๐ Ideas shaping tomorrow ๐
Future-focused news looking at global innovation, science and technology from a European perspective.
By
@euronews
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In a galaxy far, far away... there is the sound of a heartbeat ๐ .
This sound is coming from a strange radio signal that emits periodically in the depths of space, astronomers have discovered. ๐
Scientists have observed an enormous planet about nine times the mass of Jupiter at a remarkably early stage of formation - describing it as still in the womb.
It's a discovery that challenges the current understanding of planetary formation.๐
Find out more ๐
๐ง๐ช The Belgian government has announced a series of labour reforms that look set to transform the way people work.
The major shift is introducing four-day weeks - but that's not all ๐
Homeless residents of a state-run tent city in Honolulu, Hawaii, are having their eyes scanned by a robotic police dog. ๐
Police in the city say it's a safer way to check for symptoms of COVID-19. ๐ฎ
Others think its dehumanising.
๐ฅ Watch in full. ๐
Employers can now face fines for contacting workers outside of their normal working hours ๐
Employers are also forbidden from monitoring their employees while they work at home ๐
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Thanks to the James Webb Telescope, we're able to see the universe like never before. ๐ญ
In its latest snapshots, the telescope has sent back images of the stunning Cartwheel Galaxy, unravelling the mysteries of how it came to be. ๐
Remote workers in Portugal could see a healthier work-life balance under new labour laws approved by the country's parliament ๐ต๐น
The new rules came about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic ๐งต
The pair's rocket was successfully launched this morning ๐
It will be the first feature film to be shot entirely in space and production will take place on the International Space Station ๐ฐ๏ธ
๐ฅ Watch in full ๐
The plans would see new high speed rail connections built by 2040 ๐
This would slash journey times on trips including Budapest to Bucharest, Vigo to Porto and Hamburg to Copenhagen.
In full ๐
Workers will have the right to request a four-day week for a period of six months.
After this, they can choose whether to continue the arrangement or return to a five-day week with no negative consequences.
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Here's a fact to ruin your day: Around 90% of humans have these tiny mites living on their skin.
At night, they leave their hiding place to mate on our faces while we sleep.๐
But it's not all bad โ new research suggests they may be beneficial to us.๐
The latest image shared by the James Webb Telescope on August 2 takes another step further in our understanding of the universe, showing us what happens after two galaxies collide.โจ
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States were caught by surprise due to the intensity of the heartbeat-like radio bursts, as well as their regularity.๐ป
Picture this: the year is 2045. Youโre standing on a platform in Berlin awaiting a sleek pod to whisk you off to Paris within the hour, ready for your morning meeting. ๐
In the afternoon youโll pop on another pod for a leisurely trip to Barcelona. ๐
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More specifically, astronomers suspect the signal could be coming from a type of neutron star, which are extremely dense, rapidly spinning collapsed cores of giant stars, left over from supernovas.
The first satellite, the first man in space, the first woman, the first spacewalk, the first space station and now...the first actress?
Russian actress Yulia Peresild will be the first to film a feature film entirely in orbit ๐ช
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It's not aliens, sadly. ๐ฝ
While mysterious radio signals from space often set off excited talk of potential communication from extraterrestrials, the explanation is likely that the signal comes from a rare type of star.โญ๏ธ
Researchers used the Subaru Telescope located near the summit of an inactive Hawaiian volcano and the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope to detect and study the planet, a gas giant orbiting unusually far from its young host star.
"If you want to have a really highly decorated bridge or a really aesthetic bridge, suddenly it becomes a good option to print it." ๐
Have a look at the finished bridge below and how it was made. ๐
Named FRB 20191221A, the signal persists for much longer โ around 1,000 times longer in fact โ than the typical FRB, raising questions about what could be causing it.๐ค
How would you feel if a robot was patrolling your streets, waiting and watching to catch anti-social behaviour? ๐ง
Well itโs a reality currently being faced by citizens in Singapore ๐ธ๐ฌ
Read more ๐
The transition known as "the Merge" has been finalised, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin confirmed.
The platform's switch to a less energy intense PoS technology could cut carbon emissions by more than 99.9%.
#EthereumMerge
This approach was an 'overwhelming success' in Iceland when trialled.
Now, most Icelanders work a shorter shift each week - while still being paid the same.
No Tesla, no problem ๐
This 23-year-old self-taught engineer from St Petersburg has fashioned his very own electric solar-powered vehicle ๐
It can run for up to 6 hours at a speed of 30km/hr โก๏ธ
๐ฅ Watch it in action below as part of
#MobilityWeek
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The Nordics are always winning the happiness race.
Finland took the top spot for the fifth year in a row, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, and Iceland.
But why are they so consistently happy? ๐
So how can other nations be happy, Nordic style?
Key markers include:
๐The quality of government institutions and welfare state generosity
๐TRUST
๐Liberal values: progressive taxation and freedom to make life choices
Under the Belgian system, employees would be able to condense the current five-day week into four days.
This means working the usual 38 hours across four longer days, with an extra day off to compensate.
Airlines and airports have had to adapt quickly to challenges thrown up by the pandemic. ๐ฉ๏ธ
Hamad International Airport in Qatar is using technology to keep passengers safe.
Read more about this here:
in partnership with Media City โ Qatar
Robots have never been so relatable. ๐ค
Last week we saw the Boston Dynamics robots complete an impressive gymnastics rountine. ๐คธโโ๏ธ
Now they've released the eh.. less impressive version. ๐
Companies will also have to help pay for expenses incurred by remote working, such as higher electricity and internet billsโก๏ธ
Although water has not been included ๐ฟ
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Bitcoin is set to become legal tender in El Salvador and Cuba. ๐ช
Yet many countries are moving the other way, making the controversial online coin and other cryptocurrencies illegal. ๐
The new rules are also good news for parents of young children ๐ถ
They now have the right to work from home without having to arrange it in advance with their employers, up until their child turns eight years-old ๐ฉโ๐ฉโ๐ง
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๐ช๐บ European citizens can move around easily within the EU but getting healthcare can be a challenge.
How will the EUโs new health data space improve cross-border patient care?
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
Though the change in Belgium's working policy doesn't reduce hours - there are other important reforms.
Workers are also being given the 'right to disconnect'.
This means they can ignore work calls and messages out-of-hours, with legal protection.
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๐ Travelling and need your medication?
Picking it up at any pharmacy in Europe and without the language barrier will soon be possible thanks to the ePrescription.
๐ Here's how it will work.
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
Picture this: the year is 2045 and you've just finished your workday in Berlin. ๐ฉ๐ช
A friend asks you to go for dinner and a few drinks, but there's a problem - they live in Paris. ๐ซ๐ท
What if new transport options meant that would no longer be a barrier? ๐
๐ฅ Watch in full. ๐
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said all democratic nations must work together to ensure cryptocurrency "does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth" ๐ฎ๐ณ
Now India's government has announced a new bill that targets cryptos ๐
In full ๐
The bright core at the centre of the galaxy contains hot dust, says NASA, with the brightest areas being home to gigantic young star clusters.โจ
What you can see on the outer ring, on the other hand, is the formation of new stars.
Gas giants are planets, like our solar system's largest ones Jupiter and Saturn, composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, with swirling gases surrounding a smaller solid core.
๐ฃโThere are not many things in the universe that emit strictly periodic signals,โ said Daniele Michilli, from MITโs Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.
โWe think this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar on steroidsโ.
๐ฌ Rare diseases arenโt researched as much as other illnesses due to the low number of cases.
The European Health Data Space aims to improve this by exchanging scientific knowledge between EU countries.
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
๐ What if a patientโs own experience of their illness could inform their therapy?
Thatโs the aim of the Patient Reported Outcomes, PRO, an online survey that patients fill out to help improve quality of care.
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
The majority of humans have these mites living on them, and they are passed on at birth.
Theyโre usually completely harmless and go unnoticed, but in large numbers they can sometimes irritate the skin, make it flaky and cause redness and itchiness.
And of course it's been shown to be good for employees too.
"The hours that we work haven't really changed in the last 100 years and it's time for a debate on whether that should change now."
Hence why people in Wales are looking for similar change ๐
"The period of six months was chosen so that an employee would not be stuck for too long in case of a wrong choice," a government spokesperson told Euronews Next.
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The research team wants to detect more signals from the source, which they say could be used as an astrophysical clock.
They could study the frequency of the bursts, and how they change as the source moves away from Earth, to measure the rate at which the universe is expanding.
๐ฅ The EU is launching a digital space that will collect health information from citizens across the bloc.
๐ How will it keep your data safe?
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
The hacker collective Anonymous has claimed credit for several cyberattacks that took down Russian government websites and state-backed news outlets in recent days.
Read more ๐
๐ Accessing key medical information fast could save many lives. This is what Europe is trying to do by using the so-called Patient Summary.
How will it work and what data will it hold?
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
13-month-old Emma had intestinal failure, which prevented her intestine from absorbing nutrients from food.
She had received several operations before the transplant took place.
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๐ฅ The European Union is investing in the interoperability of the medical sector.
But will its historically fragmented healthcare systems overcome the challenges?
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
โณWorking like a time machine, the first images shared by this powerful telescope on July 12 showed us far off galaxies, the death of stars, and the atmosphere of planets outside our solar system. ๐
Whether itโs mentally checking out from your job, or rejecting the corporate hustle culture and no longer going above and beyond at work, โquiet quittingโ has now become something of a rallying cry for a better work-life balance.
The largest infrastructure project in the Baltic region for 100 years is under way.
The 870 km Rail Baltica project will connect the capitals of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia with Warsaw and the rest of Europe. ๐
Here's what you need to know ๐
Say farewell to the iPhone's Lightning port โ from 2025 it'll be USB-C connectors only in Europe.
On Tuesday, the EU parliament voted overwhelmingly for a standard single charger.
Read more on this topic:
Lawmakers in El Salvador voted to make Bitcoin legal tender in a world first for the cryptocurrency. ๐ธ๐ป
Now it looks like other Latin American countries such as Paraguay may follow.
How will this impact the future of cryptocurrency and why is Latin America taking the lead? ๐
But there are deep privacy concerns surrounding Xavier ๐
"It reminds me of Robocop," one citizen said. "It brings to mind a dystopian world of robots... I'm just a bit hesitant about that kind of concept" ๐ค
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A research team in Spain has successfully transplanted an intestine into a 13-month-old girl named Emma.
Emma is now at home with her parents. She also received a new liver, stomach, spleen, and pancreas.
๐ฐDoes money really = happiness?๐ฐ
Not all relatively rich nations are happy like the Nordics, but their low levels of income inequality should definitely be highlighted in terms of creating greater life satisfaction.
And it is not just Singapore. In Hawaii there was uproar over the use of robot police โdogsโ to scan homeless peopleโs eyes as a safer way to โcheck for COVID-19 symptomsโ ๐
Civil rights advocates called it dehumanising ๐
However, a new study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, found they DO in fact have an anus โ and may be becoming symbiotic, meaning their existence grants a mutually beneficial relationship. ๐ค
For example, they might even help to keep our skin clean.๐ฟ
โ๏ธ A small QR code has reopened European borders allowing us to travel again during the pandemic.
How does it work and can a similar system be used for other things?
#SmartHealth
w/
@EU_Health
#HealthUnion
#EHDS
๐ฃโFuture telescopes promise to discover thousands of FRBs a month, and at that point we may find many more of these periodic signals,โ Michilli said.
NASA's study, which will begin this autumn and cost no more than $100,000 (โฌ94,000), aims to identify how much information is already out there and how much more is needed to understand the unexplained sightings in the sky.
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Join us on March 1 at 11:00 CET as we bring together a group of experienced policymakers and industry insiders to discuss the path forward for regional revitalisation in Japan and beyond
#EuronewsDebates
In partnership with
@JapanGov
She, along with director Klim Shipenko will spend 12 days filming aboard the International Space Station after successfully blasting off into space ๐
Standing by to welcome them will be French station commander Thomas Pesquet & other astronauts ๐จโ๐
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๐ฃ"We think it is still very early on in its 'birthing' process," said astrophysicist Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and the NASA-Ames Research Center, lead author of the study published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
So at just 13, he's building his own metaverse.
The inspiration? Steven Spielberg's film Ready Player One, which relates a tale where most of humanity exists in a virtual simulation.
Shine bright like a diamond raining on Uranus ๐
A new scientific study has found that while diamonds are in short supply on our home planet, they may however be plentiful elsewhere in the universe...
Option 2: MagLev trains and Hyperloop
If thereโs one thing that could lure passengers to trains, itโs likely the tantalising possibility of drastically reduced travel times between major European cities at zero emissions. ๐
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Here's some more NSFW facts about the mites:
โ They fuel up on melatonin from human skin ahead of their "all-night mating sessions."
โ The males have a penis that protrudes upwards from the front of their body.
โ The mating takes place as they both cling to human hair.
This one, called AB Aur b, is among the largest.
It is approaching the maximum size to be classified as a planet rather than a brown dwarf, a body intermediate between planet and star. It is heated by gas and dust falling into it.
Organ transplantation for infants has been especially challenging as there are far more recipients than donors.
Asystolic donation - or donation after cardio-circulatory arrest - is often considered a solution to this lack of donors.
The pill, hormonal injections, an implant, a patch, an IUD, a diaphragm, a vaginal ring, spermicide. ๐
The list of female contraceptives goes on, yet despite the fact it takes two to tango, there are few options for men.
Have researchers finally made a breakthrough? ๐
Think it could never happen? ๐ง
Well perhaps itโs time to think again.
Experts believe that a faster and more interconnected cross-border railway system is more than just a pipe dream. ๐
So how might it work? ๐
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Using some of his mother's old clothes, Omar developed a sensory vest and glove [pictured].
He also started working on a software which he hopes will allow pupils like himself to attend classes via the metaverse.
Tom Cruise had previously expressed his wish to make the first movie in space ๐ฌ
Something which prompted the Russians to move quickly to beat the USA to the chase ๐ท๐บ
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The hyperloop aims to increase speeds by reducing friction. ๐
They put the vehicle in a tube so there is less air resistance and use magnets to make it levitate so there is no ground friction. ๐ฌ๏ธ
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Other analyses show that the effect of ethnic diversity on social trust becomes unimportant when there are quality government institutions. And this leads us to the binding element behind Nordic happiness: trust.
The term has a fairly negative, even passive-aggressive connotation. But those who admit to no longer going the extra mile โ and the human resources (HR) experts witnessing the trend โ say itโs actually positive that workers are setting clearer boundaries with their jobs.