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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.

 
Dfinity launches an open source platform aimed...
When Dfinity raised $102 million in funding in 2018 at a $2 billion valuation in a round jointly led by Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, it was thought of as a step change in the world of blockchain technology. In an area that was  synonymous generating a lot of headlines around cryptocurrency speculation, this was a shift in focus, looking instead at the architecture behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the rest, and how it could be used for more than...

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Technique reveals whether models of patient risk...
After a patient has a heart attack or stroke, doctors often use risk models to help guide their treatment. These models can calculate a patient’s risk of dying based on factors such as the patient’s age, symptoms, and other characteristics. While these models are useful in most cases, they do not make accurate predictions for many patients, which can lead doctors to choose ineffective or unnecessarily risky treatments for some patients. “Every risk model is evaluated on some dataset...

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Opera and the firm short-selling its stock...
Internet services company Opera has come under a short-sell assault based on allegations of predatory lending practices by its fintech products in Africa. Hindenburg Research issued a report claiming (among other things) that Opera’s finance products in Nigeria and Kenya have run afoul of prudent consumer practices and Google Play Store rules for lending apps. Hindenburg — which is based in NYC and managed by financial analyst Nate Anderson — went on to suggest Opera’s U.S. listed stock was...

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Audio explainer: Exploring the fields of bioprinting...
The following audio excerpt and transcript features an explanation of bioprinting and biohybrid materials by MIT graduate student Rachel Smith of the Mediated Matter Group at the Media Lab. It corresponds with this MIT News article on those subjects. HOST: 3-D printing is everywhere. From bike parts to fashion, to novelty key chains, to tools and light fixtures. We often see it employed to accelerate production processes and prototyping, but what about the biological potential of printing? You...

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Printing objects that can incorporate living organisms
A method for printing 3D objects that can control living organisms in predictable ways has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere. The technique may lead to 3D printing of biomedical tools, such as customized braces, that incorporate living cells to produce therapeutic compunds such as painkillers or topical treatments, the researchers say. The new development was led by MIT Media Lab Associate Professor Neri Oxman and graduate students Rachel Soo Hoo Smith, Christoph...

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Using artificial intelligence to enrich digital maps
A model invented by researchers at MIT and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) that uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps could help improve GPS navigation.   Showing drivers more details about their routes can often help them navigate in unfamiliar locations. Lane counts, for instance, can enable a GPS system to warn drivers of diverging or merging lanes. Incorporating information about parking spots can help drivers plan ahead, while mapping bicycle lanes can help cyclists negotiate...

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Three from MIT graduate from NASA astronaut...
On Friday, Jan. 10, the newest class of astronauts graduated from basic training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. During the graduation ceremony, Warren “Woody” Hoburg ’08 couldn’t help but reflect on the gratitude towards everyone who supported his dream of becoming an astronaut, including his parents, who were in the audience. “Whether I was skydiving or building 20-foot tall model rockets in their garage, my parents have always given me the freedom to explore my interests,” said...

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Study: State-level adoption of renewable energy standards...
In the absence of federal adoption of climate change policy, states and municipalities in the United States have been taking action on their own. In particular, 29 states and the District of Columbia have enacted renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) requiring that a certain fraction of their electricity mix come from renewable power tech­nologies, such as wind or solar. But now some states are rethinking their RPSs. A few are making them more stringent, but many more are relaxing or...

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MIT graduate students lead conference on microsystems...
Organizing the Microsystems Annual Research Conference (MARC) is no small feat. Each January during the MIT Independent Activities Period, more than 200 students, faculty, staff, postdocs, and industry members come together at an off-campus site to explore technical achievements and research ideas at the forefront of microsystems and nanotechnology. The secret to MARC’s success year after year? A student committee that handles every aspect of coordinating and executing the showcase event, to be held this year in late January...

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Nigeria’s Paga acquires Apposit, confirms Mexico and...
Nigerian digital payments startup Paga has acquired Apposit, a software development company based in Ethiopia, for an undisclosed amount. That’s just part of Paga’s news. The Lagos based startup will also launch its payment products in Mexico this year and in Ethiopia imminently, CEO Tayo Oviosu told TechCrunch The moves come a little over a year after Paga raised a $10 million Series B round and Oviosu announced the company’s intent to expand globally, while speaking at Disrupt San Francisco....

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Hacking life inside and outside the laboratory
Jesse Tordoff makes cells form unusual patterns. “I have the coolest research project ever, which has the big, broad goal of controlling the shapes that cells grow into.” Her signature shape? Polka dots. “The idea is that synthetic, outside of the natural developmental pathways,” she explains. “My project mostly involves giving the cells genetic circuits to express cell-to-cell adhesion molecules differently.” A fifth-year graduate student in the Computational and Systems Biology program, Tordoff is passionate about...

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Blood and politics in India
Mahatma Gandhi, an icon of nonviolent resistance who helped lead India to independence by force of will and strength of mind, rather than physical power, might not seem like a person preoccupied with corporeal matters. In fact, Gandhi endlessly monitored his own blood pressure and had a “preoccupation with blood,” as MIT scholar Dwai Banerjee and co-author Jacob Copeman write in “Hematologies,” a new book about blood and politics in India. Gandhi believed the quality of his own blood...

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Putting a finger on the switch of...
Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a parasite that chronically infects up to a quarter of the world’s population, causing toxoplasmosis, a disease that can be dangerous, or even deadly, for the immunocompromised and for developing fetuses. One reason that T. gondii is so pervasive is that the parasites are tenacious occupants once they have infected a host. They can transition from an acute infection stage into a quiescent life cycle stage and effectively barricade themselves inside of their host’s...

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Reasons to go outside
Angelique Scarpa, an administrative assistant in the Department of Chemical Engineering, adores birds of prey. An avid bird watcher and nature enthusiast, she is awed by soaring hawks, hooting owls, and majestic eagles. Over the past year, Scarpa has been working to share her passion for the natural world with members of her department. She received funding from the MindHandHeart Innovation Fund to launch her “Reasons to Go Outside” project. Consisting of a website and event series, her project...

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African fintech firm Flutterwave raises $35M, partners...
San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup Flutterwave has raised a $35 million Series B round and announced a partnership with Worldpay FIS for payments in Africa. With the funding, Flutterwave will invest in technology and business development to grow market share in existing operating countries, CEO Olugbenga Agboola — aka GB — told TechCrunch. The company will also expand capabilities to offer more services around its payment products. More than payments “We don’t just want to be a payment technology company,...

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