In recent reports, some dogs have been trained to literally sniff out individuals infected with COVID-19. Now, a tech company is using the power of artificial intelligence to do the same thing with an “artificial nose” handheld device.

In a recent test, BrainChip Inc. and NaNose Medical were able to successfully detect COVID-19 in exhaled breath in much the same way a breathalyzer detects alcohol.  Their COVID-19 testing results are reportedly fast and highly accurate.

BrainChip is a leading provider of ultra-low power high performance artificial intelligence technology. In a press release, the company wrote, “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread (COVID-19) testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

This NaNose Medical technology is based on the artificial nose developed at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, by Prof. Hossam Haick, and has the same sensitivity to minute quantities of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as a dog’s nose.

While it’s use as an instant or rapid COVID-19 test are new, the device has been used in tests to identify diseases including Parkinson’s, cancers, kidney failure, and multiple sclerosis for several years.

For the recent trials testing COVID-19, NaNose Medical collected samples from 130 patients and used that data to train its Akida neuromorphic processor. The system has now learned to recognize patterns of VOC biomarkers associated with an COVID-19 infection within seconds with a high level of accuracy.

According to a study in China, this type of breath sensor data is more accurate than current COVID-19 tests using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Additionally, sensor testing like this reduces the risk to healthcare workers because the tests does not rely on saliva or mucus samples.

“Artificial intelligence in medicine and healthcare is an emerging field and one in which we are eager to contribute with our edge AI processing solution at the Edge, for the benefit of science and humanity,” said Louis DiNardo, BrainChip CEO.

Both Louis DiNardo, Brainchip CEO and Orit Marom Albeck, NaNose Medical CEO said: “Using the NaNose Medical artificial nose, and Akida’s artificial brain, is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread testing with the potential to control outbreaks and reduce this disease’s death toll.”

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The company’s innovative spirit has served them well, as they’re leading the industry with no actual competition. The good news? They use their influence for more than a healthy balance sheet; they’re tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems.

This week Starbucks announced that they’ve been secretly testing a wide variety of plant-based products in a single location in Seattle. We’re talking more than plant-based milk alternatives, which they already offer worldwide, but food items, too.

A partnership with Impossible Foods, the acclaimed non-animal meat producer, helped the siren coffee shop offer a 100% plant-based menu from breakfast to late-night snacks.

The menu is just a test, but following the company’s commitment to sustainability, we expect to see a wide range of non-animal food products in other stores around the US and the world.

Perhaps, one day, all Starbucks stores will be entirely sustainable. Hopefully, others will follow, and not just coffee shops, but companies in all industries.

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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to wear masks in densely industrialized because of the poor air quality.

To achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers believe that conventional internal combustion cars must be replaced by environmentally friendly alternatives no later than 2035.

Deputy secretary-general of China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers Shi Jianhua stated that hybrid powertrains are the optimal choice. Jianhua stating that improvements in automotive electrification will help the transition to hybrid vehicles.

China hasn’t yet established a proper plan to ban fossil-fuel cars and switch entirely to hybrids and NEVs (new energy vehicles). However, there is still a decade and a half left to work towards the goal.

Shi Jianhua estimates that new-energy vehicles such as hybrids, electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles would account for half of the Chinese automotive market by 2035. This would in turn have a strong impact on reducing China’s carbon footprint.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Production in China

Currently, China is the largest emerging electric vehicle market in the world. EV manufacturers such as Tesla are already establishing production points and showrooms all around the country.

The Geely owned Polestar division of Volvo is also developing two models in the Middle Kingdom. They also have plans on starting production for a 3^rd type. Founded in 1997, Geely Auto Group is a leading automobile manufacturer based in Hangzhou.

The Percept Concept is expected to be built at a brand-new facility in China, a Polestar spokesperson declared.

Furthermore, the concept follows the Chinese carbon reduction purpose, aiming to be the lowest carbon footprint vehicle in China.

As of 2020, China accounted for half of the electric vehicle sales worldwide, and the percentage is expected to go up in years to come.

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The donations are part of what the company is calling “a season of giving.”

A primary focus of the donations is charities that will be lending a hand to all of those in communities that have been hard hit by all of the natural disasters and other issues this year.

Amazon will provide the funding and donations to over a thousand charities in this global effort. This includes organizations in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Singapore, Japan, Italy, India, Germany, France, China, Canada, and Australia.

A number of celebrities are working with Amazon to help promote the effort to help those in the greatest of need. Gabrielle Union, Toronto Maple Leafs player Mitch Marner, and Singaporean actor and musician, Nathan Hartono are some of the first to lend their names to the cause.

“Charitable organizations around the world serve a vital role in their communities, and they’re facing new challenges—often with fewer resources—as we all continue to fight through a global pandemic,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer.

“Amazon is proud to support over one thousand organizations by donating millions of the items they need to help their communities and, hopefully, deliver much-needed smiles along the way.”

How You Can Help through AmazonSmile and Alexa

At smile.amazon.com you can access AmazonSmile. Simply select your favorite charity from the list of over one million and shop on Amazon as usual. By doing this, .5 percent of your purchase will automatically be donated to your charity.

If you happen to have an Amazon Alexa in your house, you can also say “Alexa, I want to make a donation.” This will allow you to make a cash donation to the charity of your choice.

Alexa can also help you make a toy donation to Toys for Tots. Just say, “Alexa, donate to Toys for Tots.” When you do this, as an added bonus, Amazon will match all toy donations with a toy-for toy match.

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The CJ Cup event is normally part of the PGA Tour schedule known as the Asian Swing include the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea, the Zozo Championship in Japan, and the WGC-HSBC Champions in China.

The CJ Cup and the Zozo Championship have been moved to Las Vegas and Sherman Oaks California, respectively, Due to COVID-19. The WGC-HBC Champions tournament has been canceled for the 2021 season – which the PGA Tour is already playing.

Johnson is currently ranked as the No. 1 player in the world by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) followed by Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. Johnson said he hopes to return soon as the reschedule Masters tournament is coming up in November.

“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Johnson said in the PGA statement. “I was really looking forward to competing this week, but will do everything I can to return as quickly as possible. I have already had a few calls with the Tour’s medical team and appreciate all the support and guidance they have given me.”

Johnson finished out the 2020 season by winning the FedEx Cup and carding a T2 finish at the PGA Championship. He was T6 at the U.S. Open. That run of finishes sealed his OWGR No.1 ranking heading into the CJ Cup.

According to PGA officials, the withdrawal by Johnson opens up the door for a player waiting on the CJ Cup field alternative list. The golfer filling the spot in the select limited field event with no cut will be J.T. Poston who is currently ranked No. 61 by the OWGR. Poston finished third at the Sanderson Farms Championship a few weeks ago but missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

CJ Cup Info

• Where: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Course: Shadow Creek Golf Course
• Par: 72
• Length: 7,527 (PGA)
• When: October 15-18, 2020
• Purse: $9.5 million
• TV Coverage: Golf Channel

CJ Cup Odds

(top-ten +2500 and under before Johnson’s withdrawing)

• Dustin Johnson +1000
• Jon Rahm +1000
• Justin Thomas +1100
• Rory McIlroy +1100
• Xander Schauffele +1400
• Matthew Wolff +2000
• Tyrrell Hatton +2000
• Patrick Cantlay +2000
• Brooks Koepka +2500
• Collin Morikawa +2500
• Tony Finau +2500

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At the height of the outbreak, the U.S. restricted international travelers coming into the country to a small number of specific airports. This was an attempt to provide better screening and tracking of individuals arriving from outside of the U.S. The goals was to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The prior restrictions limited arrivals to fifteen airports in the U.S. This applied to anyone traveling in from China, Iran, England, Ireland, Brazil and the Schengen region of Europe.

The government is now lifting that restriction on international travelers.

For some, this may sound pre-mature as COVID-19 is certainly still an issue. The change does not mean that the government is not concern about the spread of the virus. It means that they have had time to learn more about screening and monitoring. Now, they are simply implementing a more appropriate strategy.

The focus of and methods of international travel restrictions is changing, not being eliminated.

In a press release the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wrote, “We now have a better understanding of COVID-19 transmission that indicates symptom-based screening has limited effectiveness because people with COVID-19 may have no symptoms or fever at the time of screening, or only mild symptoms.”

“Transmission of the virus may occur from passengers who have no symptoms or who have not yet developed symptoms of infection. Therefore, CDC is shifting its strategy and prioritizing other public health measures to reduce the risk of travel-related disease transmission.”

According to the agency, the new approach will be one that is more individual focused. It will also include educating the passengers and working with airports and airlines to control procedures to try to minimize lines and crowds.

The focus will also narrow in on travel from countries when spikes of the virus become prevalent.

The goal of the government remains protecting the health of the American people. It believes that this new approach is the more effective way of doing that.

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Fox News stated that due to quarantine and stay-at-home orders, TikTok reported 30 million active users as of May between the ages of 16-24, and more quarterly downloads than any other app in history, according to analytics company Sensor Tower. This dramatic surge of usage in the past months is worrying the U.S. government,  and is urging users not to download the app.

“It collects your geolocation in realtime, that is a problem for soldiers and military personnel because they can be identified by the Chinese government, it’s a problem for children, in fact, TikTok was fined by the Federal Trade Commission for illegally collecting child information…also for your beliefs, they wanted to censor those videos [on Hong Kong],” said Roslyn Layton, co-founder of Chinatechthreat.comsaid in an interview with Fox News.

TikTok is owned by Beijing owned startup ByteDance, and has been claimed to be a threat to national security by government officials, according to CNN.

TikTok has denied all allegations of data stealing and told Fox News, “TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the U.S. We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”

Despite denying these claims, the U.S. is not the only country keeping the app at arm’s length. CNN reported that India has already banned the app, and the UK is not far behind. The Economictimes.com stated that a TikTok ban would “leave a giant social media hole,” forcing fans to flock to similar apps like Triller.

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This decision is being taken by the GCHQ and other departments as the consequences are being weighed to make a decision for or against.

The Reason For The Change In Policy

There are talks of putting a ban in place after officials in Washington DC made claims that Huawei is a threat to national security. The claim is based in part on the belief that the company is owned or backed by China’s military service.

These are just claims for now and the company has fully denied these claims. However, there is more than what meets the eye. The reason the government is urging a change in policy is that if they continue with this decision then there may be sanctions from the U.S.

A review is on its way where it will be understood how the U.S. sanctions will affect the UK’s use of products by Huawei. These sanctions are most likely to take place from September onward which is why the UK needs to start rethinking its policy from now on.

Huawei and any other manufacturer that makes its chips using U.S. technology and software will be forbidden to do so once these sanctions are implemented.

Because of this, the company will face many problems. Firstly, there is a high chance that it will lose accessibility to its software. The design, testing, processing, and production of the software will not be accessible by Huawei.

This will restrict their production and the company may suffer some financial losses because of it as well. The U.S. is imposing the sanctions out of fear that China will use Huawei for spying.

They are making Huawei out to be a threat to national security which may force the UK to also change its stance and policy. The UK wants to make its telecom industry safe and secure and so many policymakers are urging for a change towards Huawei as it may threaten their security as well.

However, some members are also urging the government to not become collateral damage in this feud between the US and China. This is why they are not in support of the ban and urging everyone to review every possibility before imposing it.

This is a developing story and the members of parliament will discuss this issue again at House of Commons to review the implications of this ban. Once they have made a decision, it will seal the fate of the UK on this matter and the consequences of it will only be known once the decision is made public.

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The 36-year-old ruler appeared publicly on the 11^th of April amidst the speculations of his poor health, as well as who would subsequently rule over the nuclear-armed hermetic country in the event that he was declared dead. Days later Kim Jong-un missed the country’s biggest state celebrations which were held on the 15^th of April marking his grandfathers’ birthday, Kim II-sung, the founder of the North Country.

The subsequent rumors stated that he received a botched heart-valve during a surgery or contracted COVID-19, and was in a “vegetative state” or in “grave danger.” Some other news reported that doctors from China were sent to Pyongyang to offer their medical expertise.

On Saturday, after the initial reports, pictures surfaced from the North Korean news agency that showed Kim Jong-un smiling during a new fertilizer factory opening. The news agency said, “the participants who attended the event burst into tremulous cheers of ‘hurrah.'” Kim Jong-un is said to have acknowledged the company’s builders as he toured the factory accompanied by the ruling Workers’ Party senior officials, including Kim Yo-jong, his sister.

The South Korea government was reluctant to comment on the report immediately, but it pushed back its previous speculation of the leader’s poor health condition. Unification minister, Kim Yeon-Chul, called the reports “fake news” and went on to say that South Korea says “confidently” that the rumors lack evidence.

In 2014, Kim Jong-un had also disappeared for almost a month prompting rumors of a coup until he later resurfaced in the North Korean media which showed him walking while holding a cane. South Korean intelligence reported that he had undergone ankle surgery.

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All prior confirmed US cases had been linked with visits to Wuhan, China, where the virus originated in December 2019. However, this latest patient from Illinois had not been to Wuhan but lived with a 2019-nCov patient diagnosed earlier. They were located through contact tracing and both patients are now in stable condition.

This is a wake-up call for the CDC, who now realize the grave danger this virus could pose to citizens. As a way to curtail further spread, they have been working closely with local and state partners to locate close contacts of confirmed 2019-nCov patients.

As CDC Director, Robert R. Redfield, M.D, commented, “Given what we’ve seen in China and other countries with the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the US. We understand this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low”.

In other countries, imported cases of 2019-nCov from infected travelers have been observed to spread to close contacts. However, it is still uncertain how person-to-person spread will unfold in the coming weeks.

Two other types of coronavirus – MERS, and SARS – can cause person-to-person spread. However, only those in close contact, like health workers or family members of an infected person are at greatest risk. That is why the CDC has been putting proactive measures in place to manage the spread of this virus.

On January 8, they alerted clinicians to report patients with respiratory illness and recent travel to Wuhan. Moreover, CDC has helped clinicians develop guidance for the testing and management of the virus, as well as procedures for the hospitalization of infected patients.

Since this first case was identified, CDC has been collaborating with local partners and Illinois health officers to investigate the extent of the spread.

As we progress into the coming weeks, new cases will likely arise, including person-to-person spread. The best approach to avoid contracting the virus is to prevent exposure. That is why CDC will keep informing the public on ways to remain safe.

Since the spread of 2019-nCov is still very limited in the US, CDC deems it as low risk to the general public. However, the risk of infection significantly skyrockets for people in close contact with infected patients. These people should follow CDC’s guideline that outlines the precautions to prevent the spread among families and local communities. However, other members of the public have little to fear at the moment, and only simply daily precautions are suggested.

CDC suggests getting vaccinated since we are in flu season and also practicing proper hygiene to prevent transferring germs. Most importantly, CDC recommends the cancellation of all non-essential trips to China.

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