A European Union-funded project called ” Presious ” could make a modern Indiana Jones’ tasks easier even if they’re operating with tiny budgets. See, the initiative is currently developing a number of software tools they can use to scan artifacts. The first one can be used to scan stone objects and estimate their erosion patterns, while the second one treats scanned fragments like 3D puzzles and pieces them together. Finally, the third tool can fill in gaps in symmetrical objects if some of their pieces couldn’t be found. According to the European Union , these tools’ capabilities are made possible by the development of predictive scanning. That technique taps into existing repositories of digitized archaeological finds to predict erosion patterns, missing pieces’ shapes and broken fragments’ fits. The best thing about these tools is that archaeologists will be able to download them for free once development is done this January 2016. Via: Popsci Source: Presious
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Archaeologists have new tools that make it easy to scan artifacts
After getting caught cheating on emissions testing by means of software, Volkswagen could face up to $18 billion in fines, reports USA Today. That number is based on the company being assessed the maximum penalty of $37, 500 per affected vehicle. That’s not the only bad news for Volkswagen, which has halted sales of its 4-cylinder diesel cars; the linked article reports that the violations “could also invite charges of false marketing by regulators, a vehicle recall and payment to car owners, either voluntarily or through lawsuits. Volkswagen advertised the cars under the ‘Clean Diesel’ moniker. The state of California is also investigating the emissions violations.” Read more of this story at Slashdot. 
HughPickens.com writes: BBC reports that Germany has abandoned tuition fees altogether for German and international students alike and more than 4, 600 US students are fully enrolled at Germany universities, an increase of 20% over three years. “When I found out that just like Germans I’m studying for free, it was sort of mind blowing, ” says Katherine Burlingame who decided to get her Master’s degree at a university in the East German town of Cottbus. “I realized how easy the admission process was and how there was no tuition fee. This was a wow moment for me.” When Katherine came to Germany in 2012 she spoke two words of German: ‘hallo’ and ‘danke’. She arrived in an East German town which had, since the 1950s, taught the majority of its residents Russian rather than English. “At first I was just doing hand gestures and a lot of people had compassion because they saw that I was trying and that I cared.” She did not need German, however, in her Master’s program, which was filled with students from 50 different countries but taught entirely in English. In fact, German universities have drastically increased all-English classes to more than 1, 150 programs across many fields. So how can Germany afford to educate foreign students for free? Think about it this way: it’s a global game of collecting talent. All of these students are the trading cards, and the collectors are countries. If a country collects more talent, they’ll have an influx of new ideas, new businesses and a better economy. For a society with a demographic problem — a growing retired population and fewer young people entering college and the workforce — qualified immigration is seen as a resolution to the problem as research shows that 50% of foreign students stay in Germany. “Keeping international students who have studied in the country is the ideal way of immigration, ” says Sebastian Fohrbeck.”They have the needed certificates, they don’t have a language problem at the end of their stay and they know the culture.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.