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• Post #4500076

  Gym rat asks #AIagent to book him a class, it hacks a waitlist #API to bump him up the list Australian broadcaster ABC identified gym-goer only as “Andrew.” The report says Andrew was using the #OpenClaw agent with #Anthropic’s #Claude #AI service. Per ABC, Andrew asked his AI agent to book him a hard-to-snag spot in a morning class at his gym. It first responded by telling him that it managed to book him in classes several weeks out, which isn’t supposed to be possible. https://www.theregister...

• Post #4396867

  A Device Hidden in #Cars Across the #US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It Now That's the disturbing discovery of a team of security researchers at UC San Diego, who found that a model of aftermarket #caralarm known as the #KARR Security System, installed in more than 2 million vehicles across the US can let any hacker within Bluetooth range send commands to silently unlock, turn off alarm, honk horn, or even disable ignition https://www.wired.com/story/a-device-hidden...

• Post #4387145

  Great Visual Story on US Marine Sanctuaries and Monuments The largest #conservation areas in the #US are in the #Pacific #Ocean. President Trump is rolling back their protections. Last year, President Trump opened parts of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument to allow commercial #fishing beyond 57mi from shore. In June, Trump proclaimed that #commercialfishing be allowed in the deep waters of three other Pacific monuments, including Papahānaumokuākea. https://apps.npr.org/trou...

• Post #4383660

  As Trump Promotes Critical Mineral #Mining, a Company Eyes the #Seafloor in Coastal #Virginia A proposed mining project off the #DelmarvaPeninsula is after minerals in heavy sands. Locals worry it would harm an important ecosystem. #KatieDawson, a commercial fisher, is worried that the ecosystem that supports her livelihood could be in jeopardy: A company wants to mine almost 2,500sq mi of the seafloor, an area larger than Delaware, 3-64 mi east of the Delmarva Peninsula. https://insideclimatene...

• Post #4375323

  ‘Stop all outdoor activities’: #SouthKorea records its highest ever temperature More than 20 localities in South Korea were under emergency #heatwave alerts on Sunday -- a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for the day. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/03/south-korea-highest-temperature #climate...

• Post #4279625

  Scientists race to collect the last #seeds from a critically #endangered #tree on Robinson Crusoe Island in #Chile before it goes #extinct Seeds from the last surviving wild Dendroseris neriifolia tree are now stored in Kew Gardens' Millennium #SeedBank, a botanic garden in West Sussex, England, where scientists are conducting germination trials and storing material for long-term conservation as researchers work to find ways to reintroduce the species into the wild. https://www.livescience.c...

• Post #4241018

  Workplaces look for cheaper #AI as ‘#tokenmaxxing’ fades as a corporate fad Bain & Company management consultants said many of big businesses firm advises have been taking a closer look at returns on their AI investments. Those who still favor racking up as many #tokens as possible are having a field day with new open-source models from #China's startups like Moonshot’s Kimi or Zhipu’s GLM, which nearly match the capabilities of top U.S. models at a fraction of the price. https://apnews....

• Post #4174133

  #GrapheneOS Defends Data-Wiping Function That Blocked US Border Search The foundation behind the ultra-secure Android-based OS is speaking out after an activist was indicted for using a 'duress password' to prevent federal agents from searching his phone #GrapheneOS, explained it offers a range of #privacy features to prevent data extraction. For example, one safeguard is the "auto-reboot timer" that'll reboot a locked device, leaving all files inside encrypted. https://ww...

• Post #4168818

  Drying Lakebeds Are Releasing Massive Amounts of #Carbon, Study Finds The #AralSea Has Been Drying Up For 60 Years. New Research Shows It's Also Releasing Massive Amounts of Carbon The study estimates that between 1960 and 2022, the evaporating sea has released 204 megatons of #carbondioxide into the atmosphere, based on site surveys and core samples collected from across the dry lakebed. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-worlds-largest-dried-lakebed-is-leaking-vast-amounts-of-carbon-but-sc...

• Post #4149502

  Celebrate #summer with two back-to-back #meteor shower bonanzas These #meteorshowers occur around the same time every year, with their peaks taking place over four days at the end of July First up are the #SouthernDeltaAquariids, scientists don’t know which #space rock the Southern Delta Aquariids originate from! Second the #AlphaCapricornids are famous for their slow, bright, colorful fireballs. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-southern-delta-aquariids-and-alpha-capricornids-meteo...

• Post #4134370

  The World's First #NuclearWaste Tomb Is Nearly Ready to Open With space for 6,500 tons of #uranium, #Onkalo is aimed at providing permanent storage for spent fuel from #Finland's five #nuclear reactors – three of them located in Olkiluoto. Spent fuel is planned to be deposited in Onkalo's massive network of tunnels for 100yrs, but operations may be extended if new nuclear reactors are built. Subsequently, it will be sealed to provide safe storage for at least 100,000yrs. https://www...

• Post #4121098

  How #Cops Use #Flock to Track People, Not Cars Cops have used Flock's FreeForm search feature to look for people with tattoos and wearing specific sport shirts, and searches sometimes include the target's race, according to data. Highlights while people associate Flock cameras with scanning license plates and tracking vehicles, cameras are also capable of following the movements of particular people or groups of people. https://www.404media.co/how-cops-use-flock-to-track-people-not-cars...

• Post #4078935

  #US accuses American, a #CopCity #protester, of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search Concern over US effort to prosecute #SamTunick, accused by authorities of wiping his phone using the #OpenSource #GrapheneOS Experts said it may be the first time law has been aimed at operating system, which works on Google Pixel phones, and expressed concerns about a technology created for #privacy and security being used to criminalize protesters. https://www.theguardian....

• Post #4063287

  This #ElNiño is set to be the largest on record by a ‘mind-blowing margin’ Forecasters predict that the monster #climate pattern will combine with #globalwarming to push global temperatures in 2027 to new heights. According to the projections from a suite of climate models, the peak of this El Niño is set to surpass the previous record-holder by “truly, a mind-blowing margin”, says Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02293-y #climate...

• Post #4045910

  #AI is more likely than humans to form #bias when #hiring AI doesn’t just learn stereotypes from its training. It can cook up new ones, too. New research suggests that #LLM can also develop their own #biases from experience—and stereotype #job applicants more than humans do. As AI companies race to build #agentic models that remember the tiniest details about users, they may be handing them ammunition for forming those biases. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/07/20/1140655/ai-biases-hirin...

• Post #4001415

  The Document Foundation says #Microsoft's file formats keep users on a short leash #OOXML may carry an ISO certificate, but only #MicrosoftOffice can be trusted to render it properly "The practical effect is that the format used daily by hundreds of millions of people is the one that only Microsoft's own software implements correctly, whilst the cleaner variant – which other software could actually support – is not used, and has now even disappeared from some versions." https:...

• Post #3983258

  Scientists spot #sugar in interstellar #space for the first time ever #Erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, kiwis, fruits, also apparently exists in a giant molecular cloud of gas and dust near the center of our galaxy. First time sugar has been seen in #interstellarspace Question is: How did sugar get there? For life as we know it, sugars are vital, both as energy-storage molecules and as ingredients in bio building blocks such as DNA & RNA https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/s...

• Post #3956916

  Landmark #MIT study debunks persistent myths about #electricvehicles Think #EV don't make sense in cold climates, or dirty power grid cancels out benefits? Researchers find opposite is true—EVs cost no more to own than a comparable gas car almost anywhere in #US No matter where you live in US or what your driving habits are, #electricvehicle is likely to have a smaller #carbonfootprint and cost less overall than comparable #gasoline-powered vehicle, according to analysis. https://www.anthrop...

• Post #3893517

  Tiny alienlike blue #octopus discovered lurking off the #Galápagos Islands On an underwater mountainside some 1,773 meters below the #ocean’s surface, they discovered a little blue octopus. On a video of the excursion, the scientists can be heard chuckling and cooing over the creature: “Is that a cute little guy or what,” says one team member, followed by another, “Oh my goodness, that is adorable.” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-alien-like-blue-octopus-discovered-lurking-off-t...

• Post #3869089

  #Solar just became #Europe's biggest source of #electricity – here's the milestone it hit Generating a record 52 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and supplying 25% of all electricity used in the #EuropeanUnion in June 2026. That’s the first time solar has provided a quarter of the EU’s monthly electricity. It also made solar the bloc’s largest source of electricity for the month, ahead of nuclear (21%), gas (15%), wind (14%), hydro (12%), and coal (8%). https://electrek.co/2026/07/1...

• Post #3832124

  The Oldest Evidence of Animal Sex Has Been Found, and It’s Mind-Boggling Scientists have discovered the oldest #fossil evidence of #sexualreproduction and locomotion in animals at a remote site in Canada’s Northwest Territories that dates back 567 million years to the Ediacaran period. According to researchers, the finding pushes the origins of animal sex back by 5-10 million years. https://www.404media.co/the-oldest-evidence-of-animal-sex-has-been-found-and-its-mind-boggling/ https://archive.ph...

• Post #3806118

  #Kids Can’t Stop Watching ‘#Moana.’ There’s a Scientific Explanation The 2016 release has become the most watched movie on #Disney+. Parents and experts explain why kids can’t get enough The #songs in almost every #Disney animated #musical film released in the past few decades have been a danger to parents’ peace and quiet. Disney deployed an age-old formula: Take a narrative with broad appeal, wrap it in hooky melodies and watch the views rack up https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/movies/moana-...

• Post #3776352

  #ColossalBiosciences is growing #chickens in a 3D-printed container In an early step towards artificial wombs, a #biotech company claims it’s developed a “fully artificial” chicken #egg as part of its effort to resurrect extinct avian species, including birds like the dodo and the giant moa. Colossal was founded in 2021 with plans to use gene editing and reproductive technology to restore extinct species, including the woolly mammoth. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/19/1137471/colossal-...

• Post #3728271

  #AIslop writing has taken over the internet, particularly #LinkedIn and #X With more than one million posts analyzed from users who opted in to share data through their browser extension since its launch, #Pangram has concluded that, while AI slop is flooding #socialmedia, it’s hitting longform content particularly hard, defined in its study as any post over 250 words, Pangram found that a full 25% of such posts across all the platforms it studies were fully AI-generated. https://www.theregister...

• Post #3698406

  Collapse of #Atlantic Currents May Already Be ‘Locked In’ A vast system of Atlantic currents delivers warmth to northern #Europe is at risk of collapse, according to a growing body of research. Latest study to warn of its demise finds there is at least 10% chance that collapse of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or #AMOC, may already be “locked in.” If AMOC were to collapse, its flow slowing to a near halt, temps in northern Europe would drop by 9-27F (5-15C). https://e360.yale.edu/d...

• Post #3656371

  A robot swarm is on a mission to map #Greenland’s perilous #icesheets The fleet of drones, subs and sensors will map ice melt to forecast #climate #tippingpoints Data from expedition funded by #UK’s secretive new inventions agency, will feed into climate models. Idea is to forecast when #ice melt will tip climate-regulating ocean currents into shutdown, and try to develop early warning system that would let humanity know when #glaciers are changing https://www.sciencenews.org/article/robot-missi...

• Post #3625065

  Inside #Anduril and #Meta’s quest to make #smartglasses for #warfare It’s been a year since the duo entered the #US #Army’s troubled #augmentedreality contest. Here’s what it looks like so far. A smart glasses system tasked with identifying threats and recommending strikes would introduce massive new risks of errors. Even if the Army doesn't prefer EagleEye in the end, Barnett says, Anduril will attempt to sell the system to foreign militaries. https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/18/113...

• Post #3615710

  Sick and wrong: Ontario auditors find doctors' #AI note takers routinely blow basic facts Findings from Office of Auditor General of Ontario, included in report about state of AI usage by public services. They specifically address #AIScribe, Ontario Ministry of Health initiated for #physicians, #nursepractitioners, and other #healthcare professionals across broader #health sector. 60% of evaluated AI Scribe systems mixed up prescribed drugs in patient notes, auditors say https://www.theregi...

• Post #3556510

  The Secret Reason Bosses Want Everyone Back in the Office, Every Day of the Week Case by case, there may be good reasons for teams to work together in person. As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. The only trait that consistently predicted objections to #remotework was narcissism — the tendency to be self-centered and entitled https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html https://archive.ph/...

• Post #3536735

  #NIH Announces World’s Largest Integrated #Health Database It contains more than half a million people’s #genomes, paired with clinical records and wearable tech data. #AllOfUs, which started in 2018, recruits participants from diverse backgrounds and combines genetic info with real-world data from health records, wearable technology like Fitbits and other sources to help scientists investigate potential causes of and treatments for disease. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/science/nih-announ...