Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission + - Ion-based cooling technique could make computer chips more powerful (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: [R]esearchers at The University of Osaka have developed a strategy to enhance cooling by driving the flow of ions through nanoscale channels. This ionothermoelectric strategy is analogous to the Peltier technique, in which passing an electric current through a material results in heating or cooling. This compelling invention is published in ACS Nano.

"We fabricated a nanosized pore in a semiconductor membrane and surrounded the nanopore with a 'gate,' in the form of a nanowire. Applying a voltage to the gate induced the flow of ions through the nanopore," explains lead author, Makusu Tsutsui. "Varying the voltage modulated the surface charge of the nanopore."

A negative applied voltage resulted in a negatively charged nanopore that was only permeable to positively charged ions, or cations. Consequently, each ion drags a certain quantity of heat along with its charge. The team created a concentration gradient in saltwater around the nanopore to drive cation transport in one direction, effectively pumping heat out of the nanopore. Reversing the applied voltage made the nanopore surface positive and permeable only to negative ions, or anions, therefore switching the system from cooling to heating.

Submission + - Company "Deep Fission" plans Underground SMRs (ieee.org)

Submitted by jenningsthecat
jenningsthecat writes: IEEE Spectrum magazine reports that Deep Fission "hopes reactors in boreholes will be safer and cheaper":

By dropping a nuclear reactor 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) underground, Deep Fission aims to use the weight of a billion tons of rock and water as a natural containment system comparable to concrete domes and cooling towers. With the fission reaction occurring far below the surface, steam can safely circulate in a closed loop to generate power.

In October the startup announced that prospective customers had "signed non-binding letters of intent for 12.5 gigawatts of power involving data center developers, industrial parks, and other (mostly undisclosed) strategic partners, with initial sites under consideration in Kansas, Texas, and Utah". The article continues:

Deep Fission’s small modular reactor (SMR), called Gravity, is designed to stand 9 meters tall while remaining slim enough to fit inside a borehole roughly three-quarters of a meter wide. The company says its modular approach allows multiple 15-megawatt reactors to be clustered on a single site: A block of 10 would total 150 MW, and Deep Fission claims that larger groupings could scale to 1.5 GW.

"We are unique in that we’ve combined three existing mature technologies in a way that nobody had ever thought of before". The company claims that "using geological depth as containment could make nuclear energy cheaper, safer, and deployable in months at a fraction of a conventional plant’s footprint. Still, independent experts say the underground design introduces its own uncertainties, both regulatory and practical."

Shoutout to Hackaday.com for alerting me to this story.

Submission + - 7 explosive allegations against Meta in newly unsealed filings (time.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: According to the brief, Meta was aware that millions of adult strangers were contacting minors on its sites; that its products exacerbated mental health issues in teens; and that content related to eating disorders, suicide, and child sexual abuse was frequently detected, yet rarely removed.

Submission + - CERN can now produce antihydrogen atoms eight times faster than before (home.cern)

Submitted by fahrbot-bot
fahrbot-bot writes: CERN is reporting that a new cooling technique means that the ALPHA experiment at their Antimatter Factory can produce antihydrogen atoms, the simplest form of atomic antimatter, eight times faster than before – over 15,000 antihydrogen atoms in a matter of hours.

Producing and trapping antihydrogen is an extremely complicated process. Previous methods took 24 hours to trap just 2,000 atoms, limiting the scope of experiments at ALPHA. The Swansea-led team has changed that.

Using laser-cooled beryllium ions, the team has demonstrated that it is possible to cool positrons to less than 10 Kelvin (below –263C), significantly colder than the previous threshold of about 15 Kelvin. These cooler positrons dramatically boost the efficiency of antihydrogen production and trapping—allowing a record 15,000 atoms to be trapped in less than seven hours.

Alternate article in Phys.org.

Submission + - The Ethical Computing Initiative (codeberg.page)

Submitted by mixmasta
mixmasta writes: A (hopeful) new movement dedicated to a simple proposition—that our technology products should respect us! That is, support our wishes and uphold the principles of freedom, privacy, and informed consent.

Tired of being coerced by BigTech? So are we. Join and help us pull together a complete computing platform.

Submission + - New Drug Kills Cancer 20,000x More Effectively With No Detectable Side Effects (scitechdaily.com) 2

Submitted by fahrbot-bot
fahrbot-bot writes: SciTechDaily is reporting that researchers at Northwestern University have redesigned the molecular structure of a well-known chemotherapy drug, greatly increasing its solubility, effectiveness, and safety.

For this study, the scientists created the drug entirely from scratch as a spherical nucleic acid (SNA), a nanoscale structure that incorporates the drug into DNA strands surrounding tiny spheres. This innovative design transforms a compound that normally dissolves poorly and works weakly into a highly potent, precisely targeted treatment that spares healthy cells from damage.

When tested in a small animal model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive and hard-to-treat blood cancer, the SNA-based version showed remarkable results. It entered leukemia cells 12.5 times more efficiently, destroyed them up to 20,000 times more effectively, and slowed cancer progression by a factor of 59, all without causing noticeable side effects.

“In animal models, we demonstrated that we can stop tumors in their tracks,” said Northwestern’s Chad A. Mirkin, who led the study. “If this translates to human patients, it’s a really exciting advance. It would mean more effective chemotherapy, better response rates and fewer side effects. That’s always the goal with any sort of cancer treatment.”

Submission + - Autism should not be seen as single condition with one cause, say scientists (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Bruce66423
Bruce66423 writes: 'Those diagnosed as small children typically have distinct genetic profile from those diagnosed later, study finds'

So there's more than one condition out there that's being diagnosed as 'autism'. This, of course, messes with the debate about causes; one version of autism may be caused by something for which the evidence is very weak overall... ;)

Submission + - Tails 7.0 Linux distribution debuts with Debian 13 and GNOME 48 (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: Tails 7.0 has officially arrived, marking the first release of the privacy-focused, Linux-based operating system based on Debian 13 âoeTrixieâ and GNOME 48 âoeBengaluru.â This update delivers faster startup times, refreshed applications, and stronger hardware support.

One of the most noticeable improvements is boot speed. Thanks to a switch from xz to zstd compression, Tails now starts 10 to 15 seconds quicker on most machines. The tradeoff is a slightly larger image size, but for users with reliable USB sticks the difference in speed is worth it. The developers caution that low-quality USB drives could still cause slower boots.

Software updates are a major part of this release. GNOME Terminal has been replaced by GNOME Console, and GNOME Image Viewer has been swapped for GNOME Loupe. Key applications have been updated as well, including Tor Browser 14.5.7, Tor client 0.4.8.17, Thunderbird 128.14.0esr, Electrum 4.5.8, KeePassXC 2.7.10, GIMP 3.0.4, Inkscape 1.4, and Audacity 3.7.3. The Text Editor and Document Scanner also get substantial upgrades.

GNOME itself sees a wave of improvements. The Settings app now has redesigned sections for sound, accessibility, and input. New accessibility features include Overamplification and always-visible scrollbars. Other changes include a workspace indicator replacing the Activities button, better screen reader navigation, and an option to extend battery life in laptops. While GNOME 48 is a polished release, itâ(TM)s worth noting that GNOME 49 was released just yesterday, which makes Tails 7.0 feel slightly behind the curve from day one.

Some older tools have been removed, such as unar, aircrack-ng, and the Power Statistics utility, but alternatives remain. File Roller still handles most RAR archives, and aircrack-ng can be reinstalled if needed using Additional Software.

Under the hood, the Linux kernel has been updated to 6.12.43, boosting compatibility with newer graphics cards and Wi-Fi hardware. Memory requirements have also increased from 2GB to 3GB, though the developers expect this will affect very few users.

Tails 7.0 is a huge step for anyone who values privacy and security. With faster performance, updated apps, and better hardware support, it continues to be one of the most important Linux-based tools for staying anonymous online.

Submission + - Doomed 'cannibal' star could soon explode in a supernova visible during day (space.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Astronomers have discovered the secret of a strange star system that has baffled them for years, finding it contains a dead star about to erupt after overfeeding on a stellar companion. The supernova explosion of this cosmic cannibal could be as bright as the moon, making it visible with the naked eye over Earth even in broad daylight.

The system in question is the double star V Sagittae located around 10,000 light-years from Earth, containing a white dwarf stellar remnant and its victim companion star, which orbit each other roughly twice every Earth day.

Submission + - Japanese Company Staff Implicated in Alleged Theft of Key TSMC Technology (cnn.com)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets and took them to Japanese company Tokyo Electrons, prosecutors said Tuesday. Nikkei Asia first reported on Tuesday that TSMC had fired staffers suspected of illegally obtaining business secrets related to the manufacturing technology for the company’s 2-nanometer chip, the most advanced processor in the semiconductor industry that is expected to go into mass production this year. Taiwanese local media reported that a former TSMC employee now works at top chip manufacturing equipment supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., and that the Japanese firm’s Taiwan office was raided by investigators. On Thursday, Tokyo Electron confirmed it had dismissed an employee of its Taiwan subsidiary who was involved in the case, and said the company was cooperating with authorities. “As of now, based upon the findings of our internal investigation we have not confirmed any evidence of the respective confidential information shared to any third parties,” it said in a statement.

Submission + - ThinkPad designer David Hill spills secrets, designs that never made it (theregister.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: If you bought a ThinkPad between 1995 and 2017, it was probably designed under the oversight of David W. Hill, who served as lead designer under both IBM and Lenovo for those 22 years. We caught up with Hill, who today runs his own firm, ThinkNext Design, to talk about the history of ThinkPad, what drove him to make key design decisions, and the products he wanted to come out with but just couldn't.

Submission + - Citizenlab spyware research

Submitted by ISayWeOnlyToBePolite
ISayWeOnlyToBePolite writes: Original paper: https://citizenlab.ca/2025/03/...

Techcrunch coverage: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03...
"The governments of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel, and Singapore are likely customers of Israeli spyware maker Paragon Solutions, according to a new technical report by a renowned digital security lab.

On Wednesday, The Citizen Lab, a group of academics and security researchers housed at the University of Toronto that has investigated the spyware industry for more than a decade, published a report about the Israeli-founded surveillance startup, identifying the six governments as “suspected Paragon deployments.”

At the end of January, WhatsApp notified around 90 users that the company believed were targeted with Paragon spyware, prompting a scandal in Italy, where some of the targets live. "

The Guardian additional coverage of activist David Yambino :https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/19/italian-activist-david-yambio-alerts-icc-spyware-attack

"A prominent activist in Italy has warned the international criminal court that his mobile phone was under surveillance when he was providing the ICC with confidential information about victims of torture in Libya.

A report released on Wednesday by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks digital surveillance of members of civil society, has confirmed that David Yambio, the founder of an organisation called Refugees in Libya, was targeted by mercenary spyware. The attack occurred at a time when he was in communication with The Hague, he said. At least one attack took place around June 2024, researchers said."

Submission + - New open source Windows-compatible operating system released (github.com) 2

Submitted by paugq
paugq writes: Free95, a new lean, Windows-compatible operating system is available from GitHub. In its current form, it can run very basic Win32 GUI and console applications but its developer promises to keep working on it to reach DirectX and een game compatibility.

Submission + - Slashdot Dies A Slow Death with Crippling Advertisements (slashdot.org) 2

Submitted by zamboni1138
zamboni1138 writes: Anybody familiar with the technology news web forum known as Slashdot have known about the recent decline in quality of stories and comments. Recently Slashdot decided to "upgrade" their advertisement experience resulting in an almost broken user experience for users that implement any kind of ad-blocking technology. Over the last week visitors to the site using ad blockers have noticed a unique experience with javascript alerts explaining "This page could not be loaded properly due to incorrect / bad filtering rule(s) of adblockers in use. Please disable all adblockers to continue using the website. (click OK if you'd like to learn more)". These notices are almost non-stop while trying to load/read a page making the site unusable.

Slashdot Top Deals

BYTE editors are people who separate the wheat from the chaff, and then carefully print the chaff.

Close