Sci/tech tidbits in and around New Hampshire
Killing almost but not quite all of an invasive species can backfire
Green crabs are an invasive species on both coasts of the U.S. and are an increasing problem in New England waters. Because they're edible, some people think this is the case where human greed could help - turn them into a delicacy and we'll eat most of them. An...
‘Flash drought’ – is that really a thing? Increasingly, alas, yes
I hate to be the bearer of bad climate news, but there’s a new weather phenomenon to be worried about: Flash drought. That sounds like an oxymoron since “drought” usually reflects accumulated dryness rather than a quick-hit event. But as we saw last summer and fall,...
Young stars can have planets, too
Finding exoplanets is becoming old hat in the astrophysics community but finding them among young stars is a big deal, as detailed in a Valley-News story about a Dartmouth researcher: Read it here. An interesting tidbit: Dr. Elisabeth Newton describes herself as...
N.H. patents through March 28
By Targeted News Service The following patents were assigned in New Hampshire from March 21 to March 28. *** Parallel Wireless Assigned Patent for X2 Brokering with Aggregation Optimization Parallel Wireless, Nashua, New Hampshire, has been assigned a patent (No....
N.H. woman gives birth at age 57
Via in-vitro fertilization, a 57-year-old New Hampshire woman has given birth. Definitely a state record. Concord Monitor story is here.
Blueberries for solar Sal
There's a 4-MW solar farm being built in and among a 10-are wild blueberry farm in Maine. It's partly an experiment to determine the best practices for "agrivoltaic" systems, which combine solar with farming lowbush blueberries. " One of the many project innovations...
How deep is that snow? Ask a Lidar-carrying drone!
Determining snow depth and water content is important, especially in places like the increasingly-drought-stricken Western U.S., but it's not easy. Scrambling around mountains with measuring sticks and snow-melting equipment isn't very efficient, so systems have been...
At Dartmouth, a tournament to teach people to spot phishing attacks
Dartmouth College has set up a clever tournament to help teach students and staff not to fall for phishing emails. It seems like most major corporate and government tech breaches occur not because of some cool software hack but because somebody clicked on the wrong...
Arctic scientists test underwater (and under-ice) drone in Vermont Lake
Vtdigger, one of two statewide independent news organizations in Vermont, has a story about REMUS 600, a 16-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle programmed that was tested below the ice on Willoughby Lake by engineers with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,...
A year of COVID produced 349 “excess” NH deaths; what caused them?
This week New Hampshire will mark a grim anniversary: A full year of COVID-19 deaths. On March 23, 2020, the state’s first official death was announced due to what we were calling “the novel coronavirus.” The virus hasn’t seemed novel for a long time now but the...
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