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We don’t know why, but being in space causes us to destroy our blood | New research has been released that shows that being in space causes the body to destroy red blood cells. A study has found that astronauts' bodies destroy red blood cells at a rate 54% higher in space compared to people on Earth, with some of the effect remaining at least a year after returning to Earth. The longer a person stays in space, the longer their bodies continue to destroy blood cells at a higher rate. It is unknown what is causing the effect. | 4Miscellaneous
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Muggle Uses E-Paper For Daily Prophet Replica | Deep Tronix has created a replica of the Daily Prophet newspaper from Harry Potter. The device uses an e-paper display and a Teensy microcontroller to create animated images. Deep Tronix used a custom dithering library to overcome framerate issues when using the e-paper display. The newspaper also has a face detection feature that records and displays the reader's face at random. A video of the display is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Nigeria can’t decide what to do about the rise and rise of cryptocurrency | The Central Bank of Nigeria sent a notice on February 5 warning the public about the dangers and risks of cryptocurrencies. Two days later, the bank clarified that it had not imposed any new restrictions on the technology, as there were already existing restrictions on financial institutions. Cryptocurrencies have soared in popularity in the country over the last few years. There have been conflicting views in the government about how cryptocurrencies should be regulated. | 4Miscellaneous
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How I Made My Own iPhone (24 minute video) | Okay, this video is actually from 2017 and has 15 million views so some of you might have seen it already, but I just came across it and it's incredible. This guy walks around Huaqiangbei, China and builds his own iPhone out of spare parts being sold by random replacement part shops. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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An embattled group of leakers picks up the WikiLeaks mantle | Julian Assange has been in a London jail for the last year awaiting extradition to the US as more charges are laid against him. A small group of activists known as Distributed Denial of Secrets has released a stream of hacked and leaked documents. Last week, it released a 269GB collection of more than a million police files, including emails, audio, and memos. According to the group's cofounder, its mission is to archive and publish leaked and hacked data of potential public interest. Twitter has banned the group's account, as well as any tweets that link to the DDoSecrets website. More details about DDoSecrets' work is detailed in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Stunning official trailer for Foundation whets the appetite for more | The first three episodes of Apple TV+'s adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation will premiere on September 24. New episodes will air weekly every Friday after. The series will closely follow the fundamental narrative arc of the books. Two teasers for the show have been released. The article features a gallery of images from the series. The official trailer for the show is also available. | 4Miscellaneous
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35+ Free Public APIs to Improve Productivity (10 minute read) | This is a list of free public API resources that can aid development. It includes APIs for Zoom, facial recognition, human health data, GIFs, text recognition, web scraping, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Square is going to make a hardware wallet for bitcoin | Square is making a hardware wallet for bitcoin. CEO Jack Dorsey had told Twitter in June that the company was considering making one. Dorsey is very supportive of bitcoin, so it is not surprising that Square is working towards making bitcoin custody more mainstream. Square customers can already buy and sell bitcoin from Square's Cash App. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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SpaceX Just Launched 60 Starlink Satellites (And Nailed a Milestone Rocket Landing) | SpaceX launched 60 new Starlink internet satellites into orbit on the ninth Falcon 9 rocket flight of the year. It has been almost three months since SpaceX's last launch. The Falcon 9 rocket, which had been used three times already, was able to complete its fourth landing. Falcon 9 rockets are designed to be used 10 times. This is the first time SpaceX has reused a payload fairing. Starlink aims to provide internet connectivity to areas where there is little coverage and to compete with existing internet providers in well-covered areas. Other companies, including OneWeb, TeleSat, and Amazon, are also working to provide low-Earth orbit satellite internet. Starlink may be available in the US by mid-2020. Astronomers are concerned with Starlink's presence, saying that it will impede their research and make the night sky less enjoyable. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Alphabet is launching a company that uses AI for drug discovery | Isomorphic Laboratories is a new company from Alphabet that will use artificial intelligence for drug discovery. It will use the work done by DeepMind to build tools that can help identify new pharmaceuticals. DeepMind and Isomorphic will stay separate but collaborate occasionally. Isomorphic may not develop its own drugs but instead will only sell its models. It will focus on developing partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Scientists unlock secrets of gender within sperm for first time in major breakthrough | Japanese researchers have developed a method for separating sperm bearing 'X' chromosomes from sperm containing 'Y' chromosomes, which allowed them to produce litters of the chosen sex in mice studies. The chemical trigger used in the study causes sperm with the 'X' chromosome to slow down. When the scientists implanted the faster sperm, it produced litters that were 90 percent male, and when the slower sperm was used, it created litters that were 81 percent female. The technique has been used successfully in cattle and pigs. Farmers have been attempting sex skewing in livestock for a while now, but current methods are laborious, expensive, and can damage the sperm. The new technique appears to not affect the health of the sperm. If the technique can be applied to humans, it has the potential for unpredictable and disruptive social consequences. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Reddit-born engineering group buys leftovers of failed hyperloop startup Arrivo | rLoop, a Reddit-born hyperloop and engineering collective, has bought the intellectual property of Arrivo. Arrivo was a hyperloop startup founded by a former SpaceX engineer. The group will assess the progress Arrivo employees had made toward developing a type of hyperloop that relies on magnetic levitation. Arrivo had shut down in 2018 after running out of money. rLoop was founded in 2015 after SpaceX announced plans to hold a hyperloop competition where they won an innovation award. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Repairing cell structures altered by obesity restores metabolic function | Scientists from Harvard repaired cell structures altered by obesity in mice and restored healthy metabolic function in the cells. The team used a mix of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-resolution imaging to see the effects of fatty liver disease on a molecular level. They then patched up the alterations with technologies used to repair molecules and proteins. Cell metabolism returned to normal after the cell structures were repaired. The discovery could be used to offer new ways to manage obesity and prevent its impacts. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Microplastics are confirmed in human blood for the first time | Researchers from the Netherlands have detected multiple types of microplastics in the blood of nearly 80% of human participants in a study. Microplastics can move freely throughout the body and become stuck in organs. Scientists are still trying to understand the health effects of microplastics in the body. Microplastics are everywhere and could be linked to many diseases. | 4Miscellaneous
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Elon Musk Says Tesla Suing California County, Moving Headquarters Out Of State | Elon Musk has announced that Tesla will be suing California county due to the current shelter-in-place orders. He also announced that Tesla will be moving its headquarters and future programs to Texas and Nevada immediately. Tesla had closed its Fremont plant after some resistance in March. Musk has been vocal about his opposition to the pandemic restrictions, saying that the orders were against's people's freedoms and constitutional rights. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Streamlit (GitHub Repo) | Streamlit allows developers to create apps for machine learning projects using simple Python scripts. Apps will update live as they are edited and saved. All that is required is an editor and a browser. Examples of apps written with Streamlit are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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The Hacker's Hardware Toolkit (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a list of hardware gadgets for Red Team hackers, pentesters, and security researchers. More than a hundred tools are listed, classified into eight categories. All tools are available for purchase online. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Scientists Want to Map Trillions of Miles of Underground Fungus Networks | The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks is launching an initiative to collect fungal network samples from around the world to safeguard these networks and to enhance their ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide. The first samples will be gathered in Patagonia for roughly 18 months starting next year. Machine learning will be used to map the function of the fungal networks and their role as carbon sinks. These vast networks could be invaluable in curbing the worst effects of human-caused climate change. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Facebook Messenger is getting a built-in bill splitting feature | Facebook Messenger is testing a built-in bill splitting feature in the US. Users can ask for money inside a group chat and see who has paid their portion of the request. A new Group Effects feature has been added that will let people on Messenger and Instagram video calls use the same augmented reality effects together. Meta also recently introduced new emoji with sound called Soundmoji. A screenshot showing how the bill splitting feature works is available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla Pickup truck to cost less than $50,000, ‘be better than F150’, says Elon Musk | Elon Musk revealed more information on Tesla’s upcoming pickup truck on a podcast over the weekend. Musk aims to ensure that the truck is affordable and is aiming for a start price of $49,000 or less. The futuristic design of the truck may not be for everybody. Musk compared the changes in the new design to the difference between the horse-drawn carriage and the car. His aim is to create a truck that is a better truck than a Ford F-150 and a better sports car than a standard Porsche 911. The teaser image released at the launch of the Model Y was revealed to be the design of the front of the Tesla pickup truck. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Google launches new tool to help cities stay cool | Google has released a tool that maps out where trees are needed most. Cities warm up in areas around buildings, and an easy way to cool these areas down is to plant more trees. Google's Tree Canopy Lab uses aerial imagery and AI to locate every tree in a city. The data is then plotted on a map along with additional data on population density and area temperatures. When tested in Los Angeles, the Tree Canopy Lab found that more than half of residents lived in places where trees shaded less than 10 percent of the neighborhood. Los Angeles has faced more and more intense heat waves over the last 50 years. The city has now set a goal of planting 90,000 trees across the city by 2021. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Microsoft’s next Xbox is Xbox Series X, coming holiday 2020 | The Xbox Series X has been officially revealed by Microsoft at the Game Awards. It is designed to be used in both vertical and horizontal orientations. The Xbox Series X will deliver four times the processing power of the Xbox One X. It has a custom-designed CPU based on AMD's Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. The console will support 8K gaming, frame rates of up to 120 fps, ray tracing, and variable refresh rate. Microsoft has not officially talked about its GPU performance, but it could be capable of 12 teraflops. A new controller was revealed that is slightly smaller with a new Share button. The Xbox Series X will include an Auto Low Latency Mode and Dynamic Latency Input, which will make the console the most responsive console ever. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Mars milestone: NASA Ingenuity helicopter survives first cold night alone | NASA's Ingenuity helicopter recently survived on its own for the first time through a brutal Martian night. Perseverance dropped the helicopter onto the ground over the weekend to allow it to charge its batteries in the sunlight. Temperatures can go as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the Jezero Crater at night. NASA plans to run Ingenuity's first hovering test flight on April 11. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Inside Story of How Signal Became the Private Messaging App for an Age of Fear and Distrust (15 minute read) | Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messaging service owned and operated by a non-profit foundation. It has wide-ranging security protections and it is endorsed by figures like Edward Snowden, who uses the app every day. People have been increasingly using Signal as trust in the authorities continues to decline. It has been used extensively during the recent US protests and in Hong Kong after China imposed a controversial national security law. Signal's privacy features include tools to blur people's faces out of photos, servers that don't store user information, encrypted phone calls, and more. The app has not been popular with the authorities, who aren't able to demand that the service turn over information as the service doesn't retain any. This article follows Signal's story so far, exploring how the app was developed with privacy in mind and how it continues to maintain its stance despite governmental pressure. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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World's first living robots can now reproduce | Xenobots are living robots formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog. They can move, work together in groups, and self-heal. The bots can also reproduce through kinetic replication. They can gather stem cells and use them to make new xenobots in days. Researchers used artificial intelligence to design xenobots that were more effective at this type of replication, which resulted in a design that resembled Pac-Man. Xenobots are still an early technology, but they have a host of potential uses, including collecting microplastics from the oceans, inspecting root systems, and regenerative medicine. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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TensorNetwork (GitHub Repo) | TensorNetwork is a tensor network wrapper for TensorFlow, JAX, and Numpy. Tensor networks are data structures originally designed for simulating quantum many-body physics, but they are currently also applied in other research areas, such as machine learning. Examples of how to use TensorNetwork are available along with links to articles regarding tensor networks. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Chernobyl Fungus Eats Nuclear Radiation Via Radiosynthesis | A fungus found growing near Chernobyl thrives on nuclear radiation due to radiosynthesis. It uses melanin to convert gamma radiation into chemical energy. NASA scientists grew the fungus inside the ISS and found that it was able to block some incoming radiation. Earth is protected by harmful radiation by its atmosphere and magnetic field. Astronauts don't have this protection and are exposed to radiation levels 20 times higher than on Earth. It may be possible to better protect astronauts and space objects with a layer of this radiation-absorbing fungus. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Mutant sheep are being bred in lab to fight lethal child brain disease | Batten disease is a genetic disease where the waste disposal system for cells is affected, causing a loss of vision, impaired cognition, mobility problems, seizures, and early death. It affects between 100 and 150 children in the UK. There are several types of Batten disease, which is inherited from parents that both carry a rare recessive gene mutation. Scientists have used CRISPR-Cas9 to create sheep that have the disease in order to test treatments. Treatments that are successful in a large mammal with a brain that is of similar size and complexity to a human child's brain are more likely to be relevant to humans than treatments only tested in mice, rats, and cell cultures. Several treatments, all of which were developed first using traditional methods, will be tested on around 10 animals. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Huge space hotel promises fake gravity and 'supersized basketball' | Space hotels will soon become a reality, with NASA opening up the International Space Station to tourists in 2020, the opening of the Aurora Station planned for 2022, and the Gateway Foundation recently announcing the Von Braun Rotating Space Station, a space-based cruise ship which can accommodate 100 guests and three times as many crew members. The foundation aims to have the facility open by 2027. A 12-day stay on board the Aurora Station will cost $9.5 million including transportation. Prices for the Von Braun Station have not yet been determined. Seven people have paid Russia more than $20 million each to spend time on the ISS. The Von Braun Station will have artificial gravity, meaning that guests will be able to move about normally. There are safety concerns, as space debris could potentially damage spacecraft. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tiny water-based robot is powered by light and can walk, move cargo and even dance | Researchers at Northwestern University have created a new robot that looks and behaves like a tiny aquatic animal. It can perform a variety of functions, including moving objects, catalyzing chemical reactions, delivering therapeutics, and more. It is made from a material composed of 90% water, with a nickel skeleton that changes shape in response to light and magnetic fields. When light hits the robot, the material expels water, causing the robot's legs to stiffen. The robots are currently the size of a dime, but future versions will be small enough to operate on a microscopic level. The article contains two short GIFs showing the robots moving about. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A bug lurking for 12 years gives attackers root on every major Linux distro | Polkit, previously known as PolicyKit, is a Linux tool that provides a mechanism for non-privileged processes to safely interact with privileged processes. The tool has had a memory-corruption vulnerability that can be exploited to escalate privileges to root since 2009. The vulnerability has been reported multiple times, but it was not patched until recently. It is likely that an exploit will become public soon and be used by attackers. Any unpatched multi-user system that allows shell access to users is vulnerable. | 4Miscellaneous
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Helicopter pilot finds 'strange' monolith in remote part of Utah | State employees counting sheep from a helicopter in a remote part of Utah recently spotted a mysterious structure estimated to be between 10ft and 12ft high and planted in the ground. The mysterious monolith is made from some sort of shiny metal. Images of the monolith, along with pictures of the sheep that were being counted, are available in the article. The exact location of the monolith hasn't been revealed due to fears of amateur explorers getting stuck in the wilderness while attempting to find it. | 4Miscellaneous
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Understand a complex codebase in minutes, not weeks (Sponsor) | Understand a complex codebase in minutes, not weeks . Decrease time to first commit with self-serve onboarding, codebase exploration, and knowledge sharing. Improve dev velocity by making it easy to search and find code and context. Learn more. | 0Sponsor
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Meta Begins Monetizing Its Metaverse | Meta has started monetizing Horizon Worlds, its open-world VR app. Users are now able to buy items in individual worlds. They won't be able to bring the purchased items into other worlds. Meta will take a 25% cut of items that are sold. Creators will receive a monthly performance bonus aimed at incentivizing engagement with VR. These early monetization efforts are still in testing and are subject to change. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Italy begins the first floating wind power plant in the Mediterranean | The 7Seas Med project aims to build a floating wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea. Located 35 kilometers off the coast of Marsala, the 25 floating wind turbines constructed in the next 25 to 30 years will produce up to ten megawatts of power each. Italy needs to develop 9,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030 to reach the European Union's goals. Floating turbines can be moved when needed, but it is unlikely to be necessary in this case due to the chosen location. The project will start construction in 2023 and will begin to produce energy in the following year. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Inside the ambitious push to protect a third of the world’s ocean | Enric Sala was a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography until he decided to try to protect the life in the few remaining patches of the ocean where it was still undamaged by overfishing, pollution, and climate change. These areas still look like the ocean as it was 500 years ago. Sala and the National Geographic Society launched the Pristine Seas project in 2008. Pristine Seas has since helped create 22 marine reserves and now it aims to see a third of the world's oceans conserved to sustain biodiversity, replenish food stocks, and store carbon. The article discusses the project, with plenty of pictures from the different marine reserves the project has helped create. | 4Miscellaneous
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Instagram will test a feature that allows users to shadow ban their bullies | A new anti-bullying measure by Instagram uses artificial intelligence to flag comments. Account owners can also now shadowban users who post on their comments, which means that only the commenter and account owner will be able to see the messages. Once the AI detects that a user is posting a comment that may be deemed offensive or bullying, the user is prompted with a message to confirm whether they really want to post the comment. In tests, this system was shown to lower the number of offensive comments posted. Instagram has been implementing much needed anti-bullying measures for a while now. However, studies have shown that many teens create new accounts entirely for bullying which makes it more difficult to stop. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Amazon more than doubles top base pay of corporate and tech workers | Amazon has increased the maximum base pay of workers in corporate and technology roles up to $350,000. It will increase overall compensation ranges for most jobs globally. Amazon has historically offered lower base pay than other tech giants, making up the difference with restricted stock units instead. These other compensation components will stay following the pay increase. The labor market has become more competitive in the past year, forcing the company to increase its compensation to attract and retain staff. | 4Miscellaneous
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Amazon’s Biggest Campus In The World Opens In India | Amazon opened its biggest campus in Hyderabad on Wednesday, despite stringent regulations in India regarding foreign eCommerce sites and competition from companies like Walmart. The new campus covers 9.5 acres and has 1.8 million square feet of office space. It will be able to accommodate more than 15,000 employees. Amazon has budgeted more than $5 billion for its India expansion. Due to competition, it may partner up with local stores. Amazon originally entered India in 2004 but did not start focusing on its retail endeavors until 2013. It offers grocery delivery and video streaming through its Prime subscription, and it plans to add restaurant delivery services. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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DALL·E 2 and The Origin of Vibe Shifts | Around 2015, there was a vibe shift in web design due to illustrations becoming more rare and expensive relative to photos. Sites like Unsplash that offered free photography ruined photography's function as a costly status symbol. The use of photography exploded in low-end websites but almost went extinct at the high end, which turned to using illustrations. The creation of AI-generated images makes art accessible to everyone in the same way that Unsplash did for photography. This could result in a similar vibe shift in web design. | 4Miscellaneous
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Ozone: The Earth's protective shield is repairing | Good news folks, the hole in the Ozone layer is closing! The Northern Hemisphere could be fully fixed by the 2030s and Antarctica by the 2060s. At the worst point in the late 90s, 10% of the upper Ozone had disappeared, but since 2000, it's been growing again at a rate of about 3% per decade. The Montreal Protocol, in which 180 countries agreed to phase out use of the chlorofluorocarbons that had been destroying the Ozone, seems to be working. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Building an artificial sun that looks unbelievably realistic... (24 minute video) | This video will show you how to build an artificial sun that looks unbelievably realistic. There are two builds in the video, a larger one that uses a satellite dish, and a smaller one for those who can't source a satellite dish. The artificial light features parallel rays, meaning that shadows don't change size no matter how far you are from the light, and a blue sky effect. The resulting light makes it look like it is bright and sunny indoors even when it is night time or raining outside. | 4Miscellaneous
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CSS Tricks to Create that Dark Futuristic Web3 Look | This article provides simple styles for developers to add a dark mode web3 aesthetic to their sites. It includes gradient backgrounds, glowing effects, bright and white text over dark backgrounds, semi-transparent backgrounds, and a transition on hover. Many examples of dark mode web3 designs are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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‘Incredible’ gene-editing result in mice inspires plans to treat premature-aging syndrome in children | Progeria is a rare, fatal genetic disease that causes symptoms much like early aging. It affects an estimated 400 people in the world. Scientists have used a technique similar to CRISPR to correct the condition in mice. Treated mice lived twice as long as untreated animals, giving the scientists hope for its use in humans. The scientists aim to treat a human child with the technique within the next 3 years. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tufts expelled a student for grade hacking. She claims innocence (10 minute read) | A veterinary student from Tufts University, Tiffany Filler, has been accused of hacking into the school’s systems in order to manipulate her grades. The university created a case based on log files and database records supplied by the IT department which showed that Filler logged on to the systems under a pseudonym and manipulated her own and other students’, with details about the time and location of access. Filler was not given a chance to defend herself and was immediately expelled from the school. The student was able to later provide evidence that her laptop had been compromised with a Remote Access Trojan, as well as evidence that she was not at the locations that the IT department had provided at the times the alleged hacks occurred. Despite the evidence, Filler was not able to defend herself and was not allowed to continue her education at the school. | 4Miscellaneous
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Verily’s coronavirus screening pilot website is already at capacity | Google's sister company Verily's website is unable to schedule more appointments less than 24 hours after launch. Appointment availability is limited as it is a small pilot test for California's Bay Area. All applications will receive a call-back confirmation to schedule an appointment. Google will launch its own website later today, but it will not include screening questions or the ability to find a drive-thru testing facility. The website will be mostly informational, directing people to trustworthy sources. | 4Miscellaneous
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Facebook is reportedly teaming up with Ray-Ban on its smart AR glasses | Facebook has been working on its own augmented reality glasses that are designed to replace a phone. Users will be able to answer calls on it and there will be a small display, similar to Google Glass. A camera embedded in the glasses will allow users to live stream videos. Facebook has partnered with Luxottica to bring the glasses to market, possibly between 2023 and 2025. Ray-Ban, a brand owned by Luxottica, will be directly involved in the partnership but will be developing a completely different set of smart glasses. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Jeff Bezos to open first nonprofit preschool in Washington as part of $2 billion Day One Fund | Jeff Bezos' first nonprofit preschool will be based in Des Moines, Washington, and will open for in-person classes on October 19. The school will follow coronavirus safety measures outlined by state officials and the CDC. Enrollment is currently underway. Bezos will be opening a network of nonprofit preschools which will be overseen by his philanthropic Day One Fund. It is unknown how many schools Bezos plans to open. The schools will be built in low-income communities and will offer underserved children access to free programs. Bezos launched the Day One Fund in 2018 with a $2 billion commitment. Its goal was to launch preschools and to help homeless families. | 4Miscellaneous
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Reliably Send an HTTP Request as a User Leaves a Page | There's no guarantee that an in-process HTTP request will be successful when a page is terminated in the browser. Sending data on page termination can be very unreliable, which can be an issue when creating logs for data-sensitive business decisions. This article looks at why this happens and ways to make in-process HTTP requests more reliable. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Developer-friendly Real-Time Video (Sponsor) | Mux’s Real-Time Video integrates seamlessly with live and on-demand video, all in one API. Now you can build better real-time experiences — all with best-in-class video infrastructure. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Rivian’s R1S: An electric SUV for those with an adventurous lifestyle | This article describes an experience with one of Rivian's new electric trucks. | 4Miscellaneous
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China due to introduce face scans for mobile users | People registering new mobile phone services in China will now be required to have their faces scanned as part of the identity verification process. China has been trying to ensure that everyone who uses the internet does so under their real identities. It claims that removing anonymity from internet use boosts cyber-security and reduces internet fraud. Removing anonymity makes it easier to track the population. China's citizen database has been breached before, resulting in people being contacted by scammers who knew their personal details. There were 170 million CCTV cameras installed in China in 2017, with another 400 million new ones planned to be installed by 2020. Facial recognition plays a key role in China's surveillance system. It has been used to track fugitives, as well as to identify certain minority groups. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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The Price of Oil Futures Dropped Below Zero for the First Time Ever. Here's Why | Oil futures recently dropped below zero for the first time ever. The move shows how oversupplied the US oil market has become with the country grinding to a halt as shutdowns extend. Oil prices have plunged since the beginning of the year. Demand has dropped but producers around the world are continuing to pump. Traders are running out of storage. It is possible that producers may soon have to pay to have crude oil taken off their hands. Banks are increasingly reluctant to give commodity traders credit as lenders grow more fearful over the risk of default. Give feedback by replying here or messaging me on Twitter @tldrdan! If you don't want to receive future editions of TLDR, please click here. | 4Miscellaneous
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Viewer Data Suggests Many Netflix Hits Go From Sizzle to Fizzle Quickly | Data from viewers show that virtually all of the 10 most viewed new Netflix titles of 2021 saw significantly lower viewership after their debut month. Multiple TV analytics platforms confirm the data. These findings could explain why it is uncommon for English TV series to make Netflix's top 10 rankings for extended periods. Netflix will likely spend over $19 billion on content this year. | 4Miscellaneous
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Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter | Facebook reported its first-ever quarterly decline of global daily users and lower-than-expected ad growth at an earnings call on Wednesday. The news resulted in a massive stock drop that wiped out roughly $200 billion in market value. Its drop in daily users may be due to Facebook's increasing lack of relevance with young people. Meta is still wildly profitable, making nearly $40 billion last year. It plans to release its next VR headset later this year. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Resources for Staff-plus engineers (Website) | This page contains resources for people looking to become Staff or Staff-plus engineers. The resources cover topics such as what a Staff-plus engineer does, becoming a Staff-plus engineer, and engineering strategy. There are books, talks, papers, and other resources available. The most important resource for Staff-plus engineers is their network of peers and mentors. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Wiki.js (Website) | Wiki.js is a powerful and extensible open-source Wiki creation software. It makes creating documentation easy while leaving its appearance fully customizable. Wiki.js was built with performance in mind and it will intelligently scale its performance depending on available resources. It comes bundled with a wide range of modules. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Hardware hacker brings online multiplayer to the original Game Boy | A hardware hacker has reverse-engineered the Game Boy's link cable to make it work over the internet. It connects to a client on a Raspberry Pi which then connects to an online game server. The Game Boy thinks it is connected to another Game Boy normally and is unaware of the server. There is a custom PCB in the works so users don't have to shred their link cables. A video showing two Game Boys playing Tetris over the internet is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Principles and Techniques of Data Science (Website) | This is the textbook for Data 100, the Principles and Techniques of Data Science, at UC Berkeley. The course assumes that the student is comfortable with the information presented in Data 8, Berkeley’s Foundations of Data Science course. Previous knowledge of Python and familiarity with partial derivatives, gradients, vector algebra, and matrix algebra is also required. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Mono Icons (Website) | This site contains 136 open-source icons that can be used in a wide range of digital products. The icons can be downloaded as SVG or the code can be copied from the site. Users can download all the icons at once, search for specific icons, or browse through all the icons. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Microsoft confirms work on ‘Keystone’ Xbox game streaming dongle | Microsoft has decided to pivot away from the current iteration of its xCloud streaming device, code-named Keystone. It will refocus its efforts on a new approach that will deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world. It is unclear what the new approach will be. The company is working on an Xbox app that should debut on Samsung smart TVs within the next 12 months. More details about Microsoft's plans could be announced at an event on June 12. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Google’s lung cancer detection AI outperforms 6 human radiologists | An AI system was able to predict lung cancer in patients five percent more accurately on average than a group of six human experts and was 11 percent more likely to reduce false positives. The model will be available through the Google Cloud Healthcare API as Google continues to test and improve it. More than 42,000 chest CT screening images from 15,000 patients were used to train the AI system. Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of death, killing roughly as many people each year as breast cancer. Google has also applied AI to other medical research, including an AI that can recommend treatment for 50 eye diseases with a 94 percent accuracy. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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WhatsApp now has 2 billion users | Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service now has two billion users worldwide, up from one billion users in 2018. WhatsApp used the milestone to remind people of the importance of encryption in messaging services, a practice that is facing increasing pressure from governments worldwide. CEO Will Cathcart has confirmed that the company has no plans to remove encryption from its messaging service. WhatsApp will provide metadata when it is useful for an investigation, but it believes that the contents of people's private communications should remain private. Facebook plans to make all of its messaging apps interoperable in the future, but the company has had some issues porting features across platforms. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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How to detect if your visitors use Facebook, Google and MOST other websites | Many popular sites allow anyone to detect if users are logged into their website. This can be exploited to understand user behavior, profile users, phishing, and de-anonymization. The redirect mechanism provided by almost all popular websites can confirm whether a user has visited a site as well as whether a user is logged into the website. Users can avoid this by using proper browser isolation, privacy badger, plugins, disabling third-party cookies, or incognito mode. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Kubegres (GitHub Repo) | Kubegres is a Kubernetes operator that can deploy multiple clusters of PostgreSQL pods. It can manage replications, failover, data backups, and more. Kubegres is easy to learn, secure, and compatible with any PostgreSQL container derivatives. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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'Electronic nose' could smell breath to warn about higher risk of oesophageal cancer | Barrett's esophagus is a condition that can lead to cancer of the esophagus. 9,000 new cases of esophageal cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK. There are often no symptoms associated with Barrett's esophagus. The diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus is usually done via an endoscopy, which can be expensive and invasive. Researchers have developed a new electronic nose that can analyze a patient's breath and produce a diagnosis. The device is easy to use and it can potentially reduce the number of cases of esophageal cancer as doctors will be able to start early interventions. Further tests of the device will still be needed before it will be available for doctors, but researchers aim to put it to market within two to three years. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Best Practices for Writing a Dockerfile | Docker has revolutionized the way we use Containers by allowing anyone to use Containers without dealing with any of the advanced topics related to it. This article discusses best practices for developing better Containers. It covers identifying cacheable units, reducing image size, image maintainability, and reproducibility. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Spotify Wrapped 2018 (Web Tool) | Spotify Wrapped 2018 is a fun site put out by Spotify that lets you sign in with your Spotify account and relive the music you've listened to the past year. Full disclosure, you're reading a newsletter by someone who "started 2018 by listening to One In A Million by Hannah Montana". | 4Miscellaneous
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Foxglove Studio (GitHub Repo) | Foxglove Studio is a visualization and diagnosis tool for robotics. It features interactive charts, 3D visualizations, camera imaging, and diagnostic feeds to help with a wide range of common robotics tasks. The layout can be customized to accommodate any project's unique needs and workflows. It is available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Deep Learning Ocean (GitHub Repo) | This is a huge set of deep learning resources for all kinds of learners (there are sections for academic papers, courses, blogs, tutorials, and frameworks so you can choose how you want to learn). Especially good for people who like to read academic papers, because there are a ton of them and they seem well organized. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Netflix launches Rs 199 ($2.8) | Netflix has launched a low-priced mobile tier at Rs199 ($2.80) in India to compete with other aggressively priced competitors in the country. The service will be restricted to one mobile device per customer viewing at 480p. Netflix had added far fewer subscribers than projected this year. Mobile devices are increasingly driving media consumption in India. People tend to stream content on their mobiles in India more than in any other nation. Netflix faces a lot of competition in India, with more than three dozen local and international players in the country. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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China hands out $1.5 million of its digital currency in one of the country's biggest public tests | The government in Shenzhen carried out a lottery last week to give out 10 million yuan worth of China's new digital currency. 50,000 people out of the 2 million people who applied won. The winners can now spend the digital yuan at over 3,000 merchants in Shenzhen using the digital renminbi app. Local supermarkets and pharmacies are included among the participating merchants. The digital yuan is unlike bitcoin as it is controlled by the People's Bank of China. It is not looking to replace services such as Alipay or WeChat Pay, but instead will likely be working with them and other banks. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Declaration of Digital Independence | The internet has changed from a group of individuals publishing content to vast digital empires controlling sections of the internet and wielding large amounts of power. These companies that own platforms used by millions of people around the world are able to moderate and control the content that users see, resulting in the manipulation of discussion, misinformation in news, interference with political affairs, and more. The Declaration of Digital Independence is a set of nine principles that lays out strict rules for how data and content on the internet should be handled. Rather than being controlled by large corporations, the internet should be controlled by a decentralized network of individuals. People can sign to show their support for the document. | 4Miscellaneous
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How to use the InfluxDB API to collect time series data (Sponsor) | This tutorial shows you how to authenticate, read a data stream, store it as a time series, and run queries in InfluxDB APIs. Use the REST API or your favorite languages, including Python, Java, Go, and Ruby. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Google's Night Sight for Pixel phones will amaze you | Google has used algorithms to create night sight, a feature for the Google Pixel that brightens pictures taken in low light settings so that it looks like all of your pictures are well lit. Basically it uses machine learning to replace flash on your camera. There are before and after pictures in the article, and they are seriously incredible. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Convoy (GitHub Repo) | Convoy is a fast & secure webhooks service. It features two retry mechanisms, a management UI, and the ability to fan-out events to multiple endpoints. More features, such as rate limiting, replay attacks prevention, and multiple ingest sources will be implemented soon. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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bore (GitHub Repo) | bore is a command-line tool for making tunnels to localhost. It exposes local ports to remote servers, bypassing standard NAT connection firewalls. bore is designed to be a simple, highly-efficient, and unopinionated tool for forwarding TCP traffic. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Demo Store with Commerce.js and Next.js (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains an eCommerce demo store built using the Commerce.js v2 SDK and Next.js. A link to a live demo is available. The store can be deployed to Netlify in one click. It features carts, a checkout, customer accounts, payment gateways, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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HeyDesigner (Newsletter) | This is a daily curated newsletter for product people, UXers, PMs and frontend developers. Curated by typography, alien, and robot enthusiast Tamas Sari. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Understanding and Decoding a JPEG Image using Python (1 hour read) | This article breaks down the details of how the JPEG compression algorithm works. It uses Python code to help the reader decompress and analyze a JPEG image. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Diagrams (GitHub Repo) | Diagrams was originally developed for prototyping new system architecture design without any design tools. It allows developers to draw new cloud system architecture or to describe and visualize existing system architecture in Python. Diagrams supports AWS, Azure, Alibaba Cloud, and other main major providers. It supports On-Premise nodes, SaaS, and major programming frameworks and languages. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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DevOps Lessons from the Ski Industry (10 minute read) | Operations engineering has a strong tradition of learning from other industries. DevOps can learn a lot from the ski industry. Skiing is a fun sport, but it has many dangers that can result in fatalities. The ski industry engages its users by constantly updating their documentation (maps) and making sure that its users (skiers) comply with safety procedures. Many ski accidents are completely avoidable, and so are many security breaches. Incidents happen, and it is important to have procedures to follow when they happen and to always think of ways to prevent them. Running a ski resort is like testing in production. It's important to be able to notice when things are going wrong and be able to stop things before it causes any meaningful damage. Proven technology is the most reliable choice. Better quality work can be produced via peer review. Honest and open evaluation of systems will benefit everyone in the industry. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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ESNext News (Newsletter) | This is a newsletter about advanced topics in Javascript. If you're an experienced programmer and want to learn more about Typescript, the V8 runtime, build toolchains, and stuff like that, definitely check this out. Curated by Dr. Axel Rauschmayer and Johannes Weber, two serious javascript experts. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Klara (GitHub Repo) | Klara is a static analysis tool for automatic test case generation that features a powerful ast level inference system. It works on ast level and it doesn't execute user code in any way. Klara can operate on both Python 2 and 3 source code. Examples are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook is publicly testing dark mode in its mobile app | Facebook has started public testing of dark mode in its mobile app for both Android and iOS. The feature can be accessed in the Settings & Privacy section under the Menu tab. A 34-second announcement video from Facebook is available in the article . | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla finally launches base Model 3 for $35,000 with shorter range and new interior | Back in 2006, Elon Musk released a ‘secret masterplan’ to eventually release a Tesla Model 3 for $35,000, and that plan has finally been realized. Consumers will have options to upgrade the battery and interior. The upgraded battery will raise the range of the vehicle to 240 miles, as well as increasing the top speed from 130 mph to 140 mph. A new partial premium interior option has been introduced which includes the upgraded ‘standard range plus’ battery. Vehicles are expected to ship in 2-4 weeks. Firmware updates have also been released which raise range and power in existing models. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Facebook launches its Bitmoji-like avatars in the US | Facebook has rolled out customizable avatars in the US. The feature was released internationally last year. Avatars allows people to express themselves through a virtual lookalike. They can be used in comments, stories, and in Messenger. Users can customize the avatar's hairstyles, complexions, outfits, and more. The feature can be accessed through the sticker tab in Facebook's comment composer or in Messenger. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Ethereum just activated its 'London' hard fork, and it's a really big deal | Ethereum's London hard fork has been activated. The network will now algorithmically decide the transaction fee based on the overall demand on the network. Users will still be able to jump the queue by tipping. Another change in the code will double the block size to smooth out spikes in demand and to help gas fees stay stable. While there will be twice the number of blocks, the upgrade has been designed so that the protocol only wants the blocks to be half full. The London fork also paves the way for Ethereum 2.0, which will see the network switch from the proof-of-work mining system to proof-of-stake. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Supercomputer shows 'Chameleon Theory' could change how we think about gravity | Scientists at Durham University have demonstrated that there may be another valid explanation for gravity that would still be compatible with the way our universe works. Albert Einstein’s theory of General Relativity is the foundation of modern cosmology and plays a major role in our everyday life. The Chameleon Theory is an alternative to General Relativity which says that gravity changes according to the environment. Simulations run by the team at Durham demonstrate that the same galaxies would form in the universe regardless of which theoretical model was used. These simulations will be further tested by observations using the Square Kilometer Array telescope that will begin operating in 2020. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Trident (GitHub Repo) | Trident is a multiple-pipe system that provides a way to pipe the output of one command to many targets. The targets can be other commands or files. Commands can be filtered through regular expressions. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Google Says That They Have Just Reached Quantum Supremacy | Google has announced that it has reached quantum supremacy. Quantum computing uses the phenomena of quantum mechanics to deliver tremendous computing power. These computers have the potential to easily outpace the world's top supercomputers. Normal computers use bits, which are electrical or optical pulses representing 1s or 0s. Quantum computers use qubits, which are usually subatomic particles such as electrons or photons which are connected in a way that allows for more processing power than using bits. Google's quantum computer completed a calculation in three minutes that would've taken IBM's Summit, the world's most powerful commercial supercomputer, 10,000 years to complete. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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GameStop short-sellers lost $1.6 billion in a single day as Reddit traders rebelled against them | GameStop shares have rocketed since January 11, after the company added three new directors to its board. The action drew the attention of retail traders, including members of the popular WallStreetBets subreddit. Some believe that the gains were fueled by a massive short-squeeze, but demand for shorting the stock remains high. The stock is now up more than 500% year-to-date. Analysts have struggled to make sense of the retail-trader phenomenon. | 4Miscellaneous
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Red Engine (GitHub Repo) | Red Engine is a modern scheduling framework for Python applications. It uses elegant syntax and offers more features than Crontab or APScheduler. Red Engine is minimal on the surface but extensive and customizable underneath. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook will reportedly launch a 'news' tab on Friday | Facebook plans to launch a dedicated news tab that will show news stories from hundreds of news organizations. The new feature has been rumored for a while now, and it will put Facebook in competition with Apple and Google in the news-delivery business. Facebook approached news outlets, including ABC News, Dow Jones, The Washington Post, and Bloomberg, offering to pay as much as $3 million to license content for the news tab. Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter have been criticized for not doing enough to combat the spread of fake news. The news tab will present high-quality curated news from publishers. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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This Plant Lurks Underground to Trap Prey in a Way We've Never Seen Before | A newly discovered species of carnivorous plant grows its pitchers underground to target bugs that dwell inside the dirt. | 4Miscellaneous
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Male Birth Control Pill Passes Human Safety Tests | A male birth control pill delivers a hormone which decreases sperm production while preserving libido by combining the actions of androgen and progesterone. In a study that tested 40 healthy men, who received either a placebo or various doses of 11-beta-MNTDC, it was found that the average circulating testosterone level dropped down to androgen deficiency levels without affecting libido in most patients. Research has found that 55% of males are open to trying this type of male contraceptive as long as the effects are reversible. While this study had promising results, a longer study will be required to test the effectiveness of the hormone as a contraceptive. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Microvium (GitHub Repo) | Microvium is the world's smallest JavaScript engine at 8.5kB. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple reportedly demanding a staggering 50 percent of revenue with ‘Netflix for news’ subscription | Publishers are not happy with Apple’s proposed payment structure for their upcoming subscription news service. Users are likely to pay a $10 monthly fee, and Apple plans to take 50% of the fee while distributing the rest according to the time users spend on each publisher’s content. While Apple’s demands may seem high, the strategy has been successful in the past with its music service. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Alleged photos of Pixel 3 Lite aka 'Sargo' leak w/ headphone jack, Snapdragon 670 | The same Russian outlet that leaked the Pixel 3 XL has now leaked photos of what it claims is the Pixel 3 Lite, a smaller, cheaper version of the Pixel 3. It is 5.56 inches just like the Pixel 3, but has an LCD screen instead of OLED. It has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and a headphone jack on the top. It also has the exact same cameras as the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, which is awesome for a budget phone. The report says that the phone may cost around $400-500. There are photos in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Anonymous chat app Yik Yak is back from the dead | Yik Yak, an anonymous messaging app that was shut down in 2017, is back in the iOS App Store for people in the US. The app lets people connect with others anonymously within a five-mile radius. It doesn't allow users to post personal information or engage in antisocial behaviors. There were previous reports of widespread bullying and harassment on the app, which the developers seemed to be aware of. Square bought some of the app's intellectual property after it shut down in 2017, but it is not yet clear who is behind the new version. | 4Miscellaneous
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