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upstart writes:

Excel gets containerized, cloud-based Python analytics and visualization powers:

If you're decent in Python (or aspire to be) but don't have the chops for advanced data work in Excel, Microsoft now offers the kind of peanut butter-and-chocolate combination that you may consider a gift. At least until it goes behind the paywall.

Microsoft's Stefan Kinnestrand, writing about "the best of both worlds for data analysis and visualization," writes that this public preview of Python in Excel will allow spreadsheet tinkerers to "manipulate and explore data in Excel using Python plots and libraries and then use Excel's formulas, charts, and PivotTables to further refine your insights."

Microsoft partnered with Python analytics repository Anaconda to bring libraries like Pandas, Statsmodels, and Matplotlib into Excel. Python in Excel runs on Microsoft's cloud servers, and the company is touting the security that should offer. Python runs in isolated containers, with no access to devices, your network, or user tokens, Microsoft states. Python and Excel can only really talk to each other through limited functions—xl() and =PY()—that can only return code results, not macros, VBA code, or other data, Microsoft claims.

[...] It will be interesting to see how Python's integration into Excel works out. It's a very specialized, cloud-hosted, and seemingly containerized and secured code offering. But Office apps' history with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripts and macros has a long history of exploits, patches, and more exploits. Early last year, Microsoft all but banned downloaded macros in Office unless someone goes out of their way to get infected. Barring that, it's an intriguing expansion of a code environment that is already Turing complete.

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looorg writes:

Secure your domain name for the next 100 years with Wordpress, a company that has only been around for about 20 years.
For only $38k including hosting fees and domain name. It's not exactly cheap, but I guess they had to include the cost of inflation and other increases for the next 100 years.

Still unsure what is the weirdest part of it -- that they in general believe the system with domain names will be around in a century or that Wordpress will still be around. Also do you have to pay the century fee in advance or is it an installment plan per year or decade or? Not sure I would care to plonk down $38k at once for a domain name.

Is this the future of the web? A necropolis of dead sites that never update. Who is there to secure that you actually remain online after death? Beyond trust and that you are hoping that Wordpress remains online.

https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/08/25/introducing-the-100-year-plan/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-100-year-domain-name-registrations/

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upstart writes:

What's the point of locks when hackers can easily get the keys to unlock them?

In July, security researchers revealed a sobering discovery: hundreds of pieces of malware used by multiple hacker groups to infect Windows devices had been digitally signed and validated as safe by Microsoft itself. On Tuesday, a different set of researchers made a similarly solemn announcement: Microsoft's digital keys had been hijacked to sign yet more malware for use by a previously unknown threat actor in a supply-chain attack that infected roughly 100 carefully selected victims.

The malware, researchers from Symantec's Threat Hunter Team reported, was digitally signed with a certificate for use in what is alternatively known as the Microsoft Windows Hardware Developer Program and the Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Program. The program is used to certify that device drivers—the software that runs deep inside the Windows kernel—come from a known source and that they can be trusted to securely access the deepest and most sensitive recesses of the operating system. Without the certification, drivers are ineligible to run on Windows.

Somehow, members of this hacking team—which Symantec is calling Carderbee—managed to get Microsoft to digitally sign a type of malware known as a rootkit. Once installed, rootkits become what's essentially an extension of the OS itself. To gain that level of access without tipping off end-point security systems and other defenses, the Carderbee hackers first needed its rootkit to receive the Microsoft seal of approval, which it got after Microsoft signed it.

With the rootkit signed, Carderbee went on to pull another audacious feat. Through means that aren't yet clear, the group attacked the infrastructure of Esafenet, a China-based developer of software, known as the Cobra DocGuard Client, for encrypting and decrypting software so it can't be tampered with. Then, Carderbee used its newfound control to push malicious updates to roughly 2,000 organizations that are Cobra DocGuard customers. Hacking group members then pushed the Microsoft-signed rootkit to roughly 100 of those organizations. Representatives with Esafenet and its parent company, NSFOCUS, didn't respond to an email asking for verification.

Arthur T Knackerbracket writes:

Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

[...] According to a new report by Bloomberg, the Starship launch left behind devastating destruction to the local environment, as reported by U.S. Wildlife officials following an investigation of the site shortly after the launch. These reports by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists were obtained by the news outlet via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Wildlife officials note that upon surveying the scene after Starship's launch, they found chunks of concrete across the area and foot-deep craters on the tidal flats. The report states that four acres of the nearby Texas state park were burned. A group of blue land crabs and seven bobwhite quail eggs were "incinerated" by the launch. 

Overall, the explosion from the launch "left a 385-acre debris field that flung concrete chunks as far as 2,680 feet from the launchpad and sparked a 3.5-acre fire."

[...] Much of the damage was caused by a purposeful decision from SpaceX that seemingly baffled experts in the documents. SpaceX did not use flame-suppression technology like a flame diverter or flame trench, a standard in the industry that redirects energy away from the rocket ship. Without it, Starship blew a hole in the ground underneath it, subsequently destroying its launchpad.

The FAA is currently reviewing an investigation into the launch and has temporarily grounded further attempts. But one Wildlife official noted in the documents that it's likely SpaceX won't be ready for another launch anytime soon.

"Pad site was totally destroyed and will likely force them to re-design the whole thing," the official wrote. "Probably won't see another launch for a while."

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hubie writes:

Greater marital satisfaction lowers the risk of professional burnout, with this correlation being more pronounced among men than women:

Workplace burnout is widespread and has a detrimental effect on employee performance, wellbeing, and the overall productivity of the organisation. The literature contains numerous studies exploring the causes and mechanisms of workplace burnout; however, the role of personal relationships in this context has not received sufficient attention.

Burnout causes significant mental fatigue and manifests through emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (a state in which individuals feel disconnected from their body, thoughts, or emotions), and a decline in personal fulfilment.

[...] The study findings indicate that as the level of marital satisfaction increases, the risk of burnout decreases, and this correlation is more pronounced in men. The researchers attribute these findings to disparities in social roles and stereotypes attributed to men and women, along with variations in expectations related to marriage and career.

When it comes to women, depersonalisation characterised by a sense of detachment from colleagues and clients and a decrease in empathy and compassion has a greater impact on the development of burnout. For men, the most significant factor is emotional fatigue from being overwhelmed with requests and feeling incapable of effectively managing them.

The researchers suggest that depersonalisation experienced by women is linked to the societal expectations and social roles commonly imposed on them within the professional realm. [...]

The findings reveal that men who experience greater professional success also tend to have higher levels of satisfaction with their personal relationships. No such correlation has been found for women. According to the researchers, this suggests that support in one's personal life may play a more significant role in facilitating workplace success for men compared to women.

The researchers emphasise that for organisations, understanding the specific aspects of employee burnout can serve as a valuable tool in managing stressful situations and enhancing motivation.

Journal Reference:
Bulgakov I. (2023) Взаимосвязь выгорания и удовлетворённости браком у сотрудников российских организаций [The relationship between burnout and satisfaction with marriage among employees of Russian organizations]. Organizational Psychology, vol. 13, no 1, pp. 145-160 (in Russian) DOI: http://doi.org/10.17323/2312-5942-2023-13-1-145-160

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taylorvich writes:

Longevity gene from naked mole rats extends lifespan of mice

In a groundbreaking endeavor, researchers at the University of Rochester have successfully transferred a longevity gene from naked mole rats to mice, resulting in improved health and an extension of the mouse's lifespan.

Naked mole rats, known for their long lifespans and exceptional resistance to age-related diseases, have long captured the attention of the scientific community. By introducing a specific gene responsible for enhanced cellular repair and protection into mice, the Rochester researchers have opened exciting possibilities for unlocking the secrets of aging and extending human lifespan.

"Our study provides a proof of principle that unique longevity mechanisms that evolved in long-lived mammalian species can be exported to improve the lifespans of other mammals," says Vera Gorbunova, the Doris Johns Cherry Professor of biology and medicine at Rochester.

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hubie writes:

Night-time pollinators such as moths need protecting as effectively as bees:

Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees, and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new study from the University of Sheffield suggests.

The study found that moths under pressure from urbanisation may also be less resilient than bees, due to their more complex life cycle and more specific plant requirements.

It also revealed that despite this threat, moths play a crucial role in supporting urban plant communities, accounting for a third of all pollination in flowering plants, crops and trees.

[...] "As moths and bees both rely on plants for survival, plant populations also rely on insects for pollination. Protecting urban green spaces and ensuring they are developed in such a way that moves beyond bee-only conservation but also supports a diverse array of wildlife, will ensure both bee and moth populations remain resilient and our towns and cities remain healthier, greener places."

[...] [Study author Dr. E.E.] Ellis says the research demonstrates just how crucial moths are at pollinating plants, including crops, and that the study has implications for wildlife-friendly gardening initiatives, urban planners and policy makers responsible for developing urban green spaces for parks or urban horticulture.

She said: "People don't generally appreciate moths so they can often be overlooked compared to bees when talking about protection and conservation, but it's becoming apparent that there needs to be a much more focused effort to raise awareness of the important role moths play in establishing healthy environments, especially as we know moth populations have drastically declined over the past 50 years.

"When planning green spaces, consideration needs to be given to ensure planting is diverse and moth-friendly as well as bee-friendly, to ensure both our plants and insects remain resilient in the face of the climate crisis and further losses."

Journal Reference:
Ellis, E.E., Edmondson, J.L., Maher, K.H., Hipperson, H. & Campbell, S.A. (2023) Negative effects of urbanisation on diurnal and nocturnal pollen-transport networks [open]. Ecology Letters, 26, 1382–1393. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14261

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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:

Fukushima's Water Release: What We Know

Japan has announced plans to release wastewater from the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean starting [this past] Thursday. Here is what we know about the release, how the water has been treated and concerns around the safety of the exercise.

Around 100,000 liters (26,500 gallons) of contaminated water—from cooling the crippled plant's reactors as well as groundwater and rain seeping in—is collected at the site in northeast Japan every day. Some 1.34 million tons—equivalent to almost 540 Olympic pools—are now stored in around a thousand steel containers at the seaside site, and now there is no more space, authorities say.

Japan decided in 2021, after years of discussion, that it would release at most around 500,000 liters per day into the sea via a pipe one kilometer (0.6 miles) long. Plant operator TEPCO says that a special filtering system called ALPS has removed all radioactive elements—including caesium and strontium—except tritium.

TEPCO has said it has diluted the water to reduce radioactivity levels to 1,500 becquerels per liter (Bq/L), far below the national safety standard of 60,000 Bq/L.

Tony Hooker, nuclear expert from the University of Adelaide, said that the level of tritium is well below the World Health Organization drinking water limit of 10,000 Bq/L. "Tritium is regularly released from nuclear power facilities into waterways worldwide," Hooker told AFP. "For decades (there have been) no evidential detrimental environmental or health effects," he said.

upstart writes:

The ClearSpace-1 mission was going to chuck a defunct payload adapter to its fiery death, but another piece of space debris got to it first:

In a sad case of debris-on-debris crime, a defunct payload adapter that was chosen as the subject of a space debris cleanup mission was itself hit by a piece of space junk.

The VESPA payload adapter has been floating in Earth's orbit following the launch of a Vega rocket in 2013, adding to the thousands of pieces of space junk that currently surround our planet. On August 10, the European Space Agency (ESA) was informed by the United States 18th Space Defense Squadron that new pieces of debris were spotted within the vicinity of the VESPA adapter, suggesting that the object broke up into smaller pieces due to a collision with another piece of space debris.

After a decade in orbit as a useless piece of space junk, VESPA was on the verge of serving a final purpose as the target of ClearSpace-1—a claw-like spacecraft designed to grab space junk and fling it into Earth's atmosphere to burn up. The European mission is slated for launch in 2026, and was meant to rendezvous with VESPA in order to test the new junk removal technology in space.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

The variant has grabbed attention, but with such limited data, the risk is unclear:

A remarkably mutated coronavirus variant classified as BA.2.86 seized scientists' attention last week as it popped up in four countries, including the US.

So far, the overall risk posed by the new subvariant is unclear. It's possible it could lead to a new wave of infection; it's also possible (perhaps most likely) it could fizzle out completely. Scientists simply don't have enough information to know. But, what is very clear is that the current precipitous decline in coronavirus variant monitoring is extremely risky.

[...] What grabbed quick attention is BA.2.86's large number of mutations, particularly in the genetic code for its critical spike protein—the protein the virus uses to latch onto and enter human cells. BA.2.86 has 34 mutations in its spike gene relative to BA.2, the omicron sublineage from which it descended. This number of spike mutations between BA.2.86 and BA.2 is chillingly similar to the number of mutations seen between the original omicron (BA.1) and the ancestral Wuhan strain. The evolutionary jump from Wuhan to BA.1 caused a towering peak of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in early 2022. But, experts are skeptical that BA.2.86 could produce a rivaling wave, given the extensive levels of immunity in the population from both repeat vaccinations and infections.

[...] Perhaps the biggest question left unanswered about BA.2.86 is how well it will spread relative to other variants in circulation, namely XBB.1.5, EG.5, FL.1.5.1, and others. For BA.2.86 to cause its own wave, it must couple its antibody-escaping abilities with changes that make it more easily transmissible than other variants. So far, there's simply not enough data to know if this is the case or not.

Still, experts like Bloom are not alarmed. "The most likely scenario is this variant is less transmissible than current dominant variants, and so never spreads widely. This is the fate of most new SARS-CoV-2 variants," he wrote in his analysis.

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/08/ai-powered-brain-implants-help-paralyzed-patients-communicate-faster-than-ever/

Paralysis had robbed the two women of their ability to speak. For one, the cause was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a disease that affects the motor neurons. The other had suffered a stroke in her brain stem. Though they can't enunciate clearly, they remember how to formulate words.

Now, after volunteering to receive brain implants, both are able to communicate through a computer at a speed approaching the tempo of normal conversation. By parsing the neural activity associated with the facial movements involved in talking, the devices decode their intended speech at a rate of 62 and 78 words per minute, respectively—several times faster than the previous record. Their cases are detailed in two papers published Wednesday by separate teams in the journal Nature.

"It is now possible to imagine a future where we can restore fluid conversation to someone with paralysis, enabling them to freely say whatever they want to say with an accuracy high enough to be understood reliably," said Frank Willett, a research scientist at Stanford University's Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory, during a media briefing on Tuesday. Willett is an author on a paper produced by Stanford researchers; the other was published by a team at UC San Francisco.

While slower than the roughly 160-word-per-minute rate of natural conversation among English speakers, scientists say it's an exciting step toward restoring real-time speech using a brain-computer interface, or BCI.

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2023/08/the-strange-secretive-world-of-north-korean-science-fiction/

A plane is flying to the Philippines, gliding above "the infinite surface" of the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, a few passengers start to scream. Soon, the captain announces there's a bomb on board, and it's set to detonate if the aircraft drops below 10,000 feet.

"The inside of the plane turned into a battlefield," the story reads. "The captain was visibly startled and vainly tried to calm down the screaming and utterly terrorized passengers."

Only one person keeps his cool: a young North Korean diplomat who has faith that his country will find a solution and save everyone. And he's right. North Korea's esteemed scientists and engineers create a mysterious anti-gravitational field and stop the plane in mid-air. The bomb is defused, and everyone gets off the aircraft and is brought back safely to Earth.

This story, Change Course (Hangno rǔl pakkura) by Yi Kŭmchǒl, speaks about solidarity, peace, and love for the motherland, displaying an intricate relationship between literature and politics. It was first published in 2004 in the Chosǒn munhak magazine, only to be reprinted 13 years later, around the time North Korea claimed it was capable of launching attacks on US soil.

"Political messages in every North Korean sci-fi can be hardly missed," historian of science Dong-Won Kim, who taught at Harvard University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea, told me.
[...]
Change Course and other North Korean sci-fi works can seem perplexing to people who have spent all their lives in the West. Protagonists of these stories are often caught between two versions of themselves: They question everything regarding technology, disputing every preconception for the pursuit of scientific truth. At the same time, they follow the party's guidelines blindly, without questioning its decisions or authority.

hubie writes:

Do intelligent people think faster?

There are 100 billion or so neurons in the human brain. Each one of them is connected to an estimated 1,000 neighboring or distant neurons. This unfathomable network is the key to the brain's amazing capabilities, but it is also what makes it so difficult to understand how the brain works.

[...] To simulate the mechanisms of the human brain, Ritter and her team use digital data from brain scans like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as mathematical models based on theoretical knowledge about biological processes. This initially results in a "general" human brain model. The scientists then refine this model using data from individual people, thus creating "personalized brain models."

[...] "We can reproduce the activity of individual brains very efficiently," says Ritter. "We found out in the process that these in silico brains behave differently from one another – and in the same way as their biological counterparts. Our virtual avatars match the intellectual performance and reaction times of their biological analogues."

Interestingly, the "slower" brains in both the humans and the models were more synchronized, i.e., in time with one other. This greater synchrony allowed neural circuits in the frontal lobe to hold off on decisions longer than brains that were less well coordinated. The models revealed how reduced temporal coordination results in the information required for decision-making neither being available when needed nor stored in working memory.

upstart writes:

Gizmodo's tests found the higher-ed gatekeeper shares GPAs, SAT scores, and other data with big tech:

Many students have no choice about working with the College Board, the company that administers the SAT test and Advanced Placement exams. Part of that relationship involves a long history of privacy issues. Tests by Gizmodo found if you use some of the handy tools promoted by College Board's website, the organization sends details about your SAT scores, GPA, and other data to Facebook, TikTok, and a variety of companies.

[...] The College Board shares this data via "pixels," invisible tracking technology used to facilitate targeted advertising on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. The data is shared along with unique user IDs to identify the students, along with other information about how you use the College Board's site.

Organizations use pixels and other tools to share data so they can send targeted ads to people who use their apps and websites on other platforms, such as Google, Facebook, and TikTok.

"We do not share SAT scores or GPAs with Facebook or TikTok, and any other third parties using pixel or cookies," said a College Board spokesperson. "In fact, we do not send any personally identifiable information (PII) through our pixels on the site. In addition, we do not use SAT scores or GPAs for any targeting."

After receiving this comment, Gizmodo shared a screenshot of the College Board sending GPAs and SAT scores to TikTok using a pixel. The spokesperson then acknowledged that the College Board's website actually does share this data.

upstart writes:

A leaked audio recording provides more detail on why the teleconferencing company is cracking down on remote work.:

In the wake of the onslaught of the covid-19, employees across the world grew chummy with a perfectly appropriate remote work schedule that allows them to work from home. However, one of the companies that carried pandemic digital infrastructure on its back, Zoom, isn't too keen on keeping remote workers away from the office since the video calling platform is making them too friendly, according to leaked audio of CEO Eric Yuan at an all-hands meeting at the company.

Insider first reported on the recording in which Yuan told employees within 50 miles of an office that they must report to the office a minimum of two days a week. The announcement came at a companywide meeting on August 3, during which Yuan said that it's difficult for Zoomies—the pet name the company gives to employees—to build trust with each other on a computer screen. Yuan also reportedly added that it's difficult to have innovative conversations and debates on the company's own platform because it makes people too friendly.

"Over the past several years, we've hired so many new 'Zoomies' that it's really hard to build trust," Yuan said in the audio. "We cannot have a great conversation. We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call."

Original Submission