Day: July 24, 2020

test detects cancer four years before conventional diagnosis using a blood test

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Early detection has the potential to reduce cancer mortality, but an effective screening test must demonstrate asymptomatic cancer detection years before conventional diagnosis in a longitudinal study. In the Taizhou Longitudinal Study (TZL), 123,115 healthy subjects provided plasma samples for long-term storage and were then monitored for cancer occurrence. Here we report the preliminary results Read more about test detects cancer four years before conventional diagnosis using a blood test[…]

China successfully launches Mars probe that packs an orbiter, lander, rover

Posted on by Robin Edgar

China has successfully launched a Mars probe. The middle kingdom’s previous red planet effort, 2011’s Yinghuo-1, rode on a Russian rocket that failed to leave Earth orbit and therefore did not fulfill its orbital observation mission. For this new mission, dubbed Tianwen-1, China has used its own Long March 5 heavy lifter and packed in Read more about China successfully launches Mars probe that packs an orbiter, lander, rover[…]

Twitter hack latest: Up to 36 compromised accounts had their private messages read – including a Dutch politician’s

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Twitter has admitted that the naughty folk who hijacked verified accounts last week read a portion of hacked users’ direct messages. Among the 36 Twitter users whose direct messages (DMs), email addresses and phone numbers were definitely accessed by account hijackers last week was one Dutch politician, the microblogging platform said overnight. “We believe that Read more about Twitter hack latest: Up to 36 compromised accounts had their private messages read – including a Dutch politician’s[…]

Fitness freaks flummoxed as massive global Garmin outage leaves them high and dry for hours

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Garmin’s Connect service has been down for more than seven hours today to the frustration of fitness enthusiasts keen to upload running times or synchronise with other services such as Strava. So, too, is the company’s web shop and support forums. Users have expressed obvious concern that such an extended outage is indicative of a Read more about Fitness freaks flummoxed as massive global Garmin outage leaves them high and dry for hours[…]

US accuses Chinese-Made Drones with Security Weakness: the possiblity to update their software

Posted on by Robin Edgar

In two reports, the researchers contended that an app on Google’s Android operating system that powers drones made by China-based Da Jiang Innovations, or DJI, collects large amounts of personal information that could be exploited by the Beijing government. Hundreds of thousands of customers across the world use the app to pilot their rotor-powered, camera-mounted Read more about US accuses Chinese-Made Drones with Security Weakness: the possiblity to update their software[…]

Facebook settles unauthorised use of facial recognition for $650 million

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Facebook has agreed to pay a total of $650 million in a landmark class action lawsuit over the company’s unauthorized use of facial recognition, a new court filing shows. The filing represents a revised settlement that increases the total payout by $100 million and comes after a federal judge balked at the original proposal on Read more about Facebook settles unauthorised use of facial recognition for $650 million[…]

Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products

Posted on by Robin Edgar

When Amazon.com’s venture-capital fund invested in DefinedCrowd, it gained access to the technology startup’s finances and other confidential information. Nearly four years later, in April, Amazon’s cloud-computing unit launched an artificial-intelligence product that does almost exactly what DefinedCrowd does, said DefinedCrowd founder and Chief Executive Daniela Braga. The new offering from Amazon Web Services, called Read more about Amazon Met With Startups About Investing, Then Launched Competing Products[…]

Instacart Customers’ Data Is Being Sold Online, but Instacart has it’s fingers in it’s ears, pretends nothing is wrong

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The personal information of what could be hundreds of thousands of Instacart customers is being sold on the dark web. This data includes names, the last four digits of credit card numbers, and order histories, and appears to have affected customers who used the grocery delivery service as recently as yesterday. As of Wednesday, sellers Read more about Instacart Customers’ Data Is Being Sold Online, but Instacart has it’s fingers in it’s ears, pretends nothing is wrong[…]

Amazon’s auditing of Alexa Skills is so good, these boffins got all 200+ rule-breaking apps past the reviewers

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Amazon claims it reviews the software created by third-party developers for its Alexa voice assistant platform, yet US academics were able to create more than 200 policy-violating Alexa Skills and get them certified. In a paper [PDF] presented at the US Federal Trade Commission’s PrivacyCon 2020 event this week, Clemson University researchers Long Cheng, Christin Read more about Amazon’s auditing of Alexa Skills is so good, these boffins got all 200+ rule-breaking apps past the reviewers[…]

The Record Industry Is Going After Parody Songs Written By an Algorithm

Posted on by Robin Edgar

Georgia Tech researcher Mark Riedl didn’t expect that his machine learning model “Weird A.I. Yankovic,” which generates new rhyming lyrics for existing songs would cause any trouble. But it did. On May 15, Reidl posted an AI-generated lyric video featuring the instrumental to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” It was taken down on July 14, Reidl Read more about The Record Industry Is Going After Parody Songs Written By an Algorithm[…]

KFC will test lab-grown chicken nuggets made with a 3D bioprinter this fall in Russia

Posted on by Robin Edgar

KFC announced on July 16 it would test chicken nuggets made with 3D bioprinting technology in Russia this fall. The chain partnered with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a chicken nugget that will mimic the taste and appearance of its original nuggets at a fraction of the environmental cost. The release will be the first Read more about KFC will test lab-grown chicken nuggets made with a 3D bioprinter this fall in Russia[…]

Russia tested satellite-to-satellite shooter, say UK and USA

Posted on by Robin Edgar

The USA and UK have alleged that Russia last week trialled an in-orbit satellite-killer weapon. US Space Force chief of operations General John Raymond put his name to a statement that says on July 15th Russia “injected a new object into orbit from Cosmos 2543”, a satellite that Moscow insists is a maintenance vehicle but Read more about Russia tested satellite-to-satellite shooter, say UK and USA[…]

Google aims at Amazon and fires: List your products on Google Shopping for free

Posted on by Robin Edgar

we’re advancing our plans to make it free for merchants to sell on Google. Beginning next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we Read more about Google aims at Amazon and fires: List your products on Google Shopping for free[…]

Copyright Claims Block Star Trek, Cartoon Network Comic-Con Panels video streams. Somehow they get to fix DMCA in 20 minutes – why doesn’t the  rest of the world?

Posted on by Robin Edgar

It wouldn’t be a virtual event without a few technical difficulties. Though I can’t imagine the media giants showcasing at San Diego Comic-Con’s online event were worried about copyright violations affecting their panels. Considering, you know, they’re the ones that own the copyright. Of course, that’s exactly what happened. On Thursday, ViacomCBS livestreamed an hour-long Read more about Copyright Claims Block Star Trek, Cartoon Network Comic-Con Panels video streams. Somehow they get to fix DMCA in 20 minutes – why doesn’t the  rest of the world?[…]