116 articles from TUESDAY 13.9.2022

Polio is back rich countries, but it poses a far bigger threat to developing world

Here’s how this year’s closely related polio outbreaks in New York state, London, and greater Jerusalem might have started. A child in Afghanistan or Pakistan received two drops of Albert Sabin’s oral polio vaccine (OPV), which contains a weakened, live virus, in December 2021 or so. Soon after, when the child was still shedding some virus in their stool, their family traveled to...

Reviewers award higher marks when a paper’s author is famous

Yes, having a big name in science will help get your paper published, an unusually robust new study confirms. Just 10% of reviewers of a test paper recommended acceptance when the sole listed author was obscure—but 59% endorsed the same manuscript when it carried the name of a Nobel laureate. The study, which involved recruiting hundreds of researchers to review an economics...

Breakthrough reported in machine learning-enhanced quantum chemistry

In a new study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory have proposed incorporating more of the mathematics of quantum mechanics into the structure of the machine learning predictions. Using the specific positions of atoms within a molecule, the machine learning model predicts an effective Hamiltonian matrix, which describes the...

Fireside discussion on increased adoption of SASE and zero trust with Palo Alto Networks

Thank you for joining us on “The cloud hub: From cloud chaos to clarity.” Vishal Salvi, chief information security officer and head of cyber security practice at Infosys, and Kumar Ramachandran, senior vice president, SASE GTM, at Palo Alto Networks, talk about the new cybersecurity practices in the post-pandemic environment. Click here to...

Study quantifies impact of human activity on Atlantic Rainforest's carbon storage capacity

The countless benefits of native forests include the capacity of tree biomass to store large amounts of carbon, which can counterbalance greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. A paper published in the journal Science Advances reports on an innovative analysis of a large dataset designed to clarify the concept of carbon sequestration, a strategic issue in the discussion of global climate...

Millions of farmers put their faith in God when making decisions

A widespread belief among millions of smallholder farmers in one of the world's poorest countries is that God determines their yields. This is shown by a study from the University of Copenhagen that has examined the correlation between religiosity and economic decisions. The finding can contribute to an understanding of the mechanisms behind unproductive agriculture in developing countries—one...

Adopting public cloud for automotive manufacturing operations

Thank you for joining us on “The cloud hub: From cloud chaos to clarity.” Currently, the adoption of cloud in manufacturing operations management (MOM) applications is at an early stage. This point of view (POV) article explores CIOs’ apprehensions in migrating MOM applications to the cloud and suggests a three-step strategy to mitigate these risks. Click here to...

The next transition for CIOs and CDOs: Preparing for climate risk reporting requirements

Thank you for joining us on “The cloud hub: From cloud chaos to clarity.” The Securities and Exchange Commission may soon require registrants to disclose climate-related information in audited financial statements. CIO’s and CDO’s must start readying the IT infrastructure and data foundation that will enable data collection, calculation, and reporting for climate-related...

Recruiting male allies boosts women at work

When women and men raise their voices together in the workplace, managers are more likely to support gender equity issues, such as equal pay for equal work. That's the finding of a new paper from a researcher at The University of Texas at Austin.

AXA and Bupa leaders share their experience with cloud-led digital transformation

Thank you for joining us on “The cloud hub: From cloud chaos to clarity.” Watch this panel interview featuring two senior industry leaders: Diana Kennedy, group chief technology and architecture officer at Bupa, and Alpa Patel, global CIO at AXA XL. Dr. Hema Prem, vice president and group manager, insurance at Infosys, interviews them to learn about their cloud journeys....

High-performance 937-nm laser lets scientists see deeper with lower power

Two-photon microscopy (2PM) plays a reliably efficient role in noninvasive deep-tissue imaging in biomedical investigation. Since the invention of the two-photon microscope at the end of the 20th century, there has been a steady flow of related research advancing 2PM—from fluorophores to imaging methods and applications—in the fields of biochemistry and medicine.

Building better quantum sensors

Usually, a defect in a diamond is a bad thing. But for engineers, miniscule blips in a diamond's otherwise stiff crystal structure are paving the way for ultrasensitive quantum sensors that push the limits of today's technologies. Now, researchers at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) have developed a method to optimize these quantum sensors, which can...