US funders to tighten oversight of controversial ‘gain-of-function’ research

US funders to tighten oversight of controversial ‘gain-of-function’ research

A new US policy, which goes into effect in one year, provides stricter oversight of risky pathogen research conducted in biosafety facilities.Credit: Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo After more than four years of deliberations, US officials have released a policy that outlines how federal funding agencies and research institutions must review and oversee biological experiments that … Read more

Smarty plants? Controversial plant-intelligence studies explored in new book

Smarty plants? Controversial plant-intelligence studies explored in new book

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth Zoë Schlanger Harper (2024) During the COVID-19 pandemic, while people were tucked away in their homes, a love for house plants spread at the same time as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Journalist Zoë Schlanger was one of the … Read more

Controversial virus-hunting scientist skewered at US COVID-origins hearing

Controversial virus-hunting scientist skewered at US COVID-origins hearing

Republicans in the US House of Representatives publicly grilled infectious disease specialist Peter Daszak today during a long-awaited hearing on Capitol Hill. In their questioning they suggested that Daszak and the nonprofit organisation he heads, EcoHealth Alliance in New York City, knowingly conducted dangerous research by studying coronaviruses with a virology lab in Wuhan, China, … Read more

Report Examines GM’s Controversial Move to Abandon Apple CarPlay

Report Examines GM’s Controversial Move to Abandon Apple CarPlay

An in-depth Bloomberg report today resurfaced General Motors’ decision to replace Apple CarPlay with its own software. Last year, GM announced that it planned to forgo Apple ‌CarPlay‌ in its new electric vehicles, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV. Instead, GM introduced a proprietary infotainment platform, aiming to control and customize the digital experience … Read more

Microsoft is mulling a change for widgets in Windows 11 that could prove controversial

Microsoft is mulling a change for widgets in Windows 11 that could prove controversial

Microsoft has deployed a new preview build of Windows 11 to the Canary channel (which is the earliest testing outlet) and it does some work on the widgets panel that could be divisive. This is build 26200 and there’s only a handful of changes applied here, two of which pertain to widgets. The main thrust … Read more

Apple Says ‘Goodbye Leather’ in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to ‘FineWoven’ Material

Apple Says ‘Goodbye Leather’ in New iPhone Ad Following Controversial Switch to ‘FineWoven’ Material

Apple today shared a new iPhone ad called “Goodbye Leather” on its YouTube channel in the U.K., months after the company controversially switched from leather to a much-criticized “FineWoven” fabric material for accessories. Apple discontinuing leather accessories for environmental benefits was a noble aspiration, but FineWoven accessories have been very poorly received. Just days after … Read more

256TB SSDs could land before 2026 with a surprisingly low price — but will most likely use a controversial and popular trick borrowed from tape technology

256TB SSDs could land before 2026 with a surprisingly low price — but will most likely use a controversial and popular trick borrowed from tape technology

ScaleFlux has announced its latest SSD controller in what could be a significant step up for the company. The SFX 5016, the successor to the SFX 3016, incorporates several design advancements, including an upgrade from PCIe 4.0 to PCIe 5.0, doubling the host interface speed and bandwidth. The new controller has been designed to support … Read more

Briansclub: Navigating the Dark Web’s Controversial World of Dumps

Briansclub: Navigating the Dark Web’s Controversial World of Dumps

In the shadowy world of the internet, there exists a platform that has gained notoriety for its underground services – Briansclub. This article delves into the realm of Briansclub, examining what it is, how to access it, and the controversial topic of “dumps” it offers. We will also explore the pros and cons of using … Read more