Tag: future

Tesla’s Autopilot Being Investigated By The Feds And What That Means For The Future Of Self-Driving Cars
TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

Tesla’s Autopilot Being Investigated By The Feds And What That Means For The Future Of Self-Driving Cars

TECHNOLOGY Hayder Radha, Michigan State University It’s hard to miss the flashing lights of fire engines, ambulances and police cars ahead of you as you’re driving down the road. But in at least 11 cases in the past three and a half years, Tesla’s Autopilot advanced driver-assistance system did just that. This led to 11 accidents in which Teslas crashed into emergency vehicles or other vehicles at those scenes, resulting in 17 injuries and one death. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has launched an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system in response to the crashes. The incidents took place between January 2018 and July 2021 in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. The probe covers 765,000 Tesla...
To Secure Oxygen For COVID-19 Patients Now And Into The Future, What Steps Must Be Taken
HEALTH & WELLNESS

To Secure Oxygen For COVID-19 Patients Now And Into The Future, What Steps Must Be Taken

New waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in countries, such as Kenya and India, have exposed the poor management of oxygen supplies. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Professor Trevor Duke, an expert on [oxygen provision] and editor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on oxygen therapy for children, to provide insights into what countries, with limited resources, can do to secure better supplies. Why is oxygen so important for treating COVID-19? The SARS CoV-2 virus causes COVID-19 pneumonia and hypoxaemia. Hypoxaemia is a lack of oxygen in the blood – the most important complication of COVID-19 pneumonia and a major cause of death. A few antiviral drugs have been effective in treating COVID-19 infection however, in severe pneumonia, oxygen relieves hypoxaemia. It...
Oil Execs And Environmentalists Both Support Hydrogen As One Future Fuel As Rival Countries Search For Climate Solutions
ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

Oil Execs And Environmentalists Both Support Hydrogen As One Future Fuel As Rival Countries Search For Climate Solutions

Tehran, 1943: Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill – hosted by the young Shah Reza Pahlavi – agree on plans for the two-front attack on Hitler while sketching out the east-west division of Europe. Holding the meeting in Iran, with separate consultations with the shah, was no mistake. Gulf oil was a critical resource to the Allied war effort. Oil has flowed under the surface of political conflicts ever since. Fast-forward to today, and political antagonists and energy players are again forging a messy path forward, this time focused on long-term energy transitions as disparate countries try to slow and eventually stop climate change. The 2015 Paris Agreement was a groundbreaking diplomatic effort – 196 countries committed to prevent average temperatures from rising b...
An Economist Explains, Can A Future Ban On Gas-Powered Cars Work?
BUSINESS

An Economist Explains, Can A Future Ban On Gas-Powered Cars Work?

The U.S. transportation sector is one of the largest contributors of carbon dioxide, the potent driver of climate change. A ‘green’ symbol for electric vehicle charging stations. Photo by Michael Marais for Unsplash, CC BY-ND Transportation accounts for about 28% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and, since 1990, emissions in this sector have increased more than in any other area. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging the use of electric vehicles promises to be an effective strategy to address climate change. That’s because the electric grid is powered by diverse sources, including an increasing amount of renewable energy such as wind and solar. But with more than 270 million motor vehicles registered in the U.S. and a long tradition of powering cars and trucks with foss...
At 20 The International Space Station Offers Hope And A Template For Future Cooperation
SCIENCE

At 20 The International Space Station Offers Hope And A Template For Future Cooperation

On Nov. 2, 2020, the International Space Station celebrated its 20th anniversary of continuous human occupation. With astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world working together, the ISS has demonstrated humankind’s ability to not only live and work in space but cooperate with one another. This remarkable achievement is significant as countries and companies around the world look to expand space exploration beyond Earth orbit. The path to this anniversary was not easy; like most things done in space, the cost and the difficulty were high. Supported by the Reagan administration as part of the Cold War competition with the Soviet Union, the ISS began its life in the 1980s. Following the Challenger disaster in 1986, planning fell by the wayside as costs increased. Facing delays and cost ...
Shaping Girls Future As Coders, Teachers Play A Critical Role
EDUCATION

Shaping Girls Future As Coders, Teachers Play A Critical Role

It doesn’t take long to help girls see a future for themselves in computer science, but it depends largely on how good their teachers are at recognizing the skills the girls have in coding, which is basically writing language for computers. We found that girls ages 10 to 12 can come to see themselves as coders in as little as a week. And there are diverse roles within the world of coding that allow girls with various personalities and skill sets to see themselves as coders. However, if educators recognize girls only for when they play a background role and help others, but not when they are more assertive and confident, then they may not develop their assertiveness and confidence in a way that enables them to succeed as coders. To reach this conclusion, my colleagues and I focused on thre...
Shrinking Glaciers Consistent Ice Loss For The Foreseeable Future A New Normal For Greenland’s Ice Sheet
ENVIRONMENT

Shrinking Glaciers Consistent Ice Loss For The Foreseeable Future A New Normal For Greenland’s Ice Sheet

Greenland is the largest island on Earth, and about 80% of it is covered by a giant sheet of ice. Slowly flowing glaciers connect this massive frozen reservoir of fresh water to the ocean, but because of climate change, these glaciers are rapidly retreating. As Greenland’s glaciers retreat, they are losing ice at a faster and faster rate. Michalea King, CC BY-ND I’m an earth scientist who studies how changes to Greenland’s glaciers affect the stability of the ice sheet as a whole. Healthy glaciers are stable in size and shape and act as drains for the ice sheet, transporting ice into the sea. They maintain a balance where the ice added each year roughly equals the ice lost to the sea. But because of warming caused by climate change, that dynamic has changed. For years, scientists have w...
Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way
EDUCATION

Future teachers often think memorization is the best way to teach math and science – until they learn a different way

I found that college students who are taking courses to become teachers can change their beliefs of how science and mathematics should be taught to and learned by K-12 students. Most of these future teachers tell me when they start my course, they believe that K-12 students must memorize science and mathematics knowledge to learn it. They also believe that students cannot acquire knowledge through a process used by scientists and mathematicians called problem-solving. Problem-solving asks students to solve engaging and challenging problems that are provided without a strategy or solution. It also involves group work and a time to present and justify their strategies and solutions to the class. To challenge my students’ beliefs, I ask future teachers to teach science and mathematics to st...
The future of work will hit vulnerable people the hardest
SOCIAL JUSTICE

The future of work will hit vulnerable people the hardest

People living with disabilities, youth, LGBTQ2 people, Indigenous people, certain racialized minorities, immigrants and those with low socioeconomic status, as well as those in some professions, will face complex barriers to entering the workforce in the future. A great deal of attention is being paid to the future of work and its impact on Canadians. Often missing from the discussion is the extent to which different workers will be included or excluded from the changing labour market. The future of work is characterized by a number of rapid and large-scale changes that will affect all industries. Labour market experts point to the growing integration of digital technologies in the workplace, including the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning, automation of job task...
A quantum computing future is unlikely, due to random hardware errors
TECHNOLOGY

A quantum computing future is unlikely, due to random hardware errors

Google announced this fall to much fanfare that it had demonstrated “quantum supremacy” – that is, it performed a specific quantum computation far faster than the best classical computers could achieve. IBM promptly critiqued the claim, saying that its own classical supercomputer could perform the computation at nearly the same speed with far greater fidelity and, therefore, the Google announcement should be taken “with a large dose of skepticism.” Artist’s rendition of the Google processor. Forest Stearns, Google AI Quantum Artist in Residence, CC BY-ND                                               This wasn’t the first time someone cast doubt on quantu...