Social Life The Hardest Part of Learning Another Language Knowing a language is not the same as being able to effectively communicate with it. A knowledge of social rules, routines, and norms is essential too. Key points: * Knowing a language and being able to effectively communicate with it are different things. * Understanding social … Read more
Researchers have made progress towards a unified theory for high temperature superconductivity in copper-containing materials called cuprates. Superconductivity competes with magnetic spin and electric charge density wave (CDW) order in these materials. In regular metals, electron spins cancel each other out and electrical charges are uniform. However, strong electron interactions in high-temperature superconductors give rise … Read more
AWS appears to be scaling back its DevOps service, closing CodeCommit source code repository service and Cloud9 cloud IDE to new customers without prior announcement or formal documentation. Users discovered the changes by trying to create a CodeCommit repository, which returned an error message stating that onboarding new customers ceased on June 6, 2024. AWS … Read more
Dark chocolate and similar cocoa products are contaminated with lead and cadmium, two neurotoxic metals linked to cancer, chronic disease, or reproductive and developmental issues, especially in children. A new study found that even organic dark chocolate contains high levels of these metals. As natural elements in the Earth’s crust, lead, cadmium, and other heavy … Read more
A Fortune 50 company paid a record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels ransomware gang in early 2024. This is higher than any previously known amount and surpasses the previous largest known ransom payment of $40 million, which was paid by insurance giant CNA after an Evil Corp ransomware attack. Dark Angels is … Read more
PFAS found in nearly all fish tested from four northern Illinois rivers Scientists tested nine species of fish from four northern Illinois rivers for contamination with per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They found PFAS-contaminated fish in every one of their 15 test sites. Elevated levels of PFOS, a type of PFAS compound, were detected in … Read more
Northern Lights Delight as ‘Cannibal’ Solar Storm Triggers Auroras Across US and Canada (Photos) There may be more chances to see the Northern Lights in the coming days as heightened geomagnetic activity is expected to continue through Aug. 1. The sun launched a barrage of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over two days, with the first … Read more
Time travel into the future is theoretically possible and has been observed through phenomena such as approaching the speed of light or being near a massive gravitational well. However, time travel to the past is still a theoretical concept that scientists have tried to understand using Einstein’s field equations. One possibility is the existence of … Read more
Google Chrome has added app-bound encryption for better cookie protection on Windows systems and improved defenses against information-stealing malware attacks. This new technology uses a Windows service running under ‘SYSTEM’ privileges to confirm an app’s identity when it requests encryption, ensuring that only the intended app can decrypt the data. Chrome currently uses the operating … Read more
Nerve fibres in the brain might create pairs of particles connected by quantum entanglement. If confirmed through experiments, this phenomenon could help explain how millions of brain cells synchronize their activity to function properly. “When a brain is active, millions of neurons fire at the same time,” says Yong-Cong Chen from Shanghai University in China. … Read more