Axiom Plans A New Private-Sector Outpost in Space

A seed-funded company named Axiom wants to build a private-sector outpost in orbit by launching a new module for the International Space Station, according to an article on Space News. Once on the station, Axiom Space would use it for commercial purposes, ranging from research to tourism. [Former space station manager] Suffredini said that it would also be available for use by NASA when the company is not using it, helping the process of transitioning research done on the International Space Station to future private stations. Research hardware elsewhere in the station could eventually be moved to this module to allow its continued use after the station’s retirement. Slashdot reader MarkWhittington shares an article from Blasting News: In the meantime, Nanoracks, a company that is already handling some of the logistics for the ISS, is proposing a commercial airlock for the ISS. The development of commercial space stations, as well as commercial spacecraft such as the SpaceX Dragon and the Boeing Starliner, constitutes NASA’s long-term strategy of handing off low-Earth orbit to the private sector while it concentrates on deep space exploration. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Axiom Plans A New Private-Sector Outpost in Space

After Death, Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life

Two surprising studies reveal new information about what genes do after death. Slashdot reader gurps_npc writes: You think your body stops after death, but up to two days later certain genes may turn on and start doing stuff for another two days before they give up the ghost. We are all zombies for up to four days after death. Gizmodo reports that in fact “hundreds” of genes apparently spring back to life. “[P]revious work on human cadavers demonstrated that some genes remain active after death, but we had no idea as to the extent of this strange phenomenon.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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After Death, Hundreds of Genes Spring Back to Life

IRS Gets Hacked Again, Forced To Scrap Their Entire PIN System

The IRS has abandoned a system of PIN numbers used when filing tax returns online after they detected “automated attacks taking place at an increasing frequency, ” adding that only “a small number” of taxpayers were affected. An anonymous reader quotes the highlights from Engadget: The IRS chose not to kill the tool back in February, since most commercial tax software products use it… If you’ll recall, identity thieves used malware to steal taxpayers’ info from other websites, which was then used to generate 100, 000 PINs, back in February… This time, the IRS detected “automated attacks taking place at an increasing frequency” thanks to the additional defenses it added after that initial hack… the agency determined that it would be safer to give up on a verification method that’s scheduled for the chopping block anyway. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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IRS Gets Hacked Again, Forced To Scrap Their Entire PIN System

Austin Is Conducting Sting Operations Against Ride-Sharing Drivers

Since the Uber and Lyft ride-sharing apps stopped service in Austin, drunk driving has increased, riders are hunting for alternatives, and the police are conducting undercover sting operations against unauthorized ride-sharing drivers. With Chicago also considering new restrictions on ride-sharing apps, Slashdot reader MarkWhittington shares this report from Austin: With thousands of drivers and tens of thousands of riders who once depended on ride-sharing services in a lurch, a group called Arcade City has tried to fill the void with a person-to-person site to link up drivers and riders who then negotiate a fare. Of course, according to a story on KVUE, the Austin city government, and the police are on the case. The Austin Police Department has diverted detectives and resources to conduct sting operations on ride-sharing drivers who attempt to operate without official sanction. Undercover operatives will arrange for a ride with an Arcade City driver and then bust them, impounding their vehicle and imposing a fine. “The first Friday and Saturday after Uber was gone, we were joking that it was like the zombie apocalypse of drunk people, ” one former ride-sharing driver told Vocative.com. Earlier this month the site compared this year’s drunk driving arrests to last years — and discovered that in the three weeks since Uber and Lyft left Austin, 7.5% more people have been arrested for drunk driving. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Austin Is Conducting Sting Operations Against Ride-Sharing Drivers

Four crops grown in simulated Martian soil are safe to eat

We’re still not sure if we can Mark Watney our way through a Martian mission , because soil on the red planet contains heavy metals toxic to humans, including lead and arsenic. A team of scientists from the Wageningen University in the Netherlands, however, found out that radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes grown in Martian soil are safe to eat after years of research. The scientists have been growing different types of plants in soil that NASA developed to simulate what’s found on the red planet since 2013. While they haven’t exactly eaten any of them yet — and team leader Wieger Wamelink admits radishes are still best grown on Earth — they confirmed that these four can grow on Mars without absorbing dangerous levels of heavy metals. The researchers’ work isn’t done yet, especially since NASA and various private space corporations have already begun planning manned missions. They’re also growing six other crops, including potatoes, which still have to be tested for heavy metal content. The currently running a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for their project. first #potato flower on Mars soil simulant, to feed the human #Martians , including #Whatney https://t.co/EZK76clZHr pic.twitter.com/qQoRAlzy5u — Wieger Wamelink (@wamelink_wieger) May 16, 2016 Harvest of green beans on #Mars and # moon soil simulants pic.twitter.com/lNUJZlPQ50 — Wieger Wamelink (@wamelink_wieger) May 31, 2016 #peas on #Mars and #moon soil simulant at @WageningenUR . On the moon you will be a bit hungry, sorry about that. pic.twitter.com/qAlht1esZS — Wieger Wamelink (@wamelink_wieger) June 20, 2016 #cress on #Mars and #moon soil simulant at @WageningenUR . they looked and smelled tasty. pic.twitter.com/TvNKwfnTuk — Wieger Wamelink (@wamelink_wieger) June 20, 2016 Source: The Guardian , Physorg , Wageningen University

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Four crops grown in simulated Martian soil are safe to eat

Artificially Intelligent Russian Robot Escapes…Again

Slashdot reader Taco Cowboy brings a new report about Russian robot IR77, which has escaped from its research lab again… The story goes that an engineer working at Promobot Laboratories, in the Russian city of Perm, had left a gate open. Out trundled Promobot, traveling some 150 feet into the city before running out of juice. There it sat, batteries mostly dead, in the middle of a Perm street for 40 minutes, slowing cars to a halt and puzzling traffic cops A researcher at Promobot’s facility in Russia said that the runaway robot was designed to interact with human beings, learn from experiences, and remember places and the faces of everyone it meets. Other versions of the Promobot have been docile, but this one just can’t seem to fall in line, even after the researchers reprogrammed it twice. Despite several rewrites of Promobot’s artificial intelligence, the robot continued to move toward exits. “We have changed the AI system twice, ” Kivokurtsev said. “So now I think we might have to dismantle it”. Fans of the robot are pushing for a reprieve, according to an article titled ‘Don’t kill it!’: Runaway robot IR77 could be de-activated because of ‘love for freedom’ Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Artificially Intelligent Russian Robot Escapes…Again

NASCAR Team Pays Ransomware Fee To Recover Files Worth $2 Million

An anonymous reader writes: “NASCAR team Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing (CSLFR) revealed today it faced a ransomware infection this past April when it almost lost access to crucial files worth nearly $2 million, containing car parts lists and custom high-profile simulations that would have taken 1, 500 man-hours to replicate, ” reports Softpedia. “The infection took place on the computer belonging to CSLFR’s crew chief. Winston’s staff detected the infection when encrypted files from Winston’s computer began syncing to their joint Dropbox account.” It was later discovered that he was infected with the TeslaCrypt ransomware. Because the team had no backups of the crucial data, they eventually paid the ransom (around $500). This happened before TeslaCrypt’s authors decided to shut down their operations and release free decryption keys. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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NASCAR Team Pays Ransomware Fee To Recover Files Worth $2 Million

These Images Were Taken With an Entirely New Kind of Photography

Image: Capasso Lab/Harvard SEAS These beetles may look like two different species, but they’re the same individual. The difference lies in how they were photographed, using a new lens that allows scientists to “see” one of the most fundamental properties of biology: chirality. Read more…

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These Images Were Taken With an Entirely New Kind of Photography

The original French tumbler, made by the company that invented tempered glass

Duralex is a French manufacturer of glassware, tableware and cookware. Picardie is one of the lines of of glassware they sell, and it is actually somewhat famous on their own, for good reason. I have had sets of the 3 3/4 oz. and the 12 oz. glasses for about 12 years. The good: They are made from tempered glass, like car windshields, so they are tough and resistant to breaking and chipping. They will survive most falls from table-height, even onto stone or tile floors. In fact I have yet to break one, and I have gone through perhaps six wine glasses in the same time. When they do break, they break into little squarish pebbles rather than sharp shards. (But that is not unique to Duralex.) They come in nine different sizes, from little 3 oz. Old-Fashioned glasses to 16 oz. tumblers. They are relatively thin and light, their strength notwithstanding. They nest and stack nicely. The faceted, swelling design makes the glasses easy to hold, even for small hands, and even when wet. They have an absolutely classic design. They might be the only glasses that people will actually recognize. I saw something very like them in a painting by van Gogh. The bad: There are no bads as such. They might only be the second toughest glasses there are (the first might be the Bormioli Rocco Rock Bar line, which resembles the Picardie line, but doesn’t have exactly the same familiar design. Especially, the lip is thicker, which makes them subtly less comfortable to drink from.) The Libbey Gibraltar glasses are similar but made of thicker glass, which makes them heavier. Some people might like that, especially for sipping whiskey. But they don’t stack. In sum, Duralex Picardie glasses are a design classic that look as good in a 18th century Provence kitchen as a sleek London flat. They are also durable, light, comfortable, and cheap. They don’t have any real flaws. — Karl Chwe Duralex Picardie 12 oz. Clear Tumbler, Set of 6 ($30

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The original French tumbler, made by the company that invented tempered glass