Daily Archives: July 23, 2021

ATLANTA, July 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --The past decade has seen massive changes in the Cannabis industry as legalizations have taken the trade from small grows to giga-scale international corporations. Massachusetts cannabis company Green Care Collective has gathered a team of international cannabis experts to build the next evolution of cannabis cultivation; a perpetual harvest facility with all the latest advancements in horticultural science.

The futuristic facility has a perpetual harvest methodology so efficient it produces an entire extra harvest of meticulously crafted cannabis each year. The facility begins with in-house tissue culture propagation, and its streamlined work-flow moves plants to highly efficient mobile tables. An on-demand fertigation system artfully manages multiple different strains with twenty-four zones per room, giving precise and customized dosages of essential nutrients to produce flavorful and potent high-end cannabis. This high output, energy efficient facility is pushing forward the next wave of sustainable cultivation.

Another important feature in growing next level cannabis is the lighting, and experts at Green Care Collective have selected Revolution Micro's Avici 1150w LED for their cutting edge facility. The LED has a high light output and a fully programmable spectrum, which allows horticulturists to hone in on the specific phytochemical development they're cultivating for, boosting yield, increasing terpene development, and crafting new and exciting flavors and effects in their cannabis plants. Unlike most LEDs, the Avici 1150w is brighter than a traditional HPS, which has made the switch from Mercury filled light bulbs to eco-friendly LEDs not only an ethical option; but a profitable one.

Brian Hurley, Founder of the company, said about the Avici:

"After over a year of R&D in running the Avici side by side against four other top selling 1000 watt HPS lights in a controlled environment, we found that the Avici's controllability, spectrum and output produced higher yields and a higher quality finished product.Avici outperformed every other light we tested."

As the cannabis industry continues to mature, it's clear that horticultural science and sustainable practices will be pushed to a new level, which is progress everyone can benefit from.

Find out more about the facility at https://greencarecollective.com

Or about the Programmable Spectrum Lighting at https://revolutionmicro.com

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SOURCE Revolution Microelectronics

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Futuristic Perpetual Harvest Cannabis Facility Chooses Programmable Spectrum LED from Revolution Micro for its $40M Facility - Johnson City Press...

Akanksha Sharma does not believe in discrimination of any kind. With her work and writings, she is making the idea of a better world possible. Her poise, grace and wit are reflected not just in her personality but also in her new book For the Greater Common Good, released as the most promising nonfiction of the year. I look at the narratives of development, not as a victim but a futurist. Our fascinations with exclusivity have led us to discriminatory settings. I aim to tell the stories of an inclusive world, she says

Sharma has summed up her several years of work at the intersection of the public-private-social sector into this fact-filled, vivid read. She has brought into perspective our collective notions of development and all that looks like it. The book is about all of us and those things that impact us in many ways. Everyone talks about a better world, but how would it translate into reality? I have explored those possibilities in this book, she says.

Profound and clear, she speaks as concerned about Climate Change as about inequalities and existential crisis. How do we draw lines. There are no borders between them. They are so deeply interconnected. We need to develop our panoramic understandings, says Sharma, who is recognized for her path-breaking work on Sustainability, International Development, Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Finance.

For most of my life, I have been eluded with many voices, stories and struggles of people. For how long would we avoid the truth? The narratives on development go along with all thats happening in the economy, society, politics, environment and everything else. We do not have the luxury of procrastinating the intertwined questions on inequalities of all kinds, along with the great enchantment of doing good and their counter-intuitive co-existence?

Sharma feels we are at the cliff beyond which we can only fall if well not reinvent more on things that matter, including Finance, Climate Change, Inequalities that have risen more than ever after the pandemic. We need to look at things differently now. We cannot afford to let the whole narrative of changing the world be driven just as a matter of philanthropy or public welfare policies. We must explore the possibilities of our imaginations to reinvent newer models of socio-economic development.

Her humility and conviction speak volumes about her belief in the idea of a better world. She strongly advocates for collaboration between individuals, institutions and sectors, backing it up with her many years of elaborate work focused on creating impact. Preparing us for a post-pandemic world, she says, We need to blend impact with everything with profits, policies, people and politics. Let it not be seen in silos. To solve the pressing global development problems, we need resources, more investments with better returns. A better world is possible when the impact will become the undercurrent.

In the last few years, we have seen interesting developments on the economic models of sustainable development, including mainstreaming of the Sustainability narrative, financial models like impact investing, ESG Bonds, etc., but the opportunities are immense. The business sector, which is considered the backbone of a thriving economy, need to make similar drastic augmentations, starting from their ideation to investment to execution. From reshaping economies to fighting climate disruptions, the solutions should be crafted for the greater common good.

Besides her work and writings, this young author loves travelling and went to Antarctica on an International Climate Change Expedition, Climate is changing much faster than our response to it. This is pushing us into a dangerous future. It is high time to act with global cooperation.

Born in Jaipur, she doesnt reveal more about her personal life, except that she enjoys spending time in nature with her dog. In her readings, she says, There is a very interesting lens with which I view literature thats mainly to see how the world is divided and how do we build our metaphors for a better tomorrow. Id say, literature has greatly helped me in understanding and articulating the challenges of our times that not just describes the discourse but also shapes our perspectives for the future. I grew up reading quite a diverse global literature from Shakespeare to Dostoevsky to Virginia Woolf. My youth revolved more around existential inevitability from Albert Camus to Kabir that has been instrumental in shaping my world view on the struggles of masses, politics and of course what we call development.

It is rare to see an acclaimed practitioner who is also a prolific writer; she says, In the business of my work, one constantly struggles in finding ways to explore hope. Hope to end peoples miseries, and that makes it difficult to be regimented. My work and writings interact with each other all the time. Like many other things, I cant see these two also separately. I feel discriminations make us small, and the world is a huge beautiful canvas.

Sharma has brought interesting new ideas in her book that has the potential to change our perspective to policies and practices for a better world. More than ever, we need such leaders and their literature to change the world.

Read more:
Akanksha Sharma: I Look At The Narratives Of Development, Not As A Victim But As A Futurist - Outlook India

One of the richest people in the world has made life extremely difficult for himself.

During a blockchain conference on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about the hardships hes had over the years and blamed his electric carmaker Tesla for them.

I would say Ive had some pretty tough life experiences and Teslas probably responsible for two-thirds of all personal and professional pain combined, to give you a sense of perspective there, the billionaire lamented.

The implication, as CNBC points out: Teslas entire existence is based on the desire to transition to renewable energy efforts that have come at the cost of Musks mental and physical well-being over the years, in his telling.

At Tesla, we really do aspire to be the good guys, he promised during the event.

The news comes after Musk was summoned to court over a lawsuit that alleged Teslas acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, a buildout of the companys solar installation efforts, was fueled by Musks personal ties and came as a blow to investors.

The ensuing spat between Musk and the plaintiffs lawyer turned so ugly, in fact, that somebody actually ended up vomiting in the court room last week.

In short, Musks struggles with keeping Tesla are far from over. Production woes kept the billionaire working late hours and allegedly spending nights sleeping on the couch at the car companys factory in Fremont, California back in 2018.

Now, Musk is fighting a different fire.

In fact the limiting factor for us right now is [battery] cell production, he said during this weeks conference. So we need to both internally get our Tesla internal battery cells produced as well as increase supply from suppliers.

Musk is now stretching himself even thinner, ping ponging between car production at Teslas factories in California and Nevada while also living out of a $50,000 box on site of SpaceXs Starship development facilities in West Texas.

To be clear, Musks monstrous payouts couldve easily allowed him to retire already. These are self-inflicted wounds, and only the rarest of diehard Elon fans will lose sleep over his personal and professional pain.

His contributions to both the electric car and space launch industry are undeniable. But theyve come at a cost even if his tallying of it sounds a bit melodramatic.

READ MORE: Elon Musk says Tesla caused two-thirds of his personal and professional pain [CNBC]

More on Musk: Elon Says SpaceX is Also Hoarding Bitcoin, Not Just Tesla

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Elon Musk Says Tesla Has Caused Him More Suffering Than Anything Else in His Life - Futurism

Ancient viruses have been hiding out in Tibet's ice all this time.Ancient Infection

During a research expedition thatsounds indistinguishable from the first act of a horror movie, a team of intrepid scientists have discovered dozens of ancient, never-before-seen viruses within a sample of Tibetan ice.

The Ohio State University researchers behind the work are curious about how viruses have changed in response to shifting climates, according to a university press release. Of the 33 viruses they found in the ice, 28 are brand new to science, according to research published in the journal Microbiome on Tuesday and probing their genetic codes could help explain the secrets of how life can survive extreme conditions both elsewhere on Earth and potentially even in places like Mars.

Lets just hope that none of them infect anybody.

Fortunately, the new viruses appear to have made their homes in ancient plants and soil-dwelling organisms rather than humans or animals before they froze abut 15,000 years ago. And the survivors seem to have fared so well all this time because they thrive in the harsh colds, not in spite of them.

We know very little about viruses and microbes in these extreme environments, and what is actually there, senior study author and Ohio State earth scientist Lonnie Thompson said in the release. The documentation and understanding of that is extremely important: How do bacteria and viruses respond to climate change? What happens when we go from an ice age to a warm period like were in now?

To that end, the researchers hope that the ancient viruses will help them piece together a sort of fossil record for the area by peering at the viruses that lived farther back in time, they hope theyll be able to paint a better picture of what the environment was like than ever before.

READ MORE: 15,000-year-old viruses discovered in Tibetan glacier ice [Ohio State University]

More on ancient viruses: Climate Change Is Freeing Ancient Infections From Their Icy Prisons

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Excerpt from:
Scientists Discover Dozens of Ancient Viruses, Frozen in Ice - Futurism

Bad news for the caffeine-crazed among us. A massive new study linked excessive coffee drinking and were talking excessive to a considerably greater risk of developing dementia later in life.

After probing the medical records of 17,702 volunteers in the UK Biobank database, a team of scientists from the University of South Australia found a startling correlation between drinking lots of coffee seven or more cups per day and a 53 percent increase in their dementia risk.

And its not just dementia. The study, which the team published last month in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, also shows a link between heavy coffee drinking and a greater prevalence of physical changes in the brain and other neurological diseases. All in all, its a shocking revelation about the dangerous side of whats by far one of the most popular recreational drugsaround the world.

Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume, lead study author and University of South Australia neuroscientist Kitty Pham said in a university press release. Essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke.

Coffee is one of those things that, alongside wine and chocolate, seems to be stuck in a never-ending back and forth of research studies saying itll either improve or ruin your health. The fact is that nutritional research is extremely difficult, so different studies tend to point in different directions. But the sheer scale of this new study, coupled with the extremely high coffee intake it examined, grants it extra credibility.

The researchers say that theyre not yet sure why drinking so much coffee is correlated with an increased risk of stroke or dementia. But either way, they added that you probably dont need to abstain from your daily pick-me-up.

Typical daily coffee consumption is somewhere between one and two standard cups of coffee, senior study author Elina Hyppnen said in the release. Of course, while unit measures can vary, a couple of cups of coffee a day is generally fine. However, if youre finding that your coffee consumption is heading up toward more than six cups a day, its about time you rethink your next drink.

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Excessive Coffee Drinking Linked to Dementia - Futurism

Passengers in Miami might have their Lyft roll up all on its own.No Hands!

Rideshare giant Lyft says it plans to roll out a modest fleet of self-driving cars in Miami by the end of the year, giving passengers the option to commute or joyride around town in an autonomous vehicle.

The cars themselves will come from Argo AI, a startup with funding from both Ford and Volkswagen, The Verge reports. Passengers in certain geographic locations will reportedly get the choice as they request a ride. Between the Miami fleet and a planned launch in Austin next year, the Lyft partnership will be the first time members of the public can ride in Argo and Fords self-driving cars marking a huge step forward in the hype-soaked industrys spotty history,if the cars actually work out.

Even though Lyft sold off its self-driving car division, the deal makes a lot of sense for both parties. Lyft gets to own a share of Argo AI going forward, and Argo gets to train its vehicles on all of the user and travel data from any self-driving trips passengers decide to take, according to The Verge. Meanwhile, the Miami launch isnt much of a surprise, given that politicians in the area have tried to craft some of the most autonomous vehicle-friendly laws in the country in order to draw in business.

Argo initially made bold promises about the near future of autonomous vehicles, including plans to develop a car without a steering wheel or foot pedals. The vehicles that will make up Lyfts fleet will still have both, according to The Verge, as well as human drivers in both the drivers and front passenger seat, who are only there to step in if the cars bug out.

An Argo spokesperson told The Verge that the company plans to launch with a fleet of under 100 cars combined in Miami and Austin, but that its laying the groundwork for a fleet of 1,000 autonomous taxis in more markets over the next five years.

READ MORE: Fords self-driving cars will be available on Lyfts platform in Miami and Austin [The Verge]

More on self-driving cars: Florida Law Would Allow Self-Driving Cars With No Safety Drivers

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Lyft Says It'll Deploy Self-Driving Cars by the End of the Year - Futurism

"We could say: Now we know the size of the universe."Dohniverse

According to new astrophysics research, our universe may not be expanding outward in all directions. Instead, it may be rolled around itself like a gigantic cosmic donut.

A team of European scientists argue in preliminary research that the folded universe the edges of which connected in multiple places to form a closed loop may make more sense than the endless expanse that we typically imagine, they told Live Science. And while the idea hasnt been definitively proven, it does present some interesting implications for the structure, behavior, and ultimate fate of our universe.

If the donut-universe hypothesis ends up being true, then that would mean a couple of important things. One is that a multiply-connected universe means that the cosmos are finite and smaller than expected just three to four times larger than the observable limits even if its still imperceptibly massive from our point of view.

We could say: Now we know the size of the universe, study coauthor and University of Lyon astrophysicist Thomas Buchert told Live Science.

It would also mean that our universe is doomed to collapse in on itself rather than expanding infinitely outward, Live Science notes.

Though the question is far from settled, there is good evidence for the donut hypothesis, Live Science reports. In order to determine the universes topology, the astrophysicists measured perturbations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is sort of like the ambient noise of the cosmos that was given off when the universe began. What they found is that there seems to be a cap on how big those perturbations can get. Unless the researchers made an error, thats an indication that the universe closes in on itself, as an infinitely-open universe would be able to fit CMB perturbations of any size.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the question of what happens when an object reaches the edge and loops back around. Unfortunately, Live Science notes, thats not actually possible. No matter its shape, the universe is still expanding faster than the speed of light, so no one and nothing could ever travel far enough to test it out.

READ MORE: Our universe might be a giant three-dimensional donut, really. [Live Science]

More on the universe: Scientists Claim the Universe Is Actually Flat

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Physicists Say the Universe Wraps Around Itself Like a Giant Donut - Futurism

By Manzar Abbas

Often seen these days that non techie professionals are either mesmerized or confused with the volley of technical jargons thrown on them by the technical colleagues, among this prevalent these days are Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics, Industry 4.0, Cloud Computing, Edge compute, vision analytics, Native Language Processing (NLP), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) etc., I have heard people spelling out AI, ML, Data Analytics under the same breath.

With this brief write up, I would like the reader to join me on a quick journey of demystifying and understanding how it becomes essential to adopt the right cut of technologies to derive the maximum from your capital investment.

Shifting our focus back to the point of discussion, traditionally we have seen MES systems and SCADA system in manufacturing were kept segregated from the Enterprise IT system by way of separate networking (LAN) and not connecting it with WAN, so were the precision Lab testing equipment, some ran over obsolete and unsupported Operating Systems due to hard coded software.

Whereas most enterprise were cautious to interconnect their ERP systems with external applications. Suddenly over the span of last 5 years, there was paradigm shift in business demand and IT Managers execution strategies on field or on shop floor.

Talking about Manufacturing sector where the key to success is OEE (Overall Operational Efficiency) which is directly proportional to A(Availability), P(Productivity) & Q (Quality) on the shop floor, Digital transformation is helping the sector by efficient adoption of technologies.

Availability, is the time during which the production machine was available during a given sample time. This is enhanced by implementation of sensors for basic parameters on the production machine, for continuously measuring pressure, temperature, vibrations & current, this is processed through IIoT System, and the data is filtered via Edge devices to feed it into Data Analytics algorithms that constructs a model for statistical regression or other algorithms. In the industrial processes it is prudent to have machine learning algorithms that train itself over a period of time basis events and its linked interdependencies to later provide an accurate anomaly in the function.

For the Productivity enhancement, count of total components manufactured Vs planned production and cycle time are captured and by integration with the ERP production is automatically punched, while the demand is automatically fetched from ERP via MRP (Material Requirement Planning) run as per customer requirement.

Quality being the most complex component of OEE, as the measuring or inspection automation has a broad spectrum of variation due to variety of components and CTQs (Critical to Quality) parameters. It may be Vision Camera based inspection which feeds the results to Algorithms or it can be simple sensor based feedback, gauges or meters etc which qualifies a component as OK or NG. Post capturing of data there are predictive and prescriptive analytics that is done via the algorithms.

The point to ponder that challenges the set paradigm that has always put the ERP at the core of the Information System, but now it is shifting as the interfaces and compute is happening in multiple systems which are interfaced with the ERP system.

An important aspect that has come up recently, is that interconnect and seamless data flow between MES (Manufacturing Execution System), ERP, SCM (Supply Chain Management), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Customer based EDIs, Order portal over secure web, DMS (Distributor Management System), Procurement Systems.

With this we see an amalgamation of Enterprise IT Security and IOT security which are two different verticals and work in tandem.

I dare say, we live in the most exciting times where we have seen the advent of quantum computing, cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, Exploration of Deep space, Interstellar space, Asteroid mining and other unprecedented calamities & pandemics which are new challenges to control with the right mix of human determination and use of technology. The code of conduct and ethics & morality in Artificial Intelligence is soon going to be a major field of research.

To conclude, I would urge the investors and stakeholders to come forward with open mind to invest in the technology of future and the innovators and engineers to keep innovating with to find the right mix of technologies to derive maximum benefits, as there are no silver bullets.

The author is CIO at Rockman Industries limited (Hero Group)

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Applying the right mix of futuristic technologies for maximizing operational efficiency - ETCIO.com

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned after someone exposed his phone's location data.Stepping Down

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, the top administrator of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), resigned on Tuesday when someone obtained and deanonymized data from his cell phone showing that he frequented gay bars and regularly used the dating app Grindr.

News of the targeted hack was first published by the Catholic newsletter The Pillar, which gained access to Burrills cell phone location data.

Burrill, who had a major role in overseeing and managing the Catholic churchs various scandals, resigned seemingly to prevent further controversy. Its a complicated matter. Should anyone be embarrassed into resignation over their sexuality? Absolutely not. But as The Washington Post notes, it also cant be ignored that Catholic priests take vows of celibacy and, more often than not, teach that sexuality ought to only exist within the confines of heterosexual marriage. But the story also illustrates that many peoples concept of and desire for privacy simply doesnt exist within our increasingly digital lifestyles.

Experts told WaPo that the kind of hack that targeted Burrill may not have even broken any laws. Anonymized location data from our phones is often put up for sale in perfectly legal marketplaces, often for marketers who want to place targeted advertisements.

Still, the ability to buy data supposedly stripped of personal identifiers and trace it back to a specific person is alarming. Our phones transmit a whole lot of data that we may not even realize were giving away. Because of that, there arent many ways to protect ourselves from similar hacks beyond perhaps embracing Luddism.

It unleashes this chain that a user cannot stop because they dont even know that it was collected in the first place and they have no idea where this data actually lives, CTO for privacy firm Disconnect Patrick Jackson told WaPo. But its out there, and its for sale.

Jackson added that he expects this sort of location data expos to happen more and more often as bad actors learn what kind of data is out there for the taking. So be warned: in the age of platforms, nothing is secret anymore.

READ MORE: Top U.S. Catholic Church official resigns after cellphone data used to track him on Grindr and to gay bars [The Washington Post]

More on cell phone data: Phone Location Tracking Is Way Worse Than we Thought

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Top Catholic Bishop Resigns After Hackers Expose That He Was on Grindr - Futurism