Nightshade, the free tool that ‘poisons’ AI models, is now available for artists to use
"The tool's creators are seeking to make it so that AI model developers must pay artists to train on data from them that is uncorrupted." Artists can now use this software to modify their art and influence the big tech owners of AI tools to properly recognise the original works. Growing the poisonous...
Source: venturebeat.com
Fusion energy record demonstrates powerplant future
"Landmark results from EUROfusion scientists and engineers at world-leading UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Oxford. "Record-breaking 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy demonstrates powerplant potential and strengthens case for ITER." "The record and scientific...
Source: ukaea.uk
Combat drones: We are in a new era of warfare - here's why
No longer the preserve of superpowers, drones are now in the hands of insurgents and smaller countries.
Source: bbc.com
New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines aim to save millions of lives from air pollution
"Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, alongside climate change. New guidelines provide clear evidence of the damage air pollution inflicts on human health, at even lower concentrations than previously understood." "Global assessments of ambient air pollution alone...
Source: who.int
New WHO toolkit promotes inclusion of people with dementia in society
“Towards a dementia-inclusive society: WHO toolkit for dementia-friendly initiatives”, launched today, is WHO’s latest response for establishing and scaling-up dementia-friendly initiatives globally. The toolkit helps countries raise public awareness and understanding of dementia to support people...
Source: who.int
Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly | Commonwealth Fund
"How the 11 Countries Rank on Performance. The top-performing countries overall are Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia. The next three countries in the ranking — the U.K., Germany, and New Zealand — perform very similarly to one another." The UK was ranked #1 overall in 2017 - the last time this...
Source: commonwealthfund.org
Visa-free touring granted for UK artists in 19 EU countries – while industry demands "honesty" from government
"The government has announced that visa-free touring has been negotiated for UK artists in 19 EU member countries" This is great news for musicians but also good to see that individual EU states also still have control over their borders (they always did). It will be great for us all to have freedom...
Source: nme.com
Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants
All viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, change over time. Most changes have little to no impact on the virus’ properties. However, some changes may affect the virus’s properties, such as how easily it spreads, the associated disease severity, or the performance...
Source: who.int
To them that hath: economic complexity and local industrial strategy in the UK Penny Mealy. Diane Coyle. International Tax
Divergent economic performance in many countries has led to renewed interest in place-based policies, such as the UK’s local industrial strategies at the level of Combined Authorities or Local Economic Partnerships. However, an analysis of employment data using methods from the economic complexity...
Source: springer.com
Why European vaccine suspensions could have unintended consequences
Europe’s difficult rollout of covid-19 shots took another blow over the weekend, as several countries halted deployment of the AstraZeneca vaccine amid worries it could cause blood clots. On Monday Germany, Spain, Italy, and France were among those to suspend deployment of the vaccine, following similar...
Source: technologyreview.com
WHO's Ryan says some countries didn't hear early COVID-19 warning
Some countries should have listened more carefully when the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency in January 2020, Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert, said on Monday.
Source: reuters.com
UK rollout data on AstraZeneca shot should guide other countries: vaccine chief
Natural experiments can be a really useful source of data. "Data from Britain's vaccine rollout on the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University COVID-19 shot in older people should help other countries reassess their use of it, the head of the university's vaccine research group said on Tuesday."
Source: reuters.com
Why Are COVID-19 Case Numbers Dropping?
"We don’t know. That part is easy. Also easy is that case numbers really are falling — it’s not just reduced testing — and it’s happening pretty much everywhere. Urban areas and rural. Red states and blue. Places with broad vaccine rollouts and those with hardly any. North and South America,...
Source: jwatch.org
Declining Life Expectancy in the United States
This Viewpoint reviews the social and economic drivers of declines in longevity in the US, especially among lower socioeconomic status groups, and proposes policy options for the Biden-Harris administration to mitigate the trend, including an increase in the federally mandated minimum wage. Atheendar...
Source: jamanetwork.com
Clinical Trials Overlook Diseases of Low-Income Countries
Conditions like respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and enteric infections that disproportionately affect low-income countries are consistently understudied in clinical trials, according to a recent study. Bridget M. Kuehn. JAMA.
Source: jamanetwork.com
France and Germany thrust into lockdown as second COVID-19 wave sweeps Europe: French President Emmanuel Macron and German
France and Germany thrust into lockdown as second COVID-19 wave sweeps Europe: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel ordered their countries back into lockdown on Wednesday, as a massive second wave of coronavirus infections threatened to overwhelm Europe before the winter.
Source: reuters.com
Dying in a Leadership Vacuum Why has the United States handled this pandemic so badly?
Dying in a Leadership Vacuum Why has the United States handled this pandemic so badly? The NEJM Editors asks what has gone so wrong in the US and lays the blame with the political leadership. "This crisis has produced a test of leadership. With no good options to combat a novel pathogen, countries were...
Source: nejm.org
France's global nuclear fusion device a puzzle of huge parts.
France's global nuclear fusion device a puzzle of huge parts: A hugely ambitious project to replicate the energy of the sun is entering a critical phase, as scientists and technicians in southern France begin assembling giant parts of a nuclear fusion device, an international experiment aimed to develop...
Source: phys.org
UK suffers second-highest death rate from coronavirus | Free to read: FT analysis of data from 19 countries finds Britain
UK suffers second-highest death rate from coronavirus | Free to read: FT analysis of data from 19 countries finds Britain suffering heavy toll from pandemic
Source: www.ft.com
Coronavirus COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 information
A collection of information sources for COVID-19. The NHS 111 online COVID-19 service. The first point of call for someone in the UK who thinks they have symptoms or have been exposed whilst travelling. The NHS Coronavirus COVID-19 information webpage. UK Government's Coronavirus action plan. Public...
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