*1. The Growing Antibiotic Resistance Problem
It's well documented and it is scary. Many common, treatable infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics. A sobering report to be released by the UK government estimates
"If antibiotics continue to lose their sting, resistant infections will sap $100 trillion from the world economy between now and 2050, equivalent to $10,000 for every person alive today. Ten million people will die every year, roughly one every three seconds, and more than currently die from cancer. These are conservative estimates: They don’t account for procedures that are only safe or possible because of antibiotics, like hip and joint replacements, gut surgeries, C-sections, cancer chemotherapy, and organ transplants."
The main causes of the antibiotic resistance are
"Of the 40 million people who get antibiotics in the U.S. every year, only 13 million actually need them; the rest have viral infections that can’t be treated with these drugs."
and
"In the U.S. alone, 70 percent of antibiotics that are medically useful to humans are given to animals instead, and not just for treating disease but for promoting growth or compensating for poor farming practices."
This appears to be an "all hands on deck" type problem, but I don't think it's getting the attention it requires.
*2. Faster - Higher - Stronger???
Given the latest discovery of alleged systematic doping by the Russians at the Sochi Olympics, the Zika virus issue in Brazil, the ever increasing cost (and decreasing gain) for countries to host the Olympics and longstanding corruption associated with just about every aspect of the games, you have to ask: Have the Olympics outlived the "Olympic ideal?"
From WaPo - The Olympic Sinkhole and Stop the Olympics
+ From NYT - Integrity of Olympics Takes Blow, But Does That Deter Fans?
*3. Winter is coming for the AI war
The Big 5 tech companies (Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. You could add IBM and make it the Big 6) are all betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) as a platform. If they can dominate AI as a platform (think Microsoft dominating personal computing with Windows and Office software), they think they dominate the next stage of the information age. The key buzzword in AI is "machine learning," and trying to incorporate that machine learning into tools (or Internet of Things) that will make your life easier and keep you coming back, so they can sell you more stuff.
From NYT - The Race Is On to Control Artificial Intelligence, and Tech's Future
+ From Wired - Say 'Hello" to Allo, Google's New AI-Powered Messaging App and Google Home Is Cool, But Catching Amazon's Echo Won't Be Easy
*4. Payola
If you are a fan of music services like Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, etc., the issue of fair pay for fair play (and write and produce and market and...you get the idea) is a big deal. The music industry compensation model is way antiquated and not evolving fast enough to keep up with modern technology. And that not only applies to pay for music, it's the laws that govern the compensation for the creative process in the Internet age. And, to be fair to companies like Pandora and Spotify, it's codifying the business rules for what is required compensation for the creative process.
From New Yorker - Congress’s Chance to Be Fair to Musicians
"The music business is at a paradoxical crossroads. Listeners consume more music in more ways and in more places than at any time in history. Many Americans spend their waking hours with buds in their ears: walking down the street, commuting, even when working. This kind of immersion in music was never previously possible. But this abundance has not meant prosperity for the people who make it possible—quite the opposite."
"The only countries that don’t pay performers for their work on the radio are, amazingly, China, Iran, North Korea—and the United States."
*5. Mirror, Mirror...
Finally, a scientific answer to why some women spend so much time getting ready. Drum roll, please..................it's all about money.
From WaPo - The real reason that so many women have to spend so much time getting ready
"Controlling for other differences like age, race and education, individuals who were rated as more attractive by an interviewer earned around 20% more than people who were rated as having just average attractiveness."
This explains why I am so poor...
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS
* Google's 'wacky' idea that will leave pedestrians glued to cars after crashes
*Sign up below to receive Top of the News via email.
It's well documented and it is scary. Many common, treatable infections are becoming resistant to antibiotics. A sobering report to be released by the UK government estimates
"If antibiotics continue to lose their sting, resistant infections will sap $100 trillion from the world economy between now and 2050, equivalent to $10,000 for every person alive today. Ten million people will die every year, roughly one every three seconds, and more than currently die from cancer. These are conservative estimates: They don’t account for procedures that are only safe or possible because of antibiotics, like hip and joint replacements, gut surgeries, C-sections, cancer chemotherapy, and organ transplants."
The main causes of the antibiotic resistance are
"Of the 40 million people who get antibiotics in the U.S. every year, only 13 million actually need them; the rest have viral infections that can’t be treated with these drugs."
and
"In the U.S. alone, 70 percent of antibiotics that are medically useful to humans are given to animals instead, and not just for treating disease but for promoting growth or compensating for poor farming practices."
This appears to be an "all hands on deck" type problem, but I don't think it's getting the attention it requires.
*2. Faster - Higher - Stronger???
Given the latest discovery of alleged systematic doping by the Russians at the Sochi Olympics, the Zika virus issue in Brazil, the ever increasing cost (and decreasing gain) for countries to host the Olympics and longstanding corruption associated with just about every aspect of the games, you have to ask: Have the Olympics outlived the "Olympic ideal?"
From WaPo - The Olympic Sinkhole and Stop the Olympics
+ From NYT - Integrity of Olympics Takes Blow, But Does That Deter Fans?
*3. Winter is coming for the AI war
The Big 5 tech companies (Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook. You could add IBM and make it the Big 6) are all betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) as a platform. If they can dominate AI as a platform (think Microsoft dominating personal computing with Windows and Office software), they think they dominate the next stage of the information age. The key buzzword in AI is "machine learning," and trying to incorporate that machine learning into tools (or Internet of Things) that will make your life easier and keep you coming back, so they can sell you more stuff.
From NYT - The Race Is On to Control Artificial Intelligence, and Tech's Future
+ From Wired - Say 'Hello" to Allo, Google's New AI-Powered Messaging App and Google Home Is Cool, But Catching Amazon's Echo Won't Be Easy
*4. Payola
If you are a fan of music services like Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, etc., the issue of fair pay for fair play (and write and produce and market and...you get the idea) is a big deal. The music industry compensation model is way antiquated and not evolving fast enough to keep up with modern technology. And that not only applies to pay for music, it's the laws that govern the compensation for the creative process in the Internet age. And, to be fair to companies like Pandora and Spotify, it's codifying the business rules for what is required compensation for the creative process.
From New Yorker - Congress’s Chance to Be Fair to Musicians
"The music business is at a paradoxical crossroads. Listeners consume more music in more ways and in more places than at any time in history. Many Americans spend their waking hours with buds in their ears: walking down the street, commuting, even when working. This kind of immersion in music was never previously possible. But this abundance has not meant prosperity for the people who make it possible—quite the opposite."
"The only countries that don’t pay performers for their work on the radio are, amazingly, China, Iran, North Korea—and the United States."
*5. Mirror, Mirror...
Finally, a scientific answer to why some women spend so much time getting ready. Drum roll, please..................it's all about money.
From WaPo - The real reason that so many women have to spend so much time getting ready
"Controlling for other differences like age, race and education, individuals who were rated as more attractive by an interviewer earned around 20% more than people who were rated as having just average attractiveness."
This explains why I am so poor...
BOTTOM OF THE NEWS
* Google's 'wacky' idea that will leave pedestrians glued to cars after crashes
*Sign up below to receive Top of the News via email.
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