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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

While the world is marveling over the first images and data now coming from NASA's Perseverance rover mission seeking signs of ancient microscopic life on Mars, a team of UNLV scientists is already hard at work on the next step: What if we could one day send humans to the Red Planet?

There's a lot to consider when sending people, though. Human explorers, unlike their rover counterparts, require oxygen and food, for starters. It also takes about six to nine months—both ways—just in travel time. And then there's the air itself. Martian air is roughly 98% carbon dioxide (Earth's is a fraction of 1% for comparison) and the air temperature averages an extremely frigid -81 degrees.

It's these challenges that UNLV geochemist and NASA Mars 2020 team scientist Libby Hausrath and postdoctoral researcher Leena Cycil, a microbial ecologist, are exploring. And a big part of the answer? Algae.

[...] Hausrath and Cycil are among a handful of scientists looking at growing algae under the low-pressure, low-light conditions seen on Mars, and are pursuing different species than previous studies.

upstart writes:

Take off the training wheels once in a while:

Turn-by-turn navigation on phones and dedicated GPS devices has made it much easier to travel. However, the reliance on GPS navigation comes at a cost—you never actually learn how to get anywhere. That's a problem.

My world changed when my HTC Eris received an update to enable turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps. I have always been comically bad at navigating. Even places I've been to dozens of times can escape my memory. So having a GPS device in my pocket gave me a lot of confidence to travel.

[...] Recently, I've made a concerted effort to rely less on GPS navigation. Sometimes I will literally just start driving and see what happens. Other times I'll look up my destination in Google Maps first to create a mental map in my head. If I get lost, I can pull out my phone to find my way. I've noticed an improvement in my navigation skills, but why is that?

[...] While some people are naturally better at navigating, it's like a lot of things in life—you just need practice. GPS is like training wheels on a bike. They certainly make it easier to ride the bike, but you don't have to practice balancing. When the training wheels come off, you go down.

If you never navigate without the help of GPS, you're building up a reliance on it. The more you use it, the more you need it. That's why it's important to ditch the GPS from time to time and navigate on your own terms. Maybe you get lost more often, but even that is a great learning experience.

Related journal article:
L. Dahmani, V.D. Bohbot. Habitual use of GPS negatively impacts spatial memory during self-guided navigation [open]. Sci Rep 10, 6310 (2020). https://doi.org/10.11598-020-62877-0

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Apple Granted Patent for Deepfakes Based on Reference Images:

Remember how entire governments have been pressing tech companies to tackle the deepfakes permeating their online platforms? Well, they have even more work cut out for themselves now. On Tuesday the US Patent Office granted Apple a patent for "face image generation with pose and expression control"—AKA deepfakes—based on reference images.

According to patent documents first spotted by Patently Apple, Apple's technology uses machine learning to create synthetic images of human faces based on a reference image provided by the user. Once the tech has generated a synthetic face, it can manipulate that face to create changes in expression. Given a reference image or "target shape" depicting a whole person (not just a face), the image generator can also create synthetic images in which the reference person is posed differently.

The generator's neural network is trained to constrain generation enough that the synthetic image can convincingly look like the reference person, not an entirely new—or simply "inspired—creation. These constraints are incorporated using a generative adversarial network (GAN) in which multiple synthetic images are generated, after which a discriminator attempts to determine which images are real or synthetic. The discriminator's findings are then used to further train both the generator and the discriminator.

[...] Others think Apple could be working towards an app or feature that puts a "fun" or "convenient" twist on deepfakes. If that ends up happening, at which point does the [...] proposed AI Bill of Rights get involved?

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Linux Kernel May Drop i486 Support as Torvalds Backs Pentium Plan:

The 486 CPU is somewhat of a relic these days, but its legacy in the Linux kernel has lived on. The i486 has been the de facto minimum for decades. Even Linux, that long-term supporter of outdated architectures, is considering giving up on the chip and removing support for the 486 processors, just like it did for the 386 back in 2012.

The news comes via a post on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (opens in new tab) from Linus Torvalds himself. Recently keen on adding things like the Rust programming language (opens in new tab)and support for Intel Arc GPUs and Loongson CPUs (opens in new tab) to the Linux kernel, Torvalds is now considering removing the venerable 486, writing: "We got rid of i386 support back in 2012. Maybe it's time to get rid of i486 support in 2022?"

The idea, which seems so obvious in these days of Raptor Lake and Ryzen 7000, received a certain amount of pushback, with the claim from some users that new hardware based on the superannuated silicon was still being shipped. When the same plan was raised a year ago, one user said they were still using a 486, and wanted to continue doing so.

The 486, which dates back to 1989, is currently the minimum possible spec for running Linux, and works best with lightweight distros such as Tiny Core Linux.

Original Submission

hubie writes:

Diverse Digital Interventions Remediate Cognitive Aging in Healthy Older Adults:

After a decade of work, scientists at UC San Francisco's Neuroscape Center have developed a suite of video game interventions that improve key aspects of cognition in aging adults.

The games, which co-creator Adam Gazzaley, MD, PhD, says can be adapted to clinical populations as a new form of "experiential medicine," showed benefits on an array of important cognitive processes, including short-term memory, attention and long-term memory.

Each employs adaptive closed-loop algorithms that Gazzaley's lab pioneered in the widely cited 2013 Neuroracer study published in Nature, which first demonstrated it was possible to restore diminished mental faculties in older people with just four weeks of training on a specially designed video game.

These algorithms achieve better results than commercial games by automatically increasing or decreasing in difficulty, depending on how well someone is playing the game. That keeps less skilled players from becoming overwhelmed, while still challenging those with greater ability. The games using these algorithms recreate common activities, such as driving, exercising and playing a drum, and use the skills each can engender to retrain cognitive processes that become deficient with age.

[...] The lab's most recent invention is a musical rhythm game, developed in consultation with drummer Mickey Hart, that not only taught the 60 to 79-year-old participants how to drum, but also improved their ability to remember faces. [...]

upstart writes:

IT Leaders Aren't Getting Listened to, and Now They're Ready to Walk Away:

It's not just software developers that companies risk losing: a survey of more than 500 US IT leaders suggests that 58% are actively looking for a new role because they aren't being listened to in company decision-making.

[...] For instance, the report found that non-IT departments have the final say when it comes to decisions around purchasing apps and IT software for the company (54%), facilitating IT audits (52%), purchasing devices (45%) and hiring tech talent (48%).

Tech decision-makers also feel unappreciated by senior company leadership in the transition to remote and hybrid working models: 81% of IT decision-makers felt that they should have had more support from their employer over the last two years. Likewise, more than half (56%) of IT leaders said they felt less loyalty to their employer than they did two years ago.

Vijay Sundaram, chief strategy officer of Zoho Corporation, said even though IT teams have been "indispensable to business innovation and continuity" in recent years, senior management continue to overlook their input in larger business decisions.

This is despite the fact that 88% of respondents believe IT is more responsible for business innovation than ever before, while 85% agree IT could drive even greater innovation in the business if they had a stronger leadership position.

Sundaram noted that the role of IT within organizations would become increasingly important as hybrid working and decentralized teams became mainstream. Indeed, 99% of survey respondents said their organization had already moved to a hybrid model. "This will require the expertise and involvement of ITDMs to identify appropriate technologies and meet corporate guidelines in areas like compliance, privacy and security," he added.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket Preps for Oct. 31 Launch After 3-Year Hiatus:

The biggest operational rocket in the world has a treat for us on Halloween: Falcon Heavy is set to launch that morning for the first time since 2019.

Not long after SpaceX's big triple rocket got off the ground for the first time in 2018, it seemed to get forgotten in the hype around Elon Musk's even bigger Starship rocket. Now ol' Heavy is ready to send a pair of payloads into orbit for the US Space Force.

Lately when we talk about a "big SpaceX rocket," we're probably referring to Starship and its companion Super Heavy booster, which NASA hopes will return astronauts to the moon and which Musk dreams of using to build a society on Mars.

But the most muscle in the SpaceX garage that's actually made it to space is still the Falcon Heavy. Its first flight sent a Tesla toward the red planet in 2018. It flew two more times, both in 2019.

[...] The Falcon Heavy mission dubbed USSF 44 is the next launch on deck for pad 39-A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, currently set for Oct. 31 at 9:44 a.m. ET (6:44 a.m. PT). The Space Force describes it as a classified mission.

"There will be two payloads on board this mission -- a larger, unconfirmed satellite and a micro-satellite named TETRA-1," the military said in a statement on one of its YouTube Channels. "TETRA-1 is the first in a series of prototype GEO satellites launched by the US military, which will test systems procedures for future satellites."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Episode lasting almost 2 days prompted the closure of a runway at Dallas airport:

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of mysterious GPS interference that, over the past few days, has closed one runway at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and prompted some aircraft in the region to be rerouted to areas where signals were working properly.

The interference first came to light on Monday afternoon when the FAA issued an advisory over ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service). It warned flight personnel and air traffic controllers of GPS interference over a 40-mile swath of airspace near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The advisory read in part: "ATTN ALL AIRCRAFT. GPS REPORTED UNRELIABLE WITHIN 40 NM OF DFW."

[...] GPSjam.org, a website that monitors GPS interference in real time, published this map that showed the specific areas where aircraft were reporting unreliable GPS.

[...] Then, around 11 pm Dallas time, the interference ended. As mysteriously as the interference began, it had stopped. In an online interview, Wiseman wrote:

This GPS interference stood out because it was significant, covered a relatively large area, and didn't look like the typical interference I see in the United States which is almost always clearly associated with military testing or training in a military operating area. My understanding is that lack of GPS isn't an emergency for aircraft, but it can definitely be annoying and lead to delays and even canceled flights. I don't know what caused this interference or whether it was intentional, but it almost certainly came from a piece of electronic equipment and not a natural phenomenon. GPS is kind of a weird piece of the world's infrastructure in that it's so important, but also very easy to break through intentional or accidental jamming. I hope it continues to stay usable!

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

A potential hazard for any space mission, including NASA’s Mars Sample Return, is micrometeorites. These tiny rocks can travel up to 50 miles per second (180,000 mph). At these extreme speeds, “even dust could cause damage to a spacecraft,” said Bruno Sarli, NASA engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Sarli leads a team designing shields to protect NASA’s Mars Earth Entry System from micrometeorites and space debris. To test the team’s shields and computer models, he recently traveled to a NASA lab, designed to safely recreate dangerous impacts.

[...] 2-stage light gas guns are used by the lab to accelerate objects to speeds up to 27,500 feet per second (18,750 mph) that simulate micrometeorite and orbital debris impacts on spacecraft shielding. The first stage uses gunpowder as a propellent the way a standard gun does. The second stage uses highly compressed hydrogen gas that pushes gas into a smaller tube, increasing pressure in the gun, like a car piston. The gun's pressure gets so high that it would level the building if it were to explode. "That is why we hung out in the bunker during the test," said Sarli.

[...] While the pellet’s speed is incredibly fast, micrometeorites actually travel six to seven times faster in space. As a result, the team relies on computer models to simulate the actual velocities of micrometeorites. The slower rate will test their computer model’s ability to simulate impacts on their shield designs and allows the research team to study the material reaction to such energy.

upstart writes:

It's official: Ireland's first satellite EIRSAT-1 to launch early next year:

The Irish Government and ESA signed a series of letters laying out the parameters of EIRSAT-1's mission. The satellite was developed by UCD scientists.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail Damien English have today (17 October) signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to facilitate the launch of Ireland's first satellite.

The news is the latest development in what is to be Ireland's first space mission, centred on the satellite EIRSAT-1. Previously, it was reported that the satellite was to be launched from ESA's base in French Guiana later this year or in early 2023.

Today's agreement has confirmed that EIRSAT-1 will launch from French Guiana early next year. Its mission will last four years.

EIRSAT-1 was designed and built by academic staff and students at University College Dublin (UCD). A miniature cube satellite, it was first announced in 2017 and has been tested by the UCD team.

[...] "This is a big moment for the Irish space sector," said Varadkar. "It has huge spin off potential for Irish businesses and universities. We have increased our financial contribution to the European Space Agency which is paid back in multiples in terms of contracts for Irish aviation and aerospace companies."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Coming soon to a job near you: Knowing what it pays:

You wouldn't rent an apartment or even buy a pair of jeans online without knowing the price. Soon, many Americans won't search for a job without knowing what it pays, either.

A series of local and state laws, both newly adopted and soon to be in effect, will force companies to divulge what a job pays when posting an open position. Besides being common sense, the intent of these laws is to shrink the persistent wage gap that divides white men from women and people of color. Lowering the pay gap would be an important step forward for equality in the US, affecting everything from Americans' quality of life to how they see themselves. But while pay transparency is a much-needed improvement, a lot more is needed to truly create balance for all Americans.

In the US, women and people of color get paid less than white men, regardless of job or experience. Pay gaps often begin at the start of careers, then compound over a lifetime as women and people of color are less likely to get raises. A variety of other factors contribute to the gap as well, like the motherhood penalty, wherein women who take time off paid work to care for kids are paid nearly 40 percent less than those who don't. There's occupational segregation, in which jobs that are filled predominantly by women or people of color, like home health aides or food service workers, are paid less. (The pay and prestige of computer science, for example, rose only as more men entered the field.) Women and people of color are also seriously underrepresented in leadership positions, which are paid the most. In sum, that means the median hourly wage for women is 86 cents per hour for every dollar a man makes. Black women make 68 cents. There's been little progress on closing the pay gap in the last three decades.

[...] "Transparency is one of the leading tools we've identified for closing the wage gap," Andrea Johnson, director of state policy at the National Women's Law Center, told Recode. "It is absolutely crucial for both increasing worker power and employer accountability."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Rishi Sunak to Become Next UK Prime Minister:

After the short stint of Liz Truss, a new UK prime minister is ready to assume office.

Rishi Sunak, former head of the UK Treasury, won a vote to become the leader of the Conservative Party and thus the next prime minister, the Associated Press reported Monday.  At the age of 42, Sunak will be one of the youngest prime ministers. He will also be the first person of color and the first Hindu to hold the office. His family is of Indian descent.

Sunak was the runner-up to Truss when she became prime minister on Sept. 5 and replaced Boris Johnson, who had resigned. Johnson was in the running to return to office after Truss' resignation last week. But he dropped out Sunday, enabling Sunak to become Conservative Party leader.

Sunak served as head of Treasury -- formally known as chancellor of the Exchequer -- under Johnson from February 2020 to July 2022. He resigned his office two days before Johnson stepped down.

He will be the UK's third prime minister in 2022. To avoid a fourth one, Sunak will need to outlast an onion.

Clarification at 8:55 a.m. PT: Sunak will be one of the youngest UK prime ministers.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Filthy floodwaters from Hurricane Ian drove wave of flesh-eating infections:

In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ian, some of Florida's hardest-hit areas are facing a new threat—a wave of flesh-eating bacterial infections that can crest in sewage-contaminated floodwaters.

In the weeks since the natural disaster, authorities in Florida's Lee County—which surrounds Fort Myers—have seen a surge in potentially life-threatening Vibrio vulnificus infections. The bacteria are known to lurk in warm coastal waters but fester amid pollution, particularly sewage spills.

This year, Lee County tallied 29 infections—27 identified in the aftermath of the hurricane—as well as four deaths. For comparison, Lee County recorded just five cases and one death in 2021, and zero cases in 2020. Florida overall has recorded 65 cases and 11 deaths in 2022, including those from Lee County. The state total is nearly double the totals from the past two years.

"The Florida Department of Health in Lee County is observing an abnormal increase in cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections as a result of exposure to the floodwaters and standing waters following Hurricane Ian," a Lee County health department spokesperson told CBS News on Monday. The spokesperson went on to warn that "sewage spills, like those caused from Hurricane Ian, may increase bacteria levels," and residents should "always be aware of the potential risks associated when exposing open wounds, cuts, or scratches on the skin to warm, brackish, or salt water."

The good news is that the infection is not known to pass from person to person. But, those who are exposed to floodwaters risk infection through any wound or broken skin. People can also be sickened by eating raw or undercooked seafood harvested from bacteria-tainted waters.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

NASA OKs ISS spacewalks after upgrading helmets:

Spacewalks outside the International Space Station are set to resume after NASA temporarily paused all such activity to investigate an issue that caused water to accumulate in one astronaut's helmet.

On March 23, Matthias Maurer, a European Space Agency 'naut, stepped outside the orbiting science lab for nearly seven hours with NASA teammate Raja Churi to prepare for the installation of a solar array for the station's microgravity hub. When Maurer returned inside, fellow Expedition 66 crewmate Kayla Barron reported to mission control the visor of the Euro spaceman's helmet was slick with water and hurried to help get him out of his spacesuit.

Although Maurer was not in immediate danger, NASA officials said the snafu was a "close call" and decided to halt all planned spacewalks. His spacesuit, helmet, and water samples were returned to Earth for study in hope of figuring out why moisture accumulated during the spacewalk.

Seven months on, the American space agency has confirmed there were no hardware failures within Maurer's spacesuit. Astronauts will be allowed to conduct spacewalks again.

"The cause for the water in the helmet was likely due to integrated system performance where several variables such as crew exertion and crew cooling settings led to the generation of comparatively larger than normal amounts of condensation within the system," NASA said this week.

Microsoft Confirms Customer Data Leak but Disputes Scope

upstart writes:

Microsoft confirms customer data leak but disputes scope:

Microsoft has confirmed a data leak linked to a misconfigured server for a cloud storage service but is disputing the extent of the problem.

In a revelation this week, Microsoft's Security Response Center (MSRC) said the cloud provider was notified by threat intelligence firm SOCRadar on September 24 about the misconfigured endpoint that exposed business transaction data related to interactions between Microsoft and customers.

The information included planning or potential implementation and provisioning of Microsoft services, according to MSRC. Once notified, Microsoft secured the endpoint, which now can only be accessed through required authentication.

"Our investigation found no indication customer accounts or systems were compromised," the unit wrote. "We have directly notified the affected customers."

However, in a report also released this week, SOCRadar researchers wrote that the misconfigured server exposed sensitive data including proof-of-execution and statement-of-work documents, user information, product offers and orders, project details, and personally identifiable information (PII).

The documents may have also revealed intellectual property, they claim.