Daily Archives: 10/03/2023

Threat of US Government Shutdown Fuels Concerns About Cyber Vulnerabilities

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As the U.S. government seemed headed for a possible shutdown last week, cybersecurity firms began picking up on an alarming trend: a spike in cyberattacks targeting government agencies and the U.S. defense industry. It has some analysts concerned that U.S. adversaries and criminal hackers might have been preparing to take advantage of weaker-than-usual cybersecurity if lawmakers had not been able to reach a deal to keep U.S. agencies open past September 30. Check Point Software last week said it had detected an 18% increase in cyberattacks against U.S. agencies and …

Meta Plans to Charge Europeans for Ad-Free Facebook, Instagram, Source Says

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Meta is proposing to offer European users subscription-based versions of Instagram and Facebook if they would rather not be tracked for ads, a source said on Tuesday. The idea, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, comes as the social media giant seeks to comply with a growing list of EU regulations designed to curb the power of U.S. big tech. The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg makes its billions of dollars in profit by offering advertisers highly individualized data on users, but new European regulations and EU court decisions …

Belize to Launch Project to Make Biofuel From Seaweed Clogging Coasts

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Belize is developing a pilot project to convert the masses of foul-smelling sargassum seaweed swamping its pristine beaches into biofuel, its prime minister said in a statement published by regional Caribbean bloc CARICOM on Tuesday. Many Caribbean countries depend economically on drawing travelers from around the world to their white sand beaches, but since 2010 heaps of rotting seaweed have been massing on the shores for reasons scientists do not yet fully understand but suspect are related to climate change. Floating sargassum provides shelter and food for marine animals but …

New Malaria Vaccine Could Save Thousands of Children’s Lives  

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A new malaria vaccine approved Monday for use by the World Health Organization could be rolled out in African countries in the next few months, potentially saving hundreds of thousands of children’s lives in the coming years. The new vaccine, known as R21, was developed by Britain’s Oxford University along with the Serum Institute of India. It is already in use in Ghana and Burkina Faso. “This new approval for R21 has the potential now that vaccination can occur across sub-Saharan Africa and protect many more children at risk,” said …

Seattle Hotel Preserves Memory of Dark Time for Japanese Americans

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During World War II, the basement of Seattle, Washington’s Panama Hotel was where local Japanese Americans stored their belongings before being incarcerated in camps. For the Panama’s current owner, preserving its dark history became her life’s work. Natasha Mozgovaya has the story. (Camera: Natasha Mozgovaya) …

3 Scientists Win Nobel Prize in Physics for Looking at Electrons in Atoms During Split Seconds

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The Nobel Prize in physics was awarded Tuesday to three scientists who look at electrons in atoms during the tiniest of split seconds. Pierre Agostini of The Ohio State University in the U.S.; Ferenc Krausz of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany; and Anne L’Huillier of Lund University in Sweden won the award. Their experiments “have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the …

WHO Announces 2nd Malaria Vaccine Recommendation

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The World Health Organization on Monday announced the recommendation of a second malaria vaccine, with the aim of giving countries a cheaper and more readily available option to tackle the deadly disease. Developed by Oxford University with the help of the Serum Institute of India, the new vaccine, known as R-21, will be rolled out in some African countries early next year, and expand into other countries later in 2024, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Research that has not yet undergone the usual process of scientific review suggests …

Nobel Prize Awarded to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Scientists

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Two scientists who jointly worked on the ground-breaking technology behind some of the most effective COVID-19 vaccines have been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize for medicine, one of the most prestigious accolades in the field. Hungarian American scientist Katalin Kariko and her American colleague, Drew Weissman, began working on so-called “mRNA” technology in the early 1990s at the University of Pennsylvania. Their breakthrough was crucial in developing the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNtech coronavirus vaccines, which have proved among the most effective in tackling COVID-19. Lifesaving vaccines The Nobel Prize in Medicine …