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This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Ever popped a couple of ibuprofen to ease pain or reduce inflammation? Ever wonder exactly how it works? Many scientists thought they knew, but a new study suggests they only had part of the answer. Ibuprofen (also known as Advil) and sister medicine naproxen (sold as Aleve) are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. The medicines relieve pain and inflammation, in part, by stopping an enzyme called COX-2 from carrying out certain chemical reactions in the body. This image shows a mass of spinal nerve cells (shown in green) that contain COX-2 (red). While NSAIDs and other COX-2 inhibitors can be effective at relieving pain, they have a potential downside: They can also cause gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems when taken long-term. Researchers have been looking for a way to avoid such side effects while preserving the drugs' pain-relieving … [Read more...] about A New Twist On Old Painkillers

Researchers from machine learning lab OpenAI have discovered that their state-of-the-art computer vision system can be defeated by tools no more sophisticated than a pen and a pad. As illustrated in the image above, simply writing down the name of an object and sticking it on another can be enough to trick the software into misidentifying what it sees. “We refer to these attacks as typographic attacks ,” write OpenAI’s researchers in a blog post . “By exploiting the model’s ability to read text robustly, we find that even photographs of hand-written text can often fool the model.” They note that such attacks are similar to “adversarial images” that can fool commercial machine vision systems, but far simpler to produce. Adversarial images present a real danger for systems that rely on machine vision. Researchers have shown, for example, that they can trick the software in Tesla’s self-driving cars to change lanes without warning simply by placing certain stickers on … [Read more...] about OpenAI’s state-of-the-art machine vision AI is fooled by handwritten notes

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more . Up to $70 off Adam Oram 8 Mar 2021 1 Did you know researchers say your phone is dirtier than a public toilet? In 2021, that's simply unacceptable, but luckily you can change that at a discount today. For just one day only, Woot is offering up to 47% off PhoneSoap UV sanitizers via Amazon with prices starting as low as $41.99. There are three phone sanitizer models available in today's sale so you can grab one that is the perfect size for your phone or pick one that can sanitize larger items too. Save up to $70 PhoneSoap UV Sanitizers Considering our phones are the most germ-ridden items we carry around every day, and something we put near our faces, keeping them clean should be of the utmost priority. Thankfully, Amazon is taking up to 47% off PhoneSoap UV sanitizers today only. From $42 See at Amazon Considering all the surfaces they touch and all the times … [Read more...] about Keep your phone free of germs with up to 47% off PhoneSoap UV Sanitizers today only

Hewlett-Packard is planning to spin off its PC business and buy Autonomy, the second largest pure-play software company in Europe, for $10 billion, according to a report. HP is planning to make the announcement as early as Thursday, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the company's plans. HP released a statement confirming that it's in discussions with Autonomy regarding a possible offer and that it has "authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives" for its Personal Systems Group, including spinning it off. Although HP is credited with introducing the first mass-produced PC in 1968, the Hewlett-Packard 9100A "desktop calculator," the company didn't enter the consumer PC market until the mid-1990s. HP solidified its position in the PC market in 2002 with the $25 billion purchase of then-rival Compaq. But in the past couple of years, consumer PC sales have slowed down and have been a drag on growth . And evidence is mounting that sales of HP's would-be … [Read more...] about HP May Spin Off Consumer PC Business & Make $10B Software Acquisition

It's finally time for file-sharing buffs to pour a little liquor on the ground for Napster , the original gangster of major peer-to-peer music sharing sites. On Thursday, Napster will officially merge with Rhapsody, the largest on-demand music service in the United States. Rhapsody signed an agreement last month to purchase Napster for an undisclosed sum from its parent company, Best Buy. Napster originally launched in 1999 and quickly brought a ruckus to the digital and music worlds. Two years later it was shut down by court order while the Recording Industry Association of America filed a series of lawsuits against Napster users who illegally downloaded music for free from dorms and bedrooms nationwide. A series of similar services like Kazaa and LimeWire sprang up behind Napster as downloading individual tracks and burning mix CDs became a permanent trend. Eventually record companies accepted that music fans were no longer willing to buy entire CDs in order to listen to a … [Read more...] about RIP Napster