NEW RESOURCES

Chemistry World: Gigantic database of building blocks will help artificial intelligence uncover new organocatalysts. “Researchers have constructed a public database of 4000 experimentally derived organocatalysts. The database also contains several thousand molecular fragments and combinatorially enriched structures based on the experimentally derived entries.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

9to5 Google: An official Google social account is now on Mastodon. “The Twitter upheaval has affected everyone from end users to advertisers and brands. It will be interesting to see where the latter group lands, but Google — via its Search Liaison account — now has an official presence on Mastodon.”

Search Engine Journal: Google Publishes Guide To Current & Retired Ranking Systems. “A new guide to Google’s ranking systems will keep you informed about which systems Google uses to rank search results and which ones are retired. Additionally, Google introduces new terminology in its latest guide, distinguishing between ranking ‘systems’ and ranking ‘updates.'”

IANS: Google’s parent company Alphabet ‘prepares’ to lay off 10,000 employees . “Alphabet, Google`s parent company, is reportedly gearing up to lay off about 10,000 “poor performing” employees, or 6 per cent of its workforce, in the Big tech layoff season kicked off by Meta, Amazon, Twitter, Salesforce and more amid the rough global conditions.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Rolling Stone: All the Celebrities Who’ve Quit Twitter Because of Elon Musk . “From (failed) paid Twitter verification to the reinstatement of accounts run by bigots to the layoffs of hundreds, Musk’s drastic changes to the platform have caused several celebrities to say goodbye to the platform….Here’s a growing list of celebrities who’ve decided to no longer use Twitter… all because of Musk.”

Wall Street Journal: How Elon Musk’s Twitter Faces Mountain of Debt, Falling Revenue and Surging Costs . “Analysts and academics have been able to piece together a picture of the company from information Mr. Musk has offered as well as details of the deal and the company’s last regulatory filings. Bankruptcy could be one result. Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, could also raise new funds, or buy back debt from lenders, giving Twitter a buffer to turn around its business. Here is a look at their assessments of Twitter’s financial situation and prospects.”

MarketWatch: My bad: The YouTube financial influencer network paid to pump FTX. “Kevin Paffrath, a 30-year-old YouTube star with 1.85 million followers to his real estate and financial tip page Meet Kevin, says he was paid $2,500 every time he mentioned FTX in one of his videos. And he believes he had one of the smaller deals with the crypto exchange; others have claimed six-figure deals with the firm.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

University of Washington: Q&A: UW researchers find privacy risks with 3D tours on real estate websites. “The team examined 44 3D tours on a real estate website. Each tour was for a home in a different state and had at least one personal detail — such as a letter, a college diploma or photos — visible. The researchers concluded that the details left in these tours could expose residents to a variety of threats, including phishing attacks or credit card fraud.”

US DOJ: Two Estonian Citizens Arrested in $575 Million Cryptocurrency Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme. “Two Estonian citizens were arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, yesterday on an 18-count indictment for their alleged involvement in a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The indictment was returned by a grand jury in the Western District of Washington on Oct. 27 and unsealed today.”

Radio Prague International: Recordings from trial with “chief symbol” of Nazi occupation K. H. Frank being restored. “Archivists at Czech Radio have discovered 1,300 discs of recordings from the 1946 trial with Karl Hermann Frank, who was in charge of the Nazi security forces during the wartime occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. The discs are currently in the process of digitisation, making it possible to play the sounds for the first time in more than 70 years.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

George Washington University: The National Science Foundation Awards $5 Million to IDDP Team to Continue Work Assisting Journalists Facing Online Harassment. “As part of the 2021 cohort of the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator, a team led by Rebekah Tromble, director of the George Washington University’s Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics, received a grant award to develop a rapid response system that will aid experts facing coordinated campaigns of online harassment.”

The Register: Swiss bankers warn: Three quarters of retail Bitcoin investors are in the red. “Somewhere between 73 and 81 percent of retail Bitcoin buyers are likely to be into the negative on their investment, according to research published Monday by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). In other words: the Bitcoin they bought is now worth less. Bitcoin is down 73 percent in the past year, and up 155 percent in the past five years. Losses are only realized upon sale.” Good morning, Internet…

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