Van der Waals interactions between molecules are among the most important forces in biology, physics, and chemistry, as they determine the properties and physical behavior of many materials. For a long time, it was considered that these interactions between molecules are always attractive. Now, researchers have found that in many rather common situations in nature the van der Waals force between two molecules becomes repulsive.

 Google recently began testing a new tool for helping people better manage the mobile data used by their smartphones, through a new Android application called Triangle. The app, which is currently being tested in the Philippines, lets you do things like view your data balance, see which apps are accounting for the most data usage, and even block individual applications from using your mobile… Read More

 Meal delivery business Blue Apron opened for trading at $10 per share on Thursday, significantly below the originally proposed range of $15 to $17. It’s also flat compared to the $10 they priced it at last night, meaning the IPO investors have yet to reap any gains. The market will be watching Blue Apron’s first day of trading closely. Most companies “pop” on the first… Read More

Dr. Frankenstein, eat your heart out: Scientists have grown the pebbly green skin of sea turtles in the lab for the first time ever.

Ten years ago, the original iPhone hit stores in the U.S. and revolutionized how companies designed and built cellphones. Here are some of the technologies that the original iPhone and its successors have made must-haves for all modern smartphones.

Researchers have examined the available literature for the effects of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on different cognitive domains. It turns out that cognitive performance was improved by a daily intake of cocoa flavanols.

NASA invites the public to three days of discussion and storytelling with notable aerospace experts to mark the 100th anniversary of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Portions of the event will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Rodent Research-5 (RR-5) Systemic Therapy of NELL-1 for Osteoporosis: The two animal habitats that will remain on ISS following SpX-11 departure were cleaned and restocked with new food bars.  Because spaceflight has significant and rapid effects on the musculoskeletal system it is important to investigate targeted therapies that could ameliorate some of the detrimental effects of spaceflight. The NELL-1 drug being studied in the RR-5 investigation has the potential to slow or reverse bone loss during spaceflight. Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF):  The crew exchanged sample holders in the ELF. They also removed samples that had been lost in the Holder Cartridge to prevent interference with the subsequent experiment.  The ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate, melt and solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured and solidification from deeply undercooled melts can be achieved.  Food Acceptability:  The crew reviewed reference material and completed a Food Acceptability questionnaire. This investigation hopes to determine the impact of repeat consumption on food acceptability on ISS within the current closed-variety spaceflight food system. Results will be used in developing strategies to improve food system composition to support crew health and performance on long duration missions. Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPs) Inspection: The crew completed this regularly scheduled maintenance to verify that Portable Fire Extinguishers (PFE), Extension Hose Tee Kits (EHTK), Portable Breathing Apparatuses (PBA) and pre-breathe masks are free of damage to ensure functionality.  Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Yesterday evening, Robotics Ground Controllers maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) Arm1 to stow the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) Flight Releasable Attachment Mechanism (FRAM) in Dragon Trunk Site 2.  SPDM Arm1 then released the ROSA FRAM Micro-Square Fixture (MSF) and the SSRMS lifted the SPDM out of the Dragon Trunk and maneuvered it to a park position.   Today’s Planned Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. Controlling and Charging of Soyuz 735 Samsung Tablets Greetings Video Recording Test Video Recording for Russia Today TV Channel Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media РСПИ. File Deletion from Onboard Memory Device (БЗУ) URAGAN. Observation and Photography ECON-M. Observation and Photography Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Removal ORLAN-MK #6 Leg Shell Replacement XF305 Camcorder Setup Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Cartridge Retrieval Portable Emergency Provisions (PEPS) Inspection Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Sample Holder Exchange Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Sample Removal ORLAN-MK #6 Leak Check Hardware Restow Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) sample Cartridge Installation Cleaning of FGB Central Fan ЦВ1 Screens O2 Repress from Section 2 of Progress 435 (DC1) Oxygen Supply Facility (СРПК) – start Polar Sample Transfer From MELFI ISS O2 Repress from Section 2 of Progress 435 (DC1) Oxygen Supply Facility (СРПК) – end Monitoring of ИП-1 Sensors Installation Switch of БКС Х322/10 on CA325 Monounits of the First and Second REGUL-OS Radio Control and Communication System Food Acceptability Reference Material Review Cargo Transfer to Dragon Food Acceptability Questionnaire – Subject Rodent Research Node 2 Camcorder Video Setup Rodent Research Habitat 1-4 Restock Completed Task List Items Genes in Space MWA Preparation Genes in Space with Biomolecule Sequencer Hardware Gather Genes in Space MELFI Retrieve Genes in Space with Biomolecule Sequencer Proof on Concept Initialization Ground Activities All activities were completed unless otherwise noted. POLAR/MELFI transfer to Dragon Rodent Research habitat restock T2 ground power cycle Three-Day Look Ahead: Thursday, 06/29: NanoRacks Module 48 ops, Rodent Research, Dragon departure OBT Friday, 06/30: NanoRacks Module 9 ops, POLAR transfer to Dragon, StemCell media change Saturday, 07/01: Rodent habitat stow, POLAR/DCB transfer to Dragon, Dragon egress, N2 CPA install QUICK ISS Status – Environmental Control Group:   Component Status Elektron On Vozdukh Manual [СКВ] 1 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV1”) Off           [СКВ] 2 – SM Air Conditioner System (“SKV2”) On Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab Standby Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 Operate Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab Idle Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 Operate Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) Process Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) Process Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab Full up Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 Off  

 In the nascent connected speaker market, consumers appear to be gravitating towards the more affordably priced Amazon’s Echo Dot, according to new e-commerce sales data released this morning by Adobe. However, Google’s decision to release its Echo competitor, Google Home, in November paid off well, the study found. During the 2016 holidays, Google Home was able to outsell both… Read More

It’s hard to know what’s happening inside a company. Those best-places-to-work lists are helpful, but what’s great for one person might not be so great for another. The Muse, a content-rich recruitment site whose growth depends on its ability to match job seekers and companies, knows well the challenge of getting the “full story.” Though it counts more than 500… Read More

 Back in April, we began we began hearing that Microsoft was in the process of buying Israeli cloud startup Cloudyn, a company that helps customers manage their cloud billing across multiple clouds. It’s taken a while to work through the terms, but today Microsoft finally made it official. Sources tell TechCrunch the price was between $50 million and $70 million. In a company blog… Read More

 Back in April, we began we began hearing that Microsoft was in the process of buying Israeli cloud startup Cloudyn, a company that helps customers manage their cloud billing across multiple clouds. It’s taken a while to work through the terms, but today Microsoft finally made it official. Sources tell TechCrunch the price was $50 million. In a company blog post today,… Read More

 ClauseMatch CEO Evgeny Likhoded remembers what it used to be like to negotiate contracts. As a former employee of Morgan Stanley and before that Gazprom, he was on teams that would negotiate contracts and agreements around financial products and the trading of physical commodities. While technology has evolved in many parts of the enterprise, Likhoded says that financial, legal, risk-related… Read More

 Oh no, this is bad. Marvel’s Inhumans TV series has its first trailer, and it looks like a dismal low-rent sci-fi trainwreck. Which is not the fault of the source material. Watch for yourself and judge, but I have thoughts: The show has some promising aspects, including Iwan Rheon from Misfits and Game of Thrones as the lead foil. But the main protagonist, Black Bolt as portrayed by… Read More

Trace amounts of flame retardants, banned in the US for more than a decade, are still being passed through umbilical cord blood from mothers to their babies, according to new research. The chemicals are linked to health concerns including hormone disruption and low birth weight.

 Instagram is flipping the switch on a system that will automatically detect mean, offensive and harassing comments and make sure that people never see them. The new system is based on work that Facebook and Instagram have done with DeepText, a text classification engine meant to help machines interpret words as used in context to fight spam. As Wired first reported, the Instagram system… Read More

 The agenda for TC Sessions: Robotics  (July 17 in Cambridge, MA at MIT’s Kresge auditorium)  is almost complete, and before the long July 4 weekend we wanted to announce one more stellar addition to the line-up. (And remind to grab a ticket before they are all gone!) One of the advances driving robotics in recent years are powerful GPUs, and no discussion of the robot brain would… Read More

 AppDynamics released an update today with a nod towards the growing trend of containerization. The company, which was purchased by Cisco earlier this year for $3.7 billion, wants to help customers using Docker containers pinpoint performance issues. The problem with containers is that there is just so many of them. Containers enable developers to break down a monolithic application into a set… Read More

 Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group has a new version of its testing transport truck for autonomous tech. The new model features an updated technology stack, including a 64 channel spinning LiDAR array, which is something never used previously on any of the former Otto’s test trucks. The Uber ATG truck notably drops all Otto branding, as you can see, since Uber retired that name in… Read More

 Canon has a new version of the 6D, its entry-level full-frame DSLR. The 6D debuted in 2012, and I purchased one of the very first off the line – five years later, it’s still a terrific DSLR that in some ways matches my 5D Mark IV. Now, Canon has a new 6D Mark II, and it looks like a great value for people looking to upgrade from their original 6D, or get into full-frame photography… Read More

 Greenlight Financial, maker of a smart debit card for kids, is already making moves just six months after launch. On the heels of a $7.5 million Series A fundraise we reported earlier this month, the company is announcing a major hire in its executive ranks and new features to its cards. Read More

 Pray.com, an interfaith mobile app that helps religious leaders keep in touch with their congregants, will grow its team after receiving $2 million in seed funding. The round was led by Science Inc., an accelerator whose portfolio also includes Dollar Shave Club and DogVacay, with participation from Greylock Partners and Spark Capital. Read More

 Kinetica’s roots as a company go back to a 2009 consulting project for US intelligence services. When they couldn’t find a solution on the market to meet the strict demands of the army and NSA to track terrorists in real-time, they decided to build it. Today, it’s an in-memory database solution that relies on commodity hardware running Nvidia GPUs to supercharge the processing.… Read More

 Swedish digital healthcare startup KRY has closed a €20 million ($22.8M) Series A round of funding to grow its on-demand video-call-a-doctor business, including expanding into new markets. Existing investors Index Ventures, Creandum and Project A also participated in the round. Read More

Ten years ago, the original iPhone hit stores in the U.S. and revolutionized how companies designed and built cellphones. Here are some of the technologies that the original iPhone and its successors have made must-haves for all modern smartphones.