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Rainforest loss has accelerated under Brazil's new leadership
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has sharply increased under the rule of president Jair Bolsonaro's right-wing government, with satellite data indicating that an area the size of a football pitch is being destroyed every minute.
In a secret interview with BBC News, an anonymous Brazilian official said that the government is actively encouraging deforestation and is attempting to undermine and discredit data from departments charged with monitoring the state of the rainforest. The government openly favours clearing the Amazon rainforest to create new pasture land for the beef industry.
Facebook headquarters partially evacuated over sarin scare
Multiple buildings at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, were evacuated after a parcel triggered a sarin gas alert in mail inspection equipment (The Register). Nobody has been harmed and Facebook said in a statement that it is “conducting a thorough investigation in coordination with local authorities. Authorities have not yet identified the substance found.” A false positive has not been ruled out.
Eye position is key to distracted driving dangers
New research has found that the key factor in distracted driving is a shift of visual focus, rather than simply trying to concentrate on too many things at once (Ars Technica). In a simulation, drivers were asked to respond to the presence of brake lights ahead of them. Increasing cognitive load by asking them to spot other on-screen phenomena didn't have a major impact on their performance, but as soon as they had to shift their visual focus and rely on peripheral vision to watch the road ahead, they started missing key braking signals.
Our future is about collaboration between AI and humanity
Artificial intelligence is starting to master what it means to be creative (WIRED). “This is both exciting and slightly terrifying,” says Marcus du Sautoy, Charles Simonyi professor for the public understanding of science at Oxford University. A broadcaster and author of the best-selling popular mathematics book The Music of the Primes, and the recently published The Creativity Code, du Sautoy often explores the borderlands of art and science, once even appearing in his own play at the Science Museum.
Samsung Galaxy Fold launch failure was 'embarrassing' says co-CEO
The Independent reports that Samsung co-CEO DJ Koh has said that the debacle over faulty Galaxy Fold review units that lead to its launch being delayed indefinitely was “embarrassing” (The Verge). Koh told a small group of journalists that he “pushed it through before it was ready” but says that the company's folding smartphone is still coming “in due course”.
The hunt for an Alzheimer's vaccine
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
