Cancer is a sad fact of life, as nearly 40 percent of people are diagnosed with it at some point in their lives. But humans aren’t alone in this. Many different species can also develop the disease—some more often than others. By studying these species and their habits and natural defenses (or lack thereof), we can learn new ways to combat the disease.
New research that involves a comprehensive survey of cancer shows that many mammals can indeed get cancer. To gain insight into this, the team looked at records for 110,148 animals from 191 species that died in zoos. The data came from Species360, an international non-profit that collects and unifies this kind of data from zoos across the world, according to Orsolya Vincze, a research fellow at the Centre for Ecological Research in Hungary and one of the paper’s authors.
Using the data gathered by the organization, the research team could “collect information on what the animals died of,” she told Ars.
In der Diskussion um eine Impfpflicht und gefälschte Impfpässe wird auch ein Impfregister gefordert. Der Bundesjustizminister hält dagegen. (Digitalisierung, Datenschutz)
In der Diskussion um eine Impfpflicht und gefälschte Impfpässe wird auch ein Impfregister gefordert. Der Bundesjustizminister hält dagegen. (Digitalisierung, Datenschutz)
Dass sich die Energiewende ohne Speicher für Wind- und Solarstrom schlecht umsetzen lässt, ist kaum noch umstritten. Was fehlt, ist der politische Wille zur Lösung
Dass sich die Energiewende ohne Speicher für Wind- und Solarstrom schlecht umsetzen lässt, ist kaum noch umstritten. Was fehlt, ist der politische Wille zur Lösung
Die Mutter eines vierjährigen Kindes, das bei einem “Corona-Spaziergang” leicht verletzt wurde, steht mit Recht in der Kritik. Die Polizei bleibt hingegen von kritischen Fragen weitgehend verschont
Die Mutter eines vierjährigen Kindes, das bei einem "Corona-Spaziergang" leicht verletzt wurde, steht mit Recht in der Kritik. Die Polizei bleibt hingegen von kritischen Fragen weitgehend verschont
Most current policies assume we’ll need carbon capture, but there’s a big cost.
Enlarge/ Capturing carbon, as this algae-growing plant does, may not be the most economical way to reach our climate targets. (credit: Santiago Urquijo / Getty Images)
What will it cost if the climate exceeds the Paris Agreement temperature goals this century—even if we later remove carbon dioxide from the air and manage to bring temperatures back down to meet those targets by 2100? And how does that compare with the costs of staying below those targets?
Most plans that are consistent with the Paris Agreement goals assume that temperatures will rise above 1.5° or even 2° C before 2100. They then heavily rely on the success and wide adoption of what are called negative carbon emissions techniques, which involve the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to bring temperatures back down. That’s a gamble for a number of reasons.
“Betting on being able to bring temperatures down after a larger overshoot is very risky because of the uncertain technological feasibility and because of the possibility of setting off irreversible processes in the earth system with even a temporary temperature overshoot,” wrote second author Christoph Bertram, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, in an email to Ars Technica. “Furthermore, such an approach would be unfair to future generations, as it basically would shift more of the mitigation burden on them.”
Omikron: Heute treten in Deutschland verschärfte Corona-Maßnahmen in Kraft. England verzichtet auf neue Beschränkungen, Bars und Clubs bleiben zum Beispiel geöffnet
Omikron: Heute treten in Deutschland verschärfte Corona-Maßnahmen in Kraft. England verzichtet auf neue Beschränkungen, Bars und Clubs bleiben zum Beispiel geöffnet
1&1 macht unterschiedliche Angaben dazu, ob Großbritannien als Sonderfall beim Mobilfunk weiterhin zu den EU-Roaming-Ländern gezählt wird. (1&1, Mobilfunk)
1&1 macht unterschiedliche Angaben dazu, ob Großbritannien als Sonderfall beim Mobilfunk weiterhin zu den EU-Roaming-Ländern gezählt wird. (1&1, Mobilfunk)
In the world of tech policy news, 2021 began with Twitter and other social networks banning then-President Donald Trump after the January 6 insurrection. Many other noteworthy stories followed in the ensuing months.
The Elizabeth Holmes trial featured fascinating revelations about Theranos, while the judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial didn't let the prosecutor use an iPad's pinch-to-zoom feature. Missouri's Republican governor claimed that viewing HTML code is "hacking," WhatsApp forced users to share data with Facebook, Apple announced a controversial plan to scan photos, and the Supreme Court saved the software industry from API copyrights. President Joe Biden failed to give Democrats a majority on the Federal Communications Commission, and Republicans are now fighting Biden's belated attempt to fill the FCC's empty seat.
As usual, we wrote plenty of stories about telecom companies behaving badly—such as when Verizon forced users onto pricier plans to get $50-per-month government subsidies. This article lists and summarizes our top policy stories of the year, which we selected based on reader interest and importance.
Movie industry startup White Rabbit allows people to pay for the films they watch on pirate sites. The service compensates filmmakers directly while sharing revenue pirate sites in the process. Add in a blockchain distribution model and it’s clear that the service is up with the times. Or is there such as thing as too much innovation?
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
When we first read about White Rabbit years ago, we initially dismissed it as yet another attempt to make pirates voluntarily pay for the content they consume.
We have seen a few of these services come and go over the years. They all failed due to a lack of support from both content creators and pirates.
That White Rabbit first sought interest from the press during the 2018 “ICO craze” didn’t help either. At the time, there was an overload of creative blockchain ideas that raised millions of dollars. Most of these are no longer around today.
White Rabbit’s coin offering didn’t go particularly well either, but the project is far from gone. The company reinvented itself and, over the past few weeks, the service quietly launched in the UK, France, and Norway, with several movie companies and ‘unnamed’ pirate sites as partners.
White Rabbit Launched in Cannes
This process hasn’t been easy. The company had to win the trust of key movie industry players, who usually stay far away from everything piracy-related. However, the team persisted and during a presentation at the film festival in Cannes this year, there was plenty of interest.
We tuned into this presentation as well and were quite surprised by what we saw. The White Rabbit browser extension had developed into one of the most convenient search engines for pirated movies. Better than any pirate tool we knew. Perhaps too good?
During the presentation in Cannes the White Rabbit team showed that, after installing the Chrome extension, people can search for any film. The extension then displays a list of official sources and pirated alternatives. Clicking on the “pirate” option takes you straight to an unauthorized streaming service.
Live Pirate Streaming at a Film Festival
This live demo led to the slightly unusual situation that movies such as Disney’s “Luca” were streamed from a pirate site at one of the most prestigious film festivals. The revenue potential soon became apparent though. After roughly 30 seconds, a popup appeared that asked whether the user would like to pay for this film, or not.
From the Cannes presentation
The extension officially launched a few weeks ago and, at the time, this process was still in place. However, when we tried White Rabbit again this week things had changed.
Pay to Pirate Blockbusters?
The extension still offers ‘access’ to a wide range of movies including the latest blockbusters, but the pirate links only appear after making a payment. If people go to one of the ‘supported’ pirate sites directly, they will be alerted through the usual popup.
Finding a film through the extension is quite easy. When we searched for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” it came up right away.
Sure enough, after paying €2, we were immediately redirected to a pirate streaming site. In this example, we were linked to 123-movies.as.
The same procedure also works for other films, including Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Disney exclusives. Instead of paying for a subscription to these legal streaming platforms, you can simply pay €2 and enjoy it on a pirate site.
TorrentFreak spoke to White Rabbit’s CEO Alan R. Milligan who informed us that this is not how the extension is supposed to work. Movies that are still in theaters or are exclusive to a platform are meant to be redirected to official channels.
“When users search for these films they are redirected to the film on the official streaming platform or to the cinema to buy a ticket. The majority of films are however non-exclusive films where revenue for that filmmaker and producer is vital to keep them making films,” Milligan says.
Indeed, when we search for “Seaspiracy” we are redirected to Netflix. However, it is clear that White Rabbit needs to improve things on the backend to get rid of the errors we spotted.
Legal Uncertainties
One example of a non-exclusive film that’s available on purpose is Dune, which can also be ‘bought’ for €2. This sounds great, but there could be some complications. White Rabbit has teamed up with some copyright holders in the regions where it’s available (UK, France, Norway), but not all are not on board yet.
This means that, despite paying, you are not authorized to stream the content. Similarly, White Rabbit itself is treading in dangerous waters by acting as a paid piracy gateway, despite its good intentions.
White Rabbit’s CEO, who himself worked as a film producer in the past, tells us that he’s aware of this issue. He realizes that not all major studios will come on board immediately, but he clarified that the company isn’t planning to profit from the content of others.
If someone pays money for a film that’s not connected to one of White Rabbit’s existing partners this revenue will be held in a secure account to be claimed at a later date. If the rightsholder doesn’t want it, the money will be returned to the user who paid for it.
Support from the EU and Filmmakers
While the major Hollywood players could have reservations, White Rabbit has plenty of support as well. The project is backed by the EU and several filmmakers, who see it as a potential revenue driver.
“White Rabbit and its investors, including the EU and film producers, believe P2P+blockchain is THE opportunity to secure technological independence by decentralised distribution, secured data ownership, and direct payments from fans to artists,” Milligan tells us.
“With technology we can allow everyone and anyone to become a streaming platform. White Rabbit’s content recognition combined with ownership verification and blockchain transactions turns this opportunity into reality.”
Milligan and his team are not the only ones who see pirate sites as potential partners. Several movie industry players have teamed up with White Rabbit to explore this new business model.
Pirates As an Opportunity
This includes Bertrand Faivre from The Bureau Films, who believes that it can help to generate revenue from people who wouldn’t otherwise pay.
“We see the White Rabbit model as a good opportunity to try and move the situation on the piracy front and the problem it solves for us is that it clearly distinguishes the customers who are ready to screen our films for a fair price… and the thieves,” Faivre tells us.
This vision is shared by film financier and producer Ian Sharp, who also sees it as a way to break free from the major streaming platforms, which don’t always offer the best licensing deals for films.
“White Rabbit is an opportunity for the film industry to become independent from tech giants. Platforms are the past. Viral distribution is the future,” Sharp tells us.
“White Rabbit enables direct distribution to fans and they pay us directly for what they watch. This removes gatekeepers for both fans and filmmakers and ensures content diversity and access for everyone. Nothing could be better.”
The Blockchain Connection
People who use White Rabbit won’t notice it, but White Rabbit is built around a blockchain. There is no need to pay with cryptocurrencies. However, behind the scenes the movie payments are divided through blockchain entries.
These public transactions add transparency and make it clear how much money goes to the rightsholders, White Rabbit, and potential pirate sites that team up with the company.
Ultimately, White Rabbit hopes to build this blockchain distribution model out even further, so all people who contributed to a film, including actors and hairdressers, can get paid directly.
That last bit has yet to be developed but the opportunity is there. Ultimately, White Rabbit envisions a future where pirate sites and filmmakers join forces. Where they can all profit as well.
Whether this will work has yet to be seen. We envision quite a few legal hurdles and pushback from major movie industry players. At the same time, pirates have to be willing to pay too. However, these issues are not stopping Milligan and the rest of the team.
Onboarding Pirate sites
Behind the scenes, there are negotiating partnerships with various pirate sites. White Rabbit wasn’t willing to name any yet, but the company sees pirate sites as allies in the ‘fight’ against leading streaming platforms and invites them to come aboard.
“We are at a historical juncture in the relationship between the film industry and piracy sites. We have a common cause: reducing Tech Giant’s dominance – and on more than just streaming,” Milligan tells us.
“As such I invite every piracy site to join the professionalization of the P2P streaming space – to become players in the film industry,” he adds.
For those who want to give it a try, White Rabbit is available in the Chrome store. Due to old-fashioned licensing issues, the extension can only be used in the UK, Norway, and France for now.
White Rabbit doesn’t currently indicate which films are officially licensed and which are not, so it’s always wise to proceed with care.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
In der Diskussion um eine Impfpflicht und gefälschte Impfpässe wird auch ein Impfregister gefordert. Der Bundesjustizminister hält dagegen. (
Ein Team aus Yale hat die indirekten Emissionen von Elektroautos und konventionellen Autos miteinander verglichen. (
1&1 macht unterschiedliche Angaben dazu, ob Großbritannien als Sonderfall beim Mobilfunk weiterhin zu den EU-Roaming-Ländern gezählt wird. (
When we first read about White Rabbit 
Finding a film through the extension is quite easy. When we searched for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” it came up right away. 
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