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Sperm Donor With Cancer-Causing Gene Fathered Nearly 200 Children Across Europe

Slashdot.org - 17 hours 56 min ago
schwit1 shares a report from CBS News: perm from a donor who unknowingly carried a cancer-causing gene has been used to conceive nearly 200 babies across Europe, an investigation by 14 European public service broadcasters, including CBS News' partner network BBC News, has revealed. Some children conceived using the sperm have already died from cancer, and the vast majority of those who inherited the gene will develop cancer in their lifetimes, geneticists said. The man carrying the gene passed screening checks before he became a donor at the European Sperm Bank when he was a student in 2005. His sperm has been used by women trying to conceive for 17 years across multiple countries. The cancer-causing mutation occurred in the donor's TP53 gene -- which prevents cells in the body from turning cancerous -- before his birth, according to the investigation. It causes Li Fraumeni syndrome, which gives affected people a 90% chance of developing cancers, particularly during childhood, as well as breast cancer in later life. Up to 20% of the donor's sperm contained the mutated TP53 gene. Any children conceived with affected sperm will have the dangerous mutation in every cell of their body. The affected donor sperm was discovered when doctors seeing children with cancers linked to sperm donation raised concerns at this year's European Society of Human Genetics. At the time, 23 children with the genetic mutation had been discovered, out of 67 children linked to the donor. Ten of those children with the mutation had already been diagnosed with cancer. Freedom of Information requests submitted by journalists across multiple countries revealed at least 197 children were affected, though it is not known how many inherited the genetic mutation. More affected children could be discovered as more data becomes available.

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5 tips for peace of mind with your family’s new device this holiday5 tips for peace of mind with your family’s new device this holidayVP, Product Management

GoogleBlog - 19 hours 56 min ago
Set up your child's new phone or tablet for a safer holiday with these quick tips for Google Family Link.Set up your child's new phone or tablet for a safer holiday with these quick tips for Google Family Link.
Categories: Technology

NASA Loses Contact With MAVEN Mars Orbiter

Slashdot.org - 20 hours 56 min ago
NASA has lost contact with its MAVEN Mars orbiter after it passed behind Mars. When it remerged from behind the planet, the spacecraft never resumed communications. SpaceNews reports: MAVEN launched in November 2013 and entered orbit around Mars in September 2014. The spacecraft's primary science mission is to study the planet's upper atmosphere and interactions with the solar wind, including how the atmosphere escapes into space. That is intended to help scientists understand how the planet changes from early in its history, when it had a much thicker atmosphere and was warm enough to support liquid water on its surface. MAVEN additionally serves as a communications relay, using a UHF antenna to link the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the Martian surface with the Deep Space Network. NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft also serve as communications relays for the rovers, but are both significantly older than MAVEN. The spacecraft has suffered some technical problems in the past, notably with its inertial measurement units (IMUs) used for navigation. In 2022, MAVEN switched to an "all-stellar" navigation system to minimize the use of the IMUs. MAVEN has enough propellant to maintain its orbit through at least the end of the decade. NASA's fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, though, zeroed out funding for MAVEN, which cost $22.6 million to operate in 2024. MAVEN was one of several missions "operating well past the end of prime mission" the proposal would terminate, despite MAVEN's role as a communications relay.

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ChatGPT Is Apple's Most Downloaded App of 2025

Slashdot.org - Wed, 12/10/2025 - 22:30
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Apple on Wednesday released its annual list of the most downloaded apps and games for the year. For the U.S. market, OpenAI's ChatGPT topped the ranks of free iPhone apps (not including games) with the most installs in 2025. The AI app was followed by Threads, Google, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, and Google's Gemini. ChatGPT made it to No. 4 last year, but the top spot was taken by Chinese shopping app Temu. In 2023, the AI app didn't make the top-10 list despite being released on the iPhone in May 2023 to a strong debut.

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SoFi Offers: SoFi Plus Changes, New 5% Grocery Card, $325/4.20% APY Checking Bonus, $300-$1000 Loan Bonuses

MyMoneyBlog.com - Wed, 12/10/2025 - 20:07

Update December 2025: SoFi announced some changes to their available features and what is only available with their SoFi Plus “Premium” membership program. I feel that they are trying to build something like “Robinhood Gold”, but hopefully better promos are coming because I don’t feel the perks are worth the cost right now. First, there are now three different ways to earn their higher APY tier (any single ONE of these is enough):

  • Eligible Direct Deposit of any amount (even $1). Many people can split their paycheck multiple ways.
  • $5,000+ in combined balances across SoFi Checking and Savings accounts
  • SoFi Plus members that pay $10/month fee.

You can see this on their rate sheet (as of 11/12/25):

Second, SoFi Plus is now paid-only at $10/month. You no longer get it for free with a direct deposit, although they are extending complimentary access to all SoFi Plus benefits through March 30, 2026 with eligible deposits. You can see a list of SoFi Plus benefits here.

For the most part, the SoFi Plus benefits are the same as before. A notable new addition is the SoFi Smart Card which is a charge card linked to your SoFI Bank accounts that offers unlimited 5% cash back at grocery stores.

Otherwise, I would say the most valuable SoFi Plus perks that existing Direct Deposit folks lost with this change are:

  • 10% rewards boost on the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card, which turns the 2% cash back into 2.2% cash back.
  • 2% match on recurring IRA contributions, plus a 1% match on recurring deposits made through SoFi Invest taxable brokerage accounts.
  • Possibly the ability to “schedule an unlimited number of appointments with a financial planner”, although I’m not sure of the quality of this advice. There is no indication you’re guaranteed at least a CFP. I’ve never used this feature, but it might be nice if you wanted to get some general advice.

Update April 2024: SoFi made a few notable changes recently, both positive and negative:

  • The SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card added 10% boost on their rewards with direct deposit into SoFi Checking or Savings. This would work out to 2.2% cash back rewards points on everyday purchases. (As of December 2025, this is now restricted to SoFi Plus members paying $10 a month.)
  • There is a new inactivity fee of $25 per account for every 6 months of login inactivity.
  • The outgoing ACAT transfer fee was increased to $100. Previously $75.

Original post:

SoFi (“Social Finance”) is an all-in-one finance app that expanded from students loans into banking, stocks, crypto, credit cards, and more. Here are their current promotional offers; New users can receive a separate opening bonus for each separate part of SoFi (Money, Invest, Loans, etc).

  • SoFi Checking Referral Offer: Up to $325 new user bonus. Open a new SoFi Money account and add at least $10 to your account within 5 days, and get $25. Then get up to $300 additional bonus with qualifying direct deposit. Plus up to 4.30% APY.
  • SoFi Credit Score Tracking Offer: $10 in rewards bonus points. You’ll earn $10 in rewards points when you activate free credit score monitoring
  • SoFi Invest Referral Offer: $25 new user bonus. Taxable brokerage account. Open an Active Investing account with $10 or more, and you’ll get $25 in stock.
  • SoFi 401(k) Rollover Offer: Up to $10,000 Bonus. Get a 1% match when you roll over your 401(k) into a SoFi IRA. Partnered with Capitalize to make the transition easier.
  • SoFi Student Loan Refi: $300 bonus. Warning: Do your research before refinancing your Federal student loans to a private lender.
  • SoFi Doctors and Dentists Student Loan Refi: $1,000 bonus. Special low rates just for doctors and dentists.
  • SoFi Private Student Loan: $300 bonus.
  • SoFi Personal Loans Referral Offer: Fixed $300 bonus. Fixed $300 bonus, 90 days after successful funding. The loan has no fees and you can pay it back in full after 90 days (you can pay it down to $50 before then to accrue minimal interest, thus making a new profit after the bonus).
Categories: Finance

Operation Bluebird Wants To Relaunch 'Twitter' For a New Social Network

Slashdot.org - Wed, 12/10/2025 - 19:50
A startup called Operation Bluebird is petitioning the US Patent and Trademark Office to strip X Corp of the "Twitter" and "tweet" trademarks, hoping to relaunch a new Twitter with the old brand, bird logo, and "town square" vibe. "The TWITTER and TWEET brands have been eradicated from X Corp.'s products, services, and marketing, effectively abandoning the storied brand, with no intention to resume use of the mark," the petition states. "The TWITTER bird was grounded." Ars Technica reports: If successful, two leaders of the group tell Ars, Operation Bluebird would launch a social network under the name Twitter.new, possibly as early as late next year. (Twitter.new has created a working prototype and is already inviting users to reserve handles.) Michael Peroff, an Illinois attorney and founder of Operation Bluebird, said that in the intervening years, more Twitter-like social media networks have sprung up or gained traction -- like Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky. But none have the scale or brand recognition that Twitter did prior to Musk's takeover. "There certainly are alternatives," Peroff said. "I don't know that any of them at this point in time are at the scale that would make a difference in the national conversation, whereas a new Twitter really could." Similarly, Peroff's business partner, Stephen Coates, an attorney who formerly served as Twitter's general counsel, said that Operation Bluebird aims to recreate some of the magic that Twitter once had. "I remember some time ago, I've had celebrities react to my content on Twitter during the Super Bowl or events," he told Ars. "And we want that experience to come back, that whole town square, where we are all meshed in there." "Mere 'token use' won't be enough to reserve the mark," said Mark Lemley, a Stanford Law professor and expert in trademark law. "Or [X] could defend if it can show that it plans to go back to using Twitter. Consumers obviously still know the brand name. It seems weird to think someone else could grab the name when consumers still associate it with the ex-social media site of that name. But that's what the law says."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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