DW News (July 31, 2023) – While large language models like chatGPT have captured global attention, a more hidden but equally revolutionary application of AI is unfolding in the realm of science.
Renowned researchers like Nir Barzilai have long advocated for a shift in focus towards curing aging itself, but recent advancements could allow us to harness the power of AI to living not just longer, but healthier lives.
In this video, we talk with the scientists behind the groundbreaking discoveries of new anti-aging molecules and visit a lab in Berlin where similar discoveries are made.
Wall Street Journal (July 29, 2023) – Storm Shadow missiles equip Ukraine’s military counteroffensive with the ability to hit Russian targets more than 150 miles away with pinpoint accuracy.
Video timeline:0:00 A weapon to help with counteroffensive 0:30 How Storm Shadow missiles work 4:31 Weaknesses 6:07 What’s next?
The weapon has three times the range of that on the HIMARS rockets in Ukraine, forcing Moscow to rethink its logistics. WSJ takes a look at how these long-range, deep-strike missiles work and why the Storm Shadow is equipped to take out key Russian command and control centers.
World Economic Forum (July 29, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:
6 energy saving tips for hot weather – When it’s hot, your ceiling fan should turn anti-clockwise. This creates a downdraft and circulates the cool air. On winter mode, fans move clockwise instead. Pulling hot air upwards and dispersing it around the room.
France will help pay for people’s clothing repairs – The government will refund €6-€25 of the cost of mending shoes and clothes. It hopes the scheme will cut textile waste and help to create a more circular textile sector. 700,000 tonnes of clothing are thrown away in France every year. Two-thirds of it ends up in landfill. The global textile industry is a major source of both pollution and CO2. It generates 10% of the world’s total CO2 emissions. By 2050, this could be 25%.
This Finnish island wants you to turn off your phone – This summer, Ulko-Tammio is encouraging visitors not to look at their devices. Ulko-Tammio is a small island in the Eastern Gulf of Finland. It’s uninhabited and home to rare birds and plants. Visitors arrive by boat to birdwatch, hike and camp. Now, the island is encouraging them to switch off their devices, take a break from emails and social media and focus attention on their surroundings rather than their screen.
Japan is encouraging more women into science – Currently, only 1 in 7 Japanese scientists are women. So from 2024, a dozen universities are introducing quotas to urge more women to major in science, technology, engineering and maths, also known as STEM. The Tokyo Institute of Technology wants women to make up 20-30% of new students, up from 13% today. Nagoya University, Shimane University and the University of Toyama are also putting quotas in place. Currently, only 7% of female students in Japan major in science and engineering. The lowest in the OECD.
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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2023) – Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces began, there’s been a dramatic increase in Ukraine’s use of FPV, or first person view drones to execute kamikaze-style attacks on Russian tanks, troop positions and other large-scale weapons.
Video timeline:0:00 Increase in use of FPV drones 1:01 The kamikaze drone process 2:15 Destroying targets
The aim is to operate cheaply and to make the military less dependent on Western weapons. WSJ gathered dozens of videos from Ukrainian units on the frontlines, to break down how their drone teams execute these attacks on Russia’s military.
Financial Times (July 25, 2023) -From the production of cheap battlefield drones to AI-powered missile detection, Ukrainian tech start-ups, IT workers and volunteers have been developing military tech and putting themselves on the front line of the war effort
Video timeline:00:00 Ukraine’s tech war 00:39 The growing tech sector 01:28 The tech start-up: Respeecher and AI voice cloning 03:35 The miltech start-up: Zvook and AI missile detection 05:32 A digitally-focused country 08:00 A fully-fledged drone war 09:06 The drone start-up 11:17 Drones: the growth of the market 12:41 Why drones? 14:13 Drones and the women’s veteran movement 16:00 Ukrainian resilience 16:30 Air Alert! Ajax Systems 19:30 It’s not just about drones 20:12 The anti-drone gun: DroneUA 21:04 Who’s winning the tech war? 22:45 The army of robots 23:36 A new Israel? 24:46 The war has changed us
World Economic Forum (July 22, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:
0:15Solar panels are sending silver prices up – A new, more efficient panel design uses silver in paste for. This year, the solar sector could account for 14% of silver consumption, up from 5% in 2014. But globally, there’s a shortage of primary silver mines and demand is growing faster than supply. Experts say that solar panels could exhaust 85-90% of silver reserves by 2050. Here are 3 more news stories about energy this week.
1:41This phone costs $12 – Its makers hope it will help close India’s digital divide. It’s not a smartphone, but a feature phone, that is, a simple handset with a keypad and a small screen. It’s called Jio Bharat. 250 million Indians still use 2G phones. But 2G technology is more than 30 years old. Its users can make calls and send texts but they can’t connect to the internet. Jio Bharat’s users can access 4G internet services from instant digital payments to music streaming
3:08Europe’s largest green facade – It’s home to 30,000 young trees arranged in 8km of hedges. Covering an area the size of 4 soccer pitches. The facade covers a building called Kö-Bogen II in the heart of Düsseldorf, Germany. It shades the concrete roof from the sun and prevents the building and the surrounding air from getting too hot.
4:47These blocks can help beat the climate crisis – Antora Energy uses excess renewable electricity to heat up blocks of solid carbon. These thermal batteries reach temperatures above 1500°C. This heat can be safely stored in the blocks for days on end until it’s needed to power 24/7 industrial processes. The industrial sector accounts for a quarter of global emissions and the majority of that stems from the need for heat.
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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Sotheby’s (July 20, 2023) – The Voyager Golden Record is a unique audio-visual time capsule developed by NASA and affixed to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts.
Designed to communicate to possible space-faring civilizations something of the diversity of life and culture on our world, the Golden Record consisted of greetings in 59 human languages and those of the humpback whales, 115 images of life here, the sounds of Earth, and 27 pieces from the world’s musical traditions. It has been called the beginning of the concept of “world music.”
It was Voyager 1 that looked homeward from high above Neptune to take, at Carl Sagan’s behest, the iconic Pale Blue Dot photograph. Upon flawlessly completing the first phase of their mission, the NASA Voyagers 1 and 2 made for the open sea of interstellar space, teaching us the actual shape of our solar system as it moves through the galaxy. The Golden Record is an unparalleled document in the history of space exploration and our civilization.
Developing the technology to change that is proving a difficult task
With the possible exception of Adam and Eve, all human beings born before 1978 were conceived inside a woman’s body. Today the world contains at least 12m people who started off in laboratory glassware. On average, four more are born every three minutes. That is a worldwide rate of roughly one newborn in 175.
And plenty of clinics are taking advantage: the second of seven articles on the technology of fertility
Most healthy young couples seeking to get pregnant will try for a few months before they are successful. Those who are not will try for months more, or years, before concluding they need help and stepping into the waiting room of an ivf clinic. They often arrive in a state of acute emotional vulnerability, clutching at the hope that doctors will help.
World Economic Forum (July 15, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:
0:15UK universities have a plan for AI – The guidelines aim to incorporate AI ethically into education and treat it as ‘an opportunity rather than a threat’. The UK’s 24 Russell Group universities are signing the principles.
2:07This trolley can spot if you’re at risk of stroke – It has electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors embedded in its handles which screen you for heart irregularities as you shop. Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University fitted the sensors into 10 trolleys and rolled them out at 4 supermarkets in Liverpool, UK. Shoppers were invited to hold the handlebar for at least 60 seconds. If the sensor didn’t detect an irregular heartbeat, it lit up green. Over 2 months, the trolleys screened 2,155 people. They detected atrial fibrillation in 39 people who were swiftly able to book a cardiologist appointment.
3:50Paris generates clean energy from Métro passagers – Energy firm IBERDROLA converted 6 turnstiles into mini-turbines at Miromesnil Métro station for 2 days last year. As each passenger passed through the turnstiles the turbines converted their movement into green energy. 27,000 passengers used the turnstiles. Each passenger generated 0.2 watts of energy. If scaled across the entire Métro system, which serves 1.5 billion passengers annually this technology could generate 136MW per year.
5:09These sensors can spot stressed tomatoes – Their inventors say they can make agriculture more sustainable while increasing crop yields at the same time.
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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Wall Street Journal (July 12, 2023) – Many retirees say they regret not focusing on more than just saving money to live out their post-working years. WSJ personal-finance reporter Veronica Dagher joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss.
Video timeline:0:00 Difficulty mapping a retirement plan 1:01 What retirees wish they did differently 2:38 Relationships and retirement 4:43 Message for future retirees
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