Tag: science

L.A. Times National Security Reporter Cleared Stories With CIA Before Publishing

New submitter Prune (557140) writes with a link to a story at The Intercept which might influence the way you look at media coverage of the kind of government activity that deserves rigorous press scrutiny. According to the story, “Email exchanges between CIA public affairs officers and Ken Dilanian, now an Associated Press intelligence reporter who previously covered the CIA for the Times, show that Dilanian enjoyed a closely collaborative relationship with the agency, explicitly promising positive news coverage and sometimes sending the press office entire story drafts for review prior to publication. In at least one instance, the CIA’s reaction appears to have led to significant changes in the story that was eventually published in the Times.” Another telling excerpt: On Friday April 27, 2012, he emailed the press office a draft story that he and a colleague, David Cloud, were preparing. The subject line was “this is where we are headed, ” and he asked if “you guys want to push back on any of this.” It appears the agency did push back. On May 2, 2012, he emailed the CIA a new opening to the story with a subject line that asked, “does this look better?” The piece ran on May 16, and while it bore similarities to the earlier versions, it had been significantly softened. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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L.A. Times National Security Reporter Cleared Stories With CIA Before Publishing

New DNA Analysis On Old Blood Pegs Aaron Kosminski As Jack the Ripper

It surely won’t be the last theory offered, but a century and a quarter after the notorious crimes of Jack the Ripper, an “armchair detective” has employed DNA analysis on the blood-soaked shawl of one of the Ripper’s victims, and has declared it in a new book an unambiguous match with Jewish immigrant Aaron Kosminski, long considered a suspect. Kosminski died in 1919 in an insane asylum. The landmark discovery was made after businessman Russell Edwards, 48, bought the shawl at auction and enlisted the help of Dr Jari Louhelainen, a world-renowned expert in analysing genetic evidence from historical crime scenes. Using cutting-edge techniques, Dr Louhelainen was able to extract 126-year-old DNA from the material and compare it to DNA from descendants of [Ripper victim Catherine] Eddowes and the suspect, with both proving a perfect match. (Also at The Independent.) It’s not the first time DNA evidence has been used to try to pin down the identidy of Jack the Ripper, but the claimed results in this case are far less ambiguous than another purported mitochondrial DNA connection promoted by crime novelist Patricia Cornwell in favor of artist William Sickert as the killer in a 2002 book. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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New DNA Analysis On Old Blood Pegs Aaron Kosminski As Jack the Ripper

CDC Statistics Show What Happens When You Don’t Vaccinate

The latest figures: Between January 1 and August 29 of this year, nearly 600 confirmed measles cases were reported to the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The resurgence is the greatest the U.S. has seen since the disease was eliminated from the country in 2000. Read more…

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CDC Statistics Show What Happens When You Don’t Vaccinate

Deadmau5 Accuses Disney of Pirating His Music

An anonymous reader writes After Disney objected to musician Joel Zimmerman [aka Deadmau5]’s trademark application in the U.S. (his logo is already properly trademarked in many other countries), a battle of trademarks and copyrights ensued. Apparently, Disney was (URL has since been disabled, as per DMCA law requires) hosting a video containing a remix of music which Zimmerman claims ownership of. Not only that, but the Deadmau5 logo was prominently displayed next to said video. The mouse fight was on and a few hours ago Deadmau5 retaliated with a rather surprising counter attack. As it turns out, Disney is hosting a Deadmau5 video on their website, without permission. “Disney prominently features the deadmau5 Mark next to the Infringing Video. implying a non-existent endorsement by Zimmerman, ” the letter reads. “Again. we are unaware of any license allowing you the right to reproduce, distribute or otherwise exploit the deadmau5 Mark or to exploit Zimmerman’s name and likeness in connection with same.” At the time of writing Disney hasn’t complied with the request, but it seems that they have no other option than to comply. Whether it will change anything in their stance towards the DJ’s mouse ear trademark application is doubtful though. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Deadmau5 Accuses Disney of Pirating His Music

California Blue Whales Rebound From Whaling

vinces99 writes: The number of California blue whales has rebounded to near historical levels, according to new research (abstract) by the University of Washington, and while the number of blue whales struck by ships is likely above allowable U.S. limits, such strikes do not immediately threaten that recovery. This is the only population of blue whales known to have recovered from whaling – blue whales as a species having been hunted nearly to extinction. Blue whales – nearly 100 feet in length and weighing 190 tons as adults – are the largest animals on Earth and the heaviest ever, weighing more than twice as much as the largest known dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus. They are an icon of the conservation movement and many people want to minimize harm to them, according to Trevor Branch, UW assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences. California blue whales, most visible while feeding 20 to 30 miles off the California coast, range from the equator to the Gulf of Alaska. Today they number about 2, 200, according to monitoring by other research groups, which is likely about 97 percent of the historical levels. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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California Blue Whales Rebound From Whaling

Hackers Break Into HealthCare.gov

mpicpp is one of many to point out that hackers broke into the HealthCare.gov website in July and uploaded malicious software. “Hackers silently infected a Healthcare.gov computer server this summer. But the malware didn’t manage to steal anyone’s data, federal officials say. On Thursday, the Health and Human Services Department, which manages the Obamacare website, explained what happened. And officials stressed that personal information was never at risk. “Our review indicates that the server did not contain consumer personal information; data was not transmitted outside the agency, and the website was not specifically targeted, ” HHS spokesman Kevin Griffis said. But it was a close call, showing just how vulnerable computer systems can be. It all happened because of a series of mistakes. A computer server that routinely tests portions of the website wasn’t properly set up. It was never supposed to be connected to the Internet — but someone had accidentally connected it anyway. That left it open to attack, and on July 8, malware slipped past the Obamacare security system, officials said. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Hackers Break Into HealthCare.gov

How Big Would a Single Tree Need To Be to Support All Human Life?

Trees are vital for human life: they use up CO2 and pump out oxygen, as well as providing food, fuel and, err, climbing frames, too. But how big would a single tree need to be in order to sustain the human race? Read more…

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How Big Would a Single Tree Need To Be to Support All Human Life?

Hitachi Developing Reactor That Burns Nuclear Waste

Zothecula writes The problem with nuclear waste is that it needs to be stored for many thousands of years before it’s safe, which is a tricky commitment for even the most stable civilization. To make this situation a bit more manageable, Hitachi, in partnership with MIT, the University of Michigan, and the University of California, Berkeley, is working on new reactor designs that use transuranic nuclear waste for fuel; leaving behind only short-lived radioactive elements. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Hitachi Developing Reactor That Burns Nuclear Waste

Hackers Behind Biggest-Ever Password Theft Begin Attacks

An anonymous reader writes “Back in August, groups of Russian hackers assembled the biggest list of compromised login credentials ever seen: 1.2 billion accounts. Now, domain registrar Namecheap reports the hackers have begun using the list to try and access accounts. “Overnight, our intrusion detection systems alerted us to a much higher than normal load against our login systems. … The group behind this is using the stored usernames and passwords to simulate a web browser login through fake browser software. This software simulates the actual login process a user would use if they are using Firefox/Safari/Chrome to access their Namecheap account. The hackers are going through their username/password list and trying each and every one to try and get into Namecheap user accounts.” They report that most login attempts are failing, but some are succeeding. Now is a good time to check that none of your important accounts share passwords.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Hackers Behind Biggest-Ever Password Theft Begin Attacks

Radioactive Wild Boars Still Roaming the Forests of Germany

An anonymous reader writes 28 years after the Chernobyl accident, tests have found that more than one in three Saxony boars give off such high levels of radiation that they are unfit for consumption. In 2009 almost €425, 000 ($555, 000) was paid out to hunters in compensation for wild boar meat that was too contaminated to be sold. “It doesn’t cover the loss from game sales, but at least it covers the cost of disposal, ” says Steffen Richter, the head of the Saxon State Hunters Association. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Radioactive Wild Boars Still Roaming the Forests of Germany