A News24 Business reader considering prescribing her debt looks to an expert for guidance on how the process works.

Penn State Hazleton Benefiting THON, the campus’ THON chapter, will host a designer purse and gift card bingo on Sunday, Oct. 20. Doors open at 1 p.m. and games will start at 2 p.m. in the Dr. Thomas M. Caccese Gymnasium in the Physical Education Building. The event is open to the public. 

Penn State Abington's STEM Inc. provides financial and academic support and faculty mentors who help jump start students' career development through research and technical experiences.

Penn State Abington rehabilitation and human services faculty Abigail Akande, Stacey Conway and Michael Lavetsky wrote a recently published book, "Experiential Learning and Internship for Undergraduates: A Workbook for Undergraduate Interns in the Human Services Field," to help guide human services students at Abington and other Penn State campuses through the internship and career development and exploration processes. 

Research is showing that early career teachers are leaving the profession in droves so two faculty in Penn State Abington's Elementary and Early Childhood Education program created a mentoring program that pairs new graduates teaching in urban centers with retired educators.

The Pennsylvania Council for International Education honored Nicole Stokes, a mid-career faculty and administrator at Penn State, with its lifetime achievement award.

Khamila Barnes successfully took the leap from the corporate world to entrepreneurship thanks for her vibrant personality, innate drive, and the skills she developed at Penn State Abington. 

Jack Saint Clair will bring his 17-piece jazz orchestra to Penn State Abington for a free concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in Sutherland Auditorium.

Penn State Laureate Michele Dunleavy, professor of dance at the University Park campus, will continue her tour of the Commonwealth Campuses with a visit to Penn State Abington on Nov. 11. She will present “Improvising a Life” at 12:15 p.m. in 9 Sutherland Auditorium with musician Jennifer Peacock.

Alumnus Marvin Johnson Jr. will share personal and professional lessons from his distinguished career leading large-scale global pharmaceutical initiatives with new Penn State Abington graduates.

Penn State will celebrate its 10th GivingTuesday on Dec. 3, and Penn State Abington invites alumni and friends to mark this milestone by making a gift to support the Abington General Scholarship and Student Emergency Assistance funds.

Michael Helbing, executive director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy and adjunct professor of law at Penn State, will give the talk, “Flying into the future: sustainable aviation fuel and the policies impacting its development,” at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, in 112 Walker Building at Penn State University Park.

This week SA Money Report tries to understand eThekwini's surprising plan for nuclear power, and whether the ANC's RET faction has a hand in things.

OM Chile's Intensive Training participants travel around the south of Chile for two weeks sharing the gospel, encouraging local churches and doing adventure activities.

Get into the holiday spirit with Bollywood movies on popular OTT platforms! From the visually spectacular Brahmastra to the inspiring tale of Shershaah and the emotional depth of Gehraiyaan, this selection has something for everyone. Whether you’re in the mood for adventure, patriotism, or family drama, these titles bring Diwali entertainment right into your home, creating memorable experiences for all.

NEW YORK — The rush for gold just keeps coming. Gold hit another all-time high this week. Recent gains for the precious metal are largely credited to ongoing economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks around the world. If trends continue, analysts have bullish outlooks on the price of gold for the months ahead. But the future is never promised. Here's what you need to know. Where does the price of gold stand today? The New York spot price of gold closed Tuesday at just over $2,657 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals, which is equivalent to 31 grams — the highest recorded to date, per FactSet. That would make a gold bar or brick weighing 400 Troy ounces worth more than $1.06 million today. This week's record high means that the price of gold has climbed hundreds of dollars per Troy ounce over the last year. Tuesday's price is up nearly $145 from a month ago and more than $740 from this time in 2023. The price of gold is up nearly 30% year to date, analysts note — outpacing the benchmark S&P 500's roughly 20% gain since the start of 2024. Why is the price of gold going up? There are a few factors behind the recent gains. Interest in buying gold often comes at times of uncertainty — with potential concerns around inflation and the strength of the U.S. dollar, for example, causing some to look for alternative places to park their money. Gold also surged in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among sources of uncertainty today are geopolitical tensions — which escalated over recent days with Israel's deadly strikes in Lebanon. And the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine have continued to fuel fears about the future worldwide. In markets like the U.S., there's also particular concern about the health of the job market. Last week's larger-than-usual half-point cut by the Federal Reserve signals a new focus on slowing employment numbers, and more rate cuts are expected before the end of the year. And such action arrives in the midst of a tumultuous election year — which could prove crucial to economic policy in the road ahead, too. In the near future, people are considering "any case of turbulence in the economy," FxPro senior market analyst Michel Saliby explained. "This is why they're keeping a decent portion of gold in their portfolio as a 'safe haven.'" Analysts also point to strong demand from central banks around the world. Joe Cavatoni, senior market strategist at the World Gold Council, noted last month that central bank demand was well-above the five year average — reflecting "heightened concern with inflation and economic stability." Recent stimulus measures in China aimed at boosting consumer spending are also expected to up retail investments, Saliby added, further boosting gold's performance. Is gold worth the investment? Advocates of investing in gold call it a "safe haven," arguing the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time. Experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. Both retail and institutional investors shouldn't be influenced by the "FOMO effect," or fear of missing out, Saliby notes — explaining that people should not risk all their money just because they are seeing others rake in gains. He advises investors to watch the market and always have a clear risk management strategy for their position. If geopolitical tensions cool, Saliby expects the price of gold to correct slightly, perhaps falling around $50 to $80. But he remains bullish overall for the near future — expecting gold's spot price to soon surpass the $2,700 mark previously predicted for 2025, and perhaps reach as high as $2,800 or $2,900 if trends continue. Still, future gains are never promised and not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isn't always the inflation hedge many say it is — and that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as through derivative-based investments. The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has also previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, the commission said, and prices rise as demand goes up — meaning "when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers." If you do choose to invest in gold, the commission adds, it's important to educate yourself on safe trading practices and be cautious of potential scams and counterfeits on the market.

Title: Pot Might Blunt Damage of Binge Drinking
Category: Health News
Created: 8/21/2009 4:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2009 12:00:00 AM

Title: Monkeypox Cases May Finally Be Ebbing, With Declines Seen in Europe, WHO Says
Category: Health News
Created: 8/25/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/25/2022 12:00:00 AM

BackgroundLong-term health conditions are major challenges for care systems. Social prescribing link workers have been introduced via primary care networks (PCNs) across England since 2019 to address the wider determinants of health by connecting individuals to activities, groups, or services within their local community.AimTo assess whether the rollout of social prescribing link workers was in areas with the highest need.Design and settingA retrospective study of social prescribing link workers in England from 2019 to 2023.MethodWorkforce, population, survey, and area-level data at the PCN-level from April 2020 to October 2023 were combined. Population need before the rollout of link workers was measured using reported lack of support from local services in the 2019 General Practice Patient Survey. To assess if rollout reflected need, linear regression was used to relate provision of link workers (measured by full-time equivalent [FTE] per 10 000 patients) in each quarter to population need for support.ResultsPopulations in urban, more deprived areas and with higher proportions of people from minority ethnic groups had the highest reported lack of support. Geographically these were in the North West and London. Initially, there was no association between need and provision; then from July 2022, this became negative and significant. By October 2023, a 10-percentage point higher need for support was associated with a 0.035 (95% confidence interval = −0.634 to −0.066) lower FTE per 10 000 patients.ConclusionRollout of link workers has not been sufficiently targeted at areas with the highest need. Future deployments should be targeted at those areas.

BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder, for which there are effective pharmacological treatments that improve symptoms and reduce complications. Guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommend that primary care practitioners prescribe medication for adult ADHD under shared-care agreements with Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). However, provision remains uneven, with some practitioners reporting a lack of support.AimThis study aimed to describe elements of support, and their availability/use, in primary care prescribing for adult ADHD medication in England to improve access for this underserved population and inform service improvement.Design and settingCross-sectional surveys were used to elicit data from commissioners, health professionals (HPs), and people with lived experience of ADHD (LE) across England about elements supporting pharmacological treatment of ADHD in primary care.MethodThree interlinked cross-sectional surveys were used to ask every integrated care board in England (commissioners), along with convenience samples of HPs and LEs, about prescribing rates, AMHS availability, wait times, and shared-care agreement protocols/policies for the pharmacological treatment of ADHD in primary care. Descriptive analyses, percentages, and confidence intervals were used to summarise responses by stakeholder group. Variations in reported provision and practice were explored and displayed visually using mapping software.ResultsData from 782 responders (42 commissioners, 331 HPs, 409 LEs) revealed differences in reported provision by stakeholder group, including for prescribing (95% of HPs versus 64% of LEs). In all, >40% of responders reported extended AMHS wait times of ≥2 years. There was some variability by NHS region – for example, London had the lowest reported extended wait time (25%), while East of England had the highest (55%).ConclusionElements supporting appropriate shared-care prescribing of ADHD medication via primary care are not universally available in England. Coordinated approaches are needed to address these gaps.

BackgroundIncident benzodiazepine prescriptions in primary care for anxiety decreased between 2003 and 2018. However, from 2008, incident prescribing of benzodiazepines for anxiety increased among those aged 18–34 years. There are increasing concerns around prescribing of benzodiazepines. Further, although guidelines state benzodiazepines should only be prescribed short term, in 2017, 44% of incident prescriptions were prescribed for longer than the recommended duration of 2–4 weeks.AimTo understand when and why GPs prescribe benzodiazepines for anxiety in young adults.Design and settingA qualitative study was undertaken using in-depth interviews with 17 GPs from 10 general practices in South West England.MethodInterviews were conducted by telephone or videocall. A topic guide was used to ensure consistency across interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsGPs described caution in prescribing benzodiazepines for anxiety in young adults, but thought they had an important role in acute situations. GPs described caution in prescribing duration, but some thought longer-term prescriptions could be appropriate. In light of these views, some GPs questioned whether primary care needs to revisit how clinicians are using benzodiazepines. GPs perceived that some young adults requested benzodiazepines and suggested this might be because they wanted quick symptom relief. GPs noted that refusing to prescribe felt uncomfortable and that the number of young adults presenting to general practice, already dependent on benzodiazepines, had increased.ConclusionPatient-driven factors for prescribing benzodiazepines suggest there are current unmet treatment needs among young adults with anxiety. Given increases in prescribing in this age group, it may be timely to revisit the role of benzodiazepines in the management of people with anxiety in primary care.

BackgroundBetween 2003 and 2018, incident prescriptions of beta-blockers for anxiety increased substantially, particularly for young adults. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for anxiety does not recommend beta-blockers, probably due to a lack of evidence to support such use. Recent reports have highlighted the potential risks of beta-blockers.AimTo understand when and why GPs prescribe beta-blockers for people with anxiety.Design and settingIn-depth interviews with 17 GPs in Bristol and the surrounding areas.MethodInterviews were held by telephone or video call. A topic guide was used to ensure consistency across interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically.ResultsMany GPs viewed beta-blockers as ‘low risk’, particularly for young adults. Some GPs viewed beta-blockers as an alternative to benzodiazepines, acting quickly and not leading to dependence. GPs reflected that some patients appeared to want an ‘immediate fix’ to their symptoms, which GPs thought beta-blockers could potentially offer. This is salient in light of substantial waiting lists for talking therapies and delays in antidepressants taking effect. GPs described how some patients seemed more willing to try beta-blockers than antidepressants, as patients did not perceive them as ‘mental health drugs’ and therefore viewed them as potentially more acceptable and less stigmatising. Further, GPs viewed beta-blockers as ‘patient-led’, with patients managing their own dose and frequency, without GP input.ConclusionMany GPs believe that beta-blockers have a role to play in the management of anxiety. Given recent increases in the prescribing of these drugs in primary care, there is a need to assess their safety and effectiveness as a treatment for people with anxiety disorders.

Watch Video | Listen to the Audio

JUDY WOODRUFF: And in the day’s other news: More than 300 people are now confirmed dead after Saturday’s massive truck bombing in Somalia, one of the world’s worst attacks in years.

Nearly 400 more were wounded. The government blamed the al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab group. Rescue crews today searched for survivors at the scene of the bombing, a crowded street in the capital, Mogadishu. With dozens still missing, officials say they expect the death toll to rise.

OSMAN LIBAH IBRAHIM, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources, Somalia (through interpreter): More bodies are gradually being found and removed from the rubble. There are other people who are under the rubble. We have heard them as they scream for help. My biggest worry is that even the wounded are succumbing to their injuries.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The attack happened two days after Somalia’s defense minister and army chief resigned for undisclosed reasons.

There’s been yet another shift to the right in European politics; 31-year-old conservative Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s foreign minister, is set to become that country’s next leader. But he’s short of a majority in Parliament and will likely form a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party. It was founded by ex-Nazis in the 1950s.

Kurz has called for the European Union to focus more on internal trade and securing borders. He celebrated in Vienna.

SEBASTIAN KURZ, Austrian People’s Party (through interpreter): I have a big request for you. Use today to celebrate. You all have earned it through hard work and dedication. At the same time, I need to tell you that tomorrow the work starts. We didn’t just run to win the elections. We did so to bring Austria back to the top. We ran in this election to achieve real change.

JUDY WOODRUFF: A final result in the election is likely to be decided on Thursday.

Wildfires that broke out over the weekend in Portugal have killed at least 35 people, including a one-month-old infant. Today, more than 5,300 firefighters with some 1,600 vehicles were battling the fires, some of which officials say were started by arsonists. Wildfires have also left at least four people dead in neighboring Spain.

Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl pleaded guilty today to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. He was captured by the Taliban in 2009, after leaving his post in Afghanistan. It prompted an intense search and a prisoner swap. Bergdahl appeared before a military judge in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, today. The 31-year-old could be sentenced to life in prison. He said his actions were very inexcusable, adding he didn’t — quote — “think there’d be any reason to pull off a crucial mission to look for one guy.”

The truck driver in deadly immigrant smuggling run has pleaded guilty in court. San Antonio police found at least 39 immigrants, 10 of whom died, packed into a sweltering semi-trailer last year and died. The driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., pleaded to conspiracy and transporting immigrants, resulting in death. He faces now up to life in prison.

A New Jersey man has been convicted of planting two pressure-cooker bombs on New York City streets last year. Ahmed Khan Rahimi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for charges including using a weapon of mass destruction. One of the bombs exploded in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, wounding 30. The second didn’t detonate. Officials said Rahimi was inspired by ISIS and al-Qaida.

JOHN MILLER, Deputy Commissioner, NYPD Intelligence & Counterterrorism: Ahmed Khan Rahimi learned a lesson which we keep reminding people of. This is the wrong place to try and carry out an act of terrorism. Witnesses will come forward, evidence will be developed, arrests will be made, prosecutions will be brought forth, and they will be successful.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Prosecutors said Rahimi also planted a pipe bomb in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, but no one was injured.

Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the national football league. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback says that he remains unsigned due to collusion by team owners over his national anthem protests. Kaepernick sparked a debate when he kneeled during the anthem last year, protesting police mistreatment of African-Americans.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 85 points to close at 22957. The Nasdaq rose 18. And the S&P 500 added four.

It was a milestone day in the world of astronomy. For the first time, researchers say they have detected gravitational waves with a flash of light from the same cosmic event. The dual observation supports Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The ripples in space and the light burst were caused by the collision of two neutron stars. They were first detected in August.

The post News Wrap: Dozens missing after deadly Mogadishu truck bombing appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

Former MP Joanna Cherry has said that the SNP rules which prevented her from standing for a seat at Holyrood would not block Stephen Flynn from doing the same.  

Video Friday is your weekly selection of awesome robotics videos, collected by your friends at IEEE Spectrum robotics. We also post a weekly calendar of upcoming robotics events for the next few months. Please send us your events for inclusion.

IROS 2024: 14–18 October 2024, ABU DHABI, UAE

ICSR 2024: 23–26 October 2024, ODENSE, DENMARK

Cybathlon 2024: 25–27 October 2024, ZURICH

Humanoids 2024: 22–24 November 2024, NANCY, FRANCE

Enjoy today’s videos!

Not even ladders can keep you safe from quadruped robots anymore.

[ ETH Zürich Robot Systems Lab ]

Introducing Azi (right), the new desktop robot from Engineered Arts Ltd. Azi and Ameca are having a little chat, demonstrating their wide range of expressive capabilities. Engineered Arts desktop robots feature 32 actuators, 27 for facial control alone, and 5 for the neck. They include AI conversational ability including GPT-4o support which makes them great robotic companions.

[ Engineered Arts ]

Quadruped robots that individual researchers can build by themselves are crucial for expanding the scope of research due to their high scalability and customizability. In this study, we develop a metal quadruped robot MEVIUS, that can be constructed and assembled using only materials ordered through e-commerce. We have considered the minimum set of components required for a quadruped robot, employing metal machining, sheet metal welding, and off-the-shelf components only.

[ MEVIUS from JSK Robotics Laboratory ]

Thanks Kento!

Avian perching maneuvers are one of the most frequent and agile flight scenarios, where highly optimized flight trajectories, produced by rapid wing and tail morphing that generate high angular rates and accelerations, reduce kinetic energy at impact. Here, we use optimal control methods on an avian-inspired drone with morphing wing and tail to test a recent hypothesis derived from perching maneuver experiments of Harris’ hawks that birds minimize the distance flown at high angles of attack to dissipate kinetic energy before impact.

[ EPFL Laboratory of Intelligent Systems ]

The earliest signs of bearing failures are inaudible to you, but not to Spot . Introducing acoustic vibration sensing—Automate ultrasonic inspections of rotating equipment to keep your factory humming.

The only thing I want to know is whether Spot is programmed to actually do that cute little tilt when using its acoustic sensors.

[ Boston Dynamics ]

Hear from Jonathan Hurst, our co-founder and Chief Robot Officer, why legs are ideally suited for Digit’s work.

[ Agility Robotics ]

I don’t think “IP67” really does this justice.

[ ANYbotics ]

This paper presents a teleportation system with floating robotic arms that traverse parallel cables to perform long-distance manipulation. The system benefits from the cable-based infrastructure, which is easy to set up and cost-effective with expandable workspace range.

[ EPFL ]

It seems to be just renderings for now, but here’s the next version of Fourier’s humanoid.

[ Fourier ]

Happy Oktoberfest from Dino Robotics!

[ Dino Robotics ]

This paper introduces a learning-based low-level controller for quadcopters, which adaptively controls quadcopters with significant variations in mass, size, and actuator capabilities. Our approach leverages a combination of imitation learning and reinforcement learning, creating a fast-adapting and general control framework for quadcopters that eliminates the need for precise model estimation or manual tuning.

[ HiPeR Lab ]

Parkour poses a significant challenge for legged robots, requiring navigation through complex environments with agility and precision based on limited sensory inputs. In this work, we introduce a novel method for training end-to-end visual policies, from depth pixels to robot control commands, to achieve agile and safe quadruped locomotion.

[ SoloParkour ]

Thirteen years since a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan, causing a loss of power, meltdowns and a major release of radioactive material, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) finally seems to be close to extracting the first bit of melted fuel from the complex—thanks to a special telescopic robotic device.

Despite Japan’s prowess in industrial robotics, TEPCO had no robots to deploy in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Since then, however, robots have been used to measure radiation levels, clear building debris, and survey the exterior and interior of the plant overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

It will take decades to decommission Fukushima Dai-ichi, and one of the most dangerous, complex tasks is the removal and storage of about 880 tons of highly radioactive molten fuel in three reactor buildings that were operating when the tsunami hit. TEPCO believes mixtures of uranium, zirconium and other metals accumulated around the bottom of the primary containment vessels (PCVs) of the reactors—but the exact composition of the material is unknown. The material is “fuel debris,” which TEPCO defines as overheated fuel that has melted with fuel rods and in-vessel structures, then cooled and re-solidified. The extraction was supposed to begin in 2021 but ran into development delays and obstacles in the extraction route; the coronavirus pandemic also slowed work.

While TEPCO wants a molten fuel sample to analyze for exact composition, getting just a teaspoon of the stuff has proven so tricky that the job is years behind schedule. That may change soon as crews have deployed the telescoping device to target the 237 tons of fuel debris in Unit 2, which suffered less damage than the other reactor buildings and no hydrogen explosion, making it an easier and safer test bed.

“We plan to retrieve a small amount of fuel debris from Unit 2, analyze it to evaluate its properties and the process of its formation, and then move on to large-scale retrieval,” says Tatsuya Matoba, a spokesperson for TEPCO. “We believe that extracting as much information as possible from the retrieved fuel debris will likely contribute greatly to future decommissioning work.”

How TEPCO Plans to Retrieve a Fuel Sample

Getting to the fuel is easier said than done. Shaped like an inverted light bulb, the damaged PCV is a 33-meter-tall steel structure that houses the reactor pressure vessel where nuclear fission took place. A 2-meter-long isolation valve designed to block the release of radioactive material sits at the bottom of the PCV, and that’s where the robot will go in. The fuel debris itself is partly underwater.

The robot arm is being preceded by a smaller telescopic device. The telescopic device, which is trying to retrieve 3 grams of the fuel debris without further contamination to the outside environment, is similar to the larger robot arm, which is better suited for the retrieval of larger bits of debris.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning and UK-based Veolia Nuclear Solutions developed the robot arm to enter small openings in the PCV, where it can survey the interior and grab the fuel. Mostly made of stainless steel and aluminum, the arm measures 22 meters long, weighs 4.6 tons and can move along 18 degrees of freedom. It’s a boom-style arm, not unlike the robotic arms on the International Space Station, that rests in a sealed enclosure box when not extended.

The arm consists of four main elements: a carriage that pushes the assembly through the openings, arm links that can fold up like a ream of dot matrix printer paper, an arm that has three telescopic stages, and a “wand” (an extendable pipe-shaped component) with cameras and a gripper on its tip. Both the arm and the wand can tilt downward toward the target area.

After the assembly is pushed through the PCV’s isolation valve, it angles downward over a 7.2-meter-long rail heading toward the base of the reactor. It continues through existing openings in the pedestal, a concrete structure supporting the reactor, and the platform, which is a flat surface under the reactor.

Then, the tip is lowered on a cable like the grabber in a claw machine toward the debris field at the bottom of the pedestal. The gripper tool at the end of the component has two delicate pincers (only 5 square millimeters), that can pinch a small pebble of debris. The debris is transferred to a container and, if all goes well, is brought back up through the openings and placed in a glovebox: A sealed, negative-pressure container in the reactor building where initial testing can be performed. It will then be moved to a Japan Atomic Energy Agency facility in nearby Ibaraki Prefecture for detailed analysis.

While the gripper on the telescopic device currently being used was able to reach the debris field and grasp a piece of rubble—it’s unknown if it was actually melted fuel—last month, two of the four cameras on the device stopped working a few days later, and the device was eventually reeled back into the enclosure box. Crews confirmed there were no problems with signal wiring from the control panel in the reactor building, and proceeded to perform oscilloscope testing. TEPCO speculates that radiation passing through camera semiconductor elements caused electrical charge to build up, and that the charge will drain if the cameras are left on in a relatively low-dose environment. It was the latest setback in a very long project.

“Retrieving fuel debris from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is an extremely difficult task, and a very important part of decommissioning,” says Matoba. “With the goal of completing the decommissioning in 30 to 40 years, we believe it is important to proceed strategically and systematically with each step of the work at hand.”

This story was updated on 15 October, 2024 to clarify that TEPCO is using two separate tools (a smaller telescopic device and a larger robot arm) in the process of retrieving fuel debris samples.

Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban returned to the Bluesky social media platform with a post after weeks of contentious X posts.

The Sacred Heart and the presidential election.

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating deepfake nude photos of Singapore Sports School (SSP) students that were created and spread by other students. In response to queries from The Straits Times, school principal Ong Kim Soon said SSP is “aware of the incident involving the creation and sharing of deepfake photos by our student-athletes”. “The school does not condone such harmful behaviour,” he said, adding that it has launched an investigation and lodged a police report. The police, in response to queries from ST, confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing. A reader who identified himself as a parent of a victim had alerted ST in an e-mail on Nov 12 about the deepfake nude images that were being circulated. “Many parents of affected female students in Singapore Sports School are making police reports about deepfake nude photos of their daughters generated by male students from the school,” the parent said. When contacted, the parent said that female teachers were also targeted, and that the school has offered affected students counselling.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's evaluation is the first step toward a potential recall of 2.4 million Tesla vehicles

Rajinikanth has started dubbing for his character in his upcoming movie Darbar, directed by AR Murugadoss.

Harry Stebbings (pictured above), the U.K. podcaster who broke into the world of tech with his 20-minute interviews of venture capitalists and founders, parlayed that fame into becoming a VC himself. Now, Stebbings has closed his third investment vehicle, and it’s his biggest yet: 20VC, the firm named after the podcast series, has closed a […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

There’s a big opportunity for generative AI in the world of translation, and a startup called Panjaya is taking the concept to the next level: a hyperrealistic, GenAI-based dubbing tool for videos that recreates a person’s original voice speaking the new language, with the video and the speaker’s physical movements automatically modifying to match up […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

More Netflix viewers watched dubbed versions of the South Korean drama “Squid Game” than subtitled versions. WSJ met one of the show’s English-language voice actors to see how dubbing foreign content is fueling the streaming giant’s growth. Photo Illustration: Sharon Shi

New York : Wallflower, 2014.

New York; Oxford : Berghahn Books, [2020]

Directed by Sandeep Tadi, the play is a collaboration between Storyboard Productions and Preksha Theatre Company

Vertical gardens can breathe life into smaller urban spaces. Teja Lele Desai finds out how

SmartTerra offers water utilities solutions to minimise loss, maximise supply