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Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/07/netflix-loses-970000-subscribers-says-ads-and-new-fees-are-key-to-recovery/

Netflix yesterday reported a loss of 970,000 paid streaming subscribers in its Q2 earnings after having lost 200,000 customers in the first quarter of 2022. The company's worldwide paid memberships decreased from 221.64 million to 220.67 million in Q2, and revenue growth has slowed dramatically.

It's the first time in Netflix's history that the company reported consecutive quarters of subscriber losses, The Wall Street Journal wrote. But the result was better than forecasted, as Netflix had told investors to expect a second-quarter loss of 2 million subscribers.

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upstart writes:

MIT Engineers Find a Way To Save Energy and Make Water Boil More Efficiently:

At the heart of a wide range of industrial processes, including most electricity generating plants, many chemical production systems, and even cooling systems for electronics, is an energy-intensive step with the boiling of water or other fluids.

They could significantly reduce their energy use by improving the efficiency of systems that heat and evaporate water. [R]esearchers have now found a way to do just that, with a specially designed surface treatment for the materials used in these systems.

Three different kinds of surface modifications, at different size scales, together account for the increased efficiency. The new findings are described in a paper published in the journal Advanced Materials by recent MIT graduate Youngsup Song PhD '21, Ford Professor of Engineering Evelyn Wang, and four others at MIT. The scientists caution that this initial finding is still at a laboratory scale, and more effort is required to develop a practical, industrial-scale process.

High-speed video of the researchers' test setup shows water boiling on a specially treated surface, which causes bubbles to form at specific separate points rather than spreading out in a film across the surface, thus leading to more efficient boiling. The video has been slowed down by 100 times to show more detail.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

A routine cataloging procedure of a painting by Vincent van Gogh at the National Galleries in Scotland yielded an unexpected discovery: a hidden self-portrait on the back of the canvas. The portrait was revealed while conservationists were conducting an X-ray analysis of Head of a Peasant Woman as part of a cataloging exercise in preparation for an upcoming exhibition. Once the exhibit opens, visitors can view the X-ray image through a specially crafted lightbox at the center of the display.

[...] Last year, we reported that researchers used infrared reflectography to peer through the upper layers of paint of the famous 1788 portrait, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, of the 18h century French chemist Antoine Lavoisier and his wife, Marie-Anne, by Jaques-Louis David. The resulting reflectogram showed evidence of a carbon-based black underdrawing and dark, unclear shapes hinting at possible significant compositional changes. The team also used macro X-ray fluorescence imaging to map out the distribution of elements in the paint pigments—including the paint used below the surface—to create detailed elemental maps for further study.

Nor is this the first time a Van Gogh painting has been subjected to X-ray analysis. Back in 2008, European scientists used synchrotron radiation to reconstruct the hidden portrait of a peasant woman painted by Van Gogh. The artist, known for reusing his canvases, had painted over it when he created 1887's Patch of Grass. The synchrotron radiation excites the atoms on the canvas, which then emit X-rays of their own that a fluorescence detector can pick up. Each element in the painting has its own X-ray signature, so scientists can identify the distribution of each in the many layers of paint.

[...] The Edinburgh painting is not van Gogh’s only double-sided painting with reused canvas. In 1929, the Dutch conservator Jan Cornelius Traas removed cardboard backing from three Nuenen paintings, revealing hidden portraits on the reverse. And we can report that it has long been suspected that there could be something on the hidden side of Head of a Peasant Woman.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Russia’s Gazprom has told customers in Europe that it cannot guarantee gas supplies because of “extraordinary” circumstances, according to a letter seen by the Reuters news agency, upping the ante in an economic tit-for-tat with the West over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian state gas monopoly said in a letter dated July 14 that it was retroactively declaring force majeure on supplies from June 14. The news comes as Nord Stream 1 (NS1), the key pipeline delivering Russian gas to Germany and beyond, is undergoing 10 days of annual maintenance scheduled to conclude on Thursday.

The letter added to fears in Europe that Moscow may not restart the pipeline at the end of the maintenance period in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, heightening an energy crisis that risks tipping the region into recession.

Known as an “act of God” clause, force majeure is standard in business contracts and defines extreme circumstances that release a party from their legal obligations. The declaration does not necessarily mean that Gazprom will stop deliveries, rather that it should not be held responsible if it fails to meet contract terms.

[...] Russian gas supplies have been declining via major routes for some months, including via Ukraine and Belarus as well as through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

[...] The grace period for payments on two of Gazprom’s international bonds expires on July 19, and if foreign creditors are not paid by then the company will be technically in default.

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fliptop writes:

The emails, memos and strategy documents were provided to POLITICO by the House Judiciary Committee.

Internal documents from Google and Amazon provided to POLITICO show new examples of how the companies favor their own products over competitors' — adding ammunition to the push for Congress to toughen antitrust laws.

The documents — which include emails, memos and strategy papers — were shared by the House Judiciary committee, which obtained them as part of its long-running antitrust investigation of Google, Apple, Amazon and Meta that wrapped in October 2020 with a 450-page staff report. The documents were cited in the report, but had not previously been made available.

[...] Heavily redacted internal Google documents appear to show, for example, how Google pressured mobile phone makers including Samsung to prioritize its own apps on their devices.

[...] The newly released material, which also include emails and other documents from Amazon and Meta-owned Facebook, arrives as pressure is building on Congress, and in particular Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to pass a bill that would block the internet giants from favoring their own products and services over those of competitors who rely on their platforms.

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

AI is great for rich and powerful people and for tech giants trying to boost profits. Otherwise, artificial intelligence and the automation it enables can be harmful, nonprofit Mozilla concluded in a report published Monday.

"In real life, over and over, the harms of AI disproportionately affect people who are not advantaged by global systems of power," Mozilla researchers conclude in the 2022 Internet Health Report. "Amid the global rush to automate, we see grave dangers of discrimination and surveillance. We see an absence of transparency and accountability, and an overreliance on automation for decisions of huge consequence."

[...] But Mozilla doesn't like the fact that Big Tech funds a lot of academic research and that relatively few papers -- especially among those most widely cited -- focus on AI's social problems or risks.

Among Mozilla's suggestions are new laws. "Regulation can help set guardrails for innovation that diminish harm and enforce data privacy, user rights, and more," Mozilla said. Also on Monday, Mozilla released a five-part podcast on its concerns about AI.

Reference: 2022 Internet Health Report

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that microbes found living in Canada’s High Arctic, in conditions similar to those on Mars, can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds like those that have been detected on Mars.

Under the permafrost of Lost Hammer Spring in Canada’s High Arctic is an extremely salty, very cold, and almost oxygen-free environment that is most similar to certain regions on Mars. So, if you want to understand more about the types of life forms that could once have existed – or may still exist – on Mars, this is a fantastic place to look.

[...] In a recent paper in The ISME Journal, the researchers show for the first time, that microbial communities discovered living in Canada’s High Arctic, in conditions corresponding to those on Mars, can survive by eating and breathing simple inorganic compounds of the type that have been detected on Mars (such as methane, sulfate, sulfide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide).

[...] Lost Hammer Spring, in Nunavut in Canada’s High Arctic, is one of the saltiest and coldest terrestrial springs discovered to date. The water which travels up through 600 meters (2000 feet) of permafrost to the surface is extremely salty (~24% salinity), perennially at sub-zero temperatures (~−5 °C/23 °F), and contains almost no oxygen (<1ppm dissolved oxygen). The extremely high salt concentrations keep the Lost Hammer spring from freezing, allowing it to maintain a liquid water habitat even at sub-zero temperatures. These conditions are analogous to those found in certain regions of Mars, where widespread salt deposits and possible cold salt springs have been observed. While previous research has shown evidence of microbes in this kind of Mars-like environment – this is one of the very few studies to find microbes alive and active.

upstart writes:

The company claims it will give all sellers equal treatment:

Amazon is making some significant commitments in an attempt to escape EU fines for allegedly misusing seller data. The European Commission is asking for public feedback on Amazon proposals that theoretically give third-party sellers a better chance of competing with Amazon's direct sales. The company has pledged to avoid using private seller data in situations where there's competition with Marketplace shops, whether it's obtained through automated tools or employee access.

The firm has also promised "non-discriminatory" terms for third parties selling to Prime subscribers, including a choice in delivery and logistics services. Amazon also won't use participants' Prime data to give its own logistics a boost, according to one proposal. In another commitment, Amazon vowed "equal treatment" when ranking sellers in the Buy Box section that lets you quickly purchase goods. Runners-up will also have a better chance at grabbing your attention — you'll see a second offer in the Buy Box if it's substantially different in terms of price or delivery.

In a statement, Amazon told Engadget it still felt the EU was "unfairly" targeting the company with legal efforts like the Digital Markets Act, but that it "engaged constructively" with regulators to address issues. [...]

[...] With that said, Amazon won't avoid further trouble even if the EU deal moves forward. It's still facing a reported SEC investigation in the US, not to mention a Senate bill meant to help third-parties selling through platforms like Amazon.

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upstart writes:

Foams that incorporate small amounts of carbon monoxide gas could be delivered to the GI tract to combat colitis and other conditions:

Carbon monoxide is perhaps best known as a potentially deadly gas. However, in small doses it actually has beneficial qualities: It has been shown to reduce inflammation and can help stimulate tissue regeneration.

A team of scientists has now devised a novel way to deliver carbon monoxide to the body while bypassing its potentially harmful effects. Inspired by techniques used in molecular gastronomy, they were able to incorporate carbon monoxide into stable foams that can be delivered to the digestive tract. The study was led by researchers from MIT, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the University of Iowa, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

[...] Since the late 1990s, Otterbein has been studying the therapeutic effects of low doses of carbon monoxide. The gas has been shown to impart beneficial effects in preventing rejection of transplanted organs, reducing tumor growth, and modulating inflammation and acute tissue injury.

When inhaled at high concentrations, carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in the blood and prevents the body from obtaining enough oxygen, which can lead to serious health effects and even death. However, at lower doses, it has beneficial effects such as reducing inflammation and promoting tissue regeneration, Otterbein says.

“There is a common perception that the U.S. offers the most advanced cancer care in the world,” said lead author Ryan Chow, an M.D./Ph.D. student at Yale. “Our system is touted for developing new treatments and getting them to patients more quickly than other countries. We were curious whether the substantial U.S. investment on cancer care is indeed associated with better cancer outcomes.”

The United States had the highest expenditure rate among the 22 high-income nations examined.

“The U.S. is spending over $200 billion per year on cancer care — roughly $600 per person, in comparison to the average of $300 per person across other high-income countries,” said senior author Cary Gross, professor of medicine and director of the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale. “This raises the key question: Are we getting our money’s worth?”

The researchers found that national cancer care spending showed no relationship to population-level cancer mortality rates. “In other words, countries that spend more on cancer care do not necessarily have better cancer outcomes,” said Chow.

In fact, compared to the United States, six nations — Australia, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland — had lower cancer mortality and lower expenditure on the condition.

Smoking is the leading cause of cancer death, and smoking rates in the United States have generally been lower than in other nations. When the researchers controlled for international differences in smoking rates, the researchers found that the United States’ cancer mortality rates were no different than those of the average high-income country, with nine countries — Australia, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland — having lower smoking-adjusted cancer mortality than the United States.

“Adjusting for smoking shows the United States in an even less favorable light because the low smoking rates in the U.S. had been protective against cancer mortality,” said Chow.

Reference: “Comparison of Cancer-Related Spending and Mortality Rates in the US vs 21 High-Income Countries” by Ryan D. Chow, Ph.D., Elizabeth H. Bradley, Ph.D. and Cary P. Gross, MD, 27 May 2022, JAMA Health Forum.
DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.1229

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hubie writes:

If simply breathing can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others nearby, what about blowing into a tuba?

It was 2020, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, like so many cultural institutions, had suspended performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through P.J. Brennan, chief medical officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Orchestra sought expertise to help understand whether its musicians could return to playing in a safe physical arrangement that would minimize the chances of exposing one another, or their audiences, to SARS-CoV-2.

"The Orchestra director didn't want the musicians to be far apart; they needed to be close together to produce the best sound," says Arratia, of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. "And yet, if they needed to be separated with plexiglass, that also posed a problem." The musicians reported problems hearing one another and poor sightlines with plexiglass dividers. "The challenge was, how can we get away from this to the point where they can play unobstructed but still safely," Arratia says.

Now, in a publication in Physics of Fluids, Arratia, Jerolmack, and colleagues report on their findings, which suggest the aerosols musicians produce dissipate within about six feet. The results not only informed the arrangement of the Philadelphia Orchestra as they resumed performances in the summer of 2020 but also laid the groundwork for how other musical groups might think about safely gathering and playing.

[...] Based on their observations, the aerosols produced by these "mini-concerts" dissipated, settling into the flow of the background air draft, within about 2 meters, or 6 feet—reassuringly similar, the researchers say, to what has been measured for ordinary speaking or breathing. Only flute and trombone-generated aerosols traveled beyond that distance, for the flute perhaps because the air travels over the instrument instead of the instrument acting like a mask to prevent the spread of aerosols.

[...] "Now you have something to work with for potential future concerns, maybe an outbreak of influenza or something like that," says Arratia. "You can use our findings about flow, plug in your numbers about infectiousness and viral loads, and adapt it to understand risk.

Journal Reference:
Quentin Brosseau, Ranjiangshang Ran, Ian Graham, et al., Flow and aerosol dispersion from wind musical instruments [open], Physics of Fluids, 2022. DOI: 10.1063/5.0098273

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upstart writes:

Mars Spaghetti: NASA's Perseverance Rover Spots a Strange Tangle:

Every now and then, NASA's rovers spot things that don't seem to fit with the usual Martian landscape: Just a few months ago, Curiosity imaged what appeared to be a doorway. A new image from the Perseverance rover is grabbing similar attention for capturing what appears to be a tangle of string.

On July 12, Perseverance's front-facing hazard avoidance camera imaged a Martian tumbleweed — er, a piece of trash. A NASA spokesperson said in an email that the object must be some debris from the mission, though it's not yet clear exactly what it is.

[...] Mars may have once been habitable billions of years ago, but the dry planet is very likely devoid of life today. But that doesn't stop speculation about aliens from running wild every time something appears slightly off in a Martian postcard. Perfect ordinary natural phenomenon (or at least, as "ordinary" as anything on Mars can be to our human eyes) can create optical illusions when translated into grainy 2D images. Past examples of supposed oddities on Mars include a hiding squirrel, a spoon, an artificial light, and a human face.

Although the single-serving Martian pasta dish appears to be harmless, it does raise concern over the various missions to Mars littering the planet with debris. NASA and other space agencies decontaminate spacecraft before sending them off on missions to avoid spreading Earthly microbes in space. But landing on another planet is bound to leave pieces of wreckage behind, and there's really no way for the robot to pick up after itself.

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upstart writes:

This is why the pistol shrimp is immune to its own powerful shock waves:

The tiny-but-mighty pistol shrimp can snap its claws with sufficient force to produce a shock wave to stun its prey. So how come the shrimp appears immune to its sonic weapon? Scientists have concluded that the shrimp is protected by a tiny clear helmet that protects the creature from any significant neural damage by damping the shock waves, according to a recent paper published in the journal Current Biology.

The snapping shrimp, aka the pistol shrimp, is one of the loudest creatures in the ocean, along with the sperm whale and beluga whale. When enough of these shrimp snap at once, the noise can dominate the coastal ocean soundscape, sometimes confusing sonar instruments. The source of that snap: an impressive set of asymmetrically sized claws; the larger of the two produces the snap.

[...] What makes the orbital hoods such effective dampeners? The hoods have an opening at the anterior end, and there's a layer of water between the surface of the hoods' interior and the shrimp eyes. "We propose that when a shock wave strikes an orbital hood, the rapid changes in pressure cause the water underneath it to be expelled through the anterior opening, away from the head of the shrimp," the authors wrote. "Through the expulsion of water, some of the kinetic energy of the shock wave may be redirected and released."

Journal Reference:
Alexandra C.N. Kingston, Sarah A. Woodin, David S. Wethey, and Daniel I. Speiser, Snapping shrimp have helmets that protect their brains by dampening shock waves, Curr Biology, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.042

Original Submission

hubie writes:

How early awards and recognition can decrease inventors' creativity:

Post-it Notes, Spanx, the iPhone, two-day Prime shipping. From unique gadgets to revolutionary business ideas, the most successful inventions have one thing in common: creativity. But sustaining creativity can be difficult.

New research from Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, has identified one reason why some first-time producers struggle to repeat their initial creative productions while others go on to continually produce creative works.

[...] "In our study, we found that people who develop novel ideas and receive rewards for them start to see themselves primarily as a 'creative person,'" Baer said.

"This newfound identity, which is special and rare, is then in need of protection. Essentially, once a person is in the creative limelight, stepping out of it — by producing a novel idea that disappoints or pales in comparison to earlier work — is threatening and to be avoided. One way to do so is to stop producing altogether. You cannot compromise your identity and reputation when you do not produce anything new."

[...] "Harper Lee is a perfect example of this phenomenon," Baer said. "Her first book, 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' is one of the bestselling and most acclaimed American novels of all time. Yet she didn't publish again until 55 years later. And her second book, 'Go Set a Watchman,' written in the mid-1950s, is considered to be a first draft of her legendary one hit wonder."

[...] Previous research has focused on the benefits of awards, but Baer and Deichmann found that winning an award can, paradoxically, temper the creativity of producers because it introduces an extra layer of stress to the creative environment.

Journal Reference:
Dirk Deichmann and Markus Baer, A recipe for success? Sustaining creativity among first-time creative producers, J Appl Psychol, 2022. DOI: 10.1037/apl0001019

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Space Bubbles to Deflect Solar Radiation:

A raft of thin-film silicon bubbles deployed from Earth into outer space and stretching to the size of Brazil could potentially block the Sun's solar radiation from further warming Earth, possibly helping to not only stave off climate change, but potentially reverse it.

[...] The MIT group believes that if the raft of bubbles can deflect 1.8 percent of incident solar radiation before it hits Earth, they can fully reverse today's global warming. Even if they can't establish a 1.8 percent shading, they trust a smaller percentage provides enough benefit to help mitigate global warming.

To make it happen, the group proposes deploying small, inflatable bubbles into outer space that they could then manufacture into a space raft the size of Brazil and suspend near the L1 Lagrangian Point, the location between the Earth and Sun where the gravitational influence of both bodies cancel out. The team does suggest having some sort of system to ensure the raft stays in place and that may provide the ability to move the bubbles closer to the Sun for optimal impact.

Very slick marketing web page for the idea.

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