• Facebook expands counter-speech initiative to the UK

    The social network has announced the expansion of its 'Redirect Initiative' to the UK, as well as Pakistan. It replaces the top search result on hate or extremism-based searches with a link to help and support on how to move away from hate and violence. Research has shown that challenging violent and extremist views with positive counter-speech is one of the most effective ways to combat such attitudes and use empathy and alternative perspectives to respond to extremist views, according to Facebook. The tool has already been rolled out in Australia, the US, Germany and Indonesia and is the latest move by Facebook's parent company Meta to improve online safety amid ongoing scrutiny of the sector from regulators and policymakers around the world. The social media firm said the counter-speech…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • AI undermining ‘core human values’ becomes target of €1.9m grant

    Artificial intelligence is transforming society as algorithms increasingly dictate access to jobs and insurance, justice, medical treatments, as well as our daily interactions with friends and family. As these technologies race ahead, we are starting to see unintended social consequences: algorithms that promote everything from racial bias in healthcare to the misinformation eroding faith in democracies. Building a better understanding of how AI may pose a threat to human values is the purpose behind the €2m donation, from German philanthropic foundation Stiftung Mercator, to the University of Cambridge research team. The donation is part of a package of nearly €4m (£3.8m) that will see the Cambridge team – including social scientists and philosophers as well as technology designers …

  • Europe’s grid can support over 100 million electric vehicles, study says

    EY-Eurelectric represents the power sector in 32 European countries. Its study could help to allay fears that the increasing popularity of electric vehicles will cause significant strain on pre-existing power networks. However, the study also said that “timely planning” of charging infrastructure and coordination between public authorities, electricity utilities, grid and charge point operators will be necessary to prevent overloading the grid. It is expected that Europe will have around 130 million electric vehicles by 2035, up from 3.3 million today. By then, 65 million chargers will need to be installed with around 85 per cent residential and 4 per cent on public highways. Jean-Bernard Lévy, Eurelectric’s President said: “Electrification is now an irreversible megatrend in road transport…

  • Scientists tap into turning water into oxygen on Moon and Mars

    Creating a reliable source of oxygen could help humanity establish liveable habitats off-Earth in an era where space travel is more achievable than ever before. Electrolysis is one potential method, which involves passing electricity through a chemical system to drive a reaction and can be used to extract oxygen out of lunar rocks or to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This can be useful for both life support systems as well as for the in-situ production of rocket propellant. However, until now, how lower gravitational fields on the Moon (1/6th of Earth’s gravity) and Mars (1/3rd of Earth’s gravity) might affect gas-evolving electrolysis when compared to known conditions here on Earth had not been investigated in detail. Lower gravity can have a significant impact on electrolysis efficiency…

  • What can you do with a spare Arm?

    The moment the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved, the deal was almost certainly doomed. Nvidia has made it official by backing out of the agreement to buy Arm from SoftBank Group.   Though it will cost $1.25bn to sever the agreement, it is a lot less than the near $70bn and mountains of legal bills the maker of graphics processing units (GPUs) would have to pay to continue to go through with the deal, if it would be allowed at all. Practically every major market in the world was acting on complaints from Nvidia’s competitors. Given that Nvidia’s stewardship might have had customers running, like Intel, into the arms of the open-source instruction set architecture RISC-V, not owning Arm probably is not that big a problem for CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s company, which itself is a RISC…

  • Nvidia cancels Arm acquisition due to ‘significant’ regulatory scrutiny

    In 2016, Arm was acquired by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group for $32bn. Nvidia announced its intention to buy a 90 per cent stake in the firm for $40bn in September 2020. The deal immediately faced regulatory scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission in the US, from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and from the EU’s antitrust regulators . Following yesterday’s announcement by Nvidia, the CMA confirmed that it would cancel its investigation into the merger. The latest deal attracted more criticism than SoftBank’s acquisition due to Nvidia’s significant presence in the semiconductor industry, which could present a threat to Arm’s longstanding reputation as an open and neutral supplier. Even Arm’s original co-founder, Hermann Hauser, criticised the deal, saying it…

  • Porn providers will need age verification methods to comply with Online Safety Bill

    Digital minister Chris Philp said the new measures will come as part of the Online Safety Bill, which will “significantly strengthen” the legal duty for pornography providers to put robust checks in place to ensure their users are 18 years old or over. The checks could be carried out using secure age verification technology to verify that they possess a credit card and are over 18 or by having a third-party service confirm their age against government data. If sites fail to act, regulator Ofcom will have the power to fine them up to 10 per cent of their annual global turnover or block their site in the UK, while bosses of such sites could be held criminally liable if they fail to co-operate. Opponents of the move are concerned that it will lead to the creation of a list of porn users…

  • Home Office accused of ‘scaremongering’ campaign over messaging encryption

    They said the UK Home Office was misleading the public with a TV, radio and newspaper advertising campaign - created by M&C Saatchi - that accuses social media companies which use encryption of “blindfolding” the government. Among the signatories are former MI5 intelligence officer Annie Machon; Peter Tatchell Foundation; Open Rights Group; Index on Censorship; Reporters Without Borders; Digital Rights Watch, and the LGBT Technology Partnership. They believe the new campaign has been launched to try to sway public opinion against E2EE prior to amendments to the Online Safety Bill that would allow the government to force technology companies to weaken or remove the technology from their messaging apps. Last year, home secretary Priti Patel argued that it was a “moral duty” for tech companies…

  • View from India: Better infrastructure for inclusive growth

    India is preparing for its 100 th year and the thrust is growth areas. One such being the PM Gati Shakti or the 'National Master Plan for Multimodal Connectivity' that was launched in October 2021. It’s a digital platform for the implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. Budget 2022 has given a mega push for infrastructure development. The Budget has envisioned Gati Shakti as a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development. The approach is driven by seven engines: namely roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infrastructure. All seven engines will pull forward the economy in unison. These engines are supported by the complementary roles of energy transmission; IT communication; bulk water and sewerage, and social infrastructure…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK supermarkets entangled in the murky world of plastic waste

    A British waste firm that has contracts to recycle the plastic waste of two major supermarkets last year mislabelled the type of plastic it exported to Turkey, avoiding national restrictions, it has emerged, leading to questions about where the UK’s plastic ends up. E&T can reveal that Eurokey Recycling - which has contracts with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s - had its export permit suspended in November 2021 by the Environment Agency (EA), following several breaches of regulations in the way it exported plastic waste to sites not only in Turkey but also in Poland and the Netherlands. Greenpeace said the news was “extremely concerning” and called on the UK government to “urgently ban all plastic waste exports and stop our plastic mess being dumped on other countries”. Both Tesco and Sainsbury…

  • Social media executives could face jail from UK's Online Safety Bill, Government claims

    Nadine Dorries said that she was putting social media companies such as Facebook on notice with the Online Safety Bill, which it is hoped will force online giants to police illegal content more diligently and proactively. Last Friday (4 February), it was announced that the long awaited Bill had been strengthened with the addition of a number of new criminal offences to force social media firms to act on illegal content more quickly. Offences such as revenge porn, hate crime, fraud, the sale of illegal drugs or weapons, the promotion or facilitation of suicide, people smuggling and sexual exploitation have been added to the list of priority offences. Content that falls within their scope must be removed by platforms under the new rules. Under these rules, senior executives of online platforms…

  • PriceRunner sues Google for €2.1bn over 'anti-competitive' search tactics

    The Swedish firm said that Google’s search results unfairly promote the tech giant’s own shopping-comparison services over those of PriceRunner. The lawsuit follows a decision by the European General Court that Google breached EU antitrust laws by manipulating search results in favour of its own shopping-comparison services. In its lawsuit, PriceRunner said it wants Google to pay compensation for the profits that it has lost in the UK since 2008, as well as in Sweden and Denmark since 2013. It wouldn’t be the first time Google has landed in hot water with EU regulators over antitrust concerns. Last year, the European Commission announced an investigation into anti-competitive behaviour by the firm, with a focus on whether the company violated competition rules by giving preferential…

  • Design for new nuclear plant in Bradwell approved by regulators

    Alongside the Environment Agency (EA), the ONR confirmed that the UK Hualong Pressurised Water Reactor (UK HPR1000) is suitable for construction, subject to the necessary licensing, planning permission and environmental permits. The design has been proposed by General Nuclear Services (GNS), which is a subsidiary of China General Nuclear (CGN) and the French state-owned EDF. CGN is currently also working on the UK’s other major nuclear project, Hinkley Point C, which is being built in Somerset. It first proposed the new Bradwell plant following approval from the UK Government of Hinkley Point C in 2016. The ONR and the EA said they were satisfied that the new reactor design meets regulatory expectations on safety, security and environmental protection at this stage of the process. The…

  • Dubai introduces charge for plastic bags; promises total ban within two years

    A statement from the government-run Dubai Media Office said the charge will start on July 1 2022. The tariff of 25fils (approximately 5p, UK currency) at purchase will apply to all single-use plastic bags from such outlets as shops, restaurants, pharmarcies and e-commerce deliveries. The government said the ban had become necessary as both camels and turtles had died from the plastic. Reportedly, 50 per cent of camel deaths in the UAE are due to the consumption of plastic bags, while 86 per cent of dead sea turtles found on some of the Emirates’ shores were found to have consumed some sort of plastic materials. Some food stores in the skyscraper-studded city have already been encouraging the public to bring reusable bags when shopping, reflecting a shift in public attitudes to recycling…

  • 3D human spinal cord implants could help treat paralysis

    A team at Sagol Center for Regenerative Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University developed functional spinal cord tissues and implanted them in lab models that featured chronic paralysis. The technology behind the breakthrough uses patient tissue samples, transforming it into a functioning spinal cord implant via a process that mimics the development of the spinal cord in human embryos. According to Professor Tal Dvir, who led the study, the team’s technology is based on taking a small biopsy of belly fat tissue from the patient. This tissue, like all tissues in our body, comprises cells together with an extracellular matrix (comprising substances like collagens and sugars). Prof. Dvir explained: “After separating the cells from the extracellular matrix, we used genetic engineering to reprogram…

  • Satellites used to track hidden methane emissions from fossil fuel producers

    The researchers, led by France's Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, said their findings partly explain why official inventories generally underestimate the volume of these emissions. The satellites found hundreds of major methane releases linked to global oil and gas extraction activities. The technology could be used to stop these releases, whether they are accidental or deliberate, to save the responsible countries billions of dollars. A major contributor to climate change, methane has a global warming potential approximately 30 times higher than that of CO2 over a 100-year period. One quarter of anthropogenic emissions of this greenhouse gas originate in worldwide extraction of coal, oil and natural gas (of which methane is the main component). The researchers…

  • UK faces £35bn tax gap if it fails to tax electric vehicles, MPs say

    Currently, vehicle excise duty and fuel duty raise around £35bn a year for the Treasury, but neither tax is levied on pure electric vehicles. The UK is also set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles entirely from 2030 as part of efforts to lower the country’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. The Committee has urged the Treasury and the Department for Transport to start an “honest conversation” about how to maintain investment in roads and public services with the money that comes in from vehicles with internal combustion engines. In its Road Pricing report, it proposes a system based on miles travelled and vehicle type, which would enable the government to maintain the existing link between motoring taxation and road usage. It believes this should entirely replace fuel…

  • Carbon capture device could pave way for eco-friendly fuel cells

    According to its developers at the University of Delaware, the “game-changing” technology is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market. Professor Yushan Yan, chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been working for some time to improve hydroxide exchange membrane (HEM) fuel cells, an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional acid-based fuel cells used today. But the reason HEM fuels cells aren’t on the road as of late is because they are sensitive to carbon dioxide in the air. This defect quickly reduces the fuel cell’s performance and efficiency by up to 20 per cent, rendering the fuel cell no better than a petrol engine. A few years back, the researchers found this disadvantage…

  • Ofgem could update price cap more frequently due to volatile energy prices

    The price cap is currently updated twice a year and tracks wholesale energy and other costs. It was last updated in August, so the current level does not reflect the unprecedented record rise in gas prices which has since taken place. This saw the collapse of numerous consumer energy providers as they could not afford to continue to purchase energy at wholesale cost while charging customers less than they bought it for. Over the last year, 29 energy companies have exited the market or been put in special administration in the wake of soaring global gas prices, affecting around 4.3 million domestic customers. Ofgem has now opened a consultation on a proposal to switch from half-yearly to quarterly price cap updates and reducing the advance notice for new tariffs to take effect. “We are…

  • ‘Smart’ FFP2 face mask alerts wearer when CO2 limits are exceeded

    The mask design addresses a problem that has been highlighted since the Covid-19 pandemic began: that of the CO 2 that we rebreathe inside our face masks. Wearing FFP2-type face masks for any length of time produces a concentration of CO 2 between the face and the mask that is higher than the normal atmospheric concentration (~0.04 per cent), due to the gas we exhale when breathing. CO 2 rebreathing can cause adverse health effects, even in healthy people, such as general malaise, headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, increased heart rate, muscle weakness, and drowsiness. These negative effects are known to be linked to both the duration of exposure and the concentration of the gas itself. For example, some health regulations recommend a maximum value of 0.5 per cent…

  • How computational drug discovery is boosting health tech innovation

    The process of drug discovery is extremely complex and requires time and resources to isolate the molecules capable of identifying the properties of a disease or virus. Health institutions are becoming increasingly dependent on the ability of computational drug discovery (CDD) to speed up and automate factors such as analytics and large-scale simulations for the trial process. To efficiently do this, drug developers are leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has been a long wait for the pharmaceutical industry to find a technology that not only increases the effectiveness of the drug discovery and development process, but also addresses the traditional challenges of time and cost. Organisations embracing CDD are placing big bets on the technology…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • Covid-19 ‘breathalyser’ can detect infection in 5 minutes with PCR accuracy

    They could be used to enable rapid screening of people attending large gatherings, such as conferences and weddings. Even those who are asymptomatic can still transmit Covid-19 to others, making it important to identify and isolate them until they are no longer contagious. The “gold standard” for Covid-19 testing is a technique called reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, commonly known as PCR tests. But this technique is typically slow, requires an uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swab for sample collection, and must be performed in a lab. The rapid antigen test is much quicker but has a higher rate of false negatives and positives. Scientists have also developed breathalyser-type tests for Covid-19, which rely on differences in concentrations of volatile organic compounds exhaled…

  • Money & Markets: When markets crash

    When markets go up like a rocket they come down like a rock. In the modern era most companies have debt, often lots of debt. I doubt there is one listed engineer that does not have a big lump of debt. In the past debt was considered bad, but for decades now, debt is considered a positive, so long as you do not have too much of it. Once, the sort of levels that are now considered normal would have been seen as the height of folly, but in today’s world everything is based on one kind of debt obligation or other, so lots of debt is just fine. Cash, after all, is a zero-interest-bearing government debt obligation, even if it is only ever replaced with another decorative promise to pay. Economics and markets are a confidence game. That confidence ebbs and flows and sometimes the oscillating…

    E+T Magazine
    E+T Magazine

  • UK urged to phase out gas boilers sooner to meet 2050 net zero targets

    The cross-party Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has published a report calling on the government to bring forward plans to decarbonise heat production in the UK. It found a lack of clarity around when gas-powered heating systems will be phased out, which will be a key milestone in the transition to low-carbon heating. Juliet Philips, from climate-change think tank E3G, has said that a firm phase-out date can “send one of the clearest signals to consumers and industry about the direction of travel”. The report also called for the heat pump market to be scaled up quickly to meet the government’s target of 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, and provide support to gas boiler engineers who will be needed to re-skill to undertake this work. It also called for a public…

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