After dedicating the facility back in May of 2016, yesterday NASA opened the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility (CRF) at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Johnson, whose life was one of the inspirations for Hidden Figures, worked as a “human computer” at Langley in the 1960s, calculating the trajectories for the first US space flights, including John Glenn’s orbital mission and the Apollo 11 lunar landing. According to NASA’s fact sheet, the $23-million facility consolidates more than 30 server rooms into a state-of-the-art, energy-saving structure. This CRF will “enable innovative research and development supporting NASA’s air mobility and space exploration missions” and “advance[] Langley’s capabilities in modeling and… Read More
Continue ReadingJustice Department goes nuclear on Google in search warrant fight
Enlarge / Close-up of cables and LED lights in the data center of T-Systems, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. (credit: Thomas Trutschel/Getty Images) The Justice Department is demanding that a federal judge sanction Google for failing to abide by court orders to turn over data tied to 22 e-mail accounts. “Google’s conduct here amounts to a willful and contemptuous disregard of various court orders,” the government wrote (PDF) in a legal filing to US District Judge Richard Seeborg of California. The government added in its Wednesday brief: Google is entitled to have its own view of the law and to press that view before a court of competent jurisdiction.… Read More
Continue ReadingCan the world’s megacities survive the digital age?
(Credit: REUTERS/Aly Song) Today, megacities have become synonymous with economic growth. In both developing and developed countries, cities with populations of 10 million or more account for one-third to one-half of their gross domestic product. Many analysts and policymakers think this trend is here to stay. The rise of big data analytics and mobile technology should spur development, they assert, transforming metropolises like Shanghai, Nairobi and Mexico City into so-called “smart cities” that can leverage their huge populations to power their economies and change the power balance in the world. As technology researchers, however, we see a less rosy urban future. That’s because digitization and crowdsourcing will actually undermine the… Read More
Continue ReadingHis Mexico City Apartment Block Was Built Only Months Ago. So Why Did It Collapse So Easily?
In April, Luis Resendiz was ecstatic to move into his brand new apartment in a sleek block with solar panels in a middle class neighborhood of Mexico City. The 35-year-old photographer had paid 2.2 million pesos ($125,000) for the property, a significant amount in a country with a daily minimum wage of $4. But through hard work and with the help of a hefty bank loan, he made what he thought was a worthwhile life investment. Then on Tuesday, he heard via Whatsapp that his home had been flattened by the factor 7.1 earthquake that killed at least 295 people on Sept. 19. His life was saved by the fact… Read More
Continue ReadingIf your heart is healthy in middle age, your golden years will be longer
People with no major heart disease risk factors in middle age live longer and stay healthy far longer than others, according to a 40-year study reported in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation. The post If your heart is healthy in middle age, your golden years will be longer appeared first on Knowridge Science Report. …read more Source:: Knowridge Science Report
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