Top news stories for the week 32

Monday, Aug 03

Computers on verge of designing their own programs

Computer programmers may soon design the ultimate program: A program that designs programs.

Aug 03, 2020

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THEaiTRE: A theatre play written entirely by machines

Researchers at Charles University, Švanda Theater and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague are currently working on an intriguing research project that merges artificial intelligence and robotics with theater. Their ...

Aug 03, 2020

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Simplified circuit design could revolutionize how wearables are manufactured

Researchers have demonstrated the use of a ground-breaking circuit design that could transform manufacturing processes for wearable technology.

Aug 03, 2020

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Perovskite mineral supports solar-energy sustainability

When it comes to the future of solar energy cells, say farewell to silicon, and hello to calcium titanium oxide—the compound mineral better known as perovskite.

Aug 03, 2020

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An automated health care system that understands when to step in

In recent years, entire industries have popped up that rely on the delicate interplay between human workers and automated software. Companies like Facebook work to keep hateful and violent content off their platforms using ...

Aug 03, 2020

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Google suggests trust tokens as part of ending support of third-party cookies

Google has announced that as part of its effort to provide users with more ad transparency, it will begin testing the idea of using "trust tokens" which, unlike cookies, will allow website owners to authenticate users to ...

Aug 03, 2020

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Researchers develope new method to defend against smart home cyberattacks

Instead of relying on customers to protect their vulnerable smart home devices from being used in cyberattacks, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers have developed ...

Aug 03, 2020

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Tuesday, Aug 04

Windows 10 turns thumbs down on CCleaner

For 16 years, CCleaner has been a popular computer system cleaning and optimization tool, known for efficiently removing unwanted files, programs and accumulated digital fragments from users' hard drives.

Aug 04, 2020

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Green energy and better crops: Tinted solar panels could boost farm incomes

Researchers have demonstrated the use of tinted, semi-transparent solar panels to generate electricity and produce nutritionally superior crops simultaneously, bringing the prospect of higher incomes for farmers and maximizing ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Implantable transmitter provides wireless option for biomedical devices

Purdue University innovators are working on inventions to use micro-chip technology in implantable devices and other wearable products such as smart watches to improve biomedical devices, including those used to monitor people ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Exploring the interactions between microswimmer medical robots and the human immune system

Over the past few years, robotics researchers have designed tiny and untethered swimming robots, also known as microswimmers, with increasingly advanced sensing and locomotion capabilities. These microrobots could prove very ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Future energy systems need to be climate proof

Climate policy for future energy systems typically focus on the challenge to make them carbon neutral to avoid climate change. However, it will also be critically important to make them climate proof to ensure that they are ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Neural network model finds small objects in dense images

In efforts to automatically capture important data from scientific papers, computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a method to accurately detect small, geometric objects ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Consumers don't fully trust smart home technologies

Smart home technologies are marketed to enhance your home and make life easier. However, UK consumers are not convinced that they can trust the privacy and security of these technologies, a study by WMG, University of Warwick ...

Aug 04, 2020

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Wednesday, Aug 05

Image cloaking tool thwarts facial recognition programs

Researchers at the University of Chicago were not happy with the creeping erosion of privacy posed by facial recognition apps. So they did something about it.

Aug 05, 2020

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Social network analysis provides new insights on strategies to disrupt the Sicilian Mafia

New simulations suggest that law enforcement efforts to disrupt Sicilian Mafia activity could benefit from analytical strategies that capture the shortest paths of information flow that Mafia members maintain to minimize ...

Aug 05, 2020

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Tiniest secrets of integrated circuits revealed with new imaging technique

The life-givers of integrated circuits and quantum devices in silicon are small structures made from patches of foreign atoms called dopants. The dopant structures provide charge carriers that flow through the components ...

Aug 05, 2020

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Break it down: A new way to address common computing problem

In this era of big data, there are some problems in scientific computing that are so large, so complex and contain so much information that attempting to solve them would be too big of a task for most computers.

Aug 05, 2020

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Fabrication advance: Spray-on clear coatings for cheaper smart windows

A simple method for making clear coatings that can block heat and conduct electricity could radically cut the cost of energy-saving smart windows and heat-repelling glass.

Aug 05, 2020

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Drivers respond to vehicle pre-crash warnings with levels of attentive 'gaze'

A collision avoidance system, or pre-crash alert generated by a vehicle, can often be found as an optional safety feature in today's vehicles to help reduce possible accidents and save lives. However, these systems are not ...

Aug 05, 2020

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Baking and boiling botnets could drive energy market swings and damage

Evil armies of internet-connected EV chargers, ovens, hot-water heaters, air-conditioners, and other high-wattage appliances could be hijacked to slightly manipulate energy demand, potentially driving price swings and creating ...

Aug 05, 2020

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Thursday, Aug 06

30-year-old file format behind MacOS hack

A security expert revealed this week that an exploit commonly used against Windows users who own Microsoft Office can sneak into MacOS systems as well.

Aug 06, 2020

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A pathway to longer-lasting lithium batteries

Just about everyone has endured the frustration of their cell phone running out of power before they get a chance to recharge, and although electric cars are growing in popularity, they remain limited by how far they can ...

Aug 06, 2020

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New reconfigurable circuits for a wide range of applications

Electronic components that can process information with high levels of efficiency are crucial for the development of most contemporary devices and computational tools. Reconfigurable electronics, flexible systems that can ...

Aug 06, 2020

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US central bank unveils alternative to Facebook's Libra

Noting security concerns posed by Facebook's digital currency Libra, the Federal Reserve on Thursday revealed details of its own instant payments system.

Aug 06, 2020

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AAA: Partially automated driving systems don't always work

Two tests by AAA during the past two years show that partially automated driving systems don't always function properly, so the auto club is recommending that car companies limit their use.

Aug 06, 2020

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New radiation-resistant material makes it safer and cheaper to recycle spent nuclear fuel

Scientists have developed a radiation-resistant material that makes it safer and cheaper to capture radioactive off gases that are generated during the recycling of spent nuclear fuel and the operation of some advanced reactors. ...

Aug 06, 2020

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Analysis of renewable energy points toward more affordable carbon-free electricity

As more states in the U.S. push for increased reliance on variable renewable energy in the form of wind or solar power, long-term energy storage may play an important role in assuring reliability and reducing electricity ...

Aug 06, 2020

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Friday, Aug 07

Hacker posts confidential Intel specs online

Intel suffered a massive breach Thursday as 20 GB of internal documents were published online.

Aug 07, 2020

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Smartwatch tracks medication levels to personalize treatments

Engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and their colleagues at Stanford School of Medicine have demonstrated that drug levels inside the body can be tracked in real time using a custom smartwatch that analyzes ...

Aug 07, 2020

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Machine-learning research may help find new tungsten deposits in England

Geologists have developed a machine learning technique that highlights the potential for further deposits of the critical metal tungsten in SW England.

Aug 07, 2020

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Layer of nanoparticles could improve LED performance and lifetime

Adding a layer of nanoparticles to LED designs could help them produce more light for the same energy, and also increase their lifetime.

Aug 07, 2020

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Nuclear threats are increasing – here's how the US should prepare for a nuclear event

On the 75th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some may like to think the threat from nuclear weapons has receded. But there are clear signs of a growing nuclear arms race and that the U.S. is not very ...

Aug 07, 2020

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UN reports sharp increase in cybercrime during pandemic

A 350% increase in phishing websites was reported in the first quarter of the year, many targeting hospitals and health care systems and hindering their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.N. counterterrorism ...

Aug 07, 2020

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TikTok and privacy: What's the problem? Perhaps the video-sharing app gathers too much data

Karen North, a professor of social media at the University of Southern California told her two teenage kids they could have any app on their phones, with one exception.

Aug 07, 2020

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Saturday, Aug 08

Windows, Gates and a firewall: Microsoft's delicate castle in China

Microsoft, which is in talks to buy part of Chinese video app TikTok, is one of the few US tech titans that have managed to succeed in China.

Aug 08, 2020

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Huawei: Smartphone chips running out under US sanctions

Chinese tech giant Huawei is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to U.S. sanctions and will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive says, in a sign of growing damage ...

Aug 08, 2020

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Sunday, Aug 09

Road test: Chinese 'robotaxis' take riders for a spin

Chinese entrants in the race to put autonomous vehicles on the road are bringing "robotaxis" online in hopes that a hired-car format can be the key to unlocking wide acceptance of the futuristic technology.

16 hours ago

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Twitter, TikTok discuss potential combination: WSJ

Twitter is in preliminary discussions for a possible combination with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, after US President Donald Trump said he would ban the app, calling it a threat to national security.

16 hours ago

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