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by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — To say that Victor Buso was in the right place at the right time may be the biggest understatement in the history of stargazing. By pure luck, the amateur astronomer from Rosario, Argentina snapped the first before-and-after images ever captured of a star as it explodes in a brilliant flash of light and morphs into a supernova. Astronomers call this pivotal moment “shock breakout,” and have […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A team of international scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey set off on Wednesday to explore a mysterious marine ecosystem that has lain hidden under an ice shelf for up to 120,000 years. The BAS said that an iceberg known as A68 broke off from the Larsen Ice Shelf in July 2017, revealing a section of seabed measuring 5,818 square kilometers (2,245 square miles) — nearly four times the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — More than 100 rarely seen fish species were hauled up from a deep and cold abyss off Australia during a scientific voyage, researchers said Wednesday, including a cousin of the “world’s ugliest animal” Mr Blobby. Scientists spent a month last year on a vessel off the country’s eastern seaboard surveying life lurking up to 4.8 kilometres (2.9 miles) below the surface, using nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras. Over 42,000 fish and […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Artificial intelligence could be deployed by dictators, criminals and terrorists to manipulate elections and use drones in terrorist attacks, more than two dozen experts said Wednesday as they sounded the alarm over misuse of the technology. In a 100-page analysis, they outlined a rapid growth in cybercrime and the use of “bots” to interfere with news gathering and penetrate social media among a host of plausible […]
by Julie Charpentrat Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Triumphant in online retail, cloud computing, organic groceries, and streaming television, Amazon founder and chief disruptor Jeff Bezos is turning his seemingly limitless ambition to health care. Amazon, launched as an internet bookseller nearly 24 years ago, has branched into offerings including voice-commanded speakers infused with Alexa artificial intelligence and original TV shows streamed online at its Prime subscription service. Health care now appears […]
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Archaeologists who have been exploring the world’s largest underwater cave — recently discovered in Mexico — presented their findings Monday, including fossils of giant sloths and an elaborate shrine to the Mayan god of commerce. Researchers discovered last month that two large networks of underwater caves in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, the Sac Actun and Dos Ojos networks, are in fact connected, forming the largest such structure on Earth. Diving with […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Artificial intelligence and its impact on weapons of the future has made US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis doubt his own theories on warfare. A question on the subject prompted the retired Marine general to give an impromptu seminar on his theory of war Saturday to reporters returning with him from a week-long tour of Europe. Recalling his own writings, he differentiated between the essential nature of war, which is unchanging […]
by Juliette Michel © Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Blockchain, the technology behind the cryptocurrency bitcoin, is taking root in a sector far from finance: the world of humanitarian aid. By offering refugees a virtual identity, reassuring donors that their money is being well spent, or rushing funds where they are needed most, aid charities are experimenting with the technology in the hopes that it can improve their work. “We are at the very […]
by Miguel SANCHEZ Agence France-Presse PARANAL, Chile (AFP) – It seems nothing can escape the inexorable spread of light pollution — not even the giant telescopes probing the heavens above northern Chile, a region whose pristine dark skies, long considered a paradise for astronomers, are under increasing threat. The Atacama desert, 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) north of the capital Santiago, provides ideal conditions where astronomers study the stars in darkness so profound they appear like diamonds on […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The Milky Way’s neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, was formed in a colossal crash between two smaller star systems no more than three billion years ago when Earth already existed, researchers said Wednesday. Calculating the birth date of the galaxy has been a major challenge for astrophysicists given the vast age gap between the different stars it is made up of. For the latest study, French and Chinese researchers led by Paris Observatory […]
SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Qualcomm said Wednesday its board would “promptly” consider a hostile $121 billion takeover bid by Singapore-based Broadcom following a meeting of top executives of the two computer chipmaking giants. “We met with representatives of Broadcom for two hours earlier today, and listened carefully to what they had to say,” Qualcomm said in a statement. “The Qualcomm board will promptly meet to discuss the meeting and to determine next steps.” The meeting […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Tuesday launched an unmanned Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station after a glitch led officials to postpone the planned liftoff two days earlier. The Soyuz rocket carrying the Progress ship took off from the snow-covered Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 11:15 am Moscow time (0815 GMT) and reached its designated orbit several minutes later, the Russian space agency said. “We have liftoff!” the Roscosmos space agency tweeted. […]
