ReHacked vol. 258: Superconductivity scandal, Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama Has Died, France enshrines 'freedom' to abortion in Constitution, in world first and more
Superconductivity scandal: the inside story of deception in a rising star's physics lab #science #fakescience #longread
Three previous investigations into Dias’s superconductivity work by the University of Rochester did not find evidence of misconduct. But last summer, the university launched a fourth investigation, led by experts external to the university. In August 2023, Dias was stripped of his students and laboratories. That fourth investigation is now complete and, according to a university spokesperson, the external experts confirmed that there were “data reliability concerns” in Dias’s papers.
Now, Nature’s news team reveals new details about how the scandal unfolded.
The news team interviewed several of Dias’s former graduate students, who were co-authors of his superconductivity research. The individuals requested anonymity because they were concerned about the negative impact on their careers. Nature’s news team verified student claims with corroborating documents; where it could not do so, the news team relied on the fact that multiple, independent student accounts were in agreement.
Make a donation - support Ukraine. My favourite: Support the Armed Forces of Ukraine | via National Bank of Ukraine. More options if you want alternatives. Also, very important Come Back Alive Foundation - Charity Organization.
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Asimov - Profession by Isaac Asimov (1957) #literature #longread #classics #scifi
For most of the first eighteen years of his life, George Platen had headed firmly in one direction, that of Registered Computer Programmer. There were those in his crowd who spoke wisely of Spationautics, Refrigeration Technology, Transportation Control, and even Administration. But George held firm.
He argued relative merits as vigorously as any of them, and why not? Education Day loomed ahead of them and was the great fact of their existence. It approached steadily, as fixed and certain as the calendar – the first day of November of the year following one’s eighteenth birthday. After that day, there were other topics of conversation.
One could discuss with others some detail of the profession, or the virtues of one’s wife and children, or the fate of one’s space-polo team, or one’s experiences in the Olympics. Before Education Day, however, there was only one topic that unfailingly and unwearyingly held everyone’s interest, and that was Education Day.
Antarctica Publications Tried to Hide Danger in Fiction and Strange Stories - Atlas Obscura #nature #history #travel #longread
The sun hadn’t been seen above the horizon in months and wouldn’t return for another few weeks. Griffith Taylor, a geologist on Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition, had little to do. He scanned a years-old issue of a magazine from back home in England, his bored eye catching on a ladies’ fashion column detailing the new styles of the day. After a moment, he looked up to see his bunkmate, fellow geologist Frank Debenham, working on his rock samples. The proverbial lightbulb went off above his head.
If his hirsute bunkmate were instead a stylish and editorial lady, what sort of column might she write about the latest Antarctic fashions? Taylor began to scribble down his affectionate parody, casting other members of the expedition in roles as fashionable women or shop owners as well.
Dragon Ball Creator Akira Toriyama Has Died #promemoria
The creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, Akira Toriyama, has been announced to have passed away on March 1, 2024, due to subdural hematoma at the age of 68.
The rest of the message overviews his accomplishments while also stating that a funeral service was held with his family and very few relatives. The official Dragon Ball account requests that fans do not request interviews from Toriyama’s family, visit them or send items like flowers or condolence gifts. The official account also expressed regret that Toriyama has left several works in the middle of their respective creations, especially given his enthusiasm.
The BlackMilk Clothing x Super Mario Collection Returns #fashion
According to the BlackMilk Clothing website, there is no end date for the collaboration. However, some pieces have limited availability so it’s best to buy your favorite pieces as soon as you can. Others are marked “7 Day Unlimited,” which means you have until March 12 to purchase before preorders close.
NTSB says Boeing has not provided details about midair blowout : NPR #aviation #safety
More than two months after a door plug panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet in midair, the top federal safety investigator says Boeing still has not provided key information that could shed light on what went wrong.
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that Boeing has not revealed who was responsible for failing to reattach the door plug properly at the company's factory near Seattle.
"It's absurd that two months later, we don't have that," Homendy said.
Detect when your installed Chrome extensions have changed owners. #software
I spend £8,500 a year to live on a train – I've travelled 310,000 miles so far | Metro News #interesting #lifestyle
‘My favourite route leads through the Middle Rhine Valley between Mainz and Bonn. Here the trains always travel very slowly along the river. It’s a beautifully picturesque route that stretches at the foot of the vineyards. The view outside is wonderful.’
‘I’ve travelled a total of over 500,000 kilometres (310,000 miles) since I started living on the train. I don’t know how much longer I want to travel through Germany and wake up somewhere different every day, though.’
Inside the Massive Repair Shops Where Subway Cars Go for a Makeover - The New York Times #interesting #engineering #longread
The average New York City subway car travels roughly 53,000 miles per year across some of the oldest transit infrastructure in the world. Rumbling through a web of grungy tunnels and weather-beaten elevated tracks, the cars are subjected to overcrowding, underfunding, vandalism, garbage and routine wear and tear.
Sometimes it’s a marvel the system functions at all.
Cloudflare announces Firewall for AI #internet #security
Today, Cloudflare is announcing the development of Firewall for AI, a protection layer that can be deployed in front of Large Language Models (LLMs) to identify abuses before they reach the models.
While AI models, and specifically LLMs, are surging, customers tell us that they are concerned about the best strategies to secure their own LLMs. Using LLMs as part of Internet-connected applications introduces new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by bad actors.
France enshrines 'freedom' to abortion in Constitution, in world first #humanrights
France's Parliament approved a bill to enshrine a woman's right to an abortion in the Constitution in a historic vote on Monday, March 4, as lawmakers gathered for a joint session of Parliament at the Palace of Versailles. The bill was approved in an overwhelming 780-72 vote, and nearly the entire joint session stood in a long standing ovation.
European crash tester says carmakers must bring back physical controls | Ars Technica #automotive #safety
Some progress in the automotive industry is laudable. Cars are safer than ever and more efficient, too. But there are other changes we'd happily leave by the side of the road. That glossy "piano black" trim that's been overused the last few years, for starters. And the industry's overreliance on touchscreens for functions that used to be discrete controls. Well, the automotive safety organization European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) feels the same way about that last one, and it says the controls ought to change in 2026.
"The overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes," said Matthew Avery, Euro NCAP's director of strategic development.
What It’s Like to Staff the Home of a Billionaire #posh #economy #culture #longread
If you’ve ever wondered how billionaires actually spend their money in private, few people know better than George Ralph Dunn, the director of a London-based recruiting agency that staffs the homes of the super-rich. Within the industry, these ultra-high-net-worth clients (or UHNWs) are known as “principals,” and Dunn headhunts the people who “make their lives as easy as possible,” he says.
In addition to filling roles you might expect — caregiver, chauffeur, personal assistant — Dunn has hired a chef just for Dobermans and staffed enormous parties on private islands. It sounds outrageous (if not downright gross), but Dunn takes it in stride. “Sometimes, if I take a step back, I’m like, whoa, that was pretty crazy,” he says. Here, he talks about navigating a notoriously secretive industry, how he manages clients who mistreat their staff, and what it’s like to recruit a dog nanny.
The women who coined the expression 'Surfing the Internet' #internet #history #women
The Adventures of Captain Internet and CERF Boy
Jean Polly is often credited with coining the famous expression "surfing the internet."
But according to Ron Mion, the architect of the marketing strategy for the IBM Personal Computer, the concept was originally published five months before her article.
CERFnet, one of the first internet service providers (ISP), started publishing a comic book in October 1991 called "The Adventures of Captain Internet and CERF Boy."
The comic book depicted Captain Internet and her sidekick, who avidly surfed the internet.
Singapore Airlines Concorde: The full story - Mainly Miles #aviation #history
The history of Concorde in Singapore dates right back to 1972. On 8th June that year, thousands flocked to Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar to watch the first Concorde land from Bangkok on its promotional sales tour.
Singapore was seen as a key stopover point for Concorde’s future ambitions to cut travel times from Europe to Australia, so the manufacturer was keen to woo the government and regulators here to ensure smooth permissions would be granted in future, even if SIA itself didn’t buy the jets.
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