Dr. Paul Offit, an expert on infectious disease and immunology, “We’re living in a post-herd-immunity world. I think the measles outbreak proves that. Measles — because it is the most contagious of the vaccine-preventable diseases, the most contagious human disease really — it is the first to come back.” Three Read more…
A majority of Britons may now consider themselves neurodivergent, with conditions such as autism, dyslexia or ADHD, according to a leading psychologist from King’s College London. Professor Francesca Happe, an expert in cognitive neuroscience, said reduced stigma around these conditions has prompted more people to seek medical diagnoses or self-diagnose. Read more…
America’s federal government is a veritable cosmos of information, made up of constellations of databases. The FBI has a facial-recognition apparatus capable of matching people against more than 640 million photos — a database made up of driver’s license and passport photos, as well as mug shots. The Homeland Security Read more…
The UK financial regulator is preparing to ban retail investors from using borrowed funds such as credit card balances to invest in cryptocurrency as it seeks to overhaul supervision of the fast-growing digital assets market. The soaring values of virtual currencies such as bitcoin after Donald Trump’s election have put Read more…
Driverless trucks are officially running their first regular long-haul routes, making roundtrips between Dallas and Houston. On Thursday, autonomous trucking firm Aurora announced it launched commercial service in Texas under its first customers, Uber Freight and Hirschbach Motor Lines, which delivers time- and temperature-sensitive freight. Both companies conducted test runs Read more…
Google plans to roll out its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot next week for children under 13 (source paywalled; alternative source) who have parent-managed Google accounts, as tech companies vie to attract young users with A.I. products. “Gemini Apps will soon be available for your child,” the company said in an Read more…
Donald Trump’s crypto company created a digital dollar called USD1, which is now being used by a big investor in Abu Dhabi to help fund a $2 billion deal with Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. Stablecoins are an increasingly lucrative cog in global crypto trading. Their issuers typically profit Read more…