Cloned Rhesus Monkey Lives to Adulthood for First Time
January 17th, 2024Via: Nature:
For the first time, a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) cloned in the laboratory has lived into adulthood — surviving for more than two years so far.
The feat, described today in Nature Communications, marks the first successful cloning of the species, and was achieved using a slightly different approach to the conventional cloning technique used to clone Dolly the sheep and other mammals, including long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), which were the first primates to be cloned.
By replacing the placenta of the cloned embryo with a placenta from embryos produced by in-vitro fertilisation, scientists were able to reduce developmental defects that often hinder the survival of cloned embryos, while using fewer embryos and surrogate mothers. The new technique could unlock possibilities for using cloned primates in drug testing and behavioural research.
Federal Judge Orders CDC to Release V-safe Texts Detailing COVID Vaccine Injuries
January 17th, 2024Via: The Defender:
In a “huge win for transparency,” a federal judge this month ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to disclose the entirety of a critical COVID-19 vaccine safety database to independent researchers and the public.
The ruling requires the CDC to produce more than 7.8 million free-text reports detailing adverse reactions submitted by COVID-19 vaccine recipients through the V-safe monitoring app. The agency must release the texts according to a strict schedule over the next year.
The judge rejected the CDC’s claims that confidentiality concerns and resource limitations prevented the agency from publicly releasing the trove of first-hand testimonies.
Instead, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division, embraced arguments from the plaintiffs — the nonprofit watchdog group Freedom Coalition of Doctors for Choice — that obscuring the data enabled potentially misleading safety conclusions by hindering full understanding of the vaccines’ impacts.
‘Natural’ Breastfeeding Condemned as ‘Ethically Problematic’
January 15th, 2024Public health aims… Mmm hmm.
Via: Armageddon Prose:
“Medical and public health organizations recommend that mothers exclusively breastfeed for at least 6 months. This recommendation is based on evidence of health benefits for mothers and babies, as well as developmental benefits for babies. A spate of recent work challenges the extent of these benefits, and ethical criticism of breastfeeding promotion as stigmatizing is also growing. Building on this critical work, we are concerned about breastfeeding promotion that praises breastfeeding as the “natural” way to feed infants. This messaging plays into a powerful perspective that ‘natural’ approaches to health are better, a view examined in a recent report by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Promoting breastfeeding as ‘natural’ may be ethically problematic, and, even more troublingly, it may bolster this belief that ‘natural’ approaches are presumptively healthier. This may ultimately challenge public health’s aims in other contexts, particularly childhood vaccination.”
Chinese Communist Party Billionaire Secretly Purchased 200K Acres of U.S. Land a Decade Ago
January 15th, 2024Via: New York Post:
This week’s revelation that a Chinese billionaire and member of its Communist Party is the second-largest foreign owner of farmland in the US sparked outrage among politicians, who want to know why Chen Tianqiao’s $85 million purchase was a secret for nearly a decade.
Chen, a co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, bought nearly 200,000 acres of farmland in Oregon in 2015 at about $430 an acre, according to the Land Report, a magazine that focuses on private land ownership in the US.
Drivers: We’ll Take Plain Dumb Car Over Flashy Data-Spilling Internet One, Thanks
January 15th, 2024Via: Register:
Despite all the buzz around internet-connected smart cars at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, most folks don’t want vehicle manufacturers sharing their personal data with third parties – and even say they’d consider buying an older or dumber car to protect their privacy and security.
According to a survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Kaspersky in November and published this week, 72 percent of drivers are uncomfortable with automakers sharing their data with advertisers, insurance companies, subscription services, and other third-party outfits. Specifically, 37.3 percent of those polled are “very uncomfortable” with this data sharing, and 34.5 percent are “somewhat uncomfortable.”
However, only 28 percent of the total respondents say they have any idea what kind of data their car is collecting. Spoiler alert: It’s potentially all the data. An earlier Mozilla Foundation investigation, which assessed the privacy policies and practices of 25 automakers, gave every single one a failing grade.
In Moz’s September Privacy Not Included report, the org warned that car manufacturers aren’t only potentially collecting and selling things like location history, driving habits and in-car browser histories. Some connected cars may also track drivers’ sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and even genetic information, if that information becomes available.
Microsoft Starts Copilot at Windows Startup on Development Builds
January 15th, 2024I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it would be a bad idea to use a system with this AI running in the background.
Apparently, it can be turned off, for now.
Via: Register:
Microsoft is experimenting with having Copilot open automatically upon Windows startup.
Described as a “Change and Improvement” for users who have a minimum screen width of 27 inches, Microsoft’s latest attempt to cram the AI assistant into every bit of the OS turned up in the Windows Insider Dev Channel a few days ago.
The change is still rolling out and might never move beyond the Dev Channel, although considering Microsoft’s evangelism for all things AI, it seems likely that it or something similar will arrive in release guise before long.
Opening Copilot automatically can be toggled via a Personalization option, and the automatic startup will only show up in regions where the assistant is supported. These include North America, the UK, and South America. Microsoft has indicated that it intends to add additional markets over time.
Related: Microsoft Adding an AI Key to PC Keyboards
Volvo CE and Rolls-Royce Develop Wood-Burning Charger for Off-Grid EVs
January 15th, 2024At $1.7 million, there are only a handfull of Cryptogon readers who will be able to afford to equip their doomsteads with these.
But…
Please send me some pics if you.
450kwh!!!
I wonder if you can ask for a heat exchanger option for this in order to heat your in-bunker swimming pools and saunas???
Hmm.
As I’m sitting here cracking myself up, I started thinking, “Is there a residential sized unit?” haha
Via: Electrek:
A collaborative effort between Volvo CE, Rolls-Royce, and Air Burners, the BioCharger uses “air curtain technology” to burn wood and waste in a closed-loop system. The resulting heat is converted into electric energy and stored in a connected Battery Storage Module, or BSM. That energy can then be used to charge battery-electric vehicles, construction equipment, and portable power tools throughout the job site.
Especially when that job site is deep in the woods.
Starlink Successfully Tests Space Direct to Cell Mobile Service
January 13th, 2024Via: ISPreview:
Starlink (SpaceX) has conducted the first successful live test of their new global Direct to Cell mobile roaming service with regular unmodified Smartphones, which came only six days after they launched (here) the first small batch of DtC capable broadband satellites. But at present it’s only being used to send and receive text (SMS) messages.
And Now… Disease X
January 13th, 2024Via: Dr. John Campbell:
Related: Chinese Scientists Reveal Experiments With Virus 100% Fatal To Mice
Texas National Guard Fails to Hold Back Illegal Immigrants in Eagle Pass
January 13th, 2024NEW VIDEO: Here is TX National Guard attempting solo to manage migrants crossing in large groups in Eagle Pass, TX in Dec @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/ZRTOUAELsc
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) January 13, 2024
