Submission + - Congress Wants To Hand Your Parenting to Big Tech (eff.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Lawmakers in Washington are once again focusing on kids, screens, and mental health. But according to Congress, Big Tech is somehow both the problem and the solution. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing [Friday] on “examining the effect of technology on America’s youth.” Witnesses warned about “addictive” online content, mental health, and kids spending too much time buried in screen. At the center of the debate is a bill from Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) called the Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA), which they say will protect children and “empower parents.”

That’s a reasonable goal, especially at a time when many parents feel overwhelmed and nervous about how much time their kids spend on screens. But while the bill’s press release contains soothing language, KOSMA doesn’t actually give parents more control. Instead of respecting how most parents guide their kids towards healthy and educational content, KOSMA hands the control panel to Big Tech. That’s right—this bill would take power away from parents, and hand it over to the companies that lawmakers say are the problem. [...] This bill doesn’t just set an age rule. It creates a legal duty for platforms to police families. Section 103(b) of the bill is blunt: if a platform knows a user is under 13, it “shall terminate any existing account or profile” belonging to that user. And “knows” doesn’t just mean someone admits their age. The bill defines knowledge to include what is “fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances”—in other words, what a reasonable person would conclude from how the account is being used. The reality of how services would comply with KOSMA is clear: rather than risk liability for how they should have known a user was under 13, they will require all users to prove their age to ensure that they block anyone under 13.

KOSMA contains no exceptions for parental consent, for family accounts, or for educational or supervised use. The vast majority of people policed by this bill won’t be kids sneaking around—it will be minors who are following their parents’ guidance, and the parents themselves. Imagine a child using their parent’s YouTube account to watch science videos about how a volcano works. If they were to leave a comment saying, “Cool video—I’ll show this to my 6th grade teacher!” and YouTube becomes aware of the comment, the platform now has clear signals that a child is using that account. It doesn’t matter whether the parent gave permission. Under KOSMA, the company is legally required to act. To avoid violating KOSMA, it would likely lock, suspend, or terminate the account, or demand proof it belongs to an adult. That proof would likely mean asking for a scan of a government ID, biometric data, or some other form of intrusive verification, all to keep what is essentially a “family” account from being shut down.

Violations of KOSMA are enforced by the FTC and state attorneys general. That’s more than enough legal risk to make platforms err on the side of cutting people off. Platforms have no way to remove “just the kid” from a shared account. Their tools are blunt: freeze it, verify it, or delete it. Which means that even when a parent has explicitly approved and supervised their child’s use, KOSMA forces Big Tech to override that family decision. [...] These companies don’t know your family or your rules. They only know what their algorithms infer. Under KOSMA, those inferences carry the force of law. Rather than parents or teachers, decisions about who can be online, and for what purpose, will be made by corporate compliance teams and automated detection systems.

Submission + - The World's Longest-Running Lab Experiment Is Almost 100 Years Old (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: It all started in 1927, when physicist Thomas Parnell at the University of Queensland in Australia filled a closed funnel with the world's thickest known fluid: pitch, a derivative of tar that was once used to seal ships against the seas.

Three years later, in 1930, Parnell cut the funnel's stem, like a ribbon at an event, heralding the start of the Pitch Drop Experiment. From then on, the black substance began to flow.

At least, that is, in a manner of speaking. At room temperature pitch might look solid, but it is actually a fluid 100 billion times more viscous than water.

Submission + - WALL STREET NEVER SLEEPS⦠NYSE PLANS 24x7 TOKENIZED TRADING (nerds.xyz)

Submitted by BrianFagioli
BrianFagioli writes: The New York Stock Exchange, owned by Intercontinental Exchange, is developing a platform for trading tokenized versions of U.S. listed stocks and ETFs around the clock, pending regulatory approval. The system would combine the NYSEâ(TM)s existing matching engine with blockchain-based settlement, enabling 24x7 trading, instant settlement, and fractional share purchases priced in dollar amounts. Shares would remain fully regulated securities, with dividends and voting rights intact, rather than cryptocurrencies, even though the backend would run on blockchain-style infrastructure.

If approved, the move would quietly rewrite how markets operate, replacing multi-day settlement cycles with near-instant clearing and allowing money to move outside normal banking hours using stablecoin-based funding. ICE is already working with major banks to support tokenized deposits at its clearinghouses, signaling a shift toward always-on market infrastructure. The big question is whether regulators, brokers, and institutional investors are ready for a stock market that never closes, and what happens when Wall Street volatility has no off switch.

Submission + - European Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy (europa.eu)

Submitted by Elektroschock
Elektroschock writes: The European Commission is stepping up its efforts behind open-source software, rolling out a new open ecosystem strategy to support EU technological sovereignty, competitiveness and cybersecurity. Building on President von der Leyen’s political guidelines, the initiative will review the Commission’s 2020–2023 open-source approach and set out concrete actions to strengthen Europe’s open-source ecosystem across key areas such as cloud, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and industrial technologies. The strategy will be presented alongside the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act, forming a broader policy package aimed at reducing strategic dependencies and boosting Europe’s digital resilience.

Submission + - China's 'fizzy' method recovers 95% lithium from dead batteries with CO2+H2O (interestingengineering.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Chinese researchers have found a method to extract lithium from used lithium-ion batteries using a mix of carbon dioxide (CO) and water. This process is safer than others that involve harsh acids and harmful chemicals, allowing for the reuse of leftover metals while also capturing carbon dioxide.

The first step is to use CO and water to gently dissolve lithium from the batteries. The CO reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which is a very weak acid, a bit like fizzy water.

This, the researchers explain, is just strong enough to pull lithium out of the battery cathode. This resulted in over 95% lithium recovery, which matches harsh chemical methods.

The second part involves the use of cathodes that contain cobalt, nickel, and manganese. Following the process, instead of discarding them, the new method “upcycles” these materials into useful catalysts.

Those catalysts can be reused in energy and chemical reactions. Throughout the entire process, the CO is permanently locked away too.

This is achieved by some of the CO ending up chemically bound in solid by-products. That means carbon sequestration, not emissions.

Interestingly, unlike traditional methods, the new lithium recovery process is able to run at room temperature and normal pressure. No grinding agents or added leaching chemicals are required, making it safer, cheaper, and easier to scale.

“Conducted under ambient conditions without additional grinding aids or leaching agents, this method minimises environmental impact,” the research team explained.

Submission + - Supreme Court agrees to review geofence warrant challenge (upi.com) 1

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Okello Chatrie was convicted of robbing $195,000 from a Virginia bank on May 20, 2019, after investigators used location-tracking data from Google to identify him.

Google provided a geofence that records and stores location data within a certain radius of the bank that Chatrie robbed at gunpoint.

A detective obtained three warrants for related geofence data, which Google provided after receiving the respective warrants.

Submission + - Mandiant releases table cracks weak password using vulnerable hashing algorithm (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by joshuark
joshuark writes: Security firm Mandiant has released a database that allows any administrative password protected by Microsoft’s NTLM.v1 hash algorithm to be hacked in an attempt to nudge users who continue using the deprecated function despite known weaknesses.

Despite its long- and well-known susceptibility to easy cracking, NTLMv1 remains in use in some of the world’s more sensitive networks. One reason for the lack of action is that utilities and organizations in industries, including health care and industrial control, often rely on legacy apps that are incompatible with more recently released hashing algorithms. Another reason is that organizations relying on mission-critical systems can’t afford the downtime required to migrate. Of course, inertia and penny-pinching are also causes.

Submission + - Wawa To Close Shelfless Digital-Only Concept Store (the-sun.com)

Submitted by jrnvk
jrnvk writes: Wawa is closing its sole digital-only concept store near Drexel University, where no products were accessible on shelves, and customers were required to use a mobile app or kiosk to order. According to Wawa, the convenience store company "made several attempts to address business and operational challenges".

Submission + - China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export – (theguardian.com)

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: Suppliers of parts for Nvidia’s H200 have paused production after Chinese customs officials blocked shipments of the newly approved artificial intelligence processors from entering China, according to a report.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which appeared in the Financial Times citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment made outside regular business hours.

Nvidia had expected more than one million orders from Chinese clients, the report said, adding that its suppliers had been operating around the clock to prepare for shipping as early as March.

Chinese customs authorities this week told customs agents that Nvidia’s H200 chips were not permitted to enter the country, Reuters reported.

Submission + - China Clamps Down on High-Speed Traders, Removing Servers (yahoo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: China is pulling the plug on a key advantage held by high-frequency traders, removing servers dedicated to those firms out of local exchanges’ data centers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Commodities futures exchanges in Shanghai and Guangzhou are among those that have ordered local brokers to shift servers for their clients out of data centers run by the bourses, according to the people, who said the move was led by regulators.

The changes threaten a speed advantage that high-frequency traders, made famous by Michael Lewis’ bestseller , and quant hedge funds have long used to beat rivals. By using servers located in the exchanges’ own data centers, these firms can get slightly quicker execution than others — an edge in markets where every millisecond counts.

Futures exchanges have made preliminary plans to add two milliseconds of latency to any servers that connect from third-party computer rooms, two of the people said. It’s not clear if other exchanges are considering the same approach.

The delay will be in addition to the time lag trading firms experience from moving servers away from exchanges, the people said.

A delay of just a few milliseconds would be imperceptible to most investors but it could be enough to impact global firms’ high-frequency trading in stock index futures, convertible bonds and commodities. Some of their trading strategies may not be viable without the fastest access, though it’s unclear how the firms might adapt as they try to stay a step ahead of rivals.

China’s stock exchanges define high-frequency trading as more than 300 orders and cancellations per second through one account or more than 20,000 requests in a single day. Such accounts dropped 20% in 2024 to about 1,600 as of June 30 that year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has said.

The attempt to shift high-frequency traders away from exchanges comes after Beijing’s years of unease with these firms, who add liquidity to markets but also enjoy execution advantages that are unthinkable for mom-and-pop investors.

Two years ago, regulators imposed tighter rules on automated stock trading. Officials have also threatened to raise fees on high-frequency traders, although so far they haven’t done so.

Submission + - Pesticides May Drastically Shorten Fish Lifespans, Study Finds (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Even low levels of common agricultural pesticides can stunt the long-term lifespan of fish, according to research led by Jason Rohr, a biologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Signs of ageing accelerated when fish were exposed to the chemicals, according to the study, published in Science, which could have implications for other organisms.

[...] The research found that fish from pesticide-affected lakes showed shortened telomeres, the caps at the end of chromosomes that are known as the biological clock for ageing. When they shorten, it is a sign of cellular ageing and a decline in the body’s regenerative capacity. The lake populations consisted of younger fish, indicating that the pesticides contributed to shortened lives. Laboratory experiments confirmed the findings and showed chronic low-dose exposure reduced fish survival and degraded telomeres. These effects were not seen with acute high-dose exposure.

Chemical analysis showed chlorpyrifos, which is banned in the UK and the EU but used in the US and China, was the only compound found in the fish tissues that was consistently associated with signs of ageing. These included shortened telomeres and lipofuscin deposition – a buildup of insoluble proteins often described as cellular “junk”. The worrying ageing effects occurred at concentrations below current US freshwater safety standards, Rohr said, suggesting the effects of chemicals and pesticides could be occurring at low levels over the long term.

While short-term exposure to high doses did not appear to cause these ageing issues – though it did cause high toxicity and death in fish – the researchers concluded that it was long-term exposure to low doses that drove the changes. The scientists added that reduced lifespan was particularly problematic because older fish often contribute disproportionately to reproduction, genetic diversity and population stability.

Submission + - Supreme Court Hacker Posted Stolen Government Data On Instagram (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last week, Nicholas Moore, 24, a resident of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to repeatedly hacking into the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic document filing system. At the time, there were no details about the specifics of the hacking crimes Moore was admitting to. On Friday, a newly filled document — first spotted by Court Watch’s Seamus Hughes — revealed more details about Moore’s hacks. Per the filing, Moore hacked not only into the Supreme Court systems, but also the network of AmeriCorps, a government agency that runs stipend volunteer programs, and the systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare and welfare to military veterans.

Moore accessed those systems using stolen credentials of users who were authorized to access them. Once he gained access to those victims’ accounts, Moore accessed and stole their personal data and posted some online to his Instagram account: @ihackthegovernment. In the case of the Supreme Court victim, identified as GS, Moore posted their name and “current and past electronic filing records.” [...] According to the court document, Moore faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.

Submission + - TSMC Says AI Demand Is 'Endless' After Record Q4 Earnings (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: On Thursday, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported record fourth-quarter earnings and said it expects AI chip demand to continue for years. During an earnings call, CEO C.C. Wei told investors that while he cannot predict the semiconductor industry’s long-term trajectory, he remains bullish on AI. "All in all, I believe in my point of view, the AI is real—not only real, it’s starting to grow into our daily life. And we believe that is kind of—we call it AI megatrend, we certainly would believe that,” Wei said during the call. “So another question is ‘can the semiconductor industry be good for three, four, five years in a row?’ I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t know. But I look at the AI, it looks like it’s going to be like an endless—I mean, that for many years to come.”

TSMC posted net income of NT$505.7 billion (about $16 billion) for the quarter, up 35 percent year over year and above analyst expectations. Revenue hit $33.7 billion, a 25.5 percent increase from the same period last year. The company expects nearly 30 percent revenue growth in 2026 and plans to spend between $52 billion and $56 billion on capital expenditures this year, up from $40.9 billion in 2025.

Submission + - How small mammals shrink their brains to survive the cold (phys.org)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: An international team of researchers, with the involvement of the UAB, has conducted a study that explains the evolutionary origins of the Dehnel phenomenon, a unique seasonal adaptation in small mammals that involves the ability to reduce and recover brain volume and function.

Submission + - Canada Reversed Tariff on Chinese EV (washingtontimes.com)

Submitted by hackingbear
hackingbear writes: Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff [back to 6.1%] on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. He said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to about 70,000 over five years. Prior to the 100% tariff, China exported about 41,000 vehicles to Canada in 2023. In exchange, China will reduce its total tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from 84% to about 15%, he told reporters. Carney said China has become a more predictable partner to deal with than the U.S, the country’s neighbor and longtime ally. After helping the U.S. to arrest Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, who has later been released without admitting guilty by the Biden administration after bickering with China, Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor. China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said.

Submission + - Scientists "resurrect" ancient cannabis enzymes with medical promise (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Scientists have uncovered how cannabis evolved the ability to make its most famous compounds—THC, CBD, and CBC—by recreating ancient enzymes that existed millions of years ago. These early enzymes were multitaskers, capable of producing several cannabinoids at once, before evolution fine-tuned them into today’s highly specialized forms. By “resurrecting” these long-lost enzymes in the lab, researchers showed how cannabis chemistry became more precise over time—and discovered something unexpected: the ancient versions are often more robust and easier to work with.

Submission + - Earth's Flipping Magnetic Field Heard as a Sound Is an Unnerving Horror (sciencealert.com)

Submitted by alternative_right
alternative_right writes: Earth's magnetic field dramatically flipped roughly 41,000 years ago. Now you can actually 'hear' this epic upheaval, thanks to a clever interpretation of information collected by the European Space Agency's Swarm satellite mission.

Combining the satellite data with evidence of magnetic field line movements on Earth, geoscientists mapped the Laschamps event and represented it using natural noises like the creaking of wood and the crashing of colliding rocks.

The result – unveiled in 2024 by the Technical University of Denmark and the German Research Center for Geosciences – is an eerie, otherworldly audio track unlike anything you've heard before.

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