Human memory-saving devices get $40m research boost

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has granted $40 million for research into brain function & dysfunction, as in epilepsy, memory loss & Alzheimer's.

Initial research will be with epilepsy sufferers to locate the origin of their attacks.

Ultimate aim is to develop brain implants to restore function in brains affected by epilepsy, traumatic brain injury & Alzheimer's.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/11/memory / team creating devices stimulate brain restore memory function grant granted $37.5 million £21.9 million Darpa develop technology people with epilepsy implants locate seizures originate researchers reuse data gathered monitor other brain activity patterns brain stores and retrieves memories memory map patterns record recording brain activity epilepsy sufferers mild memory problems play a computer game remembering pattern differences between best worst scores patents will be used develop algorithm personalised stimulation pattern keep brain performing perform performance optimal level wipe erase restore memories memory rat small device implanted into the brain record analyse electrical activity real time deliver stimulation brain brains brain's entorhinal cortex feeds information hippocampus evidence side effects precautions minimise disruption other areas of the brain extremely low levels of stimulation treat different types memory loss Alzheimer's disease device restore memories lost enhance ability form retrieve new memories team Michael Kahana University of Pennsylvania /

"Factory wipe" — does it make the data on your phone safe from prying eyes?

You're about to dispose of your old phone, so, to protect your privacy, do a factory reset & all you data is gone. Right?

Well, maybe. Exactly what is gone depends on the age of the phone & the version of the operating system it runs. On an Android phone the index into your data is erased. For most purposes, this is enough. But the data is still there & is recoverable by those with the tools & know-how.

If our phone runs Android 3.0 or later, there is a way around this.

Since 3.0, Android has included optional encryption of the phone. Encryption requires a user-supplied key without which data on the phone is unreadable. So before doing the factory reset, encrypt the phone. The factory reset will erase both the index into the data & the encryption key. Your data still won't be erased, but it will unreadable even to someone who has the know-how to recover it.

Apart from the first few versions of iOS, encryption of data has been automatic, so a factory reset will make your data irrecoverable. Earlier versions overwrite user data, so, either way, you're safe.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/11/factory-wipe-on-android-phones-left-naked-selfie-photos-and-worse-researchers-find / hundreds of naked selfies intimate pictures men women found batch Android smartphones owners thought they had wiped research study studying 20 handsets security company Avast factory reset function Android phones doesn't delete data on the phone retrieved using standard forensic security tools researches said found 40,000 photos 750 photos of women various stages of undress 250 photos male anatomy EXIF data picture file details location residence previous owners' identity file data Settings function doesn't actually wipe the data storage on the phone wipes the index points locations storage data is written sufficient accessing data forensic tools access storage areas Avast reconstruct the files Google Ars Technica research older devices versions Android security protections versions running software before Android 4.0 vulnerable Google's Android documentation setting file encryption is optional newer devices vulnerable Android 3.0 onwards encrypt the phone cryptographic key user-provided passcode factory reset delete the key rendering the data unreadable Google's spokesperson recommended disposing device enable encryption carry out a factory reset Apple iPhone iPad encrypt data AES 256 algorithm software key generated information user erase all content and settings cryptographic key deleted encrypted beyond any capability to decode existing data partition /

Hacking a Tesla Model S

Credit: Tesla Motors

Computerisation is a growing trend in motor vehicles. For some, this means the possibility of hacking the system, in similar ways & for similar reasons that other computing platforms are hacked.

Engine management, for pollution control & power management is an important application. Hackers have developed "hot chips" aka "big chips" to increase engine power.

While a reasonable increase in engine power will typically be benign, computers are also used to control anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control & in some cases suspension.

In parallel with computerisation, a growing number of vehicles are also being connected to the Internet. This raises the spectre of hacking by outside agencies.

With the above in mind, the organisers of the SyScan computer security conference in Beijing from 16-17 July are incorporating a hack-a-Tesla competition into their event. Prize is $10,000.

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093211_hack-a-tesla-model-s-and-win-10000

One of the commenters on the item linked above seems to see this as a consumer rights issue. I have no issue with anyone jail-breaking their phone, or modifying the operating system of their own desktop computer, where all of the risks are borne by the hacker & in any case are restricted to a bricked phone or some lost files.

Driving, or riding in, a motor vehicle is the most dangerous thing most of us do on a regular basis. Nor is the danger restricted to drivers & passengers. Pedestrians & even people inside buildings are sometimes killed or injured, by wayward motor vehicles. Inherent danger is one of the major driving forces behind incorporation of computers into cars. Think traction control, anti-lock braking, stability control & suspension control.

Given the inherent dangers, I see no place on public roads for hacked motor vehicles. / hack hacker hacking hacked process cracking software operating system OS computer smart phone smartphone car electric cars challenge hackTesla Model S electric $10,000 prize register registers SyScan conference eligible enter competition rules Tesla Model S experts try their luck learn lessons crack its software entirely-electric Tesla websites central display screen operating major functions of the car from a remote computer web browser 17 inch screen warranty would be void high-tech nature Tesla already takes security very seriously full vulnerability disclosure program allowing users to report any flaws in the car's system ex-Apple security expert Kristin Paget improve digital security research take control of cars hitting brakes jerking the steering wheel fun and games exploited experimentally subtext very sinister advanced hacking virus viruses lessons learned /

What men really find attractive in a woman's face is — the size of her feet?

Credit: New Scientist

Which of the faces in the image above is prettier?

Heterosexual male test subjects overwhelmingly chose the one on the left by 3.5 to one. Almost 10 times as many chose the same face as, "more feminine".

In fact, neither is the face of a single woman. Both are composites. On the left, of women with unusually small feet, & on the right, women with unusually large feet. This seems to tell us that men prefer women with small feet & they can spot foot size from the appearance of the face!

Something similar for narrowness of hip, length of thigh & overall height.

Things aren't so clear for women, but there is a preference for men with long torsos & small wrists — as evidenced by facial appearance.

More at New Scientist (free registration may be required):

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19118-why-men-are-attracted-to-women-with-small-feet.html#.U7-YUNB_W2c / face more attractive tastes most heterosexual men composite face morph faces eight women unusually small feet faces women unusually large feet smaller feet prettier faces men study longer thigh bones and narrower hips taller overall close most strikingly different morphs Jeremy Atkinson evolutionary psychologist University at Albany New York colleague Michelle Rowe measured hand length foot length thigh length hip width 60 white female college students adjusted individual differences in overall height 16 body-part measurements eight women shortest lengths longest constructed morphs faces rated attractiveness 77 heterosexual male students short-footed more attractive more feminine pick narrow-hipped morph more attractive long-thighed morph researchers reported Human Behavior and Evolution Society Eugene Oregon markers marker healthy childhood biologists stress poor nutrition during foetal development puberty affect sex hormone levels cause earlier puberty relatively short and stout more benign childhood continue growing for longer attain slender slenderer stereotypically feminine face body most men find more attractive David Perrett psychologist University of St. Andrews UK studies facial attractiveness small-wristed morph better candidate for a long-term relationship /

Save dollars & the planet with EcoDrain (video)

Credit: EcoDrain

Heating water is a major part of your household energy bill, & a major part of the hot water use is in your shower.

In the shower, heated water exits the shower head, runs down your body & into the drain, taking that heat energy you paid for, with it.

EcoDrain extracts much of the heat energy from the water leaving via the drain, & adds it to the cold water entering the water heater or the cold water tap (depending on how you heat the water at your house).

You may recognise from the description & the diagram that EcoDrain is a heat exchanger. Nothing new about that. What is noteworthy is a relatively inexpensive device which is relatively easy to retrofit, or incorporate into a new installation.

EcoDrain claim a payback period of 2.3 years.



http://www.gizmag.com/ecodrain-drain-heat-exchanger/32858/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/ecodrain-recycles-wasted-heat-used-hot-water

Manufacturer's website:
https://ecodrain.com/en/

FAQs:
https://ecodrain.com/en/faq/ / gas electricity electric electrical solar heat heating power energy bill utility solar PV thermal cost plumbing plumbing do it yourself drain /

"Ribbed" for your pleasure: Jony Ive unveils naked iPhone (video)

One take on the all glass phone
Credit: Jokeroo

Some iPhone models have included a lot of glass in their construction. E.g. IPhone 4 had glass front & back. Now Apple has been granted a patent for a method of constructing an impact-resistant all-glass phone, in the name of Apple chief designer Jony Ive et al. Ribbing can be included for improved strength.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/09/all_glass_iphone_patent/

Until the all-glass iPhone arrives, this looks like a reasonable alternative:



http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/08/iphone_6_teardown_vid/ / Apple patented method building all glass all-glass device see-through iPhone granted patent fused glass device housings describes technique fusing glass pieces together whole structure strong withstand impact phones mobile devices technique monitors televisions thick glass robust resist damage heavy tougher reinforcing ribs raised sections around holes casing buttons fitted rendered opaque glass elements create five-sided box circuit boards LCD or OLED display fitted processor motherboard scratches Sapphire Glass screen abolishing the scratchable screen /

Space junk — what's up there?

Credit: The Telegraph (UK)

Human junk has been accumulating around the Earth, almost from the time of the first space launch. At the moment, the oldest known object is the, now derelict, Vanguard 1, launched in 1958. Approximately 19,000 objects larger than 5 cm are being tracked.

Large infrographic, courtesy of World Science Festival at: http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2014/06/space-junk-infographic/

Is this a problem? Yes. Humanity has a large & growing investment in satellites for purposes including astronomy, geology, weather forcasting, environmental studies & communication. Orbital objects move at tens of thousands of kilometeres per hour. I.e. many times the velocity of a bullet. A collision between two pieces of space junk at such velocities can be very expensive.

A further risk is multiple pieces of orbiting debris from such a collision. A chain reaction leading to a growing mass of space junk may occur.

Not all the news is bad: all artificial satellites finally either leave Earth's orbit (many falling into the Sun) or re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. Almost all re-entering satellites burn up without reaching the surface. For some, this will not occur for thousands of years.

Modern, responsible launchers plan for controlled re-entry, both to reduce space junk & for the safety of us below.

Various schemes have been proposed to remove junk from space. Many are impractical. All are expensive & so far, unproven. Some examples: http://www.space.com/24895-space-junk-wild-clean-up-concepts.html

More about space junk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8135495/Space-junk-a-risky-game-of-space-invaders.html / humans space program programme garbage buildup rubbish junk trash Earth accumulation junk poses problem future generations orbital debris space junk threats satellite spacecraft International Space Station sidestep dangerous pieces trash satellite launches factor debris timetables spacefaring nations clean up mess ever growing clutter makes launches launch garbage orbit orbiting /