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El Niño fingered as likely culprit in record 2023 temperatures
Research suggests swings in Pacific Ocean can account for planet’s sudden and perplexing temperature jump
Research Preview: Science Magazine – Oct. 11, 2024
Tag Archives: AI
The Economist Magazine – October 12, 2024 Preview
The Trumpification of American policy
No matter who wins in November, Donald Trump has redefined both parties’ agendas
The front line of the tech war is in Asia
The two superpowers are vying for influence. China will not necessarily win
Who will control the next Congress?
The new president is much less likely than usual to see allies take charge on Capitol Hill
Britain should not hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Oct. 10, 2024
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Hundreds of methane super-sources pinpointed in satellite data
Algorithm homes in on wetlands and industrial sites linked to high emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas.
Baby sea turtles ‘swim’ up from buried nests to the open air
Turtle hatchlings, which can begin life up to a metre deep in sand, point their heads towards the surface and make their way out onto the beach.
How a potent immune therapy loses its punch against a blood cancer
Therapeutic T cells used to treat acute myeloid leukaemia secrete proteins that impair the cells’ own ability to attack cancer.
A ‘Swiss army knife’ microscope that doesn’t break the bank
The parts of a 3D-printed device can be changed out, allowing for versatility as well as ultrahigh resolution.
Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Oct. 11, 2024
Times Literary Supplement (October 9, 2024): The latest issue features ‘This English House’ – W.H. Auden’s changing view of home by Seamus Perry…
World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Oct. 5, 2024
0:15 What’s next for urgent climate action? – At the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in New York, leaders discussed how to curb carbon emissions while building an inclusive economy. Regulations can be a lever for systemic change but local innovation is crucial, too.
3:09 Solar stoves reduce air pollution deaths – It cooks food while emitting hardly any smoke. It uses a hybrid system, powered by energy from solar panels and from fuel such as small sticks or crop waste. The ACE One was created by African Clean Energy which is a part of the World Economic Forum’s Equitable Transition Initiative.
5:08 Chief economists’ outlook for the rest of 2024 – Many chief economists polled by the World Economic Forum are optimistic about 2025. In the United States, nearly nine in ten chief economists anticipate moderate or strong growth in the coming year. Similarly, in South Asia, 71% predict strong or very strong growth.
9:33 Earth exceeds 6 of 9 planetary boundaries – In 2009, a team of scientists identified the 9 natural processes that regulate Earth’s biosphere and keep it stable. These include climate change, biodiversity, ocean acidification and freshwater. The team also defined the safe planetary boundary for each process. A safe and sustainable future for humanity lies within these boundaries.
Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – October 7, 2024
BARRON’S MAGAZINE (September 21, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Tesla’s Turning Point’ – The electric vehicle maker faces a make or break moment as it unveils robotaxi technology…
Tesla Robotaxi Day Is a Make or Break Moment for Elon Musk
The CEO will need to convince investors that the company is still more than an auto maker.
Unhappy With Your Medicare Plan? You Can Make a Change.
Open enrollment starts soon and big changes are in store for traditional Medicare and Advantage plans. What to know.
Gold Is Beating Stocks. 5 Things to Know Before You Buy.
The forces that are fueling gold’s rise—and whether it makes sense to latch on to the rally.
GLP-1 Drugs Are Everywhere Now. How the Copycats Took Over.
Wegovy and Zepbound are still hard to get. Knockoff versions from Noom, Ro, and others are filling in the gaps.
The Economist Magazine – October 6, 2024 Preview
The year that shattered the Middle East
Kill or be killed is the region’s new logic. Deterrence and diplomacy would be better
House prices: just getting going
Why property prices could keep rising for years
Will China’s stimulus work?
It will take more than a spectacular stockmarket rally to revive the economy
Britain’s Nigerian moment
A story of modern migration has had extraordinary results
Mapping a fruit fly’s brain
The first “connectome” of the brain of a complex adult animal has just been completed
Politics: The Guardian Weekly – October 4, 2024
The Guardian Weekly (October 2, 2024) – The new issue features ‘ 7 OCTOBER 2023’ – The day that changed the world. The Anniversary foreshadows a region on the brink. Plus: the shapeshifting Giorgia Meloni.
Events in the Middle East were moving so rapidly this week that the stunning assassination of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last Friday, killed by an Israeli heavy bombing raid, already feels quite distant. By Tuesday morning Israeli forces had launched what was called a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Hours later, Iran responded with a barrage of ballistic missiles aimed at targets across Israel.
To put things in some kind of perspective, the coming week also marks the first anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, setting in motion the brutal chain of events leading to the deaths of more than 41,000 Gazans by Israeli bombing, last week’s dramatic events in Lebanon and Iran’s military response which many now fear leaves the region close to full-blown war.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
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Spotlight | The ‘marriage competition’ that divided South Sudan
Underage marriage is illegal in South Sudan yet so commonplace it rarely attracts attention. But the case of Athiak Dau Riak, who her mother says is only 14, has gone viral, polarising her family and the country. From Juba, Florence Miettaux reports
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Science | Telescopes that could save us from death by asteroids
The existential threat from a large meteor is real, but two next-generation telescopes are about to make us safer, writes Robin George Andrews
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Feature | The shapeshifter: who is the real Giorgia Meloni?
She’s been called a neo-fascist and a danger to her country. But the Italian prime minister has won over many heads of Europe. Should we be worried? By Alexander Stille
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Opinion | Trump v Harris and a battle between the sexes
There are clear reasons why women are running from Trump, but men are flocking to him – and it’s vital to understand why, argues Jonathan Freedland
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Culture | Will Ferrell’s road trip of trans discovery
Saturday Night Live writer Harper Steele came out as a trans woman in 2022 at the age of 61. Her friend of 30 years Will Ferrell had questions. So what else to do but jump in a van, cross the US, and make a documentary about it? Guy Lodge reports
AI Technology: Are Tesla Robotaxis Ready To Roll?
CNBC (October 2, 2024): For a decade, Elon Musk has championed the idea that one day Tesla cars will drive themselves as robotaxis. On October 10, the company plans to reveal a “dedicated robotaxi” design at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles.
Chapters: 3:18 Ch 1 – Tesla’s vision for autonomy 6:33 Ch 2 – Full self-driving 10:13 Ch 3 – Realizing the robotaxi 15:34 Ch 4 – Sizing up the robotaxi competition
Despite years of bold predictions and missed deadlines, fans of the company are holding out hope that Musk will finally deliver. Regardless of what the company showcases at its robotaxi day, experts are skeptical of the company’s strategy, citing its Auotpilot and Full Self-Driving technology as a barometer for Tesla’s progress, or lack thereof.
While Tesla has been developing its autonomous vehicles, competitors like Google-owned Waymo and Chinese companies like Pony.ai and Baidu have already launched commercial robotaxi services. With U.S. EV sales growth slowing, there’s a lot riding on Tesla’s potential pivot to autonomy. CNBC explores whether the company is ready for robotaxis and if Musk’s vision for driverless Teslas will become a reality anytime soon.
Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Oct. 3, 2024
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Why cannibal queens make a meal of fungus-ridden larvae
Ant larvae infected with a pathogenic fungus had better watch out for Mum.
Bronze Age clash was Europe’s oldest known interregional battle
Artefacts found in modern-day Germany suggest that northern and southern peoples clashed in the Tollense Valley millennia ago.
Mathematicians discover new class of shape seen throughout nature
‘Soft cells’ — shapes with rounded corners and pointed tips that fit together on a plane — feature in onions, molluscs and more.
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