Many of you will recall last week I made a plea for submissions as the subs queue was all but empty. One of our regular contributors did us proud and provided about a dozen stories, some of which you have already seen. But, unusually, they were all connected by a single topic - the gut microbiome.Several of you have made comments that you are aware of the strong link between the microbiome and various medical problems and issues. Rather than drag all the other stories out gradually, I have created a mashup of the remaining stories.There are quite a few..... Thanks c0lo!Gut Microbiome Could Delay Onset of Type 1 DiabetesGut microbiome could delay onset of type 1 diabetes:
Arthur Wellesley writes:The XKCD cartoon 'PhD Timeline' ( https://xkcd.com/3081/ ) with its rollover, protests.Original SubmissionRead more of this story at SoylentNews.
canopic jug writes:Mathematician, cryptologist, and computer scientist, Daniel J Bernstein has written a detailed blog post about the McEliece cryptosystem. Specifically he covers what Classic McEliece does , how the parameter sets were selected, its small ciphertexts, what NIST says about ISO standardization. what NIST says about deployment, a note about one performance number, a second note about FrodoKEM, and finally what NIST says about security.
upstart writes:Kennedy promises exhaustive studies to identify any environmental factors that may cause autismKennedy promises exhaustive studies to identify any environmental factors that may cause autism:
canopic jug writes:SparkFun Electronics, known for open source designs and software libraries, has an article covering the history of time keeping, from the earliest archeological evidence like sundials and water clocks, through mechanical clocks, to the latest standards like Cesium-133 atomic clocks.
aliks writes:The story itself is interesting as quantum messaging over existing networks dramatically reduces costs, but I wanted to compare how different sources report the story.The story caught my eye on phys.org where you get a short but reasonable summary with pictures. Maybe phys.org used AI to generate this summary?scienmag.com has a longer summary with more detail and commentary on why the story is significant.The original story is reported in Nature, with more detail and dense technical language.First off we have phys.org: Quantum messages travel 254 km using existing infrastructure for the first time
A team of researchers has developed a new way to control light interactions using a specially engineered structure called a 3D photonic-crystal cavity that could enable transformative advancements in quantum computing, quantum communication and other quantum-based technologies.
An Anonymous Coward writes:https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/19/us_crosswalk_button_hacking/Some pranksters altered the voices on crosswalk buttons in some US cities. The hardware had a control app available on Google Play and Apple App Store along with a listed default PIN of 1234.
turgid writes:At phys.org there is an article about a lone black hole discovered by astronomers at the University of St Andrews.Lone black holes are very rare, and the discovery was challenged, since lone neutron stars are far more common but subsequent observations confirm the lone black hole moving through the constellation Sagittarius.
Booga1 writes:Researchers explored a new range of colors using a different kind of laser vision. Direct laser stimulation of individual photoreceptors:
aliks writes:The stated aim is to promote better security by encouraging automation of certificate renewal, and this is the narrative promoted by vendors who will coincidentally benefit mightily from increased certificate and services sales.The story was picked up by most of the usual tech channels such as Computerworldhttps://www.computerworld.com/article/3960658/vendors-vote-to-radically-slash-website-certificate-duration.htmlwho have a decent summary of the likely consequences, but here is an exercept from the press release of one vendor: Sectigohttps://www.sectigo.com/resource-library/sectigo-cab-reduce-ssl-tls-certificates-lifespan-47-daysScottsdale, AZ - April 14, 2025 - Sectigo, a global leader in digital certificates and automated Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM), today announced that the CA/Browser (CA/B) Forum ballot it endorsed to reduce the maximum validity term of SSL/TLS certificates to 47 days by 2029 has passed. This groundbreaking move to shorten digital certificate lifespans seeks to enhance online security, drive automation in certificate management, and ready systems for quantum computing challenges by improving crypto agility.The newly approved measure, initially proposed by Apple and endorsed by Sectigo in January 2025, will gradually reduce certificate lifespans from the current 398 days to 47 days through a phased approach:March 15, 2026: Maximum TLS certificate lifespan shrinks to 200 days. This accommodates a six-month renewal cadence. The Domain Control Validation (DCV) reuse period reduces to 200 days.
aliks writes:Glyn Moody writing for the techdirt.com site has a good summary of the status of Deepseek - with an added bonus of lots of links to his source material. Longish article, covering a lot of ground including usage of AI for social surveillance by the Chinese governmenthttps://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/14/deepseek-is-already-being-applied-widely-across-chinas-industries-and-used-for-government-surveillance-and-propaganda/
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.htmlPope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.Read more of this story at SoylentNews.
upstart writes:The Israeli spyware maker, still on the US Commerce Department's "blacklist," has hired a new lobbying firm with direct ties to the Trump administration, a WIRED investigation has found:
upstart writes:The new general AI agent from China had some system crashes and server overload-but it's highly intuitive and shows real promise for the future of AI helpers:
upstart writes:Modern science wouldn't exist without the online research repository known as arXiv. Three decades in, its creator still can't let it go.:
Tech Review has a short article that attempts to describe "vibe coding" and discuss some of the ramifications, https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/04/16/1115135/what-is-vibe-coding-exactly/