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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow1337:

Quantum interference observed in real time: Extreme UV-light spectroscopy technique:

A team headed by Prof. Dr. Frank Stienkemeier and Dr. Lukas Bruder from the Institute of Physics at the University of Freiburg has succeeded in observing in real-time ultrafast quantum interferences—in other words the oscillation patterns—of electrons which are found in the atomic shells of rare gas atoms. They managed to observe oscillations with a period of about 150 attoseconds—an attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second. To this end, the scientists excited rare gas atoms with specially prepared laser pulses. Then they tracked the response of the atoms with a new measurement technique that enabled them to study quantum mechanical effects in atoms and molecules at extremely high time resolution. The researchers present their results in the latest edition of Nature Communications.

[...] Stienkemeier's team has extended a technology known from the visible spectrum range, coherent pump-probe spectroscopy, into the ultra-violet range. This is the spectral range between X-ray radiation and ultra-violet light. To do this, the scientists prepared a sequence of two ultra-short laser pulses in the extreme ultra-violet range at the FERMI free electron laser in Trieste, Italy. The pulses were separated by a precisely-defined time interval and had a precisely-defined phase relationship to one another. The first pulse starts the process in the electron shell (pump-process). The second pulse probes the status of the electron shell at a later point (probe-process). By altering the time interval and the phase relationship, the researchers could reach conclusions on the temporal development in the electron shell. "The greatest challenge was to achieve precise control over the pulse properties and to isolate the weak signals," explains Andreas Wituschek, who was in charge of the experimental procedure.

Andreas Wituschek et al. Tracking attosecond electronic coherences using phase-manipulated extreme ultraviolet pulses, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14721-2

Original Submission

martyb writes:

Let there be 'circadian' light:

Researchers said the wavelengths at sunrise and sunset have the biggest impact to brain centers that regulate our circadian clock and our mood and alertness.

Their study, "A color vision circuit for non-image-forming vision in the primate retina," published in Current Biology Feb. 20, identifies a cell in the retina, which plays an important role in signaling our brain centers that regulate circadian rhythms, boost alertness, help memory and cognitive function, and elevate mood. (See interview with lead researchers)

[...] Lead author Sara Patterson, a graduate student in neuroscience at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said how we set our internal clocks to the external light-dark cycle has been studied a lot. But how the changes in the color of light affect our brain has not.

"Color vision used for something other than color perception was the most exciting part for me," she said.

In the study, Patterson and colleagues identified a cell known as an inhibitory interneuron or amacrine cell in the retina, which signals to photosensitive ganglion cells that affect our circadian brain centers. The researchers said these amacrine cells provide "the missing component of an evolutionary ancient color vision circuit capable of setting the circadian clock by encoding the spectral content of light."

Patterson said so little is known about rare retinal circuitry that it was possible to find a new blue cone cell. She said there is a lot more to be discovered about how blue cone cells are projecting to other areas of the brain.

Journal Reference:
Sara S.Patterson, James A.Kuchenbecker, James R.Anderson, Maureen Neitz, Jay Neitz. "A Color Vision Circuit for Non-Image-Forming Vision in the Primate Retina" Current Biology (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.040)

The entire article is available on Science Direct.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275:

AT&T loses key ruling in class action over unlimited-data throttling:

AT&T's mandatory-arbitration clause is unenforceable in a class-action case over AT&T's throttling of unlimited data, a panel of US appeals court judges ruled this week.

The nearly five-year-old case has gone through twists and turns, with AT&T's forced-arbitration clause initially being upheld in March 2016. If that decision had stood, the customers would have been forced to have any complaints heard individually in arbitration.

But an April 2017 decision by the California Supreme Court in a different case effectively changed the state's arbitration law, causing a US District Court judge to revive the class action in March 2018.

AT&T appealed that ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but a three-judge panel at that court rejected AT&T's appeal in a ruling issued Tuesday. Judges said they must follow the California Supreme Court decision—known as the McGill rule—"which held that an agreement, like AT&T's, that waives public injunctive relief in any forum is contrary to California public policy and unenforceable."

[...] The class-action suit alleged that AT&T "used deceptive and unfair trade practices by marketing its mobile service data plans as 'unlimited' when AT&T allegedly limited those plans in several ways, including 'throttling'—slowing down mobile data speeds after the consumer uses an undisclosed, predetermined amount of mobile data," appeals court judges noted in this week's decision.

AT&T changed its policy in 2015 so that customers are throttled only when the network is congested. Previously, the carrier throttled unlimited data plans after customers used either 3GB or 5GB each month, depending on which plan they had, severely limiting speeds for the rest of the monthly billing period regardless of whether or not the network was congested.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275:

Apple is considering letting users change default email, browser, music apps in iOS:

Apple is seriously considering the possibility of allowing users to change the default apps for Web browsing, mail, or music on their iPhones. The company might also allow users to listen to Spotify or other music streaming services besides Apple Music via Siri on the iPhone or on the HomePod smart speaker.

These revelations were outlined in a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman this morning, who cited multiple people familiar with Apple's internal plans.

[...] Currently, iOS users can download third-party applications for mail or Web browsing like Outlook or Firefox, but they cannot set them to be the default apps that the system opens when a link or email address is tapped in another application, for example. Apple does allow users to do these things in some cases with its macOS software for desktops and laptops, even though it's not possible on the company's mobile platforms.

[...] And as Bloomberg notes, more elegant support for streaming services besides Apple Music would almost certainly be a boon for sales of Apple's HomePod smart speaker, as that lack of flexibility is a major limitation for that product compared to its competitors. Yes, HomePod users can stream Spotify to the HomePod using Apple's AirPlay technology, but many users may feel that is not a complete solution.

[...] Bloomberg's sources were careful to clarify that no final decisions have been made yet, but given Apple's longstanding commitment to a different philosophy, the fact this change is being seriously considered at all is on its own a major development.

When it released iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 in 2019, Apple already began lifting some smaller limitations on how users could customize the mobile operating system. So if these changes for default apps do go forward, they could herald a dramatic shift in Apple's software strategy—whether they're made to make things better for users, to appease regulators, or both.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275_:

RIP: Larry Tesler, inventor of copy & paste:

“You cannot reduce the complexity of a given task beyond a certain point. Once you’ve reached that point you can only shift the burden around.” ~Larry Tesler

One of the people who helped create the current age of personal computing passed away this week: Larry Tesler (74), the computer scientist who invented copy-&-paste while at Xerox PARC.

[...]Long ago, when Xerox wanted to invest in Apple before its IPO, Apple demanded and got the right to visit the fabled Palo Alto Research Center. The first such visit took place in 1980 (though some claim it took place in 1979).

Larry Tesler, then the director of PARC, acted as Apple’s tour guide.

Born in the Bronx in 1945, Tesler studied at Stanford University in California and was the man who led Apple’s Steve Jobs and his delegation on the historically important tour from which Apple took user interface and computer design concepts that became mainstays of the PCs we use today.

Things like external keyboards, mice, icons, windows — all of these elements had been in development at Xerox PARC, though it took Jobs and Apple to fully realize them, some say.

Jobs was so impressed by the demonstration, he reportedly yelled, “You’re sitting on a gold mine."

Teslar was also taken by his Apple visitors:

“What impressed me was that their questions were better than any I had heard in the seven years I had been at Xerox… the questions showed that they understood the implications and the subtleties.”

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275:

Kickstarter workers make history with unionization vote:

Workers at Kickstarter voted Tuesday to form a union. It's the first time the white-collar workers at a high-profile technology company have formally chosen to be represented by a union. With growing unrest among workers at larger technology giants—including Google and Amazon—it could be the start of a trend.

[...]Relations between management and the union organizers [have] deteriorated over the [past] year. Last summer, Kickstarter fired two employees involved in union organizing. The employees say this was illegal retaliation for their organizing efforts; the company insists that the firings were performance-related and had nothing to do with the organizing effort.

In any event, Kickstarter's efforts to discourage its employees from forming a union were unsuccessful. On Tuesday, employees voted by a 47 to 36 margin to form the union.

Previously:
Kickstarter Faces Union Backlash After Firing Two Organizers

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for CoolHand:

Microsoft Defender ATP preview arrives for Linux distros -- iOS and Android versions to follow:

Microsoft has released a public preview of its Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for various Linux distributions.

The company says that the tool will also be coming to iOS and Android later this year, and more details of these mobile editions are due to be revealed at next week's RSA Conference. The spread to additional platform comes after Microsoft rebranded Windows Defender as Microsoft Defender last year.

[...]On the Linux server front, RHEL 7+, CentOS Linux 7+, Ubuntu 16 LTS, or higher LTS, SLES 12+, Debian 9+ and Oracle EL 7 are supported by the preview, reported Bleeping Computer.

In a blog post about the release, Microsoft writes: "We're announcing another step in our journey to offer security from Microsoft with the public preview of Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux. Extending endpoint threat protection to Linux has been a long-time ask from our customers and we're excited to be able to deliver on that".

Original Submission

NPC-131072 writes:

From Sciencemag

Generating electricity from thin air may sound like science fiction, but a new technology based on nanowire-sprouting bacteria does just that—as long as there's moisture in the air. A new study shows that when fashioned into a film, these wires—protein filaments that ferry electrons away from the bacteria—can produce enough power to light a light-emitting diode. The film works by simply absorbing humidity from the surrounding air. Though researchers aren't sure exactly how these wires work, the tiny power plants pack a punch: Seventeen devices linked together can generate 10 volts, which is enough electricity to power a cellphone.

The new method should be considered a "milestone advance" says Guo Wanlin, a materials scientist at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics who wasn't involved with the work. Guo studies hydrovoltaics, a molecular approach to harvesting electricity from water.

[...] They [...] exposed their device to different levels of humidity. It worked best in air of about 45% humidity, but also in conditions as dry as the Sahara Desert or as humid as New Orleans, the team reports today in Nature. The secret, they say, is that with just the upper side of the film absorbing moisture, a moisture gradient develops, with droplets constantly diffusing in and out of the top. The droplets can dissociate into hydrogen and oxygen ions, causing charges to build up near the top. The difference in charge between the top and bottom of the film causes electrons to flow, Yao explains.

[...] [University of Massachusetts, Amherst microbiologist Derek] Lovley has proposed a way to do that. Growing Geobacter to harvest nanowires is difficult, so Lovley has genetically engineered the easy-to-grow bacterium Escherichia coli to produce nanowires. The E. coli created nanowires of the same diameter and with the same conducting power as Geobacter's, he and his colleagues reported in a November 2019 preprint posted to bioRxiv.

[Note: Yes, the linked article does say that "10 volts, which is enough electricity to power a cell phone." --Ed.]

Journal Reference:
Toshiyuki Ueki, David J.F. Walker, Trevor L. Woodard, Kelly P. Nevin, Stephen S. Nonnenmann, Derek R. Lovley. "An Escherichia coli Chassis for Production of Electrically Conductive Protein Nanowires", bioRxiv (DOI: 10.1101/856302)

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/facebook-offers-to-pay-users-for-their-voice-recordings/

Facebook is offering to pay its users for personal information including recordings of their own voice, in a rare example of internet companies directly compensating people for collecting their data.

[...]Makers of smart speakers including Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google faced criticism last year when it emerged that they were routinely sending users’ voice recordings to human moderators, without revealing the practice to customers or obtaining their consent.

[...]The social network’s Viewpoints app, which was first released three months ago to test new features and survey users, this week began to invite users in the US to say “Hey Portal” and the names of up to 10 friends. Going through the recording process five times would earn points that can be converted into a $5 cash reward.

[...]Facebook said this week that its latest Viewpoints feature was designed to “improve speech understanding”, by training machine-learning algorithms, which rely on a large amount of examples to improve their accuracy and performance.

[...]Any data gathered though Viewpoints “helps us build better apps and services and benefit the community”, Facebook said on the service’s website. “We don’t share your Facebook Viewpoints activity on Facebook or on other accounts you’ve linked without your permission. We also don’t sell your information from this app to third parties.”

However, the Viewpoints data policy notes that some information collected using the app, such as payment and device data, can be used to personalize other Facebook apps and target advertising. Data [gathered] during a Viewpoints research program may also be shared with “research partners”, including academics, publishers and advertisers, though Facebook said participants would be informed if that was the case.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275_:

Facebook owes $9B in taxes related to Ireland deal, IRS says:

Facebook is being sued by the Internal Revenue Service, which says the social networking giant owes the US government more than $9 billion in unpaid taxes related to its decision to shift profits to its Irish subsidiary, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The lawsuit, which went to trial on Tuesday in a San Francisco court, alleges that Facebook understated the value of intellectual property it sold to its Irish subsidiary in 2010, the news agency reports. Facebook hardware chief Andrew Bosworth and Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer are expected to testify in the trial, expected to last three to four weeks.

Facebook and other large digital tech companies, including Amazon and Google, are under pressure from countries around the world for not paying what is perceived to be their share of taxes. Ireland is perceived as a popular tax refuge for tech companies because of its relatively low taxes.

Facebook's overseas subsidiaries pay royalties to their parent company for use of its trademark and access to users and platform technologies. Facebook Ireland paid Facebook more than $14 billion in royalties and other payments between 2010 and 2016, according to a court filing cited by Reuters.

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upstart writes in with an IRC submission for SoyCow4275_:

Growing crystals to generate random numbers:

A team at the University of Glasgow has developed a novel way to generate random numbers by using the randomness inherent in crystal growth. In their paper published in the journal Matter, the group describes using chemistry to generate random numbers for use in other applications.

Generating random numbers has always been a tricky problem for computer engineers because computers were designed to be as predictable as possible. But random numbers are required in a wide variety of applications in virtually every scientific field. One of the more pressing applications is data encryption—most existing schemes rely on the constant generation of random numbers. Without randomness, computers designed to crack encryption can soon spot a pattern, making it relatively easy to crack the encryption code. In this new effort, the researchers have turned to a real-world process shown to be more random than pseudo-random number generators—a chemical reaction by which a material begins to crystallize.

[...] The researchers tested their random number generator with a common encryption application that ordinarily uses a conventional generator. They encrypted the word "crystal." They then used a common encryption cracking system to crack the system. They found that the cracking system had more difficulty deciphering their word when it was encrypted by their crystal random generator than with conventional pseudo random number generators.

Physics team uses pixel sensitivity of smartphone as a random generator for encryption

More information:

Edward C. Lee et al. A Crystallization Robot for Generating True Random Numbers Based on Stochastic Chemical Processes, Matter (2020).

DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2020.01.024

Journal information: Matter

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for Fnord666:

Hackers exploit critical vulnerability found in ~100,000 WordPress sites:

Hackers are actively exploiting a critical WordPress plugin vulnerability that allows them to completely wipe all website databases and, in some cases, seize complete control of affected sites.

The flaw is in the ThemeGrill Demo Importer installed on some 100,000 sites, and it was disclosed over the weekend by Website security company WebARX. By Tuesday, WebArx reported that the flaw was under active exploit with almost 17,000 attacks blocked so far. Hanno Böck, a journalist who works for Golem.de, also spotted active attacks and reported them on Twitter.

"There's currently a severe vuln in a wordpress plugin called "themegrill demo importer" that resets the whole database," Böck wrote. "https://webarxsecurity.com/critical-issue-in-themegrill-demo-importer/ It seems attacks are starting: Some of the affected webpages show a wordpress 'hello world'-post. /cc If you use this plugin and your webpage hasn't been deleted yet consider yourself lucky. And remove the plugin. (Yes, remove it, don't just update.)"

[...] The bug stems from a failure to authenticate users before allowing them to carry out privileged administrative commands. Hackers can abuse this failure by sending Web requests that contain specially crafted text strings.

"This is a serious vulnerability and can cause a significant amount of damage," WebARX researchers wrote in this weekend's disclosure. "Since it requires no suspicious-looking payload just like our previous finding in InfiniteWP, it is not expected for any firewall to block this by default, and a special rule needs to be created to block this vulnerability."

Specifically, the vulnerability allows attackers to delete all tables and populate the database with default settings and data. Accounts named "admin," assuming any exist, are set to their previously known password. In the event accounts named admin exist, the attacker will find themselves logged in with administrative rights.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

New Atlas:

Though many people simply grab a bag of mushrooms from their local store, others prefer to forage. But incorrectly identifying wild mushrooms can lead to more than an upset stomach, it could prove fatal. Researchers from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service have developed a portable test to help.
...
The researchers point out that there are only a few laboratories capable of testing biological specimens for amatoxins, and even then the results may take a while to appear, perhaps not soon enough to help a patient. The new test can identify the presence of amanitins in minutes.
...
The lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) test relies on a specific reactive monoclonal antibody and is sensitive to 10 parts per billion, and comprises a sample pad, a conjugate pad, nitrocellulose membrane, and a wicking pad. The team says that a mushroom sample the size of a grain of rice can be used, but the test can also identify toxins in the urine of those who have already consumed suspect fungi.

It's good news for budding mushroom hunters, but the test kit is not yet available for purchase and the test can only detect toxins from the genus Amanita, which includes fatal species like Destroying Angel ("from Wikipedia:Amanita bisporigera and A. ocreata in eastern and western North America, and A. virosa in Europe.[1] Another very similar species, A. verna or fool's mushroom, was first described in France.").

See also:

New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms

https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins12020123 (registering DOI)

Original Submission

"SoyCow4275" writes in with this story via IRC:

Hackers Were Inside Citrix for Five Months:

Citrix provides software used by hundreds of thousands of clients worldwide, including most of the Fortune 100 companies. It is perhaps best known for selling virtual private networking (VPN) software that lets users remotely access networks and computers over an encrypted connection.

In March 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alerted Citrix they had reason to believe cybercriminals had gained access to the company's internal network. The FBI told Citrix the hackers likely got in using a technique called "password spraying," a relatively crude but remarkably effective attack that attempts to access a large number of employee accounts (usernames/email addresses) using just a handful of common passwords.

In a statement released at the time, Citrix said it appeared hackers "may have accessed and downloaded business documents," and that it was still working to identify what precisely was accessed or stolen.

But in a letter sent to affected individuals dated Feb. 10, 2020, Citrix disclosed additional details about the incident. According to the letter, the attackers "had intermittent access" to Citrix's internal network between Oct. 13, 2018 and Mar. 8, 2019, and that there was no evidence that the cybercrooks still remain in the company's systems.

Citrix said the information taken by the intruders may have included Social Security Numbers or other tax identification numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, financial account numbers, payment card numbers, and/or limited health claims information, such as health insurance participant identification number and/or claims information relating to date of service and provider name.

It is unclear how many people received this letter, but the communication suggests Citrix is contacting a broad range of individuals who work or worked for the company at some point, as well as those who applied for jobs or internships there and people who may have received health or other benefits from the company by virtue of having a family member employed by the company.

Original Submission

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Exposing teeth to excessive fluoride alters calcium signaling, mitochondrial function, and gene expression in the cells forming tooth enamel -- a novel explanation for how dental fluorosis, a condition caused by overexposure to fluoride during childhood, arises. The study, led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry, is published in Science Signaling.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that helps to prevent cavities by promoting mineralization and making tooth enamel more resistant to acid. It is added to drinking water around the world -- the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends a level of 0.7 parts per million -- and all toothpastes backed by the American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance contain fluoride. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named water fluoridation one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century for its role in reducing tooth decay.

While low levels of fluoride help strengthen and protect tooth enamel, too much fluoride can cause dental fluorosis -- a discoloration of teeth, usually with opaque white marks, lines, or mottled enamel and poor mineralization. Dental fluorosis occurs when children between birth and around nine years of age are exposed to high levels fluoride during this critical window when their teeth are forming, and can actually increase their risk of tooth decay. A survey by the CDC found that roughly 25 percent of the U.S. population examined (ages 6 to 49) show some degree of dental fluorosis.

"The benefits of fluoride for oral health considerably outweigh the risks. But given how common dental fluorosis is and how poorly understood the cellular mechanisms responsible for this disease are, it is important to study this problem," said Rodrigo Lacruz, PhD, associate professor of basic science and craniofacial biology at NYU College of Dentistry and the study's senior author.

Francisco J. Aulestia, Johnny Groeling, Guilherme H. S. Bomfim, Veronica Costiniti, Vinu Manikandan, Ariya Chaloemtoem, Axel R. Concepcion, Yi Li, Larry E. Wagner, Youssef Idaghdour, David I. Yule, Rodrigo S. Lacruz. Fluoride exposure alters Ca2 signaling and mitochondrial function in enamel cells. Science Signaling, 2020; 13 (619): eaay0086 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.aay0086

Original Submission