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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.

Some brain disorders exhibit similar circuit malfunctions

Many neurodevelopmental disorders share similar symptoms, such as learning disabilities or attention deficits. A new study from MIT has uncovered a common neural mechanism for a type of cognitive impairment seen in some people with autism and schizophrenia, even though the genetic variations that produce the impairments are different for each condition. In a study of mice, the researchers found that certain genes that are mutated or missing in some people with those disorders cause similar dysfunctions in a……

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Daio Wasabi Farm in Azumino, Japan

Blessed with breathtaking nature, Nagano Prefecture in northern Japan is widely known for its agriculture, particularly the massive crops of wasabi. Much of it is produced at the Daio Wasabi Farm, the largest farm dedicated to wasabi in Japan. Founded in 1915 and now spread across 37 acres of land, the farm produces over 150 tons of wasabi every year, accounting for a tenth of the nationwide production. Most of it is consumed at the farm’s restaurant in the……

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Hidden Wonders of York Minster in York,...

York‘s Minster (or Cathedral) is not only one of the largest religious buildings in Northern Europe, but also home to many notable architectural features such as impressive stained glass windows and the “Heart of Yorkshire.” Walking in through the front and turning around, visitors will find the first of some less-famous wonders of the Minster: the Semaphore Saints. These papier-mache sculptures were first placed in their niches in 2004. The Saints are headless human figures that spell out the……

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As the Titanic decays, expedition will monitor...

The Titanic is disappearing. The iconic ocean liner that was sunk by an iceberg is now slowly succumbing to metal-eating bacteria: holes pervade the wreckage, the crow’s nest is already gone and the railing of the ship’s iconic bow could collapse at any time. Racing against the inevitable, an undersea exploration company’s expedition to the site of the wreckage could start this week, beginning what’s expected to be an annual chronicling of the ship’s deterioration. With the help of…

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European troops make low-key return home from...

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and Italy declared their missions in Afghanistan over on Wednesday, bringing their deployments to a low-key end nearly 20 years after the first Western soldiers were deployed there. Announcements from several countries show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony, bringing the Western mission in Afghanistan close to an end as the United States’ own withdrawal looms. There was no update from NATO on how many nations still have troops…

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Bach arrives in Tokyo on July 8;...

TOKYO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach will arrive in Tokyo on July 8 and spend three days in isolation before holding meetings leading up to the opening of the postponed Tokyo Olympics on July 23, Tokyo organizers and the the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday. Bach is also expected to visit Hiroshima on July 16, at the same time as his vice president and colleague John Coates is to visit Nagasaki. Visiting dignitaries often pay visits to the…

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Project Shoal Site in Fallon, Nevada

In the early 1960s atmospheric nuclear tests had been forbidden by the Limited Test Ban Treaty. But with the Cold War in full swing, the U.S. Government (and the Soviet government too, for that matter) felt they had to continue testing nuclear explosives, so the focus became testing underground. Nuclear detonations, especially those carried out underground, could be detected seismically and their yields estimated. This led to Project Shoal, which was located about 30 miles east of Fallon, Nevada. There’s……

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The Long History of 'Bombay Time' and...

In 1878, Bombay University completed construction on a dazzling addition to the colonial city’s skyline: a 280-foot clock tower. Built in the Venetian Gothic style, the Big Ben–inspired structure was the tallest at the time in the city that would come to be known as Mumbai, with clock faces in each direction. It was right in the heart of the developing town, bursting from the surrounding trees on campus, with the sea not far away. There was just one……

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Podcast: Science That Doesn’t Stop

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, our host, Dylan Thuras, riffs on a subject that has long fascinated him—the world’s longest-running science experiments. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange stories. 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. Join us daily, Monday……

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The power of two

MIT’s Hockfield Court is bordered on the west by the ultramodern Stata Center, with its reflective, silver alcoves that jut off at odd angles, and on the east by Building 68, which is a simple, window-lined, cement rectangle. At first glance, Bonnie Berger’s mathematics lab in the Stata Center and Joey Davis’s biology lab in Building 68 are as different as the buildings that house them. And yet, a recent collaboration between these two labs shows how their disciplines complement each other. The……

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Sequoia Capital India unveils fifth group of...

Sequoia Capital India has selected 23 early-stage startups for its fifth cohort of Surge, its accelerator program for India and Southeast Asia, at a time when dealflow activity is at its peak in the region. The new cohort, Surge’s largest to date, have collectively raised $55 million, the storied investment firm said Wednesday. The group also includes 10 women founders, another record for the accelerator program which started its journey in March 2019. The Surge program has enabled Sequoia……

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Braña la Pornacal in Asturias, Spain

Braña de la Pornacal is represented as the largest and most well-preserved of the hundreds of brañas in northwest Spain. A braña is a seasonal settlement characteristic of Asturias and northern León traditionally inhabited by transhumant or nomadic cattle-herders. This braña is called a braña equinoccial, a type that is inhabited in the spring and fall months. The brañas are nestled in the Cantabrian Mountains, which gives Braña de la Pornacal an incredible mountain view and a colder climate……

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3 Questions: Anna Jagielska on printing artificial...

Tens of millions of people worldwide suffer from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and Lou Gehrig’s disease — but no effective treatments exist for these conditions. Research Scientist Anna Jagielska of the MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering thinks repairing the myelin wrapping around axons is key to preserving neurological function and slowing or stopping neurodegeneration. Her team, with support from the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, the U.S. Department of Defense, Sanofi-Genzyme, and……

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MIT and U.S. Department of Defense team...

MIT has pioneered many online learning solutions, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has taken note. MIT and the DoD have teamed up to launch a new edX learning platform, manufacturingworkforce.org. In the past decade, the DoD has launched nine public-private manufacturing institutes to spur U.S. advanced manufacturing industry forward in areas such as additive manufacturing, robotics, photonics, functional fabrics, and bio-fabrication. An important part of the institutes’ mission is workforce development, which includes online learning. To that……

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Windy Hill in Ripponden, England

The most obvious of the features of the long Windy Hill cutting on the M62 is the elegant and narrow parabolic arched bridge that sweeps overhead. In a display of pedestrian power, it’s there to carry the remote and rugged Pennine Way across the motorway. The bridge itself is designed to cope with wind speeds up to 120 mph (it’s called Windy Hill for a reason), although you’d hope that the hikers had retired to the pub long before……

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