ieofficial

July 17, 2023, 3:02

The Biden administration announced Friday it will invest $20 billion from the federal “green bank” for clean energy projects in the region.

The money will come from two programs and will supply competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups to invest in clean energy projects. Both funds will have a focus on disadvantaged communities.

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ieofficial

July 8, 2023, 22:00

Since the first Starlink satellites were launched to low Earth orbit (LEO) in 2019, they have had to make 50,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers, a SpaceX filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reveals.

The filing points toward a massive rise in the number of avoidance maneuvers as the number of Starlink satellites in orbit continues to grow.

In an interview with Interesting Engineering (IE) last year, University of Regina astronomer Dr. Samantha Lawler warned that Starlink is increasing the potential for collisions in low Earth orbit and it has us on the brink of experiencing a potentially catastrophic Kessler Syndrome scenario.

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ieofficial

July 6, 2023, 6:00

A long-forgotten cache of WW2-era British Hawker Hurricanes has been dug up in Ukraine, the BBC reported. Now heavily rusted, the eight Hurricanes were discovered in a forest entirely by chance.

The aircraft was initially sent to Ukraine during the height of the Second World War under the Lend-Lease scheme and were intended for the Soviet Union to defend against National Socialist aggression in the region.

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ieofficial

July 6, 2023, 3:00

While going underground might not seem like the best idea after the recent submersible mishap, there’s a town in the North-East of Wales that is boasting of a hotel 1,375 feet underground, reportedly the deepest hotel in the world.

Called ‘Deep Sleep,’ the hotel has been built in an abandoned slate mine below the mountains of Snowdonia in Gwynedd. There is no grid connection down there, so the hotel is self-powered using the force of falling water within the mine itself via micro-hydro turbines.

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ieofficial

July 6, 2023, 0:30

Elephants seek variety in their diets, even varying what they eat for dinner every night, according to a study that used cutting-edge genetic techniques published in Royal Society Open Science on July 4.

Significantly, the findings shed light on why elephants forage in groups: they adjust their diets based not only on availability but on preferences and physiological needs to avoid food-related conflicts. In this way, they can stay together.

"Each elephant needs variety, a little bit of spice — not literally in their food, but in their dietary habits," said study author Tyler Kartzinel, an assistant professor of environmental studies and ecology, evolution, and organismal biology at Brown University, in a press release.

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ieofficial

July 5, 2023, 22:00

For the first time, a urine test has been developed to identify brain tumors in a non-invasive manner.

Tissue biopsy is the most often used approach for diagnosing brain tumors nowadays. It is an invasive method requiring surgery to take a tiny amount of tumor tissue for microscopic inspection.

Nagoya University in Japan has developed a novel method that may aid in diagnosing brain tumors faster and more timely. Nanowires are used in this newly developed method to "capture and release cell-free DNA" (cfDNA) in urine.

Through this method, the team detected an IDH1 mutation linked to gliomas, a type of brain tumor.

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ieofficial

July 5, 2023, 18:30

A new 12-story, 54-room hotel scheduled to open in Cape Town, South Africa, is being hailed as the world’s tallest building made with industrial hemp. As such, it promises views of Cape Town’s massive Table Mountain and a “minimal ecological footprint,” according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) published in May.

The appropriately named Hemp Hotel consists of “hempcrete” blocks made from woody parts of hemp plants and supported by a cement-and-concrete structure. The hempcrete lends insulating and fireproof properties to the building.

According to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, each pound of concrete releases 0.93 pounds of carbon dioxide. In addition, building materials are responsible for 11 percent of global carbon emissions.

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ieofficial

July 5, 2023, 11:01

The rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk has reached a new phase, as social media giant Meta prepares to challenge Twitter by launching a competing app called Threads. Unlike its photo-sharing platform Instagram, Threads is a "text-based conversation app" and is expected to be available on Apple's App Store from Thursday, Reuters reported.

Musk and Zuckerberg have been in the news for the past few days for their "billionaire bout" but even before the mixed-martial arts fight takes place, the stage has been set for the clash of apps from the two companies.

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https://ie.social/N32ga

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