In the spotlight
It’s Nearly 2019. Has the Internet of Things Already Failed?
foxbusiness, 08.12.2018
The Internet of Things (IoT), in which companies connect formerly unconnected things (like watches, cars, refrigerators, farms, etc.) to the Internet to collect data and sometimes automate systems, has promised to transform our lives by blurring the lines between the real world and the internet.
Health Care Wearables: What IT Experts Need To Know
forbes, 03.12.2018
That’s changed with the advent of wearable devices that give physicians, care managers and other members of the care team an assortment of tools to monitor patients’ health. This begs the question: Why aren’t more health systems relying on these apps and devices? The challenges are numerous, and they’re not going to be solved overnight.
Yoga and Wearables: The Role Of Technology In An Ancient Discipline
forbes, 29.11.2018
According to yogi, mystic, and founder of Isha Foundation, Sadhguru J. Vasudev, not only is yoga a process of wellbeing like nothing else, but people, both young and old, are stressed like never before, and it has become a vehicle that they can employ to feel better.
Transport & Energy
Uber plans smaller, more cautious self-driving car launch
reuters, 06.12.2018
(Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc’s UBER.UL is plotting the return of its self-driving cars, but the company known for its hard-charging style is taking a much more conservative approach as it tries to recover from a fatal accident that upended its autonomous vehicle program.
UN climate change summit urged to take action by young people
irishtimes, 04.12.2018
The world is moving to counter climate change in spite of global leaders behaving like irresponsible children, Swedish student Greta Thunberg (15) told the UN climate change summit. , it was the voices of young people that stood out. Their importance in the global response to global warming was….
NASA deep space probe reaches asteroid deemed potential Earth threat
reuters-in, 04.12.2018
Launched in September 2016, Osiris-Rex embarked on NASA’s unprecedented seven-year mission to conduct a close-up survey of the asteroid Bennu, collect a sample from its surface and return that material to Earth for study. Bennu, a rocky mass roughly a third of a mile wide and shaped like a giant….
Europe must grab chance to make up ground lost to China
ft, 04.12.2018
Last week the European Commission launched its 2050 Strategy that shows a path to achieving “climate neutral” economy, or net zero greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050. This goal, set out before the latest UN conference on climate change in the coal-mining centre of Katowice, Poland, is ambitious.
Agriculture & Environment
Bringing tech to the farm
technologist, 10.12.2018
Replacing tractors, robots can cut a farm’s carbon footprint by 90%. They feed and spray only the plants that need it. Thanks to plant phenotyping, French researchers give farmers as much information as possible about a crop before they plant it. Drones tackling weeds, satellites monitoring crops,….
Increased soil contamination puts food safety and food security at risk
fao-en, 05.12.2018
FAO marks World Soil day with call for urgent action to reduce release of pollutants into soils. 5 December 2018, Rome – Urgent action is needed to address soil pollution and contain the multiple threats it poses to global food safety and food security, said FAO today marking Thousands of….
Information society
‘Unpredictable’ killer robots could go ‘off the rails’
dailymail, 10.12.2018
It is an issue troubling some of the greatest minds in the world at the moment, from Bill Gates to Elon Musk. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk described AI as our ‘biggest existential threat’ and likened its development as ‘summoning the demon’. He believes super intelligent machines could use humans as pets.
How AI is improving the lives of children with challenges
irishtimes, 06.12.2018
For many people living with autism, social interactions can be like being in a country where you don’t speak the language. What neurotypical people take for granted – interpreting cues from body language, tones and facial expressions, establishing a rapport with eye contact – can be a challenge for people on the autism spectrum.
Food & Health
Gene Editing and “Genetically Modified Humans”: China’s “Golem Babies”. There Is Another Agenda
globalresearch, 07.12.2018
The shocking news that a team of scientists working in China have managed to gene-edit the DNA of recently-born human twins to allegedly make them genetically immune to a HIV infection is more than bizarre and irresponsible. It suggests that certain researchers are making dangerous experiments to….
Make privileged-access security a priority to protect patient data
business-times, 04.12.2018
THE increased use of electronic personal health information (ePHI), coupled with rapid advances in healthcare technology – from cloud-based applications to IoT-enabled devices to telemedicine – has created complex healthcare delivery networks that are target-rich environments for cyber attackers.
Climate change poses threat to nutritional benefits of oysters, scientists warn
wandsworthguardian, 28.11.2018
The nutritional qualities of shellfish could be significantly reduced by future ocean warming, a study suggests. Research by the University of Plymouth found increased temperatures and carbon dioxide levels could lower the levels of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in Pacific oysters.
Science policy & Communication
Europe’s influence over US tech was more formidable than ever in 2018 – CNET
cnet, 10.12.2018
The influence of the biggest US tech companies is as powerful in Europe as anywhere else in the world. But what sets Europe apart is that the relationship is, to an extent, reciprocal. Whenever a company makes a move, the EU is to make sure it’s abiding by local laws, providing the best possible….
No Doubt About It: Your Password Has BeenStolen
forbes, 04.12.2018
The recent breaches suffered by Marriott Hotels and Quora once again highlight the importance of security in the digital economy, and how users need to adopt the right procedures to try to protect their data. , the data of some 500 million people who stayed in hotels belonging to W Hotels, St.
Cybercrime’s expensive bill
mondediplo, 28.11.2018
Scrutiny of tech giants? Fibre optic cables feed into a switch inside a communications room at a London office. A report from CyberSecurity Ventures (which produces a cybercrime news magazine) predicts the annual costs of such crime could be €6trn by 2021.
What about us?
New scoreboard shows that participation of women in the EU digital economy still lags behind
europa-pressReleases, 10.12.2018
Today the European Commission is launching an annual scoreboard to monitor women’s participation in the digital economy , on the occasion of the birthday of Ada Lovelace, considered as the world’s first computer programmer. The Women in Digital scoreboard is one of the actions to assess women’s….
EU agricultural outlook 2018 – 2030: Changing consumer choices shaping agricultural markets
ec-europa, 06.12.2018
Poultry is the only meat that will see a strong increase in EU production and consumption while demand for traditional dairy products such as cheese should continue to grow. These are just a few of the projections from the European Union agricultural outlook for 2018-2030 report published on 6 December 2018 by the European Commission.
#EUNatureActionPlan – Revised guidance on managing protected Natura 2000 areas
eureporter, 26.11.2018
As part of the EU Action Plan for Nature, People and the Economy , the European Commission has published an updated guidance for member states’ authorities, stakeholders and EU citizens on how to conserve and manage Natura 2000 network of protected areas.
Curious news
Why a curious crustacean could hold secret to making renewable energy from wood
terradaily, 06.12.2018
Scientists studying the digestive system of a curious wood-eating crustacean have discovered it may hold the key to sustainably converting wood into biofuel. Gribble are small marine invertebrates that have evolved to perform an important ecological role eating the abundant supplies of wood washed into the sea from river estuaries.
Parasite decimates giant clam species in Mediterranean Sea
oxfordtimes, 04.12.2018
A mysterious microscopic parasite is seeking out and killing a giant species of clam found only in the Mediterranean Sea. Unless scientists can find a way of stopping it soon, they say the mollusk could go extinct. For thousands of years the noble pen shell has been intrinsically connected to humans.
Meet the man who invented emoji
cnn, 04.12.2018
“Contemporary emoji aren’t really emoji,” he said. “Instead, the majority of them are simply pictures, I think. Because it makes inputting them difficult, there might also now be too many. Doesn’t there seem to be an increase in the kind of emoji that someone might use only once?” Nonetheless,….