SoylentNews

takyon writes:

Google Images is making it easier to license photo rights

Google is rolling out an update to Google Images designed to make it easier to license photographs or pictures that are covered by copyright. The change could help publishers, photographers, and artists get in front of their audience, while also helping users find images that they have a right to use.

Images with licensing information provided by the publisher will now appear in search results with a "Licensable" badge over the thumbnail. Clicking on that image will then bring up its licensing requirements and a link to where you're able to buy rights to it, if necessary. Licensors are able to specify a purchasing link that differs from the page the image has been surfaced from.

It'll also be possible to filter image search results by the type of license attached. For example, you could search just for images covered under a less strict Creative Commons license, or look specifically for commercial photos.

Bye, Flickr.

Also at Search Engine Land.

Original Submission

martyb writes:

The month of August is winding to a close. Here are a few updates on site activity. If you are interested, please read on after the fold. Otherwise, a new story will be along shortly.

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

FBI warns of an increase in online romance scams:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns of online romance scams (also known as confidence fraud), an ongoing criminal activity that continues to cause large financial losses along with emotional effects with unpredictable consequences.

[...] "According to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which provides the public with a means of reporting Internet-facilitated crimes, romance scams result in greater financial losses to victims when compared to other online crimes." reads the alert published by the FBI. "In 2019, almost 20,000 complaints categorized as romance scams were reported to IC3 (about 1,000 more than the previous year), and the losses associated with those complaints exceeded $475 million."

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

9to5Linux is reporting on the new version of Thunderbird which now supports OpenPGP by default:

Thunderbird 78.2.1 has been released today and it finally enables the OpenPGP feature by default. That's amazing news for privacy and security fans enthusiasts using the open-source email client as they won't have to go to all the trouble of enabling OpenPGP in the latest Thunderbird 78 series.

After you update to Thunderbird 78.2.1, you'll be able to access the OpenPGP Key Manager window from the Tools menu by clicking on the hamburger menu on the right side of the window (see the screenshot above for details).

So as of Thunderbird 78.2.1, it will no longer be necessary to use the Enigmail add-on and that add-on ends on an amicable note. Enigmail for Thunderbird will be supported for 6 months now but will continue for Postbox.

Previously:
(2018) Google Takes Further Steps to Eliminate Third-Party E-Mail

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Cells solved Henry VIII's infamous hedge maze by 'seeing around corners,' video shows:

For a single cell, the human body is a gargantuan maze of tissues, chemicals and capillaries, crammed full with trillions of other cells all bustling about like commuters at the world's busiest train station. Somehow, amidst all this hubbub, most cells still manage to reach their destinations.

How do they do it? Many cells have a trick up their sleeves known as chemotaxis —essentially, the ability to navigate by sensing the presence or absence of chemical attractants in the environment. Sperm cells use chemotaxis to find eggs, white blood cells use it to rally around infection sites and cancer cells use it to metastasize through vulnerable tissues.

[...] In their new study, the researchers focused on a specific form of cell navigation called "self-generated" chemotaxis. It relies on a simple philosophy: cells want to move from areas of a lower concentration of attractant (in this case, an acidic solution called adenosine monophosphate) into areas with a higher concentration.

[...] But sometimes there are multiple "fields" to choose from, illustrated in this study by the multiple branching paths of a maze. To determine which branch holds the higher concentration of attractant, cells break down the molecules in front of them, causing attractant from the nearby areas to diffuse toward them. As the cells move forward, the attractant ahead of them depletes more and more; eventually, short, dead-end branches of the maze are totally depleted of attractant, even before the cells reach the exit to a dead end. When faced with a short, depleted branch and a long, attractant-filled branch, the cells will never take the dead-end route, Insall said.

[...] Mazes ranged from easy (just a few branching paths before the exit) to difficult (with long dead-end paths, like the Hampton Court hedge maze[*] replica) to impossible (according to Insall, a replica of Scotland's Traquair House maze had to be scrapped, because all the amoebas kept dying before they solved the puzzle).

[...] The longest mazes took about 2 hours for the savvy cells to solve, Insall said, while the shorter ones took just 30 minutes.

[*] Hampton Court Maze on Wikipedia.

Journal Reference:
Luke Tweedy, Peter A. Thomason, Peggy I. Paschke, et al. Seeing around corners: Cells solve mazes and respond at a distance using attractant breakdown [$], Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aay9792) (Direct Link)

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

One Theory Beyond the Standard Model Could Allow Wormholes that You Could Actually Fly Through

Wormholes are a popular feature in science fiction, the means through which spacecraft can achieve faster-than-light (FTL) travel and instantaneously move from one point in spacetime to another.

And while the General Theory of Relativity forbids the existence of "traversable wormholes", recent research has shown that they are actually possible within the domain of quantum physics.

The only downsides are that they would actually take longer to traverse than normal space and/or likely be microscopic.

In a new study performed by a pair of Ivy League scientists, the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model could mean that there are wormholes out there that are not only large enough to be traversable, but entirely safe for human travelers looking to get from point A to point B.

The study, titled "Humanly traversable wormholes," was conducted by Juan Maldacena (the Carl P. Feinberg Professor of theoretical physics from the Institute of Advanced Study) and Alexey Milekhin, a graduate of astrophysics student at Princeton University. The pair have written extensively on the subject of wormholes in the past and how they could be a means for traveling safely through space.

[...] However, Maldacena and Milekhin emphasize that their study was conducted for the purpose of showing that traversable wormholes can exist as a result of the "subtle interplay between general relativity and quantum physics."

In short, wormholes are not likely to become a practical way to travel through space – at least, not in any way that's foreseeable. Perhaps they would not be beyond a Kardashev[*] Type II or Type III civilization, but that's just speculation. Even so, knowing that a major element in science fiction is not beyond the realm of possibility is certainly encouraging!

Preprint Reference:
Juan Maldacena and Alexey Milekhin, Humanly traversable wormholes, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.06618.pdf

[*] Kardashev Scale

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Machines rival expert analysis of stored red blood cell quality: New ai strategies automate assessments of stored blood, remove human subjectivity:

Each year, nearly 120 million units^* of donated blood flow from donor veins into storage bags at collection centres around the world. The fluid is packed, processed and reserved for later use. But once outside the body, stored red blood cells (RBCs) undergo continuous deterioration. By day 42 in most countries, the products are no longer usable.

For years, labs have used expert microscopic examinations to assess the quality of stored blood. How viable is a unit by day 24? How about day 37? Depending on what technicians' eyes perceive, answers may vary. This manual process is laborious, complex and subjective.

Now, after three years of research, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences unveils two new strategies to automate the process and achieve objective RBC quality scoring -- with results that match and even surpass expert assessment.

The methodologies showcase the potential in combining artificial intelligence with state-of-the-art imaging to solve a longstanding biomedical problem. If standardized, it could ensure more consistent, accurate assessments, with increased efficiency and better patient outcomes.

[...] "People used to ask what the alternative is to the manual process," says Kolios. "Now, we've developed an approach that integrates cutting-edge developments from several disciplines, including computational biology, transfusion medicine, and medical physics. It's a testament to how technology and science are now interconnecting to solve today's biomedical problems."

*Data reported by the World Health Organization

Journal Reference:
Minh Doan, et. al. Objective Assessment of Stored Blood Quality by Deep Learning. PNAS, 2020 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001227117

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Nine gigawatts of wind turbines were added last year in the US:

Earlier this year in the US, energy generation from wind, solar, and hydroelectric dams combined to top coal generation for over two months straight. This was the product of spring peaks in renewable generation and reduced electrical demand during lockdowns, but those events were layered on top of coal's continuing decline and the long-term growth of renewables. A new report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looks back at 2019—what is now known as the Before Times—to tally up year-end totals for the wind industry.

[...] a little over nine gigawatts of wind capacity was added last year—slightly more than in each of the four previous years. Wind accounts for about one-third of all new generation added in 2019, and it ticked up to seven percent of all electricity generated in the US.

[...] The trend toward bigger wind turbines continued, with the average capacity of a turbine built last year reaching 2.55 megawatts. The height of the tower on which the turbine sits has risen over time—now averaging 90 meters—but the bigger factor is longer blades. Average rotor diameter was 120 meters, up from closer to 80 meters a decade ago.

[...] Costs, meanwhile, continue to tick down from a 2010 peak, reaching about $850 per kilowatt for turbines and $1,400 per kilowatt on the project scale. That brings the average cost of electricity produced from wind to $36 per megawatt-hour. Wind has maintained its cost lead over natural gas electricity, although solar electricity has caught up in the last few years.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission for RandomFactor:

Risk of heart attacks halves in patients with diabetes in 15 years:

Management of patients with type 2 diabetes has changed considerably over the last two decades, with increased focus on prevention of cardiovascular disease. This was the first study to examine how these changes may have affected the risk of heart attacks and premature death in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and no previous cardiovascular disease.

The researchers identified all patients in Denmark initiating therapy for type 2 diabetes from 1996 to 2011 - a total of 211,278 patients. Each patient with diabetes was matched on age and sex with five people without diabetes from the general population. Those with previous cardiovascular disease were excluded.

All participants were followed for seven years. Using data from national health registries, the researchers recorded heart attacks and death during follow-up. They also noted the use of medications to prevent cardiovascular disease at the time of diabetes diagnosis.

The researchers found that patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and no previous cardiovascular disease experienced major reductions in the risk of heart attack and death. From 1996 to 2011, the relative risk was reduced by 61% for heart attack and by 41% for death. During the same period, the absolute risks of heart attack and death reduced by 4% and 12%, respectively.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Engineer admits he wiped 456 Cisco WebEx VMs from AWS after leaving the biz, derailed 16,000 Teams accounts:

Sudhish Kasaba Ramesh, who worked at Cisco from July 2016 to April 2018, admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he had deliberately connected to Cisco's AWS-hosted systems without authorization in September 2018 – five months after leaving the manufacturer. He then proceeded to delete virtual machines powering Cisco's WebEx video-conferencing service.

"During his unauthorized access, Ramesh admitted that he deployed a code from his Google Cloud Project account that resulted in the deletion of 456 virtual machines for Cisco's WebEx Teams application, which provided video meetings, video messaging, file sharing, and other collaboration tools," the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

According to prosecutors, Ramesh's actions resulted in the shutdown of more than 16,000 WebEx Teams accounts for up to two weeks, which cost Cisco roughly $1.4m in employee time for remediation and over $1m in customer refunds.

[...] According to a court document[*], Ramesh is in the US on an H-1B visa and has a green card application pending.

[...] Ramesh faces up to five years in the clink and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced, an event scheduled for December.

[*] STIPULATION AND (PROPOSED) ORDER CONTINUING DATE FOR ENTRY OF PLEA AGREEMENT (PDF)

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Do you remember the scammers who would call you up to say your computer has a virus and only they can help? Well, they're back. This time scammers are telling people their NBN[*] speed needs to be tested so they can drain their bank accounts.

Over the past six months, a new scam has been on the rise, where customers receive an email from someone posing as NBN Co, and are urged to click a link to test the speed of their connection.

With just one click, they are unwittingly giving scammers access to their computer, and through that they are able to steal banking details and other sensitive information.

Jane McNamara, head of media for NBN Co, said the thief's next move would typically be to get the customer away from their screen, giving them unmonitored remote access to the person's desktop.

Often the target will be asked to go outside and check their NBN box, or to go into another room.

In some cases, they are told radiation or harmful UV rays will come from the computer and instructed to move away from or cover the screen.

RandomFactor writes:

According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Pychopharmacology a double-blind clinical trial has shown that microdoses of LSD are effective at reducing pain.

With just three non-hallucinogenic "micro"doses, participants displayed what seemed to be an increase in pain tolerance and a decrease in subjective perceptions of pain. This prolonged response, the authors claim, is on par with up to 20 mg of oxycodone or morphine.

The size of the dosage, however, did matter. Any amount of LSD lower than 20 µg (which is considered a relatively large microdose among online users) did not seem to have this reported analgesic effect.

"The present data suggest that low doses of LSD might constitute a novel pharmacological therapy that can be efficacious in patients and is devoid of problematic sequelae [(chronic complications)] that are associated with current mainstay drugs, such as opioids," the authors conclude.

Existing research on LSD mechanisms is limited due to (now-relaxed) restrictions on its use in clinical trials; the underlying mechanism of the pain-reducing effect is not yet understood.

The authors conclude that the results "warrant further research."

Journal Reference:
A low dose of lysergic acid diethylamide decreases pain perception in healthy volunteers: [open], Journal of Psychopharmacology (DOI: 10.1177/0269881120940937)

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Remember the days of buying disks to play games on a console? Right. Like, yesterday. Sony is upping its game for digital delivery with the introduction of PS5 Digital Edition which is currently available to be pre-ordered by PSN members in good standing. This sets the PS5 apart from the other consoles from the last generation making it one step closer to having all games delivered by and available only from The Cloud.

Interested? Register on-line to get your chance to pre-order. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Does this mean rootkits will be distributed from The Cloud instead of by disk in the future?

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Spit test promises to diagnose heart attacks in just 10 minutes:

New preliminary research is suggesting a simple saliva test can detect the presence of a protein biomarker known to signal the occurrence of a heart attack in just 10 minutes. If this prototype test is validated in future studies it could dramatically accelerate the speed at which patients with cardiovascular problems can be diagnosed and treated.

During a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, levels of a protein called troponin rapidly rise in a patient's blood stream. Not every heart attack is immediately apparent. Symptoms such as chest pain, nausea and fatigue can be frustratingly non-specific, so when a patient presents to an emergency room with these signs doctors will quickly perform a blood test to measure troponin levels. The blood test generally takes around an hour to return a result.

[...] Saliva samples were taken from 32 heart attack patients with confirmed blood troponin results. Control saliva samples were also taken from 13 healthy subjects.

The initial results proved promising, with the processed saliva samples from the heart attack patients testing positive for troponin 84 percent of the time. Only six percent of the unprocessed saliva samples tested positive for troponin, suggesting the processing procedure is vital in concentrating the saliva samples for effective results. It is unclear at this stage what the "processing" procedure entails, or how easy and affordable it is.

Original Submission

upstart writes in with an IRC submission:

Apple won't let Facebook tell users about 30-percent Apple tax on events:

Facebook announced a new feature for paid online events earlier this month. It allows small businesses to host virtual cooking classes, workout sessions, happy hours, and other events and charge people to participate.

In its announcement, Facebook said it was not taking a cut of customers' payments. That means that on Android, "small businesses will keep 100% of the revenue they generate," Facebook says. But the story was different on iOS thanks to Apple's 30-percent cut of in-app purchases.

[...] the social media giant wanted to alert users to the 30-percent charge.

[...] But Facebook says Apple forced the company to delete the notice, dubbing it a violation of the App Store's policy against showing "irrelevant" information to users.

Apple's rules state that an app developer shouldn't "include irrelevant information, including but not limited to information about Apple or the development process."

Original Submission