Handel: Regierung will Vernichtung von Retouren erschweren

20 Millionen zurückgeschickte Artikel landen einer Studie zufolge in Deutschland jedes Jahr auf dem Müll. Die Regierung will die Lage verbessern. Aus der Opposition kommt Zustimmung – und Kritik. (Bundesregierung, Amazon)

20 Millionen zurückgeschickte Artikel landen einer Studie zufolge in Deutschland jedes Jahr auf dem Müll. Die Regierung will die Lage verbessern. Aus der Opposition kommt Zustimmung - und Kritik. (Bundesregierung, Amazon)

The immune system listens in on bacteria signaling to each other

The immune response can be modulated by bacterial signaling molecules.

A scanning electron micrograph of two probiotic bacterial strains, colored blue and red

Enlarge / Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. casei cultured from a commercial probiotic food gel sold in health food stores. (credit: Getty | Scimat)

One bacterium does not an infection cause; the microbes work as a team. Some species send and receive molecular signals so they can keep tabs on how many fellows surround them, a process known as quorum sensing. Virulence kicks into high gear when this signaling indicates that the bacterial population reaches a certain density threshold—the requisite quorum.

One species that relies on quorum sensing is P. aeruginosa, a nasty pathogen that infects and causes disease in plants, animals and, when an opportunity presents itself, in humans. It is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in burn victims, people with cystic fibrosis, and people who are immunocompromised, like AIDS patients. It is also a major contributor to nosocomial infections (infections that originate in hospitals). Obviously, it is resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics.

AhR is a protein found on the exterior of human cells that senses outside molecules. When activated by one of these molecules, it activates target genes. It was initially identified as the receptor that mediates the toxic effects of synthetic compounds like dioxins and related industrial pollutants.

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Tenet marks Christopher Nolan’s return to high-concept sci-fi thrillers

Barely any details about the film escaped during production.

John David Washington stars in Christopher Nolan's forthcoming film Tenet.

A pair of international spies must prevent the outbreak of World War III in the first trailer for Tenet, a forthcoming science fiction thriller from Director Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight), who also gave us the mind- and reality-bending futuristic thriller Inception in 2010. Their secret weapon: a futuristic technology called time reversal.

Hardly any details about the film leaked out during production. No character names are listed on IMDB, and co-star Robert Pattinson has said that he was only allowed to read the script once, while locked in a room, when considering his role. Nolan wrapped principal photography in September after shooting in seven different countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Norway, and India. (Apparently the crew foiled a suicide attempt while shooting a scene near the Gateway of India in Mumbai.) A brief teaser was shown to audiences who went to see Hobbs and Shaw in theaters this summer, and anyone who has already seen Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in an IMAX theater has likely seen a special nine-minute prologue as a sneak peek.

The trailer sets up the premise immediately with a shot of two men rappelling up a building, in seeming defiance of the laws of physics. "We all believe we'd run into the burning building," a voiceover tells us. "But until we feel that heat, we can never know." A man (John David Washington) is undergoing what appears to be a grueling trial to join an elite international team of spies, ending with a choice: give up his colleagues, or die. He chooses death and wakes up in a hospital to learn he has passed the test ("Welcome to the afterlife").

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Bundestag: Visa-Erleichterungen für E-Sportler sind beschlossen

Ab März 2020 können Profispieler aus aller Welt an E-Sport-Turnieren in Deutschland teilnehmen – ohne ernsthaft mit Problemen bei der Einreise rechnen zu müssen: Der Bundestag hat dies mit einer lange geforderten Änderung der Beschäftigungsverordnung b…

Ab März 2020 können Profispieler aus aller Welt an E-Sport-Turnieren in Deutschland teilnehmen - ohne ernsthaft mit Problemen bei der Einreise rechnen zu müssen: Der Bundestag hat dies mit einer lange geforderten Änderung der Beschäftigungsverordnung beschlossen. (E-Sport, Games)

Google fined ~$166 million by France over search ads

Google’s interpretation of its own ad policies ruled inconsistent and arbitrary.

Mountain View, Calif. - May 21, 2018: Exterior view of a Googleplex building, the corporate headquarters complex of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc.

Enlarge / Mountain View, Calif. - May 21, 2018: Exterior view of a Googleplex building, the corporate headquarters complex of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc. (credit: Getty Images / zphotos)

European regulators have generally taken a harder line against anti-competitive behavior than their counterparts in the US. Ask Intel and Microsoft about their multibillion-euro fines if you doubt. This time it's Google in the crosshairs, as Autorité de la concurrence, France's competition authority, hit the advertising giant with a €150 million ($166 million) fine Friday morning for abusing its dominant position in online advertising.

At issue are the ads that appear next to search results. France's competition authority says that Google rules governing how and when advertisers can show their ads next to search results are applied in an "unfair and random manner."

Autorité de la concurrence's investigation dates back several years, and it's based on a complaint made by Gibmedia, a French Web services and micropayments firm. Gibmedia had been booted from Google's ad platform for running ads that "deceived people into paying for services on unclear billing terms," according to a statement Google gave to Tech Crunch.

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DSGVO: Wenn Datenschützer den Datenschutz behindern

Wegen des Umgangs mit der Datenschutz-Grundverordnung droht ausgerechnet den Datenschützern eine Vertrauenskrise. Ein Fallbeispiel. Von Christiane Schulzki-Haddouti (DSGVO, Datenschutz)

Wegen des Umgangs mit der Datenschutz-Grundverordnung droht ausgerechnet den Datenschützern eine Vertrauenskrise. Ein Fallbeispiel. Von Christiane Schulzki-Haddouti (DSGVO, Datenschutz)

Temporär: Vodafone bestätigt versehentliches 5G für Prepaid-Nutzer

Nach einem Bericht über die Möglichkeit, sich mit einem 5G-Smartphone und Prepaid-Karte ins 5G-Netz von Vodafone einwählen zu können, hat der Netzbetreiber jetzt Tests eingeräumt. Derzeit sei 5G aber kein Tarifbestandteil für Prepaid. (Vodafone, Long T…

Nach einem Bericht über die Möglichkeit, sich mit einem 5G-Smartphone und Prepaid-Karte ins 5G-Netz von Vodafone einwählen zu können, hat der Netzbetreiber jetzt Tests eingeräumt. Derzeit sei 5G aber kein Tarifbestandteil für Prepaid. (Vodafone, Long Term Evolution)

Zahlungspflichtige Wetterberichte: Google zu Millionenstrafe in Frankreich verurteilt

Google hat einen Werbetreibenden ausgeschlossen, der versteckt zahlungspflichtige Wetterberichte anbot. Darin sieht die französische Wettbewerbsbehörde einen Missbrauch der marktbeherrschenden Position und fordert viel Geld. (Google, Rechtsstreitigkeit…

Google hat einen Werbetreibenden ausgeschlossen, der versteckt zahlungspflichtige Wetterberichte anbot. Darin sieht die französische Wettbewerbsbehörde einen Missbrauch der marktbeherrschenden Position und fordert viel Geld. (Google, Rechtsstreitigkeiten)

Starliner’s timer was off—capsule thought engines were firing when they weren’t

“Boeing and NASA are working together to review options.”

Right on schedule Friday morning, an Atlas V rocket launched the Starliner spacecraft into a planned suborbital trajectory. This is a critical mission for NASA and Boeing, as the company seeks to use this test flight to prove its capsule's readiness to launch humans into space next year.

After being released by the rocket, Starliner was supposed to use its Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control engines to provide the thrust needed to reach a stable orbit and begin the process of catching up to the International Space Station. But that did not happen.

During a post-launch news conference, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine explained that the mission elapsed timing system had an error in it, with the net effect that the spacecraft thought it was performing an orbital insertion burn, when in fact it was not. The on-board computer then expended a significant amount of propellant to maintain a precise attitude, thinking it had reached orbit.

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E-Highway: Scania liefert ersten O-Lkw nach Schleswig-Holstein

Die Oberleitung funktioniert, der erste Lkw ist da, vier weitere will die VW-Tochter Scania in den kommenden Monaten ausliefern. Damit kann das Pilotprojekt für Elektromobilität in Schleswig-Holstein starten. (Elektromobilität, Technologie)

Die Oberleitung funktioniert, der erste Lkw ist da, vier weitere will die VW-Tochter Scania in den kommenden Monaten ausliefern. Damit kann das Pilotprojekt für Elektromobilität in Schleswig-Holstein starten. (Elektromobilität, Technologie)