TLDR 2021-09-14

Google.com is rolling out a dark mode to every user over the next few weeks. It can be switched on through the Google.com settings under a new 'Appearance' section if the feature has been enabled on the account. Screenshots of the new mode are available in the article.

Zoom plans to add real-time transcription for up to 30 languages and real-time translation across as many as 12 languages by the end of next year. The company is also expanding its whiteboard feature to make it available outside of meetings in Zoom apps and the web. Zoom Whiteboard will have sticky notes and comments and can be viewed at any time. Zoom is coming to Facebook's Horizon Workrooms early next year. People will be able to view and interact with Zoom Whiteboards in virtual spaces.

The Unique Punctureproof TIre System (UPTIS) is an airless tire from Michelin. Michelin has been working on the tire since 2005. The company recently took the tires out in public for the first time, inviting a limited number of people for a test drive. UPTIS has a flexible load-bearing structure made out of glass fiber reinforced plastic. The company plans to eventually make the tires with all organic or recyclable materials. Michelin has not released prices yet. The tires are expected to reach the market by 2024.

Bioscience and genetics company Colossal recently raised $15 million to recreate the wooly mammoth. The project involves taking skin cells from Asian elephants and reprogramming them into more versatile stem cells that carry mammoth DNA, then carrying embryos to term in a surrogate mother or artificial womb. The researchers hope they have their first set of calves in six years. While reintroducing herds of elephant-mammoth hybrids to the Arctic tundra may help convert landscapes to grassland and keep the ground cool, some scientists argue that it is not the most effective way to restore the tundra.

Zingg is a package that features scalable fuzzy matching for data mastering, deduplication, and entity resolution. It can be used to quickly integrate data silos and build unified views at scale. Zingg works for English, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, and other languages.

Fortran.io is an MVC web stack written in Fortran 90. It can act as a controller, connect with SQLite databases, and serve HTML templates. Examples are available.

The Virgin Hyperloop is a transport system that features high-tech pods zooming through tunnels at speeds of up to 760 miles an hour using magnetic levitation. It is supposed to be more efficient than traditional maglev transport and could potentially offer airline speeds on the ground. Virgin has built a prototype Devloop tube in the Nevada desert just outside Las Vegas. A video explaining hyperloop technology, with footage from inside the Devloop, is available in the article.

Privateer Space is a new space startup founded by Steve Wozniak. The company has not revealed much about what it does, but a business partner hinted that it may be trying to address the issue of space junk. More details about its plans are likely to be revealed at the Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference this week. A short video from Privateer Space is available in the article.