SoylentNews

upstart writes:

Chagas disease, which can be deadly, is now considered endemic in the U.S.:

This article was updated Sept. 2, 2025.

Chagas disease, a potentially deadly condition transmitted by an insect known as the "kissing bug," is now endemic in the United States, according to a September report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The disease is already considered endemic in Latin America, where an estimated 8 million people are infected but most don't know it, the CDC says. Researchers contend that recognizing Chagas disease as endemic here will support more effective education about the condition in medical schools and better prepare physicians to identify it.

Experts estimate about 45,000 people in Los Angeles County are infected — among more than 300,000 in the United States — and fewer than 2% of them know they carry the parasite transmitted by the "kissing bug."

"Most people living with Chagas disease are unaware of their diagnosis, often until it's too late to have effective treatment," says Judith Currier, MD, chief of infectious diseases at UCLA Health.

Also known as the conenose bug, barber bug or vinchuca in Spanish, "kissing bugs" — so named because they bite people on the face — feast on human blood. After they bite, they defecate, which deposits the parasite they carry, known as T. cruzi, onto the skin.

When the bitten person scratches the itchy bite, they inadvertently rub the parasite into the wound, which is how it enters the bloodstream, explains Shaun Yang, PhD, a professor of clinical microbiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Many people with Chagas disease are asymptomatic throughout its acute and chronic phases.

During the acute phase, which lasts about two months, some people experience severe swelling of the eyelid, "which is almost a hallmark of acute Chagas infection," Dr. Yang says. Other acute symptoms may include fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting. But because these symptoms are similar to those of other illnesses, most people don't immediately consider the source to be infection with the T. cruzi parasite.

During the chronic phase of the disease, which can last a lifetime, about 20% of those infected will develop serious heart or digestive problems. Chagas disease can cause an enlarged heart, heart failure or cardiac arrest; an enlarged colon; or an enlarged esophagus.

Left untreated, Chagas disease "kills the heart very slowly," Dr. Yang says.

upstart writes:

But what goes up will also have to come down:

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft has successfully reboosted the International Space Station (ISS), raising the perigee of its orbit by approximately one mile and further eroding the complex's reliance on Russian rocketry.

The reboost kit, located in the trunk of the SpaceX CRS-33 Dragon cargo spacecraft, consists of two Draco engines. The system is isolated from the rest of the spacecraft, and the demonstration was intended to show how the vehicle can maintain the ISS's altitude.

The maneuver lasted five minutes, three seconds, and the initial test burn left the outpost in an orbit of 260.9 x 256.3 miles. Managers plan to use the reboost kit again throughout fall and perform a series of longer burns.

The Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft can also perform limited reboosts, and SpaceX demonstrated in 2024 that the Dragon itself is capable of using its engines to nudge the ISS.

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the end of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ATV program, Roscosmos Progress vehicles have been regularly used to reboost the ISS.

The extra capability could be timely. Rocket and Space Corporation Energia produces the Progress spacecraft. Last week, CEO Igor Maltev reportedly [source in Russian] told employees that they needed to stop "lying to themselves and others about the state of affairs, convincing themselves and others that everything is fine with us."

The decrepit state of the Russian space program isn't a secret. One paying passenger on the country's Soyuz spacecraft told The Register that having to dodge puddles on the floor from a leaking roof while on his way to inspect his vehicle was eye-opening.

SpaceX's demonstration also shows that when the time comes, the company should be capable of producing the opposite of a reboost capability and send the ISS into the atmosphere for controlled disposal.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Defrauding search with custom malware, Potato-family exploits:

A new China-aligned cybercrime crew named GhostRedirector has compromised at least 65 Windows servers worldwide - spotted in a June internet scan - using previously undocumented malware to juice gambling sites' rankings in Google search, according to ESET researchers.

The infections began in December, although other related malware samples indicate the group has been active since at least August 2024, the security firm's threat intel team noted.

GhostRedirector uses a variety of custom tools, including two never-seen-before pieces of malware that the researchers dubbed Rungan, which is a passive C++ backdoor, and Gamshen, a malicious Internet Information Services (IIS) trojan that manipulates Google search results for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) fraud.

The victim sites then show versions of their web pages to Googlebot that would help certain gambling sites gain rank. For example, they may include fake backlinks to those gambling domains, fooling everyone's favorite search engine into thinking that those sites are highly recommended by others.

While most of the infected servers are in Brazil, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam, and the US, "we believe that GhostRedirector was more interested in targeting victims in South America and South Asia," malware researcher Fernando Tavella said in a Thursday report. Plus, he added, the gang doesn't appear to target a particular sector with victims from this campaign including education, healthcare, insurance, transportation, technology, and retail organizations.

The researchers suspect the criminals gained initial access by exploiting a probable SQL injection bug. They then used PowerShell to download Windows privilege escalation tools, droppers, and the two final payloads, Rungan and Gamshen, all from the same server: 868id[.]com

upstart writes:

The Trump family just became $5 billion richer (on paper) thanks to its latest crypto venture:

The Trumps' new digital currency WLFI began trading on Monday with about $1 billion worth of the tokens changing hands within an hour. Despite the token plunging in price on its first day of trading, the family gained as much as $5 billion in hypothetical wealth following the debut, the Wall Street Journal said in a report.

The launch was sort of a crypto version of an initial public offering: early investors who bought the token from Trump's venture World Liberty Financial were not able to sell any of it until Monday, when they got to do so with high premiums. The token is now available on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.

The Trump family and other founders' tokens still remain locked, but now that the digital currency is trading, those token holdings have real-world valuation. The Trump family, including the President, holds just under a quarter of all WLFI tokens, the WSJ reported.

With its current valuation, WLFI is the Trump family's most valuable asset, according to the WSJ, even more so than the property portfolio that the family was originally known for.

But crypto is volatile and prone to crashes, and the value of the tokens can shift at any time.

Monday's news was just the latest in a string of major crypto wins that the President and his family have made headlines for in the past year. Simultaneously, over the past seven months, Trump has overseen deregulatory wins for the cryptocurrency industry that helped install him in office, all the while administration officials cast aside concerns over the ethics and legality of these conflicts of interest.

upstart writes:

Microsoft shows off its latest Analog Optical Computer:

Microsoft researchers in Cambridge have unveiled its latest iteration of an Analog Optical Computer (AOC) and have inevitably incorporated AI into the technology's capabilities.

The AOC harnesses light as a medium for solving complex problems, notably optimization challenges found in the worlds of logistics, finance, and healthcare. It uses different light intensities to perform operations such as addition and multiplication. It's also considerably faster at certain problem-solving activities than traditional computers, we're told.

The prototype is built from commercially available parts, including micro-LEDs, optical lenses, and sensors from smartphone cameras. Since the underlying technology – shunting photons along fiber optic cables – is decades old, much of the hardware does not need to be expensively exotic.

While the aim is for a durable and practical machine that can operate at room temperature, and yet still be 100 times faster and 100 times more energy efficient when solving certain problems than conventional hardware, it's highly unlikely to be appear on a desktop anytime soon.

Francesca Parmigiani, the Microsoft principal research manager who leads the team developing the AOC, said the system is "not a general-purpose computer, but what we believe is that we can find a wide range of applications and real-world problems where the computer can be extremely successful."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

This Unlikely Chemical Could Be a Powerful Weapon Against Climate Change:

New research provides a framework for carbon capture driven by photochemistry, a potentially cheaper and less energy-intensive alternative to leading technologies.

Year after year, humans pump more carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than nature can remove, fueling global warming. As the need to mitigate climate change becomes increasingly urgent, scientists are developing ways to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere in addition to cutting emissions.

One of the biggest hurdles to scaling current carbon capture technologies is the vast amount of energy they consume, but what if there was an alternative that uses an abundant, cheap power source? A team of researchers at Harvard University recently took a major step toward that goal. Their technique, outlined in a Nature Chemistry study published August 13, harnesses sunlight to efficiently trap CO2.

They're not talking about slapping solar panels on direct air capture systems that run on heat and electricity. This approach is based on specially designed molecules that use light to change their chemical state and reversibly trap CO2.

The methodology the researchers developed is a significant departure from leading direct air capture technologies. These systems tend to rely on chemical solvents or porous sorbents that readily bond to CO2, pulling it out of the air. But the ability to reuse those materials—and harness the carbon for practical use—requires a huge input of energy (usually heat) to release the trapped carbon into a container.

"If you want a practical way to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and then release it into a tank where you can use it, you need the solution—or whatever medium you're going to use—to be able to both capture and release. That's the key," co-author Richard Liu, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard, told Gizmodo.

"Our innovation here is that we began thinking about whether you could use light directly to do that," he explained.

To that end, Liu's team synthesized organic molecules called "fluorenyl photobases" that do exactly that. When exposed to sunlight, they rapidly release hydroxide ions that capture CO2 from ambient air by chemically binding to it. In the absence of light, the reaction reverses, releasing the trapped CO2 and reverting the photobase back to its original state.

Through a series of experiments, the researchers determined that the most effective fluorenyl photobase for CO2 capture was PBMeOH. This molecule showed no CO2 capture in the dark but the highest capture rate when exposed to light. What's more, testing showed that a PBMeOH-based carbon capture system is stable and can complete many cycles with minimal loss of efficiency.

"They only fade about 1% per cycle, so you could imagine only replenishing every 100 cycles," Liu explained.

This work demonstrates a reversible system for carbon capture that relies solely on sunlight as the direct energy input, highlighting photobases as a promising alternative to traditional sorbents.

The results are encouraging, but Liu and his colleagues will need to clear several hurdles before they can turn their framework into real-world technologies. They're already working to address several challenges, such as the engineering aspects of how the system will expose these compounds to light and dark.

While the "best" approach is still unknown, photochemical systems present some key advantages over existing technologies, Liu said. Exploring new ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere is more urgent than ever before. "Because we can't get rid of every source in the short term, carbon capture from the atmosphere—and from point sources, especially—is going to be an important part of the solution."

Original Submission

upstart writes:

What the hell is going on right now?:

Engineers are burning out. Orgs expect their senior engineering staff to be able to review and contribute to "vibe-coded" features that don't work. My personal observation is that the best engineers are highly enthusiastic about helping newer team members contribute and learn.

Instead of their comments being taken to heart, reflected on, and used as learning opportunities, hapless young coders are instead using feedback as simply the next prompt in their "AI" masterpiece. I personally have witnessed and heard first-hand accounts where it was incredibly obvious a junior engineer was (ab)using LLM tools.

In a recent company town-hall, I watched as a team of junior engineers demoed their latest work. I couldn't tell you what exactly it did, or even what it was supposed to do - it didn't seem like they themselves understood. However, at a large enough organization, it's not about what you do, its about what people think you do. Championing their "success", a senior manager goaded them into bragging about their use of "AI" tools to which they responded "This is four thousand lines of code written by Claude". Applause all around.

I was asked to add a small improvement to an existing feature. After reviewing the code, I noticed a junior engineer was the most recent to work on that feature. As I always do, I reached out to let them know what I'd be doing and to see if they had any insight that would be useful to me. Armed with the Github commit URL, I asked for context around their recent change. I can't know for sure, but I'd be willing to put money down that my exact question and the commit were fed directly into an LLM which was then copy and pasted back to me. I'm not sure why, but I felt violated. It felt wrong.

upstart writes:

France fines Google, SHEIN for undercooked cookie policies:

France's data protection authority levied massive fines against Google and SHEIN for dropping cookies on customers without securing their permission, and also whacked Google for showing ads in email service.

The Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) announced [source in French] the fines on Wednesday, and explained it found Google broke local laws as its signup process for new accounts, which encouraged users to approve use of cookies tied to advertising services, but didn't inform them that accepting those cookies was a condition for using Google's services.

The CNIL found Google's cookie advice mean locals created 74 million accounts under circumstances that breached French law, and 53 million people therefore saw ads in the "Promotions" and "Social" tabs of their email accounts.

The regulator fined Google LLC € 200 million ($233 million) and levied a €125 million ($145 million) fine against Google Ireland for its role in the mess.

CNIL ordered [source in French] Chinese e-tailer SHEIN to pay €150 million ($175 million) for not properly securing permission before dropping cookies on 12 million people residing in France who visited shein.com.

The regulator found the Chinese site didn't properly explain how it used cookies, opting out of cookies had no effect because even if users clicked "Reject All" Shein sent more cookies anyway, and kept reading those already present.

CNIL's notice points out that in recent years it's found and punished many similar misuses of cookies, suggesting Shein should have understood its obligations.

Shein intends to appeal the decision. Google is reviewing it.

Diplomats are probably also poring over the CNIL's decision, given US president Donald Trump's recent warning that he could impose tariffs on nations which dare to regulate US tech companies.

Trump seems to regard other sovereign nations' digital regulations as illegitimate if they cost American companies money or slow their growth. CNIL argues that Google and Shein harmed local consumers by breaching their privacy.

Another reason for Trump's ire is that he feels regulators don't target Chinese companies. CNIL has proved him wrong on this occasion.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Nvidia's next-gen AI chip could double the price of H20 if China export is approved:

The Nvidia B30A, which the company is developing as its next-generation replacement for the China-market H20 AI chip, is expected to cost double the price of the earlier model. Reuters reports that the H20 currently sells between $10,000 and $12,000, meaning the B30A will likely be priced from $20,000 to $25,000. Despite this massive increase, many Chinese companies, like TikTok owner ByteDance, are keen on getting their hands on Nvidia's latest chips, with some sources saying that these chips are considered great deals.

It's estimated that the B30A will be six times more powerful than the H20, despite being a watered-down version of the full-fat B300 AI chip. Nvidia has reportedly already developed the B30A, but it's still waiting for approval from the U.S. government to proceed with the marketing and sale of the Blackwell-based GPU. In the meantime, many Chinese tech firms are still buying H20 chips despite Beijing's guidance to stop buying them.

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously banned the sales of H20 chips, resulting in a $5.5-billion write-off for Nvidia. However, he reversed course in mid-July 2025, allowing the company to resume deliveries to Chinese customers. But instead of a blanket provision allowing it to sell the H20 to anyone, the U.S. instead started issuing export licenses to Nvidia, allowing it to ship its products.

Because of this, there's currently a massive license backlog at the U.S. Department of Commerce —the worst it has experienced in 30 years — turning the H20 taps into a trickle. The White House is also still ironing out the 15% deal that AMD and Nvidia signed, so that the companies can market their products to China. We've also seen reports that Nvidia is asking its suppliers to wind down H20-related production, with the company only telling Tom's Hardware, "We constantly manage our supply chain to address market conditions."

So, with all these delays, red tape, and rumors, many of Nvidia's Chinese customers are getting apprehensive and want assurance that their H20 orders are delivered. This shows that there is still massive demand for these powerful chips, thus turning it into a massive geopolitical tool to be wielded on the negotiating table by both the East and the West.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Porsche's New Cayenne Will Charge Itself Like No Other EV:

Those who closely follow electric cars will have heard whispers of wireless charging for a while now. And if you're not an EV aficionado, you've probably wondered why it hasn't happened. Well, that's all about to change. Porsche announced on Thursday that it's rolling out wireless charging on the upcoming all-electric Cayenne later this year.

The goal is to put an end to wrangling thick and bulky charging cables. Instead, Porsche is stepping in as the first electric car maker to offer wireless charging that's actually going into production.

Porsche's inductive charging system delivers up to 11kW with around 90% efficiency, which is on par with traditional wired AC charging. But unlike most EV solutions that involve a jungle of wall-mounted boxes, Porsche's setup requires just one unassuming floor plate in your garage or driveway. Given that Porsche says roughly 75% of electric charging happens at home, it's not hard to see the appeal.

This one-box system does away with the wall box and bulky control units, making the process look effortless. Just park your Cayenne Electric over the slab, and you're good to go. The car even lowers itself slightly to align with the plate -- which makes charging as efficient as possible.

Many startups have tried and failed to make wireless charging for EVs happen over the years, said Antuan Goodwin, CNET's senior cars writer. "Challenges that have kept the tech from widespread adoption include: fragile hardware (it will be run over by drivers), alignment issues, energy losses that make it significantly slower than plugging in or excessive/dangerous heat generation from sending high amperage over air."

Porsche thinks it's managed to overcome these roadblocks. The system works via a transmitter coil embedded in the base plate and a corresponding receiver in the vehicle's underbody, sandwiched between the front wheels. It transfers energy using a magnetic field over a gap of a few centimeters, and it has all the safety features you'd expect: motion sensors, object detection and a big red pause button.

The Cayenne Electric, which will be the first to offer this tech, is due for its release later this year. As for the floor plate, it will go on sale in 2026 through Porsche Centres and online. Pricing hasn't been detailed yet, but expect it to land at the premium end.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Bill Gates' 48-year-old Microsoft 6502 BASIC goes open source:

Microsoft has released 'BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor - Version 1.1' on Github, under the MIT license. Now anyone is free to go and download, modify, share, and even resell source code originally crafted by Bill Gates. This is a hugely significant code release, as close derivatives of this BASIC ended up at the heart of several iconic computers, including the best-selling computer of all time, the Commodore 64.

The Microsoft Blog provides a potted history of its BASIC, sharing some important facts. Microsoft BASIC was the firm's first product, and started out as a BASIC language interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the Altair 8800, in 1975.

What we are seeing shared on Github under the MIT license is the BASIC interpreter code ported by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland to the MOS 6502 Microprocessor (hence the name). This was released in 1976.

Something fun to note is the commit date for the m6502.asm file and its related markdown documents. July 27, 1978. Well before Git was even created. An easily done task, all we need to do is amend the commit and pass the date.

Importantly for widespread adoption, and to fuel what would become Microsoft's signature business model, this MOS 6502 assembly code formed the foundation of BASIC interpreters that shipped with the Apple II, Commodore PET, VIC-20 and C64.

Notably, Commodore licensed this 6502 port of Microsoft BASIC for a flat fee of $25,000. On the surface this doesn't sound stellar in terms of Microsoft revenue generation but, as the firm says, the decision put Microsoft software in front of millions of new programmers, who would make their first tentative coding steps by typing:

10 PRINT "HELLO" 20 GOTO 10 RUN

The 1.1 release on GitHub specifically supports the Apple II, Commodore PET, Ohio Scientific (OSI), the MOS Technology KIM-1, and PDP-10 Simulation systems. Microsoft notes that 1.1 includes "fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft's Bellevue offices."

In total, the release shares 6,955 lines of assembly language code for anyone who is interested to peruse and play with. Microsoft characterizes this BASIC interpreter as one of the most historically significant pieces of software from the early personal computer era.

Microsoft says its BASIC for 6502 Microprocessor - Version 1.1 source code release, which comes with a clear, modern license, builds on its earlier release of GW-BASIC which first shipped in the original IBM PC's ROM, evolved into QBASIC, and later into Visual Basic.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Jury orders Google to pay $425 million for unlawfully tracking millions of users:

A federal jury in San Francisco has ruled that Google must pay $425 million for unlawfully tracking millions of users who believed they had disabled data collection on their accounts. The verdict concludes a trial in which plaintiffs argued that Google violated its own privacy assurances through the Web & App Activity setting, collecting information from mobile devices over an eight-year period.

The Web & App Activity feature is a central component of Google's privacy controls, designed to let users manage whether their searches, location history, and interactions with Google services or partner websites and apps are stored.

When enabled, the setting can retain details such as search history, activity in Google apps, general location based on device or IP address, and browsing performed while signed into Chrome or Android devices. Users have the option to disable feature, which, according to Google's privacy documentation, should prevent this data from being added to their accounts.

However, the trial revealed that Google continued collecting data even for users who had disabled tracking. Through partnerships with major third-party apps including Uber, Venmo, Instagram, and Facebook, the company's analytics services gathered activity and usage data independently of the user's Web & App Activity settings.

Plaintiffs alleged that this enabled Google to amass vast amounts of behavioral information across its ecosystem even after users supposedly opted out.

The jury found Google liable for two of the three privacy-related claims but rejected the assertion that the company acted maliciously, declining to award additional punitive damages beyond the initial $425 million. The plaintiffs had originally sought damages exceeding $31 billion in the class-action lawsuit.

Google defended its practices, stating that it plans to contest the verdict and emphasizing that its technology gives users control over their personal data. The company argued that the jury had misunderstood how its products function and stressed that when users turn off personalization, their choices are respected.

During the proceedings, Google asserted that the data collected was nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in secure, encrypted environments not linked to Google accounts or individual identities. Despite these assurances, the scope of data collection – particularly the records captured through third-party applications – played a key role in the jury's decision.

Judge Richard Seeborg certified the case to include approximately 98 million Google users and account for over 174 million devices. The ruling adds to Google's ongoing legal challenges concerning user privacy.

Earlier in 2025, the company agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to settle claims with the state of Texas over alleged privacy violations. In another settlement reached in April 2024, Google agreed to destroy billions of records linked to users' private browsing activities, following accusations that it tracked individuals while using Incognito mode and similar features.

Google has announced that it will pursue an appeal.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

China likely to land on Moon before US does again:

A former NASA administrator has told the US Senate Commerce Committee that it is "highly unlikely" the US will return humans to the Moon before a Chinese taikonaut plants a flag on the lunar surface.

The problem, according to Jim Bridenstine, is the architecture NASA selected to return to the Moon, and in particular the choice of SpaceX's Starship to land humans on the regolith.

Bridenstine waved away the issues with NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) – the massive rocket intended to launch humans to the Moon – noting that "it has been expensive, it had overruns, but it's behind us."

Of the Orion capsule, which will be used to transport the crew from Earth and back again, Bridenstine said: "The Orion crew capsule is not only usable today, but ultimately the cost is going down because more and more of it is reusable every time we use the Orion crew capsule. Those two elements are in good shape."

What isn't in good shape is the architecture, including the choice of SpaceX's Starship. The former administrator listed the issues. First, there was the task of getting the Human Landing System (HLS) variant of Starship to the Moon, which would require an unknown number of launches from Earth to refuel it. "By the way," said Bridenstine, "that whole in-space refueling thing has never been tested either."

Then there is human-rating the HLS variant, a process that Bridenstine noted "hasn't even started yet." He continued, noting more issues with NASA's lunar architecture. How long could the HLS variant of Starship loiter in orbit around the Moon before the crew arrived? Was putting a crew on the surface of the Moon with no means of returning to the Orion spacecraft for seven days acceptable?

"The biggest decision in the history of NASA – at least since I've been paying attention – happened in the absence of a NASA administrator, and that decision was instead of buying a moonlander, we're going to buy a big rocket."

Biggest decision? Maybe. Maybe not. Sending Apollo 8 around the Moon on the first crewed launch of a Saturn V would have to be up there, but Bridenstine's passion is undeniable.

"This is an architecture that no NASA administrator that I'm aware of would have selected had they had the choice. But it was a decision that was made in the absence of a NASA administrator. It's a problem. It needs to be solved."

The decision was taken in 2021. As well as SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin threw its hat into the ring alongside US-based Dynetics. At the time, NASA believed that choosing a single partner would reduce costs. Blue Origin later sued NASA over the contract award.

Neither SpaceX nor Blue Origin was present at the hearing. Bridenstine also did not offer a solution to the problem.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

New hollow-core fiber outperforms glass, pushing data closer to light speed:

A Microsoft-backed research team has set a new benchmark for optical fiber performance, developing a hollow-core cable that posts the lowest optical loss ever recorded in the industry, according to findings published in Nature Photonics. The milestone comes after years of effort by Lumenisity, a spinout from the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Center, now operating under Microsoft's wing following an acquisition in 2022.

This novel fiber, utilizing a design known as double-nested antiresonant nodeless fiber (DNANF), exhibits an attenuation of just 0.091 dB/km at the 1,550-nm wavelength. For comparison, today's best silica fibers bottom out at roughly 0.14 dB/km – a figure that has remained relatively unchanged since the 1980s.

Francesco Poletti, who co-authored the research paper and helped invent the design, told The Register that the development ranks as "one of the most noteworthy improvements in waveguided optical technology for the past 40 years."

The main draw behind hollow-core fiber is the medium: while standard optical fiber guides photons through solid glass, limiting signal speed to just under 200 million meters per second, the hollow variant lets light travel through air, which increases velocity closer to the maximum of 300 million meters per second.

More speed means lower latency – an especially important metric for moving data between cloud datacenters and accelerating mobile network performance. However, earlier hollow-core designs suffered high energy loss (over 1 dB/km), restricting practical use to short and specialized links.

The DNANF fiber counters this by using concentric, micron-thin glass tubes acting as tiny mirrors, bouncing light through an air core while suppressing unwanted transmission modes. Tests conducted on kilometer-scale spools confirmed attenuation below the critical 0.1 dB/km mark using multiple measurement methods, including optical time-domain reflectometry.

The researchers report that loss remained under 0.2 dB/km across a 66-terahertz spectral band – significantly more bandwidth and flexibility than conventional fibers can offer. They also measured chromatic dispersion at levels seven times lower than those of legacy architectures, which could simplify transceiver designs and reduce network energy costs. "So you need to amplify less," Poletti explained. "It can lead to greener networks if this is how you want to exploit it."

Microsoft's acquisition of Lumenisity in 2022 signaled its intention to move hollow-core technology from academic circles into real-world infrastructure. Initial iterations achieved losses of 2.5 dB/km – respectable but uncompetitive with legacy glass fiber. Through ongoing development, Microsoft confirmed to Network World that approximately 1,200 kilometers of the new fiber are already carrying live cloud traffic. At the 2024 Ignite conference, CEO Satya Nadella announced plans to deploy 15,000 kilometers of DNANF fiber across Azure's global backbone within two years, aiming to support the explosive growth in AI workloads.

While the technology promises transmission speeds up to 45 percent faster than current solid-core options and holds the potential for five to ten times wider bandwidth, certain hurdles remain. Scaling production will require new manufacturing tools, and the fiber must undergo international standardization processes before entering mass-market use – a milestone that could take around five years. Still, the latest results mark the first time fiber that carries light through air has outpaced and outperformed the glass it was engineered to replace – a watershed moment for telecom and cloud infrastructure.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

New law emboldens complaints against digital content rentals labled as purchases:

Words have meaning. Proper word selection is integral to strong communication, whether it's about relaying one's feelings to another or explaining the terms of a deal, agreement, or transaction.

Language can be confusing, but typically when something is available to "buy," ownership of that good or access to that service is offered in exchange for money. That's not really the case, though, when it comes to digital content.

Often, streaming services like Amazon Prime Video offer customers the options to "rent" digital content for a few days or to "buy" it. Some might think that picking "buy" means that they can view the content indefinitely. But these purchases are really just long-term licenses to watch the content for as long as the streaming service has the right to distribute it—which could be for years, months, or days after the transaction.

A lawsuit [PDF] recently filed against Prime Video challenges this practice and accuses the streaming service of misleading customers by labeling long-term rentals as purchases. The conclusion of the case could have implications for how streaming services frame digital content.

[...] Despite the dismissal of similar litigation years ago, Reingold's complaint stands a better chance due to a California law that took effect in January banning the selling of a "digital good to a purchaser with the terms 'buy,' 'purchase,' or any other term which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership interest in the digital good, or alongside an option for a time-limited rental."

There are some instances where the law allows digital content providers to use words like "buy." One example is if, at the time of transaction, the seller receives acknowledgement from the customer that the customer is receiving a license to access the digital content; that they received a complete list of the license's conditions; and that they know that access to the digital content may be "unilaterally revoked."