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Microsoft AI researchers accidentally exposed terabytes of internal sensitive data

Microsoft AI researchers accidentally exposed tens of terabytes of sensitive data, including private keys and passwords, while publishing a storage bucket of open source training data on GitHub.

In research shared with TechCrunch, cloud security startup Wiz said it discovered a GitHub repository belonging to Microsoft’s AI research division as part of its ongoing work into the accidental exposure of cloud-hosted data.

Readers of the GitHub repository, which provided open source code and AI models for image recognition, were instructed to download the models from an Azure Storage URL. However, Wiz found that this URL was configured to grant permissions on the entire storage account, exposing additional private data by mistake.

New record length for quantum coherence

A new record time for quantum coherence is reported, with a single-photon qubit encoded for 34 milliseconds. This is 55% longer than the previous record set in 2020.

In classical computing – such as the PC, smartphone, or other device you are currently using – information is processed with bits, which exist in a binary state of either a 0 or a 1. Quantum computing, by contrast, involves the processing of information with quantum bits, or qubits, which can exist in a “superposition” of both 0 and 1 simultaneously. This allows quantum computers to do certain types of calculations much faster than classical computers.

RoboFab is ready to build 10,000 humanoid robots per year

Humanoid robots are pretty cool, and Agility Robotics‘bipedal robot Digit is up there in terms of advanced tech (it even has a face!). Today, the company announced it’s getting ready to crank up its RoboFab, which can build more than 10,000 Digits per year. Obvious Skynet jokes aside, I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords.

The factory will be built in Salem, Oregon, and the company tells TechCrunch it started initial construction of the 70,000-square-foot robot factory last year, and it is set to open later this year.

“The opening of our factory marks a pivotal moment in the history of robotics: the beginning of the mass production of commercial humanoid robots,” said Agility Robotics’ co-founder and CEO Damion Shelton. “We built Digit to solve difficult problems in today’s workforce like injuries, burnout, high turnover and unfillable labor gaps, with the ultimate vision of enabling humans to be more human. When you’re building new technology to make society better, the most important milestone is when you’re able to mass produce that technology at a scale where it can have a real, widespread impact.”

The surprising origin of a deadly hospital infection

Hospital staff spend a significant amount of time working to protect patients from acquiring infections while they are being cared for in the hospital. They employ various methods from hand hygiene to isolation rooms to rigorous environmental sanitation. Despite these efforts, hospital-onset infections still occur—the most common of which is caused by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, the culprit of almost half a million infections in the U.S. each year.

Surprising findings from a study in Nature Medicine suggest that the burden of C. diff infection may be less a matter of hospital transmission and more a result of characteristics associated with the themselves.

The study team, led by Evan Snitkin, Ph.D. and Vincent Young, M.D., Ph.D., both members of the Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Internal Medicine/Infectious Diseases at University of Michigan Medical School and Mary Hayden, M.D. of Rush University Medical Center, leveraged ongoing epidemiological studies focused on hospital-acquired infections that enabled them to analyze daily fecal samples from every patient within the at Rush University Medical Center over a nine-month period.

Armageddon-style mission to stop asteroid Bennu collision with Earth ends this week

NASA is edging closer to the conclusion of its ambitious seven-year mission, aiming to prevent a catastrophic collision of a massive asteroid named Bennu with Earth. Recent findings have indicated that there’s a 1 in 2,700 chance of Bennu slamming into Earth on September 24, 2182.

Roughly the size of the iconic Empire State Building, Bennu spans about a third of a mile wide. The potential aftermath of its predicted collision with Earth could equate to the explosive energy of 22 atomic bombs.

The asteroid makes its presence felt by passing Earth approximately every six years. However, scientists anticipate that its most perilous close encounter could be a mere 159 years away.

Electric Light Cargo Vessel Set for Singapore Launch

Singapore’s first electric cargo vessel is due to start sea trials and launch in the fourth quarter, according to Yinson Green Technologies, part of a consortium chosen by the city-state to help electrify marine craft.

The Hydromover, developed by the Goal Zero consortium, is near completion, YGT Chief Executive Officer Eirik Barclay said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur this week. YGT will also be introducing an electric vessel for transferring crew — developed with Norwegian startup Lift Ocean AS — by the end of the year, Barclay said. That craft is called the Hydroglyder.

“We want to be part of all associated services with clean electric vessels, starting with Singapore,” Barclay said. YGT is a subsidiary of Malaysia-listed Yinson Holdings Bhd. Yinson shares have risen about 3% this year.