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JoeMerchant writes:

Is it possible to read a person's mind by analyzing the electric signals from the brain? The answer may be much more complex than most people think.

Purdue University researchers – working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and neuroscience – say a prominent dataset used to try to answer this question is confounded, and therefore many eye-popping findings that were based on this dataset and received high-profile recognition are false after all.

The Purdue team performed extensive tests over more than one year on the dataset, which looked at the brain activity of individuals taking part in a study where they looked at a series of images. Each individual wore a cap with dozens of electrodes while they viewed the images.

[...] "This measurement technique, known as electroencephalography or EEG, can provide information about brain activity that could, in principle, be used to read minds," said Jeffrey Mark Siskind, professor of electrical and computer engineering in Purdue's College of Engineering. "The problem is that they used EEG in a way that the dataset itself was contaminated. The study was conducted without randomizing the order of images, so the researchers were able to tell what image was being seen just by reading the timing and order information contained in EEG, instead of solving the real problem of decoding visual perception from the brain waves."

[...] "The question of whether someone can read another person's mind through electric brain activity is very valid," said Ronnie Wilbur, a professor with a joint appointment in Purdue's College of Health and Human Sciences and College of Liberal Arts. "Our research shows that a better approach is needed."

So, how long before AI learns to spot its own pitfalls?

Journal Reference:
Ren Li, Jared S. Johansen, Hamad Ahmed, et al. The Perils and Pitfalls of Block Design for EEG Classification Experiments, (DOI: 10.1109/TPAMI.2020.2973153)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

360-degree transparency for construction sites made simple:

MIT spinoff OpenSpace invented automated 360-degree video jobsite capture and mapping. "It's not exactly an amazing observation," says CEO Jeevan Kalanithi, "but a picture really is worth a thousand words."

In the world of real estate development, visual documentation of construction projects is critical. It aids in dispute resolution, prevents mistakes from being compounded, and allows for knowledge capture in case of change orders. Builders are often contractually obligated to document progress. Usually, this means hiring someone to walk the site and take photos of key areas once a month. These photos are then slapped in a binder or uploaded into a cloud storage service.

[...] Enter OpenSpace, a company that's propelling the construction of any built environment into the digital age. They've updated an essential idea by attaching an off-the-shelf 360-degree camera to a hard hat, and imbued it with cutting-edge computer vision, artificial intelligence, and data visualization software — not unlike the perception and navigation AI systems used in autonomous vehicles.

upstart writes:

Rejected internal applicants twice as likely to quit:

Internal job applicants who face rejection are nearly twice as likely to leave their organizations than those who were either hired for an internal job or had not applied for a new job at all.

According to new research from JR Keller, assistant professor of human resource studies at the ILR School, firms can systematically reduce the likelihood that rejected candidates will exit by being strategic when considering which employees are interviewed.

[...] "A key insight from our work is that employees do not only apply for jobs they want right now; they also apply to learn about what jobs are more or less likely to be available to them in the future," Keller said. "Even if they are rejected today, an employee is more likely to stick around when they feel they have a decent shot at advancing to a new job tomorrow."

Journal Reference:
Kathryn Dlugos, JR Keller. Turned Down and Taking Off? Rejection and Turnover in Internal Talent Markets, Academy of Management Journal (DOI: 10.5465/amj.2018.1015)

Original Submission

Microsoft Azure Cloud Vulnerability is the 'Worst You Can Imagine'

upstart writes:

Microsoft Azure cloud vulnerability is the 'worst you can imagine':

A flaw in Microsoft's Azure Cosmos DB database product left more than 3,300 Azure customers open to complete unrestricted access to hackers since 2019 when Microsoft added a data visualization feature called Jupyter Notebook to Cosmos DB. The feature was turned on by default for all Cosmos DBs in February 2021.

The Microsoft Database Hack Shows That Data Stored in the Cloud Must Always be Encrypted End-to-End.

upstart writes:

The Microsoft database hack shows that data stored in the cloud must always be encrypted end-to-end.:

IT security specialist Ami Luttwak from Wiz discovered the vulnerability in the Azure Cosmos DB Jupyter Notebook Feature on Aug. 9 and reported it to Microsoft three days later. Microsoft published this statement saying it immediately fixed the issue. Microsoft thanked the security researchers for their work as part of the coordinated disclosure of the vulnerability. Microsoft also told Wiz via email that it planned to pay out $40,000 for reporting the vulnerability.

upstart writes:

Here's how much electricity it takes to mine Bitcoin and why people are worried:

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other popular cryptos reached record highs this year, raising concerns about the amount of energy needed to mine the coins. Warehouses of Bitcoin mining rigs run 24 hours a day, consuming more power than the whole of Argentina. As the energy bill for crypto mining rises, so does the amount of carbon and waste, adding to the growing climate crisis.

[...] When Bitcoins are traded, computers across the globe race to complete a computation that creates a 64-digit hexadecimal number, or hash, for that Bitcoin. This hash goes into a public ledger so anyone can confirm the transaction for that particular Bitcoin happened. The computer that solves the computation first gets a reward of 6.2 bitcoins, or about $225,000 at current prices.

[...] The Digiconomist's Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimated that one Bitcoin transaction takes 1,544 kWh to complete, or the equivalent of approximately 53 days of power for the average US household.

To put that into money terms, the average cost per kWh in the US is 13 cents. That means a Bitcoin transaction would generate more than $200 in energy bills.

Bitcoin mining used more energy than Argentina, according to an analysis from Cambridge University in February. At 121.36 terawatt-hours, crypto mining would be in the top 30 of countries based on energy consumption.

upstart writes:

PPPL physicist helps confirm a major advance in stellarator performance for fusion energy:

Stellarators, twisty magnetic devices that aim to harness on Earth the fusion energy that powers the sun and stars, have long played second fiddle to more widely used doughnut-shaped facilities known as tokamaks. The complex twisted stellarator magnets have been difficult to design and have previously allowed greater leakage of the superhigh heat from fusion reactions.

Now scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), working in collaboration with researchers that include the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), have shown that the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) device in Greifswald, Germany, the largest and most advanced stellarator in the world, is capable of confining heat that reaches temperatures twice as great as the core of the sun.

[...] A diagnostic instrument called the XICS, chiefly designed, built and operated by PPPL physicist Novimir Pablant in collaboration with IPP physicist Andreas Langenberg, is a key indicator of a sharp reduction of a type of heat loss called "neoclassical transport" that has historically been greater in classical stellarators than in tokamaks. Causing the troublesome transport are frequent collisions that knock heated particles out of their orbits as they swirl around the magnetic field lines that confine them. Contributing to the transport are drifts in the particle orbits.

upstart writes:

Cruel Twist: Exercise Reduces Calories Burned at Rest in Individuals with Obesity----Chinese Academy of Sciences:

Exercise reduces the amount of calories burned at rest in people with obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Roehampton.

The study, published in Current Biology on August 27, found that people who exercise burn fewer calories on body maintenance, therefore markedly reducing the calorie burning gains of exercise. This reduction in energy burned at rest was most pronounced in individuals with obesity and also, to a lesser extent, in older adults.

Analysis based on data from 1,750 adults in the IAEA doubly labelled water database (www.dlwdatabase.org) showed that in individuals with the highest BMI, 51% of the calories burned during activity translated into calories burned at the end of the day. For those with normal BMI, however, 72% of calories burned during activity were reflected in total expenditure.

[...] "When enrolled into exercise programs for weight loss, most people lose a little weight. Some individuals lose lots, but a few unlucky individuals actually gain weight," said Prof. John Speakman from SIAT, co-corresponding author of the study.

The reason for these individual responses is probably because of what are called compensatory mechanisms. These include eating more food because exercise stimulates our appetite, or reducing our expenditure on other components like our resting metabolism, so that the exercise is in effect less costly.

Journal Reference:
Vincent Careau, Lewis G. Halsey, Herman Pontzer, et al. Energy compensation and adiposity in humans, [Open] Current Biology (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.016)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Liquid nitrogen shortage delays Landsat 9 launch - SpaceNews:

WASHINGTON — A one-week delay in the launch of the next Landsat satellite on an Atlas 5 is the result of a ripple effect in the supply chain caused by increased demand for liquid oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients.

NASA announced Aug. 27 that the launch of Landsat 9 on an Atlas 5 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California had slipped a week, from Sept. 16 to no earlier than Sept. 23, because "pandemic demands for medical liquid oxygen have impacted the delivery of the needed liquid nitrogen supply." Liquid nitrogen, or LN2, is used to create gaseous nitrogen needed to support launch site activities.

During an Aug. 31 virtual news briefing about the upcoming launch, Del Jenstrom, NASA Landsat 9 project manager, said the issue was not an overall lack of liquid nitrogen but instead a transportation issue.

"There's plenty of liquid nitrogen in the Los Angeles area. The problem is they need some trucks to bring it up to Vandenberg," he said. "Because of the pandemic, from what we understand, liquid oxygen deliveries have been paying much higher premiums than liquid nitrogen deliveries, and LN2 trucks have been converted to carry liquid oxygen."

[...] Airgas, the company that handles the nitrogen supply at Vandenberg, is bringing in "a dozen or so" liquid nitrogen tankers from the Gulf Coast temporarily to increase deliveries. "We're seeing a substantial increase of the number of LN2 deliveries to the base right now," he said, "and as far as we know, based on latest reports, we're on track to support our launch on Sept. 23."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Coffee may reduce risk of death from stroke and heart disease:

Drinking up to three cups of coffee a day may protect your heart, a new study finds.

Among people with no diagnosis of heart disease, regular coffee consumption of 0.5 to 3 cups of coffee a day was associated with a decreased risk of death from heart disease, stroke and early death from any cause when compared to non-coffee drinkers.

The study, presented Friday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, examined the coffee drinking behavior of over 468,000 people who participate in the UK Biobank Study, which houses in-depth genetic and health information on more than a half a million Brits.

It's another home run for coffee consumption. Studies have found drinking moderate amounts of coffee can protect adults from type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, liver disease, prostate cancer,Alzheimer's, computer back pain [PDF link] and more.

Journal References:
1). Bhupathiraju, Shilpa N, Pan, An, Malik, Vasanti S, et al. Caffeinated and caffeine-free beverages and risk of type 2 diabetes [open], The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.112.048603)
2). Constance E. Ruhl. Coffee and Tea Consumption Are Associated With a Lower Incidence of Chronic Liver Disease in the United States, Gastroenterology (DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2005.08.056)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Space: the wooden frontier:

Humans have relied on forests and trees -- for shelter, food, and fuel -- from the earliest times. As technology has advanced, timber has been utilized for buildings, ships, and railroads. And now we may be on the verge of taking wood into space.

[...] [Wood] is considerably more sustainable than advanced alternatives, and its disposal -- especially when dropped from orbit into the upper atmosphere -- is complete and without harmful byproducts.

Moreover, earlier investigations -- in earth-bound labs -- have demonstrated wood's surprising ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures, from -150 to 150 degrees Celsius. Simulated near-vacuum conditions also resulted in negligible structural deterioration of the wood.

[...] "Wood's ability to withstand simulated low earth orbit -- or LEO -- conditions astounded us," explains Koji Murata, head of the space-wood research effort and member of the Biomaterials Design Lab at Kyoto University's graduate school of agriculture.

"We now want to see if we can accurately estimate the effects of the harsh LEO environment on organic materials."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

'Charging room' system powers lights, phones, laptops without wires:

In a move that could one day free the world's countertops from their snarl of charging cords, researchers at the University of Michigan and University of Tokyo have developed a system to safely deliver electricity over the air, potentially turning entire buildings into wireless charging zones.

Detailed in a new study published in Nature Electronics, the technology can deliver 50 watts of power using magnetic fields.

Study author Alanson Sample, U-M professor of computer science and engineering, says that in addition to untethering phones and laptops, the technology could also power implanted medical devices and open new possibilities for mobile robotics in homes and manufacturing facilities. The team is also working on implementing the system in spaces that are smaller than room-size, for example a toolbox that charges tools placed inside it.

"This really ups the power of the ubiquitous computing world—you could put a computer in anything without ever having to worry about charging or plugging in," Sample said. "There are a lot of clinical applications as well; today's heart implants, for example, require a wire that runs from the pump through the body to an external power supply. This could eliminate that, reducing the risk of infection and improving patients' quality of life."

The team, led by researchers at the University of Tokyo, demonstrated the technology in a purpose-built aluminum test room measuring approximately 10 feet by 10 feet. They wirelessly powered lamps, fans and cell phones that could draw current from anywhere in the room regardless of the placement of people and furniture.

upstart writes:

Researchers make alkali metal-chlorine batteries rechargeable:

A new type of rechargeable alkali metal-chlorine battery developed at Stanford holds six times more electricity than the commercially available rechargeable lithium-ion batteries commonly used today.

[...] The advance, detailed in a new paper published Aug. 25 in the journal Nature, could accelerate the use of rechargeable batteries and puts battery researchers one step closer toward achieving two top stated goals of their field: creating a high-performance rechargeable battery that could enable cellphones to be charged only once a week instead of daily and electric vehicles that can travel six times farther without a recharge.

The new so-called alkali metal-chlorine batteries, developed by a team of researchers led by Stanford chemistry Professor Hongjie Dai and doctoral candidate Guanzhou Zhu, relies on the back-and-forth chemical conversion of sodium chloride (Na/Cl2) or lithium chloride (Li/Cl2) to chlorine.

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/08/microsoft-may-withhold-security-updates-from-unsupported-windows-11-pcs/

There are still a lot of question marks about running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. We know that Microsoft won't go to extraordinary lengths to keep you from running it, we know that the new OS won't be offered to older PCs automatically using Windows Update, and we know that although Microsoft's preferred security settings can degrade performance on older hardware, those settings still won't be the defaults for new installs. But now, Microsoft has added another question to that list: Will unsupported PCs be able to get updates?

The company hasn't out and out refused to offer updates for PCs that don't meet the official requirements, but Microsoft told the Verge that old PCs running Windows 11 wouldn't be "entitled" to Windows Updates, including security and driver updates. Assuming Windows 11 receives major updates once every six months or so, as Windows 10 does, those releases may also need to be installed manually on unsupported computers.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

China cuts amount of time minors can spend playing video games:

Under the new rule, young gamers are only allowed to spend an hour playing online games on Fridays, weekends and holidays, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The rules, published by the National Press and Publication Administration, said users under the age of 18 would be able to play games only from 8pm to 9pm local time on those days.

Online gaming companies would be barred from providing gaming services to minors in any form outside those hours and would need to ensure they had put real name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country's video games market.

The latest move followed reports that children were using adult IDs to circumvent rules. Previously, the authorities had limited young gamers' playing time to 1.5 hours a day and to three hours on holidays.

The National Press and Publication Administration also told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

NASA just cut a 10-cent check to kick-start moon mining tech:

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson presented Justin Cyrus, CEO of Colorado-based space startup Lunar Outpost, with the first payment ever issued to a company as part of a space resource contract announced Aug. 23 here at the 36th annual Space Symposium. The check, which was just 10 cents, or 10 percent of Lunar Outpost's $1 bid, and will go towards the company's efforts to collect lunar dust, or regolith, for the agency.

"We had contractual terms with them when they produce their first element. We would give them 10% of their contract award. I am happy to present a check for 10% of their bid. Justin, here's a check for 10 cents," Nelson said.

[...] "This sets a legal and procedural framework that will be utilized for generations and decades to come for companies like ours and many others to go out and collect resources from the lunar surface from other planetary bodies and make them basically useful for humanity," Cyrus said.

[...] Now, as part of this contract, the company will "collect a small amount of moon dust, verify the collection and transfer the ownership of that lunar regolith," Nelson said.

Original Submission