SoylentNews

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/it-turns-out-that-odysseus-landed-on-the-moon-without-any-altimetry-data/

HOUSTON—Steve Altemus beamed with pride on Tuesday morning as he led me into Mission Control for the Odysseus lander, which is currently operating on the Moon and returning valuable scientific data to Earth. A team of about a dozen operators sat behind consoles, attempting to reset a visual processing unit onboard the lunar lander, one of their last, best chances to deploy a small camera that would snap a photo of Odysseus in action.

"I just wanted you to see the team," he said.
[...]
"You can say whatever you want to say," Altemus said. "But from my perspective, this is an absolute success of a mission. Holy crap. The things that you go through to fly to the Moon. The learning, just every step of the way, is tremendous."
[...]
As has been previously reported, Intuitive Machines discovered that the range finders on Odysseus were inoperable a couple of hours before it was due to attempt to land on the Moon last Thursday. This was later revealed to be due to the failure to install a pencil-sized pin and a wire harness that enabled the laser to be turned on and off.
[...]
the last accurate altitude reading the lander received came when it was 15 kilometers above the lunar surface—and still more than 12 minutes from touchdown.
[...]
By comparing imagery data frame by frame, the flight computer could determine how fast it was moving relative to the lunar surface. Knowing its initial velocity and altitude prior to initiating powered descent and using data from the inertial measurement unit (IMU) on board Odysseus, it could get a rough idea of altitude.
[...]
Unfortunately, as it neared the lunar surface, the lander believed it was about 100 meters higher relative to the Moon than it actually was.

hubie writes:

In a blind taste test 25% reduced-sugar chocolates made with oat flour were rated equally, and in some cases preferred, to regular chocolate:

The secret to making delicious chocolate with less added sugar is oat flour, according to a new study by Penn State researchers. In a blind taste test, recently published in the Journal of Food Science, 25% reduced-sugar chocolates made with oat flour were rated equally, and in some cases preferred, to regular chocolate. The findings provide a new option for decreasing chocolate's sugar content while maintaining its texture and flavor.

"We were able to show that there is a range in which you can manage a sizable reduction in added sugar and people won't notice and don't care, in terms of liking," said John Hayes, professor of food science at Penn State and corresponding author on the study. "We're never going to make chocolate healthy, because it's an indulgence, but we can successfully take out some of the sugar for consumers who are trying to reduce their intake of added sugars."

Hayes explained that chocolate is about half sugar by weight, with the rest being fat and cocoa solids, so reducing the amount of sugar by any amount can drastically alter the texture and flavor profile of the chocolate.

"The function of sugar in chocolate is both sweetness and bulking, so if we take that sugar out, we have to put something else in that will do the job just as well, or consumers will notice," said Gregory Ziegler, distinguished professor of food science at Penn State and co-author on the study.

[...] "Our results suggest we can cut back 25% of added sugar to chocolate, effectively reducing the total sugar by 13.5%, if we substitute oat flour," said Kai Kai Ma, a doctoral candidate in food science at Penn State and co-author on the paper. "That addition of oat flour is unlikely to meaningfully impact consumer acceptability, which is great news."

[...] "I'm a big believer in meeting consumers where they are," Hayes said. "We've tried for 40 years to tell people to eat less sugar and it doesn't work because people want to eat what they want to eat. So instead of making people feel guilty, we need to meet people where they are and figure out how to make food better while still preserving the pleasure from food."

Journal Reference:
Kai Kai Ma, Gregory R. Ziegler, John E. Hayes, Sugar reduction in chocolate compound by replacement
with flours containing small insoluble starch granules, J. Food Sci. 2024;1–10. DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.16923

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/spain-tells-sam-altman-worldcoin-to-shut-down-its-eyeball-scanning-orbs/

Spain has moved to block Sam Altman's cryptocurrency project Worldcoin, the latest blow to a venture that has raised controversy in multiple countries by collecting customers' personal data using an eyeball-scanning "orb."

The AEPD, Spain's data protection regulator, has demanded that Worldcoin immediately ceases collecting personal information in the country via the scans and that it stops using data it has already gathered.

The regulator announced on Wednesday that it had taken the "precautionary measure" at the start of the week and had given Worldcoin 72 hours to demonstrate its compliance with the order.

[...] Worldcoin has registered 4 million users, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Investors poured roughly $250 million into the company, including venture capital groups Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, internet entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and, prior to the collapse of his FTX empire, Sam Bankman-Fried.

The project attracted media attention and prompted a handful of consumer complaints in Spain as queues began to grow at the stands in shopping centers where Worldcoin is offering cryptocurrency in exchange for eyeball scans.

[...] "I want to send a message to young people. I understand that it can be very tempting to get €70 or €80 that sorts you out for the weekend," España Martí said, but "giving away personal data in exchange for these derisory amounts of money is a short, medium and long-term risk."

Previously on SoylentNews:
Ready for Your Eye Scan? Worldcoin Launches—but Not Quite Worldwide - 20230726

Original Submission

So, just a follow up. According to matt, we got around $2,000 USD right now in the PBC overnight, and there are still more payments processing. I paid the Linode bill this morning. So, funding problem: solved. We should be set for the foreseeable future as far as money goes!

Seriously guys, you stepped up, and I am thankful. Since I'm here, a quick update on what's going on: Right now, we're mostly just waiting for paperwork to go through as far as handing the site to a newly-created, not-for-profit. It's slow work and I'm not directly involved, but I've seen that there has been a fair number of articles on the subject so I'm pretty happy that everyone is aware of what's going on.

I could write more, but I think I'm going to keep this short and sweet for now. Once I have a final total, I'll post it.

- N

Addition: We have been asked if people can donate anonymously without having an account. The answer is "Yes". Click the subscription link and then make a gift subscription to another account (It defaults to NCommander but you can choose any account). Pay via stripe using an anonymous username.

owl writes:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/oregon-oks-right-to-repair-bill-that-bans-the-blocking-of-aftermarket-parts/

Oregon has joined the small but growing list of states that have passed right-to-repair legislation. Oregon's bill stands out for a provision that would prevent companies from requiring that official parts be unlocked with encrypted software checks before they will fully function.

Bill SB 1596 passed Oregon's House by a 42 to 13 margin. Gov. Tina Kotek has five days to sign the bill into law. Consumer groups and right-to-repair advocates praised the bill as "the best bill yet," while the bill's chief sponsor, state Sen. Janeen Sollman (D), pointed to potential waste reductions and an improved second-hand market for closing a digital divide.

"Oregon improves on Right to Repair laws in California, Minnesota and New York by making sure that consumers have the choice of buying new parts, used parts, or third-party parts for the gadgets and gizmos," said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of Repair.org, in a statement.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

New anaconda species said to be largest ever found during filming of Will Smith docuseries:

A giant anaconda species thought to be the largest in the world has been captured deep in the Amazon of Ecuador by a team of scientists from The University of Queensland.

The group of scientists, led by professor Bryan Fry, uncovered the nearly 10-million-year-old species with help from the Indigenous Huaorani people while filming "Pole to Pole with Will Smith," a National Geographic series streaming on Disney+ and hosted by the Oscar winner.

"The size of these magnificent creatures was incredible," Fry said in a news release. "One female anaconda we encountered measured an astounding 6.3 meters (20.8 feet) long."

The invitation by Huaorani Chief Penti Baihua to enter the Baihuaeri Huaorani Territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon was "one of only a handful granted since the tribe's first contact in 1958," Fry told USA TODAY. "Our team received a rare invitation − to explore the region and collect samples from a population of anacondas."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

I used generative AI to turn my story into a comic:

I wonder how much actual, published short stories (think aimed at 4-year olds) would match the generated stories' images' match?

After more than a year in development, Lore Machine is now available to the public for the first time. For $10 a month, you can upload 100,000 words of text (up to 30,000 words at a time) and generate 80 images for short stories, scripts, podcast transcripts, and more. There are price points for power users too, including an enterprise plan costing $160 a month that covers 2.24 million words and 1,792 images. The illustrations come in a range of preset styles, from manga to watercolor to pulp '80s TV show.

Zac Ryder, founder of creative agency Modern Arts, has been using an early-access version of the tool since Lore Machine founder Thobey Campion first showed him what it could do. Ryder sent over a script for a short film, and Campion used Lore Machine to turn it into a 16-page graphic novel overnight.

"I remember Thobey sharing his screen. All of us were just completely floored," says Ryder. "It wasn't so much the image generation aspect of it. It was the level of the storytelling. From the flow of the narrative to the emotion of the characters, it was spot on right out of the gate."

canopic jug writes:

Linuxiac has noticed that desktop GNU/Linux has surpassed 4% global market share. This is notable for two reasons. First, it is notable because the move from 3% to 4% took months and not years. Second, there are so many barriers to getting Linux on the desktop that this is a substantial change.

Linux has surpassed a 4% share in the desktop operating system market as of the end of February 2024. According to the latest data from StatCounter, a leading web traffic analysis tool, Linux’s market share has reached 4.03%.

At first glance, the number might seem modest, but it represents a significant leap. Let’s break it down. It took Linux 30 years to secure a 3% share of desktop operating systems, a milestone reached last June.

Impressively, the open-source operating system has surged by an additional 1% in the last eight months.

Linux (and sometimes GNU/Linux) dominates fully in all other areas: servers, routers, various embedded devices (cars, televisions, lawn mowers, etc), mobile phones, interplanetary satellites, and supercomputers. The desktop is the last remaining market, albeit a highly symbolic one. As usual, it is way too early to speculate about "year of the Linux desktop". However, when one can (once again) walk into a big box store and buy a GNU/Linux system off the shelf, that market can be considered won over.

Original Submission

taylorvich writes:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-03-exposure-kinds-music-brain-rhythm.html

When listening to music, the human brain appears to be biased toward hearing and producing rhythms composed of simple integer ratios—for example, a series of four beats separated by equal time intervals (forming a 1:1:1 ratio).

However, the favored ratios can vary greatly between different societies, according to a large-scale study led by researchers at MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics and carried out in 15 countries. The study included 39 groups of participants, many of whom came from societies whose traditional music contains distinctive patterns of rhythm not found in Western music.

"Our study provides the clearest evidence yet for some degree of universality in music perception and cognition, in the sense that every single group of participants that was tested exhibits biases for integer ratios. It also provides a glimpse of the variation that can occur across cultures, which can be quite substantial," says Nori Jacoby, the study's lead author and a former MIT postdoc, who is now a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, Germany.

The brain's bias toward simple integer ratios may have evolved as a natural error-correction system that makes it easier to maintain a consistent body of music, which human societies often use to transmit information.

"When people produce music, they often make small mistakes. Our results are consistent with the idea that our mental representation is somewhat robust to those mistakes, but it is robust in a way that pushes us toward our preexisting ideas of the structures that should be found in music," says Josh McDermott, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines.

[...] To measure how people perceive rhythm, the researchers devised a task in which they played a randomly generated series of four beats and then asked the listener to tap back what they heard. The rhythm produced by the listener is then played back to the listener, and they tap it back again. Over several iterations, the tapped sequences became dominated by the listener's internal biases, also known as priors.

taylorvich writes:

https://phys.org/news/2024-03-fusion-reaction-weaknesses-strengths.html

In the Japanese art of Kintsugi, an artist takes the broken shards of a bowl and fuses them back together with gold to make a final product more beautiful than the original.

That idea is inspiring a new approach to managing plasma, the super-hot state of matter, for use as a power source. Scientists are using the imperfections in magnetic fields that confine a reaction to improve and enhance the plasma in an approach outlined in a paper in the journal Nature Communications.

"This approach allows you to maintain a high-performance plasma, controlling instabilities in the core and the edge of the plasma simultaneously. That simultaneous control is particularly important and difficult to do. That's what makes this work special," said Joseph Snipes of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). He is PPPL's deputy head of the Tokamak Experimental Science Department and was a co-author of the paper.

PPPL Physicist Seong-Moo Yang led the research team, which spans various institutions in the U.S. and South Korea. Yang says this is the first time any research team has validated a systematic approach to tailoring magnetic field imperfections to make the plasma suitable for use as a power source. These magnetic field imperfections are known as error fields.

[...] Error fields are typically caused by minuscule defects in the magnetic coils of the device that holds the plasma, which is called a tokamak. Until now, error fields were only seen as a nuisance because even a very small error field could cause a plasma disruption that halts fusion reactions and can damage the walls of a fusion vessel. Consequently, fusion researchers have spent considerable time and effort meticulously finding ways to correct error fields.

[...] This study demonstrates that adjusting the error fields can simultaneously stabilize both the core and the edge of the plasma. By carefully controlling the magnetic fields produced by the tokamak's coils, the researchers could suppress edge instabilities, also known as edge localized modes (ELMs), without causing disruptions or a substantial loss of confinement.

More information: SeongMoo Yang et al, Tailoring tokamak error fields to control plasma instabilities and transport, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45454-1

Original Submission

canopic jug writes:

Some sites are reporting on the European Commission's enforcement of anti-trust regulations against Apple over their abuse of their app store. The European Commission has fined Apple over €1.8 billion for abuse of its app store for having placed restrictions over the last decade on app developers to prevent them from even informing iOS users about alternative, cheaper music subscription services, a restriction which is illegal.

Apple has been hit with a fine of €1.84 billion (about $2 billion) by European Union antitrust regulators over its App Store rules, and has been told it cannot stop music services from advertising cheaper subscription deals outside of Apple's store. News of today's fine was earlier reported by the Financial Times, and comes ahead of Apple's huge shakeup of the iPhone's app distribution rules due to the EU's Digital Markets Act.

Apple hit with first-ever EU fine following Spotify complaint, The Verge

Deezer has issued a statement praising the European Commission's $1.95B+ fine for Apple breaking antitrust rules. However, it says the company's newly implemented rules are aimed at circumventing the spirit of the Digital Markets Act.

Deezer Says the EU $1.95B Fine Isn't Enough to Reign in Apple, Digital Music News

The fine originates in a legal complaint filed with the European Commission by Spotify in 2019, challenging the restrictions and fees Apple places on developers listing their apps in the App Store. Today the European Commission agreed, saying that Apple's App Store restrictions amount to unfair trading conditions that may have led iOS users to pay significantly higher prices for music streaming subscriptions.

"For a decade, Apple abused its dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through the App Store," said Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition chief, in a statement. "They did so by restricting developers from informing consumers about alternative, cheaper music services available outside of the Apple ecosystem."

Apple Fined $2 Billion as Europe Sides With Spotify, Wired

So, in the background, the owners of the PBC have been working with staff to get the site moved over to a new legal entity and continue operations. This process is moving slowly, but it is moving, with the expectation that we should be able to fully hand off SN in the next month or so. However, the PBC has burned through its cash reserves, and we have an overdue Linode bill as is for $268 USD. I could write more, but the tl;dr, without money, SN will disappear off the Internet.

Most of the subscriptions understandably stopped due to the uncertainty with site ownership and management. However, we're not able to pay the bills with the trickle coming in. At this point, everyone involved has agreed with and are working towards a solution to move SN to a not-for-profit and 501(c)3, but we do need the communities financial support to get there. If we can raise $500 USD via subscriptions, direct donations, or other means, that would keep the site up past May. As such, if you have let your subscription lapse, or otherwise are able to support SN, please do so now.

Any funds raises will be donated to the *new* NFP as soon as it is able to accept funds. We'll run an update if/when we reach our funding goal.

- NCommander

taylorvich writes:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-03-daily-fiber-supplement-older-adults.html

A daily fiber supplement improved brain function in people over 60 in just 12 weeks. The study, published recently in Nature Communications by researchers from the School of Life Course & Population Sciences showed that this simple and cheap addition to diet can improve performance in memory tests associated with early signs of Alzheimer's disease.

However, the prebiotic supplements inulin and FOS were found to have no effect on muscle strength over this period.

"We are excited to see these changes in just 12 weeks. This holds huge promise for enhancing brain health and memory in our aging population. Unlocking the secrets of the gut-brain axis could offer new approaches for living more healthily for longer," says first author Dr. Mary Ni Lochlainn from the Department of Twin Research.

As populations age globally, the prevalence of age-related conditions such as cognitive decline and muscle loss is on the rise. Researchers at TwinsUK, the U.K.'s largest adult twin registry based at King's College London, sought to understand how targeting the microbiota, the diverse community of microorganisms residing in our intestines, using two cheap, commercially available plant fiber supplements inulin and FOS, could impact both muscle health and brain function.

Researchers assigned 36 twin pairs—72 individuals—over 60 years old to receive either a placebo or the supplement every day for 12 weeks. Neither the analysis team, nor the participants knew which they received until the analysis was complete (double-blind). Alongside this, all study participants did resistance exercises and ate a protein supplement which was aimed at improving muscle function.

Researchers monitored participants remotely via video, online questionnaires and cognitive tests. They found the fiber supplement led to significant changes in the participants' gut microbiome composition, particularly an increase in the numbers of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium.

While there was no significant difference in muscle strength between the groups, the group receiving the fiber supplement performed better in tests assessing brain function, including the Paired Associates Learning test which is an early marker for Alzheimer's disease, together with tests of reaction time and processing speed. These measures are important for daily living—for example reacting to traffic or stopping a simple trip-up turning into a fall.

More information: Mary Ni Lochlainn et al, Effect of gut microbiome modulation on muscle function and cognition: the PROMOTe randomised controlled trial, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46116-y

fructooligosaccharide (FOS)

Original Submission

Freeman writes:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/gastrointestinal-disease-explodes-in-ala-elementary-school-773-kids-out/

Officials in Alabama have shut down an elementary school for the rest of the week and are conducting a deep clean after 773 of the school's 974 students were absent Wednesday amid an explosive outbreak of gastrointestinal illness.

Local media reported that only 29 students were absent from Fairhope West Elementary School on Tuesday. However, the situation escalated quickly on Wednesday as word spread of a stomach bug going around the Gulf Coast school. A spokesperson for the county school district told AL.com that 773 students and 50 staff were absent Wednesday. It's unclear how many of the absences were due to sickness or precaution. surveillance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[...] "Close quarters, shared spaces, and high-touch surfaces make it easy for norovirus to spread in schools," the CDC points out.

In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic flipped the script on standard norovirus outbreaks. People who were hoping to avoid close contact and share indoor air with strangers headed to the great outdoors, which led to a large outbreak of norovirus in the Grand Canyon.

Original Submission

c0lo writes:

humpback-whales-sex-photographed-homosexual-behavior - The Guardian

Humpback whales have been observed having sex for the first time, with this landmark moment having an interesting twist – the two whales were male.

Despite decades of research on humpback whales, sightings of the male's penis have been rare. Copulation by the species had not been documented by people – until now, when two photographers captured images of a sexual encounter between two whales off the coast of Hawaii.

The sighting, confirmed by scientists in a newly published study, occurred in January 2022 in waters west of the island of Maui, where two whales approached and circled a boat before engaging in sexual activity about three to five meters below the vessel.

Both of the whales were male, which makes the photos, taken by Lyle Krannichfeld and Brandi Romano, the first evidence of homosexual behavior in humpback whales as well as the first sighting of sex in the species. Homosexual behavior is common in the animal kingdom and has been spotted among dolphins and orca whales, but never previously between humpback whales.

Source: An observation of sexual behavior between two male humpback whales

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13119

Thanks also to c0lo for his suggested title, but we decided not to use it: "First evah humpback pornshot taken – and its gay"

Original Submission