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Submission + - Satellite images reveal Amazon fires in near real-time (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: High-resolution images from satellite company Planet are revealing glimpses of some of the fires currently devastating the Amazon rainforest. While many of the images currently being shared on social media and by news outlets are from past fires — some from as long as 15 years ago — satellites can provide a near real-time view of what’s unfolding in the Amazon. With near-daily overflights and high-resolution imagery, Planet’s constellation of satellites is providing a clear look at some of the fires now burning in the Brazilian Amazon.

Submission + - The Amazon rainforest wants its TLD back from Amazon.com (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: The Seattle-based Amazon.com has applied for its brand to be a generic top-level domain name (.amazon), but South American governments argue this would prevent the use of this internet address for environmental protection, the promotion of indigenous rights and other public interest uses. Along with dozens of other disputed claims to names including ".patagonia" and ".shangrila", the issue cuts to the heart of debates about the purpose and governance of the internet.
Technology

Submission + - Energy efficiency gains failing to keep pace with Internet's growth (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: Energy efficiency gains are failing to keep pace with the Internet's rapid rate of expansion, says a new paper published in the journal Science. Noting that the world's data centers already consume 270 terawatt hours and Internet traffic volume is doubling every three years, Diego Reforgiato Recupero of the University of Catania argues for prioritizing energy efficiency in the design of devices, networks, data centers, and software development. Recupero highlights two approaches for improving efficiency: smart standby and dynamic frequency scaling or CPU throttling.

Submission + - Dealing with an Advanced Wi-Fi Leech? 8

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Recently, I had found out (through my log files) that my wireless router was subject to a Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) brute force PIN attack. After looking on the Internet and discovering that there are indeed many vulnerabilities to WPS, I disabled it. After a few days, I noticed that I kept intermittently getting disconnected at around the same time every day (indicative of a WPA deauthentication handshake capture attempt). I also noticed that an evil twin has been setup in an effort to get me to connect to it. Through Wi-Fi monitoring software, I have noticed that certain MAC addresses are connected to multiple WEP and WPA2 access points in my neighborhood. I believe that I (and my neighbors) may be dealing with an advanced Wi-Fi leech. What can I do in this situation? Should I bother purchasing a directional antenna, figuring out exactly where the clients are situated, and knocking on their door? Is this something the local police can help me with?
Science

Submission + - Volcano may have killed off new bioluminescent cockroach (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: A newly discovered light-producing cockroach, Lucihormetica luckae, may have already been driven to extinction by a volcanic eruption in Ecuador. The species, only formally described by scientists this year, hasn't been spotted since the Tungurahua Volcano erupted in July 2010. The new species was notable because it represented the only known case of mimicry by bioluminescence in a land animal. Like a venomless king snake beating its tail to copy the unmistakable warning of a rattlesnake, Lucihormetica luckae's bioluminescent patterns are nearly identical to the poisonous click beetle, with which it shares (or shared) its habitat.
Android

Submission + - CyanogenMod Domain Stolen (cyanogenmod.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The team behind CyanogenMod, one of the most popular community-driven, Android-based operating systems for phones and tablets, has announced that they're moving to Cyanogenmod.org after their .com domain was held ransom by a community member. He had been in control of the .com domain name for some time, but the team found out he was impersonating Cyanogen to make deals with community sites. When they removed his access to other parts of the CM infrastructure, he demanded $10,000 to relinquish control of the domain and threatened to change the DNS entries. When they refused to pay, he went through with it. The team is now disputing control of the domain with ICANN. They said, 'We will continue to be open about the what, when, how, but unfortunately, we may never know the "why" – though greed comes to mind. The team itself has not made a profit off of CM and that is not our goal. But to have one of our own betray the community like this is beyond our comprehension.'
Science

Submission + - Artifical misting system allows reintroduction of extinct toad (mongabay.com) 2

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: The Kihansi Spray Toad went extinct in the wild in 2005 when its habitat in Tanzania was destroyed by a dam. However conservationists at the Bronx Zoo managed to maintain a captive population which is now large enough to allow a bold experiment to move forward: reintroducing the toad into its old habitat. To make the once tropical gorge moist again, engineers have designed an artificial misting system that should allow toads to survive in the wild. The effort marks what may be the first time conservationists have ever re-established an "extinct" species in a human-engineered ecosystem.
Science

Submission + - San Diego Zoo Creates Biomimicry Incubator (xconomy.com)

Submitted by
waderoush
waderoush writes: "The San Diego Zoo has built a world famous reputation as a tourist destination, for helping to rescue the California Condor, and maybe (if you're old enough) for Joan Embery's appearances with Johnny Carson. Now the zoo is using its expertise to drive innovation by establishing a new 'Centre for Bioinspiration.' While the Anglicized spelling of 'center' might seem pretentious, the zoo has a down-to-earth goal of innovating through the emerging field of biomimicry, which is exemplified by Qualcomm's Mirasol display technology (the displays generate colors using the same type of interference between light waves that causes iridescence in butterfly wings). The center includes an incubator for developing new bio-inspired products and technologies, where ideas would be advanced to a proof of concept or working model, and then licensed. The incubator also intends to help develop bio-inspired ideas from outside the zoo."
Biotech

Submission + - Lance Armstrong and the Science of Drug Testing 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "As the media reports that that seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong says he will no longer fight doping charges by the US Anti-Doping Agency which will strip him of his titles and ban him from competitive cycling for life, Tracee Hamilton writes that the Lance Armstrong vs. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency fight is a tough one in which to take a side, because to believe USADA means suspending belief in the science of drug testing. "If you take personalities out of the equation, you’re left with pee in a cup and blood in a syringe," writes Hamilton. "Armstrong never failed a drug test. He was tested in competition, out of competition. He was tested at the Olympics, at the Tour de France, at dozens if not hundreds of other events. And he never failed a test." Instead Travis Tygart, chief executive officer of the USADA, gathered a group of people who swear they saw Armstrong doping. "If the results can be discarded in favor of testimony, then let’s go right to the testimony phase and quit horsing around with blood and urine." There has been no trial, no due process, but in the minds of many, that testimony outweighs the results of hundreds of drug tests. "I don’t know if Armstrong did the things he’s accused of doing, and neither do you," concludes Hamilton adding that it can't work both ways. "Either a drug test is the standard, or it isn’t.""
NASA

Submission + - NASA tool shows where forest is being cut down (mongabay.com)

Submitted by terrancem
terrancem writes: A new tool developed by NASA and other researchers shows where forest is being chopped down on a quarterly basis. The global forest disturbance alert system (GloF-DAS) is based on comparison of MODIS global vegetation index images at the exact same time period each year in consecutive years. GloF-DAS could help users detect deforestation shortly after it occurs, offering the potential to take measures to investigate clearing before it expands.

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