SoylentNews

upstart writes:

Japan's 1st commercial-use quantum computer starts operations - Japan Today:

The University of Tokyo and International Business Machines Corp have started operations of Japan's first commercial-use quantum computer, making a foray into a fiercely competitive field led by the United States and China.

The next-generation system, developed by the U.S. technology company with the university holding exclusive access rights to use it, was set up at Kawasaki Business Incubation Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo.

An industry-academia consortium, launched in 2020, including Toyota Motor Corp, Sony Group Corp and Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp as members, has access to the computer for joint research. It will explore the practical applications of quantum computing and nurture human resources.

The IBM Quantum System One computer system is the second of its kind that IBM has built outside the United States, following one in Germany.

[...] "It is very significant that a base (for a quantum computer) has been set up in Japan as it will help nurture personnel who will be adept at actually operating it," said Hideyuki Mase, senior researcher at the Japan Research Institute.

He noted many technical challenges remain for the full-fledged operation of quantum computers and the race to develop them has been intensifying globally, led by the United States and China.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Sky News Australia banned from YouTube for seven days over Covid misinformation:

Sky News Australia has been banned from uploading content to YouTube for seven days after violating its medical misinformation policies by posting numerous videos which denied the existence of Covid-19 or encouraged people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin.

The ban was imposed by the digital giant on Thursday afternoon, the day after the Daily Telegraph ended Alan Jones's regular column amid controversy about his Covid-19 commentary which included calling the New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant a village idiot on his Sky News program.

News Corp told Guardian Australia the ending of Jones's column did not mean the company does not support the "compelling" broadcaster.

YouTube has not disclosed which Sky News program the videos were from but said there were "numerous" offending videos which have now been removed.

The Sky News Australia YouTube channel, which has 1.85m subscribers, has been issued a strike and is temporarily suspended from uploading new videos or livestreams for one week.

upstart writes:

Scientists Discover Psychedelic-Like Drug That Doesn't Cause Hallucinations:

Scientists have discovered a psychedelic-like drug that can produce rapid, long-lasting antidepressant effects in mice without the effect of hallucinations.

The molecule, called AAZ-A-154, acts on the same serotonin receptors in the brain as antipsychotic drugs (like clozapine) and psychedelics (like LSD), promoting neuronal growth and producing beneficial behaviors in rodents for weeks after a single dose.

Researchers say the treatment is comparable to the fast-acting nature of ketamine, which has recently emerged as a promising drug for conditions like depression, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, some psychedelic drugs that are being investigated for their medical effects, such as psilocybin, routinely trigger hallucinations, which means they should only really be used as a treatment under the guidance and supervision of experts.

Finding a safe alternative without the risk of hallucinations would be extremely useful clinically, but the thing is, we still don't know if these hallucinogenic effects are needed to actually reshape the brain.

[...] When this compound was administered to mice, it produced antidepressant-like effects within 30 minutes and failed to cause any head-twitches, an indicator in mice suggesting the compound would cause hallucinations in humans. Even at relatively high doses, the results appeared to be the same, with cognitive benefits lasting for over a week.

Related:
Non-Hallucinogenic Psychedelic Analog Rapidly Reverses Effects of Stress on the Brain.

Journal Reference:
Chunyang Dong. Psychedelic-inspired drug discovery using an engineered biosensor, Cell (DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.043)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Bitter Brew: High Coffee Consumption Is Associated With Smaller Brain Volume:

In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found that high coffee consumption is associated with smaller total brain volumes and an increased risk of dementia.

Conducted at UniSA's Australian Centre for Precision Health at SAHMRI and a team of international researchers, the study assessed the effects of coffee on the brain among 17,702 UK Biobank participants (aged 37-73), finding that those who drank more than six cups of coffee a day had a 53 percent increased risk of dementia.

Lead researcher and UniSA PhD candidate, Kitty Pham, says the research delivers important insights for public health.

"Coffee is among the most popular drinks in the world. Yet with global consumption being more than nine billion kilograms a year, it's critical that we understand any potential health implications," Pham says.

[...] "Accounting for all possible permutations, we consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume — essentially, drinking more than six cups of coffee a day may be putting you at risk of brain diseases such as dementia and stroke."

[...] "Typical daily coffee consumption is somewhere between one and two standard cups of coffee. Of course, while unit measures can vary, a couple of cups of coffee a day is generally fine.

"However, if you're finding that your coffee consumption is heading up toward more than six cups a day, it's about time you rethink your next drink."

Journal Reference:
Kitty Pham, Anwar Mulugeta, Ang Zhou, et al. High coffee consumption, brain volume and risk of dementia and stroke, Nutritional Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1080/1028415X.2021.1945858)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Cuba Jamming Ham Radio? Listen For Yourself

As anti-government protests spilled onto the streets in Cuba on July 11, something strange was happening on the airwaves. Amateur radio operators in the United States found that suddenly parts of the popular 40-meter band were being swamped with grating signals. Florida operators reported the signals were loudest there, enough to make communication with hams in Cuba impossible. Other operators in South America, Africa, and Europe also reported hearing the signal, and triangulation software that anyone with a web browser can try placed the source of the signals as emanating from Cuba.

Cuba has a long history of interfering with broadcast signals, with several commercial radio stations in Florida allowed to operate at higher than normal power levels to combat jamming. But these new mystery signals appeared to be intentionally targeting amateur radio transmissions. A few hours after the protest broke out on the 11th, ham Alex Valladares (W7HU) says he was speaking with a Cuban operator on 7.130 megahertz in the 40-meter band, when their conversation was suddenly overwhelmed with interference. "We moved to 7170, and they jam the frequency there," he says. Valladares gave up for the night, but the following morning, he says, "I realize that they didn't turn off those jammers. [Then] we went to [7]140 the next day and they put jamming in there."

[...] Valladres alerted other hams to the interference, and soon operators were comparing notes on a forum on the QRZ.com website for hams. Hams across the southern United States and as far away as Minnesota and Rhode Island as well as Suriname in South America reported picking up the signals. The hams soon turned to nailing down the source of the signal. In previous decades, locating the source of a distant shortwave signal would have required special direction finding equipment, but modern hams have an ace up their sleeves in the form of the public KiwiSDR network.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Motor Trend has seen fit to publish this "News Flash", https://www.motortrend.com/news/commentary-there-are-no-self-driving-cars-on-sale-today/ with the subheading,

You don't own an autonomous vehicle, no matter what the marketing implies

While this is probably not news to SoylentNews readers, Motor Trend has seen more than their share of people that don't get it. The first photo is a wrecked and burned Model S.

What exists today is a collection of technologies called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which can handle basic driving tasks for short periods of time in specific, ideal conditions. ADAS must be monitored at all times, and the car's driver must be alert, undistracted, and prepared to take control at any moment. The best ADAS available today allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel but not their eyes off the road.

These systems fall under the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) classification system as SAE Level 2. That's level two out of five. What you think of as real self-driving or autonomous driving, where a car pilots itself anywhere at any time in any conditions, is Level 5. Sorry, but we're a long, long way from Level 5.

The SAE Level 0-5 chart is included.

What about Level 3? Glad you asked. Many automakers consider it to be so dangerous, they plan to skip it entirely. Level 3 means a car can drive itself completely in good conditions, but the driver still has to pay attention and be ready to take over at any time. Problem is, study after study shows humans are absolutely terrible at this kind of multitasking and refocusing.

upstart writes:

Florida breaks record with more than 21,000 new COVID cases:

Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data released Saturday, as its theme park resorts again started asking visitors to wear masks indoors.

The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the U.S. as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements, and along with the state Legislature, has limited local officials’ ability to impose restrictions meant to stop the spread of COVID-19. DeSantis on Friday barred school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month.

The latest numbers were recorded on Friday and released on Saturday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The figures show how quickly the number of cases is rising in the Sunshine State: only a day earlier, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases. The previous peak in Florida had been 19,334 cases reported on Jan. 7, before the availability of vaccinations became widespread.

The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since its first in March 2020. The state’s peak happened in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over a seven-day period. Deaths usually follow increases in hospitalizations by a few weeks.

Florida breaks record for new coronavirus cases as surge of infections rips through state:

At Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, all of the beds at its covid-only intensive care unit are filled with unvaccinated patients. Ademola Ayo Akinkunmi, director of patient care services for Jackson Health System, told the Miami Herald that the rise of the delta variant in an area where vaccination rates are low has left doctors scrambling to find more space to deal with the uptick in covid patients.

upstart writes:

Zoom settles US class action privacy lawsuit for $86m:

The lawsuit alleged that Zoom had invaded the privacy of millions of users by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.

It also accused Zoom of misstating that it offers end-to-end encryption and for failing to prevent hackers from "zoombombing" sessions.

The firm denied any wrongdoing, but has agreed to boost its security practices.

The preliminary settlement, which also includes a provision that Zoom will give its staff specialised training in data handling and privacy, is still subject to approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California.

[...] The class-action lawsuit, filed in March 2020 in the US District Court in the Northern District of California, is just one of several legal complaints facing the US-based video-conferencing platform.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Zoom Meetings paid subscribers nationwide, as well as free users.

According to the plaintiff's lawyers, US Zoom subscribers generated $1.3bn in revenues for the video-conferencing firm.

Should the proposed settlement be approved, subscribers included in the class action would be eligible for 15% refunds on their subscriptions or $25, whichever is larger, while others could receive up to $15.

The plaintiffs' lawyers also intend to seek $21.3m in legal fees from Zoom.

Also at BBC.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Two-thirds of American employees regret their college degrees:

A college education is still considered a pathway to higher lifetime earnings and gainful employment for Americans. Nevertheless, two-thirds of employees report having regrets when it comes to their advanced degrees, according to a PayScale survey of 248,000 respondents this past spring that was released Tuesday.

Student loan debt, which has ballooned to nearly $1.6 trillion nationwide in 2019, was the No. 1 regret among workers with college degrees. About 27% of survey respondents listed student loans as their top misgiving, PayScale said.

[...] About 70% of college students graduated with student loan debt this year, averaging about $33,000 per student. And as younger grads pay off student loan balances, they're struggling to accumulate wealth or are putting off purchasing homes — some millennials are even struggling to purchase groceries.

[...] College debt was followed by chosen area of study (12%) as a top regret for employees, though this varied greatly by major. Other regrets include poor networking, school choice, too many degrees, time spent completing education and academic underachievement.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Rickroll video hits a billion views on YouTube as Internet’s most popular prank:

The Internet’s most popular prank, Rickrolling, has driven the official video for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up to the prestigious 1 billion views milestone. To celebrate the achievement, singer Astley pinned a comment on the video announcing the moment, thanking fans for the “amazing, crazy, wonderful” milestone.

Never Gonna Give You Up was uploaded by Rick Astley on YouTube in late 2009. The song soon became a popular prank that reached meme status, with Internet users alleging they’d linked to one thing when, in reality, the person who clicked the link would be taken to YouTube’s copy of the music video.

This is a notable achievement and milestone. Take a look, though, at Wikipedia's List of Most-Viewed Videos.

Also at The Verge.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Research Shows Cell Aging Can Be Slowed by Oxidants:

At high concentrations, reactive oxygen species — known as oxidants — are harmful to cells in all organisms and have been linked to aging. But a study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, has now shown that low levels of the oxidant hydrogen peroxide can stimulate an enzyme that helps slow down the aging of yeast cells.

One benefit of antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, is that they neutralize reactive oxygen species — known as oxidants — which may otherwise react with important molecules in the body and destroy their biological functions. Larger amounts of oxidants can cause serious damage to DNA, cell membranes, and proteins for example. Our cells have therefore developed powerful defense mechanisms to get rid of these oxidants, which are formed in our normal metabolism.

It was previously believed that oxidants were only harmful, but recently we have begun to understand that they also have positive functions. Now, the new research from Chalmers University of Technology shows that the well-known oxidant hydrogen peroxide can actually slow down the aging of yeast cells. Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical used for hair and tooth whitening, among other things. It is also one of the oxidants formed in our metabolism that is harmful at higher concentrations.

The Chalmers researchers studied the enzyme Tsa1, which is part of a group of antioxidants called peroxiredoxins.

“Previous studies of these enzymes have shown that they participate in yeast cells’ defenses against harmful oxidants,” says Mikael Molin, who leads the research group at Chalmers’ Department of Biology and Biological Engineering. “But the peroxiredoxins also help extend the life span of cells when they are subjected to calorie restriction. The mechanisms behind these functions have not yet been fully understood.”

Journal Reference:
Friederike Roger, Cecilia Picazo, Wolfgang Reiter, et al. Peroxiredoxin promotes longevity and H2O2-resistance in yeast through redox-modulation of protein kinase A, eLife (DOI: 10.7554/eLife.60346)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

China is building a 2nd base for nuclear missiles, say analysts:

Analysts at the Federation of American Scientists say China is building a second field of silos for launching nuclear missiles in a development that could constitute “the most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever”.

The United States-based researchers made the discovery after analysing commercial satellite images, and said on Monday that the field – located near the city of Hami in Xinjiang province – may eventually include about 110 silos.

The new field is about 380km (236 miles) from a base near the city of Yumen in neighbouring Gansu province, where a separate group of researchers earlier this month found construction under way on 120 missile silos.

Altogether, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force now appears to have 250 silos under construction at Hami, Yumen, as well as at a training ground near the city of Jilantai in Inner Mongolia, wrote the FAS’s Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen.

[...] “The number of new Chinese silos under construction exceeds the number of silo-based ICBMs operated by Russia, and constitutes more than half of the size of the entire US ICBM force,” they wrote. “The Chinese missile silo program constitutes the most extensive silo construction since the US and Soviet missile silo construction during the Cold War.”

However, they stressed that it was unclear how China would operate the new silos, whether it would load all of them with missiles or use a portion as empty decoys. They also noted it was not known how many warheads each missile would carry.

---

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Vaccinated people make up 75% of recent COVID-19 cases in Singapore, but few fall ill:

SINGAPORE, July 23 (Reuters) - Vaccinated individuals accounted for three-quarters of Singapore's COVID-19 infections in the last four weeks, but they were not falling seriously ill, government data showed, as a rapid ramp-up in inoculations leaves fewer people unvaccinated.

While the data shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases, it also underscores the risk that even those inoculated could be contagious, so that inoculation alone may not suffice to halt transmission.

Of Singapore's 1,096 locally transmitted infections in the last 28 days, 484, or about 44%, were in fully vaccinated people, while 30% were partially vaccinated and just over 25% were unvaccinated, Thursday's data showed.

While seven cases of serious illness required oxygen, and another was in critical condition in intensive care, none of the eight had been fully vaccinated, the health ministry said.

"There is continuing evidence that vaccination helps to prevent serious disease when one gets infected," the ministry said, adding that all the fully vaccinated and infected people had shown no symptoms, or only mild ones.

Infections in vaccinated people do not mean vaccines are ineffective, experts said.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

China scientists discover giant viruses in the deepest place on Earth:

The first known batch of viruses retrieved from the deepest point in the Mariana Trench includes giant species bigger than some bacterium, according to a research team in Shanghai.

The many legends of giant sea creatures have been largely debunked because of the challenges to large, complex life forms at the greatest ocean depths.

But the researchers discovered several giant viral species, including mimiviruses – which typically use amoeba as their hosts – in sediments taken from a seabed nearly 11,000 metres (36,000 feet) below sea level at Challenger Deep.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Astronomers seek evidence of tech built by aliens:

An international team of scientists led by a prominent Harvard astronomer announced a new initiative Monday to look for evidence of technology built by extraterrestrial civilizations.

Called the Galileo Project, it envisages the creation of a global network of medium-sized telescopes, cameras and computers to investigate unidentified flying objects, and has so far been funded with $1.75 million from private donors.

Given recent research showing the prevalence of Earth-like planets throughout the galaxy, "We can no longer ignore the possibility that technological civilizations predated us," Professor Avi Loeb told reporters at a news conference.

"The impact of any discovery of extraterrestrial technology on science, our technology, and on our entire world view, would be enormous," he added in a statement.

Original Submission