דלג לתוכן הראשי

2023-07-23

I am dying of squamous cell carcinoma, and potential treatments are out of reach

  • The author is suffering from squamous cell carcinoma and is running out of treatment options.
  • The potential treatment that could help is mRNA tumor vaccines, which have shown significant promise for treating head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.
  • The FDA's slow approval process for new drugs is preventing timely access to potentially life-saving treatments, and the author calls for a stronger "right to try" presumption for terminally ill patients.

Industry Reactions

  • The author, who is suffering from squamous cell carcinoma, highlights the challenges of accessing potential treatments for their condition.
  • The FDA's cautious approach to approving treatments for diseases like squamous cell carcinoma is criticized for hindering progress and delaying access to potentially life-saving therapies.
  • There is a debate about the ethics and safety of allowing terminally ill patients to try experimental treatments, with calls for more flexible and faster approval processes while ensuring patient safety.

A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrates his 100th birthday, then gets back to work

  • Caltech chemistry professor Rudy Marcus celebrated his 100th birthday with a symposium in his honor, showcasing his long career and contributions to science.
  • Marcus, a Nobel laureate in chemistry, is known for his work on electron transfer reactions and his ability to simplify complex problems.
  • Despite his age, Marcus continues to work and publish research papers, demonstrating his enduring curiosity and dedication to scientific exploration.

Industry Reactions

  • A Caltech Nobel laureate celebrated his 100th birthday and continues to work.
  • Retirement is not an automatic milestone for everyone, and some individuals find passion and purpose in their work even at an advanced age.
  • Age should not be a limiting factor in pursuing meaningful work, as demonstrated by the achievements of this Nobel laureate.

Plane – Open-source Jira alternative

  • Plane is an open-source software development tool that helps manage issues, sprints, and product roadmaps in an easy and customizable way.
  • It offers a simple and intuitive user experience with various views like List, Kanban, and Calendar to visualize tasks and workflows.
  • Plane allows for easy integration with other tools, such as Slack and GitHub, and provides features like attachments, comments, and powerful notifications.

Industry Reactions

  • Plane is an open-source alternative to Jira, a popular issue tracking and project management tool.
  • Users have praised Plane for its simplicity and completeness, with a good overall first impression.
  • Some users have provided feedback on areas for improvement, such as the screen estate for writing tasks and the need for clearer instructions on how to use markdown.

Shopify employee breaks NDA to reveal firm replacing laid off workers with AI

  • A Shopify employee has broken their non-disclosure agreement to reveal that the company is replacing laid-off workers with AI and cheaper contract labor.
  • The employee's Twitter thread highlighted how Shopify has been aggressively embracing AI technology, with the upcoming launch of an AI assistant called "Sidekick" for merchants.
  • The cost-cutting strategy has negatively impacted customer satisfaction, leading to significant delays in customer support and potential increase in scam businesses on the platform.

Industry Reactions

  • Shopify is replacing laid off workers with AI, as revealed by an employee who broke their NDA.
  • The shift towards AI in customer service is driven by cost-effectiveness and improving numbers, rather than providing better service to customers.
  • There is ongoing debate about the benefits and drawbacks of using AI in customer service, including the loss of human interaction and the potential for lower-quality service.

FBI improperly used 702 surveillance powers on US senator

  • The FBI was found to have improperly used surveillance powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to search for information on a US senator, a state lawmaker, and a state judge.
  • Section 702 allows for warrantless spying on foreigners located abroad, but it has been criticized for potentially infringing on the privacy of Americans who communicate with those under surveillance.
  • This revelation poses challenges for the intelligence community's push for the reauthorization of Section 702 and highlights the need for reforms to protect civil rights and privacy.

Industry Reactions

  • FBI improperly used surveillance powers on a US senator, raising concerns about government abuse of power.
  • Debate over wealth distribution and taxation, with arguments for and against taxing the wealthy.
  • The discussion raises questions about the balance between security and privacy, the need for oversight, and the potential for corruption within government institutions.

Putting the "You" in CPU

  • This article explains what happens when you run a program on your computer, including multiprocessing, system calls, memory management, and executable loading.
  • The author had a knowledge gap and did extensive research to understand how computers work from startup to program execution.
  • The article is written in a way that is easy to understand and is beneficial for readers who are new to the topic.

Industry Reactions

  • 'Putting the "You" in CPU' is an open-source project aimed at providing a better resource for learning about operating systems and hardware
  • The project was created by a 17-year-old self-taught programmer who found that online resources on this topic were lacking in quality and accuracy
  • The project covers a range of topics, including CPU architecture, system calls, and memory management, and includes diagrams and illustrations to make the content more accessible.

Egregoria: 3D City Builder without a grid

  • Egregoria is an indie city builder game inspired by Cities:Skylines, focused on the socio-economical aspect of a city with a logistics element.
  • The game is still in early development, but it is open source, allowing players to contribute and provide feedback.
  • The developer keeps a blog about Egregoria's development and provides instructions on how to build and play the game on different platforms.

Industry Reactions

  • The developer of Egregoria, a 3D city builder game, did not expect the early attention it received on Hacker News.
  • The game is still in its early stages of development, with many features and 3D models yet to be created.
  • The developer is working on the project as a side project while balancing a full-time job, making progress challenging at times.

Important Coding Habits

  • It is essential to develop good coding habits to avoid physical complications such as slipped discs caused by long hours of sitting and poor posture.
  • Daily stretches and taking regular breaks from coding can help improve overall body health and reduce strain on the back.
  • Improving the coding environment by using ergonomic equipment like a standing desk can contribute to a healthier and more comfortable coding experience.

Industry Reactions

  • Many developers and programmers experience back and body pain due to long hours of sitting and poor posture.
  • The article suggests various strategies and exercises to improve posture and prevent back injuries.
  • Taking care of your posture, incorporating exercise and movement into your routine, and using ergonomic equipment can help prevent and alleviate back pain for developers.

AWS networking concepts in a diagram

  • The author struggled to understand the AWS VPC dashboard until they read a book on AWS Networking Fundamentals.
  • The author created a mind map to connect the various resources involved in AWS networking.
  • The author encourages readers to provide feedback on the mind map and share its usefulness.

Industry Reactions

  • Some users find dealing with AWS networking to be complex and overwhelming.
  • There is debate over whether AWS has succeeded in simplifying networking with their diagram.
  • AWS networking concepts have become more complicated over time as new features and services have been added.

Compromised Microsoft key: More impactful than we thought

  • Microsoft and CISA have disclosed a security incident where a threat actor from China acquired a private encryption key (MSA key) and used it to forge access tokens, impacting multiple customers of Exchange Online and Outlook.com.
  • The compromised MSA key was more powerful than initially thought and could have allowed the threat actor to forge access tokens for various Azure Active Directory applications.
  • While Microsoft has taken steps to mitigate the risk, customers may find it difficult to detect the use of forged tokens against their applications due to a lack of logs in the token verification process. It is important for application owners to update their Azure SDK and refresh their application cache to prevent vulnerability to the compromised key.

Industry Reactions

  • Identity provider's signing keys are highly valuable and powerful, similar to certificate authorities' (CAs) keys.
  • The compromised Microsoft key has a significant impact on the trust and security of cloud services, particularly in relation to the identity layer.
  • The incident highlights the need for improved security measures, such as using hardware security modules (HSMs) and stricter key management practices.