“The coronavirus pandemic has shown the science and technology gap between the United States and the rest of the world is closing fast and that threatens our long-term health, economic competitiveness, and national security,” Senator Schumer said in a statement. “America cannot afford to continue our decades-long underinvestment and expect to lead the world in advanced scientific and technological research.”
Under the bill, the National Science Foundation (NSF) would be renamed the National Science and Technology Foundation (NSTF) and a new deputy director would oversee the funding. The investment might be used to increase research spending at universities, create new scholarships, fellowships and training programs, develop fabrication facilities, coordinate with state and local economic development stakeholders and more.
Years ago, the Obama administration pushed for increased spending for AI research. While President Trump signed an executive order “prioritizing” AI and the White House launched AI.gov, there hasn’t been a major investment like the one proposed by this bill. This isn’t guaranteed to pass in a Republican-led Senate, but it could be a tremendous help to R&D if it does.
As proponents of similar measures have said in the past, the Endless Frontiers Act could also create much-needed jobs.
“Particularly at a moment when so many folks are in need of stable employment, Congress should do everything in our power to develop sustainable industries across our country that will be here to stay, or else risk losing our competitive edge to China,” Rep. Khanna said.
The US has edged one step closer to securing the extradition of Huawei’s CFO over alleged Iran sanction violations. The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled (via TechCrunch) that Meng Wanzhou’s case met the standard for “double criminality” in extraditions — that is, what she allegedly did in one country was also illegal in Canada at the time of her arrest. If Meng’s case hadn’t met that baseline, the case would have been immediately closed.
There’s still a long way to go before a possible extradition when the hearing has been split into multiple phases. This clears a significant barrier, though, and makes a US court battle more likely. China unsurprisingly won’t be happy, though. It has already retaliated against Meng’s arrest by detaining Canadians, and has demanded that Canada release Meng even though the government has no control.
“This is my way of fighting Apple, I sell their phones at a lower price and mine are gold-plated with nice girls showing them off. Apple can never do that,” Roberto Escobar said in a (lewd) statement — the company’s YouTube channel is full of women in lingerie holding and smashing smartphones. Apparently Escobar has also filed a lawsuit against Apple seeking $2.6 billion.
What it all really comes down to is this: “Our goal is to uphold Mr. Escobar’s dreams of becoming the overstock king-pin and this is one step towards that direction,” said Escobar Inc. CEO Olof Gustafsson.
Personally, that’s not a cause I want to donate $499 to — and I do consider it a donation because it’s likely that only tech reviewers and influencers will ever receive the device. Though, some people may gamble for the chance to get the iPhone 11 Pro for $499 instead of its current retail price of $999.
In 2018, the nonprofit organization Freedom Watch and a conservative YouTuber named Laura Loomer tried to sue social media companies. They alleged that Twitter, Facebook and Google — which owns YouTube — broke antitrust laws and violated their First Amendment rights by conspiring to suppress conservative viewpoints. Their case was dropped last year, but they appealed the decision. According to Bloomberg, a federal appeals court today affirmed the decision to drop the suit, leaving the tech companies in the clear.
Bloomberg reports that the court agreed with the previous ruling and found that the First Amendment typically “prohibits only governmental abridgment of speech.” In other words, social media users shouldn’t expect to be able to say anything they want on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — all of which are private businesses with their own rules and regulations. Furthermore, the conservative group and Loomer didn’t provide substantial evidence of an antitrust violation. Their lawyer says he will file a petition to have the case heard by a larger panel of judges, though two of the three judges overseeing this appeal were appointed by Republican presidents, and the judge who originally dismissed the case was appointed by Donald Trump himself. The idea that a more conservative group could help their case may be a stretch.
Each summer since 2017, app developer Niantic has hosted the Pokémon GO Fest in select cities across the globe. The event incorporates Pokémon-themed installations and activities in large parks, and helps thousands of players connect in real life. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Fest obviously can’t be held outdoors. Instead, Niantic is turning it into a two-day, online event. The company says, “We’re bringing back Pokémon GO Fest on July 25th–26th as an all-new, completely reimagined global event in a virtual format.”
Pokémon GO typically requires players to wander around outside to catch creatures in augmented reality — which may not translate to an indoor experience — so it’s unclear what Niantic has planned in terms of activities. It sounds like the company is working on additional ways to make the game more fun during era of social distancing, though: “While we’ll miss celebrating with each other in a beautiful park, we’ve come up with new ways for the community to connect and team up together that we’ll roll out during the summer.”
To help tackle those issues, the team mapped the locations of those neurons in a rat’s heart in vivid 3D detail. “In effect what we have created is the first comprehensive roadmap of the heart’s nervous system that can be referenced by other researchers for a range of questions about the function, physiology, and connectivity of different neurons in the ICN,” said co-senior author Raj Vadigepalli, PhD. “The only other organ for which such a detailed high-resolution 3D map exists is the brain.”
Creating the model required two parallel approaches. In one, the team used a system called knife-edge scanning microscopy to create 750,000 images that could be assembled into a single 3D atlas. The second pipeline used “laser capture microdissection” to map individual neurons and sample their gene expression. Those were then placed in context with the map created from the first approach. “Because this hasn’t been done before, we were trouble-shooting the protocol as we went along,” said co-author Sirisha Achanta.
The 3D map showed that ICN neurons are located in clusters at the top of the heart where the veins and arteries attach. However, it confirmed that they can also be found in other places close to the sinoatrial node. “We know the sinoatrial atrial node is important in creating the heart rate or pace,” said co-author Dr. Jonathan Gorky. “Seeing the clustering of neurons around it was something we had always suspected but had never known for sure.”
The team also found sex-specific differences in neuron structures, a finding that could help explain the differences in heart disease between men and women. The team next plans to map a pig’s heart, which is closer in anatomy to a human.
However, the research is already paying dividends, as it is being used by other researchers learning how to improve the function of the heart and other organs. “Our protocol uses everyday lab materials and techniques,” said Achanta. “It is highly reproducible and is available now for other organ systems to map not just neurons, but other micro-structures.”
Quibi’s latest update for iPhones gives the app the capability to play its bite-sized shows on TVs: according to Chief Product Officer Tom Conrad, the application now supports Apple AirPlay. Users have been asking for the feature since the app launched in early April, so they can enjoy its short-form shows on bigger screens while sheltering-at-home due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, it’s taken time for the company to comply, seeing as Quibi was primarily designed for mobile, with content meant to be consumed while waiting in line for coffee or in the middle of commute.
Sure we designed Quibi for on-the-go, but these days visiting the family room is like a day trip… so AirPlay support is live for iOS in Quibi 1.3. Working hard on Chromecast too which will be available in June.
While this development only benefits Apple users with TVs that support AirPlay, Quibi hasn’t forgotten everyone else. Conrad has also revealed that his team is “working hard” on Chromecast support — which he describes as a “whole different kettle of fish than AirPlay” — and that it will be available in June.
They can also be located while they’re in their charging case and can, crucially, be found individually — an incredibly valuable feature, since users are more likely to lose a single earbud rather than both together. In fact, figures show that the Metropolitan Transport Agency in New York recovered some 1,220 single earbuds from subway gates between September and December last year alone.
Skullcandy
Onto the earbuds themselves. There are four styles: Push Ultra, Indy Evo, Indy Fuel and Sesh Evo, ranging from $60 to $100 (about £48 to £82). At the bottom end of the scale, the Sesh Evo, you’ll get a six-hour battery life and IP55 sweat, water and dust resistance. Meanwhile, the flagship pair, the Push Ultra, offers moldable ear hooks wireless charging, six hours of battery life (with a 34 additional hours in case), plus a beefier IP67 sweat, water and dust resistance rating. They’re on sale now in a range of colors from Skullcandy.com.
Brave users in the US will be able to access Brave Together via a widget on their desktop (support for iOS and Android will come later), although at this stage it’s only available for Brave Nightly users for testing before it goes into beta. It’s not clear yet whether users will be able to access the feature for free or via Brave’s digital token BAT. However, it will support unlimited video calling with an unlimited number of participants, which makes it particularly attractive in a world of 40-minute meeting caps (Zoom) and eight-person limits (Houseparty).
Plus, of course, there’s the privacy component, which will undoubtedly find favor with security-focused folk. Brave hit a milestone at the end of last year when it revealed some 8.7 million people were using its browser every month, so in the wake of Zoom’s iffy security record Brave Together could be responsible for bumping that number up even more.
HP’s latest monitors cut blue light levels to help you sleep
And a 4K monitor with wireless sharing.
HP
Alongside a new series of EliteBook laptops, HP has launched a new family of E-Series monitors that always function with low levels of blue light. The aim is to ensure that working for extended hours on these monitors doesn’t affect your sleep — which we’ve all heard before. However, color accuracy and yellow shift aren’t affected on these monitors, making them different to the usual nightshift software features we’ve seen on PCs and smartphones.
The E-Series monitors, ranging from 21.5 inches through to 27 inches, won’t arrive until August, when they’ll sell starting at $159. Continue reading.
LG’s first 48-inch 4K OLED TV is starting to roll out
The $1,500 display will arrive in the US in late June.
LG
The 48CX model is the first time LG has sold an OLED in this size, and it comes with features that could make it perfect to rely on as a super-sized gaming monitor. With its small size and high resolution, LG claims its pixel density compares to a 96-inch 8K display.
Like other 2020 4K OLEDs from LG, it includes NVIDIA’s G-Sync tech for tear-free high frame rate PC gaming (the website states FreeSync support will arrive with a software update). It can handle up to 120 fps 4K content using Dolby Vision or HDR10, plus it has enhanced audio return channel (eARC), auto low latency mode (ALLM) and variable refresh rate (VRR). Continue reading.
The new macOS Catalina update wrings more life from your MacBook’s battery
And there’s additional fine tuning for the Pro Display XDR.
Engadget
Wondering what’s in the new macOS update? A new Battery Health Management toggle will lower the peak charge of your laptop’s battery, which should help it last longer before you need to replace it. Of course, if you’re on the go and need every bit of battery life you can get at the moment, then you can disable it. Continue reading.
Twitter fact checks Trump’s false tweets about election fraud
Twitter urges users to ‘get the facts’ in response to Trump’s ‘misleading’ tweets.
Twitter
Maybe you never thought it would happen, but Twitter’s new fact check feature is being used on some of Donald Trump’s latest tweets, noting that they might contain false information. Twitter has appended a link urging users to “get the facts” about mail-in ballots. Clicking through, Twitter further notes that fact checkers say there is no evidence to support Trump’s tweeted claims about fraudulent mail-in ballots. It added that voting by mail is already used in a number of states, and it linked to stories from CNN, The Washington Post and other outlets debunking these claims.
In the same 24 hours, however, the social network said it isn’t going to remove other false tweets from the US president, namely unfounded conspiracy theories about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough murdering a woman who died nearly 19 years ago. Continue reading.
