ibtimes.co.in - Hiroshima and Nagasaki stand as a testament to what would happen if a nuclear bomb was ever detonated over a populated area and why it should never be used again in war. A new research has now found out how much radiation victims of the "cruel bomb" experienced.
This study is based on research that started in the 1970s, notes a report by ScienceAlert. Sergio Mascarenhas from the University of Sao Paulo found that X-ray and gamma irradiation led human bones to become "weakly magnetic", this phenomenon was then named paramagnetism.
A jaw bone from a Hiroshima victim was obtained and studied by Mascarenhas in the 1970s to find out how much radiation the bones had absorbed. The recent study also took samples from the same jaw, but used modern methods including electronic spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy, notes the report. To get a more accurate measure of the radiation levels the unidentified victim of the bombing experienced, the samples were irradiated back to their original level of radiation that the bone was put through.
"We then constructed a curve and extrapolated from that the initial dose, when the signal was presumably zero. This calibration method enabled us to measure different samples, as each bone and each part of the same bone has a different sensitivity to radiation, depending on its composition," said the study's co-author Oswaldo Baffa, from the University of Sao Paulo.
After scientists completed their analysis, they found that the victim's jaw bone had taken 9.46 grays (Gy) worth of radiation. It only takes 5 Gy to kill a human, noted Baffa. This figure also matches up with the radiation levels recorded in the brick and roof tiles in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings.
"We used a technique known as electron spin resonance spectroscopy to perform retrospective dosimetry. Currently, there's renewed interest in this kind of methodology due to the risk of terrorist attacks in countries like the United States," Baffa said.
"Imagine someone in New York planting an ordinary bomb with a small amount of radioactive material stuck to the explosive. Techniques like this can help identify who has been exposed to radioactive fallout and needs treatment."
The study titled 'Electron spin resonance (ESR) dose measurement in the bone of Hiroshima A-bomb victim' was first published in the journal PLOS One. ContinueReading
Monday, April 30, 2018
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Ancient Warrior Woman Statue found by Curiosity Rover, hints life on Mars
- Curiosity rover has sent latest images from Mars and it suggests that an extra-terrestrial army once roamed Earth’s neighbouring planet. A sharp-eyed amateur astronomer spotted a curious-looking statue that looks similar to a head of an ancient warrior woman.
Joe White, a space video journalist from Bristol spotted the statue and being a keen observer, the amateur astronomer says it has all the earmarks of being the head of an ancient Egyptian warrior woman.
“I have found what seems to be a small feminine looking statue head on Mars in Gale Crater in this recent Curiosity Rover image from NASA. Only a few inches in size or less. It resembles a carved depiction of a female warrior wearing a helmet similar to some found on Earth from the Middle Ages,” the 45-year-old video journalist said.
“It has a possible emblem on the forehead and some very interesting facial features that look almost Egyptian in artistic style. This is one of hundreds of similar artefacts that I have found on Mars in recent years and may go further to show that there was an ancient and artistic civilisation on Mars in the past,” he added.
A month ago, Barry DiGregoria, an astrobiologist at the University of Buckingham had similar viewpoint about the statue image, and he claimed that Mars had experienced life in the past years.
NASA has been streaming photos from Mars ever since their robot Curiosity landed in August 2012.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Alfie Evans, Toddler At Centre Of Court Battle Over Treatment, Dies
- The parents of Alfie Evans said they were “heartbroken” as they confirmed their son died in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.
The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.
The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thank you everyone for all your support.”
Evans, 21 and James, 20, had fought to take their son to a foreign hospital for treatment for a degenerative medical condition, but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.
Doctors had removed Alfie’s life-support following a High Court judge’s ruling on Monday, however he continued to live.
His parents said that the youngster had defied doctors’ expectations and they took their case to the Court of Appeal, but the application to take him abroad was rejected.
Tom Evans said their lives had been “turned upside down” by the “intense focus” his case had received.
“Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like,” he said.
The attention and emotion garnered by Alfie’s plight and his parents’ determined public campaign to get the treatment they believed he needed led to high tensions between supporters and staff at Alder Hey.
The 23-month-old, who was being treated at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool died at 2.30am, Kate James and Thomas Evans said on Facebook.
The youngster was at the centre of a legal battle over his treatment that touched hearts around the world.
The post on Facebook said: “Our baby boy grew his wings tonight at 2:30 am. We are heart broken. Thank you everyone for all your support.”
Evans, 21 and James, 20, had fought to take their son to a foreign hospital for treatment for a degenerative medical condition, but lost a final court appeal on Wednesday.
His parents said that the youngster had defied doctors’ expectations and they took their case to the Court of Appeal, but the application to take him abroad was rejected.
Tom Evans said their lives had been “turned upside down” by the “intense focus” his case had received.
“Our little family along with Alder Hey has become the centre of attention for many people around the world and it has meant we have not been able to live our lives as we would like,” he said.
The attention and emotion garnered by Alfie’s plight and his parents’ determined public campaign to get the treatment they believed he needed led to high tensions between supporters and staff at Alder Hey.
Friday, April 27, 2018
North, South Korea agree to goal of 'complete denuclearisation' of Korean peninsula
SEOUL (Reuters) - The leaders of North and South Korea signed a declaration on Friday agreeing to work for the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.
At their first summit in more than a decade, the two sides announced they would seek an agreement to establish “permanent” and “solid” peace on the peninsula.
The declaration included promises to pursue military arms reduction, cease “hostile acts,” turn their fortified border into a “peace zone,” and seek multilateral talks with other countries, such as the United States.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meet: China is 'wooing' India because Donald Trump's moves have left it no choice
- As Narendra Modi lands in Wuhan for a much-anticipated one-on-one with Xi Jinping, it is worth exploring the motivations that have driven China to the discussion table. It is a stretch to assume that Beijing, which refuses to consider India as its equal and never fails to be condescending about the economic and military power differential, would suddenly warm up to its neighbour out of "goodwill". China doesn't do "goodwill".
Its actions (not just under Xi but specially under him) are guided by a pragmatic cost-benefit ratio, and are based on a Sino-centric geopolitical strategy that seeks — through assertive maritime, expansionist and revisionist policies — to restore the Middle Kingdom to its "lost glory".
As Stratfor contributor Zhixing Zhang writes in Forbes: "Beijing's assertive maritime policy is an attempt to secure its access to overseas markets and prevent a challenger from emerging to threaten its multiplying interests around the world. And like the Han and Tang dynasties before it, China today will run up against other empires as it pursues its geopolitical strategy in the surrounding region and farther afield.
A 'great power aspirant' that aims to challenge and eventually replace America's global dominance in every field from ideology, culture, geopolitics, military, technology to political system and economy — replacing the dollar with renminbi as the premier mode of global exchange for one — it is inconceivable that China would court 'middle power' India out of goodwill. Xi is more likely to interpret such a gesture as weakness.
India should be under no illusion that this "reengagement" or "reset" (whatever it's called) is borne out of China's desire to listen to India or try and understand its concerns and red lines in the path of mutual growth and development. These might be good slogans for framing the dialogue but we should look for motivations elsewhere. A good starting point would be the flux in international order and two recent developments that have thrown a challenge at Xi and diminished his ability to play the power broker in Korean Peninsula.
The first one pertains to Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese imports to correct an imbalance in bilateral trade. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's decision to suspend all testing of nuclear weapons ahead of his proposed meeting with the US president presents the second challenge for Xi. Both developments are inextricable and demand a set of hard choices from the Chinese president.
Limiting the irritants in India-China bilateral ties may result in a more manageable relationship, which in turn should allow China more legroom to exploit the world's fifth largest and fastest growing major economy. Xi's decision to sit across the table with Modi arises primarily from this compulsion.
To a certain extent, Trump's faith in direct threats than quiet diplomacy has constrained China's hands and squeezed Xi's bargaining space. The US President's move to slap tariffs worth $50 billion on Chinese imports and threats to slap another $100 billion unless China gives better market access to American firms and allows the US to export more cars, aircraft, soybeans and natural gas into China to remedy the $375 billion deficit has prompted a conflicting response from China.
Xi has made some conciliatory noises on lowering tariffs on American cars and opening the domestic market but he has simultaneously moved to impose a retaliatory $50 billion tariff on American goods, raising the spectre of a trade war.
A set of action and reactions have followed. The US has announced that it is ready to talk to China over the issue and accordingly a meeting was set up in Beijing between Xi, vice-president Wang Qishan and Chinese officials on one side and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council head Larry Kudlow on the other on 3 and 4 May. Latest reports, however, indicate that a resolution might not be in sight. Trump has added two more hawks to the US delegation amid a buzz of "more action" against Beijing. ContinueReading
Its actions (not just under Xi but specially under him) are guided by a pragmatic cost-benefit ratio, and are based on a Sino-centric geopolitical strategy that seeks — through assertive maritime, expansionist and revisionist policies — to restore the Middle Kingdom to its "lost glory".
A 'great power aspirant' that aims to challenge and eventually replace America's global dominance in every field from ideology, culture, geopolitics, military, technology to political system and economy — replacing the dollar with renminbi as the premier mode of global exchange for one — it is inconceivable that China would court 'middle power' India out of goodwill. Xi is more likely to interpret such a gesture as weakness.
India should be under no illusion that this "reengagement" or "reset" (whatever it's called) is borne out of China's desire to listen to India or try and understand its concerns and red lines in the path of mutual growth and development. These might be good slogans for framing the dialogue but we should look for motivations elsewhere. A good starting point would be the flux in international order and two recent developments that have thrown a challenge at Xi and diminished his ability to play the power broker in Korean Peninsula.
The first one pertains to Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on Chinese imports to correct an imbalance in bilateral trade. North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's decision to suspend all testing of nuclear weapons ahead of his proposed meeting with the US president presents the second challenge for Xi. Both developments are inextricable and demand a set of hard choices from the Chinese president.
Limiting the irritants in India-China bilateral ties may result in a more manageable relationship, which in turn should allow China more legroom to exploit the world's fifth largest and fastest growing major economy. Xi's decision to sit across the table with Modi arises primarily from this compulsion.
To a certain extent, Trump's faith in direct threats than quiet diplomacy has constrained China's hands and squeezed Xi's bargaining space. The US President's move to slap tariffs worth $50 billion on Chinese imports and threats to slap another $100 billion unless China gives better market access to American firms and allows the US to export more cars, aircraft, soybeans and natural gas into China to remedy the $375 billion deficit has prompted a conflicting response from China.
Xi has made some conciliatory noises on lowering tariffs on American cars and opening the domestic market but he has simultaneously moved to impose a retaliatory $50 billion tariff on American goods, raising the spectre of a trade war.
A set of action and reactions have followed. The US has announced that it is ready to talk to China over the issue and accordingly a meeting was set up in Beijing between Xi, vice-president Wang Qishan and Chinese officials on one side and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council head Larry Kudlow on the other on 3 and 4 May. Latest reports, however, indicate that a resolution might not be in sight. Trump has added two more hawks to the US delegation amid a buzz of "more action" against Beijing. ContinueReading
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Eating Dark Chocolate Will Make You Smarter, Says Best Study Ever
thedailymeal.com - Today in Studies We Want to Believe: Eating dark chocolate can make people smarter, according to two studies by scientists at Loma Linda University. Researchers at the School of Allied Health Professions did EEGs to measure brain activity after feeding five people 48 grams of 70 percent cacao.
“If you’re looking for a rationalization or justification for eating more chocolate, you’re probably going to find it in this study,” Dr. Jen Ashton said on Good Morning America.
But, really, aren’t we all looking for justification in unwrapping a bar after a meal or as an afternoon pick-me-up? If making a change as small as switching from milk chocolate to 70 percent dark can help improve mood or brain function — well then that’s an easy switch..
“For years, we have looked at the influence of dark chocolate on neurological functions from the standpoint of sugar content — the more sugar, the happier we are,” said Dr. Lee S. Berk, the associate dean of research affairs for Loma Linda’s School of Allied Health Professions and the principal investigator for both studies. “This is the first time that we have looked at the impact of large amounts of cacao in doses as small as a regular-sized chocolate bar in humans over short or long periods of time, and are encouraged by the findings. These studies show us that the higher the concentration of cacao, the more positive the impact on cognition, memory, mood, immunity and other beneficial effects.”
Sure, cutting back on alcohol and sugar consumption or increasing exercise could also provide a positive impact on brain function – but that’s not as easy as unwrapping a Ghirardelli.
In other studies — with sample sizes larger than five — dark chocolate has previously been shown to be an antioxidant and have a positive impact on heart health. ContinueReading
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Toronto Man Faces 23 Charges After Van Attack Leaves 10 Dead
bloomberg.com - A Toronto man was charged with 10 counts of first degree murder and 13 of attempted murder after a van struck dozens of pedestrians on a busy sidewalk Monday afternoon in the worst mass attack in Canada in almost three decades.
Alek Minassian, 25, appeared in a Toronto court on Tuesday to formally face the charges after a Monday rampage that left 10 people dead and more injured, according to broadcaster CP24.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident a “senseless attack,” while saying there’s no evidence of a national security risk or reason to change the country’s threat level. “At this time, we have no reason to suspect that there is any national security element to this attack, but obviously the investigations continue,” Trudeau said in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Monday’s incident marked the worst mass killing in Canada since Marc Lepine killed 14 women at a Montreal engineering school in 1989 before turning the gun on himself. It comes on the heels of several other vehicle attacks around the world, including one in a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12, a van attack in Barcelona that left 13 dead, and the truck loaded with arms that drove into a late-night crowd in Nice, France, in 2016, killing 80 people. A vehicle attack in Edmonton, Alberta, last year injured four pedestrians and a police officer.
Police are still notifying families of the victims and won’t publicly confirm identities until that’s complete, likely not before at least Wednesday, Toronto Police spokeswoman Constable Caroline de Kloet said Tuesday. Police expect to provide an update on the case later in the day, she said. ContinueReading
Alek Minassian, 25, appeared in a Toronto court on Tuesday to formally face the charges after a Monday rampage that left 10 people dead and more injured, according to broadcaster CP24.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident a “senseless attack,” while saying there’s no evidence of a national security risk or reason to change the country’s threat level. “At this time, we have no reason to suspect that there is any national security element to this attack, but obviously the investigations continue,” Trudeau said in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Monday’s incident marked the worst mass killing in Canada since Marc Lepine killed 14 women at a Montreal engineering school in 1989 before turning the gun on himself. It comes on the heels of several other vehicle attacks around the world, including one in a Berlin Christmas market that killed 12, a van attack in Barcelona that left 13 dead, and the truck loaded with arms that drove into a late-night crowd in Nice, France, in 2016, killing 80 people. A vehicle attack in Edmonton, Alberta, last year injured four pedestrians and a police officer.
Police are still notifying families of the victims and won’t publicly confirm identities until that’s complete, likely not before at least Wednesday, Toronto Police spokeswoman Constable Caroline de Kloet said Tuesday. Police expect to provide an update on the case later in the day, she said. ContinueReading
Monday, April 23, 2018
Study: Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Diabetes, Obesity
usnews.com - ZERO-CALORIE ARTIFICIAL sweeteners meant to reduce consumption of sugar are being linked to diabetes and obesity.
A new study presented Sunday at the 2018 Experimental Biology meeting examined the biochemical effects of artificial sweeteners in rats and cell cultures. Researchers fed one group of rats a diet high in glucose or fructose, different types of sugars, and another group a diet with aspartame or acesulfame potassium, common zero-calorie artificial sweeteners. After three weeks, researchers observed "significant differences in the concentrations of biochemicals, fats and amino acids in blood samples," according to a press release.
The study also examined how artificial sweeteners affected vascular health by looking at how they impacted the lining of the blood vessels.
"As diabetes and obesity become a rising worldwide health concern there has been an increased awareness of environmental factors, such as diet, that are contributing to the problem," the study says. "However, it was not until recently that the negative impact of consuming non-caloric artificial sweeteners in the place of sugar had been increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to the dramatic increase in diabetes and obesity, along with the associated complications."The results of the study suggest artificial sweeteners alter how bodies process fat and obtain energy. Additionally, researchers discovered acesulfame potassium appeared to accumulate in the blood, with increased amounts having more harmful effects on cells that line blood vessels.
One of the authors, Brian Hoffmann, assistant professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University, said sugar replacements aren't a solution to the diabetes and obesity epidemic.
"Despite the addition of these non-caloric artificial sweeteners to our everyday diets, there has still been a drastic rise in obesity and diabetes," Hoffmann said in the release. "In our studies, both sugar and artificial sweeteners seem to exhibit negative effects linked to obesity and diabetes, albeit through very different mechanisms from each other."
Hoffman said the body has "the machinery to handle sugar" in moderation. However, in excess, the "machinery breaks down." Researchers also observed that replacing natural sugars with zero-calorie artificial sweeteners leads to negative changes in fat and energy metabolism.
Hoffman cautioned that there is no simple answer to "Which is worse, sugar or artificial sweeteners?" A diet high in sugar has negative health outcomes and the study shows a diet high in artificial sugars has the same.
Instead, he says in the press release, "moderation is the key if one finds it hard to completely cut something out of their diet."
A new study presented Sunday at the 2018 Experimental Biology meeting examined the biochemical effects of artificial sweeteners in rats and cell cultures. Researchers fed one group of rats a diet high in glucose or fructose, different types of sugars, and another group a diet with aspartame or acesulfame potassium, common zero-calorie artificial sweeteners. After three weeks, researchers observed "significant differences in the concentrations of biochemicals, fats and amino acids in blood samples," according to a press release.
The study also examined how artificial sweeteners affected vascular health by looking at how they impacted the lining of the blood vessels.
"As diabetes and obesity become a rising worldwide health concern there has been an increased awareness of environmental factors, such as diet, that are contributing to the problem," the study says. "However, it was not until recently that the negative impact of consuming non-caloric artificial sweeteners in the place of sugar had been increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to the dramatic increase in diabetes and obesity, along with the associated complications."The results of the study suggest artificial sweeteners alter how bodies process fat and obtain energy. Additionally, researchers discovered acesulfame potassium appeared to accumulate in the blood, with increased amounts having more harmful effects on cells that line blood vessels.
"Despite the addition of these non-caloric artificial sweeteners to our everyday diets, there has still been a drastic rise in obesity and diabetes," Hoffmann said in the release. "In our studies, both sugar and artificial sweeteners seem to exhibit negative effects linked to obesity and diabetes, albeit through very different mechanisms from each other."
Hoffman said the body has "the machinery to handle sugar" in moderation. However, in excess, the "machinery breaks down." Researchers also observed that replacing natural sugars with zero-calorie artificial sweeteners leads to negative changes in fat and energy metabolism.
Hoffman cautioned that there is no simple answer to "Which is worse, sugar or artificial sweeteners?" A diet high in sugar has negative health outcomes and the study shows a diet high in artificial sugars has the same.
Instead, he says in the press release, "moderation is the key if one finds it hard to completely cut something out of their diet."
Sunday, April 22, 2018
India approves death penalty for rape of girls under 12
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India’s cabinet on Saturday approved the death penalty for rapists of girls below the age of 12, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an emergency meeting in response to nationwide outrage in the wake of a series of cases.
The executive order, or ordinance, amends the criminal law to also include more drastic punishment for convicted rapists of girls below the age of 16, government officials said. The order, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, will come into effect once it is signed by India’s president.
India launched fast-track courts and a tougher rape law that included the death penalty after a gruesome assault on a young woman shocked the country in 2012, but India’s rape epidemic has shown no sign of dying down.
There were 40,000 rapes reported in 2016. The victims were children in 40 percent of those cases. Every day, newspapers carry fresh stories of sexual violence against women.
The latest outpouring of national revulsion came after details emerged of the gang rape of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in a Hindu-dominated area of Jammu and Kashmir state. Local leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party had appeared to offer support to the men accused, adding to the public disgust.
Protests around the country were also prompted by the arrest of a lawmaker from the BJP last week in connection with the rape of a teenager in Uttar Pradesh, a populous northern state that is governed by the party.
More recently, a sexual attack on an 11-year-old girl was reported in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. The post-mortem revealed the girl had been tortured, raped, strangled and smothered.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers drops dramatically in U.S.
TRENTON, N.J. — New data show that the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell dramatically last year. They showed their biggest drop in 25 years.
The decline comes amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction.
A health data firm released a report Thursday showing a 9 percent average drop nationwide in the number of prescriptions for opioids filled by retail and mail-order pharmacies. All 50 states and the District of Columbia had declines of more than 5 percent, the data showed.
The U.S. is estimated to consume roughly 30 percent of all opioids used worldwide.
The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell dramatically last year, showing their biggest drop in 25 years and continuing a decline amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction, new data show.
The decline comes amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction.
A health data firm released a report Thursday showing a 9 percent average drop nationwide in the number of prescriptions for opioids filled by retail and mail-order pharmacies. All 50 states and the District of Columbia had declines of more than 5 percent, the data showed.
The U.S. is estimated to consume roughly 30 percent of all opioids used worldwide.
The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell dramatically last year, showing their biggest drop in 25 years and continuing a decline amid increasing legal restrictions and public awareness of the dangers of addiction, new data show.
Friday, April 20, 2018
Swaziland king renames country 'the Kingdom of eSwatini'
BBC - There are not many people in the world who are able to change the name of a nation. But King Mswati can - he is one of the world's few absolute monarchs.
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday (April 19) that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday (April 19) that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Was another civilization on Earth before humans?
earthsky.org - It’s a compelling thought experiment. What if there were an industrial civilization on Earth before us? What if, over the course of tens of millions of years, all of the direct evidence for it were ground to dust? Would it be possible to detect evidence of this civilization-infused dust in the geologic record? Astrophysicist Adam Frank of the University of Rochester, and Gavin Schmidt, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, tackle this question in a paper published April 10, 2018, in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Astrobiology (view online here).
They call their study the Silurian Hypothesis after a race of intelligent, bipedal reptiles — known as the Silurians — introduced in a 1970 episode of the British science fiction series Doctor Who. Why? It’s because, as Frank explained in an April 2018 article in The Atlantic:
… if we’re going back this far, we’re not talking about human civilizations anymore. Homo sapiens didn’t make their appearance on the planet until just 300,000 years or so ago.
The idea for Frank and Schmidt’s new paper sprang in part from Frank’s studies of global warming from what he calledan astrobiological perspective. In other words, he’d been asking whether any industrial civilization that rises on any planet will, through its own activity, trigger its own version of a climate shift. He explained:
We’re used to imagining extinct civilizations in terms of the sunken statues and subterranean ruins. These kinds of artifacts of previous societies are fine if you’re only interested in timescales of a few thousands of years. But once you roll the clock back to tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years, things get more complicated …
Could researchers find clear evidence that an ancient species built a relatively short-lived industrial civilization long before our own? Perhaps, for example, some early mammal rose briefly to civilization building during the Paleocene epoch about 60 million years ago. There are fossils, of course. But the fraction of life that gets fossilized is always minuscule and varies a lot depending on time and habitat. It would be easy, therefore, to miss an industrial civilization that only lasted 100,000 years – which would be 500 times longer than our industrial civilization has made it so far.
As in the well-known Kardashev scale – often invoked in discussions of possible alien civilizations – Frank and Schmidt define a prior earthly civilization by its energy use. A statement from the University of Rochester said:
Human beings are just entering a new geological era that many researchers refer to as the Anthropocene, the period in which human activity strongly influences the climate and environment. In the Anthropocene, fossil fuels have become central to the geological footprint humans will leave behind on Earth. By looking at the Anthropocene’s imprint, Schmidt and Frank … lay out evidence of what might be left behind if industrial civilizations like ours existed millions of years in the past.
Human beings began burning fossil fuels more than 300 years ago, marking the beginnings of industrialization. The researchers note that the emission of fossil fuels into the atmosphere has already changed the carbon cycle in a way that is recorded in carbon isotope records. Other ways human beings might leave behind a geological footprint include:
– Agriculture, through greatly increased erosion and sedimentation rates.
– Plastics, synthetic pollutants, and even things such as steroids, which will be geochemically detectable for millions, and perhaps even billions, of years.
– Nuclear war, if it happened, which would leave behind unusual radioactive isotopes.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Cuba launches process of replacing Raul Castro as president
- Cuba on Wednesday launched the daylong process of selecting Raul Castro's successor as president of Cuba, the centerpiece of an effort to ensure that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it.
State media said the government would announce Castro's replacement on Thursday, installing someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades.
Castro entered the National Assembly just after 9 a.m. accompanied by a broadly smiling Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the man expected to succeed him.
The 605 assembly members were sworn in, then voted for the president and vice president of the legislative body itself. The president and vice president of Cuba and other national leaders will be voted on later in the day.
State media said the government would announce Castro's replacement on Thursday, installing someone from outside the Castro family in the country's highest government office for the first time in nearly six decades.
Castro entered the National Assembly just after 9 a.m. accompanied by a broadly smiling Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the man expected to succeed him.
The 605 assembly members were sworn in, then voted for the president and vice president of the legislative body itself. The president and vice president of Cuba and other national leaders will be voted on later in the day.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
France's Macron warns growing EU divisions are like 'civil war'
thelocal.fr - French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that divisions between democracy and authoritarianism in Europe were becoming like a "civil war".
In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg that set out his vision of a reformed EU, Macron called on the bloc to resist the siren song of populism.
The young French leader's call to arms comes after eurosceptic populists won elections in Hungary and Italy, and as Brussels confronts Poland's
right-wing government over the rule of law.
"There seems to be a sort of European civil war, where our differences and sometimes our national egotisms can seem more important than presenting a
united face to the world," the 40-year-old president said.
"There is a fascination with the illiberal and it's growing all the time."
Macron's election victory last year against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, and his ardent pro-Europeanism have made him the poster boy for those
aiming for a revived post-Brexit EU to battle the challenges of populism.
Macron said he was concerned by the growing sense of "doubt" in several European countries in the wake of the shock 2016 Brexit vote, which he said
was creating divisions in the EU.
"I don't want to belong to a generation of sleepwalkers, I don't want to belong to a generation that's forgotten its own past," he told MEPs in the eastern French city.
"I want to belong to a generation that will defend European sovereignty because we fought to obtain it. And I will not give in to any kind of fixation
on authoritarianism," he added. ContinueReading
Monday, April 16, 2018
7 inmates dead, 17 injured after hours of rioting at South Carolina prison
washingtonpost - At least seven inmates are dead and 17 people are injured after hours-long rioting at a maximum-security prison in South Carolina, according to the state’s corrections authorities.
Several fights broke out among inmates in three housing units at the Lee Correctional Institution about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, and it took authorities more than 7½ hours, until 2:55 a.m. Monday, to secure the prison, officials said.
No officers or staff members were harmed, the corrections department added.
Officials have yet to release the names of those killed and injured. The Lee County coroner told the Associated Press that most of the dead appeared to have been killed by stabbing or slashing.
Emergency crews from at least half a dozen agencies responded to the “mass casualty incident,” according to Lee County Fire and Rescue.
South Carolina authorities helped officials with the Department of Corrections and Lee County secure the prison dormitories where the incidents occurred, said Thom Berry, a spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), who was at the prison until early Monday morning.
Berry said SLED is working with the department “to determine what caused the disturbance.”
Lee Correctional Institution is one of South Carolina’s highest-security prisons, which means the inmates are generally tightly monitored and their movements inside the facility are limited.
Of South Carolina’s nine all-male, maximum-security prisons, Lee Correctional — in Bishopville, about 60 miles northeast of Columbia — is the largest.
The prison houses about 1,600 male inmates, the majority of them in general housing rather than more restricted housing, according to state records.
Violence at Lee Correctional is not uncommon. During the past year, at least three inmates were killed in three separate incidents, while last month, inmates held an officer hostage for about an hour and a half before releasing him, according to the State newspaper.
An investigation by the State’s John Monk found the number of inmates killed across the state’s prisons had quadrupled from 2015 to 2017.
Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told Monk that the trend can be partly attributed to an increase in inmates obtaining cellphones, chronic understaffing, gang rivalries and a higher ratio of violent prisoners to nonviolent ones.
“I’ve been warning about this for a long time,” Stirling told the newspaper, referring to the greater number of contraband cellphones entering the prisons. “These folks are physically incarcerated, but they can continue their criminal ways behind bars. Now, they are fighting over real money.”
On Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster told the AP he had “complete confidence” in Stirling as the head of the Department of Corrections.
According to the department, the number of inmates held in state prisons has declined in recent years after peaking nearly a decade ago. More than 20,400 inmates were held in South Carolina facilities last year, down from a peak of 24,040 in 2010, state records show. ContinueReading
Several fights broke out among inmates in three housing units at the Lee Correctional Institution about 7:15 p.m. Sunday, and it took authorities more than 7½ hours, until 2:55 a.m. Monday, to secure the prison, officials said.
No officers or staff members were harmed, the corrections department added.
Officials have yet to release the names of those killed and injured. The Lee County coroner told the Associated Press that most of the dead appeared to have been killed by stabbing or slashing.
Emergency crews from at least half a dozen agencies responded to the “mass casualty incident,” according to Lee County Fire and Rescue.
South Carolina authorities helped officials with the Department of Corrections and Lee County secure the prison dormitories where the incidents occurred, said Thom Berry, a spokesman for the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), who was at the prison until early Monday morning.
Berry said SLED is working with the department “to determine what caused the disturbance.”
Lee Correctional Institution is one of South Carolina’s highest-security prisons, which means the inmates are generally tightly monitored and their movements inside the facility are limited.
Of South Carolina’s nine all-male, maximum-security prisons, Lee Correctional — in Bishopville, about 60 miles northeast of Columbia — is the largest.
The prison houses about 1,600 male inmates, the majority of them in general housing rather than more restricted housing, according to state records.
Violence at Lee Correctional is not uncommon. During the past year, at least three inmates were killed in three separate incidents, while last month, inmates held an officer hostage for about an hour and a half before releasing him, according to the State newspaper.
An investigation by the State’s John Monk found the number of inmates killed across the state’s prisons had quadrupled from 2015 to 2017.
Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling told Monk that the trend can be partly attributed to an increase in inmates obtaining cellphones, chronic understaffing, gang rivalries and a higher ratio of violent prisoners to nonviolent ones.
“I’ve been warning about this for a long time,” Stirling told the newspaper, referring to the greater number of contraband cellphones entering the prisons. “These folks are physically incarcerated, but they can continue their criminal ways behind bars. Now, they are fighting over real money.”
On Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster told the AP he had “complete confidence” in Stirling as the head of the Department of Corrections.
According to the department, the number of inmates held in state prisons has declined in recent years after peaking nearly a decade ago. More than 20,400 inmates were held in South Carolina facilities last year, down from a peak of 24,040 in 2010, state records show. ContinueReading
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Facebook comes under attack for tracking internet users who don't have a Facebook account
- So you think that you're pretty smart because you never signed up for a Facebook account. And while your friends are concerned about who got to use their profile data without permission, you gloat that your personal information is safe and remains out of the clutches of Facebook. Or is it? During his testimony in front of a House committee on Wednesday, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that his company does track internet users who have not subscribed to Facebook.
Responding to a question poised by U.S. Representative Ben Luján (D-New Mexico), Zuckerberg responded that Facebook tracks non-users for security reasons. That means that these non-subscribers haven't a clue about what information Facebook has obtained about them. This didn't sit well with the lawmakers in Congress, who might draft regulations to be applied against the social media app and others of its ilk. "We've got to fix that," said Rep. Luján, referring to a process that forces non Facebook users to sign up for the service if they want to know what personal information the company has obtained. Facebook has responded by saying that it has no plans to develop a method to allow non-users to see the data about them collected by the company.
Besides politicians, privacy advocates are also disturbed by Zuckerberg's comments. Chris Calabrese, vice president for policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said that Facebook needs to reveal what it is doing with all of this information.
"You said that everyone controls their data, but you're collecting data on people who are not even Facebook users, that have never signed a consent, a privacy agreement."-U.S. Representative Ben Luján
Some cyber security experts expect to see executives from Google, Amazon, Reddit and Twitter to be called soon to testify on Capitol Hill.
Responding to a question poised by U.S. Representative Ben Luján (D-New Mexico), Zuckerberg responded that Facebook tracks non-users for security reasons. That means that these non-subscribers haven't a clue about what information Facebook has obtained about them. This didn't sit well with the lawmakers in Congress, who might draft regulations to be applied against the social media app and others of its ilk. "We've got to fix that," said Rep. Luján, referring to a process that forces non Facebook users to sign up for the service if they want to know what personal information the company has obtained. Facebook has responded by saying that it has no plans to develop a method to allow non-users to see the data about them collected by the company.
Besides politicians, privacy advocates are also disturbed by Zuckerberg's comments. Chris Calabrese, vice president for policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology, said that Facebook needs to reveal what it is doing with all of this information.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
China to Encourage Horse Racing, Expand Sports Lottery in Hainan
- China said it would encourage horse racing and expand sports lotteries in the southernmost island of Hainan, moves that may eventually open the door to gaming on the nation’s mainland for the first time.
China will support the development of horse racing and other projects including beach and water sports in Hainan, according to a reform agenda approved by China’s cabinet and announced in the official Xinhua News Agency Saturday. The province should also “explore the development of sports lottery and instant lottery on large-scale international games,” it said, without elaborating.
While the government bans all forms of gambling, it officially allows two types of lotteries -- including one in which players predict the outcomes of international soccer matches. It also permits some horse racing, though betting is banned and the central government had previously refrained from promoting the sport.
“Horse racing has grown quickly in China in recent years, but it’s the first time the central government has promoted the game for a city and simultaneously encouraged further development of sports lottery,” said Su Guojing, chairman of China Lottery Industry Salon, a business group. “Although it still takes time to explore, Hainan may try to launch a lottery for more sporting events, including horse racing and rowing, to help boost Hainan’s tourism.”
Any shift in China’s approach toward gambling could end up threatening the $33 billion casino industry in Macau -- the world’s largest gaming center-- as well as other casino hubs in Asia. Macau has been shifting to attract Chinese tourists and families to the territory, which is the same market that Hainan currently draws. ContinueReading
Friday, April 13, 2018
End Of World Is Coming On April 23, Claim Conspiracy Theorists
Conspiracy theorists say that April 23 is the day the Biblical rapture is going to take place, Christians will be removed from Earth, and the world will end, along with the arrival of the so-called “death planet,” Nibiru, also referred to as Planet X.
The simple fact that someone is telling everyone that the rapture will occur on April 23 could be enough indication for Evangelical Christians that it probably won’t occur on that day because the Bible says it will happen when no one is expecting it (Revelation 16:15, Matthew 24:43, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4, 2 Peter 3:10), although Meade argues on his website that it is indeed possible to know the date. And for those who aren’t Christians, all this talk about the death planet and April 23 is probably made even more bizarre by the claim that the rapture is about to happen.
The notorious numerologist and astrologer David Meade is back again with another prediction about the end of the world. He’s been wrong multiple times, but this time around, he’s absolutely certain that April 23 will be the big day. Some may recall that he also predicted the end of the world on September 23, 2017 and October 15, 2017. Fox News also collected a much longer list of when Meade and others incorrectly predicted the end of the world, the start of the Great Tribulation (as described in the Bible), and other related events.
Now he tells the Daily Express that the big day of Christ’s return is going to be April 23, based on the placement of the sun and planets. He believes that the events described in Revelation 12:1-2 are actually more literal than what many Evangelicals think, as he traces the events to the movement of the planets and the stars. Those verses refer to “a great sign” appearing in the heavens: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 2 stars.”
Earlier this year, he said the Christian rapture would happen at some point in early April 2018, but we’re almost to the middle of the month and it’s safe to say that it hasn’t happened yet.
The simple fact that someone is telling everyone that the rapture will occur on April 23 could be enough indication for Evangelical Christians that it probably won’t occur on that day because the Bible says it will happen when no one is expecting it (Revelation 16:15, Matthew 24:43, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4, 2 Peter 3:10), although Meade argues on his website that it is indeed possible to know the date. And for those who aren’t Christians, all this talk about the death planet and April 23 is probably made even more bizarre by the claim that the rapture is about to happen.
The notorious numerologist and astrologer David Meade is back again with another prediction about the end of the world. He’s been wrong multiple times, but this time around, he’s absolutely certain that April 23 will be the big day. Some may recall that he also predicted the end of the world on September 23, 2017 and October 15, 2017. Fox News also collected a much longer list of when Meade and others incorrectly predicted the end of the world, the start of the Great Tribulation (as described in the Bible), and other related events.
Now he tells the Daily Express that the big day of Christ’s return is going to be April 23, based on the placement of the sun and planets. He believes that the events described in Revelation 12:1-2 are actually more literal than what many Evangelicals think, as he traces the events to the movement of the planets and the stars. Those verses refer to “a great sign” appearing in the heavens: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 2 stars.”
Earlier this year, he said the Christian rapture would happen at some point in early April 2018, but we’re almost to the middle of the month and it’s safe to say that it hasn’t happened yet.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
One-third of Americans don't believe 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust
newsweek.com - One-third of Americans think “substantially less” than 6 billion Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, according to a new survey that highlights a worrying lack of basic knowledge about the World War II-era genocide.
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference, released the findings of its survey to coincide with Holocaust Remembrance Day. They show a notable lack of understanding among Americans, especially millennials, the group said.
The Claims Conference said there are “critical gaps both in awareness of basic facts as well as detailed knowledge of the Holocaust” in American society, stressing that U.S. schools must provide more comprehensive education on the crimes.
The survey shows that 70 percent of Americans believe people care less about the Holocaust than they used to. A majority, 58 percent, said they believe something like the Holocaust could happen again.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Pennsylvania School District Arms Teachers With Baseball Bats
usnews.com - A Pennsylvania school district is arming its teachers with baseball bats to defend themselves and students against potential gunmen in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
Officials from the Millcreek School District in Erie, Pennsylvania distributed 16-inch baseball bats to its 500 teachers as a "last resort," district Superintendent William Hall, told Erie News Now.
Jon Cacchione, the Millcreek Education Association president told Erie News Now, he agrees with the decision to arm teachers with bats.
"This is a tool to have in the event we have nothing else," said Cacchione. "Part of the formula now is to fight back, and so I think the bats that were provided for the staff were symbolic of that."
This isn't the only Pennsylvania school district to provide teachers with defensive tools. In March, Blue Mountain School District, located about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia, armed its teachers with buckets of rocks. ContinueReading
Officials from the Millcreek School District in Erie, Pennsylvania distributed 16-inch baseball bats to its 500 teachers as a "last resort," district Superintendent William Hall, told Erie News Now.
Teachers received the bats, which cost the district about $1,800 to buy, after they attended a training day on how to respond to school shootings.
"We passed them out, with the goal being we wanted every room to have one of these," Hall said. "Unfortunately, we're in a day and age where one might need to use them to protect ourselves and our kids."
Although Hall said the bats are mostly "symbolic," teachers have the option to use them should they need to in the event of an attack. Bats will be in every classroom and will be locked away.
"We passed them out, with the goal being we wanted every room to have one of these," Hall said. "Unfortunately, we're in a day and age where one might need to use them to protect ourselves and our kids."
Although Hall said the bats are mostly "symbolic," teachers have the option to use them should they need to in the event of an attack. Bats will be in every classroom and will be locked away.
Hall said the district also added a concrete barrier around the high school walkway and additional security measures were added at each entrance.
Jon Cacchione, the Millcreek Education Association president told Erie News Now, he agrees with the decision to arm teachers with bats.
"This is a tool to have in the event we have nothing else," said Cacchione. "Part of the formula now is to fight back, and so I think the bats that were provided for the staff were symbolic of that."
This isn't the only Pennsylvania school district to provide teachers with defensive tools. In March, Blue Mountain School District, located about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia, armed its teachers with buckets of rocks. ContinueReading
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Woman arrested in West Virginia for cutting man's head off
LERONA, WV (WVNS) - A competency hearing for a woman accused of cutting a man's head off was held Monday morning at the Mercer County Courthouse.
Roena Cheryl Mills from Rural Retreat Virginia is charged with 2nd-degree murder. At Monday's hearing, the judge ruled Mills needed further evaluation.
According to court documents, the murder happened on April 1, 2018, in Lerona, Mercer County. Deputies were called to Eden Valley Road where they reportedly found Mills covered in blood and wearing a glove on her left hand. She allegedly told officials a false name and said she was cut by being thrown through a glass door. During that time, officers said she became combative and was arrested. In the deputies' car, Mills reportedly said "you have to take me back and let me get my heads."
Later that day, investigators said they received a call about a murder on Clover Lane. There, deputies said they found a man decapitated inside of his home. Deputies said they also found another body part of the victim in the home where they originally found Mills.
Employees at Southern Regional Jail said Mill was talking about killing someone while she was at the jail. The victim's father told deputies the two were dating.
The case now heads to the grand jury in June.
Monday, April 9, 2018
Woman Embalmed Alive, Dies Painfully Due To Hospital's Bizarre Error
ibtimes.com - A 27-year-old woman died after she was embalmed alive as doctors mistakenly put her on a formalin drip, a solution containing formaldehyde, instead of saline. The incident took place in a hospital in the city of Ulyanovsk in Russia when Ekaterine Fedyaeva was admitted there for a routine surgery.
Fedyaeva's mother accused the medical team of "murder" after her daughter suffered horrible pains and convulsions for two days before going into coma. The drip that was given to Fedyaeva is normally infused into the veins of the dead to prevent decomposition. Later, the woman was flown to a top Moscow hospital where she died of multiple organ failure.
“Her legs were moving, she had convulsions, her whole body was shaking. I put socks on her, then a robe, then a blanket but she was shivering to such an extent, I can’t even describe it. No doctor came to see her although she was coming round from anesthetic,” Fedyaeva's mother Galina Baryshnikova, told United Kingdom media.
Baryshnikova said after her daughter was given the drip, she suffered chronic stomach pains and vomiting.
"We had no idea it was formalin...And they knew very well that they washed up her body with a poison - and they did nothing to help…Now I understand that formalin was simply eroding her body from inside."
"People who performed the surgery already knew that they infused something wrong," she added. "They needed to take some urgent measures - but they did nothing."
A criminal investigation is currently underway into the death of Fedyaeva, who was buried Saturday.
While blaming the doctors at the hospital of her daughter's death, Baryshnikova said she begged them to help but they told her to go home.
"I begged – 'please help her, she is my only child'," the mother said. "I think they just wanted me to go away and to hide everything."
Overnight, Fedyaeva was rushed to intensive care as her condition deteriorated and she was later put on life support.
"For 14 hours after surgery she was living with this formalin and they did nothing,” Baryshnikova said.
According to U.K.'s Mirror Online, medics at the regional clinic reportedly used over 50 different drugs in an attempt to save Fedyaeva's life before she was flown to another hospital in Moscow. However, the young woman's life could not be saved.
Fedyaeva's mother accused the medical team of "murder" after her daughter suffered horrible pains and convulsions for two days before going into coma. The drip that was given to Fedyaeva is normally infused into the veins of the dead to prevent decomposition. Later, the woman was flown to a top Moscow hospital where she died of multiple organ failure.
Baryshnikova said after her daughter was given the drip, she suffered chronic stomach pains and vomiting.
"We had no idea it was formalin...And they knew very well that they washed up her body with a poison - and they did nothing to help…Now I understand that formalin was simply eroding her body from inside."
"People who performed the surgery already knew that they infused something wrong," she added. "They needed to take some urgent measures - but they did nothing."
A criminal investigation is currently underway into the death of Fedyaeva, who was buried Saturday.
While blaming the doctors at the hospital of her daughter's death, Baryshnikova said she begged them to help but they told her to go home.
"I begged – 'please help her, she is my only child'," the mother said. "I think they just wanted me to go away and to hide everything."
Overnight, Fedyaeva was rushed to intensive care as her condition deteriorated and she was later put on life support.
"For 14 hours after surgery she was living with this formalin and they did nothing,” Baryshnikova said.
According to U.K.'s Mirror Online, medics at the regional clinic reportedly used over 50 different drugs in an attempt to save Fedyaeva's life before she was flown to another hospital in Moscow. However, the young woman's life could not be saved.
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Voter turnout high in Hungary as hard-line Viktor Orban aims for 3rd consecutive term as prime minister
The reelection of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s staunchly anti-migrant, strongman prime minister, and his right-wing Fidesz party is almost certain. The question is whether he can pull off a two-thirds supermajority in parliament, a legislative carte blanche that in the past has allowed him to enact drastic changes to the constitution, attempt to influence the judiciary and crack down on his critics.
A high turnout could spell trouble for Orban’s grip on power as he attempts to serve his fourth overall term. Even in gerrymandered districts, more votes for opposition candidates will be added to party totals, which could then undermine the presence of Fidesz in parliament. Virtually all polls suggest that Orban will remain head of the government, but political analysts are uncertain as to the meaning of Sunday’s high turnout.
As he cast his ballot, Orban couched the election in existential terms: “What’s at stake is Hungary’s future,” he said. But opposition leaders wasted no time in heralding the highest rates of turnout since 2002, when Orban was thrown out of power in an election in which passions ran high. His political rebirth in 2010 heralded the dawn of a new hard-line conservatism that his challengers hope Sunday’s election will curb.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Several dead in Germany as van ploughs into crowd in Muenster
BBC - Several people have been been killed in the city of Muenster, in western Germany after a van drove into pedestrians.
The driver of the vehicle has killed himself, police said.
About 30 people are reported injured in the incident, which occurred near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town.
Police asked people to avoid the city centre while they respond to the incident.
There is a restaurant located in the vicinity of the Kiepenkerl statue and photographs posted on social media showed tables and chairs strewn at the scene.
In December 2016, a lorry ploughed into a crowd at at Christmas market in the German capital, Berlin, killing 12 people.
The driver of the vehicle has killed himself, police said.
About 30 people are reported injured in the incident, which occurred near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town.
Police asked people to avoid the city centre while they respond to the incident.
There is a restaurant located in the vicinity of the Kiepenkerl statue and photographs posted on social media showed tables and chairs strewn at the scene.
In December 2016, a lorry ploughed into a crowd at at Christmas market in the German capital, Berlin, killing 12 people.
Friday, April 6, 2018
Britain's sugar tax on soft drinks comes into effect
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s sugar tax on soft drinks came into effect on Friday, a move that will lead to some higher prices as the country seeks to battle childhood obesity.
The tax, announced in March 2016, has already cut sugar content in drinks by 45 million kg per year, Britain’s Treasury said, as over 50 percent of manufacturers have reformulated their products to be below the levy’s sugar threshold.
“Our teenagers consume nearly a bathtub of sugary drinks each year on average, fuelling a worrying obesity trend in this country,” Public Health Minister Steve Brine said.
“The soft drinks industry levy is ground-breaking policy that will help to reduce sugar intake, whilst funding sports programs and nutritious breakfast clubs for children.”
Because of the reformulations, the Treasury now expects the levy to raise only about 240 million pounds ($336 million) in its first year, less than half of its prior forecast of 520 million.
Soft drink makers including Coca-Cola, Britvic and Lucozade Ribena Suntory have reformulated drinks, though Coca-Cola Classic, the nation’s top-selling branded soft drink, is subject to the tax.
Retailers Tesco, Asda and Morrisons have also reformulated their own-label fizzy drinks to be below the levy’s threshold. ContinueReading
Thursday, April 5, 2018
AI Experts Threaten to Boycott a University Over Reports of Killer Robot Research
fortune.com - Dozens of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence and robotics have announced a boycott of a major South Korean research university, which has been working with an arms company on integrating artificial intelligence with weaponry.
The university, KAIST, earlier this year set up a joint research center with the defense arm of conglomerate Hanwha. Local news reported at the time that the project would aim to create software for “AI-based” missiles, unmanned submarines and armed quadcopters by the end of 2018.
“At a time when the United Nations is discussing how to contain the threat posed to international security by autonomous weapons, it is regrettable that a prestigious institution like KAIST looks to accelerate the arms race to develop such weapons,” the professors wrote in an open letter.
“We therefore publicly declare that we will boycott all collaborations with any part of KAIST until such time as the President of KAIST provides assurances, which we have sought but not received, that the Center will not develop autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control.”
The more than 50 signatories include luminaries of the AI scene such as Geoff Hinton of the University of Toronto and Toby Walsh of the University of New South Wales. Covering a broad spectrum of universities around the world, their boycott could have a real impact.
However, the boycott may not last long. After the open letter was published, KAIST president Sung-Chul Shin said the university “does not have any intention to engage in development of lethal autonomous weapons systems and killer robots.”
“I reaffirm once again that KAIST will not conduct any research activities counter to human dignity including autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control,” Shin said. ContinueReading
According to CNN, Walsh responded by saying he was mostly satisfied with the assurance. “I still have a few question marks about what they intend to do but broadly speaking they have responded appropriately,” he said.
A United Nations group will meet next week in Geneva to discuss the issues around lethal autonomous weapons systems, or LAWS. Many people and organizations, from the Red Cross to Elon Musk, have called for either bans or strict limits on such systems.
The university, KAIST, earlier this year set up a joint research center with the defense arm of conglomerate Hanwha. Local news reported at the time that the project would aim to create software for “AI-based” missiles, unmanned submarines and armed quadcopters by the end of 2018.
“At a time when the United Nations is discussing how to contain the threat posed to international security by autonomous weapons, it is regrettable that a prestigious institution like KAIST looks to accelerate the arms race to develop such weapons,” the professors wrote in an open letter.
“We therefore publicly declare that we will boycott all collaborations with any part of KAIST until such time as the President of KAIST provides assurances, which we have sought but not received, that the Center will not develop autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control.”
The more than 50 signatories include luminaries of the AI scene such as Geoff Hinton of the University of Toronto and Toby Walsh of the University of New South Wales. Covering a broad spectrum of universities around the world, their boycott could have a real impact.
However, the boycott may not last long. After the open letter was published, KAIST president Sung-Chul Shin said the university “does not have any intention to engage in development of lethal autonomous weapons systems and killer robots.”
“I reaffirm once again that KAIST will not conduct any research activities counter to human dignity including autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control,” Shin said. ContinueReading
According to CNN, Walsh responded by saying he was mostly satisfied with the assurance. “I still have a few question marks about what they intend to do but broadly speaking they have responded appropriately,” he said.
A United Nations group will meet next week in Geneva to discuss the issues around lethal autonomous weapons systems, or LAWS. Many people and organizations, from the Red Cross to Elon Musk, have called for either bans or strict limits on such systems.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Universe could be destroyed by huge energy bubble and scientists warn process may have begun
- THE world could end as abruptly as it began, warn experts.
All it would theoretically take is for a fundamental particle — the Higgs Boson — to become destabilised, unleashing a huge energy bubble that will swallow up everything in its path, leaving nothing but a dark void.
In a new study by Harvard, physicists suggest the end of our universe will come with a sudden bang rather than a slow demise.
The shockwaves would severely disrupt physics, chemistry, and life as we know it.
But there’s no need to panic just yet — scientists say the Earth-shattering disruption may not take place for a long time.
Specifically, it could occur 10x139 years from now — or 10 million trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years.
The experts estimated our universe’s expiration date based on its size and the speed of destruction.
But they did leave an alarming footnote: the process may have already begun.
In fact, we have no way of knowing if the Higgs Boson collapses — or if it’s already collapsed — because if the universe is infinitely large the particle could be infinitely far away.
And by the time we find out, it could already be too late.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Malaysia outlaws 'fake news'; sets jail of up to six years
- KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Monday approved a law against “fake news” that would allow for prison of up to six years for offenders, shrugging off critics who say it was aimed at curbing dissent and free speech ahead of a general election.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government secured a simple majority in parliament to pass the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill, which sets out fines of up to 500,000 ringgit ($123,000) and a maximum six years in jail. The first draft of the bill had proposed jail of up to 10 years.
The government said the law would not impinge on freedom of speech and cases under it would be handled through an independent court process.
“This law aims to protect the public from the spread of fake news, while allowing freedom of speech as provided for under the constitution,” Law Minister Azalina Othman Said told parliament.
The law defines fake news as “news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false” and includes features, visuals and audio recordings.
It covers digital publications and social media and will apply to offenders who maliciously spread “fake news” inside and outside Malaysia, including foreigners, if Malaysia or a Malaysian citizen were affected.
Co-opted by U.S. President Donald Trump, the term “fake news” has quickly become part of the standard repertoire of leaders in authoritarian countries to describe media reports and organizations critical of them.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, had earlier on Monday urged the government not to rush the legislation through parliament.
“I urge the government to reconsider the bill and open it up to regular and genuine public scrutiny before taking any further steps,” David Kaye said in a Twitter post. ContinueReading
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government secured a simple majority in parliament to pass the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill, which sets out fines of up to 500,000 ringgit ($123,000) and a maximum six years in jail. The first draft of the bill had proposed jail of up to 10 years.
The government said the law would not impinge on freedom of speech and cases under it would be handled through an independent court process.
“This law aims to protect the public from the spread of fake news, while allowing freedom of speech as provided for under the constitution,” Law Minister Azalina Othman Said told parliament.
The law defines fake news as “news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false” and includes features, visuals and audio recordings.
It covers digital publications and social media and will apply to offenders who maliciously spread “fake news” inside and outside Malaysia, including foreigners, if Malaysia or a Malaysian citizen were affected.
Co-opted by U.S. President Donald Trump, the term “fake news” has quickly become part of the standard repertoire of leaders in authoritarian countries to describe media reports and organizations critical of them.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, had earlier on Monday urged the government not to rush the legislation through parliament.
“I urge the government to reconsider the bill and open it up to regular and genuine public scrutiny before taking any further steps,” David Kaye said in a Twitter post. ContinueReading
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Hospitals Fear Competitive Threat From Potential Walmart-Humana Deal
wsj.com - Early-stage deal talks between Walmart Inc. WMT 1.37% and Humana Inc. HUM 0.48% are deepening anxiety in the hospital sector, which already has been grappling with sluggish growth and competition from cheaper health-care options.
Hospitals have been eyeing Walmart nervously for years as it advances into health care, seeking to leverage its enormous purchasing heft, physical reach and focus on price. The Bentonville, Ark., retailer already operates pharmacies and primary-care clinics and plans to begin offering lab-testing services. It has also recently increased its direct negotiations with hospitals for competitive prices on some procedures for its employees.
Now, a deal for Louisville, Ky.-based insurer Humana could accelerate Walmart’s transformation into a direct competitive threat and a force in tamping down spending on hospital services, according to industry executives and consultants.
A deal isn’t guaranteed. But a merger could add to the wave of consolidation in U.S. health care, pairing insurers with other sectors of the industry that offer cheaper care through clinics and pharmacies. CVS Health Corp. announced last year a $69 billion deal for insurer Aetna Inc. Cigna Corp. early last month said it would buy Express Scripts Holding Co. for $54 billion, in a combination that would marry a health insurer and the largest U.S. pharmacy-benefit manager.
“These vertical deals are super exciting, mostly for the potential to keep people out of the hospital,” said Zack Cooper, health economist at Yale University.
With a potential Walmart-Humana deal, “there is scope for this new entity to, in a sense, offer a product that has less bells and whistles and is more efficient and lower cost,” he said.
Outside its pharmacies—which operate across 4,700 U.S. Walmart stores—the retailer’s health-service offerings are currently limited. Walmart operates 19 clinics in Georgia, South Carolina and Texas and other providers operate about 50 additional clinics. But Walmart’s expansive retail footprint would make it a formidable competitor should it build out low-cost outpatient offerings, said industry executives and consultants.
Humana, one of the nation’s largest insurers, already announced in December it would jointly acquire home-health-care and hospice provider Kindred Healthcare Inc. with two private-equity firms.
A potential Walmart-Humana deal “should be a concern to everybody in health care,” said Randy Oostra, president and chief executive officer of nonprofit hospital system ProMedica, based in Toledo, Ohio. ContinueReading
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)