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Google AI gains access to 1.2m confidential NHS patient records

#artificialintelligence

Google has been given access to huge swatches of confidential patient information in the UK, raising fears yet again over how NHS managers view and handle data under their control. In an agreement uncovered by the New Scientist, Google and its DeepMind artificial intelligence wing have been granted access to current and historic patient data at three London hospitals run by the Royal Free NHS Trust, covering 1.6 million individuals. That would include any chronic illness people may be suffering from and the circumstances over why they were admitted – for example, if they have suffered a drug overdose. The agreement provides Google with access to data going back five years and is far more expansive than expected. Google and DeepMind previously said they were working with the NHS on a product called "Streams" that would "present timely information that helps nurses and doctors detect cases of acute kidney injury." The agreement however provides access to all patient data, covering issues far beyond just kidney functioning.


Roaming charges show why Britain needs to vote to stay in the EU, David Cameron says

The Independent - Tech

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display


Google patents computer that can be injected directly into the eyeball

The Independent - Tech

Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display


UN says N. Korea accusations vs US troops 'unsubstantiated'

Associated Press

The American-led U.N. command on Saturday dismissed as unsubstantiated accusations from North Korea that U.S. troops at a border village tried to provoke its frontline troops with "disgusting acts." A North Korean military statement Friday warned U.S. soldiers to stop what it called "hooliganism" at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom or they'll meet a "dog's death any time and any place." It said U.S. troops pointed their fingers at North Korean soldiers and made strange noises and unspecified "disgusting" facial expressions. It also said that American troops encouraged South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North. A statement from Christopher Bush, a spokesman for the U.N. command, said they looked into the allegations and determined they were unsubstantiated.


The 2016 Presidential Election: A Cinematic Retrospective

The New Yorker

A workaholic moderate, who set aside dreams of a storybook inauguration to pursue a diplomatic career, meets a hopelessly single-issue candidate chasing his last shot at relevance. Throw in a wacky, albeit divided, party and an amorous ex-President who dredges up all kinds of unpleasant memories, and you have the sleeper hit of the season! Thematically, this film is underscored by decades of entrenched sexism and anti-socialism, though the talking points are the same as the 2008 original. "The Best (No, Seriously) the Greatest-Ever Exotic Marigold Hotel--I Mean It, It's Classy" A group of disenfranchised retirees book a stay at a destination resort built by a famed real-estate developer. But they soon discover that he didn't actually build it himself but licensed his name to the project.


North Korean accusations of 'disgusting acts' by U.S. troops lack evidence, U.N. command says

The Japan Times

SEOUL/UNITED NATIONS – The American-led U.N. command on Saturday dismissed accusations from North Korea that U.S. troops at a border village tried to provoke its front-line troops with "disgusting acts." A North Korean military statement Friday warned U.S. soldiers to stop what it called "hooliganism" at Panmunjom or they will meet a "dog's death any time and any place." It said U.S. troops pointed their fingers at North Korean soldiers and made strange noises and unspecified "disgusting" facial expressions. It also said American troops encouraged South Korean soldiers to aim their guns at the North. Christopher Bush, a spokesman for the U.N. command, said it had looked into the allegations and determined they were unsubstantiated.


Navy Puts First Drone Command On An Aircraft Carrier

Popular Science

Robots are going to take all the boring jobs first. This extends even to the military, where the Navy wants to keep humans flying fighter jets in attack missions, but switch over the less exciting scouting and refueling missions to drones. Looking toward that future, the U.S. Navy has outfitted the supercarrier USS Carl Vinson with a drone control room. "We are carving out precious real estate on board the carrier, knowing that the carrier of the future will have manned and unmanned systems on it," said Capt. "This suite is an incremental step necessary to extend performance, efficiency and enhance safety of aerial refueling and reconnaissance missions that are expending valuable flight hours on our strike-fighter aircraft, the F/A-18 Echoes and Foxtrots." Here's what that means: the F/A-18 fighters the Navy uses are versatile planes, which are tasked with several jobs.


Google AI gains access to 1.2m confidential NHS patient records

#artificialintelligence

Google has been given access to huge swatches of confidential patient information in the UK, raising fears yet again over how NHS managers view and handle data under their control. In an agreement uncovered by the New Scientist, Google and its DeepMind artificial intelligence wing have been granted access to current and historic patient data at three London hospitals run by the Royal Free NHS Trust, covering 1.6 million individuals. That would include any chronic illness people may be suffering from and the circumstances over why they were admitted – for example, if they have suffered a drug overdose. The agreement provides Google with access to data going back five years and is far more expansive than expected. Google and DeepMind previously said they were working with the NHS on a product called "Streams" that would "present timely information that helps nurses and doctors detect cases of acute kidney injury." The agreement however provides access to all patient data, covering issues far beyond just kidney functioning.


Newly declassified pictures show USS Independence as it was blown up alongside 77 other ships as part of atomic tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Stunning new pictures from a 1946 atomic weapon test on a hundred US ships have been revealed. The newly declassified images show the World War II veteran aircraft carrier USS Independence, which was one of nearly a hundred ships used as targets in the first tests of the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1946. The two Bikini tests known as Operation Crossroads were carried out in the immediate aftermath of the atomic end to World War II in Japan, and signaled a new era in world history, the historians involved in the new study say. The newly declassified images show the World War II aircraft carrier which was one of nearly a hundred ships used as targets in the first tests of the atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Here, Sailors watch the'Able Test' burst miles out to sea from the deck of the support ship USS Fall River on 1 July 1946.


Tim Peake's next challenge: Driving a rover from space

Christian Science Monitor | Science

The International Space Station (ISS) astronauts may soon have a new duty – driving rovers on distant planets. Tim Peake, the popular European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut who ran a marathon in space earlier this week, will have to steady himself in a seat aboard the ISS as he pilots a rover on Earth on Friday. The driving is part of a project simulation program, called Meteron, in which a Mars rover will be driven around a faux-Mars landscape in England. The end goal, however, will be for an astronaut orbiting outside a distant world to help direct a rover in dangerous maneuvers. "Space is such a harsh place for humans and machines that future exploration of our Solar System will most likely involve sending robotic explorers to'test the waters' on uncharted planets before sending humans," the ESA says on a Meteron website.