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☆ Scientists have revived 'zombie' bugs and viruses before that were trapped in ancient ice. One may have been 8 million years old.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

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

☆ Some Squirmy Stowaways Got to the Arctic. And They Like It There.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Sofia Quaglia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Worms are on the move, and people are nervous. That’s because they’re taking over territory in the Far North that’s been wormless since the last ice age. Scientists say the expansion will inevitably change northern ecosystems, with implications for the whole planet, in ways we don’t fully understand and probably can’t undo. Earthworms actively contribute to soil health by munching on decaying organic matter and pooping out nutrient-rich fertilizer. But that means worms also have the potential to upend the natural balance of ecosystems in Arctic and sub-Arctic zones.

Persons: ”, Jonatan Klaminder Organizations: Umea University Locations: Worms, Sweden

ChatGPT has an "absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data" to "train" the chatbot, Garante said. OpenAI has 20 days to respond with remedies or could risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover. ChatGPT was still answering questions posted by Italian users on the platform on Friday evening. Italy, which provisionally restricted ChatGPT's use of domestic users' personal data, became the first Western country to take action against a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence. The European Commission, which is debating the EU AI Act, may not be inclined to ban AI, European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager tweeted.

March 29 (Reuters) - Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives are calling for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI's newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity. "Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter said. The letter detailed potential risks to society and civilization by human-competitive AI systems in the form of economic and political disruptions, and called on developers to work with policymakers on governance and regulatory authorities. Rather than pause research, she said, AI researchers should be subjected to greater transparency requirements. "If you do AI research, you should be very transparent about how you do it."

☆ Scientists revived a 'zombie' virus frozen for 48,500 years in ice. They learned it could still infect other cells.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Chris Panella | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Scientists revived a 48,500-year-old 'zombie' virus from permafrost and found it was still infectious. Some scientists are concerned that climate change thawing permafrost could reawaken ancient viruses. A carcass of an Ice Age cave bear found on Great Lyakhovsky Island, in northern Russia, unearthed by thawing permafrost. How 'zombie' viruses could infect hosts once they emergeThis isn't the first time Claverie has revived ancient viruses, or "zombie viruses" as he calls them. The current research on frozen viruses like Claverie's 'zombie' virus is helping scientists understand more about how these ancient viruses function and whether, or not, they could potentially infect animals or humans.

☆ Unde este cel mai curat aer din Europa; Au fost evaluate peste 320 de orașe europene
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-17 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +1 min

Sursa foto: ProfimediaUnde este cel mai curat aer din Europa; Au fost evaluate peste 320 de orașe europeneOraşele Umea din Suedia şi Tampere din Finlanda au cel mai curat aer din Europa, potrivit unui clasament al agenţiei de mediu a Uniunii Europene (EEA). Lista publicată joi de EEA s-a bazat pe o evaluare a peste 320 de oraşe din Europa. Au fost măsurate particulele în suspensie din 26 de ţări ale UE, precum şi din Islanda, Norvegia şi Elveţia. În România, cel mai curat aer se consideră că se găseşte la Sinaia. Specialiştii susţin că acesta ar fi fost principalul motiv pentru care în staţiunea de pe Valea Prahovei a fost construit Palatul Peleş.

Persons: EEA Organizations: Uniunii Europene, News Locations: Europa, Suedia, Tampere, Finlanda, România, Funchal, Madeira, Tallinn, Estoniei, Bergen, Norvegia, UE, Islanda, Elveţia, Sinaia

☆ STUDIU: Dacă poluarea aerului s-ar reduce, ar putea fi evitate 50.000 de decese premature pe an în Europa
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-20 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Reducerea poluării aerului la nivelurile recomandate de OMS ar permite evitarea a peste 50.000 de decese pe an în Europa, potrivit unui studiu publicat miercuri, care solicită acţiuni rapide, informează AFP. Pragul recomandat de OMS pentru particulele fine PM2,5 este de 10 mg/m3 în medie pe an, iar pentru dioxidul de azot (NO2) de 40 mg/m3 în medie pe an. Respectarea recomandărilor OMS ar permite evitarea a 51.213 decese premature pe an, potrivit cercetătorilor. Studiul, publicat în revista Lancet Planetary Health, a calculat decesele premature legate de aceşti doi poluanţi în 1.000 de oraşe europene, scrie digi24.ro Respectarea recomandărilor OMS ar permite evitarea a 51.213 decese premature pe an, potrivit cercetătorilor. Studiul "arată că numeroase oraşe nu fac încă suficient pentru a combate poluarea aerului", a declarat Mark Nieuwenhuijsen de la Institutul pentru Sănătate Globală din Barcelona (ISGlobal).

Persons: Mark, Sasha Organizations: OMS Locations: Europa, Barcelona, Pad, Italia, Polonia, Republica Cehă, Reykjavik, oraşele, Norvegia, Umea, Suedia, Oulu, Finlanda

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