Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Ritvika Nagula, a senior software engineer at Microsoft Azure. She’s worked at the company since 2019. Her employment and job offers were confirmed by Business Insider. This story has been edited for length and clarity.I graduated around December 2018 and shortly after landed four job offers, including from Microsoft, Amazon, eBay, and a startup. I chose Microsoft and joined in April 2019.I was not just cold-applying, I was applying everywhere: on LinkedIn, on Indeed, I was going to direct company portals to apply from there. I was reaching out to people on…

Kids and teens who spend more time on screens and get less sleep may have higher risks for future heart and metabolic problems such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels and excess belly fat, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.The study collected data on self-reported or parent-reported screen time and sleep hours for over 1,000 kids and teenagers living in Denmark. Screen time included either watching TV or using electronic devices. Cardiometabolic health data measured cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, waist measurements, blood pressure and insulin resistance.Each additional…

Kourtney Marsh’s first son, Jayce, was born in January 2020. Then the world shut down.As if there weren’t enough to worry about as a first-time mom, the first year of Marsh’s son’s life was also the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with lockdowns, mask mandates and more. When COVID case numbers would fall in their hometown of Atlanta, Marsh would enroll Jayce in day care, hoping to give him some semblance of normal socialization. But then infection rates would shoot up again, day care facilities would close down and Jayce would be back home with her. Marsh worried that her…

Screen time doesn’t just affect mental health. It may also take a toll on the physical health of children and teens, according to new research.Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association Wednesday, the research found 10- and 18-year-olds who spent more time focused on devices, including phones, televisions, computers and gaming consoles, were at higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance.The study used data from more than 1,000 participants in two Danish studies. Researchers gave a score to each participant representing their risk for the diseases compared to the average risk of…

Alicia Silverstone, 48, says eating a plant-based diet has kept her looking youthful.The “Clueless” star said she has never had Botox or fillers and has not undergone any cosmetic surgery.Studies have shown that plant-based diets can reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.Forget injectables or plastic surgery. Alicia Silverstone, 48, says the key to aging well is in her fridge.In an interview with Byrdie published on Tuesday, the “Clueless” actor said she has never had Botox or fillers and has not undergone any cosmetic surgery.”I have lines,” she said, adding that she is intrigued by the idea…

Samsung has joined the growing list of companies requiring full-time in-office attendance with a new five-day policy for some of its US-based employees.The company implemented the full five-day RTO policy in early July for a group within its semiconductor business and is rolling out a tool internally to track employees’ compliance, Business Insider has learned.In an August internal email sent by Samsung’s HR team, which was seen by Business Insider, the company said the first few weeks of full implementation had led to “more smiling faces in the hallways.”It added that Samsung now expects a “greater presence” on-site and highlighted…

That talk you had with an AI about your breakup? Or the chatbot therapy session you didn’t tell anyone else about? A human may have read it — and in some cases, they can see your personal information.Meta, like many tech giants, uses contract workers to improve its AI by reading real conversations between users and its chatbots. While rating and reviewing the AI’s responses, a common industry training technique, some contractors see personal information that would allow them to identify individual users, Business Insider has learned.Four contract workers hired through training platforms Outlier (which is owned by Scale AI)…

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An outbreak of the chikungunya virus in China has prompted authorities to take preventive measures from mosquito nets and clouds of disinfectant, threatening fines for people who fail to disperse standing water and even deploying drones to hunt down insect breeding grounds.More than 7,000 cases of the disease have been reported as of Wednesday, focused largely on the manufacturing hub of Foshan near Hong Kong. Numbers of new cases appear to be dropping slowly, according to authorities.Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and joint pain, similar to dengue fever, with the young, older people…

MONTREAL, Canada (AP) — Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots.Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday night, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram.The abuse was directed at her, while other racial slurs also targeted her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monfils, who is Black. One abuser hoped that Russia “kills all you (expletive) Ukrainians” in the…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Natalia Haiova was a beloved kindergarten teacher in Kyiv known for the artistic flair of her creations — drawings, flower arrangements, decorations. Last week, she perished in a Russian strike on a nine-story building in the Svyatoshinsky district of the capital. The attack, which targeted multiple neighborhoods in Kyiv, claimed the lives of 31 people, including five children, making it the deadliest to hit the capital since the full-scale invasion.Haiova, 46, was killed along with her sons, Vladyslav, 21, and Roman, 17, and her brother Oleksandr Naralyk, 44. The family was crushed under rubble when their…