How is AI changing the way we write and create?
Source: phys.orgSince late last year, artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT have become a growing topic of conversation on college campuses, with students using the technology for everything from class assignments to essays.
Source:The Nation
March 29, 2023 05:05 UTC
Nokia Is Sending 4G Internet to the Moon
Nokia announced it is sending a 4G internet service to the Moon during an upcoming space mission. Nokia, working alongside Lunar Outpost and Intuitive Machines, created the 4G technology, which is designed to withstand the harsh conditions in space. The tech demonstration could set the stage for use during future crewed Artemis missions to the Moon. The network will be critical for “any sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars in the future,” Nokia said in a blog post. He said the 4G network “will have a big impact on future crewed missions to the Moon and beyond, and validate that cellular technologies can be adapted for mission-critical space communications needs.
Source:The Nation
March 28, 2023 16:04 UTC
Finland's NATO membership: What's next?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, speaks with Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto prior to a meeting in Brussels on Monday, March 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)HELSINKI – Finland has moved one step closer to joining NATO after Hungary ratified the Nordic country’s bid on Monday. A similar decision is expected in the coming weeks from Turkey, the only alliance member that hasn’t approved Finland’s membership. FULL MEMBERSHIPOnce Finland's membership acceptance document reaches the U.S. State Department in Washington, the Nordic country officially becomes a full NATO member. Moreover, Hungary's parliament has yet to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid and it remains unclear when it will do so.
Source:The Nation
March 28, 2023 07:07 UTC
10 Amazing Animals That Farm
[1]9 Herder AntsHow Ants Farm and Milk Aphids | Stories from NatureAnts aren’t just cultivating crops to feed their colonies; instead, some species tend to the equivalent of livestock. [2]8 TermitesHelping My TERMITES Farm Mushrooms (Experiment) | Part 2Termite farming history puts human farming timelines to shame. [6]4 DamselfishDamselfish Farm Algae using Mysis Shrimp in the Caribbean SeaLongfin damselfish are exceptional farmers. The spotted jellyfish doesn’t spend a lot of time swimming and instead farms algae (zooxanthellae) which it grows inside its body. For most species, this algae farm supplies the majority but not all of its nutritional needs.
Source:The Nation
March 18, 2023 20:07 UTC
Haley, Ramaswamy among those taking on 'woke ideology' in SC
FILE - Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2023, March 3, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. Attendees are expected to hear from presidential hopefuls, including Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Donald Trump's U.N. ambassador, and Ramaswamy. More than 400 attendees are expected to hear from presidential hopefuls, including Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Donald Trump's U.N. ambassador, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. DeSantis won't be on stage in South Carolina, but Ramaswamy and Haley will. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan and former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Source:The Nation
March 18, 2023 19:11 UTC
The ‘Girls’ Online Fandom Revival Was Bound to Happen
This was the total apex of Girls mania: a time when this unassuming HBO series could induce blind rancor, giddy acclaim, and a bizarre, ambiguous bitterness in all those who came near it. She tells them, hilariously, that she believes herself to be the voice of her generation. My friend had finally confirmed that Girls was out-of-touch, vain, elitist, and oppressively New York, and she gleefully hate-watched the next batch of episodes. In retrospect, anyone who digested that line at face value was clearly missing the point. But this criticism was par for the course during the age of Girls.
Source:The Nation
March 18, 2023 00:03 UTC
New judge to oversee Trump grand jury investigations
All rights reserved)A new judge is poised to assume oversight of grand jury investigations concerning former President Donald Trump, including the ongoing probe into classified documents found at his Florida estate. Boasberg is replacing the current chief judge, Beryl Howell, who is also an Obama appointee. The chief judge position rotates on a seven-year basis. The investigations have involved multiple sealed disputes, including a current fight over whether prosecutors can secure additional grand jury testimony from Trump lawyer M. Evan Corcoran. Corcoran had invoked attorney-client privilege during an appearance before the grand jury weeks ago.
Source:The Nation
March 17, 2023 17:09 UTC
Scientists discover giant insect genome
Source: phys.orgThe largest genome of any insect, seven times the size of the human genome, was recently discovered in a grasshopper. In a study published in PLOS ONE, researchers from the German Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB) and the Czech Academy of Sciences prove wrong the idea of insect genomes being comparatively small and less complex.
Source:The Nation
March 17, 2023 16:48 UTC
Public servants may get extra allowance
Public servants may get extra allowance View(s):The Government will consider providing an additional allowance for public sector employees in the fourth quarter of this year following an assessment of the economic situation in consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe told the Sunday Times. Mr Semasinghe, however, said the tax policy would remain the same and no changes would be made, despite protests. If we break the agreements it would affect our next installments.”He said the Government was expecting the first instalment of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility by the end of this month. The state minister said already the foreign reserves had moved up to US$ 2.2 billion and there were further signs of the rupee appreciating against the US dollar. Share This Post FacebookTwitterEmail × Send Email to FriendSend Please enter valid email WhatsappDeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspaceRSS
Source:Sunday Times
March 12, 2023 07:58 UTC
IMF deal and the miles to go
IMF deal and the miles to go View(s):There can always be a slip between a verbal agreement and a formal one, but by all accounts, the long-awaited, eagerly anticipated International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout for Sri Lanka seems a fait accompli. The proposed law will do away with the Monetary Law Act that was established to govern all the functions of the Central Bank. Little does it know that not all Central Banks are apolitical. Is the IMF trying to create mini-IMF offices in countries like Sri Lanka independent of sovereign, elected Governments through these new-look Central Banks? How independent would such a Central Bank be from the IMF will surely be a moot point.
Source:Sunday Times
March 12, 2023 07:18 UTC
Art that prompts introspection and conversation
Art that prompts introspection and conversation View(s):With My Back to the World – a month long exhibition for International Women’s Day opened at the Saskia Fernando Gallery on Thursday. It continues until April 2. Curated by Mariyam Begum and Ashini Nanayakkara, the exhibition highlights the subtleties of art-making, inviting the viewer to engage with not just the artwork but the process of creating embroidery, beadwork, woodblock printing, painting, sculpture etc through the work of 12 contemporary women artists. Featured in the starkly muted spaces of the Saskia Fernando Gallery, the works by Fabienne Francotte, Hansika Herath, Chathurika Jayani, Shaanea Mendis, Ashini Nanayakkara, Sabeen Omar, Anoli Perera, Sumi Perera, Saskia Pintelon, Anoma Rajakaruna, Hema Shironi and Anoma Wijewardene prompted introspection and conversation. Share This Post FacebookTwitterEmail × Send Email to FriendSend Please enter valid email WhatsappDeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspaceRSS
Source:Sunday Times
March 05, 2023 00:32 UTC
All clear for IMF bailout package
All clear for IMF bailout package View(s):First tranche by end March or early April after President’s talks with IMF chiefBy Damith WickremasekaraThe Government is on the cusp of clinching a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), senior officials said yesterday expecting a US dollars 300 million first tranche by the end of the month, or at least reaching a final agreement on its US$ 2.9 billion bailout agreement at the Fund’s Spring Session early next month. Finance Ministry sources said the Government would be submitting a formal application by way of a Letter of Intent to the IMF Board of Directors listing out the reforms it had put in place for compliance with the IMF demands for the bailout. Earlier, President Wickremesinghe announced the Government had fulfilled the 15 requirements of the IMF. According to a President’s Media Unit Friday night statement, the discussions between the President and the IMF Managing Director were significant as they followed a discussion the IMF head had with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang. Talks with the IMF have been concluded after six months, a senior Treasury official confirmed yesterday.
Source:Sunday Times
March 05, 2023 00:31 UTC
India revives civil militia after Hindu killings in Kashmir
In response, Indian authorities revived a government-sponsored militia and began rearming and training thousands of villagers, including some teenagers. The police blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for decades in Kashmir, the Himalayan territory claimed by India and Pakistan in its entirety. In 2005, India’s federal government founded a local militia, the Salwa Judum, to combat Maoist rebels in the central Chhattisgarh state. In Kashmir, the civil defense groups were armed almost six years after the deadly insurgency against Indian rule began. Muslim residents in the village say fear and grief bind them together with their Hindu neighbors, yet their request to join the militia has been refused.
Source:The Nation
February 28, 2023 04:02 UTC
Black Mississippi capital distrusts plans by white officials
– Random gunfire, repeated break-ins and a decaying city water system are constant challenges at Mom's Dream Kitchen, the soul food restaurant Timothy Norris' mother opened 35 years ago in Mississippi's capital. Both would give white state government officials more power over Jackson, which has the highest percentage of Black residents of any major U.S. city. Helm Baptist Church, near the Mississippi Capitol building, the Rev. In Jackson, some white residents also object to a wider territory for the Capitol Police and new courts with appointed judges. She said she was pleased the Capitol Police had a more visible presence at the Mississippi State Fair last fall, after fights occurred there in the past.
Source:The Nation
February 27, 2023 00:14 UTC
In 2024 campaign, kingmaker role again for South Carolina?
Democrats elevated South Carolina to the top of their presidential primary calendar, leapfrogging Iowa and New Hampshire. Republicans, meanwhile, could potentially have two homegrown South Carolina presidential candidates in the race, a prospect that has already caused friction among the state’s GOP circles of supporters. Biden’s recognition of the role South Carolina played in reviving his 2020 campaign, after less-than-stellar performances in earlier-voting states, has been clear since his victory celebration three years ago in February. Last year, in a fundraiser for South Carolina Democrats, Vice President Kamala Harris offered her gratitude, saying, “We see how South Carolina Democrats set President Joe Biden and me on a path to the White House. The 2024 season in only getting started in South Carolina, just as in the other early states.
Source:The Nation
February 26, 2023 14:48 UTC