Scientists observe ‘negative time’ in quantum experiments

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TORONTO — Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it — an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto, through innovative quantum experiments, say they have demonstrated that "negative time" isn't just a theoretical idea, it exists in a tangible, physical sense, deserving closer scrutiny. The findings, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, have attracted both global attention and skepticism. The researchers emphasize that these perplexing results highlight a peculiar quirk of quantum mechanics rather than a radical shift in our understanding of time. "This is tough stuff, even for us to talk about with other physicists. We get misunderstood all the time," said Aephraim Steinberg, a University…


US flu season is under way, as cases surge in some areas and vaccinations lag

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NEW YORK — The U.S. flu season is under way, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said Friday.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits.  “It's been increasing at a pretty steady pace now for the past several weeks. So yeah, we are certainly in flu season now,” said the CDC's Alicia Budd.  Thirteen states reported high or very high levels of flu-like illness last week, about double from the week before. One is Tennessee, where a sickness spike is hitting the Nashville area, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.  “Flu has been increasing, but just this last week has exploded,” Schaffner said. He noted that in a local…


US slow to react to pervasive Chinese hacking, experts say

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As new potential threats from Chinese hackers were identified this week, the federal government issued one of its strongest warnings to date about the need for Americans — and in particular government officials and other "highly targeted" individuals — to secure their communications against eavesdropping and interception. The warning came as news was breaking about a Commerce Department investigation into the possibility that computer network routers manufactured by the Chinese firm TP-Link may pose a threat to the millions of U.S. businesses, households and government agencies that use them. Also on Wednesday, Congress took long-awaited steps toward funding a program that will purge other Chinese technology from U.S. telecommunications systems. The so-called rip-and-replace program targets gear manufactured by Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE. Too far behind While experts said the…


Music bridges memory gaps for New York Alzheimer’s patients

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The Unforgettable Chorus in New York is using music to help people with memory loss reconnect with family, friends and themselves. Since 2011, the choir has been a beacon of hope, offering a space where those living with dementia can sing, participate and be part of a community. Johny Fernandez reports from New York City. ...


US deaths are down and life expectancy is up, but improvements are slowing

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NEW YORK — U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. That translated to adding nearly a year the estimated lifespan of Americans. Experts note it's part of a bounce-back from the COVID-19 pandemic. But life expectancy has not yet climbed back to prepandemic levels, and the rebound appears to be losing steam. "What you're seeing is continued improvement, but slowing improvement," said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, a University Minnesota researcher who studies death trends. "We are sort of converging back to some kind of normal that is worse than it…


Bluesky could become target of foreign disinformation, experts warn

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washington — Experts on cybersecurity and online foreign influence campaigns are urging social media company Bluesky, whose app has exploded in popularity in recent weeks, to step up moderation to counter potential state-sponsored influence efforts. Over the past month, Bluesky, a microblogging platform with its roots in Twitter, has seen one of its biggest increases in new user registrations since it was publicly released in February. Over 25 million are now on the platform, close to half of whom joined after the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Rose Wang, Bluesky’s chief operating officer, said in a recent interview that Bluesky does not intend to push any political ideologies. “We have no political viewpoint that we are trying to promote,” she said in early December. Exploiting users’ political leanings Many who joined Bluesky…


US cyber watchdog seeks switch to encrypted apps following ‘Salt Typhoon’ hacks

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. cybersecurity watchdog CISA is telling senior American government officials and politicians to immediately switch to end-to-end encrypted messaging following intrusions at major American telecoms blamed on Chinese hackers.  In written guidance released on Wednesday, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said "individuals who are in senior government or senior political positions" should "immediately review and apply" a series of best practices around the use of mobile devices.  The first recommendation: "Use only end-to-end encrypted communications."  End-to-end encryption — a data protection technique that aims to make data unreadable by anyone except its sender and its recipient — is baked into various chat apps, including Meta Platforms' WhatsApp, Apple's iMessage, and the privacy-focused app Signal. Corporate offerings, which allow end-to-end encryption, also include Microsoft's Teams and Zoom Communications'…


Bird flu spillover to other species poses global health threat, experts warn

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GENEVA — International human and animal health experts warn the H5N1 avian influenza is evolving quickly and posing a global health threat as the virus is increasingly crossing species barriers and infecting a wide range of domestic and wild mammals. “These developments pose significant challenges to animal, human and environmental health,” Dr. Gregorio Torres, veterinarian and head of the science department at the World Organization for Animal Health, told journalists in Geneva Tuesday. He noted that avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has been reported in 108 countries and territories over five continents in the last three years. “And as of December 2024, the infection has been detected in over 70 species of domestic and wild mammals. This includes the ongoing detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in the United…


Top US Senate Republican urges Supreme Court to reject TikTok appeal

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WASHINGTON — Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a bid by TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by January 19 or face a ban on national security grounds. The court has scheduled arguments on the case for January 10. McConnell in a brief filed with the court called the companies' arguments "meritless and unsound. ... This is a standard litigation play at the end of one administration, with a petitioner hoping that the next administration will provide a stay of execution. This court should no more countenance it coming from foreign adversaries than it does from hardened criminals." McConnell noted Congress set the January 19 date that "very clearly…


Sewage-polluted lake water kills rhinos, other wildlife in Zimbabwe

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HARARE, ZIMBABWE — A Zimbabwean national park is hosting relocated wildlife from a game park just outside the country's capital after an autopsy report on Saturday confirmed that four rhinos and several other animals died after drinking contaminated lake water. Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, confirmed to VOA the death of four rhinos after drinking bacteria-polluted water at Lake Chivero Recreational Park, about 20 kilometers west of the capital, Harare. “We are not only losing the rhinos, but [we] also lost some zebras, wildebeest and some birds,” Farawo said. “We have tried to treat some of the rhinos, but unfortunately it seems like we are not managing at the moment. But we have made some temporary collective measures to make sure we do the…


Senators urge US House to pass Kids Online Safety Act

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A bipartisan effort to protect children from the harms of social media is running out of time in this session of the U.S. Congress. If passed, the Kids Online Safety Act would institute safeguards for minors’ personal data online. But free speech advocates and some Republicans are concerned the bill could lead to censorship. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. Kim Lewis contributed to this story. ...


Congo files criminal complaints against Apple in Europe over conflict minerals

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Paris — The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain, lawyers for the Congolese government told Reuters.  Congo is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten, so-called 3T minerals used in computers and mobile phones. But some artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting and other crimes, according to U.N. experts and human rights groups.  Apple does not directly source primary minerals and says it audits suppliers, publishes findings and funds bodies that seek to improve mineral traceability.  Apple last year said it had "no reasonable basis for concluding" its products contain illegally exported minerals from conflict-hit zones. The tech giant has…


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FaqNeed.com domain for sale!

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FaqNeed.com is an integral part of SeLLines Network. SeLLines Network works using MassReaders technology. It unifies more than 500 popular sites with various informational topics that publish fresh, interesting and relevant articles daily. A significant day-to-day devoted audience of the Network allows you to be an effective channel for spreading information and to influence the public opinion of the readers. All sites have mobile versions and social network presence. Readers also have the opportunity to subscribe and receive relevant information and attractive business offers by e-mail. We have an excellent offer for entrepreneurs, manufacturers and traders, which includes publication of promotional messages that may include: - information about new products or stocks of your company; - reminders about your products or services (announcements, reviews, articles, including video materials); - information…


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Taralova.com is an integral part of SeLLines Network. SeLLines Network works using MassReaders technology. It unifies more than 500 popular sites with various informational topics that publish fresh, interesting and relevant articles daily. A significant day-to-day devoted audience of the Network allows you to be an effective channel for spreading information and to influence the public opinion of the readers. All sites have mobile versions and social network presence. Readers also have the opportunity to subscribe and receive relevant information and attractive business offers by e-mail. We have an excellent offer for entrepreneurs, manufacturers and traders, which includes publication of promotional messages that may include: - information about new products or stocks of your company; - reminders about your products or services (announcements, reviews, articles, including video materials); - information…


EU investigates TikTok over Romanian presidential election

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LONDON — European Union regulators said Tuesday they're investigating whether TikTok breached the bloc's digital rulebook by failing to deal with risks to Romania's presidential election, which has been thrown into turmoil over allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. The European Commission is escalating its scrutiny of the popular video-sharing platform after Romania's top court canceled results of the first round of voting that resulted in an unknown far-right candidate becoming the front-runner. The court made its unprecedented decision after authorities in the European Union and NATO member country declassified documents alleging Moscow organized a sprawling social media campaign to promote a long-shot candidate, Calin Georgescu. "Following serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections by using TikTok, we are now thoroughly investigating whether TikTok has violated…


Alabama woman doing well after latest experimental pig kidney transplant

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NEW YORK — An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs.  Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn't as sick as prior recipients who died within two months of receiving a pig kidney or heart.  "It's like a new beginning," Looney, 53, told The Associated Press. Right away, "the energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney — and to feel it — is unbelievable."  Looney's surgery marks an important step as scientists get ready for formal studies of xenotransplantation expected to begin next year, said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the highly…


Japan targets 40-50% power supply from renewable energy by 2040 

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Tokyo — Japan wants renewable energy to account for up to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power taking up another 20%, according to a draft of its revised basic energy policy, as it makes a clean energy push while meeting rising power demand. As the world's second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas and a major consumer of Middle Eastern oil, Japan and its basic energy plans are drawing global attention from oil, gas and coal producers. Thermal power usage, particularly from inefficient coal-fired power plants, is set to decrease to between 30% and 40% by 2040 from 68.6% in 2023, although the draft energy policy does not specify the breakdown of coal, gas and oil. "It is necessary to utilize LNG-fired power as a realistic…


Hackers demand ransom from Rhode Islanders after data breach

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Hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island residents' personal and bank information, including Social Security numbers, were likely hacked by an international cybercriminal group asking for a ransom, state officials said on Saturday.  In what Rhode Island officials described as extortion, the hackers threatened to release the stolen information unless they were paid an undisclosed amount of money.  The breached data affects people who use the state's government assistance programs and includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and healthcare purchased through the state's HealthSource RI, Governor Dan McKee announced on Friday.  Hackers gained access to RIBridges, the state's online portal for obtaining social services earlier this month, the governor's office said in a statement, but the breach was not confirmed by its vendor, Deloitte,…