Artificial intelligence that analyses the sound of a cough to detect covid-19 had been reported to be 99 per cent accurate, but a comprehensive analysis shows it’s only about 60 per cent accurate Technology 3 January 2023 By Jeremy Hsu AI that listens to a person coughing isn’t very good at predicting whether they have … Read more
Nuclear fusion, infectious diseases and an incredible new space telescope were ongoing stories in 2022, but what were some of the other big scientific developments, discoveries and events of the year? Technology 16 December 2022 By Jacob Aron The Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in Ukraine GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images War in Europe, a momentous … Read more
A prototype N95 face mask with a sensor built into the breath valve appears to be highly sensitive to virus proteins in early-stage tests Technology 19 September 2022 By Clare Wilson The virus-sensing face mask during a test Matter/Wang et al. (CC BY-SA) A face mask with an integrated virus sensor could detect tiny amounts … Read more
Between November 2020 and February 2021, Facebook introduced policies to cut down on misinformation related to covid-19 vaccines, but they only worked for about six months Technology 15 February 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker As part of its policy on covid-19 misinformation, Facebook removed posts with false claims about vaccines Sipa US/Alamy Policies put in place … Read more
By Karina Shah THE question of how best to use technology to meet the everyday needs of citizens is on the agenda, especially in the US, where President Joe Biden wants to “listen to science”. So far, he has embedded data experts and technologists in all his teams. But there is a mountain to climb. … Read more
By Michael Roberts Michelle D’urbano IS THERE no problem artificial intelligence can’t tackle? Methods such as deep learning are finding uses in everything from algorithms that recommend what you should purchase next to ones that predict someone’s voting habits. The result is that AI has developed a somewhat mystical reputation as a tool that can … Read more