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upstart writes:

MIT Experts Design and Test Technical Research for a Hypothetical Central Bank Digital Currency:

In collaboration with a team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, MIT experts have begun designing and testing technical research through which further examination of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) can be performed in the U.S.

The effort, known as Project Hamilton, is in an exploratory phase, and the research is not intended as a pilot or for public deployment. Instead, the researchers have explored two different approaches that could be used to process transactions, and thus could indicate the technical feasibility of a potential CBDC model. In a process involving significant design flexibility, the MIT group tested factors such as the volume and speed of transactions, and the resilience of the systems in general, among other requirements for a viable digital currency.

upstart writes:

Frequent Use of Aspirin, Advil, or Tylenol Associated With Higher Risk of Tinnitus:

• Frequent use of NSAIDs or acetaminophen or regular use of COX-2 inhibitors was associated with an almost 20 percent higher risk of tinnitus
• Frequent use of moderate-dose aspirin was associated with a 16 percent higher risk among women under 60, but frequent low-dose aspirin use did not elevate risk

Over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics, such as aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), and acetaminophen, are some of the most commonly used medications, widely available without a prescription, and perceived to be safe. But frequent use — including inadvertently exceeding a recommended dose when taking cold and sinus medications that contain these analgesics — can potentially cause harm. Very high doses of aspirin can lead to reversible tinnitus, but a new longitudinal study, led by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital, investigated whether frequent use of typical doses of common analgesics, including low-dose and moderate-dose aspirin, NSAIDs and acetaminophen, or use of prescription COX-2 inhibitors, is independently associated with the risk of developing chronic persistent tinnitus. In a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the researchers report that frequent use of NSAIDs or acetaminophen, or regular use of COX-2 inhibitors, was associated with higher risk of tinnitus. Low-dose aspirin use did not elevate risk, but frequent moderate-dose aspirin use was associated with higher risk of persistent tinnitus among women under 60.

upstart writes:

The jobs Americans want:

A look at the jobs Americans want, according to Google.

A key to figuring out how the workforce is changing could lie in Google search data. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of which industries are adding employment, the agency doesn't specify whether people are moving into those fields or simply switching jobs within those fields.

But new data from Google Trends, which looks at changes in what people are searching online, offers a believable snapshot of where some people switching careers might be headed. The list of jobs with the most "how to become" searches in 2021 reads like a rundown of some major pandemic trends, including home-buying, travel (or the lack thereof), and a much-needed focus on mental health. Many of the jobs on the list are relatively well paid, allow people to be their own bosses, and involve helping others.

• real estate agent
• flight attendant
• notary
• therapist
• pilot
• firefighter
• personal trainer
• psychiatrist
• physical therapist
• electrician

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Kids smashing figurines and fighting zombies on the TV - VR headset insurance claims rocket:

Claims for accidental damage involving virtual reality (VR) headsets have surged, according to the UK's largest insurer.

Home contents claims involving the gaming headsets rose by 31% last year and have increased by 68% in five years, said Aviva.

The average value of a VR-related claim sits at about £650, with TVs being the most damaged item.

The Reddit forum "VR to ER" shows the various accidents that can happen while VR gaming, including people accidentally hitting others, walking into walls or throwing controllers across the room.

Aviva said it had already received a handful of claims this year as a result of people falling into or hitting TV screens while wearing VR headsets, and further incidents are expected in the coming months as virtual reality devices proved a popular Christmas gift.

Claims made so far include one customer who threw a controller into a TV when a zombie jumped out during a game, and a child who smashed two designer figurines when he swept them off the mantle piece.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Why Musk's biggest space gamble is freaking out his competitors

Standing in front of the towering Starship rocket at Space X's southwest Texas "Starbase" on Thursday night, Musk pledged that his most ambitious spaceship yet will make its first journey in the coming months.

[...] "It is the kind of thing we used to talk about as 'wouldn't it be great if we could do these kinds of things?'" said Scott Altman, a former astronaut who is now president of ASRC Federal, a space R&D company. But NASA officials — and their longtime aerospace contractors — are watching with a mix of awe and horror. "They are shitting the bed," said a top Washington space lobbyist who works for SpaceX's competitors and asked for anonymity to avoid upsetting his clients.

[...] As Starship progresses, it will further eclipse the argument for sticking with SLS, according to Rand Simberg, an aerospace engineer and space consultant. "Once the new system's reliability is demonstrated with a large number of flights, which could happen in a matter of months, it will obsolesce all existing launch systems," he said. "If SLS is not going to fly more than once every couple of years, it's just not going to be a significant player in the future in space, particularly when Starship is flown," he added.

[...] The potty-mouthed D.C. lobbyist, a longtime detractor of SpaceX, described the reaction among his clients to Musk's presentation on Thursday as "promises, promises, promises." But he said such dismissals are passé. "It's like you keep saying 'he can't do it' but it keeps working. It keeps working. I think people are scared. He's starting to make people who were never believers think he might."

Original Submission

looorg writes:

'Futurama' Revival Ordered at Hulu With Multiple Original Cast Members Returning:

Good news, everyone! "Futurama" is being revived at Hulu.

Variety has learned that the streaming service has ordered 20 new episodes of the adult animated sci-fi comedy series. The revival hails from David X. Cohen and Matt Groening. Cohen developed the original series with Groening, the series creator.

Original series cast members Billy West, Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman will all return. John DiMaggio, who voiced Bender and several minor characters, is not currently attached. According to an individual with knowledge of the project, the producers are hopeful DiMaggio will return. Should that not happen, Bender will be recast.

Though DiMaggio did not initially make a statement about the revival, he retweeted several posts in which others expressed their desire for him to return. "@TheJohnDiMaggio needs to come back as Bender or this isn't good news, everyone," one retweet read, while another simply said: "Come on, pay the man!"

upstart writes:

A new database reveals how much humans are messing with evolution:

Charles Darwin thought of evolution as an incremental process, like the patient creep of glaciers or the march of continental plates. “We see nothing of these slow changes in progress until the hand of time has marked the long lapse of ages,” he wrote in On the Origin of Species, his famous 1859 treatise on natural selection.

But by the 1970s, scientists were finding evidence that Darwin might be wrong—at least about the timescale. Peppered moths living in industrial areas of Britain were getting darker, better for blending in against the soot-blackened buildings and avoiding predation from the air. House sparrows—introduced to North America from Europe—were changing size and color according to the climate of their new homes. Tufted hairgrass growing around electricity pylons was developing a tolerance for zinc (which is used as a coating for pylons and can be toxic to plants).

[...] Hunting and harvesting are the biggest drivers of this trend: if humans pluck the fattest fish from the ocean each time they cast their nets, it follows that only the smaller ones will survive to pass on their genes. But climate could also play a role because of a basic rule of biology: larger creatures have a bigger surface area-to-volume ratio and therefore find it easier to retain heat. “The theory is that you don’t need to maintain that larger body size as the temperatures are warming, and so you can be smaller,” Gotanda says.

Also at Arstechnica.

Journal Reference:
Andrew P. Hendry, Michael T. Kinnison. PERSPECTIVE: THE PACE OF MODERN LIFE: MEASURING RATES OF CONTEMPORARY MICROEVOLUTION, Evolution (DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1999.tb04550.x)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

C.I.A. Is Collecting in Bulk Certain Data Affecting Americans, Senators Warn

The Central Intelligence Agency has for years been collecting in bulk, without a warrant, some kind of data that can affect Americans' privacy, according to a newly declassified letter by two senators.

The C.I.A. kept censored the nature of the data when it declassified the letter. At the same time, it declared that a report about the same topic, which had prompted the letter, must remain fully classified, except for some heavily redacted recommendations.

That report, called "Deep Dive II," was part of a set of studies by a watchdog board scrutinizing intelligence community operations under Executive Order 12333, rules for intelligence activities that Congress has left unregulated by statute. The watchdog, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and its staff members have access to classified information.

In March 2021, the Senate Intelligence Committee received a copy of the report. In a letter the next month, two Democrats on the panel, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, urged Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence, and William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, to declassify the activity and any internal rules about querying the data for information about Americans.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

The James Webb Space Telescope Is in Position. Now It's Booting Up:

Scientist launched the James Webb Space Telescope and sent it about a million miles from Earth. This summer, the technological marvel will begin collecting never-before-seen images of the cosmos. But between now and then, NASA researchers and their European and Canadian colleagues have their work cut out for them.

[...] Now that everything's in place, the JWST team has begun the "commissioning" process for the instruments, setting up the complex cameras and detectors and making sure they work as they're supposed to, Schneider says. Last week, they conducted their first tests with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), allowing the first photons to hit the camera. It's not actually capturing images yet, but this is a step toward doing so. Eventually, scientists will use NIRCam to discover new planets and glimpse some of the first galaxies.

Once they can take real test images, such as of nearby, previously photographed stars, the first batches will be blurry and out of focus. But that's normal. Those tests will enable the Webb team to gradually align the telescope and adjust the mirror segments until the images look clear.

It has become an annual tradition, Today you are invited to attend the 4th annual SoylentNews
      Super Bowl Party!

As mentioned in a comment to a recent story... it's on!

Just use your favorite IRC client or use our site's link. Then /JOIN #SuperBowl-LVI to join in the fur fun!

When? 6:30 PM (ET) / (3:30 PT) (1 hour after this story goes live)
Where? NBC will broadcast live (as will some on-line sources)
Rules? Keep it civil.

Other: rates reached $5-6M per commercial/advert. So they tend to be memorable; YMMV

upstart writes:

The metaverse is a new word for an old idea:

I have spent a lot of my career, both in Silicon Valley and beyond, insisting that all our technologies have histories and even pre-histories, and that far from being neat and tidy, those stories are in fact messy, contested, and conflicted, with competing narrators and meanings.

The metaverse, which graduated from a niche term to a household name in less than a year, is an excellent case in point. Its metamorphosis began in July 2021, when Facebook announced that it would dedicate the next decade to bringing the metaverse to life. In the company's presentation of the concept, the metaverse was a thing of wonder: an immersive, rich digital world combining aspects of social media, online gaming, and augmented and virtual reality. "The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence—like you are right there with another person or in another place," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wrote, envisioning a creation that would "reach a billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce, and support jobs for millions of creators and developers." By December 2021, a range of other large American technology companies, including Microsoft, Intel, and Qualcomm, had all articulated metaverse plans of their own. And by the time the Consumer Electronics Show rolled around in January, everyone seemed to have a metaverse angle, no matter how improbable or banal: haptic vests, including one with an air conditioner to create your own localized climate; avatar beauty makeovers; virtual delivery vans for your virtual home.

There has been plenty of discussion about the involvement of Meta (née Facebook) and its current complicated position as a social media platform with considerable purchase on our daily lives. There have also been broader conversations about what form the metaverse could or should take, in terms of technical capabilities, user experiences, business models, access, and regulation, and—more quietly—about what purpose it would serve and what needs it would fulfill.

"There is an easy seductiveness to stories that cast a technology as brand-new."

upstart writes:

New evidence for the importance of educational attainment in brain health:

With aging populations and growing life expectancy, the number of people suffering from dementia is increasing. For more effective dementia prevention, it is important to better understand risk and protective factors affecting late-life cognition. It is known that midlife cardiovascular risk factors are associated with weaker late-life cognition (memory and other information processing skills). A new study from the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku aimed to examine if educational background affects this association. Over 4000 Finnish twins participated in the study published in Age and Ageing.

"The study showed that cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high body mass index and physical inactivity, were associated with poorer late-life cognition. This association was stronger in those with lower educational attainment compared to those with higher education," tells postdoctoral researcher Paula Iso-Markku from the University of Helsinki, the lead author of the study.

The result emphasizes the importance of childhood and adolescent education in dementia prevention.

"The mechanisms are not yet known, but these results may reflect the effect of cognitive reserve. Higher educational attainment may increase cognitive reserve that helps to tolerate dementia risk factors better," says Academy of Finland Research Fellow Eero Vuoksimaa who led the study.

Journal Reference:
Paula Iso-Markku, Jaakko Kaprio, Noora Lindgrén, et al. Education as a moderator of middle-age cardiovascular risk factor [open], Age and Ageing (DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab228)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

After lying low, SSH botnet mushrooms and is harder than ever to take down:

Two years ago, researchers stumbled upon one of the Internet's most intriguing botnets: a previously undiscovered network of 500 servers, many in well-known universities and businesses around the world, that was impervious to normal takedown methods. After lying low for 16 months, those researchers said, the botnet known as FritzFrog is back with new capabilities and a larger base of infected machines.

FritzFrog targets just about anything with an SSH, or secure shell, server—cloud instances, data center servers, routers, and the like—and installs an unusually advanced payload that was written from scratch. When researchers from security firm Guardicore Labs (now Akamai Labs) reported it in mid-2020, they called it a "next-generation" botnet because of its full suite of capabilities and well-engineered design.

It was a decentralized, peer-to-peer architecture that distributed administration among many infected nodes rather than a central server, making it hard to detect or take it down using traditional methods.

canopic jug writes:

A blogger with the handle "Soatok" has written about considerations in safely using RSA. His first recommendation is not to use RSA at all any more. Failing that, if you must use RSA, he has various recommendations to mitigate the problems that using RSA entails.

Every RSA keypair must be represented as all of the following:

RSA Secret Key (sk)

• Operation (sign or decrypt)
• Mode (padding or KEM-DEM)
• Hash function (signatures, MGF1)
• Modulus size
• Public exponent

RSA Public Key (pk)

• Operation (encrypt or verify)
• Mode (padding, etc.)
• Hash function (signatures, MGF1)
• Modulus size
• Public exponent

Any time you change any of these configuration parameters, it MUST be used with a new asymmetric key-pair. The new key MUST NOT be used with the same raw key bytes as any previous key.

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is apparently easier to work with, but both will be susceptible to cracking with quantum computers some day.

Previously:
(2019) Crown Sterling Demos 256-bit RSA Key-cracking at Private Event
(2016) Upgrade Your SSH Keys
(2015) 512-bit RSA Keys Cracked in Four Hours for only $75
(2014) NSA and RSA - Claims of More Evidence

Original Submission

upstart writes:

UK second in money laundering hall of shame:

The second-highest amount of money is laundered each year in the UK, with an estimated £88bn[*] worth of money cleaned by criminals annually.

Only the US sees more, with £216.5bn laundered annually, while France (£54.5bn), Germany (£51.3bn) and Canada (£25.6bn) also rank among the top five counties in terms of value of money laundered.

The figures, from identity verification software maker Credas Technologies, put together using OECD data, also revealed that about £1.8tn is laundered globally each year, some 3% of total GDP.

Money laundering, and its links to organised crime, is a serious global problem that banks find themselves at the centre of, with their failures to spot suspicious activity partly to blame for the high volumes and value of money cleaned by criminals in the UK.

In October, NatWest Bank admitted that operational failures, including weaknesses in automated monitoring systems, meant that it failed to prevent the money laundering of £400m. It pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates' Court to failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations between 2012 and 2016.

Current exchange rate is approximately 1 £ = 1.36 $USD.

Original Submission