Happy Wednesday, muggles. There's a new comet streaking across the Northern Hemisphere through the end of July, and it won't be visible for another 6,800 years! The comet called NEOWISE is named after NASA's Near-Earth-Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer — we know that's a whole mouthful — and is now an evening comet visible in the night sky. While the comet is best seen through binoculars or a small telescope, we've uncovered some stories that don't require any special viewing devices.

HOUSING

Barcelona warns it will take empty apartments for affordable housing

Thu Jul 16

Barcelona is using a different approach than most to affordable housing: taking over empty properties. The city's housing department warned companies with empty units that if they don't find a tenant in the next month, the city would buy their properties for half their market value, and then turn them into public housing for lower-income residents.

How is this possible?

Legislation was passed last December in the Catalonia region that now allows for this type of repossession.

How many apartments are we talking about?

The initial letter that went out to housing companies is for 194 empty apartments. However, in 2018, the Barcelona Town Hall estimated that there were 13,000 empty flats in the city.

SOURCES: Bloomberg, The Local, The Big Issue

TECHNOLOGY

Using deepfakes in the workplace

Tues Jul 7

It seems while the coronavirus has slowed some business, it's accelerated others. One example is artificial intelligence video making, or deepfakes. Some employers are using AI to create training videos that look real. The company says it's a cheaper alternative and safer than the traditional video shoot.

Where does the term "deepfake" come from?

The term deepfake tends to have a negative connotation because it comes from the reddit username "deepfakes," who first posted fake celebrity porn in 2017. Deepfakes have historically been used as tools for harassment and misinformation.

What other applications is this AI imagery being used for?

Ecommerce
Advertisements
Marketing

Social media influencers (Lil Miquela, a fake influencer, has 2.5 million followers on Instagram and was even signed to a talent agency).

SOURCES: Wired, Vice, BBC

CLIMATE

Blame the "corn sweats" for that Midwest heat

Wed Jul 15

Apparently it's not just the atmosphere and storm systems that affect our weather. Corn is also a force to be reckoned with in parts of the Midwest and northern Plains, making parts of Iowa more humid than Miami.

How does corn affect the weather?

Corn crops release a lot of water into the atmosphere because of a cooling mechanism for the plant that is similar to human sweat. As all that corn sweat gets absorbed into the atmosphere, it can create high levels of humidity and heat.

How much does corn sweat?

A lot. Apparently in the summertime, a single acre of corn releases enough sweat to fill up a residential swimming pool in less than a week! Multiply that by around 90 million acres (more than double the acreage of corn crops several decades ago thanks to industrial use), and we have a weather-changing crop.

What are some of the negative side effects of the increased heat and humidity?