The Equipment Reports

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Melting Snow And Underground Salt Causing Landslides On Mars

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Scientists have revealed the cause behind mysterious landslides on Mars surface. According to a study, the Red Planet is experiencing Marsquakes. This is keeping the planet seismically active. The massive recurring slope line on Mars has caught the attention of scientists over the past few years. A detailed analysis of the data collected during NASA’s InSight mission showed the recurring slope lines are located on sun-facing slopes. These lines continue to appear and expand over time. These lines are so mysterious that scientists decided to interpret the data collected from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. These lines are similar to landslides. The cause of these landslides is yet unknown.

Scientists previously thought that recurring slope lines are related to chlorine salts and located in regions of the high surface. But scientists widened their observation and discovered similar activities on the Red Planet’s slopes facing Sun. According to the SETI Institute in California, geologists thought that the dark streaks on Mars are related to melting ice. However, it is observed that these streaks mainly occur in regions with little ice. What is interesting is that these streaks increase after dust storms. They later fade away. Scientists decided to replicate the behavior of chlorine salts and sulphates in a laboratory. They created a temperature similar to Mars. Scientists arrive to the conclusion that microscale liquid water migrates underground.

It is worth mentioning that Earth too is experiencing similar activities Atacama desert, Antarctica, and the Dead Sea. The first quake on Mars was detected by NASA’s InSight lander. The rover recorded the sound of the quake. Mars is a topic of research and study for scientists for a long. It is similar to Earth in terms of basic makeup. Both are terrestrial planets. But they are very different from each other in temperature, size, and atmosphere. Mars has a thin atmosphere compared to Earth’s. Past studies have suggested that it has both water and oxygen, but in a less quantity. NASA is planning to send a human mission to Mars by end of the decade.

China’s Mars Probe Tianwen-1 Sends Back First Image Of Mars, Performs Fourth Orbital Correction

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China’s mission to Mars is moving ahead on the right track. The probe is called Tianwen-1. The spacecraft has captured the first image of Mars. It has sent back the image of the Red Planet. According to the CNSA, the image was captured from a distance of 2.2 million km from Mars. The agency released a fascinating image of the planet. The spacecraft has successfully conducted its fourth orbital correction. The agency said that this correction is aimed at ensuring the probe achieves a sound planned rendezvous with the planet. It has so far traveled 197 days in orbit and flying 465 million km. The CNSA said that the probe’s systems are working as planned. It is 184 million km from Earth.

China launched the mission in July 2020. It lifted off on a Long March-5 rocket from the Hainan launch site. It weighs 5 tonnes. It consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. It will enter the Martian orbit on February 10. CNSA said that the spacecraft will spend approximately 90 days in the Mar orbit. It will survey potential sites for landing. It will use a high-resolution camera to locate the sites. The landing is likely to take place in May. CNSA said that the soft landing of the probe is the most challenging part of the mission. It said that the landing will be an autonomous process. The spacecraft will use a parachute, its aerodynamic shape, retrorocket to descend. It will buffer the legs at the time of touching down.

Once the soft landing is achieved, the probe will release the rover. It will conduct scientific exploration at Mars. The CNSA said that the lifespan of the rover is approximately 90 Martian days. A Martian day is around 40 minutes longer than the Earth’s. The rover will transmit data back to Earth as it will conduct experiments. Tianwen-1 is China’s first rover mission to the Red Planet. Tianwen-1 is one of three Mars missions that were launched within 11 days in 2020. The remaining two missions were launched by the US and the UAE. The missions will enter the Mars orbit in February itself. While the UAE’s mission named Hope is an orbiter, the mission launched by the US is carrying a rover. It is named Perseverance. The rover will explore the Jezero crater.

SpaceX Wins NASA Contract To Provide Launch Services For Astrophysics Mission

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX has won a NASA contract. The space agency said that it has selected SpaceX for an astrophysics mission. SpaceX will provide launch services for the mission. The mission is called SPHEREx. It will involve surveying the sky in the near-infrared light. The mission will last for two years. Currently, it is targeted to launch in June 2024. The mission will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA said that the near-infrared light will serve as a powerful tool to help scientists find answers to cosmic questions and understand the universe. The near-infrared light is not visible to humans. NASA said that the mission will also search for organic molecules and water.

NASA said that astronomers will get a chance to utilize the mission to gather data about galaxies and stars. The spacecraft will perform a full-sky survey. It will help scientists understand how the universe works. NASA feels that the data collected during the mission will be phenomenal. According to NASA’s estimate, the total cost to launch the mission is roughly USD 98.8 million. This included the launch service for which NASA has signed a contract with SpaceX. The mission was originally scheduled for a launch in 2023. But the space agency had to delay it due to the pandemic.

The American space agency had in January selected four small-scale astrophysics missions. The objective is to study the secrets and unlock the mysteries of the universe. The four missions are Aspera, Pandora, StarBurst, and PUEO. NASA will through small satellites and scientific balloons explore the cosmos. The experiments will fill the gaps in the understanding of the universe. Aspera will study the evolution of the galaxy. Aspera will examine hot gas in the space. As per the plan, Pandora will study 20 stars and their 39 exoplanets. It will use infrared light to conduct the study. StarBurst will detect high-energy gamma rays in space. PUEO will be a balloon mission. It will detect signals from ultra-high energy neutrinos. The remaining three will be small satellites.

The Australian Health Care Dept Instructs Doctors To Prescribe Medicines By Their Chemical Name

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The Australian Health Care Department has made a national legislation change in the health care system of the country, which is termed as active ingredient prescribing. Under the new ruling, doctors will not be allowed to prescribe medicines by their brand names anymore. Now, the prescription will list the name of the active ingredients of the drugs rather than the brand names. This legislation change has been long overdue for Australian Health Care. Experts have said that using the chemical name of the drug rather than the brand names will change the way in which people have been using the medications. It will lead to fewer medication errors by the patients and doctors. The active ingredient shows the main chemical composition of the medicine, which affects the body. Experts test the drugs to make sure that they contain the same active ingredient irrespective of their brands.

There is only one active ingredient name for each type of chemical composition though they can contain different strengths. Some types of drugs have many active ingredients such as Panadeine Forte, which have both paracetamol and codeine. Doctors have been prescribing a mixture of brands and active ingredient names until now. As per an Australian study, doctors have been using brand names for 80.5 percent of their prescriptions.

Experts have reported that up to 12 brands are available for most of the medicines. When combined with active ingredient names, it accounts for more than thousands of different brand names, which is quite hard for patients and pharmacists to remember. The main objective of the new rule is to simplify the language of the medications. Experts aim to accustom people to using one standard name for each medicine. It will help them to talk about medicines to their health care provider or family members. Experts have said that people make fewer errors by understanding the medications they use. It helps them to make more precise decisions about their medicines.

Health experts have said that the new rule is not going to load doctors with extra work. As per the new legislation, doctors can include the brand name in the prescription, if they feel it is crucial for patients. Apart from some exceptions, the active ingredient names need to be listed in the prescription. The names of active ingredients should be listed first in the prescription, said the experts. Some names of the active ingredient might be too long and more complex than certain brand names, in such a case, there might be a period of adjustment for consumers. However, in the long run, the new rule is going to be implemented across the country, which will change the terminology around the medications. It will make things easy and safe for patients and doctors.

Scientists Discover Cloudless Hot Jupiter Exoplanet 575 Light-Years Away From Earth

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Astronomers have claimed to found a strange planet. The new planet is similar to Jupiter. It has many things common in Jupiter. The discovery was made by a team at Harvard and Smithsonian’s Center for Astrophysics. The team said that the new planet has characteristics that are similar to Jupiter’s. The planet is said to be 575 light-years away from Earth. It is called WASP-62b. It is a gas giant. The planet has a mass half that of Jupiter. It has no clouds. It means that the planet has no atmosphere. This is the second time when astronauts have discovered a cloudless exoplanet. Researchers said that such planets are very rare and comprise less than 7 percent of exoplanets.

Scientists are now studying how these bodies are formed. Researchers said that WASP-62b is the nearest planet to WASP-62. WASP-62 is a single star. It is located approximately 600 light-years farm from Earth. WASP-62b is the only planet in the system. It orbits the star in nearly 4.5 Earth days. The planet falls into the category of hot Jupiters. The temperature on a hot Jupiter is as high as 1057 degrees Celsius. The planet was first detected in 2012. But astronauts got to study the planet’s atmosphere recently. The observation was made from the Hubble Space Telescope. Researchers detected sodium on the planet. Sodium is an element that is obscured if clouds are present in the atmosphere.

The team said that the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will provide them more data to study and understand the planet. The telescope is jointly developed by NASA, ESA, and CSA. The telescope is likely to be launched in October this year. The equipment will provide improved infrared resolution and will have more sensitivity over Hubble. It will be the successor to Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope’s construction was completed in 2016 and testing began. It was earlier slated for launch in 2018, but the launch was delayed after its sunshield ripped.

NASA Delays Award Of Artemis Program’s Moon Lander Contracts By Two Months

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The US-based space agency NASA has delayed the awarding contracts of a key element of the Artemis program. It has silently delayed the plan to award two lunar lander contracts. According to NASA, the two high-profile crewed contracts have been delayed from February to April. The agency wants to evaluate the proposals submitted by bidders. The delay will give more time to the agency for the purpose. The objective behind the delay is to protect the seamless transition from the development phase. However, NASA may not need two months for evaluating the proposals. It means that the agency may award the lander contracts before April 30.

NASA said that the delay will also give time to the bidders to work on the design and develop systems to land humans on Moon. Earlier in 2019, three companies had won a combined USD 967 million from NASA in seed funding. NASA provided funds to develop concepts for a system that will land humans on the lunar surface. The three companies that are currently in the race to bag NASA contracts are SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics. Elon Musk owns SpaceX. Jeff Bezos and Leidos own Blue Origin and Dynetics, respectively. All three are American companies. It is NASA’s first effort to spend funds since the Apollo program on developing landers for moon-bound astronauts.

The delay is also attributed to the Presidential transition in the country. The new President Joe Biden is yet to release any space policy. This has also triggered talks of uncertainty over NASA’s Artemis program. According to NASA, it had last week conveyed to the three firms about an extension to award the contracts. As per the timeline decided by the Trump administration, NASA was supposed to pick two bidders by late February. This selection means NASA has approved two systems that will take humans to the moon. Notably, NASA under the Artemis program will launch three spacecraft. The third spacecraft will take the first woman and the next man to Moon. It will be launched in 2024.

US Regulators Warn Seven Companies for Marketing Fake Coronavirus Preventive and Curing Drugs

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American regulators have warned seven companies to stop claiming their products as effective means to treat coronavirus. Reportedly, those businesses are selling sprays, soaps, and other creations with fake assertions that they can cure COVID-19 or prevent people from capturing it. The officials have emailed the memo on Friday to the U.S.-, U.K.-, and Canada-based companies. Around all the aimed companies have had obeyed by Monday morning. The companies have removed all the information or referrals of the virus or products to treat it, from respective websites. The notices, sent collectively by the U.S. FTC and FDA, have warned the businesses about their products for curing coronavirus were fraudulent. Even more, the agencies warn those products are breaching federal law and pose a substantial risk to patient wellness. The list includes seven companies, Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd.; Vivify Holistic Clinic; N-Energetics; Herbal Amy LLC; GuruNanda, LLC; and The Jim Bakker Show.

Well, The Jim Bakker Show is a company having a connection with Jim Bakker, a TV evangelist, who was charged on mail and wire fraud charges in the 1980s. Reportedly, Jim has spent around five years in federal jail. Joe Simons, FTC’s Chairman, said already there remains a higher level of anxiety over the probable spread of coronavirus. He also added they do not companies to prey on customers by promoting their products via fake treatment and prevention titles. As per the executive, these memos are just an initial step. Simons said they are set to take measures of constraint against businesses that continue to promote and market such scams. In the memo to the Jim Bakker Show, both federal agencies have suggested the company to stop selling Silver Sol Liquid and other products listed on the company’s website.

On the other hand, Herbal Amy, a seller of CBD products, had touted its products effective or safe to treat or prevent coronavirus illness. Thus, the FDA and FTC have had urged the company to eliminate those fake claims. Since then, the company has deleted some controversial product descriptions. Meanwhile, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said, the agency believes the sale and marketing of fraudulent coronavirus products could pose a threat to the health of people. He added they have a dynamic observation program that regularly monitors web sources for fraudulent health products. Stephen also noted that they understand the fear regarding the spread of new coronavirus strain. Thus they recommend people contact their healthcare providers and follow guidelines from federal agencies.

Experts Said One Can Prepare Their Portfolio During Recession This Way

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When it comes to falling if the economy one cannot think about anything than securing their funds, people who have invested a considerable amount of money in the stock market or acquired in the banks need to know about protecting funds during recession. Some experts have gathered their insights and note down three ways one can make sure their money is in the right hands, especially during the recession period.

Build Good Cash Reserves

When a person has enough money when the economy is performing well, then they must secure some of it safely. During recession, the majority of the daily grocery items will become quite hard to purchase. Generally, those companies stocks went down, which are quite vulnerable to recession. Since now everyone is worried about the Coronavirus fear, there is an excellent opportunity for people who have enough cash with them. People with most liquid assets are always in a favourable position than those who struggle to meet their daily lives during recession.

Cut Off Major Expenses

One of the hardest things during a recession is to manage the finances. Because one who has lots of expenses on their hand cannot live happily during recession time. Experts think people who didn’t lose money but lost it in stocks shouldn’t worry that much since it’s just temporary. However, one should not trade with their emergency funds which are stored only for difficult situations.

Buy Recession Proof Companies Shares

There are some companies which will never let their investors down even during a period of recession. During the dot-com bubble, it was mostly tech companies which didn’t have good substantial liquid funds went down. Blue-chip stocks which were performing well before the recession didn’t go down and had secured investors funds.

Sideloading Google Apps On Huawei Devices Might Have Some Serious Implications

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Google has cleared the air about its services on Huawei devices recently. The company has released a support article to address users’ questions. Google has said that its services will not be preloaded on new Huawei devices due to the restriction imposed by the US government. If users try to download Google apps from third-party sources other than the play store, then there can be some serious implications. The officials of the company have been receiving many questions on the availability of Google apps on new Huawei devices. The support article released by the tech giant states that it will continue to provide updates to the new Huawei devices as long as it is authorized. However, Google apps will not be available for users who are using new Huawei phones.

The support guidelines released by the company says that users should avoid downloading Google apps from third-party source on their new Huawei devices. Google has said that it does not allow its services to work on uncertified devices; in that case, if users download Google apps from some other source, it will not work reliably. The officials have warned that sideloading Google apps has a high risk of installing as these apps are already tampered or altered in many ways, which can pose a threat to users’ security. Google has made the Google play store and Google core apps only available on ‘play protect’ certified devices to safeguard users’ data privacy and security. Google’s play protect software is a malware protection guard for Android.

The US Government had banned Google and many other American companies to do business with Huawei in May 2019 owing to some security concerns. Sadly, for new Huawei users, the tiff between the US government and the Chinese firm Huawei is still not resolved. The United States has also claimed that Huawei has a ‘back door’ built in to spy on mobile phone networks using its equipment. The US government has accused the Chinese firm of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and racketeering plot as well.

San Francisco Announces State Of Emergency As Coronavirus Spreads Rapidly

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San Francisco Mayor London Breed has declared a state of emergency in the city as the coronavirus outbreak intensifies across the globe. There have been no confirmed cases of coronavirus in San Francisco but the authorities have taken the decision considering the global picture of the deadly virus. The mayor of the city has said that looking at the intensity of the virus she wants to protect the city before it falls prey to the deadly illness. The new emergency will help officials to gather all the resources and personnel for taking measures of emergency planning. The state of emergency as well will allow officials to respond rapidly to a potential coronavirus case in the city. This move has been taken after Santa Clara County has announced a state emergency in its region. State emergency will be effective for 7 days. Afterward, it will be voted by the board of supervisors on March 3.

The decision from Breed has come after; the US has given a stark warning of possible coronavirus outbreak in the US. The director of the Center for Immunization ad Respiratory Diseases at Centers at CDC has said that the containment has become difficult as the deadly virus is spreading across more and more communities. Some of the lawmakers doubt whether the officials are taking proper measures to eliminate the risk of the virus in the US or not. Some experts have told that they have requested $2.5 billion as the funding for emergency coronavirus was insufficient.

As far as China is concerned, around 77000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the city of Wuhan, where the virus was detected for the first time. More than 2000 cases have been reported so far in other countries. Nearly 57 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States. The proximity of San Francisco and China and the volume of travel have been deciding factors in the announcement of state emergency. Many tech companies have halted business travel to China. More than 2700 people across the globe have died due to COVID-19. Roughly, 80000 people have been diagnosed with the virus around the world.

NASA’s Juno Probe First Results Reveal Jupiter Not As Dry As Measured By Galileo Orbiter

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A new NASA probe has just revealed that Jupiter’s atmosphere may not be as dry as thought earlier. The latest revelation was made in the first results by the space agency’s Juno mission. The Juno spacecraft measured the amount of water in the planet’s atmosphere. The US space agency launched the mission in August 2011 as part of the New Frontiers program. The Juno spacecraft entered Jupiter’s polar orbit after five years in July 2016. The spacecraft is measuring the planet’s composition which includes its gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. The spacecraft will also look for clues on how it was actually formed and tell scientists whether it has a rocky core.

The Juno is the second spacecraft to orbit the largest planet in our solar system. It will also measure the amount of water present in its deep atmosphere. Before Juno, the nuclear powered NASA’s uncrewed spacecraft Galileo studied the planet and its moons from 1995 to 2003. The Juno results noted that water makes up around 0.25 percent of the molecules in the planet’s atmosphere at the equator. It is almost three times that of the Sun. The study was published in Nature Astronomy journal. The findings contradict Galileo mission’s result that it might be extremely dry compared to the Sun.

Jupiter is a massive gas giant and the fastest spinning planet. It is the fifth planet from the Sun and second from Earth. According to NASA, this is the first findings on Jupiter’s abundance of water since the Galileo mission. Notably, the comparison is based on the presence of the planet’s components which include oxygen and hydrogen. NASA said that the Juno team used data accumulated during the spacecraft’s first eight flybys of the planet to come to this conclusion. Scientists believe that Jupiter was probably the first planet to form in the solar system. It contains most of the gas and dust that was not incorporated into the Sun.

Amazon Ending Ties With Several Small Delivery Contractors In United States

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E-commerce giant Amazon is ending ties with several delivery contractors in the United States. The decision has come as a huge setback for many small delivery contractors. Hundreds of people now face job losses in the country. It is believed that Amazon is serving ties due to safety concerns. Several contractors were found short of meeting the safety guidelines set up by the company. Many of them even failed to meet performance requirements. The latest move has forced the delivery contractors to lay off hundreds of employees. Several firms have already announced to cut down jobs. Notably, delivery partner Bear Down Logistics has cut down nearly 400 jobs. Seattle-based Delivery Force has also decided to lay off 272 jobs.

Amazon in 2008 launched an initiative called Delivery Service Partners. The motto was to grow a strong delivery network. It also helped entrepreneurs to start delivery businesses. The company signed deals with several small logistics companies. Amazon provided support and training to these firms. However, the contractors were operating independently. They were providing all logistics for the delivery of products. According to an estimate, Amazon now delivers nearly half of the packages itself. The company also chose not to renew its air shipping contract with the global courier company FedEx. The contract ended in August last year. Amazon said that it is also growing its fleet of planes, trucks, and vehicles to match with its growing businesses.

Amazon has been working to grow its delivery network for years. The company claims that its Prime membership program has nearly 150 million subscribers. Its shipping costs have ballooned in recent times. The company spent USD 37.9 billion on shipping last year. This is an increase of 37 percent of the total amount it spent in 2018. The latest development is significant as it comes in the backdrop of flak it was facing after reports claimed a delivery network was rife with violations of the country’s labor laws. The violations resulted in accidents on several occasions, thus inviting bad light.

New York Won’t Object Judge’s Decision to Approve Merger of T-Mobile and Sprint

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Last week, on February 11, Victor Marrero, an American judge, ordered in favor of Sprint and T-Mobile. Notably, the attorney has had not found any strong arguments against the collaboration. Now Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, has decided not to file a further petition against the judge’s decision. She has headed the judicial proceedings against the union together with California’s AG Xavier Becerra. On Sunday, James said they would not appeal the judgment, which has approved the integration of Sprint and T-Mobile. The move arrives after a pro-longed legal clash. Reportedly, a state which led the allegation to obstruct T-Mobile’s billion-dollar merger with Sprint is taking its steps back.

AG James and Becerra headed an association of fourteen AGs who prosecuted to halt T-Mobile’s effort to buy Sprint. For the deal pricing around $26.5 billion, the team claimed that limiting an essential wireless company could impair customers by lessening competition and boosting rates for cellphone utility. James said after assessing the issue, New York does not aim to move ahead with a petition. She added; instead, they aim to function with all the groups to confirm that customers gain the best possible service as well as costing. James also said that they hope to build new networks throughout New York, which will introduce well-paying job opportunities.

Now, the alliance has gained approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has agreed to build an all-new mobile carrier in a bid with Dish, a satellite TV company. John Legere, T-Mobile’s Chief Executive, noted the judgment as an enormous victory. He said, now, finally, they can concentrate on the final stages to get the union complete. On the other hand, Marcelo Claure, Sprint’s Executive Chairman, said the decision certifies their view. As per the executive, the alliance is in the higher interest of American customers as well as the U.S. economy.

Meanwhile, Sprint and T-Mobile have argued upon including their union to assist in launching 5G. Even more, they have contended that their alliance could improve rivalry by making a stronger competitor to other companies like Verizon and AT&T. Well, the merger has not gained approval yet. Still, it is about to get a green signal from the Public Utility Commission of California.

Experts Said Higher Employment Means Will Mean More Cases Of Flu

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When a country is facing an employment crisis which the current government is trying best to eradicate, some health experts have correlated higher employment with flu. Rise of jobs by one percent has increased flu-related doctor visits by more than 16%. A recent study done by Ball State University has made some shocking revelations about the current rise of employment. It states that employers should consider the fact about the increase in employment since it can affect the productivity. Experts said these effects of rising flu-related cases are caused more in health and retail industries.

These are those businesses where employees have to make interpersonal contact with customers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already said the following states are seeing the outrage of flu and related cases- Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina. Even though this number is not exclusively, there are many areas where the current year’s flu season is making things worse for employees and employers. Health experts said that labor market activities like public transportation, carpools, working in offices, and other things that require employees to make contact with others spread flu very quickly.

Employers are warned to consider the fact of how many employees are taking sick leave since it affects their and co-worker’s productivity. Employers should consider giving unhealthy day levels to employees if they’re sick since their infection can affect other non-infected employees. Now information like this can be used by businesses in many ways to prevent significant drawbacks happening because of flu season. People usually don’t give that much importance to things like taking care of themselves, especially when they’re suffering from a cold or flu. If these reports came true, then it indicates that future problems like this could be severe.

Low And Middle-Income Countries Are At Higher Risk of Obesity And Malnutrition

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A report has found out that one-third of the poorest nations are facing the wraths of extreme obesity and undernourishment. Experts have claimed that global access to ultra-processed food and lack of exercise are the prime reasons behind this condition. Asian and Sub Saharan African nations are majorly hit by this. As per the data, nearly 2.3 billion children and adults are dealing with obesity in the world. Also, approximately 150 billion children are malnourished across the globe. Several underdeveloped countries are dealing with both issues at once, which can be defined as a double burden of malnutrition. Statistics show that around 20 percent of people are overweight on the planet and 20 percent of women are skinny thin. Nearly 30 percent of children are underdeveloped in the world.

The study has pointed out that communities and families are at risk of both kinds of malnutrition. Individual people can also face the same at different times in their lives. According to the report, 45 nations out of 123 poor countries were affected by both kinds of burdens in 1990. In 2010, the number of countries affected by obesity and malnutrition increased to 48. The authors of the study have said that this is the time we need to bring some important changes in the modern food system. They have asserted that the governments and the United Nation should intervene to address the problem.

Researchers have cited many reasons behind the double problems affecting poor nations. They have said that there is a new trend in the way people eat drink and live. People have easy access to less nutritious food through rapidly increasing supermarkets. There is also a decrease in the physical activity of people, which has caused people to grow overweight. Eating ultra-processed food since childhood is causing malnourishment in children. The lead author of the report Dr. Francesco Branca has said that the food system is a common denominator for obesity and undernourishment, which is finding it hard to provide affordable healthy and safe diets to people. Branca has said the food system needs a complete overhaul from production, processing, trade distribution, to price and marketing.

WhatsApp Will Stop Functioning on Older Smartphones from February 2020

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Well, it’s bad news for the group of people using WhatsApp on old models of cellphones. Reportedly, the instant messaging app will stop working on thousands of hundreds of phones in the upcoming few months. The news arrives as WhatsApp has decided to take back its support from some bygone mobile platforms. WhatsApp, with more 68.1 million active users in the US, will soon close down for millions of outdated devices. The Facebook-owned company calls it a challenging decision.  As per the company, the range of companies affected by the judgment includes previous models of Apple, Android, and Windows. WhatsApp’s decision will come in effect from 1st February 2020.

Apart from this, WhatsApp has published a post in the support section of their website. In the notice, it recommends using the new version of iOS available for smartphones. As per the blog post, on iOS 8, users will no longer be able to create a new WhatsApp account. Notably, the new app update will require iOS 9 as a minimal OS version. So, users of the iPhone 5 will soon have an upgrade or change their device to continue using WhatsApp. At the same time, users of other smartphones, including Samsung, Sony, Huawei, or Google, will also experience the throwback.

As all those phones function on Android OS, it is essential to have an OS version up to 4.0. It means Android phones having an OS version higher than 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich will continue to enjoy the service. But the case of users having Windows Phone is different. All Windows Phone operating system will stop supporting after 31st December 2019. Even more, users of all the operating systems mentioned above are unable to make a new account on WhatsApp. Those users cannot even re-verify their existing accounts. On one side, WhatsApp is withdrawing its support from older cellphone models. On the other hand, it is functioning to launch the long-awaited Dark Mode feature.

Experts Prove Hacking Of Alexa Siri, Google Assistant Through Laser

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An international team of experts has proved that Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google assistant can be hacked by throwing a laser pointer on microphones of the devices. Experts have said that dubbed light commands remotely enable hackers to send inaudible and invisible commands to the voice assistants. Laser pointers target the Micro Electro Mechanical System of the device and make it respond to light as if it was sound. As per the study, hackers can easily send sounds into the microphone by modulating the amplitude of the laser light. The authors of the study threw laser light to hijack the voice assistants at distances up to 110 meters. Intruders need to have a clear view of the target along with specialized equipment and expertise to hack the voice assistants with the laser.

Authors have argued that user authentication on these voice assistants is almost non-existent. The study has revealed some of the shocking truth behind the safety of these voice assistants. Tech scholars said that through sound injected light beam, hackers could easily unlock the user’s smart lock protected front gate, locate, and start vehicles and shop on websites at the user’s expense. Hackers are also able to target the user’s Google account by hacking voice assistants.  Experts have shared these findings with Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Ford, and Google. They have also contacted security teams of ICS-FERT and FDA.

Amazon has quickly responded to the rising concern and said that the company is reviewing the findings of the study. The officials of the company said that the privacy and security of the customers is their top priority and they are devising ways to improve the security of the devices. There had been many security concerns around voice assistants in the past. Amazon’s popular Echo device faced a lot of criticism over its handling of user data. Considering the security issues of its devices, Amazon has recently rolled out a new Auto Delete feature, which gives users better control over stored voice recordings in their Alexa devices. As per Amazon, users can set up voice pins to keep their data safe. Apple, Tesla, and Ford have not yet responded to new security concerns.

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