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Submission + - Psychiatric issues in a fifth of COVID-19 patients - scientists investigate why (theguardian.com)

Submitted by AleRunner
AleRunner writes: "Nearly one in five people who have had Covid-19 are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus"
Natalie Grover writes in the Guardian. Although "people with a pre-existing mental health diagnosis" are 65% more likely to get COVID so is may be that this is partly explained by doctors diagnosing illness that would otherwise be missed, the article states that "the rate is double the rate for influenza" and unexpectedly high so other explanations are needed and the cause is now under investigation. The scientists state that it's "not at all implausible that Covid-19 might have some direct effect on your brain and your mental health" especially after studies showing neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of Covid-19. “It’s difficult to judge the importance of these findings" says the article however they will add very much to existing worries about long COVID and potential long term economic and social damage from COVID-19.

Submission + - How a tiny bit of lacquer grounded new Falcon 9 rockets for a month (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by fahrbot-bot
fahrbot-bot writes: Originally scheduled to launch on Halloween, NASA delayed the launch of the Crew-1 mission that will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station after an engine issue aborted an October 2 launch attempt of a Falcon 9 rocket, at T-2 seconds, carrying a GPS III satellite for the US Air Force.

Two of the rocket's nine first-stage engines ignited early during the early-October launch attempt, and this triggered an automatic abort of the engines. (Had the abort not triggered, it is likely that nothing bad would have occurred, but SpaceX's Hans Koenigsmann said that under certain extreme scenarios, rattling from an early ignition may cause significant damage to the Merlin engines.)

SpaceX technicians removed the two engines and shipped them from Florida to the company's test site in McGregor, Texas, where they were able to replicate the problem. They found that a relief valve within the gas generator—a tiny rocket within the engine that starts up and powers its machinery—was clogged with a masking lacquer akin to nail polish. They were able to show that removing the lacquer from the vent hole allowed the engines to start up normally.

This lacquer is applied during an anodizing process to treat aluminum components of the gas generator. It is supposed to be subsequently removed, but in the case of these two engines, a tiny amount of the material had been trapped within a bore hole less than 2mm across.

NASA and SpaceX confirmed on Wednesday, October 28, that they are targeting November 14.

Submission + - Activists Turn Facial Recognition Tools Against the Police (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In early September, the City Council in Portland, Ore., met virtually to consider sweeping legislation outlawing the use of facial recognition technology. The bills would not only bar the police from using it tounmask protestersand individuals captured in surveillance imagery; they would also prevent companies and a variety of other organizations from using the software to identify an unknown person. During the time for public comments, a local man, Christopher Howell, said he had concerns about a blanket ban. He gave a surprising reason. “I am involved with developing facial recognition to in fact use on Portland police officers, since they are not identifying themselves to the public,” Mr. Howell said. Over the summer, with the city seized by demonstrations against police violence, leaders of the department had told uniformed officers that they couldtape over their name. Mr. Howell wanted to know: Would his use of facial recognition technology become illegal?

Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, told Mr. Howell that his project was “a little creepy,” but a lawyer for the city clarified that the bills would not apply to individuals. The Council then passed the legislation in a unanimous vote. Mr. Howell was offended by Mr. Wheeler’s characterization of his project but relieved he could keep working on it. “There’s a lot of excessive force here in Portland,” he said in a phone interview. “Knowing who the officers are seems like a baseline.” Mr. Howell, 42, is a lifelong protester and self-taught coder; in graduate school, he started working with neural net technology, an artificial intelligence that learns to make decisions from data it is fed, such as images. He said that the police had tear-gassed him during a midday protest in June, and that he had begun researching how to build a facial recognition product that could defeat officers’ attempts to shield their identity. Mr. Howell is not alone in his pursuit. Law enforcement has used facial recognition to identify criminals, using photos from government databases or, through a company calledClearview AI, from the public internet. But now activists around the world are turning the process around and developing tools that can unmask law enforcement in cases of misconduct.

Submission + - Second 'key' used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter into human cells discovered 2

Submitted by Kiuas
Kiuas writes: Researchers from the Technical university of Munich and the University of Helsinki have discovered a second receptor (called neuropilin-1) which is used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to enter into human cells via the nasal cavity. The discovery is important as it helps explain the rapid spread of the virus, and also helps define a potential target for antirviral intervention. Quoting a university of Helsinki press release on the discovery:

“That SARS-CoV-2 uses the receptor ACE2 to infect our cells was known, but viruses often use multiple factors to maximize their infectious potential” says Dr. Giuseppe Balistreri, head of the research group Viral Cell Biology at the University of Helsinki involved in the study. “Unlike the main receptor ACE2, which is present in low levels, Neuropilin-1 is very abundant in the cells of the nasal cavity. This is a strategically important localization possibly contributing to the efficient infectivity of this new coronavirus, which has caused a major pandemic, spreading rapidly around the world”, Balistreri explains. — -

By specifically blocking neuropilin-1 with antibodies, the researchers were able to significantly reduce infection in laboratory cell cultures. “If you think of ACE2 as a door lock to enter the cell, then neuropilin-1 could be a factor that directs the virus to the door. ACE2 is expressed at very low levels in most cells. Thus, it is not easy for the virus to find doors to enter. Other factors such as neuropilin-1 might help the virus finding its door”, says Balistreri. — -

Balistreri cautiously concludes “it is currently too early to speculate whether blocking directly neuropilin could be a viable therapeutic approach, as this could lead to side effects. This will have to be looked at in future studies. Currently our laboratory is testing the effect of new molecules that we have specifically designed to interrupt the connection between the virus and neuropilin. Preliminary results are very promising and we hope to obtain validations in vivo in the near future.”

The study itself was published in the Science magazine on the 20th of October.

Submission + - FAA Reviewing Quality Control Issues With Boeing Dreamliner Going Back A Decade (wsj.com)

Submitted by phalse phace
phalse phace writes: The FAA has begun looking into quality-control problems at Boeing for their Dreamliner that goes back almost a decade.

The WSJ reports that "the plane maker has told U.S. aviation regulators that it produced certain parts at its South Carolina facilities that failed to meet its own design and manufacturing standards, according to an Aug. 31 internal Federal Aviation Administration memo.

As a result of “nonconforming” sections of the rear fuselage, or body of the plane, that fell short of engineering standards, according to the memo and these people, a high-level FAA review is considering mandating enhanced or accelerated inspections that could cover hundreds of jets.

The memo, a routine update or summary of safety issues pending in the FAA’s Seattle office that oversees Boeing design and manufacturing issues, says such a safety directive could cover as many as about 900 of the roughly 1,000 Dreamliners delivered since 2011."

(non-paywalled source)

Submission + - Nano-diamond self-charging batteries using C14 radioactive waste (newatlas.com) 1

Submitted by Heart44
Heart44 writes: There is a lot of C14 radioactive waste from graphite rods that is expensive to store. This graphite according to the article can be converted to C14 diamonds covered in C12 diamonds. C14 has a half-life of 5,700 years, so such batteries would last a long time and are supposedly safe. Sounds like an April fool but ...

Submission + - Web browsing history uniquely identifies users (schneier.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers from Mozilla report in a study that web browsing histories (the lists of user visited websites) are uniquely identifying users. In their study that was the case for 99% users. Treating web browsing histories like fingerprint, the researchers analysed how the users can be reidentified just based on the coarsened list of user-visited websites. .

In doing so they upheld and confirmed a previous study from 2011, prompting the author of the original study to say that web browsing histories are now personal data subject to privacy regulations like the GDPR.

Sensitivity of web browsing history data questions the laws allowing ISPs to sell web browsing histories

Submission + - The Golden Age of computer user groups (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Esther Schindler
Esther Schindler writes: The Home-brew computer club where the Apple I got its start is deservedly famous. But throughout the 80s and into the 90s, computer user groups around the world helped hapless users figure out their computer systems, learn about technology trends, and get product demonstrations of the latest whiz-bang applications. Ready for a step into the wayback machine?
 

Submission + - SPAM: Mars Map With Water: Incredible Terraforming Image Shows Elon Musk's Dream

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: WHAT WOULD MARS LOOK LIKE if most of its surface was covered with water? Thanks to a new project released this week, we may have a better idea.

A new map shows what the red planet would look like if 71 percent of its surface area was covered with water — around the same proportion as Earth.

The results are spectacular: it shows two distinct landmasses forming, each of which would seem to form continents. While the left side shows a dramatic, mountainous terrain that includes Olympus Mons, the right side seems to offer more flatlands that include planes like Terra Sabaea.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - SpaceX's Starship SN5 testbed successfully makes 150m controlled flight (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Zitchas
Zitchas writes: Tuesday evening SpaceX launched a testbed system which flew 150m into the air, hovered, and made a controlled landing. This testbed is noteworthy for being made out of stainless steel, as well as for being powered by a single off-center raptor engine. It demonstrates that the propulsion system can successfully compensate for the off-balanced propulsion via vectored thrust, as well as handle the stresses involved with landing and take-off.

Submission + - VPN with 'strict no-logs policy' exposed millions of user log files (betanews.com) 3

Submitted by kimmmos
kimmmos writes: An unprotected database belonging to the VPN service UFO VPN was exposed online for more than two weeks. Contained within the database were more than 20 million logs including user passwords stored in plain text.

User of both UFO VPN free and paid services are affected by the data breach which was discovered by the security research team at Comparitech. Despite the Hong Kong-based VPN provider claiming to have a "strict no-logs policy" and that any data collected is anonymized, Comparitech says that "based on the contents of the database, users' information does not appear to be anonymous at all".

Comment Re:How about don't buy it from them in the 1st pla (Score 1) 55

How about you actually learn about the medical device market before you spout off? There are not huge numbers of companies making all of these things. There is not a ton of choice. And, the vast majority of vendors are using the same tactics. Following your suggestion would simply mean I don't have the medical devices to treat you when you need it.

Comment Re:It's to ensure a standard. (Score 3, Informative) 55

It's to ensure a standard.

To a point, yes. And I even agree with that goal. The problem comes when a device manufacturer allows only their own personnel to work on a device, and then makes it extremely expensive to get that person on site to do the job. Or, as with the current COVID situation, bans travel of their Field Support Engineers entirely, leaving my device broken for potentially months on end. As a Biomed, I could attend training for the repair of said device (and have, for some), and do the repair in-house. That is, if the device manufacturer allows non-company people to be trained. And even that is expensive, and can take months to get.

And before you say a company's FSE is better than I could be, I've actually watched them break my devices worse than when I called for service, and then charge me for what they broke. How is that better than what I could do, given the same training?

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