All posts tagged: networks

The power of citizen-led energy networks

The power of citizen-led energy networks

Published by skeptic

How can we all enjoy comfortable temperatures in our homes at a fair, affordable price? Locally produced renewable heating and cooling networks fight energy poverty, increase comfort, make our cities sustainable and the Union more energy independent and competitive in challenging times. Sofia, a single mother in a top-floor flat, and Klaus, living in a detached house with his family, face the same problem in different countries: soaring energy bills. Heating in winter and cooling in summer is increasingly expensive, as both still rely on gas heaters – polluting, costly, and vulnerable to geopolitical tensions. How can Sofia, Klaus, and we all enjoy comfortable homes while paying fair bills? The EU has many solutions to reach climate neutrality and become energy independent, but none will succeed without active citizen participation to ensure a just and effective transition. Coordinated action across all government levels Heating and cooling account for almost half of the EU’s energy use, making it a priority to ensure systems are greener and cheaper. Efficient district heating and cooling (DHC) networks powered by clean sources replace individual heating systems, reducing maintenance and lowering bills. As change starts in cities, citizen engagement is essential. Community energy initiatives …

As the cable business ebbs, AMC Networks takes a new name

As the cable business ebbs, AMC Networks takes a new name

Published by Sam Flores

AMC Networks, the cable home of “The Walking Dead” and adaptations of Anne Rice’s vampire novels, is getting a new name to reflect its shift to streaming and program production. In a legal filing, the New York based company announced Wednesday it will be called AMC Global Media, effective immediately. The company, which owns a suite of cable networks including AMC, We TV, SundanceTV, BBC America and IFC, said most of its domestic revenue now comes from streaming. AMC has more than 10 million paid subscribers to its services including Shudder, a platform for horror fans, and ALLBLK, which caters to Black audiences, an anime service called HIDIVE and All Reality which is devoted unscripted programming. AMC’s production studio distributes programming to TV networks and streaming outlets internationally. The company has also sold shows domestically to outside streaming services such as Netflix and HBO Max. “Our new name reflects the ongoing transformation of our business into a global media and studio-driven company, with streaming out front as our leading source of domestic revenue,” the company’s …

‘If Your Children Are Watching, Be Warned’: Here’s How Networks Covered Trump’s F-Word To Iran

‘If Your Children Are Watching, Be Warned’: Here’s How Networks Covered Trump’s F-Word To Iran

Published by Sam Flores

Donald Trump’s deranged call for Iran to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait” on Sunday led some major news networks to do something that’d be otherwise stunning — cursing on live TV — if it were not to accurately depict the president’s wild online behaviour. Nearly an hour after Trump’s unhinged Easter morning post where he threatened to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure should the regime not open the Strait of Hormuz, CNN’s Jake Tapper emphasized the “extraordinary graphic” nature of Trump’s words. “If your children are watching, be warned — the president did not use polite language,” advised the State of the Union host before reading Trump’s post in full, including his call for Iran to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” He went on to note that destroying civilian power infrastructure is “generally considered to constitute a war crime under international law, though the president could argue that the infrastructure has dual use and also is utilized by Iran’s military.” He proceeded to drop the word …

CrowdStrike, Cisco and Palo Alto Networks all shipped agentic SOC tools at RSAC 2026 — the agent behavioral baseline gap survived all three

CrowdStrike, Cisco and Palo Alto Networks all shipped agentic SOC tools at RSAC 2026 — the agent behavioral baseline gap survived all three

Published by skeptic

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz highlighted in his RSA Conference 2026 keynote that the fastest recorded adversary breakout time has dropped to 27 seconds. The average is now 29 minutes, down from 48 minutes in 2024. That is how much time defenders have before a threat spreads. Now CrowdStrike sensors detect more than 1,800 distinct AI applications running on enterprise endpoints, representing nearly 160 million unique application instances. Every one generates detection events, identity events, and data access logs flowing into SIEM systems architected for human-speed workflows. Cisco found that 85% of surveyed enterprise customers have AI agent pilots underway. Only 5% moved agents into production, according to Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel in his RSAC blog post. That 80-point gap exists because security teams cannot answer the basic questions agents force. Which agents are running, what are they authorized to do, and who is accountable when one goes wrong. “The number one threat is security complexity. But we’re running towards that direction in AI as well,” Etay Maor, VP of Threat Intelligence …

Co-occurring depression and cannabis use linked to less efficient brain networks

Co-occurring depression and cannabis use linked to less efficient brain networks

Published by José Betancourt

New research published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence provides evidence that experiencing depression symptoms alongside cannabis use is linked to less efficient communication across the brain compared to cannabis use alone. The study suggests that while cannabis use tends to increase overall connectivity in the brain, the presence of depression weakens this effect, resulting in a less integrated brain network. Scientists conducted this study to better understand the underlying biology of why cannabis use and depression frequently occur together. Heavy or chronic cannabis use might increase the risk of developing depression, while individuals experiencing depression often turn to cannabis to self-medicate. Both cannabis use and depression individually alter the way different areas of the brain communicate with each other. This baseline brain communication is known as resting-state functional connectivity, which refers to the brain activity that happens when a person is awake but not focused on a specific task. Prior studies have shown changes in resting-state connectivity in people who use cannabis and in those with depression, but the combined effect of both factors on …

The best of the major phone networks

The best of the major phone networks

Published by Sam Flores

As noted above, it’s existing Virgin Media customers who get the best value from O2, with bundle deals that are much cheaper than the SIM-only deals you’ll see in our table below. If you’re already a Virgin Media customer, log in to the Virgin Media website, select upgrades in your contract menu and check the ‘Volt benefits’ on offer. If you’re buying SIM-only and you’re not typically a heavy data user, O2 isn’t great value. Its cheapest tariff is £15 per month on a two-year deal, whereas our best-value network, Lebara, will offer you a decent dollop of data for £4.50 per month. However, at the top end, O2’s £21 per month fee for unlimited data is up there with the best, although be aware that annual price increases are baked into the contract. Take care if you’re planning to buy a phone and SIM together. When I priced up a deal for an iPhone 17 Pro and a 50GB monthly contract, the cheapest I could get the airtime plan was £30 per month (O2 …

The best value of the main mobile networks

The best value of the main mobile networks

Published by Sam Flores

Three has always tended to be at the cheaper end of the scale among the major phone networks, and the customers we surveyed seem to be in agreement. Three’s value satisfaction score of 78 per cent is better than O2, Vodafone and EE, although it’s a distance behind our award-winning virtual networks: Tesco Mobile, Lebara and Giffgaff. At the time of writing, Three was offering a cut-price deal which made its 60GB per month plan as cheap as its 1GB plan, albeit the 60GB deal is for two years instead of one, with annual price increases included. The £25 per month unlimited data deal is also at the cheaper end of the scale, especially compared to its major network rivals. The 5G Home Broadband deals start from £23 per month for unlimited data, too, which isnicely competitive. Three also offers data-only SIMs, which you can use in laptops or tablets that don’t need to make phone calls or send texts, starting from only £9 per month. Speed Score: 3.5/5 The speeds on offer from Three …

New neuroimaging study maps the brain networks behind scientific creative thinking

New neuroimaging study maps the brain networks behind scientific creative thinking

Published by José Betancourt

Scientists have identified the brain networks that work together when people generate creative scientific ideas, according to a new study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Creativity is often associated with the arts, but scientists rely on it just as much, especially when forming new hypotheses or explanations for puzzling phenomena. Despite this, scientific creativity has received far less attention than artistic creativity, or general creative thinking that does not require expert knowledge in a particular field. Previous studies have demonstrated that creative thinking in general tends to involve three major brain networks. The first is the default mode network, which helps people draw on memory and imagination. The second is the executive control network, which helps evaluate ideas, inhibit obvious responses, and maintain goals. The third is the salience network, which helps the brain switch between different modes of thinking (i.e., the default mode network and executive control network). These networks are known to interact during tasks like brainstorming unusual uses for everyday objects, but researchers were unclear if scientific creativity …

Neuroticism is linked to altered communication between the brain’s emotional networks

Neuroticism is linked to altered communication between the brain’s emotional networks

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in NeuroImage reveals that neuroticism is linked to altered communication between different brain networks rather than isolated brain activity. Researchers discovered that people with higher levels of this personality trait show increased connectivity between brain regions responsible for processing emotions, regulating memory, and detecting threats. These findings suggest that emotional instability arises from how the brain’s emotional hubs synchronize with other areas. Marvin S. Meiering, a researcher at the Medical School Berlin, led the study alongside a team of scientists. The group wanted to understand the biological foundations of neuroticism, a personality trait involving a tendency to experience intense negative emotions on a regular basis. People with high levels of neuroticism often struggle to bounce back from stressful events and face a higher risk of developing mental health conditions like depression. For a long time, researchers thought neuroticism was simply caused by an overly active amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep inside the brain that acts as an emotional alarm system. It detects potential threats in the environment and …

Inclusion base peer networks launched for SEND support

Inclusion base peer networks launched for SEND support

Published by skeptic

More from this theme Recent articles New national inclusion base peer networks are being launched to help schools share expertise in setting up provision for pupils with SEND. The Department for Education (DfE) launched the first of its planned peer networks in the autumn, led by London-based Allen Edwards Primary and Acland Burghley Schools, as part of its regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) service.  School standards minister Georgia Gould said the networks would “support frontline practitioners so that children benefit from high quality and consistent provision”.  It comes after the schools white paper said all mainstream secondary schools should develop an inclusion base. These could be either a school-commissioned “support” base, or a council-commissioned “specialist” base. While the first networks are focused on supporting pupils with autism, the DfE said it plans to roll out more with other specialisms. Meetings take place on a half-termly basis, focusing on topics which have been identified by participants, including curriculum and assessment, staff development and teaching strategies.  Participants range from those who have established inclusion bases …