Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Yahoo Is Now Part Of Verizon
On June 13th 2017, Verizon announced that its deal to purchase Yahoo is now complete and that it now officially owns the once internet giant. The $4.48 billion deal will see Yahoo become a part of AOL, which Verizon bought for an estimated 4.4 billion in 2015. The two companies will come together to form a new company called Oath. The CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer will resign and former AOL chief, Tim Armstrong will head the new entity.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Amazon Buys Whole Foods
On June 16th 2017 Amazon announced that is buying the grocery store chain, Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. The Whole foods purchase is actually a merger agreement in which Amazon will assume the grocers debt and buy its stock for $42 dollars a share. The plan, at least for now, is that Whole Foods will continue to be a separate entity, keeping its brand and suppliers intact. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, will continue to run the company.
Whole Foods is a grocery store chain that emphasizes high quality natural and organic foods as well as low priced daily staples. In purchasing Whole Foods, Amazon will be increasing its brick and mortar presence significantly. There is much speculation as to what Amazon's plans are. Some industry analysts believe that Amazon will use this purchase to try and go head to head with Walmart in the online grocery wars.
Some industry analysts think that Amazon may use its Prime subscription delivery service to offer free two day shipping to Whole foods customers, and give them better prices on groceries. While this may indeed turn out to be the case, there is also the possibility that they could use the Whole Foods purchase to move forward with its plans for a cashierless grocery store called Amazon Go, which Amazon is currently testing in Seattle.
Whole Foods is a grocery store chain that emphasizes high quality natural and organic foods as well as low priced daily staples. In purchasing Whole Foods, Amazon will be increasing its brick and mortar presence significantly. There is much speculation as to what Amazon's plans are. Some industry analysts believe that Amazon will use this purchase to try and go head to head with Walmart in the online grocery wars.
Some industry analysts think that Amazon may use its Prime subscription delivery service to offer free two day shipping to Whole foods customers, and give them better prices on groceries. While this may indeed turn out to be the case, there is also the possibility that they could use the Whole Foods purchase to move forward with its plans for a cashierless grocery store called Amazon Go, which Amazon is currently testing in Seattle.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Scientists Discover 300,000 Year Old Human Bones
On June 7th 2017, archaeologists announced in the Journal Nature that they have discovered the fossilized skull, jaw bones, and teeth of early humans that date back to 300,000 years ago. The bones where found on a hillside in an area known as Jebel Irhoud, in Morocco, between Marrakesh and the Atlantic ocean. The fossils are now the earliest evidence of modern humans or Homo Sapiens, to date.
The site was first discovered by barite miners the 1961. New finds that began in the late 1980s eventually led to further discoveries that came in 2004. The remains are those of of five early humans, three adults, a child, and an adolescent. The site revealed evidence of sophisticated stone tools and charcoal that may have been used to start fires. The archaeologists also found campsite debris and butchered animal bones.
Multiple dating techniques that included thermoluminescence (TL) were used to determine that the fossils were around 315,000 years old. Until this find, it had been believed that evidence of the earliest humans, or Homo Sapiens were from remains discovered in East Africa that date back to 200,000 years ago. This raises the question of whether the current understanding of human evolution is correct.
The site was first discovered by barite miners the 1961. New finds that began in the late 1980s eventually led to further discoveries that came in 2004. The remains are those of of five early humans, three adults, a child, and an adolescent. The site revealed evidence of sophisticated stone tools and charcoal that may have been used to start fires. The archaeologists also found campsite debris and butchered animal bones.
Multiple dating techniques that included thermoluminescence (TL) were used to determine that the fossils were around 315,000 years old. Until this find, it had been believed that evidence of the earliest humans, or Homo Sapiens were from remains discovered in East Africa that date back to 200,000 years ago. This raises the question of whether the current understanding of human evolution is correct.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Curiosity Rover Discovers That Mars Was Once Habitable
On June 1st 2017, NASA announced that its Curiosity Rover had determined that Mars was once habitable and that the Gale crater landing site was at one time an ancient lake. Researchers at NASA believe that that lake existed 3.5 billion years ago and that it was warm and may have been the home of some form of microbial life. They say that habitable conditions for life may have been present for a period of 700 million years.
The findings which were published in the journal Science, are the result of an analysis of the stratification of the rocks found in Curiosity's Gale crater landing site. The discovery of thick layers of rock which contained iron rich hematite interlaced with thin layers of rock that contained iron rich magnetite bore evidence of a chemical boundary between deep water and shallow water that once filled the ancient lake.
NASA scientists further theorize that UV light combined with atmospheric oxygen created an oxidizing environment which caused some of the sulfur in rocks near the shore to become acidic. This would have given rise to a lower ph near the shore while the deeper less oxygenated water would have had a ph that was closer to neutral. This mix of conditions coupled with a warm temperate climate may have given rise to life that could survive in low oxygen environments.
The findings which were published in the journal Science, are the result of an analysis of the stratification of the rocks found in Curiosity's Gale crater landing site. The discovery of thick layers of rock which contained iron rich hematite interlaced with thin layers of rock that contained iron rich magnetite bore evidence of a chemical boundary between deep water and shallow water that once filled the ancient lake.
NASA scientists further theorize that UV light combined with atmospheric oxygen created an oxidizing environment which caused some of the sulfur in rocks near the shore to become acidic. This would have given rise to a lower ph near the shore while the deeper less oxygenated water would have had a ph that was closer to neutral. This mix of conditions coupled with a warm temperate climate may have given rise to life that could survive in low oxygen environments.
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