IImagine someone driving a high-end sports car to a pub. £1.5 million Koenigsegg Regerapark and saunter out of your car to pick one at random. They come to the pub where you’re drinking, start walking around the patrons, slip their hands into their visible pockets, and smile at you as they pull out your wallet and empty it of cash and cards.
Not-so-sophisticated pickpockets will stop if you ask out loud, “What the hell are you doing?” “We apologize for the inconvenience,” says Suri. “It’s an opt-out system, dude.”
It sounds ridiculous. But this appears to be the approach the government is pursuing to appease AI companies. A consultation meeting will be held soon, Financial Times coverageThis will allow AI companies to scrape content from individuals and organizations unless they explicitly opt out of having their data used.
The AI revolution is both rapid and comprehensive. Even if you’re not one of them, 200 million people If you log on to ChatGPT every week or dabble in generative AI competitors like Claude or Gemini, you’ve undoubtedly interacted with an AI system, knowingly or not. But to keep the AI fire from burning out, we need two constantly replenishing sources. One is energy. This is why AI companies are getting into the nuclear power plant acquisition business. And the other thing is data.
Data is essential to AI systems because it helps them recreate how we interact. If the AI has any “knowledge”, which is highly disputed given that it is actually a fancy pattern matching machine, it comes from the data used to train it. .
In some studies, large-scale language models such as ChatGPT Training data is missing By 2026, that appetite will be huge. But without that data, the AI revolution could stall. Tech companies know this, which is why they license content from left, right, and center. But it has created friction, and an unofficial mantra has continued in the sector over the past decade.move fast and break things” causes no friction.
This is why they are already trying to steer us towards an opt-out approach to copyright, rather than an opt-in regime, where everything we type, post and share is locked in until we say no. It is destined to become AI training data by default. Companies must ask us to use their data. We can already see how companies are nudging us towards this reality. This week, X began notifying users of changes to its terms of service that will allow all posts to be used for the following purposes: train grokElon Musk’s AI model designed to compete with ChatGPT. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, then made similar changes, resulting in the widespread urban legend of “Goodbye Meta AI,” which purportedly invalidates legal agreements.
It’s clear why AI companies want an opt-out system. If you ask most people if they want to use something in the books they write, the music they produce, or the posts and photos they share on social networks to train an AI, they’ll probably say no. And the gears of the AI revolution will turn off. Why the government would want to enable such a change to the concept of copyright ownership that has existed to date. over 300 yearsis stipulated by law. 100 or moreit’s not so obvious. But like many things, it seems to come down to money.
The government faces lobbying from big tech companies suggesting this is a requirement for the country to be considered as a place to invest in AI innovation and share the spoils. A lobbying document prepared by Google suggests support for its approach to an opt-out copyright regime.guarantee uk In the future, it could become a competitive arena for developing and training AI models. ”So the government’s discussion of how to frame the issue, with opt-out options already on the table as a countermeasure, is a major victory for big tech lobbyists.
With so much money flowing into the tech industry and high levels of investment going into AI projects, Keir Starmer understandably doesn’t want to miss out on the potential benefits. It would be remiss of the Government not to consider how to appease the tech companies developing world-changing technology and help turn the UK into an AI powerhouse.
But this is not the answer. To be clear, the copyright system in question in the UK means that companies effectively own every post we make, every book we write, every book we create. This means it will be possible to add nicknames to songs and to our data without being penalized. That requires us to sign up to every individual service and say, “No, we don’t want you to chop up our data and spit out a poor composite image of us.” The number can number in the hundreds, from large technology companies to small research institutes.
Lest we forget, OpenAI – now Over $150 billion – The company plans to abandon its original nonprofit principles and become a for-profit company. Rather than relying on the charity of the general public, we have enough funds in our coffers to pay for our training data. Surely such companies can afford to line their pockets, not ours. So please let go.
Questio Sympsonorum is one of more than 100 multicellular organisms during the Ediacaran period (635 to 538 million years ago), when the first complex macroscopic animals appeared on Earth.
The creature was up to 8 centimeters (3.1 inches) wide and likely moved along what was once the ocean floor.
Animals that burrowed into the sediment had not yet evolved, so this ocean floor was covered with a layer of microorganisms that formed a slimy organic mat.
“Questio Sympsonorum “It had some interesting characteristics that set it apart from other Ediacaran species,” said Mary Droser, a professor at the University of California.
“What's really interesting about this fossil is that it's essentially symmetrical, meaning the right side mirrors the left side, but there's also an asymmetrical element that forms an inverted question mark shape.”
“This kind of symmetry indicates some level of genetic complexity.”
“Humans are bilaterally symmetrical, but they have many asymmetries, such as the position of the heart and appendix.”
“Many other asymmetries like this have been found throughout the animal kingdom, and this appears to be one of the first organisms to organize it this way.”
Reconstructed by artists Questio Sympsonorum. Image credit: Walker C. Weiland.
more than a dozen specimens Questio Sympsonorum It was discovered in the Nilpena-Ediacaran National Park in South Australia.
“The unique trace evidence our team has discovered suggests that: Questio Sympsonorum “They ate ancient organic mats while on the move,” said Scott Evans, a professor at Florida State University.
“That the fossils are preserved directly alongside evidence of their behavior really speaks to the unprecedented nature of the fossil record at Nilpena. We can see how these animals got their food.”
“Nilpena is a site of great international importance, and there is no other place in the world like it,” said Stuart Paul, regional operations director for the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
“In addition to learning about these amazing fossils located within the park, tourists can also visit a former blacksmith shop, where they learn what these creatures look like and how they were formed. One of the fossil beds is brought to life by an impressive audio-visual recreation of the story.
of findings Published in a magazine evolution and development.
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Scott D. Evans others. A new motile animal that influenced the evolution of axial polarity lived during the Ediacaran period of South Australia. evolution and developmentpublished online on September 3, 2024. doi: 10.1111/ede.12491
On Earth, solar radiation can travel up to several meters into the ice, depending on its optical properties. Organisms in the ice can harness the energy from photosynthetically active radiation while being protected from harmful ultraviolet radiation. On Mars, there is no effective ozone shield, so about 30% more harmful ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface compared to Earth. However, a new study shows that despite strong surface UV radiation, mid-latitude ice on Mars contains 0.01-0.1% dust, ranging from a few centimeters deep to several centimeters deep. It has been shown that a radioactive habitable zone exists with a range of up to 3000 m. Cleaner ice.
The white edges along these canyons on Mars' Terra Sirenum are thought to be dusty water ice. cooler others. It is thought that melt water could form beneath the surface of this type of ice, providing a potential site for photosynthesis. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.
“Today, if we are trying to find life anywhere in the universe, the icy outcrops on Mars are probably one of the most accessible places we should look,” said a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. said Dr. Aditya Kuler.
Mars has two types of ice: frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide.
Dr. Cooler and his colleagues investigated water ice. The ice masses were formed from snow mixed with dust that fell on Mars during a series of ice ages over the past million years.
That ancient snow has since solidified into ice and is still dusted with dust.
Dust particles can block light in deeper layers of ice, but they are the key to explaining how underground pools of water form within the ice when exposed to the sun.
The black dust absorbs more sunlight than the surrounding ice, causing the ice to warm and potentially melt several feet below the surface.
Mars scientists are divided on whether ice actually melts when exposed to the Martian surface.
It's thought to be caused by the planet's thin, dry atmosphere, where water ice sublimates and turns directly into gas, similar to dry ice on Earth.
But the atmospheric effects that make melting difficult on Mars' surface don't apply beneath the surface of dusty snowpack and glaciers.
On Earth, dust in ice can create what are called cryoconite holes. This is a small cavity that forms in the ice when windblown dust particles (called cryoconite) land there, absorb sunlight, and melt deep into the ice each summer. is.
Eventually, these dust particles stop sinking as they move away from the sun's rays, but they still generate enough heat to create pockets of melted water around them.
This pocket can foster a thriving ecosystem of simple organisms.
“This is a common phenomenon on Earth,” says Arizona State University researcher Phil Christensen.
“Rather than melting from the top down, thick snow and ice melts from the inside out, letting in sunlight that warms it like a greenhouse.”
In 2021, the authors discovered powdery water ice exposed inside canyons on Mars and proposed that many canyons on Mars are formed by erosion as ice melts into liquid water.
Their new paper suggests that powdery ice lets in enough light for photosynthesis to occur as deep as 3 meters (9 feet) below the surface.
In this scenario, the upper layer of ice prevents shallow underground pools of water from evaporating, while also protecting them from harmful radiation.
This is important because, unlike Earth, Mars does not have a protective magnetic field to protect it from both the Sun and radioactive cosmic ray particles flying through space.
“Water ice most likely to form underground pools would exist in tropical regions of Mars between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, in both the northern and southern hemispheres,” the researchers said.
of paper appear in the diary Communication Earth and Environment.
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AR cruller others. 2024. Possibility of photosynthesis on Mars in snow and ice. common global environment 5,583;doi: 10.1038/s43247-024-01730-y
This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.
The veil of mystery surrounding the Treasury Monument in Petra, Jordan has been lifted once again.
Beneath an ancient building carved out of rock, archaeologists discovered a hidden tomb containing 12 relatively well-preserved human bones and a vast array of grave offerings.
A similar tomb was discovered more than 20 years ago opposite the famous Treasury Building, also known as Al-Khazneh, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Earlier this year, a team of researchers received permission from Jordanian authorities to conduct a week of remote sensing in and around the Treasury, a city center hand-carved into the walls of a desert canyon by the Nabatean people.
“There was always the idea that there might be more graves, but no one has yet been found,” Richard Bates, a geophysicist and professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said in an email. “The hope was to find an intact grave.”
A joint Jordanian-American team, which also included the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the Amman-based nonprofit American Research Center, used ground-penetrating radar to detect the cavity and pinpoint its location and depth. Instead of digging straight through, which would have cut through solid rock and damaged parts of the building, Bates said they carefully dug by hand into the cavity from the outside.
Richard Bates. Excavation at the Treasury. Kindly provided by Professor Richard Bates, University of St Andrews
Inside, in the original burial site, are 12 human bones, one of which is clutching the top of a broken pitcher, most likely dating from the 1st century BC. Bates said the bodies likely included both men and women and ranged in age from children to adults. Although that is not confirmed yet.
“No complete burial has ever been found here before, so this discovery could potentially tell us more about the Nabataean kingdom,” Bates said.
The discovery could also provide new insights into the Treasury itself, whose purpose is still unknown.
“Despite its fame, the Treasury Department remains a mystery to us in many ways,” Pierce Paul Creesman, director of the Center for American Studies, said in an email. “Anything we can do to understand it more deeply is important.”
Visited by more than 1 million visitors a year, the Treasury is the most famous of Petra’s iconic monuments. In Steven Spielberg’s 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it was featured as the resting place of the Holy Grail in the film.
The newly uncovered tomb excavation was featured in a two-part episode of the American reality television series Expedition Unknown, which aired on the Discovery Channel.
Bates said there are signs of other cavities in the area that could be graves.
“It’s very likely that more will be discovered, so we need to get the funding back and continue the research,” he said.
The National Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Britain has initiated a consultation process that may result in the redundancy of 440 employees.
In a memo sent to staff this month, the Alan Turing Institute announced an update on its new strategy, which involves focusing on a smaller number of projects.
Addressed to “affected employees,” the letter mentioned that government-backed labs might have to reduce their workforce. Unofficial estimates suggest that the memo could have been sent to about 140 individuals.
The institute collaborates with universities, private companies, and government agencies on 111 active projects. An internal document states that they will need to scale back their involvement in some projects.
Last year, the institute introduced a new strategy called “Turing 2.0,” with a focus on health, environment, defense, and security. However, due to lower core funding, they are considering restructuring and potentially closing certain projects.
The institute is evaluating which projects align with their new strategy and could lead to staff reductions. They aim to minimize layoffs and will involve employee representatives in the decision-making process.
Dr. Jean Innes, the institute’s CEO, mentioned that they are entering a new ambitious phase to address societal challenges using technology.
Named after the renowned mathematician, the institute was initially focused on data science before including AI in its mission in 2017. Its objectives include conducting top-notch research to tackle global issues and fostering informed discussions about AI.
With upcoming government announcements on technology, the institute is gearing up for potential changes. This includes launching an “AI Action Plan” led by Technology Entrepreneur Matt Clifford, focusing on economic growth and public service enhancement.
Additionally, there are plans to establish a legally binding AI model testing agreement with tech companies, separate the UK AI Safety Institute from the Turing Institute, and introduce a consultation on the proposed AI bill.
start again Wide range of weekly episodes available There’s nothing more inducing an existential crisis than a ’90s icon being a midlife expert, but Davina McCall is the genre’s OG. Introducing a new podcast about new starts, turning points, and the “curving lines” of life. McCall, as always, is a bundle of empathy and isn’t afraid to cry with his guests. The first person is Fearne Cotton, who talks about her challenges. This isn’t your average celebrity chat podcast, as McCall listens intently and digs into his guests’ answers. Hannah Verdier
hyperfix Wide range of weekly episodes available This peppy podcast bills itself as a help desk for life’s most intractable problems. An “overconfident moron” (his words), Alex Goldman spends as much time on the gram as he does America’s Cup trying to create the perfect cake as he does investigating why driving in New York is so bad. It’s just as interesting as helping women who are trying to convert. HV
X marks the place… New podcast questions Elon Musk’s use of surveillance. Photo: David Swanson/Reuters
not too extreme Wide range of weekly episodes available Dr. Bernie Fisher played a pivotal role in improving the way breast cancer patients are treated. Without his work, women might still undergo disfiguring surgeries. Here, Dr. Stacey Wentworth takes us from the operating room to the White House and explains how Fisher, the women’s movement, and science have fundamentally changed breast cancer treatment. Holly Richardson
elon’s spy Widely available, all episodes now available Is Elon Musk using secret agents to gather information on the people he has his ax to grind with? That’s the allegation this series explores, featuring an extensive interview with a British diver whom he called a “pedo bastard” after making a remarkable rescue of a team of trapped young Thai soccer players in an underwater cave. I am doing it. Alexi Duggins
Lost Notes: Groupies – From Pills to Punks, the Women of the Sunset Strip Wide range of weekly episodes available The podcast begins with a group of teenage girls being chased by the likes of Led Zeppelin and David Bowie in the ’70s. That’s amazing, but shallow. There’s no shortage of wild party stories – and they’re worth hearing – but judging by the first episode, it’s supposed to do much more to interrogate the ethics of power and age dynamics. advertisement
There’s a podcast for that
Fail upwards…Elizabeth Day, host of the hugely successful How to Fail. Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images
this week, Rachel Aroesti choose the best five listen comfortablyfrom a viral wedding mystery to Elizabeth Day’s seminal show about failure.
A perfect day with Jessica Knappett There are many “perfect” podcasts out there covering everything from dreamy meals (off-menu) to ideal vacations (life is on the beach) to fantasy funerals (where there’s a will and where there’s a wake). A relatively recent addition to the genre, it’s definitely one of the most comforting. That’s partly because of the subject matter – it’s quite a meditative experience to hear all the lovely, relaxing things our guests incorporate into their perfect day schedules – and partly because of the energy of our friends. Thanks to our hilarious host for venting (it helps that she’s actually friends with guests like Tim Key and Emerald Fennell), she lets us veer off into weird stories. Fearlessly leading meandering conversations.
Who squatted on the floor at my wedding? The rise of podcasting and the rise in actual involvement in crime go hand in hand, and it’s no wonder. Immersive, detailed, and cliffhanger-heavy investigations are the perfect fuel for the audio format. But what if you want the satisfaction of crime-solving but don’t want any of the depressing violence or global corruption? This podcast is your answer. In this podcast, amateur detective Lauren Kilby tries to figure out who was responsible for the defecation incident at her friends Karen and Helen’s wedding on a boat. The resulting pod is a highly entertaining and pleasantly low-stakes addition to the true crime genre. Even better, the team recently returned with another delightfully fun mystery titled The Case of The Tiny suit/Case.
how fail Elizabeth Day’s hit podcast isn’t exactly an exercise in schadenfreude, but by inviting celebrities (including Kate Winslet, Bonnie Tyler, and Richard Osman) to reveal their top three mistakes, Elizabeth Day’s hit podcast to Fail” certainly helps listeners feel a little better about their failures. We did something wrong in our lives. The show often serves as a reminder that no one has a perfectly great life, a necessary corrective in the Instagram era, but the show also features guests with stories of shocking adversity. Bringing in also provides evidence that success is possible even through periods of turmoil.
Green Wing: Resurrection Comfort is often closely tied to nostalgia. That’s why shows like Friends have made a comeback during the pandemic. In fact, there’s something about 2000s television that looms especially large in our collective comfort zones. For comedy fans of a certain age, the hospital comedy Green Wing definitely fits this concise description. And for those who have completed a simple trip down memory lane, the return of this podcast will be gratefully received. Green Wings: Resurrection is faithful to the original story, starring Stephen Mangan (as the pathetic surgeon Guy Secretan), Julian Lind-Tutt (as the swoon-worthy Mac), and Michelle Gomez (as the Cracker Stuff liaison). The majority of cast members will return, including Sue (Sue). . Note the familiar strangeness and uncompromising stupidity.
See What Crappens For anyone in need of peace of mind, reality shows should be very high on their agenda. In particular, the Real Housewives series is a non-stop festival of bickering and petty drama. This podcast is brought to you and released by enthusiasts Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam Five Once a week – We recap all 11 US Housewives programs (and others from reality network Bravo). It’s your in-depth guide to every character, storyline, and feud, plus your chance to gossip, joke, and vent your grievances about your most infuriating cast members. All delivered with the kind of growing hysteria that such a relentless schedule inevitably produces.
Why not try it…
How to saveis a hopeful series about conservation campaigns that are getting results, from protecting manatees to restoring Papua New Guinea’s coral reefs.
Holiday with Woody and PierceIn this article, two indie musicians tell fans about the trials and rewards of following a team across the country (or the world, really).
Reports suggest that Mehta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, terminated approximately 24 employees at the Los Angeles office for misusing $25 meal credits to purchase items like toothpaste, laundry detergent, and wine glasses.
The tech giant, with a market capitalization of £1.2 trillion and ownership of WhatsApp, took action after an investigation revealed unauthorized food deliveries to employees’ homes. One employee allegedly fired was earning $400,000 and admitted to using meal credits for non-food items and groceries.
On Blind, an anonymous platform, the individual wrote about using meal credits only on days they did not eat at the office, leading to their termination upon admission during an HR probe. Some employees were also found to have used credits for personal items like acne pads, with consequences varying based on the severity of the violation.
Free meals have been a common perk at tech companies, including Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, which offers free meals in large offices but provides daily food credits for smaller sites. These credits include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $25 for dinner.
In 2022, Meta made changes to its Silicon Valley campus, delaying the free dinner service by 30 minutes to 6:30 p.m. as part of broader cutbacks. This decision sparked discontent among employees as fewer could dine on campus, affecting access to leftover food to take home.
The TRAPPIST-1 system is a compact system of at least seven exoplanets that are similar in size to Earth. Astronomers from Pennsylvania State University and the SETI Institute spent 28 hours scanning the system for signs of alien radio technology using the Allen Telescope Array. This project marks the longest single-target search for radio signals from TRAPPIST-1. Although astronomers found no evidence of extraterrestrial technology, their work introduced new ways to search for wireless techno-signatures in the future.
This artist's impression shows a surface view of one of the exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser / Spaceengine.org.
TRAPPIST-1 is an ultracool dwarf star located 38.8 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.
This star is barely larger than Jupiter and has only 8% the mass of the Sun. It rotates rapidly and produces an energetic flare of ultraviolet light.
TRAPPIST-1 is the home planet of seven transit planets named TRAPPIST-1b, c, d, e, f, g, and h.
All of these planets are the same size or slightly smaller than Earth and Venus, and have very short orbital periods of 1.51, 2.42, 4.04, 6.06, 9.21, 12.35, and 20 days, respectively.
Presumably they are all tidally locked, meaning that the same side of the planet always faces the star, just as the same side of the moon always points towards the Earth. This creates a persistent night side and a persistent day side for each planet in TRAPPIST-1.
Three of the planets, TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g, are located in the star's habitable zone, meaning they may have an environment suitable for life.
“The TRAPPIST-1 system is relatively close to Earth and has detailed information about the planet's orbit, making it an excellent natural laboratory for testing these technologies,” said Penn State graduate student Nick Tasei said.
“The methods and algorithms we developed for this project could eventually be applied to other star systems, increasing the likelihood of finding regular communications between planets beyond our solar system (if they exist). ).
Tusay and his colleagues focused on a phenomenon called interplanetary occultations.
These occultations occur when one planet moves in front of another. If intelligent life exists in that star system, it is possible that radio signals sent between the planets could leak and be detected from Earth.
Astronomers used the upgraded Allen Telescope Array to scan a wide range of frequencies, looking for narrowband signals that could be a possible sign of alien technology.
They filtered through millions of potential signals and narrowed it down to about 11,000 candidates for further analysis.
They detected 2,264 of these signals during the predicted interplanetary occultation period. However, none of the signals were of non-human origin.
New features of the Allen Telescope Array include advanced software to filter signals, helping researchers separate possible alien signals from those on Earth.
They believe that improving these techniques and focusing on phenomena such as interplanetary occultations could increase the chances of detecting alien signals in the future.
Although scientists did not find any alien signals this time, they plan to continue refining their search techniques and exploring other star systems.
Future explorations using larger and more powerful telescopes could help scientists detect even fainter signals and expand our understanding of the universe.
“This study shows that we are getting closer to detecting radio signals similar to those we send into space,” Tusey said.
“Most searches assume some kind of intent, such as a beacon, because our receivers have a sensitivity limit to the minimum transmit power above what we transmit unintentionally.”
“But with better instruments, such as the upcoming Square Kilometer Array, we may soon be able to detect signals from alien civilizations communicating with our spacecraft.”
The possum, or Tasmanian tiger, became extinct in 1936
huge life science
The genome of the extinct possum has been almost completely sequenced, the company that brought it back from extinction, Colossal, has announced. The group says the genome is more than 99.9 percent complete and that just 45 gaps will soon be filled, but it has not provided any evidence to support that claim.
“It's quite difficult to obtain the complete genome of almost any organism,” says Emilio Marmol Sánchez of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, whose team first extracted RNA from preserved quolls. For example, the last few holdouts of the human genome have only been fully sequenced in the past few years.
Quosos, also known as Tasmanian tigers, were once carnivorous marsupials found throughout Australia, but by the time European explorers arrived they were restricted to Tasmania. The last known possum died in a zoo in 1936.
The conserved quoll genome is First sequenced in 2017 The tissue used was from a 108-year-old bag of quolls that had been preserved in alcohol. However, this genome was far from complete and had many gaps. Colossal, which is also currently aiming to recreate the woolly mammoth, says it has nearly completed the genome with the help of additional DNA from a 120-year-old tooth.
“While our genome is not as complete as the most complete human genome, we were able to take advantage of some of the same technologies,” said Andrew of the University of Melbourne in Australia, a member of Colossal's scientific advisory board. Pask said.
Completely deciphering the genomes of plants and animals is difficult because they contain large sections of the same sequence that repeat over and over again. Standard techniques for sequencing small segments of DNA at a time do not work for these parts. This is like trying to reconstruct a book from a list of words in the book.
New, long-read techniques can sequence much larger segments of DNA, equivalent to entire pages of a book. However, these methods are not very useful because old DNA is usually split into many small pieces.
“Most ancient samples preserve DNA fragments that are a few dozen or, if we're lucky, a few hundred bases long,” Pask says. “The samples we had access to were so well preserved that we were able to recover DNA fragments several thousand bases long.”
There is no direct way to know how complete it is, given that there are no other possum genomes to compare it to. Instead, Pask says Colossal uses other closely related species in the same family to make this estimate.
But even if the genome were as complete as Colossal thinks and could indeed fill in the remaining gaps, there is currently no feasible way to generate living cells containing this genome. Instead, Colossal plans to genetically modify a living marsupial called a fat-tailed dunnart to resemble a possum.
“This is rather a reproduction of some characteristics,” says Marmol Sánchez. “It would not be an extinct animal, but a very strange and modified version of a modern animal, similar to our image of an extinct animal.”
Colossal announces record 300 gene editsIt affects the genome of Dunnart cells growing in culture. So far, the changes have been small, but Pask says the team plans to swap out tens of thousands of base pairs of thylacine DNA in the near future. He says it's not yet clear how much editing will be needed to achieve the company's goal of recreating the sugar glider.
When asked why Colossal did not provide any evidence to support its claims, the company's CEO, Ben Lamb, said that the company's sole focus was eradicating extinction and that the scientific literature He said it was not writing. “We are not an academic lab whose primary focus is papers,” Lamb said. “We will continue to make progress much faster than the process of writing a scientific paper.”
A new study shows that about 70% of meteorites originate from at least three recent breakups of giant asteroids.
This is the artist's impression of the asteroid as it breaks apart. Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology.
A type of meteorite, commonly called a chondrite, accounts for about 80% of all meteorites that hit Earth, including those that were involved in the violent impact period about 466 million years ago that is thought to have started the Ice Age. Included.
Previous studies have demonstrated that approximately 70% of meteorites on Earth have compositions known as H and L chondrites.
Argon-argon dating of L-chondrite meteorites on Earth suggests that these samples may have originated from the catastrophic destruction of a single asteroid that experienced a supersonic impact approximately 470 million years ago. It turned out to be high.
in new researchESO and MIT researcher Dr. Michael Marcet and colleagues have compiled spectroscopic data from asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.
They found that a group of asteroids known as the Massalia family is very similar in composition to L-chondrite meteorites on Earth.
Through computer modeling, they propose that an impact event about 450 million years ago destroyed an L-chondrite asteroid, forming the Massalia family and providing debris that fueled the influx of meteorites.
in second studyCharles University researcher Miroslav Broz and his colleagues found that the current influx of H and L chondrite meteorites was likely caused by three recent breakups.
These events occurred about 5.8, 7.6 and 40 million years ago and involved the destruction of asteroids over 30 km (18.6 miles) in diameter.
More specifically, they suggest that the impact formation of the relatively young Karin and Coronis asteroid families and a second impact event (about 40 million years ago) in the older Massalia asteroids are currently falling to Earth. I guessed that explained most of the meteorites.
in Third, follow-upDr. Brož and his co-authors extended their approach to the entire meteorite family, revealing the major origins of carbonaceous chondrites and achondrites, in addition to those from the Moon, Mars, and Vesta.
“Our discovery provides insight into the mystery of where the most common meteorites that have ever hit Earth came from and how those impacts shaped Earth's history.” ,” the researchers said.
Forecasts for hurricanes Helen and Milton were very accurate.
Meteorologists say they are facing unprecedented skepticism and vitriol despite the strong information they have released.
Some blame pre-election political tensions, while others point to climate change denial and the spread of misinformation on social media.
Nearly five days before Hurricane Milton hit Florida, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center predicted its path to within 19 miles of where the storm would later make landfall.
The forecast for Hurricane Helen was similarly accurate. Long before the storm reached the coast, the National Weather Service said “record flooding” in North Carolina, about 400 miles from the coast, was “one of the most significant weather events” in the state’s history. I warned you it would happen.
“The forecast was very accurate and I don’t think anyone was surprised by the landfall location and strength of this storm,” said NBC 6 South Florida meteorologist and hurricane expert John Morales.
But some meteorologists say this is the first time they’ve faced so much skepticism, hatred and conspiratorial backlash at a time when hurricane forecasts are at their most accurate.
They have been unfairly accused, primarily on social media, of steering the hurricane toward Florida or Appalachia. Some people have reported threats of violence online, while others say they have been personally attacked.
“Conspiracy theories have increased tremendously over the past two months, especially on social media, and it’s hurting our ability to do our jobs effectively,” said Matthew Cappucci, a meteorologist at Mailer Weather and The Washington Post. ” he said. “People will see false signals on radar and think we’re having a hurricane. Some people will think we can lead a hurricane into red states.”
Capucci said social media commenters criticized his Harvard education and said he should be fired. Cappucci added that he was recently interrupted at a bar in Louisiana by a man who noticed his MyRadar shirt and claimed that Cappucci worked for Bill Gates.
“He continued to harass me for the next 14 minutes about weather modification,” Capucci said.
Bradley Panovich, chief meteorologist at WCNC in Charlotte, North Carolina, said the messages are “getting more personal, meaner and more persistent.”
“It also takes time and effort away from the job of predicting the weather,” he added.
The wave of opposition and attacks comes as climate change intensifies and meteorologists grapple with the psychological toll of more severe and damaging hurricanes.
“Losing someone to a weather disaster is like losing a patient to a doctor on the operating table,” said Kim Klokow McClain, a senior social scientist supporting the National Weather Service. “Forecasters feel like they can save everyone. They take it personally.”
Hurricane forecasts are now more accurate
Hurricane forecasting has improved dramatically over the past 50 years.
Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at the nonprofit research group Climate Central, said that advances in computing power and a better understanding of storm physics have allowed the National Hurricane Center to develop forecast cones (forecast forecasts) before tropical cyclones develop. He said that he is now able to announce his future career path.
“Our cone is leaner,” Winkley said, meaning forecasters have more confidence in the hurricane’s path.
The National Hurricane Center annually releases data on how its forecasts match reality, and the trend shows tracking errors have been decreasing since the 1970s. At the time, storm forecasts issued 36 hours in advance could be off by about 230 miles. According to NOAA. So far in the 2020s, that margin of error is approximately 57 miles.
Capucci said the center’s predictions for Hurricane Milton were “almost prescient” and among the best in the center’s history.
K. Miller, R. Hart/California Institute of Technology/IPAC
A strange star that has confused researchers for decades now makes sense. It turns out that it is not a single star, but two companion stars.
“Previously, it was thought that this brown dwarf was meaningless. We wondered if we were doing something horribly wrong, or if our models were horribly wrong. I was worried. But no, everything is fine. I just have friends.” timothy blunt at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland.
Now, two research teams have used instruments from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile to solve the mystery of the first brown dwarf.
Brown dwarfs are “failed stars” in that they have too little material and are too hot to sustain nuclear fusion. Instead of shining brightly for thousands of years, they dim in the night sky like planets. The first brown dwarf, called Gliese 229B, was discovered in 1995 and had an inexplicably large mass. Jerry Xuan I worked on one of the studies at the California Institute of Technology.
Gliese 229B is estimated to have about 71 times the mass of Jupiter, and a star born at that size, even if it were as old as the universe, would cool down and become faint enough to see us. That would have never happened, said participant Brandt. One of the research team. This has led some researchers to suggest that Gliese 22B is a very faint pair of stars, but until now there has been no conclusive evidence.
Xuan said this was because two fellow brown dwarfs, Gliese 229Ba and Bb, were unusually close together, and very precise observations were needed to see them both. However, observations by both teams confirmed that they exist separately, orbiting each other every 12 days, and are always about 16 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
He says that revealing the dual identity of Gliese 229B may be the start of a trend. samuel white book He was part of a research team at the California Institute of Technology. “There are probably a lot of binary systems that have been hiding in front of us all this time,” he says.
Xuan said he has already selected several other brown dwarfs to study more precisely. Brown dwarfs resemble both exoplanets and stars, so understanding how many of them are actually twins could shed light on the formation of these other objects as well. Maybe.
Neuroscience seems like an unlikely place to find fundamental truths that might apply to everything in the universe. The brain is a special object that does things that few other objects in the universe are expected to be able to do. they recognize. they act. They read magazine articles. Usually they are the exception, not the rule.
Perhaps this is why the free energy principle (FEP) has attracted so much attention. In the early 2000s, what began as a tool to explain cognitive processes such as perception and behavior began to be presented as a “unified brain theory.” FEP was then put forward as the definition of life beyond the brain and, inevitably, as the basis for a new kind of artificial intelligence capable of reasoning. Today, some proponents argue that FEP even encapsulates what it means for something to exist in the universe. “The free energy principle can be read as the physics of self-organization,” says its founder. carl friston At University College London. “It's a description of what lasts.”
But some researchers, frustrated by the changes in scope, are skeptical that the FEP can deliver on many of its loftiest promises. “It was a moving target,” he says Mateo Colomboa philosopher and cognitive scientist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
All of this makes FEP a source of both fascination and frustration. While notoriously difficult to understand, its dizzying breadth is key to its enduring appeal. Therefore, given the claim that it can be used to explain…
Aquaculture sustainability claims are greatly exaggerated
VIKEN KANTARCI/AFP via Getty Images
It has been argued that fish farming is a sustainable food source that helps feed the growing world population while protecting wild fish populations, but this is not true.
“Aquaculture is not a substitute for catching wild fish from the ocean,” he says. matthew hayek at New York University. “In fact, it relies on catching wild fish from the ocean.”
Hayek and colleagues showed that the amount of wild fish killed to feed farmed fish is 27 to 307 percent higher than previous estimates.
According to Hayek, farmed carnivorous fish eat wild fish caught in the ocean at several times the weight that would be obtained in aquaculture. For example, producing 1 kilogram of salmon may require 4 to 5 kilograms of wild fish.
However, while the demand for farmed fish is increasing, the amount of wild fish caught is not increasing. “In multiple fisheries, we are moving towards a scarcity of fish in the ocean,” Hayek says.
As a result, as the aquaculture industry expands, an increasing proportion of the world's wild fish catch is used as feed for farmed fish.
This means people in places like Southeast Asia and West Africa can no longer afford to buy fish. The fish is highly valuable as a source of farmed fishmeal and fish oil, team members say. Patricia Majolf At the conservation organization Oceana.
Increasing the proportion of plant-based products in the diet of carnivorous fish, or raising omnivorous or herbivorous fish such as tilapia, carp, or catfish, creates another set of problems. Feeding fish with human-edible plant-based food requires more land and water to produce fish food, leading to problems such as deforestation.
“These sectors are growing so rapidly that we are now supplying them with many times more crops from land than before,” says Hayek.
“As long as you're eating animals, you're not immune to some kind of shock somewhere,” he says. “Raising animals requires more resources to nurture and grow their bodies than can be obtained by eating them. It's a basic fact of biology.”
But farmed shellfish, such as mussels, which are eaten by filtering seawater, are far more sustainable, he says.
There are several reasons why Hayek's team's estimate of the amount of wild fish needed to produce a given amount of farmed fish is much higher than past estimates. For one thing, Hayek said the team used a wider range of sources than previous studies, meaning there is less chance of statistical bias.
The researchers also counted all the fish used to produce fishmeal and fish oil, as well as those caught as feed for farmed fish.
Finally, the researchers also estimated the number of fish that were killed but not brought to market. Unwanted species are often discarded from fishing vessels, but usually do not survive. Sometimes they leave the seine slightly open to let unwanted fish escape, but they often get injured and die.
Even ignoring these additional deaths, the conclusion remains that the amount of wild fish killed to feed farmed fish is higher than previously estimated, Hayek said. But counting them adds 20 to 50 percent to the total, he says.
“They show that the use of fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture is more complex than many industry analysts estimate.” Stefano Longo at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. “Fishmeal and fish oil inputs in aquaculture systems are probably underestimated, and possibly significantly underestimated.”
Wearing a crisp blue shirt and speaking with a soft American accent, this well-dressed young man is an unlikely supporter of the military junta leader of the West African nation of Burkina Faso.
“We must…support President Ibrahim Traore…Homeland or death, we must overcome!” he said in a video that began circulating on Telegram in early 2023. Ta. This was just a few months after the dictator took power in a military coup.
Another video starring another person with a similar professional appearance and repeating the exact same script in front of the Burkina Faso flag was released around the same time.
A few days later, on X’s verified account, the same young man in the same blue shirt claimed to be Archie, the CEO of a new cryptocurrency platform.
These videos are fake. These were generated by artificial intelligence (AI) developed by a start-up based in east London. A company called Synthesia has made waves in an industry competing to perfect lifelike AI videos. Investors poured in cash, propelling the company to “unicorn” status, or the status of a privately held company valued at more than $1 billion.
Synthesia’s technology is aimed at clients looking to create marketing materials and internal presentations, and any deepfakes violate its terms of service. But this means little for models whose digital “puppet” has a similar model behind it.Used in propaganda videos apparently supporting the Burkina Faso dictator. The Guardian tracked down five of them.
“I am in shock and have no words right now. [creative] “I’ve been in this industry for over 20 years and I’ve never felt so violated and vulnerable,” said Mark Torres, a London-based creative director who appears in the fake video wearing a blue shirt. spoke.
“I don’t want anyone to look at me that way. Just the fact that my image is out there, the fact that I’m promoting a military regime in a country I didn’t even know about, says something. People will think I’m involved in a coup,'' Torres added after being shown the video for the first time by the Guardian.
of shoot
In the summer of 2022, Connor Yates received a call from an agent offering him the chance to be one of the first AI models at a new company.
Yeates had never heard of the company, but he had just moved to London and was sleeping on a friend’s couch. An offer of nearly £4,000 for a day’s shoot and three years of use of the images felt like a ‘good opportunity’.
“I’ve been modeling since university and that’s been my main income since I graduated. Then I moved to London to start doing stand-up,” said Yates, who grew up in Bath.
Filming took place at Synthesia studios in east London. First, I received hair and makeup instruction. Thirty minutes later, he entered the recording room where a small staff member was waiting.
Yates wore a variety of costumes, including a white coat, a construction high-vis vest and helmet, and a corporate suit, and was asked to read his lines while looking directly into the camera.
“I have a teleprompter in front of me with lines written on it, and when I say it, I can capture the gestures and reproduce the movements. They’ll be more enthusiastic, smiling, grimacing, angry, I would say,” Yates said.
It took 3 hours in total. A few days later, he received a contract and a link to his AI avatar.
“They paid right away. I didn’t have wealthy parents, so I needed the money,” Yates said, but she didn’t think much about it after that.
Like Torres, Yates’ portrait was used in propaganda by Burkina Faso’s current leader.
A Synthesia spokesperson said the company will ban accounts that create videos in 2023, strengthen its content review process, and “employ more content moderators and increase moderation to better detect and prevent abuse of our technology.” “We have improved our automation capabilities and automation systems.” ”.
But neither Torres nor Yates were told about the video until they were contacted by the Guardian a few months ago.
…
“unicorn”
Synthesia was founded in 2017 by Victor Riparbelli, Steffen Tjerrild, and two academics from London and Munich.
A year later, the company released a dubbing tool that allows production companies to use AI to translate audio and automatically sync actors’ lips.
This was featured on a BBC program where an English-only news presenter was magically made to appear to speak Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish.
It was the company’s pivot to mass-market digital avatar products that are now available that earned it the coveted “unicorn” status. This allows businesses or individuals to create presenter-led videos in minutes for just £23 per month. Choose from dozens of characters with different genders, ages, ethnicities, and appearances. Once selected, the digital doll can be placed in almost any environment, given a script, and read that script in over 120 languages and accents.
Synthesia currently commands a dominant market share, with customers including Ernst & Young (EY), Zoom, Xerox, and Microsoft.
The product’s advancements led Time magazine to include Lipalberg among the 100 most influential people in AI in September.
But the technology has also been used to create videos related to adversaries such as Russia, China, and others to spread misinformation and disinformation. Sources suggested to the Guardian that the Burkina Faso video, which circulated in 2023, was also likely produced by Russian state actors.
personal influence
Around the same time that the Burkina Faso video began circulating online, two pro-Venezuelan videos featuring fake news segments provided by Synthesia avatars also appeared on YouTube and Facebook. In one article, a blond male presenter in a white shirt denounced “Western media claims” about economic insecurity and poverty, instead painting a highly misleading picture of the country’s financial situation.
London-based actor and Synthesia model Dan Dewhurst, whose likeness was used in the video, told the Guardian: He quietly judged me. You may have lost a customer. But that’s not me, it’s just my face. But they would think I agreed with it. ”
“I was furious. It really, really took a toll on my mental health. [It caused] “It’s an overwhelming feeling of anxiety,” he added.
A Synthesia spokesperson said the company is in contact with some of the actors whose likenesses were used. “I sincerely regret that these historic events have had a negative personal or professional impact on the people you spoke to,” he said.
However, once the damage caused by deepfakes has spread, it is difficult to reverse it.
Mr Dewhurst said seeing one’s face used to spread propaganda was the worst-case scenario, adding: “When we’re worried, our brains often go into a catastrophic state. It was really scary to see my fears come true.”
“Roller coaster”
Last year, more than 100,000 unionized actors and performers went on strike in the United States to protest the use of AI in the creative arts. The strike was called off last November after the studios agreed to contractual safeguards, including informed consent before digital reproduction and fair compensation for such use. Video game performers continue to strike over the same issue.
…
Last month, a bipartisan bill, the NO FAKES Act, was introduced in the United States and aims to make companies and individuals liable for damages for violations involving digital replicas.
However, other than AI-generated sexual content, there is virtually no practical mechanism for helping artists themselves.
“These AI companies are taking people on a really dangerous roller coaster,” said Kelsey Farish, a London-based media and entertainment lawyer who specializes in generative AI and intellectual property. “And guess what? People have been on this roller coaster and now people are starting to get hurt.”
Under the GDPR, models can technically request that Synthesia delete data that includes their likeness or image. In reality this is very difficult.
A former Synthesia employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, explained that AI cannot “unlearn” or remove what it may have gleaned from a model’s body language. To do so, the entire AI model must be replaced.
A Synthesia spokesperson said: “Many of the actors we work with re-engage with us for new shoots… At the beginning of the collaboration, we explain to them the terms of use and how our technology works. We explain how it works and help you understand what the platform can do and the safeguards we have in place. ”
He said the company does not allow “stock avatars to be used for political content, including content that is factually accurate but potentially polarizing,” and that the company’s policy is that avatars are “manipulated.” It said it was designed to prevent it from being used for “competence, deception, impersonation, etc.” False association.”
“Our processes and systems may not be perfect, but our founders are committed to continually improving them.”
When the Guardian tested Synthesia’s technology using various disinformation scripts, attempts to use any of the avatars were blocked, but by recreating Burkina Faso’s propaganda videos with personally created avatars. It was possible to download it, but neither should have been allowed. According to Synthesia’s policies. Synthesia said this was not a violation of its terms, as it respects the right of individuals to express their political views, but later blocked the account.
The Guardian also produced a clip from the audio-only avatar saying “Long live Hitler” in several languages and another audio clip saying “Kamala Harris rigged the election” in an American accent. I was also able to download it.
Synthesia suspended its free AI audio service after being contacted by the Guardian, stating that the technology behind the product was a third-party service.
aftermath
The experience of learning about his likeness was used in a propaganda video.Mr. Torres was left with a deep feeling of betrayal. “It makes me so angry to know that this company that I trusted in my image would get away with something like this. It could cost me my life.”
Torres was invited to do another shoot with Synthesia this year, but he declined. His contract ends in a few months and his Synthesia avatar is removed. But what will his avatar look like in the Burkina Faso video?It’s unclear even to him.
“Now I understand why it’s so dangerous to expose your face to them. It’s a shame that we took part in this,” he said.
YouTube has since removed the propaganda video featuring Dewhurst, but it remains available on Facebook.
Both Torres and Yates remain on the front page of Synthesia’s video ads.
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have created a unique time-lapse of R Aquari's dynamic behavior from observations spanning 2014 to 2023.
The two stars in the R Aquarii binary system are approximately 1.6 billion miles apart. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Matthias Stute / Margarita Karovska / Davide De Martin / Mahdi Zamani / N. Bartmann, ESA, Hubble.
Located 650 light years away, R Aquary is a so-called symbiotic binary, consisting of two stars surrounded by a large, dynamic cloud of gas.
Such binaries contain two stars in an unequal and complex relationship: a white dwarf and a red giant.
In a disturbing act of stellar cannibalism, white dwarfs are stripping material from their larger companions.
Suffering red giants and unstable white dwarfs occasionally eject material in strange eruptions, loops, and trajectories.
“The twisted outflow of stars makes the region look like an out-of-control lawn sprinkler,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“This dramatically shows how the universe redistributes the products of nuclear energy that form deep inside stars and are jetted out into space.”
“Aquarius R belongs to a class of double stars called symbiotic stars,” they added.
“The host star is an aging red giant star, and its companion star is a compact, burnt-out star known as a white dwarf.”
“The red giant star is mira variable It is more than 400 times larger than the Sun. ”
“The expanded monster star pulsates, changes temperature, and changes brightness by a factor of 750 over a period of approximately 390 days.”
“At its peak, the star is blindingly bright, about 5,000 times brighter than the Sun.”
“When the white dwarf comes closest to the red giant star during its 44-year orbit, it gravitationally sucks out hydrogen gas.”
“This material accumulates on the surface of the dwarf star until spontaneous nuclear fusion occurs, causing the surface to explode like a giant hydrogen bomb.”
“After the explosion, the fueling cycle begins again.”
“This explosion causes geyser-like filaments to erupt from the core, forming strange loops and trajectories as the plasma emerges as a streamer.”
“The plasma is twisted by the force of the explosion and guided upwards and outwards by a strong magnetic field.”
“The outflow appears to be folded into a spiral pattern.”
“Plasma is ejecting into space at more than 1.6 million km (1 million miles) per hour, which is fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in 15 minutes.”
“The filament glows in visible light because it is energized by intense radiation from the star.”
RJust before last week's newsletter was published, a short selling firm called Hindenburg Research issued the following report. Highly critical report on Roblox. In it, they accuse public companies of inflating their metrics (and thus their valuations), and even more worryingly for the parents of the millions of children who use Roblox. He also called it a “pedophile's hellscape.'’ The report claims that there were some gruesome discoveries within the game. Researchers found chat rooms of people purporting to exchange images and videos of children, and users claiming to be children or teens offering such material in exchange for Robux, an in-game currency. I discovered it. roblox I strongly refuse The claims made by Hindenburg in his report.
For those unfamiliar with the title, Roblox is more of a platform than a game (or, as corporate communicators like to think of it, a metaverse). It claims 80 million daily users (though Hindenburg says this figure is inflated). Log in, customize your avatar, and from there you can dive into thousands of different “experiences” created by other users. From role-playing cities to pizza delivery mini-games to cops-and-robbers games to cops-and-robbers games and, unfortunately, much less, Public Bathroom Simulator (which the creators say was 12 years old before they realized bad people existed) It is a delicious dish that looks like the one that he made at the time of his death. Roblox games are created by players, so the site must be constantly moderated. The company's moderation team handles a huge amount of content every day.
It's important to recognize that Hindenburg has a vested interest in making Roblox a stock tank. Hindenburg has a short position in the company (meaning it stands to profit if the stock price falls). Several other companies I've seen their stocks crater after releasing a report on them. However, it is also possible to independently verify some of the claims made in the report. A very quick search of the platform reveals that these in-game chat groups that appear to be soliciting and trading images do indeed exist and are active. And the accounts with questionable usernames that reference child abuse and Jeffrey Epstein are genuine. Some of the specific games and accounts mentioned in Hindenburg's report last week have been removed by the company.
Roblox defended itself in a statement posted online, saying, “Every day, tens of millions of users of all ages have safe and positive experiences on Roblox, and we adhere to our community standards.” said. But any safety incident is terrifying. We take content and conduct that does not adhere to our standards on our platform very seriously. ” The company further added: “We are continually evolving and enhancing our safety approach to catch and prevent malicious and harmful activity, including text chat filters that block inappropriate words and phrases; , which includes disallowing image sharing between users on Roblox” (as further reported in this article in the Guardian).
If your kids are playing on a platform like Roblox, triple-check their settings. Photo: Phil Noble/Reuters
Of course, this isn't the first sensational report about Roblox. In recent years, articles in CNN, the Observer, Wired, and many other publications have found that there is a large amount of inappropriate content on the platform, and that child predators are There are also some proven cases of using Roblox for crafting. Last July, More from Bloomberg In one such case, a man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for grooming a minor and having her cross state lines to perform sex acts as part of a broader investigation into the platform's apparent flaws in moderation and child safety. He was sentenced in 2018.
Many parents are worried about what to do. Roblox is part of the daily online lives of millions of children, even if the figure of around 80 million daily users is inflated, as Hindenberg claims. Anyone who has children of school age knows that it is very widely used. Is Roblox dangerous for kids? Should they stop playing it immediately?
Despite everything presented in this and other reports over the past few years, I believe it is entirely possible for children to play Roblox safely. Appropriate parental controls are in place to limit or eliminate the extent to which strangers can contact your child. When used correctly. If I had kids playing Roblox, I'd be checking all of these settings over and over again to make sure the “friends list” feature was set to include only real-life friends. We also recommend supervising young children to minimize the likelihood that they will encounter or actually seek out the many inappropriate games that seem to regularly elude Roblox's management efforts. I'm very reluctant to let you play this game without it.
Basic online safety education is critical for all children who use the Internet. Given the multiple convictions of child predators who used Roblox to access children, it is impossible to deny the presence of pedophiles on the platform, but it is difficult to objectively assess the extent of it. It's difficult. Some of what Hindenburg highlights in his report seems to me more likely to be the product of an adolescent fringe master than an actual child predator. Roblox is full of teenagers who have grown up with the game. When you see 900 variations of the username Jeffrey Epstein, you don't necessarily see 900 active child abusers, you see 900 stupid 14-year-olds trying to be funny. .
Full disclosure: I don't let my kids play Roblox, and I have no intention of starting them. I don't believe that a publicly traded company can be trusted to put the interests and safety of children ahead of profits. Moderation is expensive and difficult. No one in the big tech industry is any closer to building a system to prevent harmful material from appearing on these types of open platforms, or to prevent people from exploiting harmful material for their own purposes. No. Legitimate safety concerns aside, rather than trying to squeeze money out of kids to pay for endless in-game cosmetics and “experiences,” it's simply better to serve kids' imaginations and curiosity. There are hundreds of great games.
Only offline games can completely eliminate this risk of children being exposed to inappropriate content. After just a few hours of exploring Roblox, one thing is abundantly clear. It's not hard to find something very problematic.
what to play
The wolf in the game Neva grows into a magnificent creature crowned with horns that protects you.
Neva, a game about a warrior and a she-wolf, surprised me. I've played so many beautiful, artistic indie platformers that it’s hard to find one that really makes me feel something. But there I was ugly crying in front of the TV after a few nights with Neva. It takes place over four seasons. The wolf starts out as a cub that you have to protect, but later grows into a magnificent creature with horns that can protect you. Use an elegant combination of jumps, double jumps, dashes, and strikes to explore an incredibly beautiful but horribly corrupt natural world and make multiple attempts to conquer the demons that poison it. Worth a few hours of anyone's life.
Available: PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Approximate play time: 3-4 hours
The cause of the Alamo…Nintendo's new clock. Photo: Nintendo
On Friday, a group of people who worked on highly acclaimed psychology and political science research RPG Disco Elysium announced the creation of a new studio to work on the game's spiritual successor. Then, confusingly, another new studio was announced same thingThis time it comes with a trailer. And on the same day, a third group announced another spiritual successor. as one viral tweet “Disco Elysium splitting into three unions claiming succession is more of a commentary on communism than the game wanted.”
A premium book/magazine hybrid about video games. above, Released today. Guardian games correspondent Keith Stuart and I feature in issue one. Naturally, his article is about Sega arcade boards and mine is about Nintendo details.
game freakThe developer of Pokemon suffered a hack of almost unprecedented scale.: Details about unreleased Pokemon game and movie projects, employee information, source code, and details about the series' development. decades I'm there now.
To cap off a truly bizarre week of video game news: nintendo We have announced an alarm clock that watches over you while you are sleeping. It's called “Alarmo,” and it wakes you up with the not-so-gentle sounds of Mario, Splatoon, or Zelda, synchronized with your groggy morning movements. the available now For those willing to jump through a few hoops (and pay £90).
Our planet’s new small satellite, 2024 PT5, arrived in Earth’s orbit on September 29, 2024.
2024 PT5 is scheduled to capture a temporary flyby from September 29th to November 25th in 2024. Image credit: University of Colorado.
2024 PT5 was discovered by the Asteroid Earth Impact Final Warning System in Sutherland, South Africa on August 7, 2024.
This near-Earth asteroid is about 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter and follows an orbit similar to that of 2022 NX1.
2024 PT5 will become a mini-Earth satellite on September 29 and return to heliocentric orbit 56.6 days later on November 25.
“Near-Earth objects like this offer a glimpse into the formation process of the solar system,” said astrophysicist Dr. Nico Cappellutti. University of Miami.
“Most asteroids in our solar system are rocky remnants left over from the formation of our solar system.”
2024 PT5 is part of Arjuna, an asteroid belt made up of space rocks that follow an orbit around the sun very similar to Earth’s orbit.
“So sometimes they can remain temporarily trapped in our gravitational field,” Dr. Cappellutti said.
“Bringing them this close is a fascinating opportunity.”
“The asteroid, the size of a school bus, is too faint and small to be seen with the naked eye or with amateur telescopes, but its two-month stay around Earth has reinforced our intense interest in space rocks. It helps maintain.”
Two years ago, in what was called the first test of the planetary defense system, NASA crashed a spacecraft into the giant space rock Dimorphos, which could change direction if the asteroid was on a collision course with Earth. proved something.
Private companies also want to send spacecraft to asteroids in hopes of mining the precious metals they contain.
“Asteroids are classified based on their orbits and their contents,” said Dr. Bertrand Dano, also from the University of Miami.
“Some are made entirely of stone, while others contain high concentrations of rare metals, such as platinum and gold for electronics, nickel and cobalt for catalysts and fuel cell technology, and, of course, iron.”
“Mining asteroids is not far off. There are currently millions of asteroids in our solar system, about 2 million of which are larger than 1 km.”
“The resources it contains are a new dream for El Dorado, and there are several companies currently betting on it.”
“Recent missions to rendezvous with, orbit and land on asteroids have proven that space mining may be only a matter of time.”
“However, proceeding with asteroid mining will require huge investments, from the mining equipment that needs to operate in a vacuum to the technology needed to transport the extracted minerals to Earth.”
“And then there’s the spacecraft itself. A dedicated ship that would travel to an asteroid for the purpose of extracting minerals from the asteroid would probably be a robotic ship.”
“A trip to Mars would take about eight months under the best conditions. The space and equipment needed to support life would be put to good use as storage for backup equipment and resources.”
“Because it takes a lot of energy to leave Earth’s gravity, mining missions are better launched from space or from low-gravity bodies such as the Moon, Mars, or Titan, one of Saturn’s natural moons. Sho.”
“Returning to Earth is relatively easy, but dangerous for the material. It would be a shame if all the prizes disappeared. Refining will take place in space, and purified products can be shipped regularly. As far as I know, no one is thinking that far.”
“Yet, asteroid mining could have a 100-fold or more return.”
“Mining platinum or gold from an asteroid and returning it could make you a trillionaire overnight, potentially upending entire economies, trade and markets.”
“Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once said, ‘The first billionaire in history was the one who exploited the natural resources of asteroids.'”
Amazon.com has recently signed three agreements to collaborate on the development of small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power technology. This cutting-edge technology aims to address the increasing demand for power, particularly from data centers. Amazon has solidified its position as a major player in the high-tech industry.
One of the agreements involves Amazon funding a feasibility study for an SMR project near its Northwest Energy site in Washington state. X-Energy will be responsible for developing the SMR, with financial specifics remaining undisclosed.
As per the agreement, Amazon will have the option to procure power from four modules. Energy Northwest, a group of state utilities, may also include up to 80 MW modules, resulting in a total capacity of up to 960 MW. This power will be able to supply over 770,000 US homes, with excess energy being allocated to Amazon and utility companies for residential and commercial usage.
Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, expressed, “Our agreement will expedite the advancement of new nuclear technologies that will provide energy for years to come.”
SMR leverages factory assembly of components to reduce construction expenses, a departure from the conventional on-site assembly of large nuclear reactors. While some critics argue that achieving economies of scale with SMR technology may be costly, it remains a promising development.
Nuclear power, known for its near-zero greenhouse gas emissions and creation of high-wage union jobs, garners bipartisan support in the US. Despite this, the country is yet to have a working SMR. NuScale was the lone US entity to secure an SMR design license from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently.
Furthermore, SMRs produce lasting radioactive waste, and the US lacks a definitive disposal site for such byproducts. Scott Burnell, a representative from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, stated that regulators still await detailed information about planned SMR implementations.
“I have to show you this – it’s going to change your life!” is the very Imogen Heap way of greeting.
She smiled at me and showed off a mysterious black device. The musician and technologist is an evocative and eccentric presence even on video calls, speaking with passion and changing his mind like a rally driver turning a corner. She swivels me from the kitchen floor to the living room of her parents’ home in Havering, near London. It’s familiar to the thousands of fans (aka Heapsters) who tune in to watch her improvise on the grand piano on livestreams. “By the way, that’s the tent I’ve been sleeping in,” she laughed, enjoying the surprise, pointing to an attractive white tent at the edge of the manicured lawn.
Her fans use the term “Imogeneration” to describe someone who changed the course of pop music. Heap’s theatrically layered vocals and expressive production on the albums Speak for Yourself (2005) and Ellipse (2009) have inspired the likes of Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Casey. It influenced chart giants such as Musgraves and popularized the use of the vocoder (later heard in the works of Kanye West and Bon Iver). She has been widely sampled, especially by hip-hop and ambient musicians, and in 2010 became the first woman to win a Grammy Award in the engineering category.
Since then, Heap has dedicated his career to shaping music through technology, and shaping technology through music. Her fast-paced projects include The Creative Passport, which envisions a more accessible way for musicians to store and share personal data, and a pioneering project that lets you record loops of sound and add details like vibrato and reverb. These include the MiMU glove, a wearable instrument. In real time just by moving your wrist.
But she didn’t create the black device she’s brandishing at me. Plaud Note is a voice recorder that uses ChatGPT. She laughed and explained that this converts our conversations into text and generates a summary of our thoughts. Recording interviews is typically the job of journalists, but for the past two years, Heap has been collecting data about herself for a new project: a comprehensive AI assistant called Mogen (pronounced like Imogen). Our interviews become training data. The text prepares Morgen to answer questions about Heep’s life and work, and the audio trains Morgen to reproduce her voice. “Everything I’ve ever said or done, I want Morgen to have access to,” Heap says.
Heap performance in 2010. Photo: Samir Hussain/Getty Images
Mogen was born as a premium feature of Heap’s fan app, theoretically giving Heapsters a way to access Heap’s sentiments and opinions on certain topics. Anything Mogen can’t answer is forwarded to Heap’s (human) assistant. “I don’t want to repeat myself. I want to make sure people have the information they need, when they need it,” Heap says. “In a way, I have been working on [her] For the rest of my life.”
But Heep’s ambitions for Morgen are rapidly expanding. Beyond its role as a kind of living autobiography, Heap hopes to become a point of “omniscient connection” that can streamline workflow and deepen the creative process in the studio and on stage. Future versions of Mogen will explore how Heap can improvise live, become a live collaborator, process fan musical suggestions in real time, and feed biometric and atmospheric data to create You’ll be able to create performances that feel “realistic.”
“I want to [be able to] “Right now, we can create broad orchestral pieces and angular drums with a variety, richness, and tenderness that you just can’t get in real time with off-the-shelf equipment,” says Heap.
All of this data collection was inspired by a series of life-changing experiences that convinced Heap of his current power. Heap, who discovered she had ADHD during the pandemic and shortly after her sister’s death, said: “We’re using our most precious resource, our time, to do these mundane things.” He explains what he noticed. She hired a studio assistant to reduce distractions and improve focus, and to understand the sense of presence, or what she poetically calls “an immaterial bubble without time and space.” I concentrated.
The journey included an introduction to Wim Hof breathing techniques by fellow music experimenter John Hopkins and a visceral response to music by noise artist Pullian, which left her shocked on her kitchen floor. Ta. She likens the latter to childbirth. “That was the only time in my life that I felt like I wasn’t in control of my body.”
The result of this new focus, which she will discuss in more detail this week at London’s Southbank Center, is a worldview that sees technology as both a problem and a solution. On the other hand, the capitalist system and attention economy make us “greedy.” “We have become desensitized,” she says, but in the meantime, we might be able to invent new tools that foster creativity and connection over profit. “I want to dedicate my life to it,” she says seriously.
Her vision isn’t exactly utopian. She speculates that we “will go through this period of running away” from dangerous AI. But she firmly believes there is a bright future on the other side of this potential disaster. Even so, Heap remains perplexingly sour about the possible risks. “You can’t stop progress,” she shrugs, dismissing widespread concerns about the ethics of scraping other people’s data to build profitable AI systems and the environmental costs of all that processing power as “very simple.” “I scoff. It’s based on fear.”
The most direct result of her recent soul-searching will be a 14-minute track released in three parts via a new site called The Living Song. The first part, “What Have You Done to Me,” will be available at the end of October and will allow users to chat with Mogen and remix or sample the song. The idea is to demonstrate that ethical and compensatory collaboration between artists, AI, and fans is possible, with one-third of all profits going to Brian Eno’s climate change foundation Earth%. Masu. “This song gives you the tools to collaborate and love with different people,” she emphasizes. “I don’t want to be kept in a basement. I’ve never felt protective or possessive. [my music]”
The new song, which tells the story of Heap and her relationship with herself and Morgen, also reimagines the melody of “Hide and Seek,” her first big hit and a song that has had a remarkable life in its own right. After being used as the soundtrack for The O.C.’s dramatic second season finale in 2005, the scene was parodied in a Saturday Night Live sketch that looped her “Um, what are you talking about?” It went viral. lyrics. Two years later, Jason Derulo sampled the same elements in his debut single “Whatcha Say,” which topped the US charts. Heap himself included the song in his score for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Palestinian singer Nemasis used the opening bars of a video about the devastation in Gaza.
AI optimists see similarities between this sampling (using parts of someone else’s work to create something new) and generative AI, which processes vast amounts of existing material to create music. I claim that there is. But major labels Sony, Universal and Warner are suing two AI startups for processing their copyrighted music without their permission.
Ms Heap said her project was trying to move on from the days when “people were always trying something and not evaluating it”. For example, an unreleased demo called “A New Kind of Love” cut from her band Frou Frou’s 2002 album somehow ended up on the desk of Australian drum and bass musician Veerre Cloud. His loose remix, released in 2019, has since been streamed over 400 million times on Spotify. After researching, Heap’s team discovered that there are more than 60 other tracks that use the song without credit. “We had to say: Hello, we’re glad you put it out there, but could we have some?”
This is why The Living Song project is so important, she says. Treating each song as a separate entity allows Heap to set and work around its own rules for interaction and collaboration, as it has throughout its career. It’s like labels and artists fighting over AI services.
Previously, I asked what happens if I don’t want my data (my words in the conversation) to be part of Mogen’s training set. Heap said that for data protection reasons, Morgen would only incorporate her answers, not my questions, and the same would be true for fan submissions. She hypothesizes that in the future, my own AI assistant will negotiate with Morgen and inform me of my preferences in advance. She then added with a wry smile that if we didn’t like the data, “I’d probably leave it alone.” [the interview] short”.
But certainly, conversation is also a type of collaboration. What is the answer to a question without context? As I was thinking about this, Heap sent me a summary of the call that Plaud had generated. One line reads: “Katie Hawthorn shares feelings of paranoia, while Imogen Heap expresses excitement.”
This mission to form her own archive through a cleverly automated digital twin, rooted in the past but designed to extend and even predict Heap’s present, is a battle with the music industry over ownership. It makes sense in the context of a career spent in . But it also raises bigger, more difficult questions about heritage, voice, creativity, and control, and Heap aims to fundamentally reshape music, and perhaps life, as we know it. Given her outpouring of persuasion and deep cultural influence, it’s hard to resist her. “I’m not a guru,” she jokes. “still!”
Marine biologists identify new species of skate Leucolaja It lurks in the deep waters of the southwestern Indian Ocean.
brown long nose skates (Leucolaya longirostris), holotype of an adult male viewed from the dorsal side. Scale bar – 5 cm. Image credit: Weigman others., doi: 10.3390/biology13060405.
members of the genus Leucolaja A small to medium sized skate, usually with a short, obtuse snout.
To date, 14 valid species of this genus have been identified, primarily in the Atlantic Ocean, but also in the Indian Ocean.
“The 14 species currently described are Leucolaja It reaches a maximum size of 30-120 cm and is found in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. ” Dr Simon Weigman by the Leibniz Institute for Biodiversity Change Analysis and colleagues.
“Of these 12 species, Leucolaja Compagnoi and Leucolaja wallasei They also live outside the Atlantic Ocean, in continental waters in the southwestern Indian Ocean. ”
The newly discovered Leucolaja This species is the fourth known species of this genus from the western Indian Ocean.
named Leucolaya longirostris (common name is Brown Longnose Skate), apparently endemic to the Madagascar Ridge in Walters Shoals.
“In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers working on the Madagascar Ridge, a raised area of the ocean floor in the southwestern Indian Ocean, collected a total of eight rare skate specimens at depths of 750 to 1,050 meters.” biologists said.
“Despite the long snout, this specimen could definitely be assigned to the genus. Leucolaja This is due to the typical characteristics of claspers. ”
“It can be easily distinguished from all 14 congeners by its long, sharply pointed snout,” the researchers said.
“Furthermore, it appears to occur only on the Madagascar Ridge, away from the known distribution areas of all congeners, and its clasper morphology exhibits several unique aspects.”
brown long nose skates (Leucolaya longirostris), holotype of an adult male viewed from the ventral side. Scale bar – 5 cm. Image credit: Weigman others., doi: 10.3390/biology13060405.
Leucolaya longirostris These are medium-sized skates with a total length of 71.1 cm or more.
Males mature at about 60 cm. The largest known female is 70cm long. The smallest known specimen is a young female with a total length of 27.6 cm.
recognition of Leucolaya longirostris Provide new insights into morphological variation within the genus Leucolaja “This constitutes a very unusual and noteworthy addition to this genus Sketchi,” the researchers said.
“Nevertheless, the very limited distribution of this new species raises concerns about its ability to sustain fisheries, and it may be susceptible to capture in longline fisheries, particularly deep-sea trawl fisheries.”
“Although little information is available about fisheries operating in the region of the Madagascar Ridge, this deep-sea skate tolerates intensive fishing pressure, potentially due to its slow-life history characteristics and low productivity. You may not be able to.”
“Walter's Shoal has had good catches in the past and this pressure may return in the future,” they added.
“As a fishery targeting orange roughy (Hoplostessus atlanticus) and Kinmedai (Belix Decactylus) have typically used mesophoric trawls on the ocean floor, but new species may have benthic refugia. ”
“However, further research is needed to investigate its distribution, life history, population size and trends, and threats.”
“This is essential to improving data collection and research and making more effective conservation and management policy decisions.”
a paper Report findings published in journals biology.
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Simon Weigman others. 2024. Description of a noteworthy new type of skate shoe Leucolaja Malm of the southwestern Indian Ocean, 1877 (Radidae, Radidae): Introducing 3D modeling as an innovative tool for visualization of clasper characters. biology 13 (6): 405;doi: 10.3390/Biology 13060405
Named after the otherworldly sounds these tree frogs make, Boufis The rainforests of Madagascar are expanses, some of which remind us of the sounds of technological equipment from fictional works. Star Trek Scientists have named seven new species in honor of the fictional captain of a spaceship. Bufis Khaki, bofis picardi, Bofis Siskoi, Boufis Janeyae, bofis archery, bofis pickay and bofis barnamae.
bofis picardi a male paratype from Anara, Madagascar. Image credit: Vences others., doi: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110.
There are currently 80 described species. Boufis It is the most unique genus of the Malagasy Comoran endemic family. Mantelidae.
Members of this genus are tree frogs with relatively generalized reproductive behavior, usually laying eggs in stream or pond water where tadpoles develop.
Many Boufis species are very vocal, with males emitting loud and clear advertising calls.
“Seven newly discovered species of Hyla genus” Boufis “Frogs, which are found throughout the rainforests of Madagascar, use a special bird-like whistle to communicate with other frogs,” said Professor Miguel Wences of the Technical University of Braunschweig and colleagues.
“The sound of these whistles reminded our team: Star Trek similar whistle-like sound effects are frequently used. ”
“That’s why we named our frogs after Kirk, Picard, Cisco, Janeway, Archer, Burnham and Pike – seven of the most iconic captains of science fiction.”
“These frog calls don’t just sound like movie sound effects. Star Trek But finding them often requires quite a trek,” said Dr. Mark Schaerts, a researcher at the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen.
“While some species are found in areas accessible to tourists, finding some of these species requires extensive expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks. It was.”
“We believe that here lies the true meaning of scientific discovery and exploration, and that it is based in the spirit of: Star Trek”
For fans of Star Trek, Boufis The call may remind you of the so-called “Boardsman’s Whistle” or the sound from a device called a “tricorder.” To others, it may sound like a bird or an insect.
Dr. Jörn Köhler, senior curator of vertebrate zoology at the Hesse State Museum in Darmstadt, said: “If the frog is just croaking like the European frogs we’re familiar with, it’s likely that it’s coming from a nearby river. “It might not have been audible over the sound of the rushing water.”
“Their high-pitched trills and whistles stand out above all the noise.”
“Due to their appearance, these frogs have traditionally been confused with similar species, but each species produces a distinctive high-pitched whistle, which helps distinguish them from each other and from other frogs. I did.”
This finding is reported in the following article: paper in diary vertebrate zoology.
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M. Vances others. 2024. The Communicator’s Whistle: A Journey Through Taxonomy Bufis mallogesensis This complex reveals seven new morphologically enigmatic tree frogs (Amphibians: Anura: Mantelidae) from Madagascar. vertebrate zoology 74: 643-681;doi: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110
When I think about the members of my social network, I am almost filled with feelings of pure love and warmth. I can't wait to see them again, knowing we can bask in each other's love and support.
But for some, it evokes a completely different emotion: a mixture of enthusiasm and fear. In terms of conversation, encounters like Russian roulette are guaranteed. If I'm in a good mood, these guys will give me a fun night, but if I catch them at the wrong time, they can suck all my goodwill. I have no idea what will happen.
If this sounds familiar, it means you have a frenemy too. Psychologists call them “ambivalent relationships,” and not only can they ruin a good party, but they can also have surprising consequences for your happiness. A wealth of research shows that love-hate relationships like this are often more stressful than interacting with people who are constantly mean. It can harm your mental and physical health. They can also cause you to age prematurely.
Knowing this, the easy solution seems to be to cut ties with these people. However, our relationship with frenemies is not simple, and it is not always possible or desirable to abandon them. However, gaining deeper insight into your own ambiguous relationships can help you cope more effectively. You might even become better friends that way. Because if you know the signs to look out for, you may realize that the frenemy in some relationships is you.
Nima Momeni’s lawyer asserted in his opening statement that the technology consultant accused of stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee had no motive to kill him and was actually defensive during a multi-day drug raid, claiming he needed to defend himself from Mr. Lee on Monday.
Prosecutors claim that Momeni, 40, orchestrated the April 4, 2023 attack following an altercation over his sister, Hazard, who was acquainted with Lee. Allegedly, Momeni retrieved a knife from a special kit in his sister’s apartment, pursued Lee to a secluded area, stabbed him three times, and fled.
“He was stabbed in the heart and left for dead,” Assistant District Attorney Omid Tarai stated. “The victim sustained multiple stab wounds, including one to the chest, one to the lower back, and crucially one to the heart.”
Lee’s untimely death at 43, after seeking aid on a vacant street in downtown San Francisco, deeply impacted the tech sector, with colleagues remembering the charismatic entrepreneur’s benevolence and skill. At the time of his demise, Lee held the position of chief product officer at the cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin and was a father of two.
Judge Alexandra Gordon informed the jury that the highly anticipated trial, commencing Monday at the San Francisco Superior Court, is anticipated to span two months. Momeni, a resident near Emeryville, California, has been detained since his apprehension shortly after Lee’s passing in a San Francisco medical facility.
Momeni has pleaded not guilty, and if convicted, he faces a potential sentence of 26 years to life imprisonment.
Attorney Saam Zangeneh told the jury that Mr. Momeni harbored no animosity towards Mr. Lee and that the circumstances compelled him to safeguard himself after brandishing a knife while under the influence of drugs and sleep-deprived. Zangeneh indicated that the defense would substantiate his claims that Momeni had indulged in an extended narcotics binge.
“We believe that once the evidence is presented and any ambiguities resolved, the only justifiable verdict in this case is one of innocence,” Zangeneh declared. “A life has been lost. No one condones that, but the right to self-defense must be recognized.”
Throughout prior court appearances, Momeni, dressed in an orange prison garment, attended with his lawyer donned in a formal ensemble. His mother, a constant presence at hearings, was also in attendance.
Seated on the opposite side of the courtroom were Mr. Lee’s relatives, including his ex-wife, father, and brother. As a recording of Lee’s distress call played in court, Lee’s brother comforted their father. In the call, Lee implored for assistance while unable to provide his location or identity, conveying that he had been attacked.
Assistant District Attorney Tarai mentioned that the jury would hear testimony from a friend present with Lee and Momeni’s sister a day before the altercation. Tarai alleged that Momeni verbally attacked Lee over the phone that evening, discussing his sister, drugs, and inappropriate subjects, with Lee exhibiting composure. Tarai insinuated that the friend would portray Momeni as a possessive individual striving to display toughness.
Mr. Zangeneh dismissed the credibility of the friend as a witness and contended that Momeni and Lee had exchanged amicable emails on that evening. Zangeneh suggested that Lee probably invited Momeni to the club.
CCTV footage from Lee’s final night depicted his entry into the opulent Millennium Tower where Momeni’s sister and her spouse, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon, resided. The footage captured Lee and Momeni departing the premises around 2 a.m. and driving off together in Momeni’s vehicle.
Tarai noted another video depicting two individuals exiting a car at a remote location along the Bay Bridge, with Momeni stabbing Lee thrice and discarding a knife from his sister’s kitchen set moments later, followed by his escape. Tarai revealed intentions of unveiling text messages sent by Momeni to his sister, alleging a harassment claim the subsequent morning when Momeni expressed uncertainty regarding Lee’s fate but accused Lee of assaulting Hazard.
The defense cited a video capturing Momeni being surveilled by San Francisco police detectives pre-arrest, purportedly reenacting the stabbing outside his former law firm thrice. However, the defense noted a lack of reenactment concerning the initial knife confrontation as claimed by Momeni’s attorney.
A knife with a 10cm blade was recovered at the remote location where Lee was assaulted. Prosecutors asserted that forensic tests exhibited Momeni’s DNA on the weapon handle and Lee’s DNA on the blood-stained blade.
Zangeneh indicated on Monday that the police should have screened the steering wheel for Lee’s fingerprints. He derided the notion that Momeni employed a trivial kitchen knife to perpetrate the assault, emphasizing Momeni’s perceived unawareness of Lee’s dire condition.
He expressed Momeni’s desire to elucidate his perspective yet remained undecided on Momeni’s potential testimony for the defense.
Momeni and Lee’s families opted not to comment on Monday.
Marine biologists have discovered adult tubeworms and other extrusive animals beneath the ocean floor of the East Pacific Ridge, a volcanically active and rapidly spreading ridge with numerous hydrothermal vents.
East Pacific Rise, subseafloor vents on the seafloor surface and crust on the outskirts of Fava Flow. Image credit: Bright others., doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9.
The East Pacific Rise is a volcanically active ridge located where two plates meet at the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
It contains many hydrothermal vents, which are openings in the ocean floor that form where ocean water and magma meet beneath the Earth's crust.
“It was once thought that the ocean-floor crust beneath hydrothermal vents was inhabited only by microorganisms and viruses,” says researcher Monika Breit of the University of Vienna and colleagues.
“But there are animals on the ocean floor that look like giant tube worms. Liftia Pachyputira Thrive. “
“The larvae are thought to disperse into the water column, even though they have never been observed there.”
“We hypothesized that these larvae migrate beneath the ocean floor via vent fluids.”
Dr. Bright and his co-authors sailing on the Schmidt Oceanographic Research Vessel Falcor (also)used the remotely operated vehicle SuB-astian to undertake a series of dives into a hydrothermal vent site located at a depth of 2,515 meters in the East Pacific Ridge.
The vehicle's arm was used to expose part of the ocean's crust, which revealed a warm, warm habitat that is home to a variety of species previously found only on the ocean floor, including giant tube worms and migratory animals such as earthworms and snails. A fluid-filled cavity was revealed.
Larvae from seafloor communities can colonize these subseafloor habitats, demonstrating the complex connectivity between seafloor and subseafloor ecosystems.
An animal habitat has been discovered beneath the ocean floor of the Earth's crust, but its extent is currently unknown, raising the urgency of its protection against potential future environmental changes.
“The presence of adult tubeworms suggests that the larvae dispersed through the recharge zone of the hydrothermal circulation system,” the authors said.
“Given that many of these animals are hosts to dense bacterial communities that oxidize reduced chemicals and fix carbon, subseafloor expansion of animal habitats may be localized. and regional geochemical flux measurements.”
“These findings highlight the need to protect vents, as the extent of these habitats has not yet been fully determined.”
team's work appear in the diary nature communications.
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M. Bright others. 2024. Animals that live in the crust beneath the shallow ocean floor of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Nat Commune 15, 8466; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52631-9
WOne of the first indie game superstars of the 2000s, Derek Yu started designing games on graph paper with his friend John Perry while still a student. When Yu’s first major success, “cave exploration,” became a hit, he and Perry decided to collaborate once again, this time as men in their 40s. This heartwarming backstory is reflected in UFO50, an ambitious collection of 50 games. The narrative structure was crafted by a fictional game company during the years of 1982 to 1989. Each game in UFO50 features the nostalgic Atari 2600 and NES aesthetics with chunky sprites and a retro chiptune soundtrack, but incorporates modern design elements to bring a fresh twist to the retro style.
Why 50 games? No one knows for sure. But Yu and Perry, along with their supportive developer friends, showcased their design talents across a variety of genres, both familiar and completely innovative. One standout is “party house,” where players must balance a mix of guests to throw the ultimate house party, scoring points based on the success of the event. Other games in the collection include “night manners,” a point-and-click horror story, “bushido ball,” an Edo period themed game similar to Pong, and “rail robbery,” a stealth action game where players take on the role of an outlaw robbing trains.
Creating 50 games was a daunting task for Yu and Perry, requiring immense dedication and effort. The end result of UFO50 is a testament to their creativity and highlights the vast possibilities within the realm of game design, even in the simplest looking games.
A bright comet from the Oort cloud named C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is passing close to Earth and will be visible until late October 2024.
This image, taken by the ESA/NASA Solar-Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) on October 10, 2024, shows Comet Atlas Gassan and its bright tail streaming from upper left to right. Mercury will be visible as a bright dot on the left. Image credit: ESA/NASA.
Comet Tsuchiyama-ATLAS It was discovered on January 9, 2023 by astronomers from China's Zishan Observatory.
The comet, also known as C/2023 A3, was independently discovered by South Africa's ATLAS on February 22, 2023.
It orbits the Sun in a retrograde orbit and lies at an inclination of 139°.
It reached perihelion on September 27, 2024, at a distance of 0.391 astronomical units. Its closest approach to Earth was on October 12th. It is expected to be 200 AU from the Sun in 2239.
Each day throughout October, the comet rises higher and higher in the western sky as it moves away from the sun. But as it progresses, it gets darker and darker.
October 14th to 24th is the best time to observe it using binoculars or a small telescope.
Eagle-eyed skywatchers may be able to spot the star with their naked eyes for a few days, but then binoculars or a telescope will be needed as it gets darker.
“Comet Tuchinshan-Atlas may have come from the Oort Cloud, a region of space between 2,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun and one light year.” said Jason Ybarra, director of the WVU Planetarium and Observatory.
“This region is so far away that the gravitational pull from the Sun competes with the gravitational pull from passing stars and the entire Milky Way galaxy.”
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick took this photo of comet Atlas Tsuchiyama on September 28, 2024. At the time, the comet was about 70.8 million kilometers (44 million miles) from Earth. Image credit: NASA/Matthew Dominick.
“The larger the orbit, the longer it takes for the comet to orbit that orbit,” he added.
“In the case of comets originating from the Oort cloud, their orbits take a very long time, so their orbits may change due to gravitational interactions with other bodies in the solar system, and it is possible to predict the future behavior of comets. It becomes difficult to do so.”
“If it gains enough energy from these interactions, Comet Gassan-ATLAS may never come back. It will have to wait at least another 80,000 years. In any case, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s an event.”
Just before sunrise on September 28, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick took a time-lapse photo of the comet Tuchingshan Atlas orbiting over the South Pacific Ocean southeast of New Zealand from the International Space Station.
From October 7th to October 11th, the comet brightly illuminated the field of view of the onboard LASCO (Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph Experiment) instrument. ESA/NASA Solar Heliosphere Observatory (Soho).
This device uses a disc to block the sun's bright light, making it easier to see details and objects near the sun.
Apps with the highest total number of notifications: – message:391 – new york post:190 – slack:121
Elon during the election campaign
Elon Musk spoke on stage alongside Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania this month. Photo: Alex Brandon/AP
Elon Musk is having a very difficult time against Donald Trump.
The CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX gave tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump political action committees and planned a packed campaign schedule to boost the former president in Pennsylvania. The newspaper said he speaks with President Trump multiple times a week and has encouraged other billionaires to support the Republican candidate en masse in private gatherings. new york times.
Taken together, Mr. Musk’s actions are unprecedented in modern times. Musk, the world’s richest man and owner of one of the most influential mass communications outlets, is putting all his efforts into political candidates. He is no longer a billionaire dabbling in politics. Elon Musk is here to stay as a political actor.
Last weekend, Musk appeared with President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of Trump’s first assassination attempt. He plans to make additional stops in the Keystone State in the three weeks leading up to the election. Politico coverage. he also $47 referral bonus Anyone who is registered to vote in a battleground state can sign a petition filed by his political action committee, America Pac. Remember, Musk forced all Tesla employees to return to the office five days a week in mid-2022. One might wonder how he will manage the company’s affairs since he will be spending so much time in Pennsylvania.
Tesla’s CEO contributes not only IRL but also online. He is bending Twitter/X to his political ends: He @America behind the wheel For this week’s America pack. Last month he Hacked materials from the Trump campaign Published by independent journalists. Musk’s own feed is filled with support for Trump and retweets from people who support him.
President Trump seemed excited about all of the above, sending out a fundraising email with the subject line “Elon!” Elon! Elon! ”’ He also asked supporters to buy the black-on-black “Dark Maga” hat that Musk wore while jumping for joy behind Trump in Pennsylvania.
Elon Musk stands on stage with President Trump during a campaign rally at the site of Trump’s first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 2024. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
As the world’s richest man fights for the Republican nomination, he is following a familiar rabbit hole down the rabbit hole for President Trump’s surrogates. He is increasingly appealing to the fringe of the “Make America Great Again” movement. “If you don’t vote, this will be your last election in America,” Musk said in Pennsylvania. It’s an irony reminiscent of the storming of the Capitol. He repeats the line, “If Kamala Harris wins, she’s going to jail.”
President Trump expressed a similar idea, albeit a more optimistic one, telling a group of Christian supporters in July: We’ll fix it just fine, so there’s no need to vote. ” This is a hopeful statement in the sense of ending democracy. Mr. Musk’s version is a repudiation of Mr. Trump’s, and is full of the doom of election deniers. This contrast is similar to the dynamic between President Trump and J.D. Vance, who has expressed extreme anti-abortion views in speeches and interviews, although Trump himself has said he would return the issue to the states. I’m trying to get around this problem by repeating this.
You might think science is a top priority for a tech CEO, but Musk also defers to Trump on science issues. but, This week’s interview with former Fox News host Tucker CarlsonMusk touted the anti-vaccination movement while walking off a cliff, saying, “I’m not anti-vaccine in general…we shouldn’t force people to get vaccinated,” before praising smallpox and polio vaccines. did. Trump himself called the coronavirus “one of humanity’s greatest achievements.” But during the campaign, he said he would cut funding to schools that require vaccinations and appoint the nation’s most notorious anti-vaxxer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to his transition team.
In the same conversation with Carlson, Musk repeated a statement he had previously recanted and wondered out loud why no one was trying to assassinate Harris.
Musk previously called Trump a “ruthless loser.” Trump once said with a vengeance that he could make tech moguls “bend the knee.” This strange partnership affected at least one of Musk’s businesses. A shift to the right and the launch of the Hot Wheels-style Cybertruck transformed Tesla from a brand coveted by Hollywood and Silicon Valley people to a brand beloved by law enforcement. It’s a change similar to that of Mr. Musk himself. Corporate value has fallen by tens of billions of dollars.
We will be keeping a close eye on Mr. Musk’s next steps on the campaign trail.
Art on Samsung TV and Art in the Museum
Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” is on display.
What is the purpose of digital reproduction of paintings?
Samsung announced yesterday that it has entered into a partnership to license 20 paintings from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York to be used on its Frame TVs. To promote this collaboration, the Korean electronics giant organized a tour of MoMA. I saw Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”, Claude Monet’s giant “Water Lilies”, and surrealist painter Leonora Carrington’s “And I Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur”.
“Water Lilies” by Claude Monet. Photo: Noah Karina/Guardian
Two weeks before this announcement, the Mauritshuis Museum in the Netherlands published a study measuring the neurological effects of art. Scientists have discovered that an original work of art stimulates a response in the viewer’s brain that is 10 times stronger than the response evoked by a reproduction of the same painting.
Philosopher Walter Benjamin theorized this finding about 100 years ago. In “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” published in 1937, he argued that original works have an indescribable aura that replicas can never match. Samsung seems to agree with him to invite journalists on a private MoMA tour to view original works. So what are the benefits of artwork on Frame TV?
Robin Saetta, MoMA’s director of business development, said during the tour that the partnership aligns with the museum’s goal of “extending and expanding access to modern and contemporary art.” I agree. Benjamin writes of the reproduction of a work of art, “Above all, it allows the original to meet the viewer half-heartedly.”
Boophis pikei, a new species of frog from Madagascar
Miguel Vances (CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Deep in the forests of Madagascar, researchers have discovered seven new species of frogs and named them after characters. star trek.
“The frog sounds are very reminiscent of the series' iconic futuristic sound effects,” he says. Mark D. Schertz At the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
Bufis mallogesensis A small brownish frog found in the damp forests of Madagascar. The animal was first described in 1994, but over time, researchers began to wonder if this puppy-eyed amphibian was actually more than one species. I did.
To find out, Schatz and his colleagues collected as much data as possible from a variety of individuals. B. mallogesensis Collected over 30 years. They recorded and analyzed the frogs' calls, compared their physical characteristics, and sequenced their DNA.
Their results showed that what was previously thought to be one species of frog is actually eight different species. Physically, they look almost identical, Schertz says. “The main difference is in the sounds they make. Their piercing, high-pitched whistle calls differ in pitch and timing of the whistle.” DNA sequencing also shows genetic differences, making them different It was confirmed that it is a species.
Male frogs attract females with bird-like calls, but because these newly named species live near rivers, they have evolved high-pitched whistles to make their calls stand out from the noise of flowing water. Mr. Schertz thinks so. However, much about the lives of these frogs remains a mystery.
one of the species is named Boufis Khaki, In honor of James T. Kirk. Other members are named after Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisco, Kathryn Janeway, Jonathan Archer, Michael Burnham, and Christopher Pike.
“We wanted to honor captains who lead teams on missions of exploration and discovery,” says Schatz. “This may also serve as a reminder of how much discovery still remains on Earth before we set our sights on the stars.”
A close friend of Keir Starmer suggests that Westminster needs to distance itself from X, alleging that Elon Musk is purposely manipulating algorithms to further his own political and personal agenda. He implied that this might be the case.
Josh Symonds, Member of Parliament for Makerfield and former director of the pro-Starmerite think tank Labor Together, argues that Britain’s political elite is dangerously reliant on the platform formerly known as Twitter. He expressed his belief in it. Symonds maintains an active X profile but is cautious not to “overuse” it.
His remarks mirror the growing unease among Labour MPs regarding the impact of X following the summer riots, during which misinformation rapidly circulated on the platform. This situation also risks escalating tensions between the government and the company, with Musk persistently criticizing Starmer for his handling of the violence.
Congressman Josh Simmons Photo: Roger Harris/British Parliament
Simons, a tech expert who authored a book on artificial intelligence, conveyed in an interview with The Guardian: That’s all. Particularly because I hardly ever endorse anything he says and I really don’t want to see it, even though I encounter him frequently.
“I even mentioned, ‘Don’t show me any more,’ yet he’s constantly present. And that certainty – despite the disapproval from the company’s founders and owners. You’ll notice additional individuals in the algorithm – [of] Something happening.”
He added, “The notion that individuals in the Westminster bubble are acquainted through a ranking system devised by someone who has dedicated his life to supporting Donald Trump is entirely, unequivocally wrong and detrimental to British democracy. I believe it’s harmful,” he continued. “I think it’s short-sighted for us all.”
X did not respond to requests for comments
The relationship between the government and social media platforms has been strained since the summer riots, with experts contending that online misinformation about the perpetrator who killed three children in Southport incited the disturbances.
As the violence intensified, Musk repeatedly posted about the unrest, sharing a video of the riots in Liverpool with the caption: “Civil war is inevitable.” Downing Street publicly rebuked these comments, labeling them as “unjustified,” to which Musk retaliated with a flurry of enraged posts.
X’s owners recently revived their criticism of the Labour government after being excluded from an international investment summit on Monday. “I don’t reckon anyone should visit the UK when they release a convicted pedophile. [sic] For imprisoning individuals based on their social media postings,” he posted, apparently alluding to the government’s early release initiative.
Numerous Labour MPs have opted out of X and instead established profiles on competing platforms such as Bluesky.
Simons, formerly involved in Meta’s AI program and presently campaigning for a seat on the Commons Technology Select Committee, opines that the new cohort of MPs are more skeptical of platforms than their predecessors, he asserts.
“The landscape is evolving quite fundamentally,” the 31-year-old remarked. “In reality, I believe there’s a generation that doesn’t necessarily imply they won’t utilize it at all, particularly since it offers us another avenue to attract attention.”
He also contends that the discourse surrounding AI has been predominantly shaped by older politicians who did not grow up in a tech-immersed environment like his generation did. He suggests that such individuals are frequently overly optimistic or pessimistic about how technology will revolutionize government operations.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and ex-Conservative Party leader William Hague are among the most vocal proponents of broad AI integration in the public sector. Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak also conveyed optimism about the potential but cautioned about the “existential risks” to humanity.
“There’s a generation,” Simons remarked, “[that] didn’t grow up alongside data and technology, and they harbor simplistic, reductionist, and often utopian or apocalyptic notions about how technology will impact the nation’s future, public services, and economy.”
“AI frequently hinders delving deeper into the technology to better comprehend its policy and political implications.”
Legislation supported by Labor, the Conservative Party, and child protection experts will require social media companies to exclude teenagers from algorithms intended to reduce content addiction in under-16s. This new Safer Telephones Bill, introduced by Labor MPs, prioritizes reviewing mobile phone sales to teenagers and potentially implementing additional safeguards for under-16s. Health Secretary Wes Street voiced support for the bill, citing the negative impact of smartphone addiction on children’s mental health.
The bill, championed by Labor MP Josh McAllister, is receiving positive feedback from ministers, although there is hesitation around banning mobile phone sales to teens. With backing from former Conservative education secretary Kit Malthouse and education select committee chair Helen Hayes, the bill aims to address concerns about children’s excessive screen time and exposure to harmful content.
Mr. McAllister’s bill, which focuses on protecting children from online dangers, will be debated by ministers this week. The bill includes measures to raise the Internet age of majority to 16 and give regulatory powers to Ofcom for children’s online safety. The proposed legislation has garnered support from various stakeholders including former children’s minister Claire Coutinho and children’s charities.
Concerns about the impact of smartphones on children’s well-being have prompted calls for stricter regulations on access to addictive online content. While Prime Minister Keir Starmer is against a blanket ban on mobile phones for under-16s, there are ongoing discussions about how to ensure children’s safety online without restricting necessary access to technology.
The bill aims to regulate online platforms and mobile phone sales to protect young people from harmful content and addiction. Mr. McAllister’s efforts in promoting children’s digital well-being have garnered significant support from policymakers and child welfare advocates.
As the government considers the implications of the bill and the Online Safety Act, which is currently pending full implementation, efforts to protect children from online risks continue to gain momentum. It remains crucial to strike a balance between enabling technology access and safeguarding children from potential online harms.
There is a common belief that animals can smell fear, but can humans do the same? Can you detect someone’s fear just by their scent or musk?
The straightforward answer is “no, you can’t.” While other species, particularly those heavily reliant on their sense of smell, can do so, humans have seemed to lose this ability over time.
The brain area responsible for detecting pheromones, chemical messengers that convey mood information to others, does not seem to work the same way in humans. This function is akin to an appendix of the nervous system.
However, this does not mean that humans are entirely incapable of sensing fear. Research has shown that when women inhale the sweat of men experiencing fear, they become more sensitive to fear as well.
It is important to note that women appear to be more attuned to emotional scents emitted by men. Additionally, the fear response triggered by smelling fear is more subconscious rather than an immediate conscious recognition of fear.
In essence, humans can smell fear to a limited extent in specific situations. The response is either unnoticed due to subconscious processing or perceived as the scent of sweat.
This article answers the question posed by Edward Cox of Edinburgh: “Can you smell fear?”
Child safety activists have urged the UK’s communications watchdog to enforce new online laws following accusations that video game companies have turned their platforms into “hellscapes for adult pedophiles.” They are calling for “gradual changes.”
Last week, Roblox, a popular gaming platform with 80 million daily users, came under fire for its lax security controls. An investment firm in the US criticized Roblox, claiming that its games expose children to grooming, pornography, violent content, and abusive language. The company has denied these claims and stated that safety and civility are fundamental to their operations.
The report highlighted concerning issues such as users seeking to groom avatars, trading in child pornography, accessible sex games, violent content, and abusive behavior on Roblox. Despite these concerns, the company insists that millions of users have safe and positive experiences on the platform, and any safety incidents are taken seriously.
Roblox, known for its user-generated content, allows players to create and play their own games with friends. However, child safety campaigners emphasize the need for stricter enforcement of online safety laws to protect young users from harmful content and interactions on platforms like Roblox.
Platforms like Roblox will need to implement measures to protect children from inappropriate content, prevent grooming, and introduce age verification processes to comply with the upcoming legislation. Ofcom, the regulator responsible for enforcing these laws, is expected to have broad enforcement powers to ensure user safety.
In response, a Roblox spokesperson stated that the company is committed to full compliance with the Online Safety Act, engaging in consultations and assessments to align with Ofcom’s guidelines. They look forward to seeing the final code of practice and ensuring a safe online environment for all users.
exterior: The cable that connects to your phone and connects to your home.
I haven’t had a landline phone for years. Oh, young whipsnapper! You are really missing out.
What exactly? So many! Give your complete phone number to the caller when you answer the phone, and lock yourself in a room where all family members can clearly hear your side of the conversation. It’s the best.
I don’t think it’s the best. You won’t understand. My landline still receives a lot of calls.
From whom? Oh, all my new friends. This is the man who promised to give him millions of pounds in return for loaning him 10,000 pounds. The woman at the bank who kept asking for all my personal information. They are all very nice works.
I don’t want to say it, but this is what I think Maybe you are being deceived. Yes, you are almost certainly being scammed. It has recently been discovered that more than half of all calls are made to landlines. It’s from a scammer.
why? That may be because fraudulent numbers are harder to screen and block on landlines than on mobile phones. It may be because someone who legitimately wants to talk to you just rings your cell phone. Or maybe it’s because it’s mainly older people who have landlines these days.
How is it related? Scammers famously like to target the elderly, with 80% of seniors owning a landline, compared to only 50% of 18-29 year olds. Because it is.
So if you’re a scammer and you dial a landline… You’re more likely to get a kind senior who may not realize you’re about to empty your bank account.
terrible. This must be the end of landline telephones. Landlines are now coveted by Gen Z, so don’t talk too soon.
why? It looks like a cassette player and is retro and cool. Listen, if you’re 20 years old, you’ve probably lived your entire life using your cell phone as your laptop, camera, book and food ordering system. Isn’t it refreshing that it can only be used as a phone?
Ah, I see. It’s imaginary nostalgia. Maybe it will stick. After all, nothing makes a phone conversation more enjoyable than the actual phone call.
Wait a minute, what do you mean by conversation? when talking to someone.
Via text? No, it’s from your mouth.
I in fact you would have to Do you want to tell someone? Vocally? By phone? that teeth my biggest fear. Well, you might die alone with that kind of attitude, but the good news is you’ll never get scammed.
Please say: “Landline phone users are more susceptible to fraud.”
Please don’t say things like: “But please give us all your bank account details and we will tell the scammers to stop.”
While I was on the treadmill at the gym the other day, I overheard a conversation between two men.
“We had an amazing night last night,” one of them exclaimed.
Intrigued, I listened for more details, hoping for a juicy story.
“The score was 96 points,” he continued.
My interest waned.
“It’s insane,,” replied his companion. “My average is 67, and I don’t see it going any higher.”
“But what about your heart rate?”
“I never check, but I know my REM score this week is unusually high,” he responded.
At the mention of REM, rapid eye movement, they delved into a discussion about sleep performance.
Welcome to the realm of Orthosomnia. This term refers to an unhealthy fixation on achieving perfect sleep, often driven by wearable devices. American researchers coined the term in a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. The study revealed that obsessively analyzing nightly sleep data might exacerbate insomnia. People may spend excessive time in bed striving for a flawless score, leading to heightened anxiety over their sleep performance.
But what constitutes a “good sleep score”? And can one manipulate involuntary biological processes?
According to behavioral sleep therapist Katie Fisher, many clients are fixated on achieving the “perfect” night’s sleep. She emphasizes that individuals who sleep well often don’t think much about it. Conversely, those who struggle with sleep attempt to hit a specific number of hours without realizing that their needs may differ. Fisher asserts that excessive monitoring of sleep data only induces stress and recommends focusing on how one feels rather than fixating on numbers.
Dr. Neil Stanley, author of How to Sleep Well, questions the utility of sleep tracking devices. While they can provide basic information on sleep duration, accurately discerning between sleep stages requires advanced monitoring. He highlights the importance of listening to one’s body rather than relying solely on data.
Professor Guy Leszziner also raises doubts about the efficacy of sleep tracking. He stresses the need to address underlying obstacles to good sleep, such as sleep disorders or lifestyle factors. Leszziner argues that while REM sleep plays a critical role, fixation on REM data may not yield significant insights into overall sleep quality.
Illustration: Jess Jenkins/Guardian
Both experts advocate for a more holistic approach to sleep, emphasizing the importance of self-awareness and lifestyle adjustments rather than fixating on sleep data. They highlight the need to prioritize self-care and listen to the body’s cues for optimal rest and well-being.
Dr. Neil Stanley, author of How to Sleep Better.
Ultimately, the focus should be on improving overall well-being and quality of life, rather than fixating on arbitrary sleep scores. By tuning in to one’s body and making sustainable lifestyle choices, individuals can optimize their sleep and overall health.
The quest for perfect sleep may lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety, detracting from the essence of rest and relaxation. Instead of relying solely on data, individuals should prioritize self-care, listen to their bodies, and adopt healthy sleep habits to achieve long-term well-being.
As technology advances, sleep tracking may become more sophisticated, but the fundamental principles of good sleep remain unchanged. It is essential to strike a balance between leveraging technology for insights and honoring the body’s natural rhythm and needs.
In a world obsessed with metrics and data, the key to quality sleep lies not in numbers but in a holistic approach that integrates self-awareness, healthy habits, and a deep connection with one’s body.
Europa Clipper launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 14, 2024 at 12:06 pm EDT, beginning a six-year journey to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. The spacecraft will fly 49 times, approaching as close as 25 kilometers. Searching for the ingredients of life below the surface (16 miles).
Europa Clipper will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 14, 2024 at 12:06 pm EDT. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.
european clipper This is the largest spacecraft ever built by NASA for a planetary mission.
Expanding the giant solar array, the spacecraft could span the length of a basketball court (30.5 meters, or 100 feet, end to end).
“We congratulate the European Clipper team as it begins its first journey to the ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
“NASA is a world leader in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no exception.”
“By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is potential for life not only within our solar system, but also on the billions of moons and planets outside the sun. .”
“We couldn't be more excited about the incredible and unprecedented science that NASA's European Clipper mission will bring for generations to come,” said Nikki Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. states.
“All of NASA's science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper's scientific discoveries will help other missions in Jupiter exploration, including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager, explore the possibility of inhabited planets beyond our home planet. We will build on the legacy we have created as we explore possible worlds.”
“We are very happy to be able to send Europa Clipper to explore a potentially habitable ocean world, thanks to all of our colleagues and partners who have worked so hard to date.” said Dr. Laurie Leshin, Director of NASA's Jet Division. Promotion Institute.
“The Europa Clipper will undoubtedly deliver amazing science. It is always bittersweet to send something we have worked so hard on for so many years on its long journey, but this amazing team We know that spacecraft will expand our knowledge of our solar system and provide inspiration for future exploration.”
“As Europa Clipper embarks on its journey, I will reflect on the countless dedications, innovations, and teamwork that made this moment possible,” said Europa Clipper project manager, also at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Jordan Evans said.
“This launch is more than just the next chapter in solar system exploration. It is a journey into another ocean, driven by our common curiosity and the quest to answer the question 'Are we alone?' A leap forward to uncover the mysteries of the world. ”
The journey to Jupiter will be a long 2.9 billion kilometers (1.8 billion miles), and instead of heading straight there, Europa Clipper will orbit Mars and then Earth, speeding past it.
The spacecraft is scheduled to begin orbiting Jupiter in April 2030 and begin its 49 science-focused flybys of Europa in 2031 while orbiting the gas giant.
This orbit is designed to take full advantage of the science Europa Clipper can perform and minimize exposure to Jupiter's notoriously intense radiation.
Scientists on the mission will be able to “see” how thick Europa's ice shell is and gain a deeper understanding of the vast ocean beneath.
They will examine surface material that may have come up from below, look for fingerprints of organic compounds that form the building blocks of life, and sample gases emitted by the moon for evidence of habitability. I will.
They will analyze the results and look for signs of a water world that could support life beneath the moon's frozen shell.
“It's important for us to picture what that alien ocean is like, the chemistry and biochemistry that might be going on there,” said Europa Clipper team member said Dr. Morgan Cable, an astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Its research centers on searching for the types of salts, ices, and organic materials that make up the main ingredients of a habitable world.
This is where an imager called MISE (Mapping Imaging Spectrometer for Europa) comes into play.
Operating in the infrared, the spacecraft's MISE splits the reflected light into different wavelengths to identify the corresponding atoms and molecules.
The mission will also use an instrument called E-THEMIS (European Thermal Emission Imaging System), which also operates in infrared, to explore potential sites near Europa's surface where plumes could bring deep-sea material closer to the surface. Attempt to identify hotspots.
The task of the EIS (Europa Imaging System) is to take clear, detailed pictures of Europa's surface using both narrow-image and wide-image cameras.
“EIS imagers will provide incredibly high-resolution images to understand how Europa's surface continues to evolve and change,” said Dr. Cable.
NASA's Cassini mission has discovered giant plumes of water vapor spewing from jets near the south pole of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus.
Europa may also emit a misty column of water drawn from the ocean or from reservoirs within its shell.
The Europa Clipper's instrument, called Europa-UVS (Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph), can explore the plume and study any material that could be ejected into space.
Regardless of whether Europa has a plume or not, the spacecraft will carry two instruments to analyze small amounts of gas and dust particles ejected from the moon's surface by collisions with micrometeorites and high-energy particles. It has been. MASPEX (MAss SPECtrometer for Planetary Exploration/Europa) and SUDA (Surface Dust Analyzer).
These instruments capture small pieces of material emitted from surfaces and turn them into charged particles that reveal their composition.
“The spacecraft will study the gases and grains emitted by Europa by sticking out its tongue, tasting the grains, and inhaling those gases,” Dr. Cable said.
The mission will also explore Europa's external and internal structures in a variety of ways. That's because both structures have far-reaching implications for the moon's habitability.
To gain insight into the thickness of ice shells and the presence of oceans, as well as their depth and salinity, the mission will measure the moon's induced magnetic field with the ECM (European Clipper Magnetometer) and use that data to analyze currents from flowing charged particles. We plan to combine it with the measured values of . Around Europa — Data provided by PIMS (Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding).
In addition, mission scientists will use REASON (European Assessment and Near-Surface Sounding Radar), which monitors up to 18 miles (29 km) away, to detect every detail from the presence of ocean to ice structure and topography. I plan to investigate. several miles) into the shell. itself a potentially habitable environment.
Measuring the changes that Europa's gravity causes in radio signals should help determine the thickness of the ice and the depth of the ocean.
“Non-ice material on the surface can migrate into deep internal pockets of brine within the ice shell,” said Dr. Steve Vance, a member of the European Clipper team and an astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Some may be large enough to be considered lakes, or at least ponds.”
“Using the collected data to perform large-scale computer modeling of Europa's internal structure, we may be able to uncover the ocean's composition and estimate its temperature profile.”
“Whatever the situation, the discovery will open a new chapter in the search for extraterrestrial life.”
“The European Clipper is almost certain to raise as many questions as it answers, if not more, in a completely different class than we have been thinking about for the past 25 years.”
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This article is based on a press release provided by NASA.
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope detected Jupiter’s most distinctive feature, the Great Red Spot, on eight dates over a single 90-day oscillation period from December 2023 to March 2024. I observed it.
simon others. measured the size, shape, brightness, color, and vorticity of the Great Red Spot over one complete oscillation cycle. Image credit: NASA/ESA/Amy Simon, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Joseph DePasquale, STScI.
“We knew its motion varied slightly with longitude, but we didn’t expect it to oscillate in magnitude,” said Dr. Amy Simon, an astronomer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
“As far as we know, it has never been identified before.”
“This is really the first time we’ve had a proper imaging rhythm for the Great Red Spot.”
“Using Hubble’s high resolution, we can say that the Great Red Spot is steadily moving in and out at the same time as it moves faster and slower.”
“This was very unexpected. There is no hydrodynamic explanation at this time.”
Dr. Simon and colleagues used Hubble to zoom in on the Great Red Spot and closely observe its size, shape, and subtle color changes.
“If you look closely, you can see that many things are changing every day,” Dr. Simon said.
“This includes ultraviolet observations showing that the clear center of the storm is brightest when the Great Red Spot is at its maximum magnitude during its oscillation period.”
“This indicates less absorption of haze in the upper atmosphere.”
“As the Great Red Spot accelerates and decelerates, it’s working against the jet stream, which has strong north and south winds,” said Dr. Mike Wong, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley.
“It’s similar to how having too many ingredients in the middle of a sandwich forces a slice of bread to expand.”
The authors contrasted this with Neptune. On Neptune, dark spots can drift violently within their latitudes without a strong jet stream to hold them in place.
The Great Red Spot is held at southern latitudes trapped between the jet stream, with limited telescopic observations of Earth.
Astronomers predict that the star will continue to shrink and then assume a stable, less elongated shape.
“Currently, we’re overfilling that latitudinal band compared to wind fields,” Dr. Simon said.
“Once it contracts within that band, the wind actually holds it in place.”
“We predict that the size of the Great Red Spot will probably stabilize, but so far Hubble has only observed it for one oscillation period.”
team’s result Published in Planetary Science Journal.
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Amy A. Simon others. 2024. A detailed study of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot over a 90-day oscillation period. planet. Science. J 5,223;doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad71d1
Westfield Shopping Center is not an ideal place for studying, but for Deborah Botende, it was one of her few options.
Botende grew up in a foster care home in Brisbane and did not have internet access at her residence. During high school, she would return home after her retail job and use the shopping center’s Wi-Fi on a second-hand laptop to complete her school assignments.
On her days off, Botende would go to the library, but her time there was limited as the library closed early.
“It was extremely challenging. I often found myself falling behind on assignments and struggling to understand them,” she recalls. “The lack of internet was a significant barrier to my education. I had to take proactive measures.
“I would use the internet after work, sometimes coming home late to work on assignments. I felt like I had no other choice. This was my reality.”
As end-of-year exams commence nationwide, the Smith family is urging the federal government to establish a national device bank to bridge the digital divide among young individuals.
According to the latest data from the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII), nearly a quarter of Australians are digitally excluded, lacking access to vital technologies such as fast internet and digital devices.
Doug Taylor, CEO of The Smith Family, mentions that around 10 million laptops, tablets, and PCs have been discarded by businesses and governments in the last five years. If these were recycled, 10 million students could benefit.
“Digital poverty is a new aspect of poverty that people are facing,” Taylor notes. “It’s a barrier that goes beyond just access.”
Device banks have been successful in other countries. Since 1993, the Canadian government has refurbished and distributed approximately 2 million digital devices through the Computers in Schools program, aiming to reduce electronic waste and enhance young people’s digital skills.
Similarly, The Smith Family has repurposed around 6,500 laptops as part of their digital inclusion efforts, noting that over 80% of students have shown improved academic performance after receiving these devices.
Mr. Taylor emphasizes that with the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and new technologies, digital skills are now as crucial as basic literacy and numeracy skills in children’s education.
“We anticipate that more jobs will require higher education, and it’s difficult to envision pursuing higher education or entering the workforce without a laptop,” Taylor states.
“Furthermore, schools now view AI as an indispensable tool. Without access to it, students may face further disadvantages in their education.”
The primary reason for digital exclusion is affordability. Research from ADII shows that 65% of people in public housing experience digital affordability stress, needing to allocate more than 5% of their household income for a reliable internet connection, with 70% of them being unemployed.
Without a national digital inclusion framework, families in need must navigate fragmented state and territory grants, loans, and policies that lack coherence, according to Taylor.
There has been progress in recent years. The Queensland Government, for instance, has introduced funding for public schools to partially cover devices for economically disadvantaged students. Grant schemes are also available for upgrading broadband internet for distance learning students.
In Victoria, schools have implemented BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programs, encouraging parents to provide devices for their children. In New South Wales, principals can approve the loan of digital devices for home use, though it is not mandatory.
“This is a solvable problem,” Taylor affirms. “We need to consider universal access. Just last week, I spoke to a student who was one of the few not taking notes on a laptop in a lecture. It struck me.”
“When students feel disconnected from the school environment, it impacts their educational experience. Grades suffer, and attendance declines.”
For Botende, who recently completed her advanced degree with the assistance of a donated laptop, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds already face numerous disadvantages.
“Digital inclusion may seem basic, but it levels the playing field,” she concludes.
Using the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the HARPS instrument on ESO’s La Silla 3.6-meter telescope, astronomers discovered the hot Saturn-sized gas giant exoplanet WASP-49Ab, which is close to but slightly synchronized. Detected a sodium cloud with a shifted position.
This artist’s concept depicts a volcanic exomoon that could exist between WASP-49Ab (left) and its parent star. Image credit: NASA/JPL/California Institute of Technology.
WASP-49A is a faint sun-like star discovered in 2006 by the Wide Angle Planet Survey (WASP).
The star, also known as 2MASS 06042146-1657550, is located in the constellation Lepus, about 635 light-years from Earth.
The transiting Saturn-mass companion star, WASP-49Ab (also known as WASP-49b), was discovered in 2012 in a 2.8-day orbit.
“Both WASP-49Ab and its star are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of sodium,” said Caltech astronomer Apurva Oza.
“Neither of these contain enough sodium to cause clouds, and the clouds appear to be coming from sources that are producing about 100,000 kg of sodium per second.”
“Even if stars and planets were able to produce that much sodium, it is unclear what mechanism would allow them to emit sodium into space.”
Oza and his colleagues found some evidence to suggest that the cloud was produced by another object orbiting WASP-49Ab, but additional research is needed to confirm the cloud’s behavior. .
For example, their two observations showed that when the cloud was not next to the planet, it suddenly increased in size, as if it had been refueled.
They also observed that the clouds were moving faster than the planets. This seems impossible unless the clouds are generated by another object that moves independently and faster than the planet.
“We think this is very important evidence,” Dr. Oza said.
“The cloud is moving in the opposite direction that physics tells it should go if it were part of the planet’s atmosphere.”
Astronomers have demonstrated that this cloud is located above the planet’s atmosphere, similar to the gas clouds that Io produces around Jupiter.
They also used a computer model to explain the exomoon scenario and compared it to data.
WASP-49Ab orbits the star every 2.8 days with clock-like regularity, but the cloud appears and disappears behind the star and planet at seemingly irregular intervals.
The researchers used a model to show that exomoons with eight-hour orbits around the planet sometimes appeared to move in front of the planet or did not appear to be associated with certain clouds. It was shown that it is possible to explain the movement and activity of clouds, such as how they move. region of the planet.
“The evidence that something other than a planet or star is producing this cloud is very convincing,” said Dr. Rosalie Lopez, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“The detection of an exomoon is highly unusual, but thanks to Io we know that volcanic exomoons are possible.”
of findings Published in Astrophysics Journal Letter.
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Apurva V. Oza others. 2024. Redshifted sodium transient near an exoplanet transit. APJL 973, L53; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad6b29
WBack in 2011, Marc Andreessen was a venture capitalist with dreams of becoming a public intellectual. published an essay Titled “Why Software is Eating the World,'', he predicted that computer code would take over large swaths of the economy. Now, 13 years later, the software seems to be making its way into academia. In any case, this is one possible conclusion to be drawn from the fact that computer scientist Jeffrey Hinton shares the following about 2024: Nobel Prize in Physics John Hopfield and computer scientist Demis Hassabis share half of it. Nobel Prize in Chemistry With one of my colleagues at DeepMind, John Jumper.
In some ways, Hassabis and Jumper's awards were as expected. Because they built the machine. alpha fold 2 – This will enable researchers to solve one of the most difficult problems in biochemistry: predicting the structure of proteins, the building blocks of biological life. Their machine was able to predict the structure of virtually every 200m protein the researchers identified. So this is a big problem for chemistry.
But Hinton is not a physicist. Indeed, he once Introduced at an academic conference As someone who “failed physics, dropped out of psychology, and then joined a field with absolutely no standards: artificial intelligence.” After graduating, I worked as a carpenter for a year. But he's the guy who found a way to do it (“backpropagationThis allows neural networks to be trained. This was one of the two keys that opened the door to machine learning and sparked the current AI frenzy. (The other is transformer model (published by Google researchers in 2017).
But where's the physics in this? That's from Mr. Hopfield, who shares the award with Mr. Hinton. “Hopfield networks and their further development, called Boltzmann machines, are based on physics,” Hinton explained to the man. new york times. “Hopfield nets used energy functions and Boltzmann machines used ideas from statistical physics. So that stage of the development of neural networks relied heavily on ideas from physics.”
that's ok. But the media often describes Hinton as the “godfather of AI,” which has vaguely sinister overtones. In reality, he is the exact opposite: tall, affable, polite, intelligent, and endowed with an acerbic and sometimes acerbic wit. When I asked Cade Metz how he reacted when he heard the news of the award, he said he was “shocked, surprised, and appalled,” which I think most people would say. But in 2018, he shared the Turing Award, computer science's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, with Joshua Bengio and Yann LeCun for their work in deep learning. So he was always in the top league. It's just that there is no Nobel Prize in computer science. Given the way software is eating up the world, perhaps that should change.
There's an old joke that the key to becoming a Nobel Prize winner is to “outlive” your rivals. Hinton, now 77, clearly took notice. But in fact, what is most admirable about him is his persistence in believing in the potential of neural networks as the key to artificial intelligence, long after the idea had been discredited by the profession. Given the way academia works, it required an extraordinary amount of determination and confidence, especially in a rapidly developing field like computer science. Perhaps what drove him through his dark times was the idea that his great-grandfather was George Boole, the 19th century mathematician who invented the underlying logic. all Of this digital stuff.
We also think about the impact awards have on people. When news of Hinton's award broke, I thought of Seamus Heaney, who won the literary prize in 1995. He described the experience as “like being attacked by something.” generally “A benign avalanche.” Note that I say “almost.” One of the consequences of the Nobel Prize is that the recipient instantly becomes public property, and everyone wants a piece of it. “All I'm doing these days is 'going to work,'” Heaney wrote resignedly to a friend in June 1996. And this situation will continue for weeks and months yet… Whatever the final outcome of the Stockholm effect, its direct result is the desire to quit and start over. with a unique persona (within myself)”
So…note to Jeff: Congratulations. And manage your calendar.
what i was reading
talk like this Is chatting with a bot a conversation? wonderful new yorker essay Historian Jill Lepore talks about interacting with GPT-4o's Advanced Voice Mode.
Interesting times… October 2, 2024. this particular problem Heather Cox Richardson's essential Substack blog is a gem.
real page turner Elite college students who can't read books, interesting report in atlantic ocean Written by Rose Horowich.
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