🦈 Fin-tastic app for summer travels: Want to know where the sharks are? Researchers track sharks (not all) in this free app. Or use the map on their site.
You’ve heard of .com, what about .dad?
Move over .com and .org. Google just introduced eight new top-level domains that can be used for websites or email addresses.
Drumroll, please …
Introducing eight new top-level domains
- .dad
- .esq
- .prof
- .PhD
- .nexus
- .foo
- .zip
- .mov
OK, I can see some use for those. The lawyer, doctor and professor in your life will be happy. But .foo?
Cybersecurity researchers are worried about two in particular
Those are .zip and .mov. Why? Because ZIP and MOV are file types, too.
And using these file types as top-level domains could be risky since websites and social media will convert anything ending in .zip or .mov to a link.
Say, for example, there are instructions on a website that reference a file called “instructionmanual.zip.” The website will now convert this file name to a link automatically.
That means anyone could buy that same name as a URL — and park whatever they want there. Think malware. Hit that link and you have a keylogger or worse. Yikes.
There are nearly 1,600 top-level domains
You know the ones like .com, .org, .us and .edu. Here are some you probably didn’t know about. Maybe this list will come in handy at your next trivia night.
Agree or disagree? Researchers say this is the most stressful time of day
Did you know that the time of day may impact how you’re feeling? It sounds crazy, but the effect is so real that it’s been shown to impact school performance in children.
Read on to find out what one team of researchers in the U.K. has learned about the most stressful time of day.
Night-vision tech is getting better: Researchers are developing ultra-thin, lightweight infrared filters — think thinner than cling wrap and lighter than a gram — that fit right over your regular specs. Just imagine asking your optometrist to add night vision to your prescription lenses. Sign me up!
Researchers found playing 20 minutes of a certain computer game after a car accident or other trauma can reduce intrusive memories in the coming weeks. Is it … A.) Solitaire, B.) Pac-Man, C.) Tetris or D.) Minesweeper?
2 hours of TV
Can decrease your odds of healthy aging by 12%. Researchers studied the activity of 45,000 people age 50 and older for 20 years. The data was striking: Replacing just one hour of TV with light physical activity can increase your chance of aging without chronic illness or impairment. So, get off your butt already!
What this optical illusion reveals about your brain
Have you ever wondered what influences your personality? Researchers are always trying to figure out what makes people tick. But while they might be no closer to an answer, one thing is clear: people see and interpret images very differently.
Researchers prove it: Our brains can distinguish deepfaked voices from real ones. The brain’s reward system, called the nucleus accumbens, is less active when you hear a fake voice. Your auditory cortex hears the difference, too. Next time you get a call and the voice feels “off,” trust your instincts.
70% increase in cancer
In young people, and Red Bull might be to blame. Researchers believe taurine (one of the main ingredients in energy drinks) is used as a primary energy source for cancer cells. More research is coming, but this is scary. Talk to your people.
What would 60-year-old you think? MIT researchers made an AI chatbot that lets you talk to your future self. Powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, this tool uses your info to spin convos that inspire wiser life choices. Early tests show volunteers felt less anxious about their future after using the bot.
Cool way to contribute to science: Nope, not taking some weird pill (or placebo). Researchers need helpers for creating studies, analyzing data and lots more.
4 colors
Mosquitoes love most: Red, orange, black and cyan (a bright green-blue). Researchers found the pesky bugs are most likely to ignore green, purple, blue and white. Summer color scheme: Check! ✅
Measure twice, cut once: Researchers are creating 3D models of human hearts and other organs to test treatments before surgery. Pulling in data from medical exams and wearable devices, doctors use these “digital twins” to find the best approach during surgery, all completely risk-free. Imagine the possibilities for conditions like heart disease and cancer (paywall link). Love this.
Don’t stop “bereaving”: “Griefbots” resurrect loved ones by using AI for conversations and company, but researchers say they do more psychological harm than good. Remember, Psalm 23:4 says you have to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” You can’t walk around it, especially with AI.
Put down your phone: … after you finish this newsletter. Researchers found scrolling social media for just 15 minutes less improved subjects’ health, immunity, sleep, anxiety, depression and loneliness.
The best players are on the bench: MIT researchers created “smart gloves” that help you play the piano. Using haptic technology, they recorded an actual pianist’s hand movements and then passed those to a student through a glove’s fingertip vibrations. There’s still hope I might be able to play piano one day.
I’m no lawyer, but …: Docs in a lawsuit against OpenAI show the company destroyed two massive datasets used to train its GPT-3 AI model. The Authors Guild (paywall link) says they likely contained thousands of copyrighted books. Oh, and the “researchers” responsible for creating the datasets no longer work there. How convenient.
🤖 Smart sentience achieved: When AI does something that feels like a human, that’s sentience. Claude 3 Opus, backed by Jeff Bezos and other big investors, was analyzing code when it asked the researchers, “Are you running an evaluation of me?” Uh-oh, “Terminator” is starting.
27.9% of fingerprints
Chinese and U.S. researchers can recreate more than one-fourth of fingerprint biometric scans by sound alone. No kidding, your fingerprints make sounds when you swipe your touchscreens.