China to officially start searching for aliens in September
China is going to start searching for extraterrestrial life this year. Zhang Tongjie, a chief scientist leading China’s search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) says the massive Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) will “officially” start its hunt in September this year, according to the state-run news outlet Science and Technology Daily.
Construction of the FAST telescope started in 2011 and was completed in 2016. It officially went into operation in January when it opened to astronomers around the world. In March, SETI scientists published a research paper concluding their preliminary observation results with FAST. It includes research on how to improve the telescope’s ability to remove radio frequency interference from Earth and identifying “interesting narrowband candidate ET signals” that could have come from extraterrestrial civilizations. The telescope is currently undergoing an upgrade.
In a speech in March, Zhang said it will take further examination to see which of those signals could actually be from extraterrestrials, but it’s most likely that none of them are. Zhang also said that the search for aliens will not interfere with the normal scientific observations that FAST is tasked with. That includes discovering pulsars and other interstellar radio signals that may offer clues about the formation of the universe.
After Twitter shut down what it calls a Beijing-backed disinformation operation by banning more than 170,000 accounts, China has responded with a piece of curious advice.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters during a briefing on Friday that Twitter should shut down accounts that smear China if it wants to fight disinformation, Reuters reported. Hua said that many platforms had falsehoods about China and that there was a need for Chinese voices with objective views. But China itself is blocking Chinese voices from reaching Twitter: The platform is blocked inside the country.
On Thursday, Twitter removed state-linked accounts from China, Russia and Turkey for violating their platform manipulation policies. The company said the accounts spread “narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China” and pushed “deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong” where tensions have once again flared up over the new National Security Law.
This is not the first time Twitter has moved against Chinese state-backed operations on its platform. Last year in August, the platform removed over 900 accounts, which were part of a larger 200,000-strong army involved in a “coordinated state-backed operation” to allegedly sow political discord in Hong Kong.
The arcades aren't as big of a draw as they used to be. But if you miss the retro feel of joysticks and big round buttons, the Switch Fighter might help.
The accessory, which transforms a regular Nintendo Switch into a mini arcade cabinet, is seeking funding on Indiegogo. For US$99, the Hong Kong-based campaign promises to ship backers the Bluetooth-connected gadget, allowing them to “properly play classics like Street Fighter or King of Fighters.” It also serves as a dock for charging and TV output, according to the project page.
There’s a lot of caveats here: The project has a flexible goal, which means it’ll collect all contributions regardless of whether their funding target is reached. Also, Nintendo has previously warned users not to buy a third-party dock for their Switch.