Let’s separate fact from fiction. You may have seen viral posts on social media claiming by 2027 all new cars in the United States will be required to implement a “kill switch” that would allow the vehicle to be remotely turned off if a driver is suspected of drunk or impaired driving. While there is some truth to these claims, there’s also false information spreading. @DBrozeLiveFree

Hemp has apparently found another job. Researchers turned the woody waste left over from industrial hemp production into cellulose that can reinforce biodegradable plastic. At 10% hemp-derived cellulose, the resulting film was 26.2% stronger, while also doing a better job of blocking moisture and oxygen. Even better: researchers think the technique could eventually work with other agricultural waste like rice straw and soybean stalks. Agricultural trash → tougher biodegradable materials is a recycling pipeline I can get behind. @IsleyResistance

As digital ID programs expand around the world, concerns about governments mandating the IDs for access to basic services are also on the rise. While these programs may start out as optional, over time it becomes clear they are needed to survive in our ever increasingly digital world. In this report, Derrick Broze looks at programs in Malaysia and the UK. He also discusses so-called digital drivers licenses rolling out in the United States. Are digital ID programs about convenience or simply another tool for controlling the citizenry? @DBrozeLiveFree

Lab mice may finally be able to update their résumés. 🐁 Researchers have developed a microfluidic device that keeps 3D cell models alive under flowing conditions designed to better resemble what cells experience inside the human body. The technology could provide more realistic ways to test drugs, materials and pollutants and potentially reduce the need for animal testing. Turns out the best model for human biology may increasingly be… human biology @IsleyResistance

What happens when you're conscious… but there's almost nothing left to be conscious of? Researchers studying experienced meditators found distinctive patterns of brain activity during reported states of “pure awareness”: when thoughts, sensory perceptions and even awareness of the body, time and space become greatly reduced. Turns out thinking about nothing is surprisingly complicated. The study could give neuroscientists a new way to investigate one of the strangest questions in consciousness research: What is the minimum required for there to still be an experience at all? 🧠 @IsleyResistance

A hacker group known as stegan0gram recently tore down a Flock camera, gained access to the hard drive, and stole the data to better understand how the cameras operate. The hackers found that over 21-day period the camera photographed roughly 50,200 vehicles and generated about 1.6 million images. They also discovered that the Flock camera not only captures license plates, but people, bicycles, and bumper stickers. The group shared the information with Wired and 404 Media leading to a joint investigation by the outlets. @DBrozeLiveFree

🍄 Magic mushrooms may have found another medical application. Researchers found that psilocybin given before chemotherapy prevented nerve damage, protecting sensory nerve endings and preserving sensation even through repeated chemotherapy cycles. The effect appears to involve serotonin 5-HT2A receptors—and even stranger? A non-hallucinogenic compound targeting the same receptor produced similar protection. The research is still preclinical, but a Phase 2 human trial is next. @IsleyResistance

Scientists took LSD apart piece by piece to figure out which parts of the molecule actually make it psychedelic. They created nine simplified LSD-derived compounds and found that one of them produced antipsychotic-like effects (in mice). Apparently LSD is less a drug and more a molecular Lego set, who knows what we’ll build next? @IsleyResistance

Apparently, the opposite of LSD isn't sobriety. It's unconsciousness. Researchers compared brain scans from people under psychedelics with people sleeping or sedated with propofol and found essentially mirror-image patterns. Psychedelics made the brain more globally connected, integrated and dynamic. Sleep and anesthesia pushed those same measures in the opposite direction. The finding could offer another clue to a slightly ambitious neuroscience question: What actually makes us conscious? @IsleyResistance

Correspondent @DBrozeLiveFree reports from NYC during the 25th anniversary of 9/11 to find out if Americans believe they are safer with the rise of the Surveillance and National Security State.

A new nationwide class action lawsuit accuses Meta of using pictures from Facebook and Instagram to extract biometric information for an as yet unreleased facial recognition system allegedly intended for the company’s new “smart glasses”. The 66-page lawsuit claims Meta used images of users and non-users of their platforms Facebook and Instagram to train and test facial recognition technology known as NameTag. A Meta spokesperson confirmed that NameTag is real but has no current plans to use facial recognition with their smart glasses. @DBrozeLiveFree

More Americans than ever now oppose law enforcement’s use of Automatic License Plate Readers such as Flock cameras, a reversal from last year sparked by a growing resistance to the invasive surveillance cameras. A survey conducted by YouGov confirmed that nearly half of Americans polled opposed the technology being used in their neighborhoods. Another poll found that 46% of Americans polled have a negative view of Flock. @DBrozeLiveFree

🐒 More than 90% of howler monkey fecal samples contained microplastics. Researchers analyzed 66 samples from endangered Mexican howler monkeys living in the protected Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve. They identified 31 polymer types, including 12 that fell into hazard categories used by the researchers. The health consequences for the monkeys aren't yet clear, but the study adds to evidence that plastic pollution isn't staying confined to cities, waterways, or heavily developed ecosystems. Apparently the rainforest monkey lifestyle is no longer enough to opt out of plastic. @IsleyResistance

After being troubled by delays and budget concerns for nearly a decade, the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) program will become the US government’s largest biometric database when it launches in September. The program has also been plagued by privacy concerns raised by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), as well as digital rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation. @DBrozeLiveFree

More than 30 political candidates have signed a pact promising strict policies for hyperscale data centers and the companies who are building them. The pact includes promises that, if elected, candidates will ban tax breaks for data centers, support mandatory safety reviews for AI models, supporting policies that would create an AI dividend for workers, and ensuring that consumers and companies can sue over harms caused by models. The pact comes as a growing number of Americans push back against data centers, and US states New York and Texas have enacted their own moratoriums on data center construction. @DBrozeLiveFree

Many Americans are aware of the privacy concerns associated with public W-iFi networks, but did you know that Wi-Fi networks can be used to identify a person without the use of cameras? In recent years researchers have shown that Wi-Fi devices and routers can be used to see through walls and create “radio-based” images of people with a nearly 100% accuracy rate. Researchers with UC Santa Barbara have also been able to read the alphabet through walls with Wi-Fi signals. Privacy advocates warn that this could present an unprecedented attack on everyone’s privacy. @DBrozeLiveFree

Apparently fear is an ecosystem service. A new study from Washington’s Olympic Peninsula found that areas with high cougar activity had dramatically fewer deer-vehicle collisions. The reason isn't simply that cougars eat deer. Their presence changes deer behavior, pushing them away from road-heavy developed areas and shifting when they're active. Researchers call it a "landscape of fear." For deer: stressful. For your front bumper: surprisingly helpful. @IsleyResistance

Social media giant Meta has agreed to $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to Facebook and Instagram platforms as part of a historic settlement related to teen social media addiction. Some of the proposed changes include limiting the accounts of kids to just 2 hours a day, banning notifications during school hours, and enhanced age-assurance measures. It is these calls for age verification that have privacy advocates concerned. @DBrozeLiveFree