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Apple knew AirDrop users could be identified and tracked as early as 2019, researchers say | CNN Business

Security researchers warned Apple as early as 2019 about vulnerabilities in its AirDrop wireless sharing function that Chinese authorities claim they recently used to track down users of the feature, the researchers told CNN, in a case that experts say has sweeping implications for global privacy.
Source: cnn.com

WHO statement on reported clusters of respiratory illness in children in northern China

WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.  At a press conference on 13 November 2023, Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission reported an increase in incidence of respiratory...
Source: who.int

Recent waning snowpack in the Alps is unprecedented in the last six centuries - Nature Climate Change Carrer, Marco. Dibona,

Snow cover in high-latitude and high-altitude regions has strong effects on the Earth’s climate, environmental processes and socio-economic activities. Over the last 50 years, the Alps experienced a 5.6% reduction per decade in snow cover duration, which already affects a region where economy and...
Source: nature.com

Gender differences in individual variation in academic grades fail to fit expected patterns for STEM - Nature Communications

Fewer women than men pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), despite girls outperforming boys at school in the relevant subjects. According to the ‘variability hypothesis’, this over-representation of males is driven by gender differences in variance; greater male...
Source: nature.com

The UK’s (new) Bill of Rights

An authoritarian resistance to scrutiny. Very un-British. “it is becoming abundantly clear that the true objective underpinning this Bill (and the Government’s wider project) concerns not the so-called restoration of parliamentary sovereignty or the strengthening of democracy, but the entrenchment...
Source: publiclawforeveryone.com

Mountain gorillas: The ripple effect of conservation

Justin Rowlatt finds out what gorilla conservation can teach us about protecting other species. 'The secret of this success? Dr Gladys Kalema Zikusoka was the Uganda Wildlife Authority's first vet in 1995, then she set up the charity Conservation Through Public Health. Perhaps surprisingly, she says,...
Source: bbc.com

Fleeing Russian bombs while battling Facebook. A Meta problem Ukrainian journalists did not need. - Coda Story

The challenge of local journalism and of censoring during war. "Facebook says it’s fighting disinformation and blocking Russian propaganda. But independent newsrooms in eastern Ukraine say they’re being restricted under the same rules."
Source: codastory.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

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

Development and validation of teacher and student questionnaires measuring inhibitors of curriculum viability - BMC Medical

Background Curriculum viability is determined by the degree to which quality standards have or have not been met, and by the inhibitors that affect attainment of those standards. The literature reports many ways to evaluate whether a curriculum reaches its quality standards, but less attention is paid...
Source: biomedcentral.com

Gilgamesh tablet: US authorities take ownership of artefact

The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was imported illegally into the US before being bought by Hobby Lobby.
Source: bbc.com

Pegasus: Spyware sold to governments 'targets activists'

Israeli tech firm NSO denies media reports that its software has been sold to authoritarian regimes. The Android and iOS spyware can apparently see photographs and contacts, log everything that is typed, and turn on the camera and microphone.
Source: bbc.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

Ancient Northland swamp kauri solves 42,000 year old mystery

NZ Herald: Ancient Northland swamp kauri shows breakdown of Earth's magnetic field 42,000 years ago. "For the first time ever, we have been able to precisely date the timing and environmental impacts of the last magnetic pole switch," Chris Turney, a professor at UNSW Science and co-lead author of the...
Source: nzherald.co.nz

Preventing critical failure

Can routinely collected data be repurposed to predict avoidable patient harm? A quantitative descriptive study Objectives To determine whether sharing of routinely collected health service performance data could have predicted a critical safety failure at an Australian maternity service. Design Observational...
Source: bmj.com

Police Across Canada Are Using Predictive Policing Algorithms

Police Across Canada Are Using Predictive Policing Algorithms, Report Finds: Police across Canada are increasingly adopting algorithmic technology to predict crime. The authors of a new report say human rights are threatened by the practice.
Source: vice.com

A New Era of Coronavirus Testing Is About to Begin: A newly authorized test promises to double America’s monthly testing

A New Era of Coronavirus Testing Is About to Begin: A newly authorized test promises to double America’s monthly testing capacity, thanks in part to a huge purchase by the Trump administration. Can the test deliver?
Source: theatlantic.com

Are you a populist right wing conservative? Have you been hooked recently?

If I wanted to find those who have a "conservative ideology" - so that I could share my views or influence them - I would do the following: set up a new account and start making contactsshare several of those technology scare hoax stories that you see posted e.g. Dance of the Pope virus video, the Andrea...
Source: historynewsnetwork.org

Plans for first all-electric bus town revealed: Local authorities can bid for the money to pay for a new fleet of up to

Plans for first all-electric bus town revealed: Local authorities can bid for the money to pay for a new fleet of up to 200 electric buses.
Source: bbc.com