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DannyB writes:

In heat emergency, southern Europe scrambles for resources

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A heat wave baking southeast Europe has fueled deadly wildfires in Turkey and threatened the national power grid in Greece as governments scrambled Monday to secure the resources needed to cope with the emergency.

Temperatures reached 45 C (113 F) in inland areas of Greece and nearby countries and are expected to remain high for most of the week.

Battling deadly wildfires along its coastline for a sixth day, Turkey broadened an appeal for international assistance and was promised water-dropping planes from the European Union. The fires have been blamed for the deaths of eight people in recent days.

[....] In Greece, an emergency was declared in fire-hit areas on the island of Rhodes, which is near the Turkish coast. Workers with health conditions were allowed to take time off work, while Greek coal-fired power stations slated for retirement were brought back into service to shore up the national grid, under pressure due to the widespread use of air conditioning.

Pregnant and other vulnerable workers in North Macedonia were told to stay home.

Dann Mitchell, a professor of climate science at the University of Bristol, said the heat wave in southeast Europe “is not at all unexpected, and very likely enhanced due to human-induced climate change.”

Will ICE vehicles overheat before you drive them?

Original Submission

TheMightyChickadee writes:

They just keep banging them out at the LHC! Story at Gizmodo.

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider-b (LHCb) experiment presented its latest discovery last week at a meeting of the European Physical Society Conference on High Energy Physics. Meet the double-charm tetraquark, the longest-lived exotic matter particle yet discovered.

Quarks are the building blocks of all matter; they’re subatomic particles that combine to form hadrons, the group that includes the familiar protons and neutrons. (In other words, quarks are smaller than small.) Protons and neutrons are both made up of three quarks, but the newly discovered hadron particle is made of four, making it a species of tetraquark. The first tetraquark was officially discovered in 2003.

Quarks have antimatter partners—evil twins, if you will. This new tetraquark is made up of two heavy quarks and two light antiquarks, stuck together into one particle.

How big is this discovery?

The findings from particle colliders advance physicists’ understanding of how fundamental particles interact. “If you really want to know somebody, you put them in extreme situations. What we’re doing with these tetraquarks and pentaquarks is we’re putting the theory in extreme situations, which aren’t the run-of-the-mill that we have observed for the last 60 years,” Marek Karliner, a particle physicist at Tel Aviv University who was not affiliated with the recent research, explained in a video call. “It turned out that this particular design of the LHCb experiment is ideal for searching for new hadrons.”

Other coverage at Phys.org, Scientific American, and Sci-news.

Announcement at European Physical Society conference on high energy physics 2021, pdf is here.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

New Water Desalination Device Runs on Solar Energy and is 400% More Efficient:

An international team of researchers including engineers from Ural Federal University (UrFU) developed a new desalination technology with high-efficiency thanks to a rotating cylinder, a press release reveals.

[...] The method utilizes a cylinder that is slowly rotated by a solar-powered DC motor. The rotating hollow cylinder is housed inside a rectangular basin that acts as a solar distiller. This cylinder accelerates water evaporation in the vessel by forming a thin film of water on its outer and inner surface. The film of water is constantly renewed with each turn of the cylinder, while the water below the cylinder is heated using a solar collector.

The team tested a prototype on a rooftop in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg for several months in 2019. They found that at 0.5 rpm, the machine would allow the evaporation of a thin film of water from the surface of the cylinder.

"The performance improvement factor of the created solar distiller, compared to traditional devices, was at least 280% in the relatively hot months (June, July, and August) and at least 300% and 400% in the cooler months (September and October), at the same time, the cumulative water distillation capacity reached 12.5 l/m2 per day in summer and 3.5 l/m2 per day in winter," said Alharbawi Naseer Tawfik Alwan, a research engineer at UrFU.

Journal Reference:
Naseer T. Alwan, S. E. Shcheklein, Obed M. Ali. Evaluation of distilled water quality and production costs from a modified solar still integrated with an outdoor solar water heater [open], Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (DOI: 10.1016/j.csite.2021.101216)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Tencent and other gaming stocks tumble after China news outlet labels them 'spiritual opium' for teens

Accusations of "spiritual opium" sent shares of the China multinational technology group Tencent and other companies in the gaming industry tumbling on Tuesday amid fears a new regulatory chapter was about to begin.

The losses came after an article in the Economic Information Daily, which has links to China's state-controlled news agency, Xinhua, said the gaming industry, especially Tencent, was harming the nation's teens, according to media reports.

While the South China Morning Post subsequently reported the story has been taken down, investors were rattled by fears that yet another regulatory crackdown could be coming. That's even as the South China Morning Post pointed out the article didn't appear to represent Beijing's position on that industry, noting positive comments from an official recently.

See also: Tencent & Chinese Video Games Companies Rocked as State Media Calls Gaming "Spiritual Opium"

Also at Bloomberg and CNBC.

Related: No Cults, No Politics, No Ghouls: How China Censors the Video Game World

Original Submission

dx3bydt3 writes:

In a paper published in Nature (paywalled), astronomers have, for the first time been able to discern x-ray echos that came from behind a supermassive black hole. It is the first direct observation of light bending all the way around a black hole and into our line of sight. The finding is further confirmation of general relativity, showing that the predictions hold even around extreme objects like supermassive black holes.

Coverage on Space.com, and Science Daily

A non-paywalled copy of the paper can be found here.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Intel Executive Posts Thunderbolt 5 Photo then Deletes It: 80 Gbps and PAM-3

In this image we can see a poster on the wall showcasing '80G PHY Technology', which means that Intel is working on a physical layer (PHY) for 80 Gbps connections. Off the bat this is double the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 4, which runs at 40 Gbps.

The second line confirms that this is 'USB 80G is targeted to support the existing USB-C ecosystem', which follows along that Intel is aiming to maintain the USB-C connector but double the effective bandwidth.

The third line is actually where it gets technically interesting. 'The PHY will be based on novel PAM-3 modulation technology'.

USB4 Gen 3×2 has a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps. USB4 products that support all the optional functionality can be branded as Thunderbolt 4. We can expect 80 Gbps USB5 at some point. Type C is the connector, as Type A is already deprecated for 20 Gbps and up ports.

Original Submission

DannyB writes:

Home Depot Fights Shoplifting with Special Power Tools:

Home Depot has a clear message for professional shoplifters: Stay away.

The home-improvement chain is unveiling power tools that won't work unless they're properly scanned and activated at the register via Bluetooth technology. If a thief managed to smuggle a power drill out of the store without paying, the drill simply wouldn't turn on.

[....] "We certainly don't want to affect the 99.5% of our customers who are just there to pick up their hammers and nails," Glenn said. "We don't want to look like an armed encampment."

The new point-of-sale activation feature will allow the company to combat theft without significantly altering the shopping experience, Glenn said. After getting its suppliers, vendor partners, and internal IT team on board, Home Depot tested the feature at a handful of stores. It will now roll out to a broader assortment, with the goal of scaling to all of Home Depot's 1,988 US stores.

Glenn said he wasn't concerned about a potential rise in power-tool chop shops given that thieves are typically attracted by the prospect of an easy score and products with a high resale value.

"While these criminals are good at what they do, I think they're just going to go to the next easiest thing," Glenn said.

This tech could apply to to other items that must be activated in order to work: light bulbs, toys, breakfast cereal, etc.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Google Chrome to no longer show secure website indicators:

For years, Google has been making a concerted effort to push websites into using HTTPS to provide a more secure browsing experience.

[...] As most website communication is now secure, Google is testing a new feature that removes the lock icon for secure sites. This feature is available to test in Chrome 93 Beta, and Chrome 94 Canary builds by enabling the 'Omnibox Updated connection security indicators' flag.

With this feature enabled, Google Chrome will only display security indicators when the site is not secure

[...] For businesses who wish to have continued HTTPS security indicators, Google has added an enterprise policy for Chrome 93 named 'LockIconInAddressBarEnabled' that can be used to enable the lock icon again on the address bar.

[...] For those who want to test out the disabling of Chrome security indicators feature, you can enable it in Chrome Beta or Chrome Canary

The linked story provides step-by-step instructions to performs the enabling.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

AMD + Valve Working On New Linux CPU Performance Scaling Design

Along with other optimizations to benefit the Steam Deck, AMD and Valve have been jointly working on CPU frequency/power scaling improvements to enhance the Steam Play gaming experience on modern AMD platforms running Linux.

It's no secret that the ACPI CPUFreq driver code has at times been less than ideal on recent AMD processors with delivering less than expected performance/behavior with being slow to ramp up to a higher performance state or otherwise coming up short of disabling the power management functionality outright. AMD hasn't traditionally worked on the Linux CPU frequency scaling code as much as Intel does to their P-State scaling driver and other areas of power management at large.

AMD is ramping up efforts in these areas including around the Linux scheduler given their recent hiring spree while it now looks like thanks to the Steam Deck there is renewed interest in better optimizing the CPU frequency scaling under Linux.

[...] AMD will be presenting more about this effort next month at [the X.Org Developers Conference (XDC)].

X.Org Developer's Conference: XDC2021, Virtual (formerly Gdańsk, Poland), September 15th through September 17th, 2021.

Previously: Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-Like Portable PC: Starting at $399 this December

Original Submission

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.