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Apr 8, 2020

Attackers can bypass fingerprint authentication with an ~80% success rate

Posted by in categories: mobile phones, security

Although hackers managed to defeat TouchID with a fake fingerprint less than 48 hours after the technology was rolled out in the iPhone 5S, fingerprint-based authentication over the past few years has become much harder to defeat. Today, fingerprints are widely accepted as a safe alternative over passwords when unlocking devices in many, but not all, contexts.

A study published on Wednesday by Cisco’s Talos security group makes clear that the alternative isn’t suitable for everyone—namely those who may be targeted by nation-sponsored hackers or other skilled, well-financed, and determined attack groups. The researchers spent about $2,000 over several months testing fingerprint authentication offered by Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Huawei, and three lock makers. The result: on average, fake fingerprints were able to bypass sensors at least once roughly 80 percent of the time.

The percentages are based on 20 attempts for each device with the best fake fingerprint the researchers were able to create. The results may not be fully applicable to Apple products since they limit users to five attempts before asking for the PIN or password. Other products tested permitted significantly more or even an unlimited number of unsuccessful tries.

Apr 8, 2020

New Coronavirus Drug Shows Promise in Animal Tests

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Slated for human trials, EIDD-2801 could become the first pill for COVID-19.

Apr 8, 2020

How solar paint could bring clean energy into more places than ever before

Posted by in categories: energy, innovation

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A new breakthrough is painting the way.

Apr 8, 2020

Cell muscle movements visualised for first time

Posted by in categories: materials, nanotechnology

The movements of cell muscles in the form of tiny filaments of proteins have been visualised at unprecedented detail by University of Warwick scientists.

In a study published in the Biophysical Journal, scientists from the University’s Department of Physics and Warwick Medical School have used a new microscopy technique to analyse the molecular motors inside that allow them to move and reshape themselves, potentially providing new insights that could inform the development of new smart materials.

Myosin is a protein that forms the motor filaments that give a cell stability and are involved in remodelling the actin cortex inside the cell. The actin cortex is much like the backbone of the cell and gives it its shape, while the myosin filaments are similar to muscles. By ‘flexing’, they enable the cell to exert forces outside of it and to propagate.

Apr 8, 2020

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new treatment for endometriosis

Posted by in category: nanotechnology

Scientists have developed a precise, nanotechnology-based treatment to alleviate the pain and fertility problems associated with endometriosis, a common gynecological condition in women of childbearing age.

Research led by Oleh Taratula of the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Ov Slayden of the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University used photo-responsive nanoparticles loaded with dye to find and remove the lesions associated with the disorder.

Findings were published today in the journal Small.

Apr 8, 2020

How to transform bosons into fermions

Posted by in category: particle physics

Dynamical fermionization involves velocity, as well as position.

Apr 8, 2020

The spacecraft that utterly transformed SpaceX has flown its last mission

Posted by in category: space travel

On Tuesday, the first version of Dragon completed its 20th and final mission.

Apr 8, 2020

Tesla will slash employee pay and furlough employees

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, Elon Musk, health, sustainability

Tesla will cut pay for all of its salaried employees and will furlough hourly workers until May 4, when it intends to resume production of electric cars, according to an internal e-mail that multiple employees shared with CNBC. The pay reductions are expected to be in place until the end of the second quarter.

Health orders, implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, forced Elon Musk’s electric car company to wind down production at its main vehicle assembly plant in Fremont, California.

The new pay cuts follow Tesla’s first-quarter vehicle production and deliveries report, which pleased investors — the company said it delivered approximately 88,400 vehicles and produced 103,000 in Q1. Tesla has yet to withdraw guidance it gave investors for 2020, saying it should “comfortably exceed” 500,000 vehicle deliveries for the year.

Apr 8, 2020

Archaeologists Discover Paintings of Goddess in 3,000-Year-Old Mummy’s Coffin

Posted by in category: media & arts

Researchers lifted the ancient Egyptian mummy out of her coffin for the first time in 100 years and, to their surprise, uncovered the ancient artworks.

Apr 8, 2020

Resveratrol and Other Polyphenols Support Genomic Stability

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, genetics, life extension

New research shows that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine, contributes to genomic stability by reducing the occurrence of DNA double-strand breaks and prolongs lifespan in genetically modified mice that are prone to carcinogenic mutations [1].

DSBs and genomic instability

Genomic instability, one of the hallmarks of aging, is a condition characterized by frequent mutations within the genome, and it has long been associated with cancer [2]. The authors of this study state that one of its major causes is the erroneous repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). High numbers of DSBs have been found in pre-cancerous cells, and DNA lesions caused by unrepairable DSBs accumulate with time, both in organisms and in cultured cells. One of the possible culprits is the degradation of DNA repair mechanisms in aged cells [3].