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showing posts for '03'

Deciphering ancient charred texts - the power of a prize.

blog post image The Vesuvius Prize reward has encouraged work on deciphering scans of ancient charred scrolls from Herculaneum. "First passages of rolled-up Herculaneum scroll revealed Marchant, Jo. Nature 2024. ... Researchers used artificial intelligence to decipher the text of 2,000-year-old charred papyrus scripts,...
Source: nature.com

Integrating basic sciences into clerkship rotation utilizing Kern’s six-step model of instructional design: lessons learned

Worked example of curriculum design using Kern's six-step approach. "Background It is generally agreed that basic and clinical sciences should be integrated throughout the undergraduate medical education, however, there is still need for continued formal integration of basic sciences into clinical...
Source: biomedcentral.com

Yaws could soon be eradicated — 70 years behind schedule Jones, Sam. Nature 2024.

Researchers are cautiously optimistic that the neglected tropical disease could be gone by 2030, but new barriers — including antibiotic resistance and primate reservoirs — might stand in the way. Researchers are cautiously optimistic that the neglected tropical disease could be gone by 2030, but...
Source: nature.com

Mozilla launches a new startup focused on 'trustworthy' AI | TechCrunch

Mozilla, the nonprofit behind software like Firefox, has launched a new startup, Mozilla.ai, focused on developing trustworthy AI systems.
Source: techcrunch.com

AI will be deeply disruptive to Higher Education

blog post image Paul LeBlanc and George Siemens are teaming up to explore how AI is going to change higher education. "LeBlanc transformed SNHU from 2500 students in 2003 to over 200,000 students in 20 years by using technology to switch delivery online." Siemens is one of the proposers of connectivism - a theory...

The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again

The internet seems ripe for change, and millions of people seem poised to connect in new ways, as they reconsider their relationship to technology.
Source: rollingstone.com

Citations show gender bias — and the reasons are surprising

Homophily is the tendency for people to stick with similar people. Could this partly explain some of the gender bias in citations? "Women still tend to build more on women’s work, and men still tend to build on men’s work more." "Gender bias in paper citations is less common among younger scientists,...
Source: nature.com

Randomised trial of general practitioner online education for prescribing and test ordering Andrew Bonney. Conrad Kobel.

Potentially inappropriate medicine prescriptions and low-value diagnostic testing pose risks to patient safety and increases in health system costs. The aim of the Clinical and Healthcare Improvement through My Health Record usage and Education in General Practice study was to evaluate a scalable online...
Source: nih.gov

Large Language Models: Don't Believe the Hype

We've reached the Skynet moment for AI, it would seem. GPT-4, cast in the role of Terminator, has not only achieved consciousness, but it's coming for
Source: datanami.com

Mind-controlled wheelchairs let people dodge obstacles with ease Nature 2022.

A brain—machine interface allows people with paralysis in all four limbs to navigate a real-world environment. A brain—machine interface allows people with paralysis in all four limbs to navigate a real-world environment.
Source: nature.com

AP exposes the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: The 50th Anniversary

WASHINGTON (AP) — EDITOR’S NOTE — On July 25, 1972, Jean Heller, a reporter on The Associated Press investigative team, then called the Special Assignment Team, broke news that rocked the nation. Based on documents leaked by Peter Buxtun, a whistleblower at the U.S.
Source: apnews.com

Ancient comatulid named after President Zelensky -Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi

Ancient sea animal with 10 arms is named after Ukraine's president Zelensky. "Fossil comatulids, referred to as feather stars, are mostly known from highly disarticulated specimens. A single isolated element (centrodorsal) has been the basis for taxonomic description of a vast majority of fossil comatulids....
Source: royalsocietypublishing.org

Association of the “Weekend Warrior” and Other Leisure-time Physical Activity Patterns With All-Cause and Cause-Specific

This large prospective cohort study of US adults examines whether performing the recommended level of physical activity throughout the week or in fewer days, such as the weekend, influences all-cause, cardiovascular disease, or cancer mortality.
Source: jamanetwork.com

The Lyonesse Project: a study of the coastal and marine environment of the Isles of Scilly (OASIS ID cornwall2-58903)

This project was commissioned by English Heritage and carried out between 2009 and 2013 by Historic Environment Projects, Cornwall Council with a team of specialists from Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Exeter and Plymouth Universities, English Heritage's Scientific Dating Team, volunteers and local experts and...
Source: archaeologydataservice.ac.uk

How the War in Ukraine Could Get Much Worse

The West and Russia may be entering into the terminal stages of an insecurity spiral, which could produce a larger European war even if it doesn’t go nuclear.
Source: foreignaffairs.com

Keyboard army using restaurant reviews to take on Russian state media

Rather than commenting on the food and service at Russian restaurants and cafes, some users have begun posting online reviews detailing Russian actions in Ukraine to try to smuggle information past the tight control of state media.
Source: reuters.com

The women who fought against nuclear missiles

The Greenham Common anti-nuclear protest was the UK's biggest women-led movement since the Suffragettes.
Source: bbc.co.uk

Beyond Omicron: what’s next for COVID’s viral evolution Callaway, Ewen. Nature 2021 600:7888.

The rapid spread of new variants offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months. The rapid spread of new variants offers clues to how SARS-CoV-2 is adapting and how the pandemic will play out over the next several months.
Source: nature.com

Omicron-variant border bans ignore the evidence, say scientists Mallapaty, Smriti. Nature 2021.

Researchers say travel restrictions in response to the newly detected coronavirus variant come too late and could even slow studies of Omicron. Researchers say travel restrictions in response to the newly detected coronavirus variant come too late and could even slow studies of Omicron.
Source: nature.com

The unhealthy industry playbook

What Public Health Practitioners Need to Know About Unhealthy IndustryTactics. Attack legitimate science. e.g. Accuse science of deception, calling it “junk science” or “bad science,” claiming science is manipulated to fulfill a political agenda. Attack and intimidate the scientists. e.g. Create...
Source: aphapublications.org