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AnonTechie writes:

Launch in August of nuclear-capable rocket that circled the globe took US intelligence by surprise

China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise.

Five people familiar with the test said the Chinese military launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle which flew through low-orbit space before cruising down towards its target.

The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence. But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised.

The test has raised new questions about why the US often underestimated China's military modernisation.

"We have no idea how they did this," said a fourth person.

[...] Two of the people familiar with the Chinese test said the weapon could, in theory, fly over the South Pole. That would pose a big challenge for the US military because its missiles defence systems are focused on the northern polar route.

[Source]: The Financial Times (May be Paywalled for Some)

[Alternative Source]: archive.today

Original Submission

takyon writes:

TSMC delivers first batch of Baikal BE-M1000 CPUs based on ARM Cortex-A57 cores

Baikal Electronics confirms they received the first batch of 5000 BE-M1000 CPUs from their foundry, TSMC. These are second-generation processors based on ARM architecture.

[...] Baikal BE-M1000 is based on eight ARM Cortex A57 cores all clocked up to 1.5 GHz at TDP at 30-35W. The CPU has 4MB of L2 cache and 8MB of L3 cache. It comes with an integrated ARM Mali-T682 GPU clocked at 700 to 750 MHz.

The processor offers a performance level of Intel Core i3-7300T, which should be good enough for standard office use.

The Intel Core i3-7300T was a dual-core Kaby Lake CPU launched in 2017, with a similar TDP (35 Watts).

Previously: Desktop and All-in-One Arm Linux Computers Launched with Baikal-M Processor

Related: Russia to Build RISC-V Processors for Laptops: 8-core, 2 GHz, 12nm, 2025

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upstart writes:

'Sophisticated': ancient faeces shows humans enjoyed beer and blue cheese 2,700 years ago:

It's no secret that beer and blue cheese go hand in hand – but a new study reveals how deep their roots run in Europe, where workers at a salt mine in Austria were gorging on both up to 2,700 years ago.

Scientists made the discovery by analysing samples of human excrement found at the heart of the Hallstatt mine in the Austrian Alps. Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the Eurac Research Institute in Bolzano, Italy, who was the lead author of the report, said he was surprised to learn salt miners more than two millennia ago were advanced enough to "use fermentation intentionally."

"This is very sophisticated in my opinion," Maixner said. "This is something I did not expect at that time."

The finding was the earliest evidence to date of cheese ripening in Europe, according to researchers. And while alcohol consumption is certainly well documented in older writings and archaeological evidence, the salt miners' faeces contained the first molecular evidence of beer consumption on the continent at that time.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that not only were prehistoric culinary practices sophisticated, but also that complex processed foodstuffs as well as the technique of fermentation have held a prominent role in our early food history," Kerstin Kowarik, of the Museum of Natural History Vienna, said. The town of Hallstatt, a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been used for salt production for more than 3,000 years.

Journal Reference:
Frank Maixner, Mohamed S. Sarhan, Kun D. Huang, et al. Hallstatt miners consumed blue cheese and beer during the Iron Age and retained a non-Westernized gut microbiome until the Baroque period. Current Biology, 2021 (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.09.031)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Vienna museums launch OnlyFans account to display 'explicit' artworks:

The city of Vienna is taking an offbeat approach to the censorship of art and has turned to using the adults-only online platform OnlyFans to put its most "explicit" artworks on full display.

The tourism board for the Austrian capital is now presenting art from four of Vienna's most revered museums on the adults-only platform in response to the blocking of some artistic content containing nudity on social media.

[...] In July, the Albertina Museum's TikTok account was suspended -- and later blocked -- for displaying works by the Japanese artist and photographer Nobuyoshi Araki that showed a partially-obscured breast.

Back in 2019, Instagram said that a painting by the legendary Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens violated its community guidelines. Earlier this year, when the Leopold Museum marked its 20th anniversary, a video uploaded to Facebook and Instagram which contained work by Koloman Moser was rejected because it was flagged as "potentially pornographic" by the platforms.

Now, these works and more of Vienna's "18+ content" can be found on full, unfiltered display on OnlyFans -- a subscription-based website best known as a platform for sharing and viewing pornographic content.

[...] "And the battle against censorship still rages on: with the rise of social media, bans like these are back in headlines once again. Major social media channels like Instagram and Facebook have nudity and 'lewd' content firmly in their sights."

[...] Any subscribers to the account will receive either a free Vienna city card or a free ticket to any of the featured museums where the city's tourism board has said "uncensored works of art in question can be seen in the flesh."

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Intel published a developer guide confirming details of its upcoming Alder Lake processors.

Desktop "Alder Lake-S" processors will include up to 8 "Golden Cove" performance cores (P-cores), 8 "Gracemont" (Atom) efficiency cores (E-cores), and 32 graphics execution units (Gen 12.2 EUs). A smaller die will include only up to 6 P-cores and no E-cores, to be used in lower-end products such as a 6-core Intel Core i5-12400 or a quad-core i3.

Mobile "Alder Lake-P" processors will include up to 6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 96 graphics EUs. A smaller "ultra mobile" die will include up to 2 P-cores and 8 E-cores.

AVX-512 is physically present on Golden Cove cores, but disabled in Alder Lake.

The guide mainly focuses on software implementations for hybrid CPUs. It provides various optimization strategies for Alder Lake, including lack of optimization, a "Good Scenario", and the "Best Scenario". According to the document, lack of optimization will not mean that the CPU will be unable to distribute workloads for hybrid CPUs, which should be handled by ThreadDirector anyway, but some may be distributed to the wrong types of cores, should the scheduling algorithm not recognize the task.

In the "Good Scenario," Intel assumes that the application will be aware of the hybrid architecture. The primary tasks should target Performance cores, whereas non-essential and background threads with lower priority should target Effcieent cores.

upstart writes:

UN declares access to a clean environment a human right:

GENEVA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday recognised access to a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right, formally adding its weight to the global fight against climate change and its devastating consequences.

The vote passed with overwhelming support, despite criticism in the lead-up from some countries, notably the United States and Britain. read more

The resolution, first discussed in the 1990s, is not legally binding but has the potential to shape global standards. Lawyers involved in climate litigation say it could help them build arguments in cases involving the environment and human rights.

"This has life-changing potential in a world where the global environmental crisis causes more than nine million premature deaths every year," said David Boyd, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, who called the decision a "historic breakthrough".

upstart writes:

Sweeping FDA guidance would drastically cut salt in American foods:

The Food and Drug Administration is asking food manufacturers and restaurants to cut the salt in their products over the coming 2½ years, hoping to reduce Americans' overall sodium intake by 12 percent.

The sweeping recommendation, announced Wednesday, is expected to cover a wide variety of foods — from chain restaurant meals to processed food on grocery store shelves and even baby food.

"What we'd like to see is the food industry gradually lower the sodium content" in the most common foods, Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, told NBC News.

The goal, Woodcock said, is to slash rates of heart disease, the country's No. 1 killer. Reducing sodium in the diet ultimately "would have a major impact on hypertension, heart disease and stroke," she said.

Current dietary guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. That equates to about one teaspoon of table salt.

upstart writes:

Ten EU countries call on Brussels to label nuclear energy as green:

[...] Tapping into Europe's ongoing energy crunch, the countries make the case for nuclear energy as a "key affordable, stable and independent energy source" that could protect EU consumers from being "exposed to the volatility of prices".

The letter, which was initiated by France, has been sent to the Commission with the signature of nine other EU countries, most of which already count nuclear as part of their national energy mix: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania.

Nuclear plants generate over 26% of the electricity produced in the European Union.

"The rise of energy prices have also shown how important is it to reduce our energy dependence on third countries as fast as possible," says the letter, as seen by Euronews.

Over 90% of the EU's natural gas come from foreign importers, with Russia as the main producer. This great dependency has been credited as one of the main factors behind the rise in energy prices.

"Supply tensions will be more and more frequent and we have no choice but to diversify our supply. We should pay attention not to increase our dependency on energy imports from outside Europe."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

France to ban plastic packaging for most fruit and vegetables from January 2022:

France will ban plastic packaging for nearly all fruit and vegetables from January 2022 in a bid to reduce plastic waste, the environment ministry said on Monday.

Implementing a February 2020 law, the government published a list of about 30 fruits and vegetables that will have to be sold without plastic packaging from Jan. 1. The list includes leeks, aubergines and round tomatoes as well as apples, bananas and oranges.

"We use an outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives. The circular economy law aims at cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging," the ministry said in a statement.

It estimated that 37% of fruit and vegetables are sold with packaging and expects that the measure will prevent more than one billion useless plastic packaging items per year.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

PinePhone Pro Linux smartphone to feature a power-optimized Rockchip RK3399S processor

Pine64 has now announced the PinePhone Pro Linux smartphone with a Rockchip RK3399S hexa-core processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, that's a power-optimized version of the popular Rockchip RK3399 processor. It will provide a noticeable upgrade to the PinePhone Linux smartphones launched in November 2019, which, by today's standards, is quite underpowered.

Besides the faster processor, PinePhone Pro also comes with 4GB RAM and 128 GB storage which should make it a better candidate at mobile desktop convergence, as well as a 5.95-inch display with 1440×720 resolution, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP front-facing camera, and more.

[...] Pine64 collaborated with Rockchip to fine-tune the RK3399 SoC's performance so that it meets the necessary thermal and battery-consumption envelopes, as and as a result, RK3399S was born. Pine64 also explained Rockchip helped a great deal in enabling the PinePhone Pro's suspend state, which allows the smartphone to receive calls and SMS messages while preserving the battery.

[...] Just like most Pine64 products, the PinePhone Pro will rely on work from the community for software support, and the first PinePhone Pro devkit is up for pre-order for $399 plus shipping and eventual import taxes now with a clear focus on developers and established contributors, although newcomers with an established development record can also pre-order. Tech enthusiasts without a developer background are asked to wait a couple of more months for the second batch of PinePhone Pro "Explorer Edition" that is scheduled to be manufactured before the end of the year, and ship in early 2022. Additional information may also be found on the product page.

Also at Phoronix.

Previously: PinePhone Linux Smartphone Priced at $149 to Arrive This Year
How PINE64 is Creating a Device-Design Community to Compete with Raspberry Pi
PinePhone Braveheart Linux Smartphone Begins Shipping
Another Opportunity to Purchase a PinePhone

Original Submission

upstart writes:

NASA’s Lucy mission will soon be in the sky, with a launch set for Saturday:

Less than five years have gone by since NASA selected the "Lucy" mission for development as part of its Discovery Mission program, and now the intriguing spacecraft is ready for launch.

The $981 million mission will fly an extremely complex trajectory over the span of a dozen years. The spacecraft will swing by Earth a total of three times for gravitational assists as it visits a main-belt asteroid, 52246 Donaldjohanson, and subsequently flies by eight Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun.

The Lucy mission is scheduled to launch on Saturday at 5:34 am ET (09:34 UTC) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. An Atlas V rocket carrying the 1.5-ton spacecraft rolled to the launch pad on Thursday in advance of the launch attempt. The weather looks fine Saturday morning, with a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions. The launch will be covered live on NASA TV.

takyon writes:

Microsoft shutting down LinkedIn in China:

Microsoft is shutting down its social network, LinkedIn, in China, saying having to comply with the Chinese state has become increasingly challenging.

It comes after the career-networking site faced questions for blocking the profiles of some journalists.

LinkedIn will launch a jobs-only version of the site, called InJobs, later this year.

But this will not include a social feed or the ability to share or post articles.

LinkedIn senior vice-president Mohak Shroff blogged: "We're facing a significantly more challenging operating environment and greater compliance requirements in China."

And the firm said in a statement: "While we are going to sunset the localised version of LinkedIn in China later this year, we will continue to have a strong presence in China to drive our new strategy and are excited to launch the new InJobs app later this year."

Also at CNBC:

LinkedIn was the last major U.S. social network still operating in China.

See also: Here's the Biggest Loser From LinkedIn's China Departure

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Dead-End SF Street Plagued With Confused Waymo Cars Trying To Turn Around 'Every 5 Minutes':

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — A normally quiet neighborhood in San Francisco is buzzing about a sudden explosion of traffic. Neighbors say their Richmond District dead-end street has suddenly become crowded with Waymo vehicles.

[...] They come all day, right to the end of 15th Avenue, where there’s nothing else to do but make some kind of multi-point turn and head out the way they came in. Not long after that car is gone, there will be another, which will make the same turn and leave, before another car shows up and does the exact same thing. And while there are some pauses, it never really stops.

“There are some days where it can be up to 50,” [resident Jennifer] King says of the Waymo count. “It’s literally every five minutes. And we’re all working from home, so this is what we hear.”

At several points this Tuesday, they showed up on top of each other. The cars, packed with technology, stop in a queue as if they are completely baffled by the dead end. While some neighbors say it is becoming a bit of a nuisance, everyone finds it a little bizarre.

[...] In an emailed statement, a Waymo spokesperson said, “We continually adjust to dynamic San Francisco road rules. In this case, cars traveling North of California on 15th Ave have to take a u-turn due to the presence of Slow Streets signage on Lake. So, the Waymo Driver was obeying the same road rules that any car is required to follow.”

Original Submission

upstart writes:

British Medical Journal: Daily Use of CBD Oil May Be Linked to Lung Cancer Regression:

It may be worth exploring further the use of cannabidiol ('CBD') oil as a potential lung cancer treatment, suggest doctors in BMJ Case Reports after dealing with a daily user whose lung tumor shrank without the aid of conventional treatment. The body's own endocannabinoids are involved in various processes, including nerve function, emotion, energy metabolism, pain and inflammation, sleep and immune function.

[...] The report authors describe the case of a woman in her 80s, diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. She also had mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoarthritis, and high blood pressure, for which she was taking various drugs. She was a smoker, getting through around a pack plus of cigarettes every week (68 packs/year).

Her tumor was 41 mm in size at diagnosis, with no evidence of local or further spread, so she was suitable for conventional treatment of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. But the woman refused treatment, so was placed under 'watch and wait' monitoring, which included regular CT scans every 3-6 months.

These showed that the tumor was progressively shrinking, reducing in size from 41 mm in June 2018 to 10 mm by February 2021, equal to an overall 76% reduction in maximum diameter, averaging 2.4% a month, say the report authors.

When contacted in 2019 to discuss her progress, the woman revealed that she had been taking CBD oil as an alternative self-treatment for her lung cancer since August 2018, shortly after her original diagnosis.

upstart writes:

Photon-Phonon Breakthrough: A New Way To Combine Two Different States of Matter:

New research by a City College of New York team has uncovered a novel way to combine two different states of matter. For one of the first times, topological photons—light—has been combined with lattice vibrations, also known as phonons, to manipulate their propagation in a robust and controllable way.

The study utilized topological photonics, an emergent direction in photonics which leverages fundamental ideas of the mathematical field of topology about conserved quantities—topological invariants—that remain constant when altering parts of a geometric object under continuous deformations. One of the simplest examples of such invariants is number of holes, which, for instance, makes donut and mug equivalent from the topological point of view. The topological properties endow photons with helicity, when photons spin as they propagate, leading to unique and unexpected characteristics, such as robustness to defects and unidirectional propagation along interfaces between topologically distinct materials. Thanks to interactions with vibrations in crystals, these helical photons can then be used to channel infrared light along with vibrations.

The implications of this work are broad, in particular allowing researchers to advance Raman spectroscopy, which is used to determine vibrational modes of molecules. The research also holds promise for vibrational spectroscopy—also known as infrared spectroscopy—which measures the interaction of infrared radiation with matter through absorption, emission, or reflection. This can then be utilized to study and identify and characterize chemical substances.

Reference: "Topological phonon-polariton funneling in midinfrared metasurfaces" by S. Guddala, F. Komissarenko, S. Kiriushechkina, A. Vakulenko, M. Li, V. M. Menon, A. Alù and A. B. Khanikaev, 8 October 2021, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.abj5488

Original Submission