Sreys Blog Posts

Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice An asteroid almost as big Paris’s Arc de Triomphe has a 1-in-7000 chance of hitting Earth later this year, scientists claim. The space rock is expected to whiz past our planet on September 9, according to the European Space Agency’s (ESA) list of space objects that could collide with Earth.  Asteroid 2006 QV89 measures 130 feet (40 metres) in diameter and will likely get as close as 4.2 million miles (6.7 million kilometres) from the planet. To put that in perspective, the moon is 238,900 miles (384,400 km) away. Despite this, there is a 1-in-7,299 chance that it will hit the planet, according to the ESA. At 40 metres wide, the asteroid is not big enough to wipe out civilisation, but an impact with Earth would be more powerful than the infamous Chelyabinsk Event of 2013. In February of that year, a 65-foot (20-metre) meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia with the force of 30 Hiroshima atomic

We’ve been seeing a lot of Zen 2 benchmarks lately, with pretty much all of them decimating their Intel competitors. We saw the Ryzen 5 3600 beating the Core i7-9700K, the Ryzen 7 3800X surpassing the Core i9-9900K, and last but not the least, the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X became the fastest processor on Geekbench. But, what if I told you that an overclocked Ryzen 5 3600 can humiliate the Core i9-9900K? That’s right a $199 Zen 2 chip goes up against Intel’s ($484) consumer flagship and comes out on top: Now, of course, terms and conditions apply. For starters, this benchmark was recorded on Linux where overclocking is easier and generally Geekbench scores are a bit higher, but not by this much. Sure, you can overclock a Core i9-9900K and get a notably higher score using LN2 and one of those expensive motherboards, but you are still looking at more than twice the investment for just the processor, plus the nitrogen cooling kit and a Z390 board. You can get a 3600 for just $200 plus an X

( TMU ) — One of the greatest mysteries in the universe is dark matter, which represents five times more matter than ordinary matter. At least, that is the ratio in our universe. An outlandish new theory suggests our physical reality may be attached at the hip to a parallel, mirror-image universe with inverse quantities of matter to dark matter. The stunning theory is meant to resolve a seemingly intractable conundrum: one of the most pervasive substances in the universe—and that which binds galaxies together and makes it possible for life to exist—can’t be explained by modern physics. There is no shortage of scientists claiming to have theoretical explanations for dark matter, though, and now physicist Leah Broussard and her team of researchers are offering a mind-boggling solution to the question that doubles-down on the mystery: our universe is connected to a mirror-image alternate universe with its own molecules, galaxies, and life forms. The theory resulted from new expe

It was the evolutionary leap that defined the species: while other apes ambled around on all fours, the ancestors of humans rose up on two legs and, from that lofty position, went on to conquer the world. The benefits of standing tall in the African savannah are broadly nailed down, but what prompted our distant forebears to walk upright is far from clear. Now, in a radical proposal, US scientists point to a cosmic intervention: protohumans had a helping hand from a flurry of exploding stars, they say. According to the researchers, a series of stars in our corner of the Milky Way exploded in a cosmic riot that began about 7m years ago and continued for millions of years more. The supernovae blasted powerful cosmic rays in all directions. On Earth, the radiation arriving from the cataclysmic explosions peaked about 2.6m years ago. What is a supernova? Supernovae are exploding stars. The violent events are the largest explosions in space and can shine for months and even years with

In this spectacular image, observations using infrared light and X-ray light see through the obscuring dust and reveal the intense activity near the galactic core of the Milky Way. Note that the center of the galaxy is located within the bright white region to the right of and just below the middle of the image. The entire image width covers about one-half a degree, about the same angular width as the full moon. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/STScI ) In an effort to keep the public engaged and remain transparent about its activities, NASA has a vast archive of photos and videos available online . Whether you are an astronomy buff or simply like looking at the stars, there’s plenty of material to keep you interested. The best part is—it’s all copyright free (as long as it’s not used commercially)! Whether you want to explore the archives of NASA’s historic missions or catch up on what’s happening currently, there’s no shortage of items to explore. There are multiple ways to make

Summary: A sleep researcher shares the secrets for training your brain to experience lucid dreams. Source: The Conversation Dreams can often be confusing and blurry experiences . Reduced critical thinking, little to no access to our true memories and heightened impulsivity and emotions during normal dream states often make for head-scratching moments when our eyes first open in the morning. But dreams don’t always play out this way. More than half of us have at least once in their lifetime experienced awareness of dreaming in the moment and, in some cases, the ability to direct a dream like a sleepy Steven Spielberg. Nearly a quarter of us report lucid dreaming once a month or more. Two key changes in the brain appear responsible for these states. The frontotemporal cortex, which controls our higher cognitive abilities and is inhibited during normal dreams, shows higher activation during lucid dreams. Researchers also observe an increase in gamma waves , synchronised firing by

Now that the Epic Games Store has begun giving away free games on a weekly basis, Epic account holders have an even greater variety of games to add to their collection; however, the new weekly schedule means those freebies are available for a shorter time. So don’t wait too long to grab Rebel Galaxy , the latest free PC game available from the Epic Store. The space trading and combat simulator is free to claim now until next Thursday, June 27, when it will be replaced by cinematic story game Last Day of June . As a reminder, you need a free Epic account to claim the game, and once you do, it’ll be yours to keep. Get Rebel Galaxy for free » Rebel Galaxy is a single-player, Western-style space adventure set in a randomly generated universe that involves combat, exploration, trade, and negotiation. You’ll act as commander of an “immensely powerful star destroyer.” The gameplay is restricted to a two-dimensional plane of movement, and while there is a story, you’re free to choose your o

The MCU might have a number of A-listers filling its roster of heroes, but one star it does not have is Keanu Reeves. Fortunately, it seems Marvel Studios has been actively looking to solve this as Kevin Feige has revealed in an interview with ComicBook.com that the studio is constantly looking ways to fit Reeves into the MCU. In the interview, Feige was asked about whether he had spoken with Reeves about getting involved in a Marvel film. Feige indicated that Marvel Studios has been in regular talks about Reeves joining the MCU. “We talk to him for almost every film we make,” Feige shared. “We talk to Keanu Reeves about. I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it.” Advertisement ▼ For a comparison, Feige noted that the studio had also spoken with Jake Gyllenhaal a number of times before they finally slotted him into the perfect role for him, Mysterio, for the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home . Reeves is current

In the past few decades, there has been an explosion in the number of planets discovered beyond our Solar System. With over 4,000 confirmed exoplanets to date, the process has gradually shifted from discovery towards characterization. This consists of using refined techniques to determine just how likely a planet is to be habitable. At the same time, astronomers continue to make discoveries regularly, some of which are right in our cosmic backyard. For instance, an international team of researchers recently detected two new Earth-like planets orbiting Teegarden’s Star, an M-type (red dwarf) star located just 12.5 light-years from the Solar System in the direction of the Aries constellation. The discovery was made using the CARMENES high-resolution spectrograph at the Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain. This next-generation instrument was built to carry out the survey of over 300 main sequence stars with the goal of detecting low-mass planets in their habitable zones. This is

Humans are alone in the universe and will never meet other intelligent life forms, according to a cosmically depressing new study. Scientists at Oxford University have determined that aliens don’t exist in a report that says human beings are likely flying solo in outer space. Researchers at Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute came to the conclusion that humans are alone in the universe while examining the so-called “Fermi Paradox” — which ponders why scientists believe in extraterrestrials despite having zero proof. “We find a substantial probability of there being no other intelligent life in our observable universe, and thus that there should be little surprise when we fail to detect any signs of it,” researchers say in the report,  published in the online journal Arxiv.org earlier this month. There’s likely no intelligent life outside of Earth — so there’s no need to waste time theorizing about humanity’s relationship with aliens, notes the paper, dubbed “Dissolvin

Iceland has held its position as the most ‘peaceful’ nation on Earth, according to this year’s Global Peace Index.  In addition, the world’s overall ‘peacefulness’ has improved for the first time in five years – although only marginally.  Afghanistan was bottom of the list, moving below even Syria , while South Sudan, Yemen and Iraq were all in the bottom five.  The report measures the ‘peacefulness’ of 163 countries with a range of measures including military spending and deaths from conflict and terrorism, as well as an estimated economic cost of violence.   A map showing countries ranked by their Global Peace Index, with Afghanistan scoring worst and Iceland best. The bottom 10 countries are listed left and the top 10 right  Iceland, often portrayed as an idyllic Nordic paradise, came first in the rankings for the 12th year in a row as researchers praised the country’s falling murder rate and increase in funding to UN peacekeeping.  ‘The strong institutions, attitudes and st

The battle royale genre comes in all shapes and sizes – it might have been made popular by shooters like PUBG and Fortnite , but Tetris 99 showed that it can also be successful in completely unexpected ways. Reinforcing that point with style is ‘Mario Royale’, a fan-made, free-to-play online game which has multiple players all playing one level at the same time. Roughly 75 players jump into one game and take on a randomly selected level from Super Mario Bros . together; the first one to the flag pole wins, but getting there is quite the challenge. We’ve had a few goes ourselves and it’s pretty fun; players will likely zoom ahead and stomp on all of the Koopas and Goombas before they even trouble you, but we had one occasion where someone grabbed a Super Star, turned around, and used it to wipe out half of the other players following them. It’s pretty mad, but that’s what you’d hope for from Mario Battle Royale, right? You can give it a go yourself right here if you’re interested,

Hold the door! In June 2018, HBO gave the green light to a Game of Thrones prequel pilot from George R.R. Martin — the author behind A Song of Ice and Fire , the books upon which the original show is based — and screenwriter Jane Goldman ( Kingsman: The Secret Service ). We now have an idea about when the series will begin production and how long we have to wait until it premieres, as well as some of the new faces that will play roles in it. More Game of Thrones News Set thousands of years before the events of  Game of Thrones conclude — which may be even crazier than you expect — the series will feature two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts in a lead role. The still-untitled series has started production, but isn’t expected to premiere until 2020 or 2021. Here’s everything we know about the  Game of Thrones prequel series so far. Filming begins As promised, production began on the Game of Thrones prequel in summer 2019, and while the show is set too early in Westeros’ history

A train driver slammed on the brakes after spotting a terrified dog chained to the tracks – and stopped just in time before getting out to help the animal.   Video footage of the incident, in Chile, shows the driver of the massive orange locomotive climbing down from the cab and heading towards the panicked dog. ‘How can there be people so bad, who leave little dogs tied up on the tracks,’ the driver is heard to say.  The locomotive stops mere yards from where the dog is chained to the tracks and the driver approaches in these stills from the shocking video ‘You cannot do that. I hope someday the human race changes.’ The dog, clearly terrified from what can be seen, can be heard barking and growling as it pulls on the chain in a bid to escape.  Local media reported that the driver released the pooch and it ran away from the scene immediately. The incident took place in the town and commune of Llay-Llay, in the central Chilean region of Valparaiso and the video that was posted on

Three teenage sisters who knifed to death their ‘rapist’ father are to be charged with murder in a high-profile case, sparking an outcry from Russian lawyers and human rights activists. Two out of the three, Krestina and Angelina Khachaturyan, could be jailed for between eight and 20 years even though official investigation experts testified that they were repeatedly tortured, sexually abused and raped by their father. The youngest sister, Maria, 17, was found not to understand her actions when she was part of an alleged ‘group’ conspiracy to stab their ‘controlling paedophile father’ Mikhail Khachaturyan, 57, through the heart with his own hunting knife. As a result, Maria will not face jail whatever the verdict. Mikhail Khachaturyan (left) was stabbed to death in Moscow by his three daughters (Angelina, pictured right) last year, and to the dismay of psychiatric experts and defence lawyers all three will be stand trial for murder Evidence has emerged that Mikhail raped Krestina,

Two suspected rhino poachers in Zimbabwe were killed while fleeing game park rangers after their car hit a goat and overturned, it has emerged. Godfrey Makechemu and Charles Runye died on admission to Beitbridge District Hospital following the crash at the Bubye Valley Conservancy in Mazunga, Matabeleland South Province, near the border with South Africa . When park rangers who were tracking the men spotted them, they sped off in their Toyota Wish car with the gamekeepers in hot pursuit – but hit a goat and overturned.  A rhino, named Moloko, after undergoing a procedure by South Africa’s Rhino Rescue Project to destroy the value of his horn to poachers Two other occupants of the vehicle survived the accident last Wednesday and have been charged with poaching offences, News 24 and Nehanda Radio reported. James Mauto, 41, and Celestino Shate, 35, appeared before the Beitbridge resident magistrate Langton Mukwengi, Nehanda Radio reported.  They were charged with unlawful hunting of

My Friend Pedro is out Thursday for Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. You can’t play the side-scrolling action game yet, but you can watch this fantastic launch trailer that celebrates the occasion. It’s the best trailer for a video game I’ve seen all year. Yes, there’s no gameplay. But the action in the trailer seems to be heavily based on things you can actually do in the game, like launching a frying pan into the air and shooting it to kill your enemies. Really, though, we’re here because it’s stylish as hell while also capturing the spirit of the game. According to Catsuka, a website that follows the animation world , the short was directed and animated by CRCR team , and produced by Wizz. Devolver Digital, publishers behind the game, say the animation was made with Motiongrapher. If this piques your interest, you should probably also watch an actual gameplay trailer, where you can see the many slow-motion ways you can murder your way through a level. Based on this footage, the g

A team of international astronomers have been hunting for ancient, supermassive black holes — and they’ve hit the motherlode, discovering 83 previously unknown quasars. The universe is full of supermassive black holes, monstrous versions of the humble, everyday black hole, containing masses millions or billions of times that of our sun. These huge cosmic beasts generate mammoth gravitational effects, so you often find supermassive black holes hiding out at the center of galaxies, orbited by billions of stars. That’s exactly what happens in our home galaxy of the Milky Way. To find them lurking out in the distant parts of the universe, you need to study the light of accreting gases that swirl around them. Because we can’t see a black hole, but we can see the light, we designate these powerful light sources as “quasars”. Down the eyepiece of a telescope they might look more like stars — they are extremely bright — but scientists mostly believe their light comes from gases falling towar