Thursday 9 May 2019

Uber to price IPO at $45, valuing company at $82 bn: source

Uber was preparing a share offering that values the global ridesharing giant at up to $82 billion, a source familiar with the deal said Thursday.

* This article was originally published here

Nurse care coordinators are key to success of patient-centered medical home programs

Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) programs include a team of primary care providers that manage patient care and oversee individual care plans. Their goals are to improve health outcomes, enhance quality, and reduce costs. Medicare and private payers have adopted these programs to improve primary care delivery.

* This article was originally published here

New model of measles-elimination progress may help target vaccination efforts

A country's progress towards measles elimination can be mapped on a "canonical path" that in turn can guide vaccination strategies, according to a study from scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

* This article was originally published here

Microsoft to turn next chapter in raising talk to conversations

On Monday at Build 2019, Microsoft's annual conference for developers, the company showed off the technology for a conversational engine, to integrate with voice assistant Cortana.

* This article was originally published here

Road test proves adaptive cruise control can add to traffic jam problem

A new, open-road test of adaptive cruise control demonstrated that the feature, designed to make driving easier by continuously adjusting a vehicle's speed in response to the car ahead, doesn't yet solve the problem of phantom traffic jams.

* This article was originally published here

A growing number of states call porn a public health crisis

More than a dozen states have moved to declare pornography a public health crisis, raising concerns among some experts who say the label goes too far and carries its own risks.

* This article was originally published here

Meditation needs more research: Study finds 25 percent suffer unpleasant experiences

More than a quarter of people who regularly meditate have had a 'particularly unpleasant' psychological experience related to the practice, including feelings of fear and distorted emotions, a UCL-led study has found.

* This article was originally published here

How to generate a brain of correct size and composition

To build the neocortex, a brain area involved in higher cognitive functions, stem cells produce billions of neurons of various types. In a Science study, neuroscientists from Switzerland, Belgium, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) have now shown that, over time, the neocortical stem cells go through various maturation states, each of them leading to a distinct neuron type. Production of the correct neuron type is bound to a specific protein complex.

* This article was originally published here

Just add water: Salt battery could help renewable energy use

Amid the hum and heat of Berlin's Reuter thermal power station stands a shining contraption that looks out of place in the decades-old machine hall.

* This article was originally published here

Longer duration of statin use linked to lower risk for glaucoma

(HealthDay)—Statin use may lower the risk for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), according to a study published online May 2 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

* This article was originally published here

Collision-detecting suitcase, wayfinding app help blind people navigate airports

Carnegie Mellon University researchers say a smart suitcase that warns blind users of impending collisions and a wayfinding smartphone app can help people with visual disabilities navigate airport terminals safely and independently.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers discover 'daywake,' a siesta-suppressing gene

Rutgers researchers have identified a siesta-suppressing gene in fruit flies, which sheds light on the biology that helps many creatures, including humans, balance the benefits of a good nap against those of getting important activities done during the day.

* This article was originally published here

In lab, researchers flip pain switch in spinal cord cells

Facing an urgent need for safer and more effective therapies for those suffering from debilitating pain in the midst of an opioid crisis, Saint Louis University researchers are on a mission to find a non-narcotic off-switch for pain.

* This article was originally published here

Dexterous herring gulls learn new tricks to adapt their feeding habits

Observations of Herring Gulls by scientists from the University of Southampton have shown how the coastal birds have developed complicated behaviour to 'skin' sea creatures to make them safe to eat. Researchers think this feeding habit may be a response to urbanisation and changes in food availability.

* This article was originally published here

An approach for securing audio classification against adversarial attacks

Adversarial audio attacks are small perturbations that are not perceivable by humans and are intentionally added to audio signals to impair the performance of machine learning (ML) models. These attacks raise serious concerns about the security of ML models, as they can cause them to make mistakes and ultimately generate wrong predictions.

* This article was originally published here

Anger more harmful to health of older adults than sadness

Anger may be more harmful to an older person's physical health than sadness, potentially increasing inflammation, which is associated with such chronic illnesses as heart disease, arthritis and cancer, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

* This article was originally published here

Pixel 3a vs. Pixel 3: Great camera for the price makes Google's $399 phone the better buy

Google's launch Tuesday of the $399 Pixel 3a and $479 Pixel 3a XL smartphones only seven months after the release of the pricier Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL handsets likely has you asking: "Why would I want to spend at least $400 more for Google's premium flagships, when these latest mid-priced devices offer so many overlapping features?"

* This article was originally published here

Fracture risk tool useful in women with breast cancer initiating aromatase inhibitor therapy

The FRAX tool takes into account certain factors to determine the risk of bone fracture in the general population. In a Journal of Bone and Mineral Research study, the tool was effective at determining fracture risk for women with breast cancer who were treated with aromatase inhibitors, which cause accelerated bone loss, when combined with bone mineral density measurements.

* This article was originally published here

Rural innovation policies need to exploit differences within communities

Policies aimed at encouraging rural innovation should take into account the differences between entrepreneurs and how they view where they live, according to a new study.

* This article was originally published here

GM unveils $700 mn Ohio investment, plans to sell shuttered plant

General Motors Wednesday announced plans to invest $700 million in Ohio and to sell a shuttered plant to a company that makes electric trucks, drawing cheers from President Donald Trump who has assailed the US automaker for cutting American jobs.

* This article was originally published here

Portrait of a Google AI art project as a poetic you

Roses are red violets are blue, AI writing poems? Can't be true. Or can it? And if so, how low can we go in expectations? Brush low expectations aside for now, as Google is on to something special, and that is, AI for self-portrait poetry.

* This article was originally published here

Google bucks soaring smartphone prices with new Pixel

Google bucked the soaring smartphone price trend Tuesday, unveiling a high-performance Pixel handset aimed at the middle of the market as part of a wide-ranging pitch to developers of its new hardware, software and privacy efforts.

* This article was originally published here