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AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2016/01/fcc-had-productive-net-neutrality-talks-with-comcast-att-t-mobile/

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Phoenix666 writes:

Don't freak out, but there may be more than 100 identifiable types of bugs in your home right now. Most of them, you will be happy to know, are harmless.

In the first study ever to analyze the biodiversity of arthropods – insects, spiders, centipedes, mites, and other crawly things – inside the human home, a team of entomologists visited 50 houses in the Raleigh, N.C. and gathered specimens, both dead and alive, from every visible surface.

The result was nothing short of astounding. From the 554 rooms sampled, the scientists collected over 10,000 bugs and identified at least 579 morphospecies, a term used for organism types that have no discernible physical differences, but may have genetic differences. On average, individual homes had about 100 morphospecies.

In New York, half those species are cockroaches, the other half are landlords.

Arthropods of the great indoors: characterizing diversity inside urban and suburban homes (PDF, DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1582)

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frojack writes:

Meta at Science News reports on a new study (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1516648113) still paywalled at PNAS:

A new study from two longitudinal studies of twins, examine the link between marijuana use and IQ using data from more than three thousand individuals from Southern California and Minnesota.

The study by scientists from UCLA and the University of Minnesota focused on three criteria they proposed as measures for evidence of a direct causal relationship between marijuana use and cognitive decline.

1. If marijuana use causes IQ decline, as opposed to merely being associated, then poor cognition scores should only be evident after use begins, and not before.
2. If a causal link exists, a dose-response relationship would be expected.– that is, higher decline with heavier marijuana use.
3. finally, if the relationship is causal, then the association of marijuana use and IQ decline should remain, even after accounting for genetic and social factors.

In tests of abstract reasoning and problem solving associated (called "fluid intelligence") showed no significant differences between uses and non users.

[more]

"exec" writes:

http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/221230-new-york-bill-would-ban-strong-encryption-mandate-backdoors-in-all-devices

Over the last few months, we’ve seen a stream of anti-encryption rhetoric from various voices in New York State. Now, a formal bill has been put before the New York State Assembly, which would mandate that Apple, Google, Microsoft, and any other phone vendor create backdoor devices that would allow them to decrypt devices. The actual text of the bill reads:

Any smartphone that is manufactured on or before January 1, 2016, and sold or leased in New York, shall be capable of being decrypted and unlocked by its manufacturer or its operating system provider. (Reformatted from original to remove caps lock)

While the bill was introduced last summer (hence the “2016” label), it’s recently been sent to committee for polishing, where the 2016 date would presumably be changed to 2017 or 2018. Either way, the justification for the bill, is pretty much what you’d expect. Because some criminals may use smartphones some of the time, Google and Apple are “announcing to criminals, ‘use this device.'” The summary notes continue: “The safety of the citizenry calls for a legislative solution, and a solution is easily at hand. Enacting this bill would penalize those who would sell smart-phones that are beyond the reach of law enforcement.” This is the second time the bill has been sent to committee, and there’s currently no vote scheduled — but political bills like this are a stark reminder of how determined certain areas of government are to prevent citizens from using encryption tools and securing their own hardware. In and of itself, the main effect of New York’s bill would be to send NYS citizens scurrying to find Apple stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

HughPickens.com writes:

BBC reports that according to Stephen Hawking most of the threats humans now face come from advances in science and technology, including nuclear war, global warming and genetically-engineered viruses. "Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years," said Hawking in answer to a question during the BBC Reith Lectures. "By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race. However, we will not establish self-sustaining colonies in space for at least the next hundred years, so we have to be very careful in this period."

During his lecture Hawking also answered a question on whether his synthesized electronic voice had shaped his personality, perhaps allowing the introvert to become an extrovert. Replying that he had never been called an introvert before, Hawking added: "Just because I spend a lot of time thinking doesn't mean I don't like parties and getting into trouble."

Original Submission

VanderDecken writes:

The Register reports that now in order to register a new device with LastPass, it is necessary to confirm that registration via a previously set up email account, even when using 2FA (2-factor authentication). Previously, such confirmation was only required when not using 2FA, however it turns out that the new device registration mechanism was too easy to spoof via phishing attacks.

LastPass has introduced mandatory sign in requirements for all new devices after security researcher Sean Cassidy dropped code allowing criminals to plunder vaults with mirror-perfect phishing attacks.

As of today, users who set two factor authentication will need to hop to their registered email accounts to approve the device they are using to sign into LastPass.

It was previously a requirement for daredevils not using two factor.

The change is a rapid move to quell online anarchy in the wake of research finding most users would likely be hosed in phishing attacks that request users enter their details including two factor authentication credentials into very legitimate-looking alerts.

Until hours ago it meant criminals could very quickly spin up pre-fab phishing pages or simply direct users to cross-site scripting -vulnerable legitimate sites .

Criminals could make their own phishing pages targeting the new LastPass version 4 "in less than a day", Cassidy says.

"I am publishing this [phishing] tool so that companies can pen-test themselves to make an informed decision about this attack and respond appropriately."

Once the attack is successful, it appears that the attacker would have access to the master password and thus the entire store of passwords.

Original Submission

"exec" writes:

IAB said the meeting is for "serious conversation."

http://www.businessinsider.com/adblock-plus-un-invited-from-iab-conference-2016-1

Popular ad blocker Adblock Plus claims that it was uninvited from the US Interactive Advertising Bureau's big conference.

The IAB represents the biggest names in the digital-advertising industry: Google, Facebook, Twitter, online publishers, and ad-tech companies.

Each year it holds its annual leadership meeting in Palm Desert, California. It's where the biggest names in the online-advertising industry network and thrash out their ideas on the issues and trends of the day.

This year they've got Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, Yahoo's global revenue chief Lisa Utzschneider, and Google ads boss Sridhar Ramaswamy speaking.

Adblock Plus won't be attending, though.

Last week, Adblock Plus received an email saying that the company's registration fee was being returned and its registration had been canceled.

When Adblock Plus said that "there must be some confusion" because it didn't ask for a cancellation or a refund, the IAB simply replied: "I'm sorry if there's any confusion. Just to be clear, there will be no ticket available for you and we've refunded your registration fee."

-- submitted from IRC

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

from the truth-tellers-have-a-hard-time-in-some-places dept.

Russia Today reports:

Progressive political journalist Ed Schultz is joining RT America, beginning January 25, 2016, to host his new primetime news program, "NEWS WITH ED SHULTZ" at 8pm EST weeknights. On his new show, Schultz will focus on exploring issues that most affect working Americans, particularly within the context of the upcoming US presidential election.

[...] Said Ed Schultz, "The network is firmly established outside of US corporate media and is not afraid to give a platform to diverse voices, stories and perspectives to its viewers, even if it ruffles some mainstream feathers. I can't think of a better fit than a news broadcaster that bullishly pursues issues that matter to hardworking Americans." Schultz's broadcasting career spans more than two decades. Until recently, he hosted "The Ed Show" on MSNBC; the program was consistently the second-highest rated show on the channel.

Schultz [...] will work out of the RT America studios in Washington, DC.

ABOUT RT — RT is a global TV news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic, and Spanish from its studios in Moscow, Washington DC, and London. It is available to 700 million viewers worldwide. RT is the most-watched TV news network on YouTube with more than 3 billion views.

Previous: MSNBC Cans the Only Cable TV Host Who Extensively Covered TPP

Original Submission

Runaway1956 writes:

Since most of us live in "first world nations", this story may seem odd, or even meaningless. Some perspective might help.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/medical/infanticide_1.shtml
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/apr/09/india-missing-girls-rising-levels-foeticide

For a variety of reasons, male children are deemed as more desirable than female children - so the girls are simply put to death, before or after birth. The practice may be uncommon in modern, developed regions of the nation, but there are still huge populations living in the backward, undeveloped parts of India.

Of course, the problem isn't unique to India. Even in first world nations, male heirs are the first priority of many men.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1st-time-in-10-yrs-sex-ratio-in-Haryana-crosses-900/articleshow/50609149.cms

CHANDIGARH: Haryana's child sex ratio (0-6 age group) crossed the 900 mark for the first time in 10 years in December 2015.

This is a major jump since 2011 when census figures revealed the state had the worst sex ratio in the country -- 834.

Sirsa topped the table with 999 girls per 1,000 boys in the state infamous for female feticide.

Officials said 12 districts have recorded gender ratio of above 900. Panchkula has registered a sex ratio of 961 followed by Karnal (959), Fatehabad (952), Gurgaon (946), Sonipat (942), Jind (940), Rewari (931), Mewat (923), Bhiwani, Mahendragarh (912) and Hisar (906).

The state overall recorded sex ration[sic] of 903.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar credited the success to the state's multi-pronged strategy under 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign.

"We have set a target to achieve sex ratio above 950 within the next six months for the entire state," Khattar said while referring to Jhajjar that recorded the lowest sex ratio.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme in Panipat on January 22, 2015.

Haryana health minister Anil Vij said the government had announced an award of Rs 1 lakh for each informer giving leads about illegal sex determination tests and termination of pregnancies.

Original Submission

HughPickens.com writes:

Reuters reports that the Pentagon is quietly building up a small airstrip in a remote region of east Africa that is a complex microcosm of how Washington runs military operations overseas — and how America's way of war will probably look for the foreseeable future. Chabelley Airfield is less than 10 miles from the capital of the small African nation of Djibouti but the small airport is the hub for America's drone operations in the nearby hotspots of Somalia and Yemen as part of its war against Islamic militants. "The U.S. military is being pressured into considering the adoption of more of a lily pad basing model in the wake of so much turbulence and warfare across the region," says Dr. Geoffrey Gresh. "Djibouti is a small, relatively safe ... ally that enables the U.S. special operators to carry out missions effectively across the continent."

In September 2013, the Pentagon announced it was moving the pilotless aircraft from its main base at Camp Lemonnier to Chabelley with almost no fanfare. Africom and the Pentagon jealously guard information about their outposts in Africa, making it impossible to ascertain even basic facts — like a simple count — let alone just how many are integral to JSOC operations, drone strikes, and other secret activities. However a map in a Pentagon report indicates that there were 10 MQ-1 Predator drones and four larger, more far-ranging MQ-9 Reapers based at Camp Lemonnier in June 2012 before the move to Chabelley.

The Pentagon does not list Chabelley in its annual Base Structure Report, the only official compendium of American military facilities around the world. "The Chebelley base ... [is] a reflection of the growing presence of the U.S. military in Africa," says Dr. David Vine, author of 'Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World". "The [U.S.] military has gone to great lengths to disguise and downplay its growing presence in Africa generally in the hopes of avoiding negative attention and protests both in the U.S. and in African countries wary of the colonial-esque presence of foreign troops."

American drones fly regular missions from Chabelley, an airstrip the French run with the approval of the Djiboutian government. Washington pays Djibouti for access to Paris' outpost. Part of the reason for this circuitous chain of responsibility could be the fact that the Pentagon's drone missions are often controversial.

Critics contend targeted strikes against militants are illegal under American and international law and tantamount to assassination. "The military is easily capable of adapting to change, but they don't like to stop anything they feel is making their lives easier, or is to their benefit. And this certainly is, in their eyes, a very quick, clean way of doing things. It's a very slick, efficient way to conduct the war, without having to have the massive ground invasion mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan."

Original Submission

Appalbarry writes:

Ever one to jump on a bandwagon, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark has declared(*) that computer-coding basics will be included in British Columbia's grade-school curriculum. The new program announced today will be available for Grades 6 to 9 and will take three years to roll out.

But is this really a sensible use of increasingly limited education funding? Does making beginner coding a mandated subject really increase or improve the number of adults creating software? Does cobbling together simple programs make people more tech literate in a meaningful way?

And is Christy jumping in just in time for the current tech bubble to burst?

Some of us old codgers recall the heady days of the first Internet bubble, when every university ramped up tech training, and every city spent millions of dollars to build high-tech campuses. Only a few years later the former were turning out hundreds of unemployable graduates, and the latter were on the block for pennies on the dollar after tech bankruptcies.

Still, Christy does have the technical chops to argue for this kind of training - she, for example, was totally unaware that her own staff used to delete, double-delete, and even triple-delete embarrassing email on government servers.

(*) (Note: every news story seems to have the details differently, and there's nothing on the government web sites, so we'll have to take Christy at her word on this one. Although it would have been nice if she told us who was going to teach millions of kids coding, since 95% of teachers would know nothing about the field.)

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

A new technique [DOI: 10.1038/nphys3614] to monitor a process called 'fast ignition' has been developed, in what could be a critical step towards a viable method of creating controlled nuclear fusion.

Fusion ignition, the point at which a nuclear reaction becomes self-sustaining, is one of the great hopes for a new generation of clean, cheap energy generation. But while the reactions have been seen in the cores of thermonuclear weapons, it has yet to be achieved in a controlled manner in a reactor.

One of the possibilities for developing the tech for real is known as the fast ignition process. This two-stage laser process first uses hundred of lasers to compress the fusion fuel -- a mixture of deuterium and tritium in a spherical plastic capsule -- and then uses a high-intensity laser to rapidly heat the compressed fuel.

It's by far the lowest-energy method of potentially creating nuclear fusion, but in order for it succeed, energy from the high-intensity laser must be directed straight at the densest region of the compressed fuel. Previously it wasn't known how to do this, but now a research team led by scientists and engineers at the University of California, San Diego and General Atomics has found a way.

The new monitoring technique finally provides a way of identifying exactly where energy from the laser travels when it hits the fuel.

To do this, copper tracers are added to the fuel capsule. When the high-intensity laser is directed at the target, it generates high-energy electrons that hit the tracers and in turn cause them to emit X-rays. These can be imaged to show where the energy from the laser is going once it's hit the target fuel cell.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2016-01/18/nuclear-fusion-energy-monitoring

Original Submission

From WTOP news: http://wtop.com/money/2016/01/happy-birthday-video-betamax-is-still-a-thing/

After 40 years, Sony will end production of BetaMax tapes in March.

"Sony introduced the consumer-friendly Betamax recorder, a suitcase-sized machine that recorded up to two hours of video on a cassette tape off of broadcast or cable signals, in 1975. And that ushered in era of the VCR. (That stands for video cassette recorder, millennials.)"

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd wrote in with an article on AT&T and Canonical :

AT&T, which has been around in its current form since 2005, has selected Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux operating system, "to be part of an effort to drive innovation in the network and cloud", beating rivals such as Microsoft Azure and IBM to the punch.

John Zannos, vice president of cloud alliances and business development at Canonical, said: "This is important for Canonical. AT&T's scalable and open future network uses the best of Canonical innovation.

"AT&T selecting us to support its effort in cloud, enterprise applications and the network provides the opportunity to innovate with AT&T around the next generation of the software-centric network and cloud solutions.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2442220/ubuntu-linux-beats-ibm-and-microsoft-azure-to-lucrative-at-t-contract

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Packaging a cancer drug in bubble containers derived from a patient's own immune system makes it much more effective. Doing so protects the drug paclitaxel from being destroyed by the body's own defenses, which means the entire payload is delivered to the tumor.

"That means we can use 50 times less of the drug and still get the same results," says Elena Batrakova, associate professor in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"That matters because we may eventually be able to treat patients with smaller and more accurate doses of powerful chemotherapy drugs resulting in more effective treatment with fewer and milder side effects."

The work is based on exosomes, which are tiny spheres harvested from the white blood cells that protect the body against infection. The exosomes are made of the same material as cell membranes, and the patient's body doesn't recognize them as foreign, which has been one of the toughest issues to overcome in the past decade with using plastics-based nanoparticles as drug-delivery systems.

Original study (DOI: 10.1016/j.nano.2015.10.012).

Original Submission