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benchtobedside

598 karma · joined February 24, 2015

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benchtobedside··on U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications
If you read the article, that time is now. Green card interviews are part of the immigrant visa applications that have been paused indefinitely.
benchtobedside··on Candy Crush, Tinder, MyFitnessPal: Apps hijacked to spy on location
I asked the developer of Podcast Addict about this and shared the article. This is their response verbatim:

"Hi,

I'm sorry but I don't understand your email. Of course every podcast app connects to 3rd party content to stream it and therefore hosting platforms and tracking services and ad services used by the podcasters will have access to your IP address. Sorry but saying that a podcast app leaks your IP address is as stupid as saying that a web browser does. It's just a tool that connects to 3rd party content, so yes unless you're using a VPN the server you connect to will always have access to your IP address The app doesn't have your location. As you can see it doesn't ask for location permission so the app doesn't have anything to share, but yes your IP will of course be public to any server you connect to

Xavier"

benchtobedside··on Ozempic linked to lower Alzheimer's risk in people with Type 2 diabetes
Another interesting point from the study (full paper linked in a other comment) was the comparison of semaglutide to other GLP-1 agonists taken by patients, with the impact being significantly higher vs. those.

Obviously we need some more double blind studies dedicated to this class of drugs and Alzheimer's, but this informs the direction researchers and drug companies will likely map out.

benchtobedside··on Ozempic linked to lower Alzheimer's risk in people with Type 2 diabetes
TL;DR from the article: The study found that patients prescribed semaglutide had a significantly lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease than those who had taken one of the seven other diabetes drugs. The results were consistent across gender, age and weight.

The biggest difference was seen when comparing patients who took semaglutide to those who took insulin: Semaglutide patients had a 70% lower risk of Alzheimer’s, the study found.

Full link to the study itself: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz...

benchtobedside··on 23andMe changed its terms of service to prevent hacked customers from suing
Worth noting that 23andMe, plus many other low cost genealogy/health-focused companies do not sequence your DNA.

Instead, they perform what is called a genotyping microarray test, which looks at less than 0.1% of your genome.

To quote from 23andMe: "In order to be genotyped, the amplified DNA is “cut” into smaller pieces, which are then applied to our DNA chip (also known as a microarray), a small glass slide with millions of microscopic “beads” on its surface. Each bead is attached to a “probe," a bit of DNA that matches one of the genetic variants that we test. The cut pieces of your DNA stick to the matching DNA probes. A fluorescent label on each probe identifies which version of that genetic variant your DNA corresponds to."

Source: https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/227968028...

benchtobedside··on Eli Lilly pulls millions in Twitter advertising after fake account debacle
The submitted link was: https://e.endpointsnews.com/t/t-l-auriiuk-cjrhukllr-k/ - this was an email newsletter link used to allow readers to bypass Endpoints' paywall.

HN then modified it to its current ugly form.

benchtobedside··on Effect of Colonoscopy Screening on Risks of Colorectal Cancer and Related Death
This post was submitted with the following title from the original article per the guidelines: "In gold-standard trial, colonoscopy fails to reduce rate of cancer deaths"
benchtobedside··on Ask HN: How can we lay people off without cruelty?
One thing to consider if you have any foreign employees you sponsor on temporary working visas (think H1B, E3, etc.) to work in the US: Oftentimes these folks will have extremely limited time to get their affairs in order and leave the country if they can't find another job.

One thing you can do, that costs you nothing, is give them the option to instead continue to work out their 2 months in lieu of severance to provide an extra 60 days of job search.

Quite often they'll have a family, home, car and assets in the US that they'll need to deal with if they can't secure another job in that limited window.

benchtobedside··on Swedish PM says integration of immigrants has failed, fueled gang crime
> How can he state the obvious like that? Better ban his Reddit account, his twitter account, remove his comments, etc.

Worth noting that Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson is female and has been in power since 2021; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_Andersson

benchtobedside··on Musk announces funding secured for Twitter buy
This breaks down to:

a) $21 billion of Elon's ("Reporting Person"; see item #1) own money

b) $12.5 billion in margin loans arranged by Morgan Stanley

c) $13 billion in debt from Morgan Stanley

benchtobedside··on Djokovic's PCR test was manipulated?
Note that the USA will also accept an observed lateral flow test, not just a PCR (for air travelers).

Source: That's how I re-entered the country recently.

benchtobedside··on “We are short $DNA. Ginkgo Bioworks is a colossal scam”
Here's a recent MIT Technology Review article detailing some of the concerns: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/24/1032308/is-ginkg...

Looks clear that Ginkgo has been misrepresenting the business and potential for quite some time.

benchtobedside··on Suez canal blocked by a massive ship
Same one - check out the pictures in the OP. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ExL7VGtVoAYIBKo?format=jpg&name=...
benchtobedside··on Stockton extends its monthly $500 UBI payment experiment
Actually a portion of spending by participants in this study is tracked via pre-paid debit cards.

To quote from the article: "Data show that since the pandemic started, food spending by SEED recipients increased nearly 25% over the monthly average. In March, it accounted for 46.5% of spending the researchers were able to track using prepaid debit cards"

benchtobedside··on Hundreds of thousands in L.A. may have been infected with coronavirus: study
One particular criticism of the Stanford study was that they recruited via Facebook adverts, and that method may be influenced in recruitment by the "desire to get a test if you had reason to believe that you, or someone near you, had the virus"

In more detail: https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2020/04/19/fatal-flaw...

This USC study seems to have recruited differently: "Participants were recruited via a proprietary database that is representative of the county population. The database is maintained by LRW Group, a market research firm" Via: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/m...

benchtobedside··on We’re working on 1M Covid-19 testing capacity per day
You can indeed, this was addressed earlier in this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22810002
benchtobedside··on Expanded access programs for Remdesivir
See this recent article on HN that addresses how difficult it is to synthesize: https://www.acsh.org/news/2020/03/26/problem-remdesivir-maki...
benchtobedside··on FDA grants emergency use authorization for 5-13 minute Covid-19 test
Any word on what the instrument and cost per sample is on this Abbott platform?
benchtobedside··on Strict new curbs on life in UK announced by PM
> a non-essential stroll-about in the park

Both the article and the video mention daily exercise as essential.

benchtobedside··on Stripe to move to South San Francisco
Neither of these two quotes in the article provide a compelling counterpoint to the outsized impact that Prop C would have had on Stripe's business.
benchtobedside··on Genoa Bridge Collapse: The Road to Tragedy
For anyone wondering what he caught: "The resulting bulk of around 2,200 photographs documents both the every-day life and change of Manhattan, including the historic event of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001"

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Leist

benchtobedside··on Tesla drops 7% after Goldman Sachs says the stock is worth $180
EBITDA represents a company’s net earnings before subtracting expenses from interest payments, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
benchtobedside··on Ask HN: Cheap, hackable e-reader?
I rooted mine back in 2014 and found it useful and quite stable. I haven't investigated the scene since so it may have progressed significantly.

You can configure it such that the Nook would boot and appear as normal, but holding down a key took you to the android launcher, and you would give up the use of two (redundant) buttons of your choice to control android-specific actions like <back>, etc.

This system was limited -- at the time -- to an older version of Android with limited app support, but if your purpose is to create your own apps this shouldn't pose any problem.

benchtobedside··on Draft Trump Executive Order: Limiting Legal Immigration
Direct link to the PDF scan: https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/7872567/P...
benchtobedside··on Show HN: PlateJoy (YC S15) – Algorithmic meal planner with integrated delivery
Great idea, especially around optimizing resource usage for items you already have.

I'd like to see more transparency around cost up front - I should not have to dig into the second question of the FAQ page to see that a plan would start at $48+

benchtobedside··on Fare Hacking on BART
Even if you took every shortcut, you're still looking at least 1.5 miles walk, and a good 40-60 minutes for that $4.60 savings.
benchtobedside··on Facebook uses location to suggest new friends
I run Android with Chrome and Firefox. On Chrome browser messaging has been disabled from the mobile website, on Firefox it still functions just fine (still redirects to the Play Store frequently however).
benchtobedside··on Instagram is switching its feed from chronological to best posts first
Serious question: Does TechCrunch receive any payment for these types of articles?

On the face of it, the article fails to address any of the concerns raised throughout this thread / elsewhere on the internet.

benchtobedside··on 23andMe meets FDA standards, adds back wellness reports
That is correct - using it to develop their own therapeutic candidates in fact [1]

[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/03/12/23andme...

benchtobedside··on Subprime ‘unicorns’ that do not look a billion dollars
Serious question - what does he stand to gain from writing this piece?
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