● [Tech] Children exposed to horror film ads on YouTube. ︴ ︴

▼ Children were left distressed after seeing ads for a horror film on YouTube, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has revealed. Three parents contacted the ASA after their children saw ads for Insidious: The Last Key - rated 15 in the UK. One ad for the film was shown before videos of songs from Frozen, instructions for building a Lego fire station and a clip from the cartoon PJ Masks. The ASA has upheld the complaints. In a second ad, the ASA said a young woman was seen "lying on a floor immobile, bloodied and distressed while a humanoid creature crept towards her and then probed at her with claw-like fingers and pierced her skin". Screaming women Further horror-themed imagery followed, including a sequence of women screaming. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] 'Fewer people' are using Facebook for news. ︴ ︴

▼ Fewer people are using Facebook to discover and discuss news, as messaging apps such as WhatsApp gain in popularity, a study has suggested. The seventh annual Digital News Reportsaid the fall in users accessing news on Facebook reflected concerns about privacy and the toxic nature of debate. Changes to Facebook's algorithms, which had de-prioritised news in people's feeds, had also played a part. The report sought to explore how people accessed news around the world. The research, by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, at the University of Oxford, was based on a YouGov online survey of 74,000 people in 37 countries. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] Smart lock can be hacked 'in seconds'. ︴ ︴

▼ A hi-tech padlock secured with a fingerprint can be opened by anyone with a smartphone, security researchers have found. On its website, Tapplock is described as the "world's first smart fingerprint padlock". But researchers said it took just 45 minutes to find a way to unlock any Tapplock. In response, the firm acknowledged the flaw and said it was issuing "an important security patch". In a blogpost, security expert Andrew Tierney from Pen Test Partners (PTP), outlined how he had hacked the lock. "You can just walk up to any Tapplock and unlock it in under two seconds. It requires no skill or knowledge to do this." He said he was "so astounded" by how easy it was that he ordered another lock in case his first attempt had been a fluke. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] Dixons Carphone admits huge data breach. ︴ ︴

▼ Dixons Carphone has admitted a huge data breach involving 5.9 million payment cards and 1.2 million personal data records. It is investigating the hacking attempt, which began in July last year. Dixons Carphone said it had no evidence that any of the cards had been used fraudulently following the breach. There was "an attempt to compromise" 5.8 million credit and debit cards but only 105,000 cards without chip-and-pin protection had been leaked, it said. The hackers had tried to gain access to one of the processing systems of Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores, the firm said. Dixons Carphone shares were down more than 3% in early afternoon trading. A spokesperson for the National Cyber Security Centre said it was "working with Dixons Carphone and other agencies to understand how this data breach has affected people in the UK and advise on mitigation measures". (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] China's telco giant ZTE sees shares collapse 39%. ︴ ︴

▼ Shares in Chinese technology company ZTE plummeted 39% in Hong Kong as trading in the firm resumed after a two-month suspension. In April, the US Commerce Department found ZTE had violated trade bans with North Korea and Iran. A ban was placed on the firm that prevented it from buying parts from US suppliers. The ban forced ZTE to suspend major operations, and trading in its shares were halted on 17 April. The deal will involve ZTE paying a $1bn penalty and hiring a US-approved compliance team. It will also have to replace its management board.(▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] U.S. Spy Agencies Want to Store Data on DNA Computers. ︴ ︴

▼ Government intelligence agencies have a plan to build computers that store information inside DNA and other organic molecules. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), a group within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that develops technologies for U.S. intelligence services, announcedplans to develop "tabletop"-sized machines that can store and retrieve data from large batches of polymers— a term that refers to a wide variety of long, stringlike molecules. Polymers can store data in the sequence of individual atoms or groups of atoms. The project, which was reported by Nextgov, is an attempt to solve a basic problem of the modern era: the vast and growing costs of data storage. Datacenters around the world sucked up 416.2 terawatt hours of electricity in 2016. That's about 3 percent of the global supply, according to a report in the Independent, and it accounts for 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Experts told the Independent that the world can't sustain the exponential rate of global data center growth. A 2016 paperin the journal BioMed Research International found that DNA, in particular, could store computer information more densely, require less energy, and survive higher and lower temperatures than conventional hard drives. The authors of that paper reported on the successes of prototype DNA computers that used the genetic molecules for both long-term storage and random access memory (RAM). (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] The nautilus’s impressive memory has survived five mass extinctions But one thing's for sure: This creature of the deep has an incredible memory. ︴ ︴

▼ Number 51 loves frozen shrimp. The nautilus’ keepers, Brooklyn College professor Jennifer Basiland Ph.D. student Naomi Lewandowski, buy the marine meal from the Target across the street. They keep it frozen, and on a recent visit to the lab, Lewandowski lopped out a few pieces on a paper party plate for an impromptu afternoon feeding. Along with a half-dozen other deep sea specimens, Number 51 spends her days in a cylindrical black tank, swimming, slowly and backward using jet propulsion, like a helicopter taking off tail-first. Sometimes, Lewandowski pulls the shelled cephalopods from their dark, watery shelter for a photoshoot. More often, these darkness-loving creatures are exposed to the artificial lights of the lab for an experiment or two—designed to test the memory, mating behaviors, and other secret skills of the nautilus. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] Daredevil raccoon's Minnesota skyscraper climb. ︴ ︴

▼ A daredevil raccoon has been safely rescued after leaving the internet on tenterhooks by scaling a 23-floor building in St Paul, Minnesota. The critter, dubbed #MPRraccoon after the radio station opposite the high-rise, trended worldwide on Twitter. Crowds gathered at the building after it went viral, and local media streamed its perilous climb for almost a day. Twitter celebrated as it reached the roof at 03:00am (07:00 BST) where cat food was waiting inside a trap. The raccoon has been collected by animal welfare and will be released later. Evan Frost and Tim Nelson, journalists with Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), documented the raccoon's nerve-wracking journey on Twitter. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] What will Antarctica look like in 2070? These researchers want to show us. The Ice Sheet has lost 3 trillion tons in 25 years. ︴ ︴

▼ Anthropogenic climate changeis causing innumerable changes to our planet. It can be disorienting, as every day brings news of a new extinction or climate change-related threat, and if you’re not a scientist it can be hard to know what to do about it. An interdisciplinary group of researchers has teamed up to try to change that—by helping people picture the future of Antarctica. Their new paper, published today in Nature, compares two possible futures for Antarctica. In one, the continent is radically different and anthropogenic climate change is having massive, poorly-controlled impacts. In the other, climate change and overpopulation are still factors, but Antarcticaitself is in much better shape, with positive consequences for the world. It relies on a combination of existing science and projections and the peer-reviewed expert knowledge of its authors, who are respected Antarctica scholars in disciplines ranging from environmental science to glaciology. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] . ︴ ︴

▼ Pandoravirus quercus, as viewed through an electron microscope. The scale bar equals 100 nanometers. Credit: Copyright IGS-CNRS/AMU Giant viruses may invent genes and proteins found nowhere else on Earth, new research suggests. As their name implies, giant viruses are big — as big as bacteria, and more than twice the size of typical viruses, scientists have previously reported. Giant viruses have more complex genomes than some simple microbial organisms, and many of their genes code for proteins found only in giant viruses, according to past studies. These so-called orphan genes puzzled scientists, but a new study may suggest where they come from. In three new species of Pandoraviruses — a family of giant viruses described in 2013 — these genes originated in the viruses themselves. The giant viruses were like factories, churning out novel genes and proteins — though the origin and purpose of this prolific gene creation is still a mystery, the study authors wrote. [ Small World: Gallery of Microscopic Beauty] Even before the discovery of giant viruses, viruses occupied a questionable positionon the tree of life: They contain much of the cellular material found in living organisms, including DNA or RNA, but they lack cell structure and cannot replicate outside a host — two key criteria for defining life. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [International News] Haiti bans Oxfam GB after sexual misconduct scandal. ︴ ︴

▼ Oxfam GB has been banned from operating in Haiti after its staff were accused of sexual misconduct following the 2010 earthquake. Haiti's government said the decision was taken because of Oxfam's "violation of its laws and serious breach of the principle of human dignity". Oxfam said it understood the decision, adding that the behaviour of some staff was "completely unacceptable". Haiti's decision follows a temporary suspension announced in February. Oxfam said it would continue to work in Haiti through affiliate members from Italy, Spain, and Quebec. Oxfam has been in Haiti since 1978, and increased its presence after the earthquake. But there have been no Oxfam GB staff in the country since the suspension in February. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [International News] Argentina lawmakers gather for key abortion vote. ︴ ︴

▼ Lawmakers in Argentina are due to vote on a draft bill that would allow women to have abortions in the first 14 weeks of their pregnancies. The bill has proven highly divisive and deputies have been split almost evenly in the run-up to the lower house vote, with more than a dozen still undecided. If approved, the bill will still have to go to the Senate. Abortion is currently illegal except in cases of rape or when the life or health of the woman is at risk. Women seeking abortions also have to apply to a judge for permission, which critics say can unnecessarily delay the procedure. Growing momentum President Mauricio Macri has asked members of the chamber of deputies to vote according to their conscience. Although Mr Macri strongly opposes the bill, he said he would not veto it if it were passed by Congress. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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