TED, perhaps the world’s most beloved nonprofit organization is gearing up for its annual 4-day conference in Long Beach, in California where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give 18 minute talks. The 26-year old organization shares its TEDTalks online, for free and also produces its TEDGlobal conference, the TED Prize, TEDx conferences, and the TED Fellows program. This month, TED launched its latest initiative,TED Conversations, a social and connective, Quora-like platform for the TED community, which includes more than 15 million monthly users....

Jupiter’s moon Europa glows in the dark — and that may tell us what’s on it Europa on the rocks The icy surface ofEuropais rich with salt, including magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) and sodium chloride (common table salt). Each type of mineral radiates specific wavelengths of light when releasing energy. These studies found that salts within the icy crust of the Jovian moon can glow in the dark. Europa is one of the water worlds of our solar system, holding a vast ocean under its frozen surface....

The latest research by the UK’s Research Institute for the Disabled Consumers (RiDC) has brought to light some very disturbingfindings:just0.003%of charging locations across the country have been designed to be accessible to disabled drivers. According to the UK Equality Act 2010, it’s illegal to discriminate against individuals with disabilities. Yet the lack of inclusive charging infrastructure means that the country’s 14 million disabled people might well be left behind. To tackle this issue,Transport Minister Rachel Macleanannouncedin June that the government is working together with the national disability charity Motability and the British Standards Institute (BSI) to develop accessibility standards for EV charge points across the UK....

Outside of our annual TNW conference which is scheduled for April 25-27, 2012 (save that date!), The Next Web organises an intimate event for developers in Amsterdam calledKings of Code. Kings of Code is in just 12 days, so it’s about time we gave you some insight into the event. At Kings of Code speakers and attendees gather to explore and discuss the latest trends, developments and best practices in web and mobile development technologies....

Last week on Growth Quarters we asked,do you really need a sales team to scale? This week we’re asking… do you even need real employees? App-based helicopter and charter flight booking platform, Blade Air Mobility says: nope. After performing a pointless catch-me-if-you-can exercise with reporters from Business Insider,last week the company finally admittedits spokesperson of three years, Simon McLaren, didn’t exist. The “jaded New Yorker, raconteur, college dropout writer, and student of highly driven narcissists” (as his Twitter bio once read) was completely made up by Blade’s team....