Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

On Monday, Anthropic announced an official endorsement of SB 53, a California bill from state senator Scott Wiener that would impose first-in-the-nation transparency requirements on the world’s largest AI model developers. Anthropic’s endorsement marks a rare and major win for SB 53, at a time when major tech groups like the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Chamber for Progress are lobbying against the bill. “While we believe that frontier AI safety is best addressed at the federal level instead of a patchwork of state regulations, powerful AI advancements won’t wait for consensus in Washington,” said Anthropic in a blog post.…

SEATTLE (AP) — For decades, scientists believed Prochlorococcus, the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton on Earth, would thrive in a warmer world. But new research suggests the microscopic bacterium, which forms the foundation of the marine food web and helps regulate the planet’s climate, will decline sharply as seas heat up.A study published Monday in the journal Nature Microbiology found Prochlorococcus populations could shrink by as much as half in tropical oceans over the next 75 years if surface waters exceed about 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.8 Celsius). Many tropical and subtropical sea surface temperatures are already trending above average and…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Global warming in the United States is amping up the country’s sweet tooth, a new study found.When the temperature rises, Americans — especially those with less money and education — drink lots more sugary beverages and a bit more frozen desserts. That amounts to more than 100 million pounds of added sugar (358 million kilograms) consumed in the nation a year, compared to 15 years earlier, according to a team of researchers in the U.S. and United Kingdom.When temperatures go between 54 and 86 degrees (12 and 30 degrees Celsius), the amount of sugar the average American…

By the time Harry Qi was 23 years old, he had achieved the kind of financial success that most people will never attain: making about $1 million a year. He was working as “a quant” in his first job out of college. That’s hedge-fund speak for a stock-trading analyst at a statistical-model driven “quant” fund. But, like many people who spend their energies pursuing ever more money, he felt empty. “At some point you just want to make a much bigger impact on this world,” Qi, now 29, tells TechCrunch.  So in 2019, he and his high school buddy, Omid…

Chagas disease, a potentially deadly condition caused by an infected triatomine insect or “kissing bug,” may be becoming endemic in the United States, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.In the report, which was originally published last month for the September issue of the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal, the authors said the disease is already endemic to 21 countries in the Americas, and growing evidence of the parasite is challenging the non-endemic label in the U.S.”Autochthonous (or, locally acquired) human cases have been reported in 8 states, most notably in Texas. Labeling the United States as non-Chagas…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On a recent sunny morning in a channel at the Port of Los Angeles, seven blue steel structures that look like small boats are lowered into the ocean one by one. Attached to an unused wharf on a site that once housed oil tanks, they gently bob up and down with the waves to generate renewable power. Nearby, a sea lion peeks from the water and pelicans and sea gulls soar overhead.This is the nation’s first onshore wave energy site, and on Tuesday, Eco Wave Power will officially unveil the pilot installation and begin operating. The…

A startup developing a home energy system to take on the likes of Tesla has secured $2.6 million.California-based Kora’s technology consists of a smart panel, modular batteries, a hybrid inverter, and an energy trading platform.It gives residents an energy storage platform to help them cut their energy bills, and also sell excess energy generated from solar panels on the wholesale market.”Most people have a 100-year-old technology, a metal box with some plastic switches in their homes,” Greg Connolly, the cofounder and CEO of Kora, told Business Insider. “They have no control over their circuits, no backup, no insight into how…

Ever since Spotify launched an AI DJ, Amazon Music has been developing its own AI-powered features, including AI-generated playlists and AI-assisted search, to compete more effectively with the music giant.  Now, Amazon Music is launching a new feature called “Weekly Vibe,” designed to further personalize the listening experience. The feature is rolling out today to U.S. customers across all subscription tiers within the app on both iOS and Android. Recognizing a common challenge faced by avid music streamers—getting tired of the same songs after extensive listening—Weekly Vibe aims to keep your playlists fresh every week. Every Monday, Weekly Vibe uses…

JACKSON, N.J. (AP) — The sister of Minnesota Timberwolves player Naz Reid was fatally shot at a New Jersey apartment complex by her boyfriend, who was charged with murder, authorities said Monday.Police went to the Paragon apartment complex in Jackson around 11 a.m. Saturday, after receiving reports of shots fired. They soon found Toraya Reid, 28, unresponsive near the complex’s exit, and she apparently had been shot multiple times, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Officers also saw Shaquille Green, 29, of Jackson running down a nearby road, and he was soon taken into custody without incident.Besides the murder count,…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A self-described science nerd is the latest American to get an experimental pig kidney transplant, at a crucial point in the quest to prove if animals organs really might save human lives.The 54-year-old New Hampshire man is faring well after his June 14 operation, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital announced Monday.“I really wanted to contribute to the science of it,” Bill Stewart, an athletic trainer from Dover, New Hampshire, told The Associated Press.That’s not the only milestone the Mass General team is marking: A pig kidney has kept another New Hampshire man, Tim Andrews, off dialysis for…