Massive nursing degree scheme leads to hunt for 2,800 fraudulent nurses

Enlarge / A critical care nurse assists a patient. (credit: Getty | Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) More than 2,800 people may be working as nurses under false pretenses after allegedly buying a fake diploma for between $10,000 and $15,000 from a massive Florida-based scheme recently busted by federal investigators. State and federal...

14h

ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base in history, report says

Enlarge / A realistic artist's depiction of an encounter with ChatGPT Plus. (credit: Benj Edwards / Ars Technica / OpenAI) On Wednesday, Reuters reported that AI bot ChatGPT reached an estimated 100 million active monthly users last month, a mere two months from launch, making it the "fastest-growing consumer application in history,"...

14h

Teasing out the secret recipes for mummification in ancient Egypt

Enlarge / Illustration of an embalming scene in an underground chamber. (credit: Nikola Nevenov) Most of what we know about ancient Egyptian mummification techniques comes from a few ancient texts. In addition to a text called The Ritual of Embalming, Greek historian Herodotus mentions the use of natron to dehydrate the body in his...

14h

Unofficial Link to the Past PC port is a reverse-engineered gem

Enlarge / Among the many upgrades made possible by this project, A Link to the Past is now a game you can Alt+Tab out of when a supervisor comes near. (credit: Nintendo / Kevin Purdy) It's a sad reality among retro emulation enthusiasts: You often spend far more time crafting your perfect setup than playing the games. You get your controller,...

15h

Bethesda’s Redfall needs to be online for single-player mode

Enlarge / Artist's conception of a single player (foreground) trying to access Redfall without an Internet connection. Bethesda's upcoming supernatural shooter Redfall will require "a persistent online connection," even for the single-player experience. That's according to an FAQ posted by Bethesda last week, which also confirms that...

15h

Up to 29,000 unpatched QNAP storage devices are sitting ducks to ransomware

As many as 29,000 network storage devices manufactured by Taiwan-based QNAP are vulnerable to hacks that are easy to carry out and give unauthenticated users on the Internet complete control, a security firm has warned. The vulnerability, which carries a severity rating of 9.8 out of a possible 10, came to light on Monday, when QNAP issued a patch...

15h

Netflix stirs fears by using AI-assisted background art in short anime film

Enlarge / A still image from the short film Dog and Boy,, which uses image synthesis to help generate background artwork. (credit: Netflix) Over the past year, generative AI has kicked off a wave of existential dread over potential machine-fueled job loss not seen since the advent of the industrial revolution. On Tuesday, Netflix reinvigorated...

15h

(Most of) AMD’s gaming-centric Ryzen 7000 X3D CPUs launch February 28

Enlarge / AMD has announced pricing and availability for its newest 3D V-Cache desktop CPUs. (credit: AMD) AMD's pumped-up, 3D V-Cache-equipped Ryzen 7000 desktop processors will be available to buy on February 28, the company announced today. The rollout will start with the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900X3D and the 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X3D, which...

17h

Won’t somebody please think of the insects?!

Enlarge / This butterfly is also referred to as the Cairns Birdwing. (credit: Jodi Jacobson) Nearly 17 percent, or 22.5 million square kilometers, of the world’s land now falls within protected areas. Countries have established laws that safeguard these parcels of land—or in some cases, aquatic areas—to ensure that the natural ecosystems...

17h

Apple should be required to let iPhone users sideload apps, Biden admin says

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto ) The Biden administration wants major changes to the Apple and Google mobile app models, saying the companies "act as gatekeepers over the apps that people and businesses rely on" and enforce policies that "have the potential to harm consumers by inflating prices and reducing innovation." An...

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