A new consortium of top scientists will be able to use some of the world’s most advanced supercomputers to look for solutions. From a report: Advanced computers have defeated chess masters and learned how to pick through mountains of data to recognize faces and voices. Now, a billionaire developer of software and artificial intelligence is teaming up with top universities and…
Tag: outbreaks
Social Distancing Is Slowing Not Only COVID-19, But Other Diseases Too
“As governments around the world have pushed their citizens away from populated places to slow the spread of Covid-19, they may not have realized that they were also combatting other infectious diseases, such as the seasonal flu,” reports Quartz. The data comes from Kinsa Health, a company that collects anonymized thermometer readings from its active user base to estimate the share…
What Happens When Tech Companies Offer to Fight Coronavirus With Digital Surveillance?
“White House officials are asking tech companies for more insight into our social networks and travel patterns,” reports Wired, noting that Facebook even “created a disease mapping tool that tracks the spread of disease by aggregating user travel patterns.”
And Clearview AI “says it is in talks with public officials to use its software to identify anyone in contact with people who…
Google vs. Oracle Case Postponed Due to Coronavirus
An anonymous reader quotes the Dev newsletter from Inside.com:
The U.S. Supreme Court has postponed hearing oral arguments in the Google vs. Oracle copyright case and all other cases because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the Supreme Court has done so since the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918. [“The Court also shortened its argument calendars in August 1793 and…
Countdown: 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history
Disease outbreaks have ravaged humanity from prehistory to modern times, sometimes changing the course of history and even wiping out entire civilizations. Source: https://www.livescience.com/worst-epidemics-and-pandemics-in-history.html
Iran’s Coronavirus Burial Pits Are So Vast They’re Visible From Space
“Iranian authorities began digging a pair of trenches for victims just days after the government disclosed the initial outbreak,” writes Slashdot reader schwit1. “Together, their lengths are that of a football field.” The Washington Post reports: Two days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus — in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness…
Top tips for feeding wild birds
It’s OK to feed wild birds. Here are some tips for doing it the right way from a wildlife ecologist. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/top-tips-feeding-wild-birds…
How badly prepared is the world for a coronavirus pandemic?
Multiple outbreaks of the covid-19 virus worldwide have led to countries stepping up their responses, but the virus may already be spreading in the US Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532724-400-how-badly-prepared-is-the-world-for-a-coronavirus-pandemic/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Melting Glaciers: Effects on the Environment, Humans, and Biodiversity
Recently, the temperature in the Arctic appears to have hit a new continental high, close to 70 degrees. That’s leading to continued melting of glaciers in the Arctic and around the world. But how will that impact the world’s ecosystems? Dr. David Hik is an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science as well as […]
The post Melting Glaciers: Effects on…
How will the coronavirus outbreak end?
As with all past outbreaks, this one will eventually come to an end. Source: https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-outbreak-end.html