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17 Vowel-Free Words Acceptable in ‘Words With Friends’ Don’t be down about your next panel of consonants. Instead, take the challenge as an opportunity to show off your newly acquired vowel-free vocabulary. Three-Letter Words BRR – The way you tell people that it’s super chilly and the way you tell your WWF opponents that you don’t care what they think of you.

CWM – Oh, boy - pronounced “koom,” it’s another name for a “cirque,” which is a bowl-shaped mountain basin often containing a lake. HMM – Accepted (in addition to “hm”) as a sound of contemplation. NTH – Having the quality of being the last in a series of infinitely increasing or decreasing values. PHT – An interjection used to signify mild annoyance or disagreement. SHH – Also accepted (in addition to “sh”) as a means of urging someone to be quiet. TSK – An interjection often used in quick repetition (see “tsks,” “tsktsk” and “tsktsks” below) to express contempt or disdain. Four-Letter Words BRRR – I really don’t know. PSST – An interjection used to attract someone’s attention. Secrets of the first practical artificial leaf. A detailed description of development of the first practical artificial leaf -- a milestone in the drive for sustainable energy that mimics the process, photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert water and sunlight into energy -- appears in the ACS journal Accounts of Chemical Research.

Secrets of the first practical artificial leaf

The article notes that unlike earlier devices, which used costly ingredients, the new device is made from inexpensive materials and employs low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes. Daniel G. Nocera points out that the artificial leaf responds to the vision of a famous Italian chemist who, in 1912, predicted that scientists one day would uncover the "guarded secret of plants.

" The most important of those, Nocera says, is the process that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The artificial leaf has a sunlight collector sandwiched between two films that generate oxygen and hydrogen gas. The author acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation and the Chesonis Family Foundation.

Artefact. Face-Recognizing Billboard Shows Ad to Women Only. Sporting a Y chromosome?

Face-Recognizing Billboard Shows Ad to Women Only

A new high-tech, outdoor billboard being tested in London won’t let you see its advertisement. Developed by Plan UK, a non-profit organization that helps children in third-world countries, the billboard will promote the group’s “Because I’m a Girl” campaign. The effort is designed to help sponsor girls in developing countries receive a proper education. Men won’t be able to see the full ad, and will be directed to the organization’s website instead, to show men “a glimpse of what it’s like to have basic choices taken away.” The fairer sex, on the other hand, will see a full 40-second video promoting Plan UK’s cause. (LIST: 8 ‘Misleading’ Ads Banned in the U.K.) Located in London’s West End, the ad is equipped with a high-definition camera that is used to scan passers-by’s facial features, determining their gender with a 90% success rate.

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