List of All Articles with Tag 'tech'

Amazon.com Inc. is imposing a new fee on merchants who don’t use the company’s logistics services, a change

Google is preparing for the “quantum apocalypse”. Experts have warned for years that the development of quantum computers could undermine the encryption that currently secures everything from our private messages to our banking details. Quantum computers are a still largely theoretical technology that proponents claim could dramatically beat the performance of the classical computers we have today. That could be a major positive for applications such as drug research and quantum computing – but could be disastrous for security technology. Much of that security technology depends on mathematical problems that are sufficiently hard for our computers to work out as to keep that data secure. But future quantum computers could overcome those problems in seconds, and break into any data. That is what is referred to by researchers as the “quantum apocalypse”. And an entire subset of computing – post-quantum cryptography – has grown to find ways to secure data even if that future does come about. Now Google has put some of that work into practice, in Chrome. The new technology includes new cryptography that should be resistant to attempts to break it with future quantum computers. It does so by integrating a technology known as X25519Kyber768, a long name for what is actually a hybrid of two cryptographic algorithms. Tying the two together means that data is protected both by an existing secure algorithm and one that is protected against quantum computers. The updates are part of broader work across Google to “prepare the web for the migration to quantum-resistant cryptography”. Devon O’Brien, Google’s technical program manager for Chrome security, who wrote the blog post announcing the changes, noted that quantum computers could be decades away. But remains important to secure data now in part so that it cannot be filed away, ready to break into when the technology arrives. “It’s believed that quantum computers that can break modern classical cryptography won’t arrive for 5, 10, possibly even 50 years from now, so why is it important to start protecting traffic today? The answer is that certain uses of cryptography are vulnerable to a type of attack called Harvest Now, Decrypt Later, in which data is collected and stored today and later decrypted once cryptanalysis improves.” Read More Google is getting ready for the ‘quantum apocalypse’ Vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo divides San Francisco ‘Billions’ of computers potentially affect by huge security vulnerability

(Reuters) -Coinbase Global said on Wednesday it had secured approval to offer cryptocurrency futures to U.S. retail customers, scoring a

By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON Moderate Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have formed a working group on

Female reproductive health experts are calling on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to rethink its restrictions on reproductive health content.

A prediction about when society is most likely to collapse, made by scientists in the 1970s, has resurfaced – and it looks pretty bleak. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used a computer to model patterns like population, natural resources and energy usage. The study, published by Club of Rome, picked out when these factors could hit “limits to growth”, which they said could lead to the downfall of modern life as we know it. They think we’ve got fewer than two decades left, with collapse due in 2040. Gulp. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter At the time, the report wasn’t given much credence. But a similar study was carried out in 2009, and came up with similar results. Published by American Scientist, the more recent study found that the model’s results were “almost exactly on course”. "It is important to recognise that its predictions have not been invalidated and in fact seem quite on target. We are not aware of any model made by economists that is as accurate over such a long time span," the study said. And to make matters worse, Dutch sustainability researcher Gaya Herrington concurred with the prediction in 2021. Speaking to The Guardian, Herrington said: “From a research perspective, I felt a data check of a decades-old model against empirical observations would be an interesting exercise.” Herrington found that data aligned with the predictions made back in 1972, which had a worse case scenario of economic growth coming to halt at the end of this decade, and collapse around 10 years later. Thankfully, there was a reason to be cheerful too. She added: “The key finding of my study is that we still have a choice to align with a scenario that does not end in collapse. "With innovation in business, along with new developments by governments and civil society, continuing to update the model provides another perspective on the challenges and opportunities we have to create a more sustainable world.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A scientist claims to have discovered a “gravitational anomaly” that calls into question our fundamental understanding of the universe. Astronomer Kyu-Hyun Chae from the university of Sejong University in South Korea made the discovery while studying binary star systems, which refer to two stars that orbit each other. His observations appear to go against the standard gravitational models established by Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, and instead offer evidence that an alternative theory first proposed in the 1980s may explain the anomaly. Analysis of data collected by the European Space Agency’s Gaia space telescope revealed accelerations of stars in binaries that did not fit the standard gravitational models. At accelerations of lower than 0.1 nanometres per second squared, the orbit of the two stars deviated from Newton’s universal law of gravitation and Einstein’s general relativity. Instead, Professor Chae theorised that a model known as Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) could explain why these previous theoretical frameworks were unable to explain the stars’ movements. “The deviation represents a direct evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity at weak acceleration,” Professor Chae wrote in a paper, titled ‘Breakdown of the Newton-Einstein standard gravity at low acceleration in internal dynamics of wide binary stars’, that was published in The Astrophysics Journal.. His research calls into question the existence of dark matter and other peculiar space phenomena that are typically used to justify irregularities with Newton-Einstein standards. “The data reveal an unambiguous and extremely strong signature of the breakdown of the standard Newton-Einstein gravity at weak acceleration,” the study concluded. “What is even more surprising is that the trend and magnitude of the gravitational anomaly agree with what the AQUAL [MOND] theory predicts.” Professor Chae predicts that his results will be confirmed and refined with larger data sets in the future, which could lead to a new revolution in physics. “Chae’s finding is a result of a very involved analysis of cutting-edge data, which, as far as I can judge, he has performed very meticulously and carefully,” said theoretical physicist Mordehai Milgrom at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, who first proposed the MOND model 40 years ago. “But for such a far-reaching finding – and it is indeed very far-reaching – we require confirmation by independent analyses, preferably with better future data. “If this anomaly is confirmed as a breakdown of Newtonian dynamics, and especially if it indeed agrees with the most straightforward predictions of MOND, it will have enormous implications for astrophysics, cosmology, and for fundamental physics at large.” Pavel Kroupa, professor at Charles University in Prague, added: “The implications for all of astrophysics are immense.” Read More Perseids 2023: Meteor beacon offers unique way to observe spectacular shower over UK Astronomer uncovers ‘direct evidence’ of gravity breaking down in the universe Mark Zuckerberg hits out at Elon Musk for wasting time over cage fight Vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo divides San Francisco

By Blake Brittain The California Institute of Technology has reached a "potential settlement" in a high-stakes patent infringement

The Biden administration on Thursday defended its communications with social media giants in court, arguing those channels must stay open so that the federal government can help protect the public from threats to election security, Covid-19 misinformation and other dangers.

By Daniel Wiessner A China-based tutoring company has agreed to settle a U.S. government agency's novel lawsuit claiming

Deep underground within the Pacific ocean, scientists have made a surprising discovery, which could significantly expand our understanding of marine life. Researchers found an entirely new ecosystem when turning over volcanic crust with the aid of an underwater robot, showing that even now, nature has many more secrets to unearth. The Schmidt Ocean Institute led an expedition with a team of international researchers to investigate a known site in the Pacific, according to Science Alert. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Subsurface fluids were found coursing beneath the ground, while scientists also found an ecosystem of worms, snails and chemosynthetic bacteria. The institute’s executive director, Jyotika Virmani, said: “This truly remarkable discovery of a new ecosystem, hidden beneath another ecosystem, provides fresh evidence that life exists in incredible places.” The new life was found beneath hydrothermal vents, which were first discovered in the 1970s spewing hot fluids loaded with minerals. They were in such a deep, dark location that scientists assumed there would be no life. Ecologist Monika Bright from the University of Vienna said: “Vent animals above and below the surface thrive together in unison, depending on vent fluid from below and oxygen in the seawater from above.” Scientists found tubeworms swimming through volcanic fluids, which makes it easier for them to get around and find new locations. The discovery came on the coast of central America, using a remote-controlled robot 2,500 metres below sea level. Wendy Schmidt, president of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, said: “The discovery of new creatures, landscapes, and now, an entirely new ecosystem underscores just how much we have yet to discover about our Ocean – and how important it is to protect what we don’t yet know or understand.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Kane Wu and Michael Martina HONG KONG/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's move to prohibit some U.S. technology investments in