ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 643
November 9, 2015
NASA Think They Found Enormous Volcanoes On Pluto’s Surface That Spew ICE Instead Of Lava And Ash
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NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
This week marks the 47th Division of Planetary Sciences meeting and if today is any indication, Pluto is going to steal the show. From potential cryovolcanoes to varied terrain, NASA’s New Horizons team is presenting over 50 incredible Pluto discoveries this week at the meeting in National Harbor. Yes, you read that right, New Horizons has spotted not one, but two potential icy volcanoes on the surface of Pluto’s south pole.
Report Finds Rise Of Artificial Intelligence Could Spark Mass Unemployment And Inequality
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A new report suggests that robots with artificial intelligence could replace humans in several job sectors. Tatiana Shepeleva/Shutterstock
Fears about human workers losing their jobs to machines have been fueled by a 72 percent increase in the number of industrial robots in the U.S. over the past decade, although with investment in artificial intelligence (AI) soaring, things could be about to get a lot worse. This is according to a new 300-page report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), which details the potential impact of the impending robot revolution on the job market.
Astronomers Witness The Dying “Breath” Of A Giant Radio Galaxy
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Center of optical image: The supermassive black hole in the red galaxy (zoomed in inset) has led to the formation of giant radio lobes (in yellow-red). Prathamesh Tamhane/Yogesh Wadadekar
A team of astronomers from India has discovered an extremely rare galaxy located 9 billion light-years away towards the constellation Cetus.
Newly Discovered Fossil Suggests Complex Skeletons Evolved Earlier Than Thought
Photo credit:
Sagittarius Production/Shutterstock
The more carefully we peer back in time, the more surprises we find. Only recently, scientists discovered that life on Earth began far earlier than we previously thought, right at the end of the fiery first chapter of our planet 4.1 billion years ago.
Long-Tailed Galaxy Amazes Astronomers
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The tail structure visible in X-rays on the right. Gerrit Schellenberger and Thomas Reiprich.
Scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany have discovered the longest gas tail linked to the gravitational stripping of materials from a galaxy. The bright object is part of the Zwicky 8338 cluster, which is about 860 million light-years from us.
The gas flow resembles a comet, as it shows two components: a hot tail made mostly of hydrogen and helium, and a cool head, made of other elements and thus considered “metal-rich.” It extends for at least 228,000 light-years, although some preliminary indications could hint at a size of almost half a million light-years.
Lack Of Risk-Taking In Scientific Research Is Hurting Progress
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The system for deciding which scientists get secure jobs is undermining creativity and making it difficult for scientists to shake up their field. Credit: Bangkokhappiness/Shutterstock
Scientific knowledge is being hobbled by scientists choosing excessively safe topics, according to two new papers, and as a result transformative discoveries are being delayed. More efficient inquiry may require changing scientists' reward system, as currently lower-risk research is often more incentivized than higher-risk work.
New Eye Drops Can Dissolve Cataracts With No Need For Surgery
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ARZTSAMUI/Shutterstock
Cataracts is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The only option for those affected is surgery, an expensive and invasive procedure that’s unavailable to many in the developing world.
This Polar Bear Raided A BBC Film Crew’s Cabin
Photo credit:
BBC Earth Unplugged
While filming for the -narrated documentary series "The Hunt," a BBC film crew got their hut looted by a polar bear.
2015 Global Temperatures Set To Pass 1°C Of Warming
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The world is set to reach halfway to the 2°C limit often quoted in climate negotiations. Signature Message/Shutterstock
Climate negotiations often revolve around keeping the rise in average global temperatures to a maximum of 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Warmer than this, it is said, and climate change-induced natural disasters will increase dramatically in severity, causing untold damage to life and property, alongside shrinking the habitability of environments across the globe.
SeaWorld Have Announced That They Are Ending Live Orca Shows
Photo credit:
Tinseltown/Shutterstock
Finally, it’s a move we have all been waiting impatiently for: SeaWorld San Diego is to pull the plug on its orca show.
Announced online Monday in a document posted by the company, SeaWorld has said that as of next year, its killer whale performances will be phased out.
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