Computer science science

This story originally appeared on Undark and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Perched on a mountaintop in northern India, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) has been monitoring the Earth and skies for about 15 years. The air here at the foothills of the Himalayas is especially pristine, thanks to the absence of human industry. Paradoxically, this makes the institute especially well suited for research into air pollution. Just below the mountains, pollutants aggregate from far and wide, brought in by strong winds and yearly monsoons. The mountain peaks act like chimneys, through which a small amount of air rises up from the plains, carrying the pollutants to higher altitudes, where scientists can easily detect them against an otherwise clean background. “That is the beauty of this place,” says Manish Naja, an atmospheric scientist at ARIES. Inside his high-altitude laboratory sits a cacophony of buzzing instruments. A … [Read more...] about Border Disputes Threaten Climate Science in the Himalayas

It may feel like we're already living in a dystopian world but science fiction will always capture our imaginations. As a genre, sci-fi is so sweeping and vast it seems limiting to place so many titles under the same umbrella. From E.T. to Bird Box , whatever your favorite flavor of futuristic fantasy, Netflix has a pretty decent offering to stream. The list below reflects sci-fi films that are ranked by either Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes and are currently on Netflix U.S. The 25 Best Science-Fiction Movies on Netflix, According to Critics E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Metascore rating: 91 A Steven Spielberg classic. When an imaginative boy meets a lost alien, it is the beginning of one of cinema's most endearing friendships. Elliott (Henry Thomas) helps the marvelous creature he calls E.T. find his way back home before government agents can capture him. Snowpiercer Metascore rating: 84 Directed by Parasite Oscar winner Bong Joon-ho, Snowpiercer is set … [Read more...] about The 25 Best Science-Fiction Movies on Netflix, According to Critics

ASSISI, Italy: A 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukaemia in 2006 moved a step closer to possible sainthood on Saturday (Oct 10) with his beatification in the town of Assisi, where he is buried. Carlo Acutis is the youngest contemporary person to be beatified, a path taken by two Portuguese shepherd children living in the early 1900s who were proclaimed Catholic saints in 2017. At the beatification ceremony in the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, a portrait of Acutis was slowly unveiled, revealing a smiling teen in a red polo shirt, his curly dark hair illuminated by a halo of light. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the papal legate for the Assisi basilicas, kissed each of the boy’s mask-wearing parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, after reading the proclamation decreed by Pope Francis. Already touted as the “patron saint of the Internet”, Acutis created a website to catalogue miracles and took care of websites for some local Catholic organisations. … [Read more...] about Italian teenage computer whiz beatified by Catholic Church

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that interact with us the way we interact with each other have long typified Hollywood’s image, whether you think of HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Samantha in “Her,” or Ava in “Ex Machina.” It thus might surprise people that making systems that interact, assist or collaborate with humans has never been high on the technical agenda. From its beginning, AI has had a rather ambivalent relationship with humans. The biggest AI successes have come either at a distance from humans (think of the “Spirit” and “Opportunity” rovers navigating the Martian landscape) or in cold adversarial faceoffs (the Deep Blue defeating world chess champion Gary Kasparov, or AlphaGo besting Lee Sedol). In contrast to the magnetic pull of these “replace/defeat humans” ventures, the goal of designing AI systems that are human-aware, capable of interacting and collaborating with humans and engendering trust in them, has received much less attention. More recently, as … [Read more...] about Will Artificial Intel get along with us? Only if we design it that way

As abruptly as Amazon announced in September that it was hunting for a place to build a second full-sized headquarters, the Seattle conglomerate on Thursday announced 20 cities that made it to the next level, including Denver. The city was one of 238 proposals submitted to Amazon, which said it would invest $5 billion to build a second campus in North America. It needed a future site that could house around 50,000 employees in about 8 million square feet — the size of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle. “We are absolutely excited to have made the shortlist. The work continues,” said Sam Bailey, who oversaw the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.’s effort. Bailey said that Amazon’s economic development team notified his staff early Thursday morning. “The email was four sentences, thanking us for the submission, discussing the next steps and a focus on learning about the community, the talent and potential real estate,” Bailey said. He expects to begin discussions with … [Read more...] about Denver makes Amazon’s HQ2 finalist list — along with 19 other cities

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for February 26 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. NASA officially named its Washington, D.C. , headquarters building after pioneering engineer Mary Winston Jackson during a ceremony on Friday. Members of Jackson's family and other prominent guests attended the small ceremony, including NASA Langley Center Director Clayton Turner, retired NASA engineer and "Hidden Figure" Christine Darden, artist Tenbeete Solomon, and Jackson's grandchildren Wanda and Bryan Jackson. NASA LEAVES HIDDEN MESSAGE ON PARACHUTE OF MARS ROVER In addition to unveiling a building sign with Jackson's name, the agency screened video tributes with reflections on her career at NASA, featuring family, friends, colleagues, astronauts, celebrities, elected officials and Hampton University President William R. Harvey. In opening statements, Jurczyk commended Jackson's … [Read more...] about NASA honors ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary Jackson during Washington headquarters naming ceremony