Новости за 14.09.2017

Chinas new financial instrument gives Russia, Iran, Venezuela and other oil exporters the alternative to the petrodollar that they have sought for so long.

American artist Sue Kreitzman believes there's a lurking, hidden danger surrounding all of us: beige. At 75, the London-based colorphile has fought a lifelong battle against the bland, covering both herself and her apartment in an idiosyncratic, kitsch, spiritual style.

Our new book “Great Moves: Learning Chess Through History” is now available and you're invited to our launch party! 

Paul Braterman, The Conversation
Can we learn from creationists people who deny evolution? I think so. It is not enough to say, as Richard Dawkins notoriously did: If you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane That's a dead end. Conversation is a two-way street, and if I want creationists to learn from me, I must at least in principle be ready to learn from them.My recent Conversation article, How to slam dunk creationists when it comes to the theory of evolution... Читать дальше...

George Dvorsky, Gizmodo
To learn more about why some germs seem harder to kill in near-weightless conditions, scientists aboard the ISS recently doused a batch of bacteria with antibioticsan experiment which resulted in a series of startling physical changes that may be helping the bacteria to survive and thrive in space.Whether we like it or not, bacteria are going to be our partners as we venture out into space.

Owen Jarus, Live Science
The world's oldest surviving photograph is, well, difficult to see. The grayish-hued plate containing hardened bitumen looks like a blur.In 1826, an inventor named Joseph Nicphore Nipce took the photo, which shows the view outside of "Le Gras," Nipce's estate in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.Nipce had already learned that if you put asphalt dissolved in lavender oil onto a pewter plate, place an object (like a leaf from a tree) on the plate and expose the plate to sunlight... Читать дальше...

Timothy Revell, NewScientist
The symbol 0 is a familiar sight, but its origins are far from certain. A recent batch of carbon dating is causing the history of mathematics to be rewritten, as it has discovered zeros dating back to a period 500 years before previously seen.The numbers appear in an ancient Indian text called the Bakhshali manuscript, which consists of 70 leaves of birch bark, filled with mathematics and text in the form of Sanskrit. It seems to be a training manual for Buddhist monks... Читать дальше...

Jonathan Losos, Nautilus
Snuffling through the underbrush, the shaggy little creature wanders through the sylvan night, sticking its nose in one place, then another, seeking the aroma of its soft-bodied dinner. The forest is dark and the pixie's eyesight poor, but long whiskers and a keen sense of smell allow it to get around. Threatened, it takes off at breakneck speed, barreling through the vegetation, ducking through holes, soon lost from sight.

Helena Bottemiller Evich, Politico
Irakli Loladze is a mathematician by training, but he was in a biology lab when he encountered the puzzle that would change his life. It was in 1998, and Loladze was studying for his Ph.D. at Arizona State University. Against a backdrop of glass containers glowing with bright green algae, a biologist told Loladze and a half-dozen other graduate students that scientists had discovered something mysterious about zooplankton.

This week we hear stories on the gut microbiome’s involvement in multiple sclerosis, how wildfires start—hint: It’s almost always people—and a new record in quantum computing with Online News Editor David Grimm. Andrew Wagner talks to Lulu Qian about DNA-based robots that can carry and sort cargo. Sarah Crespi goes behind the scenes with Science’s Photography Managing Editor Bill Douthitt to learn about snapping this week’s cover photo of the world’s smallest neutrino detector. Listen to previous podcasts. Читать дальше...

Next time on Global Ethics Forum, journalist James Traub discusses the ethical questions surrounding the refugee crisis in Western Europe. In this excerpt, Traub talks with journalist Stephanie Sy about his time in Sweden, the country’s generosity, and its difficulties in finding the literal space for tens of thousands of migrants.

Jamal Mahmoud was allegedly “executed” by three other prisoners in a dispute over a package of phones, SIM cards and a knife.

George Musser gives his top tips on how to write about physics

A meeting to mark the 70th anniversary of the discovery of the pion ends in a surprise

We collected a list of the actors with the most Emmys, from Mary Tyler Moore to Bryan Cranston.

The NFL relaxed restrictions on touchdown celebrations for the 2017 season. To help players get back on their game, we asked three top choreographers to create dances worthy of the gridiron legion. Photo: Steve Strait for The Wall Street Journal

Afghanistan’s biggest success story is not in wars, politics or reconstruction, where most of international aid and Afghan energy have been focused for decades.

Put Nvidia's GTX 1050 into the Lenovo Yoga 720, and suddenly you have a laptop that can play games as well as it can crunch numbers and stream movies.

Where to drink, dine, shop, sleep, and recharge in the city

Artificial intelligence and the end of mankind

Embracing the "transparency" theme of Peer Review Week 2017

Want to start an Online Directory, but don’t know where to begin? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can create and manage your own directory website without consulting programmers to get your site created. This guide is to give beginners a fast, foolproof guide to start a Directory site, without much hassle or wasting […]

As the Caledonian Sleeper announces a dramatic refurbishment for next year, Ellie Broughton explains why it beats flying every time