Davey Alba / New York Times: US surgeon general formally requests Big Tech turn over information about the scale of COVID-19 misinformation on their platforms before May 2 — Dr. Vivek Murthy also demanded information from the platforms about the major sources of Covid-19 misinformation. Companies have until May 2 to submit the data.
Sources: automation software startup Hyperscience, last valued at $1.65B, laid off 100 staff after missing FY financial targets; CEO Peter Brodsky stepped down (Kate Clark/The Information)
Kate Clark / The Information: Sources: automation software startup Hyperscience, last valued at $1.65B, laid off 100 staff after missing FY financial targets; CEO Peter Brodsky stepped down — In December, automation-software startup Hyperscience said it raised $100 million in venture capital from Tiger Global Management …
Experts warn that Russia can use satellite signals to geolocate and target Starlink users in Ukraine; Elon Musk says the “probability of being targeted is high” (Jackie Wattles/CNN)
Jackie Wattles / CNN: Experts warn that Russia can use satellite signals to geolocate and target Starlink users in Ukraine; Elon Musk says the “probability of being targeted is high” — New York (CNN Business)SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sent a truckload of Starlink antennas — which can be used to connect …
Super strong metamaterial inspired by kirigami, a variation of origami
A metamaterial inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of paper cutting, can support nearly 3000 times its own weight
Web3 is an empty buzzword – but beware, it can still hurt you
There’s plenty of excitement about a new, decentralised version of the internet. It is largely still a fantasy, but scammers are using it to lure in unsuspecting victims, writes Annalee Newitz
Gina Raimondo: “Let’s get back to the business of building microchips in America”
The global semiconductor shortage, a major driver of ballooning U.S. inflation, is as much a national security issue as an economic issue, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said during a recent visit to MIT. Speaking at MIT.nano, a shared 214,000-square-foot research center for nanoscale science and engineering located in the heart of campus, Raimondo […]
New MRI probe can reveal more of the brain’s inner workings
Using a novel probe for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), MIT biological engineers have devised a way to monitor individual populations of neurons and reveal how they interact with each other. Similar to how the gears of a clock interact in specific ways to turn the clock’s hands, different parts of the brain interact to […]
The Competitive Edge in Better Collaborative Processes – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM SMARTSHEET
Sponsor content from Smartsheet.
Does Your Company Offer Fruitful Careers — Or Dead-End Jobs?
Seven questions to help you measure the quality, mobility, and equity of the jobs you’re creating.
Designing the Best Strategy for Your Next Global Product Rollout
Should you go all in, or take a more measured approach?
The Internet Is Not as New as You Think
Within the long history of telecommunication in nature, the web can be seen not as a mere tool, but as a living system.
Q&A with Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and CLO Eddie Lazarus on the decision to sue Google for patent infringement, competing with tech giants, Web3, and more (Nilay Patel/The Verge)
Nilay Patel / The Verge: Q&A with Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and CLO Eddie Lazarus on the decision to sue Google for patent infringement, competing with tech giants, Web3, and more — Sonos has long accused other tech giants of stealing its patents and technology, but in 2020, it actually sued Google for patent infringement.
A group of 35 former employees at crypto startup incubator ConsenSys allege “serious irregularities” in Swiss court over an asset transfer and demand an audit (Olga Kharif/Bloomberg)
Olga Kharif / Bloomberg: A group of 35 former employees at crypto startup incubator ConsenSys allege “serious irregularities” in Swiss court over an asset transfer and demand an audit — A group of former employees of the ConsenSys AG is alleging “serious irregularities” at the startup incubator that owns …
Prominent open source advocate Miguel de Icaza is leaving Microsoft, which he joined in 2016 when it acquired Xamarin (Mary Jo Foley/ZDNet)
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet: Prominent open source advocate Miguel de Icaza is leaving Microsoft, which he joined in 2016 when it acquired Xamarin — Former Xamarin cofounder Miguel de Icaza is leaving Microsoft, the company he joined through acquisition just over six years ago. — Well-known open source advocate …
Training STEM teachers to uncover students’ full potential
In the summer of 2011, MIT PhD student Heather Beem travelled to a rural region of Ghana to try engaging students from low-resource schools in hands-on learning projects. She began by asking a group of high school students what they wanted to work on. “They said, ‘Anything, whatever you want,’” Beem recalls. Hoping to narrow […]
Volodymyr Zelensky Is Not a Meme
The Ukrainian president’s actions in the face of the Russian invasion turned him into a hero online. But the Marvelization of political figures is dangerous.
How to Help Victims of the War in Ukraine
From immediate assistance to trauma counseling, donations to these organizations are aiding Ukrainians impacted by Russia’s invasion.
Hackers Find a New Way to Deliver Devastating DDoS Attacks
Cybercriminals are exploiting a fleet of more than 100,000 misconfigured servers to knock websites offline.
Sources: the SEC is probing the NFT market to determine if tokens are like securities, focusing on fractional NFTs, in which a token is broken and sold in units (Matt Robinson/Bloomberg)
Matt Robinson / Bloomberg: Sources: the SEC is probing the NFT market to determine if tokens are like securities, focusing on fractional NFTs, in which a token is broken and sold in units — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing creators of NFTs and the crypto exchanges where they trade to determine …
Snowflake acquires Streamlit, which offers tools to help companies build machine-learning driven apps, for $800M (Ron Miller/TechCrunch)
Ron Miller / TechCrunch: Snowflake acquires Streamlit, which offers tools to help companies build machine-learning driven apps, for $800M — Snowflake helps customers store and manage oodles of data in the cloud without cloud vendor lock-in. Streamlit is a startup that developed a popular open source project for building data-based apps.
Several US state AGs launch a probe into TikTok, focusing on whether the app’s design and operations negatively impact young users’ physical and mental health (Lauren Feiner/CNBC)
Lauren Feiner / CNBC: Several US state AGs launch a probe into TikTok, focusing on whether the app’s design and operations negatively impact young users’ physical and mental health — – TikTok is under investigation by a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to determine if the popular short-form video …
How artificial intelligence can help us figure out how life began
How inanimate molecules first arranged themselves into life is one of the great mysteries. The answer could lie in a systematic exploration of chemical space
Artificial leaves: Bionic photosynthesis as good as the real thing
Converting sunlight into liquid fuel through artificial photosynthesis would be a huge environmental victory – and the latest prototypes look surprisingly effective
The rise of the molecular machines set to make new wonder materials
Machines made of atoms are being used to sew together new materials molecule by molecule, which could open the floodgates to all manner of innovation
Q&A: Elizabeth Wood on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
In its first days, Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in late February has been met with substantial resistance. It has also created civilian casualties, a refugee crisis, a global movement to sanction Russia, and intense concern among observers around the world. MIT News asked Elizabeth Wood, professor of history at MIT and author of the […]
Speeding Progress on Sustainability with XaaS – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM ABB
Sponsor content from the ABB.
Research: How Bias Against Women Persists in Female-Dominated Workplaces
A look inside the ongoing barriers women face in law, health care, faith-based nonprofits, and higher education.
How Data Can Make Better Managers
IBM is applying computational leadership science to better anticipate, address, mitigate, and even benefit from disruption.
Apple Stops Sales in Russia—and Takes a Rare Stand
The company joins the chorus of tech giants pushing back against Russian aggression.
How Russia’s war with Ukraine is playing out on Wikipedia; Russian Wikipedia editors decided to call an invasion what it is, rejecting the Kremlin’s narrative (Stephen Harrison/Slate)
Stephen Harrison / Slate: How Russia’s war with Ukraine is playing out on Wikipedia; Russian Wikipedia editors decided to call an invasion what it is, rejecting the Kremlin’s narrative — On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin issued the order for Russian forces to invade Ukraine. Since then, Russians …
Singapore-based gaming and e-commerce company Sea has lost $132B in market value from its October peak, including $11B in recent days after weak forecasts (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg: Singapore-based gaming and e-commerce company Sea has lost $132B in market value from its October peak, including $11B in recent days after weak forecasts — Sea Ltd., once the hottest stock in the world, has lost more than $130 billion in market value from its peak last year …
Meta releases its Q4 Widely Viewed Content report, showing the most viewed Facebook Page comes from a banned account; Meta would not reveal the account (Andrew Hutchinson/Social Media Today)
Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today: Meta releases its Q4 Widely Viewed Content report, showing the most viewed Facebook Page comes from a banned account; Meta would not reveal the account — Safe to say that Meta’s efforts to refute the idea that Facebook amplifies divisive political content are not going exactly as it would […]
How to help humans understand robots
Scientists who study human-robot interaction often focus on understanding human intentions from a robot’s perspective, so the robot learns to cooperate with people more effectively. But human-robot interaction is a two-way street, and the human also needs to learn how the robot behaves. Thanks to decades of cognitive science and educational psychology research, scientists have […]
The benefits of peripheral vision for machines
Perhaps computer vision and human vision have more in common than meets the eye? Research from MIT suggests that a certain type of robust computer-vision model perceives visual representations similarly to the way humans do using peripheral vision. These models, known as adversarially robust models, are designed to overcome subtle bits of noise that have […]
Six-Word Sci-Fi: Stories Written by You
Here’s this month’s prompt, how to submit, and an illustrated archive of past favorites.
Google’s New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras
The company’s ATAP research team is using radar to help computers respond to your movements, like turning off a TV if it senses you’ve dozed off.
How to Move Your Shop or Business Online
The pandemic prompted entrepreneurs to move their brick-and-mortars into the digital sphere. Here’s what worked for me and other small business owners.
HPE reports Q1 revenue of $7B, down 2% YoY, Compute revenue of $3B, up 1% YoY, and order growth up 20% YoY, including “as-a-service” orders up 136% YoY (Eric J. Savitz/Barron’s Online)
Eric J. Savitz / Barron’s Online: HPE reports Q1 revenue of $7B, down 2% YoY, Compute revenue of $3B, up 1% YoY, and order growth up 20% YoY, including “as-a-service” orders up 136% YoY — Hewlett-Packard Enterprise posted better-than-expected profits, while boosting its earnings forecast for the full fiscal year ending in October.
Doordash says it is acquiring Bbot, which develops ordering and payment tools for restaurants, for an undisclosed amount; Bbot raised a $15M Series A in July (Alicia Kelso/Restaurant Dive)
Alicia Kelso / Restaurant Dive: Doordash says it is acquiring Bbot, which develops ordering and payment tools for restaurants, for an undisclosed amount; Bbot raised a $15M Series A in July — Dive Brief: — DoorDash is acquiring Bbot, a hospitality technology startup that simplifies digital orders and payments processes, the company announced Tuesday.
Salesforce reports Q4 revenue of $7.33B, up 26% YoY, including $6.8B from subscription and support, up 25%; platform and other, which lumps in Slack, was up 53% (Stephanie Condon/ZDNet)
Stephanie Condon / ZDNet: Salesforce reports Q4 revenue of $7.33B, up 26% YoY, including $6.8B from subscription and support, up 25%; platform and other, which lumps in Slack, was up 53% — The CRM giant beat top and bottom line estimates, with every segment of its Subscription and Support business bringing in more than $1 […]
What are thermobaric weapons and is Russia using them in Ukraine?
Thermobaric weapons, sometimes called vacuum bombs, use powdered metal to create a rapidly expanding fireball. Under international law, they must only be used against military targets, not civilians.
El Salvador’s bitcoin gamble draws crypto-tourists but angers locals
The adoption of cryptocurrency as legal tender by El Salvador’s government has attracted enthusiastic tourists, concern from financial institutions and scorn from locals
Nanorobots clean up contaminated water by grabbing hold of pollutants
Nanorobots propelled by magnets can be used repeatedly without fuel, offering a sustainable and cost-effective way to clean up industrial wastewater
The Pandemic Created a Renewed Urgency for Agile Transformation – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM PLANVIEW
Sponsor content from Planview.
Research: The Link Between Recessions and Physical Pain
A 3% increase in unemployment rate was linked to a 1% increase in the number of people in pain, according to an analysis of data from 1.3 million people in 146 countries.
Regrets Are Inevitable. Start Learning From Them.
How looking at past mistakes with a different mindset can help us make better decisions.
Genetic Databases Are Too White. Here’s What It’ll Take to Fix It
Most genetic research is done on people of European descent. That’s led to misdiagnoses, inaccurate tests, and missed opportunities for new treatments.
TikTok Was Designed for War
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine plays out online, the platform’s design and algorithm prove ideal for the messiness of war—but a nightmare for the truth.
The Most Intriguing Launches at MWC 2022 Weren’t Phones
Laptops and 2-in-1 devices were out in force at the Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona. And they stole the show.
Symantec details China-linked backdoor Daxin, a Windows kernel driver that can hijack TCP connections to stealthily connect with command-and-control servers (Bill Toulas/BleepingComputer)
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: Symantec details China-linked backdoor Daxin, a Windows kernel driver that can hijack TCP connections to stealthily connect with command-and-control servers — Security researchers have discovered Daxin, a China-linked stealthy backdoor specifically designed for deployment in hardened corporate networks …