India's capital chokes on 'severe' smog as farm fires soar

New Delhi was blanketed in noxious haze Friday as air pollution levels in parts of the city soared to "severe" levels, hours after US President Donald Trump described the air in the vast nation as "filthy".

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-india-capital-severe-smog-farm.html

Timekeeping theory combines quantum clocks and Einstein's relativity

A phenomenon of quantum mechanics known as superposition can impact timekeeping in high-precision clocks, according to a theoretical study from Dartmouth College, Saint Anselm College and Santa Clara University.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-timekeeping-theory-combines-quantum-clocks.html

Researchers use neutrons to study weld-induced stress relief in renewable energy infrastructure

Welding is an essential part of manufacturing, and the key to making crack-free welds relies on the ability to understand how the weld is put together atom by atom.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-neutrons-weld-induced-stress-relief-renewable.html

Daimler lifts outlook on higher third-quarter profits

German auto giant Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz, said Friday that it was upgrading its earnings forecast for the whole of 2020 after group profits rose in the third quarter.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-daimler-outlook-higher-third-quarter-profits.html

Voters unlikely to blame politicians for their handling of the pandemic at next election

Politicians are unlikely to be punished or rewarded for their failures or successes in managing the coronavirus pandemic at the next election, suggests an analysis of survey data from the US, the UK and India, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-voters-blame-politicians-pandemic-election.html

Big data firm Palantir working with US on vaccine effort

Big data company Palantir is working with US health officials on a project to track the production and distribution of future COVID-19 vaccines.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-big-firm-palantir-vaccine-effort.html

Intel shares tumble as pandemic hits results

Computer chipmaker Intel saw shares slide Thursday after reporting weak sales for its data center and internet of things operations that overshadowed improvement in the personal computer market.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-intel-pandemic-results.html

Ultimate absentee ballot: US astronaut votes from space station

At least she didn't have to wait in line.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-ultimate-absentee-ballot-astronaut-votes.html

Hong Kong needs tougher laws to tackle wildlife crime say researchers

Hong Kong is thriving as a transnational wildlife smuggling hub because its laws are not strong enough to tackle organised crime running the lucrative trade, researchers said Friday.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-hong-kong-tougher-laws-tackle.html

Rust Belt upstart Lordstown Motors set to make Nasdaq debut

Could a new Tesla-like upstart be the savior of a once-mighty Ohio steel region ravaged by deindustrialization?

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-rust-belt-upstart-lordstown-motors.html

Huawei sales up, but growth slows under virus, US pressure

Chinese tech giant Huawei, one of the biggest makers of smartphones and switching equipment, said Friday its revenue rose 9.9% in the first nine months of this year, but growth decelerated in the face of U.S. sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-huawei-sales-growth-virus-pressure.html

Tesla 'full self-driving' vehicles can't drive themselves

Earlier this week, Tesla sent out its "full self-driving" software to a small group of owners who will test it on public roads. But buried on its website is a disclaimer that the $8,000 system doesn't make the vehicles autonomous and drivers still have to supervise it.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-tesla-full-self-driving-vehicles.html