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☆ U.S. investigating Elon Musk's Neuralink over hazardous pathogens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Thursday it is investigating Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink over the potentially illegal movement of hazardous pathogens. The Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency took PCRM's allegations "very seriously." Reuters reviewed the UC Davis records cited by PCRM in its letter. Neuralink messages and records not shared with UC Davis are not subject to such information requests. A UC Davis spokesperson would only say that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations.

☆ Elon Musk's Neuralink may have illegally transported pathogens, animal advocates say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Reuters reviewed the UC Davis records cited by PCRM in its letter. PCRM obtained the records from UC Davis through public information requests. Neuralink messages and records not shared with UC Davis are not subject to such information requests. A UC Davis spokesperson would only say that the university abides by all biohazard and lab safety regulations. During its partnership with UC Davis, Neuralink grew frustrated with what it regarded as the slow pace of testing on primates, current and former company employees told Reuters, and has since built out extensive in-house animal testing facilities.

☆ Elon Musk's brain-chip startup is being investigated over potentially moving hazardous pathogens after monkey tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US Department of Transportation is investigating whether Neuralink transported hazardous pathogens. Activists alleged Neuralink had not properly transported brain chips from monkey test subjects. The animal rights group has criticized Neuralink in the past over its use of monkeys. A spokesperson for Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication. A spokesperson for UC Davis told Insider that the institution complies with lab safety and biohazard regulations.

☆ Fact Check-Chinese study made coronavirus antibodies in eggs by vaccinating hens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A 2021 study in China investigated antibodies generated by immunizing hens with a specific protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus and found that the antibodies extracted from yolks could neutralize some versions of the coronavirus tested in the lab. The results do not mean that all egg yolks contain coronavirus-neutralizing antibodies or that eating eggs would prevent COVID-19, as suggested in some widely shared posts online. Posts refer to a study originally published in November 2020 (here), which analyzed immunoglobulin Y (or lgY) antibodies generated in the yolks of eggs from laying hens that had been immunized with the “spike” protein from SARS-CoV-2. Not all eggs, however, contain the specific antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, Rodrigo Gallardo, professor in poultry medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told Reuters via email. A study in China immunized hens to generate antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in their eggs, it did not find that all eggs contain such antibodies or that eggs have any effect on COVID.

☆ Small California town wonders if restored floodplain prevented disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

[1/5] An aerial view shows the town of Grayson near floodwaters from the San Joaquin River in Grayson, California, U.S., January 25, 2023. Advocates for floodplain restoration say it can help solve California's dual dangers of flooding and drought, replenishing groundwater for future drought relief while protecting towns from the catastrophic flooding that scientists predict will come with climate change. One of the volunteers was David Guzman, who works in an almond processing plant and lives right up against a slough of the San Joaquin River. But some experts say floodplain restoration can help spare adjacent towns, and they envision a day when a proliferation of projects will prevent wider flooding throughout the state. The valley lies west of the north-south Sierra Nevada mountain range and includes the smaller San Joaquin Valley.

☆ America needs immigrants to solve its labor shortage
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But If you’re wondering why America’s labor shortage persists nearly three years into the Covid pandemic, it’s in part because America doesn’t have enough immigrants. Immigrants are vital to the US economy and fill thousands of US jobs – jobs many Americas don’t want to do. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that in addition to an aging workforce there is a lack of foreign labor contributing to labor shortages. Those types of industries had higher rates of unfilled jobs last year – adding to existing labor shortages, according to UC Davis research. “The farm labor crisis is hindering production and contributing to food price inflation.

Doha, Qatar CNN —They’re known as The Atlas Lions, the Moroccan football team that’s ripped up the history books at the FIFA World Cup. Morocco's Youssef En-Nesyri, center, celebrates after scoring the only goal in his side's World Cup quarterfinal win over Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on December 10, 2022. “I think this moment of joy resonates with everyone who is downtrodden.”Morocco’s success has also breathed new life into a once-lost identity, as people from across the Arab world celebrated the team’s victories. “If anything, [the World Cup] has shown the stark contrast between the rulers and the ruled, between the regimes and the publics,” he said. Walid Regragui, Morocco head coach, is thrown in the air after the team qualified for the World Cup knockout stages by beating Canada on December 1.

☆ California invested an enormous amount of money into getting EVs on the road, but practically nothing when it comes to dealing with the waste: 'It's totally like the Wild West.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hanna Kang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

"It's totally like the Wild West," said Zora Chung, co-founder of ReJoule, Inc., a startup project based in Signal Hill that is exploring repurposing used batteries from EVs. However, there are no EV battery recycling plants that exist in California, nor tried-and-true recycling programs in place to deal with the fallout. Currently, the company has used batteries deployed at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, where solar panels feed electricity into the used battery storage units. Charging station for electric and hybrid cars using solar panels to generate electricity to charge car batteries. "Imagine if it just took you one full work week to qualify one used battery," Chung said.

☆ Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Reuters could not determine the full scope of the federal investigation or whether it involved the same alleged problems with animal testing identified by employees in Reuters interviews. Musk has pushed hard to accelerate Neuralink’s progress, which depends heavily on animal testing, current and former employees said. Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said it is “very unusual” for the USDA inspector general to investigate animal research facilities. In September, the company responded to employee concerns about its animal testing by holding a town hall to explain its processes. “We’re extremely careful,” he said, to make sure that testing is “confirmatory, not exploratory,” using animal testing as a last resort after trying other methods.

☆ What to do if you test positive for Covid right before a Thanksgiving or holiday gathering
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

And though you might not want to think about it, testing positive for Covid just before one of those gatherings could put a real damper on your holidays. There's a short answer and a long answer, experts say. The short answer is simple: Don't go, even if you don't feel sick at all. But health officials still warn of a winter Covid surge that could wreak havoc, just like last year's winter wave of omicron cases. Here's a guide for what to do if you test positive for Covid right before a holiday gathering with loved ones:

☆ Legal cannabis isn't beating the illicit market. The economist who wrote the book on legalization says there are 3 key ways to change that.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Jeremy Berke | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Cannabis legalization is failing to live up to key promises, the economist Robin Goldstein said. While federal cannabis legalization is one of the few US policy questions where there's widespread polling consensus, the industry is struggling. The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics," Goldstein and Sumner take a microscope to cannabis policy and the broader industry to answer key questions about the drug's future. "If you want smaller businesses to thrive, just break down barriers to entry because those barriers are best met by the biggest companies," Goldstein said. High prices for legal cannabis often push customers to illicit sellers.

☆ How much do Big Tech companies pay their employees?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Well, we took the guesswork out of it for you by analyzing some data to determine just how much different companies pay their employees. Positions we looked at included data scientists, data engineers, senior analysts, and more — see how their salaries stack up. Positions we looked at included data scientists, data engineers, senior analysts, and more — see how their salaries stack up. Finally, take a look at Insider's Big Tech salary database to see how much Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Facebook, and other companies pay their workers. By combing through data, Insider got a sense of how companies like Google, Hulu, and Disney pay their employees.

☆ Animal rights group seeks release of 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during experiments for Elon Musk's Neuralink
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An animal-rights group says UC Davis has 371 photos showing Neuralink's experiments on monkeys. UC Davis and Neuralink have refuted the claims its test animals experienced "extreme suffering." The group said they learned of the photos through a legal document from UC Davis dated September 7, 2022. A spokesperson from Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment and a UC Davis spokesperson referred Insider to a previous statement. "Animal research is strictly regulated and UC Davis follows all applicable laws and regulations including those of the US Department of Agriculture," the statement said.

☆ Extreme weather could push food inflation even higher
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But as extreme weather events increase in frequency or become even more intense, the unpredictability is becoming more of an economic liability. “And those higher costs are being passed on to consumers.” The rise in food prices is one of the key factors fueling inflation, according to recent CPI data. Extreme weather also can negatively affect companies’ bottom lines, according to research from Paul Griffin, professor of management at UC Davis. Corn crops that died due to extreme heat and drought during a heatwave in Austin, Texas, on Monday, July 11, 2022. Still, the very prospect of more extreme weather could further sap away groundwater and limit the cultivation potential in the future, Smith said.

☆ În 1054, oamenii au văzut pe cer explozia unei stele; Astronomii spun că o descoperire recentă ar putea explica fenomenul
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-30 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +6 min

Sursa foto: ProfimediaÎn 1054, oamenii au văzut pe cer explozia unei stele; Astronomii spun că o descoperire recentă ar putea explica fenomenulUn nou tip de supernovă, o explozie a unei stele aflate la finalul vieții, a fost observată de astronomi. Cercetătorii cred că SN1054, o supernovă celebră pentru faptul că a fost vizibilă de pe Pământ o perioadă lungă la începutul mileniului trecut, ar putea fi explicată pe baza noii descoperiri. Ei au descoperit numeroase caracteristici neobişnuite ale supernovei SN 2018zd, unele dintre ele observate în premieră la o supernovă. Pe timp de zi ea a fost vizibilă vreme de aproape o lună, în timp ce pe cerul nopții ea a fost vizibilă pentru aproape doi ani. În fapt SN 1054 are o vechime de aproximativ 7500 de ani, însă lumina exploziei a ajuns la Pământ abia în anul 1054.

Persons: Valenti, Davis, Spitzer, UC Davis, Stefano Valenti, Hubble Organizations: Universitatea din, Agerpres, Universitatea California, SN, UC Locations: Universitatea din Tokyo, Cumbres, Giant

Astfel, cercetătorii au creat un scor „asemănător creditului” pentru virusuri ca o modalitate de evaluare și comparare a riscurilor lor. Pentru a obține scorul, instrumentul ia în considerare 32 de factori de risc asociați cu virusul și gazda acestuia, cum ar fi câte specii de animale infectează virusul și cât de des interacționează oamenii cu animale sălbatice în zonele în care virusul a fost detectat. Animalele principale gazdă pentru SARS-CoV-2 sunt necunoscute, dar s-a constatat că virusul infectează nurcile, leii și tigrii. ) Autorii au spus că s-au așteptat la acest rezultat - cunoscut clasamentul zoonozelor în partea de sus - și l-au folosit pentru a valida instrumentul. Un alt virus de top este coronavirusul PREDICT CoV-35, care aparține și familiei coronavirusului și infectează liliecii din Africa și Asia de Sud-Est.

Persons: Davis, Medicină Veterinară UC Davis Organizations: One Health, Universitatea din, UC Davis, Academy, Medicină Veterinară UC Locations: Grange, Universitatea din California, SARS, Africa, Asia de Sud - Est, SpillOver

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