January 2016

Endymion by Dan Simmons

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The novel “Endymion” by Dan Simmons was published for the first time in 1995. It’s the third book of the Hyperion Cantos and is the sequel to “The Fall of Hyperion”.

It’s been almost three centuries since the Fall. Raul Endymion is a guide and during a hunting kills a man in self-defense but it’s his word against that of a group of important men. Sentenced to death, he gets rescued by Martin Silenus, who convinces him to help Aenea to avoid the Pope’s armies when she comes out from the Time Tombs.

Accompanied by the android A. Bettik, Raul Endymion begins a long journey among the stars to help Aenea. Pursued by the team commanded by Father Captain Federico de Soya, he must find a number of truth sometimes hard to accept about the latest centuries of human history.

David Bowie with his wife Iman in 2009

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On Sunday, the great artist David Bowie passed away. He had cancer for some time but concealed his illness. He’s been an amazing artist that constantly experimented and reinvented himself. He leaves us a huge number of musical albums and cinema performances.

The bacteria present on the various areas of human skin, a little example of interaction between the microbiome and human beings (Image Darryl Leja, NHGRI)

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An article published in the journal “ACS Nano” describes the tools that scientists need to put into practice the proposal for the formation of the Unified Microbiome Initiative (UMI). An interdisciplinary team of scientists launched this proposal in October to explore the world of microorganisms, which is still in many ways mysterious. The existing tools are not enough so we need to invent other ones to face a new challenge.

A Galápagos tortoise or Galápagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra)

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An article published in the journal “Journal of South American Earth Sciences” describes a research that connects the discovery of fossils, mostly of turtles and tortoises as well as other organisms, in the Andes of southern Bolivia to the geological changes of the area. According to the researchers, 13 million years ago these mountains were high less than a kilometer above sea level.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich at CES 2014

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This Monday, Intel announced the acquisition of Ascending Technologies, also known simply as AscTec, a German company based in Krailing that produces autopiloted drones. The terms of the agreement not disclosed but in August 2015 Intel invested 60 million dollars in the Chinese aircraft company Yuneec International, which also produces drones. The acquisition of AscTec represents the culmination of a partnership between the two companies that began in 2015.