Biosignature
Security for the price of a selfie? It’s just around the corner - Laura Shin
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How Biometrics are Worse than Passwords
There’s good news for consumers weary of getting their identity hacked. The password system, which is the source of so many data breaches, is getting phased out.
The bad news is that biometrics systems, which are starting to replace the password, come with some big security risks of their own.
The idea of biometric security, if you’re unfamiliar, is that people use some distinct body attribute—such as a fingerprint, iris, or heart rate—to prove one’s identity instead of a password. Such features are already common in everyday devices like Apple’s iPhone, which allows its owner to authorize a payment with a fingerprint.
The advantage of biometric security features…
Resources
The search for life on other planets could get a boost from biosignatures
By studying the atmospheric contents of ancient and present-day Earth, scientists say they've discovered specific chemical combinations that could reveal the presence of biological activity on other planets. These biosignatures, described in the journal Science Advances, could offer a key tool in the search for extraterrestrial life.
What'll It Take to Find Life? Searching the Universe for Biosignatures
It turns out, coming up with a single biosignature, a chemical in the atmosphere that tells you that yes, absolutely, there’s life on that world, is really tough.
A Review of Exoplanetary Biosignatures
The science of biosignatures i.e. signals which suggest the presence of life, is a wide and interdisciplinary field which is currently undergoing rapid expansion due in part to advances in exoplanet science.
How Your Body's Unique Biosignatures Are Used For Surveillance
Not long ago, fingerprints were the cutting edge of biometric profiling. Today, the use of biosignatures to identify individuals has expanded to include everything from iris and facial scans right through to DNA profiling and even the unique shape of a person's arse.
In the Search for Alien Life, “Everyone Is an Astrobiologist”
Scientists are plotting new directions in the quest for cosmic company.
Little Green Men Might Not Be So “Green”
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence now has a modern twist: looking for industrial pollution.
Scientists Search for Signatures of Alien Life Hidden in Gas
Oxygen has been regarded as the gold standard since the chemist James Lovelock first contemplated biosignature gases in 1965, while working for NASA on methods of detecting life on Mars.
Some scientists think we'll find signs of aliens within our lifetimes. Here's how
Finding extraterrestrial life is the essence of science fiction. But it's not so far-fetched to predict that we might find evidence of life on a distant planet within a generation.
The Trick to Finding Life on Distant Planets
As future telescopes widen the survey of Earth-like worlds, it’s only a matter of time before a potential biosignature gas is detected in a faraway sky. It will look like the discovery of all time: evidence that we are not alone. But how will we know for sure?
How Biometrics are Worse than Passwords
There’s good news for consumers weary of getting their identity hacked. The password system, which is the source of so many data breaches, is getting phased out. The bad news is that biometrics systems, which are starting to replace the password, come with some big security risks of their own.
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