DEARBORN, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--

JAKARTA The world's two biggest palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia will send top officials to the European

The secret to life on distant planets could lie beneath the ocean floor, according to staggering research. A rich tapestry of microbes uncovered from rocks hundreds of feet down among the ocean crust proved an illuminating discovery for authors of a study first published in 2020. The single-cell organisms that live off methane in the South Pacific were far more plentiful in number than expected after being uncovered during an expedition in 2010. It came when the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) collected samples from 400 feet below the ocean crust. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The sheer number of microbes they found in the rock samples surprised them, with the rocks containing an enormous 10 billion bacterial cells – a huge increase compared to normal levels on the seafloor, which normally only measure around 100 bacterial cells per cubic centimeter. "I thought it was a dream, seeing such rich microbial life in rocks," Yohey Suzuki from the University of Tokyo said. The signs are certainly encouraging when it comes to searching for life on Mars and other planets in the solar system, especially as the findings of the study suggested that the microbes were there organically and not influenced by underwater volcanoes. "Minerals are like a fingerprint for what conditions were present when the clay formed. Neutral to slightly alkaline levels, low temperature, moderate salinity, iron-rich environment, basalt rock—all of these conditions are shared between the deep ocean and the surface of Mars," Suzuki said. 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.

LOWELL, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2023--

Apple has unveiled its new Watch, with a new, faster processor and hands-free features. The Apple Watch Series 9 brings an updated chip that makes the phone up to 30 per cent faster, Apple said. That should make animations and effects smoother, it said, as well as allowing for new features. In addition to those new tools, the Watch Series 9 is Apple’s first carbon neutral product. That has been achieved by a range of changes, including dropping leather from its bands and all new products. Those include a new feature called “Double Tap”, which lets people control their Watch without actually touching it. By clicking their two fingers together – the same gesture as on the upcoming Vision Pro headset – users can click buttons on the screen. :: Follow our live coverage of the Apple event here. Apple said the feature would be useful when the other hand is occupied, such as when carrying a coffee or walking the dog, for instance. It may also be helpful for accessibility, and Apple has already rolled out similar features as part of those tools. The new feature relies on the machine learning smarts within the new chip, Apple said, which are able to analyse data from the sensors “in a completely new way”. It watches for the changes in movement and “blood flow” that happen when people bring their fingers together, and then uses that to click. The new processor will also allow Siri requests to be processed on the Apple Watch itself, which should make them faster and more secure. The most common requests no longer have to go to the cloud, Apple said, so that they should not be impeded by slow WiFi or data connections. Apple will also let people ask Siri for health data, which it said was powered by the new hardware, though did not explain exactly why. Users can ask how much they slept, for instance. Dictation will also be improved by that chip. It can run a more smart machine learning model, which should make dictation up to 25 per cent more accurate. The chip will also make the Watch better at finding its paired iPhone. Apple has always offered the option to ping the phone, but the Watch will now offer the distance and direction to the iPhone. A similar feature will work with the HomePod. When the Apple Watch comes close to that smart speaker, it will offer media suggestions for what to listen to. The Series 9 also brings a new display. It now goes up to 2,000 nits – making it easier to see outside – as well as going all the way down to one nit, for dark situations. Read More Apple Watch 7 pre-order: How to buy the new smartwatch in the UK Apple introduces new version of Watch with complete redesign iPhone 13 - live: UK contract deals and prices for Apple, EE and O2 Apple to stop using leather in all new products Apple is about to reveal the new iPhone – and a lot more Here’s when you will actually be able to get the new iPhone

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