Wednesday 8 May 2019

New chip stops attacks before they start

A new computer processor architecture developed at the University of Michigan could usher in a future where computers proactively defend against threats, rendering the current electronic security model of bugs and patches obsolete.

* This article was originally published here

Basking sharks are back on West Coast, and researchers fish for answers

Ryan Lawler saw the dorsal fin in the distance, swaying slowly side to side, and assumed it was a great white shark. As his boat got closer, he saw the massive fish's snout sticking out of the water, its mouth wide open.

* This article was originally published here

Graphite coating makes perovskite solar cells waterproof

A cheaper, cleaner and more sustainable way of making hydrogen fuel from water using sunlight is step closer thanks to new research from the University of Bath's Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies.

* This article was originally published here

Avocados, as a substitution for carbohydrates, can suppress hunger without adding calories

A new study released by the Center for Nutrition Research at Illinois Institute of Technology suggests that meals that include fresh avocado as a substitute for refined carbohydrates can significantly suppress hunger and increase meal satisfaction in overweight and obese adults.

* This article was originally published here

US shuts down illegal web marketplace; 2 Israelis charged

The FBI has shut down a website it says was a gateway to illegal marketplaces on the darknet and announced the arrest of its two alleged Israeli operators. They are accused of making millions of dollars in kickbacks for their services.

* This article was originally published here

Ridesharing companies worsened congestion in San Francisco: study

One of the early promises of the ride-hailing era ushered in by Uber and Lyft was that the new entrants would complement public transit, reduce car ownership, and help alleviate urban congestion.

* This article was originally published here

Nipah virus: Age and breathing difficulties increase the risk of disease spread

Nipah virus, a bat-borne paramyxovirus found throughout South and South East Asia, has been identified by WHO as an emerging infectious disease that may cause severe epidemics in the near future. Infections in humans result in severe respiratory and neurological disease with a high case fatality. With no available treatment or vaccine, the control of Nipah virus outbreaks must rely on a detailed understanding of factors that may facilitate inter-human transmission.

* This article was originally published here

Source credibility is key to derailing fake news

Fake news is a threat to American democratic institutions and false information can have far-reaching effects. A new study provides a roadmap for dealing with fake news.

* This article was originally published here

Stress in early life could make people more likely to develop depression

New research by the University of Bristol has found that early life adversity could make an individual more at risk of developing negative thinking, which could lead to major depressive disorder (MDD). The findings provide biological and psychological evidence to support work first proposed in the 1960s.

* This article was originally published here

Inequality is deliberately built into cities: segregated playgrounds are just the start

Developers in London have come under scrutiny for segregating people who live in social or affordable housing from residents who pay market rates. Prominent cases have included children from social housing being blocked from using a playground in a new development, and "poor doors" providing separate entrances for social housing residents.

* This article was originally published here

An approach for securing audio classification against adversarial attacks

Adversarial audio attacks are small perturbations that are not perceivable by humans and are intentionally added to audio signals to impair the performance of machine learning (ML) models. These attacks raise serious concerns about the security of ML models, as they can cause them to make mistakes and ultimately generate wrong predictions.

* This article was originally published here

Medicinal mushroom newly reported from Thailand helps reveal optimum growth conditions

A species of globally recognised medicinal mushroom was recorded for the first time in Thailand. Commonly referred to as lingzhi, the fungus (Ganoderma tropicum) was collected from the base of a living tree in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand. Additionally, the study reports the first assessment of the optimum conditions needed for the species to grow its mycelia (the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of a branching network of fine, thread-like structures) and spread its colony.

* This article was originally published here

Design flaws create security vulnerabilities for 'smart home' internet-of-things devices

Researchers at North Carolina State University have identified design flaws in "smart home" Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that allow third parties to prevent devices from sharing information. The flaws can be used to prevent security systems from signaling that there has been a break-in or uploading video of intruders.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers discover new pathway for improving metabolic health

Blocking the action of an enzyme involved in protein digestion may improve metabolic health, according to a new study published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology—Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. The paper was chosen as an APSselect article for May.

* This article was originally published here

Iceland turns carbon dioxide to rock for cleaner air

In the heart of Iceland's volcano country, 21st-century alchemists are transforming carbon dioxide into rock for eternity, cleaning the air of harmful emissions that cause global warming.

* This article was originally published here

Show your hands: Smartwatches sense hand activity

We've become accustomed to our smartwatches and smartphones sensing what our bodies are doing, be it walking, driving or sleeping. But what about our hands? It turns out that smartwatches, with a few tweaks, can detect a surprising number of things your hands are doing.

* This article was originally published here

Australia regulator blocks massive TPG-Vodafone merger

Australian regulators on Wednesday blocked the multi-billion-dollar merger between Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG Telecom, in a surprise announcement that sent shares in the two firms plunging.

* This article was originally published here

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents at elevated risk for engaging in polysubstance use

In a new study among adolescents in the United States, lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents were more likely than heterosexual adolescents to be polysubstance users versus non-users across multiple classes of use: experimental users, marijuana-alcohol users, tobacco-alcohol users, medium-frequency three-substance users, and high-frequency three-substance users. In general, sexual orientation identity differences in polysubstance use class membership were larger for females, especially bisexual females, than for males. The findings regarding sexual orientation disparities in polysubstance use are reported in an article published in LGBT Health.

* This article was originally published here

Space Sustainability Rating aims to address growing amount of space debris orbiting earth

The World Economic Forum has announced the introduction of a Space Sustainability Rating (SSR) system to help tackle the problem of space traffic and congestion in the Earth's orbit. The announcement of the SSR and the participating collaborators was made today at the Satellite 2019 conference in Washington, D.C.

* This article was originally published here