#technology article

[reasonsforhope]

Here's the top 2 stories from each of Fix The News's six categories:

1. A game-changing HIV drug was the biggest story of 2024

In what Science called the 'breakthrough of the year', researchers revealed in June that a twice-yearly drug called lenacapavir reduced HIV infections in a trial in Africa to zero—an astonishing 100% efficacy, and the closest thing to a vaccine in four decades of research. Things moved quick; by October, the maker of the drug, Gilead, had agreed to produce an affordable version for 120 resource-limited countries, and by December trials were underway for a version that could prevent infection with just a single shot per year. 'I got cold shivers. After all our years of sadness, particularly over vaccines, this truly is surreal.'

2. Another incredible year for disease elimination

Jordan became the first country to eliminate leprosy, Chad eliminated sleeping sickness, Guinea eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus, Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, India achieved the WHO target for eliminating black fever, India, Viet Nam and Pakistan eliminated trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, and Brazil and Timor Leste eliminated elephantiasis.

15. The EU passed a landmark nature restoration law

When countries pass environmental legislation, it’s big news; when an entire continent mandates the protection of nature, it signals a profound shift. Under the new law, which passed on a knife-edge vote in June 2024, all 27 member states are legally required to restore at least 20% of land and sea by 2030, and degraded ecosystems by 2050. This is one of the world’s most ambitious pieces of legislation and it didn’t come easy; but the payoff will be huge - from tackling biodiversity loss and climate change to enhancing food security.

16. Deforestation in the Amazon halved in two years

Brazil’s space agency, INPE, confirmed a second consecutive year of declining deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. That means deforestation rates have roughly halved under Lula, and are now approaching all time lows. In Colombia, deforestation dropped by 36%, hitting a 23-year low. Bolivia created four new protected areas, a huge new new state park was created in Pará to protect some of the oldest and tallest tree species in the tropical Americas and a new study revealed that more of the Amazon is protected than we originally thought, with 62.4% of the rainforest now under some form of conservation management.

39. Millions more children got an education

Staggering statistics incoming: between 2000 and 2023, the number of children and adolescents not attending school fell by nearly 40%, and Eastern and Southern Africa, achieved gender parity in primary education, with 25 million more girls are enrolled in primary school today than in the early 2000s. Since 2015, an additional 110 million children have entered school worldwide, and 40 million more young people are completing secondary school.

40. We fed around a quarter of the world's kids at school

Around 480 million students are now getting fed at school, up from 319 million before the pandemic, and 104 countries have joined a global coalition to promote school meals, School feeding policies are now in place in 48 countries in Africa, and this year Nigeria announced plans to expand school meals to 20 million children by 2025, Kenya committed to expanding its program from two million to ten million children by the end of the decade, and Indonesia pledged to provide lunches to all 78 million of its students, in what will be the world's largest free school meals program.

50. Solar installations shattered all records

Global solar installations look set to reach an unprecedented 660GW in 2024, up 50% from 2023's previous record. The pace of deployment has become almost unfathomable - in 2010, it took a month to install a gigawatt, by 2016, a week, and in 2024, just 12 hours. Solar has become not just the cheapest form of new electricity in history, but the fastest-growing energy technology ever deployed, and the International Energy Agency said that the pace of deployment is now ahead of the trajectory required for net zero by 2050.  

51. Battery storage transformed the economics of renewables

Global battery storage capacity surged 76% in 2024, making investments in solar and wind energy much more attractive, and vice-versa. As with solar, the pace of change stunned even the most cynical observers. Price wars between the big Chinese manufacturers pushed battery costs to record lows, and global battery manufacturing capacity increased by 42%, setting the stage for future growth in both grid storage and electric vehicles - crucial for the clean flexibility required by a renewables-dominated electricity system. The world's first large-scale grid battery installation only went online seven years ago; by next year, global battery storage capacity will exceed that of pumped hydro.

65. Democracy proved remarkably resilient in a record year of elections

More than two billion people went to the polls this year, and democracy fared far better than most people expected, with solid voter turnout, limited election manipulation, and evidence of incumbent governments being tamed. It wasn't all good news, but Indonesia saw the world's biggest one day election, Indian voters rejected authoritarianism, South Korea's democratic institutions did the same, Bangladesh promised free and fair elections following a 'people's victory', Senegal, Sri Lanka and Botswana saw peaceful transfers of power to new leaders after decades of single party rule, and Syria saw the end of one of the world's most horrific authoritarian regimes.

66. Global leaders committed to ending violence against children

In early November, while the eyes of the world were on the US election, an event took place that may prove to be a far more consequential for humanity. Five countries pledged to end corporal punishment in all settings, two more pledged to end it in schools, and another 12, including Bangladesh and Nigeria, accepted recommendations earlier in the year to end corporal punishment of children in all settings. In total, in 2024 more than 100 countries made some kind of commitment to ending violence against children. Together, these countries are home to hundreds of millions of children, with the WHO calling the move a 'fundamental shift.'

73. Space exploration hit new milestones

NASA’s Europa Clipper began a 2.9 billion kilometre voyage to Jupiter to investigate a moon that may have conditions for life; astronomers identified an ice world with a possible atmosphere in the habitable zone; and the James Webb Telescope found the farthest known galaxy. Closer to Earth, China landed on the far side of the moon, the Polaris Dawn crew made a historic trip to orbit, and Starship moved closer to operational use – and maybe one day, to travel to Mars. 

74. Next-generation materials advanced

A mind-boggling year for material science. Artificial intelligence helped identify a solid-state electrolyte that could slash lithium use in batteries by 70%, and an Apple supplier announced a battery material that can deliver around 100 times better energy density. Researchers created an insulating synthetic sapphire material 1.25 nanometers thick, plus the world’s thinnest lens, just three atoms across. The world’s first functioning graphene-based semiconductor was unveiled (the long-awaited ‘wonder material’ may finally be coming of age!) and a team at Berkeley invented a fluffy yellow powder that could be a game changer for removing carbon from the atmosphere.

-via Fix The News, December 19, 2024

[thoughtportal]

from 2017

MP3 is supported by everything, everywhere, and is now patent-free. There has never been another audio format as widely supported as MP3, it’s good enough for almost anything, and now, over twenty years since it took the world by storm, it’s finally free.

[phastels]

STEM resources🔬🪐🦠

Resources for STEM subjects ▪︎ A-levels ▪︎ IB ▪︎ University entrance exam prep ▪︎ STEM book reviews ▪︎CV help

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Articles to read

Sideroblastic anaemia

The game of life

Rabies

Carbon monoxide

Dual role of mitochondria

Arctic Springtail

Biggest innovations in the biosciences

The role of dopamine

Topology

Story of the atom

Zinc fingers

Monkey see, monkey clone

Allergies

Herpes

Which fuel will be used for the colonisation of Mars?

Advancements in semi-conductor technology

Genetic diagnosis with AI

Chimeras

[bioethicists]

it's quite offputting to me when ppl can't disentangle their hatred for capitalism from a hatred for... new technological innovation? the ways in which capitalism has shaped the development of certain technologies has been deeply negative, not to mention that imperialism ensures that new technology is usually produced via extractive relationships with both the planet + ppl in the global south.

but this weird tying of capitalist impact on innovation (+the idea of what is/is not innovation) to hatred of innovation itself (or even more disturbing valorization of "the good old days"/implications that technology is causing social degeneracy) is baffling to me. perhaps it is impossible to achieve specific technologies without unconscionable resource extraction practices, in which case they should not be pursued. but so many ppl act like there is something inherently morally suspect in pursuit of tech such as autonomous vehicles or AI or automation, independent of the material conditions that produced them/that they may produce.

tesla is evil because they exploit ppl for profit + participate in an economy built on the exploitation of the global south + use 'innovation' as a marketing tool to mask serious safety concerns. they're not evil bcuz they want to make vehicles that move on their own. there are actually a great deal of fantastic applications for vehicles which move on their own? equating technology with moral decay is not a radical position; you need a material analysis of why technological innovation has become characterized by harmful practices.

[nostalgiahime]

Internet Tech Article from Point of View Magazine (November 1999)

[dontforgetukraine]

US-Ukraine startup Esper Bionics makes robotic prostheses that are currently being used by over 30 Ukrainian soldiers serving in Russia's war and 80 veterans in Ukraine.

While the bionic arms and hands are not for military use and are not durable enough for combat, the wartime setting has yielded live feedback for the company from soldiers and veterans. One such example of Esper Bionics striving to meet the needs of their clients was making the fingers in the hand out of metal so that it could withstand more stress.

The company never planned to provide bionic prosthetic hands that would help soldiers return to combat back in 2019 when it was founded, but Russia's full scale invasion changed the startup's course. Now, research and development, assembly, and production all take place in Ukraine.

Through its donor-funded program Esper for Ukraine, the company is able to donate all the hands it produces to Ukrainians in need of prostheses.

In an example of artificial intelligence being used for good, Esper Bionics wants to incorporate AI into their bionic hands so the prostheses are more "context-aware" and "better able to predict its user's movements" and what the user wants to do in any particular situation.

The idea behind Esper Bionics' AI-powered future hand will be to create “an entire ecosystem” that can pass information from a series of sensors attached to its user to cloud-based software that constantly analyzes data to learn its users' habits.

The robotic look isn't just for functionality either, but a company goal to avoid the "uncanny valley" look. With attractive branding and designs, Chief of Marketing Dmytro Ganush says Esper Bionics seeks to promote the idea that people with limb differences don’t have a medical issue but “a really interesting lifestyle” or, if anything, “a gadget just like any other."

---

Ukraine is highly likely to become the country with the most prostheses used among its population. The effort to normalize and de-stigmatize disability must start now, and I'm glad Esper Bionics seems to have this in mind with their designs. The enthusiasm users have in the design of the bionic hands is promising, and I hope everyone involved has a bright future.

Source: Ukrainian startup Esper Bionics makes cyborgs a reality

[garland-on-thy-brow]

Before this topic is examined directly, a brief mythological digression will be presented possibly pointing out certain parallels between Daedalus and Medea. Having never ended up in one mythological narrative, it is notable that certain points of contact can be found for Medea and Daedalus, despite them being distinguished from ordinary mortals through special abilities, with the first being magic and the second being craftsmanship: 1. It is true that having a discussion about a precise chronology in a myth is impossible, but Medea and Daedalus are “contemporary” characters – Theseus, the one who defeats the Minotaur imprisoned in the labyrinth built by Daedalus, is Medea's step-child. 2. Daedalus is also connected to a solar cult like Medea (Medea, as the grandaughter of Helios; Daedalus as a servant of Pasiphae, Medea's aunt and Helios' daughter, a craftsman having flown towards the sun and lost his only son due to the sun's power); 3. Medea and Daedalus have committed the murder of a close relative in their homeland; 4. Like Medea, Daedalus also runs away from his homeland and then leaves his new homeland, where he loses his child (children). Both of them run to safety by flying away. 5. Medea defeats Talos, Daedalus' creation, with her sorcery. 6. And finally, an episode of great interest to us – the murder of Pelias carried out by Medea through someone else, Pelias' daughters, with the body of the king Iolcos being boiled in a bubbling cauldron(In general, a person's rejuvenation or them being brought to life by being boiled in a cauldron is not foreign to other epochs and cultures 71). This manifests a certain likeness to Daedalus' adventure, although being of a later character, is greatly interesting – having escaped from Minos, Daedalus seeks refuge in Sicilia with Cocalus, the king of Kamikos. When Minos comes looking for Daedalus, Cocalus makes him agree to bathe in the bathhouse. Here he is killed by Cocalus' daughters, or according to a second version, Daedalus throws him into the boiling water himself and kills him.

[Ekaterine Kobakhidze, Medea in Etruscan Art]

[skippydiesposting]

we don't talk enough about how that article about the metaverse that went viral on tumblr was written by the author of Skippy Dies

[soapdispensersalesman]

This is the military AI startup that Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek invested $100 million in, by the way

[tianalaurence1]

"Members of the Royal family salute as the coffin of Britain's Queen Mother, arrives at London's Westminster Hall, Friday April 5, 2002. They are, front row from left: Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Princess Anne...

(L to R) Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Viscount Linley, Prince William, Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Daniel Chatto, Prince Edward Duke of Kent, Prince Richard, Prince Michael, Commodore Timothy Laurence.

[onemillionfurries]

how the actual fuck do these incompetent assholes always end up ruining one thing and then immediately get hired to ruin something else??

[broadpreedglobalnews]

📰 Paetongtarn Shinawatra Becomes Thailand's Youngest Prime Minister

On Friday, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a newcomer to politics, was chosen as Thailand's youngest prime minister by the nation's parliament 🏛️. Her election comes shortly after a turbulent power struggle among the country's elite ⚔️.

The 37-year-old daughter of the controversial political figure Thaksin Shinawatra easily secured a majority in the parliamentary vote 🗳️, taking on the role just two days after the judiciary dismissed her ally, Srettha Thavisin, as prime minister. This puts her in a pivotal position, with the future of the influential Shinawatra family's political legacy at stake 🔗 after their first electoral defeat in over two decades 📉.

Paetongtarn will be Thailand's second female prime minister 👩‍⚖️, following in the footsteps of her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra and her father Thaksin, both of whom previously held the position. In her first statement as prime minister-elect, she expressed her resolve to lead the country forward 🌍, despite the recent upheavals ⛈️.

Winning with 319 votes, nearly two-thirds of the house 🏠, Paetongtarn shared her joy on Instagram 📱 by posting a picture of her lunch 🍗, symbolizing her first meal after the successful vote ✅.

Her appointment marks a risky move for the Pheu Thai party 🎲, led by her 75-year-old father, Thaksin. She will face immediate challenges, including a struggling economy 💸, growing competition from rival parties 🥊, and unmet promises from her party's cash handout programme 💰.

The political environment remains tense, with Thailand's history of coups and judicial interventions ⚖️ that have repeatedly disrupted governments. Paetongtarn's leadership will be closely watched 👀 as she navigates these turbulent waters 🌊, with the Shinawatra family's influence and political alliances at the center of the ongoing power struggle.

[random2908]

Apropos nothing... Everyone always talking about quantum computing and quantum information as the big second-generation* quantum-tech applications. (Someday I will get into what I think about quantum computing.) But there's a whole world of quantum sensing out there that's way more successful, starting with atomic clocks, which are already an established second-gen quantum technology.

Here's a recent result in quantum sensing:

* First-generation quantum tech is things that rely on the quantum nature of materials. The whole semi-conductor industry, and lasers, are the primary examples. Second-generation quantum tech is technology that relies on quantum control: the active building and control of quantum systems. By far the earliest example, and the most commercially advanced, is quantum clocks. But there are other types of quantum sensors on the market (mainly quantum magnetometers).

[clonerightsagenda]

Other big takeaway from that article is the revelation that they sent a tardigrade to the shadow realm. Why did they do that to him

[ravenkings]

The biggest question raised by a future populated by unexceptional A.I., however, is existential. Should we as a society be investing tens of billions of dollars, our precious electricity that could be used toward moving away from fossil fuels, and a generation of the brightest math and science minds on incremental improvements in mediocre email writing? We can’t abandon work on improving A.I. The technology, however middling, is here to stay, and people are going to use it. But we should reckon with the possibility that we are investing in an ideal future that may not materialize.

–Julia Angwin, "Will A.I. Ever Live Up to Its Hype?" The New York Times, May 15, 2024

[gailynovelry]

There are lots of reasons to hate AI generators right now. But aside from the plagiarism, the impact on career artists of all stripes, and the general use of AI for grifting schemes, they also just really suck if you already have trouble with unreality.

I'm not talking about "oooh those AI images sure are creepy."

I'm talking about "folks with low media literacy are telling me, a nervous, obsessive wreck, that Unreality-Type Things are Definitely Real because the Smart Science Fiction Machine told them so."

There's an old lady who frequents my workplace as a customer, and she likes me, y'know? I keep the place clean, I let her chat. I'm polite. So, she's decided that I'm a nice person who deserves to be warned if something bad is happening in the world. Trouble is, she eats up every news source without scrutiny, and has chipperly informed me that "ignorance is not bliss" when I've admitted that I don't follow the news very closely (for mental health reasons.)

Anyway, her daughter's taken to addressing the AI software in her phone about current political events. So the old lady came to me one day, very nervous, and quietly informed me that World War Three is probably going to happen in November.

Because the AI said so. And the AI, it's smart right? That's why it's callled "artificial intelligence." It's gotten fed all that knowledge, so it must know these things.

Except that it doesn't. Text AI are just sentence generators. No context, no awareness, no thought process to speak of.

I know this. I'm not socially competent enough to inform her of this in-person, since that requires more talking than an "uh-huh, yep," but I know this. I know that World War Three is not happening in November just because an AI said so. Ask an AI "when is WW3 happening?" ten different times, and it'll give you ten different answers. Tell it that it's full of crap, and it'll automatically apologize right before spitting out the next crap answer.

But she doesn't know this.

She's trying to warn me about something that scares her.

And she does not know that in trying to warning me, she is a) ineffective, and b) inflicting a different kind of harm.

Because my terrible, frustrating brain, with its ten different kinds of internal malware and software glitches, is looking over my shoulder at the future just in case. And so is she.

AI is misinformation and misinformation is hell.