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Television

UK's Department for Transport Proposes To Allow Drivers To Watch TV on Self-Driving Cars (bbc.com) 47

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
People using self-driving cars will be allowed to watch television on built-in screens under proposed updates to the Highway Code. From a report: The changes will say drivers must be ready to take back control of vehicles when prompted, the government said. The first use of self-driving technology is likely to be when travelling at slow speeds on motorways, such as in congested traffic. However, using mobile phones while driving will remain illegal.

No self-driving cars are currently allowed on UK roads, but the first vehicles capable of driving themselves could be ready for use later this year, the Department for Transport (DfT) said. The planned changes to the code are expected to come in over the summer. The updates, proposed following public consultation, were described as an interim measure to support the early adoption of the technology and a full regulatory framework is planned to be implemented by 2025.
Space

Potential For Shallow Liquid Water On Jupiter's Moon Europa, Study Suggests (independent.co.uk) 36

Posted by BeauHD from the hide-and-seek dept.
Shallow liquid water may be present on Jupiter's moon Europa, data based on the Greenland ice sheet suggests. The Independent reports: Europa is a prime candidate for life in the Solar System, and its deep saltwater ocean has captivated scientists for decades. The giant planet's moon has been visited by the Voyager and Galileo spacecrafts, and data collected on these missions, together with modeling, indicates the potential presence of a liquid water ocean beneath a 20-30km thick ice shell. While the thickness of the icy shell makes sampling it a daunting prospect, increasing evidence reveals the ice shell may be less of a barrier and more of a dynamic system -- and potentially good enough to support life in its own right.

Observations that captured the formation of a double ridge feature in Greenland suggest the ice shell of Europa may have an abundance of water pockets beneath similar features that are common on the surface. Study senior author Dustin Schroeder, an associate professor of geophysics at Stanford University's School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth), said: "Because it's closer to the surface, where you get interesting chemicals from space, other moons and the volcanoes of Io, there's a possibility that life has a shot if there are pockets of water in the shell. If the mechanism we see in Greenland is how these things happen on Europa, it suggests there's water everywhere."

Double ridges on Europa appear as dramatic gashes across the moon's icy surface, with crests reaching nearly 1,000 feet. Study author Riley Culberg, a PhD student in electrical engineering at Stanford, said: "In Greenland, this double ridge formed in a place where water from surface lakes and streams frequently drains into the near-surface and refreezes. One way that similar shallow water pockets could form on Europa might be through water from the subsurface ocean being forced up into the ice shell through fractures -- and that would suggest there could be a reasonable amount of exchange happening inside of the ice shell." The researchers describe their findings in the journal Nature Communications.
Power

Rolls-Royce Expects UK Approval For Small Nuclear Reactors By Mid-2024 (theguardian.com) 261

Posted by BeauHD from the energy-of-the-future dept.
Rolls-Royce is to start building parts for its small modular nuclear reactors in anticipation of receiving regulatory approval from the British government by 2024, one of its directors has said. The Guardian reports: Paul Stein, the chairman of Rolls-Royce SMR, a subsidiary of the FTSE 100 engineering company, said he hoped to be providing power to the UK's national grid by 2029. Speaking to Reuters in an interview conducted virtually, Stein said the regulatory "process has been kicked off, and will likely be complete in the middle of 2024. We are trying to work with the UK government, and others to get going now placing orders, so we can get power on grid by 2029."

Small modular reactors (SMRs) are seen by their proponents as a way to build nuclear power plants in factories, a method that could be cheaper and quicker than traditional designs. The technology, based on the reactors used in nuclear submarines, is seen by Rolls-Royce as a potential earner far beyond any previous business such as jet engines or diesel motors. The government under Boris Johnson put nuclear power at the centre of its energy strategy announced earlier this month, in response to climate concerns and a desire to ditch Russian gas. SMRs are expected to play an important role in an expansion of nuclear to supply a quarter of the UK's energy needs. Lower costs would be crucial in justifying the nuclear push, given that onshore wind is seen as much cheaper and quicker to install.
United Kingdom

No 10 Suspected of Being Target of NSO Spyware Attack, Boris Johnson 'Told' (theguardian.com) 23

Posted by BeauHD from the suspected-hacking dept.
Boris Johnson has been told his Downing Street office has been targeted with "multiple" suspected infections using Pegasus, the sophisticated hacking software that can turn a phone into a remote listening device, it was claimed on Monday. The Guardian reports: A report released by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said the United Arab Emirates was suspected of orchestrating spyware attacks on No 10 in 2020 and 2021. Pegasus is the hacking software -- or spyware -- developed, marketed and licensed to governments around the world by the Israeli firm NSO Group. It has the capability to infect phones running either iOS or Android operating systems. Citizen Lab added there had also been suspected attacks on the Foreign Office over the same two years that were also associated with Pegasus operators linked to the UAE -- as well as India, Cyprus and Jordan.

The researchers, considered among the world's leading experts in detecting digital attacks, announced they had taken the rare step of notifying Whitehall of the attack as it "believes that our actions can reduce harm." However, they were not able to identify the specific individuals within No 10 and the Foreign Office who are suspected of having been hacked. "The suspected infections relating to the FCO were associated with Pegasus operators that we link to the UAE, India, Cyprus and Jordan. The suspected infection at the UK prime minister's office was associated with a Pegasus operator we link to the UAE."
Books

Ironic Effect of Efforts to Ban Books: Teenagers Form New Book Clubs to Read Them (cnn.com) 260

Posted by EditorDavid from the open-books dept.
CNN reports on "an ironic effect" of efforts to remove books from libraries in America. "The more certain books are singled out, the more people want to read them."

And for some U.S. teenagers, "banned book clubs, recent book banning attempts have been a springboard for wider discussions around censorship." The Banned Book Club at Firefly Bookstore [started by 8th grader Joslyn Diffenbaugh] read George Orwell's "Animal Farm" as its first pick. While the satirical novella, which makes a pointed critique of totalitarianism, isn't one of the books currently being challenged in the US, it was banned in the Soviet Union until its fall and was rejected for publication in the UK during its wartime alliance with the USSR. And it faced challenges in Florida in the '80s for being "pro-communist." That history made for some thought-provoking conversations. "It taught a lot because it had references to different forms of government that maybe some adults didn't like their kids reading about, even though it was run by pigs," Diffenbaugh said. "I really thought it shouldn't have been banned for those reasons, or at all."

Teenagers at the Common Ground Teen Center in Washington, Pennsylvania, formed a banned book club soon after a Tennessee school district voted to remove "Maus" from an eighth grade curriculum. But while the graphic novel about the Holocaust was the catalyst for the club, says director Mary Jo Podgurski, the first title they chose to read was, fittingly, "Fahrenheit 451" — the 1953 dystopian novel about government censorship that itself has been challenged over the years. "Obviously this whole idea of taking away books that they wanted to read or that they thought they should read sparked a nerve in them," said Podgurski, an educator and counselor who oversees the Common Ground Teen Center....

Since reading "Fahrenheit 451," the club has also discussed "Animal Farm" and "1984," which has been challenged for its political themes and sexual content. So far, the young readers at the Common Ground Teen Center have been puzzled as to why those books were once deemed inappropriate. "I often wonder, do adults understand what kids have in their phones?" Podgurski said. "They have access to everything. Saying 'don't read this book' shows that you're not understanding teen culture. Young people have access to much information. What they need is an adult to help them process it."
Space

Neptune Has Been Slowly Cooling For 15 Years When It Should Be Warming (newscientist.com) 18

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Summer on Neptune seems to be cooling down. Observations dating back to 2003 show that the temperature in the planet's southern hemisphere has been dropping, despite the fact that these measurements were taken in the early part of its long summer. New Scientist reports: Michael Roman at the University of Leicester, UK, and his colleagues examined data from several of the world's biggest telescopes to figure out how the temperature of Neptune has changed since the first relatively detailed measurements were made in 2003. "Because we are observing Neptune in this southern summer, we basically expect temperatures to be getting slowly warmer in time," says Roman. "But what we saw was that they dropped by about 8C" over the course of 15 years, he says. The observations also revealed a surprise near the planet's south pole. Between 2018 and 2020, an area there warmed by about 11C, an unexpectedly rapid change given that it takes Neptune more than 165 Earth years to complete a circuit around the sun. "A season on Neptune is over 40 years long, so we'd expect these changes to be a lot more gradual," says Roman.
Google

Google To Invest $9.5 Billion in US Offices, Data Centers This Year (yahoo.com) 16

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
Alphabet's Google said on Wednesday it plans to invest about $9.5 billion across its U.S. offices and data centers this year, up from $7 billion last year. From a report: Google said the investment will create at least 12,000 full-time jobs in 2022 and focus on data centers in several states including Nevada, Nebraska and Virginia. The company will open a new office in Atlanta this year, and expand its data center in Storey County, Nevada, it added. "It might seem counterintuitive to step up our investment in physical offices even as we embrace more flexibility in how we work. Yet we believe it's more important than ever to invest in our campuses...," Google said in a statement. Google has been trying to bring back its employees to some of its offices in the United States, the UK and Asia Pacific by mandating working from office for about three days a week, a step to end policies that let employees work remotely because of COVID-19 concerns.
Amiga

First Reviews of the A500 Mini 69

Posted by BeauHD from the so-far-so-good dept.
Mike Bouma writes: I just bought the A500 Mini here in the Netherlands. The first reviews are now available.

The Guardian gives the device a 4 out of 5 score in their review: "The A500 is a robust piece of tech nostalgia that will give veteran fans many hours of nostalgic pleasure while also providing an accessible means of introducing younger family members to the Amiga scene. The colorful sprites, pounding techno soundtracks and sardonic wit of the beloved Sensible Software, Team 17 and Bitmap Brothers games retain their appeal and it has been fascinating to rediscover how much the modern independent gaming scene owes to this 35-year-old home computer."

Nintendo Life has reviewed the device, giving it an 8 out of 10 score: "As such, this is an intriguing device for anyone who is even remotely interested in tracking the development of the games industry -- and while its 120-pound price tag makes it more expensive than many of its micro-console rivals, the ability to side-load games is very welcome indeed."

Express.co.uk gives the device a 3.5 out of 5 score in their review: "Overall, the Amiga 500 Mini is a strong addition to the crowded classic console market that will appeal mostly to those that have a lot of nostalgia for this iconic PC gaming machine. And the ability to add extra games is a great little bonus which will add plenty of extra life to the system."

Furthermore, various YouTubers have reviewed the A500 Mini, including Retro Recipes, which gives the device a perfect 5 out of 5 score while stating it beats expectations.
Businesses

Dell Trials 4-Day Workweek In Netherlands (theregister.com) 36

Posted by BeauHD from the work-schedules-of-the-future dept.
Dell employees in the Netherlands will be able to work four days a week from this month, a director of Dell Technologies Netherlands has confirmed to The Register. From the report: The news comes just weeks before what is touted to be the biggest ever 4-day working week trial begins in the UK. Isabel Moll, newly appointed vice president and general manager at Dell Netherlands, told us the part-time pilot has already been rolled out by the Dutch and Argentinian operations. "On April 1 we welcomed our first starter, and we're currently in the late phases of the interviewing process with [another]. We're hoping to welcome many other candidates in the near future, once the word spreads more and more." She noted that the scheme was also open to existing employees, with pay corresponding to hours worked.

Speaking to local financial news daily Financieele Dagblad, Dell GM Moll described the April Argentinian and Dutch pilot as addressing both the issues of scarcity in the labor market and a way to bring in a more diverse group, including women and younger people, who are no longer interested in working until "they drop" or have other obligations. She said such people often end up leaving the sector, to its detriment, or use their technical skills in other sectors which have less intensive hours, telling the paper: "Working harder won't pay off, because the pond is empty..."
Businesses

Amazon Is Still Struggling To Make Drone Deliveries Work (theverge.com) 69

Posted by BeauHD from the 10-years-later dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: A report from Bloomberg details the obstacles hampering Amazon's efforts to get its delivery drone program off the ground, citing a high employee turnover rate and potential safety risks. According to Bloomberg, there were five crashes over the course of a four-month period at the company's testing site in Pendleton, Oregon. A crash in May took place after a drone lost its propeller, but Bloomberg says Amazon cleaned up the wreckage before the Federal Aviation Administration could investigate. The following month, a drone's motor shut off as it switched from an upward flight path to flying straight ahead. Two safety features -- one that's supposed to land the drone in this type of situation and another that stabilizes the drone -- both failed. As a result, the drone flipped upside down and made a fiery descent from 160 feet in the air, leading to a brush fire that stretched across 25 acres. It was later put out by the local fire department.

Last year, a Wired report revealed that Amazon's drone delivery operation is struggling just as much in the UK, despite making its first-ever drone delivery near Cambridge in 2016. Wired's report suggests that the UK outfit is marred by some of the same issues described by Bloomberg, including a high turnover rate and potential safety issues. At a UK-based facility for analyzing drone footage for people and animals, one worker reportedly drank beer on the job, while Wired said another held down the "approve" button on their computer regardless of whether there were hazards in the footage or not.

Former and current employees at Amazon also told Bloomberg that the company is prioritizing the rushed rollout of its drone program over safety. Cheddi Skeete, a former drone project manager at Amazon, said he was fired last month for speaking with his manager about his safety concerns. Skeete told Bloomberg that he was reluctant to continue testing a drone that had crashed five days previously but was told the team had inspected 180 engines on 30 different drones -- Skeete doubted this assertion, as checking the motors is a cumbersome process, Bloomberg reports. David Johnson, a former drone flight assistant for Amazon, told Bloomberg that Amazon would sometimes perform tests "without a full flight team" and with "inadequate equipment." Johnson also said the company often assigned multiple roles to one person, a claim Bloomberg says is corroborated by two other former Amazon employees. "They give people multiple things to do in a very narrow window of time to try to boost their numbers, and people cut corners," Johnson told Bloomberg. "They were more concerned about pumping flights out and didn't want to slow down."
Transportation

'Speedcam Anywhere' App Allows Anyone To Submit Evidence of Drivers Speeding (totum.com) 323

Posted by BeauHD from the thanks-but-no-thanks dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Totum: A new app will allow any member of the public to submit evidence of other drivers speeding to the police. Using AI to estimate the speed of a passing car, Speedcam Anywhere, has been created by a team of AI scientists with backgrounds in Silicon Valley companies and top UK universities, reports the Guardian. The hope is it will encourage police to take speeding more seriously while enabling residents, pedestrians and cyclists to document traffic crimes in their area.

However, the app's creators say they have been subjected to a vicious response, with many now scared to reveal their real identities due to the level of vitriol aimed at them by drivers. "We're getting quite abusive emails," Sam, the app's founder, told the Guardian on condition of anonymity. "It's a Marmite product -- some people think it's a good idea, some people think that it turns us into a surveillance state. "I can see both sides of that, but I think that if you're going to have speed limits, then it's the law that you obey them, and you should enforce the law. It's not a personal vendetta against anyone, it's just -- how do we make our roads safe? "There are 20,000 serious injuries on the roads every year -- how can we reduce them? And the way we reduce them is we make a deterrent to speeding."

The app has also faced other difficulties in getting off the ground. Google initially refused to allow it on the Play Store, claiming it wasn't possible to estimate the speed of a passing vehicle using AI alone, however this claim was later proved wrong. An iOS version has also been developed, but it has not yet been approved for distribution by Apple, who have not given a reason for the delay. "We're not sure why they would block a useful piece of technology, something that could save people's lives," Sam said. [...] Currently, the app cannot lead to drivers receiving speeding tickets, as the algorithm is yet to be vetted by the Home Office, meaning it is not legally a speed camera, although drivers could still be charged with 'dangerous driving' offenses if their behavior is deemed to be sufficiently negligent. Sam says he hopes use of the app will alert police to speeding hotspots, encouraging them to take more action against dangerous driving.
Science

Why the WHO Took Two Years To Say COVID is Airborne (nature.com) 113

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Early in the pandemic, the World Health Organization stated that SARS-CoV-2 was not transmitted through the air. That mistake and the prolonged process of correcting it sowed confusion and raises questions about what will happen in the next pandemic. Nature: According to Trish Greenhalgh, a primary-care health researcher at the University of Oxford, UK, the IPC GDG members were guided by their medical training and the dominant thinking in the medical field about how infectious respiratory diseases spread; this turned out to be flawed in the case of SARS-CoV-2 and could be inaccurate for other viruses as well. These biases led the group to discount relevant information -- from laboratory-based aerosol studies and outbreak reports, for instance. So the IPC GDG concluded that airborne transmission was rare or unlikely outside a small set of aerosol-generating medical procedures, such as inserting a breathing tube into a patient.

That viewpoint is clear in a commentary by members of the IPC GDG, including Schwaber, Sobsey and Fisher, published in August 20202. The authors dismissed research using air-flow modelling, case reports describing possible airborne transmission and summaries of evidence for airborne transmission, labelling such reports "opinion pieces." Instead, they concluded that "SARS-CoV-2 is not spread by the airborne route to any significant extent." In effect, the group failed to look at the whole picture that was emerging, says Greenhalgh. "You've got to explain all the data, not just the data that you've picked to support your view," and the airborne hypothesis is the best fit for all the data available, she says. One example she cites is the propensity for the virus to transmit in 'superspreader events,' in which numerous individuals are infected at a single gathering, often by a single person. "Nothing explains some of these superspreader events except aerosol spread," says Greenhalgh.

Throughout 2020, there was also mounting evidence that indoor spaces posed a much greater risk of infection than outdoor environments did. An analysis of reported outbreaks recorded up to the middle of August 2020 revealed that people were more than 18 times as likely to be infected indoors as outdoors3. If heavy droplets or dirty hands had been the main vehicles for transmitting the virus, such a strong discrepancy would not have been observed. Although the WHO played down the risk of airborne transmission, it did invite Li [a building environment engineer at the University of Hong Kong who suspected early on that SARS-CoV-2 was also airborne] to become a member of the IPC GDG after he spoke to the group in mid-2020. Had the organization not at least been open to his view that infections were caused by aerosols, especially at short range, "they would not have invited me there as they knew my standing," he says.
Google

Google Partnering With iFixit To Sell Pixel Replacement Parts (cnet.com) 16

Posted by msmash from the moving-forward dept.
Google is partnering with iFixit to sell official replacement parts for its Pixel phones later this year, making it easier for independent professionals and consumers to repair the devices. From a report: The news follows similar moves by Apple and Samsung and will cover models ranging from the Pixel 2 to the Pixel 6 Pro, along with future Pixel models. The parts will sold through ifixit.com and be available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and European Union countries where Pixels are sold. The parts, which will include batteries, replacement displays and cameras, will be available either individually or in iFixit kits, which include tools needed to perform the repairs like specialty screwdriver bits, Google said.
United Kingdom

UK Startup Achieves 'Projectile Fusion' Breakthrough (ft.com) 46

Posted by msmash from the breakthrough dept.
A British startup pioneering a new approach to fusion energy has successfully combined atomic nuclei, in what the UK regulator described as an important step in the decades-long effort to generate electricity from the reaction that powers the sun. From a report: Oxford-based First Light Fusion, which has been developing an approach called projectile fusion since 2011, said it had produced energy in the form of neutrons by forcing deuterium isotopes to fuse, validating years of research. While other fusion experiments have generated more power for longer, either by using "tokamak" machines or high-powered lasers, First Light says its approach, which involves firing a projectile at a target containing the fuel, could offer a faster route to commercial fusion power. "The value of this [result] is that it offers potentially a much cheaper, a much easier path to power production," said chief executive Nicholas Hawker.

To achieve fusion, First Light used a hyper-velocity gas gun to launch a projectile at a speed of 6.5km per second -- about 10 times faster than a rifle bullet -- at a tiny target designed to amplify the energy of the impact and force the deuterium fuel to fuse. The design of the target -- a clear cube, a little over a centimetre wide, enclosing two spherical fuel capsules -- is the key technology and is closely guarded by the company. "It is the ultimate espresso capsule," Hawker told the Financial Times last year. First Light, which is backed by China's Tencent, hopes to manufacture and sell the targets to future power plants -- built to its design -- which would need to vaporise one every 30 seconds to generate continual power. Further reading: So How Close Are We Now to Nuclear Fusion Energy? (August 2021).
Power

UK To Build 8 Nuclear Reactors Amid New Energy Strategy (go.com) 192

Posted by BeauHD from the energy-independence dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ABC News: Britain plans to build eight new nuclear reactors and expand production of wind energy as it seeks to reduce dependence on oil and natural gas from Russia and other foreign suppliers following the invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the plans Thursday as part of a new energy security strategy that will also accelerate development of solar power and hydrogen projects. The government said it wants to almost triple nuclear power generation capacity to 24 gigawatts by 2050.

"We're setting out bold plans to scale up and accelerate affordable, clean and secure energy made in Britain, for Britain, from new nuclear to offshore wind, in the decade ahead,'' Johnson said. "This will reduce our dependence on power sources exposed to volatile international prices we cannot control." The strategy comes after oil and natural gas prices soared following the invasion of Ukraine amid concerns that energy supplies from Russia could be curtailed. High energy prices are fueling a cost-of-living crisis in Britain, where household gas and electricity prices jumped 54% this month.
Biotech

New Blood Test Predicts Risk of Heart Attack, Stroke With Twice Previous Accuracy (theguardian.com) 51

Posted by BeauHD from the stories-that-make-you-think-of-Elizabeth-Holmes dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Scientists have developed a blood test that can predict whether someone is at high risk of a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or dying from one of these conditions within the next four years. The test, which relies of measurements of proteins in the blood, has roughly twice the accuracy of existing risk scores. It could enable doctors to determine whether patients' existing medications are working or whether they need additional drugs to reduce their risk. It could also be used to hasten the development of new cardiovascular drugs by providing a faster means of assessing whether drug candidates are working during clinical trials. The test is already being used in four healthcare systems within the US and [...] it could be introduced to the UK in the near future.

[Researchers] used machine learning to analyze 5,000 proteins in blood plasma samples from 22,849 people and identify a signature of 27 proteins that could predict the four-year likelihood of heart attack, stroke, heart failure or death. When validated in 11,609 individuals, they found their model was roughly twice as good as existing risk scores, which use a person's age, sex, race, medical history, cholesterol and blood pressure to assess their likelihood of having a cardiovascular event. The results were published in Science Translational Medicine. Importantly, the test can also accurately assess risk in people who have previously had a heart attack or stroke, or have additional illnesses, and are taking drugs to reduce their risk, which is where existing risk prediction scores tend to fall down.
Transportation

Uber To Create Travel 'Superapp' By Adding Planes, Trains and Rental Cars (cnbc.com) 18

Posted by BeauHD from the one-stop-shop dept.
Uber announced Wednesday that it is adding trains, buses, planes and rental cars to its UK app this year. "The move is part of a pilot that could be expanded to other countries at a later date if it goes well," reports CNBC. From the report: While Uber won't provide these travel services itself, it will allow users to book them through its app following software integrations with platforms that sell tickets. The tech giant, which may take a cut on each booking, said it plans to announce various partners in the coming months. Uber said the integrations will help to boost app usage among its users in the U.K, who also have the choice of using apps like Bolt and Free Now. The U.K. is one of Uber's largest markets outside the U.S.

Jamie Heywood, Uber's boss in the U.K., said in a statement that Uber hopes to become "a one-stop-shop for all your travel needs." "You have been able to book rides, bikes, boat services and scooters on the Uber app for a number of years, so adding trains and coaches is a natural progression," he said. He added: "Later this year we plan to incorporate flights, and in the future hotels, by integrating leading partners into the Uber app to create a seamless door-to-door travel experience." Uber also plans to let people buy Eurostar train tickets through the app. Eurostar allows travelers to commute from London to Paris and other cities via the Channel Tunnel.
Medicine

Alzheimer's Study Finds 42 More Genes Linked To Higher Risk of Disease (theguardian.com) 28

Posted by BeauHD from the hide-and-seek dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The largest genetic study of Alzheimer's to date has provided compelling evidence linking the disease to disruption in the brain's immune system. The study, using the genomes of 100,000 people with Alzheimer's and 600,000 healthy people, identified 75 genes linked to an increased risk of the disease, including 42 that had not previously been implicated. The findings suggest degeneration in the brains of dementia patients could be spurred on by "over-aggressive" activity in the brain's immune cells, called microglia.

The study, the largest of its kind to date, also allowed scientists to devise a genetic risk score that could predict which patients with cognitive impairment would, within three years of first showing symptoms, go on to develop Alzheimer's. The score is not intended for clinical use at the moment, but could be used when recruiting people for clinical trials of drugs aimed at treating the disease in the earliest stages. The latest work highlights different sets of genes seen in more common forms of Alzheimer's, including a role for the immune system. "If [at the outset] we'd seen the genetics of common disease, we would've said this is an immune disease," said professor Julie Williams, the director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff University and a co-author of the study. "It's not the same disease."

Risk genes highlighted in the study include ones that affect how efficiently the brain's immune cells, microglia, clear away tissue that is distressed. In people at risk, these housekeeper cells appeared to be working too aggressively. A similar pattern was found for genes that control how readily synapses, which connect neurons, send out an "eat me" signal when in distress. The high-risk variants appeared to lower the threshold for synapses sending out distress signals, causing the brain to purge connections at a quicker rate. The findings, published in the journal Nature Genetics, fit with previous results pointing to a role for the immune system. People with diabetes, which affects the immune system, are at considerably higher risk, for instance, and once dementia has been diagnosed infections can trigger more rapid cognitive decline.
Businesses

Thousands of UK Workers To Take Part In Four-day Week Trial (theguardian.com) 49

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
AmiMoJo writes: More than 3,000 workers at 60 companies across Britain will trial a four-day working week, in what is thought to be the biggest pilot scheme to take place anywhere in the world. Employees from a wide range of businesses and charities are expected to take part in the scheme, which will run initially from June to December, including the Royal Society of Biology, the London-based brewing company Pressure Drop, a Manchester-based medical devices firm, and a fish and chip shop in Norfolk.

It comes as the push for companies to adopt a shorter working week -- crucially with no loss of pay while aiming for higher productivity -- gains momentum as a way of improving working conditions. The pilot is being run by academics at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, as well as Boston College in the US, in partnership with the campaign group 4 Day Week Global, the 4 Day Week UK Campaign and the Autonomy thinktank. Launching the trial to examine how such employment patterns might work at a broad range of companies across the economy, the participation of 3,000 workers means it is larger than a previous pilot in Iceland by Reykjavik city council and the national government that included more than 2,500 workers.
Bitcoin

UK's Big Crypto Push Includes Minting Its Own NFT (protocol.com) 24

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
The U.K.'s top regulator has been cracking the whip on crypto companies, but the government just sent a strong message on its blockchain game plan: The British are coming. The U.K. government on Monday unveiled a big push into crypto, including a plan to mint its own NFT. From a report: "I am announcing today that the Chancellor has asked the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token -- an NFT... to be issued by the Summer, an emblem of the forward-looking approach we are determined to take," John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, said in a speech. The announcement was part of an ambitious plan to "make the U.K. a global hub for crypto-asset technology" and "to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country," Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the Exchequer, also said in a statement.

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