Massive botnet ‘indestructible,’ say researchers

Uncategorized

Link: Massive botnet ‘indestructible,’ say researchers

A new and improved botnet that has infected more than four million PCs is “practically indestructible,” security researchers say. “TDL-4,” the name for both the bot Trojan that infects machines and the ensuing collection of compromised computers, is “the most sophisticated threat today,” said Kaspersky Labs researcher Sergey Golovanov in a detailed analysis Monday. “[TDL-4] is practically indestructible,” Golovanov said. Others agree.

Is drug resistance in humans coming from chickens?

Uncategorized

Link: Is drug resistance in humans coming from chickens?

    <span>



There’s a new paper out in the CDC’s journal Emerging Infectious Diseases that makes a provocative claim: There is enough similarity between drug-resistance genes in  E. coli carried by chickens and  E. coli infecting humans that the chickens may be the source of it.

If it is correct—and it seems plausible and is backed by past research—the claim provides another piece of evidence that antibiotic use in agriculture has a direct effect on human health

New Uncontacted Group Confirmed in Brazil

Uncategorized

Link: New Uncontacted Group Confirmed in Brazil

    <img height="438" width="660" src="https://blog.davidcantatore.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/june22d.jpg" />

The Brazilian government has confirmed the existence of a previously unknown group of so-called uncontacted people who have remained isolated from industrial society.
In April, the Brazilian government agency charged with protecting the country’s indigenous tribes took aerial photographs of the group’s Amazon dwellings. The photos were released June 22 by Survival International, an advocacy group for indigenous people.

Salty geysers of Saturn’s moon Enceladus come from liquid water

Uncategorized

Link: Salty geysers of Saturn’s moon Enceladus come from liquid water

We may be able to add another item to the growing list of bodies in our solar system that contain significant amounts of liquid. Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been suspected of harboring a subsurface water ocean, but recent studies have suggested that a large part of the interior of its moon Io is also molten (although that’s molten rock). Further out, Saturn’s moon Titan appears to have a subsurface ocean that allows its surface to move somewhat independently of its core. Now, researchers have found evidence that Saturn’s moon Enceladus needs to be added to this list.

Head of UN copyright agency says fair use is a “negative agenda,” wants to get rid of discussions on rights for blind people and go back to giving privileges to giant companies

Uncategorized

Link: Head of UN copyright agency says fair use is a “negative agenda,” wants to get rid of discussions on rights for blind people and go back to giving privileges to giant companies

Francis Gurry, the Director General of WIPO, the UN agency that creates and oversees global copyright policy, laments the current state of WIPO, saying that the copyright agenda there:

“… tends to be a negative one. It tends to be looking at the exceptions, the limitations, and the other ways of not having intellectual property. I’m very keen to see us coming back with a positive agenda for intellectual property.”

Translation: our job isn’t to figure out how to balance out freedom of speech and access with exclusive rights for authors and investors; more copyright is always good. And the subtext is, “All those public interest groups that have got us looking at rights for blind and disabled people, exemptions for poor countries, rights for educators and archivists, and Creative Commons-style ‘some rights reserved’ issues are distracting us from the real business of WIPO: maximizing copyright’s benefit for a handful of corporate giants.”