June 12th, 2019

Trump’s tariffs push tech giant to boost Taiwan manufacturing. Google proved keener than other tech companies about shift...

Recordings of neural activity during therapeutic stimulation can be used to predict subsequent changes in brain connectivity, according to a study of epilepsy patients published in JNeurosci. This approach could inform efforts to improve brain stimulation treatments for depression and other psychiatric disorders... Corey Keller and colleagues delivered electrical stimulation from implanted electrodes in 14 patients while recording participants’ brain activity. Repeated sets of stimulation resulted in progressive changes to the brain’s response to simulation, with stronger responses in brain regions connected to the stimulation site. The researchers observed these changes in a matter of minutes, suggesting that electrical stimulation induces the brain to rapidly reorganize itself.

The team not only isolated the compounds in the scorpion's venom, but also synthesized them in the lab and verified that the lab-made versions killed staphylococcus and drug-resistant tuberculosis bacteria in tissue samples and in mice.

Both ex-FBI officials, Robert Anderson and Stephanie Douglas, retired from the bureau before it launched its investigation into the Trump campaign in summer 2016. By inviting them instead of agents involved in the investigation, Democrats are giving center stage to longtime career officials likely to be seen as more neutral and devoid of the political baggage that accompanies some of President Donald Trump’s more outspoken critics, including former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe and former agent Peter Strzok. Both were fired last year...

The sea water, beaches and sediments on the Tarragona coast contain quantities of plastic similar to those in a big city like Barcelona... They are not referring exclusively to the plastic waste that can be seen floating on the water or being washed up by the waves. What most concerns them is the presence of microscopic plastic waste that cannot be seen by the naked eye but which can have an impact on human health.

"That's why I've worked so hard in my career to make sure that... I promise you if I'm elected president, you're going to see the single most important thing that changes America, we're gonna cure cancer," Biden declared... In 2016, Biden headed the "Cancer Moonshot" program during the Obama administration in a renewed effort to find a cure for cancer. He also launched the Biden Cancer Initiative after leaving office.

If he has this ability, why didn't he do it already?

"We will begin enforcing this updated policy today; however, it will take time for our systems to fully ramp up and we'll be gradually expanding coverage over the next several months," the Google-owned video site said on Wednesday...

Alternate platforms to consider signing up to: Bitchute, Minds, D-Live, and OpenTube.

Biotechnology can help the Nation meet its food production needs, raise the productivity of the American farmer, improve crop and animal characteristics, increase the nutritional value of crop and animal products, and enhance food safety. In order to realize these potential benefits, however, the United States must employ a science-based regulatory system that evaluates products based on human health and safety and potential benefits and risks to the environment. Such a system must both foster public confidence in biotechnology and avoid undue regulatory burdens.

When the renowned “Salvator Mundi” painting was sold to an anonymous bidder for about $450 million at the end of 2017, the art world erupted in speculation. Who was the buyer? And what did the sale mean for future generations of art enthusiasts seeking to see it?... Now, an art market website, Artnet, claims to have located the missing painting on the private superyacht Serene, which was reportedly bought by the Saudi crown prince, too...

North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper... quoting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as saying “prevention is the key to production in livestock industry”... “Increasing livestock production goes hand in hand with raising farm animals safe from various diseases,”... “Once highly contagious diseases like African swine fever are spread .... herds of farm animals could die.” Preventative measures include disinfecting farms and restricting sales of pork and processed meat, the newspaper said. North Korea raises mainly chicken, ducks and rabbits. Its pig population was 2.6 million as of 2017, according to data from Statistics Korea...

A Pinterest spokesperson responded to Project Veritas, saying:

“Religious content is allowed on Pinterest, and many people use our service to search for and save Pins inspired by their beliefs. To protect our users from being targeted based on personal characteristics such as their religion, we have policies in place so that ads and recommendations don’t appear alongside certain terms.”

F-35 is a very low observable (or stealth) aircraft, with a nearly undetectable radar signature. State of the art sensors and radar on board the aircraft give the pilots a total picture of the operating environment and full interoperability means that the aircraft is the eyes and ears for supporting ground and air forces. When combined, the sensors, radar and stealth features mean that would-be aggressors can be identified and tackled with minimal threat to the F-35 operator. The aircraft can be dispatched rapidly and climbs quickly...

The latest meeting comes after the committee's Republican chairman, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, subpoenaed him as part of the panel's Russia investigation. Burr received considerable blowback from some of his GOP colleagues for the move, but he told fellow senators that Trump Jr. had backed out of an interview twice, forcing the committee to act.
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The panel is also interested in talking to Trump Jr. about that and other topics, including a campaign meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer that captured the interest of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller's report, released in April, examined the meeting but found insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime...

California-based Western Digital is the world's third-largest NAND flash memory chipmaker by market share, behind Samsung Electronics of South Korea and Japan's Toshiba Memory. While Huawei accounts for less than 10% of the company's revenue, it is a "meaningful customer," Milligan said.

Many U.S. chipmakers, including Qualcomm, Qorvo, Lumentum, Advanced Micro Devices and Skyworks, have either confirmed that they must stop doing business with the Chinese company or have cut their earnings forecasts following the U.S. blacklisting...

Government witness Richard Guerci, formerly of the IRS, testified that the liquor scion had deposited more than $14.3 million into an irrevocable trust to cover legal bills for herself and others charged in connection with Raniere.

The overwhelmingly young crowd of demonstrators filled nearby streets, overturned barriers and tussled with police outside the government headquarters and offices of the Legislative Council. A statement from the government's press service said the session of the Hong Kong's Legislative Council that was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. would be "changed to a later time to be determined" by the council secretariat...

We have invited prominent academics and industry experts into the Department to discuss the digital economy, and we have hosted an advertising workshop that explored, among other things, competition in online and mobile advertising networks... The digital economy is a fact of life, but it is not all things to all people. There has been robust public discussion about whether the broader economy, undoubtedly transformed by digital technologies, is working well for everyone. While some commenters have tried to dispatch the antitrust laws to address these problems, I do not believe the antitrust laws are bent towards values other than competition...

NASA said the gas giant is at its "biggest and brightest this month" and will be visible all night. The planet will reach opposition, the annual occurrence when the Jupiter, Earth and the Sun are arranged in a straight line, with Earth in the center. So, mark your calendars for Monday, as it will be the best time of the year to see it... However, for those who want an even closer look at the planet, NASA's Juno spacecraft is currently orbiting Jupiter and has captured stunning footage.