Jul 01
Welcome back to io9’s monthly Nerd’s Watch, where we pare down the enormous lists of new films and television shows arriving on all your favorite streaming services into the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror titles we think you’ll like most.
Jul 01
Starlink just got the green light to expand on land, air and sea. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized SpaceX to provide Starlink wifi to vehicles in motion, including semitrucks and RVs, planes, and boats.
Jul 01
GOP Senate Candidate Adam Laxalt Says It’s ‘Sad’ Nevada Protects Abortion Rights
Posted in: Today's ChiliLaxalt, who is challenging Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D), lamented his state’s abortion protections: “We got work to do on that.”
Jul 01
Directly modeled after the infamous rocket launcher from the Destiny video game franchise, NERF is releasing a full-scale replica of the Gjallarhorn. Pre-orders for the limited-edition weapon begin July 7th for people who unlocked the weapon in Destiny 2. If there are any left after July 21st, the rest of us mortals can order one too. The massive weapon measures 40″ long and comes with an equally impressive price tag: $185. Ouch! Looks like my friends and I will have to continue throwing rocks at each other in the woods instead.
The rocket launcher is reloaded just like it is in the game, with the top of the weapon sliding forward to allow its operator to insert three NERF MEGA darts. The Gjallarhorn fires all three darts at once too, in order “to give that visual sense of the Wolfpack Rounds swirling and flying through the air towards your target.” Yeah, well for $185 it better.
Fingers crossed I find one for sale at a yard sale in twenty years for just a couple of bucks because I do not have $185 to spend on a NERF gun right now. And, knowing me, I probably won’t have a couple of bucks to spend on one in twenty years either. I’m bad with money.
[via TechEBlog]
Jul 01
FDA says updated COVID-19 Omicron boosters won’t require new clinical trials
Posted in: Today's ChiliA Food and Drug Administration official said COVID-19 vaccine makers won’t need to carry out fresh clinical trials to receive approval for booster shots they’re updating for newer Omicron variants. Dr. Peter Marks, who runs the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told Reuters the agency will use data from trials for vaccines that target BA.1 — the Omicron variant that caused a huge surge in infections last winter — as well as manufacturing data to assess the vaccines. Safety data and preclinical data from animal studies may also be used.
This week, the FDA asked vaccine manufacturers to modify booster shots to target the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants in addition to the original strain of the virus. The agency hopes the updated boosters will be ready by the fall. “It’s going to be really critical as we move into this fall where we’ve seen this evolution into BA.4/5, where we could see further evolution, to try to get as many people boosted as we can,” Marks said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says BA.1 isn’t circulating in the US anymore, but BA.4 and BA.5 now account for over 52 percent of COVID-19 infections in the country. Combined, they made up just 0.5 percent of cases in the US at the end of April.
Pfizer and Moderna this week released clinical trial data which suggests versions of their shots that target BA.1 offered a stronger immune response than the initial COVID-19 vaccines. Those boosters did not perform quite as well against BA.4 and BA.5. However, the data showed that the immune response was still robust.
Jul 01
The man who once in charge of making sure Apple’s employees stayed on the straight and narrow is going to jail for doing the thing he told them never to do with stock trades: game the system.
Jul 01
Getting food from a field to our markets or even our plates creates more emissions than previously estimated. A study published in Nature Food found that the mileage on food (or “food miles”) is responsible for about 6% of all greenhouse gas emissions, making the associated emissions 3.5 to 7.5 times higher than prior…
Jul 01
It’s been a busy week at the White House. Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, a trip overseas, and calls to change the filibuster, President Biden today announced the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And Steve Jobs has posthumously made the cut.
Jul 01
Apple products in Japan are becoming more expensive. The iPhone 13, for example, was found to be as much priced 19% higher than it . Prices of the smartphone have been rising with the launch of new models, but this price hike in Japan seems to have affected even older generations of iPhones as the value of the Yen has…
Jul 01
Same-Sex Couples Updating Legal Status After Supreme Court’s Decision To Overturn Roe
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe ruling last week didn’t directly affect the 2015 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage. But same-sex couples, especially those with children, are worried.
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