Susan ✶✶✶✶

2025-06-29 16:03:41

https://mathstodon.xyz/@johncarlosbaez/114765857000929713 johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz - If you're the kind of person who follows me, you may know about the Kessler Syndrome.

That's when collisions between satellites and space junk create enough debris to cause more collisions, leading to a runaway chain reaction. This could render certain regions of near-Earth space unusable!

It's one of nature's ways of containing stupid civilizations, sort of like how inflammation contains infections. So don't be surprised:

A new study by Lewis and Kessler argues that we've hit the "runaway threshold" - the point where a chain reaction is expected - at nearly all altitudes between 520 and 1000 kilometers.

Below that, or above that, space could remain usable. So we could still get out and ruin other layers of space - or go to other planets and mess up those. Luckily, planned deployments of large satellite constellations like Starlink, Amazon's Project Kuiper, etc. will reduce the risk of such a breakout.

Yes, I'm joking - we can differ on whether the expansion of stupidity into the cosmos would be a good or bad thing compared to a mostly dead cosmos, and I don't really have an opinion on that. But the study is for real, and worth checking out:

• Hugh G. Lewis and Donald J. Kessler, Critical number of spacecraft in low Earth orbit: a new assessment of the stability of the orbital debris environment, https://conference.sdo.esoc.esa.int/proceedings/sdc9/paper/305/SDC9-paper305.pdf

Thanks to @[url=https://mastodon.online/users/michael_w_busch]Michael Busch[/url] for pointing this out.

(1/2)

John Carlos Baez (@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz)

Attached: 1 image If you're the kind of person who follows me, you may know about the Kessler Syndrome. That's when collisions between satellites and space junk create enough debris to cause *more* collisions, leading to a runaway chain reaction.

^Mathstodon

𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕖𝕒 🏳️‍⚧️🦋

2025-06-17 09:07:43

A USB cable with built in operating system and wifi for exploiting computers

A tiny circuit board containing an ESP32-S3 hides inside a USB-C plug on each cable, and can carry out a keystroke injection attack. The cable’s firmware is open-source, and has an impressive set of features: a payload syntax checker, payload autocompletion, OS detection, and the ability to impersonate the USB device of your choice.
\
The cable provides a control interface over WiFi, and it’s possible to edit and deploy live payloads without physical access to the cable (this is where the syntax checker should be particularly useful). The firmware also provides a remote shell for computers without a network connection; the cable opens a shell on the target computer which routes commands and responses through the cable’s WiFi connection (demonstrated in the video below).
\
The main advantage of the Evil Crow Cable Wind is its price: only about $25, at which point you can afford to lose a few during deployment. We’ve previously seen a malicious cable once before. Of course, these attacks aren’t limited to cables and USB drives; we’ve seen them in USB-C docks, in a gaming mouse, and the fear of them in fans.

https://hackaday.com/2025/06/16/an-open-source-justification-for-usb-cable-paranoia/

An Open-Source Justification For USB Cable Paranoia

Most people know that they shouldn’t plug strange flash drives into their computers, but what about a USB cable? A cable doesn’t immediately register as an active electronic device to most people, …

^Hackaday

Andrew Pam

2025-06-13 18:56:33

Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

As it turns out, chimpanzees make pretty good doctors. For decades, scientists have been studying what chimpanzees do when they fall ill. This search has led to the identification of medicinal behaviour, which often involves the ingestion of plants with chemical or physical properties that can help the animal’s recovery.

My team’s recent study in the Budongo Forest of western Uganda found its chimpanzees show a range of healthcare behaviour – one of which, applying chewed botanical material to wounds, had never before been documented in chimpanzees.

Previous studies have shown that wild chimpanzees appear to treat their wounds and maintain sexual hygiene using medicinal plants found in their environment. What’s more, they treat other group members, even ones who are unrelated to them.

In 2022, a study in Gabon, west Africa found that wild chimpanzees catch and apply insects to their wounds as well as the wounds of non-kin community members. A previous study had reported that chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest of Uganda occasionally dab the wounds of unrelated group members with leaves.

Now our research, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, shows the chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest engaging in topical healthcare, both on themselves and others.

Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

The plants chimpanzees use to treat their wounds have been found to have medicinal properties.

^{The Conversation}

Andrew Pam

2025-06-13 18:56:33

Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

As it turns out, chimpanzees make pretty good doctors. For decades, scientists have been studying what chimpanzees do when they fall ill. This search has led to the identification of medicinal behaviour, which often involves the ingestion of plants with chemical or physical properties that can help the animal’s recovery.

My team’s recent study in the Budongo Forest of western Uganda found its chimpanzees show a range of healthcare behaviour – one of which, applying chewed botanical material to wounds, had never before been documented in chimpanzees.

Previous studies have shown that wild chimpanzees appear to treat their wounds and maintain sexual hygiene using medicinal plants found in their environment. What’s more, they treat other group members, even ones who are unrelated to them.

In 2022, a study in Gabon, west Africa found that wild chimpanzees catch and apply insects to their wounds as well as the wounds of non-kin community members. A previous study had reported that chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest of Uganda occasionally dab the wounds of unrelated group members with leaves.

Now our research, published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, shows the chimpanzees of the Budongo Forest engaging in topical healthcare, both on themselves and others.

Inside the chimpanzee medicine cabinet: we’ve found a new way chimps treat wounds with plants

The plants chimpanzees use to treat their wounds have been found to have medicinal properties.

^{The Conversation}