Saturday 18 May 2019

Human capital benefits of military boost economy by billions

A recent study from North Carolina State University finds that U.S. government spending on military personnel has a positive impact on the nation's human capital—essentially improving the American workforce. Using a new computer model, the study estimates the economic impact of this human capital improvement to be $89.8 billion for 2019 alone.

* This article was originally published here

Avelumab and axitinib approved for treatment of renal cell carcinoma

(HealthDay)—Avelumab (BAVENCIO) was approved this week for first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in combination with axitinib, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

* This article was originally published here

A social perception scheme for behavior planning of autonomous cars

To navigate dynamic environments, autonomous vehicles (AVs) should be able to process all information available to them and use it to generate effective driving strategies. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have recently proposed a social perception scheme for planning the behavior of autonomous cars, which could help to develop AVs that are better equipped to deal with uncertainty in their surrounding environment.

* This article was originally published here

For many HIV+ women, daily survival takes precedence over viral suppression

According to scientists who study women infected with HIV, statistics often paint an impressionist view of the lives of these women that misses the granular detail that tells the real story. The imprecise big picture is that most of this population is doing a good job at suppressing the virus, but facts gathered on the ground show that many struggle with issues of daily living that can make taking a pill to keep HIV at bay difficult.

* This article was originally published here

Heroin overdose ED visits decreased from 2017 to 2018

(HealthDay)—From 2017 to 2018, there was a decrease in heroin overdose emergency department visits, although the declines were not consistent among states, according to a study published online May 16 in the American Journal of Public Health.

* This article was originally published here

Eyes in the sky project will show power plant pollution marks

Air pollution is responsible for millions of deaths every year, worldwide. According to a State of Global Air report, air pollution is the fifth greatest global mortality risk.

* This article was originally published here

Sleep duration tied to adverse measures of glycemia

(HealthDay)—Self-reported short and long sleep are both associated with adverse measures of glycemia among adults with prediabetes, according to a study published online May 10 in Diabetes Care.

* This article was originally published here

Life goes on under cloud of smog in Mexico City

Scientists say breathing the heavily polluted air in Mexico City these days is like smoking somewhere between a quarter- and a half-pack of cigarettes a day.

* This article was originally published here

Stop gambling with black box and explainable models on high-stakes decisions

As the buzzwords "machine learning" continue to grow in popularity, more industries are turning to computer algorithms to answer important questions, including high-stakes fields such as healthcare, finance and criminal justice. While this trend can lead to major improvements in these realms, it can also lead to major problems when the machine learning algorithm is a so-called "black box."

* This article was originally published here

Air pollution hotspots in Europe

Big cities beset with gridlocked traffic, major regions producing coal, pockets of heavy industry encased by mountains—Europe's air pollution hotspots are clearly visible from space on most sunny weekdays.

* This article was originally published here

Cancer drug could be repurposed to provide treatment for brain aneurysms

An important class of drug used to treat cancer patients could be used to treat brain aneurysms, according to new research published this week.

* This article was originally published here

A new approach to targeting cancer cells

A University of California, Riverside, research team has come up with a new approach to targeting cancer cells that circumvents a challenge faced by currently available cancer drugs.

* This article was originally published here

Artificial intelligence shines light on the dark web

Beneath the surface web, the public form of the internet you use daily to check email or read news articles, exists a concealed "dark web." Host to anonymous, password-protected sites, the dark web is where criminal marketplaces thrive in the advertising and selling of weapons, drugs, and trafficked persons. Law enforcement agencies work continuously to stop these activities, but the challenges they face in investigating and prosecuting the real-world people behind the users who post on these sites are tremendous.

* This article was originally published here

Ernst Haeckel: Pioneer of modern science

"By ecology, we understand the whole science of the organism's relationship with the surrounding outside world, which includes in a broader sense all 'existential conditions'. These are partly organic and partly inorganic in nature; both the former and the latter are, as we have previously shown, of utmost importance for the form of the organisms, because they force them to adapt to them."

* This article was originally published here

As bitcoin gyrates, less euphoria in evidence at blockchain gathering

The vibe at a gathering this week for blockchain enthusiasts felt decidedly less exuberant than its predecessor a year ago after dizzying swings in bitcoin.

* This article was originally published here

Essentials for growing tasty herbs on your windowsill

(HealthDay)—Whether you have a dedicated space in an outdoor garden or just a few buckets on a small patio, there's nothing quite like having your own herb garden for giving your cooking fresh flavor boosts.

* This article was originally published here

Ultra-clean fabrication platform produces nearly ideal 2-D transistors

Semiconductors, which are the basic building blocks of transistors, microprocessors, lasers, and LEDs, have driven advances in computing, memory, communications, and lighting technologies since the mid-20th century. Recently discovered two-dimensional materials, which feature many superlative properties, have the potential to advance these technologies, but creating 2-D devices with both good electrical contacts and stable performance has proved challenging.

* This article was originally published here

Toy transformers and real-life whales inspire biohybrid robot

Drawing inspiration from biology and the toy shelf, researchers at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and City University of Hong Kong have developed a swimming robot with a light-controlled cellular engine that can perform highly-targeted drug delivery.

* This article was originally published here

Changes in subsistence hunting threaten local food security

Scientists with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and WCS Ecuador Program publishing in the journal BioTropica say that subsistence hunting in Neotropical rain forests—the mainstay of local people as a source of protein and a direct connection to these ecosystems—is in jeopardy from a variety of factors.

* This article was originally published here