After a brain stem stroke left him almost entirely paralyzed in the 1990s, French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby wrote a book about his experiences — letter by letter, blinking his left eye in response to a helper who repeatedly recited the alphabet. Today people with similar conditions often have far more Read more…
Scientists in Svalbard warn Arctic glaciers are in “terminal” decline, with microbe-driven biological darkening accelerating ice melt and potentially triggering major climate feedback loops. Recent research implicates snow and ice-dwelling microbes in positive feedback loops that can accelerate melting. With more than 70% of the planet’s freshwater stored in ice Read more…
Apple has reintroduced blood oxygen monitoring to certain Apple Watch models in the U.S. by shifting the feature’s calculations to the paired iPhone, sidestepping an ITC import ban stemming from its legal dispute with medical device maker Masimo. TechCrunch reports: Blood oxygen data will be measured and calculated on the Read more…
The African Union has endorsed the “Correct The Map” campaign, urging governments and global institutions to replace the distorted 16th-century Mercator projection with the Equal Earth map that more accurately represents Africa’s true size. “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” AU Commission Read more…
In February 2023, a detector called KM3NeT, located deep under the Mediterranean Sea, picked up a signal that seemed to indicate a neutrino with a record-shattering energy of 220 petaelectronvolts (PeV). For reference, the previous record was a mere 10 PeV. Now, an exhaustive analysis of all the data on Read more…
The Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections (OCCE) has revealed in its annual report that it will “explore the use” AI and emerging technologies to see how they will shape the government body’s approach for the next year. Commissioner Caroline Simard’s office didn’t outline ways it might adopt AI. Read more…
Electricity rates for individuals and small businesses could rise sharply as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other technology companies build data centers and expand into the energy business. Residential electricity bills increased at least $15 monthly for Ohio households starting in June due to data center demands, according to utility data Read more…