05 Sci-Tech

Meta Settles $25 Million in Censorship Case – Vanguard

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

Meta Settles $25 Million in Censorship Case – Vanguard
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Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and President Donald Trump have reached a $25 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging censorship following the suspension of his accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The litigation sparked an intense debate over big tech companies using their authority to suspend or ban accounts for posted content. Meta’s legal team justified the two-year suspension of Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, stating that he violated the platform’s terms of service by “inciting violence.”

At the time of his suspension, CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a statement that read, “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great.”

In January 2023, the company restored Trump’s accounts on both platforms following his reelection campaign announcement. This came with new guidelines put in place by the corporation that addressed repeat offenders of the site’s regulations.

Breakthrough Discovery: Scientists Restore Key Alzheimer’s Pathway – SciTechDaily

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

Breakthrough Discovery: Scientists Restore Key Alzheimer’s Pathway – SciTechDaily
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A research team from the Keck School of Medicine at USC has identified the mechanisms of a cellular pathway that drives inflammation and aging, particularly in individuals with the APOE4 genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Their study also reveals a method for restoring cells to a healthy state, offering a potential new avenue for treatment. This discovery, the result of a decade-long investigation into the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) protein, was recently published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration.

Previous research has shown that low levels of HDL cholesterol—often called “good” cholesterol—in the brain increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This risk is linked to dysfunction in ABCA1, a protein responsible for producing HDL when functioning correctly.

But fixing those problems requires understanding the exact biological mechanisms at play—and those details have long eluded researchers, who faced an apparent paradox. In brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease, ABCA1 molecules increased, but their activity decreased.

1 million ‘interstellar objects’ — each larger than the Statue of Liberty — may lurk in the outer solar system– www.livescience.com

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

1 million ‘interstellar objects’ — each larger than the Statue of Liberty — may lurk in the outer solar system– www.livescience.com
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More than 1 million “interstellar objects” the size of the Statue of Liberty could be drifting unseen in the outer solar system right now, new simulations suggest. The hefty cosmic interlopers, which have traveled here from our closest stellar neighbors, are unlikely to ever come near Earth. However, smaller interstellar particles are likely hitting our planet every year, the study finds.

Until now, scientists have only detected two confirmed interstellar objects in the solar system: the unusually oblong object ‘Oumuamua, which some people incorrectly suspected was an alien probe when it was spotted in 2017, and Comet Borisov, which was discovered in 2019. Both of these objects, which are now long gone, were spotted sailing through our cosmic neighborhood at high speeds, making it clear that they originated from interstellar space.

However, scientists have long suspected that many other alien objects pass through the solar system undetected every year, and that even more interlopers likely reside here permanently. Several spacecraft, including NASA‘s now-deceased Cassini probe, have also previously detected tiny interstellar dust particles streaming through the solar system.

Armageddon defence system: The new missions that could protect Earth from world-killing asteroids – BBC Science Focus

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

Armageddon defence system: The new missions that could protect Earth from world-killing asteroids – BBC Science Focus
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The Hera spacecraft

Hera is a 1.2-tonne (2,645lb) spacecraft carrying five science instruments that will gather complementary data to help characterise Dimorphos.

There are two cameras, one working at visible wavelengths and another in the infrared; a hyperspectral imager that allows light to be split into small bands to aid geological and compositional investigations; a laser altimeter to gauge how far Hera is from the asteroid’s surface; and a radio experiment that helps determine the asteroids’ masses and gravitational fields.

In addition, Hera will also deploy two CubeSats, nanosatellites named Milani and Juventas. These small, secondary spacecraft will carry out additional investigations, including radar and spectroscopic analyses.

Historian who discovered Jack The Ripper’s real identity says ‘100% him’ – NewsNation Now

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

Historian who discovered Jack The Ripper’s real identity says ‘100% him’ – NewsNation Now
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 A historian and true crime sleuth may have cracked a case for the ages, sharing his bombshell findings with NewsNation’s “Banfield” Friday night.

Russell Edwards identified a 100% DNA match to locate the real identity of serial killer “Jack the Ripper.”

The infamous killer who terrorized London women may have been 23-year-old Aaron Kosminski, who had long been considered a suspect at the time.

“Oh, without a doubt, 100% it’s him,” said Edwards, who in 2007 bought a shawl that was found at the scene of the murder of Catherine Eddowes.

Could There Be Dark Matter Aliens?– www.realclearscience.com

pgnewser February 17, 2025 0

Could There Be Dark Matter Aliens?– www.realclearscience.com
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When it comes to the entirety of the Universe, the “stuff” that we’re made out of — atoms and their constituent particles — plays an important role. Protons, neutrons, and electrons, in atomic, nuclear, and ionic configurations, make up all of the light-emitting and light-absorbing structures that we know of.

Google removes AI weapons ban from updated principles – Gamereactor UK

pgnewser February 7, 2025 0

Google removes AI weapons ban from updated principles – Gamereactor UK
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Google has made a significant change to its artificial intelligence ethics, removing a longstanding pledge that the company would not use AI for weapons or surveillance purposes. This update, made to Google’s AI principles, eliminates clauses that had previously prevented the tech giant from developing technologies that could cause harm or violate internationally accepted human rights.

Instead, the updated principles are said to focus on responsible AI development, emphasising human oversight and alignment with international law. While Google claims the revisions reflect the rapid evolution of AI technology since the principles were established in 2018, the move has sparked concern among experts and former employees.

The shift comes at a time when artificial intelligence is advancing quickly and raising important questions about the balance between innovation and ethical responsibility. Some argue that the removal of these safeguards opens the door to potentially harmful AI applications, while others believe the new framework is simply an attempt to align with global industry standards. With this change, will other companies follow suit, and what impact could it have on the future of AI?

El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal with Trump administration– www.cnn.com

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

El Salvador offers to house violent US criminals and deportees of any nationality in unprecedented deal with Trump administration– www.cnn.com
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El Salvador has agreed to house violent US criminals and receive deportees of any nationality, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday, in an unprecedented – and legally problematic deal – that has alarmed critics and rights groups.

Rubio unveiled the agreement after meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, as part of a tour of several Central American countries intended to consolidate regional support for the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

“In an act of extraordinary friendship to our country … (El Salvador) has agreed to the most unprecedented and extraordinary migratory agreement anywhere in the world,” Rubio told reporters Monday.

The country will continue accepting Salvadoran deportees who illegally entered the US, he said. It will also “accept for deportation any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal from any nationality, be they MS-13 or Tren de Aragua and house them in his jails,” he said – referring to two notorious transnational gangs with members from El Salvador and Venezuela.

US firm unveils plan for 100,000-strong humanoid robot army to counter China – Interesting Engineering

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

US firm unveils plan for 100,000-strong humanoid robot army to counter China – Interesting Engineering
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Figure AI announced that it had signed its second major commercial partner, bringing the dream of humanoid robots from labs into everyday life closer than ever. CEO Brett Adcock said the deal might make it possible to ship 100,000 humanoid robots over the next four years.

While details of the new customer remain under wraps, Adcock claims it is “one of the biggest U.S. companies,” spurring immediate speculation that it could be a large retailer or technology enterprise with significant labor needs.

Adcock’s remarks came in an update on LinkedIn, where he emphasized the importance of forging deep relationships with high-capacity customers rather than spreading the company’s efforts thin across many smaller clients. “Our newest customer is one of the biggest U.S. companies,” Adcock said.

Printed nanoparticle sensors could enable personalised healthcare – Professional Engineering

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

Printed nanoparticle sensors could enable personalised healthcare – Professional Engineering
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Personalised healthcare could transform medicine. By tracking and measuring patients’ conditions, doctors could deliver the precise combination of nutrients and medications they need, stabilising and improving conditions.

To make that possible, healthcare professionals need a way to continuously monitor certain biomarkers. Wearable and implantable sensors offer a way to do that – but until now, scaling up production has been a challenge.

A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology hope to change that with a new technique for inkjet printing arrays of special nanoparticles, which could be used in mass production of long-lasting wearable sweat sensors. These could monitor biomarkers such as vitamins, hormones and medications in real time, allowing patients and physicians to track changes.

Wearable biosensors that incorporate the new nanoparticles have already been used to monitor metabolites in patients suffering from long Covid, and the levels of chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients.

“These are just two examples of what is possible,” said Professor Wei Gao, corresponding author of a paper describing the new technique. “There are many chronic conditions… that these sensors now give us the possibility to monitor continuously and non-invasively.”

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Trump’s Sovereign Wealth Fund XO Could Set Stage for TikTok Buyout

pgnewser February 4, 2025 0

President Donald Trump signed an order that creates a government-owned sovereign wealth fund which he suggests might be used for purchasing TikTok. The fund must be approved by congress as it is new federal spending as opposed to the allocation of resources already granted by congress.

Trump signs order to create sovereign wealth fund in United States, possibly to buy TikTok – UPI News
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President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the creation of a government-owned sovereign wealth fund of financial assets, which he said possibly could be used to buy TikTok.

Trump designated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick to create and lead such a fund. The new fund would take approval from Congresses, which normally approves federal spending, Axios reported.

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Trump Softening on China?

pgnewser January 30, 2025 0

With the inclusion of Elon Musk to President Donald Trump’s cabinet, it is no surprise to this writer that Trump appears to be softening his position on China. Musk, whose company Tesla recently lobbied the EU to protect China’s EV industry from tariffs, has a vested interest in U.S.-China relations remaining good. The one fly in the ointment might be Trump’s aggressive push to get China out of the Panama canal.

So far, Trump has softened his position on tariffs, though he continues to threaten China if they fail to stop delivering fentanyl to Mexico they will face daunting tariffs. China sent their VP, Han Zheng, to the inauguration, but the VP also met with Elon Musk to work out a deal between the CCP and Musk’s EV company, Tesla, which operates factories in China and hopes to sell to the China market.

China’s official meets with Elon Musk as Trump begins second term · TechNode– technode.com
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Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Jan. 19 called on US businesses to help boost trade relations between the rival countries in a meeting with Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and a member of Trump’s incoming administration, in Washington.

Why it matters: The meeting came just a day before Donald Trump took office for his second term as President of the United States on Monday at the US Capitol.

  • Han, who represented China at Trump’s inauguration, used the visit to also meet with new US Vice President JD Vance, as well as business leaders from US companies such as FedEx and Visa, according to a Bloomberg report.
Trump shifts to pragmatic China strategy in second term, softens tariff stance  Washington Times
15 Ways Trump Is a China Dove, Part 2 | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org
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Commentary: China has invested billions in ports around the world. This is why the West is so concerned– www.channelnewsasia.com
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China’s DeepSeek AI Crashes Tech Market

pgnewser January 28, 2025 0

Billions of dollars in value were lost in the tech market, which also includes the Chinese tech market, after a Chinese-owned tech company released a powerful AI reasoning model called DeepSeek that is far cheaper and a little more powerful than current AI models like ChatGPT. The world’s richest 500 people lost over $100 billion after the market responded to the stunning news.

Marc Andreesen, who created Netscape Navigator, called the release “AI’s Sputnik moment,” referring to the shock in America when, in 1959, the Soviet Union successfully launched a space satellite called Sputnik at a fraction of the cost of then-current U.S. programs. Donald Trump said of the “Sputnik moment,” that it “should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.”

DeepSeek AI Triggers A Collective Loss of $94 Billion In Wealth Of Tech Billionaires, Mark Zuckerberg And Jeff – Times Now
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DeepSeek AI has taken the tech industry by storm with its cost and resource-effective advanced-language model. DeepSeek engineers claim that their open-source language learning model utilises fewer and cheaper chips to perform the same tasks as any other AI model out there at a ‘shoestring cost’ of $5.6 million. This has led many investors to rethink why a significant capital investment is required to build the strongest models when a competent AI model has been developed at a fraction of development costs.
DeepSeek AI is reportedly outperforming ChatGPT in areas such as mathematics and coding, positioning itself as a new competent AI model. The Chinese AI startup quickly emerged as the no.1 free app on the iOS app store, emerging as a free alternative against ChatGPT. DeepSeek performs all the functions of an open-source AI language learning model by utilising just 2000 chips, DeepSeek engineers reported. Whereas ChatGPT required 10,000 Nvidia GPUs to process its training data.
DeepSeek AI was founded in 2023, by Liang Wenfeng. Headquartered in Hangzhou, China, this new AI model is set to revolutionise the tech industry as it has successfully developed artificial general intelligence at a comparatively low cost…
As per a report by Bloomberg, billionaires tied to artificial intelligence suffered losses. Huang’s wealth decreased by $20.1 billion, a 20% decline, while Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison’s $22.6 billion loss was greater in absolute figures, yet only accounted for 12% of his total fortune, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Michael Dell of Dell Inc. saw a $13 billion decrease in his wealth, while Binance Holdings Ltd. co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao lost $12.1 billion.