February 2014

A composite image of the IGR J11014-6103 pulsar in the lower right and the supernova remnants in the upper left that contains data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, radio data from the Australia Compact Telescope Array and optical data from the 2MASS survey (Image NASA/CXC/ISDC)

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The Chandra X-ray observatory in space, NASA has allowed the observation of a runaway pulsar, which means that it belongs to the category of stars that move at speeds abnormally high compared to what surrounds them. This neutron star, known as IGR J11014-6103, is moving at a speed yet to be measured exactly between 4 and 8 million km/h (between 2.5 and 5 mph). Another extraordinary feature of this pulsar is the tail created by a jet of high-energy particles, which extends for some 37 light years.

Dale Gardner's official NASA picture

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Wednesday February 19, 2014 the astronaut Dale Gardner passed away due to a brain aneurysm. During his career as an astronaut, he flew on the Space Shuttle Challenger in mission STS-8 and on the Space Shuttle Discovery in mission STS-51-A. In his last mission, he recovered two satellites placed in the wrong orbit using a jetpack.

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In June 2013, the President of the U.S.A. Barack Obama announced measures to limit the phenomenon of “patent trolling”, which is the use of patents for the sole purpose of restricting competition and to obtain money through legal action or through agreements following threats of such actions. Yesterday came the announcement of the opening of a section of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website, which is the organism that handles patents, containing information useful for anyone who has been accused of violating someone else’s patents.

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Facebook has announced the acquisition of WhatsApp, the famous instant messaging application for mobile devices. The price that Mark Zuckerberg’s social network will pay is $16 billion of which $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in Facebook shares. An additional $3 billion in restricted Facebook shares will be paid as a bonus tied to WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will vest over four years subsequent to closing. WhatsApp Inc. CEO Jan Koum will enter Facebook’s board of directors.