Charles Darwin and conspicuous consumption: Why bling is blingy
Luxury brands are a prominent feature of modern society. Thorstein Veblen coined the term "conspicuous consumption" to describe how the upper classes showcased expensive goods without inherent practical benefits to demonstrate their economic power......»»
Progress Continues On Recreating the Babbage Programmable Computer
Long-time Slashdot reader RockDoctor writes: A project to create a working example of [english mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage's] original "steampunk computer," referred to by Babbage as the "Analytical Engine 30," is continuing. T.....»»
Microbial consumption of mineral nitrogen promotes HONO emissions in agricultural soils
A new study indicates that microbial nitrate reduction is an important nitrous acid (HONO) production pathway in aerobic soils. This suggests that the terrestrial ecosystems favoring it could be hotspots for HONO emissions, thereby influencing atmosp.....»»
Shrub willow as a bioenergy crop
Renewable energy demand and consumption is at an all-time high in the United States......»»
Scent of a species: The origins of the apple fly
Apple flies have fascinated scientists right from the mid-19th century, as they are a captivating example of speciation, the beginning of a new species. Correspondence between Charles Darwin and Benjamin Walsh, who observed the apple flies and hawtho.....»»
Research reveals household water consumption changes during lockdown
Cranfield University research using data from smart meters has found that household water consumption changed significantly after the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, shifting from predominantly higher usage early in the morning to multiple peaks and.....»»
Similar but not identical evolutionary trajectories of birds in adaptation to high-elevation environments
Ever since the era of Darwin, adaptive evolution has been a cornerstone of evolutionary biology. One essential related question is do animals adapt similarly to a shared environments? Indeed, scientists have long ago observed that animals usually evo.....»»
Why are young adults having less casual sex?
Casual sex is on the decline for both young men and women, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick study that found less alcohol consumption among both genders is a major reason, while playing video games and living at home with parents are a.....»»
Eating processed meat could increase dementia risk, researchers say
Eating processed meat has been linked with an increased risk of developing dementia, say researchers exploring a potential link between consumption of meat and development of dementia......»»
COVID-19 pandemic severely impacts mental health of young people
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the mental health of young people, with increased levels of clinical depression being identified, a new study reports. A decrease in alcohol consumption was also identified amongst young people during the pande.....»»
The debate about cryptocurrency and energy consumption
Energy consumption has become the latest flashpoint for cryptocurrency. Critics decry it as an energy hog while proponents hail it for being less intensive than the current global economy. One such critic, DigiEconomist founder Alex de Vries, said.....»»
It’s time to abandon business intelligence tools
Organizations spend ungodly amounts of money — millions of dollars — on business intelligence tools. Yet, adoption rates are still below 30%. Why is this the case? Because BI has failed businesses. Charles Caldwell C.....»»
Consumption of added sugar doubles fat production
Too much sugar is unhealthy - that we know, but it's not just down to the many calories. Even moderate amounts of added fructose and sucrose double the body's own fat production in the liver, researchers have shown. In the long term, this contributes.....»»
"The only things I miss are flirting, dancing and cuddling" says Li Edelkoort on the anniversary of the pandemic
Two days before Covid-19 was declared a pandemic last year, trend forecaster Li Edelkoort predicted it would lead to a quarantine of consumption in an interview with Dezeen. In the third part of our series marking the anniversary of the pandemic, she.....»»
The last mile towards electrically driven perovskite lasers
Ultracompact and low-cost perovskite laser with low energy consumption is an ultimate goal for monolithic all-optical integration, and a cross-country team has confirmed that the key is the development of the crystal-fiber/nanoperovskite hybrid archi.....»»
Turntide Technologies Rethinks Electric Motors To Slash Energy Consumption In Buildings
FrankOVD shares a report from TechCrunch: [F]irms backed by Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Gates are joining investors like Amazon and iPod inventor Tony Fadell to pour money into a company called Turntide Technologies that believes it has the next great.....»»
Firms backed by Robert Downey Jr. and Bill Gates have funded an electric motor company that slashes energy consumption
Sometimes the smallest innovations can have the biggest impacts on the world’s efforts to stop global climate change. Arguably, one of the biggest contributors in the fight against climate change to date has been the switch to the humble LED li.....»»
Airbyte raises $5.2M for its open-source data integration platform
Airbyte, an open-source data integration platform, today announced that it has raised a $5.2 million seed funding round led by Accel. Other investors include Y Combinator, 8VC, Segment co-founder Calvin French-Owen, former Cloudera GM Charles Zedlews.....»»
High fat diets may over-activate destructive heart disease protein
Consumption of a high fat diet may be activating a response in the heart that is causing destructive growth and lead to greater risk of heart attacks, according to new research......»»
New book reveals Charles Darwin"s cultural impact in unprecedented detail
The largest number of species named after a single person is often attributed to the German polymath and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. The impressive list contains about 400 species and includes everything from penguins to perennials. But in a n.....»»
Arm pushing into HPC and datacenter markets, says Digitimes Research
With its advantages in edge computing and mobile device applications, Arm has been expanding its server solution offerings, heading towards high performance computing instead of staying on the traditional route of further lowering power consumption,.....»»