Short Takes – 5-31-23

Discord Admins Hacked by Malicious Bookmarks. KrebsOnSecurity.com post.  Pull quote: “While bookmarklets can be useful and harmless, malicious Javascript that is executed in the browser by the user is especially dangerous. So please avoid adding (or dragging) any bookmarks or bookmarklets to your browser unless it was your idea in the first place.”

Axiom crew splashes down in a SpaceX capsule after doing space station science. GeekWire.com article. Pull quote: “Axiom Space’s next commercial crew is due to launch as soon as November, and could include the first Turkish astronaut to go to space. Among others have been mentioned as potential future fliers are Hollywood actor Tom Cruise and the winner of a TV contest called “Space Hero.””

Webb maps surprisingly large plume jetting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus. ESA.int article. Pull quote: “The length of the plume was not the only characteristic that intrigued researchers. The rate at which the water vapour is gushing out, about 300 litres per second, is also particularly impressive. At this rate, you could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just a couple of hours. In comparison, doing so with a garden hose on Earth would take more than 2 weeks.”

New Nontoxic Powder Uses Sunlight to Disinfect Contaminated Drinking Water. Stanford.edu article. Pull quote: “The study focused on E. coli, which can cause severe gastrointestinal illness and can even be life-threatening. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set the maximum contaminant-level goal for E. coli in drinking water at zero. The Stanford and SLAC team plans to test the new powder on other waterborne pathogens, including viruses, protozoa and parasites that also cause serious diseases and death.” In college I did similar research with TiO2.