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NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space

20

Dec

Technology

NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space

On Dec. 11, NASA engineers anxiously gathered at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to view a cat video, wondering if it would be in the pristine high definition for which they had hoped.To their relief, it was. For the first time, high-definition video — this one of a lab employee’s cat named Taters — was streamed from 18.6 million miles away, or roughly 80 times the distance from the Earth to the moon, the farthest ever.The demonstration was part of NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, aimed at improving the infrastructure for communication beyond the Earth’s orbit. As…

Israel Shares More Details of Hostage Deaths as Pressure to Curb War Grows: Live Updates

18

Dec

By William Lee

New miscellaneous

Israel Shares More Details of Hostage Deaths as Pressure to Curb War Grows: Live Updates

Roman Catholic church officials said an Israeli military sniper shot and killed a mother and daughter on Saturday inside a church compound in northern Gaza where many Palestinian Christian families have taken refuge.The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that “one was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety” in the compound of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. Seven more people were shot and wounded while trying to protect others there, the patriarchate said in a statement on Saturday.“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the patriarchate said. “They were shot in cold blood inside…

Jesse Lingard is a non-footballing footballer – he won’t be the last

18

Dec

By William Lee

Sports

Jesse Lingard is a non-footballing footballer – he won’t be the last

Follow live coverage of Liverpool vs Manchester United in the Premier League todayIt’s Jesse Lingard’s birthday. He turns 31 today and, at this stage of his life, he must realise it is not going to be easy shifting some of the perceptions that come from being a non-footballing footballer. For now, at least.Speak to Lingard’s former team-mates and they will talk about a guy who has been popular at all his clubs and played at a level, including a World Cup semi-final, that automatically commands respect among his fellow pros.But it is also a harsh reality that many others will…

Illicit Content on Elon Musk’s X Draws E.U. Investigation

18

Dec

By William Lee

Technology

Illicit Content on Elon Musk’s X Draws E.U. Investigation

The European Union on Monday announced a formal investigation into X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, for failure to counter illicit content and disinformation, a lack of transparency about advertising and “deceptive” design practices.The inquiry is perhaps the most substantial regulatory consequence to date of X, which has scaled back its content moderation policies since Mr. Musk bough the service, once known as Twitter, last year. The company’s new policies have led to a rise in incendiary content on the platform, according to researchers, causing brands to scale back advertising.In going after X, the European Union is…

Brazil’s Congress Weakens Protection of Indigenous Lands, Defying Lula

15

Dec

By William Lee

New miscellaneous

Brazil’s Congress Weakens Protection of Indigenous Lands, Defying Lula

Brazilian officials served up an array of plans and figures at the recent COP28 climate summit in Dubai, presenting itself as a world leader, on track to protect its forests and the people who live there.But on Thursday, Brazil’s Congress approved a law that threatens Indigenous people’s rights to most of the land they inhabit or claim, potentially opening vast territories to deforestation, farming and mining.The new law requires that Indigenous people must provide concrete evidence that they occupied the land they claim on Oct. 5, 1988, when the country’s current Constitution was enacted — a requirement that many of…

Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.

14

Dec

By William Lee

Sports

Morning Person? You Might Have Neanderthal Genes to Thank.

Neanderthals were morning people, a new study suggests. And some humans today who like getting up early might credit genes they inherited from their Neanderthal ancestors.The new study compared DNA in living humans to genetic material retrieved from Neanderthal fossils. It turns out that Neanderthals carried some of the same clock-related genetic variants as do people who report being early risers.Since the 1990s, studies of Neanderthal DNA have exposed our species’ intertwined history. About 700,000 years ago, our lineages split apart, most likely in Africa. While the ancestors of modern humans largely stayed in Africa, the Neanderthal lineage migrated into…