Welcome to today’s edition of the Spiceworks Snap!
It’s your daily dose of security and tech news, in brief, along with a mix of other odd or interesting things that might come up. We’re glad you came.
Now, let’s jump right in…
Image by Suzanne from Spiceworks (AI-generated)
Flashback: February 4, 2000: EA releases The Sims (Read more HERE.)
Flashback: February 4, 2004: Facebook is Born (Read more HERE.)
Security News:
• Man steals $50 million using fake investment sites, gets 7 years (Read more HERE.)
• Linux Malware Targets Network Appliances (Read more HERE.)
• AMD Patches CPU Vulnerability Found by Google (Read more HERE.)
• GrubHub data breach impacts customers, drivers, and merchants (Read more HERE.)
Something Spacy
SETI Researchers Pretend to Be Aliens Searching for Earth
According to ExtremeTech:
"Scientists are pouring their resources into searching for signs of life on other planets—but how might extraterrestrial life find us? An experiment spearheaded by the SETI Institute studies how alien societies might theoretically use Earth’s “technosignatures” to locate human life. The project reveals not only the diverse ways in which we humans make our existence known, but also which signatures might lead intelligent life to our celestial doorstep most effectively.
The experiment, led by SETI’s technosignature research scientist Sofia Sheikh, with assistance from the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center, begins with a few key assumptions. First, the extraterrestrial life in question would come from a “mirror Earth”: a planet just like our own, but halfway across the galaxy. Second, the experiment assumes that the intelligent life on this mirror Earth possesses the same technology we do, and has used it for the same amount of time as humans have. Rockets, satellites, radio telescopes, infrared observatories, and so on are all fair game—they just can’t be more advanced than our own. . . .
In a release published Monday, SETI noted that Earth’s planetary radar signals (like those from the now-defunct Arecibo Observatory) would likely be spotted first, as they’re detectable from 12,000 light-years away. Next up would be radio signals from NASA’s Deep Space Network, or DSN. . . .
“Our goal with this project was to bring SETI back ‘down to Earth’ for a moment and think about where we really are today with Earth’s technosignatures and detection capabilities,” Macy Huston, astrophysicist and study co-author, said. “In SETI, we should never assume other life and technology would be just like ours, but quantifying what ‘ours’ means can help put SETI searches into perspective.” . . .
Overall, these studies tell us that unless we truly are alone in the universe, it won’t be a matter of if we come into contact with extraterrestrials; instead, the question will be whether humans or ETs say hello first."
Learn more HERE.
Something Odd
Gecko feet inspire anti-slip shoe soles
According to Ars Technica:
"Geckos are known for being expert climbers; they’re able to stick to any surface thanks to tiny hair-like structures on the bottoms of their feet. . . .
Essentially, the tufts of tiny hairs on gecko feet get so close to the contours in walls and ceilings that electrons from the gecko hair molecules and electrons from the wall molecules interact with each other and create an electromagnetic attraction. That’s what enables geckos to climb smooth surfaces like glass effortlessly. . . .
It’s the “hydrophilic capillary-enhanced adhesion” of gecko feet that most interested the authors of this latest paper. Per the World Health Organization, 684,000 people die and another 38 million are injured every year in slips and falls, with correspondingly higher health care costs. Most antislip products . . . are generally only effective for specific purposes or short periods of time. And they often don’t perform as well on wet ice, which has a nanoscale quasi-liquid layer (QLL) that makes it even more slippery.
So Vipin Richhariya of the University of Minho in Portugal and co-authors turned to gecko toe pads . . . for a better solution. To get similar properties in their silicone rubber polymers, they added zirconia nanoparticles, which attract water molecules. The polymers were rolled into a thin film and hardened, and then a laser etched groove patterns onto the surface—essentially creating micro cavities that exposed the zirconia nanoparticles, thus enhancing the material’s hydrophilic effects.
Infrared spectroscopy and simulated friction tests revealed that the composites containing 3 percent and 5 percent zirconia nanoparticles were the most slip-resistant. “This optimized composite has the potential to change the dynamics of slip-and-fall accidents, providing a nature-inspired solution to prevent one of the most common causes of accidents worldwide,” the authors concluded. The material could also be used for electronic skin, artificial skin, or wound healing."
Learn more HERE.
Something Interesting
Superman-like alloy defies laws of heat, withstands 400 Kelvin with zero expansion
According to Interesting Engineering:
"Things are known to expand when they get hot. Bridges, roads, and even the . . . Eiffel Tower’s height changes by 10 to 15 centimeters between summer and winter due to thermal expansion. It’s taller in the summer when the metal is warmer and expands. However, this expansion can be a real problem for many technologies like precision instruments or spacecraft. That’s why scientists have been searching for a material that maintains a constant size regardless of temperature changes.
One potential candidate is Invar — an iron-nickel alloy famous for its incredibly low thermal expansion. But the science behind Invar’s magic remained a mystery, until now. Researchers at TU Wien in Vienna teamed up with experimentalists at the University of Science and Technology Beijing to unravel Invar’s secret using computer simulations.
Interestingly, this new understanding led to the development of a new superman-like strong alloy called a pyrochlore magnet. . . . The research began with an investigation into Invar’s unusual property of low thermal expansion. They found that its magnetic properties are the key to its stability. . . . With this new understanding, the team set out to create an even better material. And they succeeded. . . .
The Invar is made of two metals, but the pyrochlore magnet is composed of four: zirconium, niobium, iron, and cobalt. This more complex composition gives it an unprecedented ability to resist thermal expansion. . . . This new alloy‘s exceptional thermal stability is due to its irregular, heterogeneous structure. . . . It balances the material’s properties at each point to achieve near-zero overall thermal expansion."
Learn more HERE.
Did You Know?
David Boreanaz was cast in Buffy the Vampire Slayer because someone saw him walking his dog.
(Read more HERE.)
What was the most interesting story today? Vote in our poll below.
- Flashback 2000: EA releases The Sims
- Flashback 2004: Facebook is Born
- Man steals $50 million using fake investment sites, gets 7 years
- Linux Malware Targets Network Appliances
- AMD Patches CPU Vulnerability Found by Google
- GrubHub data breach impacts customers, drivers, and merchants
- SETI Researchers Pretend to Be Aliens Searching for Earth
- Gecko feet inspire anti-slip shoe soles
- Superman-like alloy defies laws of heat
- Did You Know? David Boreanaz was cast in Buffy the Vampire Slayer because someone saw him walking his dog.
- None: leave suggestions below
Missed a day? If so, check out previous editions of Snap! HERE.
