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takyon writes:

The New York City Council has unanimously passed a bill to address algorithmic discrimination by city agencies. If signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City will establish a task force to study how city agencies use data and algorithms to make decisions, and whether systems appear to discriminate against certain groups:

The bill's sponsor, Council Member James Vacca, said he was inspired by ProPublica's investigation into racially biased algorithms used to assess the criminal risk of defendants. "My ambition here is transparency, as well as accountability," Vacca said.

A previous, more sweeping version of the bill had mandated that city agencies publish the source code of all algorithms being used for "targeting services" or "imposing penalties upon persons or policing" and to make them available for "self-testing" by the public. At a hearing at City Hall in October, representatives from the mayor's office expressed concerns that this mandate would threaten New Yorkers' privacy and the government's cybersecurity.

The bill was one of two moves the City Council made last week concerning algorithms. On Thursday, the committees on health and public safety held a hearing on the city's forensic methods, including controversial tools that the chief medical examiner's office crime lab has used for difficult-to-analyze samples of DNA. As a ProPublica/New York Times investigation detailed in September, an algorithm created by the lab for complex DNA samples has been called into question by scientific experts and former crime lab employees.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

New Quantum Trick Blocks Background Noise in Sensing Devices

A team of researchers from the University of Sydney has managed to solve a common problem in quantum sensing devices that are used in biomedical imaging and defense applications.

[...] A team led by Professor Micheal J. Biercuk from the University of Sydney, in collaboration with Dartmouth College and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, has developed quantum control techniques that enable a new generation of ultra-sensitive sensors that can identify tiny signals while rejecting background noise to theoretical limits. "By applying the right quantum controls to a qubit-based sensor, we can adjust its response in a way that guarantees the best possible exclusion of the background clutter - that is, the other voices in the room," said Professor Biercuk, a chief investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems.

The devices themselves have improved, but the measurement protocols that are used to capture and interpret signals have lagged behind. Because of this, quantum sensors often have fuzzy results, which complicated interpretation of the data through a phenomenon called, "spectral leakage". This is kind of like being distracted by the wrong voices in the room. The University of Sydney research demonstrates control protocols that help take advantage of improved sensor hardware. The experiments used trapped atomic ions, and they have reduced spectral leakage by many orders of magnitude over the conventional methods. According to Professor Biercuk, in certain circumstances, these new methods are up to 100 million times better at excluding the background.

Application of optimal band-limited control protocols to quantum noise sensing (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02298-2) (DX)

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

An Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 cloud storage bucket containing information from data analytics firm Alteryx has been found publicly exposed, comprising the personal information of 123 million US households.

[...] The 36 GB data file titled "ConsumerView_10_2013" contained over 123 million rows, each one signifying a different American household. A similar file was seen by UpGuard when the personal details of 198 million American voters, compiled in a dataset by a data firm used by the Republican National Committee, were exposed.

[...] Default security settings for S3 buckets usually allow only authorised users to access the contents; however, UpGuard reports the bucket was configured via permission settings to allow any AWS "Authenticated Users" to download its stored data.

Authenticated users are any user that has an AWS account.

[...] Alteryx took ownership for the bucket after it had secured it, UpGuard said, with an Alteryx spokesperson playing down the leak to Forbes.

"Specifically, this file held marketing data, including aggregated and de-identified information based on models and estimations provided by a third-party content provider, and was made available to our customers who purchased and used this data for analytic purposes," the spokesperson is quoted by Forbes as saying. "The information in the file does not pose a risk of identity theft to any consumers."

Source: Alteryx S3 leak leaves 123m American households exposed

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

After a period of consideration, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided that Uber is a transport service, just like any other taxi company. There is lot to say about Uber's use of untrained, non-professional drivers and other abusive practices.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The FDA is proposing a new, risk-based enforcement approach to homeopathic drug products (alternative medicine):

To protect consumers who choose to use homeopathic products, this proposed new approach would update the FDA's existing policy to better address situations where homeopathic treatments are being marketed for serious diseases and/or conditions but where the products have not been shown to offer clinical benefits. It also covers situations where products labeled as homeopathic contain potentially harmful ingredients or do not meet current good manufacturing practices.

Under the law, homeopathic drug products are subject to the same requirements related to approval, adulteration and misbranding as any other drug product. However, prescription and nonprescription drug products labeled as homeopathic have been manufactured and distributed without FDA approval under the agency's enforcement policies since 1988.

"In recent years, we've seen a large uptick in products labeled as homeopathic that are being marketed for a wide array of diseases and conditions, from the common cold to cancer. In many cases, people may be placing their trust and money in therapies that may bring little to no benefit in combating serious ailments, or worse – that may cause significant and even irreparable harm because the products are poorly manufactured, or contain active ingredients that aren't adequately tested or disclosed to patients," said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. "Our approach to regulating homeopathic drugs must evolve to reflect the current complexity of the market, by taking a more risk-based approach to enforcement. We respect that some individuals want to use alternative treatments, but the FDA has a responsibility to protect the public from products that may not deliver any benefit and have the potential to cause harm."

FDA draft guidance (8 pages).

Also at Ars Technica and STAT News.

Related: Probiotics Come with Bold Health Claims, but the Science is Shaky
What a Gottlieb-Led FDA Might Mean for the Pharmaceutical Industry
Supplement Maker on FDA Blacklist After Deadly Bacteria Found in Water System
FDA Designates MDMA as a "Breakthrough Therapy" for PTSD; Approves Phase 3 Trials
Homeopathic "Healing Bracelet" Poisons Baby With High Levels of Lead
FDA: Love is Not an Ingredient
FDA Cracking Down on Unsubstantiated Cannabidiol Health Claims
FDA Blocks More Imports of Kratom, Warns Against Use as a Treatment for Opioid Withdrawal
Biohackers Disregard FDA Warning on DIY Gene Therapy

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google published a "Chrome browser" app in the Windows Store on Tuesday, but it simply opened up a Google Chrome download page in the default Windows browser. Most users would then have been able to download and install the Chrome browser, except for the minority of Windows 10 S users who are restricted to downloading Windows Store apps which must use the EdgeHTML rendering engine rather than Blink. Microsoft was not amused at the stunt and removed the "app" from its Store later that day:

Google published a Chrome app in the Windows Store earlier today, which just directed users to a download link to install the browser. Microsoft isn't impressed with Google's obvious snub of the Windows Store, and it's taking action. "We have removed the Google Chrome Installer App from Microsoft Store, as it violates our Microsoft Store policies," says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge.

Citing the need to ensure apps "provide unique and distinct value," Microsoft says "we welcome Google to build a Microsoft Store browser app compliant with our Microsoft Store policies." That's an invitation that Google is unlikely to accept. There are many reasons Google won't likely bring Chrome to the Windows Store, but the primary reason is probably related to Microsoft's Windows 10 S restrictions. Windows Store apps that browse the web must use HTML and JavaScript engines provided by Windows 10, and Google's Chrome browser uses its own Blink rendering engine. Google would have to create a special Chrome app that would adhere to Microsoft's Store policies.

Most Windows 10 machines don't run Windows 10 S, so Google probably won't create a special version just to get its browser listed in the Windows Store. Google can't just package its existing desktop app into a Centennial Windows Store app, either. Microsoft is explicit about any store apps having to use the Edge rendering engine.

Related: Microsoft Adds Store App-Only Restriction as Option in Windows 10
New Windows 10 S Only Runs Software From Windows Store
Microsoft Knows Windows is Obsolete. Here's a Sneak Peek at Its Replacement.
First ARM Snapdragon-Based Windows 10 S Systems Announced

Original Submission

takyon writes:

NASA thinks that the technologies needed to launch an interstellar probe to Alpha Centauri at a speed of up to 0.1c could be ready by 2069:

In 2069, if all goes according to plan, NASA could launch a spacecraft bound to escape our solar system and visit our next-door neighbors in space, the three-star Alpha Centauri system, according to a mission concept presented last week at the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union and reported by New Scientist. The mission, which is pegged to the 100th anniversary of the moon landing, would also involve traveling at one-tenth the speed of light.

Last year, Representative John Culberson called for NASA to launch a 2069 mission to Alpha Centauri, but it was never included in any bill.

Meanwhile, researchers have analyzed spectrographic data for the Alpha Centauri system and found that small, rocky exoplanets are almost certainly undiscovered due to current detection limits:

The researchers set up a grid system for the Alpha Centauri system and asked, based on the spectrographic analysis, "If there was a small, rocky planet in the habitable zone, would we have been able to detect it?" Often, the answer came back: "No."

Zhao, the study's first author, determined that for Alpha Centauri A, there might still be orbiting planets that are smaller than 50 Earth masses. For Alpha Centauri B there might be orbiting planets than are smaller than 8 Earth masses; for Proxima Centauri, there might be orbiting planets that are less than one-half of Earth's mass.

In addition, the study eliminated the possibility of a number of larger planets. Zhao said this takes away the possibility of Jupiter-sized planets causing asteroids that might hit or change the orbits of smaller, Earth-like planets.

(For comparison, Saturn is ~95 Earth masses, Neptune is ~17, Uranus is ~14.5, and Mars is ~0.1.)

Also at BGR and Newsweek.

Planet Detectability in the Alpha Centauri System (DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9bea) (DX)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Future Seagate HDDs will begin including two separate sets of actuator arms that can operate independently in order to double read/write speeds:

Seagate's multi-actuator technology is a simple concept, and the idea certainly isn't new. In fact, the company has already developed drives with multiple actuators in the past, but they weren't economically viable due to higher component costs.

Most HDDs read and write data to and from multiple platters. For instance, Seagate's largest drives wield up to 8 platters and 16 heads. The heads, which are connected to the end of an actuator arm assembly, read and write data from both sides of each platter.

Unfortunately, those 16 heads are all aligned on the same arm, which means they all move in unison. Simultaneously aligning all the heads on all the platters isn't possible because of the incredibly thin data tracks on the platters, so only one of the heads is actively reading or writing data at any given time. That limits read/write throughput and performance with randomly accessed data.

Seagate's new design uses two sets of actuator arms that operate independently. Each carries eight heads. That means the drive can read or write from two heads at once, provided they are attached to different actuator arms. The drive can respond to two commands in parallel and one head can read while another writes, or both can read or write simultaneously.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The White House is briefly shutting down the "We The People" petition website, but promises that all existing petitions will be reinstated on the new, less costly site:

The White House has said it will be shutting down its website for petitions from midnight on Tuesday until a new one is set up in late January. The "We The People" site was set up by the Obama administration in 2011. It promised a response to all petitions drawing more than 100,000 signatures but the Trump administration has not responded to any since January.

The White House said its new platform would save taxpayers more than $1m (£746,500) a year. The total budget of the White House for 2018 is $55m and its information technology budget for the year is $4.94m.

A White House official told the Associated Press news agency that the administration would "respond to public concerns next year" and that all existing petitions would be reinstated then.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a gene therapy to treat RPE65-mutation associated retinal dystrophy. But it will be expensive:

A first-of-its-kind gene therapy received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to treat a rare, inherited form of childhood blindness.

The FDA marketing clearance of Spark Therapeutics's Luxturna is historic for scientific and financial reasons. Luxturna is the first gene therapy approved in the U.S. that targets a disease caused by mutations in a specific gene.

A Spark spokesman said the company will not disclose the Luxturna price tag until early January. Wall Street analysts expect the gene therapy to command a $1 million price tag—another first, but not necessarily a welcome one. At a time when drug prices are coming under intense scrutiny, Spark will need to convince insurers, politicians, and pharma critics that the benefit to patients offered by Luxturna justifies its high cost.

Also at NPR.

Previously: FDA Approves a Gene Therapy for the First Time
FDA Committee Endorses Gene Therapy for a Form of Childhood Blindness

Original Submission

Andrey_Karpov writes:

Many of you have heard about one of the oldest programming languages, COBOL, and you have also heard that COBOL programmers are much asked for nowadays to maintain old legacy code. There's another old-timer which few know about and which is still in use and will be in use for quite a while for applications in various specific fields (i.e. finance, banking, etc.). Its name is IBM RPG.

[...] RPG has been around for more than half a century. By the end of the 1950s, IBM had built a huge number of electromechanical devices called tabulating machines.

Let's talk about IBM RPG.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has lifted a ban on research into making certain viruses more deadly, while putting a new review process in place:

More than 3 years after imposing a moratorium on U.S. funding for certain studies with dangerous viruses, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today lifted this so-called "pause" and announced a new plan for reviewing such research. But federal officials haven't yet decided the fate of a handful of studies on influenza and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) that were put on hold in October 2014.

[...] Concerns over so-called "gain of function" (GOF) studies that make pathogens more potent or likely to spread in people erupted in 2011, when Kawaoka's team and Ron Fouchier's lab at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands announced that they had modified the H5N1 bird flu virus to enable it to spread between ferrets. Such studies could help experts prepare for pandemics, but pose risks if the souped-up pathogen escapes the lab. After a long discussion, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) decided the two studies should be published and federal officials issued new oversight rules for certain H5N1 studies.

But U.S. officials grew uneasy after the publication of new GOF papers and several accidents in U.S. biocontainment labs. In October 2014, they announced an unprecedented "pause" on funding for 21 GOF studies of influenza, MERS and severe acute respiratory syndrome viruses. (At the time, NIH said there were 18 paused studies.) NIH eventually exempted some studies found to pose relatively little risk. But eight influenza studies and three MERS projects remained on hold.

Also at Nature, NYT, NPR, and Washington Post (archive).

Previously: The Question of Lab Safety when Creating Global Killer Viruses

Related: NIH Won't Fund Human Germline Modification
NIH Plans To Lift Ban On Research Funds For Human-Animal Chimera Embryos
U.S. Human Embryo Editing Study Published

Original Submission

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

[...] The self-healing polymer, created by researchers at the University of Tokyo, was initially discovered by accident while they were studying new adhesives.

During the research, one of the team noticed that the polymer he was examining for use as a glue had the ability to adhere to itself when cut, compressed and held together for 30 seconds at room temperature (21 degrees Celsius, or 70 degrees Fahrenheit).

[...] It's not the first time researchers have designed self-healing materials like this, but what sets the new polymer apart is that it's structurally robust, like glass, but also capable of self-healing – properties that are often mutually exclusive in engineered compounds. What also makes the glass unique is that it performs its self-adhering function at room temperature, whereas other self-healing materials often require heating to induce their bonding behaviour.

Source: Scientists Have Developed Glass That Heals Itself When You Press It Together

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Google Chrome will soon begin blocking all ads (including those served by Google) on websites that repeatedly include certain "non-compliant" (annoying) ads:

In June, Google revealed that Chrome will stop showing all ads (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that display non-compliant ads "starting in early 2018." Now the company has committed to a date: Chrome's built-in ad-blocker will start working on February 15, 2018.

[...] Google this year joined the Coalition for Better Ads, a group that offers specific standards for how the industry should improve ads for consumers — full-page ad interstitials, ads that unexpectedly play sound, and flashing ads are all banned. Yesterday, the coalition announced the Better Ads Experience Program, which provides guidelines for companies using the Better Ads Standards to improve users' experience with online ads.

[...] The hope is that Chrome's built-in ad blocker will stymie the usage of other third-party ad blockers that block all ads outright. Google has noted in the past that ad blockers that do not discriminate hurt publishers that create free content (like VentureBeat) and threaten "the sustainability of the web ecosystem." Despite the fact that Google makes the vast majority of its revenue from ads, the company sees its selective ad blocker as the natural evolution of pop-up blockers.

Also at Engadget, Variety, and 9to5Google.

Previously: Google Preparing to Filter "Unacceptable Ads" in 2018

Original Submission

aristarchus informs us of a link:

As reported by The Huffington Post:

New rules implemented on Twitter Monday have led to the suspensions of accounts belonging to prominent neo-Nazis, white nationalists and other far-right extremists.

[...] "You may not make specific threats of violence or wish for the serious physical harm, death, or disease of an individual or group of people," states Twitter's rule for "violent extremist groups," which went into effect Monday.

"This includes, but is not limited to, threatening or promoting terrorism," the rule continues. "You also may not affiliate with organizations that – whether by their own statements or activity both on and off the platform – use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes."

[...] The "alt-right ― a loose association of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, assorted racists, fascists, and other far-right elements that has used Twitter for years to organize and recruit ― anticipated today's "purge," with many preparing to make the jump to Gab, a largely rules-free micro-blogging platform used primarily by white nationalists.

Related: Twitter: Our Blue Check Marks Aren't Just About "Verification"

Original Submission