League of Legends Ranked 2024 changes were announced including start dates, three splits and much more.

European Union states have given final approval to a sweeping set of beefed-up cryptocurrency rules, giving the 27-nation bloc a global lead in regulating the freewheeling sector

Scientists have worked out how close a neutron star collision would have to be to threaten all life on Earth, in a not-remotely-terrifying new study. The event, known as a kilonova, is among the most powerful and explosive in the known universe. It’s not quite as bright as a supernova – but we should still keep our distance. Haille Perkins, team leader and a scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told Space.com: “We found that if a neutron star merger were to occur within around 36 light-years of Earth, the resulting radiation could cause an extinction-level event.” That’s about 212 trillion miles – which seems like quite a large danger zone. But we need not worry, apparently. Kilonovae are extremely rare and difficult to spot, because they happen so quickly. Scientists, including those from the University of Warwick, recently managed to observe one by using the James Webb telescope. The explosion first produces a blast of gamma rays which lasts for just seconds. If we got caught in one of those, it would fry us all rather quickly. That’s pretty unlikely because they go in two thin lines out from the centre of the blast. They also cause an afterglow of X-ray emissions in the surrounding dust and particles. If we’re within 16.3 light years of those, we’d be in trouble. But the worst bit is the cosmic rays (of course!) – energetic charged particles spreading out from the explosion in a bubble. If these hit Earth, they would strip the ozone layer and leave us vulnerable to ultraviolet rays for several thousand years. That would be a bummer because, again, we’d all die. Fortunately, kilonovae are so rare that we’re more likely to get hit by an asteroid, added Perkins. She said: “There are several other more common events like solar flares, asteroid impacts, and supernova explosions that have a better chance of being harmful.” That’s good then. New kilonova discoveries In the most recent kilonova, it was the gamma rays that alerted the astronomers to the fact something big was going down. Then, they got in touch with various telescopes and detectors to ask them to focus on the bit of the sky where the burst had come from, and bingo: kilonova. Here's what it looked like on the JWT's feed. One of the major discoveries from this one is that kilonovae produce an element called tellurium, a relatively rare element on Earth. They also worked out where the two neutron stars came from: a spiral galaxy about 120,000 light years away from the location of the final explosion. That’s about the diameter of the Milky Way, and just a little further away than the mere 36 light year danger zone, then. But it’s food for thought nonetheless, eh? How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 6, 2023--

President Joe Biden spoke on Monday to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a 2024 challenger, to tell him he

The Supreme Court has sided with Google, Twitter and Facebook in lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for terrorist attacks

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON The Justice Department will press its argument Thursday that Google sought to strike agreements

A US study has revealed that sexual activity in older people is linked to better cognitive function later. The study by sociologists Shannon Shena from Hope College and Hui Liub from Purdue University, published in The Journal of Sex Research looked at attention, memory, language, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation and found that sex is linked to better brain health across all age groups. Those aged 75 to 90 were found to have significantly better cognitive function five years on if they were currently having sex at least once a week. For adults aged 62 to 74, on the other hand, the most important factor for future brain health was the quality of sex being had, in terms of both physical and emotional aspects. "As seen in our sample, promoting sexual quality among younger-old couples may be a way to combat the interruptions which people anticipate to come with aging," Shena and Luib said "and these feelings of sexual quality may manifest in their later cognitive health." Shena and Liub think there are several reasons why these results could be the case. Sex involves physical exercise, which means improved cognitive performance may be due to improved cardiovascular health, which, in turn, can increase blood flow to the brain and reduce inflammation. Sex can also reduce stress, and stress is thought to prevent the neuronal growth in some parts of the brain associated with memory. Finally, sex may improve cognitive function through the release of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter linked to improved memory. "Our findings help to contextualize a multifaceted understanding of healthy aging and speak to clinical practices and policy decisions regarding cognitive health," Shena and Luib wrote, "and in particular how it may be related to sexual life, an often overlooked area for older adults." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Kate Isaacs, 30, found a deepfake video of her face in a sexual act video

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Phil Spencer said Microsoft buying Nintendo would be "a good move for both companies".

WASHINGTON & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2023--