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Submission + - CCP-tied group is quietly fueling US-based climate initiatives (foxnews.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A climate-focused nonprofit with significant operations in Beijing has wired millions of dollars to fund climate initiatives and environmental groups in the U.S., according to tax filings first obtained by Fox News Digital.

While the Energy Foundation's financial filings indicate that the group is technically headquartered in San Francisco, a Fox News Digital review determined that the majority of its operations are conducted in China with a staff that boasts extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its recently filed tax form show the group, which refers to itself as "Energy Foundation China," contributed $3.8 million to initiatives in the U.S. like phasing out coal and electrifying the transportation sector.

Overall, while the U.S. is the largest global producer of oil and gas, which still drives every major industry from transportation and power to manufacturing and construction, Chinese companies have established a major foothold in green energy markets.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), for example, China produces about 75% of all lithium-ion batteries, a key component of EVs, worldwide. The nation also boasts 70% of production capacity for cathodes and 85% for anodes, two key parts of such batteries.

In addition, more than 50% of lithium, cobalt and graphite processing and refining capacity is located in China, the IEA data showed. Those three critical minerals, in addition to copper and nickel, are vital for EV batteries and other green energy technologies. Chinese investment firms have also been aggressive in purchasing stakes in African mines in recent years to ensure a firm control over mineral production.

China also continues to dominate the global solar supply chain even as Western nations attempt to increase domestic manufacturing capabilities. According to a July 2022 IEA report, China has a greater than 80% share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panel manufacturing. China further produces a staggering 95% of all global polysilicon, ingot and wafer supplies necessary for solar products.

Submission + - Livestock surprise scientists with their complex, emotional minds (science.org) 1

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: If you’ve ever seen a cow staring vacantly across a field, or a pig rolling around in its own filth, you might not think there’s a lot going on in their head. You wouldn’t be alone. People haven’t given much credence to the intelligence of farm animals, and neither have scientists. But that’s starting to change.

A growing field of research is showing that—when it comes to the minds of goats, cows, and other livestock—we may have been missing something big. Studies published over the past few years have shown that pigs show signs of empathy, goats rival dogs in some tests of social intelligence, and cows can be potty trained.

Much of this work is being carried out at the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf, Germany, one of the world’s leading centers for investigating the minds of creatures that often end up on our dinner plate. From cows making friends to goats exhibiting signs of altruism, farm animals are upending popular—and scientific—conceptions of what's going on in their minds.

The work may not just rewrite our thinking about livestock, it might also change how we treat them. As Jan Langbein, an applied ethologist at FBN told says, “If we don’t understand how these animals think, then we won’t understand what they need. And if we don’t understand what they need, we can’t design better environments for them.”

Submission + - The genetic structure of SARSCoV2 does not rule out a laboratory origin (nih.gov)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: “Severe acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus (SARSCoV) 2s origin is still controversial. Genomic analyses show SARSCoV2 likely to be chimeric, most of its sequence closest to bat CoV RaTG13, whereas its receptor binding domain (RBD) is almost identical to that of a pangolin CoV. Chimeric viruses can arise via natural recombination or human intervention.”

“The furin cleavage site in the spike protein of SARSCoV2 confers to the virus the ability to cross species and tissue barriers, but was previously unseen in other SARSlike CoVs. Might genetic manipulations have been performed in order to evaluate pangolins as possible intermediate hosts for batderived CoVs that were originally unable to bind to human receptors?”

“Both cleavage site and specific RBD could result from sitedirected mutagenesis, a procedure that does not leave a trace. Considering the devastating impact of SARSCoV2 and importance of preventing future pandemics, researchers have a responsibility to carry out a thorough analysis of all possible SARSCoV2 origins.”

Submission + - US govt mandates kill switch in new vehicles (washingtontimes.com)

Submitted by SonicSpike
SonicSpike writes: House Republicans and a few Democrats came close to blocking federal funding for a mandate that will soon require new car technology to measure driver behavior and shut down vehicles if drunken driving or other impairment is detected.

The measure failed in a late-night vote on Tuesday, but 199 Republicans and two Democrats voted for it, indicating a growing concern in Congress about the new mandate, which was included with little notice in a massive bipartisan infrastructure funding bill that President Biden signed into law in 2021.

The provision, now law, requires car manufacturers by 2026 to equip new vehicles with cameras and sensors aimed at detecting intoxication and eventually other dangerous driving behaviors. The new technology must be designed to prevent cars from operating if the sensors determine the driver is impaired, under the mandate.

The mandate and developing technology has stirred criticism and concern on Capitol Hill and beyond by those who warn that in-car monitoring will be intrusive and imperfect, and could leave motorists stranded.

“I think it’s going to be a train wreck,” Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, told The Washington Times on Tuesday.

Comment Yahoo as a model? (Score 1) 38

by tomhath (#63923585) Attached to: Google Tests a News-Filled Homepage

The change makes Google look a lot busier -- and a lot more like Bing and Yahoo.

No. Just no. I don't want Google telling me what news they want me to read. And I certainly don't want anything like Bing or Yahoo home pages on my screen.

Submission + - ACT Test Scores For US Students Drop To a 30-Year Low (npr.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: High school students' scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test. Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the class of 2023 whose scores were reported Wednesday were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S.

The average ACT composite score for U.S. students was 19.5 out of 36. Last year, the average score was 19.8. The average scores in reading, science and math all were below benchmarks the ACT says students must reach to have a high probability of success in first-year college courses. The average score in English was just above the benchmark but still declined compared to last year.

About 1.4 million students in the U.S. took the ACT this year, an increase from last year. However, the numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. [Janet Godwin, chief executive officer for the nonprofit ACT] said she doesn't believe those numbers will ever fully recover, partly because of test-optional admission policies. Of students who were tested, only 21% met benchmarks for success in college-level classes in all subjects. Research from the nonprofit shows students who meet those benchmarks have a 50% chance of earning a B or better and nearly a 75% chance of earning a C or better in corresponding courses.

Submission + - Nearly 10,000 Photos from Hunter Biden's Laptop Published (nationalreview.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Thousands of photos from first son Hunter Biden’s laptop have been made publicly available via a website called BidenLaptopMedia.com. The site was launched by the “nonprofit research group exposing corruption & blackmail” Marco Polo, headed by former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler.

Ziegler stated that it took his team months to review and redact the photos, which span from 2008 to 2019. He emphasized that the aim of the website is to provide truth and transparency, allowing the American people to see what their first family is like, without excluding photos that may portray the Bidens in a negative light.

Submission + - US Patent Office Proposes Rule To Make It Much Harder To Kill Bad Patents (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: So, this is bad. Over the last few years, we’ve written plenty about the so-called “inter partes review” or "IPR” that came into being about a decade ago as part of the “America Invents Act,” which was the first major change to the patent system in decades. For much of the first decade of the 2000s, patent trolls were running wild and creating a massive tax on innovation. There were so many stories of people (mostly lawyers) getting vague and broad patents that they never had any intention of commercializing, then waiting for someone to come along and build something actually useful and innovative... and then shaking them down with the threat of patent litigation. The IPR process, while not perfect, was at least an important tool in pushing back on some of the worst of the worst patents. In its most basic form, the IPR process allows nearly anyone to challenge a bad patent and have the special Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) review the patent to determine if it should have been granted in the first place. Given that a bad patent can completely stifle innovation for decades this seems like the very least that the Patent Office should offer to try to get rid of innovation-killing bad patents.

However, patent trolls absolutely loathe the IPR process for fairly obvious reasons. It kills their terrible patents. The entire IPR process has been challenged over and over again and (thankfully) the Supreme Court said that it’s perfectly fine for the Patent Office to review granted patents to see if they made a mistake. But, of course, that never stops the patent trolls. They’ve complained to Congress. And, now, it seems that the Patent Office itself is trying to help them out. Recently, the USPTO announced a possible change to the IPR process that would basically lead to limiting who can actually challenge bad patents, and which patents could be challenged.

The wording of the proposed changes seems to be written in a manner to be as confusing as possible. But there are a few different elements to the proposal. One part would limit who can bring challenges to patents under the IPR system, utilizing the power of the director to do a “discretionary denial.” For example, it would say that “certain for-profit entities” are not allowed to bring challenges. Why? That’s not clear. [...] But the more worrisome change is this one: "Recognizing the important role the USPTO plays in encouraging and protecting innovation by individual inventors, startups, and under-resourced innovators who are working to bring their ideas to market, the Office is considering limiting the impact of AIA post-grant proceedings on such entities by denying institution when certain conditions are met." Basically, if a patent holder is designated as an “individual inventor, startup” or “under-resourced innovator” then their patents are protected from the IPR process. But, as anyone studying this space well knows, patent trolls often present themselves as all three of those things (even though it’s quite frequently not at all true). [...] And, again, none of this should matter. A bad patent is a bad patent. Why should the USPTO create different rules that protect bad patents? If the patent is legit, it will survive the IPR process.

Submission + - SPAM: What really went on inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid erupted

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Fresh evidence drawn from confidential files reveals Chinese scientists spliced together deadly pathogens shortly before the pandemic, the Sunday Times Insight team report

Scientists in Wuhan working alongside the Chinese military were combining the world’s most deadly coronaviruses to create a new mutant virus just as the pandemic began.

Investigators who scrutinised top-secret intercepted communications and scientific research believe Chinese scientists were running a covert project of dangerous experiments, which caused a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and started the Covid-19 outbreak.

The US investigators say one of the reasons there is no published information on the work is because it was done in collaboration with researchers from the Chinese military, which was funding it and which, they say, was pursuing bioweapons.

[Dr Steven Quay, a US scientist who advised the State Department on its investigation] believes Covid-19 was created by inserting a furin cleavage site into one of the mine viruses and then serial passaging it through humanised mice. He submitted a statement to the US Senate explaining the process. “You infect the mice, wait a week or so, and then recover the virus from the sickest mice. Then you repeat. In a matter of weeks this directed evolution will produce a virus that can kill every humanised mouse.”

This explains why from the beginning of the outbreak, he says, the pandemic virus was so remarkably well adapted to infect humans.
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