It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, July 24, 2020
A Planetary Utopia By Julian Huxley Unesco Courier (Feb 1991)
Egyptian scientists reveal the secret of the "screaming woman" mummy
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Dr. Zahi Hawass / Cairo University
Egyptologists Zahi Hawass and Sahar Salim managed to uncover the mystery of the "screaming woman" mummy from the burial complex in Deir el-Bahri. According to scientists Ahram Online , a study using computed tomography showed that the death of the princess came suddenly from a heart attack, which was a consequence of coronary atherosclerosis. When embalming, the position of the woman at the time of death was preserved.
Thus, the intense pain she experienced before her death was the reason for the wide open mouth of the mummy and the expression on her face, as if distorted with horror. Her head was turned to the right and her legs were crossed. In this case, the ancient Egyptians usually buried their dead in the traditional erect posture and with their mouths closed. The study showed that the person of the royal family at the time of her death was more than 60 years old. She suffered from several serious illnesses. According to Hawass, the "screaming woman" was found a few hours after her death. Her body by this moment was numb.
The princess's mummy was found at the end of the 19th century among 40 mummies of members of the royal dynasty in a large burial. The ancient priests securely hid the remains so that they would not fall prey to the tomb robbers.
Holy Hydrocarbon Semyon Novoprudsky on whether Russia can live without oil and gas revenues
Trouble came from where they did not expect. While we were defeating the coronavirus, like the Pechenegs and Polovtsians once did, we introduced God into the Basic Law (without explaining which one, which would be useful in a multi-confessional and largely godless country), heroically fought a rainbow on ice cream, the threat hung over the foundation of our existence. Above our main spiritual and material bond. Over Mother Oil and her brother Gas.
No, oil and gas, these two of our main allies, not counting the army and the navy, have, fortunately, not yet run out in the country.
But with the markets for these goods, it seems that extremely serious problems are coming, which will inevitably require Russia to create a fundamentally new economic model of its existence.
The other day, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that the European Union, the largest consumer of Russian hydrocarbons, intends to completely abandon the use of fossil fuels, including oil and gas, by 2050. “The EU's goal is to become climate neutral by 2050,” Simson said at a briefing on July 8, not just like that, but answering questions about the fate of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The pretty Estonian woman Kadri Simson outlined the trajectory of the EU's energy path for the next 30 years: to stop using oil and natural gas, replacing it with “decarbonized gases” and, above all, hydrogen.
These are not just words. The European Commission has already approved two strategies aimed at achieving "climate neutrality". According to the first, a single energy market and diversification of suppliers will be created (that is, Russia will not dominate it, as it is now). According to the second, the European Union itself will begin mass production of pure hydrogen for energy purposes. To understand the "scale of the disaster" for Russia, let's see how things stand with our oil and gas revenues and the EU's share in them (with the mutual war of sanctions going on for more than six years) now.
So, in 2019, Russia earned $419 billion in export revenues. 60% of this amount was provided to our country by three goods: crude oil ($ 121.4 billion), oil products ($ 66.9 billion) and natural gas ($ 19 billion). Half of all these oil and gas revenues came from Europe: the share of Russian oil in consumption there reaches 30%, and gas - 40%. The total share of Russian budget revenues from oil and gas sales, taxes and other payments of oil and gas companies is no less than 50%.
In short, at least every second ruble of the salary of every Russian citizen is the color of oil and the smell of gas. Of course, you can say that there is still a whole 30 years left until 2050. That we simply will not live to see the "threat" of the EU materialize (although our children and grandchildren will survive). Promising to get rid of oil and gas does not mean doing. But to transfer the Russian economy, which has been living on revenues from oil and gas for decades, to the conversion of hard currency obtained from the export of hydrocarbons into foreign technologies, clothes and food, on some fundamentally different basis is not a matter of one year. In almost the same 30 post-Soviet years, Russia has failed to do this.
In fact, there is a big problem right now. Due to the collapse of world hydrocarbon prices (hello pandemic!), A sharp decline in gas demand in Europe and the OPEC + deal to limit oil production, there is a protracted shock reduction in the inflow of foreign currency to Russia. The export revenues of the Russian economy in April-June fell for the sixth quarter in a row and became the lowest in 15 years - these are the latest data from the Bank of Russia on the country's balance of payments. The main historical process within which Russians continue to live is the continuing disintegration of the USSR and the formation of the post-Soviet Russian statehood. And do you know what the most important of the "Soviet" remains in our life? Economic model.
Of course, we still have many Soviet houses, Soviet pipes, Soviet monuments, Soviet roads. We are still ruled by members of the CPSU. But above all, we still have a Soviet structure of the economy, in the center of which is the production of oil and gas and the sale of hydrocarbons for export, in order to buy something that we still do not produce at home or do, but of a much worse quality.
May 29, 1965 can be considered the date of birth of the economy in which we continue to live to a large extent even now. On that day, the first oil gusher came from well R-1, which was drilled by the team of master Grigory Norkin at the Samotlor oil field, the largest in Russia so far in the Nizhnevartovsk region of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.
Since 1969 — the sixth decade! —This deposit has been one of the main breadwinners of Russians, even after the collapse of the USSR.
For decades we have been repeating the sacramental phrase "we have no time to swing." And we continue to slowly eat up the Soviet economic potential.
What new scientific, industrial, consumer brand has Russia created and brought to the world market over the 30 post-Soviet years? What has been noted in outstanding technological and informational breakthroughs since the beginning of the century, in the creation of the main gadgets and technologies of mankind?
Is that Pavel Durov's Telegram messenger, which Russia, fortunately, finally stopped banning after more than two years of unsuccessful attempts.
Instead of “our own Plato's and quick-witted Newtons,” we have so far given birth to only the fiscal system “Plato” for truck drivers. Their smartphones, fast by the mind, have not yet been created either.
Our "modern weapons", all these missiles with an unpredictable flight path, all this hypersound, of course, can indulge the pride of paycheck to paycheck or even unemployed inmates on squeezed sofas in the wilderness. But this weapon not only cannot be smeared on bread, it is even impossible to use it, only to frighten the enemies: otherwise everyone will die almost instantly, including you and me.
Arms trade, no matter how you increase it, will not be full either. Even state employees will not have enough income for wages from the export of arms.
Yes, Russia has many other natural resources besides oil and gas. The main one, based on how we can imagine the development of the world in the post-coronavirus era, may be the supply of drinking water.
But in any case, it is quite obvious that the age of oil and gas, in which all the main generations of people living in Russia have grown up, is ending. Regardless of whether the EU succeeds in giving up hydrocarbons or not.
The creation of a full-fledged competitive economy not based on the export of hydrocarbon energy is becoming, if not a national ideology, then one of the most important tasks of Russia if it wants to successfully complete the post-Soviet transit and not turn into a raw material appendage of China. While Russia is fighting the largely mythical threats of the Western world, we are ignoring the obviously most important threat to our sovereignty and security - China, which, unlike the EU, cannot impose a favorable price for oil or gas on us through negotiations and whose human resources will be tenfold surpass the Russian ones.
In the wake of the battle of sanctions, the word "import substitution" appeared in the Russian political lexicon five years ago, but then gradually disappeared.
As the KVN team "Siberian Storytellers" joked about this, "well, so far only the word has been invented." Meanwhile, it is necessary to talk (and not just say - do!) Not so much about import substitution as about the priority sectors and businesses of the new post-oil and gas Russian economy.
Gradually parting with oil and gas as critically important sources of income and the very existence of Russia should become one of the key tasks of the country's development. Energy, medical and food security in the modern world is almost more important than military security.
We see how a tiny virus of still unknown origin in a matter of months has caused damage to the world, comparable to a full-fledged hot world war.
So we need to take the EU's intention to completely abandon oil and gas by 2050 with the utmost seriousness. There is nothing eternal and permanent in the world. The oil and gas age will also inevitably end. Flexibility of reactions, readiness to change is one of the most important virtues in the modern world. Russia has repeatedly in its history paid with global upheavals and destruction of the foundations for a categorical unwillingness and unwillingness to change anything, for replacing important and pleasant stability for all of us with swamp stagnation, cementing all living life.
Oil rigs and gas pipelines cannot endlessly and almost single-handedly feed millions of Russians. We need to tap into intellectual, political and economic resources to start shaping a new Russian economy. Effectively investing in its creation the income that the oil and gas trade still brings us, as the flax and hemp trade once brought. If we do not create this new economy without the current degree of dependence on petrodollars, we will, at least in the foreseeable future, face such poverty that the current income level of most Russians will seem incredible wealth and prosperity.
It's hard to believe in it now, but for many centuries Russia somehow lived without oil and gas at all. So we have a historical experience of such a life.
Fabien Cousteau's Proteus will be an underwater ISS
Fabien Cousteau's Proteus underwater research lab will be three times bigger than any previous design Fuseproject
It's been a big week for inventions named for the shape-shifting, fortune-telling Greek sea god, Proteus. On Monday we looked at Proteus, the world's first manufactured non-cuttable material, and now there's Proteus, the world’s most advanced underwater research station and habitat – though in this case the naming is probably more to do with Proteus' status as the grandson of Poseidon himself.
Fabien Cousteau knows a thing or two about being descended from sea gods. His grandfather Jacques made the family name synonymous with the ocean through a series of hugely popular and influential books, films and TV shows – not to mention being the co-inventor of the scuba underwater breathing device, getting divers out of diving bells to really immerse themselves in the underwater world. If any man could hold Poseidon's mighty trident as the human equivalent of a sea god, Jacques Cousteau fits the bill.
Young Fabien, now 52, has very much carried on the family business. Learning to scuba dive at the age of four, he's gone on to be one of this generations highest-profile ocean conservationists and documentary makers. Last time we caught up with him back in 2013, he was preparing for a month-long research mission in the Aquarius Reef Base 62 feet under the surface off the Florida Keys.
He can't have been satisfied with his accommodations, because now, with the help of industrial designer Yves Behar, he's planning to build the largest underwater lab on the planet. His grandad, of course, had a few cracks at the idea himself. Jacques Cousteau's Conshelf 1, 2 and 3 were, respectively, the first underwater habitat to be lived in, the first live-in sea floor laboratory, and the first underwater habitat more than 100 meters (330 feet) below the surface. Proteus' spiral design will aid in pressure resistance, as well as mimicing the shape of certain shells Proteus/Fuseproject
Fabien Cousteau's ambitious project Proteus will be more than three times the size of any previous attempt, capable of housing up to twelve intrepid oceanographic types at a time. It's a spiraling double-decker design on stilts that adapt to the shifting sea floor, entirely powered by wind and solar energy from the surface, as well as ocean thermal energy conversion.
A series of pods poking out from the main area will serve as bedrooms, labs, medical bays, life support system housings and storage areas. The biggest of these pods will be the "moon pool," or "wet porch" – a big downward-facing hole, which will act as a dock for submersibles, allowing divers to enter the station. There will also be the world's first underwater veggie garden, and facilities for video production.
If all goes well – funding is still in the pipeline, according to this CNN interview, and this is not an insignificant project to finance – the Proteus habitat will sit 60 feet under the surface off the coast of the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao. Divers and researchers will be able to stay there for weeks at a time, taking advantage of the fact that they can work day in and day out without having to undergo the long process of decompression every time they come up. The largest external pod will be a moon pool dock for submersibles Proteus/Fuseproject
Much like an undersea International Space Station, Cousteau hopes to do regular live streams, as well as releasing VR/AR content that can help spread the word about an area of research he sees as much more important to the future of our species than space research.
It also looks super cool to us – at least, before it's been under for a decade or two and becomes festooned with barnacles, a phrase which brings me disproportionate levels of joy to say out loud. Give it a try.
By Adam Williams July 23, 2020 Mira’s strange twisting form is designed to reduce bird impact, says developer Tishman Speyer Scott Hargis
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Residents recently began moving into a stunning new luxury tower by Studio Gang. Named Mira, it stands out among San Francisco's busy skyline with an unusual design that twists as it rises to a height of 400 ft (121 m). The project also has sustainable features, such as rainwater collection and greywater recycling.
Mira consists of the main 40-story tower pictured and an eight-story podium building. Its distinctive twisting shape is conceived as a reinterpretation of the classic bay window architecture of San Francisco, says Studio Gang, and was created with a modular facade system that repeats every 11 floors, allowing for a streamlined build process.
"A sophisticated curtain wall facade system allows the bays to be attached to a repeatable structural slab from inside the building, reducing the need for a tower crane on site and limiting energy consumption and neighborhood impact during construction," explains the firm. "The bays allow for a high-performance facade that is 51 percent opaque without inhibiting nearly 180-degree-views in every unit."
Additionally, developer Tishman Speyer says that its shape serves a practical purpose too, helping to prevent bird strikes, as well as breaking up the wind flow and adding some shading.
The project is slated for LEED Gold (a green building standard) and includes an efficient VRF cooling system and some green roof areas. A greywater harvesting system and a rainwater collection system reduce its use of city water. Mira's apartments range in size between one and three bedrooms and offer choice views of San Francisco Scott Hargis
Its interior consists of 392 residences (plus some retail space on the ground floor), which are a mixture of one, two, and three bedroom units of varying size and style. They offer living areas with expansive bay windows and open kitchens with Miele appliances and Sozo Studios cabinetry. Bathrooms feature marble, Italian-made porcelain tile, and Kohler polished chrome fixtures.
Residents also have access to amenities like rooftop lounge areas, a landscaped courtyard, private dining room, fitness center, children's playroom and valet parking.
If you'd like to purchase yourself a pad in Mira, appointments are available on request. We’ve no word on the pricing, though the San Francisco Chronicle reports that units on the uppermost floors start at around US$5 million.
If you don't want to eat microplastics, sea bass may be the way to go
By Ben Coxworth July 21, 2020 Although the research was conducted on sea bass (pictured), the scientists believe that their findings could be applied to other bony or cartilaginous fish Alfred Wegener Institute
For some time now, there have been concerns that microplastic particles eaten by fish could be passed along to human seafood consumers. According to a new study, though, such may not be the case with sea bass, and possibly not with many other fish.
Currently found in both freshwater and marine waterways around the world, microplastic pollution takes the form of tiny plastic particles that enter the environment from sources such as disintegrating trash, aging tires, synthetic fabrics, and personal care products including shampoo and cosmetics.
Unfortunately fish do eat these particles, which pass through their digestive system and often even enter their bloodstream. It has therefore been surmised that when people eat the flesh of those fish, they may also be consuming microplastics that are present in the tissue.
In order to gauge the likelihood of this happening, a study was recently conducted at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. Led by Dr. Matthew Slater, the scientists started with a lab-based group of adolescent European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), and fed them fish-feed pellets laced with a microplastic powder for a period of 16 weeks.
While the pellets themselves contained fish meal, wheat bran, vitamins and fish oil, the powder consisted of yellow-orange fluorescing plastic particles measuring one to five micrometres in width – this represents the smallest size category of microplastic pollution. It is estimated that each fish ingested about 163 million of the particles over the 16-week period.
The researchers subsequently gutted and filleted the animals, then heated the fillets in caustic potash, causing the muscle tissue to dissolve into a fluid. That liquid was then passed through a filter which captured any plastic particles that might be present. A fluorescence microscope was used to count those particles. A microscope image of the microplastic particles, which were mostly excreted but also found in the fishes' bloodstreams Alfred Wegener Institute
It turned out that for every five grams of fillet, only one to two particles were present. Even those may have been located in residual blood that was left in the fillet, as opposed to in the actual muscle tissue itself. What's more, even though the fish were exposed to microplastics concentrations far higher than what they would encounter in the ocean, they grew well and were reportedly in perfect health.
"I believe the sea bass results provide some indication of the response of other marine finfish to microplastic ingestion, however this remains untested," Dr. Slater tells us. "Equally, we studied only one type, size and specific shape of microplastic within the study. Microplastics in the marine environment are unbelievably diverse. Our results provide some indication of uptake in the broader marine environment however there are many (many!) other types left to be tested."
It is additionally possible that in the open ocean, plastic particles may absorb pollutants that are passed into the flesh of fish, even if the particles themselves aren't.
A paper on the study, which also involved scientists from the University of Bremen and the IBEN laboratory, was recently published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.
1.3 billion tonnes of plastic to pollute environment by 2040, study warns
By Nick Lavars July 24, 2020 A new study has projected how much plastic waste will enter the environment over the coming decades if we don't change our ways, and the news isn't good stevanovicigor/Depositphotos
With its production continuing to increase at an exponential rate, our problem with plastic pollution is showing no sign of slowing down. A new study mapping mapping the movement of plastic waste has outlined just how drastic the situation might become, projecting that 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic will be dumped on land and in the oceans by 2040 unless some significant steps are taken to address the trend.
For use in everything from toothbrushes to shopping bags, we produce around 300 million tonnes of plastic globally each year, only around 10 percent of which is recycled. Millions of tonnes of that wash into the oceans and breaks down into small, difficult-to-track fragments, while much of it heads to landfill or simply becomes litter.
Some experts expect our plastic production to double as often as every 11 years, and it follows that greater amounts of this material will place ever greater strain on the environment. A team made up of 17 global experts and led by the University of Leeds’ Costas Velis created a computer model of what happens when all this plastic waste is mismanaged.
This involved mapping out the effects of six scenarios in which we intervene in different ways, including, for example, reducing the amount of plastic being produced, using alternative materials, scaling up recycling capacity, and boosting plastic collection systems. This was compared to a “business as usual” model as a baseline.
According to the analysis, the world will see 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic dumped on land and in the oceans between 2016 and 2040, under the business as usual scenario. Even with what the researchers describe as immediate and concerted efforts, that figure would only be reduced to 710 million tonnes of plastic waste.
"Unless the world acts, we estimate more than 1.3 billion tonnes of plastic pollution will end up on land or in water bodies by 2040,” says Velis. “Enormous as that figure is, it could be even bigger if it were not for the fact that a vast quantity of waste is openly burned – but that burning also carries a major environmental cost.”
That environmental cost comes in the form of toxic fumes arising from openly burned plastics, as opposed to those burned in facilities.
"Modern incinerators with air pollution control technology, emit very few hazardous substances,” says study author Ed Cook, from the University of Leeds. “But with open burning, the combustion is often incomplete, and all sorts of potentially toxic emissions are released, which can result in a range of negative health outcomes. Those obnoxious substances are being breathed in by people who are working with waste and also in the communities that live nearby. Burning is a double-edged sword. It reduces the amount of plastic that could eventually end up in the seas and on land but it also poses many other environmental problems, including a significant contribution to global warming."
The scientists lay out a number of strategies through which humanity can tackle this problem, starting with improving waste collection services. With around two billion people in the world without access to such services, a number that is expected to balloon to four billion people by 2040, giving these people a proper means to dispose of their plastics could put a huge dent in the problem.
“In the absence of collection services, people have to make difficult choices about how to manage the waste themselves by openly burning it, dumping it on land, or putting it directly into rivers and coastal waters,” says Velis. “Our modeling shows that every additional tonne of plastic collected reduces pollution of the aquatic environment by 0.18 tonnes. Waste collection is indeed the most effective way to prevent pollution. So at the heart of any effective solution should lie the provision of solid waste management services and infrastructure to all, a key target of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11." The team behind a new study propose a number of system-level changes that could curb our plastic pollution problem The Pew Charitable Trusts/SYSTEMIQ
Other tactics put forward by the team include addressing growth in plastic production and consumption, substituting plastics for paper and compostable materials, and giving more emphasis to recycling when designing products and packaging from the outset.
"The interventions explored here are all achievable using existing and already mature technologies,” says Cook. “The suite of approaches we've proposed is already within our capability – but it requires the political, societal and corporate will in order to achieve it. There is not one single solution. We can't simply say we're going to recycle everything or use less material, we need to take a holistic approach and look at the whole system.”
The research was published in the journal Science.
Nick Lavars Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.
Outrage as Rudy Giuliani shared a fake photo implying Ilhan Omar was in Al Qaeda
Ilhan Omar – the first Black Muslim woman to become a member of congress – has ruffled a lot of feathers during her time in office.
Many right-wing personalities and politicians, including the president, have spread conspiracy theories about her – such as saying she married her brother and that she was taking 'dirty money' from various organisations.
In the most recent case – Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who briefly served in the Trump administration, shared a meme on Twitter which implied that Omar was secretly a member of the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda.
Giuliani originally shared the photo and even added, “Could we see the whole photo?” The account that he shared it from seemed to share other conspiracy theories, particularly around QAnon and Trump.
Omar replied and pointed out that this photo was taken before she was born.
The tweet by Giuliani was removed not long after Omar had replied, although it had already received over 10,000 likes and retweets by that point.
Omar had already fact-checked this last year, after a senator from North Dakota had shared that meme.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Omar asked why tech platforms weren’t doing enough to stop misinformation and hatred proliferating on their websites, and why posts like the one that Giuliani tweeted were allowed to circulate when they were demonstrably false.
She said:
The majority of the death threats that come into my office are not due to actual things I have said or done. They are literally due to things that are made up. And to have a platform continue to give stuff like that an ability to exist is not only dangerous to me, but it's dangerous, really, to our democracy and the fabric of our society.
Indy100 has contacted Rudy Giuliani for comment.
Shopify: The Canadian tech champion taking on Amazon
By David SilverbergTechnology of Business reporter
24 July 2020 this with this witthis with Twitter
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Image copyrightELAINE FANCYImage captionShopify has become Canada's most valuable company
When the pandemic forced Pizza Pilgrims to close its 13 stores in London and Oxford in March, the business went from making 30,000 pizzas every week to zero. Of the 276 staff, 270 had to be furloughed.
While they opened one store in April to manage delivery, founder Thom Elliot still needed to find another way to make up for the lost revenue. "I tried to think of something that would serve our customers, who kept calling us, and also keep us relevant during these times," he says in an interview.
Mr Elliot and his team decided to create pizza kits featuring all the raw ingredients you need to make your own pizza at home, but to do that he needed to upgrade his website. That's where Shopify came in.
The Canadian company offers the technology for anyone to create an online store and sell their products, with added features such as inventory tracking and software to help understand sales trends.
Image copyrightPIZZA PILGRIMSImage captionPizza Pilgrims founders James and Thom Elliot
When Mr Elliot launched the new website along with the pizza kits, and posted about the new product on the company's Instagram account, they sold out of the 50 kits within 25 seconds. Since early April, the new shop Pizza in the Post sold more than 25,000 kits.
"We've noticed that a lot of families like these kits so everyone can make pizza together during the lockdown," he says.
The easing of lockdown restrictions has allowed the company to reopen 10 of its 13 stores.
Lockdowns have been a bonanza for Shopify, as companies have scrambled to sell products online. According to internal figures, new stores created on the Shopify platform grew 62% between 13 March and 24 April this year, compared to the prior six weeks.
It has become Canada's most valuable public company, with sales of of $1.58bn (£1.24bn) last year, up 47% on the previous year.
Image copyrightPIZZA PILGRIMSImage captionLockdown forced Pizza Pilgrims to think creatively
"What's interesting about this company is that not many people know about it but it's been around since 2004," says Dan Wang, associate professor of management at Columbia University in New York.
"They saw the trend of selling directly to small businesses before most, at a time when Amazon and other big players were taking centre stage."
He points to big moves Shopify has made recently that will further elevate its position in online commerce. In particular, a deal with US giant Walmart, under which some of Shopify's small business sellers will appear on Walmart's online marketplace.
The goal is to bring 1,200 Shopify merchants to the marketplace this year.
"If you just take our US-based stores and aggregate them and pretend for a moment these stores are one single retailer, we are the largest online retailer after Amazon," says Harley Finkelstein, Shopify's chief operating officer.
"Technology has levelled the playing field so you don't need to have a lot of money to build a brand that is the envy of hegemonic corporate giants, and the cool part of it is that consumers vote with their wallets and prefer to buy from local merchants.
"The pandemic acted as an accelerant where people started to prefer buying a mug or pen or whatever directly from the person who made it."
That's not to say that people have been turning their backs on Amazon, which has also seen sales boom this year - in the first quarter revenue jumped 26% to $75.4bn (£59.4bn).
Shopify is going up against Amazon by launching its own warehouse and delivery network that lets shop owners deliver their products quickly to customers.
Image copyrightSHOPIFYImage captionShopify is expanding into warehousing and delivery
To bolster that move, Shopify last year bought 6 River Systems, a company which provides software and robotics for warehousing and delivery systems.
Diving into warehousing doesn't come as a surprise to some analysts.
"This move is definitely a direct shot at competing with Amazon," says Pinar Ozcan, a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Oxford.
"Amazon's competitive advantages are its vast supplier portfolio, which Shopify can already compete with, and its seamless distribution network. Shopify has been falling short in this second aspect. By focusing on distribution, their business model is getting closer to Amazon's, which is known to work well."
But she adds there will always be a difference between the two companies. Shopify will probably never compete in unbranded everyday goods, particularly as Amazon has its own ranges of products like batteries, light bulbs and pots and pans.
Image copyrightPHILIP WARREN BUTCHERSImage captionPhilip Warren and his son Ian have attracted new customers with their new online store
What matters most to retailers such as Ian Warren, managing director of Philip Warren Butchers in Cornwall, is that his business has a new outlet for his products.
As a meat supplier to more than 150 restaurants in the UK, Mr Warren's business took a hit when lockdown began, inspiring him to launch a Shopify store dedicated to selling his products directly to consumers.
He estimates his store has attracted around 1,000 new customers who didn't frequent his physical sites.
"I really didn't think about building this kind of website before," he says, "but we needed something bespoke that would cater to a different kind of demographic than our usual meat buyers from restaurants."
ELAINE FANCY
PIZZA PILGRIMS
PIZZA PILGRIMS
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