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Europe prepares for a dangerous heatwave
Meteorologists and public health authorities across Europe have warned that this week's heatwave represents a major health risk to children and vulnerable adults, with temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in places, exacerbated by a high humidity index (The Guardian).
Level 2 public health alerts have been issued in England with a 70 per cent probability dangerous heat health criteria will be met. Elsewhere, however, France, Italy, Germany and Spain are predicting record-breaking temperatures and are putting in place cool rooms, water distribution services and other precautions to help protect children, the elderly and homeless people.
Capuchin monkeys have been developing stone tools for 3,000 years
Archaeological findings in Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park show that the capuchin monkey population there has a 3,000-year-old history of stone tool use, complete with long-term variations of the kind not previously seen at sites associated with non-human tool users (National Geographic). At the beginning of the archaeological record, the monkeys appear to have used single stones to break open nuts, only later adopting the use of anvils in the form of tree roots or larger stones.
Yarn-based social network bans support of US Trump regime
Ravelry, a social network for enthusiasts of knitting, crochet and other fibre arts, has banned content that supports the current US government because "support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy." (Gizmodo). The network, which has some 8 million members, patterned its ban on pro-Trump posts after a similar policy on the RPG.net role-playing game forum and is perhaps the largest social network to date to take a clear position against the current US government.
Beats and Brexit: Hot Chip on their new album A Bath Full of Ecstasy
Hot Chip’s distinctive blend of humanism- and house-inflected electronica has been defying categorisation since founding members Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor burst out of the wreckage of the late 90s electroclash movement with their debut album Coming on Strong in 2004 (WIRED).
The group’s new album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy, condenses all of these things – giving a live-jamming feel to electronic pop; flirting with hard, four-on-the-floor club tunes; and sprinkling unexpectedly political lyrics over dreamy synths. WIRED spoke to Goddard and Taylor about the evolving electronic scene, open-source synthesizers and the impossibility of avoiding protest songs in desperate times.
Google has added media literacy modules to its digital safety course for kids
Google's Be Internet Awesome digital safety course has gained six media literacy modules to help children learn to evaluate the accuracy of information shared online, check sources, spot disinformation and analyse content from all sources (TechCrunch). Primarily designed for use in educational settings for kids aged 7 to 12, the course as a whole covers a wide range of subjects touching on internet security, etiquette and privacy.
What is Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency really about?
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
