Category: General Interest

Where does the water on Earth, one of the few planets in the solar system where water can be found at all, come from? Two scientific theories have been opposing each other on this question for years. Was there water on Earth from the beginning, even when it was formed, or did it come to Earth only later through external influences such as meteorites? A new study could finally end this eternal debate. The origin of water on EarthAlthough all scientists agree that water is the most important element in…

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There will be more snowfall until Sunday, but on Monday, wintry high-pressure weather with plenty of sunshine is announced for the start of the semester break in Vienna and Lower Austria. Heavy snowfall caused traffic obstructions throughout Austria on Thursday, especially on the northern side of the Alps. Large amounts of snow were expected. The interplay of dense clouds on FridaySouth of the main Alpine ridge and in Vorarlberg, there will be an interplay of dense clouds and sunny spells throughout the day on Friday. Further north and east, however,…

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According to the Red Cross, the world is still not adequately prepared for possible future pandemics, even three years after the coronavirus outbreak. “A next pandemic could be imminent,” International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Secretary General Jagan Chapagain warned in Geneva on Monday. According to recent figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 6.8 million people have died in connection with Covid-19. The Red Cross pointed out in its global disaster report that the pandemic has caused the largest spike in deaths since…

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Apple is used to giving new technologies more time before integrating them into their own devices. They also stayed true to this strategy with foldable displays. While the competition – such as Samsung – has already launched several generations of foldable devices, Apple has remained cautious. But that could change soon, as the usually well-informed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes on Twitter. Apple is expected to launch a foldable iPad as early as next year. The foldable iPad is supposed to come with a carbon base, bringing growth to the supplier…

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The §57a certificate will have a new layout and a QR code printed, ÖAMTC reported on Monday. With the help of this QR code, an electronic version of the expert opinion can be retrieved from the central database free of charge. The new regulation will take effect on February 2. According to ÖAMTC, these changes bring advantages for consumers: “The QR code on the §57a appraisal brings security in particular when buying a used car. This makes it very easy to check the authenticity of the appraisal,” explains ÖAMTC technician…

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For half a year now, isolation has been no longer mandatory in the case of a Corona infection. What applies in case of a positive test, and what to do? After the long Christmas break, corona numbers are slowly but surely rising again. Fueling the infectious activity in Austria is the now dominant subline XBB.1.5 – a highly contagious omicron variant. The problem is that after nearly three years of the coronavirus pandemic, many have lost track of what’s happening. The rules and measures have finally changed several times, but…

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Since mid-December, the omicron derivative XBB.1.5 has been making headlines. In the U.S., the coronavirus variant accounted for a quarter of cases quickly. In Austria, its share recently doubled every week. The Stockholm-based EU health agency ECDC expects the sublineage to continue to spread rapidly. According to a recent assessment published by the agency, mathematical models would suggest that XBB.1.5 could become dominant in Europe as early as one to two months. But although the variant is considered highly contagious because of its mutations, the “octopus,” as the variant has…

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A powerful snowstorm sweeps across large parts of Austria on Monday! In several provinces, the increased warning level was called. At the beginning of the week, the gradient between a high over the East Atlantic and a pronounced low-pressure complex over Scandinavia increasingly strengthens. Thus, partly bad northwestern weather continues until the week’s second half. In addition, several fronts along the northern Alps repeatedly provide snowfall. Expert now predicts 70 centimetres of new snow and storm A first front reaches the eastern Alpine region on Monday; until Tuesday, the largest…

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After using a USB stick, the computer prompts you to “safely remove the hardware.” Is that necessary? And what happens if you pull out the stick? Generally, hardware connected to the computer, such as USB sticks, memory cards and external hard drives, should be disconnected from the PC using the “Safely Remove Hardware” function. But why is this the case? Don’t just pull out USB sticks and the likeThere is a persistent myth that improper removal of USB memory can break the stick if you pull it out and that…

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