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Dec 12, 2024

Eyes on the sun: Naked thallium-205 ion decay reveals history over millions of years

Posted by in categories: chemistry, climatology, evolution, nuclear energy, particle physics, sustainability

The sun, the essential engine that sustains life on Earth, generates its tremendous energy through the process of nuclear fusion. At the same time, it releases a continuous stream of neutrinos—particles that serve as messengers of its internal dynamics. Although modern neutrino detectors unveil the sun’s present behavior, significant questions linger about its stability over periods of millions of years—a timeframe that spans human evolution and significant climate changes.

Finding answers to this is the goal of the LORandite EXperiment (LOREX) that requires a precise knowledge of the solar neutrino cross section on thallium. This information has now been provided by an international collaboration of scientists using the unique facilities at GSI/FAIR’s Experimental Storage Ring ESR in Darmstadt to obtain an essential measurement that will help to understand the long-term stability of the sun. The results of the measurements have been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

LOREX is the only long-time geochemical solar neutrino experiment still actively pursued. Proposed in the 1980s, it aims to measure solar neutrino flux averaged over a remarkable four million years, corresponding to the geological age of the lorandite ore.

Dec 12, 2024

Tuning skyrmion helicity for racetrack memory and quantum computing applications

Posted by in categories: computing, particle physics, quantum physics

Three distinct topological degrees of freedom are used to define all topological spin textures based on out-of-plane and in-plane spin configurations: the topological charge, representing the number of times the magnetization vector m wraps around the unit sphere; the vorticity, which quantifies the angular integration of the magnetic moment along the circumferential direction of a domain wall; and the helicity, defining the swirling direction of in-plane magnetization.

Electrical manipulation of these three degrees of freedom has garnered significant attention due to their potential applications in future spintronic devices. Among these, the helicity of a magnetic skyrmion—a critical topological property—is typically determined by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). However, controlling skyrmion helicity remains a formidable challenge.

A team of scientists led by Professor Yan Zhou from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Professor Senfu Zhang from Lanzhou University successfully demonstrated a controllable helicity switching of skyrmions using spin-orbit torque, enhanced by thermal effects.

Dec 12, 2024

This Programmer Ran an Augmented Reality Game on a 2007 Nokia Phone

Posted by in categories: augmented reality, mobile phones, transportation

For those unaware, Whisk3D (original name Blendersito) is Dante’s Symbian-powered version of Blender, which he has been developing since late 2022. The app allows users to upload and model 3D characters on the phone, design game level assets, extrude vertices and edges, create planes, and even connect the phone to a monitor and keyboard for more convenient use.

In a true Blender fashion, Dante’s Whisk3D is open-source and can be accessed via the creator’s GitHub page. You can also support Dante here and check out more jaw-dropping experiments with Nokia-ran Blender over here.

Dec 12, 2024

WordPress Hunk Companion Plugin Flaw Exploited to Silently Install Vulnerable Plugins

Posted by in category: futurism

“The chain of exploitation underscores the importance of securing every component of a WordPress site, especially third‑party themes and plugins, which can become critical points of entry for attackers.”

The development comes as Wordfence disclosed a high-severity flaw in the WPForms plugin (CVE-2024–11205, CVSS score: 8.5) that makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to refund Stripe payments and cancel subscriptions.

The vulnerability, which affects versions 1.8.4 up to, and including, 1.9.2.1, has been resolved in versions 1.9.2.2 or later. The plugin is installed on over 6 million WordPress sites.

Dec 12, 2024

Europol Dismantles 27 DDoS Attack Platforms Across 15 Nations; Admins Arrested

Posted by in category: cybercrime/malcode

PowerOFF dismantles 27 DDoS stresser services, arrests administrators, and exposes CDN/WAF misconfiguration risks.

Dec 12, 2024

Secret Blizzard Deploys Kazuar Backdoor in Ukraine Using Amadey Malware-as-a-Service

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, government, robotics/AI

Secret Blizzard has a track record of targeting various sectors to facilitate long-term covert access for intelligence collection, but their primary focus is on ministries of foreign affairs, embassies, government offices, defense departments, and defense-related companies across the world.

The latest report comes a week after the tech giant, along with Lumen Technologies Black Lotus Labs, revealed Turla’s hijacking of 33 command-and-control (C2) servers of a Pakistan-based hacking group named Storm-0156 to carry out its own operations.

The attacks targeting Ukrainian entities entail commandeering Amadey bots to deploy a backdoor known as Tavdig, which is then used to install an updated version of Kazuar, which was documented by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 in November 2023.

Dec 12, 2024

New Malware Technique Could Exploit Windows UI Framework to Evade EDR Tools

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, robotics/AI

Windows UI Automation exploited to bypass EDR tools, enabling data theft, phishing, and app manipulation.

Dec 12, 2024

Predictors for radiotherapy success may help some rectal cancer patients avoid surgery

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Recent research from the S: CORT team has identified key biomarkers and treatment strategies that predict and enhance effectiveness of radiotherapy in rectal cancer treatment.

Patients with advanced rectal cancer often receive radiotherapy before surgery. However, despite this being standard practice, this treatment only results in complete disappearance (complete response) prior to surgery in 15% of patients.

Currently, there are no reliable biomarkers (a biological molecule found in blood, other , or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease) to predict which colorectal patients will benefit from radiotherapy, meaning that many patients are unnecessarily exposed to significant side effects.

Dec 12, 2024

Can Quantum Computers Break Bitcoin? Google’s Latest Chip Sparks Fresh Debate

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, blockchains, computing, quantum physics, security

Google’s new Willow quantum processor has reignited discussions around blockchain security and their ability to withstand rapid advancements.

Dec 12, 2024

Scientists find promising new target for antidepressants—in the gut

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Researchers have discovered new connections between the gut and brain that hold promise for more targeted treatments for depression and anxiety, and could help prevent digestive issues in children by limiting the transmission of antidepressants during pregnancy.

The study, published in the journal Gastroenterology, shows that increasing serotonin in the gut epithelium—the thin layer of cells lining the small and large intestines—improves symptoms of anxiety and depression in animal studies. The researchers also found that, in humans, antidepressant use during increases the risk of babies developing constipation in the first year of life.

“Our findings suggest that there may be an advantage to targeting antidepressants selectively to the gut epithelium, as systemic treatment may not be necessary for eliciting the drugs’ benefits but may be contributing to digestive issues in children exposed during pregnancy,” said Kara Margolis, director of the NYU Pain Research Center and associate professor of molecular pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry, who co-led the study with Mark Ansorge, associate professor of clinical neurobiology at Columbia University.

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