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Australia's using drones to protect its coasts from sharks
While shark attacks are rare in Australia, every year a handful of people lose their lives while swimming off the country's coastlines. New South Wales (NSW) government officials know there is no easy way to reduce risks, but have committed to spending AU$16 million ($11.6 million) on a new "shark strategy," which includes drone patrols and deploying GPS technology to make its beaches safer. As part of the drone trial starting today, operators will send out drones off the coast of Coffs Harbour (located midway between Sydney and Brisbane), which will feed back live footage of any marine life swimming in shallow water and let them alert swimmers and surfers of any risks in the area.
3D printing files for guns are illegal in an Australian state
The Australian state of New South Wales has made it illegal to possess the blueprints necessary to make your own projectile weapons. Lawmakers have passed an amendment to the Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 that makes it a crime to own information necessary to produce guns, like the Liberator. If a person is found to have "digital blueprints," they could face a prison term of up to 14 years. This goes beyond 3D printers, too, as the law also includes "electronic milling machines" should anyone want to get creative with their nearest CNC.
First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission
Mark this day, folks, because the brainiacs have finally made a breakthrough in quantum teleportation: a team of scientists from Australia and Japan have successfully transferred a complex set of quantum data in light form. You see, previously researchers had struggled with slow performance or loss of information, but with full transmission integrity achieved -- as in blocks of qubits being destroyed in one place but instantaneously resurrected in another, without affecting their superpositions -- we're now one huge step closer to secure, high-speed quantum communication. Needless to say, this will also be a big boost for the development of powerful quantum computing, and combine that with a more bedroom friendly version of the above teleporter, we'll eventually have ourselves the best LAN party ever.
