Interesting Links: June 2, 2019

Misconceptions about climbing Mt. Everest; An online program covers blockchain technologies at an Ivy League University; A new Lego kit marks the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing; A computer model suggests the reason behind Neanderthal extinction; and more...

Business, News, Science, Technology, or whatever gets my attention.

Straight from my RSS feed:

Ten links and micro-summaries from my 1000+ daily headlines. I filter them so you don't have to.

1. Crowds, costs, and corpses: 16 misconceptions about what it's like to climb Everest - As covered in Interesting Links: May 27, 2019, there has been a spike in recent fatalities, in part due to crowds blocking movement on the mountain. But that's just part of the picture. The overall fatality rate is 4%; the trip cost runs from $25,000 to $65,000; the climb typically requires months of preparation, training, and practice; and because of weather conditions, the mountain can usually only be climbed in May.


2. US Ivy League University Rolls Out Online Course in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency - According to a press release, the University of Pennsylvania is launching Fintech: Foundations and Applications of Financial Technologies, an online four course programs. Topics will include blockchain, cryptocurrency, lending, payments, crowdfunding, and investing. The program will feature lectures from professors and law professors from the school as well as industry professionals.


3. LEGO Releases Lunar Lander Module Set for Apollo 11's 50th Anniversary - The LEGO Creator Expert Apollo 11 Lunar Lander module runs for about $100, and it was designed with input from NASA. Re-imagining the Apollo 11 lunar mission as a 1087 piece Lego kit, the kit was released on June 1 to mark the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, in July, 1969. It is only available from Lego stores or the Lego online shop..


4. Neanderthals May Have Been Driven to Extinction by a Tiny Drop in Fertility Rates - According to researchers with a computer model, a 2.7% decrease in fertility rate would have caused Neanderthal extinction in 10,000 years, or an 8% decrease would cause it in 4,000 years. Modern humans still have Neanderthal DNA, but as a species, the Neanderthals went extinct during a time of climate changes, so the researchers speculate that changing food supplies might have caused a decline in Neanderthal birth rates. h/t archaeology.org


5. The amazing brains and morphing skin of octopuses and other cephalopods - In this TED talk on the cephalopod brain, Roger Hanlon argues that the fast, dynamic change that is required for 3D camouflage represents a form of intelligence. To support this argument, he shows some videos with the camouflage behavior in action. He also points out that the octopus skin has 4 times as many neurons as its brain, and that when foraging for food, the octopus has to make more than 50 camouflaging decisions per hour, in order to fool other intelligent animals like dolphins. He also shows how the squids and cuttlefish use camouflage for communication and memory, then goes on to conjecture about the evolutionary history and function of the cephalopods' neurological system, and shows some materials and fabrics that are modeled after their skins.


6. A huge energy storage deal raises major doubts - Tokyo's Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems has reached a deal for energy storage with owners of Utah salt caverns. The project will be launched in Millard County, Utah, and plans to make use of hydrogen, compressed air, fuel cells, and flow batteries for energy storage. The goal is to store energy in the form of compressed air that could power the company's turbines, but critics say that the technique is unproven and may not be viable. The announcement also raised eyebrows because it didn't mention customers or other funding sources.


7. Video Friday: This Robot Is Learning to Slice Onions - IEEE Spectrum's weekly roundup of robot videos. This week focuses on videos from ICRA 2019, and includes a human/robot team that cooperates to lift and move objects, a "dentronic" robotic dental assistant, torque and velocity control that enables a humanoid robot to jump, and a robot that uses a knife to cut vegetables with pressing, pushing, and slicing motions.


8. NASA has selected the first three companies bringing payloads to the moon - Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Orbit Beyond will put landers on the moon in 2020 and 2021 to assist NASA with its mission to return humans to the moon by 2024.


9. STEEM Niches, and the Constant Evolution of Content - @the-alien discusses the evolution of the television and video industry, from its roots when networks couldn't fill the whole day with programming, until today, where every niche enthusiast can find programming for their own interests. (@the-alien will receive 5% of the rewards from this post.)


10. STEEM How I Created A Successful Freelance Business Using Steem & Bitcointalk - @daan offers advice for freelancers, describing how he has launched a successful freelance business with help from Oracle-D and Bitcointalk. (5% of the rewards from this post will go to @daan.)

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