discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

[CraigD]

Post and discuss interesting articles & videos about science and technology.

You don't need to be an expert - just interested in the wonders of modern science, technology, and the history of these fields.

Please keep it rational, and post articles from reputable sources.
Try not to editorialise headlines and keep the copy to just a paragraph with a link to the original source. When quoting excerpts from articles, I think the best method is to italicise the copy, and include a link to the source.

Have some fun with your comments and discussions... just keep the sources legitimate.

Other threads:
The Break Room has a number of other popular threads, so there is no need to post material here that is better suited to these other threads:

- Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news
- Conspiracy Thread Free For All
- The *religious* discussion thread

Please enjoy!

 

[CraigD]

Social media giant bars Aussies from sharing or viewing news over proposed Media Bargaining law

Tech juggernaut Facebook has followed through on its threat to bar Australian news content from its social media platform.

The stunning decision was made in retaliation to Australia’s proposed new Media Bargaining law, with the federal government pushing forward with a plan to force social media giants to pay for news content.

Facebook and Google both initially responded with fury, with Google threatening to pull its search engine from the country during an inquiry in January.

Now, Facebook’s bombshell decision means Australian news publishers will no longer be able to share stories on Facebook, and international news won’t be visible or able to be shared by local Facebook users, while overseas Facebook users also won’t be able to read or share Australian content.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...w/news-story/7f465b12cd0769aaa258ffe7faa07f9b


Facebook blocks health, emergency pages

Facebook is copping backlash for blocking the pages of some state and territory health authorities, emergency services and the Bureau of Meteorology amid its ban on Australians sharing news.

Queensland, SA and ACT Health, the WA Fire and Emergency Services were among the pages blocked as the tech giant followed through on its threat to restrict news sharing news on its platform in response to a proposed media bargaining code.

The pages, which provide crucial government health and weather information and alerts, were blocked on Thursday morning.

The Tasmanian and ACT government pages are also blocked, along with the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service 1800 Respect, which is web-based.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/aust...sa-health-bom-pages/ar-BB1dM9aJ?ocid=msedgdhp


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a Facebook post:

"These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them.

They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.

We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code.

I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith."


'Time to reactivate MySpace': the day Australia woke up to a Facebook news blackout

Facebook users flocked to Twitter to complain about the ban, which also struck community pages, health departments, charities and politicians

But Facebook’s snap ban did not just affect Australia’s news publishers.

On Twitter, which has so far escaped the reach of Australia’s proposed media code by dint of never making any money, the screenshots began to roll in.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which uses its Facebook page to deliver climate updates and severe weather warnings, was blocked. So too was the Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services, which earlier this month was issuing evacuation warnings for a bushfire that destroyed 86 homes in the Perth hills. In a statement, DFES said it had contacted Facebook “and they have assured us they will restore the page as a priority”.

State health departments, where daily coronavirus figures and information about potential exposure sites are listed, were deleted, as was the official page for the governments of the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania.

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...australia-woke-up-to-a-facebook-news-blackout

---------------------

Meanwhile, Google have backed down from their threat to cancel search in Australia, and have either signed or are currently negotiating multi-million dollar contracts with the big Australian publishers.

https://blog.google/around-the-glob...your-top-questions-about-google-news-showcase

 

[CraigD]

US charges three North Koreans for major hacks and cyber-thefts

North Korean intelligence agents charged with $1.3bn in cyber-heists, extortion, malware and phishing schemes.

The United States Justice Department has charged three computer programmers working for the North Korean military with using cross-border cyberattacks to raise money for North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Un.

A federal indictment unsealed in federal court in Los Angeles, California alleges Jon Chang-hyok, age 31, Kim Il, age 27, and Park Jin-hyok, age 36, are members of North Korea’s military intelligence service, the Reconnaissance General Bureau.

The three hackers were responsible for a wide-ranging series of cyberattacks beginning in 2014 with the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and thefts from banks in Asia and Africa the indictment alleges.

The hackers extorted or stole more than $1.3bn in cash and cryptocurrency, the US Justice Department said in a press release announcing the charges.

“The scope of the criminal conduct by the North Korean hackers was extensive and long-running, and the range of crimes they have committed is staggering,” said acting US Attorney Tracy Wilkison.

“The conduct detailed in the indictment are the acts of a criminal nation-state that has stopped at nothing to extract revenge and obtain money to prop up its regime,” Wilkison said.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021...orth-koreans-for-major-hacks-and-cyber-thefts

 

[CraigD]

20% of People Have a Genetic Mutation That Provides Superior Resilience to Cold

Almost one in five people lack the protein α-aktinin-3 in their muscle fiber. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now show that more of the skeletal muscle of these individuals comprises slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are more durable and energy-efficient and provide better tolerance to low temperatures than fast-twitch muscle fibers. The results are published in the scientific journal The American Journal of Human Genetics.

Skeletal muscle comprises fast-twitch (white) fibers that fatigue quickly and slow-twitch (red) fibers that are more resistant to fatigue. The protein α-aktinin-3, which is found only in fast-twitch fibers, is absent in almost 20 percent of people – almost 1.5 billion individuals – due to a mutation in the gene that codes for it. In evolutionary terms, the presence of the mutated gene increased when humans migrated from Africa to the colder climates of central and northern Europe.

“This suggests that people lacking α-aktinin-3 are better at keeping warm and, energy-wise, at enduring a tougher climate, but there hasn’t been any direct experimental evidence for this before,” says Håkan Westerblad, professor of cellular muscle physiology at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet. “We can now show that the loss of this protein gives a greater resilience to cold and we’ve also found a possible mechanism for this.”

For the study, 42 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 40 were asked to sit in cold water (14 °C) until their body temperature had dropped to 35.5 °C. During cold water immersion, researchers measured muscle electrical activity with electromyography (EMG) and took muscle biopsies to study the protein content and fiber-type composition.

https://scitechdaily.com/20-of-peop...on-that-provides-superior-resilience-to-cold/

 

[CraigD]

Astrophysicist Explains Gravity in 5 Levels of Difficulty | WIRED

Astrophysicist Janna Levin, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of gravity to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert.

Levin is the Claire Tow Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University and author of "Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space." She is also the Chair and Director of Sciences at Pioneer Works, where this video was filmed. To learn more, visit https://pioneerworks.org/

 

[koolishman]

Study: Students are more neurologically alert and able to retain information in mid-day classes (e.g., 10:30am) than in early morning classes (e.g., 8:30am).


https://www.behaviorist.biz/oh-behave-a-blog/students-sleep

A study published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience proposed that there is a U-shaped relationship between student performance and time of day. Students are alert and retain the most information during mid-morning classes, while performance is lower during mid-afternoon classes, followed by early-morning classes.

This research was carried out by a team of 11 researchers, led by Suzanne Dikker, a Senior Research Scientist at the Max Planck – NYU Center for Language, Music and Emotion.

In the U.S., the average start time for middle school and high school is approximately 8:00am. For younger students, this likely isn’t a problem since children tend to be early risers. However, at the onset of puberty, adolescents experience a change in their internal clock as their circadian rhythms shift towards ‘eveningness’.

When it’s dark at night, the body releases a hormone called melatonin, which helps promote sleep. Teenagers, however, experience a delay in the release of this hormone, causing them to fall asleep 2-3 hours later than usual. Despite their later bedtime, teenagers still need about 9 hours of sleep.

Unfortunately, school start times don’t account for this biological change. As a result, teenagers are forced to endure early class times while their internal clock makes it difficult to feel alert and focused. Unsurprisingly, this affects their performance and their ability to learn.


https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/15/11/1193/5928351

 

[CraigD]

The 'seven minutes of terror' is only 12-hours away...

Nasa Mars rover: Perseverance robot heads for daunting landing

The moment of truth has arrived for the US space agency's Perseverance rover.

The six-wheeled robot is fast approaching Mars after a seven-month, 470-million-km journey from Earth for what unquestionably will be the most challenging part of its mission.

It's got to put itself down safely on the Red Planet - a task that has befuddled so many spacecraft before it.

But if Perseverance is successful, it has an amazing opportunity to find signs of past life on Mars.

Never has a science mission gone to the planet with so sophisticated a suite of instruments; never has a robot been targeted at so promising a location.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56103231

 

[koolishman]

Live Link from NASA for landing of Perseverance rover on MARS.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gm0b_ijaYMQ&feature=emb_title

 

[CraigD]

Live Link from NASA for landing of Perseverance rover on MARS.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gm0b_ijaYMQ&feature=emb_title

I have not researched the mission hardware yet, but what happens to the sky-crane after it has dumped Percy on the surface?

Does it fly away and crash, or perform its own scouting mission before the fuel runs out?

 

[koolishman]

I have not researched the mission hardware yet, but what happens to the sky-crane after it has dumped Percy on the surface?

Does it fly away and crash, or perform its own scouting mission before the fuel runs out?

Then, at an altitude of 65 feet (20 m), the crane will lower Perseverance toward the ground on long cables. After the rover touches down safely, it will cut the cables, and the descent stage will fly off to crash-land intentionally a safe distance away.

 

[CraigD]

Pollution-catching ‘super plant’ ideal for busy roads, scientists say

One metre of cotoneaster hedge capable of absorbing equivalent of 500 mile drive

Experts have identified a “super plant” commonly found in the UK which can help soak up pollution on busy roads.

Scientists at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) looked at the effectiveness of hedges for soaking up air pollution, comparing different types of shrubs including cotoneaster, hawthorn and western red cedar.

They discovered the denser, hairy-leaved Cotoneaster franchetii was at least 20 per cent more effective at soaking up pollution from roads with heavy traffic compared to other shrubs, although it did not make a difference on quieter streets.

A one-metre-long section of the bushy shrub is capable of absorbing hundreds of miles’ worth of car pollution in just one week, according to the experts.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pollution-plant-uk-roads-cotoneaster-b1803609.html

 

[CraigD]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1362099668721692672

 

[koolishman]

More Mammals Are Hiding Their Secret Glow

First it was platypuses. Now we may be dealing with glowing Tasmanian devils, echidnas and wombats.

Meet the Newest Member of the Fluorescent Mammal Club

The springhare — whose coat glows a patchy pinkish-orange under UV light — joins the platypus and other mammals with this perplexing trait.

Nature is LIT.

 

[CraigD]

Here we go guys...

NASA's Perseverance is entering the Martian atmosphere.

Good luck Percy!

UPDATE: TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED!

Imagery is coming in from the landing site.

 

[koolishman]

Nuts: This is faked, isn’t it?

 

[CraigD]

Nuts: This is faked, isn’t it?

Definitely. Grainy black and white still-images in the age of HD colour video

Congrats JPL team. I thought this might fail considering the complex landing profile!

 

[CraigD]

Out-of-control 'flying car' prototype soared 8000ft into Gatwick flight path before crashing just 40 yards away from houses during a demonstration, report reveals

The crew behind a prototype flying racing-car have been criticised for not meeting standards after the craft went out of control and soared 8,000ft up into a flight path for Gatwick airport before crashing back to earth, a report has revealed.

The unmanned craft was on a low-level demonstration flight when its 22-year-old remote pilot who was flying it from the ground suddenly found it no longer responded to his remote controls just a minute after take off.

A spotter who was part of the ground crew tried to use a 'kill switch' in a laptop to cut off power to the four rotors of the Airspeeder Mk2 car on the morning of July 4, 2019.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...type-soared-Gatwick-flight-path-crashing.html

 

[koolishman]

Dogs Are Teaching Machines to Sniff Out Cancer

In a proof-of-concept study, researchers used dogs’ diagnoses of prostate cancer to inform a machine learning algorithm with the goal of one day detecting cancers with canine-level accuracy.

With their legendary sense of smell, dogs are adept at identifying the characteristic scents of cancers from breath, urine, and poop. But with trained cancer-sniffing pups in short supply, animals are unlikely to become widely available for routine diagnostics. Instead, Andreas Mershin wants man’s best friend to teach machine learning algorithms to sniff out diseases, and he plans to put this technology into your pocket. Mershin, a research scientist at the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms, says his eventual goal is to build electronic nose capability into smartphones.

The detection of a cancer signal by electronic noses isn’t a new concept, but those that have been developed so far still can’t match the accuracy of dog’s, says Mershin. To get closer to that ability, Mershin and his interdisciplinary team establish a proof-of-concept method for the integration of canine olfaction with machine odor analysis of prostate cancer in a study published February 17 in PLOS ONE.

 

[koolishman]

Researchers Exchange Messages with Dreamers

Dreamers answered experimenters’ questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible.

In a proof-of-concept study, the sleep researchers recruited volunteers who were frequent lucid dreamers or who learned lucidity-inducing techniques. While the participants snoozed, the researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) analyses of brain activity to confirm that they were asleep. In response to yes/no questions and simple math problems, six participants correctly answered a total of 29 questions with pre-arranged eye signals.

How did you ask questions to the dreamers?

KA: In Germany, I asked math questions via Morse code. For example, for the question, ‘three plus one,’ would be something like ‘dih dih dih diiiih diiiih’ for ‘three,’ then ‘dih diiiih diiiih dih’ for ‘plus’ then ‘dih dih dih diiiih diiiih’ for ‘one.’ These beeping tones are presented to the subject sleeping in the sleep laboratory. And they incorporate this stimulation into their dream. For example, in their dream, they are at a bus station and there’s a ticket machine and it is beeping. And they realize, ‘Okay, this is the message from the waking world and I have to understand what math problem this is.’

So they decode this in their dream and figure out, ‘It’s three plus one. Now I have to send the answer to this question.’ And they do this either by facial movements or by moving their eyes left and right. So in this case, the answer is four. So they move their eyes four times left and right, which can be recorded in the sleep laboratory. That’s how this communication in the German case worked.

Other labs, the French and American labs and also the Dutch lab, they were just using spoken language. So they asked the participant, ‘What is three plus one?’ And the participant incorporated this whole spoken text into their dream, so maybe as some sort of narrator voice like in a movie. The French team also used normal questions. For example, ‘Do you like chocolate?’

What was the main finding?
KA: The main finding was that it is possible to interact with a sleeping person, to exchange messages . . . and have the answer in real time, without [the dreamer] waking up, transferred back to the sleep laboratory experimenter. And of course this has quite large implications. So this view that people are shut off from the waking world during sleep, this has to be updated. This is basically a new method for investigating and understanding dreams.

 

[CraigD]

Researchers Exchange Messages with Dreamers

Dreamers answered experimenters’ questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible.

In a proof-of-concept study, the sleep researchers recruited volunteers who were frequent lucid dreamers or who learned lucidity-inducing techniques. While the participants snoozed, the researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) analyses of brain activity to confirm that they were asleep. In response to yes/no questions and simple math problems, six participants correctly answered a total of 29 questions with pre-arranged eye signals.

How did you ask questions to the dreamers?

KA: In Germany, I asked math questions via Morse code. For example, for the question, ‘three plus one,’ would be something like ‘dih dih dih diiiih diiiih’ for ‘three,’ then ‘dih diiiih diiiih dih’ for ‘plus’ then ‘dih dih dih diiiih diiiih’ for ‘one.’ These beeping tones are presented to the subject sleeping in the sleep laboratory. And they incorporate this stimulation into their dream. For example, in their dream, they are at a bus station and there’s a ticket machine and it is beeping. And they realize, ‘Okay, this is the message from the waking world and I have to understand what math problem this is.’

So they decode this in their dream and figure out, ‘It’s three plus one. Now I have to send the answer to this question.’ And they do this either by facial movements or by moving their eyes left and right. So in this case, the answer is four. So they move their eyes four times left and right, which can be recorded in the sleep laboratory. That’s how this communication in the German case worked.

Other labs, the French and American labs and also the Dutch lab, they were just using spoken language. So they asked the participant, ‘What is three plus one?’ And the participant incorporated this whole spoken text into their dream, so maybe as some sort of narrator voice like in a movie. The French team also used normal questions. For example, ‘Do you like chocolate?’

What was the main finding?
KA: The main finding was that it is possible to interact with a sleeping person, to exchange messages . . . and have the answer in real time, without [the dreamer] waking up, transferred back to the sleep laboratory experimenter. And of course this has quite large implications. So this view that people are shut off from the waking world during sleep, this has to be updated. This is basically a new method for investigating and understanding dreams.

I've been interrogated by my girlfriend when I'm asleep...

 

[koolishman]

I've been interrogated by my girlfriend when I'm asleep...

Hope GF didn't find out your scientific secrets.