LightNews
Nuno
@nmachado.bsky.social
290 followers 1K following 88 posts
Biochemist. Non-academic researcher. Immigrant (🇪🇺➡️🇬🇧). Main interests are science 🧬 and metal 🤘. I like archaea and sequencing tech.
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Reposted by Nuno
propublica.org
ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 22
NEW: After DOGE outed Mohammad Halimi on social media, Taliban intelligence agents blindfolded and took three of his family members to a remote prison.

They were repeatedly beaten and questioned about Halimi and his recently publicized work for the United States.
DOGE Targeted Him on Social Media. Then the Taliban Took His Family.
Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi, who fled the Taliban in 2021, had worked to help U.S. diplomats understand his homeland. Then DOGE put his family’s lives at risk by exposing his sensitive work for a U...
www.propublica.org
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Reposted by Nuno
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Aug 6
Horrific. mRNA vaccines have saved millions of lives and could save millions more.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” said Mike Osterholm, a UMN expert on infectious diseases & pandemic preparations.
www.huffpost.com/entry/rfk-va...
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Reposted by Nuno
nature.com
Nature @nature.com · Aug 5
Two vaccine candidates using mRNA technology elicit a potent immune response against HIV

go.nature.com/46Kiais
mRNA vaccines for HIV trigger strong immune response in people
Nature - Results from early-stage trial show that 80% of participants who received one of two HIV vaccine candidates produced antibodies against viral proteins.
go.nature.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Aug 5
www.chemistryworld.com/news/an-act-... UK visa costs 'act of national self-harm' as chemistry departments struggle to attract international research talent | Chemistry World
‘An act of national self-harm’: UK visa system deters top chemistry talent
Immigration policies are making it much more difficult to get scientific talent to come to the UK at a time of global flux
www.chemistryworld.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Aug 2
p.dw.com/p/4yNxN
German police expands use of Palantir surveillance software – DW – 08/02/2025
Police and spy agencies are keen to combat criminality and terrorism with artificial intelligence. But critics say the CIA-funded Palantir surveillance software enables "predictive policing."
p.dw.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Aug 1
www.space.com/space-explor...
Kate Rubins, 1st astronaut to sequence DNA in space, leaves NASA
Rubins' last day was on Monday (July 28).
www.space.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Aug 1
More on the age verification chaos and how this is a bad idea. The article also has references to ways that age verification procedures can be put in place without handing over sensitive data to private companies with unvertain T&C www.theverge.com/analysis/715...
Ready or not, age verification is rolling out across the internet
An age-gated internet comes with huge privacy risks.
www.theverge.com
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 30
More excellent news, because some parents don't know how to parent and instead rely on the government to baby-proof the internet with the help of "trusted" companies.

www.independent.co.uk/tech/spotify...
Spotify users could lose their accounts because of new rule
Age verification checks come amid sweeping changes across the web
www.independent.co.uk
Reposted by Nuno
financialtimes.com
Financial Times @financialtimes.com · Jul 30
Britain is not a broken society https://on.ft.com/45nWkQx | opinion
Britain is not a broken society
The country has serious problems but the right’s vision of it has become hysterical
on.ft.com
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Reposted by Nuno
realphantomhours.bsky.social
Elly Octobrush @realphantomhours.bsky.social · Jul 29
Governments probably should slap Facebook about for a moderation and recommendation system that prey on the suggestible.

But as it stands, the OSA mostly seems to threaten the access of WIKIPEDIA from the UK. For goodness sake, it took the entire Gaming on Linux (!!!) forum down.

Not about porn!
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 29
This has been a terrible couple of weeks for free internet. First the UK, now Denmark trying to lead the EU astray, with the same old arguments that it is for “children’s safety”. You want to protect children, you fund police services and targeted investigations
www.techradar.com/computing/cy...
The EU still wants to scan all your chats – and the rules could come into force by October 2025
Chat Control is back on the lawmakers' table
www.techradar.com
Reposted by Nuno
telegraphnews.bsky.social
The Telegraph @telegraphnews.bsky.social · Jul 29
🇦🇫 On the streets of Kabul, ‘virtue police’ chase and arrest young women for apparent breaches of strict dress code
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 29
These are the same people that would ban table salt because sodium is highly reactive and can explode www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
RFK Jr to remove preservative thimerosal from all US vaccines
Anti-vaccine campaigns have targeted thimerosal for decades despite no evidence of ingredient causing harm
www.theguardian.com
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 28
“"They'll download the first free app with decent reviews, often without realising they're handing over access to their data."”

People do that *because* they don’t want to send their documents and biometric data to whatever company is doing age verification.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
VPNs top App Store charts as UK age verification kicks in
Experts say free versions of such apps or services may carry potential security and privacy risks.
www.bbc.co.uk
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 24
www.science.org/content/arti...
This biologist aims to solve the cell’s biggest mystery. Could it help cancer patients, too?
Four decades after his lab found odd, massive particles inside cells, Leonard Rome is still determined to figure out what “vaults” do
www.science.org
Reposted by Nuno
eerkeboiten.bsky.social
Eerke Boiten @eerkeboiten.bsky.social · Jul 24
It is my opinion that introducing age verification now is irresponsible, mainly because we have now reached the point where Western governments *are* using "the database state" and exploiting online surveillance to be repressive - just as privacy activists warned for decades. This applies to UK & US
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Reposted by Nuno
tuta.com
Tuta @tuta.com · Jul 24
So "EU privacy" is better than "Swiss privacy" - interesting news, given the source. 👀

Background on the upcoming Swiss surveillance law that's worse than US surveillance laws - and that we all need to fight against! 💪
👉 tuta.com/blog/switzer...
= Jonah Aragon @jonah@neat.computer posted here: https://mastodon.social/@jonah@neat.computer/114902990636685184 Buried in Proton's Al announcement [proton me] today is a pretty shocking detail about their service: "Because of legal uncertainty around Swiss government proposals [www.tdg.ch] to introduce mass surveillance — proposals that have been outlawed in the EU — Proton is moving most of its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland. Lumo will be the first product to move."
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 24
www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
Wikipedia threatens to limit UK access to website
Digital encyclopaedia may impose quota on number of users to comply with Online Safety Act
www.telegraph.co.uk
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 23
"Voice of Beyond" makes me think more of a séance session in an old Victorian house than in a curiosity-driven, forward-thinking university
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 23
www.chemistryworld.com/features/ser...
Serial femtosecond crystallography reveals protein dynamics in real time
Proteins are constantly moving, but our structures of them are static. Clare Sansom talks to the researchers using free-electron lasers to make time-resolved structures
www.chemistryworld.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 23
I wasn't a massive fan of the music of Black Sabbath, but as a fan of metal it's impossible not to feel what a loss Ozzy Osbourne's passing is. Rest in peace!
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 22
That's what I found the most shocking about those news. I thought that few foreigners would render Japan immune to the far-right anti-immigration rhetoric. It seems like immigration is a sort of umbrella term for whatever issues people are now facing and turning to the far-right for answers
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 22
It's a pity that decisions like this are likely to be backtracked "just" because of commercial agreements rather thanfor being a bad idea that attacks people's privacy and security. www.macrumors.com/2025/07/20/u...
UK May Backtrack on Controversial Demand for Backdoor to Encrypted Apple User Data
The British government may be forced to drop its plans to force Apple to build a backdoor to access encrypted user data, the Financial Times reports....
www.macrumors.com
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Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 18
www.chemistryworld.com/news/chemist...
Chemistry ‘cold spots’ emerging across the UK, RSC warns
Some regions face a future with fewer chemists
www.chemistryworld.com
Nuno @nmachado.bsky.social · Jul 18
That was an interesting read www.chemistryworld.com/news/why-is-...
Why is a prehistoric creature still vital for the pharmaceutical industry?
Every year, horseshoe crabs are harvested for their blue blood, but alternatives are now coming through that could help protect these ancient animals
www.chemistryworld.com