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By zikalify
NASA finds water on the Moon's sunlit surface
by Paul Hill
Image of the Moon via Wikipedia Using a flying observatory called Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), NASA has confirmed that there is water on the sunlit surface of the Moon in one of the largest craters visible from Earth named Clavius Crater. The water at this location is in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million or the same amount you’d find in a 12-ounce bottle of water.
If you were to ask most people, they’d tell you that there’s no water in the desert but apparently there is. According to NASA, the Sahara desert has 100 times the amount of water than what SOFIA was able to find in the lunar soil. The agency said despite the amount being small, it now raises questions about how water can persist “on the harsh, airless lunar surface.”
Discussing the findings, Casey Honniball, the lead author on the paper detailing the findings, said:
Now that we know that there’s water on the sunlit portion of the Moon, scientists want to answer two more questions: how is it getting there? And how is it stored?
In terms of how the water gets there, NASA has a few theories. One suggests that micrometeorites are raining down on the lunar surface carrying small amounts of water that could be deposited on impact. Another suggestion is that the Sun’s solar wind delivers hydrogen to the lunar surface and then undergoes a chemical reaction with oxygen-bearing minerals in the soil to create hydroxyl. Radiation from the barrage of micrometeorites could then be transforming the hydroxyl into water.
Regarding the storage of the water, NASA suggests that it could be trapped in tiny beadlike structures in the soil that are formed out of high heat created by micrometeorite impacts. Another possibility is that the water is hidden between grains of lunar soil and sheltered from the sunlight.
SOFIA will continue its observation of the Moon in additional sunlight locations and during different lunar phases to learn more about the production, storage, and movement across the Moon. Understanding the nature of water on the Moon will be essential to future lunar missions including Artemis that will see the first woman and the next man land on the Moon in this decade.
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By zikalify
Microsoft will become ‘water positive' by 2030
by Paul Hill
Microsoft has announced that it plans to become ‘water positive’ by 2030. This means that it will replenish more water than it uses by putting water into stressed basins. It also plans to make water more accessible to underserved communities.
While a lot of companies have emphasised on switching to renewable energy, water usage has been somewhat overlooked, but it is still a vital part of climate change and health discussions. Microsoft plans to invest in projects such as wetland restoration and the removal of surfaces like asphalt to help replenish water in basins that most need it.
According to the firm, a basin is stressed if the amount of water withdrawn goes over 40% of the renewable supply. Of the 16,396 basins worldwide, 4,717 basins are classified as stressed. Microsoft’s efforts will focus on 40 highly stressed basins.
Discussing how the private sector can act to help the water situation, Microsoft’s President Brad Smith said:
Aside from helping to replenish water, Microsoft wants to ensure that people can access it safely for drinking and sanitation. It will partner with NGOs to accomplish this and will ultimately ensure 1.5 million people get access to water. It will partner with Water.org at first to help underserved communities in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Mexico. It will then expand to work with partners in China, Malaysia, and South Africa.
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By SarK0Y
Each generation, hordes of charlatans have wanted to give, in most cases, to sell such treasure. In truth, that elixir has been known for any human from the very start of her/his life. It's just pure portable Water == all biochemical/physical processes in the body run with/in/through Water. In short, don't drink anything (teas, coffee, sodas, alcohols etc-etc), but just & only potable Water. In fact, even junk food becomes much less harmful for organism thanks to. Good Luck.
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By Hamza Jawad
Microsoft predicts AI to contribute $5 trillion to global GDP growth, among other advantages
by Hamza Jawad
Microsoft has made many moves centered around the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) in the recent past. These include a partnership with General Assembly to curb the skills gap in AI, detailing of its innovations in AI to help the environment, and the release of a book that takes an in-depth look at the role of AI in manufacturing.
Now, the tech giant is once again highlighting the importance of AI, with the release of a new report in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), explaining how AI can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and assist with an overall growth trend of gross domestic product (GDP) worldwide.
The applications of AI tech in four areas have been signified in the report, namely - agriculture, water, energy, and transport. If properly made use of, investment in these areas would help increase the global GDP by up to $5.2 trillion by 2030 - which amounts to roughly a 4.4% increase. Simultaneously, the report indicates that global GHG emissions may be reduced by up to 4% in the same timeframe.
Interestingly, about two years ago, PwC predicted that AI will contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Given the aforementioned statistics, it looks like the firm has slightly tempered its expectations regarding the growth.
Economic benefits are expected to be seen predominantly in Europe, East Asia, and North America, with each region seeing a bump of up to 5.4%, 5.1%, and 4.2% respectively. With regards to GHGs, the greatest fall is predicted for North America with a 6.1% decrease. The Sub-Saharan Africa region, meanwhile, would reportedly have only 0.2% less emissions in comparison. More detailed statistics can be viewed above.
Furthermore, it is also explained that regions with AI growth and adoption 'blockers' in place will see less of an economic growth. However, if progress is made to eliminate these blockers, noticeable change would emerge on the positive end.
The energy sector is expected to feature the highest increase in annual GDP contribution ($2.6tn) as well as the greatest decrease in annual GHG emissions among the four sectors. More information regarding each sector can be viewed in the following image.
Nearing the end of the report, Microsoft states that the aforementioned expectations are only possible if there is increased collaboration among AI tool creators and users, and a shared sense of responsibility. This would ultimately lead to AI successfully reaching its "full potential" to help our planet in the most beneficial way possible.
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By zikalify
Scientists find first persistent water source on Mars
by Paul Hill
Scientists have found the first persistent water source on Mars, 1.5km below the planet’s south polar ice cap. The researchers said that the lake is about 20km across and at least one metre deep, which apparently qualifies it to be a lake according to the lead researcher. The news is quite exciting for the prospects of life on the Red Planet, because water is essential for life.
Discussing the findings, Professor Roberto Orosei, from the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, who led the study, said:
This is not the first time that scientists have discovered signs of water on Mars but this is the first time that a persistent water supply has been found, which is noteworthy. The lake was found with a radar instrument called Marsis on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter which arrived at March in 2003.
Dr. Matt Balme, from the Open University, is optimistic about the finding. He said:
A few years ago, biologists found more than 3,500 unique gene sequences in Lake Vostok which had been isolated for more than 15 million years; Lake Vostok gets no sunlight with it being 4,000 metres below the ice and has a recorded temperature of -89.2c, showing life to be hardy.
Source: BBC News | Image via ESA
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