‘I could live 30 years – but want to die’: Has assisted dying in Canada gone too far?
BBC News reports on assisted dying in Canada, where some say it’s now easier to choose to die than get support to live
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BBC News reports on assisted dying in Canada, where some say it’s now easier to choose to die than get support to live
It’s well-established that, on the whole, Americans die younger than people in most other high-income countries. For instance, an analysis from 2022 found that the average life expectancy of someone born in Switzerland or Spain in 2019 was 84 years. Meanwhile, the average US life expectancy was 78.8, lower than nearly all other high-income countries, including Canada’s, which was 82.3 years. And this was before the pandemic, which only made things worse for the US. Perhaps some Americans may think that this lower overall life-expectancy doesn’t really apply to them if they’re middle- or upper-class. After all, wealth inequality and health disparities are huge problems in the US. Those with more money simply have better access to health care and better health outcomes. Well-off Americans live longer, with lifespans on par with their peers in high-income countries, some may think. It is true that money buys you a longer life in the US. In fact, the link between wealth and mortality may be stronger in the US than in any other high-income country. But, if you think American wealth will put life expectancy in league with Switzerland, you’re dead wrong, according to a study in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read full article Comments
European regulators are considering fining X more than $1 billion, after weighing the risks of further antagonizing Mr. Musk and Tweety McTreason.
As AI hype permeates the Internet, tech and business leaders are already looking toward the next step. AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to a machine with human-like intelligence and capabilities. If today’s AI systems are on a path to AGI, we will need new approaches to ensure such a machine doesn’t work against human interests. Unfortunately, we don’t have anything as elegant as Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics. Researchers at DeepMind have been working on this problem and have released a new technical paper (PDF) that explains how to develop AGI safely, which you can download at your convenience. It contains a huge amount of detail, clocking in at 108 pages before references. While some in the AI field believe AGI is a pipe dream, the authors of the DeepMind paper project that it could happen by 2030. With that in mind, they aimed to understand the risks of a human-like synthetic intelligence, which they acknowledge could lead to “severe harm.” Read full article Comments
The Trump administration has laid off the entire staff of a $4.1 billion program that helps low-income households nationwide pay for heat
The initiative backed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and publicly opposed by Speaker Mike Johnson has split House Republicans and brought floor proceedings to a halt this week.
Tom Cruise is paying his respects to his former co-star and “dear friend” Val Kilmer.
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
At least seven people have been killed after thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through several US states – with forecasters warning record rainfall could soon follow in some regions.
Europe’s tech industry is bracing for impact after the Trump administration announced sweeping tariffs yesterday. The US slapped a 20% tariff on imports from the EU — twice the rate for the UK. Switzerland fared even worse, receiving a hefty 32% levy. Several European tech firms, investors, and analysts told TNW that the measures could disrupt supply chains, force pricing adjustments, and stem the flow of transatlantic VC capital — plunging European tech companies big and small into uncertainty. “Trump’s trade tariffs will have a huge impact on the global tech landscape, forcing startups to reconsider their headquarters and assess… This story continues at The Next Web
“Hello, I will be your driver for today,” says Bartek Szurgot, a software engineer at German startup Vay and my chauffeur for this ride. He disengages the handbrake, gently presses the accelerator and the new Kia Niro EV I’m sitting in slowly pulls out of the parking lot. As we approach the first intersection, Bartek indicates, turns the steering wheel, makes his observations, and drives out onto a busy road near the centre of Berlin. So far, pretty standard — except for one big difference. Bartek isn’t in the car. He’s in an office a few blocks away, controlling the… This story continues at The Next Web
A large natural experiment shows that the herpes zoster vaccine reduces dementia diagnoses by 20% over seven years. The findings suggest both viral suppression and immune training may play roles in brain health.
Blood clots are associated with life-threatening conditions such as sepsis, sickle cell disease, heart attack, and stroke.
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies across the department were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities in such places as New Mexico, Montana, and Alaska.