Science and Technology

Tuesday, 14 December 2021 05:30

Smartwatches and fitness trackers could detect Covid-19 before you even feel ill

Scientists have created an algorithm for smartwatches that can detect 80% of confirmed Covid-19 cases before or when patients are symptomatic. However, the algorithm can't differentiate between someone who's consumed alcohol, someone who is stressed or someone with a virus. It is hoped that this can eventually be used to determine whether someone needs to self-isolate or not, following clinical trials and the incorporation of additional data. Researchers created an algorithm to notify smartwatch wearers of stress, capturing events such as air travel, extended exercise, and illness. The new algorithm reads heart rate as a proxy for physiological or mental…

Saturday, 11 December 2021 04:51

Coronavirus infects fat, may explain obesity link to severe Covid-19

The coronavirus can directly infect fat cells, a recent study awaiting peer review found. The finding may help explain why obese or overweight people are more vulnerable to severe Covid-19. Scientists need more data to determine if extra body fat independently raises a person's risk. More than two-thirds of American adults are obese or overweight, putting them at elevated risk of severe Covid-19 illness and death. Obesity in particular may triple the risk of hospitalization from the disease. But for most of the pandemic, scientists haven't understood why. While obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and heart disease can independently raise…

Saturday, 11 December 2021 04:49

Dangerous Android scam drains your bank account with just one phone call

Android device owners now have another scam to watch out for as a dangerous malware campaign spreads to new regions. Cybersecurity experts from Cleafy say that they have seen a spike in Android remote access trojan (RAT) infections over the past year. According to Cleafy, BRATA – a malware first discovered in Brazil – has made its way to Italy. Hackers are using the trojan to steal banking details from Android users and then drain their bank accounts. New Android scam steals banking information As the cybersecurity experts explain, this new version of the BRATA malware is difficult to detect.…

Thursday, 09 December 2021 05:47

Pfizer says its booster shot neutralizes Omicron

BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their Covid-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test, an early signal that booster shots could be key to protection against infection from the newly identified variant. The German and U.S. companies said two doses of their vaccine resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but could still be protective against severe disease. "The first line of defence, with two doses of vaccination, might be compromised and three doses of vaccination are required to restore protection," BioNTech Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tuereci said at a…

Wednesday, 08 December 2021 05:56

Major outage hits Amazon Web Services; many sites affected

Amazon’s cloud-service network suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, disrupting access to many popular sites. The service provides remote computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press. Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues with Amazon Web Services, the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had “mitigated” the underlying problem responsible for the outage. Shortly thereafter, it reported that “many services have already recovered” but noted that others were still working toward full recovery. The issue primarily affected Amazon web services in the…

Tuesday, 07 December 2021 05:54

10 Google search tricks to help you find what you’re looking for

How often do you turn to Google? Every day? Multiple times a day? If you’re focused on privacy, there are better options. When it comes to finding what you want, some tricks make the job easy. Here are 10 Google tips to try: 1. Filter search results by date Let’s say you’re researching, and you only want to find results from the past five years. If you filter by date, you can make sure old links aren’t clogging your search results. Here’s what to do. First, type in your phrase. Then, tap on Tools, click on Any Timeand click on…

Monday, 06 December 2021 06:01

US govt, other state actors can access your messages on WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, others despite encryption. This is how

Having end-to-end encryption may not be enough cover for privacy when using popular encrypted messaging applications, because law enforcement can access your data when they want to. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) document prepared on January 7 has provided the kinds of user data various secure messaging apps can share at the request of law enforcement agencies. Titled “Lawful Access,” the one-page document detailed the “FBl’s ability to legally access secure messaging app content and metadata.” The “unclassified” document designated as “for official use only” and “law enforcement sensitive” was prepared by the FBI’s science and technology branch and…

Monday, 06 December 2021 05:58

'Potentially hazardous' asteroid worth nearly $5bn will enter Earth’s orbit this week - NASA

A gigantic, "potentially hazardous" space rock bigger than the Eiffel Tower will enter Earth’s orbit next week, according to NASA. The egg-shaped asteroid, named 4660 Nereus, is 1,082 feet (330 meters) long and will break into Earth’s orbit traveling at 14,700 mph (23,700 km/h) on Saturday, Dec. 11. Thankfully for all of our weekend plans, the asteroid is expected to skim past Earth at some distance without making impact, but it will still be closer to us than it has been in 20 years. Nereus will be roughly 2.4 million miles away (3.86 million km), around 10 times the distance…

Saturday, 04 December 2021 06:17

Eating just 1 hot dog takes 35 minutes off life - Study

Researchers released a nutritional index this week aiming to inform guidelines and help Americans achieve healthier and more environmentally stable diets. The index ranked foods by minutes gained or lost off healthy life per serving, with processed meats and sugary drinks among the biggest offenders. Findings included over 5,000 foods in the U.S. diet classified by health burden and environmental impacts. “We use the results to inform marginal dietary substitutions, which are realistic and feasible,” authors wrote. “We find that small, targeted, food-level substitutions can achieve compelling nutritional benefits and environmental impact reductions.” The foods studied ranged from 74 minutes…

Friday, 03 December 2021 06:08

Three telecom firms get NCC’s nod to bid for 5G spectrum auction

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced three telcos as approved bidders of the forthcoming 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction for the deployment of the fifth generation (5G) networks. The qualified bidders include MTN Nigeria Plc, Mafab Communications Limited, and Airtel Networks Limited. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s director of public affairs, said this in a statement issued on Thursday. The commission said that the qualified bidders met the criteria for participation in the licensing process of the 3.5Ghz spectrum, including payment of the stipulated Intention to Bid Deposit (IBD) as outlined in the Information Memorandum (IM). NCC said that the three telcos…

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Wednesday, 01 December 2021 05:56

Jack Dorsey: What's next for Twitter's co-founder?

Jack Dorsey is one of Silicon Valley's eccentrics. If he was a character in a movie, you'd think he was too cliche. Acutely earnest and idealistic, he passionately believes that tech can bring about global peace and prosperity. He's a kind of hippie libertarian, a philosophy that seems somewhat baffling at times. He also happens to be a genuine tech visionary. His resignation from Twitter is the second time he's left. After leaving the social media giant that he co-founded the first time, he setup the digital payments company Square in 2009 - which has become wildly successful. He came…

Tuesday, 30 November 2021 05:57

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey resigns, names replacement

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down as chief of the social media company. Dorsey, 45, was serving as both the CEO of Twitter and Square, his digital payments company. Parag Agrawal, the company's chief technology officer, is taking over as CEO effective immediately. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down as chief of the social media company, effective immediately. Parag Agrawal, Twitter's chief technology officer, will take over the helm, the company said Monday. Shares of Twitter were down about half a percent before noon on Monday. Dorsey, 45, was serving as both the CEO of Twitter and Square,…

Sunday, 28 November 2021 06:16

New technology tracks facial muscle movements to expose liars

When it comes to telling when someone is lying, we currently have very few options, but a team of Israeli researchers claims to have come up with something better than anything we’ve seen before. Using stickers printed on soft surfaces containing electrodes that monitor and measure the activity of muscles and nerves, a team of researchers led by Dino Levy from Tel Aviv University, discovered that some people involuntarily activate muscles in their cheeks and eyebrows when they lie. No sensors had been able to measure these subtle muscle contractions before, but the innovative ones invented by Yael Hanein and…

Thursday, 18 November 2021 06:18

Apple to begin do-it-yourself repair program for iPhones, Macs next year

If you ever broke the screen on your iPhone , you had few options to fix it. You could go to Apple and pay the company to replace the part, which costs hundreds of dollars. You could also choose to go to one of the more than 5,000 authorized repair providers or more than 2,800 independent repair providers who have access to Apple's parts, tools and manuals. Your only other option would be to go to your local mall or alternative repair store. Repair advocates have long asked Apple to publish repair manuals and offer access to replacement parts. Starting…

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