3MTB Newsletter - JioMart's false start; A lake turns pink; Bird Dialects; A stunning Jupiter
Birds chirping is one of the most pleasant things in life. But, does two birds of the same kind speak their language in the same way? No. It seems sparrows in one part of the country speak (or sing) in a different dialect/accent when compared to sparrows in another part of the country.
Interesting, isn’t it? There is a little known area of science called Bird Dialects. Ornithologists (bird watchers) found that young birds copy adults. When they make mistakes while copying, a new dialect is formed. More information (via CNN) on the advantages of having multiple dialects here.
Some bits,
Japan plans to install a new supercomputer called Fugaku (another name for Mt. Fiji) in 2021 in a bid to gain bragging rights for the fastest supercomputer. Co-developed by Fujitsu and the Riken institute, the Fugaku has a theoretical peak speed of roughly 530 petaflops. This is equivalent to each of the world's 7 billion people performing one calculation per second nonstop for more than two years.
Honda has halted production across many parts of the globe due to a ransomware attack. Ekans (read ‘snake’ in reverse) is a ransomware attack that targets industrial networks
China, in an apparent challenge to US, plans to push $1.4 Trillion in a tech race to develop next generation technologies based on 5G, AI, data centers and other critical areas.
Analysts say satellite images of Wuhan hospitals and search engine data show that the coronavirus spread would have started as early as Aug 2019. China, of course, dismissed this study
Bytes
JioMart’s false start
Reliance’s JioMart has gotten off to a ‘rotten’ start with customers complaining about rotten groceries, short shipped (partial) and delayed deliveries. Jio also paused its WhatsApp orders due to shortage of delivery personnel. The launch was over ambitious with deliveries in 200 cities across India. But, given the deep pockets and ambitions of Reliance, you can expect JioMart to survive in the long run.
Lonar Lake turns Pink
The picturesque Lonar lake in Maharashtra has turned pink and nobody knows why. Researchers guess that the color transformation might have happened due to increased salinity or due to the formation of red algae.
As per Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu fought a demon called Lonarsur here. Geologists suggest that the crater might have been created by a meteor impact as glassy materials are found around the crater, indicating that the heat generated by the impact.
Stunning Jupiter
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been sending raw images of Jupiter every perijove (the point in the satellite’s orbit around Jupiter where it is closest to the planet) using its Junocam. The raw images can be downloaded from https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam.
Citizen scientists have their image processing skills to create stunning image. Be ready to be mesmerized. Here are a couple of stunning images. More images here.
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Best,
-SK