Month: February 2016

(credit: NASA)

The most common rocks that fall to Earth are called chondritic meteorites, or chondrites. In fact, the Earth is probably made of them. These are some of the oldest rocks in the Solar System, some dating to its very origin at just over four and a half billion years old. And some of their internal material has remained largely untouched since that time.

That makes them extraordinary time capsules, since the Solar System underwent churning differentiation and other processes to reach its current form. It’s a bit like finding a still-living velociraptor: an opportunity to study a bygone era, largely uncontaminated by exposure to the interceding time.

But the amount of information the rocks provide really depends on whether their composition was typical of that of the early Solar System. In a new study, a group of researchers has found that the composition of the chondrites is probably a match for the cloud of gas and dust that condensed to create the Solar System.

(credit: Google)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai took to Twitter (not Google+) on Wednesday night to comment on Apple CEO Tim Cook's post about hardware encryption and backdoors for law enforcement. Pichai opened by saying that Google does give data to law enforcement "based on valid legal orders," something outlined in the company's Transparency Report. But when it comes to creating backdoors to allow access to data stored on devices, Pichai was more hesitant:

4/5 But that’s wholly different than requiring companies to enable hacking of customer devices & data. Could be a troubling precedent

— sundarpichai (@sundarpichai) February 17, 2016

Pichai's "could be" stance on the issue is milquetoast, especially in comparison to the multi-paragraph line in the sand that Apple drew on Tuesday. Though many tech companies—Google, Microsoft, and Apple included—have all spoken out against encryption backdoors in the past, most have become quieter about it in the wake of the San Bernardino attacks.

It's also worth noting that Google doesn't have nearly as much control over the Android ecosystem as Apple does over the iPhone. Phone makers and mobile network operators all have their fingerprints on the Android phones they sell, and AT&T has already said that it has no interest in fighting the government over encryption.

A small company outgunned, or a case of cool-dude legal overreach? (credit: Onewheel)

During this year's CES conference in Las Vegas, some members of the press witnessed a surprising scene. US Marshals raided the booth of a Chinese company selling one-wheeled "hoverboards," packing up their merchandise and forcing them to close up shop.

The raid was prompted by legal action from Future Motion, a California startup that sells a similar looking one-wheeled "hoverboard" called the Onewheel. Future Motion says that the Chinese competitor, Changzhou First International Trade Co., was violating two of its patents. The company went to federal court and in an "ex parte" proceeding, with no opposition, asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order. After a seven-minute hearing, the TRO was issued.

The raid produced unexpected blowback. Changzhou First didn't give in—the company lawyered up, hiring major law firm Merchant & Gould to argue its case. A hearing was set for February 19, but it won't take place. Future Motion dropped its case two weeks before the hearing.

A rendering of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, which is now nearly complete. (credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Sometimes, when we build huge telescopes to see deep into the Universe, we end up learning more about ourselves back here on Earth. That appears to be the case during the last week as two bits of telescope news came out of Hawaii and China.

First came news from the Thirty Meter Telescope project, a collaboration of international institutions led by the California Institute of Technology. The team would begin considering alternate sites for the large optical instrument it originally planned to build on Mauna Kea. The announcement followed months of delays due to protests by native Hawaiians. The protesters believe the 55-meter-tall facility would desecrate sacred ground.

Then came reports out of China that, as the country finishes building the world's largest radio telescope, it plans to move 2,029 families—a total of 9,110 people—who live near the telescope in the south-central Chinese province of Guizhou. According to Chinese officials, relocating the nearby residents will create “a sound electromagnetic wave environment” for the telescope. (Perhaps they might have considered this before choosing the site?) Residents will receive about $1,800 for housing compensation.