A massive shipwreck which hasn’t been seen since it sank 128 years ago has been discovered by a crew making a nature documentary. Filmmakers were working on a project about a mussel species which lives in the Great Lakes in the US when they made the unexpected find. Yvonne Drebert and Zach Melnick were researching the invasive quagga mussel when they stumbled upon the steamship Africa, Fox Weather reports. The ship was sunk in 1895 after travelling from Ohio to Ontario on Lake Huron in dangerous conditions. The wreck was found after the filmmakers’ underwater drone detected something big and a camera was sent down to take a look. “It got more and more definition as we got closer and closer, and all of a sudden, we could see, ‘Wow, this is a steamship, a wooden steamship!'” Melnik said. “So this is old, and it is incredibly well intact.” The discovery was made possible due to the mussel species, which had covered the wreckage. The ship was identified as the Africa. Since the discovery, families of the people who were lost on board have been in touch with the filmmakers. “One of the incredible things that’s happened since this story has come to light just a couple of weeks ago is that several of the descendants of family members who died on this wreck so many years ago have reached out to us,” Melnick said. “We’re working with those families to try to find a way to remember those sailors who had died 128 years ago.” The mussel species will eventually destroy the wreckage, and the quagga can be hugely damaging to natural environments. The Center of Invasive Species Research in Riverside, California, reports that quagga [and zebra mussels] invasions “have had catastrophic impacts in the ecosystems in which they have established.” “These organisms clog water intake structures (e.g., pipes and screens), which greatly increases maintenance costs for water treatment and power plants,” the organization adds on its website. “Recreational activities on lakes and rivers are adversely affected as mussels accumulate on docks, buoys, boat hulls, anchors and beaches can become heavily encrusted.” “Interestingly, invasions by quagga and zebra mussels have been documented as having some positive affects on receiving ecosystems. For example, filtration of water by mussels as they extract food removes particulate matter. This filtration has improved water clarity, and reduced the eutrophication of polluted lakes.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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Google and Meta have pulled out of the upcoming Web Summit technology conference, following fallout from the event’s founder’s social media comments relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Siemens and Intel have also pulled out of next month’s event due to be held in Lisbon, Portugal after posted commentary made by Paddy Cosgrove about western support for Israel. It has also been reported that actress Gillian Anderson has withdrawn from her speaking role at the conference. Mr Cosgrave, the chief executive of Ireland-based Web Summit, issued an apology on Tuesday where he said he unreservedly condemns Hamas’s attack on October 7. That followed a controversial post on X last Friday when he said he was “shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders and governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. “War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.” Mr Cosgrave said his comments were to urge Israel not to cross the boundaries of international law in its response to Hamas atrocities. In his later apology, he said: “I unequivocally support Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself. I unequivocally support a two-state solution. “I understand that what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused profound hurt to many. “To anyone who was hurt by my words, I apologise deeply. “What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. “My aim is and always has been to strive for peace. “Ultimately, I hope with all my heart that this can be achieved.” We will no longer have a presence at Web Summit Google spokesman Tickets for Web Summit range from 1,095 euro for general attendance up to 24,950 euro for a “chairperson” ticket which includes a “personal event fulfilment manager” and access to an exclusive lounge – with prices set to increase later this month. The event aims to attract more than 70,000 people including “companies redefining the tech industry”. On Friday, a spokeswoman for Google said: “We will no longer have a presence at Web Summit.” It is understood Meta is also no longer attending the event. A spokesman for Siemens said: “Following recent developments surrounding Web Summit, we have reviewed the situation and determined that Siemens will not attend in 2023.” Intel said in a statement: “We can confirm that Intel has withdrawn from this year’s Web Summit.” Read More ‘Game-changing’ facial recognition technology catches prolific shoplifters Facial recognition firm Clearview AI overturns UK data privacy fine Sadiq Khan, Met Commissioner to ask phone companies to ‘design out’ theft Microsoft gets go-ahead to buy Call of Duty maker Activision Incels using TikTok to spread ‘hateful beliefs’, research suggests Duke and Duchess of Sussex call for overhaul of social media

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Just two weeks after fleeing his home with barely more than the clothes on his back and the phone in his pocket, 23-year-old Ashot Gabriel is at a tech conference promoting one of the last things he has left: his startup. He is one of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees who were forced out of Nagorno-Karabakh in late September when Azerbaijani forces retook control of the breakaway enclave. Alongside his two brothers – who evacuated in a single car with their parents and a grandparent on 28 September – Gabriel is now attempting to start a new life from temporary accommodation in Armenia’s capital of Yerevan. “We lost our property, but we also lost ourselves,” he says. “We have lost our previous lives. We are starting everything from scratch.” His online marketing startup, Brothers in Business (BIB), was offered a last-minute stand at the DigiTech Expo, with organisers hoping that technology will help offer a solution for the country. As a landlocked nation lacking the natural resources of its historically hostile neighbours, Armenia’s nascent tech industry is seen as a way to achieve sovereignty and future stability in the long term, while also assisting with the humanitarian crisis in the short term. The country was once a tech hub in the region – one of the world’s first computers was built in Armenia – but much of Armenia’s talent left following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. A new scene emerged when émigrés returned to the country after finding success in Silicon Valley, establishing the country’s internet network and providing a foundation for startups to emerge. There are now an estimated 300 pre-seed-stage startups in Armenia, and around 100 seed-stage startups, in fields ranging from quantum computing to electric bikes. “We have this vision: Tech is the ultimate direction that will help Armenia to succeed,” says Narek Vardanyan, CEO of Prelaunch.com, whose company acts as a platform to help local startups establish themselves on the market. “We are landlocked, we have no natural resources. All we have is talent. And our only way we can develop is technology,” he says. “We don’t have a backup plan. There is no Plan B. We are betting everything on technology.” Armenia’s most successful startup so far is Picsart, an online photo editor that has grown to become the country’s only unicorn – a company with a valuation north of $1 billion. Picsart is among those offering their resources to help refugees, fast-tracking the launch of an educational program that will be offered for free to refugees and war veterans, training and reskilling them in everything from machine learning to graphic design. Hayk Sahakyan, a creative director at Picsart, says there has been a “huge number” of people interested so far, including children. This idea of building up Armenia’s tech industry through education can be found through two privately funded initiatives that are providing free courses in STEM subjects to tens of thousands of young people throughout the country. The first is TUMO, which provides free supplemental education to 12-18 year olds in creative technologies, ranging from game development to music. Since the first TUMO centre opened in Yerevan in 2011, dozens of centres have sprung up throughout Armenia and the rest of the world, including hubs in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles. One of its six core centres and three smaller “Box” centres had to be abandoned during the Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh last month. “External circumstances can literally kill us. But whenever anyone asks me whether Armenia has a future, it’s here,” says Zara Budaghyan, head of communications at TUMO. “Technology has the potential to provide a more stable economy, but also better lives. International support has been lacking. We need to rebuild by ourselves. We are broken. But this gives us something to believe in.” The second educational initiative is a network of technology, science and engineering laboratories set up in rural communities, offering children from 10-18 free after school classes. Established by UATE – a business association that also runs the DigiTech Expo – several of the labs in Nagorno-Karabakh also had to be shut down in September. UATE chief executive Sargis Karapetyan, who grew up in the region, says around 200 of his relatives were among the refugees. Karapetyan considered cancelling the DigiTech conference, saying there is still a deep distrust of Azerbaijan. There are fears that the annex was only part one. The next stage, which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes could happen “within weeks”, could be an invasion to establish a land corridor between the two parts of Azerbaijan. When asked what prompted the decision to persevere with the tech conference despite personal tragedy and the threat of further chaos, Karapetyan replies: "Technology will save the world.” Read More Scientists receive powerful ‘radio burst’ that travelled billions of years Mark Zuckerberg uses Meta’s new AI Ray-Bans to braid daughter’s hair Solar energy is set to eclipse fossil fuels as world passes ‘tipping point’ Scientists receive powerful ‘radio burst’ that travelled billions of years Mark Zuckerberg uses Meta’s new AI Ray-Bans to braid daughter’s hair Solar energy is set to eclipse fossil fuels as world passes ‘tipping point’

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Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg showed off the company’s new artificial intelligence-powered Ray Ban smart glasses in an Instagram post where he uses the technology to braid his daughter’s hair. In the video, the Meta boss asks his Ray-Bans, “Hey Meta, how can I make a braid?” The AI in the smart glass then seemingly guides Mr Zuckerberg through the steps as he braids his daughter’s hair. He then proceeds to take a photo of the braid and captions it “Finally learned to braid. Thanks, Meta AI” to send his wife. “Hey Meta, send a photo to Priscilla on WhatsApp,” Mr Zuckerberg commands the glasses. The smart glasses, made in collaboration with Ray-Ban, were released last month at Meta’s Connect event. The AI glasses feature a camera that can record, and speakers in the glasses’ arms. Meta envisions the glasses to help wearers move between “virtual and real worlds,” to help them experience the “metaverse” around which the company has organised. The latest version of the smart glasses cost £299 or $299 and brings with it improved cameras, a lighter design, and new features like livestreaming. When previous versions of the glasses were released – also with the ability to record video – they were met with privacy concerns as people could record others without their knowledge using the AI Ray Bans. The latest version comes with lights that let others know they’re being recorded. The lights also blink when a photo is taken, and there’s also a solid white light that stays on when a video is being recorded. Along with the AI Ray Bans, Meta also unveiled its Meta Quest 3 virtual reality headset last month. The latest version, the company said, would allow “passthrough” to the real world, enabling virtual objects to be layered on top of it. The Meta Quest 3 costs $500 (£480) compared with $3,500 for Apple’s Vision Pro headset. While Meta Quest 3 has considerably lower specs than its competitor, the company said it stands out from Apple’s competition by offering a more social version of mixed reality. Read More Instagram Threads adds yet more features as it tries to take over from Twitter Scientists receive powerful signal from the depths of the universe Solar energy is set to eclipse fossil fuels as world passes ‘tipping point’ Meta unveils ‘creepy’ AI chatbot that looks exactly like Kendall Jenner Zuckerberg says Metaverse can bring back the dead – virtually Meta unveils new Quest 3 headset and smart glasses that allow for virtual experiences in the real world

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