Nevada’s Online Privacy Law Takes Effect, Offers More Control of Info
Homeless People Reportedly Targeted for Facial Recognition ; Understanding Tardigrades ; and More Picks
Google Contractors Reportedly Targeted Homeless People for Facial Recognition (Chris)
From The Verge: “According to several sources who allegedly worked on the project, a contracting agency named Randstad sent teams to Atlanta explicitly to target homeless people and those with dark skin, often without saying they were working for Google, and without letting on that they were actually recording people’s faces.”
Trump Admin Plans to Take DNA Samples From Undocumented Immigrants Who Are Being Detained (Chris)
The author writes, “The DNA results could then be placed into a nationwide database that contains millions of other profiles for hits on potential previous criminal activity, officials say.”
How Industry ‘Environmental’ Group Helped Foil California’s Plastics Crackdown (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The nonprofit group, according to corporate filings, wasn’t created by Californians or environmentalists. It’s headed by two top executives from Novolex, a South Carolina-based company that is one of the largest producers of plastic packaging and bags in the country.”
Increasing Precipitation Extremes Driving Tree Growth Reductions Across Southwest (Mili)
The author writes, “As the Earth’s temperature warms, its hydrological cycle kicks into overdrive — wet years get wetter, and dry years get drier. According to a new University of Arizona–led study, these increased rainfall extremes could have dire consequences for the semi-arid forests of the western U.S. ‘In many parts of the United States, tree growth responds more strongly and consistently to dry years than it does to wet years, so increases in growth during wet years does not completely offset reductions in growth during drought,’ said Matt Dannenberg, lead author of the study published today in the journal Science Advances.”
Secrets of Tardigrades’ Extreme Survival Abilities Unlocked by Scientists (Mili)
From Newsweek: “A team from the University of California San Diego revealed the workings of a protein found in the creatures — also known as ‘water bears’ or ‘moss piglets’ — which helps to protect them against extreme conditions, according to a study published in the journal eLife.”
