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martyb writes:

Scientists at University of Cambridge, England report that they have found hidden signatures in the brains of people in a vegetative state (abstract), which point to networks that could support consciousness even when a patient appears to be unconscious and unresponsive. The study could help doctors identify patients who are aware despite being unable to communicate.

Prior research employed fMRI (functional MRI) of patients who were asked to envision playing tennis and revealed that some of the patients had brain activity comparable to that of healthy and conscious adults. Unfortunately, fMRI is relatively expensive and not very commonly available.

These researchers used high-density electroencephalographs (EEG) and a branch of mathematics known as graph theory to study networks of activity in the brains of 32 patients diagnosed as vegetative and minimally conscious and compared them to healthy adults.

The researchers showed that the rich and diversely connected networks that support awareness in the healthy brain are typically — but importantly, not always — impaired in patients in a vegetative state.

The findings could help researchers develop a relatively simple way of identifying which patients might be aware whilst in a vegetative state

frojack writes:

The Times of India has a story about what an Indian university student thought were the most surprising aspects of his experience studying in the US.

Aniruddh Chaturvedi came from Mumbai to Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he is majoring in computer science. This past summer he interned at a tech company in Silicon Valley.

It's interesting reading, some of which you might expect, about economic differences, supermarkets, obesity, etc. made his list of surprising things.

FakeBeldin writes:

The self-dubbed "safest place on the internet", Whisper, apparently tracks users.

Whisper is a platform (like Twitter) where you can post short messages overlaid over a user-supplied picture. Supposedly, you're anonymous while doing so. When the Guardian went on a 3-day visit to pursue editorial relationships with the company, they encountered nuggets such as "an in-house mapping tool that allows its staff to filter and search GPS data, pinpointing messages to within 500 meters of where they were sent", and quotes such as "We had 13 or 14 [IDF] soldiers who we were tracking – every whisper they did".

Tracking facilitated through geolocation facilities in the app if active, with a fallback mode through geo-ip, stored in a database. Which apparently has never had any deletions, ever. To add further insult to injury, the Guardian claims Whisper latches on to potentially newsworthy Whisperers, and follows them.

Whisper has responded to these reports saying:

Whisper does not collect nor store: name, physical address, phone number, email address, or any other form of PII. The privacy of our users is not violated in any of the circumstances suggested in the Guardian story.

The Guardian’s assumptions that Whisper is gathering information about users and violating user’ s privacy are false.

Another reaction by Whisper CTO + scathing reply by well-known privacy hacker Moxie Marlinspike here.

Ars Technica covers basically the same points.

lhsi writes:

Eurekalert report on a study (abstract) in which scientists have looked into how dinosaurs breathed and have found that the noses were structured to enhance smelling and to cool the brain.

"Dinosaurs were pretty 'nosy' animals," said Ohio University doctoral student Jason Bourke, lead author of the new study published today in the Anatomical Record. "Figuring out what's going on in their complicated snouts is challenging because noses have so many different functions. And it doesn't help that all the delicate soft tissues rotted away millions of years ago."

To restore what time had stripped away, the team turned to the modern-day relatives of dinosaurs—birds, crocodiles and lizards—to provide clues. "We'll do whatever it takes," said Lawrence Witmer, professor in the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and principal investigator on the National Science Foundation's Visible Interactive Dinosaur Project, which funded much of the research. "We did lots of dissections, blood-vessel injections and CT scanning, but a major new tool was 3D computer simulation of airflow."

martyb writes:

Researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center report on differences between male and female desires for food and sex:

Choosing between two good things can be tough. When animals must decide between feeding and mating, it can get even trickier. In a discovery that might ring true even for some humans, researchers have shown that male brains – at least in nematodes – will suppress the ability to locate food in order to instead focus on finding a mate.

The results, which appear today in the journal Current Biology, may point to how subtle changes in the brain's circuitry dictate differences in behavior between males and females.

The findings were made in experiments involving C. elegans, a microscopic roundworm that has long been used by researchers to understand fundamental mechanisms in biology. Many of the discoveries made using C. elegans apply throughout the animal kingdom and this research has led to a broader understanding of human biology. In fact, three Nobel Prizes in medicine and chemistry have been awarded for discoveries involving C. elegans.

The Rochester researchers discovered that the sensory mechanisms — called chemoreceptors — of the AWA neurons were regulated by the sexual identity of these cells, which, in turn, controls the expression of a receptor called ODR-10. These receptors bind to a chemical scent that is given off by food and other substances.

In hermaphrodites, more of the ODR-10 receptors are produced, making the worms more sensitive — and thereby attracted — to the presence of food. In males, fewer of these receptors are active, essentially suppressing their ability — and perhaps desire — to find food. However, when males were deprived of food, they produced dramatically higher levels of this receptor, allowing them to temporarily focus on finding food.

An abstract with illustrations is available.

frojack writes:

ScienceMag reports on a new approach to cholesterol management, and artery-clogging plaque.

Currently, statins are the go-to drug for lowering cholesterol. Some of these such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) have become the best selling drugs in history. Patent expirations have kicked in for some of these drugs. The cynical among us are probably already thinking that fact alone explains the research into new drugs to solve the same problem.

However the side effects of statins (see link above) and monitoring necessary with some of these formulas provide their own motivation.

Statins work by reducing production of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so called "bad" cholesterol.

The new drug, a peptide that mimics part of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol), which sops up LDL and ferry it to the liver where it is eliminated was developed by M. Reza Ghadiri, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute.

Tested in mice, one group of animals received the peptide intravenously. For another group, the researchers simply added the compound to the animals’ water, a strategy they considered unlikely to work. To their surprise, in both groups, serum cholesterol levels dropped 40% from their previous levels within 2 weeks. And by 10 weeks, the number of artery-clogging lesions had been reduced by half.

It remains to be seen if this effect will persist when tried by humans.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Earlier this month, Oslo withdrew its bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, leaving the International Olympics Committee with just two bidders for that event: Beijing (China) and Almaty (Kazakhstan). Oslo had been the clear front runner based on application ratings issued by the IOC, but the Norwegian government apparently got cold feet when faced with the projected $5.4 billion cost, before overruns. Earlier this year Kraków (Poland), Stockholm (Sweden), and Lviv (Ukraine) withdrew their bids; Kraków and Stockholm because of voter disapproval, and Lviv, because the Ukraine was/is preoccupied with more pressing matters.

But what about the economic benefits of hosting the Olympics? Another piece from Business Insider analyzes the supposed benefits accruing to the Olympic host city, drawing from a pair of pieces (from 2004 and 2006) written by Victor Matheson, Prof. of Economics at the College of Holy Cross. Matheson did some back-of-the-spreadsheet analysis to estimate the "multiplier effect" from the additional business produced during an Olympics. The multiplier takes indirect economic benefits into account; for example, workers who have more disposable income will spend some of the extra money at local bars and restaurants, giving the bartenders and chefs more money to spend, etc. In two of Matheson's three scenarios, the multiplier actually drops as the outside income increases, because much of the money is withdrawn from the city by business owners.

Matheson was therefore skeptical at published estimates of huge economic windfalls received by past hosts of the Olympics and the World Cup.

While Business Insider tried to make the point that cities have evidently learned from others' mistakes (because of the dearth of remaining applicants for 2022), it should be mentioned that four cities in the USA are still competing to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, and there are many other contenders around the world.

mendax writes:

The New York Times published an interesting story about the fears of the current FBI director:

The director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, said Thursday that federal laws should be changed to require telecommunications companies to give law enforcement agencies access to the encrypted communications of individuals suspected of crimes.

... Mr. Comey warned that crimes could go unsolved if law enforcement officers cannot gain access to information that technology companies like Apple and Google are protecting using increasingly sophisticated encryption technology.

“Unfortunately, the law hasn’t kept pace with technology, and this disconnect has created a significant public safety problem,” he said.

Mr. Comey said that he was hoping to spur Congress to update the 20-year-old Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which does not require companies to give law enforcement direct access to individuals’ communications.

The F.B.I. has long had concerns about devices “going dark” — when technology becomes so sophisticated that the authorities cannot gain access to them. But now, Mr. Comey is warning that the new encryption technology has evolved to the point that it could adversely affect crime solving.

The kicker is this line:

“Those charged with protecting our people aren’t always able to access the evidence we need to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism, even with lawful authority."

Of course, it should be no surprise to the FBI why so many people are going "dark" and using things like Tails. For decades, the government has proven time and again that it can't be trusted to act lawfully and constitutionally. The FBI is responsible for more than its share of that. So naturally those who can are going to take steps to protect their privacy and Apple and Google, among others, are simply responding to that demand.

cafebabe writes:

From Wired Innovation Insights:

In 1958, Michael Young coined the term "meritocracy" in his book, The Rise of the Meritocracy. Young used the term satirically to depict a United Kingdom ruled by a system that favored intelligence and merit above all else, including past personal achievements.

However:

Who decides who is listened to? Who decides which ideas are the best? At my company, Red Hat, the people who are listened to are the ones who have earned the right. They have built a reputation and history of contributing good ideas, going beyond their day jobs, and achieving stellar results.

In many technology companies that employ a meritocracy — Red Hat being one example — people forge their own path to leadership, not simply by working hard and smart, but also by expressing unique ideas that have the ability to positively impact their team and their company. Entire paths have been paved at Red Hat because a single person spoke up when it mattered, had gained enough trust and respect from teammates so people truly listened, and, as a result, was able to influence direction of an initiative (or start a new one).

For example, I think back to a Red Hat associate who, as we were developing our virtualization business at Red Hat, spoke up in a meeting when he thought myself, his boss's boss, his boss and others, were making a wrong decision. While we didn't follow his guidance that day, eventually we did because we valued his opinion, and frankly, because he was right.

Of course, this doesn't happen overnight. It takes time and a consistent track record to begin to earn respect and influence in a meritocracy. As you can imagine, given the right vehicles for communication and encouragement, the natural thought leaders emerge.

The article also includes some fairly standard advice about decision making.

bornagainpenguin writes:

In beta since December of 2013, the XBMC4Xbox Project announced the release of version 3.5 of the application for the venerable original Microsoft Xbox, first seen way back in 2001. The hackable Microsoft console with its meager 64 MBs of RAM and now small seeming 8 GB hard disk has increasingly fallen off most people's radars as it was left behind by improvements in hardware, software and time. Even the original project which fostered it and had discontinued support for it in its forums has begun to move away from their humble beginnings with a name change from XBMC to Kodi. Fortunately for those of us who still think the combo of XBMC + Xbox makes for a 'Killer Media Center' there's still life in the old system!

Early Tuesday afternoon BuZz posted:

After more than a year’s work since v3.3, we are very pleased to announce XBMC4Xbox version v3.5. A large number of new features and improvements have been made since v3.3, including the integration of Python 2.7, improved video playback, updates to the skinning engine, scraper fixes, and plenty of bug fixes.

[...] Python support in XBMC4Xbox has been overhauled, with the out of date Python 2.4 replaced with Python 2.7. This update, along with the addition of some missing API functions brings much better compatibility with Kodi (Formerly XBMC) plugins. The Addons4Xbox installer has also been updated, allowing many plugins written for Kodi to work right out of the box. The Python 2.7 update also brings performance improvements, and comes with fully working libraries for sqlite3, and SSL amongst others.

[...] There have been many bug fixes around the software with around 44 issues on the bugtracker resolved/fixed as well as more reported via the forum. Thanks to all those that have reported bugs, provided fixes & patches, and helped with testing.

For the full announcement see the blog post here.

As someone who just recently took the plunge and picked up an old Xbox to play around with this news couldn't have come at a better time. Downloads can be found in the usual spots.

gewg_ writes:

Nick Heath reports

[Munich's city] council is intending to conduct a study to see which operating systems and software packages--both proprietary and open source--best fit its needs. The audit would also take into account the work already carried out to move the council to free software.

Now, in a response to Munich's Green Party (PDF), Mayor Dieter Reiter has revealed the cost of returning to Windows.

Reiter said that moving to Windows 7 would require the council to replace all the PCs for its 14,000-plus staff, a move he said would cost €3.15 million. That figure did not include software licensing and infrastructure costs, which Reiter said could not be calculated without further planning. He said a move to Windows 8 would be far more costly.

Reiter said going back to Microsoft would mean writing off about €14M of work it had carried out to shift to Limux, OpenOffice, and other free software. Work on project implementation, support, training, modifying systems, licensing of Limux-specific software, on setting up Limux and migrating from Microsoft Office would have to be shelved, he said.

He also revealed that the move to Limux had saved the council about €11M in licensing and hardware costs, as the Ubuntu-based Limux operating system was less demanding than if it had upgraded to a newer version of Windows.

Related: No, Munich Isn't About To Ditch Free Software and Move Back to Windows

buswolley writes:

The organization that brought Syria Deeply, a site with in-depth information and news about current events in Syria, has opened a new site called Ebola Deeply with the goal of creating website with in depth information and news from independent journalists about a the Ebola epidemic. In their own words:

Ebola Deeply is an independent digital media project led by journalists and technologists that explores a new model of storytelling around a global crisis. Our goal is to build a better user experience of the story by adding context to content, using the latest digital tools of the day. Over time the hope is to add greater clarity, deeper understanding and more sustained engagement to the global conversation.

Blackmoore writes:

Referring back to when Microsoft seized No-IP domains (it did then reinstate them) boing boing brings us the tale of interpretive law - How Microsoft hacked trademark law to let it secretly seize whole businesses:

The company expanded the "ex parte temporary restraining order" so it could stage one-sided, sealed proceedings to take away rival businesses' domains, sometimes knocking thousands of legit servers offline.

Most famously, Microsoft used the power against No-IP, a company that provided dynamic DNS to thousands of customers

This is covered by Wired in: How Microsoft Appointed Itself Sheriff of the Internet.

tonyPick writes:

The Hubble Space Telescope has identified three Kupier Belt Objects (KBOs) which are potential targets for the New Horizons Pluto Mission following the Pluto flyby in 2015.

The New Horizons mission to Pluto is looking at the options for trajectories to reach one of these KBOs following Pluto, and one of the identified KBO candidates is "definitely reachable" using the remaining fuel, with the other two KBOs are potentially reachable, but will require further tracking to be certain.

Hugh Pickens writes:

Pamela Engel writes that Americans need only look to Nigeria to calm their fears about an Ebola outbreak in the US. Nigeria is much closer to the West Africa outbreak than the US is, yet even after Ebola entered the country in the most terrifying way possible — via a visibly sick passenger on a commercial flight — officials successfully shut down the disease and prevented widespread transmission. If there are still no new cases on October 20, the World Health Organization will officially declare the country "Ebola-free". Here's how Nigeria did it.

The first person to bring Ebola to Nigeria was Patrick Sawyer, who left a hospital in Liberia against the wishes of the medical staff and flew to Nigeria. Once Sawyer arrived, it became obvious that he was ill when he passed out in the Lagos airport, and he was taken to a hospital in the densely packed city of 20 million. Once the country's first Ebola case was confirmed, Port Health Services in Nigeria started a process called contact tracing to limit the spread of the disease and created an emergency operations center to coordinate and oversee the national response. Health officials used a variety of resources, including phone records and flight manifests, to track down nearly 900 people who might have been exposed to the virus via Sawyer or the people he infected. As soon as people developed symptoms suggestive of Ebola, they were isolated in Ebola treatment facilities. Without waiting to see whether a "suspected" case tested positive, Nigeria's contact tracing team tracked down everyone who had had contact with that patient since the onset of symptoms making a staggering 18,500 face-to-face visits.

The US has many of these same procedures in place for containing Ebola, making the risk of an outbreak here very low. Contact tracing is exactly what is happening in Dallas right now; if any one of Thomas Eric Duncan's contacts shows symptoms, that person will be immediately isolated and tested. “That experience shows us that even in the case in Nigeria, when we found out later in the timeline that this patient had Ebola, that Nigeria was able to identify contacts, institute strict infection control procedures and basically bring their outbreak to a close”, says Dr. Tom Inglesby. “They did a good job in and of themselves. They worked closely with the U.S. CDC. If we can succeed in Nigeria… I do believe we will stop it here.”