Tag: could

Most of the ocean floor is a mystery, but this technology could help map it

Loknath Das

The numbers are startling: According to even the most generous estimates, more than 80 percent of the world’s oceans are totally unmapped. The average ocean depth is nearly two and a half miles, and oceans cover 70 percent of the planet. Do the maths and, in terms of total volume, 99 percent of Earth’s biosphere is essentially unknown. We think we’ve explored our planet, but those statistics are sobering. Topographically, we know more about the moon than we do about Earth. The math is about to get a little brighter,…

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BJP-PDP split: Kashmir could fracture more in this state

Loknath Das

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. The balance of national interest and political interest is always a tricky play in security situations. By that shifting rubric Jammu and Kashmir could be eyeing more violence and fracture. The formal withdrawal of support on 19 June by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to its partner in Kashmir’s chaos, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will have feathered that future. It could also cauterize Kashmir and offer electoral gain—for the BJP, that is. For four years, the…

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Maruti Suzuki Baleno badge-engineered with Toyota clothes: Here’s what it could look like

Loknath Das

It’s now well established that Toyota will badge engineer the Maruti Suzuki Baleno premium hatchback and sell it in India. This is expected to be somewhat like the Nissan Micra and its badge engineered sibling, the Renault Pulse. While the Toyota badged Baleno is a year or two away from a commercial launch in India, here is a speculative render that will give you an idea of what the car could look like.   As seen in the render, the Toyota-badged Baleno is expected to have completely different front-end and…

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Higher Education Bill Could Heat Up Competition for Adult Students

Loknath Das

Jennifer Clay, a student at online school Western Governors University, takes a business course test under the view of a video camera at her apartment in Los Angeles. PHOTO: KATIE FALKENBERG/LA TIMES/GETTY IMAGES The Republican bid to overhaul higher education is likely to heat up competition in the fastest-growing segment of the college market: adults over the age of 24. When Congress passed the Higher Education Act in 1965, about one in four students were adults. Today, nearly 40% of college students are 25 or older. The bill proposed by Republicans earlier this month aims to better align…

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New High-Speed Quantum Encryption Could Thwart Hackers: Study

Loknath Das

Scientists have developed a high-speed encryption system that can protect against the common security attacks, even if the equipment has flaws that could make it vulnerable to leaks. The system is capable of distributing encryption codes at megabit-per-second rates, five to 10 times faster than existing methods and on par with current Internet speeds when running several systems in parallel. In a study, published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers demonstrate that the technique is secure from common attacks, even in the face of equipment flaws that could open up leaks.…

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TSA Changes Could Make Thanksgiving Travel Even More Painful

Loknath Das

There’s nothing fun about traveling during the holidays—especially Thanksgiving. Crowds are immense. People are cranky. And now, in addition to all of that, the airport security line could be a new sort of nightmare. The Transportation Security Administration is in the midst of phasing in new procedures that could increase wait times in security lines at airports across the country, according to Politico. Among them: Travelers are now required to remove any electronics larger than a cellphone from their carry-on bags and place them in a separate bin. (That’s a significant change from…

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Planning a trip to Amsterdam? A proposed tourist tax hike could make it more expensive

Loknath Das

In an effort to attract big spenders and curb “falafel-eating” tourists, who spend most of their holiday loitering around the red-light district, Amsterdam’s city officials are considering a tourist tax hike that could make visits to the Dutch capital more expensive. Currently, visitors pay 5% of their room rate in the city centre, which is expected to rise to 6% next year. But if Alderman Udo Kock has his way, that could rise to as much as €10 per night in 2019, according to local newspaper Het Parool. Because while the…

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Technology could make us immortal. But there will be consequences.

Loknath Das

mmortality has gone secular. Unhooked from the realm of gods and angels, it’s now the subject of serious investment — both intellectual and financial — by philosophers, scientists, and the Silicon Valley set. Several hundred people have already chosen to be “cryopreserved” in preference to simply dying, as they wait for science to catch up and give them a second shot at life. But if we treat death as a problem, what are the ethical implications of the highly speculative “solutions” being mooted? Of course, we don’t currently have the means…

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10 Ways Iron Deficiency Could Be Slowing Down Your Life

Loknath Das

Call yourself a superwoman, but finding it harder day by day to keep up your energy levels? Having to juggle between various roles – wife, mother, working professional – living a healthy life often takes a backseat for women nowadays. So, if you are feeling tired and drained of energy all the time, don’t just blame it on stress and pay a little more attention to what you have been eating or drinking. Check your haemoglobin level and you may actually be in for a surprise. When we eat, not…

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Crackdown on whiplash claims could knock £40 off car insurance bills

Loknath Das

Millions of motorists could see their car insurance bills cut by £40 a year, the government says, after it announced a crackdown on the “epidemic” of exaggerated and fraudulent whiplash injury claims. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) proposals would make obtaining a payout much tougher and, according to insurers, will end the UK’s status as the whiplash capital of the world. The proposals are intended to stamp out a “toxic” compensation culture that has pushed up motor premiums, led to consumers being bombarded with nuisance text messages and calls, and…

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