Computer scientist Russell A. Kirsch, the inventor of the pixel and an undisputed pioneer of digital imaging, passed away on Tuesday in his Portland home from complications arising from a form of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 91 years old. From a report: Russell Kirsch may not be a name that you immediately recognize, but his contributions to computer science made digital…
Tag: Portland
Stockton Basic Income Program Extended. Is Support For the Idea Growing?
A $500-a-month basic-income program in Stockton, California will be extended through 2021 “in response to the economic strain put on participants by the coronavirus pandemic,” reports the New Yorker:
While the idea of extending the program had been under discussion even before the spread of COVID-19, Stockton’s mayor, Michael Tubbs told me that current conditions made doing so a “moral imperative,” as…
Portland Approves 10% Cap On Fees That Food Delivery Apps Can Charge Restuarants
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Oregon Live: The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to make it illegal for third-party food delivery services like DoorDash and Grubhub to collect more than 10% in commission fees from city restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic. Portland joins other cities, including Seattle, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, that have instituted similar caps in recent…
CRISPR Gene Editing In Human Embryos Wreaks Chromosomal Mayhem
A suite of experiments that use the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to modify human embryos have revealed how the process can make large, unwanted changes to the genome at or near the target site. Nature reports: The first preprint was posted online on June 5 by developmental biologist Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute in London and her colleagues. In that…
It’s summer. What’s noon to you?
What do you mean by noon? Do you define it by your clock or wristwatch? Or the gnawing in your stomach? Here’s how astronomers think about noontime. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/its-summer-whats-noon-to-you…
Amazon’s Covid Hiring Boom Has Applicants Packed Into Job Fairs With No Special Precautions
An anonymous reader shares a report: In March, a laid-off customer-service representative for one of the airline companies attended an Amazon.com employee orientation in Dallas. He found himself packed into a room with about 70 other applicants, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder to watch a PowerPoint presentation about what it’s like to work for the online retailer. The man, who provided a smartphone photo…
CRISPR Used To Edit Genes Inside a Patient With a Rare Form of Blindness
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: For the first time, scientists have used the gene-editing technique CRISPR to try to edit a gene while the DNA is still inside a person’s body. The groundbreaking procedure involved injecting the microscopic gene-editing tool into the eye of a patient blinded by a rare genetic disorder, in hopes of enabling the volunteer…
Oregon Engineer Proved Right About Traffic Lights
“Mats Järlström’s emotions were clearly visible Friday morning. After years of arguing red light traffic cameras are flawed, the official Journal of the Institute of Transportation Engineers said he was right,” reports a local news station in Portland, Oregon:
The ITE sets traffic policy recommendations for the United States — and they said cities should be using his formula. “It is a…