Science and technology

After being mocked for the previous post showing the launch of a metaverse project “Horizon Worlds”, in France and Spain, Mark Zuckerberg posted a new avatar on his Instagram account and promised the new metaverse graphics will be good. Mark Zuckerberg took to Facebook to post a VR selfie with his “soulless” avatar standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and La Sagrada Familia on August 16. The graphics were so mediocre in the screenshot that it didn’t take long for people to start making fun of it.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) “Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon,” he said on the post. “I’ll share more at Connect. Also, I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic — it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch. The graphics in Horizon are capable of much more — even on headsets — and Horizon is improving very quickly.” “I think we will effectivel...

Instant messaging application WhatsApp has said it is working to block screenshots of media that users are only meant to view once. The development follows after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced just a few days ago that they could look forward to three new privacy-centric changes coming to WhatsApp. WhatsApp’s latest beta update shows Meta’s interest in proactively adopting a dynamic Android 13 app icon. WABetaInfo reports the same update (version 2.22.18.16) also suggests WhatsApp is working on the screenshot block for view once videos and images. This feature has been spotted in development on iOS and has now made its way to Android too. Read more: WhatsApp to add three new features focusing on enhancing privacy The implementation could resemble some banking apps, like Google Pay, which refuse to let you take screenshots. The gesture or shortcut to take a screenshot works, but the app just shows you an error message saying you aren’t allowed to take screenshots. ...

Warmer and wetter weather linked to climate change appears to stress out bumblebees and make their wings more asymmetrical, which could ultimately affect their future development, according to UK scientists in a new research paper. “With hotter and wetter conditions predicted to place bumblebees under higher stress, the fact these conditions will become more frequent under climate change means bumblebees may be in for a rough time over the 21st century,” scientists at Imperial College, London, wrote in the Animal Ecology journal on Wednesday. The large furry bees, known for their distinctive buzz, only feed on flowers, making them vulnerable to changes to the countryside due to intensive farming. Their population has declined in Britain over the past century, with two species becoming extinct, according to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The Imperial College scientists looked at more than 6,000 bumblebee specimens in natural history museums, collected across Britain during the 2...

Facebook-owner Meta said Thursday it had kicked one of the most influential US anti-vaccine groups off the social media network for spreading Covid-19 misinformation. The Children’s Health Defense (CHD), which has been a critic of Covid vaccines, immediately accused Meta of stifling its free speech rights. “Facebook is acting here as a surrogate for the federal government’s crusade to silence all criticism of draconian government policies,” CHD founder Robert Kennedy Jr., nephew of late president John F. Kennedy, said in a press release. Meta spokesperson Aaron Simpson told AFP that the group’s accounts at Facebook and Instagram were shuttered on Wednesday. The ban came after repeated violations of Meta’s misinformation rules. CHD said its social media accounts were followed by hundreds of thousands of people, and claimed the action by Meta came as a surprise. In a release, the group shared a screen capture showing messages stating the accounts were suspended for violating Meta p...

Weeks of baking drought across Europe have seen water levels in rivers and lakes fall to levels few can remember, exposing long-submerged treasures – and some unwanted hazards. In Spain, suffering its worst drought in decades, archaeologists have been delighted by the emergence of a prehistoric stone circle dubbed the “Spanish Stonehenge” that is usually covered by the waters of a dam. Officially known as the Dolmen of Guadalperal, the stone circle currently sits fully exposed in one corner of the Valdecanas reservoir, in the central province of Caceres, where authorities say the water level has dropped to 28% of capacity. It was discovered by German archaeologist Hugo Obermaier in 1926, but the area was flooded in 1963 in a rural development project under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. Since then it has only become fully visible four times. read more Memories of past droughts have also been rekindled in Germany by the reappearance of so-called “hunger stones” along the River Rh...

Cryptocurrencies fell sharply on Friday, with sudden selling dragging bitcoin to a three-week low. Bitcoin fell as much as 7.7% to $21,404 over a few minutes during the European morning, at around 0640 GMT. It recovered slightly then continued its downward trajectory to trade around $21,400 at 1138 GMT, down 8.2% on the day. Ether also dropped around the same time and was last down 8.8% at $1,685. The reason for the drop was not clear. “It’s not showing the pattern of a flash crash, as the assets didn’t immediately rebound sharply but sank even lower in the hours that followed,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “It seems likely that this was as a result of a large sale transaction.” Streeter said it appeared the cryptocurrency cardano had been the first to move, followed by bitcoin and ether, and then others such as the altcoin dogecoin. Cryptocurrencies have fallen dramatically so far this year, as Federal Reserve rate hikes...

ISLAMABAD: The internet services of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) are affected across Pakistan due to ‘technical faults in the fiber network after heavy rains. The PTCL in a message for the users via its official Twitter handle said: Due to heavy rains and floods, PTCL’s fiber network is experiencing some technical faults. As a result, PTCL users in northern and central regions are facing internet outage.” Due to heavy rains and floods, PTCL’s optical fiber network is experiencing some technical faults. As a result, PTCL users in Northern and Central regions are facing Internet outage. Our teams are working to restore the services on priority. — PTCL (@PTCLOfficial) August 19, 2022 The telecom regulator said that the teams are working to restore services on priority and  monitoring the situation and further updates will be shared. from Science and Technology News - Latest science and technology news https://ift.tt/gP6QURW