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upstart writes:

Record-breaking suspension bridge set to open in Yunnan, China:

Stretching 798 meters over a river valley, Lvzhijiang Bridge's mere length may not sound all that extreme when compared to some of the world's longest bridges. But the complexity of the project is earning it recognition as an engineering marvel.

Built in a mountainous V-shaped valley, it is the world's first single-tower, single-span suspension bridge; it's only held up by one tower and is supported at both ends by cables. There are no additional columns, giving it a dramatic, gravity-defying look.

The bridge's single span -- the distance between two supports -- is 780 meters. In addition, officials say it has the world's steepest tunnel anchorage, which is angled at 54 degrees.

Due to the area's rugged landscape, all of the main supporting elements -- the 156-meter-high tower, the bridge approach slab on one end of the structure and the tunnel anchorage on the other end of the structure -- are built upon steep slopes.

The project manager told Chinese state media that "the height difference between the bridge deck and the assembly yard is 320 meters high, or about 100 stories high ... the complexity of this project is rarely seen in China."

Any engineers want to explain why this is such an 'engineering marvel'? - asking for a friend, of course.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

New Therapies Could Stop T Cells From Attacking Brain Cells in Parkinson's Disease:

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that people with Parkinson's disease have a clear "genetic signature" of the disease in their memory T cells. The scientists hope that targeting these genes may open the door to new Parkinson's treatments and diagnostics.

"Parkinson's disease is not usually seen as an autoimmune disease," says LJI Research Assistant Professor Cecilia Lindestam Arlehamn, Ph.D. "But all of our work points toward T cells having a role in the disease."

"Now that we can see what these T cells are doing, we think intervening with antibody therapies could have an impact on the disease progression, especially early on, " adds LJI Professor Alessandro Sette, Dr.Biol.Sci., who led the work with Lindestam Arlehamn.

[...] Parkinson's progresses as dopamine-producing neurons in the brain die. Unfortunately, scientists have been unable to pinpoint what causes this cell death—though they do have a clue: The doomed neurons contain clumps of a damaged protein called alpha-synuclein.

LJI research suggests these clumps may be the kiss of death for dopamine-producing neurons. Sette and Lindestam Arlehamn recently showed that people with Parkinson's have T cells that target alpha-synuclein early on in Parkinson's disease.

The new study offers a way to stop these T cells in their tracks. The LJI team found that people with Parkinson's disease have memory T cells with a very specific gene signature. These genes appear responsible for targeting alpha-synuclein and potentially causing ongoing inflammation in cases of Parkinson's.

Journal Reference:
Dhanwani, Rekha, Lima-Junior, João Rodrigues, Sethi, Ashu, et al. Transcriptional analysis of peripheral memory T cells reveals Parkinson's disease-specific gene signatures [open], npj Parkinson's Disease (DOI: 10.1038/s41531-022-00282-2)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

OneWeb to Restart Internet Satellite Launches Using SpaceX Rockets:

After canceling business with Russia's space program, OneWeb is tapping rival SpaceX to help it launch its remaining internet satellites into orbit.

"We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a launch agreement withSpaceX that will enable OneWeb to resume satellite launches," UK-based OneWeb announced on Twitter today. The first launch of the OneWeb satellites using SpaceX rockets is scheduled for sometime later this year, the company added.

OneWeb previously relied on Russia's Roscosmos to launch the satellites. However, the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions from Europe caused Roscosmos to essentially retaliate by postponing an upcoming launch of OneWeb satellites.

Roscosmos then demanded the UK government divest itself from OneWeb. In response, the company canceled all launches through Russia's space program.

OneWeb's contingency plan of using SpaceX is a little surprising since both companies are competing in the internet satellite market. This has resulted in some bickering amongst each other in government regulatory filings. Last year, for example, OneWeb accused SpaceX's satellite internet system of colliding with its own.

upstart writes:

Waste Heat From Microsoft Servers to Warm Residents in Southern Finland:

Microsoft has announced a major new data center in Finland. As welcome as that news alone might be, with the expected 11,000 new jobs, the project will also provide district heating for a large swathe of southern Finland. Finnish broadcaster and news provider YLE highlights that Microsoft's collaboration with energy company Fortum will also create the "world's largest waste heat recovery project for data centers."

Finland's biggest energy company, the majority-state-owned Fortum, has been looking for a data center partner for the last four years. [...]

On the scale of the investment in this new data center, LYE reports that it is "one of the biggest single ICT investments in Finnish history." Microsoft reckons that the new infrastructure, its upkeep and services will sustain 11,000 new local jobs. Moreover, such a large project usually has a positive effect on local businesses. At the very least 11,000 people, many with high skilled roles and a commensurate salary, will be very happy to have nearby food outlets, goods and services.

It is estimated that Microsoft and its ecosystem in Finland will also stimulate the local economy, generating more than 17.2 billion Euros over the next four years. Lastly, considering the core server business activity of Microsoft in southern Finland, locals will benefit from the fastest loading and latency times when using Microsoft's popular cloud services (and perhaps great PC and Xbox cloud gaming too).

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Asahi Linux Is The First Linux Distro To Support Apple Silicon:

Asahi Linux for Apple Silicon has launched for the public. It is the first Linux distribution to offer native support for Apple M1 chips. As this is an alpha release, please be aware of the likelihood of easy to stumble upon bugs and some significant missing features. However, this critical milestone now made, "things will move even more quickly going forward," promises the Asahi Linux development team.

[...] "We're really excited to finally take this step and start bringing Linux on Apple Silicon to everyone," wrote the development team in a blog post. Importantly, installing Asahi Linux on your Mac doesn't require a jailbroken device. In addition, it won't affect the security level of your macOS install, so Mac features like FileVault, running iOS apps, and watching Netflix in 4K can continue.

While the team has shared a list of system requirements, an installation guide, and a list of (in)compatible features, this alpha release is intended primarily "for developers and power users." In other words, "expect things to be a bit rough," the devs candidly admit.

upstart writes:

Psychedelic Medicine: LSD, a Future Anti-Anxiety Pill?:

The craze for psychedelics used for therapeutic purposes is real. However, the scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness and explaining their mode of action in treating mental health disorders is still very thin. A new study led by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a senior scientist in the Brain Repair and Integrative Neuroscience (BRaIN) Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), sheds light on previously unexplained neurobiological mechanisms by which LSD is believed to relieve anxiety.

While preliminary studies suggested that psychotherapy-assisted microdosing was effective in alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms in people with severe psychiatric or neurological problems, the biological mechanisms underlying these effects had remained unclear to date. The study conducted by Dr. Gobbi's team demonstrates for the first time that regular administration of low doses of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) reduces anxiety symptoms through neurobiological mechanisms that are similar to some commonly prescribed classes of antidepressants and anxiolytics: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs are better known by their trade names: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Cipralex, etc.

upstart writes:

The TikTok-Oracle deal would set two dangerous precedents:

In August 2020, President Donald Trump dropped a bombshell executive order banning TikTok in the United States. Since then, as TikTok has competed against other Big Tech companies—growing among teen users while Facebook and others have struggled—its ability to survive in the United States has remained under a cloud of uncertainty. Would regulators step in and kill off a product that had become a staple form of communication for some 100 million Americans?

That cloud seemed to lift last week in the wake of reports that TikTok will enter into a data storage deal with Oracle. In the short term, the agreement would be good for US users, enabling TikTok to invest more of its resources and energy into improving its product, rather than wrestling with the government.

But in the long run, the forecast looks bleaker. The deal would establish precedents likely to harm technology companies and their users.

[...] The main concern US politicians have raised about TikTok is that because it's owned by China's ByteDance, the Chinese government could conceivably access any American data held by the company. The other big concern has been security risk. This deal would address both. Under the agreement, Oracle would store TikTok data for US users, ensure that data is not transferred to ByteDance, and be responsible for protecting user data from cybersecurity threats. Because this sensitive task will be performed by a US company with close ties to the government, TikTok should finally be able to put to rest the concern that its operations in the United States constitute a grave threat to American security.

upstart writes:

Astronomers Closer to Unlocking Mysterious Origin of Fast Radio Bursts:

Nearly 15 years after the discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs), the origin of the millisecond-long, deep-space cosmic explosions remains a mystery. That may soon change, thanks to the work of an international team of scientists – including UNLV astrophysicist Bing Zhang – which tracked hundreds of the bursts from five different sources and found clues in FRB polarization patterns that may reveal their origin. The team's findings were reported in the March 17, 2022, issue of the journal Science.

FRBs produce electromagnetic radio waves, which are essentially oscillations of electric and magnetic fields in space and time. The direction of the oscillating electric field is described as the direction of polarization. By analyzing the frequency of polarization in FRBs observed from various sources, scientists revealed similarities in repeating FRBs that point to a complex environment near the source of the bursts.

To make the connection between the bursts, an international research team, led by Yi Feng and Di Li of the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed the polarization properties of five repeating FRB sources using the massive Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) and the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Since FRBs were first discovered in 2007, astronomers worldwide have turned to powerful radio telescopes like FAST and GBT to trace the bursts and to look for clues on where they come from and how they're produced.

Though still considered mysterious, the source of most FRBs is widely believed to be magnetars, incredibly dense, city-sized neutron stars that possess the strongest magnetic fields in the universe. They typically have nearly 100% polarization. Conversely, in many astrophysical sources that involve hot randomized plasmas, such as the Sun and other stars, the observed emission is unpolarized because the oscillating electric fields have random orientations.

upstart writes:

AMD Job Posting Hints at Embedded RISC-V CPUs:

AMD's Radeon Technology Group (RTG) is hiring a RISC-V CPU/GPU designer for its existing team of architects developing embedded RISC-V CPUs. A new job posting indicates that the development of RISC-V-based solutions is well underway at AMD, whereas the fact that Radeon Technologies Group is hiring specialists could give a hint about the applications RTG is working on.

The job description provides some general details about AMD's expectations from its RISC-V micro-architect/RTL designer. The company is looking for a specialist with experience in high-performance GPUs; RISC-V RV64 CPUs; and CPUs with out-of-order execution, speculative execution, and branch predictors.

According to the job posting, AMD has a team working on embedded RISC-V CPUs at AMD's Radeon Technologies Group in Orlando, Florida. The new candidate is expected to know and improve "existing and emerging graphics/compute paradigms and new APIs employing RISC-V processors." Also, they will have to analyze CPU workloads and make recommendations for improvements as well as understand bottlenecks and other challenges where an embedded CPU will improve performance.

[...] The RISC-V open-source architecture is exceptionally well suited for emerging applications, so it's possible that AMD is working on something new. Meanwhile, since we are dealing with a 64-bit RISC-V architecture, we can be fairly sure that this is not a simplistic microcontroller.

Original Submission

An Anonymous Coward writes:

https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/19/after-retiring-bitdefender-free-bitdefender-launches-antivirus-free-for-windows/

Security company Bitdefender announced last year that it would retire Bitdefender Free at the end of 2021. Now, three months later, the company launched a new free product, called Bitdefender Antivirus Free.

In a surprising move, Bitdefender launched a new free antivirus product for Windows after cancelling the old one just three months earlier.

The company announced the launch of Bitdefender Antivirus Free on the company blog. The blog post reveals that the program has been created from the ground up. Bitdefender Antivirus Free "offers enhanced features, functionality, and improved user experience in comparison to the previous free version" according to Bitdefender.

The free section of the Bitdefender website does not list the new product yet. You need to visit this link to open the page with the download link. The download is small, but the installer requires an Internet connection and will download more than 500 Megabytes when it is run, provided that you allow it to do so. [Ed: The software has not been downloaded and checked. Caveat Emptor]

upstart writes:

New Insight Into Possible Origins of Life: For the First Time Researchers Create an RNA Molecule That Replicates:

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have for the first time been able to create an RNA molecule that replicates, diversifies, and develops complexity, following Darwinian evolution. This has provided the first empirical evidence that simple biological molecules can lead to the emergence of complex lifelike systems.

[...] For several decades, one hypothesis has been that RNA molecules (which are vital for cell functions) existed on primitive Earth, possibly with proteins and other biological molecules. Then around 4 billion years ago, they started to self-replicate and develop from a simple single molecule into diverse complex molecules. This step-by-step change possibly eventually led to the emergence of life as we know it — a beautiful array of animals, plants, and everything in between.

Although there have been many discussions about this theory, it has been difficult to physically create such RNA replication systems. However, in a study published in Nature Communications, Project Assistant Professor Ryo Mizuuchi and Professor Norikazu Ichihashi at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo, and their team, explain how they carried out a long-term RNA replication experiment in which they witnessed the transition from a chemical system towards biological complexity.

upstart writes:

Netflix fights password-sharing with test of $3 "Extra Member" fee:

Netflix will soon charge an extra fee for sharing accounts with people in other households. This is the company's latest attempt to reduce the password-sharing that has been common among Netflix users for years. The fee will roll out in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru "over the next few weeks" and potentially go worldwide at a later date.

"Members on our Standard and Premium plans will be able to add sub accounts for up to two people they don't live with—each with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password—at a lower price: 2,380 CLP in Chile, 2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru," Netflix said in an announcement yesterday. Based on current conversion rates, 2,380 CLP is about $2.98 USD and 7.9 PEN is about $2.12 USD.

The new fee will be paired with the ability for users to transfer profile information (including their viewing history and watchlist) to a new account or an Extra Member account. After rolling out the fee and profile transfers in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, Netflix will "be working to understand the utility of these two features for members in these three countries before making changes anywhere else in the world," the company said.

Original Submission

Hypersonic Missile Possibly Used for the First Time in Combat

takyon writes:

Russia claims to use a hypersonic missile in attack on arms depot in Ukraine.

Russia has fired scores of guided missiles into Ukraine, but on Saturday it claimed for the first time that it had launched one capable of hypersonic speed in an attack on an ammunition depot in western Ukraine. The report could not be independently verified, but if true could be the first use of a hypersonic weapon in combat.

Hypersonics, generally defined as weapons capable of flying at speeds over Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, are at the center of an arms race among the United States, Russia and China.

[...] A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said hypersonic missiles, called Kinzhals, had destroyed the underground warehouse storing Ukrainian missiles and aviation ammunition in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine.

Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for Ukraine's military, confirmed Saturday that Russian forces had hit an underground warehouse in western Ukraine but said the type of missile involved "is yet to be determined."

Russia Reports First Use of Hypersonic Missile

upstart writes:

Russia reports first use of hypersonic missile:

The Russian military says it used its latest hypersonic missile, Kinzhal, for the first time in combat during its offensive in Ukraine. The Kinzhal is a nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-ground missile.Spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the hypersonic missiles destroyed an underground warehouse storing missiles and aviation ammunition of Ukrainian troops in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region.

Second Kinzhal Missile Fired

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/20/russia-says-it-used-hypersonic-missiles-in-ukraine-for-second-day

Russia has claimed that a 2nd hypersonic missile ("Kinzhal" - dagger) was used on 20 Mar against "a Ukrainian fuel depot in Kostiantynivka near the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv."

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

upstart writes:

Microsoft refreshes its own in-house Linux distro:

CBL-Mariner, Microsoft's Linux distro, has received its first update in more than half a year, and although it doesn't add much on the functionality side, it does fix quite a few bugs as well as patching a number of security flaws.

The March 2022 Update, added to GitHub recently, addresses some 30 CVEs, including the dreaded Dirty Pipe vulnerability that hit headlines earlier this month.

However there isn't much to see in terms of functionality, and the distro's version number hasn't moved past 1.0.

It does, however, come as an ISO file now, making installation a lot less troublesome. The ISO can be found on this link. It weighs 720MB and, according to The Register, installs in roughly a minute.

The publication also said it is not one of the supported options in Windows Services for Linux, which is a bit strange, but users can still enable Hyper-V and install it like that.

[...] CBL-Mariner is also used in Azure IoT Edge, running Linux workloads on Windows IoT, as well as to host the Weston compositor for WSLg.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Tesla fires employee who posted YouTube videos of Full Self-Driving accident:

Ex-Tesla employee John Bernal says he was fired for posting YouTube videos about Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta. He had been creating the videos for about a year. Bernal says that Tesla also cut off his access to the FSD beta in the 2021 Tesla Model 3 that he owns.

The firing and beta cutoff occurred shortly after Bernal posted a video on February 4 of a minor accident in which his Tesla car hit a bollard that appears to separate a car lane from a bike lane in San Jose. In a subsequent video on February 7 providing frame-by-frame analysis of the collision, Bernal said that "no matter how minor this accident was, it's the first FSD beta collision caught on camera that is irrefutable."

"I was fired from Tesla in February with my YouTube being cited as the reason why—even though my uploads are for my personal vehicle, off company time or property, with software I paid for," Bernal said in the latest video, which was posted yesterday on his AI Addict channel. Bernal showed a notice he received that said his Full Self-Driving beta access was disabled "based on your recent driving data." But that explanation didn't seem to make sense because "the morning of being fired, I had zero improper use strikes on my vehicle," he said.