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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.engadget.com/2019/01/24/twitter-original-tweeter-test/

Twitter is testing a way to make it easier to spot the person who started a thread. A small percentage of iOS and Android users are seeing an "original tweeter" label. The company said earlier this month that it would publicly test some context and organization features.

It's a useful feature, and it could reduce some types of abuse, particularly if the original tweeter is, say, Bill Gates and the replies include those from scammy imitation accounts. The label, along with the blue verified checkmark, could make it more immediately obvious when Gates himself is replying, and not, for instance, @Bi11Gates.

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00176-z

A conservation group is using drones to eradicate invasive rats by dropping poison on two small islands in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago — the first time such an approach has been used on vertebrates in the wild. The operation, which began on 12 January on North Seymour island in the Galápagos National Park, aims to protect native animals and plants from the destructive rodents.

Rats and other non-native species have caused extensive damage to the Galápagos, whose unique flora and fauna evolved in isolation for millions of years. In the process, native species lost many defence mechanisms against predators. Rats, which reproduce quickly and eat a wide variety of plants and animals, have been a target of eradication campaigns across the Galápagos.

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upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for chromas

Advertisers seek assurances from Instagram after brand safety issue, but won’t pull ads - Digiday

The prospect of ads appearing next to posts about suicide content has made some advertisers wary of buying ads on Instagram. Facebook’s brand safety problems, are now Instagram’s problems.

Marks & Spencer, The Post Office, Dune and the British Heart Foundation were named in a report by the BBC yesterday evening (Jan. 23) that found their ads had appeared against graphic content about suicide on the social network. The investigation came after it emerged a teenager who had viewed posts on suicide on Instagram had taken her own life.

But rather than pull ads like they did in 2017 when the brand safety issue spilled over into the mainstream, advertisers are taking a different approach now. None of the advertisers mentioned in the report have pulled spend, according to separate statements from the businesses. The idea that online platforms monetize inappropriate content has become such a recurrence over the last two years, that the panic that previously engulfed these issues has been replaced with pragmatism.

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upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Nepal earthquake: Waiting for the complete rupture

[...] "In the 2015 quake, there was only a partial rupture of the major Himalayan fault separating the two continental plates. The frontal, near-surface section of the rupture zone, where the Indian Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate, did not slip and remains under stress," explains Dal Zilio, lead author of the study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

Normally, a major earthquake releases almost all the stress that has built up in the vicinity of the focus as a result of displacement of the plates. "Our model shows that, although the Gorkha earthquake reduced the stress level in part of the rupture zone, tension actually increased in the frontal section close to the foot of the Himalayas. The apparent paradox is that 'medium-sized' earthquakes such as Gorkha can create the conditions for an even larger earthquake," says Dal Zilio.

Tremors of the magnitude of the Gorkha earthquake release stress only in the deeper subsections of the fault system over lengths of 100 kilometres. In turn, new and even greater stress builds up in the near-surface sections of the rupture zone.

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takyon writes:

A Rogue Mascot Causes Headaches for a Japanese City

Last year, the southern Japanese city of Susaki created a position — honorary tourism ambassador — for a real-life otter with a large social media following. So far, so cute. Then Chiitan, an unsanctioned mascot based on the otter, began staging dangerous and non-child-friendly stunts around town, like swinging a weed whacker and tipping over a car. And some residents began confusing Chiitan with the city's official mascot, Shinjokun, who is also modeled on an otter but is considerably more risk-averse.

Chiitan's darkest moment may be a video titled "Chiitan going to visit your house," in which the mascot silently removes a baseball bat from a locker, slips it into its costume and walks off camera.

After receiving more than 100 calls from around Japan about Chiitan's behavior, the city declined last week to renew the real otter's honorary tourism ambassador contract. But posts about Chiitan being "fired" (the mascot and the real otter have the same name) have since gone viral on social media, incorrectly implying that the city had officially sanctioned the rogue mascot's cheeky antics.

Susaki's public relations dilemma highlights a trend that may be unique to Japan: As more municipalities sponsor official mascots, unsanctioned spinoffs are proliferating — with mixed results. "I suppose it illustrates how the world of mascots is constantly evolving in fun and unpredictable ways," said Chris Carlier, a British writer in Tokyo who runs the website and Twitter feed Mondo Mascots.

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takyon writes:

Scientists find increase in asteroid impacts on ancient Earth by studying the Moon

An international team of scientists is challenging our understanding of a part of Earth's history by looking at the Moon, the most complete and accessible chronicle of the asteroid collisions that carved our solar system.

In a study published today in Science, the team shows the number of asteroid impacts on the Moon and Earth increased by two to three times starting around 290 million years ago.

"Our research provides evidence for a dramatic change in the rate of asteroid impacts on both Earth and the Moon that occurred around the end of the Paleozoic era," said lead author Sara Mazrouei, who recently earned her PhD in the Department of Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto (U of T). "The implication is that since that time we have been in a period of relatively high rate of asteroid impacts that is 2.6 times higher than it was prior to 290 million years ago."

It had been previously assumed that most of Earth's older craters produced by asteroid impacts have been erased by erosion and other geologic processes. But the new research shows otherwise.

"The relative rarity of large craters on Earth older than 290 million years and younger than 650 million years is not because we lost the craters, but because the impact rate during that time was lower than it is now," said Rebecca Ghent, an associate professor in U of T's Department of Earth Sciences and one of the paper's co-authors. "We expect this to be of interest to anyone interested in the impact history of both Earth and the Moon, and the role that it might have played in the history of life on Earth."

Paleozoic Era.

Earth and Moon impact flux increased at the end of the Paleozoic (DOI: 10.1126/science.aar4058) (DX)

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DrkShadow writes:

https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/blog/2018/12/07/decommissioning-national-broadband-map-and-its-apis

Having become old, both in infrastructure and content, the FCC's National Broadband Map has been decommissioned. This happened at the end of December, after an announcement in early December. The reasons include an aging mapping platform and state broadband provider data that hasn't been updated since mid 2014.

In its place, the FCC is encouraging use of new broadband map resources at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/#/. The linked blog post also links to pirate radio enforcement data, visualizations of broadband and health(?) data, LTE coverage data, mobile deployment data, and the 20th Mobile Wireless Report. However, you may want to take these maps with 6,000 miles of salt! (Man Drives 6,000 Miles to Prove Uncle Sam's Cellphone Coverage Maps are Wrong)

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Just when you think visiting Australia can't be any stranger, the Brits turn up a new one by discovering the resting place of the first person to circumnavigate Australia while renovating a train station. Remember, kids, always use lead for your coffin plate so if you are lost for a few centuries, people who find you will know who you are.

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takyon writes:

Defense intelligence report: China in steady pursuit of space capabilities to outmatch U.S.

An unclassified report released Jan. 15 [PDF] by the Defense Intelligence Agency does not reveal anything new about China's advances in space technologies and capabilities. But it does highlight one major concern for the Pentagon: China's military is becoming increasingly adept at militarizing commercial space technologies.

The People's Republic of China is conducting "sophisticated satellite operations and probably is testing on-orbit dual-use technologies that could be applied to counterspace missions," said the DIA in its first unclassified report made public on China's military power.

China's space advances in support of civil, economic and political goals could provide the nation a significant edge in military operations, the DIA said. Chinese military strategists regard the ability to use space-based systems and deny them to adversaries as central to enabling modern warfare. "As a result, the People's Republic of China continues to strengthen its military space capabilities despite its public stance against the militarization of space," said the report.

The PDF is 140 pages long.

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martyb writes:

Brazil Dam Collapse: Hundreds Missing after Mining Disaster:

As many as 200 people are missing after three dams operated by the mining giant Vale collapsed in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, releasing a wave of red mining waste and prompting fears of widespread contamination.

At least 50 people died in the disaster on Friday, Avimar de Melo, mayor of the nearby town of Brumadinho told the Hoje em Dia newspaper. "We don't have any more details because it's all happening very quickly," he said.

Brazilian television showed images of survivors being winched to safety by a helicopter after the disaster at the Feijão mine near Brumadinho, less than two hours from the state capital, Belo Horizonte.

Among those missing were 100 mine workers who were having lunch in an administrative area when it was hit by a torrent of sludge and water, said a fire brigade spokesman, Lieutenant Pedro Aihara.

"Our main worry now is to quickly find out where the missing people are," Aihara said on GloboNews cable television channel.

Videos shared on social media showed houses buried in the mud and local media reported that the nearby Inhotim outdoor art complex had been evacuated though not affected.

The dam collapse came less than four years after Brazil's worst environmental disaster was caused by the failure of a tailings dam at Mariana in the same state. That dam was operated by Samarco, which at the time of the disaster was half-owned by Vale.

"I don't have words to describe my suffering, my enormous sadness, my disappointment in what has just happened. It is beyond anything you can imagine," Vale's CEO, Fabio Schvartsman, said in an address on YouTube.

He said the company had made an "enormous effort" to make its tailings dams safe after the Mariana disaster. "The whole of Vale will do whatever is possible to help the people affected," he said.

Also at BBC and U.S. News & World Report.

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takyon writes:

After Thursday test firing, SpaceX may be a month from commercial crew launch

On Thursday afternoon at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX performed a hot-fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will fly its first commercial crew demonstration mission. This flight will not carry crew members but will serve as a test of the launch system, Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the company's ability to dock the vehicle safely with the International Space Station.

[...] Typically, such a firing occurs one to two weeks before the launch of a rocket. NASA and SpaceX, however, have yet to confirm a launch date for the mission. The current public no-earlier-than date for the flight is February 16, but sources indicated to Ars that, in terms of internal planning, the current NET date is February 23.

Before a formal launch date is set, officials with the company and space agency must still give the mission a green light during a final review process. These reviews will proceed despite the partial government shutdown, as key NASA personnel designated for the commercial crew program are continuing to work without pay in support of the flight.

[...] In addition to life-support systems that can support up to seven astronauts, the Crew Dragon has several key upgrades that must be tested in spaceflight, such as solar panels built into the spacecraft rather than extended panels.

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takyon writes:

DeepMind's AI agents conquer human pros at Starcraft II

AI agents developed by Google's DeepMind subsidiary have beaten human pros at Starcraft II — a first in the world of artificial intelligence. In a series of matches streamed on YouTube and Twitch, AI players beat the humans 10 games in a row. In the final match, pro player Grzegorz "MaNa" Komincz was able to snatch a single victory for humanity.

[...] Beating humans at video games might seem like a sideshow in AI development, but it's a significant research challenge. Games like Starcraft II are harder for computers to play than board games like chess or Go. In video games, AI agents can't watch the movement of every piece to calculate their next move, and they have to react in real time.

These factors didn't seem like much of an impediment to DeepMind's AI system, dubbed AlphaStar. First, it beat pro player Dario "TLO" Wünsch, before moving to take on MaNa. The games were originally played in December last year at DeepMind's London HQ, but a final match against MaNa was streamed live today, providing humans with their single victory.

Professional Starcraft commentators described AlphaStar's play as "phenomenal" and "superhuman." In Starcraft II, players start on different sides of the same map before building up a base, training an army, and invading the enemy's territory. AlphaStar was particularly good at what's called "micro," short for micromanagement, referring to the ability to control troops quickly and decisively on the battlefield.

[...] Experts have already begun to dissect the games and argue over whether AlphaStar had any unfair advantages. The AI agent was hobbled in some ways. For example, it was restricted from performing more clicks per minute than a human. But unlike human players, it was able to view the whole map at once, rather than navigating it manually.

Previously: Google DeepMind to Take on Starcraft II
Google's AI Declares Galactic War on Starcraft

Related: DeepMind's AI Agents Exceed Human-Level Gameplay in Quake III
Move Over AlphaGo: AlphaZero Taught Itself to Play Three Different Games

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An Anonymous Coward writes:

Senate Passes Short-Term Deal To Reopen Government, With Trump's Endorsement

President Trump has endorsed a bipartisan deal that would end the 35-day partial government shutdown. The three-week stopgap funding measure would reopen shuttered agencies while negotiations continue.

Trump announces deal to lift shutdown

President Donald Trump has endorsed a deal to reopen the US government for three weeks, after a record-breaking shutdown of federal agencies.

But the pact does not include any money that Mr Trump has demanded for a US-Mexico border wall.

See also: Dem senator unveils 'Stop STUPIDITY Act' to prevent all shutdowns
White House: 'Large down payment' on wall could end government shutdown
35 ways the shutdown is affecting America

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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

It's Now Clear None of the Supposed Benefits of Killing Net Neutrality Are Real

Network investment is down, layoffs abound, and networks are falling apart. This isn't the glorious future Ajit Pai promised.

In the months leading up to the FCC assault on net neutrality, big telecom and FCC boss Ajit Pai told anybody who'd listen that killing net neutrality would boost broadband industry investment, spark job creation, and drive broadband into underserved areas at an unprecedented rate.

As it turns out, none of those promises were actually true.

Despite the FCC voting to kill the popular consumer protections late last year, Comcast's latest earnings report indicates that the cable giant's capital expenditures (CAPEX) for 2018 actually decreased 3 percent. The revelation comes on the heels by similar statements by Verizon and Charter Spectrum that they'd also be seeing lower network investment numbers in 2018.

It's not expected to get any better in 2019. According to analysis this week by Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson, capital spending among the nation's four biggest cable providers (Altice, Comcast, Charter Spectrum, CableONE) is expected to decline upwards of 5.8 percent this year.

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karthikaqpt writes:

Researchers at North Carolina State University have created 3D-printed flexible mesh structures that can be controlled with applied magnetic fields while floating on water. The structures can grab small objects and carry water droplets, giving them the potential to be useful as soft robots that mimic creatures living on water surfaces or that can serve as tissue scaffolds for cell cultures.

This research shows capabilities in the emerging field of combining 3D printing and soft robotics.

https://www.rtoz.org/2019/01/24/3d-printed-soft-mesh-robots-created/

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