“I Know What You Download” Is A Website That Claims To Know What You Have Donwloaded

The Independent: 'I Know What You Download': Website claims to let people see everything their friends have torrented

The company appears to be using the intrusive website as a way of marketing its services to police and content owners, but serves a reminder of the kind of information made readily available on the internet

A new website claims to be able to show everything you – and your friends – have torrented.

“I Know What You Download” gathers information frm across the internet to find out the things that people have been downloading. And it even provides an easy way for friends to make that information available, too – meaning that you may already have been tricked into exposing your torrenting habits.

The tool works simply by looking up the IP address of the person using it. While torrents might feel secret, unless they are protected they are attached to those same unique IP addresses – meaning that anyone looking to find a download can be identified by others doing so at the same time.

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CSN Editor: more proof that there are no longer any secrets when it comes to the World Wide Web. The website “I Know What You Download” is here.

These Are The 7 Greatest Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2016

RT: The 7 greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2016

From the discovery of an Earth-like planet to the unraveling of one of the great mysteries of physics, 2016 has been a blockbuster year for scientific breakthroughs.
Gravitational waves

Perhaps the biggest scientific feat of 2016 was the detection of gravitational waves in the fabric of space-time, from a pair of colliding black holes. The development added more weight to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

The researchers backed up their findings by repeating the feat a few months later. The discovery was named Physics World Breakthrough of the Year and is hotly tipped to earn a Nobel Prize.

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CSN Editor: I found this to be the most interesting discovery .... Disposing of 'cellular litter' could prolong life by up to 35% - study (RT).

Russia Has A ‘Colossal’ Supercomputer

Building of Russian Ministry of Defence at Frunzenskaya Embankment. Moscow, Russia. Wikipedia. Wikipedia

RT: Army’s brain: Russia’s ‘colossal’ supercomputer helps predict wars, defense minister says

A “colossally powerful” supercomputer installed at Russia’s military headquarters helps the country’s armed forces tackle emerging threats by analyzing previous conflicts, such as the Yugoslavian war and the like, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.

The supercomputer is a key part of the headquarters’ IT infrastructure and is so powerful that the military uses less than half of its capacity, Shoigu told Rossiya 24 TV channel, which filmed a documentary about Russia’s National Defense Management Center (NDMC).

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CSN Editor: It looks like Russia wants to build its own Skynet computer system .... Powerful Russian supercomputer to ‘speak’ to any robotic system, no matter which manufacturer (RT).

A Tribute To The Classic Star Trek Uniform

Popular Mechanics: An Ode to the Classic Star Trek Uniform

To boldly dress...

In "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," an episode of the original Star Trek, the good ship Enterprise accidentally time warps back to 20th Century Earth. A gung-ho U.S. Air Force colonel captures our hero Captain Kirk and, upon giving him the once-over, snarls, "What is that? Is that a uniform of some kind?"

"This little thing?" replies a coy William Shatner. "Something I slipped on."

Actually, it was a lot more.

In today's over-the-top world of fantasy entertainment, where everyone from Batman on down wears self-conscious, rubbery body armor, there is something reassuringly relaxed and classic about the original Star Trek uniform. Trekkies still embrace that quality as the 50th anniversary of the premiere of their beloved NBC series approaches on September 8.

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CSN Editor: I loved those mini-skirts.

Report: 900 Million Android Phones Have A Serious Security Flaw

The flaws affect devices containing Qualcomm chips

BBC: Android bug fear in 900 million phones

Serious security flaws that could give attackers complete access to a phone's data have been found in software used on tens of millions of Android devices.

The bugs were uncovered by Checkpoint researchers looking at software running on chipsets made by US firm Qualcomm.

Qualcomm processors are found in about 900 million Android phones, the company said.

However, there is no evidence of the vulnerabilities currently being used in attacks by cyberthieves.

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CSN Editor: Oh oh .... I have an Android phone.

The Entire History Of Civilization In One Chart

Business Insider/Slate: The Entire History Of The World In One Chart

This “Histomap,” created by John B. Sparks, was first printed by Rand McNally in 1931.

This giant, ambitious chart fit neatly with a trend in nonfiction book publishing of the 1920s and 1930s: the “outline,” in which large subjects (the history of the world! every school of philosophy! all of modern physics!) were distilled into a form comprehensible to the most uneducated layman.

The 5-foot-long Histomap was sold for $1 and folded into a green cover, which featured endorsements from historians and reviewers. The chart was advertised as “clear, vivid, and shorn of elaboration,” while at the same time capable of “holding you enthralled” by presenting:

the actual picture of the march of civilization, from the mud huts of the ancients thru the monarchistic glamour of the middle ages to the living panorama of life in present day America.

The chart emphasizes domination, using color to show how the power of various “peoples” (a quasi-racial understanding of the nature of human groups, quite popular at the time) evolved throughout history.

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WNU Editor: This is so cool. For a fully zoomable version go here.

Batteries Are Now Reaching Their Physical Limits

DW: Batteries are hitting physical limits

The performance of today's lithium-ion batteries can't be improved much further. Grand hopes for the future of e-vehicles now depend on driving down battery prices and on prototype silicon-air super-batteries.

Electric cars are meant to solve many environmental problems: Assuming they're charged with 'green' electricity from sources like wind, solar or hydropower, they'll be practically emission-free - apart from the large amounts of energy involved in the manufacturing process for vehicles of any kind, of course, whether fossil-fueled or battery-powered. E-cars reduce noise pollution, too, as they glide along streets almost silently. And they're fun to drive, with better acceleration than regular cars, and often better handling.

But driving e-cars has a drawback: Constant worry about how much charge is left in the battery. Once it's empty, if there's no recharging station in the area, the fun is over, and calls to a towing service are next on the menu.

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WNU Editor: This is a good summary on where this technology is going.

Reading Books Will Help You Live Longer

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times

New York Times: Read Books, Live Longer?

Reading books is tied to a longer life, according to a new report.

Researchers used data on 3,635 people over 50 participating in a larger health study who had answered questions about reading.

The scientists divided the sample into three groups: those who read no books, those who read books up to three and a half hours a week, and those who read books more than three and a half hours.

The study, in Social Science & Medicine, found that book readers tended to be female, college-educated and in higher income groups. So researchers controlled for those factors as well as age, race, self-reported health, depression, employment and marital status.

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Editor: As one who loves to read .... I cannot disagree with this conclusion.

The Oldest Known Evidence Of Human Warfare Has Been Confirmed

Part of a man’s skeleton found lying in the lagoon. The skull has multiple lesions on the front and left side consistent with wounds from a blunt implement. Photograph: Marta Mirazón Lahr

The Guardian: Stone-age massacre offers earliest evidence of human warfare

Researchers say remains of 27 murdered tribespeople in Kenya prove attacks were normal part of hunter-gatherer relations

Some 10,000 years ago a woman in the last stages of pregnancy met a terrible death, trussed like a captive animal and dumped into shallow water at the edge of a Kenyan lagoon. She died with at least 27 members of her tribe, all equally brutally murdered, in the earliest evidence of warfare between stone age hunter-gatherers.

The fossilised remains of the victims, still lying where they fell, preserved in the sediment of a marshy pool that dried up thousands of years ago, were found by a team of scientists from Cambridge University.

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CSN Editor: 27 victims .... men, women, and children .... all killed in the same place and time .... and violently. This was a deliberate massacre where taking prisoners was not a priority.

More News On The Confirmation Of The Oldest Known Evidence Of Human Warfare

Prehistoric Massacre Hints at War Among Hunter-Gatherers -- New York Times
Prehistoric massacre in Kenya called oldest evidence of warfare -- Reuters
10,000-Year-Old Battered Bones May Be Oldest Evidence of Human Warfare -- Live Science
Attack 10,000 years ago is earliest known act of warfare -- Science News
Anthropologists in Kenya find evidence of 10,000-year-old massacre -- DW
Prehistoric site shows brutal human attacks -- USA Today
War is as old as time: Cambridge University researchers unveil massacred bodies dating back 10,000 years -- The Independent
A Prehistoric Mass Grave Suggests Hunter-Gatherers Weren’t So Peaceful -- The Atlantic
10,000-year-old mass killing is still a mystery -- Ars Technica
Photos: The Oldest Known Evidence of Warfare Unearthed -- Live Science

This Map Represents Where The World's Population Lives

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Zero Hedge: How do you view your country relative to others? Chances are if it’s based on most world maps, your view is distorted.

As the world turns its gaze to the rich and pretty people in Davos this coming week, The World Economic Forum unleashed the following cartogram, created by Reddit user TeaDranks, that could change your entire perception of the world. Cartograms scale a region’s geographic space according to a particular attribute and in this case each square now represents 500,000 people.

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CSN Editor: I feel small.

Watch The Biggest Ever Drone Swarm (100 Drones) Take To The Sky In Style

Endgadget: Watch Intel's record-setting drone light show

The chip giant's robotic performance really did make it into Guinness' books.

Intel talked a big game when it said that it set a Guinness World Record for the most drones controlled by a single person, but it now has the evidence to back up that braggadocio. Guinness has posted a video of the feat, which saw 100 drones perform a light show (coordinated by Intel software, of course) while humans played Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 on the ground. Is it a publicity stunt? Absolutely. But it's still fun to watch, and it's proof that drone swarms are easier to control than ever.

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CSN editor: OK .... I am impressed.

Has The Elixir For Extending Life Been Found?

From the Anti-Aging Blog

Daily Mail: Have scientists discovered the elixir of youth? Hormone 'extends lifespan by 40%, protecting the immune system against the ravages of age'

* FGF21 is produced by the thymus gland and extends lifespan by 40%
* Scientists discovered it protects the immune system from effects of age
* Hope it could help treat elderly, obesity, cancer and type 2 diabetes

It is the Holy Grail of health research, discovering the key to help people live longer.

Now scientists believe they may be one step closer.

A team at Yale School of Medicine have identified a hormone, produced by the thymus glad, extends lifespan by 40 per cent.

Their findings reveal increased levels of the hormone, known as FGF21, protects the immune system against the ravages of age.

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CSN Editor: We are still far away from any practical implementation of this discovery .... but it is an eye opener on how we age.

Twitter Is Being Sued For Providing Material Support To The Islamic State

Reuters: Twitter sued by U.S. widow for giving voice to Islamic State

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is being sued by the widow of an American killed in Jordan who accuses the social media company of giving a voice to Islamic State, adding to the pressure to crack down on online propaganda linked to terrorism.

Tamara Fields, a Florida woman whose husband Lloyd died in the Nov. 9 attack on the police training center in Amman, said Twitter knowingly let the militant Islamist group use its network to spread propaganda, raise money and attract recruits.

Lawyers specializing in terrorism said Fields faces an uphill battle, though the case could lead to more calls for social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook Inc (FB.O) to take down posts associated with terrorist groups.

In her complaint filed on Wednesday, Fields said San Francisco-based Twitter had until recently given Islamic State, also known as ISIS, an "unfettered" ability to maintain official Twitter accounts.

Read more ....

More News On Twitter Being Sued For Providing Material Support To The Islamic State

Florida Woman Sues Twitter for Giving ISIS a Platform -- Wired
Lawsuit accuses Twitter of providing material support to ISIS -- The Hill
Twitter sued by widow for alleged aid to ISIL -- USA Today
Widow sues Twitter over ISIS' 'unfettered ability' to use platform -- FOX News
Twitter Enabled ISIS Recruitment And Propaganda Efforts, Lawsuit Alleges -- IBTimes
Twitter sued for helping ISIS -- RT
A terrorist killed this woman’s husband, and now she’s suing Twitter -- The Verge
Twitter provides material support to ISIS, lawsuit alleges -- Ars Technica
Can Islamic State victim’s widow win suit against Twitter? -- Alison Frankel, Reuters

CSN Editor: Twitter's defense sounds eerily like the defense that gun manufacturers use .... "it's not their fault that their users commit crimes". Will this defense fly .... I am not sure. But if she wins her case .... it will definitely social media as we know it.

The US Government Has An Internet Killswitch

Anti-Media: The US Government Has an Internet Killswitch — and It’s None of Your Business

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a petition concerning the Department of Homeland Security’s secretive internet and cellphone killswitch program.

On Monday the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) that sought to force the Department of Homeland Security to release details of a secret “killswitch” protocol to shut down cellphone and internet service during emergencies.

EPIC has been fighting since 2011 to release the details of the program, which is known as Standard Operating Procedure 303. EPIC writes, “On March 9, 2006, the National Communications System (‘NCS’) approved SOP 303, however it was never released to the public. This secret document codifies a ‘shutdown and restoration process for use by commercial and private wireless networks during national crisis.’”

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CSN Editor: The last that I heard of a U.S. "internet kill switch" was in 2011 .... Will The U.S. Get An "Internet Kill Switch"? It looks like it is now operational .... and yes .... according to the government it is none of our business.

Is President Obama's Commitment To Find The Cure For Cancer Real Or Rhetoric?

Jen Christensen, CNN: Is the cure for cancer real or rhetoric?

(CNN)President Barack Obama's State of the Union address announced a new national "moon shot" effort to cure cancer.

"For the loved ones we've all lost, for the family we can still save, let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all," the President said.

But is finding a cure for cancer realistic or merely rhetoric?

"Is it realistic? In a word 'no,' " said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "In my world, 'cure' is a four letter word, but we are going to cure some people."

He said it's important to remember there are at least 200 kinds of cancer. Finding one "cure" to fix all of them is probably impossible.

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CSN Editor: Government does play a role .... but government is not the institution that will "discover" the cure and/or better treatments for cancer.

Genetically-Modified Human Embryos One Step From Reality

Shutterstock

The Independent: IVF: First genetically-modified human embryos 'could be created in Britain within weeks'

Scientists are about to learn whether their research proposal has been approved by the fertility watchdog.

The first genetically-modified human embryos could be created in Britain within weeks according to the scientists who are about to learn whether their research proposal has been approved by the fertility watchdog.

Although it will be illegal to allow the embryos to live beyond 14 days, and be implanted into the womb, the researchers accepted that the research could one day lead to the birth of the first GM babies should the existing ban be lifted for medical reasons.

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CSN Editor: Welcome to the Brave New World.

The Scramble To Save The World’s Chocolate Supply

Cocoa beans are pictured in Ghana's eastern cocoa town of Akim Akooko September 6, 2012. REUTERS/KWASI KPODO

Market Watch: The $1 billion scramble to save the world’s chocolate supply

ABANKROM, Ghana -- Yaa Amekudzi bounces along dirt roads in a sport-utility vehicle from one village to the next as part of a $1 billion scramble by the world’s top chocolate makers to fix the industry’s most vexing problem.

Demand for chocolate is stronger than ever, especially now that more consumers in China and India are buying bars and bonbons long considered an unaffordable luxury. But cocoa production is down, including a steep slide last year in Ghana, the second-largest cocoa-growing country. Cocoa prices have jumped nearly 40% since the start of 2012.

As a result, the pressure is on Amekudzi and her team of five employees at Mondelez International Inc. MDLZ, +1.55% , the maker of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and Oreo cookies, to help cocoa farmers boost their dwindling crop yields.

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CSN Editor: I saw how high the prices for chocolate were this past Christmas. Sighhh .... the days of cheap chocolate appear to be coming to an end.

This Is What It Is Like To Have 8,000,000 Instagram Followers

Daily Mail: Ever wondered what it's like to have 8m followers on Instagram? Former Holland midfielder Demy de Zeeuw posts video of non-stop notifications

* Demy de Zeeuw posted a 20-second video of notifications on his iPhone
* Hundreds of push notifications roll in from his Instagram page
* De Zeeuw is a free agent after leaving NAC Breda last summer
* The 32-year-old midfielder played for Ajax and won 27 caps for Holland

If anything was needed to illustrate how much of an effort is required by footballers to keep up with their social media notifications, then this video from Demy de Zeeuw should do it.

Former Ajax and Holland midfielder De Zeeuw has shown what happens when he switches on push notifications on his iPhone for the Instagram account of his social sports community, 433.

During the 20-second video, hundreds of notifications come through with photos and videos on the page which has more than eight million followers.

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CSN Editor: People definitely love following their soccer stars.

Report: Global Warming Has Postponed The Next Ice Age

Reuters: Global warming could stave off next ice age for 100,000 years

OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming is likely to disrupt a natural cycle of ice ages and contribute to delaying the onset of the next big freeze until about 100,000 years from now, scientists said on Wednesday.

In the past million years, the world has had about 10 ice ages before swinging back to warmer conditions like the present. In the last ice age that ended 12,000 years ago, ice sheets blanketed what is now Canada, northern Europe and Siberia.

In a new explanation for the long-lasting plunges in global temperatures that cause ice ages, scientists pointed to a combination of long-term shifts in the Earth's orbit around the sun, together with levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Read more ....

Update: Climate change could delay the next ICE AGE by 100,000 years, researchers find in 'mind boggling' discovery (Daily Mail)

CSN Editor: I always laugh at these forecasts. They cannot predict the weather next year .... let alone 100,000 yeasr from now.

People Are Losing Interest In Buying Personal Computers

REUTERS/NACHO DOCE

CNET: PC shipments continued their downward spiral in 2015

With the exception of Apple, worldwide shipments of personal computers continued to tumble in the final months of 2015.

Personal computers wheezed their way to the end of 2015, even as Apple managed to gain ground.

Buffeted by consumer infatuation with tablets and phones, worldwide shipments of PCs continued spiraling lower in the final three months of 2015, according to research firms IDC and Gartner. Consumer interest in PCs was so weak, shipments for the year fell to the lowest point since 2008, according to IDC.

In addition to mobile devices, which are well suited to posting videos and photos to social sites, an array of hardware options, like touchscreens and detachable keyboards prompted consumers to hesitate before making purchases. Wearables, like connected watches and health trackers, also attracted consumers during the holiday shopping season.

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CSN Editor: Everyone is into smart phones and tablets.

Google Forms A Virtual Reality Division

USA Today: Google forms virtual reality division as Facebook rivalry heats up

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has formed a division to focus on virtual reality, a move that comes in the face of growing competition from Facebook and its subsidiary Oculus.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has appointed one of his deputies, Clay Bavor, to run the division. Google declined further comment.

The development was first reported by technology news outlet Re/code.

Bavor, vice president for product management, ran Google apps such as Gmail and Drive. Responsibility for apps will now fall to Diane Greene, the enterprise software veteran and Google board member who now runs Google's cloud computing business.

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CSN Editor: Google is a little late in the game .... but they have the resources to catch up quick.

".cn" Is The World's Most Commonly Used Country Domain Name

Xinhuanet: ".cn" is world's largest country domain name

Other news on China’s Internet development. China’s country code domain 'dot-C-N', is now the world’s most commonly used. According to the domain’s manager, China Internet Network Information Center, there were over 16.4 million users of the domain name by 2015, overtaking Germany’s “dot-D-E”.

The domain is widely used by Chinese institutions and companies. All central and provincial governments in China, as well as most telecom companies and commercial banks are the users. Many multi-nationals have also registered their domain names in “dot-cn”, in a move to facilitate their business with Chinese consumers.

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CSN Editor: A prediction .... India's ".in" domain will surpass the .cn domain name in a  few years.

Hydrogen Bomb vs. Atomic Bomb: What’s The Difference?

Tesla Elon Musk: Apple Is Making An Electric Car

BBC: Tesla chief Elon Musk says Apple is making an electric car

Tesla's owner, Elon Musk, has said it is an "open secret" that Apple is making a rival electric car.

He also predicted vehicles that could not drive themselves would become a "strange anachronism" before too long.

The tech entrepreneur's comments were made during an exclusive interview with the BBC at his design studio near Los Angeles.

Tesla vies with Nissan and BMW to be the world's bestselling electric-car brand, but currently runs at a loss.

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Update: Elon Musk says Apple has hired a thousand engineers to make an electric car (Next Big Future)

CSN Editor: Elon Musk must have some inside information. And yes .... Apple does have a lot to offer (see above video).

Airplane Manufacturer Airbus Has Revealed A 'Drone Killer' System That Can Disable UAVs

Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

Daily Mail: Airbus reveals 'drone killer' camera system that can automatically detect and disable UAVs

* Cameras and sensors can scan large areas
* Signals can be 'spoofed' to allow operators to hijack it
* Drone can also be jammed to stop in functioning
* System can work out exactly where it is being controlled from

They have begun a growing threat to airports, power stations and even public events.

Now, Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

The system can even analyse signals from the drone to work out exactly where it is being controlled from.

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CSN Editor: I suspect that the market for this is going to be huge.

The Evolution Of Robots In Movies and TV

From Gizmodo: Science fiction movies and TV shows don’t really count unless they have iconic robot characters. That’s a completely true statement, by the way. Nobody cares how good a story is unless they can pretend living in a reality where sentient robots, awesome droids, and fun little machine pals exists. We want to live in the future where Roombas go on adventures with us! Artist Scott Park illustrated all our favorite robots from movies and TV shows—think R2-D2 and HAL 9000 and Optimus Prime and Johnny Five—to show the evolution of these synthetic characters.

What Are Those Bright Spots On The Dwarf Planet Ceres

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Gizmodo: There's Something Surprising Lurking in Ceres' Mysterious Bright Spots

Dwarf planet Ceres’ bright spots are perhaps the strangest of all its features. Now we’re finally in a low-enough altitude to get an unprecedented close-up look—and what we’re seeing may only have deepened the mystery.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft swung into its lowest orbit yet—a cool cruising height of 240 miles and started snapping pictures of a variety of features of the dwarf planet. Most of the shots are detailed images of things we’d already caught in broad-stroke versions, but there’s also a clue to something perhaps bigger.

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Update: New images of dwarf planet Ceres (Space Daily)

CSN Editor: So typical of space exploration .... find an answer to a mystery, but then a bigger one shows up. For more on Ceres go to Wikipedia .... the link on Ceres is here.

This 11-Year-Old Scored the Highest IQ Score Possible

#Indian -Origin girlTops Mensa Test in UK, Beats #Einstein and #Hawking In IQ https://t.co/qySfj3xURv #KashmeaWahi pic.twitter.com/KbAehrPWv0

— Latest News India (@latestnewsind) January 11, 2016

Mental Floss: An 11-Year-Old Just Earned the Highest IQ Score Possible

Kashmea Wahi, an 11-year-old student from the UK, just earned a place among the world’s intellectual 1 percent by getting a perfect score on her IQ test. The test’s maximum score is 161 for adults and 162 for test-takers below the age of 18. To make her achievement even more impressive, her score of 162 puts her two points higher than the likes of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

After stumbling upon the Mensa test while surfing on her iPad, Wahi decided to test herself as a way of proving a point to her parents, both IT management consultants at the Deutsche Bank in London. She figured an impressive score might be an effective way to stop her parents from nagging her to study.

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CSN Editor: A perfect score .... wow.

Inside The Mind Of A Hacker (Video)

David Bowie's Favourite 100 Books

Anyone else remember this Bowie poster from your library as a kid? pic.twitter.com/HsY8srwrwv

— Eric Smith (@ericsmithrocks) January 11, 2016

L.A. Times: Remembering David Bowie through his 100 favorite books

Although David Bowie was best known for his music, he also made countless contributions to the worlds of art, fashion and film.

But the singer, who died Sunday, was also devoted to literature. In 2013, Bowie left the world something other than his groundbreaking albums to remember him by — a list of his 100 favorite books. Bowie's favorite books list was featured in an exhibit honoring the musician at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Bowie's list is as eclectic and surprising as he was. He paid tribute to the classics, including Homer's "Iliad," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," George Orwell's "1984" and D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

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CSN Editor: This artist was doing everything. Not many sci-fi/speculative fiction books in his list.

Why Are Amazon's Data Centers In The 'Heart' Of Spy Country?

Amazon Data Center CNN

The Atlantic: Why Amazon's Data Centers Are Hidden in Spy Country

The company powers much of the Internet, but its cloud facilities are difficult to find.

Once in a while—not quite often enough to be a crisis, but just often enough to be a trope—people in the United States will freak out because a huge number of highly popular websites and services have suddenly gone down. For an interminable period of torture (usually about 1-3 hours, tops) there is no Instagram to browse, no Tinder to swipe, no Github to push to, no Netflix to And Chill.

When this happens, it usually means that Amazon Web Services is having a technical problem, most likely in their US-East region. What that actually means is that something is broken in northern Virginia. Of all the places where Amazon operates data centers, northern Virginia is one of the most significant, in part because it’s where AWS first set up shop in 2006. It seemed appropriate that this vision quest to see The Cloud across America which began at the ostensible birthplace of the Internet should end at the place that’s often to blame when large parts of the U.S. Internet dies.

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CSN Editor: Convenience, an existing infrastructure, lower costs, the U.S. government not far away .... all of these are good reasons on why Amazon has its centers in northern Virginia. But what I found even more interesting after reading this report was this sobering statistic .... Today, up to 70 percent of Internet traffic worldwide travels through this region.

After Ebola Two Tropical Diseases Pose New Threats

Reuters: After Ebola, two other tropical diseases pose new threats

LONDON (Reuters) - A little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, scientists said on Monday, while a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm.

The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them.

Researchers in the journal Nature Microbiology called for a bacterial infection called meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organizations and policy makers.

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CSN Editor: I know about the Zika virus .... a nasty outbreak in Brazil. But Melioidosis .... this is something new. The above video is on the Zika virus. The video below is on Melioidosis.

Google Chairman: Artificial Intelligence Can Help Solve World's ‘Hard Problems’

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet Inc. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Bloomberg: Google Chairman Thinks AI Can Help Solve World's ‘Hard Problems’

* AI could help with population growth, education, Schmidt says
* Field getting crowded with Facebook, Microsoft also investing

Google’s chairman thinks artificial intelligence will let scientists solve some of the world’s "hard problems," like population growth, climate change, human development, and education.

Rapid development in the field of AI means the technology can help scientists understand the links between cause and effect by sifting through vast quantities of information, said Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., the holding company that owns Google.

“AI will play this role to navigate through this and help us.”

It can also aid companies in designing new, personalized systems. In the future, Schmidt would like to see “Eric and Not-Eric,” he said at a conference in New York, where “Eric” is the flesh-and-blood Schmidt and“not-Eric is this digital thing that helps me.”

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CSN Editor: We are far away from what he is envisioning.

Scientific Breakthroughs In 2015

Nature 

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The Independent: Scientific breakthroughs in 2015 that could change the world

Advances in biology and cosmology have dominated the science year.

Growing a “brain in a dish”, the prospect of creating designer babies, and the possibility of detecting the first signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence – these are just some of the most important scientific news stories of 2015, according to some of the world’s leading scholars celebrating the year’s achievements.

The question posed to the top thinkers was this: what do you consider the most interesting recent scientific news and what makes it important? Back came a smorgasbord of essay-length answers from more than 100 contributors to Edge.org, the online salon for scientists, philosophers and followers of the “third culture” merging science and the humanities.

Read more ....

The Pace Of Scientific Innovation Is Speeding Up

Image from Atelier

Wall Street Journal: Science Is Stepping Up the Pace of Innovation

Big advances in astronomy and genetics.

Every year on the website Edge, scientists and other thinkers reply to one question. This year it’s “What do you consider the most interesting recent news” in science? The answers are fascinating. We’re used to thinking of news as the events that happen in a city or country within a few weeks or months. But scientists expand our thinking to the unimaginably large and the infinitesimally small.

Despite this extraordinary range, the answers of the Edge contributors have an underlying theme. The biggest news of all is that a handful of large-brained primates on an insignificant planet have created machines that let them understand the world, at every scale, and let them change it too, for good or ill.

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CSN Editor: Are we in a new age of scientific discovery .... it looks like it.

Have Gravitational Waves Finally Been Detected?

Binary stars may generate gravitational waves. R. Hurt - Caltech/JPL

Popular Science: Physicist Tweets Rumour That Gravitational Waves May Have Finally Been Detected

If true, the discovery would support one of Einstein's major predicitons.

In September, the Caltech theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss tweeted:

Rumor of a gravitational wave detection at LIGO detector. Amazing if true. Will post details if it survives.

— Lawrence M. Krauss (@LKrauss1) September 25, 2015

The folks on the LIGO experiment neither confirmed nor denied the rumor, and in Krauss's rumor-mongering raised hackles in the astrophysics community.

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CSN Editor: Waiting for the official announcement.

10 Essential David Bowie Songs

Wired: 10 Essential David Bowie Songs to Remember the Iconoclast

DAVID BOWIE, WHO died Sunday at the age of 69, released more than 20 studio albums (and dozens of singles) during a decades-long career that found him infatuated with everything from starry-eyed space-folk to guitar-hero glam-rock to gurgling electronica. Reducing that output to a single best-of list is impossible, but here are 10 tunes that, at the very least, display his verve, his vigor, and his ongoing love of the new:

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Can You Run A Silicon Valley Startup Without A Cellphone?

That’s right: I do not own a cellphone; I do not use a cellphone. I do not have a phone. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

The Guardian: I run a Silicon Valley startup – but I refuse to own a cellphone

In the heart of the most tech-obsessed corner of the planet, Steve Hilton hasn’t had a phone in years. He’s relaxed, carefree, happier. His wife on the other hand ...

Before you read on, I want to make one thing clear: I’m not trying to convert you. I’m not trying to lecture you or judge you. Honestly, I’m not. It may come over like that here and there, but believe me, that’s not my intent. In this piece, I’m just trying to ... explain.

People who knew me in a previous life as a policy adviser to the British prime minister are mildly surprised that I’m now the co-founder and CEO of a tech startup . And those who know that I’ve barely read a book since school are surprised that I have now actually written one.

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CSN Editor: Yes .... it is possible that you can do a Silicon Valley start-up without owning a cellphone (I have done it myself). But you will need email (and a land-line).

The Toilet You Only Clean Once A Year

BBC: CES 2016: The toilet you only clean once a year

An "intelligent" toilet that opens when you approach it and self-cleans with every flush is on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

It also cleans the user with an aerated wand, which delivers warm water and warm air "from a seated position", a spokeswoman said.

Despite a $9,800 (£6,704) price tag, more than 40 million earlier versions of the Neorest toilets have been sold.

Bathroom firm Toto said the new prototype was still in development.

CSN Editor: $9.800 price tag .... please. But they have sold 40 million of them.

David Bowie Was An Internet Pioneer

BBC: David Bowie: The internet pioneer

David Bowie is best remembered for his music - but he was also groundbreaking in his use of technology, not least his internet service, BowieNet, which launched in September 1998.

In a time before Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or even MySpace, most artists provided little if any online material to their followers.

But Bowie's platform not only offered a wide variety of exclusive content, but also several ways to interact with the singer himself.

"In my view, BowieNet had to be the most groundbreaking reachout to fans that I have ever seen any artist ever do," Craig Carrington, one of its users, says.

"He just had the attitude that if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right."

Update: BowieNet: how David Bowie's ISP foresaw the future of the internet (The Guardian).

WNU Editor: He may be gone, but his music will last for the ages.

Who Owns Antarctica?

CSN Editor: Its complicated.

This Is What Happens When You Reply To Spam Email (Video)

From TED: Suspicious emails: unclaimed insurance bonds, diamond-encrusted safe deposit boxes, close friends marooned in a foreign country. They pop up in our inboxes, and standard procedure is to delete on sight. But what happens when you reply? Follow along as writer and comedian James Veitch narrates a hilarious, weeks-long exchange with a spammer who offered to cut him in on a hot deal.

CSN Editor: Hilarious and true.

10 Mysterious Extinct Human Species (Video)

The Future Of TV

CBS: The future of TV, virtual reality on display at CES 2016

If CES 2016 is anything to go by, the future of how we enjoy home entertainment is here.

From the new wave of High Dynamic Range (HDR) televisions to the arrival of virtual reality, the floor of the consumer electronics and technology trade show in Las Vegas has been filled with examples of how home entertainment is changing. CNET reporter Kara Tsuboi was on hand to take a look at the screens of the future and the new ways people will be viewing them in their living rooms.

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CSN Editor: Bring the costs .... and they will become popular.

There Are Nine Members In The Nuclear Club

Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY: The Nuclear Club: Who are the 9 members?

Nine countries are known to possess nuclear weapons.

The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have among them approximately 15,850 nuclear weapons — 4,300 of them deployed with operational forces, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The institute, an independent organization whose research centers on global security, said 1,800 of those weapons are kept in a state of high operational alert.

The number of nuclear weapons in the world is declining, mainly because Russia and the United States are reducing their stockpiles. The two countries' arsenals make up more than 90% of nuclear weapons globally, according to the institute.

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CSN Editor: Nine today .... tomorrow .... who knows?

Do The Clintons Believe In Aliens?

Daily Mail: Hillary to open the X-Files: Clinton promises to 'get to the bottom' of Area 51 if she becomes President and stuns reporter by saying 'I think we may have been visited already'

* Hillary Clinton reportedly made the promise when speaking with The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire
* Clinton had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007
* In 2014, Bill Clinton told late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel that he wouldn't be surprised if aliens visited Earth
* Hillary Clinton appeared to agree with her husband's comments last week
* She said she would 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that if she is elected, she will 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens.

She made the promise when speaking with Daymond Steer of The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire. She had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007.

When asked if she would support UFO disclosure group efforts, she enthusiastically said 'yes'.

In 2007, Clinton said the most common freedom-of-information requests her husband Bill Clinton received at his library were about UFOs.

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CSN Editor: I guess even the Clintons like to believe.

More News On Hillary Clinton Promising To Reveal The Truth Of Area 51

Hillary Clinton plans to investigate Area 51 if she’s elected -- Red Orbit
Hillary Clinton says aliens may have paid us a visit -- CNET
Aliens May Have Visited Earth Already, Hillary Clinton Says -- Space.com
Hillary Clinton (jokingly) pledges UFO probe -- CNN
I want to believe: Hillary Clinton says aliens may have visited Earth -- RT

What Are The Most Valuable Substances By Weight?

Click on Image to Enalrge

Zero Hedge: Visualizing The Most Valuable Substances By Weight

While gold is undoubtedly one of the most traded substances on earth, it also happens to be one of the most valuable substances by weight. Although prices fluctuate, one gram of gold will cost you on average around $35. This got us thinking about how much other primarily naturally occurring substances out there cost.

This new infographic, via ValueWalk, explores how much you would pay for a gram of everything from saffron, widely recognised as the world’s most expensive spice, to platinum and rhodium. While the market for these goods can’t match the sizeable gold market, whose depth and liquidity is unparalleled, the trading prices of these substances can widely surpass that of gold; though like gold, the prices of these substances are subject to fluctuations.

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CSN Editor: For more information on Californium (the world's most expensive substance by weight), go here.

The Radical Plan To Manipulate Gravity

André Füzfa from the University of Namur has proposed a method to produce and detect gravitational fields, and says it’s achievable with current technologies.

Daily Mail: The radical plan to manipulate GRAVITY: Researcher reveals scheme to create and control gravitational fields using current technology

* Mathematical proposal aims to unlock new era of experimental gravity
* Researcher says current technologies could let humans to control gravity
* Experiment could put Einstein's theory of relativity to the ultimate test

Creating artificial gravitational fields that humans can manipulate and observe may seem like an idea from science fiction, but one researcher is now looking to turn the concept into a reality.
André Füzfa from the University of Namur has proposed a method that would allow humans to control gravity, and says it’s achievable with current technologies.
In the mathematically supported proposal, Füzfa describes the device which would take on this task, and be used to observe how magnetic fields bend space-time.

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CSN Editor: I wish them luck.

The 10 Corporations That Control The World’s Food

Revealed! The 10 Corporations that Control the World's #Food! Click for more: https://t.co/Yg4wQCcMEg pic.twitter.com/QWW3P47Zp9

— Good Shopping Guide (@EthicalCompany) January 7, 2016

The Good Shopping Guide: The 10 Corporations that Control the World’s Food

A significant amount of well-known brands are produced by just ten food companies. Between these ten largest food and drink manufacturers, which control most of the world’s food production, it is estimated that they make 1 billion US dollars per day.

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CSN Editor: A lot of junk food companies in this bunch.

The Endless Mini Is A $79 Desktop CPU (Video)

CSN Editor: Their website is here.

Reducing Brain Inflammation Shown To Be A Key For An Alzheimer's Treatment

The dots in the picture are immune cells called microglia (highlighted with a black stain), which are more prevalent in brains affected by Alzheimer’s. Photograph: Carol Colton lab, Duke Universit/PA

The Guardian: Alzheimer's treatment closer as brain inflammation shown to be key

Study shows inflammation-reducing chemical prevents memory and behavioural problems in diseased mice, raising hopes for human treatment

Scientists have fresh hopes for an Alzheimer’s treatment after experiments to reduce inflammation in diseased mouse brains prevented memory and behavioural problems in the animals.

Alzheimer’s disease has long been linked to disruption in the brain’s immune system, but the latest research adds to evidence that inflammation in the brain is not so much caused by the disease, but is a driver of the disorder.

Researchers at Southampton University studied tissues from healthy human brains and others affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They found that Alzheimer’s brains had more immune cells, known as microglia, than healthy brains.

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CSN Editor: Faster please.

See The Latest In Boating Tech Before It Hits The Water (Video From The New York Boat Show)

How Did Dinosaurs Woo Mates?

The Guardian: Dinosaurs performed dances to woo mates, according to new evidence

‘Dinosaur foreplay’ was a ritual, bird-like dance, according to paleontologists who studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado

Predatory dinosaurs performed a ritual, bird-like dance to woo their mates, according to paleontologists who have studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado.

Paleobiologists have long speculated that dinosaurs had mating rituals like those of their descendants, modern birds, but the scrapes would be the first physical evidence of “dinosaur foreplay”, lead scientist Martin Lockley said.

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Editor: These scrapes could have been caused by dinosaurs clipping their long nails ... bottom lone is that we do not know. But the mating ritual theory is definitely more interesting.

Study: Memories Can Be Recovered In Just A Tenth Of A Second

Using a brain scanner (stock image), scientists have found memories can be recovered in a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink. The study also found retrieval can be obstructed by the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head

Daily Mail: Your brain recovers memories faster than the blink of an eye: Retrieval happens FIVE times quicker than thought

* Events can be recalled in 100 milliseconds, compared to 300 for a blink
* Mechanism of memory recovery starts with activation of sensory areas
* The process can be interfered with by placing magnetic coils on the head

The blink of an eye is one of the fastest reactions the human body can make - but is a slow process compared to the recovery of memory.

Using a brain scanner, scientists have discovered that memories can be recovered in just a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink.

Previous research had estimated this at around five tenths of a second.

The researchers also found retrieval can be obstructed if the person is subjected to repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head.

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Editor: That is definitely fast.

This Program Can Read Emotions From Looking At A Person's Face

Daily Mail: Apple buys artificial intelligence firm that can read EMOTIONS from looking at a person's face

* Algorithm originally designed to analyse responses to ads
* Can sort through and analyse thousands of images a day to track emotion
* Has been user to spot angry drivers and disgruntled shoppers

Apple has bought an artificial intelligence firm developing software that can tell a person's emotion from their facial expression.

The software was originally developed by Emotient to help assess viewer reactions to their ads, but has also been used to look for signs of pain in patients, and even monitor shopper's facial expressions.

However, it is unclear what Apple plans to use the technology for.

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CSN Editor: The applications for this tech is unless.

VR Porn Is The Next Big Thing In Adult entertainment

Mashable: VR porn is here and it's scary how realistic it is

I've tried a lot of different virtual reality experiences. Some good, some extraordinarily amazing, and some terrible. But mostly good.

I've never, however, tried VR porn. So when Naughty America, one of the U.S.'s largest pornography production companies, invited me to try out VR porn for myself at CES, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Would I merely be a spectator in a room watching people get freaky? Or would I actually be having VR sex?

I got my answer as soon as I slipped on a Samsung Gear VR headset and hit play on a VR porn video.

As the Naughty America title screen faded away, I found myself transported into a bedroom. Kneeling before me was a female porn star who was seductively talking dirty to me. I looked down and saw some guy's muscular body. Well, that's not mine, I thought to myself. I was confused. Whose body was this? Then I realized, I was now this guy.

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CSN Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... the porn industry is probably going to make a lot of money from this, and the manufacturers of these headsets even more..

Chinese Chef's Knife Skills (Video)

CSN Editor: Wow .... I am impressed.

How Do You Train A Dog To Sniff-Out Bombs

Photo credit: Sgt. Joshua LaPere for the U.S. Army

Priceonomics: How Do You Train a Dog to Sniff Bombs?

To a well-trained dog, nothing is more exciting than finding a bomb.

When Lucca, a German shepherd–Belgian Malinois mix, smelled explosives in the Nahri Saraj District of Afghanistan in March 2012, her tail started wagging. She looked toward her handler, Marine Corporal Juan Rodriguez. He patted her side and said in a singsong voice, “Good girl, Lucca!” before alerting his unit that Lucca had found a hidden improvised explosive device.

The thirteen-year war in Afghanistan was the longest in American history. The Iraq War lasted another eight, and America’s involvement in both countries has not truly ended.

In both cases, American troops faced insurgents whose most lethal weapon was the improvised explosive device (IED): explosives rigged to radio transmitters, timers, or motion sensors (stripped from washing machines, security floodlights, and garage openers) and buried along routes taken by American patrols.

The Department of Defense spent $19 billion researching the best way to detect IEDs before settling on an old technology: dogs. Lucca was one of over 2,500 dogs trained to associate the scent of explosives with a reward, teamed up with a soldier-handler, and sent to Afghanistan or Iraq.

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CSN Editor: So typical of the Pentagon .... after spending billions they then go back to what always worked before .... in the case of finding bombs .... dogs. But having said that ... this is a fascinating read.

Bad Military Tactics In The New 'Independence Day' Movie?

Joseph Trevithick, War Is Boring: The new Independence Day is full of terrible military tactics

The original 1996 movie Independence Day pitted American pilots and troops — and eventually the entire world — against an extraterrestrial threat armed with laser cannons and energy shields. Marine aviators, including Will Smith's character Capt. Steven Hiller, watch helplessly as their missiles disintegrate.

Nimble otherworldly fighters quickly pick off the F/A-18 fighter jets, killing most of the pilots. By the dramatic climax, very little has changed. Even after Hiller and David Levinson — played by Jeff Goldblum — succeed in disrupting the alien shields in a near-suicidal mission, the invaders wield considerable firepower and inflict heavy casualties.

But according to the December trailer for the sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, the American military did very little soul searching in the interceding two decades. "I spent 20 years trying to get us ready for this," Goldblum's Levinson says in the teaser as we see the first images of the new flying machines.

CSN Editor: I am still going to see the movie. :)

Blame Our Ancient Ancestors For Our Allergies

Researchers found large numbers of people carry genes for Toll-like receptors, which play an key role in the immune system, that were inherited from Neanderthals. In the map (pictured), orange and green segments are proportional to number of people in each population with these Neanderthal and Denisovan genes

Daily Mail: Suffer from allergies? Blame Neanderthals! Genes inherited from our ancient human relatives made our immune systems 'oversensitive'

* Two studies reveal our immune systems were shaped by Neanderthal DNA
* Neanderthals are thought to have interbred with humans 50,000 years ago
* One to 6 per cent of DNA in modern Eurasians is from these early humans
* Scientists have found variants of three genes from Neanderthals that have made our immune systems more sensitive and so produce allergies

They died out around 45,000 years ago as our ancestors moved into their territory and perhaps even killed them off, but Neanderthals may have had the last laugh - by causing us to suffer from allergies.

A new genetic study has revealed the genes inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals after our species interbred 50,000 years ago play a key role in our immune system today.

While these genetic variations have increased the ability of those who have them to ward off infection, they have also left large numbers of people more prone to allergies.

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CSN Editor: Unfortunately .... as a sufferer .... this news does not give me any comfort from the symptoms that I am suffering right now.