Pegasus: Spyware sold to governments 'targets activists'
Israeli tech firm NSO denies media reports that its software has been sold to authoritarian regimes. The Android and iOS spyware can apparently see photographs and contacts, log everything that is typed, and turn on the camera and microphone.
Source: bbc.com
Brexit shrank UK services exports by £110bn, academics find
Research shows that financial services exports were hardest hit over four-year period
Source: www.ft.com
Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants
All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, change over time. Most changes have little to no impact on the virus’ properties. However, some changes may affect the virus’s properties, such as how easily it spreads, the associated disease severity, or the performance...
Source: who.int
US passes emergency waiver over fuel pipeline cyber-attack
The US acts to keep fuel flowing after its largest pipeline was hit by a ransomware cyber-attack. "Cyber-security firm Digital Shadows says the Colonial attack has come about due to the pandemic - with more engineers remotely accessing control systems for the pipeline from home. James Chappell, co-founder...
Source: bbc.com
Google’s FLoC Is a Terrible Idea
Update, April 9, 2021 : We've launched Am I FLoCed, a new site that will tell you whether your Chrome browser has been turned into a guinea pig for Federated Learning of Cohorts or FLoC, Google’s latest targeted advertising experiment. The third-party cookie is dying, and Google is trying to create...
Source: eff.org
Keeping Student Trust
The report outlines a set of recommendations for institutions and campus administrators related to different uses of student data.
Source: newamerica.org
Medical educators’ beliefs about teaching, learning, and knowledge: development of a new framework
Interesting paper about beliefs among medical educators. This has been
developed with a qualitative study of undergraduate educators but the
framework makes for good reading for those of us involved in urging
colleagues and expert speakers to become more learner-centred. "The sharp divide between...
Source: biomedcentral.com
Five reasons why COVID herd immunity is probably impossible Christie Aschwanden. Nature 2021 591:7851.
Even with vaccination efforts in full force, the theoretical threshold for vanquishing COVID-19 looks to be out of reach. Even with vaccination efforts in full force, the theoretical threshold for vanquishing COVID-19 looks to be out of reach.
Source: nature.com
Scientists unlock mysteries of world's oldest 'computer'
The 2,000-year-old mechanism has baffled experts since it was discovered on a shipwreck in 1901.
Source: bbc.com
Europe seeks semiconductor boost, first quantum computer
The European Union wants to produce a fifth of the global output of cutting-edge semiconductors at the end of this decade and make its first quantum computer in five years, as part of efforts to cut its dependence on non-European technologies.
Source: reuters.com
Government has no climate change plan - MPs
Two reports from MPs cast doubt on the government's approach to meeting its climate change goals.
Source: bbc.com
Why does Netflix’s The Dig exclude the women who photographed Sutton Hoo? - Prospect Magazine
"The filmmakers’ massaging of the facts tells us a lot about how middle-aged women are regarded by Hollywood." Great piece by Emma Hartley in Prospect Magazine about the Netflix film The Dig at Sutton Hoo.
Source: prospectmagazine.co.uk
The Namib Desert bears a scar from a meteorite impact.
"In the vastness of one of the world’s oldest deserts lies a relatively recent geologic feature: the Roter Kamm crater (“red comb” or “red crest/ridge” in German). An astronaut onboard the International Space Station photographed the crater while orbiting over the Namib Desert. It is approximately...
Source: nasa.gov
Drones fly to protect rare New Zealand dolphins
New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday (February 26) that her government was backing a new project that uses drone technology to understand and protect the endangered Maui dolphins in the country. Gloria Tso reports. Reuters Video.
Source: reut.rs
Covid: Bedfordshire counselling service sees rise in caseload
Demand for help from a youth counselling service will "continue to rise" during the pandemic.
Source: bbc.com
Australian news app beats Facebook in App Store
"Take that Facebook. A homegrown app from Australia Broadcasting Company (ABC) topped iOS download charts in Australia, outpacing Facebook. That's important for one big reason: Facebook just banned news from appearing on Australian newsfeeds in response to a law that would require the social giant...
Source: mashable.com
Abundant Rain Turns Namibia Green
The landscape has been transformed by the wettest rainy season since 2011. "January 2021 saw rainfall totals double to triple the norm in the northeastern, central, and southern parts of Namibia. According to a weather monitor in Windhoek, 228 millimeters (9 inches) of rain fell in January; the long-term...
Source: nasa.gov
'Concerning' rise in pre-teens self-injuring.
"The rate of hospital admissions for nine to 12-year-olds who self-injure has doubled in six years." "In 2019-20, before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 16 hospital admissions per 100,000 nine to 12-year-olds, up from eight in 2013-14. Self-injury admissions for girls in this age group were twice...
Source: bbc.com
Using whale songs to image beneath the ocean
Using whale songs to image beneath the ocean’s floor: Seismic data generated by whale songs helps build a picture of the ocean's base. "The song of a fin whale is not exactly the sort of thing you'd typically describe as musical. It's generally in the area of 20Hz, which sounds more like a series of...
Source: arstechnica.com
Covid-19: The global crisis — in data: Charts and maps show paradoxes of a pandemic that has claimed a million lives
Covid-19: The global crisis — in data: Charts and maps show paradoxes of a pandemic that has claimed a million lives
Source: ig.ft.com
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