Big news in science today, with particle physicists closing in on a fifth fundamental force of nature. During magnetic experiments on sub-atomic Muon particles at Fermilab in the USA an unexpected wobble was observed that could upend the entire Standard Model of physics. There remains a 1 in 40,000 chance the observation was a statistical anomaly, so experiments will continue to achieve a level of confidence that will make it a valid discovery. If true, the result opens up potential new explanations for many remaining puzzles in physics, from dark energy to potential undiscovered sub-atomic particles.

Elsewhere in science, researchers have debunked the 2016 NASA Eagleworks test results that found evidence of thrust generated by the hypothetical EmDrive technology. The concept claimed to generate thrust with no exhaust using electromagnetic radiation in an asymmetric cavity – a result that breaks the fundamental law of conservation of momentum. New testing has found the original test introduced heat into the engine mount, resulting in a change in how the measurement scale was calibrated. An improved test showed that, as expected, the EmDrive produces no thrust whatsoever.

Twitter has declared its ban on President Trump's tweets also means the US National Archive cannot preserve them in the same way they preserve tweets of other government officials or accounts. The archive wants to be able to make the tweets available in the same way other accounts were shifted to accounts now controlled by the archive, but Twitter stands by its position that the ban on his account must remain in force regardless. A tricky situation for the idea of preservation of historic records in all their forms.

In cybersecurity, research has found that Microsoft and Zoom were the most commonly impersonated companies in phishing attempts during 2020, accounting for 80% of such attacks. Phishing attacks come in many forms, aiming to encourage a user to click a link in an email that takes them to a compromised web location. Amongst brand-impersonation attacks, Microsoft was a dominant 70% of attacks, Zoom at 9% and Amazon at 7%.

Apple has announced its Find My service, which lets users track the location of their Apple phones, tablets, and laptops, will soon expand to incorporate third-party device tracking. The tracking system includes real-time information for network connected devices and last-time-seen location markers for devices that connect to networks via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The first new devices will include e-bikes from VanMoof, Belkin Soundform wireless earbuds and Chipolo tracking tokens.

The Verge has spotted a filing at the US Federal Communications Commission that reveals Sonos is working with IKEA on a new wall art speaker system. The companies have worked together on bookshelf and table lamp speakers already, and the filing suggests an updated version of the lamp may also be on the way. To date speakers integrated into art have been prohibitively expensive, so the potential for a new affordable offering in this space is very intriguing. Sonos has just launched its new portable speaker, the Sonos Roam, and you can read the Byteside review now at byteside.com. Spoiler: I loved it.

Live streaming platform Twitch has announced it will now ban streamers for harassment that takes place beyond the confines of its platform. The Amazon-owned service aims to crackdown on streamers being associated with any forms of abuse or criminal acts, whether they happen on Twitch or not.

Finally, Google just released a fun AR app that lets you tunnel through the Earth to see what's on the other side. If that's a dream you've always held in your heart, the Floom experiment is worth a look.

https://experiments.withgoogle.com/floom

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