The rise of Government-backed digital currencies — There has been a mad dash for Bitcoin, the so-called future of money. The value of Bitcoin has soared and even institutional investors bought it in hordes. But, what is Bitcoin backed by? nothing really! And its success is quite flimsy — as a single tweet from Elon Musk drove…

Or so claim some scientists! — While browsing my usual what’s next in space feed recently, I came across an article which said some scientist are claiming there are mushrooms on Mars based on the pictures taken by the NASA rover. One may be inclined to disregard the whole thing as loony wishful thinking. After all…

Spoiler Alert — The spiders are a geological formation, not real bugs! — In May of 2018, there was an interesting news item. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter clicked a photo of what looked like a bunch of spiders scurrying around near the south pole of Mars. Except there was no way these were spiders. The Orbiter was in space and the picture was…

And what happens if they can! — Do you recall that scene from the Matrix movie where they show how machines use humans as batteries? The scene shows a fetus growing in a sac powered by the remains of dead humans. This baby would then grow up to be a power source for the machines. …

The Skype calls of the future! — Do you recall the hologram tech in Star Wars films? The tech would project a 3D image of the person calling you so it’d seem like the person is sitting and chatting with you right in your room! Skype or other video call tech has come quite close to that…

The star system next door has its own share of secrets! — A few years ago, I read this article that talked about aliens in the Alpha Centauri system. For the uninitiated, the Alpha Centauri is the nearest star system to our own, a mere 4.4 light years away. It has three stars named Alpha Centauri A, B, and C— the last…

Jeff Bezos’ second inning post-Amazon — I am sure you heard that Bezos is stepping down the tech giant Amazon after being at its helm since its inception. Many have written excellent pieces on the history of Amazon or how Bezos built the company. I guess another interesting speculation can be what Bezos is going to…

NASA’s Perseverance lands on Mars — Mars has always been a source of fascination for humans. In past, we have fascinated about intelligent forms of life thriving there — and attacking us at will. Movies (and books) like War of the worlds or Mars Attacks! are perfect examples. In real life though, no conclusive sign of…

Or just a useful scapegoat! — Iran in January was plagued by power shortages and smog. One culprit, as the government claimed was Bitcoin. Large scale industrial mining of bitcoin across the republic was leading to pollution as well as shortages. Bitcoin mining needs a lot of computer processing that is powered by electricity. …