by Chris Lefkow Agence France Presse Washington, United States (AFP) — Logging, wildfires and farming are causing mountain forests, habitat to 85 percent of the world’s birds, mammals and amphibians, to vanish at an alarming rate, according to a study published on Friday. Mountain forests covered 1.1 billion hectares (2.71 billion acres) of the planet in 2000, the authors of the study published in the Cell Press journal One Earth said. But at least 78.1 […]
Life
Lacking health workers, Germany taps robots for elder care
by Pauline CURTET Agence France Presse Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (AFP) — The white-coloured humanoid “Garmi” does not look much different from a typical robot — it stands on a platform with wheels and is equipped with a black screen on which two blue circles acting as eyes are attached. But retired German doctor Guenter Steinebach, 78, said: “For me, this robot is a dream.” Not only is Garmi able to perform diagnostics on patients, it can […]
Sweden’s teens drive Porsches and BMWs, no license needed
HUDDINGE, Sweden (AFP) by Alma COHEN — Too young for a driver’s license at 15, Evelina Christiansen is already cruising in a sleek BMW in Sweden, where teens can drive any car modified to roll no faster than a golf cart. An almost century-old regulation originally applied to agricultural vehicles allows kids 15 and older to drive without a proper driver’s license, as long as the vehicle has been altered to have a maximum speed […]
Huawei has replaced thousands of US-banned parts with Chinese versions: founder
Beijing, China (AFP) — Chinese technology giant Huawei has replaced thousands of product components banned by the United States with homegrown versions, its founder has said, according to a transcript of a recent speech released by a Shanghai university. A leading supplier of telecom gear, smartphones and other advanced equipment, Huawei has been repeatedly targeted by Washington in recent years over cybersecurity and espionage concerns. The administration of former president Donald Trump effectively barred American […]
How AI ‘revolution’ is shaking up journalism
by Carole GUIRADO and Joseph Boyle Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Journalists had fun last year asking the shiny new AI chatbot ChatGPT to write their columns, most concluding that the bot was not good enough to take their jobs. Yet. But many commentators believe journalism is on the cusp of a revolution where mastery of algorithms and AI tools that generate content will be a key battleground. The technology news site CNET […]
Millions of dead fish clog Australian river
Millions of dead and rotting fish have clogged a vast stretch of river near a remote town in the Australian outback as a searing heatwave sweeps through the region. Videos posted to social media showed boats ploughing through a blanket of dead fish smothering the water, with the surface barely visible underneath. The New South Wales government said on Friday that “millions” of fish had died in the Darling River near the small town […]
Microsoft applies AI powers to Excel, Outlook
San Francisco, United States (AFP) Microsoft pressed on with its AI revolution on Thursday, announcing that it would apply the powers behind ChatGPT to its iconic Excel, Word and Outlook programs. The Redmond, Washington giant has been swiftly adopting language-based AI, showing less caution than its rivals despite early problems such as chatbots giving disturbing responses or blatantly inaccurate information. Microsoft’s latest chatbot, called Copilot, will put ChatGPT-like abilities to work in offices, churning out […]
Grey area: chilling past of world’s biggest brain collection
by Camille BAS-WOHLERT Agence France Presse Odense, Denmark (AFP) — Countless shelves line the walls of a basement at Denmark’s University of Odense, holding what is thought to be the world’s largest collection of brains. Preserved in formalin in large white buckets labelled with numbers, the collection was the life’s work of prominent Danish psychiatrist Erik Stromgren. Begun in 1945, it was a “kind of experimental research,” Jesper Vaczy Kragh, an expert in the history […]
Venezuela, China, Biden and extraterrestrials: the disinformation of AI
by Javier TOVAR Agence France-Presse CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — A blond television presenter seemingly working for a channel called the “House of News” looks into the camera and asks in English: “How true is it that Venezuela is such a poor country?” But this man is not a journalist — or even a real human being. He’s an avatar generated by artificial intelligence (AI), a tool that is becoming ever more common in global disinformation. […]
Dengue treatment advances in animal trials
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Thursday 3/16/2023 by Sara HUSSEIN A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that […]
Dengue treatment advances in animal trials
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new dengue treatment that could become the first to prevent and treat the virus has proven effective in initial trials in monkeys, according to new research. Dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and affects tens of millions each year, producing brutal symptoms that have earned it the moniker “breakbone fever”. It is endemic in dozens of countries, but no treatment exists, and two vaccines that have […]
The battle to save Cambodia’s river dolphins from extinction
by Suy SE Agence France Presse Kratié, Cambodia (AFP) — Bulging grey heads break the turbid waters of the Mekong River in Cambodia as a pod of rare Irrawaddy dolphins surfaces to breathe, drawing excited murmurs from tourists watching from nearby boats. The thrilling sight may soon be no more than a memory, as numbers of the endangered mammals dwindle despite efforts to preserve them. Cambodia has announced tough new restrictions on fishing in the […]