Hackers Turn Robot Vacs Across the US Into Obscenity-Yelling Machines

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Cybersecurity is not something to take lightly, and a new report about a smart home product perfectly highlights that point. Over the course of several days, multiple robot vacuums were hacked in cities across the US.

ABC News in Australia reports that hackers were able to take full control over robot vacs in multiple cities around the country. The hack allowed the attackers to yell racial slurs at owners, remotely control the device to chase after pets, and see through the vacuum’s camera. All of the affected robot vacuums were of the same make and model, the Chinese-made ECOVACS Deebot X2.

One report comes from a Minnesota lawyer named Daniel Swenson. In Swenson’s case, he was watching TV when he noticed his vacuum making weird noises, like a “broken-up radio signal or something.” Swenson told the outlet that he reset his password and rebooted the robot after seeing a stranger was accessing the live camera feed and remote control feature. After sitting down on the couch with his wife and 13-year-old son, the robot immediately started moving again and Swenson’s family could hear racist obscenities being spewed as clear as day.

“I got the impression it was a kid, maybe a teenager,” Swenson said. “Maybe they were just jumping from device to device messing with families.” The lawyer has since turned off the device and taken it to his garage where it remains powered down. Despite the creepiness of it all, Swenson says it could’ve been worse, the hacker could have quietly observed his family with no one the wiser. Swenson says he kept the robot on the same floor as the family’s master bathroom, adding that, “Our youngest kids take showers in there.” (Read more from “Hackers Turn Robot Vacs Across the US Into Obscenity-Yelling Machines” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Montana Rancher Gets 6 Months in Prison for Cloning Giant Sheep and Breeding It

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An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the US to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.

US District Court Judge Brian Morris said he struggled to come up with a sentence for Arthur “Jack” Schubarth of Vaughn, Montana.

He said he weighed Schubarth’s age and lack of a criminal record with a sentence that would deter anyone else from trying to “change the genetic makeup of the creatures” on the earth.

Morris also fined Schubarth $20,000 and ordered him to make a $4,000 payment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Schubarth will be allowed to self-report to a Bureau of Prisons medical facility. (Read more from “Montana Rancher Gets 6 Months in Prison for Cloning Giant Sheep and Breeding It” HERE)

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Costco Reportedly Denies Selling Diddy Copious Amounts of Baby Oil for Now-Infamous ‘Freak-Offs’

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A spokesperson for Costco reportedly denied selling baby oil to Diddy after the rapper’s lawyer built a defense by claiming he may have bought from them in bulk.

Authorities said in the indictment that they seized over “1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” from Diddy’s estate, and allegations against the star suggested the oil was used during wild “freak off” parties. Diddy’s attorney Marc Agnifilo recently spoke with TMZ and attempted to defend his client by saying the baby oil had nothing to do with the alleged sexual exploits. He suggested Diddy may have simply purchased the oil in bulk from Costco. Costco’s representative quickly slapped back by claiming none of the company’s U.S. locations carry baby oil at all, according to TMZ.

Coscto’s spokesperson insisted this item is simply not part of their stock — a fact that appears to be confirmed by perusing their website. . .

The federal indictment specifically says that “baby oil” was seized. Agnifilo boldly addressed this precise point in the upcoming TMZ documentary, “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment.” He told the outlet he doubted the government seized the number of bottles they claim to have seized, and challenged the matter further by specifically suggesting Costco as the store Diddy may have utilized for bulk orders.

This is a bad look for Diddy and Agnifilo, who had just announced that music mogul would be taking the stand and testifying in his own criminal case. (Read more from “Costco Reportedly Denies Selling Diddy Copious Amounts of Baby Oil for Now-Infamous ‘Freak-Offs’” HERE)

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This Could Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease More Than Anything: Study

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. . .Researchers say that exposure to bright outside lights at night could increase your odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease more than other risk factors, especially for young people.

“We show that in the US there is a positive association between [Alzheimer’s] prevalence and exposure to light at night, particularly in those under the age of 65,” said Robin Voigt-Zuwala, an associate professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “Nightly light pollution — a modifiable environmental factor — may be an important risk factor.”

Voigt-Zuwala’s team studied maps of light pollution — such as streetlights, roadway lighting and illuminated signs — and divided the lower 48 states into five groups, from lowest to highest nighttime light intensity.

Artificial light at night can disrupt the body’s 24-hour biological clock and ruin sleep. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are associated with cognitive decline.

For seniors, Alzheimer’s prevalence had stronger ties to light pollution than risk factors such as alcohol abuse, chronic kidney disease, depression and obesity. (Read more from “This Could Increase Your Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease More Than Anything: Study” HERE)

Super Supplement Found to Boost Memory Within 24 Hours of Taking It in Breakthrough Study

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. . .Researchers at Johns Hopkins University sought to confirm this association by giving respondents a caffeine tablet. Their results are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

They conducted a double-blind trial in which participants who did not regularly eat or drink caffeinated products received either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet five minutes after studying a series of images.

Salivary samples were taken from the participants before they took the tablets to measure their caffeine levels. Samples were taken again one, three, and 24 hours afterwards.

The next day, both groups were tested on their ability to recognise images from the previous day’s study session. On the test, some of the visuals were the same as those from the day before, some were new additions, and some were similar but not the same.

More members of the caffeine group were able to correctly identify the new images as “similar” to previously viewed images rather than erroneously citing them as the same. (Read more from “Super Supplement Found to Boost Memory Within 24 Hours of Taking It in Breakthrough Study” HERE)

5,000-Year-Old Discovery at the Great Pyramids Up-Ends Ancient Egypt (VIDEO)

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An early publication study from July detailed the discovery of human-caused metal contamination, believed to be linked to the construction of the Giza necropolis.

Chemical analysis of sediment cores taken from the Nile floodplain at Giza reveal a significant amount of copper pollution (“contamination”) within the “regnal years of Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, consistent with metalworking during the preparation and construction of the edifices,” an international team of researchers wrote in the study, published in the journal Geology.

The samples reportedly represent the first known major instance of human-induced metal contamination (ie: pollution), a researcher said. “The sediments are as important as the monuments,” study co-author Christophe Morhange told ZME Science. The metal work is dated to around 3265 B.C., according to the study. That was over 5,000 years ago, much earlier than Big Archaeology probably wants us to believe our ancestors were capable of creating traceable pollution.

(Read more from “5,000-Year-Old Discovery at the Great Pyramids Up-Ends Ancient Egypt” HERE)

A Single Rapey Dolphin May Be Terrorizing Japan

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A spike in beachgoer injuries in Japan’s Wasaka Bay has reportedly been linked to a single, particularly aggressive dolphin, with experts suggesting sexual frustration might be driving erratic behavior.

No less than 47 people have sustained injuries from dolphin attacks in this region from 2022 to the present, prompting marine researchers to investigate the cause of these unusual encounters, according to The New York Times (NYT). A maritime expert told the outlet that one Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin — a male — may be responsible for the alarming rise in incidents.

This conclusion reportedly came after a thorough review of photos and videos capturing the incidents, according to Director Ryoichi Matsubara of Fukui’s Echizen Matsushima Aquarium. He told the outlet that the aggressive behavior may be attributed to mating urges.

Matsubara told the NYT this particular dolphin was sighted attempting “to press his genitals against people.” However, he reportedly added that the dolphin bit some individuals following them approaching it or even making physical contact. (Read more from “A Single Rapey Dolphin May Be Terrorizing Japan” HERE)

Human Remains Reveal Shocking Truth of What Happened After Western Roman Empire Collapsed

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Just when you thought the Roman Empire couldn’t get any more exciting, a study published mid-August detailed how DNA shifted among elites once their civilization collapsed.

The Roman Empire collapsed around the 5th century, A.D., when power was decentralized from Rome and a whole new sociological makeup emerged throughout Europe and North Africa, according to the study published in the journal PNAS. DNA evidence suggests elite Romans were key to rebuilding a new society after theirs collapsed, and a big part of their process was enhancing the genetic diversity of their people throughout Medieval Europe.

“Analyzing 28 new genomes with 24 previous ones revealed that the site was formed around biologically and socially connected high-ranking groups. The community also integrated newcomers and embraced individuals with diverse genetic ancestries,” the authors wrote in the study. At first, families of higher social status had distinct genetic ancestries, but over time, these families diversified significantly into their local communities.

Could it be that these individuals were welcomed, or were they necessary to quell the impacts of inbreeding? The authors argued that elites must have acted from a perspective of “(political) agency rather than belonging to biologically homogeneous groups.” This suggests our ancestors knew that real power comes from politicking and not nepotism. (Read more from “Human Remains Reveal Shocking Truth of What Happened After Western Roman Empire Collapsed” HERE)

Life-Changing Breakthrough Offers New Hope for Heart Failure Patients

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In a groundbreaking medical achievement, the first fully mechanical heart developed by BiVACOR has been successfully implanted in a human patient. This milestone marks a significant advancement in the field of cardiac care, offering new hope for those awaiting heart transplants.

The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) is a compact, titanium-constructed device about the size of a fist. Despite its small stature, it packs a powerful punch. It can pump blood at a rate of 12 liters per minute, which is enough to support an adult male during exercise.

Unlike other artificial hearts that rely on flexible polymer diaphragms to pump blood, the BiVACOR TAH uses a magnetically levitated rotor. This design eliminates the wear and tear associated with traditional mechanical hearts, potentially increasing their longevity.

The primary purpose of the BiVACOR TAH is to serve as a bridge-to-transplant solution. According to the OPTN/SRTR 2022 annual data report, the number of heart transplants in the United States has been on the rise. Since 2011, adult heart transplants have increased significantly by 85.8%. This device could be a lifeline for many of those patients.

On July 9, 2024, history was made at the Texas Heart Institute when the first patient received the BiVACOR TAH as part of an FDA-approved early feasibility study. This procedure was carried out at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center. (Read more from “Life-Changing Breakthrough Offers New Hope for Heart Failure Patients” HERE)

Doc, 84, Couldn’t Hear Colonoscopy Patient Screaming in Agony Because He Wasn’t Wearing His Hearing Aids: Complaint

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A Florida gastroenterologist has been disciplined after two recent colonoscopy procedures went awry on his watch, including at least one where he couldn’t hear an improperly-sedated patient’s screams because he wasn’t wearing his hearing aids.

Dr. Ishwari Prasad, 84, has been placed on probation by the Florida Board of Medicine after the botched procedures, according to a state Department of Health administrative complaint viewed by USA Today.

Both colonoscopies took place on June 5 last year at the Tampa Ambulatory Surgery Center.

During the first, Prasad is said to have “improperly delegated” medical tasks to a surgical tech who did not have a license to practice medicine, the complaint reads.

The tech was instructed by Prasad to perform “at least one” task from a list including scope insertion, scope manipulation, manipulating an instrument over polyps or tissue or removing polyps or tissue. (Read more from “Doc, 84, Couldn’t Hear Colonoscopy Patient Screaming in Agony Because He Wasn’t Wearing His Hearing Aids: Complaint” HERE)