The U.S. Supreme Court has sent back to lower courts the decision about whether states can block social media companies such as Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, from regulating and controlling what users can post on their platforms. Laws in Florida and Texas sought to impose restrictions on the internal policies and algorithms of social media platforms in ways that influence which posts will be promoted and spread widely and which will be made less visible or even removed. In the unanimous decision, issued on July 1, 2024, the high court remanded the two cases, Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice…
Author: admin
A new study sheds light on the critical role of patient education in managing cardiovascular diseases. Researchers examined the information needs of over 1,600 heart patients from diverse regions, revealing significant insights into the challenges faced by individuals dealing with heart-related issues. Cardiovascular diseases continue to impact millions of people worldwide. Patients who have lived through a cardiac event (such as a heart attack) often find themselves navigating a complex maze of symptoms, medications and lifestyle adjustments. Understanding the pivotal role of patient education in this journey, our international team of researchers sought to identify the specific information needs of…
Classifying parties as populist Although experts generally agree that populist political leaders or parties display high levels of anti-elitism, definitions of populism vary. We use three measures to classify populist parties: anti-elite ratings from the 2019 Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES), Norris’ Global Party Survey and The PopuList. We define a party as populist when at least two of these three measures classify it as such. CHES, which was conducted from February to May 2020, asked 421 political scientists specializing in political parties and European integration to evaluate the 2019 positions of 277 European political parties across all European Union…
HOUSTON – A federal workplace inspection at a metal refinisher in Houston found the company exposing employees to more than 40 safety hazards with the potential to cause serious health concerns, including birth defects, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancers.Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation in December 2023 at Outdoor Furniture Refinishing Inc., operating as Allied Powder Coating, and identified 39 serious violations and five other-than-serious violations of OSHA regulations. Agency inspectors found the company failed to use required engineering controls and respiratory protection to prevent health hazards related to triglycidyl isocyanurate, arsenic,…
It took 223 days to get there. But the Dutch king on Tuesday gave his blessing to a new Cabinet — a formal but important final step in the formation of the most right-wing government in the country’s recent history. Dick Schoof, a former Dutch intelligence boss of no party alignment and who was not on the ballot in the November election, is replacing Mark Rutte as prime minister. As the party that gained the most votes, the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) got the first pick of ministers, claiming posts on asylum, infrastructure, economic affairs, foreign trade and health…
Electroencephalography, or EEG, was invented 100 years ago. In the years since the invention of this device to monitor brain electricity, it has had an incredible impact on how scientists study the human brain. Since its first use, the EEG has shaped researchers’ understanding of cognition, from perception to memory. It has also been important for diagnosing and guiding treatment of multiple brain disorders, including epilepsy. I am a cognitive neuroscientist who uses EEG to study how people remember events from their past. The EEG’s 100-year anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on this discovery’s significance in neuroscience and medicine.…
The initial training programme (IFP) for recruits is an intensive 18-week residential course, covering a huge range of policing skills and essential firearms skills. Since the courses began in 2014, hundreds of students have passed the intensive training to become CNC AFOs. With the introduction of the Non-Home Office Police Apprenticeship Programme earlier this year, the CNC recognised the need to offer the training at sites other than their Culham Headquarters and Bisley Firearms Training Unit (FTU) and as a result courses this year have taken place across the country. Ch Supt Sheree Owen, Head of the CNC’s Training Division,…
Geneva / Goma, 2 July – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling for immediate and sustained action to respond to the severe humanitarian crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the situation continues to deteriorate. Those displaced by the violence are suffering the brunt of what has been one of the world’s most neglected crises. As of October, last year, 6.9 million people were displaced across the DRC, a number expected to increase with the forthcoming reports. In North Kivu alone, by the end of May, 1.77 million people had been displaced by attacks from…
The remarkable aurora in early May this year demonstrated the power that solar storms can emit as radiation, but occasionally the Sun does something far more destructive. Known as “solar particle events”, these blasts of protons directly from the surface of the Sun can shoot out like a searchlight into space. Records show that around every thousand years Earth gets hit by an extreme solar particle event, which could cause severe damage to the ozone layer and increase levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the surface. We analysed what happens during such an extreme event in a paper published today.…
More than 90% of the world’s central banks are looking at introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), to complement existing banknotes. What is a central bank digital currency? A CBDC is not a new currency. It is a digital representation of an existing national currency. So an Australian CBDC would have exactly the same value as an Australian dollar. It would be legal tender. It could be available in both retail and wholesale formats but usage would be optional and it would not replace hard currency. Retail CBDCs are likely to allow point-of-sale purchases, government payments and transfers between…