Toxic discussions on open-source GitHub projects tend to involve entitlement, subtle insults, and arrogance, according to an academic study. That contrasts with the toxic behavior – typically bad language, hate speech, and harassment – found on other corners of the web. Whether that seems obvious or not, it’s an interesting point to consider because, for Read more about ‘Toxic’ open source GitHub discussions analyzed in study[…]

the finalists of this year’s Best Illusion of the Year Contest aren’t going to leave your brain feeling any less raddled, confused, or exhausted as we quickly approach the new year. As they do every year, a group of talented neurologists, visual scientists, ophthalmologists, and artists have come together to create and celebrate the best Read more about The 10 Best Illusions of the Year 2021[…]

Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particles were found in almost all the samples analysed. The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning “there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards” to health. Samples Read more about Microplastics found deep in lungs of 11/13 tested living people for first time[…]

Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time, warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs. The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil Read more about Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time[…]

Most people you meet in everyday life — at work, in the neighborhood — are decent and normal. Even nice. But hit Twitter or watch the news, and you’d think we were all nuts and nasty. Why it matters: The rising power and prominence of the nation’s loudest, meanest voices obscures what most of us Read more about The new silent majority: People who don’t tweet[…]

[…] Beginning on Jan. 31, hosts will only see the initials of guests’ first names until they confirm a booking request, Airbnb announced in a December news announcement spotted by the Verge. After a host confirms the booking, the guest’s full name will appear. The change to how names are displaced will be in place Read more about Airbnb Hides Guest First Names in Oregon to Stop Discrimination[…]

If you’re a fan of aerosol spray antiperspirants and deodorants, you’re going to want to check to see whether the one you use is part of a voluntary recall issued by Procter & Gamble (P&G). The recall comes after a citizen’s petition filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month that claims Read more about Clear These Recalled Cancer Causing Antiperspirants From Your Home[…]

Debates around the effectiveness of high-profile Twitter account suspensions and similar bans on abusive users across social media platforms abound. Yet we know little about the effectiveness of warning a user about the possibility of suspending their account as opposed to outright suspensions in reducing hate speech. With a pre-registered experiment, we provide causal evidence Read more about Short of Suspension: How Suspension Warnings Can Reduce Hate Speech on Twitter[…]

The first time we see Darth Vader doing more than heavy breathing in Star Wars (1977), he’s strangling a man to death. A few scenes later, he’s blowing up a planet. He kills his subordinates, chokes people with his mind, does all kinds of things a good guy would never do. But then the nature Read more about The Good Guy/Bad Guy Myth[…]

A GoFundMe is collecting money to put toward the wellbeing of the three daughters Kyanka left behind. Here is the corresponding thread on Something Awful. Original story continues below. Longtime Something Awful forum administrator Fragmaster posted that site founder Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka has died. “I guess I should preface this by saying this isn’t a joke especially Read more about Something Awful Founder Richard Lowtax Kyanka Has Reportedly Died[…]

Stanford researchers think they’ve devised an effective and quick-acting way to treat difficult cases of depression, by improving on an already approved form of brain stimulation. In a new trial published this week, the researchers found that almost 80% of patients improved after going through treatment—a far higher rate than those who were given a Read more about 5-Day Brain Stimulation Treatment Highly Effective Against Depression, Stanford Researchers Find[…]

A Missouri politician has been relentlessly mocked on Twitter after demanding the prosecution of a journalist who found and responsibly reported a vulnerability in a state website. Mike Parson, governor of Missouri, described reporters for local newspaper the St Louis Post Dispatch (SLPD) as “hackers” after they discovered a web app for the state’s Department Read more about Missouri governor demands prosecution for data breach report – in HTML source code of state website[…]

It’s nothing short of amazing what trained dancers can do with their bodies, and a real shame that visually-impaired people can’t enjoy the experience of, say, ballet. For this year’s Hackaday Prize, [Shi Yun] is working on a way for visually-impaired people to experience dance performances via haptic feedback on a special device. This platform, Read more about The Beauty Of Dance, Seen Through The Power Of Touch[…]

A US judge has temporarily blocked a new law in Texas that effectively bans women from having an abortion. District Judge Robert Pitman granted a request by the Biden administration to prevent any enforcement of the law while its legality is being challenged. The law, which prohibits women in Texas from obtaining an abortion after Read more about Texas abortion: Judge temporarily blocks enforcement of law[…]

Just How Much Time Do We Spend On Our Phones? Phones have become so essential that it’s become tough to imagine our lives without them. What’s funny about this is that most people alive today can remember a time when we didn’t have cell phones, let alone smartphones. Even so, it’s difficult to recall exactly Read more about Just How Much Time Do We Spend On Our Phones?[…]

China’s authorities have called for internet companies to create a governance system for their algorithms. A set of guiding opinions on algorithms, issued overnight by nine government agencies, explains that algorithms play a big role in disseminating information online and enabling growth of the digital economy. But the guiding opinions also point out that algorithms Read more about China to have insight into and regulate web giants’ algorithms using governance model[…]

he Wall Street Journal has had something of a banner week tearing down Facebook. Its series on a trove of internal company documents obtained by the paper has unveiled Facebook’s secret system for treating certain users as above the rules, company research showing how harmful Instagram is for young girls, how the site’s algorithmic solutions Read more about Facebook Documents Show It Fumbled the Fight Over Vaccines[…]

Internal memos show how a big 2018 change rewarded outrage and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg resisted proposed fixes In the fall of 2018, Jonah Peretti, chief executive of online publisher BuzzFeed, emailed a top official at Facebook Inc. The most divisive content that publishers produced was going viral on the platform, he said, creating an Read more about Facebook’s 2018 Algorithm Change ‘Rewarded Outrage’. Zuck Resisted Fixes[…]

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Institut Pasteur in France have developed a technique for reconstructing whole genomes, including the human genome, on a personal computer. This technique is about a hundred times faster than current state-of-the-art approaches and uses one-fifth the resources. The study, published September 14 in the journal Read more about Scientists can now assemble entire genomes on their personal computers in minutes[…]

The people who happen to be in a city center at any given moment may seem like a random collection of individuals. But new research featuring a simple mathematical law shows that urban travel patterns worldwide are, in fact, remarkably predictable regardless of location—an insight that could enhance models of disease spread and help to Read more about Simple Mathematical Law Predicts Movement in Cities around the World[…]

[…] according to a new study, the food you ate just before your walk past the bakery may impact your likelihood of stopping in for a sweet treat—and not just because you’re full. Scientists at Northwestern University found that people became less sensitive to food odors based on the meal they had eaten just before. Read more about Your sense of smell may be the key to a balanced diet[…]