Day: August 9, 2016

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IBM’s Watson AI saved a woman from leukemia

IBM’s Watson has done everything from winning at Jeopardy to cooking exotic meals, but it appears to have accomplished its greatest feat yet: saving a life. University of Tokyo doctors report that the artificial intelligence diagnosed a 60-year-old woman’s rare form of leukemia that had been incorrectly identified months earlier. The analytical machine took just 10 minutes to compare the patient’s genetic changes with a database of 20 million cancer research papers, delivering an accurate diagnosis and leading to proper treatment that had proven elusive. Watson has also identified another rare form of leukemia in another patient, the university says.

It’ll likely take a long while before Watson and other AI systems are regularly providing advice at hospitals, and it won’t be all that useful in situations without readily comparable data. We’ve asked the school for more details of what happened. However, the diagnoses show just how useful the technology could be in the medical world. Human doctors wouldn’t have to spend ages sifting through research to identify an obscure disease, or hope that another hospital can offer insights — they’d just plug in the right data and start the healing process.

Via: NDTV

Source: NHK World

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AT&T, Verizon sued for giving businesses discounts on 911 fees

Calling 911 is one of those things you just expect to work regardless of the circumstances. A new lawsuit alleges that mobile carriers including AT&T and Engadget parent company Verizon are shortchanging the indispensable emergency service, however. Apparently, in an effort to cut deals with business customers, the aforementioned telcos have been lowering the typical $1 fee per-line charge that goes straight to funding 911 call centers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The suit comes from Alabama businessman Roger Schneider, a member of his local 911 oversight board, who once was offered a discount on his bill by reducing the funding tax. Whoops. He’s been keeping an eye on such matters for about a dozen years and got service providers to settle for $3 million after discovering his county’s call centers were being shorted over $1 million each year.

On a bigger stage, in 2014 there was apparently a $600 million gap between what the government spends for maintenance, wages and upkeep and what it collects in the 911 fees. That’s a huge problem. So much so that Schneider’s suit is joined by a raft of others across the country. For their parts, AT&T and Verizon each denied shortcutting the emergency tax, saying that the claims are "baseless" and that they aren’t breaking the law, respectively. But when you start looking at the numbers WSJ is reporting, those sentiments feel incredibly hollow — especially when those companies and more have had to shell out millions for 911-related delays and outages before.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Researchers crack open unusually advanced malware that hid for 5 years

The name "Project Sauron" came from code contained in one of the malware’s configuration files.

Kaspersky Lab

Security experts have discovered a malware platform that’s so advanced in its design and execution that it could probably have been developed only with the active support of a nation state.

The malware—known alternatively as "ProjectSauron" by researchers from Kaspersky Lab and "Remsec" by their counterparts from Symantec—has been active since at least 2011 and has been discovered on 30 or so targets. Its ability to operate undetected for five years is a testament to its creators, who clearly studied other state-sponsored hacking groups in an attempt to replicate their advances and avoid their mistakes. State-sponsored groups have been responsible for malware like the Stuxnet- or National Security Agency-linked Flame, Duqu, and Regin. Much of ProjectSauron resides solely in computer memory and was written in the form of Binary Large Objects, making it hard to detect using antivirus.

Because of the way the software was written, clues left behind by ProjectSauron in so-called software artifacts are unique to each of its targets. That means that clues collected from one infection don’t help researchers uncover new infections. Unlike many malware operations that reuse servers, domain names, or IP addresses for command and control channels, the people behind ProjectSauron chose a different one for almost every target.

"The attackers clearly understand that we as researchers are always looking for patterns," Kaspersky researchers wrote in a report published Monday. "Remove the patterns and the operation will be harder to discover. We are aware of more than 30 organizations attacked, but we are sure that this is just a tiny tip of the iceberg." Symantec researchers, in a report of their own, said they were aware of seven organizations infected.

Jumping air gaps

Part of what makes ProjectSauron’s so impressive is its ability to collect data from air-gapped computers. To do this, it uses specially prepared USB storage drives that have a virtual file system that isn’t viewable by the Windows operating system. To infected computers, the removable drives appear to be approved devices, but behind the scenes are several hundred megabytes reserved for storing data that is kept on the air-gapped machines. The arrangement works even against computers in which data-loss prevention software blocks the use of unknown USB drives.

Kaspersky researchers still aren’t sure precisely how the USB-enabled exfiltration works. The presence of the invisible storage area doesn’t in itself allow attackers to seize control of air-gapped computers. The researchers suspect the capability is used only in rare cases and requires use of a zero-day exploit that has yet to be discovered. In all, Project Sauron is made up of at least 50 modules that can be mixed and matched to suit the objectives of each individual infection.

"Once installed, the main Project Sauron modules start working as ‘sleeper cells,’ displaying no activity of their own and waiting for ‘wake-up’ commands in the incoming network traffic," Kaspersky researchers wrote in a separate blog post. "This method of operation ensures Project Sauron’s extended persistence on the servers of targeted organizations."

Kaspersky researchers said they discovered the malware last September after a customer at an unidentified government organization hired them to investigate anomalous network traffic. They eventually unearthed a "strange" executable program library that was loaded into the memory of one of the customer’s domain controller servers. The library was masquerading as a Windows password filter, which is something administrators typically use to ensure passwords match specific requirements for length and complexity. The module started every time a network or local user logged in or changed a password, and it was able to view passcodes in plaintext.

The main purpose of the malware platform was to obtain passwords, cryptographic keys, configuration files, and IP addresses of the key servers related to any encryption software that was in use. Infected groups include government agencies, scientific research centers, military organizations, telecommunication providers, and financial institutions in Russia, Iran, Rwanda, China, Sweden, Belgium, and possibly in Italian-speaking countries.

Kaspersky researchers estimate that development and operation of the Sauron malware is likely to have required several specialist teams and a budget in the millions of dollars. The researchers went on to speculate that the project was funded by a nation state, but they stopped short of saying which one.

"The actor behind ProjectSauron is very advanced, comparable only to the top-of-the top in terms of sophistication: alongside Duqu, Flame, Equation, and Regin," the Kaspersky researchers wrote. "Whether related or unrelated to these advanced actors, the ProjectSauron attackers have definitely learned from them."

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The Mystery Of Why Sunflowers Turn To Follow The Sun — Solved

Newly published research explains why young sunflowers turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky.

Marcello Semboli


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Marcello Semboli

Newly published research explains why young sunflowers turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky.

Marcello Semboli

Scientists have answered a burning question central to the charm of sunflowers: Why do young flowers move their blooms to always face the sun over the course of a day?

And then: Once sunflowers reach maturity, why do they stop tracking the sun and only face east?

In a newly-published article in Science, the researchers say the young plant’s sun-tracking (also called heliotropism) can be explained by circadian rhythms – the behavioral changes tied to an internal clock that humans also have, which follow a roughly 24 hour cycle. A young flower faces east at dawn and greets the sun, then slowly turns west as the sun moves across the sky. During the night, it slowly turns back east to begin the cycle again.

“It’s the first example of a plant’s clock modulating growth in a natural environment, and having real repercussions for the plant,” UC Davis professor and study co-author Stacey Harmer says in a press release from the university.

The researchers found that the plant’s turning is actually a result of different sides of the stem elongating at different times of day. Science released this animation to illustrate the phenomenon:

“Growth rates on the east side were high during the day and very low at night, whereas growth rates on the west side were low during the day and higher at night,” the journal article reads. Here’s more:

“The higher growth rate on the east versus west side of the stem during the day enables the shoot apex to move gradually from east to west. At night, the higher growth rate on the west side culminates in the apex facing east at dawn.”

The researchers tied plants up so they couldn’t move or turned them away from the sun – and they found those flowers eventually had “decreased biomass and less leave area” than flowers that could move with the sun.

A young sunflower plant not only tracks the sun during the day but also reorients at night in anticipation of dawn.

And in support of the circadian rhythm theory, plants exposed to artificial light at different intervals “could reliably track the movement and return at night when the artificial day was close to a 24-hour cycle, but not when it was closer to 30 hours,” the press release states.

Mature sunflowers respond differently to the sun. According to the press release, “as overall growth slows down, the circadian clock ensures that the plant reacts more strongly to light early in the morning than in the afternoon or evening, so it gradually stops moving westward during the day.”

Infrared imaging reveals changes in flower surface temperature at different times of day.

Evan Brown, University of Virginia


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Evan Brown, University of Virginia

The researchers compared mature flowers facing east with those they turned to face west, and found that the east-facing blooms attracted five times as many helpful pollinators.

That’s because the east-facing flowers heat up faster.

And, “bees like warm flowers,” as Harmer puts it.

“Just like people, plants rely on the daily rhythms of day and night to function,” Anne Sylvester, director of the National Science Foundation’s Plant Genome Research Program, says in a press release. “Sunflowers, like solar panel arrays, follow the sun from east to west. These researchers tap into information in the sunflower genome to understand how and why sunflowers track the sun.”

UC Berkeley professor and study co-author Benjamin Blackman says he thinks the connection between circadian rhythms and growth could be applicable to other research. “The more general point, that one of the circadian clock’s adaptive functions is to regulate the timing and strength of growth responses to environmental signals, is one that I think will apply to a broad range of traits and species,” he said.

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WATCH: A Space Rocket The Way You’ve Never Seen One Before

NASA has developed a special camera that lets you actually see the details of a fiery plume emanating from a space rocket. In the past, cameras have a hard time adjusting their exposure to something so intense, so all you often see is an overexposed jet of fire.

Scientists tested the new HiDyRS-X camera, which can record multiple exposures at the same time, during a recent test of the the Space Launch System’s boosters and the results are mesmerizing:

Per NASA, the team working on the test saw things they had never seen before while filming an engine test:

“‘I was amazed to see the ground support mirror bracket tumbling and the vortices shedding in the plume,’ [Howard Conyers, a structural dynamist at NASA’s Stennis Space Center] says. The team was able to gather interesting data from the slow motion footage, and Conyers also discovered something else by speeding up the playback.

“‘I was able to clearly see the exhaust plume, nozzle and the nozzle fabric go through its gimbaling patterns, which is an expected condition, but usually unobservable in slow motion or normal playback rates.'”

Just for comparison, this is what footage from a rocket normally looks like:

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) recently completed full-scale test of its booster Image of Space Launch System Qualification Motor 2 test or, QM-2, without using HiDyRS-X camera.

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Walmart’s $3.3 billion bet in its fight against Amazon

Back in 2010, Walmart had its eye on a promising online shopping company called Quidsi, best known for operating Diapers.com.

Walmart (WMT) entered into acquisition talks with the startup and its CEO Marc Lore, the retail company confirmed to CNNMoney on Monday. But no luck. Lore ended up selling his company to Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) for more than $500 million.

Six years later, Walmart is finally getting its man.

Walmart announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Jet.com, Lore’s latest shopping site, for $3.3 billion in cash and stock. The deal is the largest acquisition ever for a U.S. e-commerce company. If that’s not jaw-dropping enough, Jet.com launched barely a year ago.

Walmart framed the acquisition as an investment in Jet’s youthful brand and dynamic pricing technology, which offers real-time discounts for strategic bulk buying.

More than the technology and the brand, however, it’s likely a bet on Lore himself.

Friends and colleagues describe Lore as a uniquely ambitious retail entrepreneur who isn’t afraid to compete with Amazon directly and has the operational experience to back up his bold plans and aggressive fundraising.

“Marc Lore is one of the best operators in the United States,” says Dave Spector, a friend and investor in Jet. “Building an e-commerce business from scratch, with warehouses and inventory, is incredibly challenging. He did it in less than two years.”

“He combines the dream with very methodically laying out how you can achieve the dream. That’s the magic combination,” says Vinit Bharara, who cofounded Quidsi with Lore in 2003. “He makes you believe.”

That combination of big picture thinking, attention to detail and overall experience is how Lore managed to convince investors to hand over “globs and globs of cash” to Jet, as Bharara puts it — or around $800 million in funding, to be precise.

And that combination is likely what attracted Walmart.

Related: 15 Questions with Marc Lore

Walmart’s online sales growth slowed to just 7% in the first quarter from a year earlier, prompting CEO Doug McMillon to admit on an earnings call that “growth here is too slow.” Lore may just be able to change that and help Walmart catch up to his previous employer, Amazon.

“Your best bet at getting there is having someone like Marc Lore leading the charge,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, a retail analyst with Forrester Research. It’s Lore, and his team, that should account for “the vast majority” of the deal’s value, she says.

Lore will continue to run Jet.com and take over leadership of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce efforts after the acquisition closes, McMillon said on a press call Monday afternoon.

“Marc’s e-commerce experience and success are obviously attractive,” McMillon said on the call. “His mindset and the way the two of us have come together fairly quickly to see e-commerce opportunities … has been quite enjoyable as we’ve brainstormed it.”

Representatives for Jet.com did not immediately respond to our request for comment.

“We started Jet with the vision of creating a new shopping experience,” Lore said in a statement announcing the deal. “Today, I couldn’t be more excited that we will be joining with Walmart to help fuel the realization of that vision.”

Lore’s vision for online shopping first began to take shape a decade ago with the launch of Diapers.com. The startup kept prices low by encouraging customers to add more items to each shipping box and routing deliveries through the nearest distribution centers — tricks that Lore would use at Jet.com years later.

In 2010, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos decided he wanted in on the diapers business. While in acquisition talks, Bezos launched Amazon Mom to undercut Diapers.com on prices and pressure Lore to sell, according to The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.

It worked. Lore sold to Amazon and stayed there for nearly three years. Then he jumped ship and started plotting out a new rival to Amazon.

Related: Walmart buying Jet.com for $3.3 billion to take on Amazon

In interviews and conferences, Lore would talk with a straight face about his plans to raise billions to build and market a national shopping site, rather than a niche e-commerce product focused on razors or furniture.

Lore usually refrained from talking up the Amazon rivalry directly, but made it clear that there was an opportunity for a second or third place competitor to still be a very lucrative business.

Jet.com is adding 400,000 new shoppers each month and hit an annual run rate of $1 billion in gross merchandise value, according to the acquisition announcement. It is not yet profitable.

While Walmart has had an eye on Lore for years, Lore hasn’t always sounded so fond of Walmart.

In addition to shunning Walmart’s acquisition attempt in 2010, Lore said in one interview last year: “If someone is unhappy here and doesn’t see an opportunity for growth, OK, good luck, go to Walmart. I want to prove to myself that a different kind of culture can work and that you don’t have to be like that to be successful.”

On the press call, Walmart’s CEO expressed confidence that Lore won’t jump ship anytime soon. “I expect we’ll work together for a long, long time,” McMillon said.

“The opportunity that he has at Walmart is to be a part of building something extraordinary to continue the original pursuit of going after Amazon,” says Spector, Lore’s friend. “And now, with a bigger platform.”

CNNMoney (New York) First published August 8, 2016: 3:42 PM ET

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