In May 2019, San Francisco became the first US city to ban the use of facial recognition, but this is an isolated example of resistance to this controversial technology. In the UK, it's been used on numerous occasions, while London's Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it will start using the technology as part of its regular policing. But how does facial recognition work and is it accurate and safe? In this WIRED Explains video, security editor Matt Burgess breaks down the ins and outs of the technology and the issues surrounding its use. This video was produced as part of Digital Society, a publishing partnership between WIRED and Vontobel where all content is editorially independent. Visit Vontobel Impact for more stories on how technology is shaping the future of society: https://www.vontobel.com/en-int/about-vontobel/impact/ #privacy #facialrecognition #wiredexplains

For most of human history, private citizens could reasonably assume they were more or less anonymous when venturing into public. Given the unchecked rise of face recognition, that's not a safe assumption anymore.

Facial recognition technology is getting more sophisticated, more reliable, and more pervasive as the world eases its way toward becoming an all-encompassing surveillance state. That surveillance state does not even have to be built; it is increasingly ready for deployment as law enforcement agencies cut deals with private companies that have already assembled the tools and databases for use. As with cell phone tracking, that plug-and-play quality does an end-run around safeguards that, at least nominally, restrict government actors, and invites legal challenges based on civil liberties concerns.

This was part of the Gairdner Foundation’s announcement of its 2024 Canada Gairdner Award winners

IEEE Computer Society

IEEE / Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Incorporated

IEEE Computer Society

IEEE / Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Incorporated

This comes in the wake of the Madras High Court recently expressing dissatisfaction over the implementation of the e-pass system in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal

The students from Classes 1 to 9 may not be directly impacted, those set to appear for their Board examinations may have little choice except to shift to another school in the middle of the year

The high point for Dhanush Srikanth came in 2023 when he bagged a gold in the individual and the silver team medal in the 10 metre Air Rifle event in Germany in the normal category

The C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) form a family of pattern recognition receptors that recognize numerous pathogens, such as bacteria and fungi, and trigger innate immune responses. The extracellular carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of CLRs forms a globular structure that can coordinate a Ca2+ ion, allowing receptor interactions with sugar-containing ligands. Although well-conserved, the CRD fold can also display differences that directly affect the specificity of the receptors for their ligands. Here, we report crystal structures at 1.8–2.3 Å resolutions of the CRD of murine dendritic cell-immunoactivating receptor (DCAR, or Clec4b1), the CLR that binds phosphoglycolipids such as acylated phosphatidyl-myo-inositol mannosides (AcPIMs) of mycobacteria. Using mutagenesis analysis, we identified critical residues, Ala136 and Gln198, on the surface surrounding the ligand-binding site of DCAR, as well as an atypical Ca2+-binding motif (Glu-Pro-Ser/EPS168–170). By chemically synthesizing a water-soluble ligand analog, inositol-monophosphate dimannose (IPM2), we confirmed the direct interaction of DCAR with the polar moiety of AcPIMs by biolayer interferometry and co-crystallization approaches. We also observed a hydrophobic groove extending from the ligand-binding site that is in a suitable position to interact with the lipid portion of whole AcPIMs. These results suggest that the hydroxyl group-binding ability and hydrophobic groove of DCAR mediate its specific binding to pathogen-derived phosphoglycolipids such as mycobacterial AcPIMs.

Fucosylation of the innermost GlcNAc of N-glycans by fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) is an important step in the maturation of complex and hybrid N-glycans. This simple modification can dramatically affect the activities and half-lives of glycoproteins, effects that are relevant to understanding the invasiveness of some cancers, development of mAb therapeutics, and the etiology of a congenital glycosylation disorder. The acceptor substrate preferences of FUT8 are well-characterized and provide a framework for understanding N-glycan maturation in the Golgi; however, the structural basis of these substrate preferences and the mechanism through which catalysis is achieved remain unknown. Here we describe several structures of mouse and human FUT8 in the apo state and in complex with GDP, a mimic of the donor substrate, and with a glycopeptide acceptor substrate at 1.80–2.50 Å resolution. These structures provide insights into a unique conformational change associated with donor substrate binding, common strategies employed by fucosyltransferases to coordinate GDP, features that define acceptor substrate preferences, and a likely mechanism for enzyme catalysis. Together with molecular dynamics simulations, the structures also revealed how FUT8 dimerization plays an important role in defining the acceptor substrate-binding site. Collectively, this information significantly builds on our understanding of the core fucosylation process.

This OECD Regulatory Policy Working Paper relies on an empirical stocktaking of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) among selected OECD countries. It aims to build a greater understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of one of the 11 mechanisms of international regulatory co-operation.

More and more countries are having discussions about how to evaluate the quality of their teaching workforce and, subsequently, how to reward teachers for their work. The OECD’s newest series of briefs, Teaching in Focus, launches this month with a discussion of the appraisal and feedback teachers receive and the impact of both on their teaching.

Wilfried Zaha says it is nice to see former Crystal Palace team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka getting recognised on the world stage since his move to Manchester United. 

(The Paypers) SnapPay has announced the availability of facial recognition payment technology for North...

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The same artificial intelligence technique typically used in facial recognition systems could help improve prediction of hailstorms and their severity, according to a new, National Science Foundation-funded study. Instead of zeroing in on the features of an individual face, scientists trained a deep learning model called a convolutional neural network to recognize features of individual storms that affect the formation of hail and how large the hailstones will be, both of which are notoriously difficult to predict. The promising results highlight the importance of taking into account a storm's entire structure, something that's been challenging to do with existing hail-forecasting techniques.

Image credit: Carlye Calvin

Sustainable management of complex ecosystems requires clear understanding of uncertainty. However, scientific guidance documents show a lack of clarity and coherence regarding uncertainties and tend to focus solely on the need for more data or monitoring, new research indicates. The researchers suggest that scientific guidance should recognise uncertainty as an inherent part of any complex ecosystem.

Companies that adopt the environmental management system ISO 14000, designed to help reduce businesses’ environmental impacts, generally back this up with sincere investment in environmentally-friendly practices, research suggests. Researchers found that adoption of the ISO 14000 was not ‘greenwash’, but reflected a move towards more sustainable practices in both European and North American companies.

Global food security under a changing climate is possible if the vital role of healthy ecosystems is recognised, according to a recent study. The researchers suggest that an ecosystem-based approach must be integrated with other measures to tackle food security under climate change, to protect ecosystems and supply the essential services on which humanity depends.

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With its fresh and bold design, engaging content, and the creative use of augmented reality (AR) in its bimonthly magazine for students, NTU has earned approval from new and old readers alike, and now the evaluators at the prestigious International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards this year....

You can't have an Internet of Voice without an Internet of Hearing, so protect those ears!

Even if printing is distorted or unclear due to conveyor line conditions, a unique reading method with a built-in dictionary enables stable reading of characters.(FQ2-CH Series)

At The Golden Globes, Fit Farm won the gold! At The Super Bowl, Fit Farm scored the most touchdowns! And at The South Beach Food & Wine Festival, Fit Farm was a star itself!

Bridge Patient Portal introduces biometric authentication on mobile devices for fast, easy, and secure patient portal login

The Ministry of Health boasts today the largest network of ISO-certified labs in the region with total lab accreditation of 14.

Four of the Huntsville law firm's attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the publication.

Uplift North Hills, Uplift Summit International, and Uplift Williams were ranked among the top 1% of high schools in the nation, at 40th, 134th, and 198th respectively.

This marks the strategy's position among the top ten performers for its peer group which includes both U.S. based and non-U.S. based managers and their products.

Award highlights partnership with business community and local schools

The world is ripe for a new shift in the use of facial recognition by organizations. VR Office Place is proud to present real time social fingerprint identification in the form of facial recognition and publicly available social presence.

The Paterson Music Project, a program of the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, was honored for its impact in Paterson with the Dr. Martin Luther King Youth Recognition Award.

David Zweig, author of "Invisibles," on employees who value good work over self-promotion.