Blocks

New research finds that molecular clouds are loaded with key precursors for life on Earth. This image is of the “Pigtail” Molecular Cloud. Credit: Keio University, NAOJKey precursors for life on Earth are abundant in interstellar molecular clouds and could have arrived on Earth inside comets and meteors.Nitriles, a class of organic molecules with a cyano group (a carbon <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>atom</div><div…

Twitter told reporters on Thursday that it kicks over 1 million spam accounts off of its platform a day, according to a report from Reuters. That’s double the number CEO Parag Agrawal stated in a May Twitter thread, though the company maintains its long-held position that bots make up less than 5 percent of its active user base. The number of spam accounts and how Twitter deals with them has become a sticking point in recent months, as Elon Musk threatened to back away from his buyout of the company citing concerns the…

India's financial crime agency said on Thursday it has blocked 119 bank accounts linked to Vivo's India business that were holding 4.65 billion rupees ($58.76 million), as part of a probe into alleged money laundering by the Chinese smartphone maker. The Enforcement Directorate said it raided 48 locations of Vivo and its 23 related entities this week, alleging that sale proceeds of Vivo India were transferred out of India to show losses and avoid paying taxes. Vivo, owned by China's BBK Electronics, did not immediately…

Google has blocked Play Store updates to the popular messaging app KakaoTalk in South Korea for refusing to comply with its billing policy. The app will remain functional but the developers won’t be able to push updates to it through Play Store. It is the first victim of Google’s enforced Play policy in South Korea, local publication News1 reports (via).The Play policy in question here is the one that requires developers to use Google’s first-party billing system for in-app purchases in apps distributed through Play…

Marc Bruxelle/ EyeEm/ GettyDUBAI, United Arab Emirates – E-commerce giant Amazon is blocking search results for LGBTQ-related products on its United Arab Emirates website, following a series of pushbacks against same-sex themes in the Gulf region. Amazon made the decision after coming under pressure from UAE authorities, who reportedly threatened it with penalties and gave it until Friday to comply with its demand to restrict search results for LGBTQ-themed materials. This is according to documents viewed by the New York…

Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images Warner Bros. got J.K. Rowling’s back after a PR rep censored a question about the Harry Potter creator and issued a fallacious statement. While covering the launch of the Mandrakes and Magical Creatures attraction at London’s Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Sky News interviewed Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the film series. “J.K. obviously has sort of more of a back seat now,” the journalist said to him. “Is it strange for her not being around at things like this?”…

Amazon's customers in the United Arab Emirates won't find listings for LGBTQ-related products on its website anymore. According to The New York Times, the Emirati government has demanded the removal of products associated with LGBTQ people and issues and has threatened to penalize Amazon if it doesn't comply by Friday. In response, the e-commerce giant has pulled individual product listings and restricted search results for over 150 keywords. The UAE criminalizes consensual same-sex relations, and punishment could include…

The top court in Massachusetts blocked a ballot measure Tuesday that would have asked voters to classify gig workers as independent contractors rather than employees, saying the measure overreached by limiting gig companies’ liability in some situations. The decision is a setback for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. UBER -2.23% and Lyft Inc. LYFT -0.91% that rely on such…

You might have seen various vehicles that are made up of Lego blocks. People have made an F1 car and a Bugatti Chiron out of Legos. These blocks which are usually bought for children could also be used to explain complicated things. Here, is a video uploaded by Beyond the Brick on Facebook that explains a 4×4 system very easily. Also read: India”s first Maruti Baleno with “air suspension” looks gorgeous (Video) In the video, we can see a chassis of a car in which an electric motor has been joined.…

Scientists have discovered the building ingredients of life on an asteroid in space for the first time. More than 20 amino acids have been identified on the space rock Ryugu, which is more than 200 million miles from Earth. Scientists studied materials taken from the asteroid by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 probe, which landed on Ryugu in 2018. The spacecraft retrieved 0.2 ounces (5.4 grams) of material from the asteroid's surface and subsurface in 2019, stored it in an airtight container, and…