Technology

Scientists have unveiled the world’s first genetically engineered plant capable of growing ketchup and fries – together.  A group of scientists in the Netherlands said they spent six years in developing a plant that is capable of growing both potatoes and tomatoes, lovingly nicknamed the ‘pomtato plant‘. Theblaze.com reports: Thompson and Morgan, the firm that commissioned the study, found an all-natural way to combine the two foods by grafting plant stems to a width that is capable of supporting both tomatoes and potatoes, Buzz60 reported.

Scientists have proposed a long-term project that involves creating a synthetic human genome or genetic blueprint for creating human beings. A group of 25 scientists proposed their ambitious project on Thursday… an endeavor that is bound to raise concerns over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered. The project aims to build a synthetic genome and test it in cells in the laboratory within 10 years. The project, which arose from a secret, invitation only meeting last month at Harvard University was unveiled in the journal Science.

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement say that it looks increasingly likely that Israel was responsible for a series of cyber-attacks on their campaign’s website. The Palestinian-led movement said in a report on Thursday that its website was attacked six times in February and March. Press TV reports: The report, which was compiled by an online security service, eQualit.ie, said the cyber-attacks had a level of “sophistication and commitment” and knocked out the website for several hours each time.

Europe are cracking down on freedom of speech and people’s right to privacy by insisting that all social media giants require users to provide state-issued ID cards to log-in.  The European Commission say that YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Uber must require all European Union citizens to show proof of their identity before being allowed to access the sites. Leaked EU Commission documents reveal a concerted push by Brussels to roll out more expansive use of national ID cards across the EU. The documents have been uploaded to the Commission’s official website since the leak.

The U.S. government are building a huge database containing information on government employees who could pose “insider threats” to them as potential whistleblowers.  The Defense Department are building the “DoD Component Insider Threat Records System,” in response to the 2010 classified diplomatic cables leaked by Chelsea Manning. The decision to build the information-sharing system comes after the WikiLeaks executive order was signed, calling for an end to government whistleblowing.