@gihanperera.bsky.social
Researchers in Canada have confirmed that mRNA vaccines are safe and effective – with serious side effects rare and consistently outweighed by protection against severe disease, hospitalisation, and death. Take that, anti-vaxxers. #betterworld
mRNA vaccines safe and effective, confirms Lancet review
Drawing together evidence from laboratory research, clinical trials and real-world studies, the review also highlights the technology’s potential beyond COVID-19.
gavi.org
When should you swap your petrol car for an EV?
When should you swap your petrol car for an EV?
Is it more sustainable to run your petrol-powered car into the ground before switching to a new electric vehicle (EV) or should drivers make the change to an EV as soon as possible?These are the…
connectsci.au
Foreign Influence. How the Israel lobby bought Australian democracy - Michael West
Foreign Influence. How the Israel lobby bought Australian democracy - Michael West
No other lobby in Australia holds such power. Andrew Brown explains how the Israel Lobby bought Australian democracy
michaelwest.com.au
Researchers have found the experimental drug bepirovirsen offers a "functional cure" for chronic hepatitis B in around one in five trial participants – which could transform the outlook for more than 250 million people worldwide. #betterworld
New Drug Offers 'Functional Cure' For Dangerous Liver Virus
WASHINGTON (AP) – A first-of-its-kind drug for hepatitis B is letting some patients stop treatment without showing signs of the dangerous liver virus, what's called a "functional cure," researchers reported Thursday.
sciencealert.com
‘A maelstrom of his own making’: how Ed Sheeran’s tour turned into a full-blown culture war
‘A maelstrom of his own making’: how Ed Sheeran’s tour turned into a full-blown culture war
Moment of reckoning for ‘Mr Nice Guy’ of music, who embraced Macklemore’s political cred only for pro-Palestine rapper to be dropped under pressure from billionaire
theguardian.com
Big Bash privatisation: Inside how Melbourne Renegades will be sold
Big Bash privatisation: Inside how Melbourne Renegades will be sold
After approval from the CA board earlier, Renegades will start their sales process this week with a model other teams will follow when, or if, they take that route
cricinfo.com
Scientists in Germany and China have discovered a biological switch in the body that controls how much new bone is built, and found a compound that can turn it on. This approach could potentially reverse osteoporosis, offering new hope for millions of people worldwide. #betterworld
Banks warn AI shopping bots raise scam, fraud and data-privacy risks - AOL
Banks warn AI shopping bots raise scam, fraud and data-privacy risks - AOL
By Elizabeth Howcroft PARIS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Using AI agents for online shopping could increase the risk of scams, fraud and data-privacy breaches, banks including NatWest and Bank of America said
aol.com
Google launches Project Suncatcher, a step towards AI data centers in space
Google launches Project Suncatcher, a step towards AI data centers in space
The fridge-size satellite with AI chips on board is part of Project Suncatcher, the company's moonshot effort to put AI data centers in space and harness solar energy.
npr.org
A 40-year global satellite analysis has found that mangrove loss has slowed dramatically in the past decade, with forests regenerating and expanding to the point where the net global decline since the 1980s is now less than 1%. #betterworld
China has cracked down on AI relationships. Is it ahead of the game?
China has cracked down on AI relationships. Is it ahead of the game?
Beijing has cracked down on AI chatbots that can replicate human relationships. Experts are asking if this is the right thing to do.
bbc.com
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have built a soft robotic model of the heart. This could speed up the development of cardiac devices, reduce the need for animal testing, and let doctors test treatments on a personalised model of a patient's own heart before surgery. #betterworld
Soft, robotic artificial heart reproduces mechanics of disease
A robot designed to reproduce the complex movements and internal structures of the left side of the human heart could help improve our understanding of heart conditions.The new technology may also…
connectsci.au
AI existential risk probabilities are (still) too unreliable to inform policy
AI existential risk probabilities are (still) too unreliable to inform policy
How speculation gets laundered through pseudo-quantification
normaltech.ai
Researchers at the University of Queensland have used AI to build pressure maps of the sole of the foot using only a few measurement points – a breakthrough that could eventually enable simple, low-cost insoles to monitor foot health without expensive clinical equipment. #betterworld
Could AI give foot-health monitoring technologies a step up?
Researchers in Australia have created a deep learning model which generates accurate, high-resolution pressure maps of the bottom of the foot and only requires minimal anatomical data.It could be…
connectsci.au
Your photos, your words and your work: will Labor make it easier for AI companies to take them for free? | Holly Rankin
Your photos, your words and your work: will Labor make it easier for AI companies to take them for free? | Holly Rankin
Every family photo you ever posted would be fair game for AI companies unless you choose to opt out
theguardian.com
Indigenous ranger groups across northern Australia are using drones, AI, and traditional knowledge to locate and remove abandoned fishing nets that drift in from Southeast Asia and kill thousands of turtles, dugongs, and sharks each year along the Gulf of Carpentaria coastline. #betterworld
Indigenous rangers pull killer ‘ghost nets’ from Australia’s northern coast
On a remote beach on Groote Eylandt, a large island in Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria, Kirsten Eden and her colleagues found a fishing net that someone had tried to make disappear. It had been burned and melted into a lump while at sea, and thrown overboard. It didn’t sink, but floated to shore as a […]
news.mongabay.com
Ernst & Young to award $100 million in bonuses for employees who show people skills
Ernst & Young to award $100 million in bonuses for employees who show people skills
Management consulting firm EY said it will reward employees who demonstrate human skills, such as business acumen and judgment.
cbsnews.com
IBM's Quantum Computer Completes in 19 Seconds What Could Take a Supercomputer a Century
IBM's Quantum Computer Completes in 19 Seconds What Could Take a Supercomputer a Century
Some computations are so hardcore that it takes a facility of extraordinary power to even think about running them.
sciencealert.com
A 15-year UK study tracking nearly 3,800 children found moderate screen use had no lasting negative impact on emotional or behavioural development – though researchers advice caution because of the wider use of smartphones and tablets now. #betterworld
New study finds no long-term effects of screen use on kids
A longitudinal study which followed almost 3,800 children for 15 years has found screen use did not have long-term negative impacts on psychosocial development except at the highest levels of use.The…
connectsci.au
Do AI and air traffic control mix? CEO addresses anxiety about new FAA tool
Do AI and air traffic control mix? CEO addresses anxiety about new FAA tool
The FAA's ambitious overhaul of the air traffic control system comes amid rising public anxiety about AI. The CEO of the company that's building the software explains how it works.
npr.org
Canadian company DicinFoam turns timber offcuts and sawdust – waste that would otherwise sit on forest floors or landfill – into a biodegradable foam packaging material to replace polystyrene. This could offer manufacturers a practical, plastic-free alternative for packaging. #betterworld
'Wood Foam' Startup Uses Logging Waste as Substitute for Plastic, Producing 400 Pounds Daily
Already, a pilot plant in East Vancouver is producing around 400 pounds of the so-called wood foam every day.
goodnewsnetwork.org
AI weapons systems are already here. Algorithms must not decide who lives and dies | Kenneth Roth
AI weapons systems are already here. Algorithms must not decide who lives and dies | Kenneth Roth
Israel’s conduct in Gaza shows the danger of using AI in warfare. Humans must remain at the center of wartime decisions
theguardian.com
Researchers in the UK have developed AI that analyses a standard heart trace in under two seconds to detect heart failure and disease the human eye cannot spot – fast-tracking high-risk patients for further testing months sooner. #betterworld
‘Superhuman’ AI tool spots heart disease in less than 2 seconds
Technology trained on millions of routine ECGs could fast-track high-risk patients for treatment
theguardian.com
The United Nations has voted to replace the Mercator world map – which distorts countries near the Equator, shrinking Africa – with the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately represents the size of all continents. Predictably, the USA voted against it. #betterworld
UN votes to adopt new world map to reflect Africa's true size
The Togo-sponsored resolution was backed by 164 nations - with the US as the only nation to vote against it.
bbc.com
Researchers at RMIT University have used high-frequency sound waves to gently spray a protective coating directly onto living plant leaves – acting like a sunscreen that blocks UV light. This could eventually help agriculture and manufacturing fragile electronics and medical materials. #betterworld
Scientists use sound waves to create protective crystal coatings on crops
Researchers developed a sound-wave coating system that safely sprays protective crystal films onto living plant leaves.
thebrighterside.news
Researchers in Japan have developed a blood test that detects patterns of immune cell activity to identify pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages — correctly identifying 9 out of 10 early-stage cases, compared with just 1 out of 10 using the standard marker test currently in use. #betterworld
New blood test successfully detects 90% of early-stage pancreatic cancers
New research shows a blood gene test may detect pancreatic cancer early, improving survival and diagnosis accuracy.
thebrighterside.news
Scientists have built the first global dataset tracking four key measures of soil health – salinity, acidity, nitrogen, and organic carbon – across all ice-free land on Earth from 1985 to 2023, using AI to combine ground samples with satellite data. #betterworld
New global database reveals long term trends in soil health
A new dataset of soil properties spanning all global ice-free land will help inform efforts to address soil degradation arising from human activity and climate change.The HUMERIS framework uses…
connectsci.au
