DNA nets capture COVID-19 virus in low-cost rapid-testing platform

Tiny nets woven from DNA strands cover the spike proteins of the virus that causes COVID-19 and give off a glowing signal in this artist’s rendering. Credit: Xing Wang, University of Illinois Tiny nets woven from DNA strands can ensnare the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19, lighting up the virus for a Read more about DNA nets capture COVID-19 virus in low-cost rapid-testing platform[…]

Fitbit accounts are being replaced by Google accounts

New Fitbit users will be required to sign-up with a Google account, from next year, while it also appears one will be needed to access some of the new features in years to come. Google has been slowly integrating Fitbit into the fold since buying the company back in November 2019. Indeed, the latest products Read more about Fitbit accounts are being replaced by Google accounts[…]

Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice

Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed microscopic robots, called microrobots, that can swim around in the lungs, deliver medication and be used to clear up life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia. In mice, the microrobots safely eliminated pneumonia-causing bacteria in the lungs and resulted in 100% survival. By contrast, untreated mice all Read more about Tiny swimming robots treat deadly pneumonia in mice[…]

Meta ordered to pay $175 million in patent infringement case

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the company to pay Voxer, the developer of app called Walkie Talkie, nearly $175 million as an ongoing royalty. Voxer accused Meta of infringing its patents and incorporating that tech in Instagram Live and Facebook Live. In 2006, Tom Katis, the founder of Voxer, started working on a Read more about Meta ordered to pay $175 million in patent infringement case[…]

The World’s Largest Four-Day Work Week Experiment Shows Success

[…] In June, more than 3,300 employees across the United Kingdom began participating in a six-month experiment to test the efficacy of a four-day work week, which was organized by the nonprofit 4 Day Global. The pilot program has now reached its halfway point, and 4 Day Global is reporting overwhelmingly positive results. More specifically, Read more about The World’s Largest Four-Day Work Week Experiment Shows Success[…]

This site tells you if photos of you were used to train the AI

[…] Spawning AI creates image-generation tools for artists, and the company just launched Have I Been Trained? which you can use to search a set of 5.8 billion images that have been used to train popular AI art models. When you search the site, you can search through the images that are the closest match, Read more about This site tells you if photos of you were used to train the AI[…]

Ask.FM database with 350m user records allegedly sold online

The listing allegedly includes 350 million Ask.FM user records, with the threat actor also offering 607 repositories plus their Gitlab, Jira, and Confluence databases. Ask.FM is a question and answer network launched in June 2010, with over 215 million registered users. “I’m selling the users database of Ask.fm and ask.com. For connoisseurs, you can also Read more about Ask.FM database with 350m user records allegedly sold online[…]

US Military Bought Mass Monitoring Tool That Includes Internet Browsing, Email Data, Cookies from guy who helps run TOR

Multiple branches of the U.S. military have bought access to a powerful internet monitoring tool that claims to cover over 90 percent of the world’s internet traffic, and which in some cases provides access to people’s email data, browsing history, and other information such as their sensitive internet cookies, according to contracting data and other Read more about US Military Bought Mass Monitoring Tool That Includes Internet Browsing, Email Data, Cookies from guy who helps run TOR[…]

Somehow This Video Game Belly Button Was Too Sexy For Google

Just a few weeks after Hook Up: The Game released on Android, developer Sophie Artemigi was surprised to see the visual novel flagged for inappropriate sexual content. By the game’s own description, you play as Alex, “a sex positive twenty-something” who matches with her old high school bully on a dating app, so of course, Read more about Somehow This Video Game Belly Button Was Too Sexy For Google[…]

Posted in Sex

Meta sued for allegedly secretly tracking iPhone users

Meta was sued on Wednesday for alleged undisclosed tracking and data collection in its Facebook and Instagram apps on Apple iPhones. The lawsuit [PDF], filed in a US federal district court in San Francisco, claims that the two applications incorporate use their own browser known as a WKWebView that injects JavaScript code to gather data Read more about Meta sued for allegedly secretly tracking iPhone users[…]

Study Shows That Copyright Filters Harm Creators Rather Than Help Them

The EU Copyright Directive contains one of the worst ideas in modern copyright: what amounts to a requirement to filter uploads on major sites.  Despite repeated explanations of why this would cause huge harm to both creators and members of the public, EU politicians were taken in by the soothing words of the legislation’s proponents, who even went Read more about Study Shows That Copyright Filters Harm Creators Rather Than Help Them[…]

Hilton will design suites and sleeping quarters for Voyager’s private Starlab space station

Voyager and Lockheed Martin have found a partner to design astronaut facilities for their space station. Hilton will develop suites and sleeping quarters for Starlab, CNBC reports. Under the partnership, Hilton and Voyager will also look at marketing opportunities related to Starlab and trips to what may be one of the first space hotels. NASA Read more about Hilton will design suites and sleeping quarters for Voyager’s private Starlab space station[…]

YouTube dislike button doesn’t work – which is why you can’t train it

People feel like they don’t have control over their YouTube recommendations… Our 2021 investigation into YouTube’s recommender system uncovered a range of problems on the platform: an opaque algorithm, inconsistent oversight, and geographic inequalities. We also learned that people feel they don’t have control over their YouTube experience — particularly the videos that are recommended Read more about YouTube dislike button doesn’t work – which is why you can’t train it[…]

Google now lets you request the removal of search results that contain personal data

Google is releasing a tool that makes it easier to remove search results containing your address, phone number and other personally identifiable information, 9to5Google has reported. It first revealed the “results about you” feature at I/O 2022 in May, describing it as a way to “help you easily control whether your personally-identifiable information can be Read more about Google now lets you request the removal of search results that contain personal data[…]

GME retail investors Are Angry Over Netflix’s GameStop Documentary Trailer

[…] Stonk bros are mad at the doc for a few different reasons, but the two big things that keep coming up are the supposed lack of input from investors on r/SuperStonk and r/WallStreetBets and because of the final line of the trailer, spoken by journalist Taylor Lorenz. The trailer ends with her seemingly poking Read more about GME retail investors Are Angry Over Netflix’s GameStop Documentary Trailer[…]

Chrome & Edge Enhanced Spellcheck Send your PII, Including Your Passwords to Microsoft and Google, Alibaba and 3rd parties

Chrome’s enhanced spellcheck & Edge’s MS Editor are sending data you enter into form fields like username, email, DOB, SSN, basically anything in the fields, to sites you’re logging into from either of those browsers when the features are enabled. Furthermore, if you click on “show password,” the enhanced spellcheck even sends your password, essentially Read more about Chrome & Edge Enhanced Spellcheck Send your PII, Including Your Passwords to Microsoft and Google, Alibaba and 3rd parties[…]

When AI asks dumb questions, it gets smart fast

If someone showed you a photo of a crocodile and asked whether it was a bird, you might laugh—and then, if you were patient and kind, help them identify the animal. Such real-world, and sometimes dumb, interactions may be key to helping artificial intelligence learn, according to a new study in which the strategy dramatically Read more about When AI asks dumb questions, it gets smart fast[…]

Germany’s blanket data retention law is illegal, EU top court says

Germany’s general data retention law violates EU law, Europe’s top court ruled on Tuesday, dealing a blow to member states banking on blanket data collection to fight crime and safeguard national security. The law may only be applied in circumstances where there is a serious threat to national security defined under very strict terms, the Read more about Germany’s blanket data retention law is illegal, EU top court says[…]

Morgan Stanley Settles for $32m after Hard Drives With Data on 15m customers Turn Up On Auction Site

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has agreed to pay a $35 million fine to settle claims that it failed to protect the personal information of about 15 million customers, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. In a statement announcing the settlement, the S.E.C. Read more about Morgan Stanley Settles for $32m after Hard Drives With Data on 15m customers Turn Up On Auction Site[…]

Revolut banking confirms cyberattack exposed personal data of tens of thousands of users

Fintech startup Revolut has confirmed it was hit by a highly targeted cyberattack that allowed hackers to access the personal details of tens of thousands of customers. Revolut spokesperson Michael Bodansky told TechCrunch that an “unauthorized third party obtained access to the details of a small percentage (0.16%) of our customers for a short period Read more about Revolut banking confirms cyberattack exposed personal data of tens of thousands of users[…]

GTA Publisher Take-Two’s Bad Week Gets Worse With Disaster Hack

Take-Two is definitely not having a good time of it. Following the weekend’s colossal leak of GTA VI, its septimana horribilis continues with the fresh news that its 2K Games support services have been hacked, and customers are now being sent out phishing scams. Posting to the official 2K Support Twitter account, 2K explained that Read more about GTA Publisher Take-Two’s Bad Week Gets Worse With Disaster Hack[…]

Cure of acute deafness after bang, shots or explosion appears possible

Cure of acute deafness after bang, shots or explosion appears possibleNews item | 21-09-2022 | 12:12There are plenty of preventive measures to prevent hearing damage, such as acute deafness, for example during the use of weapons. And yet things go wrong with some regularity. However, there is a method to limit the damage after noise Read more about Cure of acute deafness after bang, shots or explosion appears possible[…]

Crypto market maker Wintermute loses $160 million in DeFi hack

Evgeny Gaevoy, the founder and chief executive of Wintermute, disclosed in a series of tweets that the firm’s decentralized finance operations had been hacked, but centralized finance and over the counter verticals aren’t affected. He said that Wintermute — which counts Lightspeed Venture Partners, Pantera Capital and Fidelity’s Avon among its backers — remains solvent Read more about Crypto market maker Wintermute loses $160 million in DeFi hack[…]

economic and fiscal effects on the United States from reduced numbers of refugees and asylum seekers – around $11.1 billion per year

International migrants who seek protection also participate in the economy. Thus the policy of the United States to drastically reduce refugee and asylum-seeker arrivals from 2017 to 2020 might have substantial and ongoing economic consequences. This paper places conservative bounds on those effects by critically reviewing the research literature. It goes beyond prior estimates by Read more about economic and fiscal effects on the United States from reduced numbers of refugees and asylum seekers – around $11.1 billion per year[…]

Robot Opens Master Combination Locks In Less Than A Minute

[…] In real life, high-quality combination locks are not vulnerable to such simple attacks, but cheap ones can often be bypassed with a minimum of effort. Some are so simple that this process can even be automated, as [Mew463] has shown by building a machine that can open a Master combination lock in less than Read more about Robot Opens Master Combination Locks In Less Than A Minute[…]