insert_link Health / Medical Cancer Association disputes vaccine-cancer link claims CEO of the Cancer Association of Namibia, Rolf Hansen has expressed shock at an anonymous voice recording circulating on social media. He clarified that neither the association nor the National Cancer Registry has data matching the information in the message. The voiceover suggests a link between mRNA vaccines and cancer cases, but Hansen stressed there is no basis for such claims. today20 May, 2024
South Africa Social media for sex education: South African teens explain how it would help them Social media platforms can provide safe, accurate and confidential information about sex to teens. Nattrass/Getty Images By Ayobami Precious Adekola, University of South Africa Most teenagers dread talking about sex with their parents. Their parents feel the same way. In some societies it’s considered taboo to even broach the subject. And, even where sexuality education is taught at schools, research has shown that effective communication between young […] today18 April, 2024
insert_link Science & Technology OpenAI’s new video generation tool raises concerns "Sora" is another giant leap in artificial intelligence. It is the latest tool released by the company behind the groundbreaking chatbot ChatGPT. It can create realistic-looking videos based on a simple text prompt. But there are concerns about what "Sora" could unleash. today7 March, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle How AI could change our relationship with religion Metamorworks / Shutterstock Sreevas Sahasranamam, University of Glasgow Science and faith are often kept in two distinct boxes that hardly ever intersect. However, I believe that as AI becomes more mainstream, it will fundamentally alter our engagement with faith and spirituality. Let’s start by looking at what is already happening. Most ancient faith-related texts were documented in papyrus and palm leaves, many of which are difficult to access in the […] today6 February, 2024
insert_link Health / Medical Measles is on the rise around the world – we can’t let vaccination rates falter fotohay/Shutterstock Jaya Dantas, Curtin University In recent weeks a series of measles alerts have been issued around Australia, including in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, after the identification of a small number of cases in travellers returning from overseas. Meanwhile, places such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been contending with larger measles outbreaks. In fact, the World Health Organization reported a 45-fold increase in measles […] today31 January, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle Disinformation is often blamed for swaying elections – the research says something else Alexandru Nika/Shutterstock Magda Osman, Cambridge Judge Business School Many countries face general elections this year. Political campaigning will include misleading and even false information. Just days ago, it was reported that a robocall impersonating US president Joe Biden had told recipients not to vote in the presidential primary. But can disinformation significantly influence voting? There are two typical styles of election campaigning. One is positive, presenting favourable attributes of politicians […] today29 January, 2024
insert_link Lifestyle Deepfakes: How to empower youth to fight the threat of misinformation and disinformation Deepfakes pose a profound social threat, and education along with technology and legislation matters for containing and addressing this. (Shutterstock) Nadia Naffi, Université Laval The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 has issued a stark warning: misinformation and disinformation, primarily driven by deepfakes, are ranked as the most severe global short-term risks the world faces in the next two years. In October 2023, the Innovation council of Québec shared […] today29 January, 2024
