Life on our planet might have originated from biological particles brought to Earth in streams of space dust, a study suggests.
Fast-moving flows of interplanetary dust that continually bombard our planet’s atmosphere could deliver tiny organisms from far-off worlds, or send Earth-based organisms to other planets, according to the research.
Link:https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2017/space-dust-may-transport-life-between-worlds
Electricity here in Los Angeles is 17.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). Not far away, Mexicans get solar electric for one-tenth the price. And by 2019, the price could drop to 1¢/kWh.
Link: https://boingboing.net/2017/11/17/worlds-cheapest-electricity.html
Andrea Lo, CNN
The world’s first “space nation” has taken flight.
On November 12, Asgardia cemented its presence in outer space by launching the Asgardia-1 satellite.
The “nanosat” — it is roughly the size of a loaf of bread — undertook a two-day journey from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, the United States, to the International Space Station (ISS).
Link: http://edition.cnn.com/style/article/asgardia-satellite-launch/index.html
The benefits that come with owning a dog are clear– physical activity, support, companionship — but owning a dog could literally be saving your life
Dog ownership is associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and death, finds a new Swedish study published Friday in the journal Scientific Reports.
Link: https://fox8.com/2017/11/18/want-to-live-longer-get-a-dog/
We know a lot of factual information about the starling—its size and voice, where it lives, how it breeds and migrates—but what remains a mystery is how it flies in murmurations, or flocks, without colliding. This short film by Jan van IJken was shot in the Netherlands, and it captures the birds gathering at dusk, just about to start their “performance.” Listen well and you’ll be able to hear how this beautiful phenomenon got its name.
Link: https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/short-film-showcase/00000158-457d-d0be-a1dc-4f7f8e650000
People ask me all the time why I want to be a reporter. It’s a dying industry, they say!
I get why people think that. Everywhere I turn I see bad news about the news: like how people don’t buy newspapers anymore. Or how so many newspapers have had to close, and how the ones that have stayed open have had to cut their staffs. The future, they say, is bleak.
Link: https://orangestreetnews.com/2017/11/06/osn-editorial-why-i-believe-in-the-future-of-journalism/
In India, we have these huge families. I bet a lot of you all must have heard about it. Which means that there are a lot of family events. So as a child, my parents used to drag me to these family events.
But the one thing that I always looked forward to was playing around with my cousins. And there was always this one uncle who used to be there, always ready, jumping around with us, having games for us, making us kids have the time of our lives.
Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/mileha_soneji_simple_hacks_for_life_with_parkinson_s/transcript
The three-member team — which was only formed in 2016 — is the first to represent Nigeria at the winter event, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February next year.
Driver Seun Adigun, brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omega, qualified for the event over five races held in Utah, Whistler and Calgary.
Link:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-17/nigerias-bobsled-team-off-to-winter-olympics/9163162
Carbon Engineering, a company owned in part by Bill Gates, has its headquarters on a spit of land that juts into Howe Sound, an hour north of Vancouver. Until recently, the land was a toxic-waste site, and the company’s equipment occupies a long, barnlike building that, for many years, was used to process contaminated water.
Link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/11/20/can-carbon-dioxide-removal-save-the-world
Scientists at Northwestern University have discovered a genetic mutation in an isolated Amish population that helps them live longer and healthier lives, and protects them from diabetes and other age-related illnesses. A drug that mimics those effects is currently being trialled in humans, and shows promise in slowing aging, preventing diabetes and may even counteract baldness.
Link: https://newatlas.com/amish-genetic-mutation-lifespan-diabetes/52212/
Injecting billions of reflective particles into the stratosphere could help cool an overheating planet, but would also alter the intensity of tropical storms, researchers have said.
Link: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/can-we-cool-our-planet/article20462380.ece
Nearly 90 million people are likely to experience temperatures at or below zero in the Midwest and New England. The historic cold has already been blamed for at least one death, and it has caused statewide declarations of emergency, school closures and flight cancellations across the country.