When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Ghenya Grondin of Waltham, Massachusetts, was a postpartum doula – a person charged with helping young couples navigate the first weeks of their newborn child’s life at home. Grondin, now aged 44, was infected with SARS-CoV-2 in mid-March of that year – before there were tests, before social distancing or … continue reading -> “Infected in the First Wave, They Navigated Long COVID Without a Roadmap”
The U.N. in Malawi has launched an urgent appeal for aid to deal with the impact of a record cholera outbreak that has so far killed nearly 1,450 people and infected 45,000. Local health experts say if urgent action isn’t taken to scale up the response, the number of cases could double in the next … continue reading -> “UN Appeals for Aid to Assist Malawi Fight Cholera Outbreak”
A growing number of startups are using artificial intelligence to replicate human voices. A company is creating synthetic voices for organizations to use for advertising, marketing and training. Phil Dierking reports. Videographer and video editor: Philip Dierking …
Two 16th-century sculptures, jewels of French Renaissance art, have been on display since 1908 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. But thanks to modern technology and an unusual agreement, precise 3D copies will be made and installed in the French castle where the originals long resided. The facsimiles plan is the fruit of a … continue reading -> “NY Met to Let French Make 3D Copies of Two 16th-Century Sculptures”
United Nations members gather Monday in New York to resume efforts to forge a long-awaited and elusive treaty to safeguard the world’s marine biodiversity. Nearly two-thirds of the ocean lies outside national boundaries on the high seas where fragmented and unevenly enforced rules seek to minimize human impact. The goal of the U.N. meetings, running … continue reading -> “UN Ocean Treaty Talks Resume With Goal to Save Biodiversity”
The prospect of large-scale mining to extract valuable minerals from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, once a distant vision, has grown more real, raising alarms among the oceans’ most fervent defenders. “I think this is a real and imminent risk,” Emma Wilson of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella organization of environmental groups … continue reading -> “Concerns, Impatience Over Mining World’s Seabeds “
Under the fluorescent lights of a fifth grade classroom in Lexington, Kentucky, Donnie Piercey instructed his 23 students to try and outwit the “robot” that was churning out writing assignments. The robot was the new artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, which can generate everything from essays and haikus to term papers within seconds. The technology has … continue reading -> “Amid ChatGPT Outcry, Some Teachers Are Inviting AI to Class”
When Microsoft’s nascent Bing chatbot turns testy or even threatening, it’s likely because it essentially mimics what it learned from online conversations, analysts and academics said. Tales of disturbing exchanges with the artificial intelligence chatbot, including it issuing threats and speaking of desires to steal nuclear code, create a deadly virus, or to be alive, … continue reading -> “Angry Bing Chatbot Just Mimicking Humans, Experts Say”
The little-noticed program that led to a Chinese spy balloon drifting across the United States this month has been discussed in China’s state-controlled media for more than a decade in articles extolling its potential military applications. The reports, dating back to at least 2011, focus on how best to exploit what is known as “near … continue reading -> “Spy Balloon Lifts Veil on China’s ‘Near Space’ Military Program”
World health officials warn the war in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on the mental health condition of millions of people, requiring an urgent increase in mental health and psychological support. “An estimated almost 10 million people may currently have a mental health condition, of whom about 4 million may have conditions which are … continue reading -> “War in Ukraine Taking Heavy Toll on Mental Health: WHO”
U.S. safety regulators have pressured Tesla into recalling nearly 363,000 vehicles with its “Full Self-Driving” system because it misbehaves around intersections and doesn’t always follow speed limits. The recall, part of a larger investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into Tesla’s automated driving systems, is the most serious action taken yet against the … continue reading -> “Tesla Recalls ‘Full Self-Driving’ to Fix Unsafe Actions”
A top U.S. law enforcement official on Thursday unveiled a new “disruptive technology strike force” tasked with safeguarding American technology from foreign adversaries and other national security threats. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the No. 2 U.S. Justice Department official, made the announcement at a speech in London at Chatham House. The initiative, Monaco said, … continue reading -> “US ‘Disruptive Technology’ Strike Force to Target National Security Threats”
Imagine if your dog or cat could use words to let you know when they’re angry, lonely or in pain. Well now they can, thanks to an innovative communication tool that’s helping them express themselves more effectively. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Julie Taboh, Adam Greenbaum …
Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem. Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the … continue reading -> “Bird Flu Spreads to New Countries, Threatens Non-Stop ‘War’ on Poultry”
Police use of automated data analysis to prevent crime in some German states was unconstitutional, a top German court said on Thursday, ruling in favor of critics of software provided by the CIA-backed Palantir Technologies PLTR.N. Provisions regulating the use of the technology in Hesse and Hamburg violate the right to informational self-determination, a statement … continue reading -> “German Court Rules Police Use of Crime-Fighting Software is Unlawful “
The confirmation of more bird flu cases in South America raised alarm bells in Brazil, which remains free of contagion even after its close neighbors Argentina and Uruguay confirmed cases there on Wednesday. In a press conference to discuss the global sanitary hazard, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said Brazil, the world’s biggest chicken exporter, … continue reading -> “More South American Nations Report Bird Flu Cases; Brazil Remains Free”
The United States Justice Department has in recent months escalated its antitrust probe on Apple Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters had previously reported the Justice Department opened an antitrust probe into Apple in 2019. The Wall Street Journal report said more litigators have now been … continue reading -> “Report Says US Justice Department Escalates Apple Probe”
Cameroon’s health ministry has dismissed a report of two suspected cases of Marburg virus in the country after a first deadly outbreak in neighboring Equatorial Guinea. Health officials along the border said Tuesday there were two suspected cases of the severe hemorrhagic fever in Cameroon after Malabo confirmed nine deaths and sixteen possible infections. Despite … continue reading -> “Cameroon Dismisses Suspected Marburg Infections After Equatorial Guinea’s First Outbreak”
Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.” Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him. “I think I need to stabilize the organization … continue reading -> “Elon Musk Hopes to Have Twitter CEO Toward the End of Year “
On Colorado’s northeastern plains, where the pencil-straight horizon divides golden fields and blue sky, a farmer named Danny Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. That is until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out. The tractor’s manufacturer doesn’t allow Wood to make certain fixes … continue reading -> “11 States Consider ‘Right to Repair’ for Farming Equipment”
Plumes of smoke, questions about dead animals, worries about the drinking water. A train derailment in Ohio and subsequent burning of some of the hazardous chemicals has people asking: How worried should they be? It’s been more than a week since about 50 cars of a freight train derailed in a fiery, mangled mess on … continue reading -> “Ohio Derailment Aftermath: How Worried Should People Be?”
Health rights campaigners in Malawi are welcoming a national campaign against a record cholera outbreak, which has affected all 29 districts in the country and killed nearly 1,400 people. President Lazarus Chakwera launched the campaign Monday, pledging to reduce the transmission and mortality rate of the water-borne illness. Chakwera said the spread is largely because … continue reading -> “Malawi Launches Campaign to End Deadly Cholera Outbreak”
ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of social media platform TikTok, has dramatically upped its U.S. lobbying effort since 2020 as U.S.-China relations continue to sour and is now the fourth-largest Internet company in spending on federal lobbying as of last year, according to newly released data. Publicly available information collected by OpenSecrets, a Washington nonprofit … continue reading -> “China-Owned Parent Company of TikTok Among Top Spenders on Internet Lobbying”
Equatorial Guinea announced its first outbreak of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease similar to Ebola, the World Health Organization said in a statement Monday. The small central African nation of about 1.6 million people reported nine deaths and 16 more suspected cases after a sample sent to a laboratory in Senegal on February … continue reading -> “Equatorial Guinea Confirms Marburg Virus Outbreak”
The Biden administration says it’s working with the governments of Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador to combat a documented rise in the availability and lethality of illegal drugs containing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times stronger than morphine. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the potency of pills is rising — … continue reading -> “Q&A: Fentanyl Is ‘Global Problem,’ US Working With Western Hemisphere to Stop Deadly Drug “