Telescope #72
The truth has a bad habit of coming out sooner or later...
SUSTAINABILITY
The incoming COP28 president, Sultan al-Jaber, opened this year's U.N. climate summit on Thursday by urging countries and fossil fuel companies to work together to meet global climate goals. Governments are preparing for marathon negotiations on whether to agree, for the first time, to phase out the world's use of CO2-emitting coal, oil and gas, the main source of warming emissions. DETAIL
According to a recent study by scientists from Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, some newer climate models greatly underestimate the extent to which global heating leads to extreme rainfall. The study predicts more frequent disastrous flooding unless humans reduce greenhouse gas emissions. DETAIL
The largest iceberg in the world — A23a, nearly 1,500 square miles, about three times as big as New York City — has broken free of its anchor on the floor of the Weddell Sea and begun to drift toward the Southern Ocean. DETAIL
The European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered to use satellites to address climate crisis threats and illegal logging in European Union (EU) forests. DETAIL
Reporting from the nonprofit journalism organization Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) and Channel 4 News found that Saudi Arabia has issued a scheme an "oil sustainability program" on an English-language government website, with one of its stated goals as "increasing sustainability. But in the Arabic version, it's called an "oil demand sustainability programme" that's meant to "sustain and develop the demand for hydrocarbons as a competitive source of energy, by raising its economic and environmental efficiency." DETAIL
HEALTH
Plastics are affecting our environment and possibly even our health in troubling ways – and the tiniest pieces have now been linked to changes in brain proteins associated with certain types of dementia, including Parkinson's disease. DETAIL
The first human case of a new strain of swine flu has been detected in the UK, and health officials are trying to determine the virus's origin. DETAIL
Whether driven by a shortage of medical professionals or financial constraints, healthcare accessibility is a global challenge. A startup called Forward believes one solution is to offer people a self-service option, which is why it's introducing the CarePod, which it calls 'the world's first AI doctor's office.' CarePod will offer AI-powered diagnostic tools for preventative care and monitoring in a self-service, standalone unit. DETAIL
DIGITAL / TECHNOLOGY / SCIENCE /AI
According to SamMobile's news, based on the GalaxyClub site, Samsung Galaxy S24 will be marketed as an AI Phone, that is, an "artificial intelligence phone". DETAIL
Staffordshire University and West Yorkshire Police have teamed up to develop a new system that uses 3D scanning technology to help identify the type of footwear worn by criminals. While the analysis of footwear impressions left at crime scenes is an established practice in policing, this new approach focuses on the upper part of the shoe to link offenders to a crime. Claire Gwinnett, Professor of Forensic and Environmental Science, said, "The number of cases in which footage from body worn cameras, CCTV and even phones is used to catch perpetrators has increased. However, criminals often conceal their face and wear dark clothing which means there are few identifying features apart from their shoes. The big questions [are], how can you identify these shoes and how useful is this as evidence?" DETAIL
An ultra-thin wearable device capable of reproducing the localized sensation of touch had been developed at the Center for Materials Interfaces of the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology, IIT), in Pontedera, Italy. The technology is described in a recent paper published in the journal Advanced Electronic Materials. DETAIL
ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
The Bavarian electric aerial cab company Lilium has received Design Organization Approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This approval is a key requirement for companies that develop commercial aircraft.
A system that controls air traffic with drones and enables safe flight was developed by academics of Cappadocia University (KÜN) in Nevşehir. KÜN School of Applied Sciences Director Dr. Lecturer "Air Traffic Management System", developed by member Eyüp Atioğlu and lecturer Emin Tugay Kekeç, is managed with a SIM card inserted into the drone using base stations. DETAIL
The first transatlantic flight by an airliner powered by pure sustainable aviation fuel (Saf) has taken off. DETAIL
CYBERSECURITY
Several US-based hospitals are struggling with network outages. All affected locations belong to the same healthcare provider, Ardent Health Services. The company confirmed it suffered a disruptive ransomware attack. DETAIL
Fake AI-generated woman on tech conference agenda leads Microsoft and Amazon execs to drop out. DETAIL
HUMAN
According to a study conducted by the University of Westminster, watching a 90-minute horror film can help you burn up to 150 calories, the equivalent of a half-hour walk. Participants' heart rates, oxygen intake, and carbon dioxide output were measured while they watched ten popular horror films. DETAIL
Be My Eyes helps blind and low-vision people with visual tasks by connecting them with 7 million sighted human volunteers. Earlier this year, the organization introduced a new feature called Virtual Volunteer, which uses GPT-4 to provide instant assistance. Renamed Be My AI, the concept is now also available in a version that allows contact centers to supercharge customer support. The tool is debuting at Microsoft's Disability Answer Desk, where Be My AI assists customers with any issues they're having with Microsoft products — whether installing a Windows update or figuring out why a formula isn't working in Excel. DETAIL