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☆ Study Shows the Staggering Cost of Menopause for Women in the Work Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Alisha Haridasani Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Several other studies have arrived at conclusions similar to those of the Mayo Clinic study. A smaller survey by the corporate health benefits provider Carrot Fertility found that roughly 20 percent of women took time off from work because of menopause. (Dr. Williams was not involved with the research.) Women see in their day-to-day lives that their productivity is impacted.”But most Americans don’t have the ability to choose to cut back on work the way some women in the study did, Dr. Williams said. “Many women don’t have the privilege of saying I’m just not going to teach this course — because maybe if you don’t show up, you will not have a job, and that has economic and personal financial impact too.”

☆ Opinion | American Road Deaths Show an Alarming Racial Gap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Adam Paul Susaneck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

The year before, pedestrian deaths reached a 40-year high. Pedestrian and cyclist injuries tend to be concentrated in poorer neighborhoods that have a larger share of Black and Hispanic residents. Roosevelt Boulevard North Philly High Injury Network West Philly 3 miles Percent Black and Hispanic 20 40 60 80% Washington D.C. Oslo and Helsinki, which adopted Vision Zero in the 1990s, recorded zero traffic deaths in 2019, and Helsinki had just two pedestrian deaths in 2021. In Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, pedestrian deaths have actually risen since the adoption of Vision Zero.

☆ Ocean acidification is destroying coral reefs. Here's how 2 scientists are using bone research to protect them against climate change.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It's becoming more acidic — hitting marine ecosystems and causing coral reefs to crumble. Increased acidity could devastate marine ecosystems, which are built upon coral reefs, and in turn, affect the fish and seafood humans eat. Ocean acidification: Lophelia pertusa coral in noncorrosive water off the Southern California Bight. The research began in January and will run for one year, with data collected in monthly intervals to help understand coral responses to ocean acidification and timescales. That's not just ocean acidification, but carbon-dioxide emissions, deforestation near coral reefs, and fishing practices like trawling, he said.

April 26 (Reuters) - With more and more lawyers at major law firms using fast-advancing generative artificial intelligence tools, legal AI startup Harvey said Wednesday that it raised $21 million in fresh investor cash. Sequoia Capital, which is leading the Series A fundraising round, said more than 15,000 law firms are on a waiting list to start using Harvey. The company says it builds custom large language models for law firms. Technology companies and investors have rushed to embrace large language model-based generative AI since Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT debuted in November. Casetext in March released its AI legal assistant product, CoCounsel, which uses GPT-4 to speed up tasks like legal research, contract analysis and document review.

☆ Having imposter syndrome when you're the boss is hard, but weirdly it might make you better at your job
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This edition of Insider's work-advice column is about how managers can cope with imposter syndrome. Research suggests that people who feel imposter thoughts demonstrate superior interpersonal skills. For the first time in my career, I'm suffering from some major imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome, which is characterized by gnawing fears and self-doubt that persist despite your experience and accomplishments, is common. What seems to be happening is that people with imposter syndrome subconsciously compensate for their perceived lack of competence by trying to succeed interpersonally.

REUTERS/Katherine Taylor/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - A former Harvard University professor was sentenced on Wednesday to six months' house arrest for lying about his ties to a China-run recruitment program, prosecutors said, in one of the highest-profile cases resulting from a crackdown on Chinese influence on U.S. research. Lieber was sentenced to two days in prison - time that he had already served following his arrest - and half a year of house arrest with a fine of $50,000, prosecutors said. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and a restitution to the Internal Revenue Service of $33,600, according to prosecutors. The failed cases included another one in Boston in which prosecutors in January 2022 dropped charges against Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Gang Chen for concealing his ties to China when seeking grant money. Prosecutors said Lieber failed to report his salary on his 2013 and 2014 income tax returns and for two years failed to report the bank account.

☆ AI Technology Like ChatGPT Will Reshape Software Coding Jobs Forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Their conclusion: 19% of workers hold jobs in which at least half their tasks could be completed by AI. Researchers at Microsoft and its subsidiary GitHub recently divided software developers into two groups — one with access to an AI coding assistant, and another without. Amazon has built its own AI coding assistant, CodeWhisperer, and is encouraging its engineers to use it. Another argument from the optimists: Even as AI takes over the bulk of coding, human coders will find new ways to make themselves useful by focusing on what AI can't do. So maybe, long term, human coders will survive in some new, as-yet-to-be-determined role.

☆ Watch an A.I. Learn to Write by Reading Nothing but Jane Austen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Aatish Bhatia | Aatish Bhatia Spent Weeks Reading Dozens Of A.I. Research Articles | Training Tiny Language Models On His Computer. Before Coming To The Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

This is how language models usually start off: They guess randomly and produce gibberish. Over many, many rounds of training, language models can learn to write. As language models grow larger, the patterns that they learn can become increasingly complex. More is differentOther than the additional fine-tuning stages, the primary difference between nanoGPT and the language model underlying chatGPT is size. Large language models can become highly unpredictable, as evidenced by Microsoft Bing A.I.’s early interactions with my colleague Kevin Roose.

☆ Stanford and MIT study: A.I. boosted worker productivity by 14%—those who use it 'will replace those who don't'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Liu | In Jljenniferliu | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The study is thought to be the first major real-world application of generative AI in the workplace. Researchers measured productivity of more than 5,000 customer support agents, based primarily in the Philippines, at a Fortune 500 enterprise software firm over the course of a year. In some cases, using AI trumped having real-life work experience: Customer service agents with two months of experience who used AI support performed as well or better than agents with over six months of experience working without AI. Meanwhile, the use of AI tools showed a minimal impact on "experienced or highly skilled workers," the authors note, and at times served as a distraction. AI support can be especially helpful to entry-level or early-career workers, says Lindsey Raymond, an MIT Ph.D. candidate and co-author of the paper.

Persons: chatbots, Lindsey Raymond, Raymond Organizations: Stanford, MIT, Bloomberg, Fortune, Tech Locations: Philippines

☆ Opinion | Talking With Patients About Death
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “As a Doctor, I Know Being Ready to Die Is an Illusion,” by Dr. Sunita Puri (Opinion guest essay, April 2):Many doctors, including me, have faced Dr. Puri’s dilemma about how to talk to dying patients. My early years as a specialist were besmirched by my failure to inform patients, in a timely fashion, that they were dying. Used to playing the role of a problem solver, I had no skills in consoling an explosion of grief. Indeed, several courts have found doctors at fault for nondisclosure of proximate death. Research has shown that the vast majority of people surveyed would want their doctor to inform them, without prompting, if they were dying.

☆ Carnivorous Plants Use a Smelly Trick to Catch Their Prey
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Veronique Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pitcher plants supplement their diets with this one strange trick: eating flesh. Usually found growing in relatively poor soil, the plants sprout pitcher-shaped cups with pretty, frilly tops that obscure their true purpose: trapping hapless insects. Look inside the pitchers and you’ll find the half-digested bodies of the plants’ victims. While studies suggest that the plants’ colors and its nectar may attract prey, some scientists think pitchers’ scent may play a role as well. Humans tend to describe a pitcher plants’ scent as floral or herbal, said Laurence Gaume, a scientist the French National Centre for Scientific Research and an author of the new paper.

☆ Recreational marijuana use: CNN medical analyst urges caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Using marijuana can cause impaired thinking and interfere with someone’s ability to learn, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The trend toward legalizing marijuana must be accompanied by public education of the health risks, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen said. To be clear, there are many reasons to support policy changes of decriminalizing marijuana, including to rectify the decades-long injustices of disproportionately incarcerating minority individuals for marijuana possession. As many as 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder, according to the CDC. If an adult is using marijuana once in a while, and not while driving, it’s probably not going to have lasting consequences.

☆ Type 2 diabetes: Coffee, tea lower risk of heart disease and early death
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —If you have type 2 diabetes, drinking more coffee, tea or plain water may lower your risk of dying prematurely from any cause by about 25%, a new study found. However, drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages raised the risk of heart disease by 25% and the risk of dying from a heart attack or another cardiovascular event by 29%, the study said. Adults with type 2 diabetes who drink more coffee or tea lower their risk of heart disease, a new study said. There was a 26% lower risk of early death associated with drinking coffee, 21% for tea, 23% for plain water and 12% for low-fat milk. When both sugar-sweetened and artificial no-calorie drinks were replaced with coffee, tea, plain water and low-fat milk, there was an even lower risk of heart disease and death from any cause.

☆ What should you do with your 401(k) when you switch jobs? Experts weigh in
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Holly Johnson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Millions of people switch jobs every single year, and millions of 401(k) plans and other retirement accounts fall by the wayside as a result. We asked experts what most retirement savers should do if they have multiple old retirement accounts scattered around — here’s what they had to say. Keep track of your old 401(k) accountsTry and keep good records of your 401(k) accounts, including account numbers. Roll over your 401(k) accounts earlyRollover your old 401(k) accounts early to avoid confusion and potentially maximize returns. How to roll over an old 401(k) planYou can often roll over your 401(k) to an IRA online.

☆ Copper Shortage Threatens Green Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

In 2021, refined copper demand stood at 25.3 million tons, according to the International Copper Study Group. Mined output globally in 2022 was 21.8 million tons according to the International Copper Study Group, rising only 1 million tons over the previous three years. According to Congo’s Ministry of Mines, copper metal exports totaled 2.3 million metric tons in 2022, up from 1.8 million metric tons in 2021, less than half of Chile’s output. According to analysts it is more of a “when” not an “if” copper demand is likely to surge. Changes in technology should ease some copper demand pressures.

☆ More people with Down syndrome are living longer, but medical systems aren’t keeping up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Tony Leys | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Marilyn researched online and learned the University of Kansas Health System has a special medical clinic for adults with Down syndrome. The clinic Marilyn found is in Kansas City, Kansas, 80 miles northwest of the family’s cattle farm in central Missouri. A directory published by the Global Down Syndrome Foundation lists just 15 medical programs nationwide that are housed outside of children’s hospitals and that accept Down syndrome patients who are 30 or older. But she has felt treated like a child by other health care providers, who have spoken to her parents instead of to her during appointments. Advocates and clinicians say it’s crucial for health care providers to communicate as much as possible with patients who have disabilities.

The Merck/Moderna collaboration is one of several combining powerful drugs that unleash the immune system to target cancers with mRNA vaccine technology. BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) and Gritstone Bio Inc (GRTS.O) are working on competing cancer vaccines based on mRNA technology. Barr said it took about eight weeks to design a personalized mRNA vaccine for each patient. In the past, similar experimental cancer vaccines were developed targeting a single tumor mutation, or neoantigen. With mRNA technology in combination with Keytruda, "we can create this shotgun approach ... that can create a more potent immune response," Barr said.

The Merck/Moderna collaboration is one of several combining powerful drugs that unleash the immune system to target cancers with mRNA vaccine technology. BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) and Gritstone Bio Inc (GRTS.O) are working on competing cancer vaccines based on mRNA technology. Barr said it took Moderna about eight weeks to design a personalized mRNA vaccine for each patient. In the past, similar experimental cancer vaccines were developed targeting a single tumor mutation, or neoantigen. With mRNA technology in combination with Keytruda, "we can create this shotgun approach ... that can create a more potent immune response," Barr said.

☆ How to Get a Mortgage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +15 min

“Houses cost more than the money invested to purchase them,” says Brian Rugg, chief credit officer at mortgage lender loanDepot. Research mortgage loan types and lendersThere are two basic categories of mortgage: private and government backed. “Look at customer reviews from past borrowers,” says Alex Shekhtman, a mortgage broker and founder of LBC Mortgage in New York. “Mortgage lenders use appraisals to protect their investment in the home,” says Liz Lopez, a real-estate agent at RelatedISG Realty. Since mortgage payments are made in arrears—meaning you pay on the first of the month for the previous month’s charges—you won’t owe a mortgage payment until the start of the second month following your closing date.

☆ First photo of a black hole resembles 'skinny' doughnut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The first photo ever taken of a black hole looks a little sharper now. The central region is darker and larger, surrounded by a bright ring as hot gas falls into the black hole in the new image. The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, called EHT, is a global network of telescopes that captured the first photograph of a black hole. Computers using PRIMO analyzed more than 30,000 high-resolution simulated images of black holes to pick out common structural details. But if heated materials in the form of plasma surround the black hole and emit light, the event horizon could be visible.

☆ My editor's note to the newsroom on AI: Let's think of it like a 'bicycle of the mind'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Nicholas Carlson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Ask AI to make suggested edits to your writing to make it more readable and concise. Ask AI to make suggested edits to your writing to make it more readable and concise. Ask AI to summarize old news stories and suggest lessons that can be learned from them. For me, the really exciting thing about using generative AI is that I keep figuring out new ways to use it. Editors: It is already impossible for you to know if work produced by your colleagues was created using AI.

☆ Young people haven't been taught the 'value of work,' says Ronald Reagan's education secretary
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Young people haven't been taught the "value of work," Bill Bennett told Fox Business. Reagan's education secretary said he was "very concerned" about young people's attitudes towards work. Research from two University of Maryland professors found that the average US work week had overall fallen by more than 30 minutes since before the pandemic. "We haven't talked to them about the value of work, we haven't taught them," he continued. "Are parents talking to their kids about work and why they work and how important it is?

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Club holding Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) is the biggest independent oil exploration and production (E & P) play. Club holding Constellation Brands (STZ) reported an excellent quarter last week and gave you an 11% dividend increase. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade.

☆ Everyone needs a work spouse — even if some millennials don't think so
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A portion of millennials "disapprove" of having a work spouse, according to a new survey. My truth, as a Gen Xer, is: Work is often lonely and annoying, and everyone needs a work spouse. Everyone needs a work spouse. "Work spouse" is really just another name for "work best friend." The beauty of 'butt-kicking candor'Millennials might take exception to work spouses because they believe in a firm separation of work and home.

☆ Finding the Words That Get Results
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Jonah Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

From emails and presentations, to phone calls and face-to-face conversations, almost everything we do involves words. But certain ways of using words have far more impact. Sometimes it’s just one word that makes a difference. Research that my colleague and I published in 2017, for example, found that saying you “recommend” rather than “like” something makes people 32% more likely to take your suggestion. Other words operate more like gateways: A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that adding the world “because” to a request, followed by the reason for it, increased compliance by 50%.

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