For LGBTQ youth, social media is a double-edged sword: a digital public space that acts

A cyber attack which disrupted access to a council website and its systems is being investigated with the relevant authorities to establish the full impact of the crime, officials have said. On Tuesday, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) suffered a suspected ransomware attack. The website remains down and the local authority says it is currently uncertain of the extent of the damage caused by the attack. A ransomware attack is where hackers maliciously infiltrate an organisation’s website or systems, stealing sensitive data which they in turn use for monetary gain. While investigative work continues, the Comhairle’s priority in response to this incident remains to restore and secure services, ensuring their continued delivery to those in our communities who need them most Comhairle nan Eilean Siar spokesman The council says it is working alongside Police Scotland, the Scottish Government and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to establish the full impact of Tuesday’s incident. A council spokesperson said: “While investigative work continues, the Comhairle’s priority in response to this incident remains to restore and secure services, ensuring their continued delivery to those in our communities who need them most. “One key aspect of achieving this aim has been work on the processing of benefit and support payments. “While payments have been made to the public, restrictions to file access has affected other scheduled payments. “The impact to IT systems has also meant that invoices due to creditors cannot be paid at this time.” The spokesperson added: “The Comhairle appreciates the impact late payments can have and is working to resolve these issues as soon as possible. “The Comhairle will be in contact with the affected individuals to provide updates and support. “The Comhairle’s email system is now restored and work is ongoing to redirect numbers for key public services. “A temporary website is also in development which will allow members of the public to access key information.” Temporary phone numbers for social care and social work services can be found on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s page on X, formerly known as Twitter. The council says its human resources, occupational health and ardseileach care home can be contacted on their usual telephone numbers. A spokesperson for NCSC said: “We are working with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to fully understand the impact of an incident.” Police Scotland and the Scottish Government were contacted for comment. Read More Setback for Ireland as EU legal adviser recommends revisit of Apple tax case Smartphones ‘may be able to detect how drunk a person is with 98% accuracy’ Ireland and Apple await major development in long-running EU tax dispute Guidance urges parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children William ‘blown away’ by futuristic technology from Singapore start-ups Return of original Fortnite map causes record traffic on Virgin Media O2 network

Who knew that certain noises would eventually become as extinct as the dodo or the flash cube some day?

Scientists are challenging the way many people think about ancient hunter gatherers, after finding that women may have been better hunters than men. New findings have shown that while there are clear differences between the sexes when it comes to biology, the idea of men being naturally better suited to hunting is a myth. New research from professor Cara Ocobock points to women being metabolically better placed to hunt. Ocobock is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and director of the Human Energetics Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. She published a study on the subject alongside anthropologist Sarah Lacy at the University of Delaware. The research also points to female hunters dating back to the Holocene period which were uncovered buried with hunting tools – and they’re challenging widely held assumptions over gender roles with the study. Ocobock said in a statement: "This was what everyone was used to seeing. This was the assumption that we've all just had in our minds and that was carried through in our museums of natural history." “Here we review and present emerging physiological evidence that females may be metabolically better suited for endurance activities such as running, which could have profound implications for understanding subsistence capabilities and patterns in the past,” the pair wrote. That’s due to the fact that the presence of the hormones estrogen and adiponectin give women the upper hand when it comes to endurance – a factor which would have been “critical in early hunting because they would have had to run the animals down into exhaustion before actually going in for the kill”. The presence of those hormones is better for modulating fat and glucose. As such, estrogen makes the body use stored fats for energy before turning to carbohydrates. “Since fat contains more calories than carbs do, it’s a longer, slower burn, which means that the same sustained energy can keep you going longer and can delay fatigue,” Ocobock said. “Estrogen is really the unsung hero of life, in my mind. It is so important for cardiovascular and metabolic health, brain development and injury recovery.” “With the typically wider hip structure of the female, they are able to rotate their hips, lengthening their steps. The longer steps you can take, the ‘cheaper’ they are metabolically, and the farther you can get, faster.” “When you look at human physiology this way, you can think of women as the marathon runners versus men as the powerlifters.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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Sam Altman looks set to return triumphantly to OpenAI but questions still linger around why he was fired from the artificial-intelligence start-up in the first place.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 16, 2023--

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Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted to authorize a strike if the major studios, streamers and production companies don’t meet their demands for a new contract by June 30

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