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DeathMonkey writes:

NASA scientists announced Wednesday that the Earth’s average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in nearly 140 years of record-keeping and a continuation of an unmistakable warming trend.

“The five warmest years have, in fact, been the last five years,” said Gavin A. Schmidt, director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the NASA group that conducted the analysis. “We’re no longer talking about a situation where global warming is something in the future. It’s here. It’s now.”

Over all, 18 of the 19 warmest years have occurred since 2001.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/02/06/climate/fourth-hottest-year.html

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Bloomberg:

When Vivendi SA took over Universal Music Group in 2000, the industry was riding high on bumper sales of CDs, though the investment soon soured as illegal downloads surged. CD revenue plunged by two-thirds over the next decade, and by the early 2010s, unloading Universal would’ve been a tough sell; who would pay a premium for a company whose main product—pop songs—was widely available for free? But today, Vivendi is considering the sale of a stake in Universal that could value the label at more than $25 billion.
...
The rebound can be traced to the same boogeyman that almost killed the business in the first place: the internet. These days, music fans have largely shifted from illegal downloads to paid streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Prime, and Pandora, which generally charge $5 to $10 a month for unlimited access to millions of songs.

Have record labels, like zombies, really returned from the dead?

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

It's 2019 and still retailers haven't quite got a grip on their online shopping websites. Coles, a large supermarket in Australia, sold products with deep discounts due to a glitch until the company found the problem and restored the system. This story comes with a modern twist with users going to social media to spread the word about the glitch on the site so others can quickly take advantage. The store was able to get ahead of the surge in online shoppers and cull some of the carts, but not before the front runners picked up their discount goods.

Oh, look, a good use for social media. What are we up to, 5, or 6 now? =)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

Virgin Media tests 8Gbps broadband

A handful of homes in Cambridgeshire [UK] have tested broadband speeds of 8Gbps, as part of a trial by Virgin Media.

Currently only eight households, in the village of Papworth, are involved in the trial but Virgin Media hopes to extend this to 50 over time.

The technology it uses, ethernet passive optical network, offers the same speeds for downloads and uploads.

One analyst said it was important that fibre operators future-proofed networks and ensured there was enough capacity.

[...] "With the volume of our customers' internet usage almost doubling every year, trials like this will ensure we have the capability to meet the demand of data-hungry services in the future - be that over cable or full fibre," said Richard Sinclair, executive director of connectivity at Virgin Media.

He added that the trial was aiming to look ahead "to the next decade and beyond".

[...] Virgin Media's network in the UK currently passes more than 14 million premises, using a combination of cable and fibre-optic.

The company has been criticised by some for failing to address the digital divide and concentrating its network in more profitable towns and cities, rather than extending it out to more rural areas.

Last year, it teamed up with Need4Speed to roll out ultra-fast services to 4,000 premises in the Test Valley, in Hampshire, but has admitted it is unlikely to reach very rural areas.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

An Apple store found a new low recently when a Sydney, Australia father was not able to purchase an item because the Apple staffer would only process his payment using Apple pay. In a move the buyer recounts as being 'stupidity', a staff member repeatedly tried to get the customer onto Apple pay instead of just processing the payment for the item. Things went downhill after the staffer asked the customer if he had an iPhone. The customer got the impression that he would need to use the Apple Pay app to buy what he wanted, when what he really needed was to pay and leave. After trying, and failing, to find a staff member who would just process his payment, the customer left the store, walked across the street, and purchased the same item from a JB Hi Fi store.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

These fly larvae really know how to demolish a pizza

It all started with the can't-tear-your-eyes-away video of black soldier fly larvae devouring a 16-inch pizza in just two hours. Watching sped-up action of the writhing mass inspired mechanical engineer Olga Shishkov of Georgia Tech in Atlanta to see what makes these insects such champions of collective feeding.

An individual Hermetia illucens larva doesn't eat steadily, Shishkov found. One feeds for about five minutes on average and then stops for about another five. As a group of thousands, though, they flow continuously like a living fountain splashing up against the edge of their food, Shishkov and colleagues report February 6 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

[...] As larvae took a break from binging, the hungry crowds pressing from behind forced them upward. Those at the top then fell away from cliff-face of food. This up-and-out push lets a larva eager to feed replace one that's taking a break.

The voracious feeding of black soldier fly larvae isn't just nature as entertainment. The larvae define edibility broadly — pizza, garbage, animal waste, it's all good. So people searching for ways to make food systems more sustainable wonder whether there's an opportunity to recapture what would usually be wasted by letting the larvae devour it and in turn, feeding them to chickens or other animals that people eat. That's certainly one reason to embrace a species that not only eat garbage but can handily murder a pizza. Also, Shiskov says, "they're the cutest maggots I've ever seen."

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

A slab of seal poo used for scientific research in New Zealand has led to the unlikely discovery of a USB stick full of holiday snaps.

The sample, known as scat, had been stored for over a year before being thawed out.

Researchers analyse seal faeces to assess the health and diet of seals in New Zealand waters.

The fully functioning stick contained images of sea lions and a video of a mother playing with her baby.

The sample was submitted by a vet who had been monitoring a sickly-looking leopard seal on Oreti Beach, Invercargill, on New Zealand's South Island.

The device was in good condition "considering where it had come from", the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said on its website.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47135528

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Australia is on fire. Literally, in some places. Australia is underwater. Literally, in some places. Meanwhile, in the NT, another example of how dangerous the average day can be in Australia was seen once again when a shark and a crocodile fought over a chicken for lunch. This, of course, is not new, has been seen before and general it is agreed that the shark will lose, unless there is a human in the water in which case lunch will just 'taste like chicken'.

Poisonous spiders? Check. Poisonous snakes? Check. Dropbears? Check. Sharks AND crocs in the river. Right. I'm out.

Original Submission

Evaluation of the First Two Years of the Net Neutrality Enforcement Situation in the EU

canopic jug writes:

According to a report, The Net Neutrality Situation in the EU: Evaluation of the First Two Years of Enforcement, by the epicenter.works for digital rights in Vienna, Austria, Finland and Bulgaria remain the only two countries not violating network neutrality principles. The report covers the last two and a half years in the European Union, focusing on various practices including but not limited to zero-rating, differential pricing, and port blocking.

The principle of net neutrality is enshrined in the European Union in Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access and amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union, which went into effect on 30 April 2016 (hereafter "the Regulation") ¹ . As an EU Regulation, it requires no transposition into national law and enjoys primacy in application over national laws. It applies equally in all 28 EU memaer states and the three states of the European Economic Area (EEA) (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). The national regulatory authorities (NRAs) and other competent authorities are tasked with the enforcement and supervision of this law.

The Regulation contains a review clause by which the European Commission has to provide an evaluation report of the net neutrality provisions of the Regulation by 30 April 2019. To prepare this review, the Commission has tasked the law firm Bird & Bird, in consortium with the research and consultancy company Ecorys, to conduct a review based on interviews among various stakeholders from NRAs, the telecom industry, content and application providers (CAPs), and consumer protection as well as civil society organisations ² . In an open letter, several organisations have expressed concerns aaout a confict of interest, as Bird & Bird is representing telecom companies in court cases arought ay regulators and civil society which are aased on the same regulation Bird & Bird now tasked with collecting information from these stakeholders on ³.

[...]

¹1 Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 Novemaer 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access (2015)
² https://etendering.ted.europa.eu/cft/cft-display.html?cftId=2319
³ https://epicenter.works/document/1285

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Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

realDonaldTrump writes:

A long-standing brick-and-mortar game shop could be the latest victim of the digital age - and it could leave gamers out in the cold. We've seen the pattern before: the demise of a beloved retail chain due to the rise of online shopping, and the decline of in-store retail sales. Now it's happening to the country's biggest retail gaming chain, GameStop.

foxnews.com/tech/gamestops-future-in-question-after-failing-to-secure-buyout

The full statement from the company is available at GameStop Concludes Process to Pursue Sale of Company.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Scientists find new and smaller CRISPR gene editor: CasX

In a mere seven years, Cas9 has shown itself to be a formidable gene editor, employed in humans, plants, animals and bacteria to quickly and accurately cut and splice DNA, transforming biology and opening new avenues for treating disease. But a new kid on the block, CasX, may give Cas9 a run for its money.

Discovered two years ago by UC Berkeley scientists Jill Banfield and Jennifer Doudna in some of the world's smallest bacteria, the protein was similar to Cas9, but quite a bit smaller: a big advantage if you're trying to deliver a gene editor into a cell. But would it work outside its native bacteria?

According to a study published today in Nature [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-0908-x] [DX], CasX is, in fact, a potent and efficient gene editor in both bacteria and human cells. Its design is similar to Cas9 and its well-studied cousin, Cas12, but it is different enough that it appears to have evolved in bacteria independently of the other Cas proteins. It can cut double-stranded DNA like Cas9, can bind to DNA to regulate genes, and it can be targeted to specific DNA sequences like other Cas proteins.

Plus, because it comes from bacteria that are not found in humans — Banfield dredged them from a database of microbes found in groundwater and sediment — the human immune system should accept it more easily than Cas9. Some doctors fear that Cas9 may create an immune reaction in patients treated with CRISPR therapies.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Beyond Mars, the Mini MarCO Spacecraft Fall Silent

Before the pair of briefcase-sized spacecraft known collectively as MarCO launched last year, their success was measured by survival: If they were able to operate in deep space at all, they would be pushing the limits of experimental technology.

Now well past Mars, the daring twins seem to have reached their limit. It's been over a month since engineers have heard from MarCO, which followed NASA's InSight to the Red Planet. At this time, the mission team considers it unlikely they'll be heard from again.

[...] WALL-E was last heard from on Dec. 29; EVE, on Jan. 4. Based on trajectory calculations, WALL-E is currently more than 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) past Mars; EVE is farther, almost 2 million miles (3.2 million kilometers) past Mars.

The mission team has several theories for why they haven't been able to contact the pair. WALL-E has a leaky thruster. Attitude-control issues could be causing them to wobble and lose the ability to send and receive commands. The brightness sensors that allow the CubeSats to stay pointed at the Sun and recharge their batteries could be another factor. The MarCOs are in orbit around the Sun and will only get farther away as February wears on. The farther they are, the more precisely they need to point their antennas to communicate with Earth.

The MarCOs won't start moving toward the Sun again until this summer. The team will reattempt to contact the CubeSats at that time, though it's anyone's guess whether their batteries and other parts will last that long.

Previously: InSight Mars Landing Successful; MarCO Sends Pics

Original Submission

realDonaldTrump submitted a story about SpaceX test firing its Raptor engine:

Elon Musk has been at SpaceX's test site for its rocket engines in central Texas this weekend. The facility near McGregor is where the company both tests Merlin engines for Falcon 9 flights, and also performs some experimental firings.

Due to a variety of reasons including financial pressures, SpaceX is pushing hard on the development of its next-generation Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft. This was evidenced this weekend when, at 1:15am Central Time on Sunday morning, Musk shared a nighttime picture of himself on the test stand at McGregor, saying "with engineering team getting ready to fire new Raptor rocket engine." It was the dead of night on Super Bowl weekend, and they were working on an engine that won't go into space for a few years. But that didn't matter.

The test itself appears to have taken place later on Sunday. Eyewitness reports in Central Texas noted a large pop on Sunday evening, and more later Sunday night. Musk himself tweeted a photo shortly before 10pm local time, and thereafter a video. The test firing itself lasts for a few seconds, and was evidently successful. "First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of great work by @SpaceX team!!" Musk wrote.

Also at Fox News.

Previously: In New Starship Details, Musk Reveals a More Practical Approach

Related: Elon Musk: Why I'm Building the Starship Out of Stainless Steel

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Intel Releases Open Source Encoder for Next-Gen AV1 Codec

Intel published its own open source CPU-based encoder for the next-generation and royalty-free AV1 codec (a codec is a program for encoding / decoding a digital data stream or signal). Intel is one of the main founding members of the Alliance for Open Media (AOM), the non-profit group behind the development of the AV1 codec.

Intel's new encoder, called Scalable Video Technology AOMedia Video 1 (SVT-AV1), aims to fill the role of a good CPU-based encoding software tool until dedicated AV1 encoders are ready for prime time. The encoder supports the Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.

A CPU-based encoder requires a beefy system, so it's no surprise the real-time encoding specifications for SVT-AV1 are no joke. SVT-AV1 requires Skylake-generation or newer Xeon processors with at least 112 threads and at least 48GB of RAM for 10-bit 4K video encoding. Outside of video streaming companies, these type of systems are out of reach for most. Consumers that want to encode AV1 videos may want to wait for dedicated AV1 encoding hardware to appear, which make take another year or so.

Here's a recent 42-minute talk (no transcript) about AOMedia Video 1 (AV1). Hardware support for AV1 should begin appearing around 2020.

Related: Alliance for Open Media Announces Release of AOMedia Video Codec 1.0 (AV1) Specification
YouTube and Netflix Upload AV1-Encoded Videos for Testing

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Female Brains Appear to Be More Youthful Than Male Ones, Study Suggests

Scientists have just found a new distinction between the brains of the two sexes: age-related changes to the brain occur more slowly in women than in men. The jury is still out on whether cognitive differences between men and women are created by nature or nurture [open, DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0311-5] [DX] - or to what extent they even exist - but we do know that average structural differences between the sexes are a real thing.

This latest research now indicates that female brains, on average, appear to be about three years more youthful than the brains of males of the same age when it comes to brain metabolism. This difference could be why women tend to stay mentally sharp [open, DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.71.1.29] [DX] for longer than men, the researchers said.

"We're just starting to understand how various sex-related factors might affect the trajectory of brain ageing and how that might influence the vulnerability of the brain to neurodegenerative diseases," said neuroscientist Manu Goyal of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Brain metabolism might help us understand some of the differences we see between men and women as they age."

Scientists had already established that age-related grey matter volume decrease occurs more quickly in male brains than female brains [DOI: 10.1007/s11682-015-9468-3] [DX]. It's also been demonstrated [open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0806883105] [DX] that gene expression in the brain changes more rapidly in ageing men than women, resulting in a reduced ability to build and break down molecules in the male brain.

Also at NPR.

Persistent metabolic youth in the aging female brain (open, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1815917116) (DX)

Original Submission