No more fact checkers
Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style “community notes” where commenting on the accuracy of posts is left to users.
Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican who is replacing Sir Nick Clegg as Meta’s global affairs chief, wrote that the company’s reliance on independent moderators was “well-intentioned” but had too often resulted in censoring.
Campaigners against hate speech online reacted with dismay to the change—and suggested it was really motivated by getting on the right side of Trump.
Meta’s current fact checking programme, introduced in 2016, refers posts that appear to be false or misleading to independent organisations to assess their credibility. Posts flagged as inaccurate can have labels attached to them offering viewers more information, and be moved lower in users’ feeds.
That will now be replaced “in the US first” by community notes. Meta says it has “no immediate plans” to get rid of its third-party fact checkers in the UK or the EU. The new community notes system has been copied from X, which introduced it after being bought and renamed by Elon Musk.
Source: BBC News
Are you a super ager?
While the average brain declines by weight and volume about 5% per decade after age 40, with a steeper decline after age 70, age seems to be only a number for those individuals who are considered ‘Super Agers”. To be considered a Super Ager, researchers claim you’ll have been able to maintain your peak mental prowess well into your 90’s.
Many believe that memory declines and brain function gradually slows down as we get on in years but, according to Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, Chief of the Division of Brain Injury Rehabilitation at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, this is not inevitable for everyone. Infact, he suggests, that there may be ways to maintain high levels of cognitive function for much longer in life than originally expects.
He and other scientists recruited about 40 Super-Agers and, after examination with fMRI scans found that their brains had shrunk at about only half the normal rate. These elders also performed similarly to younger people on their memory tests.
We now know that there are about 100 common genes that all Super-Agers have but studies show that genetics alone doesn’t account for the positive results. Researchers also found out that every Super-Ager followed a healthy lifestyle that included: being active, social, eating and sleeping well and learning new things.
Source: Harvard HEALTHbeat
Tech vs. Mosquitoes
The same AI powered computer vision technology used in the latest self-driving cars is now helping healthcare workers fight malaria—a disease that is known to kill over 600,000 people worldwide each year.
In the past, identifying and controlling mosquitoes took time as well as plenty of experts and resources which slowed down even the most diligent efforts to control risky malaria outbreaks.
Now, with Vector Cam, the smartphone app developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, with support from Uganda, a better local program is being tested to control the spread of the malaria bearing mosquitoes.
By simply taking a picture of a mosquito, Vector Cam can help health care workers see the 7 disease transmitting stages of the mosquito—including the one for malaria—with 90% accuracy. The app can also identify the mosquito’s species and even tell viewers if a female mosquito has recently fed on blood or is ready to lay eggs.
This innovation allows local workers to more confidently check for the insects and larvae and implement better surveillance programs. They are also able to respond more quickly and effectively with mosquito control initiatives.
Experts hope that with this and other cutting-edge technology will take us a stop closer to a world free of malaria.
Source: GatesNotes
