Russia: Spike in Radioactivity Unrelated to Nuclear Plant

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities denied Friday that a radioactivity spike in the air over Europe resulted from a nuclear fuel plant leak in the Urals, saying their probe has found no release of radioactivity there.

Andrei Ivanov of Russia's Rosatom state nuclear corporation said that an inspection of the Mayak plant has proven that it wasn't the source of Ruthenium-106, a radioactive isotope spotted in the air over Europe and Russia in late September and early October.

France's nuclear safety agency said last month that increased levels of Ruthenium-106 were recorded over most of Europe but posed no health or environmental risks.

The Russian panel that involved Rosatom experts has failed to identify where the isotope came from, but alleged that it could have come from a satellite that came down from orbit and disintegrated in the atmosphere.

Nuclear safety expert Rafael Arutyunian said Ruthenium-106 could be used in satellite power sources. He argued that the assumption that it came from a crashing satellite would explain its broad spread over Europe.

Arutynian, deputy head of the Institute for Safe Nuclear Energy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that a broader panel will continue investigating.

Last month, the Russian state meteorological office reported high levels of Ruthenium-106 in late September in areas close to Mayak, but Arutyunian and other experts emphasized that they were still thousands times less than the level that would pose health risks.

Environmental watchdog group Greenpeace alleged that Mayak could have been the source of a Ruthenium-106 leak, but the panel insisted that a thorough check of the plant had found no safety breaches.

Vyacheslav Usoltsev of Rosatom's safety inspectorate said that a sophisticated system of monitoring at the plant would have spotted any release of radiation.

Mayak, in the Chelyabinsk region, saw one of the world's worst nuclear accidents on Sept. 29, 1957, when a waste tank exploded, contaminating 23,000 square kilometers (9,200 square miles) and prompting authorities to evacuate 10,000 residents from neighboring regions.
 

Police Dashcam Catches Meteor Streaking Through Sky

MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey police sergeant inadvertently captured footage of a large meteor streaking across the sky.

Hamilton Township police Sgt. Michael Virga tells NJ.com he was on patrol early Sunday when his vehicle dashcam captured footage of a fireball just after 3 a.m.

He says the fireball took him by surprise and "lit up the entire sky like a lime green streak." He wasn't sure he captured it until he checked the dashcam later.

The American Meteor Society confirms that the fireball was indeed a meteor. The society says it received multiple reports about it.

It was a bolide, which is a very large, very bright meteor that explodes in the atmosphere.

Just over a week earlier, almost 70 people reported seeing a fireball passing over the mid-Atlantic.

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Information from: NJ.com, http://www.nj.com

New Blue Tarantula Discovered in South American Forest

Scientists discovered a rare spider in Guyana, South America.

If you thought the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker was amazing, you haven't seen this blue tarantula.

The researchers are from the Global Wildlife Conservation that went hunting through the forests for exciting new species and this is just 1 out of 30 new species they found in the Kaieteur National Park, which includes:

• 3 plants
• 5 dragonflies
• 6 fish
• 15 swimming beetles

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“Guyana is one of the world’s most important countries for biodiversity conservation with the second highest percentage of forest cover on Earth, high levels of biological diversity and species that are found nowhere else.”

— Global Wildlife Conservation spokesperson

In case you don't know, there are actually already 40 different kinds of blue spiders in the world with another blue tarantula found only in a very small region of India. It's categorized as "critically endangered" because of this limited habitat and since that location's pollution and is getting worse and worse. That one is bright blue with white stripes and called poecilotheria metallica. 

In a 2015 study of blue tarantulas leader, Mr. Bor-Kai Hsiung told the BBC: 'It evolved from multiple origins and different mechanisms produce the very same blue color. That's very strong evidence to suggest that this blue color has a very important visual signaling function. But if it's not for other tarantulas, then it must be to some other receivers out there.'

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Sources:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5122119/BLUE-tarantula-one-30-new-species-discovered.html#ixzz50bH9iSZM

Archaeologists Find Buried Medieval Treasure in French Abbey

Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French archaeologists have discovered a medieval treasure on the site of a famous abbey in central France that had remained buried for over eight centuries.

The rare find that included more than 2,000 medieval coins and myriad gold objects was unearthed in September, but only announced late Tuesday by the archaeology team from Lyon University.

The treasure also contained 21 gold dinars originating from 12th-century Spain and Morocco, and a gold bejeweled ring.

The team was conducting routine excavations at the Cluny Abbey, which was one of medieval Western Europe's largest.

Calling it an "exceptional discovery," researcher Anne Baud said that it remains a mystery of history why the treasure was hidden there, and why its owner never managed to dig it back up.

709-Carat Diamond Found in Sierra Leone Sells for $6.5M

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Officials say a 709-carat diamond found in Sierra Leone has been sold for more than $6.5 million.

The diamond is said to be the 14th-largest ever discovered, according to the Rapaport Group, which auctioned the stone in New York on behalf of Sierra Leone's government.

The company says 59 percent of the money will go to the government of the West African nation, while 26 percent will benefit the artisanal diggers who found the diamond. Its discovery in March caused a sensation.

The Rapaport Group has dubbed the stone the "peace diamond" and says its sale "will provide vital lifesaving infrastructure to the area where the diamond was found."

New Smart Tinting Windows Become Solar Panels When Changing Color

An amazing new solar power technology can turn skyscraper buildings into giant solar power plants. 

Currently, these buildings use Low Heat Emission (Low-E) glass windows to reduce overheating and air conditioner costs during warm seasons. According to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), such windows are in 80% of homes and 50% of commercial buildings. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory thinks this is a giant wasted opportunity because they figured out a better way to use those UV rays. They invented a glass window that still keeps heat out but also turns the sunlight into electricity at the same time. 

Smart Tinting Solar Windows

NREL's prototype changes color when the glass gets hotter; this is called being thermochromic. When the sun heats the window, methylamine molecules are pushed out, darkening it. They're made from the energy-harvesting material perovskite and maybe in all the windows of the future.

“There are thermochromic technologies out there but nothing that actually converts that energy into electricity,” NREL scientist Lance Wheeler said in a press release.

The inner workings of this “smart window” technology. Image Credit: NREL 

NREL's team of scientists tested their prototype and published a report in the Nature Communications. It turns out this new solar window is 11.3% efficient converting sunlight into electricity. This is pretty low compared to the best solar panel at 46%, but it's better than the 0% windows were getting before.

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“There is a fundamental tradeoff between a good window and a good solar cell,” explained Wheeler, who is a lead researcher in this study. “This technology bypasses that. We have a good solar cell when there’s lots of sunshine and we have a good window when there’s not.”

 

Clear Future Turning Dark?

Considering a large office building has more square footage of windows than it does on its roof, the 11.3% efficiency multiplied by the large surface area can make a big difference to the building's energy bill.  According to Electrek, 80% of facility energy costs are spent on heating, cooling, and ventilation.

While this all sounds like this may be a path to a clear bright future, things may, ironically, turn dark. So far, at least, NREL’s solar-powered smart windows stop working after 20 color changing cycles. This is a major dealbreaker and no one will install solar power windows that last less than a month. To put it in perspective, standard solar panels maintain their effectiveness for 25 years. 

Again though, the potential here is huge, so if NREL figures this out, it'll be well worth it. Besides replacing commercial building windows, these could replace car windows as well; maybe even sunglasses. 

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Sources:

NREL, Nature Communications

Bitcoin Mining Company Hacked! Over $70 Million Stolen

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — A bitcoin mining company in Slovenia has been hacked for the possible theft of tens of millions of dollars, just days before the virtual currency, which hit a record above $15,000 on Thursday, is due to start trading on major U.S. exchanges.

NiceHash, a company that mines bitcoins on behalf of customers, said it is investigating a security breach and will stop operating for 24 hours while it verifies how many bitcoins were taken.

Research company Coindesk said that a wallet address referred to by NiceHash users indicates that about 4,700 bitcoins had been stolen. At Thursday's record price of about $15,000, that puts the value at over $70 million.

There was no immediate response from NiceHash to an emailed request for more details.

"The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are cooperating with them as a matter of urgency," it said. The statement urged users to change their online passwords.

Slovenian police are investigating the case together with authorities in other states, spokesman Bostjan Lindav said, without providing details.

The hack will put a spotlight on the security of bitcoin just as the trading community prepares for the currency to start trading on two established U.S. exchanges. Futures for bitcoin will start trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Sunday evening and on crosstown rival CME Group's platforms later in the month.

That has increased the sense among some investors that bitcoin is gaining in mainstream legitimacy after several countries, like China, tried to stifle the virtual currency.

As a result, the price of bitcoin has jumped in the past year, particularly so in recent weeks. On Thursday it surged to over $15,000, up $1,300 in less than a day, according to Coindesk. At the start of the year, one bitcoin was worth less than $1,000.

Bitcoin is the world's most popular virtual currency. Such currencies are not tied to a bank or government and allow users to spend money anonymously. They are basically lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they are traded.

A debate is raging on the merits of such currencies. Some say they serve merely to facilitate money laundering and illicit, anonymous payments. Others say they can be helpful methods of payment, such as in crisis situations where national currencies have collapsed.

Miners of bitcoins and other virtual currencies help keep the systems honest by having their computers keep a global running tally of transactions. That prevents cheaters from spending the same digital coin twice.

Online security is a vital concern for such dealings.

In Japan, following the failure of a bitcoin exchange called Mt. Gox, new laws were enacted to regulate bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Mt. Gox shut down in February 2014, saying it lost about 850,000 bitcoins, possibly to hackers.

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Ali Zerdin in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Carlo Piovano in London contributed to this story.
 

The Future is Full of Floating Cities at Sea

Worried about another Great Flood? Well, thanks to the floating cities of Singapore-based start-up, Blue Frontiers, you won't have to. 

These cities are designed to float on water, so they won't sink like Atlantis or Lemuria. The French Polynesian government signed a deal with Blue Frontiers for them to build a $60-million floating village on the south side of Tahiti and everyone is very excited. Construction is planned to begin in 2020 and will be a working prototype for developing larger floating communities of the future. The main driving force behind this project is the non-profit San Francisco-based Seasteading Institute lead by Joe Quirk. 

The floating city vision is to provide safe sustainable and affordable city-scale communities that can rise above the current social, economic, environmental, and political problems. Such models could be built alongside countries in safe-enough oceanic regions, so not in the Bermuda Triangle or Devil's Sea.

Proof of Concept

The first one will be in the safe geographic region of Tahiti with shallow waters just 100 feet deep and 3,000 feet from shore. Up to 300 people will work and live on 10-15 floating city blocks. Each unit measures about 7,500 square feet or about 90' x 80' and are connected with bridges. 

“We’re going to have bungalows, we’re going to have apartments, we’re going to have research institutions, we’re going to have an underwater restaurant,” Quirk says. “It will be a tourist attraction in its own right, and a showcase for sustainable societies. We plan for these platforms to increase the density of sea life as animals and plants attach to it. You’ll go down into the basement and look through the glass walls and see the sea life… to really introduce people to how floating societies can be environmentally restorative.”

Watch Seasteading Institute's video to see 3D models:

From Dream to Reality

Since the 1960's Triton City concept by Buckminster Fuller to ease the population density of Tokyo, Japan, many people have dreamed of building cities on the water. However, now it seems there's finally something actually happening thanks to Blue Frontiers and the French Polynesian government. To help fund this massive undertaking, they're raising the initial $60 million capital in an “Initial Coin Offering” (ICO) of their own virtual currency in February 2018. So, if you're interested in contributing to such a pioneering endeavor, keep your eyes, ears, and checkbook open for it. Investors may feel more at ease to know that high-tech billionaire Peter Thiel of PayPal has put his money behind Seasteading Institute.

“The reason we’re able to call it a seastead is that it will be something of a semi-autonomous governmental start-up, under the protection of French Polynesia,” Quirk says. “So they’re allowing us to make this first step, to see if we can establish something spectacular.”

Self-Sustainable Sea Cities

Starting from scratch provides a great opportunity to identify the fundamental functions necessary for a community to survive and build structures and systems that fulfill those needs. In other words, going back to the basics and scaling up. 

Project architect Bart Roeffen, specializes in floating structures and works with the Dutch firm Blue21. He wanted to create something for the Tahitian lagoon that felt natural and appropriate for their environment and situation that didn’t look out of place.

So, they will look similar to a natural island, with living rooftop gardens that provide food, clean air, and help filter waste water. To assimilate more with nature, the buildings will be built out of recycled materials and local renewable materials as much as possible.

Roeffen believes this sustainable lifestyle will become increasingly more popular and expects many people to come to live in such communities, especially since coastal properties are held in high regard and demand. 

“The fringes between the land and the water are where everything comes together,” Roeffen says, “so what we would like to do is to create more fringes.”

Earthships

If you'd rather live sustainably on land, then check out EarthShips. Right now, at least, these are not built in a community setting but are self-sustaining with their own water recycling system, food production, solar and wind energy, and built out of recycled materials. 

Any steps you can take to align closer to nature will benefit not only yourself and family but also the greater community around you. 

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Sources:

https://futurism.com/officials-signed-contract-build-worlds-first-floating-village/

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/world-s-first-floating-village-breathe-new-life-old-dream-ncna822906

https://www.earthshipglobal.com/

New Bizarre Looking Dinosaur was First Carnivorous Bipedal Swimmer 75 Million Years Ago

BY SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a bill like a duck but teeth like a croc's, a swanlike neck and killer claws, a new dinosaur species uncovered by scientists looks like something Dr. Seuss could have dreamed up.

It also had flippers like a penguin, and while it walked like an ostrich it could also swim. That's the first time swimming ability has been shown for a two-legged, meat-eating dinosaur.

The tiny creature, only about 18 inches (45 centimeters) tall, roamed 75 million years ago in what is now Mongolia. Its full curled-up skeleton was found in a sandstone rock.

"It's such a peculiar animal," said Dennis Voeten, a paleontology researcher at Palacky University in the Czech Republic. "It combines different parts we knew from other groups into this one small animal."

In a study released Wednesday by the journal Nature , Voeten and coauthors named it Halszkaraptor escuilliei  (HAHL-shka-rap-tor ES-key-lay-ee) or "Halszka" after the late Polish paleontologist Halszka Osmolska.

Paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, who didn't participate in the study, called it "a pretty crazy chimera: a swan neck and dinosaur body, but with a mouthful of tiny teeth and hands and feet that look like they might be good for swimming."

Its mashup body let it run and hunt on the ground and fish in fresh water, said study co-author Paul Tafforeau. He's a paleontologist at the ESRF , known as the European Synchrotron in Grenoble, France, a powerful X-ray generator where numerous tests were made on the fossil.

Lead author Andrea Cau, a paleontologist at the Geological Museum Capellini in Bologna, Italy, said he was at first highly suspicious about the fossil's authenticity, both because of its appearance and the fact that the rock containing the skeleton had been smuggled out of Mongolia and left in a private collector's hands.

"I asked myself, 'Is this a real, natural skeleton, or an artifact, a chimera? If this is a fake, how could I demonstrate it?'" Cau said in an email. "Assuming it was a fake instead of starting assuming that the fossil is genuine was the most appropriate way to start the investigation of such a bizarre fossil."

So researchers used the Synchrotron to create three-dimensional images of the fossil, which showed the creature was indeed a single animal and not a concoction built up from several sources. For example, an arm hidden in the rock perfectly matched the visible left arm, and lines indicating growth matched up across the bones.

Even though the creature wasn't dreamed up by Dr. Seuss, it got a blessing from a Dr. Sues.

Hans Sues, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Institution who wasn't part of the research, praised the work and said it "shows again how amazingly diverse dinosaurs were."

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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears and his work can be found here .
 

Huge BLACK HOLE is the FURTHEST One Ever Found and 800X the Mass of Our Sun

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered a super-size black hole harkening back to almost the dawn of creation.

It's the farthest black hole ever found.

A team led by the Carnegie Observatories' Eduardo Banados reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday that the black hole lies in a quasar dating to 690 million years of the Big Bang. That means the light from this quasar has been traveling our way for more than 13 billion years.

Banados said the quasar provides a unique baby picture of the universe when it was just 5 percent of its current age.

It would be like seeing photos of a 50-year-old man when he was 2 1/2 years old, according to Banados.

"This discovery opens up an exciting new window to understand the early universe," he said in an email from Pasadena, California.

Quasars are incredibly bright objects deep in the cosmos, powered by black holes devouring everything around them. That makes them perfect candidates for unraveling the mysteries of the earliest cosmic times.

The black hole in this newest, most distant quasar is 800 million times the mass of our sun.

Much bigger black holes are out there, but none so far away — at least among those found so far. These larger black holes have had more time to grow in the hearts of galaxies since the Big Bang, compared with the young one just observed.

"The new quasar is itself one of the first galaxies, and yet it already harbors a behemoth black hole as massive as others in the present-day universe," co-author Xiaohui Fan of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory said in a statement.

Around the time of this newest quasar, the universe was emerging from a so-called Dark Ages. Stars and galaxies were first appearing and their radiation ionizing the surrounding hydrogen gas to illuminate the cosmos.

Banados suspects there are more examples like this out there, between 20 and 100.

"The newfound quasar is so luminous and evolved that I would be surprised if this was the first quasar ever formed," Banados said. "The universe is enormous and searching for these very rare objects is like looking for the needle in the haystack."

Only one other quasar has been found in this ultra-distant category, despite extensive scanning. This newest quasar beats that previous record-holder by about 60 million years.

Still on the lookout, astronomers are uncertain how close they'll get to the actual beginning of time, 13.8 billion years ago.

Banados and his team used the Carnegie's Magellan telescopes in Chile, supported by observatories in Hawaii, the American Southwest and the French Alps.

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Sources:

http://www.nature.com/nature