List of All Articles with Tag 'a'

A cold snap will spread across Europe from the weekend, testing the region’s energy systems for the first

We’ve heard of following the yellow brick road, and even following the white rabbit, but scientists have just made a landmark discovery by following a trail of ghostly crabs. For some 20 years, experts believed there was a hydrothermal vent field off the western Galápagos Islands, but they hadn’t been able to pinpoint its exact location. However, while exploring the area they spotted a galatheid crab (also called a squat lobster), and then another, and then another. They traced the crustaceans excitedly as their number grew until, finally, they were led to the elusive hydrothermal goldmine. There are only around 550 known hydrothermal vents in the world, only half of which have actually been seen. The rest have been identified via chemical and temperature signatures in the surrounding water, as Live Science notes. Hydrothermal vents are formed when water seeps into the rock of the seafloor at either a plate margin or where magma is rising to the surface in another part of the plate. The magma heats the water, which causes it to rise, before it’s expelled through fissures in the rock, often forming what are known as chimneys. The new Galápagos field, discovered thanks to the crabs which aggregate around deep-sear vents, extends more than 98,800 square feet (9,178 square metres), and consists of five geyser-like chimneys and three hot springs. The highest temperature so far recorded there is a staggering 288C (550F). As well as the the geysers, hot springs and crabs, the team, from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, found a thriving ecosystem of incredibly adapted organisms. "There were giant tube worms, which can be a couple (of) metres long. There were very large clams, sometimes called dinner plate clams, as well as mussels," said Roxanne Beinart, a biological oceanographer who co-led the expedition. To locate the hydrothermal field, the researchers first began searching the general region where a chemical anomaly had been identified in 2008. "One of the anomalies that we look for is a lens of low oxygen water," expedition co-leader Jill McDermott, a chemical oceanographer at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, told Live Science. "Oxygen is completely removed through circulation in the seafloor. So the water that's expressed at the seafloor is devoid of oxygen." The team then followed this plume of oxygen-poor water until it disappeared — implying they were close to the vent. They then launched a remotely operated vehicle to inspect the seafloor and traced the breadcrumb trail of crabs to the vent field itself. “With 75 per cent of the seafloor still to map, finding this new vent field shows how much we still have to learn about our planet and those who live on it,” the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Executive Director Dr Jyotika Virmani said in a statement. “I am continually amazed by the otherworldly beauty of our seafloor and look forward to uncovering more.” And what did the team christen the new hydrothermal vent field? Why, the “Sendero del Cangrejo,” or “Trail of the Crabs,” of course. Sign up for 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

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday said it was still looking for the source of a leak from

By Louisa Gouliamaki SESKLO, Greece The fires came first. Then the floods. In the small village of Sesklo

On a platform 140 kilometers (87 miles) off the coast of Norway, Crown Prince Haakon held two power

The United Arab Emirates’ main oil producer and Australia’s Santos Ltd. agreed to work together on carbon management

Passenger-car deliveries in Europe increased for a 15th month in October even as inflation and higher borrowing costs

South Africa is likely to prioritize energy security over its decarbonization aspirations to avoid further damage to its

X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a federal defamation suit on Monday in Texas against Media Matters for America, accusing the media watchdog group of kicking off an advertiser exodus with a “harmful” article alleging the social network let top brands display ads near antisemitic and pro-Nazi posts. The liberal-leaning media observer allegedly curated a feed specifically with fringe accounts and those belonging to corporations like IBM, Comcast, Apple, and Oracle, then displayed screenshots of the unsavoury posts appearing near company ads in a critical article, according to the lawsuit. The Media Matters analysis, published last week, also alleges that X owner Elon Musk has increasingly begun a “descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit does not dispute that some top brands’ ads were featured near the inflammatory content. Rather, it suggests Media Matters gamed X to produce extremely unlikely pairings that are usually screened out by the service’s advertising tools, alleging that one harmful match appeared for “only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters.” “Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM’s, Comcast’s or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms,” the suit continues. “Media Matters created these pairings in secrecy, to manufacture the harmful perception that X is at best an incompetent content moderator (a harmful accusation for any social media platform), or even worse that X was somehow indifferent or even encouraging to Nazi and racist ideology,” the suit argues elsewhere. Media Matters told The Independent in a statement that its analysis of X and its content policies remains valid. “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in the statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.” Top executives at X have railed against Media Matters in recent days. “If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth,” Linda Yaccarino wrote on X on Monday. “Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations.” Mr Musk, meanwhile, called the organisation “pure evil” in an X post of his own. Outside of the disputed accuracy of the Media Matters report, Mr Musk has openly endorsed a right-wing conspiracy theory on X in recent days, prompting criticism that he’s fueling antisemitism. Last Wednesday, the billionaire X owner responded to a tweet echoing claims of the racist and often antisemitic “great replacement” theory, including that Jewish people were “flooding” America with “hordes of minorities” to promote “dialectical hatred against whites.” Mr Musk called the claim “the actual truth.” The theory referenced in the original post was among the hateful ideas directly referenced by the gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. “At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League civil rights group, which monitors antisemitism and other forms of extremism, wrote on X in response to Mr Musk. The White House also weighed in, alleging the tech CEO was contributing to the spread of “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the White House said in a statement. The Independent contacted Mr Musk during the backlash against his response to the post and did not receive an answer. Amid the controversy, Mr Musk has alternatively defended X’s content policies and appeared to mock critics who allege the network is harbouring hateful content. Last week, he shared a clip of someone playing a video game level called “Echo of Hatred,” with the caption “defeating hatred is never easy.” “Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension,” he wrote elsewhere on X on Friday. This summer, a study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate alleged X failed to take down 99 per cent of a selection of hate content flagged by the group. The group alleged that “the platform is allowing them to break its rules with impunity and is even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets.” Read More Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts Elon Musk and Trump aide want journalists jailed over X Hitler exposé IBM pulls ads from Elon Musk's X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts Dates and venues for three 2024 presidential debates announced 2024 polls: Three presidential debates revealed for next year Torso found washed up on New York beach could be missing Irish filmmaker: NYPD

Suppliers for consumer electronics sold by companies including Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google need to accelerate efforts

Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. approved $750 million of investments in an initial slate of three

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has portrayed Google as a ruthless bully that resorts to shady tactics to protect a predatory payment system