communication or navigation capabilities.

Persons: Wolf, Alex Kormann Organizations: CNN, National Oceanic, Prediction, National Weather Service, Star Tribune, Getty Locations: Alabama, Northern California, New Mexico , Missouri, North Carolina, California, United States, England, United Kingdom, Cloquet, Minnesota, Sweden, South Africa, Quebec

☆ Britain Shakes Off Recession as Economy Grows Faster Than Expected
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the first three months of the year, economic growth was driven by the services sector, which expanded for the first time in a year, statistics agency said. Transport services, legal services and scientific research all grew strongly, but services that include hotels and restaurants fell slightly, and the construction sector contracted sharply. per person grew 0.4 percent in the first quarter, following seven consecutive quarters of decline. Some sectors like professional services and technology have been doing well, but others like hospitality have struggled, she said. Household spending, adjusted for inflation, grew 0.2 percent, following two quarters of declines, the statistics agency said.

Persons: ”, Tera Allas, Ms, Allas Organizations: Transport Locations: McKinsey’s Britain, Ireland

☆ India’s time zone: Why the world’s most populous country has a unique one
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Dhruv Tikekar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

India’s half-hour zone dates back to colonial rule of India and the era when ever-faster steamships and trains were shrinking the world. The start of the 20th century saw some push from scientific associations to calibrate India’s time to GMT. That recommendation was rejected by the colonial government, which opted for a unified time that sat squarely in the middle: five and a half hours ahead of GMT. In 2015, North Korea moved out of sync with South Korea by creating “Pyongyang Time,” putting the country eight and a half hours ahead of GMT instead of nine. India’s colonial-era time zone decision making, however, reflected a chorus of political, scientific and commercial voices both from within the government and outside of it, Gordon says.

Persons: Hulton, ”, Geoff Gordon, Gordon, “, it’s, Wong Maye, Hugo Chávez, Nicolas Maduro, Terry Gilliam, Rube Goldberg, Maulik Jagnani, Jagnani Organizations: CNN, East India Company, Hulton Deutsch, University of Amsterdam, Madras, Washington D.C, Greenwich Meridian, Greenwich Observatory, Meridian, Royal Society, Prime Meridian, Physical Laboratory, Tufts University, NPL Locations: New York, London, Tokyo, Iran, Myanmar, Australia, India, British, Madras, Chennai, “, Bombay, Kolkata, Washington, London ., Greenwich, North Korea, South Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, Brazil, ”, Greenwich , London, China, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat

☆ An OpenAI rival says its new AI model is not only cheaper to run than GPT-4, but it's also more useful
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewOpenAI rival Cohere has unveiled an updated AI model it says is more useful and cheaper to run than GPT-4. The AI startup says it is rolling out the ability to fine-tune its Command R AI model, allowing it to outperform larger models like GPT-4 in some use cases while costing up to fifteen times less to operate. Similarly, when analyzing financial data Command R was 6.2% more accurate than GPT-4 and 5.3% more accurate than Claude. AdvertisementCohere said that as Command R, which initially launched in March, is significantly smaller than the likes of GPT-4, it costs much less to run. Related storiesFine-tuning on the Command R model is available on Cohere's platform from Thursday, with availability on other platforms coming in the near future.

Persons: —, Cohere, Nick Frosst, Claude Opus, Claude, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Altman, they're, Frosst, It's, Emad Mostaque, Mustafa Suleyman, We're Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon, GPT, Command, Meta, Intelligence, Stanford University, Cohere, Big Tech, Stability, Microsoft Locations: GPT, Toronto

☆ Massive Fossil Donation Helps Brazil’s National Museum Rise From the Ashes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michael Greshko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the night of Sept. 2, 2018, a fire swept through the National Museum of Brazil, devastating the country’s oldest scientific institution and one of South America’s biggest and most important museums. On Tuesday, the museum announced that it received a major donation of ancient Brazilian fossils to help rebuild its collection ahead of a scheduled 2026 reopening. Burkhard Pohl, a Swiss-German collector and entrepreneur who maintains one of the world’s largest private fossil collections, has handed over to the National Museum about 1,100 specimens, all of which originated in Brazil. “The most important thing is to show to the world, in Brazil and outside Brazil, that we are uniting private people and public institutions,” Alexander Kellner, the National Museum’s director, said. “We want others to follow this example, if possible, to help us with this really herculean task.”

Persons: Burkhard Pohl, ” Alexander Kellner, “ Organizations: National Museum of, South America’s, National Museum, National Locations: National Museum of Brazil, South, Swiss, Brazil

☆ A hiker discovered a wealthy traveler's remains on a skiing glacier in Switzerland. They turned out to be 400 years old.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A hiker discovered the 400-year-old remains of a wealthy man on a glacier in the Swiss Alps. © Valais History Museum, Sion; Michel MartinezAll these items dated to around 1600 AD. Archaeologists uncover mule bones on the Theodul glacier in Switzerland, near Zermatt. © Valais History Museum, Sion; Michel MartinezHe wasn't a soldier-for-hire after all, a 2015 paper concluded. Andenmatten steps out of a freezer where artifacts are stored in the basement of the Valais History Museum archives.

Persons: Michel Martinez, They're, Pierre, Yves Nicod, Nicod, Ambroise Héritier, Morgan McFall, Johnsen, Sophie Providoli, It's, you've, haven't, Philippe Curdy, Romain Andenmatten, Spain's, Emilio Morenatti, Paul HANNY, Ötzi, Andenmatten Organizations: Service, . Business, Business, AP, Johnsen Archaeologists Locations: Swiss, Switzerland, Italy, Valais, Sion, du Valais, Zermatt, Germany, Aosta, Russia, Vilanova, Sau, Catalonia, Spain, Florida, Austria

☆ Opinion: The problem with space junk – and how to solve it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Opinion Moriba Jah | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This incident serves as an example of the urgent need for a profound shift toward sustainable space practices. Proponents of a circular space economy advocate for a transformative departure from this wasteful paradigm. Much like embracing reusable materials on Earth, transitioning to a circular space economy means designing space systems with reuse, refurbishment and recyclability in mind. The European Space Agency (ESA) has emerged as a trailblazer in the pursuit of a circular space economy. By leading the charge toward sustainable space practices, NASA can inspire other space agencies and private companies to follow suit.

Persons: Moriba Jah, Otero, Moriba Jah Mark Thiessen, wasn’t, I’m, Artemis Organizations: MacArthur Fellowship, University of Texas, CNN, Space, European Space Agency, ESA, NASA, Space Shuttle, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Austin, Naples , Florida, Naples

☆ Beethoven’s hair reveals evidence of lead poisoning, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Beethoven’s genome was made publicly available, inviting researchers around the world to investigate lingering questions about Beethoven’s health. Meanwhile, scientists continue to figuratively go over the authenticated locks of Beethoven’s hair with a fine-tooth comb, teasing out surprising insights. But at the time the researchers did not test Beethoven’s newly authenticated hair samples for lead. Because the researchers don’t have hair samples from earlier in Beethoven’s life, it’s impossible to understand when the lead poisoning started, Meredith said. But Rifai said he saw comparable lead levels when he conducted research in two villages in Ecuador where the main trade is to glaze tiles with lead from batteries.

Persons: Ludwig van Beethoven’s, Beethoven, ”, Christian Reiter, Hiller, Thayer, Anton Halm, William Meredith, Nader Rifai, Meredith, Rifai, Paul Jannetto, he’d, Johann Adam Schmidt, Beethoven’s, “, ” Meredith, Friedrich Schiller’s, Joy, it’s Organizations: CNN —, Center of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Beethoven, Symphony, Ninth, Ninth Symphony Locations: United States, Ecuador, Vienna

☆ The Tiny Nation at the Vanguard of Mining the Ocean Floor
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Pete Mckenzie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two ships arrived in the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in March of last year. One was a familiar sight: a massive cruise ship, bringing hundreds of tourists to the pristine shores of this nation of 15,000 people. To Mr. Brown, the cruise ship represented his country’s troubling dependence on tourism. He described the other vessel, owned by an international mining company, as a harbinger of incredible wealth. The Cook Islands is at the vanguard of a quest to mine the ocean floor for minerals used in electric car batteries.

Persons: Mark Brown, Brown Organizations: South Pacific Locations: Cook, South

☆ Stone Age humans once sheltered in lava tube caves
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Beginning in the Stone Age, Neolithic herders descended into and occupied these vast tunnels, known as lava tubes, archaeologists have discovered. Umm Jirsan spans nearly 1 mile (1.5 kilometers), with passages that are up to 39 feet (12 meters) tall and as much as 148 feet (45 meters) wide. The researchers enter Umm Jirsan, the longest lava tube system in the region. Animal carvingsIn another tunnel near Umm Jirsan, the researchers found 16 panels of engraved rock art. “Collectively, the archaeological findings at the site and in the surrounding landscape paint a picture of recurrent use of the Umm Jirsan Lava Tube over millennia,” Stewart said.

Persons: Jirsan, haven’t, Umm, ”, Mathew Stewart, ” Stewart, Umm Jirsan, Guillaume Charloux, Charloux, Stewart, “, —, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN —, Australian Research Centre, Griffith University, CNN, Umm, French National Centre for Scientific Research, ’, Saudi Geological Survey, Arabia, Scientific Locations: Medina, Saudi Arabia, Umm Jirsan, Australia, Arabia, Asia

☆ This popular cat breed has a much shorter lifespan than others, new research shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Before you head to the shelter, take heed – not all cat breeds are in it for the long haul. While domestic cats regularly live to 18 years old, the hairless Sphynx breed has an average life expectancy of just 6.8 years, the lowest of any domestic breed of cat, according to new research. Sphynx cats are a hairless breed that originated in Ontario, Canada, where a hairless male kitten named Prune was born in 1966, according to the Sphynx Cat Association. The average life expectancy for domestic cats in Britain was 11.7 years. They found that the average life expectancy for cats in the UK was 11.7 years, and female cats could expect to live 1.33 years longer than males.

Persons: –, Kendy Teng, we’re Organizations: CNN, Royal Veterinary College, Chung Hsing University, of Feline Medicine, Cat Association, Animal Welfare Locations: United Kingdom, Taiwan, Ontario, Canada, Britain

☆ 4 ways to get kids outside more often: It's a key to raising successful children, says ecological engineer
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The annual challenge is a great example of ways kids can use digital tools "before, during and after" going outside to increase their connection to nature, says Galle. The point isn't to encourage kids to run around parks with screens in their faces, she notes: Rather, it's "an easy, educational way to get the kids outside, immersed in their environment, and learning something." EarthSnapThis nature identification app uses a smartphone or tablet's camera to identify more than two million different plants, animals, bugs and other aspects of nature. Tools like EarthSnap are useful for nurturing kids' interest in nature, especially if you aren't an expert outdoorsperson yourself, says Galle. Try using the app as a family, Galle advises: Kids often learn behaviors from their parents.

Persons: Nadina, —, NatureQuant Organizations: CNBC, Agents Locations: Nadina Galle, Our, Galle, who's

☆ ‘God’s Hand’ cosmic feature reaches for a galaxy in new image
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Dark Energy Camera captured a stunning image of “God’s Hand,” a cometary globule 1,300 light-years from Earth in the Puppis constellation. Cometary globules are unique because they have extended tails, like those seen on comets — but that’s the only cometlike thing about them. Astronomers still don’t know how cometary globules come to exist in such distinctive structures. The new image of the glowing red hand-like feature showcases CG 4, one of many cometary globules found across the Milky Way galaxy. The Gum Nebula is believed to contain 31 cometary globules in addition to CG 4.

Persons: Blanco, Cometary, Bok globule, it’s, globules Organizations: CNN, Energy, Cerro Tololo Inter, American, UK Schmidt Telescope, Astronomers Locations: Chile, Australia

☆ These snakes not only fake their own deaths, they use gory special effects to do it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Dice snakes can fake their own death when being attacked by predators, putting on a theatrical display that includes smearing themselves with their own poop and letting blood ooze from their mouths. To test this, the researchers traveled to Golem Grad, an island in a lake in North Macedonia, where the snakes are common. They observed that some snakes played dead by leaving their mouth wide open, some smeared themselves with poop and others oozed blood from their mouth, too. Overall, the snakes spent between about six and 24 seconds playing dead. While the snakes don’t squirt blood directly at their predators, like horned lizards do, bleeding from the mouth signals their apparent death to the predator.

Persons: Jozef Kaut, ” Vukašin, ”, Bjelica Organizations: CNN, University of Belgrade, Golem Locations: North Macedonia, Serbia

☆ Boeing’s Starliner launch delayed for valve replacement
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The long-awaited first crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will be delayed for more than a week after engineers identified an issue that halted launch preparations on Monday. Starliner’s next opportunity to lift off on its maiden voyage from NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida is at 6:16 p.m. Veteran NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had already taken their seats aboard the Starliner capsule when the operations team called for a scrub Monday night about two hours before launch. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, right, and Suni Williams will remain in quarantine until the launch. Terry Renna/APWilliams and Wilmore have each ventured to space on two previous journeys aboard the NASA space shuttle and Russian Soyuz missions.

Persons: Starliner’s, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Tory Bruno, Bruno, Williams, Wilmore, SpaceX’s, Terry Renna, Bill Nelson, “, Butch, Suni, Nelson, —, ” Williams Organizations: CNN, NASA Kennedy Space Center, Veteran NASA, United Launch Alliance, Atlas V, NASA, Cape Canaveral Space Force, Kennedy Space Center, Boeing, International Space Station, Russian Soyuz, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Locations: Florida, Russian, United States

☆ Photos show what cave divers discovered when they swam inside an iceberg the size of Jamaica. Today, it's gone.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Her trip inside B-15 marked the first time anyone ever dove beneath an iceberg. Professional diver Jill Heinerth has been exploring Earth's oceans for 35 years. Once inside, Heinerth described it as "this dynamic environment that's beautiful. During their second dive inside B15, they got caught in a powerful current sucking them deeper inside the iceberg. AdvertisementSince Heinerth's dive, iceberg B15 has almost entirely melted away.

Persons: Jill Heinerth, She's, it's, Heinerth, Jill, gobsmacked, www.IntoThePlanet.com Organizations: Service, Business, Disney, WBUR, NASA Locations: Jamaica, Antarctica, B15

☆ New Delhi’s Iron Pillar has been exposed to the elements for centuries. So why hasn’t it ever shown signs of rust?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Poonam Binayak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque is part of the UNESCO-listed Qutb Minar complex. Scientists both in India and abroad began studying the iron pillar in Delhi in 1912 to try to figure out why it hadn’t corroded. Stuart Forster/ShutterstockBeyond its metallurgical intrigue, the origin of the Iron Pillar is also veiled in mystery. In the epic poem “Prithviraj Raso,” penned by Chand Bardai, a courtier in the Chahamana dynasty under King Prithviraj Chauhan, the Iron Pillar holds great significance. “Bardai describes the Iron Pillar in Raso as a nail holding the Earth on the hoof of Sheshnag, the serpent king in Hindu mythology,” says Vikramjit.

Persons: Qutb, Anders Blomqvist, Balasubramaniam, Stuart Forster, Gupta, Chandragupta II, Vikramaditya, Vishnu, It’s, Garuda, Vikramjit Singh Rooprai, King Vikramaditya, Siddhanta, ”, Raja Anangpal, Qutbuddin, Prithviraj Raso, Chand Bardai, King Prithviraj Chauhan, “ Bardai, “ Raso, Anangpal, Qutub, Ravi Pratap Singh, Pragya Nagar Organizations: CNN, New Delhi’s UNESCO, UNESCO, Indian Institute of Technology, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Indian Institute of Metals, Varāhamihira, ASI, Survey Locations: Mehrauli, Islam, India, Delhi, Kanpur, Varah, Udayagiri Caves, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, “, Mihirapuri, Tomar, Raso

☆ Elon Musk says AI has no 'use' at SpaceX — at least for now
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk revealed that SpaceX "basically uses no AI." "I mean, oddly enough, one of the areas where there's almost no AI used is space exploration," Musk replied. "So SpaceX uses basically no AI, Starlink does not use AI. At X, Musk integrated his AI chatbot Grok — similar to ChatGPT — into the social media platform. Musk also considered using AI to help summarize news on the site.

Persons: Elon Musk, hasn't, —, Elon, Musk, Michael Milken, I'm, he's, electrochemistry, Geoff Hinton Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Milken Institute Global, Musk, Milken Institute, Business

☆ Near collapse of Earth’s magnetic field 591 million years ago may have allowed complex life to thrive
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Earth’s magnetic field plays a key role in making our planet habitable. However, Earth’s magnetic field almost collapsed 591 million years ago, and this change, paradoxically, may have played a pivotal role in the blossoming of complex life, new research has found. The discovery of the sustained weakening of Earth’s magnetic field also helped resolve an enduring geological mystery about when Earth’s solid inner core formed. Shuhai Xiao/Virginia TechUncovering the magnetic field’s near collapseThe intensity of Earth’s magnetic field is known to fluctuate over time, and crystals preserved in rock contain tiny magnetic particles that lock in a record of the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field. The research on the intensity of Earth’s magnetic field suggests that the age of Earth’s inner core is on the younger end of that timescale, solidifying after 565 million years ago and allowing Earth’s magnetic shield to bounce back.

Persons: “, ”, John Tarduno, Xiao, Tarduno, Shuhai Xiao, ” Tarduno, Peter Driscoll, wasn’t, ” Driscoll Organizations: CNN, University of Rochester, Environment, Virginia Tech, Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science Locations: New York, South Australia, Virginia, Quebec, Brazil, South Africa, Washington ,, Newfoundland, Canada

☆ Amateur archaeologists found a mysterious 12-sided object from the Roman Empire that experts can't explain
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An amateur archaeology group found a mysterious dodecahedron near an ancient Roman villa. Amateur archaeologists with the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group have been excavating its remains, including a bathhouse, gatehouse, and ancient tiled mosaic floors for the last few years when they made a miraculous discovery. Though he'd never seen one in person, Rob Evershed, a member of the group, recognized the hollow, rounded object as a Roman dodecahedron. No one knows the purpose of the dodecahedronThe Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group on the day they discovered the dodecahedron. Dodecahedrons may have been custom-madeParker thinks it would've taken an expert to make the dodecahedron that the Norton Disney group found.

Persons: —, Richard Parker, Richard Watts, they've, Norton, we'd, Parker, he'd, Rob Evershed, Frances McIntosh, McIntosh, haven't, dodecahedrons Organizations: Service, Norton Disney, Group, BBC, Lincoln Museum, English Heritage, Washington Post Locations: London, Hertfordshire, England, England's Midlands, British, Britain, Roman, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Africa, Turkey

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