Five Eyes Governments, India, and Japan Make New Call For Encryption Backdoors

Members of the intelligence-sharing alliance Five Eyes, along with government representatives for Japan and India, have published a statement over the weekend calling on tech companies to come up with a solution for law enforcement to access end-to-end encrypted communications. From a report: The statement is the alliance’s latest effort to get tech companies to agree to encryption backdoors. The Five…

Nearly blind mole rats use their eyes to detect magnetic fields

Ansell’s mole rats are nearly blind but their eyes still come in handy. They have a sensor for magnetic fields, similar to those in birds, which the mole rats use to orient their nests Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2255606-nearly-blind-mole-rats-use-their-eyes-to-detect-magnetic-fields/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Are there active geysers at Enceladus’ north pole?

Water-vapor geysers erupt from cracks at the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Scientists using Cassini data now have evidence for fresh ice at the moon’s north pole, too. Could it be more geysers for this fascinating ice moon? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/fresh-ice-enceladus-north-pole-geologic-activity…

The strange storms on Jupiter

At the south pole of Jupiter lurks a striking sight—even for a gas giant planet covered in colorful bands that sports a red spot larger than the earth. Down near the south pole of the planet, mostly hidden from the prying eyes of humans, is a collection of swirling storms arranged in an unusually geometric pattern. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-strange-storms-jupiter.html…

Some frogs have evolved eyes that are far too big for their bodies

Certain frogs have some of the biggest eyes of all vertebrates, relative to their body size, which is a significant evolutionary investment that has puzzled zoologists Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2255022-some-frogs-have-evolved-eyes-that-are-far-too-big-for-their-bodies/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Infrared eyes on Enceladus: Hints of fresh ice in northern hemisphere

Scientists used data gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during 13 years of exploring the Saturn system to make detailed images of the icy moon—and to reveal geologic activity. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-infrared-eyes-enceladus-hints-fresh.html…

Scientists Say a Mind-Bending Rhythm In the Brain Can Act Like Ketamine

In mice and one person, scientists were able to reproduce out-of-body experiences often associated with ketamine by inducing certain brain cells to fire together in a slow-rhythmic fashion. The findings have been published in the journal Nature. NPR reports: “There was a rhythm that appeared and it was an oscillation that appeared only when the patient was dissociating,” says Dr. Karl…

Safety Driver in Fatal Arizona Uber Self-Driving Car Crash Charged With Homicide

The back-up safety driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber test vehicle that struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018 was charged with negligent homicide, prosecutors said. From a report: Rafael Vasquez, age 46, who is also known as Rafaela, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday after being charged in the death of Elaine Herzberg on Aug. 27,…

What’s in wildfire smoke and why it’s so bad for your lungs

The health impact of wildfire exposure depends in part on the fire itself and how much smoke a person breathes in, how often and for how long. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/what-is-in-wildfire-smoke…