Amazon has announced the release of a new on-demand music service called Music Unlimited. The service is meant to be a direct competitor to other music streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify. However, Amazon is trying to differentiate their service through certain features.

First of all, the main aspect that makes Unlimited Music appealing is its price. The service will cost Amazon Prime members only $7.99 per month, while for the rest will be $9.99. This cheaper than any of its main competitors. In addition, if you have an Amazon Echo, you can enjoy Music Unlimited for only $4 a month. However, at this price, the service is only available for only one device.

Second of all, in regards to its library of music, Amazon’s service is similar to its competitors. It includes a catalog of millions of songs from both established artists and indies. It offers recommendations for new music depending on your preferences, creates playlists and more. The service can be accessed on a variety of platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows, Sonos, and more.

Third of all, Music Unlimited is the new version of Amazon Prime Music. The app has been redesigned and focuses on album art and artist imagery, it includes a new navigation system as well as a fresh typography. Amazon has included several useful options like automatically downloading music in the background for offline listening and lyrics integration.

Besides its lower price, another feature of Music Unlimited that Amazon hopes to differentiate its service from its competitors is the integration with Echo devices and the voice assistant called Alexa. Users have a variety of voice commands at their disposal, from requesting a specific song, album or artist to play music on a certain mood or time. Alexa can even find songs even if you only remember a few lyrics.

According to Amazon, Alexa will get smarter as more people will use the service. It will be able to improve its responses and suggested music based on your listening history. Additionally, Music Unlimited include a feature called Side-by-Side. It allows users to see an artist’s commentary on a few select songs from their library. More tracks with commentary from more artists will gradually be released.

What music-streaming service do you use?

Researchers have discovered a new use for graphene, the super-strong material, by feeding very small quantities of it to silkworms. This resulted in the worms producing a much stronger silk that has real world applications.

Yingying Zhang, a chemist at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, has discovered with the help of her colleagues, a new natural way of creating a stronger silk. They experimented with silkworms and graphene, an incredibly strong yet flexible material. They found that if the graphene is dissolved in water and the resulting solution in sprayed on leaves, the silkworms still eat them.

After a period, the silkworms started producing a stronger silk which is twice as resistant as the ordinary one. It can also handle 50 percent more stress. Its most amazing features is that it conducts electricity, which means that it can be used to create wearable clothing electronics.

Graphene is a revolutionary material but scientists had a hard time finding specific ways to use it. This new stronger silk can pave the road for creative uses of graphene in the real world. Scientists are hopeful that graphene can see wide-scale use, from energy storage to water purification, not to mention lightweight yet very durable constructions.

Graphene is a one-atom-thick material made of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. The atoms are linked by covalent bonds, which are very hard to break making the material very flexible yet durable. At this point, it is relatively unclear how the silkworms process the material and integrate it with their silk. More research is required to determine how much graphene does a silkworm use to produce a certain quantity of silk. Another possibility is that by feeding them more graphene, the silkworms might be able to produce even stronger silk.

According to other researchers that were already studying how to improve the durability of silk, have stated that feeding graphene to silkworms is easier and more efficient than treating the silk itself with graphene. Many scientists are excited about the prospects of this new discovery and are hopeful that the process can be expanded on a larger scale.

Using the silk in different applications meant for the public is still a few years away. Until then, we’re hoping we’ll see more interesting discoveries involving graphene.

Image source: Wikimedia

China is steadily preparing for the launch of the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft. The recent rollout of the Long March 2F vehicle which carried the spacecraft is a sign that the whole project is in good shape. However, not much information is available as China keeps its preparations low key.

Nonetheless, the deployment of the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft to the launch pad at Jiuquan has offered some details about the state of the project and other essential aspects required for the launch. At this point, there is no information available in regard to a specific date for the official launch of the spacecraft

The Shenzhou 11 spacecraft alongside the Launchpad must be in good conditions otherwise, it wouldn’t have been deployed. The Tiangong 2 space laboratory which will receive the crew of the spacecraft must also be operating properly. Any problems aboard the laboratory would have certainly led to a delay in the deployment.

The Chinese state media coverage of the event has been relatively tight. Although China’s astronaut launches are starting to become a routine process, there is the expectation that the launch of Shenzhou 11 spacecraft will be covered extensively.

Experts can speculate on launch based on the recent rollout. However, any such approximation is subject to change depending on various factors. The number of glitches found during maintenance and the weather before the launch are some of the most important factors when establishing a launch date. Nonetheless, most experts think that the launch will happen before October 20.

One of the biggest mysteries regarding the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft is the crew. This information is under tight control by the Chinese space agency and most likely won’t be made publicly until a few days before the official launch. There will also be a backup crew, whose members are unknown as well.

China is steadily building its space station and by 2024, when the ISS will be retired, it’s going to be the only country with a space station in orbit. Currently, China has sent two laboratory modules into orbit the Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2. The core of the space station will be launched into space in 2018. Overall, the station is expected to be completed by 2022 and will feature two lab modules, once core and ports used to dock spacecraft.

Image source: Pixabay

Google has recently announced a new update for its popular Chrome browsers. They claim it will help reduce the amount of RAM memory the browser uses when you access a JavaScript heavy website. This will lead to a better performance for users who like to have multiple websites open at the same time.

Chrome is considered one of the best browsers around. However, one downside to its performance it that it requires more RAM than other browsers in order to function that well. This has become a notorious features of Chrome, one that led many users with low-end PCs to avoid the browser.

A new update called Chrome 55 promises to address this issue by using an upgrade JavaScript engine. This will significantly reduce the memory requirement of the browser on websites that include a heavy use of JavaScript. According to the development team, their tests on various websites like New York Times, Reddit, YouTube have resulted in 50 per cent less RAM usage on average.

The only downside of the new update for Chrome is that will become available starting with December 6^th. It will first become available on desktop platforms then gradually on other platforms such as phones and tablets. You can experience the update earlier if you’re willing to run the pre-release code on Chrome.

It’s important to know that you will only notice an improvement only if your computer has a low performance already so that the RAM used by Chrome matters. Otherwise, on a high-end PC with a lot of RAM, the amount of memory Chrome uses before and after the update won’t be noticeable.

The Chrome development team has promised even more improvements in the future. They are keen on reducing the load time for devices that have under 1GB of RAM. In the meantime, if you are using Chrome and suffer from low performance, we recommend having only one tab opened at a time. You can of course, open multiple sites without impacting performance as long they are not JavaScript heavy.

The new performance update for Chrome will most likely be useful to gamers, who are always trying to get as much performance as they can from their PCs. RAM has always been a very sought-over resource by many applications, games most of all.

Do you have RAM troubles when running Chrome?

Image source: Wikimedia

Researchers discovered 13 cannabis plants in an ancient tomb in China. The plants were arranged diagonally over the body of a dead man. Scientists think that the man was almost 25 years old, Caucasian and they supposed it was a shaman. It seems that during ancient times,  people had medicinal uses for marijuana.

According to the researchers, the body was on a wooden bed. The plants were between 19 and 35 inches.  After they tested the carbon, scientists discovered that the cemetery is between 2 800 and  2 400 years old. The discovery comes in a time when the legalization of cannabis is one of the main issues, even during the presidential campaign. While people are arguing about the benefits and dangers of marijuana, it seems that ancient individuals did not have any problem in using it.

According to Hongen Jiang, lead author of the study, this is the first time when complete cannabis plants are recovered.  Moreover, it seems that is also the first time when  humans found a body covered with this plant. What we know for sure is that people from those times were growing marijuana because the plants on that body are supposed to have been fresh.

Researchers also discovered cannabis in ancient sites from Siberia and China. Some of them were grown while others were brought from other areas.  Scientists did not found any evidence of textiles in that regions. They also explained that the seeds of the plants found in China were too small to be used as a food source.

This is a wonderful opportunity for humanity to learn about the use of cannabis in the ancient times. Central Eurasian people used this plant during the first millennium before the Christian era for medical and spiritual purposes. Back then, they did not have doctors. A shaman was the one responsible the treat a sick person and he was able to use only herbs because pills were not an option.

While many diseases found there cure only in this century, the humanity managed to survive for millions of years only by using medicinal plants. People were interested in finding out more information about the healing powers of some herbs, including cannabis. It is interesting to discover how our ancestors used marijuana and why they were so interested in this plant.

Image source: Wikipedia

 

 

Protesters gathered to express their concern about the Arctic Council meeting in Maine. The protest took place in the Congress Square, Portland. It seems that they are afraid the Council will explore the Arctic for drilling purposes. They also want no military force in the Arctic.

The protesters tried to convince the Arctic Council to focus more on global warming. It seems that the Council speaks about the economic opportunities of the melting region and how the industry could be developed.

The Arctic Council has representatives from eight Arctic nations and also indigenous groups. Even though they promised to discuss environmental issues, protesters think the officials are more interested in making money in that area. The situation is more difficult because the meetings are private.

While people are concerned about the climate change, the Council seems more interested in what opportunities they could have because shipping lanes are opened. There has already been a cruise ship which was able to cross the Arctic Sea. We are expecting more in the future, so there will be more economic potential for the countries in the area.

Some could think that residents are excited about the new opportunities, but it seems that they are more interested in protecting their home. People in Alaska are afraid of global warming. They are the first humans who understood the effects of climate change. There were villages who had to move because the ice was melting too fast and it was too dangerous for people to stay there.

Most of the residents think that developing industry is not the answer. The Arctic Council have to focus on discovering the best solutions to protect the area from human development. However, we still do not know what are the Council plans and what they will choose to be more important.

It is possible that the Earth will not be a safe planet for the future generations. We are talking here about our children and grandchildren.

People is Alaska are struggling to have a normal life while the Arctic Sea Ocean is melting. It is difficult to live in an area where climate change has already made some big changes and it affected people’s lives.

Image source: Flickr.com

 

 

According to the latest study, the longer is takes a mammal to complete a yawn, the bigger brain it has. Even though yawn is a common habit among humans and animals, scientists do not understand so much this phenomenon. It is usually connected with sleepiness and boredom. However, it seems that its role is more important than that.

To understand better, think that yawning has similar effects on the brain as stretching does for muscles. It increases the blood flow in that area of the body and delivers glucose and oxygen to our brain and cells. This means that animals with bigger brains need to yawn longer because it is more difficult for them to get the blood to the whole brain.

Researchers from the State University of New York used data from 200 videos. They were timing the yawns of 24 species, including humans, when they discovered that the size of our brain and yawn have a connection. Among the animals, they tested there were also dogs, cats, opossums or foxes.

There was no surprise when they found out that humans and other primates have the longest yawns. We have more neurons and larger brain sizes than other animals. This makes us think more and does connections that helped us survive for millions of years.

Researchers also wanted to see if there is any connection between the size of the body and yawn, but it seems that there isn’t.  For example, humans are smaller than horses, but our yawn is longer. There were not many studies regarding yawning, but this one proves that this common habit means more that just “I want to sleep”.

Scientists are still trying to understand why we yawn. Most of them think because we need to cool our brains. When we think, we use a lot of energy which makes the brain hotter. Yawning is supposed to protect us. There are others who see yawning as a social reflex. Humans could use yawns to communicate even if they do not want to.

The authors of the study would have liked to use more videos to make sure they are right. That is the reason why we are expecting more studies in the future. They want to find out how important is yawning for us and what connection is has to the brain.

Image source: Ourfunnyplanet.com

 

Astronomers from the ALMA observatory, Chile, were able to capture an image of a young star, named Elias 2-27, surrounded by spiral arms. Even though a forming star is a normal event for researchers, this is the first time when spiral arms are seen in the region where planets are forming.

The spiral arms were a featured limited to galaxies, but it seems that things have changed. Not only that astronomers were able to see a wonderful view, but they hope this will help them understand better how planets are formed. The new star is at 450 light-years away from the Earth. The most interesting part is that the spiral arms extend to 6 billion miles, so they overlap inside the disk.

At first, scientist believed there a galaxy there, but new data shows that the planets and the spiral arms could belong to a new solar system. We already knew that planets are made up of dust and gas, but we were not able to understand how they merge into huge bodies. Scientists are still searching how planets like Saturn or Jupiter were formed.

Even though spiral arms could help astronomers understand more things about the how planets are formed, scientists have now other mystery to solve. They are wondering how the spiral structure formed and how it is possible for it to exist in regions where planets are forming. We are expecting more research regarding this matter in the future. Elias 2-27 is at least a million years old. However, it still has plenty of growing to do.

It seems that the Universe has more mysteries for us. While astronomers are trying to discover how planets were solved, NASA has bigger plans regarding Mars. Not only they are taking a lot of photos of the planet due to their Rover, but they also want to send humans to Mars.

The technology has developed so much that we are now able to see things that were impossible to be discovered in the past. We gather more information and find out more about how planets are formed. The latest discovery shows us that spiral arms are not only for galaxies and they could have been connected to the way planets are forming.

Image source: Flickr.com

Researchers from Japan and Mongolia have discovered the world’s largest dinosaur footprint. It belonged to Titanosaur species and it was found in Mongolia. It seems that the giant fossil measures 106 centimeters long and 77 centimeters wide. The discovery  will help the researchers understand more about the dinosaurs.

Many dinosaur footprints were found in Mongolia and the country is known as a good place if you want to discover a fossil. However, this time, they discovered something different. Scientists explained that the biggest dinosaur footprint is well-preserved and they can even see its claws. They believe the fossil belongs to a period between 70 and 90 million years ago. We are expecting more research regarding this matter, especially because archaeologists are really excited about this new discovery.

The footprint is supposed to have formed after a Titanosaur stepped on the muddy ground. The animal was 30 metres long and 20 metres tall.  Even if they were so big, they ate only plants.  What is more interesting is that their babies weighed 3 kg, which is also the weight for human babies,  The difference is that, in a few weeks, the baby dinosaur was already 30 kgs. After almost 20 years they used to become adults. Titanosaur is best known for its neck, the longest neck among all the species who lived on Earth.

First dinosaurs were during the Triassic period. Researchers think their origin was between 231 and 242 million years ago. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for thousands of tears until an event led to the extinction of most of them. Scientists have studied for a long time the fossils they found all around the world. There was a time when dinosaurs were the most important species on the planet. Many wonder what would have happened to humans if they continued to exist.

There are more theories about how dinosaurs died. Most of them are taking about an asteroid collision. Some researchers think that after the impact, the temperature on Earth was too high and dinosaurs were not able to survive. However, there are others who believed that because of the asteroid, the temperatures were too low for the animals.

What we know for sure is that fossils are discovered every year and now researchers managed to discover the biggest dinosaur footprint.  They are hoping to get more information about how dinosaurs lived and what was the real cause of their extinction.

Image source: Wikipedia

 

 

According to the Atlanta Botanical Garden officials, a rare tree frog died in captivity. That was the last known living member of the species, so it is possible that tree frogs are gone forever. The animal was found dead during a routine inspection on Monday. It was called Toughie, by the workers at the garden. It seems that the frog was 12 years old when it died.

It all started in 2005 when the Atlanta Botanic Garden and Zoo Atlanta decided to sent researchers to Panama. Their mission was to collect all the live animals in an area that was in danger. They found a lot of animals and among them it was a species of tree frogs that they have never seen before. The chytrid disease killed most of the frogs left in Panama.

The botanic garden bought a climate-controlled house where the tree frog was able to live all these years. That is the place where the tree frog spent its last eight years. Now that it died, its species could be extinct. It was a good opportunity for scientists to learn more things about a rare species and be able to gather more information before the disease came. Unfortunately, the scientists estimate that one-third of the amphibian species around the world are endangered.

Nobody has seen a tree frog in the wild since the researchers saved Toughie. Even though there could be some individuals which managed to live, it would be hard for us to find out. There are so many animals that are threatened and they could also be gone in a few years.

There are many reasons why this is happening. First of all, there are human activities. Cities are expanding, forests are cut and many animals’ habitats are in danger. While some manage to find other places to live, most of them are killed by people who claim that the animals are on their properties. It is not a surprise that human is the most dangerous enemy other species living on Earth can have.

Moreover, there are also diseases that lead to outbreaks. Thousands of animals die because they are infected with bacteria and there is nothing to do about it. While people are building more houses and factories, other species try to survive in a world that has become too dangerous for them.

Image source: Wikipedia