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Boosting a single brain molecule reduced anxiety in lab monkeys

Aug14
by on August 14, 2019 at 9:58 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insights


Scientists may have found a potential cure for anxiety after isolating and boosting a molecule in the brains of rhesus monkeys. Andrew Fox, a researcher at UC Davis, and co-author Tade Souaiaia from SUNY lead a team of researchers in an experimental study to determine if behaviors related to anxiety and depression could be mitigated by manipulating the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls memory and emotions linked to memory. In order to land on a specific molecule – in this case neurotrophin-3 – the team used RNA sequencing, viral-vector gene manipulation, functional brain imaging, and behavioral phenotyping…

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This spooky Monero-mining malware waits to be controlled remotely

Aug14
by on August 14, 2019 at 8:42 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Hard Fork


Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a mysterious new strain of cryptocurrency mining (cryptomining) malware that employs powerful techniques to avoid detection and analysis. Software firm Varonis determined the malware is based on Monero mining software XMRig, which is open source and hosted on GitHub. Hard Fork has previously reported on other notable instances of cryptomining malware that utilize XMRig. To date, Norman has hit at least one “mid-size” company, having infected almost every workstation and server on its network. “Most were generic variants of cryptominers. Some were password dumping tools, some were hidden PHP shells, and some had been present for…

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Researchers discover malware that records users’ screens when they watch porn

Aug14
by on August 14, 2019 at 8:19 pm
Posted In: Around the Web


Researchers from antivirus developer ESET recently discovered a new form of spam-delivered malware that threatens to steal unsuspecting users’ passwords and financial information, and record their screens if they watch pornography. The virus is called Varenyky and it’s a doozy. It’s apparently been designed to target customers of French ISP Orange SA, but the researchers indicate there’s nothing stopping someone from using the same malware on other ISPs or in other areas. It’s delivered via a very official looking email that appears to be a phone bill. Unsuspecting victims believe they’re opening a document that’s been protected and secured by…

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Facebook’s group privacy settings actually make sense now

Aug14
by on August 14, 2019 at 7:15 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider


Until today, Facebook has given you three options for creating a user group: Open, closed, or ‘secret.’ While the first is pretty obvious, the other two were occasional sources of confusion – an admin might set a group to ‘closed’ without realizing it was still searchable, for instance. Instead there are now just two main types of groups: Public and Private. Public groups can be joined by anyone and are searchable by anyone. Private groups require permission to access. Whether such groups can be found through a search is now controlled through a ‘visibility’ setting. In effect, you can have…

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LGBTQ+ creators file lawsuit against YouTube for discrimination

Aug14
by on August 14, 2019 at 6:02 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Google, video


A group of LGBTQ+ YouTubers this week filed a federal lawsuit against Google, claiming the site has engaged in discriminatory practices that deliberately suppress their ability to make money. Part of the problem is that YouTube has kept its algorithms so mysterious, there’s no way to know if it’s deliberately discriminating against any particular group, or if it’s just an offshoot of its recurring problems with ad revenue According to the vid creators, both YouTube‘s algorithms and human reviewers single out content with words like “gay,” “lesbian,” etc, and put it behind an age-restriction gate. Age-restricted videos aren’t eligible for…

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