Say WOW

Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

Microscopy technique makes finer images of deeper...

To create high-resolution, 3D images of tissues such as the brain, researchers often use two-photon microscopy, which involves aiming a high-intensity laser at the specimen to induce fluorescence excitation. However, scanning deep within the brain can be difficult because light scatters off of tissues as it goes deeper, making images blurry. Two-photon imaging is also time-consuming, as it usually requires scanning individual pixels one at a time. A team of MIT and Harvard University researchers has now developed a……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Investors find European unicorns reluctant to join...

The U.S. SPAC market kept rolling along this week with news that Satellogic will go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange thanks to a merger with a blank check company. The Earth-imagery-focused company is standard SPAC fare, with strong capital needs and distant revenues. It was not alone in pursuing the transaction type Tuesday, with news breaking that Nextdoor will also go public on the Nasdaq via a SPAC. Nextdoor’s projections, as TechCrunch noted, were more modest and thus……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

East Coast Fishing Disaster Memorial in Saint...

Along with “Widows and Bairns“, this is one of four bronze sculptures crafted by artist Jill Watson to memorialize the 1881 tragedy known as both the Eyemouth and East Coast Fishing Disaster. This naming is due to a majority of the 189 fishermen that perished during the late 19th-century disaster coming from Eyemouth, where the largest of Watson’s memorials is located. The other three smaller memorials represent the share of dead fishermen that originated in the towns of Cove,……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

'Trionfo della Morte' in Palermo, Italy

Il trionfo della morte (The Triumph of Death) is a 15th-century fresco stripped from its wall that now proudly stands in the Museo Regionale Abatellis. This painting is remarkable for its cruel depiction of death and its appearance, presenting the scene with a macabre and gothic taste. While the theme of death was already widespread in art from other parts of Europe at the time, these types of paintings were less common in Italy. The fresco shows a lush……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Teachers, students struggle with online classes in...

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Marcela García teaches science classes sitting on three cushions placed on a chair in her dining room in Chile’s capital, while many of her students listen to her from their beds because both sides lack sufficient space for the remote teaching brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Teachers and students alike had to start online classes without preparation and many without the necessary tools to give or receive remote education, which experts agree has negatively…

Read More

10 more victims found in Florida condo...

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — The search for victims of the collapse of a Miami-area high-rise condominium reached its 14th day on Wednesday, as workers uncovered 10 more bodies from the rubble and officials sounded more and more grim about the prospects of finding anyone alive. Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah broke the discovery of the additional bodies and human remains to family members in a private briefing Wednesday morning. The death toll now stands at 46. The latest…

Read More

Tiger Global leads $34M investment into Unit21,...

Unit21, a startup that helps businesses monitor fraudulent activities with its no-code software, announced today it has raised $34 million in a Series B round of funding led by Tiger Global Management. The round values San Francisco-based Unit21 at $300 million and comes nine months after the startup raised a $13 million Series A that included investments from the founders of Plaid, Chime and Shape Security as well as former Venmo COO Michael Vaughan. ICONIQ Capital and existing backers……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Tren de Sóller in Palma, Spain

Whenever a train lover visits Mallorca, a trip along this historical train line is a must. The Tren de Sóller is a perfect excuse to visit the city of Sóller and enjoy an awesome ride through the mountains of Mallorca. What makes this historical train stand out is that it is still in regular service.  The line is well maintained and offers a unique experience. This train line between Sóller and Palma was constructed during the early 1900s and……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

We want your city in TechCrunch’s European...

Do you want your city to get its own TechCrunch Survey? They join in!  So if you are a tech startup founder or investor in one of these cities please fill out our survey form here  Check the list of European cities we’ve surveyed so far in our regular <a href=”https://forms.gle/jCcVCV9TgRjqJcRZ7“>survey</a> of European founders and investors in cities <em>outside</em> the larger European capitals, and see below.  We want entrepreneurs and investors to talk about their ecosystems, in their own……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

'The Snowman' in Manchester, England

Created in 2014 by Nate Lowman, this sculpture is clearly, as its name suggests, a snowman.  Composed of three spheres of decreasing sizes stacked atop each other. A carrot nose and button eyes are affixed to the uppermost sphere. This statue closely resembles the iconic figure of the winter season. However, viewers will notice how un-snowlike the sculpture truly is due to the dark bronze material used throughout, a juxtaposition to its otherwise close resemblance. Surrounded by green trees……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

The 18th-Century Cookbook That Helped Save the...

Straddling the imaginary border between the Balkans and Central Europe, Slovenia is home to two million citizens united by a common language. But this wasn’t always the case. For about six hundred years, the Slovene lands were the domain of the Habsburgs, with the occasional appearance by the French, Italians, Hungarians, and Serbs. The Slovene language—and with it the core of Slovene identity—should by all rights have disappeared long ago, subsumed by the much stronger languages and political powers……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

After selling Bread last year for over...

When Daniel Simon sold Bread, a consumer purchase finance and payments startup he’d co-founded, to Alliance Data Systems for over $500 million late last year, he quickly set his sights on building another startup. During the pandemic, Simon says he observed how much strain was placed on what he described as ‘real-world’ businesses and their employees — such as truck drivers, plumbers, HVAC installers and last-mile delivery people — “and how little the last decade of innovation in fintech……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Maison des Canuts (Silk Workers' Center) ...

In France‘s second-largest city, Lyon, an area called La Croix-Roussen is home to the city’s once-magnificent Silk District. For centuries, La Croix-Roussen was the epicenter of Europe’s silk industry, widely known for producing the best, highest-quality silks. They draped the heads and bodies of some of history’s most notable and infamous figures, including King Louis XI of France, who became an official fan and patron of Lyon silk in 1466. His royal patronage (and purse) helped to thrust the……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Raylo nabs $11.5M to get more mobile...

UK-based smartphone subscription startup Raylo has tucked $11.5 million in Series A funding into its top pocket, led by Octopus Ventures. The equity round follows a debt raise last year — and brings Raylo’s total raised since being founded back in 2019 to $40M (in equity and debt). Its roster of investors to date also includes the Macquarie Group, Guy Johnson of Carphone Warehouse and the co-founders of Funding Circle. The new funding will be used to charge up……

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More

Podcast: Valley of the Whales

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit Wadi al-Hitan (Valley of the Whales) in Egypt, where fossils give us a glimpse of a remarkable evolutionary history. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to an incredible site, and along the way you’ll meet some fascinating people and hear their stories…….

This content is for Member members only.
Log In Register

Read More