NEW RESOURCES

Kyushu University: 3D flora and fauna at your fingertips. “Reporting in Research Ideas and Outcomes, a Kyushu University researcher has developed a new technique for scanning various plants and animals and reconstructing them into highly detailed 3D models. To date, over 1,400 models have been made available online for public use…. While [Yuichi] Kano has been working on various organisms including insects, plants, and even fungi, he is currently focusing on aquatic animals such as fish and amphibians.”

Oregon State University: New Extension website helps solve pest and disease problems. “A new Oregon State University Extension Service website provides a trove of science-based solutions for garden pests, weeds and disease problems in one easy-to-navigate place…. Solve Pest and Weed Problems focuses specifically on the Pacific Northwest and prioritizes low-risk approaches. Based on feedback, Miller incorporated household pests, invasive plants, pesticide safety and pollinators, as well as pests and diseases.”

DCist: New Website Helps D.C. Residents Reuse, Rather Than Toss Out. “Remember the three Rs? Not reading, writing and arithmetic — but reduce, reuse and recycle. D.C. has a goal to start doing a lot more of these three things: the city aims to go ‘zero waste’ by 2032, keeping 80% of waste out of landfills and incinerators. The District has just launched a new website to aid residents with R #2. It’s called Reuse DC, and includes an interactive map of places in the region where you can repair, donate, or shop for second-hand items.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Motherboard: Elon Musk’s $8 Twitter Verification Has Begun, Is a Complete Disaster. “Almost nothing has gone according to plan since Elon Musk took control over Twitter last month—and whether there even is a plan seems doubtful. Case in point: Musk’s flagship idea, an $8 paid-verification scheme, kicked off Wednesday night and immediately spiraled into complete disaster.”

KXAN: Texas Vet Board still struggling to fix database problems, legislative review finds. “Months after a KXAN investigation into problems at the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, a new legislative report reveals the agency is still struggling to manage its data on animal doctors in the state. The report found TBVME failed to implement previous recommendations by the Sunset Advisory Commission — a group of lawmakers and members of the public that evaluates the function and performance of state agencies. Sunset has reviewed this agency three times over the last six years.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

CNBC: Read Elon Musk’s first email to all Twitter employees: Remote work over, company needs subscriptions to survive downturn. “In his first companywide email to Twitter employees, new owner and CEO Elon Musk said he was ending the social network’s ‘work from home forever’ policy. Now, according to the email obtained by CNBC, Musk wants employees to be in a Twitter office at least 40 hours a week, and plans to personally approve any alternative arrangements.”

Search Engine Journal: Google’s John Mueller: “Search Is Never Guaranteed”. “Google Search Advocate John Mueller said, ‘search is never guaranteed,’ in response to a site owner asking why their content isn’t indexed. In the r/TechSEO forum on Reddit, a user is dissatisfied that a website re-publishing identical content is getting indexed faster.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

The Verge: Elon Musk is putting Twitter at risk of billions in fines, warns company lawyer. “The company’s chief privacy officer Damien Kieran, chief information security officer Lea Kissner, and chief compliance officer Marianne Fogarty have all resigned, according to two employees and an internal message seen by The Verge. Kissner confirmed their departure in a tweet on Thursday.”

Utility Dive: Porn and Putin-focused hacks of charging stations drive new cybersecurity steps for an EV boom. “The ongoing expansion of the U.S. electric vehicle ecosystem is creating new cybersecurity risks for the nation’s power system by offering hackers access through widely distributed and less well-protected charging stations, but solutions are emerging, charger software providers and researchers said.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Reuters: COP27 | United Nations to launch public database of global methane leaks detected by space satellites. “The United Nation’s (U.N.) environment watchdog said, on November 11, it will launch a public database of global methane leaks detected by space satellites, as part of a new programme to encourage companies and governments to curb emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas.”

IEEE Spectrum: After 50 Years, Digital Voices Speak Again A chance conversation revives speech digitization samples from 1973 . “This flexi disc is, in effect, an audio time capsule preserving the state of speech digitization research in the early 1970s. (It is telling, for example, that women’s voices are not represented in any of the sound samples.) Yet despite its historical significance, its contents remained buried within the pages of a half-century-old Spectrum back issue until this spring, when special projects editor Stephen Cass brought it to my attention following a meeting of the magazine’s editorial advisory board.”

Managed Healthcare Executive: Smartphone Tapping Speed New Tool in Assessing MS, Study Finds. “How quickly individuals can tap on a smartphone keyboard may be a useful tool for monitoring multiple sclerosis (MS) severity and determining progression of the disease. Juan Luis Chico-Garcia, M.D., with the Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Neurology in Madrid, Spain, presented the research at the 38th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), October 26–28 in Amsterdam and virtually.” Good morning, Internet…

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