Facebook has made it nearly impossible for users to avoid having their location tracked.  A new report has found that even if users turn off location tracking on Facebook, the firm will still use their IP address, as well as other information like their check-ins and the city listed on their profile to discern where they are and generated targeted ads, according to Gizmodo.  This experienced was recounted by Aleksandra Korolova, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, who examined how Facebook tracks a user's location.

Korolova explained: 'When it comes to one of the most privacy-sensitive types of data, location, Facebook does not provide meaningful controls and is misleading in its statements to users and advertisers.  Taken together, Facebook creates an illusion of control rather than gives actual control over location-related ad targeting, which can lead to real harms.'

Korolova turned off location tracking on Facebook, doesn't check into places and doesn't list a city on her profile, yet she continued to see location-specific ads on Facebook.  For example, when she visited Glacier National Park, she saw an advertisement for things to do in Montana, Gizmodo noted.

She discovered that this is because the firm looks at a user's IP address and may use that to show targeted advertisements on their feed.  A user's IP address gives internet firms a rough idea of where they live, including their state, city or zip code, according to Gizmodo.  This information is then utilized by many brands so they can show users advertisements relevant to their location, interests, age, gender and other demographic information.

Users can avoid being tracked by deleting the Facebook app on their phone, using a virtual private network or deleting their Facebook altogether, Gizmodo noted.

Facebook maintains that this is a common practice and that internet users should already be aware of it.  A Facebook spokesperson told Gizmodo: 'Facebook does not use WiFi data to determine your location for ads if you have Location Services turned off.  We do use IP and other information such as check-ins and current city from your profile.  We explain this to people, including in our Privacy Basics site and on the About Facebook Ads site.'

So while users can do things like turn off location services and opt out of location tracking on Facebook, they can never keep their location entirely private.

A Facebook spokesperson told Gizmodo 'There is no way for people to opt out of using location for ads entirely.  We use city and zip level location which we collect from IP addresses and other information such as check-ins and current city from your profile to ensure we are providing people with a good service - from ensuring they see Facebook in the right language, to making sure that they are shown nearby events and ads for businesses that are local to them.'

The move presents a shift in policy for Facebook, which said in a blog post in 2014 that 'people have control over the recent location information they share with Facebook and will only see ads based on their recent location if location services are enabled on their phone.'

Facebook's change of heart is likely to spark the ire of privacy advocates who say users should be given greater controls over their information and how they're tracked.

And while Facebook isn't the only one who looks at a user's IP address, Kolokava believes Facebook should be held to a higher standard.  Kolokava wrote: 'The locations that persons visit and live in reveal a great deal about them.  Their surreptitious collection and use in ad targeting can pave way to ads that are harmful, target people when they are vulnerable, or enable harassment and discrimination.'

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk 

Large dust particles from the Sahara Desert have been found up to 3,500 km away in the Caribbean.  Stunned researchers say the find means that global climate models may have to be rethought.  The particles were nearly 50 times bigger than scientists thought was possible to be transported such a distance via global winds.

'These dust particles are whipped up from the Sahara Desert and carried between continents, and most people know them best when they end up settling on our cars or cause the kind of eerie orange skies we saw a year ago,' said Professor Giles Harrison, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Reading, and a co-author of the study.  He called for climate models to be overhauled in light of the finding

'However, existing ideas do not allow for such massive particles travelling in the atmosphere for such vast distances, suggesting that there is some as-yet-unknown atmospheric process or combination of processes keeping them airborne.  Charging of the particles and associated electric forces is one avenue being explored.  This evidence of dust and ash being carried so far is significant because these particles influence radiation transfer around the Earth and carbon cycles in the oceans.'

The research, led by the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), is published today in Science Advances.

Winds carry dust particles from the Sahara west over the Atlantic Ocean.  The researchers collected desert dust in floating buoys and underwater sediment traps in five locations in the Atlantic Ocean between 2013 and 2016.

It was previously thought the size of the particles in this cloud ranged from 0.01-0.02 mm in diameter, but scientists found particles measuring 0.45 mm in samples in the Caribbean.

The scientists argue this means the role of large dust particles, especially quartz, in both cloud formation and the carbon cycle in the oceans has been underestimated.  The role of the particles is largely neglected in computer models used to explain and predict climate change because they have not been thought to persist in the atmosphere.

The research also suggests the amount of dust removed from the atmosphere by rain, rather than gravity, is greater than previously assumed. This has implications for the oceans, because droplets formed by dust particles are highly acidic and because the large particles sink faster, carrying the nutrients to deeper parts of the ocean.  Both these factors impact algae growth and therefore affect food chains and the ocean carbon cycle.

Michele van der Does, a Ph.D. researcher at NIOZ and lead author of the study, said: 'The fact that larger particles of dust keep floating in the atmosphere for a long time is considered to be in conflict with the physical laws of gravity.  We show that through a combination of forces and movements in the atmosphere the large dust pellets can indeed stay in the atmosphere for a longer time and have their influence there.'

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Scientists have identified a specific gene which is involved in determining the sex of a child.  The crucial gene is found on the Y-chromosome and is involved in the development of the testes.  If this is faulty, scientists claim it can lead to sexual development disorders and improper development of the testicles.   The presence of either an X or a Y chromosome is pivotal in the determination of gender but this Y-located gene is integral to ensuring proper development, scientists say.

Sex chromosomes called 'XX' and 'XY' are separated, with girls carrying the former and boys the latter.  A baby will be a girl if it carries an X chromosome and the embryo will be male if the fertilising sperm has a Y chromosome.

Ms Croft, a PhD student at Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, said: 'The sex of a baby is determined by its chromosome make-up at conception.  An embryo with two X chromosomes will become a girl, while an embryo with an X-Y combination results in a boy.'

However, the Australian team found this dynamic has an added complication.   They discovered a 'regulator' that controls the activity of some genes which impacts if a child will be male or female.

SRY is a gene found on the male chromosome (Y) and this directly impacts a protein called SOX9.

Professor Sinclair, a paediatrician at the University of Melbourne, said the SOX9 gene is regulated by enhancers - and sex development disorders are triggered by damage to them.  If there is some disruption to the expression of SOX9 it can stunt the development of the testicles, according to the paper published in the Nature Communications.

Developmental biologist Brittany Croft said: 'The Y chromosome carries a critical gene, called SRY, which acts on another gene called SOX9 to start the development of testes in the embryo.  High levels of the SOX9 gene are needed for normal testis development. However, if there is some disruption to SOX9 activity and only low levels are present, a testis will not develop resulting in a baby with a disorder of sex development.'

Four patients with sexual development disorders were studied and could shed new light on the genetic causes behind sex development disorders.

Lead author Professor Andrew Sinclair explained: 'These regulatory segments of DNA are called enhancers.  If these enhancers that control testis genes are disrupted it may lead to a baby being born with a disorder of sex development.  We discovered three enhancers that together ensure the SOX9 gene is turned on to a high level in an XY embryo - leading to normal testis and male development.  Importantly, we identified XX patients who would normally have ovaries and be female but carried extra copies of these enhancers - high levels of SOX9 - and instead developed testes.  In addition, we found XY patients who had lost these SOX9 enhancers - low levels of SOX9 - and developed ovaries instead of testes.'

The trio of enhancers are required for normal testes and male development.  Professor Sinclair said across the human genome there were about one million enhancers controlling about 22,000 genes.  He added: 'These enhancers lie on the DNA but outside genes, in regions previously referred to as junk DNA or dark matter.  The key to diagnosing many disorders may be found in these enhancers which hide in the poorly understood dark matter of our DNA.'

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Experienced divers swimming off the coast of California have noticed something out of the ordinary in the past few years – a small, black-and-white striped fish unlike any other in the region.  The barred knifejaw, also called the striped beakfish, is normally found in Pacific Ocean waters surrounding Asia.  And while it might be the most conspicuous, scientists say it’s not the only non-native species that’s ended up in this area thousands of miles from home.

A recent study identified nearly 300 Japanese coastal marine species that ended up on the wrong side of the ocean after the massive tsunami generated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan back in 2011.

Divers have reported seeing the striped fish swimming in Monterey Bay since December 2014, according to Fox 5 San Diego.  But, experts suspect that by that time, they’d already been in the area for years.

In a study published to the journal Science last year, researchers say hundreds of species ended up in US waters after the devastating 2011 quake as a result of ‘tsunami-driven rafting.’  Along with the barred knifefish, the team noted the presence of 289 invertebrate and fish species native to Japan now living along the West Coast.

Creatures both alive and dead were carried more than 4,000 miles across the ocean by debris, the experts say; another barred knifefish, for example, was found in the stern well of a Japanese fishing vessel in 2013 in Pacific County, Washington.  The team also found barnacles, isopods, amphipods, mussels, shipworms, and limpet.

According to the study, this is ‘the longest documented transoceanic survival and dispersal of coastal species by rafting,’ largely made possible by the spread of non-biodegradable objects.

Greg Ruiz, a co-author and marine biologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, said: 'I didn't think that most of these coastal organisms could survive at sea for long periods of time.  But in many ways they just haven't had much opportunity in the past.  Now, plastic can combine with tsunami and storm events to create that opportunity on a large scale.'

Tsunami debris teeming with living organisms began washing up in Hawaii and the US West Coast in 2012.  In the years to follow, researchers continued to find buoys, crates, vessels, and other forms of wreckage from the disaster, all towing marine creatures from Japan.  Many of these species have gone unnoticed by locals, despite appearing only after the tsunami.

The barred knifefish, on the other hand, ‘stands out because it looks quite alien in our water and it’s definitely a species we haven’t seen here before in this event.  Divers or people visiting the beach may not notice anything that looks unusual to the untrained eye.  But in fact, some of these creatures could have been part of this tsunami invasion event,’ Jonathan Geller, a scientist at California’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, told Fox 5 San Diego.

While invasive species can pose major threats to local ecosystems, the experts say that isn’t much of a concern with the barred knifefish.

Given the temperature difference, with California’s waters sitting at about 9 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than their native waters, the fish will be able to survive, but likely will be unable to reproduce.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Urban flooding is causing microplastics to be flushed into our oceans even faster than thought, according to scientists looking at pollution in rivers.

Waterways in Greater Manchester are now so heavily contaminated by microplastics that particles are found in every sample - including even the smallest streams.  This pollution is a major contributor to contamination in the oceans, researchers found as part of the first detailed catchment-wide study anywhere in the world.  This debris - including microbeads and microfibres - are toxic to ecosystems.

Scientists tested 40 sites around Manchester and found every waterway contained these small toxic particles.

Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic debris including microbeads, microfibres and plastic fragments.  It has long been known they enter river systems from multiple sources including industrial effluent, storm water drains and domestic wastewater.  However, around 90 per cent of microplastic contamination in the oceans is thought to originate from land, not much is known about their movements.

Most rivers examined had around 517,000 plastic particles per square metre, according to researchers from the University of Manchester who carried out the detailed study.

Following a period of major flooding, the researchers re-sampled at all of the sites.  They found levels of contamination had fallen at the majority of them, and the flooding had removed about 70 per cent of the microplastics stored on the river beds.  This demonstrates that flood events can transfer large quantities of microplastics from urban river to the oceans.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

A new study has revealed the shocking amount of plastic pollution that accumulates in the bodies of marine organisms that commonly end up on our dinner plates.

In a series of experiments exposing scallops to plastic nanoparticles, researchers found that within six hours, billions of particles had collected in the intestines and made its way throughout the body, from the muscles to the kidney.  And, it took weeks for these particles to get out of their system.

‘Understanding whether plastic particles are absorbed across biological membranes and accumulate within internal organs is critical for assessing the risks these particles pose to both organism and human health,’ says Ted Henry, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Heriot-Watt University.

In the study published to the journal Environmental Science and Technology, researchers created nanoparticles of a plastic called carbon-radiolabeled nanopolystyrene in the lab.

Polystyrene is a main ingredient of Styrofoam.  The team created particles of two sizes: 20 nanometers (0.00002mm) and 250nm (0.00025mm).  After six hours of exposure, they conducted autoradiography analyses to see if the particles showed up in the scallops’ organs and tissues.  And, the results are troubling.  Within this short timespan, the researchers say billions 250 nm particles had accumulated in the scallops’ intestines.

The smaller particles were even more widespread – according to the team, the 20 nm samples were found all throughout the scallops’ bodies, in the kidney, gill, muscle, and other organs.

Both sizes of the nanoplastics lingered in the body for a long time.  While it took 14 days for the 20 nm particles to disappear from the body, it was 48 days before the 250 nm particles were gone.

The researchers say the findings shed important light on the ways plastic waste ends up in marine wildlife and, in many cases, in our own bodies.

Unlike previous research, which focused on concentrations estimated to be much higher than those now found in nature, the researchers say the new study used 'environmentally relevant concentrations.'

Professor Richard Thompson OBE, Head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the University of Plymouth says: This is a groundbreaking study, in terms of both the scientific approach and the findings,  We only exposed the scallops to nanoparticles for a few hours and, despite them being transferred to clean conditions, traces were still present several weeks later.  Understanding the dynamics of nanoparticle uptake and release, as well as their distribution in body tissues, is essential if we are to understand any potential effects on organisms.  A key next step will be to use this approach to guide research investigating any potential effects of nanoparticles and in particular to consider the consequences of longer term exposures.’

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

The U.S. Army is eyeing a new assault rifle that can rip through body armor with the power of a battle tank.    A lineup of Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifles (NGSAR) are expected to be in troops hands as soon as 2022, according to  The Military Times.

The 6.8 mm rifles not only pack greater force, but also feature improved precision from greater distances and are also able to handle all-weather and terrain encountered by soldiers.   Army officials are so pleased with the outcome that they say the rifles are 'better than any weapon on earth today, by far.'

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Military Times: 'This is a weapon that could defeat any body armor or any planned body armor that we know of in the future.  This is a weapon that can go out at ranges that are unknown today and that you can see accurately.  There is a target acquisition system built into this thing that is unlike anything that exists today.'

Milley also told Military Times: 'It will stand all the rigors of weather, terrain and soldier use, and all of that kind of stuff.  This is a pretty impressive gun.  It will be better than any weapon on earth today, by far.'

Army soldiers currently use dated M16/M4 weapons that were first doled out more than 50 years ago.   Once ready to go, they'll also replace the approximately 80,000 M249 squad automatic weapons currently in use.

The new weapon is initially targeted for close combat units like infantry, scouts and special operations, according to The Military Times.   It weighs less, is more powerful than prior assault rifles and can shoot further - extending soldiers' range from 300 meters to 600 meters.

Natural differences in terrain can get in the way of the gun's extended range, but the service says increased 'power and barrier penetration' will give them greater defense against various environments, like urban obstacles, according to Military Times.

'The chamber pressure for the standard assault rifle is around 45 KSI [kilopound per square inch], but we're looking for between 60 and 80 KSI...the chamber pressure when an M1 Abrams tank fires is on that order.  We're looking to reach out around 600 meters and have lethal effects even if the target is protected by body armor,' a source told  Task & Purpose.

The Army put out a notice in October for prototypes of a 6.8 mm light machine gun and has since announced that the prototypes for the new weapon are expected to be ready for test fires by next summer.

In addition to new assault rifles, troops will also receive advanced night vision and sophisticated targeting systems by the end of next year.

The U.S. isn't the only country focused on developing next-generation weaponry.   The Chinese military has built a Star Wars-like laser AK-47 capable of causing 'pain beyond endurance.'   The handheld weapon can hit targets half a mile away using an energy beam that cannot be seen but causes 'instant carbonisation' of human skin.  The weapon, which is powerful enough to pass through windows, can burn through clothes in a split second, claim scientists who have not been named due to the sensitivity of the project.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Dramatic experiments to recreate the explosive interactions that take place during a volcanic eruption have revealed what happens when molten rock and water meet.

Scientists ran 12 experiments in the lab using 10-gallon vats of homemade lava to test the effects of different water-injection speeds.  While the combination of these liquids doesn’t always turn violent, the team found that under certain conditions, these encounters generate spontaneous explosions that could make an eruption much more dangerous.

Lead investigator Ingo Sonder, research scientist in the Center for Geohazards Studies at University at Buffalo, said: ‘If you think about a volcanic eruption, there are powerful forces at work, and it’s not a gentle thing.  Our experiments are looking at the basic physics of what happens when water gets trapped inside molten rock.’

The new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth expands upon earlier work, which examined lava-water interactions on a small scale.  While the previous experiments used roughly a coffee cup’s worth of lava, the new study used 10-gallon batches held in insulated steel boxes.

Through 12 total experiments, the team investigated the interactions of water and lava when water-injection varied from about 6 to 30 feet per second.  The team also varied the height of the steel boxes, changing it from about 8 to 18 inches tall.

Though it’s still too early for solid conclusions, the researchers say they did uncover some patterns.  The experiments showed that spontaneous explosions occur when at least a foot of molten rock sits above the point where the water and lava mix.  Larger reactions also appeared to occur when the water was injected at a higher speed, and when the lava was in a taller container.  These varying reactions can be seen throughout nature; while eruptions such as Hawaii’s Kilauea may have produced explosions when coming in contact with water, others have been calmer.

Sonder said: ‘Sometimes, when lava encounters water, you see huge, explosive activity.  Other times, there is no explosion, and the lava may just cool down and form some interesting shapes.  What we are doing is trying to learn about the conditions that cause most violent reactions.’

The new findings provide important insight on the behaviour of water when it becomes trapped by lava, which can reach thousands of degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers’ lava was created from basaltic rock heated to 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit in an induction furnace.  After being poured into the steel box and injected with water, the team drove a plunger into the liquid to provoke an explosion.

Co-author Greg Valentine, UB professor of geology and director of the Center for Geohazards Studies, said: ‘The research is still in the very early stages, so we have several years of work ahead of us before we’ll be able to look at the whole range and combination of factors that influence what happens when lava or magma encounters water.  However, everything we do is with the intention of making a difference in the real world.  Understanding basic processes having to do with volcanoes will ultimately help us make better forecasting calls when it comes to eruptions.’

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

American chip supplier Qualcomm Inc on 10 December said it had won a preliminary order from a Chinese court to ban the import and sale of several Apple Inc iPhone models in China due to patent violations.   The preliminary order affects all of the iPhone models from the iPhone 6S to the iPhone X which are sold with older versions of Apple's iOS operating system.

In a statement, Apple said its iPhones would remain on sale in the country, with newer software.

California-based Qualcomm, the world's biggest supplier of chips for mobile phones, initially filed its case in China in late 2017.   The ruling came from the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China, the same court that earlier this year banned the import of some of memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc's chips into China.

The court found Apple had violated two of Qualcomm's software patents around resizing photographs and managing applications on a touch screen.

'Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us,' Don Rosenberg, general counsel of Qualcomm, said in a statement.

Apple shares fell 2 per cent in pre-market trading.   Because the patents concern software, Apple could make changes to its software to avoid the patents and still be able to sell its phones.  In a statement, Apple said that all iPhone models would remain available for its customers in China.  New iPhones use Apple's latest version of its mobile operating system, iOS 12.

'Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world,' Apple said in its statement.

The patents in the suit, which Qualcomm said on 10 December had been upheld by the Chinese patent office, are separate from those being contested in other cases in its wide-ranging legal dispute with Apple.

Qualcomm has also asked regulators in the United States to ban the import of several iPhone models over patent concerns, but U.S. officials have so far declined to do so.

The specific iPhone models affected by the preliminary ruling in China are the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Scientists are yet another step closer to understanding how redheads inherit their distinctive locks.

A new study analyzing the DNA of nearly 350,000 people has pinpointed an array of genes linked to particular hair colors, including eight genes associated with red hair.  Despite previous assumptions that red hair comes from a single gene, the study shows the reality is much more complex.  The findings help to explain why some people are known to carry the previously identified redhead gene, MC1R, but do not have red hair.  As the new study shows, there are more genes involved than simply the one.

‘We were able to use the power of UK Biobank, a huge and unique genetic study of half a million people in Britain, which allowed us to find these effects,’ said Professor Ian Jackson, of the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh.

The study on thousands of people revealed that hundreds of genes contribute to variations in hair color.  Genetic differences in nearly 200 genes give rise the spectrum of colors between blonde and the darkest brunette, according to the researchers.  Surprisingly, many of these genes relate to texture, not pigmentation.

The researchers say this is the largest genetic study of hair color yet.  The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

When it comes to red hair, the team says it’s more than just the gene MC1R that comes into play.  This gene was previously identified in a study that found redheads inherit two versions of it – one from each parent – resulting in their red hair.

In the new study, the researchers identified eight genetic differences linked to red hair.  Some of these genes were responsible for controlling when MC1R is switched on or off, they say.

‘We are very pleased that this work has unravelled most of the genetic variation contributing to differences in hair color among people,’ says Professor Albert Tenesa, of the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute.

In addition to the redhead genes, the team also identified genetic differences involved in determining if hair will grow to be curly or straight.

According to Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the study ‘has provided some fascinating insights into what makes us such distinct individuals.’

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk