Could ‘Internet of Skills’ Be Next Technological Leap?
What happens when a piano is combined with technology?
“Kids or anybody could learn how to play the piano really properly from the best musicians in the world,” said Mischa Dohler, composer and professor of Wireless Communications at King’s College London.
‘Could we digitize skills?’
Dohler’s aim is to build a database that records the movements of a piano player’s hands with the help of a special sensing glove that tracks every movement of the musician’s joints. Once the data is collected, a piano student can then wear another glove that can train the student’s hands.
“You could imagine this so-called exoskeleton that you can put on your hand. It will pressurize the hands and the joints, and will move it gently at the beginning, and nudge essentially the body into the right shape and in the right way of moving your hand,” Dohler said.
It is an example of what Dohler calls the “Internet of Skills” that he is demonstrating at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles.
“We use digital today to negotiate for jobs. We use LinkedIn, emails, etc., but then to execute the work, we still need to drive. We need to fly. We need to walk. So I was thinking, ‘Could we virtualize it? Could we digitize skills?’”
Health care application
Another application for the “Internet of Skills” is health care.
Motivated by the Ebola crisis in Africa, Dohler is trying to develop a way for doctors to treat a patient thousands of miles away, especially in remote areas where medical skill is lacking, where virtual reality and low-cost technology can link the doctor and patient in a way never before possible.
“What I’m trying to do is first of all give the surgeons back the feeling of touch, so he feels what he does inside the body; and the second thing is, I want him to be able to have this console somewhere in another hospital. So the only thing we’re doing is the cable between the console and the patient and make it longer and make it an internet,” Dohler said.
It is only possible if large amounts of data can travel very quickly, more specifically, 10 milliseconds for action and reaction to occur. Companies are already developing hardware to move information faster.
Depends on data, speed
“It all came about with video. The way we view content today is very different from the way we viewed it before, and getting content to everybody, whether it’s on their iPhone or their android devices or on their PCs everywhere takes the underlying network,” said Eve Griliches, product line manager at Cisco Systems.
She said many new networks that transport and transmit growing amounts of data are being built by private networks.
“Everybody has a stake in the game now. Everybody has a stake,” she said. “And the beauty about getting the content to everybody, more so the other step, is as we’re opening up the networks and creating the sort of open source society in the networking area, it allows people to build on it,” Griliches added.
As technology continues to catch up with what the brain can imagine, Dohler envisions the “Internet of Skills” democratizing labor in about a decade, just as the internet has made knowledge available to all.
…
On World Tuberculosis Day, Doctors Warn of New Drug-Resistant Bacteria
Friday marks World Tuberculosis Day, aimed at raising awareness of a disease that kills an estimated 1.8 million people every year. Six countries account for nearly two-thirds of the cases: India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. As Henry Ridgwell reports, resistant forms of TB bacteria are undermining efforts to roll out new treatments.
…
Could the ‘Internet of Skills’ Be the Next Technological Leap?
As the internet continues to drive innovative ideas, some scientists envision a world where people can digitize their skills and do their jobs from anywhere in the world with the next generation of optical and wireless technology. How this idea is executed was demonstrated at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.
…
Republicans Scramble to Salvage Health Care Vote, Trump Agenda
President Donald Trump told House Republicans the time for negotiations on a crucial health care vote had ended. After a chaotic day of dealmaking, the vote that could shape the future of the Republican Party was scheduled for Friday. VOA’s congressional reporter Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill.
…
Beyond Spring Cleaning: Tapestries Get 16 Years of Grooming
Think your home furnishings are a dust magnet? New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine just spent 16 years cleaning and conserving its rare, supersize wall hangings.
Now the historic house of worship is inviting the public to enjoy the fruits of its labor – “The Barberini Tapestries, Scenes from the Life of Christ,” which once graced the Vatican and European palaces. They were designed by baroque master Giovanni Francesco Romanelli; created by weavers for Francesco Barberini, the nephew of Pope Urban VIII, from 1644 to 1656; and donated to the cathedral in 1891, a year before its cornerstone was laid.
Centuries ago, tapestries were appreciated not only for their beauty but also for being a warm buffer against chilly palace walls.
These days, they’re kept well-groomed by experts at the Gothic cathedral’s textile conservation laboratory – a labor-intensive process using dental probes, tweezers and a HEPA vacuum with microsuction attachments.
There’s also a special “bathtub” – measuring 20 by 16 feet (6 by 4.9 meters).
In addition to removing the standard dust and dirt, the massive undertaking included work on tapestries that suffered smoke and water damage during a 2001 fire.
Ten tapestries, their images woven with wool and silk yarn in rich earth tones, deep blue, green and russet, are displayed around the cathedral, with a focal point at the Chapels of the Seven Tongues, which honor immigrant populations. They’re accompanied by fragments from a severely fire-damaged tapestry of “The Last Supper,” as well as before-and-after photos from the blaze.
The works, hung with hand-sewn fabric fastener, are 15 feet (4.7 meters) high and up to 19 feet (5.8 meters) wide.
There’s plenty of room, though. The Episcopal cathedral in upper Manhattan is larger than France’s Chartres and Notre Dame cathedrals combined.
Rare books, period objects and computer kiosks provide context on the “cultural, dynastic, political and religious worlds of the Barberini family,” organizers say.
The exhibit, which also will offer educational activities, runs through June 25. The suggested admission contribution is $10.
The tapestries and artifacts will travel to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum in Eugene, Oregon, in the fall.
…
Bob Dylan Says ‘Not Yearning’ for Old Days in Latest Cover Album
Bob Dylan’s new album “Triplicate” explores American standards from the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s, but the veteran singer-songwriter says that does not mean he is yearning for the past.
Dylan also is unconcerned whether his fans like the album — the third in as many years that features cover versions of classic songs like “Stormy Weather,” “As Time Goes By” and “Stardust.”
“These songs are some of the most heartbreaking stuff ever put on record and I wanted to do them justice. Now that I have lived them and lived through them, I understand them better,” Dylan, 75, told music writer Bill Flanagan in a rare interview.
“It’s not taking a trip down memory lane or longing or yearning for the good old days or fond memories of what’s no more,” he added in the lengthy Q&A, posted on the bobdylan.com website on Wednesday.
The three-disc album “Triplicate” will be released on March 31. It follows 2015’s “Shadows in the Night” album of Frank Sinatra covers and 2016’s similar “Fallen Angels” in marking a strong contrast from the early, socially conscious folk and rock compositions for which Dylan remains most famous.
Songs ‘for man on the street’
Asked what his fans might think of the cover albums, Dylan said: “These songs are meant for the man on the street, the common man, the everyday person. Maybe that is a Bob Dylan fan, maybe not, I don’t know.”
In the wide-ranging interview, Dylan also touched on his admiration for the late Amy Winehouse, calling her “the last real individualist around”; his and George Harrison’s abortive bid years ago to record with Elvis Presley (“he [Elvis] did show up; it was us that didn’t”); and the power of early rock ‘n’ roll music, (“Rock ‘n’ roll was a dangerous weapon, chrome-plated, it exploded like the speed of light, it reflected the times, and especially the presence of the atomic bomb, which had preceded it by several years.”)
Cohen, Russell, Haggard missed
Dylan also spoke of the loss of fellow musicians like Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell and Merle Haggard, all of whom died last year.
“We were like brothers, we lived on the same street and they all left empty spaces where they used to stand. It’s lonesome without them,” he said.
No mention was made of Dylan’s Nobel Prize for literature, and his nonattendance at the annual Nobel award ceremony in Sweden. Dylan is due to perform in Sweden next week as part of a European tour.
…
Poland’s WWII Museum Opens Amid Uncertain Future
A major World War II museum opened in northern Poland on Thursday amid plans by the conservative government to change its content to fit the government’s nationalist views.
The Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk is at the center of a standoff between the historians creating it and Poland’s populist government, which is seeking a court order to have it closed and then wants to reshape its current multi-national focus.
The museum was initiated in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Donald Tusk. But the current Law and Justice government, hostile to Tusk, wants to merge it with another museum and make it highlight Poland’s military effort in fighting the German Nazis and the nation’s own tragedy that, they believe, is not well enough known in the world.
Court to decide dispute
The dispute between the museum and the government is to be decided by a court in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the government has cut the museum’s annual subsidy from the requested 20 million zlotys ($5 million) to 11.5 million zlotys ($2.9 million), director Pawel Machcewicz said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, he said the huge exhibition places Poland’s war experience at the center of Europe’s and the world’s war history. It says out of some 5.5 million Poles killed in the war, over 5 million were civilians.
War veterans get first look
He invited Culture Minister Piotr Glinski to visit the museum, saying “let’s hope he will see for himself that it shows Poland’s history in the right way, that it fully explains Poland’s history to foreigners.”
War veterans, relatives of the fighters and schoolchildren were the museum’s first visitors.
…
Researcher: Efficacy of New Rotavirus Vaccine Promising
A new vaccine against rotavirus, a diarrheal disease that kills about 600 children a day, has been shown to have almost 67 percent efficacy in preventing the illness.
“This efficacy of about 70 percent is higher than any other vaccine in similar settings,” said Dr. Emmanuel Baron, director of Epicentre, the research arm of Doctors Without Borders, which conducted the trial.
A clinical trial of 3,500 infants in the African country of Niger showed the efficacy of the new vaccine, known as BRV-PV, to be 66.7 percent. Thirty-one cases of rotavirus were reported among children who got the vaccine, compared with 87 cases among those who received a placebo.
Details of the study and the vaccine’s effectiveness were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“We saw actually three things,” Baron said. “The first is that this vaccine is efficient. The second is that this vaccine is safe. And we also saw a good acceptability by the care providers and the families.”
An estimated 450,000 young children and babies die each year of diarrheal diseases. One of them is rotavirus, which causes a severe infection of the gastrointestinal tract.
Experts say rotavirus is responsible for about 37 percent of deaths among children younger than 5 who succumb to diarrheal diseases each year, or about 215,000 deaths annually.
There are two existing vaccines, but Baron said they are not widely used, as they are relatively expensive and must be refrigerated. Refrigeration is an obstacle in many African countries where rotavirus is most pronounced because electricity there is unreliable.
Even when children are immunized with the older vaccines, Baron says, hundreds die each day around the world.
The new vaccine does not need refrigeration for up to six months, because it is mixed or reconstituted with liquid before it is given to children in a three-dose schedule, at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age.
Initially, the BRV-PV is expected to cost $6 dollars for the three shots, a price that is expected to drop as the vaccine gains traction.
Baron said clinicians in countries where rotavirus is a serious health threat are waiting for the green light from the World Health Organization to begin immunizing children with the new vaccine.
…
Top 5 Songs for Week Ending March 25
We’re unlocking the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending March 25, 2017.
The hit list continues to be in a generous mood, bestowing upon us another new song. It happens in fifth place where Ri-Ri is a chart-buster all around.
Number 5: Rihanna “Love On The Brain”
Rihanna jumps a slot this week, as “Love On The Brain” becomes her 22nd Top Five hit. Beyond that, it’s her 30th Top 10 single, and her 40th Top 20 hit.
All these achievements put Rihanna among the highest-powered chart artists of all time. In fact, only four acts own more Top Five hits than Rihanna. The Beatles lead the way with 29; Madonna has 28; Mariah Carey has 26; and Janet Jackson has 24.
Number 4: Zayn & Taylor Swift “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Zayn and Taylor Swift step back a slot to number four with their Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack hit “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”
Zayn just did an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, in which he talks about developing an eating disorder and struggling with anxiety. Both stemmed from that he said was an overly-controlled atmosphere while he was a member of One Direction – and he says he overcame both conditions after leaving the group in 2015.
Number 3: Bruno Mars “That’s What I Like ”
Bruno Mars rises a slot to third place with “That’s What I Like” – this is his eighth single to reach the Top Three.
Mars’ real name is Peter Hernandez – he says his father bestowed the nickname “Bruno” upon him because he was a chunky little boy who reminded his dad of the pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino. He says he picked the “Mars” name himself, to add a little pizzazz.
Number 2: Migos Featuring Lil Uzi Vert “Bad And Boujee”
Migos and Lil Uzi Vert stay strong in second place with their former champ “Bad And Boujee,” and these Georgia rappers have been making noise in Texas.
Migos went to Austin for the huge South By Southwest (SXSW) event and packed the house: fans began lining up more than three hours before the show, and the line eventually wrapped around three city blocks.
Number 1: Ed Sheeran “Shape Of You”
Fans also continue flocking to Ed Sheeran, who rules the Hot 100 for a seventh total week with “Shape Of You.” Sheeran’s hitting the road here in North America, and he just announced his support act.
He took to Twitter on March 20 to reveal that James Blunt will be the supporting act when he kicks off his North American tour on June 29.
In case your memory needs refreshing, Blunt topped charts the world over in 2005 with “You’re Beautiful” – including here in the United States.
What happens next week? Let’s meet in seven days and find out.
…
Inspirational London Underground Sign a Hoax
A message of resilience posted online in the wake of the London terrorist attack Wednesday was read in Parliament, it was mentioned on the BBC, and it went viral online.
Unfortunately, the hand written message, which appeared in a photo of a whiteboard commonly seen in the London Underground, was a hoax.
The message read: “All terrorists are politely reminded that THIS IS LONDON and whatever you do to us, we will drink tea and jolly well carry on. Thank you.”
One member of Parliament read the message to Prime Minister Theresa May, who then called the sign a “wonderful tribute” that “encapsulated everything everybody in this house has said today.”
An announcer on the BBC’s Radio 4 recited the sign’s message on the air, while other journalists and politicians shared the image online, The Washington Post reported.
Turns out the sign, which looked quite authentic, was created using one of the many sign generators available online.
Whiteboards are common in the London Underground, usually giving service information and occasionally displaying a joke or something meant to be inspirational.
…
US Bumblebee Lands on Endangered Species List
On Tuesday, the rusty patched bumblebee became the first wild bee in the continental United States to be placed on the U.S. endangered species list. Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports, scientists hope the designation will help safeguard one of the small insects that play a big role in American agriculture and the environment.
…
Protecting Rights of TB Patients Critical in Ending Global Epidemic
In advance of World TB day (March 24), the World Health Organization is warning the battle to wipe out the global tuberculosis epidemic will not be won unless stigma, discrimination and marginalization of TB patients is brought to an end. VOA was in Geneva at the launch of new WHO ethics guidance for the treatment of people with tuberculosis.
Progress is being made toward achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal of ending the global TB epidemic by 2030. The World Health Organization reports 49 million lives have been saved since 2000.
But, much remains to be done.
Data from 2015 show more than 10.4 million people fell ill and 1.8 million died of tuberculosis, with most cases and fatalities occurring in developing countries.
The World Health Organization says stigma and discrimination against TB patients hamper efforts to wipe out this deadly disease.
WHO Global TB Program medical officer Ernesto Jaramillo says vulnerable people, such as migrants, prisoners, ethnic minorities, marginalized women and children are most likely to suffer abuse, neglect and rejection.
He says this prevents them from seeking treatment for tuberculosis.
“Having new tools for diagnosis, and treatment of TB is not sufficient if there are not clear standards to ensure that vulnerable people can have access in a matter of priority to these tools in a way that the end TB strategy can really serve the interest not only of individuals, but also the interests of public health in general ,” said Jaramillo.
WHO Global TB program director Mario Raviglione tells VOA no country, rich or poor, is immune from getting tuberculosis. He warns marginalizing patients with TB is dangerous.
“You cannot eliminate a disease like TB thinking that you build walls or you isolate your country,” said Raviglione. “TB is an airborne disease. It travels by air. So, you have a Boeing 747 that leaves Malawi tonight and it comes to Switzerland tomorrow morning and there you go. So, it has to be faced from a global perspective.”
New WHO ethical guidance includes actions to overcome barriers of stigma, discrimination and marginalization of people with tuberculosis. The agency says protecting the human rights of all those affected will save many lives and will make it possible to end this global scourge.
…
Some of Youngest Opioid Victims are Curious Toddlers
Curious toddlers find the drugs in a mother’s purse or accidentally dropped on the floor. Sometimes a parent fails to secure the child-resistant cap on a bottle of painkillers.
No matter how it happens, if a 35-pound toddler grabs just one opioid pill, chews it and releases the full concentration of a time-released adult drug into their small bodies, death can come swiftly.
These are some of the youngest victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic — children under age 5 who die after swallowing opioids. The number of children’s deaths is still small relative to the overall toll from opioids, but toddler fatalities have climbed steadily over the last 10 years.
In 2000, 14 children in the U.S. under age 5 died after ingesting opioids. By 2015, that number climbed to 51, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, alone, four children died last year of accidental overdoses. Another 2-year-old perished in January.
Each family who loses a toddler to opioids confronts a death that probably could have been prevented. Here are a few of their stories:
An energetic birthday girl, a methadone mystery
Cataleya Tamekia-Damiah Wimberly couldn’t sit still. She spent most of her first birthday party in Milwaukee dancing and diving into the cake. But her first birthday party was also her last. Nearly three weeks later, she was found dead of a cause her mother never suspected — a methadone overdose.
Helen Jackson, 24, was styling her older daughter’s hair when she got a call from Cataleya’s father, who shared custody of the little girl. He sobbed on the phone as he explained how he found their daughter unresponsive the morning of Feb. 16, 2016.
“I screamed so hard and so loud,” Jackson said. “The screams that came out of me took all my strength, all my wind. It was just terrible.”
Police were puzzled. They looked into whether the toddler was smothered while co-sleeping with her father and his girlfriend. They also investigated carbon monoxide poisoning because of a gas smell. Toxicology tests eventually revealed the methadone in her system.
Jackson said her daughter, while in the care of her father, was at a relative’s house when she swallowed the methadone that took her life.
Police are still investigating how Cataleya got the methadone. The case could be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of criminal charges, said Sgt. Timothy Gauerke.
Since Cataleya’s death, friends and family have commented on what they perceive as Jackson’s strength in dealing with her loss. In reality, she said, she feels fragile and weak.
“I don’t know when I’m going to fall apart,” she said. “I don’t know when I’m going to explode. It’s all still in there.”
Mother’s prescription proves fatal for daughter
At just 2 years old, Londyn Raine Robinson Sack was protective of her baby brother, Liam.
“She thought she was his mother,” said Londyn’s grandmother, Shauna Etheredge. “She liked to be the boss of her little brother.”
Londyn’s own mother was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a child in connection with the Oct. 19, 2014, death of her daughter, who ingested an opioid known as Suboxone that was packaged in the form of a dissolving strip.
Prosecutors in New Britain, Connecticut, said the drug was obtained illegally by her mother and was dispensed in a box, not a child-resistant container.
Rebekah Robinson entered a plea in which she did not accept or deny responsibility for the charges but agreed to accept punishment. In June 2016, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of probation.
Robinson apparently knew Londyn had ingested the opioid but did not call for medical help, according to prosecutors. It was an older sibling who called 911 to say her little sister was not breathing.
The Connecticut Department of Children and Families was cited in a 2015 report for failing to adequately identify risks to Londyn and Robinson’s three other children, given her history of mental health, substance abuse and child-welfare complaints.
Besides her protective nature, Londyn loved making people laugh, Etheredge said.
“She would put underwear on her head and act goofy and silly,” her grandmother said. “She loved to explore.”
Etheredge, of Indian Trail, North Carolina, said one of her lasting memories of her grandchild was a visit to the local park.
“The last time I saw her, she was running around and trying to catch up with the birds,” she said.
Precocious “lil’ Reg” dies, uncle stands accused
Curious and energetic, Reginald Kendall Harris Jr. would hold conversations beyond those of a typical toddler.
“If he was talking to his mom, you would think he was five or six years old,” said his great-uncle Calvin Harris, of Portland, Oregon. “If you would talk to him, you would engage in a full conversation. It was hilarious for his age,” Harris said.
The boy died on Oct. 10, 2016, after swallowing methadone. Portland police soon issued a warning, saying the case was a reminder to keep all prescription drugs away from children.
Reginald’s uncle, Willie Lee Harris Jr., is behind bars, accused of leaving methadone in a place accessible to his nephew. He has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter.
Harris’ mother, Pamela Harris, of Vancouver, Washington, said her grandson got hold of the drug while riding in her son’s car.
“Lil’ Reg was so touchy and curious,” she recalled. The methadone was in a cup.
The boy whose family affectionately called him “Lil’ Reg” would “say some crazy stuff sometimes, somethings you wouldn’t expect a 2-year-old to say,” great-grandmother Lucy Lee Harris recalled. “He would answer the door: ‘What up, dawg?'”
Instead of the way he died, Pamela Harris chooses to remember how her grandson lived, such as his joy when the family made plans to visit his favorite hangout, a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant with a kid-friendly menu and games.
Harris said his death was almost too much to bear after losing her home in Hurricane Katrina and receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.
“Now I’ve got a grandson that’s not here and a son that’s being charged,” Harris said. “I couldn’t breathe. It was like I was being smothered.”
…
WikiLeaks: CIA Can Infect ‘Factory Fresh’ iPhones
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has technology capable of infecting “factory fresh” iPhones and has been bugging the devices since at least 2008, WikiLeaks claimed Thursday.
In a statement released on its website, the whistleblowing organization said the technology developed by the CIA’s Embedded Development Branch (EDB) was designed to be physically installed onto new iPhones.
“It is likely that many CIA physical access attacks have infected the targeted organization’s supply chain including by interdicting mail orders and other shipments [opening, infecting, and resending] leaving the United States or otherwise,” the statement read.
Another alleged CIA tool, exposed in the WikiLeaks release Thursday, has the ability to execute code from a USB stick while a Mac computer is still booting up, allowing a user to bypass firmware passwords and load the attack software.
Thursday’s release is the latest batch of documents published by WikiLeaks alleging to show espionage programs used by the U.S. spy agency. A previous WikiLeaks release purported to expose a massive hacking program employed by the CIA.
Among the revelations in the previous release came accusations that the CIA possesses a library of hacking malware employed by other states, including Russia, that it can use to leave behind false “fingerprints” to cover up its exploits and mislead investigators.
A spokesman for the CIA said at the time the agency does not comment “on the authenticity of purported intelligence documents.”
…
Greta Garbo’s Former NYC Apartment on Market for $5.95M
Film legend Greta Garbo’s former longtime apartment in New York City is up for sale for nearly $6 million.
The New York Times reports that the Swedish-born star’s seven-room Manhattan co-op overlooking the East River is on the market for $5.95 million, with monthly maintenance of nearly $9,100.
The co-op is located on the fifth floor of the 14-story Campanile building, located on East 52nd Street. Garbo lived there from 1954 until her death in 1990 at age 84.
The apartment is being sold by the family of Gray Reisfield, Garbo’s niece and sole heir to the actress’s estate. Reisfield and her husband occupied the co-op from around 1992 to 2013 before relocating to San Francisco.
Garbo was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 1920s and ’30s.
…
Skin Powered by the Sun? Energy-Saving Prosthetic Limbs Get better Feeling
Amputees with prosthetic limbs may soon have much a better sense of touch, temperature and texture, thanks to the energy-saving power of the sun, British researchers said on Thursday.
While prosthetics are usually fully powered using batteries, a new prototype from University of Glasgow researchers opens up the possibility for so-called “solar-powered skin,” which would include better sense capabilities than current technology.
“If an entity is going out in a sunny day, then they won’t need any battery” to activate their senses, said Ravinder Dahiya, a research fellow at the university and a leader of the study. “They can feel, without worrying about battery.”
The technology involves installing a thin layer of pure carbon around a prosthetic arm, hand or leg. This allows light to pass through it and be easily used as solar energy, the researchers said in a research paper.
The sun can provide up to 15 times more energy than is usually needed to power a prosthetic limb, Dahiya said.
This extra — and renewable — energy can be used to power sensors that increase sense and feeling in a limb, so much so that the prosthetic can feel pressure, temperature and texture like natural skin, the paper said.
“The skin is sensitive to touch and pressure, so when you touch the skin there you will know what point you are contacting and how much force you are applying,” Dahiya said, describing the prototype.
The scientists are the first to develop a model for solar-powered prosthetic skin, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The technology could also increase the functionality of robots, allowing them to have a better understanding of what they touch and interact with, according to Dahiya.
If robots had limbs that are sensitive to touch and pressure they would be less likely to make errors or injure humans, he said.
The researchers hope to further develop the prototype in the next two years, Dahiya said. Eventually, he hopes to power the limb’s motors with the renewable energy as well – rather than just the skin.
“Because we are saving a lot of energy, our vision is that … if we store this energy in some way we will be able to also power the motors with the energy,” he said.
“The prosthetic will be fully energy autonomous.”
…
India Doubles Maternity Leave, But Many Won’t Benefit
Neda Saiyyada was among a handful of women in India whose company gave her six months of maternity leave last year instead of the mandatory three months. The extended leave helped the young mother enormously.
“When I was pregnant, my biggest worry was that I will not be able to leave my child,” she said. “In three months the child is nothing, can’t even hold the neck straight, and my child was eating and sitting up straight when I joined back, so it was a blessing in disguise.”
About 1.8 million women working in India’s formal sector will soon be legally entitled to get the extended maternity leave that Saiyyada was so grateful for after parliament passed a landmark bill earlier this month doubling maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
WATCH: India maternity leave
India is joining a handful of countries, such as Canada and Norway, that give women generous paid leave of six months or more.
Besides boosting maternal and child health, experts hope the longer maternity leave will encourage more women to return to work and help close a growing gender gap in a country where women account for about one-quarter of the workforce.
Women in workforce
Shachi Irde, executive director of the nonprofit Catalyst India Women’s Research Center, worried that the number of women in the workforce is not only small, it has been declining.
“In 2004 to 2005 there were about 37 percent women in the workforce, now it has dropped to 29 percent,” she said.
Pointing out that India is the only country facing this downward trend, she said “there are many reasons, but one of them is child care.”
According to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, 25 percent of new mothers in India quit their jobs after having their first child. And research by Catalyst shows that family responsibilities make it tougher for women to climb the career ladder: About half of working women do not go beyond junior or midlevel positions.
India has few quality child care facilities and most women fall back on the family to take care of children.
The new law tries to address that problem by making it compulsory for workplaces employing more than 50 people to set up day care facilities.
The extended leave itself also will be a huge help, said Neda Saiyyada, who added, “It will encourage women to stay connected with the workplace.”
Will hiring drop?
However some human resource professionals fear the new bill could discourage employers from hiring women, particularly small companies that would see the extended maternity leave as an additional burden.
“For businesses, it is just not easy to not have an employee for six months,” said Sairee Chahal, founder of SHEROES, a portal for women job seekers. “Instead of saying we will hire you as an employee, they will hire you for noncore roles or for more modular roles so this does not fall on them.”
She pointed out that maternity leave has been doubled at a time when the organized sector is facing multiple challenges and shorter business cycles.
“It (companies) is also under churn of a different kind, under churn of automation, under churn of globalization. So all those trends are overpowering it at this stage,” she said.
Others say the government should also have looked at involving both parents in the extended leave period instead of only making the provision for the mother.
Caveats
But in a country that is coping with a huge population of 1.3 billion people, the 26 weeks of leave will only be given for the first two children, and women would only be entitled to 12 weeks for a third child.
The bill also brings no benefits to women working in the informal sector, which employs as much as 90 percent of the female workforce. That includes housemaids, laborers or workers in small workshops, who do not get entitlements such as paid leave.
But for the time being, those who stand to get six months off are celebrating.
Traptika Chauhan who is expecting a baby in August was “extremely, extremely relieved” when she heard about the passage of the bill. She pointed out that with more and more people staying in nuclear families, child care is a challenge for working couples.
“I don’t have my parents who stay here or my in-laws who stay here. Then it is really difficult to leave such a small baby all by himself or herself and leave for work,” she said. “Plus your own body is trying to cope up so extremely, extremely great news and perfect for me.”
…
Google Maps Already Tracks You; Now Other People Can, Too
Google Maps users will soon be able to broadcast their movements to friends and family — the latest test of how much privacy people are willing to sacrifice in an era of rampant sharing.
The location-monitoring feature will begin rolling out Wednesday in an update to the Google Maps mobile app, which is already installed on most of the world’s smartphones. It will also be available on personal computers.
Google believes the new tool will be a more convenient way for people to let someone know where they are without having to text or call them. The Mountain View, California, company has set up the controls so individuals can decide with whom they want to share their whereabouts and for how long — anywhere from a few minutes to indefinitely.
But location sharing in one of the world’s most popular apps could cause friction in marriages and other relationships if one partner demands to know where the other is at all times. Similar tensions could arise if parents insist their teenagers turn on the location-sharing option before they go out.
Some share concerns
It could also be turned into a way to stalk someone entangled in an abusive relationship, warned Ruth Glenn, executive director for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “It has the potential to be another tool in an abuser’s toolkit,” she said.
Similar tracking is already available on other apps; Glympse, founded by former Microsoft employees, has offered this function for years. Although it isn’t as wide-ranging, Apple also offers a tracking option called “Find My Friends” on its iPhone, iPad and Watch.
That’s one of the reasons Google isn’t expecting a lot of complaints about adding the option to Maps, especially since everyone can decide when to turn it on and who can monitor them.
“We don’t feel like we are changing the game,” said Jen Fitzpatrick, Google’s vice president of maps.
Tracking only a tap away
Maps users will be able to activate the location-sharing feature by tapping a button near the search bar and then picking a person from their contact list to text with the information. If the recipient doesn’t have the Google Maps app on their phone, it will text them a link to open the location on the map in a browser.
The settings also allow users to determine how long their movements can be tracked each time a location is shared. If no time limit is selected, Google will periodically send people email reminders that they’re still sharing their location, a step that Glenn said may help anyone who didn’t know an abusive partner was still following them.
…
Rise of Superbug Tuberculosis Hampers Global Control Efforts
Rising rates of superbug tuberculosis (TB) are threatening to derail decades of progress against the contagious disease, experts said Thursday, and new drugs powerful enough to treat them are few and far between.
TB kills more people each year than any other infectious disease, including HIV and AIDS. In 2015 alone, it is estimated to have killed 1.8 million people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
While some new antibiotics with the potential to treat some drug-resistant strains are becoming available for the first time, experts who conducted a global study said that without accurate diagnostics, better case tracking and clear treatment guidelines, their effectiveness could rapidly be lost.
“Resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs is a global problem that threatens to derail efforts to eradicate the disease,” said Keertan Dheda, a University of Cape Town professor who co-led research published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. “Cure rates for drug-resistant TB are poor and people can remain infectious.”
TB is a bacterial infection normally treated with a combination of antibiotics. But extensive overuse of antibiotics worldwide has led to a rise in drug-resistant “superbug” strains. Bacteria can acquire many drug-resistance traits over time, making several types of antibiotics ineffective.
Some 1 in 5 cases of TB are now resistant to at least one major anti-TB drug, the researchers found.
Around 1 in 20 are classed as multidrug-resistant (MDR) — meaning they are resistant to two essential first-line TB drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin — or extensively drug-resistant — meaning they are also resistant to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs.
Approximately half of global cases of MDR-TB are in India, China, and Russia, but migration and international travel have allowed these highly drug-resistant strains to emerge in almost every part of the world.
In a commentary on TB in the same journal, David W. Dowdy, a specialist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States, warned that over the next decade, “it is quite possible that we will see a drug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic of unprecedented global scale.”
He added, however, that it might also be possible for the global health community to bring about “an unprecedented reversal” of the drug-resistant TB problem.
“The difference between these two outcomes lies less with the pathogen and more with … whether we have the political will to prioritize,” he said. “Drug-resistant TB is not standing still; neither can we.”
…
New Idea Shakes Up Dinosaur Family Tree for T. Rex and Pals
Tyrannosaurus rex and his buddies could be on the move as a new study proposes a massive shake-up of the dinosaur family tree.
Scientists who took a deeper look at dinosaur fossils suggest a different evolutionary history for dinosaurs, moving theropods such as T. rex to a new branch of the family tree and hinting at an earlier and more northern origin for dinosaurs.
The revised dinosaur tree makes more sense than the old one, initially designed more than a century ago based on hip shape, said Matt Baron, a paleontology doctoral student at the University of Cambridge in England. He is the lead author of the study in Wednesday’s journal Nature.
“If the authors are correct, this really turns our longstanding understanding of dinosaur evolution upside down!” Kristi Curry Rogers, a paleontologist at Macalaster College in Minnesota who wasn’t part of the study, wrote in an email.
Dinosaurs are split into two groups. One group has bird-like hips and is called Ornithischia. It includes the stegosaurus. The group with reptile-like hips is called Saurischia, and includes the brontosaurus.
Theropods, which include T. rex and the type of dinosaurs that later evolved into modern-day birds, were considered an offshoot from the group that includes the brontosaurus. The new study moves them to the group that includes the stegosaurus, but on a different branch.
“It means that animals that we’ve always thought were very closely related to each other might not be,” said Rogers, who praised the study, saying it prompts a whole bunch of new questions.
Baron and colleagues looked at 450 characteristics of 75 dinosaur species. They used computer simulations to try to group together those with similar characteristics, creating tens of thousands of potential dinosaur family trees. The proposed one combines the 80 most likely scenarios, he said.
It may sound like an academic exercise, but it’s important to understand how big animals changed with time, Baron said, noting that the dinosaurs ruled Earth for more than 150 million years.
His research suggests that dinosaurs popped up 247 million years ago — 10 million years earlier than the standard theory says — with a dinosaur from Tanzania in East Africa. It’s called Nyasasaurus, was 6 to 10 feet tall and a plant-eater.
He also found an animal that’s not quite a dinosaur, but as close as you can get, that is a reptilian ancestor. And it was in Scotland. Previous theories pointed to dinosaurs first evolving out of the Southern Hemisphere, and many outside scientists said there wasn’t enough evidence to support Baron’s northern concept.
The paper is already dividing dinosaur experts. Famed dinosaur expert Paul Sereno at the University of Chicago called the basis of the Baron family tree “weak” and said “the central question the paper leaves unanswered for me is ‘Why?'”
Matthew Carrano, dinosaur curator at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, said it’s hard to side with any theory because early dinosaur fossil records are so incomplete.
…
Sea Ice Falls to Record Low at Both Poles
The extent of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has set a new record low for the wintertime in a region strongly affected by long-term trends of global warming, U.S. and European scientists said Wednesday.
Sea ice around the North Pole expands to its biggest extent of the year in February or March after a deep freeze in the winter polar darkness and shrinks to the smallest of the year in September, at the end of the brief Arctic summer.
Arctic sea ice appeared to reach its annual maximum extent March 7, the lowest maximum in the 38-year satellite record, according to the Colorado-based U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center.
On that date, the ice covered 14.42 million square kilometers (5.57 million square miles), 97,000 square kilometers less than the previous lowest maximum that occurred February 25, 2015.
The trend of shrinking ice around the North Pole in recent decades has been one of the starkest signs of climate change.
The thaw is harming the hunting livelihoods of the indigenous peoples and threatening wildlife, such as polar bears. It also makes the region more accessible for shipping as well as oil and gas exploration.
Worldwide, last year was the warmest on record for the third year in a row, despite government efforts to rein in man-made greenhouse gas emissions under a 2015 Paris Agreement that aims to phase out the use of fossil fuels this century.
German findings similar
Earlier Wednesday, scientists at the University of Bremen in Germany published similar findings. Their data showed that the ice covered 14.49 million square kilometers (5.59 million square miles) February 22, almost the size of Russia, fractionally smaller than the previous winter low of 14.58 million square kilometers set last year in satellite records dating back to the 1970s.
“We’ve passed the winter maximum,” Georg Heygster, of the Institute of Environmental Physics at the University of Bremen told Reuters. Only a sudden, unusual March freeze would push the ice above the February extent.
Sea ice in the Arctic could vanish by 2050 on a trend of rising emissions, according to a U.N. panel of climate experts.
Antarctica also at record low
At the other end of the world, sea ice around Antarctica hit a record low for the southern summer last month, the NSIDC said.
The shrinking sea ice exposes more water to the sun’s rays in summertime. That can accelerate global warming because dark blue water soaks up more of the sun’s heat than white ice or snow, which reflects it back into space.
…
US, Canada Lift Global Box Office as International Sales Flat
Worldwide movie ticket sales increased by 1 percent to a record $38.6 billion in 2016 as theaters in the United States and Canada rung up higher sales and overseas returns were flat, according to industry statistics released on Wednesday.
Movie theaters have been competing with an explosion of digital entertainment options such Netflix’s streaming service, Alphabet’s YouTube, and mobile apps and video games.
In 2016, films including Walt Disney’s “Finding Dory” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” helped lift box office revenue at U.S. and Canadian theaters by 2 percent to $11.4 billion, the Motion Picture Association of America said.
In international markets, ticket sales finished the year nearly unchanged from 2015 at $27.2 billion. After years of booming growth in China, box office revenue in that country dropped 1 percent in U.S. dollars.
China is the world’s second-largest film market behind the United States and Canada. In the United States, the average movie ticket price increased by 3 percent in 2016 to $8.65.
…
Liverpool Plans Extravaganza for 50 Years of ‘Sgt. Pepper’
It was 50 years ago today — almost — that Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.
The English city of Liverpool is getting set to celebrate the half-centenary of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” one of the most influential albums by local heroes The Beatles.
The city announced Wednesday that it has commissioned 13 artists to create works based on the album’s 13 tracks. They include choreographer Mark Morris’ dance tribute to the title song, cabaret artist Meow Meow’s “outlandish procession” based on “Lovely Rita” and a mural by U.S. artist Judy Chicago inspired by “Fixing a Hole.”
There will also be a singalong by 64 choirs of the jaunty “When I’m Sixty-Four.”
The works will have their world premieres at venues across Liverpool between May 25 and June 16. On June 1 — the anniversary of the album’s release — the city will host a fireworks extravaganza by French pyrotechnic artist Christophe Berthonneau.
Tired of touring
By the second half of the 1960s, The Beatles had tired of touring. They played their last live concert in August 1966 and devoted their energies and creativity to the studio. “Sgt. Pepper” was recorded at London’s Abbey Road studios over five month in late 1966 and early 1967, and released on June 1, 1967.
Incorporating technological innovation and diverse musical influences — including Indian classical, English music hall and trippy psychedelia — it topped the charts in Britain and the U.S. and was instantly hailed as a rock ’n’ roll landmark.
‘“Sgt. Pepper’ pushed creative boundaries and we want to do exactly the same,” said Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson. “This is a festival which brings high-end art into the mainstream and gives it a Liverpool twist which is thought-provoking, sometimes cheeky and always entertaining.”
…
Most Wastewater Released Is Untreated, Putting Millions at Risk
Wastewater from households, industries and agriculture, if treated, could be a valuable resource rather than a costly problem, United Nations experts in a report on Wednesday.
Treating and recycling wastewater would not only reduce pollution but could help meet growing demand for freshwater and other raw materials, they said.
Below are some facts on wastewater to tie in with World Water Day on Wednesday:
– More than 80 percent of wastewater worldwide is released without treatment, contaminating rivers and lakes.
– On average, low-income countries treat only 8 percent of domestic and industrial wastewater. High-income countries treat 70 percent.
– Pollution from human and animal waste affects nearly one in three rivers in Latin America, Asia and Africa, putting millions of lives at risk.
– In 2012, 842,000 deaths in low- and middle-income countries were linked to contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
– In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 percent of the urban population live in slums.
– The Nigerian city of Lagos generates 1.5 million cubic meters of wastewater every day, most of which ends up untreated in the Lagos Lagoon.
– Discharge of untreated wastewater into the sea partially explains the rapid growth of deoxygenated dead zones. An area roughly the size of Britain is so far affected, having an impact on fisheries, livelihoods and food chains.
– At least 50 countries use wastewater for agricultural irrigation, raising the risk of pathogens contaminating crops.
– Two thirds of the world’s population live in areas experiencing water scarcity at least one month a year.
– By 2030, global demand for water is expected to grow by 50 percent.
– The International Space Station has been using the same water for 17 years.
– In Israel, treated wastewater accounts for more than 40 percent of all water used for irrigation.
– It is estimated more than a fifth of global phosphorous demand could be met by recycling human urine and faeces.
Source: U.N. World Water Development Report “Wastewater: the Untapped Resource”
…
ePUMB skype chat
