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The USA's Department of Homeland (DHS) security has ordered all US government agencies to cease using software products by Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs, best known for its antivirus products (Ars Technica). In a statement the DHS said: "The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates US national security". In response to government mistrust of the software, some US software stores have also pulled consumer versions of Kaspersky products from their shelves, with major retail chain Best Buy saying it "felt there were too many unanswered questions and so has decided to discontinue selling the products". Kaspersky has responded to the DHS decision with a statement that: "Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage or offensive cyber efforts, and it’s disconcerting that a private company can be considered guilty until proven innocent, due to geopolitical issues".
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that Tesla is set to reveal its first semi truck on October 26 (The Verge). He wrote: "Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride tentatively scheduled for Oct 26th in Hawthorne. Worth seeing this beast in person. It's unreal". This is a month later than previously anticipated, but is nonetheless on schedule to be a key par of the company's current master plan.
New research has highlighted risks to worldwide coffee production presented by both climate change and the loss of bee species which act as vital pollinators for the crop (Ars Technica). The findings indicate that coffee producing regions of the Americas "will be reduced 73–88% by 2050 across warming scenarios", further complicated a loss of wild bee species, although domestic bees can also pollinate the crop. Coffee – particularly the flavoursome arabica variety – is highly temperature sensitive, and plants take four years to start producing beans, presenting difficulties even if farmers anticipate climate change by moving to cooler upland regions.
A new study into British sexual habits, involving 4839 men and 6669 women aged 16–74 years has found that both men and women lose interest in sex at various points in their lives, for a variety of reasons (BBC News). The study found that that 15 per cent of men and 34 per cent of women surveyed said they'd lost interest in sex for three months or more in the previous year. Age was a factor for both genders, with men tending to lose interest in sex between the ages of 35 and 44, while women's lack of sexual interest peaked between 55 and 64. Other factors included having young children at home and being in relationships for over a year in the case of women.
A study by Benjamin Lyons of the University of Exeter has found that journalists can help their readers form accurate, fact-based opinions by acting as adjudicators to help weigh conflicting positions (Phys.org). Dr Lyons found that, by presenting information supporting fact-based positions, rather than providing false balance, journalists can give accurate information that their readers will trust regardless of biases associated with their existing political position. He said: "The study found readers believed the journalist over their party, and one-sided adjudication did not increase perceived bias. Readers also reported greater satisfaction of their informational needs. But of course there are some issues in the news where it will be more difficult to adjudicate. I think the more specific the issue, location or event in question, the more influential adjudication would be. Journalists may find targeting narrow claims a fruitful approach to inject a small amount of factual understanding into even contentious debates".
From DDoS attacks to data manipulation, new cybersecurity regulations to organised fraud, businesses and consumers alike are faced with ever greater levels of security threats. Get inside knowledge on the developing threat landscape at WIRED Security 2017, returning to London on September 28.
Natural Cycles, the only app to be approved as a contraceptive, has proved 99 per cent effective in the largest study investigating it to date (WIRED). Published in the peer-reviewed Contraception journal, the new study confirms previous results after testing 22,785 women through a total of 224,563 menstrual cycles across a year to calculate the app’s Pearl Index – the rate used to measure a contraceptive’s effectiveness. It found that if used perfectly – using protection such as condoms on red days – effectiveness is 99 per cent. Typical use, where people don’t use protection on the red days, leads to 93 per cent effectiveness, well above other natural family planning methods that rate at around 75 per cent and even the pill, which rates at 91 per cent.
Facebook has released a new video chat app, Bonfire in the Danish iOS store by way of something between a soft launch and a large-scale trial (TheNextWeb). Bonfire promises multi-person video chats with Snapchat style effect overlays, and appears to be largely aimed at a teenage audience. Needless to say, there are already workarounds for any non-Danes desperate to try the app.
It's almost impossible to separate the "Twine revolution" – the proliferation of small-scale interactive fiction created by nontraditional game designers – from Porpentine (WIRED). Her latest game is titled No World Dreamers: Sticky Zeitgeist. It's an episodic series, and the first episode, called "Hyperslime," went online last month. Developed with artist and fellow game-maker Rook, it takes place in a distorted fantasy world of transgender catgirls, robots, and rolling ecological disasters. It plays out almost like a sitcom, or the pilot of an anime from another dimension; after a brief (and extremely NSFW) personal interlude, the game establishes setting and character, offering a glimpse of its preoccupations, and then just flits away. Her latest effort is a deliberate departure—both in style and tech. While the first episode was created using Twine's open-source software, following episodes will be made using different game-making technologies: GameMaker for episode two, Hypercard for episode three and Storybook Weaver for episode four.
Nintendo and Microsoft have revelead and promptly launched Minecraft for the New 3Ds and New 2DS handhelds (Eurogamer). While we're still waiting for it to go on sale from its UK eshop listing, the game is set to come with new skin and texture packs, and a handy second-screen inventory and crafting interface. A boxed retail release is also scheduled, but bear in mind that it'll only work on the more powerful New DS handhelds.
John Carpenter is as well known for his work as a soundtrack composer as for directing films such as Halloween and The Thing, and he's now adapted Stephen King's killer car opus, Christine, as a gorgeous music video for the main theme of his 1983 film of the same name (Den of Geek). Released by Sacred Bones Records, the video has been made to promote Carpenter's forthcoming album, Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998, due out on October 20.
The origin of the asteroid belt is closely linked to the history of our Solar System, and astronomers thought they had a good idea of how it formed. But a new study has come out today to contradict those ideas.
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
