The striped pattern on the parachute used by the Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a hidden message. Internet sleuths were able to figure it out within a few hours. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/perseverance-secret-message-dare-mighty-things…
Tag: decode
Identical Twins Are Not So Identical, Study Suggests
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Genetic differences between identical twins can begin very early in embryonic development, according to a study that researchers say has implications for examining the effects of nature versus nurture. Identical — or monozygotic — twins come from a single fertilized egg that splits in two. They are important research subjects because they…
Dr Dolittle machines: How AI is helping us talk to the animals
Pattern-seeking artificial intelligence promises a new way to decode animal languages from dog to whale. Our relationship with our furry and flippered friends may never be the same Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24833133-500-dr-dolittle-machines-how-ai-is-helping-us-talk-to-the-animals/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Israeli Spy Tech Firm Says It Can Break Into Signal App
Last Thursday, Israeli phone-hacking firm Cellebrite said in a blog post that it can now break into Signal, an encrypted app considered safe from external snooping. Haaretz reports: Cellebrite’s flagship product is the UFED (Universal Forensic Extraction Device), a system that allows authorities to unlock and access the data of any phone in their possession. Another product it offers is the…
Apple Introduces M1 Chip To Power Its New Arm-Based Macs
Apple has introduced the new M1 chip that will power its new generation of Arm-based Macs. It’s a 5nm processor, just like the A14 Bionic powering its latest iPhones. From a report: Apple says the new processor will focus on combining power efficiency with performance. It has an eight-core CPU, which Apple says offers the world’s best performance per watt of…
Facebook Bans Holocaust Denial On its Platform
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Monday that the tech giant would be expanding its hate speech policies to ban any content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust.” From a report: Zuckerberg was caught flat-footed in a 2018 interview with Kara Swisher, then host of the Recode Decode podcast, when he said that he didn’t believe Facebook should take down Holocaust denial…
Intel Details Chips Designed For IoT and Edge Workloads
Intel today announced the launch of new products tailored to edge computing scenarios like digital signage, interactive kiosks, medical devices, and health care service robots. From a report: The 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, Atom x6000E Series, Pentium, Celeron N, and J Series bring new AI security, functional safety, and real-time capabilities to edge customers, the chipmaker says, laying the groundwork…
Large Antibody Study Offers Hope For Virus Vaccine Efforts
Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found. From a report: Tuesday’s report, from tests on more than 30,000 people in Iceland, is the most extensive work yet on the immune system’s response to the virus over time, and…
Enigma Code-Breaking Machine Rebuilt At Cambridge
Cambridge Engineering alumnus Hal Evans has built a fully-functioning replica of a 1930s Polish cyclometer — an electromechanical cryptologic device that was designed to assist in the decryption of German Enigma ciphertext. The replica currently resides in King’s College, Cambridge. TechXplore reports: Work on the hardware-based replica began in 2018, as part of Hal’s fourth year Master’s project under the supervision…
How Iceland ‘Virtually Eliminated’ Its Coronavirus Cases
Iceland is the most sparsely-populated country in Europe, with a population of 364,134 spread across 40,000 square miles (103,000 square kilometers). But the New Yorker notes Iceland has “virtually eliminated” Covid-19 cases — and tries to explore how they did it. By February 28th, Iceland had already implemented a contact-tracing team. “And then, two hours later, we got the call,” remembers…