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A hiker discovered the 400-year-old remains of a wealthy man on a glacier in the Swiss Alps. © Valais History Museum, Sion; Michel MartinezAll these items dated to around 1600 AD. Archaeologists uncover mule bones on the Theodul glacier in Switzerland, near Zermatt. © Valais History Museum, Sion; Michel MartinezHe wasn't a soldier-for-hire after all, a 2015 paper concluded. Andenmatten steps out of a freezer where artifacts are stored in the basement of the Valais History Museum archives.
Persons: Michel Martinez, They're, Pierre, Yves Nicod, Nicod, Ambroise Héritier, Morgan McFall, Johnsen, Sophie Providoli, It's, you've, haven't, Philippe Curdy, Romain Andenmatten, Spain's, Emilio Morenatti, Paul HANNY, Ötzi, Andenmatten Organizations: Service, . Business, Business, AP, Johnsen Archaeologists Locations: Swiss, Switzerland, Italy, Valais, Sion, du Valais, Zermatt, Germany, Aosta, Russia, Vilanova, Sau, Catalonia, Spain, Florida, Austria
Lessons from the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001
  + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( John Miller | ) edition.cnn.com   time to read: +11 min
This was anthrax,” Pogan said, and he briefed his superiors. Between October 5, and November 22, 2001, five people who were exposed died from anthrax poisoning. For help, they turned to the US Department of Defense lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where anthrax expert Dr. Bruce Ivins worked. Investigators in protective suits prepare to enter the New York Times building in New York on October 12, 2001. Police cars are parked outside the American Media building in Boca Raton on Oct. 8, 2001 where environmental tests detected anthrax bacteria.
Persons: CNN —, Bin Laden, America, Robert Stevens, Tom Dachle’s, Tom Brokaw, Patrick Pogan, , , Judith Miller, Pogan, Miller, ’ Pogan, “ Hey, ” Pogan, John Scarbeck, Saddam Hussein, Bin, Bruce Ivins, Steven Hatfill, FBI swabbed, John Ashcroft, Peter Morgan, ” Dr, Bob Mueller, Mueller, Hatfill, Luis M, Alvarez, Dr, Ivins, John J, He’s Organizations: CNN, Center for Domestic Preparedness, Army, New York Police Department, ABC News, ABC, American Media, Boca, New York Post, NBC News, Terrorism Task Forces, New York Times, FBI, New York, New York City Health Department, Unit, US Department of Defense, Department of Defense, Reuters, Counterterrorism, LAPD, Justice Department, Police, Intelligence, Los Angeles Police Department Locations: Anniston, Alabama, Florida, Boca Raton , FL, Staten, New York City, , Fort Detrick , Maryland, Maryland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, New Jersey, New York, Boca Raton
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to four critically endangered species of vulture, and in South Africa, a non-profit conservation and rehabilitation group called VulPro is working to protect these fascinating birds. The operation involved over 50 people, logistics company DHL and WeWild Africa, an NGO specializing in animal rewilding and translocation. It was at that very moment that I actually understood how fragile and misunderstood the species were.”An African White-backed vulture (closest to camera) at the VulPro rehabilitation center near Pretoria, South Africa. Recent efforts have concentrated on the white-headed vulture, with a population of only 3,685 adults continent-wide, according to BirdLife International, and only a small percentage of that figure in South Africa. Poisoning is the most common reason for vultures to require treatment in South Africa, often from ingesting lead in discarded batteries, or bullets in animal carcasses, says Joubert.
Persons: VulPro, , Kerri Wolter, Gertrude Kitongo, , Johan Joubert, Joubert, Wolter, Organizations: CNN, Reserve, DHL, WeWild, BirdLife International, Shamari Locations: Saharan Africa, South Africa, Eastern Cape, WeWild Africa, African, Pretoria, Africa, West Africa, KwaZulu, Natal, South
download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewOpenAI thinks there's only a slight chance that ChatGPT could be used to help create biological threats. Experts have warned that AI could be used to facilitate biological terror attacks, either by helping terrorists create biological and chemical weapons or by helping them plan their attacks. The GPT-4 group was given access to a research-only version of the model that, unlike ChatGPT, has fewer "security guardrails in place" it said. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
Persons: , there's, Dario Amodei, Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Business, Rand Corporation
Former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, who became the first female senator to represent Missouri after she was appointed to replace her husband following his death, died Tuesday. Carnahan, a Democrat, was appointed to the Senate in 2001 after the posthumous election of her husband, Gov. Jean Carnahan graduated a year later from George Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in business and public administration, and they later raised four children on a farm near Rolla, Missouri. Roger Wilson appointed Jean Carnahan to fill the seat left vacant by her husband’s death. A private family service will be held at Carson Hill Cemetery near Ellsinore, Missouri, where Carnahan's husband and son are buried.
Persons: U.S . Sen, Jean Carnahan, Carnahan, Mel Carnahan, “ Mom, , Louis, Roger, Roger Wilson, Roy Temple, Jean Carnahan’s, “ Jean, ” Temple, Temple, Sen, Joe Biden Organizations: U.S ., Democrat, Senate, Washington , D.C, George Washington University, Capitol Locations: Missouri, St, Washington ,, Rolla , Missouri, Hart, Carson Hill, Ellsinore , Missouri
A new case of cattle anthrax has been confirmed in southwest North Dakota's Grant County, bringing the number of cases in the state to 25 this year, according to state agriculture officials. Those cases have led to about 170 cattle deaths, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture said in a news release Thursday. From 2006 through last year, 18 cases of cattle anthrax were confirmed. “Many producers in the affected area worked with veterinarians to administer vaccinations earlier this year,” North Dakota State Veterinarian Dr. Ethan Andress said. Most people associate anthrax with the weaponized version used in 2001 attacks, when five people died and 17 others were sickened from letters containing anthrax spores sent through the mail.
Persons: Doug Goehring, Ethan Andress Organizations: North Dakota Department of Agriculture, , ” North, for Disease Control, CDC Locations: North Dakota's Grant County, Grant County, Hettinger, Adams, year’s, Dakota, U.S, , ” North Dakota State
The letters were sent this month to vote centers or government buildings in six states: Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington and Kansas. Lane County, Oregon, which received a suspicious letter, will provide naloxone kits and train elections staff on administering it. The incident prompted King County Elections to procure naloxone, though the antidote was not needed then nor when its Renton office received a second fentanyl-laced letter this month. “We felt like it was just a good idea to have on hand for all kinds of scenarios these days,” King County Elections spokeswoman Halei Watkins said. The office received a threatening letter this month containing baking soda and took the occasion to re-emphasize naloxone is available.
Persons: , Eldon Miller, , Donald Trump, Ann Dover, It’s, ” Dover, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, King, Halei Watkins, Maya Doe, Simkins, ” Chris Anderson, hasn’t, ” Anderson, Linda Farmer, ” Farmer, ___ Komenda, Ken Ritter, Jeff Amy, David Fischer, John Hanna, Organizations: SEATTLE, King, Elections, FBI, U.S . Postal, Service, Remedy, Associated Press, AP Locations: U.S, Seattle, Georgia, Nevada , California , Oregon, Washington and Kansas, Atlanta's Cherokee, Lane County , Oregon, Lincoln County , Nevada, Atlanta’s Fulton, Pierce, Washington, County, King, Renton, King County, Seminole County , Florida, Tacoma , Washington, Pierce County, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Miami, Topeka , Kansas
And what if more Americans refuse to get their kids vaccinated or if our public health institutions are shut down? Trust in scientists, physicians and science itself — amongst all demographic groups — is still higher than Americans’ trust in, say, elected officials or journalists. The public health workforce has declined by half over the past two years, according to research from Harvard T.H. Data-sharing efforts like Connecticut’s DataHaven show how urban neighborhoods can be involved in gathering and analyzing health data. By combining facts with stories, we can share tangible examples of how science and public health protect us, thereby increasing trust.
Persons: Megan L, Katelyn, CNN —, , Megan Ranney, ” Dr, Annenberg, We’re, Harvard T.H, there’s, Connecticut’s, Ranney, ” —, It’s, we’ve Organizations: Yale School of Public Health, US Centers for Disease Control, CNN, Pew Research, KFF, Pew, Trust, Harvard, of Public Health, National Academy of Medicine, Council for Medical Specialty Societies, World Health, YouTube Locations: America, Chan, West Virginia, St, Louis , Missouri, Marin County , California, United States
“Allowing confidential sources to be ordered revealed means that the public will have less information. Abrams represented New York Times reporter Judith Miller, who spent 85 days in jail after being held in contempt for refusing to divulge a source in an investigation of leaks about an undercover CIA agent. “The First Amendment interest in protecting journalists’ sources is at its highest in cases, like this, involving reporting on national security,” Philbin wrote in court papers. That settlement resulted in a contempt order being vacated against a journalist who was being asked to name her sources. Courts have recognized that journalists have a limited privilege to keep confidential their sources, allowing reporters to block subpoenas in the past.
Persons: Catherine Herridge, Yanping Chen, Chen, Herridge, Christopher Cooper, , It’s, , Floyd Abrams, Abrams, Judith Miller, Cooper, Herridge’s, Chen's, Patrick Philbin, Trump, , ” Philbin, they’ve, Steven Hatfill, Gabe Rottman, Rottman, ” ___ Richer Organizations: WASHINGTON, FBI, Fox News, U.S, District, New York Times, CIA, CBS, Justice Department, White, CBS News, Department, Courts, Freedom, Press, group's Technology Locations: Washington, Virginia, Boston
Thirty-five African elephants in northwestern Zimbabwe dropped dead under baffling circumstances between late August and November 2020. And the extreme conditions that scientists project will occur with more frequency as Earth warms could mean more elephant deaths in the future. Foggin said there was no proven connection between the Zimbabwe and Botswana elephant deaths. An embattled species under threatThe African elephant is a flagship species that faces significant pressure from poaching and habitat loss. Additionally, exporting wildlife samples for analysis involves obtaining multiple permits from different entities — a process which can take months,” the study said.
Persons: , , , Chris Foggin, ” Foggin, cyanobacterial, Foggin, Pasteurella Organizations: CNN, Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, Nature Communications, International Union for Conservation of Locations: Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, Botswana, Kazakhstan
President Biden just signed an executive order regarding the development and use of AI technology. The broad executive order touches on more than a dozen possible uses of AI and generative AI that already are, or could in the future, directly impact people's lives. The size threshold is so high that currently most available models do not meet the criteria for further transparency called for in Biden's executive order. Although all of the major tech companies earlier this year agreed to adhere to standards of responsibility and training in their AI work. Do you think AI is in a hype cycle, and everybody's overreacting to what it's going to mean?
Persons: Biden, Ben Buchanan, , Buchanan, Andrew Bosworth, We're, everybody's, Ben, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, White, Office of Science, Technology, Monday, Meta, Google, Microsoft, National Institute of Standards, Biden White House, Department of Commerce . Technology, Atomic Energy, Defense, EO Locations: United States, khays@insider.com
Meta released Llama 2 as a mostly open-source AI model in July. Replit CEO Amjad Masad said Mark Zuckerberg took a big risk making the model open-source. AdvertisementAdvertisementSince Meta released Llama 2 as a (mostly) open-source project in July, the AI model has become a huge hit. The AI community has embraced the opportunity, giving Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg his next potentially huge platform. There's the latest Falcon open-source AI model.
Persons: Meta, Amjad Masad, Mark Zuckerberg, , Zuckerberg, Eric Newcomer, Clem Delangue, Eric Newcomer Masad, Masad, he's, Zuck, didn't Organizations: Service, Google, Facebook, Meta, United Arab Emirates
The EU may be the first to enact generative AI regulation. The EU is likely to be the first region to enact some form of oversight or regulation around generative AI. The European Commission, which includes two dozen countries, is in late-stage negotiations over the AI Act, which it dubbed "the world's first rules on AI." Some AI tools could be banned in EuropeThe Act was first proposed in 2021, before OpenAI released its generative AI tools ChatGPT and DALL-E, leading the likes of Meta, Google, and Microsoft, to become public players in and leading proponents of generative AI. That one requirement could be enough to keep consumer-level generative AI out of China almost entirely.
Persons: , OpenAI, they've, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Blumenthal, Michelle Donnelan Organizations: Service, EU, European Commission, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Companies, EU Commission, White, Department for Science, Innovation, Technology, State for Science, Partnership, Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: China, EU, Brazil, Europe, China Brazil
Many are saying they are worried Minhaj's fabrications could invalidate people's accounts of actual racism and Islamophobia. People can stereotype and say, 'Oh, look, that South Asian comedian lied. Vishal Kalyanasundaram, a South Asian comedian, said he can understand the backlash but believes it shouldn't be such a big deal. "Just because he's South Asian doesn't mean he's the golden child and the voice for our people. Nylah Burton, a freelance journalist, also defended Minhaj, recognizing that the comedy industry is difficult to break into, especially for a South Asian Muslim comedian.
Persons: Hasan Minhaj, Lakshmi Srinivas, Minhaj, Brother Eric, Srinivas, He's, Sarah Suzuki Harvard, Harvard, Vishal Kalyanasundaram, it's, Kalyanasundaram, Nylah Burton Organizations: University of Massachusetts, Yorker, Netflix, NBC Asian, NBC News, FBI, Hollywood, NBC, Harvard, Twitter Locations: Boston, NBC Asian America, Asian
It was a mostly staid meeting until the potential harms from Meta's new Llama 2 model came up. That prompted a testy exchange between Harris and Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Meta, formerly known as Facebook. "It was one of the only moments in the whole thing that was like, 'Oh,'" one of the senators present said, describing the exchange as having caught people's attention. "It was, 'Ok, next speaker,' it moved right along," one of the senators present said. Its ability to turn up detailed instructions for creating a biological weapon like anthrax is to be expected, two people familiar with the company said.
Persons: Tristan Harris, Harris, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella, Jensen Huang, Sundar Pichai, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich, Republican Sens, Mike Rounds, Todd Young, OpenAI's, It's, Meta, ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Kali Hays Organizations: Center for Humane Technology, Meta, Facebook, The Washington, Elon, Twitter, SpaceX, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Senate, Democratic, Republican, YouTube Locations: khays@insider.com, @hayskali
DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman recently talked about setting boundaries on AI with the MIT Tech Review. "You wouldn't want to let your little AI go off and update its own code without you having oversight," he told the MIT Technology Review. Last year, Suleyman cofounded AI startup, Inflection AI, whose chatbot Pi is designed to be a neutral listener and provide emotional support. Suleyman told the MIT Technology Review that though Pi is not "as spicy" as other chatbots it is "unbelievably controllable." And while Suleyman told the MIT Technology Review he's "optimistic" that AI can be effectively regulated, he doesn't seem to be worried about a singular doomsday event.
Persons: DeepMind's Mustafa Suleyman, Mustafa Suleyman, Suleyman, there's, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, — Suleyman, Pi, Hassabis, Satya Nadella, Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Organizations: MIT Tech, Service, MIT Technology, AIs, Life Institute Locations: Wall, Silicon, Washington
Emergent BioSolutions to lay off about 400 employees
  + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
A nurse demonstrates the application of the NARCAN nasal spray medication at a outpatient treatment center in Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoAug 8 (Reuters) - Emergent BioSolutions (EBS.N) on Tuesday decided to cut 400 jobs and scale back operations at some its facilities, pivoting its focus on core products such as overdose reversal nasal spray Narcan and anthrax vaccines. Smaller biotech companies have been struggling to finance drug development programs and that has hampered their ability to deliver on contract research services for over a year. The company had nearly 2,500 employees as of Dec.31, according to its regulatory filing. Emergent expects to incur an estimated cost of between about $19 million and $21 million in the third quarter of 2023.
Persons: Adrees Latif, Sriparna Roy, Shounak Dasgupta, Arun Koyyur Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Indiana , Pennsylvania, U.S, Bayview, Baltimore, Canton , Massachusetts, Bengaluru
Seiichi Morimura, who wrote a searing exposé of the Japanese Army’s secret biological warfare program in occupied China, describing how it forcibly infected thousands of prisoners with deadly pathogens, died on July 24 in Tokyo. The announcement of his death by his publisher, Kadokawa, was cited in Japanese media. Mr. Morimura detailed the atrocities committed by the Japanese program — called Unit 731 — in a widely sold book, “Akuma no Hoshoku,” or “The Devil’s Gluttony” (1981). Under the Japanese occupation, before and during World War II, at least 3,000 prisoners — men, women and children — became guinea pigs at a facility euphemistically named the 731st Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Headquarters, on the Manchurian plain near Harbin. Most of the victims were Chinese, but some were Korean, Russian and Mongolian.
Persons: Seiichi Morimura, Morimura, , vivisections, Organizations: Kadokawa, , 731st, Water Supply Locations: China, Tokyo, Harbin
Scientists have previously revived ancient bacteria and prehistoric viruses that had been trapped. Scientists have a long record of resurrecting prehistoric viruses and ancient bacteria frozen in ice. However, as the climate crisis is melting ancient ice sheets worldwide, experts are growing concerned that prehistoric viruses could pose a risk to humanity. Other research has found 28 prehistoric viruses dating back 15,000 years in frozen ice cores. It's very difficult to keep samples pristine when extracting ancient ice, and even more difficult to conclusively date the ice.
Persons: Lonnie Thompson, Jean, Michel Claverie, it's, Birgitta Evengård, It's, hadn't Organizations: Service, Privacy, The Ohio State University, Byrd, Climate Research, Umea University, CNN Locations: Yao, Tibetan, French, Antarctica, Russia
The Secret Service investigation has concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence to identify the individual responsible, three Secret Service officials familiar with the investigation tell NBC News. The Secret Service received results Wednesday from tests conducted by the FBI, "which did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons," according to an official statement from the Secret Service released Thursday. "The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House's history." White House officials noted the Biden family was not at the White House when the cocaine was discovered; the president and his family had left for Camp David for the holiday weekend Friday and did not return to the White House until Tuesday, July 4th, after the cocaine had been discovered. The individuals were notified they could not bring the marijuana to the White House campus, the officials said.
Persons: Biden, Jake Sullivan, Karine Jean, Pierre, Jean, James Comer, Kimberly Cheatle, Comer, Camp David, Pierre said, it's Organizations: Service Police, Lafayette, Service, NBC, White, FBI, NBC News, Homeland, Capitol, West, Wing, West Wing, District of Columbia Fire Department, Department of Homeland, Camp, Secret Services, Washington , D.C, White House Locations: Washington ,, Ky, Fort Detrick , Maryland
Dugway Proving Ground is a sprawling army base in remote Utah. Despite those incidents, the army base mostly has a good safety record, according to the Pentagon. While the remote army base used to be responsible for creating chemical weapons — and, at one point, testing them on US soldiers — it now only analyzes them. A later report found that Dugway had failed to follow standard procedures — and use enough radiation — to kill the anthrax samples. The US is destroying its arsenal of chemical weapons, such as VX gas, to meet a treaty obligation that its entire stockpile is eliminated by September 30.
Persons: , Dugway's, William E, King IV, Dugway Organizations: Pentagon, Service Locations: Utah, Korea
The infamous Unabomber Ted Kaczynski has died at age 81. "I'm confident that I'm sane," Kaczynski told Time magazine in 1999. David Kaczynski wanted his role kept confidential, but his identity quickly leaked out and Ted Kaczynski vowed never to forgive his younger sibling. Ted Kaczynski was born May 22, 1942, in Chicago, the son of second-generation Polish Catholics — a sausage-maker and a homemaker. His brother fired him and Ted Kaczynski soon returned to the wilderness to continue plotting his vengeful killing spree.
Persons: Ted Kaczynski, David, , — Theodore, Ted, Kaczynski, Kristie, David's, Linda Patrik, Daniel Boone, Edward Abbey, Henry David Thoreau, Sally Johnson, Hugh Scrutton, Thomas Mosser, Gilbert Murray, Charles Epstein, David Gelernter, Mosser, Susan, Timothy McVeigh, Patrik, Ted Kaczynski's, Susan Swanson, Chicago . Swanson, Clint Van Zandt, David Kaczynski, Swanson, Anthony Bisceglie, Ann Arbor, ___ Balsamo, Derek Rose Organizations: FBI, Service, WASHINGTON, Harvard, of Prisons, Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, Industrial Society, Its, American Airlines, Yale University, Oklahoma City, Bennington College, University of Michigan, University of California Locations: Montana, Butner , North Carolina, Florence , Colorado, West Coast, nation's, Lincoln , Montana, California, North Caldwell , New Jersey, Los Angeles, Chicago, America, Ann, Berkeley, Lincoln, Miami
The 2007 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain was traced to a faulty drainage pipe at a research facility. In 2015 the Department of Defense discovered that a germ-warfare program in Utah had mistakenly mailed almost 200 samples of live anthrax over 12 years. Lab accidents happen, and they aren’t especially rare. In January the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity issued a series of draft recommendations for tightening regulation and oversight. And many of those who see the Covid pandemic as merely the sort of pathogenic disaster that lab accidents might cause agree that greater safety is needed.
But X-ray scans have revealed this grapefruit-sized lump is actually a 30,000-year-old mummified ground squirrel from the Ice Age. A ground squirrel for the agesAn illustration of the mummified ground squirrel curled up in its burrow during hibernation. "I study bones all the time and they're exciting, they're really neat. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images"Some people get really, really excited when they find that giant woolly mammoth leg or, you know, the big tusks or the big skulls. But for me, the Arctic ground squirrel fossils, the nests, and now this mummified squirrel, are really the coolest things that we do have.
It's possible the Trump 'hush-money' grand jury has already voted to indict, ex-prosecutors say. NBC reported Tuesday that the grand jury is not meeting for the rest of this week. The grand jury last met on Monday afternoon, hearing testimony from former Trump ally and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker. And already, the office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg has had to deal with hoax bomb threats and an anthrax scare. The post was soon deleted and Trump attorney Joe Tacopina has said the image was posted by a staffer, not by Trump himself.
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