Nov 30
Nov 30
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Nov 30
In 2018, astronauts aboard the International Space Station plugged a 2mm “hole” in a Soyuz MS-09 vehicle that had docked with the station in June of that year. While the pressure leak never posed an immediate threat to those aboard, it set off a bizarre turn of events that saw Russia open an investigation to find out if the incident was the result of sabotage.
Per an RIA Novosti article spotted by Ars Technica, the country’s Roscosmos space agency recently completed its probe of the event and sent the results to Russian law enforcement officials, opening the door for them to announce criminal charges. Roscosmos didn’t’ say anything official about the cause of the pressure leak, but that hasn’t stopped Russian media from spreading misinformation.
The RIA Novosti article references Russian media reports that allege the hole may have been drilled by NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a crew member of the ISS at the time of the incident. Specifically, per Russia’s TASS news agency, the country’s Izvestia newspaper claimed Aunon-Chancellor may have drilled the hole out of a “desire to return to Earth because of a blood clot or a fight with her onboard the International Space Station.” Citing its own source, TASS claims “the hole had been drilled in weightlessness by a person not acquainted with the spaceship’s design.”
According to NASA, the possibility that its astronauts were involved in creating the pressure leak is non-existent. As Ars Technica notes, NASA knew the location of all of its astronauts before the leak started and the moment it began. None of the US astronauts aboard the ISS at the time of the incident were near the Russian compartment where the Soyuz was docked when it started leaking air. The US shared this information with Russia when Roscosmos began its investigation in 2018.
“These attacks are false and lack any credibility,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told the outlet. “I fully support Serena and stand behind all of our astronauts.” We’ve reached out to NASA for additional information.
The accusations come at a time when the relationship between NASA and Roscosmos is already fraught. On November 15th, Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test that created a debris field that forced astronauts on the ISS to seek shelter aboard their spacecraft. The US condemned the trial, accusing the country of putting everyone aboard the ISS, including Russian cosmonauts, in danger.
Nov 30
It might soon be easy to build living robots — because they’ll build themselves. New Scientistreports Harvard University, Tufts University and University of Vermont researchers have learned that their frog cell-based Xenobots can self-reproduce. The custom organisms can collect “hundreds” of individual cells in their dishes to spontaneously assemble baby bots that grow up within a few days. As this happens over and over, you could use the reproduction to amass however robots you need to deliver drugs, remove microplastics from rivers or otherwise complete small-scale tasks.
The replication method is as notable as the bots themselves. The cells would normally develop into tadpole skin, but the computer-designed cell mix instead uses the “kinematic” (motion-based) replication normally seen only with molecules. No known animal or plant reproduces this way, according to study lead Sam Kriegman — the robots effectively broke the ‘rules’ of biology.
Yes, the researchers are aware of the technical and ethical problems with robots that copy themselves without prompting. The team’s goal is to understand the self-reproduction and learn how to “control it, direct it, douse it, exaggerate it,” according to project co-leader Joshua Bongard. Honing this development in a tightly-controlled lab could lead to carefully managed growth. That, in turn, could lead to regenerative medicine and anti-pollution tools that simply weren’t possible before.
Nov 30
The latest season of Fall Guys is underway and although there’s a party vibe this time around, those on Nintendo Switch and Xbox are unfortunately unable to join the festivities. Developer Mediatonic has once again delayed the adorable battle royale on those platforms. The Switch and Xbox versions were initially supposed to arrive last summer, but they were pushed back until later this year. Now, according to an updated Xbox Wire post, Fall Guys will land on those platforms in 2022.
“We know everyone’s excited about Fall Guys coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox, with good reason,” Mediatonic wrote in a blog post. “There’s been a lot of speculation on social media connecting these new console releases to the Season 6 launch and we want to clarify that that’s not the case so no one’s left confused looking for the game on these platforms. Thank you for being patient with us, it’s one of our top priorities in active development and we can’t wait to share more details with you in 2022.”
This is a haiku
It’s clear I am no poet
Jin and Ghost are here pic.twitter.com/qQRAIFy0lD— Fall Guys – Season 6 Out Now! 👑 (@FallGuysGame) November 30, 2021
Although the news will come as a disappointment for would-be Switch and Xbox players, Fall Guys fans on PlayStation and PC have a lot more to check out after season six started today. Along with new levels, obstacles and cross-platform progression, there are a couple of fantastic costumes based on Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima to unlock. There will be more limited-time events too, such as one starting tomorrow in which players can earn a super-cute Sackboy costume.
Nov 30
David Marcus, the longtime Facebook executive who has overseen the company’s embattled cryptocurrency plans, is leaving the company. Marcus plans to leave the company at the end of 2021, he wrote in a Facebook post.
The former PayPal executive first joined Facebook in 2014; he ran Messenger for four years before leaving the post to kickstart Facebook’s blockchain division. Since then, he’s overseen Meta’s long-troubled cryptocurrency plans, as well as other payments products like Facebook Pay.
“While there’s still so much to do right on the heels of hitting an important milestone with Novi launching — and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems — my entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it,” Marcus said.
Developing…
Nov 30
We all have a lot in common with best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin. We’re all carbon-based lifeforms. None of us have published a book titled The Winds of Winter, although all of us would like it to be out ASAP. And it turns out all of us are bummed out about how HBO’s TV adaptation of…
Nov 30
HP printer owners should download the latest firmware to protect their devices from critical security flaws.
Nov 30
Nov 30
Prince Akishino said libel hurts many people and even can lead to suicide.
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