SoylentNews

takyon writes:

A new protein analysis technique could prove complementary to DNA profiling:

U.S. Energy Department scientists say a new method of analyzing genetic mutations in proteins in human hair could lead to the first forensic technique other than DNA profiling that could reliably match biological evidence to a single person with scientific precision. In results published [open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160653] [DX] Wednesday, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California said their early study — using hairs recovered from 76 living people and six sets of skeletal remains from London dating to the 1750s — shows the promise of hair "proteomics," or the study of proteins that genes produce.

"We are in a very similar place with protein-based identification to where DNA profiling was during the early days of its development," said Brad Hart, director of the national laboratory's Forensic Science Center and co-author of the study with lead researcher Glendon Parker. "This method will be a game-changer for forensics," Hart said, while cautioning that many steps remain before it is validated. If borne out, independent experts said, hair protein analysis could address concerns about the reliability of visual comparisons of hair strands, a technique whose subjectivity has opened it to criticism that experts' claims were frequently being overstated.

Protein analysis also could produce a valuable way to corroborate existing, cutting-edge DNA testing that draws on tiny traces or mixtures of genetic material from different people. DNA mixtures can be found in samples as small as a handful of skin cells invisible to the eye. But the interpretation of results has become more complex and controversial even as trace or low-copy DNA testing becomes one of the fastest growing areas of crime lab work.

Also at Scientific American, New Scientist, and PLOS Research News.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

HPE is getting a cash and stock infusion to spin off some of its software division:

Hewlett Packard Enterprise will spin off and merge what it considers its non-core software assets with U.K.-based enterprise software firm Micro Focus in a deal worth $8.8 billion, the company said Wednesday.

Included in the bundle being offloaded are HPE's businesses focusing on application delivery management, big data, enterprise security, information management and governance, and IT operations management. Combined with Micro Focus, which acquired Attachmate in 2014 and owns Linux company SUSE, it will create one of the world's largest pure-play software companies, HPE said, with a combined sales force of about 4,000 people.

Among the terms of the deal are a $2.5 billion cash payment to HPE and 50.1 percent ownership of the new combined company by HPE shareholders. HPE declined to specify what the staffing impact would be. The combined company will be led by Kevin Loosemore, executive chairman of Micro Focus, and the deal is expected to close by the second half of HPE's fiscal year 2017.

HPE had been considering other offers.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Update: Launch successful.

NASA will launch the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft on Sept. 8. The spacecraft will attempt exploration and a sample return from the asteroid 101955 Bennu. It will arrive at Bennu in 2018 and map it before selecting a site for sample collection.

Space.com reports:

Bennu is thought to have formed soon after the sun, at around the same time as the solar system's planets. While the constant activity of volcanoes, earthquakes and erosion changed the chemistry of Earth's material since that time (as likely happened on other planets), Bennu remains virtually unmarred. A sample of the asteroid should therefore provide a time-capsule-like glimpse of the planets' youth, the researchers said.

[...] To complete its planned science objectives, OSIRIS-REx needs to collect a least a 2-ounce (60 grams) sample from Bennu. Once that material lands back on Earth, scientists will probe the sample with complex experiments that just aren't possible in space. [...] "This will be the largest sample-return mission since the Apollo era," said Christine Richey, OSIRIS-REx deputy program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The returned capsule will provide a bounty not only for today's scientists, but also for future generations, Richey said. Three-fourths of the sample will be archived for later study, allowing scientists to answer questions that haven't been thought of today, using instruments yet to be imagined.

Spaceflight Now has a page dedicated to providing updates on this flight: Live coverage: Thursday's Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

[Continues...]

takyon writes:

Catalonia's regional government will collect DNA samples in order to identify people who died in during Spain's 1936-1939 civil war and the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco:

Spain's Catalonia region has launched the country's first public DNA profiling project in a bid to identify some of the 114,000 people who disappeared during the nation's civil war and subsequent dictatorship. The issue is hugely sensitive in Spain, where rights abuses during the 1936-1939 conflict and the ensuing 36-year rule of dictator Francisco Franco remain uninvestigated for fear of reviving divisions.

Raul Romeva, who handles transparency matters in Catalonia's regional government, described the initiative as "a decisive step towards restoring" historical memory. "It is a democratic duty that was long pending," he told AFP news agency on Wednesday. "This should have started 40 years ago," added Romeva, referring to Franco's death in 1975 and the subsequent transition to democracy.

Under the programme, scientists will create a database for the DNA profiles of those related to people who disappeared. For this, they will collect samples from remains found in mass graves, and try and find matches with the help of the Barcelona-based Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. A similar project has already been set up in Barcelona on a smaller-scale, but it is privately-funded by two descendants of people who disappeared. In the space of five years, they have collected 125 genetic samples from relatives, but have not been able to cross-check the data with any remains as they do not have access to mass graves.

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

WBTV, CBS television affiliate for Charlotte, NC reports

Tesla Motors says the Model S sedan involved in a fatal crash in the Netherlands wasn't operating in the company's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode and was going more than 96 miles per hour when it crashed.

The 53-year-old driver of the electric sedan died [September 6] when his car smashed into a tree in the central Dutch town of Baarn and burst into flames, police and firefighters said. Police are investigating the cause of the early morning accident in the town 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Amsterdam.

Tesla said the car's logs show Autopilot wasn't engaged at any time during the man's trip, and that he was driving at more than 155 kilometers per hour, or 96 mph. The speed is consistent with the damage the car sustained from hitting the tree, the company said. Tesla sent representatives to the scene of the accident.

Electrek adds

The driver was reportedly dead by the time the firefighters were on the scene.

[...] The fire was difficult to extinguish according to the firefighters. They reportedly didn't know how to approach the vehicle without being electrocuted--leaving the body of the driver in the vehicle.

[...] Apparently, the problem wasn't due to a lack of knowledge on how to handle a crashed electric vehicle, but because of the state of the wreckage. [...] "This car is completely destroyed, hampering the recovery. In this situation, you never know what can happen."

Some of the battery modules reportedly fell out of the battery pack after the crash and subsequent fire.

Original Submission

[Eds Comment: The speed limit on the road was 90 kph / 56 mph. The vehicle is assessed to have been travelling at 154 kph/ 96 mph
See also: https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?sid=15392&cid=398721]

takyon writes:

U.S. defense officials say that a Russian fighter jet flew as close as within 3 meters of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft in international airspace:

The Pentagon says a Russian fighter plane flew within about 10ft (3m) of one of its reconnaissance aircraft operating over the Black Sea. US officials described the intercept by the SU-27 jet on Wednesday as "dangerous and unprofessional". Russia's defence ministry said the US plane had been approaching Russian territory and the SU-27 pilots had adhered to international rules. Russia is currently carrying out military exercises in the Black Sea.

Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis said the US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft had been conducting routine operations in international airspace when the Russian fighter made the unsafe manoeuvre. "These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident," he said. A US defence official quoted by AFP news agency said the Russian plane had flown within 30ft of the P-8A before closing to just 10ft.

Also at Reuters. You may remember this similar incident.

Related: UK Defence Minister: New Cold War "Warming Up"
US Jets Scramble to Intercept Russian Planes near US Aircraft Carrier

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/27f263abcce6437d893274792062625a/boston-police-union-goes-court-after-bodycam-resistance

No word on whether or not the Commissioner volunteered to wear a camera.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Self-driving cars on Michigan's roads may not need human chaperones much longer. Or at least, there will be (tele)operators instead of drivers:

Michigan's Senate is considering a bill that would allow self-driving cars to be tested on public roads without a human driver inside the vehicle. However, a human would still be required to "promptly" take control of the vehicles movements.

Michigan is already a driving force when it comes to driver-less car technology and now the senate may green light a law taking it a step further. The state senate is expected act quickly on a package of bills to loosen rules governing autonomous vehicles. One would no longer require someone actually be inside a self-driving car while testing it on public roads. Right now, Michigan is home to 375 automotive research centers and houses the world's first controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of the vehicles.

From Senate Bill 0995 (2016):

(4) Subsections (1), (2), and (3) do not apply to an individual who is using a device described in subsection (1) or (3) to do any of the following:

[...] (e) Operate or program the operation of an automated motor vehicle while testing OR OPERATING the automated motor vehicle in compliance with section 665, if that automated motor vehicle displays a special plate issued under section 224(3) in the manner required under section 225. WITHOUT A HUMAN OPERATOR.

[...] (b) An individual is present in the vehicle while it is being operated on a highway or street of this state and that individual DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION (A) has the ability to monitor the vehicle's performance WHILE IT IS BEING OPERATED ON A HIGHWAY OR STREET IN THIS STATE and, if necessary, immediately take control of the vehicle's movements. IF THE INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT, OR IS UNABLE TO, TAKE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE SHALL BE CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING A MINIMAL RISK CONDITION.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

AT&T is fuming at the approval and likely passage of a Nashville, TN, ordinance that would allow Google Fiber to bypass previous obstacles to utility pole access:

Officials in Nashville, Tennessee have voted to give Google Fiber faster access to utility poles, approving an ordinance opposed by AT&T and Comcast. AT&T has already said it would likely sue the city if it implements the new rule. [...] Google Fiber is available in parts of Nashville, but expansion has been slow in part because of how long it takes to get access to utility poles. When Google Fiber attaches wires to a utility pole, other ISPs must first move their own wires to make the pole ready for new wires. The Nashville Electric Service, which owns most of the poles, must also review applications and inspect AT&T's and Comcast's line work before letting Google Fiber attach to any pole. AT&T also owns some of the poles in the city.

The One Touch Make Ready ordinance would let a single company—such as Google Fiber—make all of the necessary wire adjustments itself without having to wait for incumbent providers to send construction crews. Google Fiber applauded the vote last night, saying that "Improving the make-ready construction process is key to unlocking access to a faster Internet for Nashville, and this Ordinance will allow new entrants like Google Fiber to bring broadband to more Nashvillians efficiently, safely and quickly."

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The authenticity of the Grolier Codex, a controversial Mayan document, has been verified by researchers:

The study, Houston said, "is a confirmation that the manuscript, counter to some claims, is quite real. The manuscript was sitting unremarked in a basement of the National Museum in Mexico City, and its history is cloaked in great drama. It was found in a cave in Mexico, and a wealthy Mexican collector, Josué Sáenz, had sent it abroad before its eventual return to the Mexican authorities."

For years, academics and specialists have argued about the legitimacy of the Grolier Codex, a legacy the authors trace in the paper. Some asserted that it must have been a forgery, speculating that modern forgers had enough knowledge of Maya writing and materials to create a fake codex at the time the Grolier came to light. The codex was reportedly found in the cave with a cache of six other items, including a small wooden mask and a sacrificial knife with a handle shaped like a clenched fist, the authors write. They add that although all the objects found with the codex have been proven authentic, the fact that looters, rather than archeologists, found the artifacts made specialists in the field reluctant to accept that the document was genuine.

[...] Houston and his co-authors analyzed the origins of the manuscript, the nature of its style and iconography, the nature and meaning of its Venus tables, scientific data — including carbon dating — of the manuscript, and the craftsmanship of the codex, from the way the paper was made to the known practices of Maya painters. Over the course of a 50-page analysis, the authors take up the questions and criticisms leveled by scholars over the last 45 years and describes how the Grolier Codex differs from the three other known ancient Maya manuscripts but nonetheless joins their ranks.

The Grolier's composition, from its 13th-century amatl paper, to the thin red sketch lines underlying the paintings and the Maya blue pigments used in them, are fully persuasive, the authors assert. Houston and his coauthors outline what a 20th century forger would have had to know or guess to create the Grolier, and the list is prohibitive: he or she would have to intuit the existence of and then perfectly render deities that had not been discovered in 1964, when any modern forgery would have to have been completed; correctly guess how to create Maya blue, which was not synthesized in a laboratory until Mexican conservation scientists did so in the 1980s; and have a wealth and range of resources at their fingertips that would, in some cases, require knowledge unavailable until recently.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_LA_AIRPORT_SHOOTING
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Los_Angeles_International_Airport_shooting

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature have approved a motion that would prohibit research or trials using "gene drives":

Scientists from around the world are currently gathered in Hawaii for an international conservation congress, where they've spent the last week discussing the most pressing issues facing the environment today. One topic on the table is a form of genetic editing called "gene drive" technology, which can be used to alter — or even wipe out — entire species. And while some experts have argued that the practice could be a useful conservation tool, others have warned that its impact on the environment could be devastating should it get out control.

Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is holding its World Conservation Congress in Honolulu through Sept. 10, recently approved a motion that would prohibit the organization from supporting or endorsing any research or field trials on the use of gene drives until a comprehensive assessment of the technology's effects has been undertaken.

The motion is nonbinding and does not dictate the regulations that individual countries may choose to establish for themselves. But it does reflect a growing concern among both scientists and environmentalists about the technology's potential power to irrevocably alter species and reshape ecosystems. [...] In an open letter aimed at members of the IUCN, worried environmentalists expressed their concern about the technology's implications. "Given the obvious dangers of irretrievably releasing genocidal genes into the natural world, and the moral implications of taking such action, we call for a halt to all proposals for the use of gene drive technologies, but especially in conservation," they wrote.

However, it's important to note that gene drive technology can take several different forms, and some are safer than others, said Floyd Reed, an associate professor of biology at the University of Hawaii. Reed's lab is currently involved in gene drive research on fruit flies, with plans to begin moving forward with mosquitoes next. Reed's research involves a genetic phenomenon known as "underdominance," which can be used to implement a type of drive system that potentially can be halted before it gets out of control. In this system, a trait's ability to spread is dependent on what percentage of the population has it to begin with.

Also at Phys.org (AFP).

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Four years into its travels across Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover faces an un­expected challenge: wending its way safely among dozens of dark streaks that could indicate water seeping from the red planet’s hillsides.

Although scientists might love to investigate the streaks at close range, strict international rules prohibit Curiosity from touching any part of Mars that could host liquid water, to prevent contamination. But as the rover begins climbing the mountain Aeolis Mons next month, it will probably pass within a few kilometres of a dark streak that grew and shifted between February and July 2012 in ways suggestive of flowing water.

NASA officials are trying to determine whether Earth microbes aboard Curiosity could contaminate the Martian seeps from a distance. If the risk is too high, NASA could shift the rover’s course — but that would present a daunting geographical challenge. There is only one obvious path to the ancient geological formations that Curiosity scientists have been yearning to sample for years (see ‘All wet?’).

[...] The streaks — dubbed recurring slope lineae (RSLs) because they appear, fade away and re­appear seasonally on steep slopes — were first reported ¹ on Mars five years ago in a handful of places. The total count is now up to 452 possible RSLs. More than half of those are in the enormous equatorial canyon of Valles Marineris, but they also appear at other latitudes and longitudes. “We’re just finding them all over the place,” says David Stillman, a planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, who leads the cataloguing.

[...] Curiosity was only partly sterilized before going to Mars, and experts at JPL and NASA headquarters in Washington DC are calculating how long the remaining microbes could survive in Mars's harsh atmosphere — as well as what weather conditions could transport them several kilometres away and possibly contaminate a water seep. "That hasn't been well quantified for any mission," says Vasavada.

http://www.nature.com/news/mars-contamination-fear-could-divert-curiosity-rover-1.20544

---

Original Submission

AnonTechie writes:

An interesting article about the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) program and their findings.

Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), which would transform how gifted children are identified and supported by the US education system. As the longest-running current longitudinal survey of intellectually talented children, SMPY has for 45 years tracked the careers and accomplishments of some 5,000 individuals, many of whom have gone on to become high-achieving scientists. The study's ever-growing data set has generated more than 400 papers and several books, and provided key insights into how to spot and develop talent in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and beyond.

With the first SMPY recruits now at the peak of their careers, what has become clear is how much the precociously gifted outweigh the rest of society in their influence. Many of the innovators who are advancing science, technology and culture are those whose unique cognitive abilities were identified and supported in their early years through enrichment programmes such as Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth—which Stanley began in the 1980s as an adjunct to SMPY. At the start, both the study and the centre were open to young adolescents who scored in the top 1% on university entrance exams.Pioneering mathematicians Terence Tao and Lenhard Ng were one-percenters, as were Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and musician Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga), who all passed through the Hopkins centre.

[...] Such results contradict long-established ideas suggesting that expert performance is built mainly through practice—that anyone can get to the top with enough focused effort of the right kind. SMPY, by contrast, suggests that early cognitive ability has more effect on achievement than either deliberate practice or environmental factors such as socio-economic status. The research emphasizes the importance of nurturing precocious children, at a time when the prevailing focus in the United States and other countries is on improving the performance of struggling students. At the same time, the work to identify and support academically talented students has raised troubling questions about the risks of labelling children, and the shortfalls of talent searches and standardized tests as a means of identifying high-potential students, especially in poor and rural districts.

[...] Although gifted-education specialists herald the expansion of talent-development options in the United States, the benefits have mostly been limited so far to students who are at the top of both the talent and socio-economic curves.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-raise-a-genius-lessons-from-a-45-year-study-of-supersmart-children/

[Also covered by]: NATURE

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Mercedes Benz has invested in the drone delivery startup Matternet, and unveiled a concept van that can automatically load packages onto a Matternet M2 drone resting on top. Why not just drive to a package's destination? The system could be used to reach destinations not easily accessible to the driver, or deliver packages or aid during heavy traffic or during disaster recovery. Drones could also fly packages from a distribution center to the van:

Mercedes-Benz Vans and drone tech startup Matternet have created a concept car, or as they're calling it a Vision Van, that could change the way small packages are delivered across short distances.

The Vision Van's rooftop serves as a launch and landing pad for Matternet's new, Matternet M2 drones. The Matternet M2 drones, which are autonomous, can pick up and carry a package of 4.4 pounds across 12 miles of sky on a single battery charge in real world conditions.

They are designed to reload their payload and swap out batteries without human intervention. They work in conjunction with Mercedes Benz Vans' on-board and cloud-based systems so that items within a van are loaded up into the drone, automatically, at the cue of software and with the help of robotic shelving systems within the van.

Matternet has existed since 2011, and originally envisioned delivering 1 kilogram packages up to 20 kilometers on a single charge. As for the vans, I told you so!

Original Submission