Sunday, April 5, 2009

Adam is a robot developed by Welsh Aberystwyth University researchers which combines artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and automation to independently conduct and analyse biological laboratory research.

“What’s new and exciting about Adam is [it is] the first time we’ve managed to show that a computer can not only think up new scientific ideas, but experimentally test them and decide whether they’re true,” said Ross King, a computer science professor and lead researcher at Aberystwyth University, “Adam makes up its own mind what to do. It decides what experiments to do, what to test.” He says that for other lab experiments the hardware is already in place, the only step needed is to change the software.

The artificial intelligence alone spans three computers which holds the databases and analytical software to enable Adam to think. For the yeast experiment, Adam was loaded with databases which hold known information relating to yeasts and organisms. Adam compared all fields in the database to find the areas of missing information from which he devised 20 hypotheses.

Adam’s AI is connected to robotic arms, sensors, incubators and cameras which enable Adam to start over 1,000 individual experiments every day and follow their progress over a week.

A part of the process is that Adam’s AI can cycle and analyze the results of the experiments as well doing routine repetitious lab work. Following Adam’s testing, King’s team manually tested three of Adam’s hypotheses and found that the robot’s conclusions were correct, and each was a breakthrough to the scientific community.

Adam has spawned discussion amongst researchers. William Melek, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Ontario’s University of Waterloo, has noted that to set up the AI needed for subsequent experiments involving new biological variables and criteria, the human expertise would be time consuming to customize it. The usefulness would be limited therefore to the allotment of human input needed to set up Adam.

David Waltz of Columbia University and Bruce Buchanan of the University of Pittsburgh say that “For the foreseeable future, the prospect of using automated systems as assistants holds vast promise as these assistants are becoming not only faster but much broader in their capabilities — more knowledgeable, more creative, and more self-reflective,” They note the potential of such lab assistants which may more efficiently process the research data.

It was reported that Adam cost about $1million in production costs and this was weighed against the costs of hiring lab techs. King said, We made many mistakes and learned from Adam. Eve is a much cleaner design.”

Eve is the second AI computer under development by Professor King’s research team. Eve’s artificial intelligence will be enhanced to analyze compounds needed for medicinal drugs which may treat killer diseases such as malaria.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Eight Hungarian migrant workers sacked from a Domino’s Pizza franchise in Derby, England are said to have taken home virtually no pay for months because of illegal deductions.

The claim is refuted by the company who said in a statement “We have begun a thorough investigation during which we have scrutinised the franchisee’s employment practices. This took place with his full co-operation. The franchisee concerned is confident that he possesses the evidence required to refute these allegations. To the extent that we have been informed of all allegations and have reviewed all available evidence, we also believe this to be the case.”

The sacked workers are being supported in their claim by the workers union Unite. The union say the “there appeared to be a deliberate strategy of keeping the workers in debt to the company through a series of crippling deductions. The deductions included payments to cover the contract purchase of a car from their employer, insurance for the vehicle provided through their employer, and exorbitant rent for substandard accommodation, again provided through their employer. In addition, some workers had to pay fees of up to £180 for an “introduction” to the company. One worker earned just £5 in four months because of the constant and hefty deductions out of his wage packet. When the workers protested they were sacked.”

Monday, September 25, 2017

On Friday, Transport for London (TfL) announced US-based taxi booking application Uber would not get a renewed private hire operator license after their current permit expires at the end of the month. The regulatory body released an official statement on their website and stated Uber London Limited was “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license”.

TfL said Uber London “demonstrate[d] a lack of corporate responsibility” for reporting serious criminal offences, and for obtaining background of the drivers and medical certificates. In August, police said Uber allowed a driver despite allegations of sexually assaulting a passenger. The company has been accused of sexism and bullying. TfL in its statement also complained about possible use of “greyball” software to prevent officials from accessing the application for law enforcement duties.

According to Uber’s statistics, about 3.5 million people in London use Uber. There are some 40 thousand drivers tied with Uber within the British capital. Per the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, Uber can appeal against TfL’s decision within three weeks. Uber received an interim renewal for four months in May, and it is set to expire at the end of the month. To this announcement, Uber London’s General Manager Tom Elvidge said, “By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive Londoners of a convenient and affordable form of transport. To defend the livelihoods of all those drivers, and the consumer choice of millions of Londoners who use our app, we intend to immediately challenge this in the courts.” He also added, “This ban would show the world that, far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies who bring choice to consumers.”

TfL said Uber’s irresponsibility could compromise the safety and security of the public. In contrast, Uber’s response said their service enhances safety. London mayor Sadiq Khan, on Facebook, said, “[…]all companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect — particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security. I fully support TfL’s decision — it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security. Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules.”

Uber has received criticism from traditional taxi drivers as well as government officials. Uber was banned from Bulgaria and Denmark, and faces regulatory issues in France, Italy, Hungary, and Spain. It also faced legal inquiry for use of greyball in the US to resist government regulation of the application. Regarding the complaint about improper use of use of Greyball, Elvidge cited an independent review and said it “found that ‘greyball’ has never been used or considered in the UK for the purposes cited by TfL”. Uber operates in over 40 cities and towns in the UK.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Western Australian Master Builders Association (MBA) yesterday demanded the Carpenter Government call an emergency cabinet meeting to avoid a “state of emergency” over the energy crisis gripping WA. A MBA spokesperson said that hundreds of workers have already been stood down, many without pay, and that the cost of building material is soaring.

The Minister for Energy, Fran Logan has admitted that the gas shortage caused by Tuesday’s fire is damaging the economy as mining, manufacturing and construction industries wind back operations. Western Australia’s two major brick producing companies have shut operations and Wesbeam’s $A100 million Neerabup pine production facility has been closed, their 130 employees have been stood down.

Wesbeam chief executive James Malone said, “It’s an industrial tsunami in my view. It’s a little ripple that has very quickly had a huge multiplying effect on the whole community”.

Michael McLean, Master Building Association director said “It’s a worst-nightmare scenario, and not one we could have imagined in our wildest dreams,” building supplies are expected to start running out by the middle of next week.

Premier Carpenter has announced a meeting of ministers and industry representatives to take place on Sunday to discuss solutions to the growing crisis. Tim Wall, managing director of Apache Corporation has said Apache is conducting a worldwide search for the parts need to repair the pipeline.

Major mining companies and Apache partners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have already reported they are suffering with the loss of gas supply; the Chamber of Minerals and Energy has talked down the effect saying that they don’t expect the crisis to take the heat off the booming mining industry.

Opposition leader Troy Buswell has describe the performance of Fran Logan as “absolutely dismal” noting that Mr Logan had experienced a similar incident in January this year, when a fire at Woodsides Karratha operations had a similar effect.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Mike Ashley, the owner of English football club Newcastle United F.C., has taken the club off the market for a second time, after failing to concluded several negotiations, including a cash offer of £80 million, according to the club.

A club statement said of the move:

“Mike Ashley is totally committed to the future success of Newcastle United and will be focused on gaining promotion back to the Premier League. Mike will put a further £20m into the club this week.”

This is the second time Ashley has taken the club off the market after putting it up for sale. This season, Newcastle are competing in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, after relegation from the top flight Premier League at the end of last season. Ashley had bought the Premier League club in May 2007 for £134.4m, but after a difficult period of ownership, which saw the return and departure of manager Kevin Keegan after a few months, and after fan protests, Ashley eventually put the club up for sale for the first time in September 2008. In a statement at the time he said:

I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans. But I am now a dad who can’t take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted. Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United. I am putting the club up for sale. I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want.

After failing to find a suitable buyer, Ashley took the club off the market in December 2008, stating he is “committing to the club as its owner”. After a poor season, culminating in relegation from the Premier League to the Football Championship for the first time in 16 years, Ashley put the club up for sale a second time after relegation in May 2009. Ashley stated of the situation “It’s been catastrophic for everybody. I’ve lost my money and made terrible decisions”.

The announcement came on the same day as it announced Chris Hughton as the club’s permanent manager, and that the club would be putting the naming rights of the club stadium St James’ Park up for offers next season.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, who jointly wrote together with a third author, a 1982 Non-Fiction book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail have taken The Da Vinci Code publisher Random House, to court claiming that The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail storyline has been stolen by Dan Brown.

The third author of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case.

Random House is the of publisher of both The Da Vinci Code and The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail.

The central theme of the two books is that the bloodline from a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene survives today.

Random House has denied the claim and, Random House chief executive Gail Rebuck says in a statement that she believed the lawsuit was without merit.

“As publisher of both The Da Vinci Code and The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail, we are genuinely saddened that two of the three authors of HBHG have chosen to bring this litigation against us…Random House takes no pleasure in defending a legal action that it believes is without merit and we are confident that we will prevail.”

If this case is successful it could threaten the film; starring Tom Hanks and Sir Ian McKellen from opening.

The Da Vinci Code is a fiction book and has over 36 million copies in print worldwide. The dust jacket for the novel apparently includes longitude and latitude coordinates which lead to the CIA headquarters near Langley, Virginia.

Brown’s next book, The Solomon Key, is rumoured to be about the Yale Skull and Bones society. Notable alumni of the society include current United States President George W. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, and Massachusettes Senator John Kerry.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Former Zimbabwean professional footballer Adam Ndlovu has died in a car accident that also left his brother critically injured. Adam and his brother Peter, also a former professional footballer, were in the accident after failure of a tire on the BMW X5 Adam was reportedly driving. Reports also suggest an unidentified female passenger may have died in the accident.

George Bhebhe, a friend of Adam, spoke to The Zimbabwean about the circumstances of the accident. He said “Adam died early this morning when their vehicle veered off the road after a tyre burst and hit a tree 20 km from Victoria Falls. He died on arrival at hospital. Peter is in critical condition and he is at Victoria Falls hospital in Intensive Care Unit. But arrangements still being made to transfer from there to a hospital in Bulawayo or Harare”.

Both Adam and Peter played for the Zimbabwe national football team and Peter is their all time top goalscorer. During his career Peter played in the English Premier League and played for Coventry, Sheffield United, Birmingham, and Huddersfield. Sheffield United tweeted “Our thoughts are with former player Peter Ndlovu, who has been critically injured in a car accident in his native Zimbabwe. #sufc”

Adam formerly played for the Zimbabwean team Highlanders and at the time of his death coached Zimbabwe Premier League team Chicken Inn, based in Bulawayo.

Monday, April 11, 2011

A passenger was killed Monday evening after a fire started in a washroom aboard a train near Leighton Buzzard, in Bedfordshire, England. Emergency services were called to the London Midland train, where they found the body of a female passenger who had suffered burns.

British Transport Police confirmed one female individual was killed in the blaze. A spokesperson said: “The deceased woman has injuries consistent with burns, no other person is believed to have been involved in the incident. Officers from the fire and ambulance services are on the scene.”

The fire has caused serious disruption to trains on the West Coast Main Line. A spokesperson for Network Rail said they were attempting to reopen two of the four tracks on the line as London Midland scrambled to organise a replacement bus service.

London Midland said no-one else was injured in the incident. “The fire appeared to have been in the toilet,” a spokesperson said. “A passenger reported the fire to a conductor. All the other passengers got off safely.”