Tag Archives: attention

Embracing Festive Pedantry: Why Snowflakes Deserve Our Attention

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Beautiful snowflakes painted on a shop window - festive Christmas decoration. Horizontal color image.

This decoration will soon celebrate Katie’s convocation

Andriy Oleksienko/Shutterstock

During this festive season, it’s hard to miss seasonal designs like trees, holly, and joyful Santa figures. Among the most recognizable motifs are snowflakes. Although famously intricate, they can also be quite bothersome.

The snowflake’s unique structure is influenced by ice’s chemical makeup. While each snowflake is touted as one-of-a-kind, they exhibit intriguing mathematical patterns. Symmetry is a term we often use for shapes, where reflection symmetry means that one side mirrors the other when a line divides it.

Shapes can also showcase rotational symmetry, enabling partial rotations to maintain identical appearances. The count of distinct positions where the shape looks the same is known as the symmetry order. For instance, a square has a degree of 4 rotational symmetry, while an equilateral triangle exhibits a degree of 3.

Some shapes possess only rotational symmetry (like the Isle of Man’s emblem), while others exhibit only reflection symmetry (similar to a stick figure split down the middle).

Regular polygons combine both rotational and reflection symmetries, referred to as dihedral symmetries, allowing us to achieve additional symmetries. For example, reflecting a square vertically followed by horizontally results in a 180-degree rotation. Much like numerical addition, we can “add” symmetries, a concept rooted in group theory.

Snowflakes beautifully embody this concept. With a hexagonal formation, they reflect across six distinct lines through the center and can be rotated six times every 60 degrees. This symmetry arises from the chemical structure of water and ice, where hydrogen bonds form a rigid hexagonal lattice as water freezes.

This unique chemistry leads to the hexagonal foundation of most ice formations, including snowflakes. Variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure impact the specific shape of each snowflake, ensuring that while no two are alike, their basic form remains consistent.

As a mathematician, I am delighted to see such elegant shapes gracing winter, though I find the decorations (excluding the ones shown!) displaying snowflakes with 5 (ugh) or 8 (boo) branches incredibly irritating. Reader beware of seasonal snow fakes!

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Katie Steckles is a mathematician, lecturer, YouTuber, and author based in Manchester, UK. She is also an advisor for New Scientist‘s puzzle column “BrainTwister”. Follow her on Twitter @stex

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Source: www.newscientist.com

How a Far-Fetched Conspiracy Diverts Attention from the Real Threat of Climate Change

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“Everyone knows that airplanes negatively impact the climate…”

Oversnap/Getty Images

Years ago, I attended a climate science conference at University College London. While the specifics of the meeting are lost to me, the day remains vivid. Upon arrival, I encountered demonstrators outside, a familiar sight at such events that typically draw both supporters and skeptics of climate change.

Initially, the protesters conducted themselves peacefully, and I chose to enter the conference. Around mid-morning, however, they disrupted the lecture hall, heckling the speaker before storming the stage with their slogans and signs.

The protesters were unlike any I had encountered. Instead of being traditional climate activists or skeptics, one was a proponent of a conspiracy theory called chemtrails. In essence, this theory posits that the condensation trails (contrails) left by aircraft contain harmful substances deliberately released to manipulate the weather, poison people, or serve other sinister purposes.

This is untrue. Contrails are simply long streaks of ice crystals created when water vapor in engine exhaust freezes in the cold air at cruising altitudes. While they typically dissipate quickly, under certain conditions they can linger for hours, forming what conspiracy theorists label as chemtrails.

Like many conspiracy theories, this one carries elements of truth. Although contrails may look stunning against a summer sky, they nevertheless contribute to environmental damage.

It’s well-established that airplanes have an adverse effect on the climate. Burning aviation fuel represents about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, contrails and contrail-induced clouds are categorized as “aeronautical non-carbon dioxide.” The climatic effects might be equally or even more severe.

This is attributable to basic physics. Similar to greenhouse gases, ice crystals in cirrus clouds trap infrared radiation escaping from Earth, generating a warming effect. They also reflect incoming sunlight, counteracting this effect. Ultimately, though, they contribute to global warming.

In reality, the impact of contrails on climate is not completely understood. Last year, NASA acknowledged this knowledge gap and asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to investigate the climatic repercussions of contrails and suggest research methodologies.

“
Contrails may look eerily beautiful on a summer evening, but they are quietly harming the environment.
“

Recently published, the report states that contrails might contribute to warming potentially exceeding that of aviation fuel, though significant uncertainty remains. Fortunately, options exist to mitigate this impact, including altering fuel formulations, refining engine designs, and rerouting flights to avoid areas conducive to contrail formation.

The report does not mention chemtrails, which is sensible. While the panel might have considered debunking this unfounded conspiracy theory, they opted not to give it publicity. Regardless, the report is unlikely to effect change, especially under the current US administration. Donald Trump’s administration has shown a tendency towards anti-science and conspiracy-driven climate skepticism, making addressing contrails a low priority. Significant regulatory changes regarding the airline and fossil fuel industries are necessary, so don’t expect immediate action.

I suspect that the airline and fossil fuel sectors silently welcome chemtrail theorists; their distractions divert attention from the true implications of contrails on climate.

Instead, the report will likely collect dust, while another report on chemtrails gets commissioned. Reports associate President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the conspiracy as part of an unscientific initiative to make America healthy again. Despite the absence of credible evidence, the notion persists.

Earlier this year, while enjoying a sunny afternoon, I had a conversation with my neighbors. “Have a nice day,” I said. “If they weren’t here, they will be,” he replied, gesturing skyward at intersecting contrails. He, too, is a climate change skeptic.

The chemtrail conspiracy is inherently frustrating—wholly futile. Despite their lack of scientific understanding, conspiracy theorists seem to think their beliefs will yield results. They are intrinsically distrustful of corporate and governmental authority and care about both environmental and human welfare. Yet, their actions only draw attention away from genuine protests and misallocate it toward unfounded notions.

The UCL meeting ultimately succumbed to continuous protests. If the dissenters believed they had triumphed, they were mistaken. Climate change remains a grave threat—chemtrails do not exist.

What I Am Reading

What We Can Know By Ian McEwan.

What I See

ITV Hacking.

What I Am Working On

I recently underwent hernia surgery, so I am careful to avoid straining my stitches.

Topic:

  • Environment /
  • Climate Change

Source: www.newscientist.com

If TED Talks Get Shorter, What Does It Reveal About Our Attention Span?

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Name: Ted Talks

Year: Ted was established in 1984.

And has Ted been sharing ideas ever since? Ted – an abbreviation for Technology, Entertainment, Design – is a non-profit media organization based in the U.S. that hosts its annual conference…

Yes, and they offer motivational online talks. With the powerful tagline “Ideas change everything.”

So, what about them? They are concise.

A lecture? Above all? Historically speaking.

How brief are they? Just 6 minutes.

Who do you refer to? That’s Elif Shafaq.

Turkish and British authors? She’s a novelist, essayist, public speaker, and activist. She spoke at the Hay Festival in Wales.

What did she say? When she first delivered a Ted Talk, she was allowed 19 minutes, but after a decade, the limit was reduced to a strict 13.

Why? That’s what she asked Ted.

And what did Ted reply? According to Shafaq, Ted responded:

How did that make her feel? “It’s disheartening. We can’t engage for more than a few minutes,” she noted, pointing out that we live “in the age of hyperinformation.”

Is it too much to handle? Exactly. “We’re unable to process so much information,” she added. “In the long run, we may lose compassion, leading to fatigue, decreased morale, and paralysis.”

My goodness, sounds severe. Is it true our attention spans have diminished? The absence of longitudinal studies means we can’t be certain, but the public appears to believe so.

Do tell me more. But let’s continue along that line. Research from King’s College London in 2022 found that 49% of individuals think their attention spans are decreasing, while 50% say they can’t stop checking their phones…

Probably young people. Not just them; it’s also a challenge for middle-aged individuals. Moreover, 50% believe the typical adult attention span today is merely 8 seconds.

Sorry, what were we discussing again? The short attention span.

Oh yes, I figured as much. But how about books? Are they getting shorter too? Interestingly, a 2015 survey suggested books are now 25% longer than they were 15 years ago.

I can relate, but something is changing. Nonetheless, this year’s longlist for the international booker prize features eight books with fewer than 200 pages.

What about movies? Surely they’re getting longer? The simple answer is: No. A slightly longer explanation: likely due to marketing strategies, as studios aim to increase ticket sales.

Wait, so it seems our attention is waning while films are getting longer? Very astute. Someone should address this in a Ted Talk.

Say: “Can I make a difference in just 13 minutes?”

Don’t say: “Hurry, you’re running out of time.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Trump’s Attention Shifts to Targeting Drug Dealers

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Former President Trump has been vocal in his battle against drug traffickers for quite some time. He proposed the death penalty for their “heinous acts,” asserting this measure on the first day of his second term. A Presidential Order categorizes cartels as “terrorist organizations.”

Nonetheless, public health and addiction specialists express concern that his budget and policy proposals may inadvertently penalize individuals grappling with drug abuse and addiction.

The Trump administration pledged to combat overdose deaths, a pressing public health crisis, by enhancing law enforcement efforts, bolstering border security, and imposing tariffs on China and Mexico to curb the influx of fentanyl and other hazardous substances. However, the administration also proposed substantial cuts in programs aimed at reducing the demand for drugs.

The budget introduced to Congress this month seeks to eliminate over $1 billion allocated for local and domestic treatment and preventive services. Major federal agencies involved in addressing substance use, such as Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, have already experienced substantial staff reductions due to layoffs during the Trump administration. Critics warn that this will lead to a collapse of the necessary frameworks for a healthy America, extending far beyond just mental health and substance use issues.

If Republican talks about Medicaid cuts are implemented, millions of Americans may be unable to maintain or initiate treatment.

The White House did not provide any comments regarding the situation. The proposed budget highlights a stance on drug trafficking, stressing a commitment to secure boundaries and law and order while advocating for the reduction of redundant or insufficiently impactful addiction services.

Public health experts argue that these reductions are detrimental, particularly at a time when the nation is making meaningful advancements in combating fentanyl fatalities. Various interventions, including increased access to overdose-reversing naloxone, more treatment facilities, stable housing, and peer counseling, have been credited with this progress. Nonetheless, a clear consensus on which interventions merit further focus and funding remains elusive.

“It will be a tragedy if we dismantle these programs without a full understanding of their effectiveness, leading to a potential resurgence of overdose rates,” warns Dr. Matthew Christiansen, an addiction specialist from Huntington, West Virginia, a city once labeled as facing a severe opioid crisis.

A letter signed by over 320 behavioral medicine experts was sent to Congressional leaders, criticizing the proposed cuts, which affect crucial programs such as “community-based naloxone distribution, peer outreach initiatives, prevention programs for drug-related infectious diseases, and drug testing strip programs.”

The president’s budget proposes the termination of grants aimed at “harm reduction,” a strategy that helps curb the spread of disease and maintains the health of drug users, which has gained widespread acceptance among mainstream addiction treatment providers.

The budget questions federal financial backing for “dangerous activities” termed “harm reduction,” which includes providing “safe smoking kits and consumables” and “syringes” for users.

Such rhetoric harkens back to distorted reports from 2022, which suggested that $30 million in federal harm reduction grants would fund crack smoking and meth pipes. In reality, a small portion of the grants, designated as a “Safer Smoking Kit,” comprised alcohol swabs and lip balm while also supporting state programs for sterile syringe exchanges that have been shown to effectively reduce hepatitis C and HIV infection rates.

“Many individuals have faced significant health challenges,” remarked Dr. Christiansen, who previously directed drug management policies in West Virginia. “These tools are essential for minimizing opioid-related harm while fostering long-term recovery.”

According to the latest annual substance use survey by federal entities, 2023, approximately 27.2 million Americans over 12 years old faced substance use disorders, 28.9 million struggled with alcohol use disorders, and 7.5 million experienced both.

The budget maintains block grants for states to combat addiction and mental health issues; however, without additional grants and resources, the capacity for states to deliver necessary medical and social services for addiction prevention and treatment may fall short, as stated by Dr. Christiansen.

David Hertzberg, a Professor of Drug Policy and History at the University of Buffalo, noted that this governmental approach echoes 19th-century America, when the government was heavily intertwined with border issues tied to drug use, particularly regarding opiates and Chinese immigrants. Fearing foreign influence, Congress enacted severe restrictions on immigration from China amid hysteria over opium use among Chinese men.

Currently, as Hertzberg observed, political conservatives have recognized the targeting of foreign drug suppliers as a strategic avenue to bolster their broader agendas.

This stands in stark contrast to the frequently boasted about drug seizures, while chronic substance abuse often goes overlooked and is typically perceived as a personal failing rather than a broader social issue. Elected officials advocating for welfare are often branded as excessively lenient on crime.

“If politicians are truly willing to advocate for these individuals, I would be genuinely surprised,” Hertzberg concluded.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Attention all fashion models: AI is now targeting you!

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tHis AI influence has been felt throughout the industry, from Hollywood to publishing, but now it’s venturing into modeling. H&M announced that it had permission from a model last week to create 30 AI “twins” for use in social media posts and marketing images.

Jorgen Anderson, chief creative officer at H&M, described the idea as a way to enhance creative processes and marketing without changing the human-centric approach. The retail giant has collaborated with successful models like Vilma Sjöberg and Mathilda Gvarliani, known for working with brands such as Vogue and Chanel, allowing each model to reserve twins for other brand projects.

The news was met with concern by the wider industry, reflecting similar worries in Hollywood in 2023 when AI was used in film and television productions. This isn’t the first time a major fashion company has explored AI models, as Levis and Hugo Boss have also delved into this technology.

Bectu, a union representing the creative industry, expressed concerns about the impact of AI on other fashion creatives and industry workers. Model advocates like Sara Ziff raised questions about fair compensation for digital twins, emphasizing the need for regulation.

The Model Alliance Fashion Workers Act, set to become law in June, will require consent from models for AI use in collaboration with state-based agencies. The EU will also introduce regulations for AI use in 2026, with H&M already implementing watermarks on images featuring AI.

While acknowledging the benefits of technology in fashion, concerns remain about the impact of AI on the industry. Models like Sjöberg and Gvarliani may see substantial compensation, but AI poses a threat to models primarily involved in e-commerce shoots. Critics argue that AI models could reduce costs and increase profits, potentially at the expense of human models.

Despite the potential benefits, worries persist about the implications of AI in the fashion industry. As the technology continues to advance, finding a balance between innovation and ethics will be crucial for ensuring a sustainable and inclusive future for modeling.

Source: www.theguardian.com

VLT’s Attention Shifts to Near Earth Asteroid 2024 YR4

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The near-Earth asteroid called the 2024 YR4 has been closely monitored over the past few months as its chances of impacting Earth increased to about 3% in 2032. After the latest observations from the ESO's very large telescope (VLT), the probability of impact has decreased to about 0.001%.

This VLT image shows asteroid 2024 YR4 near Earth. Image credit: ESO/O. hainaut.

2024 yr4 On December 27, 2024, the Asteroid Terrestrial Impact of Río Hurtado was discovered by the Last Alert System (Atlas) station.

Between 40-90 m in diameter, the asteroid took a close approach to Earth at a distance of 828,800 km (515,000 miles) two days before its discovery.

The 2024 YR4 is currently moving, with the next close approach taking place on December 17th, 2028.

On December 22, 2032, the asteroid quickly rose to the top of the ESA risk list due to its size and potential impact. This is a catalogue of all the space rocks that can affect Earth.

“Uncertainty means that the orbit of an asteroid is like a flashlight beam. It becomes wide and wide and ambiguous in the distance.”

“As we observe more, the beam becomes sharper and narrower. The Earth was illuminated more by this beam. The probability of impact increased.”

The observations of the new VLT, along with data from other observatory data, were able to exclude the impact on Earth in 2032 by Dr. Hainaut and his colleagues, but were able to constrain sufficient orbits for all.

“The narrower beams are now far from Earth,” Dr. Heinout said.

The impact probability reported by the ESA's short-range object adjustment center is about 0.001%, and asteroids no longer place the ESA risk list above.

As the 2024 YR4 is far from Earth, it has become increasingly faint and difficult to observe it with all but the largest telescopes.

“The VLT contributes to the observation of this asteroid due to its mirror size and excellent sensitivity, and is an excellent darker sky at the Delusional Observatory of ESO in Chile, where the telescope is located,” the astronomer said.

“This would ideally help track faint objects such as the 2024 YR4 and other potentially dangerous asteroids.”

“Unfortunately, the same pristine, dark sky that allowed these important measurements is now under threat by Industrial Megaproject Inna by AES Andes, a subsidiary of US utility AES Corporation.”

“The project plans to cover areas similar to the size of small cities and be located at the nearest point, about 11 km from VLT.”

“Because of its size and proximity, INNA will have a devastating effect on the quality of Paranal's sky, particularly due to mild contamination from industrial facilities.”

“In bright sky, telescopes like VLT lose the ability to detect the weakest universe's targets.”

Source: www.sci.news

Watch Out! Enhance Your Concentration and Attention Span with These 12 Psychology Tips

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FSeventeen seconds. According to , this was the average amount of time adults could focus on a screen in 2021. Research by Gloria Mark, Professor of Information Studies at the University of California. Twenty years ago, in 2004, this number was two and a half minutes.

Our attention spans, or the amount of time we can focus without distraction, are shrinking. Our focus, how intensely we can think about things, also suffers. The cause: Technology designed to demand our attention. We have endless tools for procrastination at our fingertips. Increased stress and anxiety disorders. And the quality of sleep is poor. But there is a solution. From quick-hit hacks to big lifestyle changes, we asked experts for tips on how to think seriously for the long term.

Find your “why”

Author and psychotherapist Eloise Skinner says that a strong sense of purpose “focuses our attention” and helps us avoid distractions. To find that purpose, Skinner recommends trying the “Five Whys” exercise developed by Japanese businessman and inventor Sakichi Toyoda in the 1930s. In this exercise, you consider why you want to do something until you find the core reason.

For example, at first you may wonder why you fill out a spreadsheet. The answer may be because your boss told you to do it. why? Because it’s part of your job. Ultimately, you get to your core “why,” which in this case might be “this job supports my family.” Write it down so you can get back to it when you feel like you’ve lost focus.

Let’s go for a morning walk

Exposure to natural light in the morning tells our brains to stop producing the sleep hormone melatonin and starts releasing hormones like cortisol, which increases our alertness.

In short, a morning walk can help you focus for the day, says Marian Taylor, sleep consultant and founder of Sleep Works. Taking these walks regularly can improve your concentration in the long run and establish a rhythm in which melatonin is released at the right time of the night, making it easier to fall asleep. “During sleep, our brains consolidate memories and process emotions,” Taylor says. “This ‘cognitive housekeeping’ allows us to wake up with a clearer mind each day.”

Source: www.theguardian.com

Academics now pay close attention to details in the workplace

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Paying attention to small details

“Academics are often accused of ‘obsessing over the details,'” David Taylor told Feedback magazine. “This year my team and I have managed to do just that. We have built a machine that can literally split a single hair from end to end. This is the first time that anyone has been able to split a hair in a lab in a controlled environment and quantify the phenomenon. Were you planning any exciting beauty treatments like coloring or curling your hair? You’ll have to wait and see if this will cause split ends.”

He and his team called the adventure “Hair-splitting biomechanics“, published in Interface Focus.

This is based on research done in the 1980s by Y. K. Kamath and H.-D. Weigman, who sought to take a closer look at what happens when a hair splits.

in Journal of Applied Polymer Science “Fractographic analysis of human hairKamath and Weigman calmed their excitement and stated, “Electron microscopic evidence suggests that fracture propagation occurs via secondary cracks generated as a result of stress concentrations that build up around the primary crack.”

Water from the wreckage

Brazilian researchers have been searching outside the cemetery for the remains of people buried there. Their main question is whether the decaying bodies are sending a foul stench into the area’s deep groundwater. Elias Saba and his colleagues have summed it all up in a book with a macabre, geeky title: “The Deadly Sinisters: The Secrets of the Dead.”Assessing the impact of cemeteries on groundwater using multivariate analysis” “.

The team collected data from three “monitoring wells” dug at the cemetery and compared it with data from the local sewer company about water in nearby household cisterns. Multivariate analysis provided both good and not-so-good news.

The researchers explain that the soil, both inside and outside the cemetery, absorbs most of the problematic waste from the bodies, “preventing surface contaminants from reaching the aquifer.” That’s a good thing. But the problem is that water samples taken in areas outside the cemetery do not meet Brazil’s drinking water standards.

Grandma drinking alcohol

Ancestral water resources are not a new issue. Perhaps the most attention on this issue came in 2008. Journal of Environmental Health.

Reader Russ Hodge responded to the feedback with:Drinking Grandma: The Problem with Embalming” ,” by attorney Jeremiah Chiapelli and Ted Chiapelli, a health sciences professor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina.

The Chiappellis explain: “Modern embalming involves replacing organic blood with a variety of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, particularly formaldehyde. The embalmed body is then buried underground, but even when placed in a coffin, bodily fluids inevitably leak into groundwater. The reasons embalming was first undertaken, and the rationale for the continued practice, do not justify the potential public health and environmental risks posed by embalming.”

The Chiappellis also talk about research done by others about why so many people in the U.S. choose embalming: “In states that require funeral directors to be embalming technicians or have embalming facilities, cremation rates have decreased due to funeral director solicitation.”

settlement

Nothing livens up the social atmosphere at a strange pub like axe throwing, but the sport can pose dangers for some of those who approach it in a obliging, professional manner.

According to researchers Kusha Dabar, Arthur Jeng, and Suzanne Donovan, one such risk factor is blastomycosis, a fungal disease that “manifests as a pulmonary disease” but can also affect the skin, bones, and genitourinary tract.

For more details, please see the three people’s study “Criticism of endemic diagnosis: disseminated blastomycosis due to a new occupational exposure” “.

The patient “worked at an axe-throwing factory after moving to Los Angeles,” and “his work involved cutting wood for customers.”

Dabber, Jenn and Donovan claim that the disease is “not routinely diagnosed” in Southern California. They say: Blastomyces The fungus was present in the wood before entering the patient’s body.

Telltale Title

Below are two titles recently added to our collection of feedback, “The Title Says All You Need to Know.”

“The effect of wet underwear on thermoregulatory responses and thermal comfort in cold weather“”teeth, Ergonomics 1994.

and “The pain one may experience when executed in various ways“This probably surprised magazine readers. Sensing 1993.

If you’ve come across similarly impressive examples, please submit them along with citation details to Telltale titles, c/o Feedback.

Marc Abrahams is the founder of the Ig Nobel Prize ceremony and co-founder of the journal Annals of Improbable Research. He previously worked on unusual uses of computers. His website is Impossible.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

CERN researchers direct attention towards theoretical magnetic monopole

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American theoretical physicist Joseph Polczynski once said that the existence of magnetic monopoles is “one of the safest bets you can make about physics that has yet to be seen.” In the search for these particles that have magnetic charges and are predicted by several theories that extend the standard model, Moedal (Monopole and Exotic Detectors at the LHC) Although the collaboration has yet to prove Polczynski correct, its latest discovery represents a major advance. The new results narrow the search window for these hypothetical particles.

Generation of monopole pairs by Schwinger mechanism. Image credit: MoEDAL Collaboration / CERN.

At CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), interactions between protons or heavy ions can produce pairs of magnetic monopoles.

In collisions between protons, protons can be formed from a single virtual photon (Dorrell-Yang mechanism) or from the fusion of two virtual photons (photon fusion mechanism).

Through a process called the Schwinger mechanism, pairs of magnetic monopoles can also be generated from the vacuum of huge magnetic fields produced by near-miss collisions of heavy ions.

Since starting data acquisition in 2012, MoEDAL has achieved several firsts, including conducting the first search for magnetic monopoles produced by photon fusion and Schwinger mechanisms at the LHC. Ta.

inside First part of the latest researchMoEDAL physicists explored monopoles and highly charged objects (HECOs) produced via the Dorell-Yang mechanism and the photon fusion mechanism.

This search was based on proton-proton collision data collected during Experiment 2 at the LHC using the complete MoEDAL detector for the first time.

The complete detector consists of two main systems that sense magnetic monopoles, HECO, and other highly ionizing virtual particles.

First, magnetic monopole and HECO trajectories can be permanently registered without background signals from standard model particles. The second system consists of an approximately 1-ton capture volume designed to capture magnetic monopoles.

Although the researchers did not find any magnetic monopoles or HECOs in their latest scan of the trapping volume, the masses and production rates of these particles were determined for different values ​​of particle spin, a unique form of angular momentum. limits have been set.

For magnetic monopoles, a mass limit of 1 to 10 times the Dirac charge (gD), the basic unit of magnetic charge, is set, excluding the existence of monopoles with masses as high as about 3.9 trillion electron volts (TeV). I did. .

For HECO, a mass limit was established for charges from 5e to 350e, where e is the electronic charge, and the presence of HECO with masses in the range up to 3.4 TeV was excluded.

“MoEDAL's search reach for both monopoles and HECOs allows the collaboration to explore vast swaths of the theoretical 'discovery space' for these hypothetical particles,” said a spokesperson for the MoEDAL collaboration. said Dr. James Pinfold.

in their second studyMoEDAL scientists focused on searching for monopoles produced via the Schwinger mechanism in heavy ion collision data collected during LHC Experiment 1.

In a unique effort, we scanned a decommissioned section of the CMS experimental beam pipe for trapped monopoles instead of the trapping volume of the MoEDAL detector.

Again, the team found no monopoles, but set the strongest mass constraints yet for Schwinger monopoles with charges between 2 gD and 45 gD, ruling out the existence of monopoles with masses up to 80 GeV. did.

“A crucial aspect of the Schwinger mechanism is that the production of complex monopoles is not suppressed compared to the production of elementary monopoles, as is the case with Dorell-Yang and photon fusion processes,” Pinfold said. Ta.

“Therefore, if monopoles are composite particles, this and the previous Schwinger monopole search may have been the first ever chance to observe monopoles.”

_____

Moedal collaboration. 2024. Searching for highly ionized particles in pp collisions in LHC Run-2 using the Full MoEDAL detector. arXiv: 2311.06509

B. Acharya other. 2024. MoEDAL explores magnetic monopoles generated by the Schwinger effect in CMS beam pipes. arXiv: 2402.15682

Source: www.sci.news

“I may be a troll, but I’m no fool”: Superstan Harry Daniels takes aim at Biden, Dua Lipa, and Anna Wintour for attention

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Billy Eilish is Running away from him. Doja Cat Stops her. Her security detail made the sidewalk serenade of “Paint the Town Red” possible. Charli XCX Let’s him sing a few bars of “I Got It,” then said, “I have to try,” and turned on her heel and strolled back to the car.

Harry Daniels stakes out celebrities like Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding, and Joe Biden and serenades them while filming their reactions on TikTok. Most of these exchanges are spontaneous, as if the celebrities are genuinely surprised to have a 20-year-old man sing a song to them (usually horrifyingly, often about themselves). When Daniels found Jacob Elordi, who was at the restaurant, said the Saltburn star stayed next to a bodyguard-like man across the room and watched, amused, as Daniels headed off to the dance floor singing “Murderer.” I was a little wary.

Harry Daniels sings Lana Del Rey’s national anthem to Joe Biden. Photo: TikTok user @harry.daniels

Daniels’ videos alternate between old-fashioned trolling (Daniels once gratefully sang to Lea Michele, “All I Can Do for the Illiterate Community”) and an expression of true love for the artist. In an age when celebrities tightly control their images, his improvisations manage to reveal whether there’s a sense of humor, a lick of personality, or something going on beneath the surface. To quote a popular genre of comments Daniels receives on TikTok: “How do I find these people?!?!?”

Daniels has long cultivated an obsession with pop princesses online. “I think there’s a big element of escapism in stan culture,” he told me last week when I met him and his sister Madeline Daniels at a cafe on New York’s Lower East Side. “I found solace in other people’s careers and jobs, because I often felt insecure about my own life.”

Daniels grew up on Long Island, the son of an accountant and a homemaker. “Harry first attended Stan University when he was about 11 years old, where he completed his PhD,” said Madeleine, who also serves as his cameraman and unofficial manager. He loves Demi Lovato, Billie Eilish, Fifth Harmony, and Haim, and learned how to follow his favorites in real life by interacting with their fans on social media.

Two years ago, Daniels used his superior education to compete for face time with superstars. “I went to everyone’s shows and meet-and-greets and engaged with them in a way that made me feel connected to them,” he said. However, he felt the interaction was too formulaic. “How many times do I say ‘I love you so much’ to someone?” Wanting to leave a lasting impression, he decided to entertain himself by being a damn, a troll.”

Daniels and Paris Hilton were photographed shortly after the hotel heiress sang her 2006 hit “Stars are Blind.” Photo: Harry Daniels

Daniels’ first recorded TikTok serenade was at Sabrina Carpenter’s album signing in 2022. In the video, Sabrina Carpenter sang her diss track “Skin” while sitting behind a table. He suppressed an obviously nervous laugh. As soon as Daniels finished speaking, Carpenter issued a very diplomatic “thank you.” At that moment, a fool was born.

Daniels quickly became “smarter” than he appeared in person. He was waiting outside the Broadway stage door. He serenaded Sarah Paulson. Sometimes he got lucky. One night while he was eating at a diner, he ran into Ethan Cutkosky, who played Carl in the American version of Shameless.

“I think people think I’m hiding in the bushes, but I actually just show up where I know they’ll be,” he said. (It helps that he lives just outside New York City.)

Eventually, Daniels reached such a level of virality that some artist teams started reaching out. The music industry’s heavy reliance on TikTok as a promotional tool means that labels are likely to back artists who can generate buzz on the app. A cleverly planned “surprise” with Daniels, who has over 1 million followers, is a boon for artists looking to go viral or curate a relatable online persona.

Ripa’s team invited Daniels to surprise their star during a press tour. Similarly, Daniels used backstage access to go to Coachella earlier this month and sing Taylor Swift’s “Antihero” to Jack Antonoff and Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind” to the heiress herself. Daniels says many of his videos are “just for fun,” meaning he doesn’t get paid. Money comes in when sponsors pay him to take pictures with artists at events. (Daniels declined to reveal his maximum performance fee.)

Daniels said that while the artist’s team may know what’s going on, the artist “legitimately doesn’t know anything,” which makes it difficult for the created situation to remain authentic. He claims it’s helping. “But lately, people have started trying to teach me how to create their own content.” He says he’s been asked by artists to promote new music or promote the names of products. “I wanted my videos to be less commercial and more culturally relevant, so I had to put my foot down,” he said.

Although Daniels prefers to stay in the pop culture realm, he recently filmed a video with Biden after receiving an invitation to a star-studded Radio City Music Hall fundraiser in March. Daniels was able to get close to the barricade where Biden walked around shaking hands with attendees. So he learned to sing Lana Del Rey’s national anthem dedicated to the 81-year-old politician. “He was very present, but I think he was literally like, ‘What the heck?'” Daniels said.

Harry Daniels surprises Greta Gerwig in New York. Photo: TikTok user @harry.daniels

Daniels also intended to sing for Kamala Harris if given the chance. What song? Of course, the wheels of the bus are “The Vice President’s Obvious Love” laugh out loud about buses, laugh out loud about buses. But don’t expect a Trump video. “I don’t think I’ll ever get this close to him,” Daniels said.

Not everyone appreciates Harry Daniels’ treatment. At a Biden fundraiser afterparty, Ms. Daniels unsuccessfully tried to sing to the incomparable Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue: I may be a troll, but I’m not stupid,” Daniels said. “So I introduced myself and said I was a fan of hers, and she was like, ‘Thank you, that’s so sweet.’ I started singing and she just walked away.”

Daniels also came under heavy attack after the match. Ask America Ferrera if she wanted a “gay son or creepy daughter” at the People’s Choice Awards. His critics accused him of being “uninteresting” and “not a real journalist.” He dismissed that, telling Rolling Stone, “My job is to create content that generates clicks and views.”

Daniels’ post has an ulterior motive. According to Rolling Stone, he’s also a singer himself, and he’s not bad at it. The magazine said his vocals had “an inherent melancholy similar to that of Troye Sivan.” “The only reason I really started doing all of this is because I wanted to pursue music. Basically, everyone I’ve ever talked to in this industry has told me that you need to get a following on social media. I said it consistently,” Daniels said. “So if people want a follow, I’ll give them a follow.”

Daniels doesn’t seem annoyed by the give-and-take. He respects the hustle and bustle. Still, there’s something dark about how his outsider side inevitably becomes part of the star machine. The more celebrities are tipped off about a potential interaction with Harry Daniels, the more the video feels like an SNL short, less gonzo fun and more fuel for PR campaigns and album release calendars.

Harry Daniels, his sister Madeleine, and Charlie D’Amelio. Photo: Harry Daniels

Regardless, Daniels says, “The music comes first.” He describes his work as hyperpop, a bubblegum-meets-chaos genre typified by Charli XCX and Kim Petras. “It’s larger than life and reminds me of what music is supposed to be. Music is supposed to soundtrack something bigger than yourself and make you feel things you can’t put into words,” he said.

Although he hasn’t released any tracks yet, he said 2024 will be the last year of his current idiocy. He’s not done yet. He knows that if he wants to stay relevant, he’ll have to create content forever, and that’s fine with him. He just sees it as an opportunity to “strike while the iron is hot.” He is currently in talks to expand the Homespun team to include not only his sister but also the pros.

As Daniels left the cafe, a young woman who appeared to be a fan standing near the exit quietly said, “I love you.” Daniels breathlessly responded with a sweet, “I love you too.” I’m sure it’s something he inherited from the celebrities he’s sung to.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have developed to aid hunter-gatherers in gauging when to stop investing in unproductive pursuits

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Early hunter-gatherers faced with food shortages may have benefited from the impulsivity associated with ADHD

John Civic/Science Photo Library

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have evolved in hunter-gatherer societies because it was an advantage for them, according to the results of a new study. Characteristics commonly associated with the disease, such as impulsivity, cause some foragers to move from areas where resources are depleted to areas with richer harvests faster than areas without the disease. It could have been something like this.

ADHD affects people's behavior, which can result in them acting impulsively and having trouble concentrating. Although its exact cause is not fully understood, the condition tends to run in families.

Its origins are similarly unknown, he says. Arjun Ramakrishnan At the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. “Is it a remnant of the hunter-gatherer world?”

To explore this, Ramakrishnan, david barak Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania recruited 506 people in the United States to play an online foraging game. Players were instructed to collect as many berries as possible in 8 minutes by moving their cursor over the bush.

They were given the choice of staying in the bush or trying their luck in another bush that might have more or less fruit. Moving to a new bush also resulted in a short timeout, so players had to balance the chance of getting more berries with the time lost by moving.

Before playing the game, participants completed a questionnaire assessing whether they had symptoms of ADHD, such as difficulty concentrating or restlessness.

People with ADHD symptoms spent about four seconds hovering over a particular bush compared to those without symptoms, and as a result, the former group collected an average of 521 berries. However, I was able to collect 602 berries.

The findings suggest that selective pressures faced by early hunter-gatherer societies, such as lack of food and other resources, may have driven the evolution of ADHD. There may have been some foraging situations in which it was better to stay than move on, but Barak said this tendency to leave could have been an advantage in some scenarios.

“Humans and other apes are very sophisticated foragers, but like almost all other animals, we tend to stay in our plots too long and harvest too much in our fields.” he says. “Therefore, starting action early may be beneficial to reduce over-harvesting, and this may be where the impulsive characteristics of ADHD come in handy.”

Although many people around the world are no longer looking for food, situations still exist where similar decision-making processes occur. If a person is studying for an exam, he may start by looking at one resource. If it doesn't help you understand the topic, Barak says, you may quickly switch to another resource, which may be more efficient and helpful.

“Although it is difficult to determine exactly how ADHD-related behaviors were adaptive in past environments, we find that people with and without ADHD show measurable differences in foraging strategies. In that sense, these results are convincing,” says Dr. Dan Eisenberg at the University of Washington in Seattle.

but Annie Swanepoel North East London NHS Foundation Trust said it did not reflect the scarcity of resources experienced by many of the early hunter-gatherers, as foraging operations produced abundant berry crops.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Photo of a polar bear snoozing on an iceberg captures attention and admiration

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Nima Sarikani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

As midnight approaches in Svalbard, a young polar bear climbs onto an iceberg, makes himself a makeshift bed, and falls asleep. This year’s winner, Nima Sarikani, captured this peaceful moment that captures the essence of Earth’s fragility. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, People’s Choice Awarddecided by public vote.

Sarikani, from the UK, spent three days exploring Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in hopes of catching a glimpse of these iconic arctic animals. After the expedition vessel decided to change course, he was finally able to see both the older and younger males. Salikhani seized the opportunity to photograph a young bear dozing on an iceberg. This scene not only evokes the bond between animals and their habitat, but also the need to act against global challenges such as climate change and habitat loss.

These days, the sight of a lone polar bear on melting ice has become a familiar symbol of the effects of climate change. But there are good reasons for this. Global warming is affecting the Arctic particularly rapidly, where temperatures are rising three times faster than the global average. Bears are among the hardest hit, and are increasingly threatened by the loss of sea ice on which they depend for hunting and raising their young.

Salikhani is optimistic that while his shots are meant to stir the emotions of viewers, they will ultimately give polar bears hope that if they do the right thing, it’s not too late.The image will appear like this exhibition It will run until June 30th at the Natural History Museum in London, with four runners-up in the competition.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The overlooked community of scientific detectives is now gaining attention from the research community

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A group of investigators devoted to finding errors in scientific research has shocked some of the world’s most prestigious research institutions and the scientific community as a whole.

The highly publicized case of alleged image manipulation in a paper co-authored by a former Stanford University president and a leader at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has garnered national media attention, prompting speculation from top scientific leaders that this may only be the beginning.

“At this pace, we’re going to see another paper published every few weeks,” said Holden, the editor-in-chief of Science, one of the world’s two most influential journals. Mr. Thorpe said on site.

Investigators argue that their work is necessary to rectify the scientific record and prevent generations of researchers from pursuing futile avenues due to flawed papers. Some scientists are calling for universities and academic publishers to reform their approach to addressing flawed research.

“I understand why the investigators who discovered these issues are so furious,” said Michael, a biologist and former editor of the journal eLife, as well as a prominent advocate for reform in scientific publishing. “Authors, journals, institutions, everyone is incentivized to downplay their significance,” Eisen said.

For approximately a decade, investigators identified widespread problems with scientific images in published papers and voiced their concerns online, but received little attention. Last summer, neuroscientist and then-Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned amid scrutiny over allegations of image manipulation in a study he co-authored and a report criticizing his lab culture. Since then, there has been a noticeable shift. While Tessier-Lavigne himself has not been found to have engaged in any misconduct, members of his lab appear to have manipulated images in questionable ways. Thereport from the scientific panelhired to investigate the allegations stated.

In January, a blogger’s scathing post exposed questionable research by top leaders at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which subsequently retracted six papers and requested corrections to dozens more.

In hisresignation statement, Tessier-Lavigne stated that the committee could not find any evidence that he was aware of any misconduct, and that he had never submitted documents that appeared to be inaccurate. In a statement from its research integrity officer, Dana-Farber stated that it had taken decisive action to correct the scientific record and that discrepancies in the images were not necessarily evidence that the authors were attempting to deceive.

“We are experiencing a moment of public awareness that really turned a corner when the Mark Tessier-Lavigne scandal unfolded, and since then the Dana-Farber scandal has been the most recent and continuous,” Thorpe said.

This long-standing issue is now receiving national attention, with the emergence of new artificial intelligence tools that are helping address problems ranging from longstanding errors and sloppy science to unethically manipulated images in photo-editing software, making it easier to spot various issues.

This increased scrutiny is prompting changes in how some publishers operate. Universities, journals, and researchers are being urged to consider new technologies, the potential backlog of undiscovered errors, and methods for enhancing transparency when problems are identified.

This comes at a challenging time in academic circles. Venture capitalist Bill Ackman, in apost last month on X, discussed the use of artificial intelligence to identify plagiarism by leaders of top universities with ideological differences, and raised questions about political motivations in plagiarism investigations. More broadly, public trust in scientists and science has steadily declined in recent years, according to thePew Research Center.

Eisen stated that he does not believe investigators’ concerns about scientific images veer into “McCarthyist” territory. “I think they’re honing in on a specific type of problem in the literature, and they’re right. That’s bad,” Eisen said.

Scientific publishing is the primary means by which scientists establish a foundation of understanding in their fields and share new discoveries with their colleagues. Before publication, scientific journals review submissions and solicit feedback from researchers outside the field to identify errors or faulty inferences, a process known as peer review. Journal editors evaluate research findings for plagiarism and conduct copy editing prior to publication. While this system is not perfect, it still relies on the good faith efforts of researchers to avoid manipulating research results.

Over the past 15 years, scientists have become increasingly concerned that some researchers are digitally altering images in papers to distort or enhance their results. The field of image integrity screening has expanded significantly since Yana Christopher, a scientific imaging expert with the European Federation of Biochemical Societies and its journals, began working in the field nearly 15 years ago. At the time, “no one was doing this, and people were in denial about research misconduct,” Christopher stated. “The prevailing belief was that it was very rare and that instances of manipulating results were few and far between.”

Scientific journals now employ entire teams dedicated to processing images and ensuring their accuracy. The number of retractions of published papers has increased significantly in recent years, with records indicating that over 10,000 papers were retracted last year, according to aNature analysis. A loose collective of scientific investigators applies external pressure, often identifying and flagging errors and potential manipulation on the online forum PubPeer. Many of these investigators receive little or no compensation or public recognition for their work.

“There’s a certain level of urgency,” Eisen stated. Ananalysis of comments on over 24,000 articles posted on PubPeer revealed that over 62% of PubPeer comments were related to image manipulation. For years, investigators relied on keen observation, pattern recognition, and a grasp of photo manipulation tools. In recent years, artificial intelligence tools capable of scanning documents for anomalies have been rapidly developed and improved.

Scientific journals are now utilizing similar technology to detect errors prior to publication. In January, Science announced that it is using an artificial intelligence tool called Proofig to scan papers undergoing editing and peer review for publication.Science editor-in-chief Thorpe stated that the family of six journals quietly incorporated the tool into their workflows approximately six months prior to the January announcement. The journal previously relied on visual inspection to identify these types of issues. During the editing process, Proofig flagged papers that had not yet been published, citing “logical explanations” for problematic images that were difficult to justify, or issues that the authors had addressed prior to publication. “Less than 1% of errors are significant enough to prevent a paper from being published,” Thorpe stated.

Chris Graff, director of research integrity at publisher Springer Nature, stated that the company is developing and testing “in-house AI image integrity software” to identify duplicate images. Graff’s research integrity department currently uses Proofig to assess papers in case concerns arise post-publication. The testing process varies among journals, but some Springer Nature publications use Adobe Photoshop tools to manually identify image manipulation and conduct experiments to visualize cellular components or general discrepancies in raw scientific experimental data.

“Although AI-based tools can facilitate and scale investigations, we still believe the human element is important in all investigations,” Graff stated, emphasizing that image recognition software is not infallible and that human expertise is necessary to guard against false positives and negatives. No tool can detect all mistakes and fraud.

“There are many facets to that process. You can never catch them all,” Thorpe remarked. “As journals, institutions, and authors, we need to do a better job of addressing this when it occurs.”

Many forensic scientists have grown frustrated that their concerns have been disregarded, or that investigations have progressed slowly with little public resolution. Sholto-David, who publicly voiced his concerns about the Dana-Farber study in a blog post, stated that the response from journal editors was so unsatisfactory that he nearly “gave up” on writing a letter to journal editors regarding the errors he had discovered. Elizabeth Bick, a microbiologist and longtime image investigator, said that if she reports image issues frequently, “nothing happens.”

While public comments on PubPeer questioning research data can stimulate discussion surrounding questionable research, authors and institutions often do not directly respond to online criticism. Although journals can issue corrections or retractions, it is generally the responsibility of research institutions or universities to investigate incidents. If the incident pertains to federally funded biomedical research, the federal Office of Research Integrity may conduct an investigation.

Thorpe stated that agencies need to assume responsibility when errors are discovered and act more swiftly to openly and candidly address what occurred to regain public trust. He stated, “The university has been very sluggish in responding, very slow in instituting the process, and the longer this goes on, the greater the damage will be. I don’t know what would have happened if Stanford had said these papers are flawed, instead of initiating this investigation.”

Some scientists are concerned that the problem of image manipulation is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of scientific integrity. Detecting issues with images is much simpler than spotting simple data errors in spreadsheets. While it is crucial to crack down on problematic papers and hold individuals accountable, some scientists believe that these measures address a larger problem: rewarding career advancement for those who publish the most exciting results rather than enduring results. “Scientific culture itself doesn’t say we care about getting it right. It says we care about getting papers that make a splash,” Eisen said.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Google’s AI demo was fake, Grand Theft Auto VI captures attention, Spotify reduces workforce

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Welcome to the Week in Review (WiR)

Welcome everyone to Week in Review (WiR). This is TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps the past few days in technology. AI is back in the headlines, with tech giants from Google to X (formerly Twitter) taking on OpenAI for chatbot supremacy. But so much more happened. In this issue of WiR, Google fakes a demo of a new AI model (and handed out an offensive note to Black Summit attendees), defense startup Anduril unveils fighter jet weapons, and the latest from the 23andMe hack The Continuing Aftermath and Grand Theft Auto VI trailer. Other stories include patient scans and health records leaked online, Meta’s new AI-powered image generator, Spotify layoffs, and self-driving truck startup pulling out of the US. There’s a lot to do, so don’t delay. But before that, if you haven’t already, here’s a reminder to subscribe here so you can receive her WiR in your inbox every Saturday.

Google fakes a new AI model (and hands out an offensive note to Black Summit attendees)

Google this week announced a new flagship AI model called Gemini. However, the complete model Gemini Ultra was not released, only a “lite” version called Gemini Pro. Google touted Gemini’s coding and multimodal capabilities in press conferences and blog posts, claiming the model can understand not only text but also images, audio, and video. However, because Gemini Pro is strictly text input and text output, it has proven to be error-prone. And to make matters worse for Google, the company was caught faking the Gemini demo by adjusting the text prompts with still images taken away from the camera. In another Google PR failure, people who attended the company’s K&I Black Summit in August were given third-party notebooks containing extremely insensitive language. My colleague Dominique Madri wrote that the inside of the notebook had the phrase “I was just now” printed on it. cotton That was the moment, but I came back to take your notes” (emphasis on our notes). Needless to say, this would not have been well-received by the mostly black audience in attendance. Google promises to “avoid similar situations.”

Anduril’s new weapons

Anduril, the controversial defense company co-founded by Oculus founder Palmer Lackey, has developed a new product designed to counter the proliferation of low-cost, high-powered aerial threats. A modular, twin-jet-powered, autonomous vertical take-off and landing aircraft (one version of which can carry warheads), called the Roadrunner, can take off from, track, and destroy targets, as well as intercept them. If there is no need, you can intercept the target. autonomously maneuver back to base, refuel and reuse. More 23andMe victims: Last Friday, genetic testing company 23andMe announced that hackers had accessed the personal data of 0.1% of its customers, or about 14,000 people. But the company initially declined to say how many other users may have been affected by the breach, which 23andMe first disclosed in October. In all, 6.9 million people had their name, year of birth, relationship label, percentage of his DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports, and self-reported location exposed.

Grand Theft Auto VI trailer goes viral

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI reached 85 million views in just 22 hours, breaking the MrBeast video’s record for most YouTube views in 24 hours. The excitement for Grand Theft Auto VI continues for his decade. The previous installment in Rockstar Games’ long-running series, Grand Theft Auto V, remains the same. second best selling Best video game of all time, not even close to Minecraft.

Patient records leaked

A security weakness in a decades-old industry standard designed for storing and sharing medical images has led to thousands of exposed servers exposing the medical records and personal health information of millions of patients. I am. This standard, known as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), is an internationally recognized format for medical images. However, as German-based cybersecurity consultancy Aplite has discovered, security flaws in DICOM are allowing many healthcare facilities to unintentionally make their personal data accessible from the open web.

Meta generates images

Not to be outdone by the launch of Google’s Gemini, Meta has launched a new standalone generative AI experience, Imagine with Meta AI, on the web. This allows users to create images by describing them in natural language. Similar to OpenAI’s DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, Imagine with Meta AI leverages Meta’s existing Emu image generation model to create high-resolution images from text prompts.

Spotify makes layoffs

Spotify will cut around 1,500 jobs, or about 17% of its workforce, in its third round of layoffs this year as the music streaming giant aims to “increase both productivity and efficiency.” It’s a schedule. In a memo to employees on Monday, Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek cited slowing economic growth and rising costs of capital, saying the company needs more employees to face “the challenges ahead.” He stated that it is important to set an appropriate size of staff.

TuSimple will exit

When TuSimple went public in 2021, it was emerging as the leading self-driving truck developer in the U.S., but now, after a series of internal disputes and the loss of a key partnership with truck manufacturer Navistar, TuSimple is completely removed from the U.S. We are withdrawing. TuSimple says:

ZestMoney will shut down

ZestMoney, a buy-now-pay-later startup that can underwrite small loans to first-time Internet customers and has attracted a number of high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs, has found a buyer. Efforts failed and it was closed. At its peak, the Bangalore-based startup employed around 150 people and raised more than $130 million during its eight-year run.

TechCrunch’s latest podcast episodes

TechCrunch’s list of podcast episodes continues to grow, just in time for your weekend listening. capital We featured a retrospective conversation from TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. Alex is the founder of Trible, a no-code app builder that helps you build online courses. He spoke with Serhii Bohoslovskyi. The two talked about the current state of the creator economy, the state of use of no-code tools today (and how it’s being embraced by non-technical creators), and the safety of startups with Ukrainian roots. . It’s over found, the crew spoke to David Rogier, CEO and founder of MasterClass, a streaming platform where you can learn from world experts on a variety of topics. Before Rogier launched his MasterClass, he worked as a VC, and through those connections he secured a $500,000 seed round before the company even had an idea. and, Chain reaction, Jacqueline interviewed David Packman, Managing Partner and Head of Venture Investments at Coinfund. Prior to CoinFund, David worked at venture capital firm Venrock where he worked for 14 years. He also led the Series A and B rounds of Dollar Shave Club, which was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion. And he co-created Apple Music in 1991, when David was in Apple’s Systems Software Product Marketing Group.

Source: techcrunch.com