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Measuring forces in the DNA molecule

DNA, our genetic material, normally has the structure of a twisted rope ladder. Experts call this structure a double helix. Among other things, it is stabilized by stacking forces between base pairs. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded at measuring these forces for the very first time on the level of single base pairs. This new knowledge could help to construct precise molecular machines out of DNA.

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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A more accurate sensor for lead paint

A new molecular gel recipe developed at the University of Michigan is at the core of a prototype for a more accurate lead paint test.

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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UMD physicists discover 'smoke rings' made of laser light

Most basic physics textbooks describe laser light in fairly simple terms: a beam travels directly from one point to another and, unless it strikes a mirror or other reflective surface, will continue traveling along an arrow-straight path, gradually expanding in size due to the wave nature of light. But these basic rules go out the window with high-intensity laser light.

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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Scientists expect to calculate amount of fuel inside Earth by 2025

Earth requires fuel to drive plate tectonics, volcanoes and its magnetic field. Like a hybrid car, Earth taps two sources of energy to run its engine: primordial energy from assembling the planet and nuclear energy from the heat produced during natural radioactive decay. Scientists have developed numerous models to predict how much fuel remains inside Earth to drive its engines -- and estimates vary widely -- but the true amount remains unknown.

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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Researchers prototype system for reading closed books

MIT researchers and their colleagues are designing an imaging system that can read closed books.

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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PPPL researchers successfully test device that analyzes components within a vacuum

Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have successfully tested a new device that will lead to a better understanding of the interactions between ultrahot plasma contained within fusion facilities and the materials inside those facilities. The measurement tool, known as the Materials Analysis Particle Probe (MAPP), was built by a consortium that includes Princeton University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.).

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  • Physics & Chemistry

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NASA sees Namtheun dissipating in the Sea of Japan

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Sea of Japan and saw Tropical Depression Namtheun weakening.

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  • Earth & Climate

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IUCN-led panel finds critically endangered whales in Russia recovering

International Union for Conservation for Nature, WWF and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) examines the results of the work of an IUCN-led independent panel of scientists, which has been advising Sakhalin Energy - one of the largest companies operating in the area - as part of an innovative loan deal. Over the last 12 years, Sakhalin Energy has made important efforts to limit the impact of its operations on whales and the fragile environment. During this period, the western gray whale population has grown 3-4% annually, from an estimated 115 animals in 2004 to 174 in 2015.

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  • Earth & Climate

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NASA sees Hurricane Newton approaching landfall in Baja California, Mexico

NASA's Terra satellite and a NASA animation of imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite provided views of Hurricane Newton as it neared landfall in Baja California, Mexico, today, Sept. 6.

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  • Earth & Climate

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OU study demonstrates seasonality of bird migration in response to environmental cues

A University of Oklahoma study demonstrates for the first time that remote sensing data from weather surveillance radar and on-the-ground data from the eBird citizen science database both yield robust indices of migration timing, also known as migration phenology. These indices can now be used to address the critical gap in our knowledge regarding the cues that migrants use for fine tuning their migration timing in response to climate.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Study finds increased ocean acidification due to human activities

Oceanographers from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution report that the northeast Pacific Ocean has absorbed an increasing amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide over the last decade, at a rate that mirrors the increase of carbon dioxide emissions pumped into the atmosphere.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Future fisheries can expect $10 billion revenue loss due to climate change

Global fisheries stand to lose approximately $10 billion of their annual revenue by 2050 if climate change continues unchecked, and countries that are most dependent on fisheries for food will be the hardest hit, finds new UBC research.

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  • Earth & Climate

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NASA sees remnants of Tropical Cyclone Newton over Southwestern US

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the U.S. Southwest and captured infrared data on the clouds associated with former Tropical Cyclone Newton.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Seeing the forest for the trees: World's largest reforestation program overlooks wildlife

After years of environmental destruction, China has spent billions of dollars on the world's largest reforestation program, converting a combined area nearly the size of New York and Pennsylvania back to forest.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Forecasting climate change's effects on biodiversity hindered by lack of data

An international group of biologists is calling for data collection on a global scale to improve forecasts of how climate change affects animals and plants.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Study finds earthquakes can trigger near-instantaneous aftershocks on different faults

According to a new study by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, a large earthquake on one fault can trigger large aftershocks on separate faults within just a few minutes. These findings have important implications for earthquake hazard prone regions like California where ruptures on complex fault systems may cascade and lead to mega-earthquakes.

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  • Earth & Climate

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One-tenth of the world's wilderness lost in 2 decades

A research team including Professor William Laurance from James Cook University has discovered there has been a catastrophic decline in global wilderness areas during the past 20 years.

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  • Earth & Climate

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Big tech to face full force of new EU law

The Digital Services Act (DSA) forces companies to more aggressively police digital content and protect online users from disinformation and hate speech, or face the risk of heavy fines.




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Big Tech braces for roll-out of EU's Digital Services Act

Across the EU, a host of internet giants - including Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms, Chinese-owned video app TikTok and a handful of Google services - are adapting to the new obligations, including preventing harmful content from spreading, banning or limiting certain user-targeting practices, and sharing some internal data with regulators and associated researchers.




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S Krishnan, named MeitY secy, will oversee implementation of semiconductor mission, DPDP Act

Krishnan will be overseeing the rollout of the recently enacted Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, which is the outcome of almost five years of five years of drafts and consultations. From a digital economy perspective, there are some good features in the DPDP act but it also has some gaps which have been identified by several legal experts.




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Big Tech's core businesses face overhaul under EU tech rules

The companies will have six months to demonstrate their compliance with their obligations and can be fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA violations.




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G20 leaders bat for 'responsible Artificial Intelligence', eye ethics-based regulation

A government official said that during the deliberations one of the leaders wondered if AI "replaced or enhanced human skills" and suggested that it should be used in an ethical manner.




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TikTok hit with $368 million fine under Europe's strict data privacy rules

TikTok has been fined $368 million by European regulators for breaching data privacy rules and failing to protect children's privacy. The investigation found that the app's sign-up process for teen users made their accounts public by default, posing a risk to underage users. The "family pairing" feature also allowed adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their consent.




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No proposal for independent regulator in proposed e-commerce policy: Official

The proposed e-commerce policy in India will not include provisions for an independent regulator for online retail platforms or cover data-related issues. The policy is in its final stages and will be presented to the Prime Minister's office soon. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade recently held discussions with e-commerce firms and domestic traders, resulting in a broad consensus on the proposed policy.




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Govt may propose up to Rs 500 crore fine for violations under Digital India Bill

The Indian government is expected to propose a penalty of up to Rs 500 crore for violations of the Digital India Bill. The bill would authorize government agencies to monitor and collect traffic data to enhance cyber security. The proposed Digital India Authority would handle grievances and determine the penalty amount based on factors such as the gravity of the breach and the number of affected users.




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Should new tech rules apply to Microsoft's Bing, Apple's iMessage, EU asks

The European Commission in September opened investigations to assess whether Microsoft's Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising as well as Apple's iMessage should be subject to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).




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Thierry Breton: The Frenchman taking on US big tech

He has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after the launch of the first investigations under a new EU law into X (formerly Twitter), Facebook owner Meta and TikTok over the spread of false information and hate speech following the Hamas-Israel conflict.




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EU lawmakers face struggle to reach agreement on AI rules

The draft AI rules have to be agreed by the European Parliament and European Union member states. They have so far been discussed three times in trilogues, which are meetings between parliament and EU states to thrash out the final versions of laws.




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DPDPA and client data: Banks now fret over liability

​Bank CEOs are tapping top legal minds, alerting their compliance teams, and discussing with each other to spot the pitfalls of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) - a statute under which hundreds of crores of fines can be imposed on organisations for breaches.




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IndiaAI 2023: MeitY’s 7 working groups for deploying AI to make governance smarter, data-led

“To ensure the sustainability of the CoE, robust collaboration with the Industry, and the creation of commercially viable outputs, the MeitY will not own any IP generated by the CoE. The IP generated can be retained by the idea generator or by the CoE.”




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Tech sector weighed down by geopolitical strife: SAP CTO Juergen Mueller

The Germany-based firm, which registered annual revenues of $32.5 billion in fiscal 2022, has been pivoting to cloud based services and for the first time is hosting its annual global event TechED in Bengaluru India.




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US consumer watchdog proposes rules for Big Tech payments, digital wallets

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal would subject companies like Alphabet, Apple, PayPal and Block's CashApp to bank-like supervision, with CFPB examiners inspecting their privacy protections, executives' conduct and compliance with laws barring unfair and deceptive practices.




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How Karza Technologies makes due diligence and onboarding simpler for banks & NBFCs

One of the key pillars of growth for the Indian economy are small and medium-sized businesses, which generate roughly 30 percent of the countrys GDP and provide jobs to over 110 million people.




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Kolhapur civic body to use GIS, AI for property survey & assessment

The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to use Geo-Information System (GIS) to survey the number of properties in the city and also use artificial intelligence (AI) for assessing the size of the multi-storied buildings.




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How Sodexo leveraged the cloud ERP to manage their financial data more efficiently

French food services & facilities management company Sodexo is consolidating its multiple ERP installations across the group to a single cloud-based ERP platform.




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Telugu youth adopts automation, takes farming to next level

A young US-returned robotic engineer is making waves with his experiments in agriculture.




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Kolkata audit firm develops proprietary solution to match services with MNC peers

Chartered accountancy firm LB Jha & Co claimed that 'LBJ Audit Ez' is a "breakthrough" for it as it can interpret a huge quantum of data necessary for scrutinising books of large corporations




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Anonymous GPS data could help check people's usage of green spaces: Study

A recent study shows how the public's use of parks and other green spaces in metropolitan areas can be tracked using anonymized GPS data from people's smartphones, which could help guide their management.




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AI teaching assistants need to be simple for students' utility: Study

Researchers at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida are investigating how students view teachers who use artificial intelligence, and to make it more utility-driven by simplifying it.




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P&G leverages data science to stay ahead of the curve

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is using advanced data science algorithms to help over 20 lakh kirana stores in the country through a special initiative called ‘Smart Basket’




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Haleon reboots digital post demerger from GlaxoSmithKline

With its demerger journey spiked the transformation need, the article decodes how Haleon reboots its strategy




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Godrej & Boyce uses AI, ML, and analytics to improve product quality and reduce defects

G&B has deployed over 80 RPA bots to automate manual processes across the value chain. This has resulted in productivity improvement, reduction in errors and improvement of employee experience.




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Exploiting misconfigurations are the most common modus operandi for hacks, says study

Crucial for CIOs and CISOs to stay informed and proactive in the face of the evolving threats, reveals a study made exclusively available to ETCISO.




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iPhoneography with Yoni Mayeri, Feb. 7, 2025

Discover how to turn your ordinary snapshots into extraordinary photographs using the power of the device that is always with you. In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to expertly capture images and edit and create photographs and artful images with your iPhone. In this course, you will learn how to take professional-quality photographs and perform basic and advanced photo editing with your iOS device. We will use the built-in photo app to edit and enhance iPhone photos, and we will discuss tips for optimizing the features and working around the limitations of the native (built-in) camera. We will see demonstrations of several third party editing and creative applications and a variety of helpful accessories for enhancing and embellishing iPhoneography images. Time permitting we will touch on best practices for saving, organizing, sharing, and printing your images. By the end of this workshop, you will have a greater grasp on the ins and outs of iPhoneography.An iPhone 10s or newer is suggested; all iPhones welcome. Update your software to the most recent (iOS 17 or newer, for phones older than 10s, iOS 16). A handout with more information will be emailed to participants ahead of class. A shooting session in the Garden and time for lunch will be in the middle of the day. Please pack a lunch, bring a hat, your iPhone fully charged, a charger and a backup battery if you have one.




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Member Event: Horticulturist Walking Tour of Garden Conifers, Dec. 20

To celebrate the winter solstice, please join Andrew Doran, Director of Collections, for a behind-the scenes walking tour of conifer (cone-bearing) plants in the Garden. You will explore the diversity of conifers including pines, spruces, firs, hemlocks, redwoods and cypresses to name a few. We will have light refreshments and introductions before heading into the Garden.Learn more and register here




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FAMILY PROGRAM: Holiday Crafts from Nature Afternoon Session, Dec. 15

Join us for this fun Garden tradition! We’ll craft nature-filled globes, mini wreaths, botanical cards, and more. Garden Admission, refreshments and all materials included. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Drop-in any time during 2-hour program window.




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FAMILY PROGRAM: Holiday Crafts from Nature Morning Session, Dec. 15

Join us for this fun Garden tradition! We’ll craft nature-filled globes, mini wreaths, botanical cards, and more. Garden Admission, refreshments and all materials included. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Drop-in any time during 2-hour program window.




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Evergreen Botanical Wreath-Making (Afternoon Workshop), Dec. 11

Create a one-of-a-kind beautiful and festive wreath to add to your holiday decorations. Greens from the Garden’s global plant collection and other natural adornments are included as well as a reusable wire wreath form. We recommend you bring your own hand pruners and gardening gloves. All other materials will be provided.




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Member Event: Birds of the Garden, Dec. 11

Join Chris Carmichael and Garden volunteer Susan Greef in search of both resident and migrant birds in the Garden’s many bird-friendly micro habitats. Both beginning and experienced bird watchers are welcome. Bring binoculars if you have them. Learn more and register here




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Fragrant Herbal Wreath Workshop, Nov. 23

Just in time for Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, join us for Stefani Bittner’s Fragrant Herbal Wreath class at the Botanical Garden! Participants will spend this hands-on session learning to craft beautiful, aromatic wreaths using fresh herbs and seasonal plants. The class explores the art of combining fragrant and culinary herbs. Bittner guides participants through the wreath-making process, emphasizing techniques to create durable, visually pleasing arrangements that can be used for holiday décor or as edible accents. All materials provided to go home with a beautiful 12-15 inch wreath of your own design. Garden admission and light refreshments included. Buy Stephani’s book, The Fragrant Flower Garden, at the Garden or from our Online Garden Shop!