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There Is A Massive Gravity ‘Hole’ Found In The Indian Ocean

The Federal Reserve’s upcoming instant payment system, FedNow, released its list of certified “early adopters” on June 29. The organizations on the list have been certified as ready to connect with the platform when it launches in late July. No blockchain networks are on the list, despite at least two having previously announced that they would connect to the instant payment system.

The FedNow service stated that some organizations not on the list may be integrated later, and Metal Blockchain said it still intends to connect with the platform once it gains “the appropriate bank sponsor.”

At least two blockchain networks have announced that they will be “connecting” to FedNow when it launches. One is Metallicus’ Metal Blockchain. The Metallicus team stated in May that its network will allow instant conversion of cash to stablecoins through a connection with FedNow. At the time, FedNow’s official website also listed Metallicus in its “service provider showcase,” providing further evidence that the integration was going to occur.

The other blockchain network that had announced integration with FedNow was Tassat, creator of the TassatPay service and Digital Interbank Network. Tassat claims its network is a business-to-business private blockchain for commercial banks. In March, it announced that it will connect its digital B2B payment platform to the upcoming FedNow service.

Tassat was listed on the FedNow website’s “service provider showcase” as of June 30.

Ripple partners such as Volante Technologies, ACI Worldwide, and Finastra are actively working on the US Federal Reserve’s instant payments system FedNow. Cloud payments leader Volante Technologies has successfully completed pilot testing on the FedNow instant payments service with a leading US-based custodian bank. Proponents claim FedNow to indirectly benefit Ripple and XRP as Volante and Ripple have worked on various payment solutions.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve has announced 57 financial firms set to initially use the FedNow instant payments system. It includes financial giants such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp, and Wells Fargo.

Trusted cloud payment service provider Volante Technologies has recently acknowledged Ripple as a game changer in the payment ecosystem. While speaking at a Euro Banking Association (EBADay) event, Volante Technologies’ Chief Marketing Officer Vinay Prabhakar endorsed Ripple as a significant opportunity for Payment Service Providers (PSPs) while discussing the benefits of cloud payment processing.

Noteworthy, this endorsement comes one week after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) acknowledged Ripple and XRP as key components in the pursuit of efficient cross-border settlement. This IMF’s stance on XRP contributed to the launch of XC Platform, a global platform that would encourage Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) interoperability across borders.

Ripple has also been working with several central banks to implement their CBDC even before the launch of its CBDC Platform. Ripple is in talks with the top banking institutions in India about rolling out the pilot phase for the nation’s CBDC aka Digital Rupee.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is preparing to expand its controversial facial recognition program to around 430 airports over the next “several years” after finding “extremely promising” results from its pilot program, an agency spokesperson tells Fast Company. The expansion comes amid allegations by rights advocates that the agency is improperly coercing travelers to participate.

But Langston acknowledges that, until this week, some of travelers’ biometric data was collected and sent to the Department of Homeland Security’s AI research wing to “determine the efficacy of the algorithms” that were used. That data was sent as encrypted code, not as image files, he says.

TSA has made no secret of its desire to scale up its biometric programs. In a roadmap published in 2018, the agency declared an intention to phase out even the use of physical IDs and rely purely on facial recognition. At an SXSW fireside chat in March, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said that “eventually we will get to the point where we will require biometrics across the board because it is much more effective and much more efficient.”

originally posted by: MetalThunder
WHY NOt?

There Is A Massive Gravity ‘Hole’ Found In The Indian Ocean

Deep beneath the Indian Ocean, that pull weakens to an extreme low, leaving what is considered a massive gravity 'hole' some three million square kilometers in size roughly where the seafloor sinks into a vast depression.

In a new study, researchers from Université libre de Bruxelles demonstrate the potential of blockchain technology, known from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, to secure the coordination of robot swarms. In experiments conducted with both real and simulated robots, they show how blockchain technology enables a robot swarm to neutralize harmful robots without human intervention, thus enabling the deployment of autonomous and safe robot swarms. Their work is published in the journal Science Robotics

Even though current swarm robotics applications are exclusively demonstrated in research environments, experts anticipate that in the non-distant future, robot swarms will support us in our everyday life. Robot swarms might perform environmental monitoring, underwater exploration, infrastructure inspection, and waste management—and thus make significant contributions to the transition into a fossil-free future with low pollution and high quality of life. In some of these activities, robot swarms will even outperform humans, leading to higher-quality results while ensuring our safety.

This successful integration of blockchain technology into robot swarms paves the way for a wide range of secure robotic applications. To favor these future developments, the researchers have released their software frameworks as open-source.

The first drug fully generated by artificial intelligence entered clinical trials with human patients this week.

Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based biotech startup with more than $400 million in funding, created the drug, INS018_055, as a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs. The condition, which has increased in prevalence in recent decades, currently affects about 100,000 people in the U.S. and can lead to death within two to five years if untreated, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"It is the first fully generative AI drug to reach human clinical trials, and specifically Phase II trials with patients," Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine, told CNBC. "While there are other AI-designed drugs in trials, ours is the first drug with both a novel AI-discovered target and a novel AI-generated design."

Amazon has listed Shanghai Tanlian Technology Co., Ltd., the company behind VeCarbon, the VeChainThor public blockchain and many other firms as partners in its “Amazon Cloud Technology Sustainable Development Partner Program” which was released during its recently held summit in Shanghai.

The others partners are Deloitte China, Accenture, PwC China, Capgemini China, NTT DATA, Boss Cloud, Centific, Changhong IT, Ecorod, InnoBlock, Carbon Trust, TUV Rheinland, Miaoying, Zhiding, Goldwind, Hanlin Yixun and Zhixin Yuanjing, etc.

Ultimately, Amazon plans to work together with these partners to achieve green transformation and sustainable development through energy and carbon management consulting, carbon measurement and ESG reporting, industrial energy-saving optimization, and clean energy replacement. This goal is core to the VeChain ecosystem especially as it concerns VeCarbon. The technology has been leveraged over time to help tech companies and others efficiently manage their carbon footprint.

Non-fungible token (NFT) rewards are often seen as a sign of the times, transforming the relationship between artists and fans and creating a fine line between physical and digital experiences.
Earlier this month, British pop star and former One Direction band member Harry Styles played a show at Slade Castle in Ireland. Fans were invited to use EVNTZ, the official event app for the concert, and were able to open up a self-custodial digital wallet that can house future blockchain-based rewards. The app linked up with Co:Create, a Web3 infrastructure company, and powered the experience via its API that connects through Polygon, a well-known Ethereum sidechain.

The app, which O’Callaghan said plans to offer experiences for other artists in 2024, was designed to be a seamless entry point into blockchain technology without the need for prior experience.