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Thursday's Afternoon Update
What you need to know about Florida today
UF scientists instrumental in confirming 100-year-old Einstein theory
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos. Physicists at the University of Florida have been involved with the technology used to detect the waves -- the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) -- since 1995. Read the full story of this breakthrough and UF's role in it, here. Also see more at the Washington Post and NPR.
Zika puts a scare into Florida companies doing business in the Americas
South Florida is home to more than 1,400 multinationals with employees who travel frequently through the Americas — including the 26 South American, Central American and Caribbean nations and territories where Zika is locally transmitted. More from the Miami Herald.
See also:
» CDC to host Zika virus conference call with Florida healthcare workers
» USOC to hire infectious disease specialists for Zika
Florida medical marijuana market could be $1.5 billion industry by 2020
If you’re wondering why there’s so much legal fighting over medical marijuana licenses in Florida, here’s a billion-dollar answer. According to the State of Legal Marijuana Markets report, legal marijuana in the U.S. is projected to grow to a $21.8 billion industry by 2020. And Florida is a big part of that projection. More from Health News Florida.
Fantasy sports companies defend embattled industry
Daily fantasy sports companies say their industry remains viable despite a rocky start to 2016. The industry's top companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, are on the defensive after taking hits to their businesses in recent weeks as scrutiny by state policymakers across the country continues to intensify. More from the AP.
2015 home sales in Gainesville highest since the '06 crash
Gainesville home sales for 2015 reached the highest level since 2006, the year the housing market started its crash and took the economy with it. More from the Gainesville Sun.
Out of the Box
Napping pods
Among the chairs and tables on the second floor of the Student Center at the University of Miami, there’s a strange new object that looks like a prop from a science fiction movie or maybe the mutant offspring of a dentist chair and old-fashioned hair dryer. It’s actually an “energy pod” — a high-tech napping option to recharge sleep-deprived, stressed-out students.
» More from the Miami Herald.
Around the State
Driving for dough
The hottest thing in golf these days may be a business that combines a kind of high-tech driving range with a flashy sports bar/restaurant. Topgolf outlets typically feature about 100 hitting bays, arrayed in a two-story configuration, facing a colorful outdoor driving range with targets extending up to 250 yards away.
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