Former care home to house Christmas tree workers
Sep. 3rd, 2025 01:54 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bbc_aberdeen_feedGlenesk House in Turriff - which closed its doors in 2015 - will provide accommodation for 22 staff.
bbc_aberdeen_feed
'Mob breaker' TRIM37 prevents abnormal cell division by eliminating extra spindle poles
Sep. 3rd, 2025 10:02 amphys_breaking_feedIn 2000, researchers discovered that mutations that inactivate a gene known as TRIM37 cause a developmental disease called Mulibrey nanism. The extremely rare inherited disorder leads to growth delays and abnormalities in several organs, causing afflictions of the heart, muscles, liver, brain and eyes. In addition, Mulibrey nanism patients exhibit high rates of cancer and are infertile.
How the palmette motif shifted from elite status symbol to royal emblem in Iron Age Judah
Sep. 3rd, 2025 10:00 amphys_breaking_feedIn a study published by Reli Avisar in the Levant journal, the author examines the symbol of the palmette and how its meaning changed together with the local political and social atmosphere.
Crystalline material conducts heat even worse than glass and water—and that's promising
Sep. 3rd, 2025 10:00 amphys_breaking_feedA research team from Aarhus University, Denmark, has measured and explained the exceptionally low thermal conductivity of the crystalline material AgGaGe3Se8. Despite its ordered structure, the material behaves like a glass in terms of heat transport—making it one of the least heat-conductive crystalline solids known to date.
Ocean warming projected to stall expected mangrove recovery
Sep. 3rd, 2025 09:46 amphys_breaking_feedIncreasing ocean temperatures will erase mangrove restoration gains expected to occur due to economic development and conservation, according to a new study from researchers at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
phys_breaking_feedWhat tricks can organic molecules be taught to help solve our planet's biggest problems? That's the question driving Assistant Professor Richard Y. Liu as he pushes the frontiers of organic chemistry in pursuit of cleaner synthesis, smarter materials, and new ways to combat climate change.
Your pictures of Scotland
Sep. 5th, 2025 05:32 ambbc_aberdeen_feedA selection of photographs submitted to BBC Scotland News from around the country this week.
New climate assessment for Jackdaw gas field
Sep. 3rd, 2025 01:08 pmbbc_aberdeen_feedOil giant Shell had to review its assessment after a judge ruled the Jackdaw field was permitted unlawfully.
A light-programmable, dynamic ultrasound wavefront
Sep. 3rd, 2025 09:20 amphys_breaking_feedThe notion of a phased array was initially articulated by Nobel Prize recipient K. F. Braun. Phased arrays have subsequently evolved into a formidable mechanism for wave manipulation. This assertion holds particularly true in the realm of ultrasound, wherein arrays composed of ultrasound-generating transducers are employed in various applications, including therapeutic ultrasound, tissue engineering, and particle manipulation.
snopes_feedThe issue took on special importance after a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis in August 2025 that killed two children.
Fabrication technique opens door to new materials for quantum hardware
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:59 amphys_breaking_feedResearchers have demonstrated a new fabrication approach that enables the exploration of a broader range of superconducting materials for quantum hardware.
Global methane levels continue rising as trade and developing regions fuel growth
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:54 amphys_breaking_feedThe world's methane emissions continue to rise steadily with no signs of slowing, as global trade contributes some 30% to the total amount of the greenhouse gas swirling around the planet, a new study reveals.
Soft materials hold onto 'memories' of their past for longer than previously thought
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:45 amphys_breaking_feedIf your hand lotion is a bit runnier than usual coming out of the bottle, it might have something to do with the goop's "mechanical memory."
Starfish break the rules of animal distribution
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:43 amphys_breaking_feedAnimals and plants around the world are not randomly distributed. They appear to follow trends and patterns. But it's often difficult to figure out if the patterns we see in the natural world actually hold true. To prove it, we need to study vast amounts of data that span huge geographical distances. For most groups of animals and plants, this data simply doesn't exist and that makes it hard to say too much about where they live.
Engineered bacteria glow green to quickly detect microplastics in water samples
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:00 amphys_breaking_feedMicroplastics are tiny, plastic fragments—many too small to see—found in the air, soil and water. Measuring their abundance in nature can direct cleanup resources, but current detection methods are slow, expensive or highly technical. Now, researchers publishing in ACS Sensors have developed a living sensor that attaches to plastic and produces green fluorescence. In an initial test on real-world water samples, the biosensor could easily detect environmentally relevant levels of microplastics.
Read-in-Progress Wednesday
Sep. 3rd, 2025 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geraineon posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
cnovelsThis is your weekly read-in-progress post for you to talk about what you're currently reading and reactions and feelings (if any)!
For spoilers:
<details><summary>insert summary</summary>Your spoilers goes here</details>
<b>Highlight for spoilers!*</b><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #FFFFFF">Your spoilers goes here.</span>*
(Feel free to chat about anything else! I missed the last free-for-all friday, so you can use this as that too.)
For spoilers:
<details><summary>insert summary</summary>Your spoilers goes here</details>
<b>Highlight for spoilers!*</b><span style="background-color: #FFFFFF; color: #FFFFFF">Your spoilers goes here.</span>*
(Feel free to chat about anything else! I missed the last free-for-all friday, so you can use this as that too.)
The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, Sept 2)
Sep. 3rd, 2025 07:26 amspikedluvI did not go downtown today because I wanted to get some chores done before I went out to visit mom. I did two loads of laundry (washed, dried AND folded, as well as finished drying and folding yesterday’s load), hand-washed dishes, did a load in the dishwasher, pulled the crock pot pork for Pip’s supper, stopped by mom’s, and scooped kitty litter.
When I got home I hand-washed more dishes and cut up chicken for the dogs' meals (tomorrow; I like to get ahead of it).
I finished the Duncan Kincaid book and read fanfic.
Temps started out at 48.6(F) and reached 72.3. That was at 7pm when I got home, so I’m sure it was higher during the afternoon.
In stuff not about me or mom, Ian starts welding school today.
Mom Update:
Mom looked much better today. ( more back here )
When I got home I hand-washed more dishes and cut up chicken for the dogs' meals (tomorrow; I like to get ahead of it).
I finished the Duncan Kincaid book and read fanfic.
Temps started out at 48.6(F) and reached 72.3. That was at 7pm when I got home, so I’m sure it was higher during the afternoon.
In stuff not about me or mom, Ian starts welding school today.
Mom Update:
Mom looked much better today. ( more back here )
Indirect Prompt Injection Attacks Against LLM Assistants
Sep. 3rd, 2025 11:00 ambruce_schneier_feedReally good research on practical attacks against LLM agents.
Abstract: The growing integration of LLMs into applications has introduced new security risks, notably known as Promptware—maliciously engineered prompts designed to manipulate LLMs to compromise the CIA triad of these applications. While prior research warned about a potential shift in the threat landscape for LLM-powered applications, the risk posed by Promptware is frequently perceived as low. In this paper, we investigate the risk Promptware poses to users of Gemini-powered assistants (web application, mobile application, and Google Assistant). We propose a novel Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment (TARA) framework to assess Promptware risks for end users. Our analysis focuses on a new variant of Promptware called Targeted Promptware Attacks, which leverage indirect prompt injection via common user interactions such as emails, calendar invitations, and shared documents. We demonstrate 14 attack scenarios applied against Gemini-powered assistants across five identified threat classes: Short-term Context Poisoning, Permanent Memory Poisoning, Tool Misuse, Automatic Agent Invocation, and Automatic App Invocation. These attacks highlight both digital and physical consequences, including spamming, phishing, disinformation campaigns, data exfiltration, unapproved user video streaming, and control of home automation devices. We reveal Promptware’s potential for on-device lateral movement, escaping the boundaries of the LLM-powered application, to trigger malicious actions using a device’s applications. Our TARA reveals that 73% of the analyzed threats pose High-Critical risk to end users. We discuss mitigations and reassess the risk (in response to deployed mitigations) and show that the risk could be reduced significantly to Very Low-Medium. We disclosed our findings to Google, which deployed dedicated mitigations.
Defcon talk. News articles on the research.
Prompt injection isn’t just a minor security problem we need to deal with. It’s a fundamental property of current LLM technology. The systems have no ability to separate trusted commands from untrusted data, and there are an infinite number of prompt injection attacks with no way to block them as a class. We need some new fundamental science of LLMs before we can solve this.
Salford winding-up petition adjourned for second time
Sep. 3rd, 2025 10:52 amlilly_c_feedA winding-up petition filed against troubled Super League side Salford Red Devils is adjourned for a second time.
Wigan keep up title pace with win at Catalans
Aug. 30th, 2025 09:14 pmlilly_c_feedWigan Warriors keep their pursuit of the League Leaders' Shield alive as they seal a well-earned Super League win over Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.