The test reveals glaucoma at a very early stage

The  ​​test detects glaucoma at a very early stage – 18 months earlier than doctors do now. The development of scientists from University College London is described in the journal Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics.

Glaucoma is the leading global cause of irreversible blindness, which affects more than 60 million people worldwide annually. Scientists predict that by 2040 this figure will double. This disease occurs as a result of cell death in the retina, the back of the eye.

Now, to detect the disease, a test called DARC is used, which involves the introduction of a fluorescent dye into the bloodstream, which binds to the cells of the retina and “highlights” the dead cells in bright white. The more spots of this color in the picture, the higher the risk of glaucoma.

The main problem with this method is that different doctors read pictures differently. To solve this problem of discrepancies, the researchers created AI, which allows us to uniquely determine the presence or absence of the disease.

The first two phases of the DARC AI clinical trials, in which 60 volunteers participated, determined the presence of the disease in 20 patients 18 months before it began. This is much faster and more accurate than now, the authors of the study note.

Groups Scientists have created heat-resistant wheat

Groups Scientists have created heat-resistant wheat. A study by scientists from the University of Lancaster is published in The Plant Journal.

Smart thermostats in greenhouses tell air conditioners that they need to turn off after sunset to save energy. A similar process works in plants – it is called Rubisco or RCA. Its activation tells the plant enzyme responsible for growth the need to save energy after sunset.

In a new study, scientists found a way to activate RCA earlier – this will protect crops from the effects of high temperatures, because of which they usually dry out and die.

Naturally occurring wheat varieties Rca 1β has the isoleucine amino acid, which allows it to grow at temperatures up to 39 ° C, but lacks the Rubisco activation mechanism. At the same time, wheat Rca 2β can grow only at temperatures up to 30 ° C, but has a mechanism for activating the energy conservation mode.

Groups Scientists conducted experiments on E. coli E. coli strains, which, like wheat, contain the amino acids isoleucine and methionine. The study allowed the creation of a new version of Rca 2β wheat, which can grow up to 35 ° C, but at the same time uses the Rubisco mechanism.

update makes autopilot driving 50% safer

The latest Tesla update made autopilot driving 50% safer. Now the company is registering approximately one accident per 4.6 million kilometers.

Tesla has achieved a record level of driving safety in autopilot mode – engineers achieved a 50% improvement over the past quarter. This is the best indicator since 2018 – the moment when Tesla began to take statistics by publishing a quarterly report that compares the number of kilometers and accidents on autopilot and without it.

Employees said that now they register one accident for every 4.6 million kilometers that cars overcame in autopilot mode. At the same time, the percentage of accidents without an autopilot is much less so far.

“For those who went without an autopilot, but with our active safety features, we registered one accident for every 3.2 million kilometers,” the report says. For comparison, the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in the USA, accidents occur on average 771 thousand kilometers.

The new Tesla autopilot update allows you to automatically respond to traffic signs and traffic signals. However, the company warned that the driver “needs to stay alert and be prepared to intervene.” In March 2020, the company tested the preliminary version of this feature on users with early access, and after 1.5 months decided that it could be released to all car owners in the United States

President of Poland Andrzej Duda resigns

The ruling Law and Justice party in Poland is seriously considering the possibility of resigning the country’s current President, Andrzej Duda. This is today, May 4, the portal reports Free News with a link to three independent sources at once. This smart move will allow the Polish leadership to avoid the problems associated with the dubious vote on May 10, 2020.

According to an insider, this plan is called the “atomic option” in the ruling party. Law and justice considered it the most extreme solution, but it is likely to be implemented. According to party lawyers, the resignation of the current President will help solve many problems related to the vote scheduled for May 10. Recall that in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, Poland decided to hold presidential elections in a very original way: by receiving the ballot by ordinary mail and sending the document to the territorial election commissions accordingly.

In the middle of this week, the Senate must decide on absentee voting in the presidential elections. Numerous leaks to the media show that senators will rule out the possibility of holding elections next Sunday.

“With this approach, another problem arises — if the elections are not held on May 10 or are not postponed to the next Sunday of this month, which also causes a lot of legal disputes, who will take office at the end of Andrzej Duda’s term? The Constitution of Poland does not answer as to who replaces the head of state when elections are not held within the established time frame. There is an option when a state of emergency is imposed, but this, in turn, means that various companies can easily claim damages, which will significantly burden the state budget.”

Therefore, according to the publication’s interlocutors, Duda’s resignation will be the most convenient solution. Thanks to the President’s voluntary resignation, the current speaker of the Seym, Elzbieta Vitek, will automatically become the head of state. It is she who will legally announce a new election date at any time, but no later than mid-July 2020. Thus, the election of a new President, including the current head of Duda, will take place in August 2020.

Colossal reminds us that, in addition to the current President of Poland Andrzej Duda, in elections will take part five politicians

British PM unveils in-depth treatment plan for Covid -19

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been recovering from a Covid -19, has scrapped an in-depth plan for treating his condition in a "serious manner", as reports have surfaced that he is "very strong". Yes, who can recover from this devastating disease, while some who have been in contact with him or are passing by are in some condition More seriously, some have lost their lives due to illness Covid -19.

Speaking to British newspaper The Sun on Sunday, the prime minister said he was often given liters of oxygen to keep him alive. He said during a week-long course of treatment for Covid -19 in St Thomas's Hospital in London, he had a strong desire to find the best way to end this suffering and make it Britain is "back to its original state".
Carrie Symonds, Boris Johnson's fiancée, wrote on Instagram that they named their son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, a grandfather's name, and the two doctors who treated Johnson. Healing from covid-19.

Japan helps its companies relocate production to ASEAN

Japan to launch subsidy programs to encourage local manufacturers to transfer their overseas production bases to countries in Southeast Asia due to the Ivory Coast epidemic. 19 Disrupted their supply chain, which was heavily dependent on China.
According to Japan's Kyodo News, a program worth 23.5 billion yen ($ 220 million) has been included in the government's emergency stimulus package to ease the economic downturn from The virus spreads and helps companies diversify their supply chains financially Manufacturing building construction as well as a feasibility study in the ASEAN countries.

The initiative comes after carmakers and other equipment manufacturers suffered a shortage of supplies made in China following the outbreak. The new strain began late last year in central Wuhan, China.

Other efforts have also been made to strengthen the supply chain, and the Japanese government will spend $ 220 million to boost domestic products, which are now heavily imported. The subsidy will be included in the subsidy program and financially support the relocation of Japanese companies overseas to their home countries.

The program will also focus on the manufacturers of Japanese essentials for good health during the outbreak, including mass and alcohol. They can receive subsidies when they open new plants or increase their existing production capacity in Japan. Translated by Nuon

report assesses China intentionally concealed severity of coronavirus

The Chinese government intentionally concealed the severity of the coronavirus from the international community while it stockpiled imports and decreased exports, a Department of Homeland Security report found, according to an administration official familiar with the report.

"China likely cut its exports of medical supplies prior to its January WHO (World Health Organization) notification that COVID-19 is a contagion," the report reads, according to the source.

The report, which assessed export and import data earlier this year, was circulated within the federal government on Friday, the source said. ABC first reported its existence.

Earlier Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stepped up administration claims that China mounted efforts to hide the extent of the coronavirus spread, including concealing the severity while stockpiling medical supplies.

"You've got the facts just about right," Pompeo told ABC's "This Week" when asked if China intentionally stockpiled medical supplies in early January while it concealed the severity of Covid-19. "We can confirm that the Chinese Communist Party did all that it could to make sure that the world didn't learn in a timely fashion about what was taking place."

Pompeo's comments come as the Trump administration is formulating a long-term plan to punish China on multiple fronts for the coronavirus pandemic, injecting a rancorous new element into a critical relationship already on a steep downward slide.

Multiple sources inside the administration say that there is an appetite to use various tools, including sanctions, canceling US debt obligations and drawing up new trade policies, to make clear to China, and to everyone else, where they feel the responsibility lies.

While there are serious questions about China's transparency, the Trump administration has escalated its effort to blame China for the global spread of the virus as criticism of its own handling of the pandemic has increased. President Donald Trump repeatedly downplayed the threat from the novel coronavirus and suggested it would not be a problem for the US at a time when it was clearly already spreading around the world. Trump also repeatedly showered Chinese President Xi Jinping with praise for his management of the crisis as he sought to safeguard a trade deal with the Chinese.

The DHS assessment also says, "in its communications, China intentionally concealed its trade activity by publicly denying it has ever imposed an export ban on masks and other medical supplies," according to the source.

The findings were assessed at "moderate confidence," the source told CNN, pointing out that the report does not conclude whether the actions of the Chinese government were nefarious. It is reasonable to conclude that based on the outbreak, before it was declared pandemic, China would recognize key measurements in determining requirements for the need of personal protective equipment, the source said.

The US needs "to be mindful about, 'what do you do about it?'" the source noted. "Is this a trigger that propels industry here? Will there be enough in the stockpile going forward?" the source asked.

China has access to a wide array of raw materials necessary in establishing a production line of goods needed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, said the source, whether it's surgical gowns, masks or goggles.

"They have a robust manufacturing capability and workforce that can quickly ramp up manufacturing," the source said.

On Sunday, Pompeo mentioned that some efforts that the Chinese Communist Party took were not seen, but others were public such as not allowing US medical professionals into labs in Wuhan, the city where the virus originated, and silencing scientists.

"President Trump is very clear, we're gonna hold those responsible accountable and we'll do so on a timeline that is our own," Pompeo said.

Trump administration officials have been pushing the US intelligence community to determine the exact origins of the coronavirus outbreak in pursuit of an unproven theory that the pandemic started because of a laboratory accident in China, multiple sources told CNN. The President on Thursday contradicted the intelligence community and claimed he has seen evidence that gives him a "high degree of confidence" Covid-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but declined to provide details to back up his assertion.

Asked about the belief expressed by Trump and if he had seen evidence backing that claim, Pompeo said, "There's enormous evidence that that's where this began."

"We've said from the beginning that this was a virus that originated in Wuhan, China. We took a lot of grief for that from the outside, but I think the whole world can see now," he said. He later added, "there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement Thursday that the "Intelligence Community also concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified."

Asked Sunday about that conclusion, Pompeo said he agreed with it. Pompeo said that he has "no reason to disbelieve" the intelligence community, adding, "I've seen their analysis. I've seen the summary that you saw that was released publicly. I have no reason to doubt that that is accurate."

Though Pompeo also echoed Trump's statement last week that he has seen evidence linking the outbreak to the Wuhan lab, which contradicted the statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That statement said US intelligence was "rigorously" examining whether the outbreak was "through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan."

Pompeo added that China "behaved like authoritarian regimes do, attempted to conceal and hide and confused and employed the World Health Organization as a tool to do the same."

"These are the kinds of things that have presented this enormous crisis and enormous loss of life and tremendous economic loss all across the globe," he said. "The Australians agree with that, you hear the Europeans beginning to say the same thing, and I think the whole world is united understanding that China brought this virus to the world."

CNN reported last month that the US government was looking into the theory that the virus originated in the lab but hadn't yet been able to corroborate it. In April, Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the weight of evidence suggests the virus was of natural origin.

Asked about whether China intentionally released the virus or if it was an accident, Pompeo refused to give an opinion.

"I don't have anything to say about that. I think there's a lot to know, but I can say this. We've done our best to try and answer all of those questions. We tried to get a team in there, the WHO (World Health Organization) tried to get a team in there, and they have failed. No one's been allowed to go into this lab or any of the other laboratories...this is an ongoing challenge. We still need to get in there. We still don't have the virus samples we need."

The US-China clash is brewing amid growing suspicion inside the administration over China's rising strategic challenge and fury that the virus destroyed an economy seen as Trump's passport to a second term.

There are serious questions to be addressed about China's transparency in the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan and whether its autocratic system fostered an attempt to cover it up. The United States is not the only nation that wants answers amid a pandemic that has devastated the global economy and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

In response to building pressure, China has launched a propaganda effort to distract from its own culpability, including blaming US soldiers for importing the pathogen in remarks that infuriated Trump. On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang accused "American politicians" of telling barefaced lies about the pandemic.

"They have only one objective: to try to shirk responsibility for their own epidemic and prevention and control measures and divert public attention," he said.

On Wednesday, China's state-run news agency Xinhua posted an animated video mocking the US response to the coronavirus pandemic as it described China's response in a flattering way.