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Virtual Women in STEM event on tap at science center – The Daily Times

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

PITTSBURGH Carnegie Science Center announces the Women in STEM Speaker Series, a weekly virtual event featuring interactive conversations with inspiring role models who have established themselves as experts in a variety of STEM fields. The series will be hosted by the science center through Facebook Live at 11 a.m. every Wednesday through Sept. 30.

Recordings of the conversations will be available on YouTube following the livestream.

The series is supported by an IF/THEN Gender Equity Grant from the Association of Science and Technology Centers and IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. This program awarded funding to 26 science and technology centers to launch projects aimed at increasing the representation of women and gender minorities.

Our hope for this series is not only to celebrate the achievements of women and gender minorities in STEM, but to inspire young people who often dont see themselves represented in these fields, said Jason Brown, director of the science Center.

Feature conversations:

Wednesday: Wendy Bohon, geologist and science communication specialist at Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology;

July 22: Liz Engler-Chiurazzi, research assistant professor at West Virginia University Department of Neuroscience;

July 29: Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health for Pennsylvania;

Aug. 5: Roselin Rosario-Melendez, associate principal chemist and project leader at LOreal;

Aug. 12: Rika Wright Carlsen, associate professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at Robert Morris University;

Aug. 19: Ellen Bachman, inside sales engineer at Eaton;

Aug. 26: Kay Savage, senior data scientist at Spotify;

Sept. 2: Chavonda Jacobs-Young, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service;

Sept. 9: Sandhya Rao, professor of astrophysics at the University of Pittsburgh;

Sept. 16: Angela Cupelli, pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant nurse;

Sept. 23: Mercy Shitemi, senior systems analyst at Zimmer Biomet; and

Sept. 30: Dr. Natasha Tilston-Lunel, postdoctoral associate at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research.

Viewers will be able to submit questions during the livestream or in advance by e-mailing Kaitlyn Zurcher at ZurcherK@CarnegieScienceCenter.org.

A sign language interpreter will be present for each.

The grant also will support Girls Rock Science, an event hosted at the science center in September that will celebrate women in STEM and encourage girls to pursue STEM careers. Details will be announced later this summer.

For information on the speaker series, go to carnegiesciencecenter.org/programs/women-in-stem-speaker-series/.

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Virtual Women in STEM event on tap at science center - The Daily Times

A Giant Galaxy Seen Lighting Up the Universe Shortly After the Big Bang – Universe Today

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

About 370,000 years after the Big Bang, the Universe experienced a period that cosmologists refer to as the Cosmic Dark Ages. During this period, the Universe was obscured by pervasive neutral gas that obscured all visible light, making it invisible to astronomers. As the first stars and galaxies formed over the next few hundred millions of years, the radiation they emitted ionized this plasma, making the Universe transparent.

One of the biggest cosmological mysteries right now is when cosmic reionization began. To find out, astronomers have been looking deeper into the cosmos (and farther back in time) to spot the first visible galaxies. Thanks to new research by a team of astronomers from University College London (UCL), a luminous galaxy has been observed that was reionizing the intergalactic medium 13 billion years ago.

The research was presented last week (July 2nd) during the annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) because of the pandemic, this years meeting was virtual. During the course of their presentation, RomainMeyer (a PhD student at UCL and the lead author on the study) and his colleagues shared their findings, which is the first solid evidence of a galaxy reionizing a bubble of gas on its own 13 billion years ago.

The team responsible for this discovery was led by Romain Meyer, a Ph.D. student with the UCL Astrophysics Group. He was joined by UCL researchers Dr. Nicolas Laporte, and Prof. Richard S Ellis, as well as Prof. Anne Verhamme and Dr. Thibault Garel of the University of Geneva. Their findings are also the subject of a paper that was recently submitted to The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Studying galaxies that existed during this early period in the Universe is essential to understanding the origins of the cosmos as well as its subsequent evolution. According to our current cosmological models, the first galaxies formed from coalescing stellar clusters, which were in turn formed when the first stars in the Universe came together.

Over time, these galaxies blasted out the radiation that stripped the neutral gas in the intergalactic medium (IGM) of its electrons (aka. the ionization process). Astronomers know this because we have clear evidence for it, in the form of the Cosmic Dark Ages and the way the Universe is transparent today. But the key questions of how and when this all occurred remain unknown. As Dr. Meyer told Universe Today via email:

By looking at distant galaxies, we look into the early Universe, as the light has traveled for billions of years before reaching us. This is fantastic as we can look at what galaxies were like billions of years ago, but it comes with several drawbacks.

For starters, Meyer explained, distant objects are very faint and can only be observed using the most powerful ground-based and space-based telescopes. At this distance, theres also the tricky issue of redshift, where the expansion of the cosmos causes light from distant galaxies to have its wavelength stretched towards the red end of the spectrum.

In the case of galaxies that several billion years old, the light has been shifted to the point that it is only visible infrared (particularly the UV light Meyer and his colleagues were looking for). In order to get a good look at A370p_z1, a luminous galaxy 13 billion light-years away, the team consulted Using data from the Hubble Frontier Fields program which astronomers are still analyzing.

The Hubble data suggested that this galaxy was very redshifted, indicating that it was particularly ancient. They then made follow-up observations with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to get a better sense of this galaxys spectra. In particular, they looked for the bright line thats emitted by ionized hydrogen, known as the Lyman-alpha line. Said Meyer:

The big surprise was to find that this line, detected at 9480 Angstroms, was a double line. This is extremely rare to find in early galaxies, and this is only the fourth galaxy that we know of to have a double Lyman-alpha line in the first billion years. The nice thing with double Lyman-alpha lines is that you can use them to infer a very important quantity of early galaxies: what fraction of energetic photons they leak into the intergalactic medium.

Another big surprise was the fact that A370p_z1 appeared to be letting 60% to 100% of its ionized photons into intergalactic space, and was probably responsible for ionizing the bubble IGM around it. Galaxies that are closer to the Milky Way typically have escape fractions of about 5% (50% in some rare cases), but observations of the IGM indicate that early galaxies must have had a 10 to 20% escape fraction on average.

This discovery was extremely important because it could help resolve an ongoing debate in cosmological circles. Until now, the questions of when and how reionization occurred has produced two possible scenarios. In one, it was a population of numerous faint galaxies leaking about 10% of their energetic photons. In the other, it was an oligarchy of luminous galaxies with a much larger percentage (50% or more) of escaping photons.

In either case, the evidence has so far suggested that the first galaxies were very different from those today. Discovering a galaxy with nearly 100% escape was really nice because it confirms what astrophysicists suspected: early galaxies were very different from nowadays objects, and leaking energetic photons much more efficiently, said Meyer.

Studying reionization-era galaxies for Lyman-alpha lines has always difficult because of the way they are surrounded by neutral gas that absorbs that signature hydrogen emission. However, we now have strong evidence that reionization was complete 800 million years after the Big Bang, and that it was likely that a few luminous galaxies were responsible.

If what Meyer and his colleagues observed is typical of reionization-era galaxies, then we can assume that reionization was caused by a small group of galaxies that created large bubbles of ionized gas around them that grew and overlapped. As Meyer explained, this discovery could point the way towards the creation of a new cosmological model that accurately predicts how and when major changes in the early Universe took place:

This discovery confirms that early galaxies could be extremely efficient at leaking ionizing photons, which is an important hypothesis of our understanding of cosmic reionization the epoch when the intergalactic medium, 13 billion years ago, transitioned from neutral to ionized (e.g. electrons were ripped off hydrogen atoms by these energetic photons).

According to Meyer, more objects like A370p_z1 need to be found so astronomers can establish the average escape fractions of early galaxies. In the meantime, the next step will be to determine why these early galaxies were so efficient at leaking energetic photons. Several scenarios have been suggested, and getting a better look at the early Universe will allow astronomers to test them.

As Meyer was sure to note, a lot of that will depend upon next-generation telescopes that will be taking to space very soon. The most notable of these is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which (after multiple delays) is still scheduled to launch sometime next year. Herein lies another significance for studies like these, which is how they will help the James Webb team decide what cosmological mysteries to investigate.

With the James Webb Space Telescope, we will follow-up this target deeper in the infrared to get access to what was emitted originally in the optical light, said Meyer. That will give us more insight into the physical mechanisms at play in early galaxies. JWSTs mission is limited in time, and thats why discovering these extreme objects now is so important: by knowing which objects are peculiar or extreme in the first billion years of our Universe, we will know what to look at when JWST is finally launched!

Exciting times lie ahead for astronomers, astrophysicists, exoplanet-hunters, SETI researchers, and cosmologists. Its hard to know who should be most excited, but something tells me that would be like asking a parent which of their children they love most. Inevitably, the answer is always, all of them!

Research Fellow, Data Analytics job with QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST | 212927 – Times Higher Education (THE)

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Application closing date:03/08/2020Salary:33,797 to 35,845 per annumJob category/type:Research

Job description

As part of a new Data Analytics Research & Exploitation (DARE) initiative between QUB and the Northern Ireland Strategic Investment Board (SIB), this post will contribute to the delivery of research and data analytics-led solutions addressing a wide range of applications across the Northern Ireland public sector and economy. The work will typicallyinvolve problem definition, data sourcing, research and development of innovative analytical solutions and deployment of new applications to meet end-user needs.

The post is fully funded by the Northern Ireland Strategic Investment Board (SIB) for a two-year period.

The successful candidate must have:

For full job details and criteria please see the Candidate Information link on our website by clicking apply.You must clearly demonstrate how you meet the criteria when you submit your application. For further information please contact Resourcing Team, Queen's University Belfast, BT7 1NN.Telephone (028) 9097 3044 or emailresourcing@qub.ac.uk

Queens University Belfast is a driver of innovation based on our talented, multinational workforce. Throughout the University, our academics are collaborating across disciplines to develop new discoveries and insights, working with outside agencies and institutions on projects of international significance. We are connected and networked with strategic partnerships across the world, helping us to expand our impact on wider society locally, nationally and globally. The University is committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best global talent within an environment that enables them to realise their full potential.

The School has a commitment of becoming an academic home to researchers with a highly diverse cultural and professional background. It takes pride in its equal opportunity provision and in its work towards gender equality. This is demonstrated by the fact that Mathematics at Queen's was the first in the discipline to be granted a silver Athena SWAN award. We very much look forward to continuing to expand our reputation of an internationally leading academic discipline in a dynamic and vibrant research environment.We are ranked 1st in the UK for knowledge transfer partnerships, (Innovate UK) 9th in the UK for University facilities (Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018) and 14th in the UK for research quality (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019).

Based in Belfast, a modern capital city, our beautiful campus is surrounded by abundant acres of parkland and is renowned as one of the safest and affordable cities in the UK. The choice of local Schools from pre-nursery upwards are some of the best available, and lovers of the outdoors can enjoy any number of activities from rowing and kayaking to top class golf among many others. We are immensely proud of what our city and our University will offer you.

Focussed research is pursued in the following fields: Mathematics, represented by the Mathematical Sciences Research Centre; Theoretical Physics, which includes the Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (CTAMOP) and the Atomistic Simulation Centre (ASC); Experimental Physics, which includes the Centre for Nano-structured Media (CNM) and the Centre for Plasma Physics (CPP); Astrophysics, represented by the Astrophysics Research Centre (ARC). Research in Mathematics is represented by the Mathematical Sciences Research Centre (MSRC) grouped around the following main themes: Algebra, Analysis, Data Science, Optimization and Operational Research, Statistics, Topology and Geometry.

The School has over 900 registered students. We deliver a wide range of innovative undergraduate programmes, including the MSc Data Analytics, and a very popular BSc and MSci in Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research.

The University is committed to equality of opportunity and to selection on merit.We welcome applications from all sections of society and particularly from people with a disability.

Fixed term contract posts are available for the stated period in the first instance but, in particular circumstances, may be renewed or made permanent, subject to availability of funding.

Candidate CandidateAbout the SchoolAbout the PIInformation for International ApplicantsNote to EEA Applicants on Brexit

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Research Fellow, Data Analytics job with QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST | 212927 - Times Higher Education (THE)

How to see Comet NEOWISE in the night sky this month – Space.com

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

The early reviews are in: Comet NEOWISE is a hit!

Those who have gotten up before sunrise to gaze into the twilight skies have been greeted by the best comet performance for Northern Hemisphere observers since the 1997 appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp. Indeed, NEOWISE (catalogued C/2020 F3), emphatically ended the nearly quarter-century lack of spectacular comets.

Early fears of another fizzler like comets ATLAS and SWAN quickly eased during June when NEOWISE proved to be an intrinsically bright comet with a highly condensed core. It brightened 100-fold from June 9, when as a seventh-magnitude object it disappeared into the glare of the sun, to June 27, when it appeared in the field of view of the LASCO-3 camera on NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shining at second-magnitude.

Even before Comet NEOWISE arrived at perihelion its closest point to the sun observers could glimpse it very low to the northeast horizon, immersed deep in bright twilight, just before sunrise on July 1.

Related: The 9 most brilliant comets ever seen

The comet arrived at perihelion on July 3, sweeping to within 27.7 million miles (44.5 million km) of the sun and is now heading back out to the outer reaches of space. Nonetheless, the comet continues to evolve and its tail continues to grow.

Until now, the comet has been accessible only to those waking up at the break of dawn and scanning the sky near the northeast horizon. The comet has appeared to rise tail-first, followed by its bright head or coma, shining as bright as a first-magnitude star. So far, the comet has had to compete with low altitude, bright twilight and the light of a nearly-full moon. Some have been stymied from getting a good look at NEOWISE because of these factors, or perhaps because of poor weather. But things are going to be getting better for skywatchers in the days ahead.

As veteran comet observer Terry Lovejoy commented to Space.com: "The best is yet to come!"

Although the comet is moving away from the sun and beginning to fade, that dimming initially will likely be slow, because it is now approaching the Earth. It will be closest to our planet on the evening of July 22 ("perigee"), when it will be 64.3 million miles (103.5 million km) away. Thereafter, fading will be more rapid as the comet will then be receding from both the Earth and the sun.

The brightness of a sky object is based on magnitude. Bright stars are ranked "first magnitude." The star Deneb in the Summer Triangle falls into this ranking. The fairly bright stars are of second magnitude. Polaris, the North Star, is a second-magnitude star. A star of third magnitude is considered of medium brightness. Megrez, the star that joins the handle and bowl of the Big Dipper falls into this category.

Based on a special power-law brightness formula, astronomer Daniel Green at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has forecast how bright NEOWISE should appear in the coming days ahead. His forecast places the comet at first magnitude from now through July 11; second magnitude from July 12 through July 17 and third magnitude from July 18 through July 22.

As a morning object, the comet's best views will come during a three-day stretch on the mornings of July 11, 12 and 13, when it will stand 10 degrees above the northeast horizon, 80 minutes before sunrise the beginning of nautical twilight. Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures approximately 10 degrees in width. So, on these three mornings, the head of Comet NEOWISE will appear about "one fist" up from the northeast horizon.

The sky should appear reasonably dark at that time with only the light of the last quarter moon providing any interference. As the minutes tick off, the comet will be getting higher, but the dawn sky will be getting increasingly brighter as well.

After July 13, NEOWISE will drop rapidly lower and swing more toward the north-northeast. By July 18, it will appear only 5 degrees above the horizon at the start of nautical twilight. And only a few mornings later its altitude will have become too low to see it at all in pre-sunrise sky.

But as its morning visibility diminishes, there is good news: Comet NEOWISE will become prominent in the evening sky after sunset. That will also mean a much larger audience will be able to see it during "prime-time" viewing hours instead of having to awaken during the wee hours of the early morning.

The first good opportunity for evening viewing begins on July 12, when the head of the comet will stand 5 degrees above the north-northwest horizon, 80 minutes after sunset (the end of nautical twilight). By July 14 its altitude will have already doubled to 10 degrees, and by July 19 it will have doubled yet again to 20 degrees up by the end of nautical twilight. By then it will have moved to above the northwest horizon.

So, we at Space.com feel that the best time to view the comet during the evening will come during the July 14-19 time frame.

We also strongly recommend that observers should seek the most favorable conditions possible. Even a bright comet, like this one, can be obliterated by thin horizon clouds, haze, humid air, smoke, twilight glow and especially city lights. We especially emphasize that last factor: the farther away you get from a metropolitan area, the darker your sky and the better your view of NEOWISE. Binoculars will enhance your view.

And more good news: No moonlight will brighten the sky, as the moon will be a waning crescent and visible only in the morning sky through July 20. On successive July evenings the comet will grow fainter, but it will be farther from the sun, setting later and visible in a darker sky. As we move into August, the comet will be very well placed for observers with small telescopes.

Related: Dazzling Comet NEOWISE spotted by NASA sun-studying probe

As for the comet's tail, so far it has displayed a beautiful, gently curved tail of dust which many observers using binoculars and small telescopes have remarked has shown a noticeable yellowish tinge. A much fainter ion (gas) tail accompanies the dust tail. So far the dust tail measures about 4 or 5 degrees in length, but it continues to slowly lengthen and should get more easily seen as viewed against a darker sky and as the comet draws closer to the Earth.

In a comet-watching forum, Minnesota amateur astronomer Bob King wrote: "Comet NEOWISE was astonishingly beautiful this morning (July 7) with a strongly bifurcated (split) tail. Forgive my ignorance, but what causes the bifurcation?"Comet expert John Bortle of Stormville, NY provides us with the answer:

"The dark vacancy that appears to originate just behind the comet's head and extendsup the middle of the dust tail is a fairly rare cometary featuregenerallyreferred to by 19thcentury astronomers as, 'the shadow of the nucleus.' Of course, it is not truly a shadowat all, but rather a vacancy in the center of the dust tail, a regionlargely devoid of cometary dust," Bortle told Space.com in an email.

"In a sense, one can imagine the tail is like a thick-walled hollowtubewithitswalls impregnated with reflective dust that is being illuminated by sunlight. Would-be observersof the cometshould try to spot this rare feature soon, as it is unlikely to be visible once the comet starts fading significantly," Bortle added.

What more can we say? It isn't often we get a sight like this. "COMET get it!"

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York'sHayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy forNatural History magazine, theFarmers' Almanacand other publications. Follow uson Twitter@Spacedotcomand onFacebook.

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How to see Comet NEOWISE in the night sky this month - Space.com

Bengaluru scientists find out where the Lithium in your smartphone came from – Deccan Herald

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

How did lithium a metal integral to modern life, thanks to long-duration batteries come to the Earth?

This has been a long-held scientific puzzle that has now been cracked by astrophysicists from Bengaluru in collaboration with their international partners.

Analysing data from a galactic survey of 100,000 stars, researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics have discovered that all low-mass Sun-like stars produce lithium from an internal process known as helium flash when the gas was cooked at high temperature inside the stellar ovens.

Such lithium generating stars would have a mass of up to two Solar masses or twice the weight of the Sun.

The discovery published in the Nature Astronomy on Monday sets aside a four-decades-old theory according to which only 1% of the stars produce lithium though little was known about the process.

Our discovery shows that any low mass stars where helium flash takes place will produce lithium. This challenges the long held idea that stars only destroy lithium during their lifetime. Our work also implies that the Sun itself will manufacture lithium in the future, which is not predicted by any models, indicating that there is some physical process missing in stellar theory. B Eswar Reddy, IIA professor and one of the authors of the paper told DH.

The origin of lithium - the only metal created from the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago was a mystery because stars with a temperature of 2.5 million degrees Kelvin annihilate it, leaving the scientists to wonder where it comes from.

Over the course of time, the lithium content in the physical Universe has increased by about a factor of four which is meagre compared to the rest of the elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel and so on which grew about a million times over the lifetime of the Universe.

Stars are primary contributors to this significant enhancement of these heavier elements through mass ejections and stellar explosions. Lithium, however, is understood to be an exemption! As per the current understanding, based on todays best models, lithium in stars like the Sun only gets destroyed over their lifetime.

"This was a great puzzle that existed for four decades because as soon as lithium was produced, it was destroyed, Reddy said.

Partnering with the researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Monash University, Australia and Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, the Bengaluru astrophysicists have not only demonstrated the genesis of lithium in the cosmic cauldrons, but also proposed an explanation for the underlying process.

"The result is potentially very important for the cosmos since the observations question the existing wisdom that limits the amount of lithium that could be expected to be formed and retained in stars (stellar nucleosysnthesis). It points to possible lack of understanding how light nuclei like lithium are cooked in the stellar furnaces," commented astrophysicist Tarun Sourdeep, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, Pune, who is not associated with the study.

Reddy said the work is far from over as the team would now seek to find an answer to another mystery how did the lithium survive in such stars with superlative temperature.

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Bengaluru scientists find out where the Lithium in your smartphone came from - Deccan Herald

Molecular Probes Market 2020 Global Industry Analysis, Opportunities, Major Applications and Forecast to 2027 – Cole of Duty

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Molecular probes are the part of small RNA or DNA which recognizes the complementary sequences in DNA and RNA molecules. Molecular probes are used in identification and isolation of specific RNA or DNA sequences from organism. Molecular probes offers as the resources for various applications such as chromosomal mapping, molecular cytogenetics, and DNA fingerprinting. Also, molecular probes are used in various fields such as physiology, embryology, scientific classification, and hereditary building.

Increase in development of map-based cloning of agronomical important genes, marker based gene tags, phylogenetic analysis is expected to boost the global molecular probes market growth. Furthermore, continuous development in genetic engineering technology will have the positive impact on global molecular probes market growth. Molecular probes are developed and designed for genetic engineering research and widely used for diagnosis of infectious diseases. Moreover, increase in government initiatives for clinical investigations in molecular probes, it is expected to propel the growth of molecular probes market during this forecast period.

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However, lack of robust reimbursement framework for customized and genomic medicine is the major restraining factor which is expected to hinder the growth of global molecular probes market.

Market Key Players

Various key players are discussed in this report such as BioRad Laboratories, Hologic, Sysmex Corporation,Dako, Danaher, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and bioMerieux SA.

Market Taxonomy

By Product

By Application

By End User

By Region

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Molecular Probes Market 2020 Global Industry Analysis, Opportunities, Major Applications and Forecast to 2027 - Cole of Duty

New OCF Supercomputer at the University of Aberdeen Supports Ground Breaking Genomics Research – HPCwire

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

July 7, 2020 Researchers at the University of Aberdeen are benefitting from an investment in High Performance Computing (HPC). The new HPC cluster, called Maxwell, is supporting ground breaking research at the Universitys Centre for Genome-Enabled Biology and Medicine (CGEBM) and provides a centralized HPC system for the whole University with applications in medicine, biological sciences, engineering, chemistry, maths and computing science. The new HPC system is designed, integrated and managed by high performance compute, storage, cloud and AI integrator, OCF. The supercomputer is part of the Universitys expansion to improve facilities for staff and students.

With Maxwell, the Universitys CGEBM is able to rapidly analyze complex genomics datasets from known and novel organisms and help researchers to revolutionize the study of the Earths biodiversity and complex ecosystems important to health and disease, agriculture or the environment. It is estimated that only around 1 percent of the Earths biodiversity is easily culturable in a laboratory, and there is little knowledge on most living organisms on the planet.

With the use of HPC, University researchers can analyze microbiomes associated with a diverse array of ecosystems, such as the human gut, fish important to Scottish aquaculture, glaciers, deep-sea sediments, soil and bioreactors for the production of sustainable and environmentally friendly biofuels. These state-of-the-art studies provide new understanding of important and diverse biological processes such as antimicrobial drug resistance; pathogen detection, evolution and virulence; mechanisms of drug efficacy and toxicity; development; inflammation; tumorigenesis; nutrition and satiety; and degradation of hydrocarbons.

Scotia Biologics, a SME research company, is working with the Universitys CGEBM, using Maxwells capacity to speed up its existing pipeline and generating a more comprehensive dataset using genomics compared to traditional methods typically used in its field.

The new HPC system is also being used to teach graduates and post-graduate students in specialist subjects such as AI and bioinformatics, fields important to modern research and STEM careers, providing them with a unique opportunity to access HPC capacity. With 300 users, the cluster is providing a centralized HPC system to support all researchers and post-graduate students across the University.

With twenty times more storage than the Universitys previous HPC system, Maxwell comprises four Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 servers, 40 compute notes, ThinkParkQ supported BeeGFS Parallel FileSystem hosted on Lenovo Servers and Storage and NVIDIA GPUs. OCF is also providing an OpenSource Software Stack and its OCF Remote HPC Admin Managed Service to support the in-house HPC team.

Dean Phillips, Assistant Director, Digital and Information Services of the University of Aberdeen says: Aberdeen is a research-intensive university and weve already seen an increase of 50 percent in registered users of our Maxwell HPC cluster. Having our own HPC system helps the University to attract new researchers, research funding and expand on existing programs of research and teaching. It is highly beneficial for our researchers to have on-site access to HPC infrastructure, particularly when securing start-up funds.

Phillips continues: OCFs Remote Admin Service is an extension of our team and really helps to ensure the smooth day to day running of our HPC cluster and dealing with support issues, user requests and keeping on top of software and security updates.

Dr Elaina Collie-Duguid, Manager, Centre for Genome Enabled Biology & Medicine at the University of Aberdeen says: Genomics is a dynamic discipline that rapidly evolves into new applications and approaches to interrogate complex systems. The new HPC cluster, with its expanded capacity and advanced GPU capabilities, enables us to use new analysis methods and work at a much quicker rate than before. It really is an exciting time for genomics, which is revolutionizing the study of organisms and complex ecosystems to address issues of global importance, and HPC is a critical tool for analysis of these data.

Russell Slack, Managing Director of OCF comments: The new HPC cluster helps the University remain ahead of a fiercely competitive market. It attracts researchers, students and grants to its facility. Aberdeens investment in its HPC is a credit to its foresight in the importance of HPC in research that impacts people and everyday lives.

Keith Charlton, CEO of Scotia Biologics, says, As part of our drive to introduce new services to offer to the life sciences sector, Scotia is developing phage display library capabilities based around a growing number of animal species. With access to Maxwell, weve been able to quickly generate a large volume of data relatively inexpensively whilst significantly advancing our R&D program.

Source: University of Aberdeen

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New OCF Supercomputer at the University of Aberdeen Supports Ground Breaking Genomics Research - HPCwire

A Short History of The Old Guard Comic Universe – Vulture

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

All the character backstories you need. Photo: Courtesy of Netflix

Netflixs The Old Guard introduces a familiar, covert group of unkillable soldiers, but itd be hard to classify it as a typical comic-book adaptation. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood with a screenplay by the comics writer, Greg Rucka, The Old Guard focuses on the relationships between these eternal characters and the ways theyve lost faith in a world that refuses to change for the better. Its an action movie with more intimacy and insight than youd expect, and it helps that it has such a strong comic-book foundation.

Featuring stunning art by Leandro Fernndez, colorist Daniela Miwa, and letterer Jodi Wynne, The Old Guard comic book is a genuine spectacle, depicting epic war sequences in flashbacks to the soldiers past battles. The movie operates on a smaller scale, which works in its favor by relying on visceral, close-quarters combat. But for those who want to expand their experience, heres a guide to the world, characters, and exhilarating action of the comic.

The Old Guard is a fairy tale of blood and bullets following immortal soldiers whose lives are defined by conflict. They discover their immortality when they are killed (or, rather, not killed) on a battlefield, and spend the centuries after traveling the world in one cohesive group, fighting for what they believe to be right. Of course, individually, they hope for the day when their immortality will disappear, a random occurrence that has only happened to one of their kind in the past. The current quartet of immortals led by Andy, a woman whose history spans millennia gains a new member when Nile Freeman, a U.S. Marine, miraculously survives a fatal injury while on tour in Afghanistan. Nile appears just as the groups secret existence is compromised, putting them in the crosshairs of a Big Pharma bro who wants to unlock the secrets of their genetic code. Cue the blood and bullets.

Image Comics publishes the title in a five-issue miniseries format, starting with The Old Guard in 2017 and continuing with 2019s The Old Guard: Force Multiplied, which concludes next week. The collection of the first miniseries is on sale now as The Old Guard, Book One: Opening Fire, and The Old Guard, Book Two: Force Multiplied hits stands September 16. You can read the first issue of The Old Guard for free here.

Played by Charlize Theron in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix

Start of immortality: Central Eurasia, approximately 4700 B.C.

What shes lost: Too many people and shes sick of it. She discovered her immortality when she was killed by the warrior woman she viewed as a mother, a betrayal that made the murder all the more painful.

She was alone for a thousand years before meeting Lykon and Noriko, two people like her who meet very different fates. Lykon dies in combat, the first and only immortal to run out the clock. Noriko is lost when shes thrown off a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Andys most recent love was Achilles, a freed slave who fought with the British in the Revolutionary War and met Andy while condemned to a penal colony in the West Indies. He grew old with Andy, who left him before people could become too suspicious of her immortality.

What the movie doesnt show you: The comic spends much more time in Andys past, beginning with a sequence contrasting her victories on the battlefield with her conquests in the bedroom. Montages capture the huge scope of her experience with big jumps in place and time, moments tied together by never-ending carnage.

The Old Guard: Force Multiplied reveals Andys first death in snow-covered mountains, where she goes to war with her signature ax and throws herself into a horde of enemies. Andys youth, strength, and intelligence threaten her mentor, who orders the rest of the army to kill her. Andy survives, is worshipped as a god for a while, then settles into her life roaming from one war to another, occasionally meeting a fellow tortured immortal along the way.

From left: Played by Luca Marinelli in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/NetflixPlayed by Marwan Kenzari in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix

From top: Played by Luca Marinelli in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/NetflixPlayed by Marwan Kenzari in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks... more From top: Played by Luca Marinelli in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/NetflixPlayed by Marwan Kenzari in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix

Start of immortality: The First Crusade.

What theyve lost: Nicky and Joe are the only members of the team who dont linger on what immortality costs them because it gives them each other. They both became immortal at the same time, and through violence, experienced a level of physical connection that blossomed into love.

What the movie doesnt show you: Nicky and Joe meet each other as enemy combatants when a Christian army lays siege to a Muslim stronghold. They discover their immortality by killing each other, and continue killing each other each time they revive. They always wake up together, ultimately deciding to keep that going permanently without the murder foreplay.

Played by Matthias Schoenaerts in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix

Start of immortality: Russia, 1812.

What hes lost: Four sons, who grew to hate their forever-young father as their bodies deteriorated. They begged him to share his secret, and cursed his name when he couldnt. This is the danger of telling your family the truth.

What the movie doesnt show you: A soldier in Napoleons army during the doomed invasion of Russia, Booker is one of the Frenchmen left freezing and starving when the Russians torch their own fields and cities in the dead of winter. With nothing to eat and only misery on the horizon, Booker attempts to desert but is caught, dragged through the cold, and hanged from a noose, where he stays for three days until the army moves on.

Played by KiKi Layne in the Netflix movie. Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix

Start of immortality: Afghanistan, modern day.

What shes lost: A mother and a younger brother she cant reach out to for fear of suffering the same consequences as Booker.

What the movie doesnt show you: Not applicable. Niles war has her searching for individual terrorists in Afghani villages, not fighting huge armies, and all of that makes it to the screen. Theres actually more Nile action in the movie, like an airplane sparring session against Andy that highlights her hand-to-hand combat skills. Ruckas second-draft screenplay expanding Niles role in the story brought Gina Prince-Bythewood on board, and the film gives the character more time to explore the grief of losing her old life and discover what she needs to do with her eternal future.

Start of immortality: Precise time and place unknown, but after Andy and before Lykon.

What shes lost: Lykon and Andy, but also her sanity.

What the movie doesnt show you: The broad strokes of Noriko/Quynhs story are the same on the page, but the details change. Her primary function is to show the horrific side of immortality as she lives through a constant state of drowning and revival at the bottom of the ocean. In the comic, shes thrown from a ship in a storm. Her film counterparts fate is more heavily tied to the cruelty of man. She ends up in this same gruesome cycle after shes put in an iron maiden by people who have discovered her and Andys secret. Noriko eventually returns as the main villain of The Old Guard: Force Multiplied.

Start of immortality: Not applicable.

What hes lost: The trust of five immortals who will kill him if he doesnt help them for the rest of his life.

What the movie doesnt show you: Like Nile, Copley ends up getting much more depth in the film. He gains a backstory about losing his wife to cancer, which compels him to work with Merrick to unlock the key to immortality. The comic version is simply compelled by his paycheck and duty to his employer.

Start of immortality: Not applicable.

What hes lost: Any semblance of decency. Eventually, his life.

What the movie doesnt show you: The extent to which hes a sadistic maniac. The movie version of the Big Pharma bro hell-bent on harnessing immortality is much more boyish and meek compared to the jacked, tattooed character in the comic. When he first meets the captured Nicky and Joe, he treats them like living pincushions, gleefully stabbing them with a knife because they cant die. They make him pay for that later.

Start of immortality: Not applicable.

What hes lost: His life.

What the movie doesnt show you: The doctor tasked with experimenting on Nicky and Joe is a man in the comic, and he becomes a symbol of the two immortals love for each other. When Dr. Ivan decides to let the two men free in hopes theyll show him mercy, they kill him immediately for hurting the person they love most.

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A Short History of The Old Guard Comic Universe - Vulture

Peculiarities and miscellanea of the Street Fighter series – Boing Boing

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Capcom's Street Fighter is one of the most famous and expansively franchised games in history, rolling mercilessly on since 1987. RAE compiled an exhaustive collection of miscellaneous details, from hidden inspirations to the importance of Bill Cravens to game history.

Bill Cravens, whose name and image is grafittied on the Block Heads pub in Birdie's stage in Street Fighter, was vice-president of sales and marketing at Capcom USA and, as a distributor, was a key figure in reviving the arcade business following the crash in 1983. He is also said to have sold one of the very first Pong machines at the dawn of arcade gaming in the early '70s. Bill Cravens passed away in 2007 but a kind of immortality is assured by being one of only a very few 'real-life' individuals to appear in the Street Fighter universe, with Mikhail Gorbachev's cameo in Zangief's Street Fighter II endings being the most egregious

From SF2:

The flags in Ryu's stage of World Warrior are the Frinkazan, the battle standard of 16th century daimyo Takeda Shingen. The standard is quoting chapter seven of Sun Tzu's The Art of War and the full translation is:

Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest.In raiding and plundering be like fire, be immovable like a mountain.

There are hundreds if not thousands of entries in the list.

Code Parade (also on itch.io) is developing a hyperbolic 3D game engine (download) where a line is not necessarily the shortest path between two places. I was impressed by the tunnels that are longer inside than outside, but the three-roomed house blew my mind. Cant wait for the unsettling haunted-house games to come. See if []

Im looking forward to playing Hideous Abomination [Kickstarter], because it combines two of my favorite things: games where you build something piece by piece out of cards or tiles, and grotesque cartoon creatures that defy the imagination. Hideous Abomination is a tile-laying game for 2-5 people, aged 12+ (but with simplified rules for younger players), []

Yesterday I posted about Finger on the App, a game in which players must keep their finger on their smartphone screen (and occasionally move it to a new spot indicated by the app, to prevent cheating). The last person to keep their finger on the app wins a prize of up to $25,000. Over 48 []

The notion of two people sleeping in the same bed always inspires romantic visions of love and intimacy. However, most quickly realize that the romance of sleeping together is often quickly replaced by the realities of the act. One partner snores. The other talks in their sleep. One grinds their teeth. The other hogs the []

Add Internet of Things to the shortlist of those actually benefiting from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. You might not realize it, but the organizing principle that is bringing more automation to the world is actually proving to be a major asset as human beings are forced to stay home and away from the []

Weve all had those nights where were working on a laptop or scrolling through our phone before glancing at the time to find its actually a lot later than we thought. Most nights, youd be fast asleep or at least dead tired at midnight or 1 or 3 a.m. But after staring at a screen, []

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Peculiarities and miscellanea of the Street Fighter series - Boing Boing

Who is Andromache of Scythia in The Old Guard? How Old Was She? – The Cinemaholic

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Netflixs The Old Guard tells the story of a group of individuals who have been around for a long time. They are mercenaries who have never failed a single assignment, and the reason, as is revealed soon enough, for their unbelievably impressive streak of wins is the little gift that nature has bestowed on them. It turns out that they cant be killed. No matter what you do to them, they will always heal from their wounds and come back to life just as they were, without a scratch.

This team is led by a woman named Andy, who commands the loyalty of her team and proves to be an excellent leader in battle. She is also the oldest of them all and hence, knows everything there is to know about the Old Guard and their immortality. In the middle of the film, an interesting detail is dropped about her that gives us some hint about her long and mysterious past. Heres what you should know about her.

The Old Guard follows the story of a bunch of people who have been alive for a long time. While the latest immortal is discovered in the present day, the oldest of the group doesnt even reveal their real age. The group is led by a woman named Andy. It is later revealed that her real name is Andromache of Scythia. While others use landmarks in history, for instance, the Crusades, to give us an idea about their age, Andy simply tells us that she is very, very old. To understand the extent of her immortal life, one only needs to pay attention to her name.

On the surface, there isnt really any Andromache of Scythia in history or mythology. But when you separate the two terms youll find that there is a lot to dig in to find out more about Andy. Lets start with her first name, Andromache. In the Greek Mythology, Andromache (or Andromake) was the wife of Hector of Troy and the daughter of the king of Cilician Thebe, Eetion. Her name translates to the fighter of men, which falls in line with the nature of Andy, who is practically unbeatable. Andromache was known for her loyalty and survival in the face of suffering, which is another set of traits that we can use to describe the heroine of The Old Guard. But thats not the only Andromache that mythology has to offer.

Another Andromache to appear in Greek mythology is the queen of the Amazons. The Amazons were a fierce tribe of warrior women, who also became the focus of the superhero figure, Wonder Woman. According to the stories about them, they used to live in the territory that falls in Asia Minor and were known for their aggressive nature and brutal strategies adopted to win the war. Interestingly, they also fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War, which brings us around to Hectors wife. Going by this information, it wouldnt be hard to believe that Andy is one of the Amazons.

While the Amazonians are now partly considered a myth and partly considered a backstory for the DC character, some archeological discoveries have unearthed burial sites of female warriors, who are considered to be the inspiration for the myth of the Amazons. The sites were found in (you guessed it) Scythia, which, in modern-day, falls somewhere in Iran and other areas of eastern Europe. For the ancient Greeks, Scythia was the territory in the north-east of Europe. They were nomadic people, and their origins are believed to have been traced back to around the 10th century BC! So, yeah, when Andy meant she was very, very old, and then some, she really meant it.

Read More:Best Action Movies Like The Old Guard

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Who is Andromache of Scythia in The Old Guard? How Old Was She? - The Cinemaholic

Doctor Who Theory: How Rassilon Fits Into The Timeless Child Retcon – Screen Rant

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Doctor Who season 12 revealed the true origin story of the Time Lords - but just how does Rassilon, founder of Gallifrey, fit into this?

The Timeless Child is the biggest retcon in the history ofDoctor Who - but how does Rassilon, founder of Time Lord civilization, fit into this?Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall promised that season 12 would change everything, and he wasn't understating the case. TheDoctor Who season 12 finale, "The Timeless Children," revealed the Doctor's true history has been concealed all this time."They lied to us," the Master revealed. "Everything we were told was a lie. We are not who we think. You or I. The whole existence of our species - built on the lie of the Timeless Child."

The Doctor is the Timeless Child, a mysterious being found at the foot of a Boundary into another universe. She was discovered by a Gallifreyan explorer named Tecteun, who took the Timeless Child as her own. Then, one day, tragedy struck. The Timeless Child suffered what should have been a fatal accident, but instead of dying she regenerated. Tecteun was astounded at what she had seen, and she set about trying to understand the Timeless Child's powers. The Timeless Child thus became thebase genetic code for all Gallifreyans within the Citadel, and the Time Lords were born. This is easily the biggest retcon in the history ofDoctor Who; in general it's foreshadowed fairly well by classicDoctor Who,thoughit sits uncomfortably with the post-2005 relaunched series.

Related:Former Doctor Who Showrunner Changes Regeneration Rules

There is one curious omission, however: Rassilon. Generally regarded as the founder of Time Lord civilization, Rassilon was an explorer who longed to see more of the universe than any man could in one lifetime. According to classicDoctor Who, and countless previous tie-ins, under Rassilon's reign the Gallifreyans discovered the secret of regeneration and became Lords of Time. Rassilon himself is immortal, although he believed no other Time Lords were worthy of this, and left the Game of Rassilon behind as a trap for any successor who would seek immortality. The Time Lords brought Rassilon back to lead them in the Time War, and he was opposed byDavid Tennant's Tenth Doctor in "The End of Time."

Rassilon is apparently entirely absent in "The Timeless Children," which seems odd given that Chibnall is an old-schoolDoctor Who fan. It is important to note, however, that "The Timeless Children" confirms Gallifreyan history has been deliberately obscured; that leaves a lot of wriggle-room. The most likely solution is that Tecteun, the scientist who discovered the Timeless Child and unlocked the secret of resurrection, was in fact Rassilon. Both have been portrayed as explorers who sought immortality; Tecteun gained the power of unlimited regenerations but chose to limit other Time Lords, just as Rassilon believed he alone should be functionally immortal. It's true that Tecteun was female while Rassilon was male, but that is hardly an issue given that regeneration allows a Time Lord to change biological sex.

This is a simple retcon, and it fits rather well. If this is the case, then during the Time War the Doctor found himself going up against the one being who truly understood what he was capable of. Little wonder Rassilon was so shocked and surprised in "The Day of the Doctor," when he realized how many incarnations of the Doctor were in play. It is ironic that Rassilon, the explorer who sought immortality to explore the cosmos, ultimately led Gallifrey to a pocket dimension where his people lived on in isolation, unable to return.

More:Doctor Who Already Has The Perfect 15th Doctor Actor

Agents of SHIELD's Final Season Is Eerily Similar To Fringe - Will It End The Same Way?

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant's staff writers, and he's frankly amused that his childhood is back - and this time it's cool. Tom's focus tends to be on the various superhero franchises, as well as Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Star Trek; he's also an avid comic book reader. Over the years, Tom has built a strong relationship with aspects of the various fan communities, and is a Moderator on some of Facebook's largest MCU and X-Men groups. Previously, he's written entertainment news and articles for Movie Pilot.A graduate of Edge Hill University in the United Kingdom, Tom is still strongly connected with his alma mater; in fact, in his spare time he's a voluntary chaplain there. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will quickly learn that he's interested in British politics as well.

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Doctor Who Theory: How Rassilon Fits Into The Timeless Child Retcon - Screen Rant

From The Umbrella Academy season 2 to The Old Guard: Forever, trailers released this week on Netflix – Firstpost

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Netflix dropped a new trailer for The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, days before it drops on the streaming platform on 10 July

The past weekoffered viewerstrailers of several anticipated shows. From the second season of the comic book adaptation of The Umbrella Academy to the final battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons in Hasbro'sTransformers: War For Cybertron - Netflix offered viewers a glimpse into the worlds of the popular shows.

On the other hand, viewers will be able to witness Charlize Theron delivering some good old action in the Netflix original movie The Old Guard - Forever.

Here is the trailer breakdown of the shows and movie to keep an eye on

The Umbrella Academy: Season 2

The story picks up from where the first season ended as Five and his siblings use Fives powers to escape the apocalypse of 2019. The family ends up in different time zones in and around Texas. But they will get another chance at saving the planet from the devastating apocalypse in the second season. But before figuring that out, the siblings need to come together, deal with the consequences of time travelling and defeat assassins on loose.

The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 premieres on Netflix on 31 July.

The Old Guard: Forever

The Netflix original feature film is based on the comic series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez. The word forever in the title is a nod to the group of extraordinary soldiers, led by Charlize Theron aka Andromache of Scythia, who never die. But the story focuses on the difficulties of immortality instead of focusing on its glamorous side. Andromache or Andy recruits Nile (played by Kiki Layne) who is the latest soldier to join them as their secret of immortality stands in front of the risk of being misused by the bad party.

The film premieres on Netflix on 10 July.

Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy - Siege

Unrelated to the popular video game series of the same name, this anime series focuses on the never told before story of the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Optimus Prime and Megatron lead their sides to the battle that has been touted to finally come to an end in the trailer. The whole lighting of the trailer is pretty dark to keep a balance with the war theme and features no human characters, much to the relief of fans.

It premieres exclusively on Netflix on 30 July.

Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.

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From The Umbrella Academy season 2 to The Old Guard: Forever, trailers released this week on Netflix - Firstpost

Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism – The Wilton Bulletin

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content.

Vicki Daniel, Case Western Reserve University

(THE CONVERSATION) In an open lot just a block or so from where George Floyd was killed while being detained by officers, 100 plastic headstones were carefully placed.

Created by artists Anna Barber and Connor Wright, the Say Their Names Cemetery sprung up in south Minneapolis in early June, as protests over police brutality prompted a more wide-ranging conversation over the legacy of slavery and racism in the United States.

Each headstone documents a victim of police violence their name, age, date and location of death. Accompanying the biographical information reads a simple epitaph: Rest in Power a reworking of rest in peace that has gained popularity among Black Lives Matter activists and supporters to commemorate the dead.

#SayTheirNames

The cemetery forms part of a wider #SayTheirNames campaign aimed at resisting the public erasure of dead victims of brutality.

I study death rituals in the U.S.Scholars in my field have long argued that Black and African American commemorative practices are important in asserting the personhood of the deceased and maintaining and celebrating community. They have been used to proclaim Black autonomy at times when society has infringed upon the rights of Black people.

The fight to remember those killed by violence has roots in the history of slave cemeteries and burial practices. The enslaved were often limited in their choice of burial grounds, especially on rural Southern plantations. White owners relegated their cemeteries to marginal land that could not be cultivated. Many burials were marked only with a wooden post.

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Yet, enslaved communities were often allowed to bury and commemorate their dead, and these funerals were, in the words of historian David Roediger, value-laden and unifying social events that allowed for communal expression. Slavery made Black bodies into financial assets. In contrast, Black commemoration of the dead acknowledged their social relationships and the value of their lives.

Marking the graves of the dead with natural or man-made objects could carry tremendous spiritual meaning for the enslaved, sometimes evoking African precedents. In the Central African Bakongo tradition, the burial place was considered a portal between the living and the dead; objects left on the grave could serve as charms to communicate with and assist the spirit in its transition to the afterlife.

Such traditions appeared on American plantation burials as well, as mourners would leave items that had physical connection with the deceased, such as plates and cups.

There were other practices as well, such as putting items with an association with water, including shells and pitchers, close to graves. These reflected a belief in the association between water and the souls immortality and metaphysical crossing.

Such practices in America also helped to construct an African diaspora culture that celebrated Black humanity under a labor system that tried to systematically dehumanize the enslaved.

Hidden in plain sight

The absence of recognizable markers on enslaved burials today does not necessarily mean the dead were unacknowledged.

In some instances, grave markers are hidden in plain sight: Scholars have noted the common presence of periwinkle, cedar trees, yucca and other plantings, suggesting that some Black communities employed a botanical language of grave marking. Some of these plants may have been used for their symbolism, or for their visibility, standing out against an areas native plant life.

In other cases, enslaved communities marked burials with common fieldstones. Although not inscribed, these stones nonetheless provided some form of physical acknowledgment of the dead.

For example, the cemetery at Avoca plantation, near Lynchburg, Virginia, contains several irregular stones that appear to have been placed on the site. The cemetery also contains two pieces of pink quartz, which may indicate the burial of children, scholars believe.

Plantations owners and their families, however, often were laid to rest in family cemeteries. At Avoca, the family burial ground is defined by a low stone wall, and many of the people interred there received a formal stone marker of some kind. This feature conveys a sense of permanence that is often lacking in enslaved peoples cemeteries.

Gods Little Acre

There are some instances of stone markers in Black cemeteries from the antebellum period. One of the most well-known Black burial grounds lies in Newport, Rhode Island. Newport had a sizable community of free and enslaved Africans and African Americans in the colonial period.

Known as Gods Little Acre, the sites headstones serve as a remarkable testament of African identity, perseverance and memory, according to the cemeterys website. Both enslaved and free members of the Newport community received markers.

Some of the stones acknowledge the deceaseds African heritage; others were paid for by the deceaseds owners. Several of the Newport markers were made by enslaved African stonecutters a mason known as Pompe Stevens signed at least two of his works, one of which was for his brothers grave.

As political and social inequality continued into the 19th century, communal burial grounds remained important places for expressing the value of Black lives.

In 1807, men and women affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore founded the African Burying Ground which exists today as the renamed Mount Auburn Cemetery. As historian Kami Fletcher argues, the cemetery was founded as the simultaneous call for freedom and humanity as well as a call for actualized burial rights for Black people and people of color.

The cemetery let the local Black community bury its dead in ways that were significantly different from burials on nearby plantations: The dead could be named, placed near family and interred in land owned by their own community.

Remembering the dead

In recent years there have been efforts to locate and restore enslaved cemeteries that have been lost or threatened by development. This work exists in many forms, from the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City to smaller cemeteries documented by archaeologists and local organizations. Universities and former plantations have made the effort to search for, and commemorate, slave cemeteries.

New discoveries of remains continue to raise questions about how to appropriately honor burial sites and the painful histories they represent. Even at sites where the names of the dead are lost, historical interpretation, digital projects and public education can act as long overdue markings of the dead.

As Minneapolis temporary Say Their Names Cemetery hints at, commemoration is not an apolitical act. Remembering those lost to violence whether that of slavery or of unchecked police power is important. It can serve as a reminder for the need for political and legislative change, led by communities who have spent centuries asserting the value of both Black lives and Black deaths.

The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. The Conversation is wholly responsible for the content.

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Black deaths matter: The centuries-old struggle to memorialize slaves and victims of racism - The Wilton Bulletin

Kevin Spears: It looks like there is a push to diminish Black communities – Havelock News

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Grew up in Wilmington; elected to city council in November

WILMINGTON -- More than a century after the 1898 Massacre, during which a mob of white supremacists overthrew the biracial government and murdered dozens (perhaps more) of Black residents, some argue the Black community has never fully recovered from the damage it did and the inequality it enshrined in Wilmingtons way of life -- inequality that they say remains in the DNA of the citys institutions and culture.

Kevin Spears grew up in Wilmington and was elected to the Wilmington City Council in November.

This is what he had to say about where things currently stand for Black residents in Wilmington, and what needs to happen to make Wilmington more inclusive.

What are your thoughts about the current state of Black people living in Wilmington?

I think that the current state of African Americans here has shown very little movement. Im sure there is some evidence of growth but Im certain that there is more evidence of immobility or some steps backward. I want to see a noticeable progression of Black people in my city.

Over the past 25 years, Wilmingtons population has grown and overall prosperity has increased. How have African Americans here fared during that time?

It seems to me that African Americans have not fared too well during this period of growth. Again, there may be some evidence to support some prosperity, but I think the overall look of it is that we have not been afforded the same opportunities as others. We are also seeing our communities shrinking and disappearing. I believe we are being systematically excluded from the growth.

What has gotten worse for Black people here?

Neighborhoods and the things that we call our own. It seems like we are fighting to remain here. It looks like there is a push to diminish Black communities.

What has gotten better?

I was elected to city council. There are some people who have figured out how to be successful here, but who knows how many tries it took.

What needs to happen so Black people here can achieve full equality, share more in the areas prosperity and have more say in governance?

Opportunity, opportunity, and more opportunity. We need to be extremely intentional about wanting to see everyone thrive here. If we want to really see our city grow, we need to invest in everybody. We need to quit with all of the talking just for the sake of talking. People want action. As for governance, people need to see how their vote works. People complain, the complaints are addressed with words, but people want proof of the issues being fixed.

[Editors note: To read what others had to say about whether Wilmington can again become a place for Black opportunity, click here.]

Ready for full coverage of Southeastern North Carolina? Subscribe to the StarNews

Reporter Scott Nunn can be reached at 910-343-2272 or Scott.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com.

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Kevin Spears: It looks like there is a push to diminish Black communities - Havelock News

Khadijia Reid: Economic and health disparities exist between white and Black people – Havelock News

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

A Wilmington resident since 2007, she is pediatric medical director at MedNorth Health Center.

Dr. Khadijia Tribie Reid was raised in Atlanta and moved to Wilmington in 2007. She is pediatric medical director at MedNorth Health Center. Her husband, Ro-Lyan Reid, is also a physician.

This is what she had to say about where things currently stand for Black residents in Wilmington, and what needs to happen to make Wilmington more inclusive.

You grew up in Atlanta, described as "a center of Black wealth, higher education, political power and culture." Other than the obvious size difference, as a Black professional, what strikes you most about the differences between Atlanta and Wilmington?

In Atlanta, African American professionals are abundant. They are very active in every sector of the city, including government, the arts, medicine, and education. It is a racially diverse city.

Another huge difference is the schools. Although there was some level of racial segregation in Atlanta, it was not as prevalent as it is here. Even in schools that seemed racially segregated, there were ample high-performing schools that were predominately African American. Unfortunately, in Wilmington, the performance of schools also falls along racial lines, to the detriment of African American students.

During my high school years, Atlanta intentionally desegregated schools with programs like M to M (Minority to Majority) and high quality magnet school programs. These initiatives created racially diverse schools by placing a certain percentage of African American students in predominantly white schools or drawing white families to high quality magnet programs.

I believe these intentional practices create a well-rounded citizenry that is very comfortable living and working with one another. Historically, such practices improve educational achievement among African American students while having no impact on the educational achievement of white students. In other words, White students do not fare worse.

Another intentional effort was the transition of public housing complexes into mixed income developments. The concentrated poverty in Wilmington fuels separate but unequal schools and communities.

Like Atlanta today, Wilmington once had a thriving interracial community. The 1898 coup by white supremacists re-established the white power structure. I have no doubt that this history provides insight on where Wilmington is today.

As a physician, you see up close everyday the toll racial and economic disparities can take on communities. Would you elaborate on that issue?

Significant economic and health disparities exist between white and Black people. African Americans suffer disproportionately under the weight of economic and health problems. These disparities result from systemic American structures.

Despite the equal legal rights afforded to all ethnic groups and women as a result of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, many overt and implicit policies continued to disadvantage women and people of color. Practices such as redlining, restrictive neighborhood covenants, underbounding (city boundaries are limited and the power structure is established in adjacent suburbs), and gentrification favor white people, limiting the ability of African Americans to build wealth through real-estate. Those practices also keep neighborhoods segregated.

The policy of "neighborhood schools" results in de facto racial segregation. Even if minority schools get ample funding, they often have an underrepresentation of highly experienced teachers compared to predominantly white schools. In addition, teacher turnover at predominately African American schools is much higher than at predominately white schools. These unequal systems have helped to maintain economic and health inequities, much of which is driven by the quantity and quality of a persons education.

What are some priorities Wilmington should focus on to improve life/opportunities for minority residents?

Wilmington, like many American cities, has work to do. I think the first thing Wilmington should do is eliminate concentrated poverty. Concentrated public housing is a relic of the past. Concentrated poverty is not in our citys best interest.

Wilmington should be more intentional about creating equal and diverse schools whose racial diversity in teachers and students truly reflects the diversity within this city. This is not just for minority children, its for everyone. So many white people in this city and around the world are struggling to figure out how to interact with African Americans right now. Our persistent segregation has created this feeling of "the other." This moment is not just about improving the lives of African Americans; it is also about making America better.

[Editors note: To read what others had to say about whether Wilmington can again become a place for Black opportunity, click here.]

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Reporter Scott Nunn can be reached at 910-343-2272 or Scott.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com.

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Khadijia Reid: Economic and health disparities exist between white and Black people - Havelock News

ECOCHAIN: The Next Generation of Blockchain Technology – Yahoo Finance

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

BANGKOK, THAILAND / ACCESSWIRE / July 10, 2020 / The ECOC Oracle System Creates and Promises One of the Best High-performance and Decentralized Platform of the Blockchain Network.

Due to the exponential growth and success of ECOChain in delivering as promised, the public chain company has not just gained the full support of the Thailand government but is now the largest blockchain company in Thailand. Since its inception and launch in 2017, the ECOChain community continues to grow. It has expanded to a dozen countries, including Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Russia, and the United States.

The third-generation high-performance public chain is designed and equipped with valuable features that are predicted to disrupt the inefficient and outdated services in the crypto-industry. The ECOC Oracle System is a significant leap forward in the blockchain technology application.

With a sole aim to boost the use of Oracle in the blockchain ecosystem, ECOC also finalised about the mechanism which incentivizes rational oracle, to be honest, may solve the oracle problem onchain, which help everything to be settled on the first layer i.e. ECOC. This research will help the blockchain community to adopt the usage of oracles during DApps implementation.

The ECOC said to have a consensus mechanism for oracles to guard the change of the internal state of the smart contract. The idea is to have blockchain as the first layer to make sure data is accurate, then granting permission on the smart contract.

The dedication of the ECOC team and advisors is reflected on how successful the public chain company has grown, achieving each milestone as it goes. From the launching of ECOC itself, the company has been able to solve the industry's high transaction processing speed requirements (560 TPS). Solved the problems of data storage and application, including issues related to sharing, forging, source traceability, and high costs.

ECOC has anchored the cross-chain feature of smart contracts, and also solved the high storage requirements of application scenarios (block size is 4MB), built convenient tools for application development in the technical field (Turing completeness), and achieved high output (TpS).

Based on its Bitcoin and Ethereum, ECOC is said to adopt the PoS consensus algorithm, adhering to the most basic decentralized spirit of the blockchain. This decentralization allows for greater flexibility, a trustless/full permissionless system, and a lowered risk of systemic failure.

"ECOchain is a fast, and eco-friendly permissionless public chain that is truly decentralized. The chain has a short block creation time (32 seconds) and also offers high on-chain transactions per second (560 TpS). For smart contracts, ECOchain runs Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM), making easy the development as solidity is a well-known language by blockchain developers."

As mentioned above, the ECOC has powerful performance and has proven to solve several application scenarios. The third-generation high-performance public chain has reached multiple achievements in the field of application and is looking to make even more advancements in the world of cryptocurrency.

Looking to set the pace in the financial market and blockchain industry at large, ECOC guarantees a more transparent and secure platform. By integrating blockchain and alleviating the problem of information asymmetry, information is more user-controlled and tightly secure.

Story continues

Having issued 2 billion ECOC coins and over 80 million in circulation, ECOChain has established itself as one of the leaders in the cross-chain industry.

For more information or inquiry about ECOChain, please visit https://ecoc.io

Media Contact:

Contact Person: Natthaya

Email: contact@ecoc.io

Phone Number: (+66)-02-101-9973

Company Address: 2991/36 Soi Ladprao 101/3, Ladprao Road Bangkapi District

Bangkok, ZIP: 10240

Website: https://ecoc.io/

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SOURCE: ECOCHAIN

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ECOCHAIN: The Next Generation of Blockchain Technology - Yahoo Finance

An Insight into Blockchain and IP’s Cryptic Relationship – Lexology

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

INTRODUCTION

Blockchain has been one of the most exciting and emerging technologies in recent times garnering a plethora of attention from various market players such as financial institutions, healthcare providers, start-ups, sovereign governments, etc. Blockchain technology has immense potential which can be harnessed in several sectors such as banking, supply chain, healthcare, retail, travel, etc. Consequently, with the advent of Blockchain technology, its interplay with patent and trademark law is rapidly increasing.

Before diving into the interplay of trademark and patent law with Blockchain, it is imperative to define what exactly is the concept of Blockchain. A Blockchain is a digital, immutable, distributed ledger that chronologically records transactions in near real time. The prerequisite for each subsequent transaction to be added to the ledger is the respective consensus of the network participants (called nodes), thereby creating a continuous mechanism of control regarding manipulation, errors, and data quality.[1] Blockchain is of three types: public, permissioned and private. As the name suggests in a public Blockchain anyone from around the world can participate whereas in a private blockchain only the chosen participants can participate and authenticate the transactions.

TRADEMARKS AND BLOCKCHAIN

Trademarking Blockchain related technology is tricky considering that anonymity or pseudo anonymity is at the heart of Blockchain related technology, which directly clashes with trademark law wherein the point of a trademark is to identify the particular source wherefrom the goods or services originate. Public Blockchain related technologies are built on the decentralised system wherein the Blockchain is not owned by any one particular entity. The community based Blockchain thrives on participation by the public and such participants cannot be identified as Applicants of the trademark as the participants can change at any point of time. Further, in several countries, cryptocurrencies, which have been one of the most popular uses of the Blockchain related technologies, have been declared illegal. In India, though the Supreme Court of India has lifted the blanket ban imposed by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) on virtual currencies, however in the same breath the Supreme Court has cleared the way for RBI to formulate stringer policies while admitting that the RBI has the authority to regulate cryptocurrency.[2]

Therefore, trademarking Blockchain technologies/ cryptocurrencies which are decentralised may be difficult owing to the above challenges. However, the name of a centralised cryptocurrency which emanates from and is distributed by one single source can be protected. It is pertinent to note that the terms BLOCKCHAIN and BITCOIN have been granted registration by the Indian Trademark Office as per the details below:

PATENTS AND BLOCKCHAIN

Patents for Blockchain based technology come within the realm of computer software as it involves the combination of a computer application and cryptography. However, vide Section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, computer programme per se is non- patentable in India. In the case of Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson v. Intex Technologies[1], the Delhi High court while interpreting the term per se stated, any invention which has a technical contribution or has a technical effect and is not merely a computer program per se is patentable. This interpretation was once again upheld by the single judge of the Delhi High Court in Ferid Allani vs Union Of India & Ors.[2] ,wherein it was held If the invention demonstrates a technical effect or a technical contribution it is patentable even though it may be based on a computer program. Further, the judge also observed, Innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, blockchain technologies and other digital products would be based on computer programs, however the same would not become non- patentable inventions - simply for that reason.

Thus, as long as the Blockchain technology has a technical effect or a technical contribution and is not merely a computer software, it may be considered to be a patentable subject matter. Apart from being a patentable subject matter, it is necessary that the Blockchain technology passes the tri- test of novelty, non- obviousness and industrial application. Though there is no doubt of the industrial application of Blockchain technology as it can be seen in the form of cryptocurrencies, smart contracts etc., there can be hurdles in passing the test of novelty and non- obviousness. Blockchain in itself is said to have limited novel features as Blockchain is an already established medium for conducting transactions.[3] Therefore, for the innovators it is advisable that they direct the existing Blockchain medium towards new technologies, or towards improvements in the computer functionality or the underlying Blockchain technology itself in order to obtain patents. The Indian IPO appears to be welcoming Blockchain related Patents as in the year 2018, India was ranked at number 6 in the number of Blockchain based patent approvals with 67 Patent applications being approved.[4] As on today there are more than 300 published Patent Applications based on Blockchain technology in India.

It is interesting to note that the Indian Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is itself open to embracing Blockchain related technologies to expedite and strengthen its processes. In 2018, the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks floated a tender inviting eligible parties to submit their proposals for making use of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, IoT and other technologies in the Patent Processing System of the IPO.[5] From the tender it can be gathered that the IPO intends to utilize Blockchain based technology to streamline the registration process by encouraging information sharing by the rights holders.

CONCLUSION

The advent in the digital space calls for an overhaul in the IPO guidelines and proper training of the Examiners and Legal Practitioners for both patents and trademarks so as to fully clinch the wonderful possibilities that Blockchain technology can open up and it will be interesting to see the future trend of grants of patents and trademarks for Blockchain related technologies.

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An Insight into Blockchain and IP's Cryptic Relationship - Lexology

7 of the Best Blockchain Stocks to Buy in 2020 – WTOP

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

These companies offer exposure to blockchain. Blockchain technology is probably most widely associated with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, but the distributed

These companies offer exposure to blockchain.

Blockchain technology is probably most widely associated with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, but the distributed ledger technology has the potential to transform other areas as well. It can make banking transactions faster, health care and property record keeping simpler and enable the use of smart contracts. There are many companies out there trying to tap into the growing adoption of blockchain technology. Investors should know that many of the publicly traded companies offering pure-play exposure to the blockchain universe are small, have liquidity issues and dont come with a long track record on the market. Others are well-established firms that offer the stability of a larger company but whose revenue streams arent as greatly impacted by blockchain offerings as the smaller companies. If youre interested in this emerging tech, heres a look at seven of the best blockchain stocks to buy this year.

Intel Corp. (ticker: INTC)

This traditional technology company might not be the first name that comes to mind for exposure to blockchain technology, but Intels new Software Guard Extensions (SGX) technology, which the company says offers hardware-based memory encryption that isolates specific application code and data in memory, can benefit blockchain transactions as well as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence applications, says Eric Ervin, CEO of Reality Shares. His company offers the blockchain exchange-traded funds Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (BLCN) and Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy China ETF (BCNA). While Intel is a large company that derives its revenue from other sources besides blockchain technology, SGX tech could help sales if it is widely adopted.

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)

Another large traditional tech player making steps into the blockchain world is IBM. The companys open source blockchain framework, Hyperledger Fabric, is the leading framework enabling enterprise blockchain platforms, Ervin says. While Hyperledger is open source meaning anyone can use it for free companies tend to come to IBM to have the company create implementation for them, a service for which IBM charges, Ervin says. While that helps IBMs revenue, Ervin suspects that Hyperledger activities make up a pretty small percentage of IBMs sales. That will probably remain the case over the next few years, he adds. But as investors see blockchain adoption starting to accelerate, they may make increasing bets on IBMs Hyperledger revenue, helping boost the stock price.

Canaan (CAN)

When it comes to the best blockchain stocks with a much bigger percentage of revenue from the technology, Ervin likes Canaan. The company manufactures hardware used in cryptocurrency mining, which is the process by which a network of computers is used to verify transaction information on cryptocurrency networks. Ervin likes Canaans prospects. Because of the nature of the mining industry, equipment becomes obsolete quickly as miners look for more powerful and energy-efficient tools. That gives mining equipment makers the chance to sell newer, more expensive items. Still, unsold equipment can be a risk for hardware makers and can lead to pressure to discount older models. The volatile price of bitcoin is also a risk, as miners may not want to put money into new equipment when prices are low.

Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY.V)

Michael Venuto, chief investment officer with Toroso Investments, which manages the investment strategy and portfolio selection for the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK), says Galaxy Digital is one of Torosos favorite ways to get exposure to the blockchain universe. A digital asset, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology sector company, Galaxy Digital is involved in asset management, venture capital investments, trading and investment banking. We find it to be one of the best pure plays, Venuto says, who thinks the company is undervalued. Because it trades in Canada, the company has less institutional money pushing its stock price up. Also, the assets it owns through its venture capital arm are hard to value, leaving investors to focus on other parts of its business. Those venture capital investments could be worth more in coming years, he adds.

Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI)

This California-based banking company has become the premier banker focusing on blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, Venuto says, and it deserves a spot as one of the best blockchain stocks to buy. While Silvergate is a relative newcomer to trading publicly, only debuting its initial public offering last year, the companys Silvergate Bank subsidiary has been profitable for more than 20 years and began pursuing digital currency customers in 2013. In its latest quarterly report, the company said digital currency customers grew to 850 as of March 31, compared with 617 the year prior. Youre getting exposure to the growth of the industry, Venuto says. This year, the company launched a new product that allows customers to obtain U.S. dollar loans collateralized by bitcoin and held at digital currency exchanges that are also Silvergate Bank customers.

Square (SQ)

While many investors may have heard of Square, or at least seen the companys card-swiping devices at coffee shops or on cellphones, they may not be as aware of the companys involvement in cryptocurrency. Squares Cash App includes a feature permitting customers to buy and sell bitcoin. With that comes a whole infrastructure and culture associated with the cryptocurrency, says Dan Weiskopf, a portfolio manager with Toroso Investments. He says the leap into that culture is a mark of solid management decisions to target the blockchain space. In its latest quarterly financial results filing, Square said bitcoin revenue increased by $240.6 million, or 367%, over the prior year. The increase was due to growth in the number of active bitcoin customers, as well as growth in customer demand, the company said.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

In 2018, New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange announced the launch of Bakkt, which uses Microsoft (MSFT) cloud solutions to create an open and regulated global ecosystem for digital assets. ICEs project, which brings institutional infrastructure to digital assets, is an extremely important contribution to the wider adoption of blockchain, Venuto says. Bakkt offers a regulated bitcoin custody solution as well as bitcoin futures and options, and ICE has announced a new consumer app and an acquisition of a perk program platform. This combination will position Bakkt and its consumer app as an aggregator and a marketplace for a broader set of digital assets such as airline miles and loyalty points, and will expand Bakkts presence across this $1 trillion dollar asset class, ICE said in its latest annual report.

Seven blockchain stocks to buy:

Intel Corp. (INTC)

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)

Canaan (CAN)

Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY.V)

Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI)

Square (SQ)

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)

Breaking the Blockchain Myths – thepolicytimes.com

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Blockchain is fast becoming an integral part of emerging technology ecosystem with multiple use cases across industry verticals and we at Pinaki Softcon are at the helm of using this technology for fulfilling various use cases for our clients. We have not only implemented this technology to bring use cases at living, instead have been pivotal in extending our knowledge base and learnings to the wider community for adoption. Across the globe, we have deputed our experts who work on this technology and acts as a change agent by imparting classroom and virtual training on this technology. Our expert network solves client problem by using this technology from Backoffice and front office perspective which spans across various geographies along with the heterogeneous digital landscape.

Technology adoption is fast accelerating disruption because technology firms form a major share of companies that entered and exited S&P 500 Index. Blockchain is one of such technology which is more than just digital because it is distributed along with tamper-proof database which allows participants to share data and transact based on a single version of the truth. These are also considered as a digital ledger or logs which records electronic transaction that occurs between two parties and these two parties do not know each other and directly engage in a peer to peer network of connected computers. Rather than relying on the third-party middleman, the network collectively reaches agreement or consensus on which transactions are legitimately using a consensus mechanism.

Once the network approves the transactions, the same gets posted to the digital log. In this technology, the attempted transactions are first grouped together in a block, which then gets verified all at once (by proof of work mechanism) and added to a long chain of blocks, which is the reason it is called as Blockchain. These blocks are linked together using cryptography so that it cannot be surreptitiously edited or tampered with the transaction data on a block once it is added to the chain. The transaction details are transparent and verifiable by the public; however, the identities of the buyer and seller are hidden behind their public username, which is long alphanumeric addresses.

People do confuse blockchain with bitcoin, however, the later uses the technology which is based upon the fundamentals of blockchain. The creator of the bitcoin ingeniously derived a system using computer networks, cryptography and game theory which is collectively called as crypto-economics and are used for parties around the world who do not need to know each other to conduct and record transactions. The bitcoin cryptocurrency which is also called as a token is the digital currency that users send to transfer value. Other such examples based upon the fundamental of blockchain are the smart contracts which are a type of contract written as software rather than being in the legal text. In theory, contracts written in the software are cheaper to interpret, because their operations are literally mathematical and automatic which makes them difficult to be interpreted and there would be no need for expensive legal battles.

Blockchain technology is fast emerging in different industry verticals because it is capable of storing the information in the chain and is nearly impossible to be identified and thus industry verticals like financial services, insurance and mining are widely using this technology for storing and transmitting the information in their value chain. The fact of the matter is that this technology is promising if implemented correctly with the right partnership and industry-wide support which can enable multiple business use cases like diamond batch tracking, insurance premium and claim processing, land record maintenance etc. It wont be unfair to say that, we are still in the early days across geographies in terms of adoption of technology and many institutions across industries and exchanges are doing POCs and beta testing.

By Sadaf KhanChief Operating OfficerPinaki Softcon

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Breaking the Blockchain Myths

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Breaking the Blockchain Myths - thepolicytimes.com

Blockchain Could Be The Key To Making Environmental Reporting More Meaningful – Forbes

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Danzig

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting initiatives continue to accelerate, with billions of dollars of investments announced on an ongoing basis.

That said, ESG reporting is not without its challenges; blockchain has the potential to help tackle several headwinds keeping ESG from having the impact it otherwise should.

NurPhoto via Getty Images

A common example of the issues with ESG reporting are the arguments that carbon emissions reporting creates- even attempting to establish frameworks and guidelines around this issue is often met with fierce debate and pushback.

At first glance the convergence of blockchain with (ESG) reporting might seem to be contradictory or unusual, but that is only a partial view of how these two trends are related.

Digitization and automation are not new trends, but blockchain is perhaps the highest profile manifestation of these trends in the last decade or so. Sustainability reporting, and a focus on corporate governance are also not new or emerging trends, as organizations across industry lines have been reporting various types of non-financial data for decades. In other words, both broader trends have been steadily if slowly making inroads into organizational management and the reporting landscape.

The difference is that now, however, both broader trends have moved into much sharper focus. Blockchain has rapidly transformed, even as the cryptoasset price market continues to trundle along at lower levels, into a financial reporting and attestation tool discussed at the highest levels of markets. At the same time, the importance of ESG has never been more pronounced.

Economic and societal inequality, concerns about human rights abuses the world over, and the need for effective governance frameworks to address these issues, have created a near perfect environment for blockchain to enter the conversation.

Lets take a look at a few of the specific issues and pain points related to ESG reporting that continued blockchain integration can assist in solving.

Supply chain traceability. Improving the traceability of supply chains is old news in terms of goods, but supply chains are much bigger than that. Data is often mentioned as the lifeblood of organizations in the present and the future, and understanding where that data is being processed, stored, and analyzed is a critically important issue. Whether it is the possibility of hacks and data breaches, potential abuses and misuse of this information, or the pilfering of intellectual property, the issues are nearly endless. In addition to helping reduce the risk of conflict minerals and human rights abuses, securing the information that drives business decision making, at all levels, is an area in which blockchain can deliver quantifiable value.

The fact that the U.S. Air Force has provided funding to several firms to build out a multi-use blockchain for supply chains is a prime example of how organizations (public and private sector) are already taking advantage of this opportunity.

Standardized ESG reporting. One of the largest issues with ESG reporting is the simple fact that there are no globally enforced reporting and compliance standards for ESG and other sustainability information. For financial reporting, and fully acknowledging the inconsistencies and issues with those standards, there at least are standards in the form of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Increasing the transparency and consistency, via blockchain reporting frameworks and standards, will lead to the increased usefulness of this information.

A recent report by the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) in July 2020 emphasized the fact that ESG disclosures and reporting are not always clear or helpful for decision making. If reported information is not useful for decision making, the question must be asked, what purpose does it serve in its current state?

Smart city development. Much has been written about smart cities, sustainable infrastructure, and the importance of ensuring that as development occurs, it occurs equitably. Increased digitization and interconnectedness of infrastructure will be an inevitable part of the 21st century global economy, and ensuring that these developments create opportunities for every segment of society is arguably more important than the developments themselves. In order for the developments, and associated benefits, to occur as promised there needs to be confidence in both the technology and insights generated from these technologies.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)published a recent report, outlining specific areas in which continued blockchain integration with sustainable infrastructure can be beneficial. This include, but are not limited to, decentralizing the financing of infrastructure, emissions certification, and making better use of existing infrastructure assets.

Blockchain is a fast growing space - most commonly associated with crypto - but the potential for this technology far eclipses the cryptoasset space. Alongside the growing expectation for more varied and continuous information, blockchain has the opportunity to assist ESG reporting become more consistent, standardized, and effective.

Technology and sustainability do not always go hand-in-hand, but the simultaneous rise of blockchain and demand for ESG has the opportunity to change that for the better.

Blockchain Could Be The Key To Making Environmental Reporting More Meaningful - Forbes

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