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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Australia's conservative government announced plans Friday to double university fees for humanities students, in a bid to push people into more useful, "job-relevant" courses like maths and science.

Under the proposal—which critics panned as an "ideological assault"—the cost of degrees like history or cultural studies will rise up to 113 percent to around US$29,000, while other courses such as nursing and information technology will become cheaper.

Education Minister Dan Tehan—an arts graduate with two advanced degrees in international relations—said the government wanted to corral young people towards "jobs of the future" to boost the country's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

"If you are wanting to do philosophy, which will be great for your critical thinking, also think about doing IT," Tehan said.

The plan would help pay for an additional 39,000 university places by 2023 and for cost cuts for courses like science, agriculture, maths and languages.

[...] "I'm an arts graduate and so is the minister for education so I'm not sure you can draw the conclusion that we're completely unemployable," said opposition lawmaker Tanya Plibersek.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

New system uses wind turbines to defend the national grid from power cut:

Lead researcher Professor Xiao-Ping Zhang, Director of Smart Grid in the Birmingham Energy Institute, comments: "By 2030 wind is expected to provide half the UK's power, so it's important that we can use the wind farms provide a vital safety mechanism of controlling frequency dips of UK's national power grid. Our proposed frequency control system for wind turbines could revolutionise the UK's power grid's frequency control and, importantly, uses our existing infrastructure of wind turbines and it will not need additional devices and investments."

The most recent severe power cut, in August 2019, caused blackouts across the Midlands, South East, South West, North West and North East of England, and Wales. The incident was triggered by two almost simultaneous unexpected power losses at Hornsea and Little Barford due to lightning strikes.

[...] "As the UK increases its reliance on wind power, it will become even more important to find effective ways to use the turbine systems to provide this service and maintain effective regulation of the grid. Current methods of using wind turbines to regulate electricity struggle to provide consistent support because of variable wind speeds and other system conditions," adds Professor Zhang.

The method proposed by the Birmingham team harnesses the potential of wind turbines to operate at variable speeds to provide the flexibility required to respond to fluctuations in supply and demand.

Zhang (2020): "Fast Frequency Support From Wind Turbine Systems by Arresting Frequency Nadir Close to Settling Frequency," IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy, vol. 7, pp. 191-202, 2020, doi: 10.1109/OAJPE.2020.2996949.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Is teleportation possible? Yes, in the quantum world: Quantum teleportation is an important step in improving quantum computing:

While human teleportation exists only in science fiction, teleportation is possible in the subatomic world of quantum mechanics -- albeit not in the way typically depicted on TV. In the quantum world, teleportation involves the transportation of information, rather than the transportation of matter.

Last year scientists confirmed that information could be passed between photons on computer chips even when the photons were not physically linked.

Now, according to new research from the University of Rochester and Purdue University, teleportation may also be possible between electrons.

In a paper published in Nature Communications and one to appear in Physical Review X, the researchers, including John Nichol, an assistant professor of physics at Rochester, and Andrew Jordan, a professor of physics at Rochester, explore new ways of creating quantum-mechanical interactions between distant electrons. The research is an important step in improving quantum computing, which, in turn, has the potential to revolutionize technology, medicine, and science by providing faster and more efficient processors and sensors.

[...] "We provide evidence for 'entanglement swapping,' in which we create entanglement between two electrons even though the particles never interact, and 'quantum gate teleportation,' a potentially useful technique for quantum computing using teleportation," Nichol says. "Our work shows that this can be done even without photons."

The results pave the way for future research on quantum teleportation involving spin states of all matter, not just photons, and provide more evidence for the surprisingly useful capabilities of individual electrons in qubit semiconductors.

Journal References:

Haifeng Qiao, Yadav P. Kandel, Sreenath K. Manikandan, et al. Conditional teleportation of quantum-dot spin states [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16745-0)

Qiao, Haifeng, Kandel, Yadav P., Deng, Kuangyin, et al. Coherent multi-spin exchange in a quantum-dot spin chain, (DOI: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.02277)

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RandomFactor writes:

The United States Navy is testing power beaming satellite technology.

Recently, one of [the] groups at America's Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) hit a milestone in the development of power satellite technology by launching their Photovoltaic RF Antenna Module (PRAM) test satellite.

The idea underlying power satellites is called "power beaming". Power beaming systems use one of three different frequencies of light to transmit significant amounts of power over a distance wirelessly. Last year NRL had a successful demonstration of a land-based power beaming system using an infrared laser.

Doing it from space presents a whole new set of challenges though, and not necessarily just technical ones. Dr Paul Jaffe, the technical lead on the PRAM project, described the process of being selected for an orbital launch as equivalent to Shark Tank – numerous PIs pitching their ideas for a trip to orbit. After several years of trying, PRAM finally got it's time to shine on an X-37B launch on May 17th.

PRAM won't actually shine though – it's surface is covered in black solar panels, and its innards consist of the first hardware ever launched to orbit that converts solar energy into microwaves.

Although it won't actually beam power back to Earth, the 30cm PRAM satellite will test and gather metrics to compare with Earth based systems, including

• Efficiency of conversion of solar energy to microwaves
• Thermal management using the radiative cooling system
• Power Density
• Base station design
• Optimal Illumination orbit

Addressing fears around use of the platform as a weapon, Dr. Jaffe notes "If you put a magnifying glass in front of your WiFI router, it doesn't start melting anything."

Related:
China Plans Space-Based Solar Power Stations

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Whales are disturbed by engine noise from boats:

To get their patrons the best possible view, whale watching companies and the captains of their ships tend to position vessels as close as they can.

[...] "Unlike humans, the dominant sense in whales is not sight -- it is hearing," Australian biologist Kate R. Sprogis, research fellow at Aarhus University in Denmark, said in a news release. "As such, a whale may not be able to see a whale-watch boat at 100 meter distance, but they are likely to hear it, so it makes sense to consider this when stipulating whale-watching guidelines."

Using underwater speakers and drone cameras, scientists tested the effects of different decibel levels on the behavior of humpback whales in the Exmouth Gulf, located off the western coast of Australia.

[...] When researchers subjected mothers and calves to boat-noise levels of 172 decibels, a very loud boat, from a distance of 100 meters, the mothers and calves spent 30 percent less time resting, swam at faster speeds and doubled their breathing rates.

When the boats moved further away, disturbed whales usually returned to resting. However, previous studies suggest repeated disturbances can leave moms without the energy to feed their calves and evade predators.

Journal Reference:
Kate R Sprogis, Simone Videsen, Peter T Madsen. Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching, (DOI: 10.7554/eLife.56760)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Disrupted circadian rhythms linked to later Parkinson's diagnoses: Researchers probe brain's 24-hour biological clock for neurodegenerative risks:

Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer's disease. 500,000 individuals in the United States have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and many with the disease are undiagnosed, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Most who have Parkinson's are diagnosed after age 60. There are no drugs known to prevent the disease, but there are a growing number of treatments to relieve symptoms.

[...] The study, which enrolled 2,930 men with an average age of 76.3 when the research began, was part of the larger, population-based Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (MRoS), which began in 2000 and enrolled men at six medical centers nationwide. None of the participants in the subset of the MRoS cohort initially had Parkinson's, and all were living in community-based settings (i.e. not in nursing homes). Their status for many health-related factors was assessed at the start, and they were monitored through follow-up visits and questionnaires.

As part of the study, researchers monitored circadian rhythms of rest and activity over three separate 24-hour periods by having participants wear an actigraph -- a watch-like device that detects and records even slight wrist movements. The data collected from these devices were independently associated with the later development of Parkinson's.

In a previous study, Leng and Yaffe identified an association between daytime napping and the later development of Parkinson's. But the link between circadian rhythms and Parkinson's is not just a matter or disrupted sleep, according to the new study. The association held true even after accounting for indicators of sleep disturbances -- including loss of sleep; sleep inefficiency (time spent asleep after turning off the lights); leg movement during sleep; and the chronic, temporary cessation of breathing known as sleep apnea.

Journal Reference:
Yue Leng, Kristine Yaffe, Terri Blackwell, et al. Association of Circadian Abnormalities in Older Adults With an Increased Risk of Parkinson Disease, JAMA Neurology (DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.1623)

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Using LEGO to test children's ability to visualize and rotate 3D shapes in space:

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a test that uses children’s ability to assemble LEGO pieces to assess their spatial visualization ability. Spatial visualization is the ability to visualize 3D shapes in one’s mind, which is tied to increased GPAs and graduation rates in STEM college students.

At the college level, a widely used assessment is the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations, or PSVT:R, which is a 20-minute timed test consisting of a series of multiple-choice questions that are geared towards students 13 and older. Van Den Einde and Delson wanted to develop an assessment that would be more suitable and engaging for students at lower grade levels. They turned to LEGO, which was designed with that younger age range in mind and is familiar to many children. To pass the test, students have to assemble a set of LEGO pieces into a specific shape, such as a whale or a small plane, while only being given a picture of the final shape but no step-by-step instructions. The time it takes students to build the correct solution is the metric used for assessment.

[...] In order to validate the test, the researchers had students in two freshman engineering graphics courses take both the LEGO assembly test and the PSVT:R. Students took the tests both at the beginning and end of the quarter. During the course, they were trained with the Spatial Viz app. Test results show a statistically significant correlation between outcomes on the LEGO test and the PSVT:R.

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Phoenix666 writes:

New Atlas:

Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a new type of smart textile that could make its way into adaptive clothing that keeps the wearer cool in warm weather, and vice versa. The material achieves this through the use of graphene which can be tuned to alter the thermal radiation of the textile, with the team imagining the technology could also find its way into advanced displays and even spacesuits.

[...] The warmer the human body, the more infrared radiation it emits, so some clothes are designed to allow this radiation to pass through freely to help keep the body temperature low, while others are designed to lock it in to keep the wearer warm. The team has now adapted its smart textile to perform the role of both, with the ability to dynamically transition between these two states via electrical tuning.

Journal Reference:
Graphene-Enabled Adaptive Infrared Textiles, Nano Letters (DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01694)

Now you'll never have to take off your favorite shirt to keep pace with the weather.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

SpaceX hasn’t given details about its motivation for this seemingly complex and expensive undertaking, other than a reply tweet in which Musk said the launches and landings had to be “far enough away so as not to bother heavily populated areas.” The company’s plan to eventually carry out up to three launches and landings per day would certainly necessitate putting some serious distance between the launch site and people; most of us could only handle about one sonic boom a month, if that.

A wide no-fly zone and road closures go into effect on launch days. And if Starships do eventually shuttle people around Earth or beyond on a daily basis, the takeoff and landing points would need to be conveniently located; going a few miles offshore is likely better in this regard than finding a huge empty swathe of land in, say, New Mexico or Nevada.

Rather than building the launchpads from scratch, it’s possible SpaceX would refurbish existing oil rigs; the bigger rigs are about the size of two football fields, and there are plenty of them in the Gulf of Mexico, though only a couple very near Brownsville. Given the ailing state of the oil industry, especially after the pandemic, it’s likely there will be rigs to be had for cheap.

One outstanding question is what sort of impact the launch pads would have on marine life, especially if something were to go wrong.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

We’re fans of haveibeenpwned.com around here, but a weird story came across my proverbial desk this week — [Troy Hunt] wrote a malicious SQL injection into one of their emails! That attack string was a simple ';--

Wait, doesn’t that look familiar? You remember the header on the haveibeenpwned web page? Yeah, it’s ';--have i been pwned?. It’s a clever in-joke about SQL injection that’s part of the company’s brand. An automated announcement was sent out to a company that happened to use the GLPI[*] service desk software. That company, which shall not be named for reasons that are about to become obvious, was running a slightly out-of-date install of GLPI. That email generated an automated support ticket, which started out with the magic collection of symbols. When a tech self-assigned the ticket, the SQL injection bug was triggered, and their entire ticket database was wiped out. The story ends happily, thanks to a good backup, and the company learned a valuable lesson.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recorded an increase of 2.4 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to a total of 471.1 ppm in May 2020.

[...] In 2015, fires ravaged 2.6 million hectares due to slash-and-burn methods to clear areas that were dominated by peatlands. A dry season influenced by El Nino climate variability also contributed to the increasing spread of hotspots.

That year, NASA satellites detected more than 130,000 hotspots.

These fires in peat area released 802 million tons (Mt) of CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2015, making it one of the worst emission events in the country.

[...] The average annual emission from peat fires from 2000 to 2016 was 248Mt of CO₂e.

Approaching peak dry season in August, peatland will still be vulnerable to fires.

takyon writes:

D&D Looks To Cut Down On Racial Differences Going Forward

Races and classes have been the central aspects of character creation since the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons – well, not quite the beginning, since Elf used to be a class in original D&D. However, based on a twitter thread by D&D's Jeremy Crawford, it looks like Wizards of the Coast will be moving toward less drastic racial mechanics, especially in regard to races traditionally considered "monster races."

Crawford pointed out the differences between the orcs found in Volo's Guide to Monsters and those found in the Exandria and Eberron settings, saying that the latter reflects the direction that the D&D team is headed in regard to monsters. The Exandria and Eberron orcs lack the -2 penalty to Intelligence and the required evil alignment. This reflects the fact that in these settings orcs are mostly considered another type of people – with all the varieties in personality and temperament that come with that – rather than fodder for player characters to fight.

[...] It is worth noting that this comes on the heels of a Twitter discussion on the racist history of orcs, initially spawned by a screenshot of the description of orcs in Volo's Guide to Monsters. Tolkien initially portrayed orcs as caricatures of Mongolians, and orcs have been racial stereotypes of other races over and over (see World of Warcraft or Bright). Dungeons & Dragons is not immune to this – even outside of the orc issue, races like the Vistani appear as Romani stereotypes.

Diversity and Dungeons & Dragons

Throughout the 50-year history of D&D, some of the peoples in the game—orcs and drow being two of the prime examples—have been characterized as monstrous and evil, using descriptions that are painfully reminiscent of how real-world ethnic groups have been and continue to be denigrated. That's just not right, and it's not something we believe in. Despite our conscious efforts to the contrary, we have allowed some of those old descriptions to reappear in the game. We recognize that to live our values, we have to do an even better job in handling these issues. If we make mistakes, our priority is to make things right.

See also: Dungeons & Dragons Designers Clarify How Gnolls Differ From Other D&D Creatures

Related: Gender and Appearance Stereotypes Travel to World of Warcraft

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Phoenix666 writes:

Researchers create a new class of rate-sensitive mechanical metamaterials:

Researchers at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering of Delft University of Technology have created a new class of metamaterials that can dynamically switch their mechanical behavior. It may form the basis for practical applications such as fall-protective clothing for the elderly.

[...] The team constructed tall pillars that consist of two different materials: one side is made from a material that responds to the speed of deformation while the material of other side does not care about how fast it is deformed. When applying a compressive force along the long axis direction of this "bi-beam," the elasticity of both materials ensures that it doesn't break but rather buckles.

[...] One of potential applications of metamaterials showing such switching behavior is that of protection against falls. Says Zadpoor, "Imagine a wearable layer. Under normal circumstances, it is soft and follows the movements of the body. When an impact occurs, the material switches its behavior, acting as a shock absorber." This might help people suffering from osteoporosis, where bone fractures constitute a major complication.

Shape-changing materials may be coming to a wardrobe near you.

Journal Reference:
S. Janbaz, K. Narooei, T. van Manen, et al. Strain rate–dependent mechanical metamaterials [open], Science Advances (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba0616)

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Phoenix666 writes in with this story from Phys.org:

Masks, visors, gloves or screens ... all are crucial accessories to keep COVID-19 at bay.

Other uses are manifold—from hairdressers using throwaway aprons to UN recommendations that airline food be distributed in blister packs to the bubble tents that allow some relatives to visit elderly and sick loved ones, touching them through a transparent plastic film.

Even California has had partially to lay aside its green credentials by dropping for two months a ban on single use plastic bags. In Saudi Arabia, some retail centres insist customers don wear-and-throw gloves.

Industry has been quick to highlight plastic's versatility. In March, one French plastics group stated that "without single use plastic you will no longer have wrapping to protect your food against germs."

In the long term, will fears over pandemics win out against fears over the environment?

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Loneliness alters your brain's social network: Feeling disconnected from others is reflected by how the brain represents relationships:

A brain region called the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) maintains a structured map of a person's social circles, based on closeness. People that struggle with loneliness often perceive a gap between themselves and others. This gap is reflected by the activity patterns of the mPFC.

The researchers had the participants think of different groups of people (self, "close others", acquaintances, and celebrities) while being scanned in an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). The perceived closeness of the subject to the imagined targets were revealed in the scans. Further, the lonelier-feeling participants had reduced perception of similarity to others in all categories.

Journal Reference:
Andrea L. Courtney, Meghan L. Meyer. Self-other representation in the social brain reflects social connection [$], Journal of Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2826-19.2020)

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