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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 8 declined, 4 accepted (12 total, 33.33% accepted)

Submission + - CIA's venture capital arm funding skin care products that collect DNA

sittingnut writes: The Intercept reports that Skincential Sciences, whose main product line is Clearista, "innovative line of cosmetic products marketed as a way to erase blemishes and soften skin", that has attracted media coverage, is funded by In-Q-Tel, a venture capital arm of CIA. According to Russ Lebovitz, the chief executive of Skincential Sciences, the CIA fund told him they share an interest in looking at DNA extraction from "normal skin" using the method pioneered by his company.

Submission + - Mass surveillance silences minority opinions, according to study

sittingnut writes: According to a study(pdf) by Elizabeth Stoycheff, from Wayne State University, published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and referred to in Washington Post, "knowing one is subject to surveillance and accepting such surveillance as necessary, act as moderating agents in the relationship between one’s perceived climate of opinion and willingness to voice opinions online." In other words, "knowledge of government surveillance causes people to self-censor their dissenting opinions online". This study adds to the well-researched phenomenon, known as “spiral of silence”, of people suppressing unpopular opinions to fit in, by explicitly examining how government surveillance affects self-censorship. Participants who claimed, they don't break any laws and don't have anything to hide, and tended to support mass surveillance as necessary for national security, were the most likely to silence their minority opinions.

Submission + - Scientists Ponder the Prospect of Contagious Cancer

sittingnut writes: A New York Times article says "several recent papers suggest ... the eventual emergence of a contagious human cancer ". So instead of everything "the malignant cells have learned about outwitting the patient’s defenses, and those of the oncologists," getting erased, what will happen when "cancer cells had the ability to press on to another body, ... from person to person, continuing to evolve deadly new skills along the way." ?

Submission + - Austrian Minister calls for a Constitutional Right to Pay in Cash

sittingnut writes: Bloomberg reports that Austrian Deputy Economy Minister Harald Mahrer has called for a constitutional right to use cash to protect their privacy.

According to report, Mahrer said, “We don’t want someone to be able to track digitally what we buy, eat and drink, what books we read and what movies we watch.We will fight everywhere against rules” including caps on cash purchases.

EU finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels last Friday urged the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to “explore the need for appropriate restrictions on cash payments exceeding certain thresholds"," to crack down on “illicit cash movements.”"

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