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Category: economics – Page 16

Whereas traditional colonoscopy involves snaking a camera called a colonoscope through your colon and rectum, a CT colonography, or virtual colonoscopy, consists of X-rays and a computer creating 3D images of these organs.

If you’re between the ages of 45 and 85, you should have a colorectal cancer screening routine in place, per the American Cancer Society (ACS). But a colonoscopy —in which your doctor uses a special camera to look inside your colon and rectum in search of abnormal growths called polyps —isn’t the only option to take charge of your gastrointestinal health.

You can choose from noninvasive screening methods: computed tomography (CT) colonography and/or a stool-based test. Billionaire entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban tells Fortune he enjoys the relatively low cost and simplicity of the former, also called virtual colonoscopy. In short, it’s an X-ray exam that doesn’t require sedation or anesthesia.

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3 recent technology stories.

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution helps industries and economies harness the full potential of technologies around the world.

Explore the latest technology stories here:

Top tech news: Chinese flying taxi start-up receives initial safety certificate; NASA launches mission to metal-rich asteroid; investments in climate tech fall.

Continue reading “World’s first flying taxi and other technology stories you need to read” | >

As AFP reports, in a meeting with industry experts, an economy ministry official outlined a target completion date of post-2035. To achieve this ambitious goal, a significant investment of five trillion yen ($33 billion) will be allocated over the next decade, fueling research and development of the new passenger plane.

This latest endeavor seeks to establish Japan as a leader in passenger aircraft production – a position it hasn’t held in over half a century. Building on the challenges that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) encountered, which canceled its long-delayed passenger jet project in 2023, the new public-private consortium strongly emphasizes clean energy.

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A new report warns of potentially major disruption to UK employment from the coming wave of AI. An estimated 11% of tasks are already exposed to current AI, a figure that could rise to 59% during a second wave. But there could also be opportunities for economic growth.

From the discovery and use of fire in the Stone Age, through to the handheld smartphones of today, technology has improved our living standards and is the foundation of modern society. Yet unmanaged technological change comes with risks and disruptions. The current wave of technology including generative AI – described by some as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” – promises transformative benefits, while at the same time bringing potential disruption through its impact on wage inequality, wealth inequality, and job displacement.

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French software start-up Spare Parts 3D (SP3D) has launched the beta program of Théia, its new digital tool that can automatically create 3D models from 2D technical drawings.

As global geopolitical and economic factors pose challenges to supply chains, more companies are looking to digitize their inventories, allowing spare parts to be 3D printed locally and on demand. This digitization process, however, can be time-consuming and costly.

Integrating into the company’s AI-driven DigiPart software, SP3D’s new offering leverages deep learning technology to convert existing 2D drawings of spare parts into 3D printable models, reducing conversion times from days to minutes.

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Mr. Xia further noted the expanding utility of unmanned technologies across various domains, including aerial, maritime, underwater, and terrestrial operations, underscoring their revolutionary impact on future military engagements.

“A drone costing just a few thousand dollars can effectively neutralize an advanced tank worth over 5 million dollars,” Mr. Xia said, illustrating a remarkable disparity in warfare economics.

Drones’ ease of manufacture, low detection and radar interception rates, and precision targeting via satellite data further accentuate their tactical viability. Importantly, drones facilitate offensive operations without compromising soldier safety, marking a significant evolution in how military objectives are pursued.

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French automaker Renault is exploring a lucrative business prospect by partnering with companies to extract and recycle lithium and other metals in EV batteries, creating a circular economy that can bring in billions of dollars and reduce reliance on China.

According to Automotive News Europe, Renault aims to be the first European automaker to recycle batteries on an industrial scale.

“In Europe, there is currently… nobody who can claim to recycle used batteries in a closed-loop to reproduce nickel, cobalt and lithium to make new batteries,” said Jean-Philippe Bahuaud, CEO Renault’s environment unit, called The Future Is Neutral (TFIN), which was launched in 2022.

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Chipmaker Nvidia has shown off a clone of our entire planet that could help meteorologists simulate and visualize global weather patterns at an “unprecedented scale,” according to a press release.

The “Earth climate digital twin,” dubbed Earth-2, was designed to help recoup some of the economic losses caused by climate change-driven extreme weather.

Customers can access the digital twin through an API, allowing “virtually any user to create AI-powered emulations to speed delivery of interactive, high-resolution simulations ranging from the global atmosphere and local cloud cover to typhoons and turbulence.”

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Lonely young adults are more prone to being disengaged from education or employment and perceive themselves as less employable, according to the study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine recently. As a consequence, such individuals tend to get positioned lower on the economic ladder compared to their less lonely counterparts.

Findings revealed that young adults who grappled with loneliness earlier in life encountered challenges in their young adulthood, irrespective of their current loneliness status. This underscores the long-term economic implications of loneliness and the potential economic benefits of addressing loneliness during early adolescence.

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“There is still significant interest and potential in industrial uses of hemp,” said Dr. Jeffrey Steiner.

How can hemp production help boost local Native American economies? This is what a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture hopes to achieve as they recently awarded this grant to the Global Hemp Innovation Center at Oregon State University (OSU) to foster collaboration with 13 Native American Tribes across the western United States, including California, Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon with the goal of creating economic stimuli for those communities while improving hemp production.

The grant comes with four primary objectives in achieving collaboration with the 13 Tribal nations, including educational opportunities, technology development, building trade networks, and ensuring product quality. This grant comes as the 2018 Farm Bill helped legalize hemp, leading to hemp production reaching $824 million across the United States in 2021.

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