DF A study published in the journal Plants has found that commercialized New Age rituals are contributing to the overharvesting of wild plants, particularly white sage. Researchers from Utrecht University and other institutions analyzed dried plant bundles sold in Dutch stores and discovered that 10 out of 29 bundles contained white sage, a North American plant … Read more
The Chinese government has established an efficient pipeline of capture-the-flag (CTF) tournaments to attract cyber-savvy citizens and train tens of thousands of cybersecurity specialists. The effort has paid off, with the nation hosting over 50 annual competitions that help deepen technical expertise in various industries. China’s Ministry of Education accounts for the most competitions, with … Read more
Spain is facing its worst flooding disaster in decades, with at least 95 people dead and dozens missing after torrential rains swept the eastern province of Valencia and beyond. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning as the extreme conditions continue. The death toll from Valencia’s floods has reached 92, with … Read more
A new study has challenged the idea that a monkey randomly pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually produce Shakespeare’s complete works. According to the Infinite Monkey Theorem, this should be possible in an infinite amount of time. However, researchers from the University of Technology Sydney have applied finite constraints to the theorem and found … Read more
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has published its first-ever international strategic plan, aiming to boost global cooperation in combating cyber threats to critical infrastructure. The plan acknowledges the complex nature of cyber risks and the need for rapid information sharing with international partners. CISA Director Jen Easterly stated that the new plan … Read more
In cybersecurity, a skilled detective’s ability to sift through overwhelming data is crucial in uncovering the truth. Sherlock Holmes’ famous phrase, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” mirrors the approach of exposure validation. This technique enables security teams to concentrate on the most significant issues and minimize … Read more
xAI has built the world’s largest AI supercomputer, called Colossus, using Nvidia’s Spectrum-X Ethernet fabric instead of InfiniBand. The massive system boasts 100,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs and can train large language models at incredible speeds. Colossus was designed to power xAI’s Grok series of large language models, including the chatbot built into Elon Musk’s echo … Read more
Researchers at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) have discovered why a classical computer was able to outperform a quantum computer on a complex task. By analyzing a two-dimensional quantum system of flipping magnets, they found that the system exhibits behavior known as confinement, which had previously only been seen in one-dimensional … Read more
The US government has issued new guidelines for handling threat intelligence information shared between private sectors, individual researchers, and federal departments. The guidance follows the Traffic Light Protocol (TLP), a standardized framework for classifying sensitive information. According to the guidance, the government adheres to TLP markings when sharing cybersecurity information voluntarily received from individuals or … Read more
Neurophysiologist Robert Lawrence Kuhn has published a comprehensive taxonomy of proposed solutions to the hard problem of consciousness. This framework explores theories regarding meaning, purpose, and value, AI consciousness, virtual immortality, survival beyond death, and free will. Kuhn’s article, “A landscape of consciousness: Toward a taxonomy of explanations and implications,” was recently published in Progress … Read more