First AI System for Contactless Monitoring of Heart Rhythm Using Smart Speakers
March 11th, 2021Via: University of Washington:
UW researchers have developed a new skill for a smart speaker that for the first time monitors both regular and irregular heartbeats without physical contact. The system sends inaudible sounds from the speaker out into a room and, based on the way the sounds are reflected back to the speaker, it can identify and monitor individual heartbeats. Because the heartbeat is such a tiny motion on the chest surface, the team’s system uses machine learning to help the smart speaker locate signals from both regular and irregular heartbeats.
When the researchers tested this system on healthy participants and hospitalized cardiac patients, the smart speaker detected heartbeats that closely matched the beats detected by standard heartbeat monitors. The team published these findings March 9 in Communications Biology.
Japanese Experience Higher Rate of Anaphylaxis After Taking Pfizer COVID Vaccine Than in U.S. and Europe
March 11th, 2021Via: Mainichi:
People in Japan who received Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine seem to have suffered anaphylaxis at a higher rate than in the United States and Europe, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts said Wednesday.
“It’s true, this seems to be more than in the United States and Europe,” Taro Kono told a parliamentary committee.
The health ministry later said an additional eight cases of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction, were reported, bringing the total to 25 among around 148,000 health care workers who have been inoculated as of Wednesday.
China, Russia Announce Plan To Build Moon Research Station
March 10th, 2021Via: NPR:
China and Russia have announced plans to work together to construct a lunar research station, an ambitious first-ever such space project between the two countries.
Russia’s Roscosmos and China’s National Space Administration – the two countries’ respective equivalents of NASA – announced a preliminary agreement on Tuesday to jointly develop the research facility, known as the International Lunar Research Station, or ILRS. The heads of the two space agencies signed a memorandum of understanding in a ceremony conducted via teleconference.
Canada: New Outbreak of COVID-19 in B.C. Care Home Where Residents and Staff Were Already Vaccinated
March 10th, 2021Your what hurts?
Via: CBC:
A new outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at the Cottonwoods Care Centre in B.C.’s Interior Health region where staff and residents had already received vaccines, the provincial health officer announced Monday
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control has confirmed on its website that 82 per cent of residents had been vaccinated as of Feb. 15. The centre does not provide information about how many staff were immunized.
In a live news conference, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said being vaccinated doesn’t mean transmission will be stopped and that precautions must remain in place for seniors and care homes.
“You can have transmission even when people are fully vaccinated,” she said. “The illness seems to be milder and doesn’t transmit as much [and we] won’t see rapid explosive outbreaks.”
Democrat Panel Recommends Permanent Military “Quick Reaction Force” For Capitol
March 10th, 2021Via: Summit News:
A Democrat appointed ‘task force’ has issued a report recommending a permanent military security force be stationed around Capitol Hill.
The task force, headed up by Army Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Russel L. Honoré, reported back to Nancy Pelosi, suggesting that a “quick reaction force” be formed and put on standby in addition to Capitol police.
The report notes that DC is “a high-value target for foreign terrorists or domestic extremists, yet it has no dedicated QRF for response to crises.”
It adds, “The USCP relies on augmentation from other civilian law enforcement agencies for emergency support, but we recommend establishment of a robust, dedicated QRF, not only for the USCP, but to serve the nation’s capital writ large.”
B-1B Bomber Makes Arctic Pit Stop For The First Time
March 10th, 2021Via: The Warzone:
A U.S. B-1B bomber has touched down at a Norwegian Air Base above the Arctic Circle for the first time. This comes as the strategic significance of that region only continues to grow. Russia, in particular, is expanding its own military infrastructure in the far north, including improving bases to be better capable of supporting bombers and other combat aircraft.
The B-1B, nicknamed the Dark Knight after the DC comic books hero Batman, landed at Bodø Main Air Station in northern Norway on March 7, 2021. This bomber is one of four from the 7th Bomb Wing out of Dyess Air Force Base in Texas that arrived at the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s Ørland Main Air Station last month. This is the first time B-1Bs have ever deployed on any basis to this country, which is also a NATO member, though these bombers have flown long-distance missions to train with Norwegian forces and other American allies and partners in the region in the past.
‘Goodbye Newsom’ Chanted By California Protesters As Recall Petition Signed by Nearly 2 Million
March 9th, 2021Via: Newsweek:
Protestors hoping to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom have rallied outside the State Capitol, hours after a campaign hoping to unseat the Democrat announced it had gathered enough signatures to trigger a ballot on his future.
Hundreds of protestors gathered at the West Steps of the California State Capitol building, in Sacramento, on Sunday after campaigners looking to recall Gov. Newsom announced they had obtained nearly 2 million signatures.
In a tweet shared by independent reporter Brendan Gutenschwager, protestors were heard chanting “goodbye Newsom” near the end of the rally.
Texas Deploying National Guard to Southern Border
March 8th, 2021Via: Daily Journal:
Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety launched “Operation Lone Star” over the weekend after a surge of people at the Texas-Mexico border continued to try and get into the U.S. in response to Biden administration policies.
The Texas National Guard is also involved in the operation, tasked with deploying air, ground, marine and tactical border security to high threat areas to deny Mexican cartels and other smugglers the ability to move drugs and people into Texas.
“The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden Administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis.”
When asked by a reporter last week if there is a crisis at the border, Biden replied, “No, we’ll be able to handle it.”
Tesla Is Plugging a Secret Mega-Battery Into the Texas Grid
March 8th, 2021Via: Bloomberg:
Elon Musk is getting into the Texas power market, with previously unrevealed construction of a gigantic battery connected to an ailing electric grid that nearly collapsed last month. The move marks Tesla Inc.’s first major foray into the epicenter of the U.S. energy economy.
A Tesla subsidiary registered as Gambit Energy Storage LLC is quietly building a more than 100 megawatt energy storage project in Angleton, Texas, a town roughly 40 miles south of Houston. A battery that size could power about 20,000 homes on a hot summer day. Workers at the site kept equipment under cover and discouraged onlookers, but a Tesla logo could be seen on a worker’s hard hat and public documents helped confirm the company’s role.
Guardian Promotes ‘Global Lockdown’ Every Two Years To Combat Climate Change
March 7th, 2021Via: Summit News:
The London Guardian has suggested that global lockdowns will be needed every two years in order to save the planet.
The outlet used the (now changed) alarmist headline ‘Global Lockdown Every Two Years Needed To Meet Paris CO2 Goals – Study’.
The piece refers to study published in the Nature journal by a team of researchers at the University of East Anglia, who concluded that CO2 emissions need to drop by the same amount as they have during the recent lockdown period “roughly every two years” in order to offset global warming.
The study did not advocate global lockdowns in order to achieve this, despite the Guardian’s misleading headline.
