3D genome extracted from 'freeze-dried' woolly mammoth

Agence France-Presse
July 12, 2024 

Woolly Mammoth (Ishibashi Seiichi/Shutterstock)

About 52,000 years ago, the skinned hide of a Siberian woolly mammoth was exposed to conditions so frigid that it spontaneously freeze-dried, locking its DNA fragments into place.

In a study published Thursday in the journal Cell, scientists reported using this remarkable sample to reconstruct the animal's genome in three dimensions -- a breakthrough that could yield important new insights about extinct species and even boost efforts to bring them back to life.

Until now, ancient DNA specimens have only been found in short, scrambled fragments, severely limiting the amount of information researchers could extract.

"Now we show that, at least under some circumstances, it's not just those snippets of that DNA that survive, but they survive in such a way that preserves the original arrangement," co-author Olga Dudchenko, a geneticist at Baylor College of Medicine, told AFP.

Understanding the 3D architecture of an organism's genome —- the complete set of its DNA -- is crucial for identifying which genes are active in specific tissues, revealing why brain cells think, heart cells beat, and immune cells fight disease.

It was long assumed that due to the rapid degradation of very small particles, such information would inevitably be lost to history.

But around a decade ago, an international team of scientists set out to find an ancient sample where the 3D organization of the DNA remained intact such that it could be fully reconstructed with a new analytical technique.

Their quest led them to an exceptionally well-preserved woolly mammoth sample, excavated in northeastern Siberia in 2018.

Whether the hirsute pachyderm -— a female with a distinctive mullet-style hairdo -- died naturally or was killed by humans is unknown. However, it does appear that early humans skinned her, leaving tissue around the head, neck, and left ear intact, according to Dudchenko.

- Woolly mammoth jerky -

The team hypothesizes that the skin cooled and dehydrated, transitioning into a glasslike state that trapped its molecules in place and preserved the shape of its chromosomes, or the threadlike structures that hold DNA strands.

Essentially, they had discovered a piece of freeze-dried woolly mammoth jerky.

To test the resilience of jerky, they subjected lab-made and store-bought beef jerky pieces to a series of tests simulating the kind of damage ancient samples might encounter over millennia.

"We fired a shotgun at it. We ran over it with a car. We had a former starting pitcher for the Houston Astros throw a fastball at it," said Cynthia Perez Estrada, co-author of the study and a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University.

The jerky would break into tiny bits, shattering as dramatically as window glass at times. "But at the nano-scale, the chromosomes were intact, unchanged," said Perez Estrada in a statement.

One significant discovery from their research established that mammoths had 28 pairs of chromosomes. The finding aligns with the 28 chromosomal pairs found in elephants, the closest living relatives of mammoths, "but before this study, it was anybody's guess," said Dudchenko.

- 'Fossil chromosomes' -

The team's analysis also identified several "candidate" genes which might be responsible for what made woolly mammoths woolly -- including a gene responsible for long, thick eyelashes, and another associated with sparse sweat glands.


Erez Lieberman Aiden of Baylor College of Medicine, who co-led the team, told AFP that while the researchers' goal was not to bring mammoths back, the information they gleaned could be used for such efforts.

A Japanese team is looking at cloning woolly mammoths, while a group in the United States is aiming to create genetically "mammothized" elephants.

Within the skin, "96 percent of genes are basically in the same activity state as an elephant," said Aiden, meaning that scientists working on de-extinction could now focus on the remaining four percent.


The team now hopes that the benefit of their study will extend far beyond their special sample and open a new chapter in paleogenetics if other such "fossil chromosomes" can be found.

The Arctic permafrost remains a promising place to look, and it is also possible that mummification from ancient civilizations in warmer climates could preserve genomic structures too, according to Dudchenko.

Why cats meow at humans more than each other

The Conversation
July 11, 2024

Cat (Youtube)

This is a story that goes back thousands of years.

Originally, cats were solitary creatures. This means they preferred to live and hunt alone, rather than in groups. Most of their social behaviour was restricted to mother-kitten interactions. Outside of this relationship, cats rarely meow at each other.

However, as cats began to live alongside humans, these vocalizations took on new meanings. In many ways, when a cat meows at us, it’s as if they see us as their caregivers, much like their feline mothers.

Cats probably first encountered humans roughly 10,000 years ago, when people began establishing permanent settlements. These settlements attracted rodents, which in turn drew cats looking for prey. The less fearful and more adaptable cats thrived, benefiting from a consistent food supply. Over time, these cats developed closer bonds with humans.

Unlike dogs, which were bred by humans for specific traits, cats essentially domesticated themselves. Those that could tolerate and communicate with humans had a survival advantage, leading to a population well-suited to living alongside people.

To understand this process, we can look at Russian farmed fox experiments. Beginning in the 1950s, Soviet scientist Dmitry Belyaev and his team selectively bred silver foxes, mating those that were less fearful and aggressive toward humans.

Over generations, these foxes became more docile and friendly, developing physical traits similar to domesticated dogs, such as floppy ears and curly tails. Their vocalizations changed too, shifting from aggressive “coughs” and “snorts” to more friendly “cackles” and “pants”, reminiscent of human laughter.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for FOXES INTO DOGS 

These experiments demonstrated that selective breeding for tameness could lead to a range of behavioral and physical changes in animals, achieving in a few decades what would usually take thousands of years. Though less obvious than the differences between dogs and the ancestral wolf, cats have also changed since their days as African wildcats. They now have smaller brains and more varied coat colors, traits common among many domestic species.

Cats’ vocal adaptations

Like the silver foxes, cats have adapted their vocalizations, albeit over a much longer period of time. Human babies are altricial at birth, meaning they are entirely dependent on their parents. This dependency has made us particularly attuned to distress calls – ignoring them would be costly for human survival.


This owner looks like he would struggle to ignore his cat’s distress call. Magui RF/Shutterstock


Cats have altered their vocalizations to tap into this sensitivity. A 2009 study by animal behavior researcher Karen McComb and her team gives evidence of this adaptation. Participants in the study listened to two types of purrs. One type was recorded when cats were seeking food (solicitation purr) and another recorded when they were not (non-solicitation purr). Both cat owners and non-cat owners rated the solicitation purrs as more urgent and less pleasant.

An acoustic analysis revealed a high-pitch component in these solicitation purrs, resembling a cry. This hidden cry taps into our innate sensitivity to distress sounds, making it nearly impossible for us to ignore.

But it’s not just cats that have adapted their vocalizations: we have too. When we talk to babies, we use “motherese”, more commonly known as “baby talk”, characterized by a higher pitch, exaggerated tones and simplified language. This form of speech helps engage infants, playing a role in their language development.

We’ve extended this style of communication to our interactions with pets, known as pet-directed speech. Recent research suggests that cats respond to this form of communication. A 2022 study by animal behavior researcher Charlotte de Mouzon and colleagues found that cats could distinguish between speech addressed to them and speech addressed to adult humans. This pattern of discrimination was particularly strong when the speech came from the cats’ owners.

Our adoption of pet-directed speech reinforces a bond that mirrors mother-kitten interactions.

Changes in vocalizations are not only seen in cat-human relationships. Compared to the ancestral wolf, dogs have expanded their barking behaviour to communicate more effectively with humans and, just as with cats, we use pet-directed speech when interacting with dogs.

Over time, cats have evolved to use vocal signals that resonate with our nurturing instincts. Paired with our use of pet-directed speech, this two-way communication highlights the unique relationship we’ve developed with our feline friends. It seems cats might be the winners in this relationship, adapting to solicit care and attention from us. Still, a lot of cat owners wouldn’t have it any other way.

Grace Carroll, Lecturer in Animal Behavior and Welfare, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Why consciousness may have evolved to benefit society rather than individuals

The Conversation
July 11, 2024 

Brain (Shot4Sell/Shutterstock)

Why did the experience of consciousness evolve from our underlying brain physiology? Despite being a vibrant area of neuroscience, current research on consciousness is characterised by disagreement and controversy – with several rival theories in contention.

A recent scoping review of over 1,000 articles identified over 20 different theoretical accounts. Philosophers like David Chalmers argue that no single scientific theory can truly explain consciousness.

We define consciousness as embodied subjective awareness, including self awareness. In a recent article published in Interalia (which is not peer reviewed), we argue that one reason for this predicament is the powerful role played by intuition.

We are not alone. Social scientist Jacy Reese Anthis writes “much of the debate on the fundamental nature of consciousness takes the form of intuition jousting, in which the different parties each report their own strong intuitions and joust them against each other”.

Dangers of intuition

Key intuitive beliefs – for example that our mental processes are distinct from our physical bodies (mind-body dualism) and that our mental processes give rise to and control our decisions and actions (mental causation) – are supported by a lifetime of subjective experiences.

These beliefs are found in all human cultures. They are important as they serve as foundational beliefs for most liberal democracies and criminal justice systems. They are resistant to counter evidence. That’s because they are powerfully endorsed by social and cultural concepts such as free will, human rights, democracy, justice and moral responsibility. All these concepts assume that consciousness plays a central controlling influence.

Intuition, however, is an automatic, cognitive process that evolved to provide fast trusted explanations and predictions. In fact, it does so without the need for us to know how or why we know it. The outcomes of intuition therefore shape how we perceive and explain our everyday world without the need for extensive reflection or formal analytic explanations.

While helpful and indeed crucial for many everyday activities, intuitive beliefs can be wrong. They can also interfere with scientific literacy.

Intuitive accounts of consciousness ultimately put us in the driver’s seat as “captain of our own ship”. We think we know what consciousness is and what it does from simply experiencing it. Mental thoughts, intentions and desires are seen as determining and controlling our actions.

The widespread acceptance of these tacit intuitive accounts helps explain, in part, why the formal study of consciousness was relegated to the margins of mainstream neuroscience until late 20th century.

The problem for scientific models of consciousness remains accommodating these intuitive accounts within a materialist framework consistent with the findings of neuroscience. While there is no current scientific explanation for how brain tissue generates or maintains subjective experience, the consensus among (most) neuroscientists is that it is a product of brain processes.

Social purpose

If that’s the case, why did consciousness, defined as subjective awareness, evolve?

Consciousness presumably evolved as part of the evolution of the nervous system. According to several theories the key adaptive function (providing an organism with survival and reproductive benefits) of consciousness is to make volitional movement possible. And volition is something we ultimately associate with will, agency and individuality. It is therefore easy to think that consciousness evolved to benefit us as individuals.


Humans are a highly social species. Esteban De Armas/Shuttestock

But we have argued that consciousness may have evolved to facilitate key social adaptive functions. Rather than helping individuals survive, it evolved to help us broadcast our experienced ideas and feelings into the wider world. And this might benefit the survival and wellbeing of the wider species.

The idea fits with new thinking on genetics. While evolutionary science traditionally focuses on individual genes, there is growing recognition that natural selection among humans operates at multiple levels. For example, culture and society influence traits passed on between generations – we value some more than others.

Central to our account is the idea that sociality (the tendency of groups and individuals to develop social links and live in communities) is a key survival strategy that influences how the brain and cognition evolve.

Adopting this social evolutionary framework, we propose that subjective awareness lacks any independent capacity to causally influence other psychological processes or actions. An example would be initiating a course of action. The idea that subjective awareness has a social purpose has been described previously by other reserachers.


The claim that subjective awareness is without causal influence, however, is not to deny the reality of subjective experience or claim that the experience is an illusion.

While our model removes subjective awareness from the traditional driving seat of the mind, it does not imply that we don’t value private internal experiences. Indeed, it is precisely because of the value we place on these experiences that intuitive accounts remain compelling and widespread in social and legal organization systems and psychology.

While it is counter-intuitive to attribute agency and personal accountability to a biological assembly of nerve cells, it makes sense that highly valued social constructs such as free will, truth, honesty and fairness can be meaningfully attributed to individuals as accountable people in a social community.


Think about it. While we are deeply rooted in our biological nature, our social nature is largely defined by our roles and interactions in society. As such, the mental architecture of the mind should be strongly adapted for the exchange and reception of information, ideas and feelings. Consequently, while brains as biological organs are incapable of responsibility and agency, legal and social traditions have long held individuals accountable for their behavior.

Key to achieving a more scientific explanation of subjective awareness requires accepting that biology and culture work collectively to shape how brains evolve. Subjective awareness comprises only one part of the brain’s much larger mental architecture designed to facilitate species survival and wellbeing.

Peter W Halligan, Hon Professor of Neuropsychology, Cardiff University and David A Oakley, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, UCL

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

STUPID UCP GOVT

Canada conservationists push back as grizzly hunting ban lifted

Agence France-Presse
July 11, 2024 

Grizzly Bears in Alberta, Canada (KAREN BLEIER/AFP)

A decision to partially reverse a nearly two-decade ban on hunting grizzly bears in Canada's Alberta has angered environmentalists, with a group saying Wednesday they feared its impact on the species.

Hunting of the mammals, listed as threatened in 2010 by the western Alberta province, had been prohibited for 18 years -- leading to growth in the population of grizzlies.

But there has also been conflict between bears and humans, Alberta authorities say.

The number of grizzlies has increased from 800 to more than 1,150 today, provincial authorities say, and that has caused them to move to more populated rural areas.

"Hunting is not an acceptable management approach for a threatened species," said Devon Earl of the Alberta Wilderness Association.

"Grizzly bears have a very slow reproductive rate, and trophy hunting could undo all the recovery of the last decade," she added.

The province's government last month quietly moved to allow the hunting of individual bears deemed a "problem."

Authorities say 104 attacks by black or grizzly bears were recorded from 2000 to 2021.

However, Earl said that other "science-based approaches" can help reduce wildlife conflict.

She cited an example in southern Alberta which worked by "securing attractants on agricultural lands and putting in electric fences... to prevent bears from being attracted to coming onto people's property in the first place."

WHEN THEY HAVE THE LIMITED  HUNTING LICENSE DRAW ALL CONSERVATIONISTS SHOULD PAY TO ENTER AND NOT USE THE LICENSE

IT WORKED TWENTY YEARS AGO AFTER AN OPPOSITION MLA ENCOURAGED IT IN THE HOUSE.

In Cuba, a haven for the world's tiniest bird

Agence France-Presse
July 12, 2024 

Bernabe Hernandez feeds one of the bee hummingbirds that frequent his garden in Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

The wings of the world's tiniest birds are a near-invisible blur as they whizz around tourists visiting a private Cuban garden that has become a haven for the declining species.

The bee hummingbird, which measures just five to six centimeters (two inches) long, is only found in Cuba. Its losses have been huge, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) saying it has disappeared from many areas due to deforestation.

But in Palpite, in the southwest of the country, Bernabe Hernandez, 75, has turned his garden into a paradise for the bitty bird.

"We never get tired of it. We always discover something new!" he said as he watched two of the hummingbirds (Mellisuga helenae) zip towards a hanging water bath.

Cubans call them "zunzuncito," a word evoking the sound of the buzzing of their tiny wings, which can flap up to 100 times a minute.

A bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) feeds at the House of Hummingbirds sanctuary in Palpite, Cuba © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

When Hurricane Michelle, one of the strongest to ever hit Cuba, devastated crops and homes in the area in 2001, "the zunzuncito disappeared. There were no more flowers, many died," according to local bird lover Orestes Martinez.

Hernandez moved to the village of Palpite after the hurricane destroyed his home. The government gave him land to rebuild on the edge of the Cienaga de Zapata, the largest wetland in the Caribbean.

"I moved here, but there were no birds," he told AFP.


"So I planted a 'ponasi' to provide shade and attract some birds," he said, referring to a shrub whose fruit is sought after by birds.

He did not know that the shrub's flowers were a delicacy for bee hummingbirds, who quickly flocked to his garden, which also boasts mango, guava and avocado trees.

"When I first saw a zunzuncito, I thought it was an insect," he said.

He decided to plant more of the shrubs and his lush garden soon buzzed with hummingbirds, which nested in nearby woods.
'The House of the Hummingbirds'

A tourist takes photos of a zunzuncito, or bee hummingbird, which is endemic to Cuba and measures between 5 and 6 centimeters © YAMIL LAGE / AFP


Another hummingbird, the Cuban Emerald, which measures up to 10 centimeters, also frequents the garden, which was opened to tourists in 2003 and is now known as "The House of the Hummingbirds."

Visitors hold up bird feeders to lure the tiny birds closer.

Guides from the Cienaga de Zapata National Park, known for its diversity of bird life, with over 175 species, aided Hernandez and his wife Juana Matos with the precise mixture of water and sugar contained in the feeders.


The two have become experts in the behavior of the bird, pointing out the iridescent red head of a male bee hummingbird, who looks like he is wearing a glittery mask -- but only during the mating season.

Male bee hummingbirds have an iridescent red head © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

For the amateur ornithologist Martinez, the garden is an important sanctuary for the minuscule hummingbird, classified as "near-threatened" by the IUCN, which estimates its numbers at between 22,000-60,000.


The garden helps "protect the bird. During the breeding season, the female can more easily gather food for the chicks."

© 2024 AFP

Warming Baltic Sea: a red flag for global oceans

Agence France-Presse
July 10, 2024 

Scientists warn the Baltic Sea could become a source of planet-warming carbon dioxide gas (Alessandro RAMPAZZO/AFP)

Climate change combined with pollution from farming and forestry could flip northern Europe's Baltic Sea from being a sponge for CO2 to a source of the planet-warming gas, scientists studying told AFP.

This should be a red flag, they warned, noting that other coastal marine zones around the world are trending in the same direction.

"We are at the forefront of these changes," said University of Helsinki professor Alf Norkko.

The Baltic Sea –- connected to the Atlantic by the straights of Denmark, and surrounded by Germany, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the Baltic states –- has warmed at twice the pace of global oceans generally.

Its relatively shallow waters are extremely sensitive to changes in the environment and climate.

AFP recently accompanied Norkko, who leads the largest marine research station in the Baltic Sea, and some of his colleagues on a research excursion to the Finnish waterfront town of Hanko.

Slender terns dart above the lush marsh-like landscape surrounding the over 120-year-old field station, a common sight along Finland's 1,100-kilometre (680-mile) coastline, which is dotted by more than 81,000 islands.

Measurements conducted since 1926 show that average sea temperature has spiked by two degrees Celsius over the last 30 years.

"The Baltic Sea is basically a small bathtub compared to the global oceans," said doctoral researcher Norman Gobeler, an expert on marine heatwaves.

"We are seeing the first effects of the temperature increase."

- Linking marine ecosystems to climate change -

During one foray into the field, coastal ecologist and doctoral researcher Margaret Williamson –- sporting waist-high waders and sunglasses –- moved through a swaying, green reedbed collecting stems, roots and soil to measure CO2 levels.

"The Baltic Sea is really important for understanding what climate change is doing worldwide," said Williamson, who is part of a joint research project with Helsinki and Stockholm universities.

Many coastal areas across the globe -- coral reefs, estuaries, and mangrove forests –- are among the planet's richest biodiversity hotspots, providing vital nurseries and habitats for hundreds of marine species.

They are also the most vulnerable to the kind of changes observed in the Baltic.

Up to now, oceans have been our most important natural ally in coping with global warming.

Over decades, they have consistently absorbed 90 percent of the heat generated by human-induced climate change, and about a quarter of the carbon dioxide humanity injects into the atmosphere.

But scientists say there is a lot we do not know about the capacity of oceans to continue serving as "sinks", or sponges, for our carbon pollution, Norkko noted.

"There has been a lot of emphasis on terrestrial forests' role as carbon sinks," he said. "Our coasts and oceans have been ignored. The question is, how much further the oceans can take of all these stressors?"

- From carbon sink to carbon source? -

Recent findings from the Finnish research station suggest coastal ecosystems in the Baltic Sea could start emitting greenhouse gases –- CO2 and methane –- instead of absorbing them, driven by both rising temperatures and environmental pollution.

The ecological condition of many coastal areas has deteriorated due to the runoff from forestry and nitrogen and phosphorus-rich fertiliser used in agriculture, as well as untreated waste water.

The overabundance of chemical nutrients leads to harmful algae blooms, and vast "dead zones" depleted of oxygen, a process known as eutrophication.

"A degraded ecosystem will be a net carbon source," Norkko said. "Our biggest concern is that what should be an efficient carbon sink could become a carbon source."

Norkko said the changes already witnessed in the Baltic Sea should sound the alarm for coastal regions across the world.

"Many of the world's densely populated coastal areas are affected by eutrophication and this has a huge effect on the ability of coastal ecosystems to mitigate climate change," he said.

While measures to protect and restore healthy marine ecosystems had been taken in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere, ramped up efforts are required to ensure their role as carbon absorbers.

Pointing to the dark green, bubbly bladderwrack -- a threatened seaweed that anchors coastal marine ecosystems –- Norkko compared the algae with an "old growth forest", noting it lives up to 30 years in a robust coastal ecosystem.

"Once the bladderwrack sucks up carbon it stores it for a long time," he said. "That's why a healthy system is a buffer against change and is important to maintain."

Deadly border technologies are increasingly employed to violently deter migration

The Conversation
July 10, 2024

A section of border wall in Yuma, Arizona. - Molly O'Toole/Los Angeles Times/TNS

In late May 2024, I travelled to the United States-Mexico border to study the smart-wall addition to the border structure. I was accompanied by Arizona-based journalist and friend, Todd Miller, and we studied the wall as Customs and Border Protection trucks rumbled by and drones scanned the sky.

Makeshift memorial for 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodriguez, who was shot by U.S. Border Patrol for allegedly throwing rocks at the wall. (P. Molnar), CC BY

We also watched as a young man scaled the rusty border wall and jumped down, right underneath a surveillance tower. With a quick look over his shoulder, he sprinted into a quiet neighborhood in Nogales, Ariz., and disappeared.

I have been working on my book, The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, for six years. This work started by examining Canada’s use of algorithms in its immigration applications in 2018.

Since then, I have conducted ethnographic work at the fringes of Europe, East Africa, Palestine and at the U.S.-Mexico border. At each border and indeed, at virtually every step of a person’s migration journey, new technologies are changing the way people move. From the use of invasive biometrics in refugee camps, to discriminatory algorithms to assess visa applications,to drone surveillance instead of search and rescue operations, these projects are turning more violent.

The book is a global story — a dystopian vision turned reality, where matters of life and death are determined by algorithms. My research examines how technology is being deployed by governments on the world’s most vulnerable people, and with little regulation. I also show how borders are big business, with defense contractors and tech start-ups alike scrambling for profit in a multi-billion dollar border industrial complex.

Deadly digital borders

My book is about the people who are caught at the sharpest edges of high-risk and unregulated border technologies, like Elias Alvarado, a young husband and father from Central America who died while attempting to cross into the U.S. I visited his memorial site with James Holeman, a former U.S. Marine turned search-and-rescuer in the beautiful but deadly Sonoran desert. Holeman founded Battalion Search and Rescue, one of several groups that combs the desert for survivors. Often they find only bones.


Search-and-rescuer James Holeman fixes an orange cross at the memorial site of Elias Alvarado, a young man who succumbed to the inhospitable Sonoran desert. (P. Molnar), CC BY

And in one of the most surreal moments of my career — and I have had many over the years — while in the Sonora searching for people who had died during their crossings, I learned that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced it was training “robot dogs” to help secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

Four-legged machines equipped with cameras and sensors would join a network of drones and automated surveillance towers. This is part of a worldwide trend: as more people are displaced by war, economic instability and climate change, more countries are turning to AI-driven technology to manage migration.
Technical solutions do not work

While presented as solutions to a so-called border crisis, border technologies as a deterrent simply do not work. In fact, they lead to an increasing loss of life. People desperate for safety — and exercising their internationally protected right to asylum — will not stop moving.

They will instead use more circuitous routes. Scholars like Samuel Chambers, Geoffrey Boyce and Sarah Launius have already documented a threefold increase in deaths at the U.S.-Mexico frontier as the smart border expands. And as surveillance increases, thousands of deaths have also been reported at European borders, both sea and land.

Responsible storytelling

Borders are violent. They are underpinned by historical discrimination, racial logics and imperial fantasies of exclusion. Yet they are also spaces of tremendous resistance and solidarity, often in very unexpected ways.

Storytelling and story sharing is one form of resistance, and a profound and crucial element in any attempt to illustrate the opaque world of border technologies. Over the years, people have been incredibly generous in sharing their stories with me, often in the most difficult of times.

With each conversation and growing relationship, I found issues of witnessing, extracting and capturing stories becoming more complex as I grappled with how best to convey the atrocities that continue to occur. It is my hope that the lived experiences of the people I encountered will help bring draw attention to these dangerous technologies.

Building a better world

A central ethos of my work is also the redistribution of resources directly into the hands of affected communities. I run the Refugee Law Lab’s Migration and Technology Monitor, a multilingual platform, archive and community. In 2023, we launched a first-of-its-kind fellowship program for people on the move to tell their own stories about the impacts of surveillance.

Ultimately, people with lived experiences of migration must be the ones interrogating both the negative impacts of technology and the creative solutions that innovation can bring to the complex stories of human movement.

Borders affect everyone

Everyone will, in one way or another, become affected by migration management technologies as we cross move around the world. While its greatest impact is on traditionally marginalized communities such as refugees and asylum seekers, migration management technologies affect everyone.

The robodogs running around the border? On April 11, 2023, the New York City Police Department announced it was bringing robodogs back to the streets, “to keep New York safe.” One machine had even been painted white with black spots to look like a dalmatian.

It is my hope that my book, and related work in this field, reveals the profound human stakes at borders globally by foregrounding the stories of people on the move and highlighting the daring forms of resistance that have emerged against these increasingly violent technologies.

Petra Molnar, Associate Director, Refugee Law Lab, York University, Canada

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Tesla delays robotaxi launch to October, says report 

REUTERS

Jul 12, 2024  

Tesla is delaying the launch of its robotaxi by about two months to October as the design team was told to rework some elements of the car, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the decision 

Musk's X 'deceives' users with blue checks, EU charges

Agence France-Presse
July 12, 2024 

Elon Musk (AFP)


Tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform is misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, and is also violating EU content rules, Brussels said Friday, in a finding that could lead to hefty fines.

EU regulators are unhappy with the blue badge system under Musk's ownership since anyone can now obtain it with a premium subscription, whereas before it was reserved for verified accounts including leaders, companies and journalists, after approval.

The formal warning against X is the first under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping law that forces digital companies do more to police content online. It follows a probe launched in December 2023.

X becomes the third company in as many weeks to face the European Union's wrath for violating landmark new rules, after Brussels warned Apple and Meta to change their ways or risk massive fines -- for breaches of a second law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Musk has overhauled the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, including changing its name, since purchasing it in October 2022.

But his plans for X have put him at odds with Brussels since the EU wants big tech to do more to protect users online and increase competition in the digital sphere.

Now the European Commission has told X of its preliminary view that it is "in breach of" the DSA, arguing that the social network "deceives" users with its new blue badge rules.

"Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a 'verified' status, it negatively affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with," the commission said in a statement.

"There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the 'verified account' to deceive users," it added.


The commission also accused X of failing to comply with rules on advertising transparency -- since it does "not provide a searchable and reliable" ad database -- and failing to give researchers access to public data.

"X has now the right of defence -- but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes," the EU's top digital official, Thierry Breton, said.

Fines under the DSA can go as high as six percent of a company's total worldwide annual turnover and force it to make changes to address violations.

X will be able to examine the EU's file and defend itself against Friday's finding.

There is no time limit on how long an investigation may last.

EU regulators' wide-ranging probe into X also continues to look into the spread of illegal content and the effectiveness of the platform's efforts to combat disinformation, the commission said.

- Tech in its sights -

Under the DSA, X is one of 25 "very large" online platforms, including Facebook and TikTok, with more than 45 million monthly active users in the 27-country EU.

X is also in the EU's crosshairs for a cut to content moderation resources. In May, the EU told X to hand over "detailed information and internal documents" and demanded more information about steps taken to mitigate risks from generative AI on elections.

There are currently other investigations under the DSA into Meta's Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok and AliExpress.

The DSA and the DMA are both part of the EU's bolstered legal armoury targeting big tech and EU regulators have stepped up enforcement of the laws since they came into force.

South Korea to start production of laser gun system

By Dylan Malyasov
Jul 12, 2024



South Korea is set to begin production of a state-of-the-art laser weapon system designed to neutralize enemy drones.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced the commencement of production on Thursday, following a recent contract with Hanwha Aerospace valued at approximately 100 billion won ($72.5 million).

The laser weapon, intended for deployment later this year, will enable South Korea to become the first country to operationalize such technology within its military. This system targets and disables small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and multicopters by emitting a laser beam generated through fiber optics.

The laser system can fire continuously as long as it is supplied with electricity. Each firing, which lasts between 10 to 20 seconds, raises the temperature of the targeted area to over 700 degrees Celsius, effectively incapacitating critical components like engines and batteries. DAPA spokesperson Jo Yong-jin highlighted the cost-effectiveness of the system, stating, “Cost per fire is extremely cheap compared with other guided weapons. Responses to low-cost strike assets and weapons, such as small drones, will be able to take place very effectively and efficiently.”

BIG NEWS.
SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT HAS UNVEILED THE ‘LASER BASED ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPON BLOCK-I’ FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND IT’S AWESOME FOOTAGE. IT’S ABOUT TO DEPLOY IT TO THE ARMY VERY SOON.
IT’S A 20KW CLASS FIBER LASER SYSTEM WITH A PROPER SIZE AND COST THAT CAN BE PLACED EASILY.… PIC.TWITTER.COM/AIL4ZUJRWY

— ハク MASON (@MASON_8718) JULY 11, 2024

Jo refrained from disclosing specific details about the weapon’s range and power, citing operational security concerns. However, he noted that the laser is invisible to the naked eye and operates silently, adding to its tactical advantages.

South Korea initiated the development of this laser weapon system in 2019, investing a total of 87.1 billion won in the project. By April of last year, the system had been deemed combat-ready after a series of successful live-fire tests. With the production phase now underway, the system is expected to be deployed by the end of this year.

The deployment of this laser weapon comes in the wake of increased drone threats, particularly following the incursion of five North Korean drones across the inter-Korean border in December 2022. The ability to counter such threats is seen as a critical component of South Korea’s national defense strategy.

If you would like to show your support for what we are doing, here's where to do it.

If you wish to report grammatical or factual errors within our news articles, you can let us know by using the online feedback form.


Executive Editor
About author:
Dylan Malyasov is the editor-in-chief of Defence Blog. He is a journalist, an accredited defense advisor, and a consultant. His background as a defense advisor and consultant adds a unique perspective to his journalistic endeavors, ensuring that his reporting is well-informed and authoritative. read more