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Student engagement platform pools campus data to tailor content
 Content Management

ClearScholar Deploys Content Targeting Tech in Mobile Platform

Student engagement and safety platform ClearScholar Friday launched a new feature set for institutions that leverages student data across campus systems to deliver targeted content to individual students.

ClearScholar Align, as the solution is called, works by combining data from disparate college systems (student information systems, learning management systems, constituent relationship management platforms, etc.) to build each student a “persona.” With this information, administrators can broadly target all second-year students, for example, or narrowly target specific majors and grade point averages within that year. Additionally, Align is built to ensure personas are updated in real time as new data enters the platform from various systems.

The goal for the technology is to make data and data science more actionable, according to information from the company. “Content within the ClearScholar mobile app platform is aligned to the needs and preferences of each student, allowing [them] to have a truly personalized experienced.” Content can mean news, announcement, push notifications, polls, events, etc. and is specific to each institution’s needs and goals. So, for example, a university can push certain resources for achievement to at-risk groups using the ClearScholar mobile app. Meanwhile, ClearScholar’s dashboard give administrators and instructors more insight by displaying analytics on how students are interacting with the app.

“Many universities struggle with issues of resource utilization alongside effective student communications; both issues which can be improved by deploying this technology,” the company said about Align.

ClearScholar launched its student engagement platform at Butler University early 2017 to assist with university-student communications, career readiness, student health and other aspects of the student lifecycle. This past May, the company rolled out ClearScholar Aware, a student safety-focused platform that offered more visibility into emergency calls made through the app.

To learn more, visit the ClearScholar site.

Output: Indianapolis-based ClearScholar, a student communication and engagement platform, has added a new feature – Align – that leverages data from disparate campus systems to create a real-time profile for each student. These “persona” can then be used to deliver tailored content to students or groups based on their needs and/or defining characteristics. In addition to making data actionable, the feature is expected to improve the students’ personal experience and ensure effective use of resources.


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Lyon announces $500m Australian solar-plus-storage project
 The highly ambitious solar and battery storage developer Lyon Group has unveiled yet another big project, this time a $660 million solar plus storage project in Victoria, adding to its growing portfolio in South Australia and Queensland.

The latest plan for a 250MW large-scale solar plant, paired with 80MW/160MWh of battery storage at Nowingi in north-western Victoria, takes its total pipeline to more than 1700MW of solar and 1000MW of storage.

But in a new twist Lyon has announced that it is planning a tender for contracts to cover the 640MWh of storage capacity at its most advanced projects in Victoria, South Australia (Riverland) and Queensland (Cape York).

Lyon Group’s David Green said the tender would be open for electricity retailers and generators, large electricity users, and other sector participants for a range of services including price arbitrage, load shifting, ramp control, frequency control and network control that he values at a total of $220 million.

“Lyon will enter into commercial contracts for real services provided by physical assets,” Green said in a statement. “This is not a theoretical exercise.”

He describes the tender exercise as a “world first” and was in response to many enquiries from retailers and others about the sort of services and pricing that would be offered from the projects. Lyon decided that they would go out and seek what was wanted and what people would pay for it.

Several companies have announced plans for large-scale solar and storage facilities in Australia, including Zen Energy, Reach Energy and Carnegie Clean Energy, but none come close to the scale that Lyon has announced.

However, none of the projects have commenced production to date, although Green insists that all three projects will begin construction this year – Nowingi and Riverland as early as September. It is backed by Japanese trading giant Mitsubishi and US investor Magnetar Capital.

Lyon says all three projects, totalling nearly $2 billion, will be 100 per cent equity financed, and Green said that the results of the tender would help decide the final design and configuration of the projects. It is using battery systems integrator AES.

Lyon also joins a host of battery storage tenders, including those being run by South Australia and Victoria, both of which are designed to be built by this coming summer.

Victoria’s two 20MW battery storage projects, totalling around 100MWh, are also slated for western Victoria, where it faces grid issues as it seeks more than 5,000MW of new wind and solar to meet its 40 per cent renewable energy target by 2025. That tender closed last week.

The South Australia government currently has a tender out for 100MW and up to 200MWh of battery storage, although Lyon says it has not entered those tenders.

The move also comes as the Finkel Review recommends storage be front and centre of Australia’s energy security concerns, although his recommendation that all new wind and solar farms be paired with storage and/or firming capacity has drawn criticism for being overkill.

It is not clear that the Coalition government will adopt Finkel’s recommendations, or to what state that storage will be mandated, although Green has said, unsurprisingly, that he is a supporter.

Green is confident that Nowingi will begin construction “in the coming months” and will employ 250 at that stage. The other solar storage projects within the scope of the tender are Cape York (Queensland) and Riverland (South Australia).

Other developments are for the Kingfisher project near Roxby Downs in South Australia, which Green says is going through state planning approvals, and others will also emerge, including deals with large energy users for both solar and storage.

“These projects are working through development consultation and approvals. The land has been secured, technology and other commercial arrangements are in place, and the required network capacity analysis and consultations are well advanced,” Green said.

“Projects like these are the heart of Australia’s energy transition, allowing for substantially higher levels of variable, low emissions generation, while strengthening the resilience of the system. It is real and it is happening.”

Green says the full services of battery storage are not yet fully understood, noting that large-scale battery storage can provide both a cost-effective alternative to network infrastructure upgrades, and to new gas generation, and can ensure the true value of large-scale renewables is realised, if all its “value stack” can be exploited.

Green said that Lyon is developing a number of new and innovative battery storage products that it will release to the market in the near future.

Output: Lyon Group said it will build an AUD660m ($500m) solar and battery storage project in Victoria, South Australia, beginning in September. The array will include 2.3 million solar panels with a capacity of 250 MW and an 80MW/160MWh battery system, making it one of the largest hybrid projects in the world, behind its own Riverland Solar Storage plant announced in March. Lyon is planning a tender for contracts to cover the 640MWh of storage capacity at its most advanced projects in Victoria, South Australia (Riverland) and Queensland (Cape York).


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Lingokids raises $4m seed funding to expand educational games
 If there’s one market that continues to attract entrepreneurial interest and venture capital, it’s the demand for language acquisition. The latest beneficiary is Lingokids, the developer of an app that aims to help young children pick up a new tongue.

Based in Madrid and San Francisco, the startup has raised $4 million in a seed round from Holtzbrinck Ventures and JME Capital, with Bessemer Venture Partners also participating. On top of an earlier $1.5 million fundraise, the company now boasts $5.5 million in institutional backing.

Designed for children ages 2 to 6, Lingokids, the company’s flagship app, currently offers 350 activities in the form of mini-games, videos, audiobooks and writing exercises covering English and Chinese. Any registered user can do a maximum of five learning activities per day for free. A “premium” plan that removes this cap starts at $24.99 per month.

This February, the company added another tier to its subscription plan: a tutoring service where children can interact with a native English speaker in a small group setting in 25-minute sessions. This offering starts with a free class where a teacher evaluates a learner’s skill level to determine placement and matching. This plan, which includes unlimited access to Lingokids content, currently costs $60 per month for unlimited classes. So far “hundreds” of families have signed up for this service, according to Cristobal Viedma, the company’s CEO.

Viedma tells EdSurge this feature was partly inspired by VIPKID, a Chinese startup that connects children with English-speaking tutors from around the world.

The company claims users in two million families, of which roughly 20,000 are paying subscribers, Viedma adds.

In addition to VIPKID, Viedma says he’s also closely watching how Age of Learning, developer of the ABCmouse line of early educational apps, is expanding from the parent market and into schools. (The Glendale, Calif.-based company launched ABCmouse for Schools last year—nine years after its founding.)

To get into schools, Lingokids is turning to a publisher for help. The company notched a distribution relationship with Oxford University Press (OUP) through which it will include a Lingokids code on the back cover of the books it sells to schools. Using this code, students can download Lingokids and access the book’s content in digital form, on the app.

Partnerships such as these have been key to filling Lingokids’ library of activities. In addition to helping with distribution efforts, OUP provides roughly 20 percent of all of the content, Viedma adds. The company, which itself only makes 20 percent of the content, is working with nine other publisher partners.

The company also has a deal with Vodafone in Spain through which the telecommunications provider promotes the language learning app through their marketing channels. Vodafone subscribers can also pay for a Lingokids subscription directly through their phone bill, rather than pay separately.

Between Age of Learning and VIPKID—both of whom have raised more than $100 million in venture money—Lingokids may feel outmatched. Yet the former has cornered the U.S. and East Asian market, and VIPKID has China covered, Viedma says “we’re pushing hard in Latin America and Southeast Asia.” North America, he adds, currently provides just 18 percent of his users. Many more come from Brazil and Thailand.

Output: Madrid and San Francisco edtech start-up Lingokids has raised $4m in a seed funding round led by Holtzbrinck Ventures and JME Capital, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners. Lingokids, which has produced an app that offers children aged between two and six the chance to learn a foreign language through play, recently added a tutoring service to its platform. The company has also partnered with publishers, including Oxford University Press, as it looks to take on rivals Age of Learning and VIPKID.


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Kalanick resigns as CEO of Uber
 Travis Kalanick stepped down Tuesday as chief executive of Uber, the ride-hailing service that he helped found in 2009 and built into a transportation colossus, after a shareholder revolt made it untenable for him to stay on at the company.

Mr. Kalanick’s exit came under pressure after hours of drama involving Uber’s investors, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous because the details were confidential.

Earlier on Tuesday, five of Uber’s major investors demanded that the chief executive resign immediately. The investors included one of Uber’s biggest shareholders, the venture capital firm Benchmark, which has one of its partners, Bill Gurley, on Uber’s board. The investors made their demand for Mr. Kalanick to step down in a letter delivered to the chief executive while he was in Chicago, said the people with knowledge of the situation.

Output: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has resigned due to investor discontent about his leadership. Kalanick’s departure comes in the wake of a series of scandals relating to the corporate culture at Uber, including allegations of widespread sexual harassment. Sources suggested to the New York Times that venture capital firm Benchmark and other investors including First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Menlo Ventures and Fidelity Investors delivered a letter to Kalanick urging him to leave. It is believed that Kalanick will remain on the company’s board.


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Quarter of Australians use ad blocking: IAB
 A quarter of online Australians use an adblocker, according to new research from IAB Australia.

The ‘Ad Blocking in Australia’ research, which was conducted by Pureprofile for IAB Australia, found 25% of online Australians currently use the technology, down from 27% in October 2016.

The decline in adblocker usage came despite an increase in awareness of the technology up from 59% to 63% of Australians.

Desktops and laptops remain the preferred device to install adblockers at 21% with just 5% of Australians installing ad blockers on smartphones.

The research found blocked content remains the key driver for turning off an ad blocker. Of the 71% of people to be asked by a website to turn off their adblocker, 50% have turned off the technology for that site, 25% have whitelisted the site, while 5% have deleted an ad blocker as a result.

Viruses are the primary driver for installing an ad blocker, although people also have concerns over the quantity and intrusive nature of digital ad formats.

Vijay Solanki, CEO of IAB Australia, said, “Whilst it is positive news that the use of ad blocking appears to be stablising in Australia, it is imperative that the advertising industry continues to double down on our efforts to evolve and improve the ad experience for consumers.”

“As mobile emerges as the channel of choice for many consumers, it will be key to ensure that mobile advertising respects the close relationship that a consumer has with their mobile phones and adheres to the LEAN principles of providing lighter, relevant and higher quality advertising experiences.”

The research follows similar findings by eMarketer in the UK which revealed one-fifth (20.9%) of UK internet users will use adblocking software this year.

Output: A quarter of Australians use ad blocking when surfing the net, a survey from IAB Australia has found, a drop from 27% last October. Desktops and laptops are the preferred devices to have ad blockers installed on, with 21% of people using them, while only 5% of those surveyed used ad blockers on smartphones. The study found blocked content is the main reason for turning off an ad blocker, with half of people asked by a website to turn off an ad blocker doing so. A total of 25% whitelisted the site and 5% deleted the ad blocker. Viruses are the main reason for installing ad blockers.


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Uber adds tipping option in the US
 Uber is adding tipping to its platform, addressing a longstanding complaint of drivers with a new feature rolled out one week after embattled CEO Travis Kalanick announced an indefinite leave of absence.

The ride-hailing corporation launched tipping in Seattle, Minneapolis and Houston on Tuesday, with plans for an expansion to all US drivers by the end of July. The company had refused for years to allow passengers to tip through the app, one of many sources of frustration for drivers, who have repeatedly raised concerns about low wages and a lack of basic labor rights.

The shift on tipping was included in Uber’s announcement of the so-called “180 days of change for drivers”, which the San Francisco-based firm billed as a “company-wide effort designed to meaningfully fix and improve the driving experience”.

Following months of embarrassing scandals and PR disasters this year – including a major sexual harassment controversy and claims of a frat-house culture – the company launched an investigation, fired more than 20 employees and this month announced reforms meant to improve the workplace.

But the vision of “Uber 2.0”, outlined in a recent all-hands meeting, largely ignored the concerns of drivers, who are classified as independent contractors and have continued to advocate for traditional job security and benefits.

The difficulties of working as a driver in the gig economy are so extreme that some have ended up homeless, forced to live out of their cars leased for Uber, according to a recent Guardian investigation. Female drivers assaulted on the job have also increasingly come forward, accusing the corporation of offering them little support during their recovery.

Tuesday’s announcement appears to be a response to some of the backlash Uber has faced from drivers and labor groups that have fought for years to unionize drivers. The firm also announced a number of smaller changes meant to benefit drivers, including a more favorable system for “cancellation fees” when riders back out of trips, pay for wait times when passengers are delayed showing up, and a new option to purchase driver protection insurance.

Garrett Camp, Uber co-founder, also published a blogpost Tuesday, saying the company has not done a good job responding to drivers’ concerns: “We must update our core values, listen better to employees and riders, and prioritize our drivers.”

But some critics said the reforms were inadequate considering how Uber has cut wages over the years and built a business model that is fundamentally unsustainable for many drivers.

“They just don’t care about the drivers and if the drivers have enough money to feed their families or not,” said Inder Parmar, a 55-year-old Uber driver. The New York City driver, who was part of a New York Taxi Workers Alliance lawsuit seeking to classify drivers as employees, said he expected many riders would not offer tips moving forward, given that Uber has for so long made it clear that they don’t have to pay the extra cash.

“It’s long overdue. It should’ve been in place when Uber started. This is a service-oriented business and drivers depend on tips,” he said.

Uber previously defended its policy by arguing that it was “better for riders and drivers to know for sure what they would pay or earn on each trip – without the uncertainty of tipping”. The company claimed that it helped make the service “hassle-free”.

But drivers have long contended that the lack of a tipping feature was depriving them of wages they had a right to collect. Uber’s competitor Lyft has a tipping option in its app.

The Independent Drivers Guild, an affiliate of the Machinists union that represents Uber drivers in New York, praised the decision on Tuesday, saying the new rule was “an important first step toward a more fair ride-hail industry”. Jim Conigliaro Jr, founder of the guild, added in the statement: “Cuts to driver pay across the ride-hail industry have made tipping income more important than ever.”

The reforms are coming into place a week after the departure of Kalanick, the controversial CEO who has repeatedly faced criticisms of disrespecting drivers and ignoring their criticisms. His firm has been accused of underpaying drivers, manipulating their movements with psychological tricks, duping drivers with false advertising and using smartphone sensors to monitor their actions.

Earlier this year, Kalanick was also caught on camera yelling with his own Uber driver, who complained about low wages, with the CEO saying: “Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit … They blame everything in their life on somebody else.”

Output: Ride-hailing firm Uber is to allow tipping through its app in a feature to be rolled out to all US drivers by the end of July. Tipping was introduced in Seattle, Houston and Minneapolis earlier this week. The company had refused for years to allow passengers to offer tips via the app, which had been a long-standing grievance of drivers. The move is part of what Uber calls "180 days of change", a programme intended to improve the experience of working for Uber.


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Online-only insurer Zhong An plans Hong Kong IPO in July
 Zhong An Online Property and Casualty is expected to list its shares in Hong Kong as early as July or August to raise up to US$2 billion, according to recent media reports.

Zhong An, the first onli...

Output: Insiders have told the China Times that the country's first online-only insurance company, Zhong An, could list shares in Hong Kong as soon as next month. The Shanghai-based firm — which was co-founded by Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba empire — is expected to sell $2bn of shares. The company, also backed by Tencent and fellow Chinese insurer Ping An, will reportedly sell a stake of between 5% and 10% before the flotation.


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Online-only insurer Zhong An plans Hong Kong IPO in July
 Shanghai-based Zhong An was founded in 2013 by Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma, Tencent’s chairman Pony Ma Hua-teng, and Ping An Insurance’s chairman Ma Mingzhe (pictured). Photo: Oliver Tsang

Output: Insiders have told the China Times that the country's first online-only insurance company, Zhong An, could list shares in Hong Kong as soon as next month. The Shanghai-based firm — which was co-founded by Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba empire — is expected to sell $2bn of shares. The company, also backed by Tencent and fellow Chinese insurer Ping An, will reportedly sell a stake of between 5% and 10% before the flotation.


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Hike messenger adds mobile wallet facility in India
 Beating rival WhatsApp to the punch, Indian messaging service Hike has followed in the footsteps of its Chinese backer Tencent by adding a mobile wallet to its app, enabling tens of millions of users to send and receive money instantly.

In an Indian first, the latest Hike upgrade introduces a wallet that takes advantage of a partnership with Yes Bank and the government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for free instant bank-to-bank transfers between friends - even if the recipient is not on Hike.

For those who don't use bank accounts, P2P payments can still be made through the wallet, which also lets people top up their phones and pay postpaid bills.

Mimicking the hugely popular 'Red Packets' feature offered by its backer Tencent's WeChat service, a Hike 'Blue Packets' option is geared towards "making money a new form of social expression" - letting users choose between 10 different virtual envelopes with space for personal messages which can be stuffed with digital money and sent to friends.

Kavin Bharti Mittal, CEO, Hike Messenger, says: "With Blue Packets, we’re going to change the way people send and receive money. We believe we can make that experience fun and also a new form of messaging.

"Can money be the new Sticker? We believe so. That’s the idea. Our users celebrate so many special moments in their lives. It could be from a simple Thank You or Congratulations to a Happy Birthday. We hope with Blue Packets we can give our users a new avenue to express themselves."

Hike, which claims more than 100 million registered users, has stolen a march on Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which is widely expected to roll out a UPI-based P2P payments service in India in the next few months.

Output: Indian messaging service Hike has integrated a mobile wallet into its app, allowing users to make instant transactions. Hike's partnership with Yes Bank and the government-backed Unified Payments Interface will enable free and speedy payments to be made between bank accounts, even if the recipient is not a Hike user. Those without bank accounts can still use the mobile wallet to send and receive money, add credit to their their phones and pay postpaid bills. The service also lets users write personal messages on a choice of virtual envelopes, which can be sent to friends with the digital money.


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Publishers urged to defend Greenpeace against logging company
 The world’s biggest book publishers have been dragged into a bitter dispute between a US logging company and environmental campaigners Greenpeace. It follows legal action taken by the logging company, Resolute Forest Products, which campaigners and publishers fear has implications for freedom of speech.

The dispute centres on claims by Greenpeace about the company’s logging practices in sections of Canada’s boreal forest, which are home to indigenous peoples as well as endangered wildlife. Greenpeace alleges that Resolute: “Is responsible for the destruction of vast areas of Canada’s magnificent boreal forest, damaging critical woodland caribou habitat and logging without the consent of impacted First Nations.”

Resolute strongly disputes the claims. Last year, it followed up a 2013 defamation and economic interference lawsuit launched in Canada with a $226m (£178m) US claim under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act (Rico). Passed in 1970 to counter organised crime, the use of the act has been criticised as an attempt to silence both Resolute’s critics and for setting a “dangerous” precedent for whistleblowers and NGOs.

Publishers, including Penguin Random House and Murdoch-owned HarperCollins, became involved after a petition signed by more than 100 authors in support of Greenpeace was handed in at US publishing trade show BookExpo. The petition called for publishers using Resolute products to use their clout to pressurise the company into dropping the lawsuit and addressing alleged logging practices.

Hachette Livre, whose UK subsidiaries publish among others Ian Rankin, JK Rowling and Cressida Cowell, expresseds concern that the Rico action poses a threat to free speech and could be used to silence environmental organisations at a time when the US government has stated its intention to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement on climate change.

Emphasising that Hachette had “no intention of taking sides”, but was “reaffirming our commitment to free speech”, Ronald Blunden, senior vice-president of corporate communications said: “It is the [scale] of the damages being sought in the suit. We are concerned that it is about muzzling Greenpeace at a time when the US government is pulling out of the Paris accord on climate change.”

He added: “You need these NGOs to be able to do their work and be whistleblowers, because if they disappear, and if the US pulls out of the Paris accord, who will be left to speak up and defend the environment?”

In a letter to Resolute, HL chairman Arnaud Nourry described the use of racketeering law in the US as excessive and asked if there was another way in which the company could respond to the accusations. The logging company’s CEO Richard Garneau responded by providing a detailed rebuttal of the activists’ claims and responding to the gagging charge: “Freedom of speech is not the same as libel and slander.”

Other publishers have expressed frustration with the way the dispute has escalated, with several describing it, off the record, as a mess. In a statement from Simon & Schuster US, senior vice president and director of corporate communications Adam Rothberg noted the claims, counterclaims and arguments made by both parties about “complicated issues, that, as publishers, we have little ability to judge or verify”. He added: “We do, however, recognise the urgency of current environmental issues, the unalloyed right to free and responsible free speech in advocating for environmental and other causes and the right to defend one’s reputation.”

Publishers on both sides of the Atlantic said pulp from the disputed forests is not used in their books and emphasised the use of “vigorous” oversight by the Forest Stewardship Council. In a statement sent to the Guardian, Penguin Random House said that it “strives to procure paper from suppliers who source responsibly”. HarperCollins issued a similar statement.

It is unlikely that the case will come to a swift conclusion. The next hearing will be held in California. But publishers may be forced to take economic action to end the row. Blunden said although Hachette remained a customer of Resolute, should the publisher’s authors demand its wood pulp is not used in their books, the company may rethink its buying policy. However, he added, no such protests had yet been made.

Output: Publishers including HarperCollins and Penguin Random House have become involved in a dispute between environmental campaign group Greenpeace and US logging firm Resolute Forest Products. Greenpeace has claimed that Resolute has destroyed woodland in Canada without regard for indigenous rights or wildlife habitat. Last year, Resolute launched a legal claim against Greenpeace in a move that is seen to set a dangerous precedent against NGOs. Over 100 authors subsequently signed a petition in support of Greenpeace and called for publishers to boycott Resolute products. Publishers including Hachette Livre and Simon & Schuster have now issued statements defending free speech.


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PNC Bank facilitates mobile payments for corporate clients
 PNC Bank corporate clients now can use their Visa commercial cards with Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. In March, Visa enabled the three mobile wallets for corporate cards. U.S. Bank was the first corporate card issuer to offer Visa cards that work on mobile wallets, and PNC began piloting Visas on mobile wallets with its own employees in April. PNC can work with companies to set up controls before enabling the capability for employees. American Express was the first card issuer and network to enable Apple Pay capability for U.S. corporate cards in 2015.

Output: Corporate clients of Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank now have the option to use Visa commercial cards through digital payment platforms Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. Visa enabled the use of the mobile wallets for corporate cards in March, with PNC trialling the use of Visa through mobile wallets with its own employees in April.


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Sensor-equipped leggings improve yoga form
 Billie Whitehouse is known for pushing boundaries with fashion and technology.

Her company Wearable X designed Fundawear -- vibrating underwear for couples in long distance relationships that can be controlled by smartphones. It also created the Fan Jersey -- a shirt that uses haptic vibrations so sports fans can "feel" players' emotions during a game.

But these were prototypes. Whitehouse's first product that's available for people to actually purchase is NadiX yoga pants.

The pants have five sensors sewn in to help the wearer improve form for 30 different yoga poses. Once in a pose, the sensors vibrate in specific ways to tell you how to adjust your hips, knees or ankles. For downward dog, for instance, the pulses guide a person to ground the ankle and lift the knee.

Related: 'Cognitive dance party' brings AI to the club

While Whitehouse is careful not to say that the pants help "correct" a yoga pose, they can sense if a person's pose is way out of whack.

"The point of the product isn't to say there is a right and a wrong pose," said Whitehouse. "It isn't black and white. This is just about highlighting those micro muscles that you could be thinking about -- that you don't even know exist."

Whitehouse says the pulses are intuitive, but overthinkers could find themselves questioning what the vibrations are trying to tell them.

Unlike the majority of wearable fitness items out there, NadiX isn't intended to gather feedback about steps, calories or heart rate. That's representative of how Whitehouse and Ben Moir, cofounder and chief technology officer at Wearable X, view the projects they work on.

"[Wearable tech] needs to take a backseat and let us live our lives," said Moir, who is based in Australia. He sees current wearable tech as largely in a "primitive" stage. He and Whitehouse, who is Australian but based in New York, want to create products that are less about quantifying the body and are more empathetic.

The duo has been working for two years to bring NadiX to life. Whitehouse said that her board, and even Moir, originally told her that the idea would be impossible to execute.

"Putting electronics into garments is still so new and so difficult," Moir said. "Yoga pants get stretched, get sweated in....the sensors had to be invisible, and the pants had to not be a tech-looking product. That's kind of an engineer's nightmare."

Related: 15 Questions with Billie Whitehouse

It involved a lot of studying the anatomy, working closely with yoga instructors, and developing the right mix of materials -- from conductive wires typically used in bulletproof vests to the right chip for the sensors.

But the pants come with a hefty price tag: $299. NadiX went on presale this month. The pants are slated to ship in August, and the team is also working on a top -- with three sensors -- to pair with it.

The pants, which are manufactured in Sri Lanka, are machine washable and powered by a removable, rechargeable battery that lasts up to 90 minutes. The battery connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone app, which lets people choose the level of yoga they're going to be practicing.

Moir said they won't mine or store individualized data but will collect topline data like whether someone is a heavy user of NadiX or if their pants aren't working.

Output: Fashion technology company Wearable X has created a pair of leggings designed to help yoga practitioners adjust their form. The NadiX trousers include five sewn-in sensors that vibrate to indicate how wearers' could adapt their positions in 30 different poses. The pulses emitted from the sensors are not designed to correct form, but to make wearers more aware of their bodies by "highlighting those micro muscles that you could be thinking about — that you don't even know exist," according to Wearable X founder Billie Whitehouse.


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Sinclair Delhi clinic offers Silhouette Soft
 Looking for a makeover?? Get back your youth in less than one hour with the new Silhouette Soft Thread lift in Delhi, India.

All you wanted to know about Silhouette Soft thread lift –

It is an adsorbable cone thread which is meant to be placed with a very fine needle in the skin.

No sutures or incisions are required for the procedure .

Its a small , quick lunchtime procedure and is very safe in both men and women.

Can be used for facial contour, jaw, cheeks and eyebrows

It is recommended for men and women above the age of 30

Results can be seen immediately and improve over time.

Final results will be seen between 6 weeks and 6 months and will last for up to 18 to 24 months

Silhouette Soft’ lift and effect is enhanced by co treatment with Dermal Fillers.

At Our clinic in Delhi, India cost of Silhouette Soft Treatment varies with the number of threads used.

So if you are looking for a safe, effective and economical Silhouette Soft treatment in Delhi, India – feel free to book an appointment with our trained and experienced doctors at

DermaWorld Skin and Hair Clinics,

Q-4, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi -110027,INDIA

Contact Numbers: 9911100050, 9911200050, 9910700050, 011-45670001

Output: The hour-long Silhouette Soft treatment uses an absorbable cone thread to countour the face, jaw, cheeks and eyebrows. The treatment requires no sutures or incisions, and is completed with a fine needle under the skin. The effects last between 18 to 24 months, and can be seen immediately. Recommended for those over the age of 30, the treatment can be completed by trained doctors at DermaWorld.


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US firm Turo plugs Airbnb model for car rentals
 RelayRides changed its name to Turo in 2015. Today it claims nearly 150,000 cars on its platform, which includes many vehicles at airports, though it declined to describe how active those owners are. Getaround would not disclose exact numbers, except to say that there are thousands of cars in its major urban markets. It counts owners who have made their cars available in the past month.

That’s not nothing, but putting your car in a rental pool is clearly far from a reflex for the vast majority of people. Some of this is practical, since if you commute each day, it may not be easy for a renter to get to your car when you’re at the office. On the weekends, most people want flexibility for leisure, errands and family rides. Also, while homeowners have been taking in boarders for centuries, the possibility of effectively turning your vehicle into a Zipcar wouldn’t have occurred to most people until the first Zipcar appeared in 2000.

A search of the internet and court filings suggests some other potential problems. In the comments on a first-person blog post on Travel Codex about car theft and Turo, I found Ryan Root. He put a Jaguar on the Turo platform last year, and told me in an interview that it was damaged three times (and totaled once) during 29 rentals in Bayonne, N.J.

Because of “limited availability,” said a Turo spokesman, Steve Webb, no one was available to talk to me on the phone. He said via email that less than 1 percent of Turo rentals result in damage.

One of Turo’s own insurance partners filed suit in federal court last year over another death. In that instance, a Turo vehicle struck another car and killed its driver in Smyrna, Ga. Brian Lewis, a lawyer representing a passenger in the Turo vehicle, said that the Turo renter was not the person actually behind the wheel, and that the suit would resolve the question of whether Turo’s insurance ought to cover that situation. (The lawyers for the insurance company did not respond to a request for comment.)

In an email, Mr. Webb said that the Turo vehicle in the Smyrna accident had been stolen, that the insurance company does not believe it owes coverage to a criminal, and that the coverage would indeed protect the car owner. He declined to provide overall theft figures, though he did say that it was “extraordinarily rare.”

Output: San Francisco-based Turo is aiming to do for cars what Airbnb and the sharing economy did for people offering their homes or rooms to travellers. Previously called RelayRides, the car-hire company changed its name in 2015 and now has 150,000 cars on its platform, ranging from luxury to economy, which can be rented for extended periods. However, over the past few years Turo has encountered various legal issues, notably around insurances and deaths that occurred in cars rented through its platform, resulting in New York state authorities effectively evicting the company.


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US firm Turo plugs Airbnb model for car rentals
 UBER and Lyft may be the heavyweights, but there are many and more companies entering the ride-sharing economy. You can score a seat in a car heading your direction pretty easily these days. But what about the entire vehicle? UBER and the like have absolutely disrupted (read: exploded) the taxi industry, but now a relatively new company is looking to disrupt the car rental industry. Enter: Turo.

Turo is a peer-to-peer car rental service headquartered in San Francisco, though the company was founded in Boston. Turo is most easily described as ‘Airbnb for cars’. They’ve developed a platform for car owners to list their unused vehicles to be rented for extended periods of time. Though the company (originally known as RelayRides) formerly focused on short-term, hourly rentals, they have since pivoted to longer term rentals.

So Turo has found a way, like many of the best startups of the last 10 years, for users to both make AND save money. If you’ve got a car sitting around that you or your family isn’t using, you can list it on Turo and it can start generating some income. If you are looking to rent a car for a few days, Turo is going to be far, far cheaper than renting from a brick-and-mortar car rental company. This dualist value proposition has led to Turo being listed as one of the hottest on demand startups by Forbes in 2015.

Another advantage that Turo has over traditional car rental services is the types of vehicles that you can rent. Turo’s ‘inventory’ is determined by what people are listing, so you will find cars that you’d never be able to get at a Rent-A-Car. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar: all of these luxury brands can be found and rented via Turo. If you are looking for a high-end sports car, Turo’s got you covered. If you need something with four-wheel-drive for some backcountry adventures, Turo can provide. If you need something sleek to impress a date, look no further.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty (if not more) economy options. You can find gas-sipping hybrids, compacts, and regular sedans. Cars on this end can often be rented for less than $20 a day! With the addition of the affordable insurance Turo provides and the gas you’ll use, you’re still saving tremendously compared to traditional car rental places.

Another interesting thing about Turo is that, just like Airbnb, you are interfacing directly with another person. That’s certainly one of the major selling points in marketing campaigns of these companies (see the attached video), but does that really factor into the experience? Is a guest at an Airbnb more inclined to be respectful of the space because they’ve met the owner of it? Similarly, is a Turo renter going to be a more cautious and responsible driver having met the person who owns the vehicle? And if so, is it the fear of facing that owner after the fact that encourages courteous usage? I’m not aware of any market research on the matter, but common logic would suggest that attaching a face to the transaction can bring out the best of us.

In any case, next time you’re planning a road trip, check out Turo!

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Output: San Francisco-based Turo is aiming to do for cars what Airbnb and the sharing economy did for people offering their homes or rooms to travellers. Previously called RelayRides, the car-hire company changed its name in 2015 and now has 150,000 cars on its platform, ranging from luxury to economy, which can be rented for extended periods. However, over the past few years Turo has encountered various legal issues, notably around insurances and deaths that occurred in cars rented through its platform, resulting in New York state authorities effectively evicting the company.


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Digital payments lose momentum in India after demonetisation boom
 Though the govt's move to take out 86% of the cash on November 8, 2016 gave an instant surge to digital payments in the months of November and December, the momentum has waned and the volume and value of digital transactions have stagnated, financial services firm Motilal Oswal observed in its recent report.The co observed that the aggregate value of all transactions under electronic payment systems failed to witness significant increase even six months post demonetisation , while cash withdrawals from ATMs have moved back to pre-demonetisation levels.“All these data points raise doubts over the desired structural shift towards digital payments post demonetisation,“ Motilal Oswal said in its report Ecosope  The Economy Observer.The report cites RBI data to show that the value of transactions in retail payments, including through card swiping at PoS terminals, wallets and other prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), IMPS and the unified payment interface (UPI) increased sharply in December 2016, but has now stabilised, though at higher levels. The volume of these retail digital transactions also doubled by December 2016, but there were no new net additions since then.

Output: The number of digital payments made in India, which removed 86% of its cash from circulation in November last year, has slowed in recent months, according to a report from financial services firm Motilal Oswal. The company found that withdrawals from cash machines have returned to their pre-demonetisation levels, while retail payments using cards or mobile devices surged in December 2016, but have now stabilised. "All these data points raise doubts over the desired structural shift towards digital payments post demonetisation," the report concluded.


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Labour shortages drive robot uptake in Chinese factories
 Survey finds one in four workers in the Pearl River Delta changed jobs over two years – and factories have turned to automation to cope

Output: The rising costs of human labour, and a 26% turnover rate among factory workers, has led 40% of manufacturers in Guangdong and Hubei to use automated machines for production, according to a survey from China's Wuhan University. However, investment in research and development has fallen from 60% in 2014 to 38% in 2015. Chinese factory owners are also seeking subsidies and tax benefits from the state, the survey said. Government support through tax exemptions, refunds and other means, has become critical to many Chinese factories' survival as costs rise and demand slows.


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Ford to relocate small car production from US to China
 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will export vehicles from China to the U.S. for the first time starting in 2019.

Ford (F) said Tuesday it plans to move production of its Ford Focus small car from the U.S. to China, where it already makes the Focus for Chinese buyers.

Sales of small cars have dropped sharply in the U.S. and companies are seeking to cut costs making them. Ford's president of global operations Joe Hinrichs said the move to China will save the company $1 billion, including $500 million for canceling plans to build the Focus in Mexico.

Wary of the response from President Donald Trump, who has criticized Ford for making vehicles outside the U.S., Ford said the move won't cost U.S. jobs. The suburban Detroit plant that currently makes the Focus will be converted late next year to produce the Ford Ranger pickup and Ford Bronco SUV.

Hinrichs said Ford's research shows that customers — who are used to phones and other gadgets from China — care more about product quality than where their vehicles are made.

Ford also said Tuesday that it plans to invest $900 million in its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville to make the new, aluminum-sided Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. Those vehicles will go on sale this fall and will be exported to more than 55 markets globally, the company said. The investment will secure 1,000 jobs at the Kentucky plant.

The Focus has been bounced around over the last few months as Ford tried to squeeze some profits from the ailing small car segment. U.S. Focus sales were down 20 percent through May, hurt by low gas prices and consumer preference for SUVs.

In January, the company announced it would cancel a new plant in Mexico and instead use capacity at another plant in Mexico to build the Focus. But over the last few months, Hinrichs said, Ford decided it could save another $500 million in tooling and other manufacturing costs if it moved production to China.

Hinrichs said last month's departure of former CEO Mark Fields had no bearing on the decision, which was in the works for some time.

Hinrichs said Chinese wages are lower than wages in Mexico, although the cost to ship the vehicles erases some of that advantage. It's still cheaper to make cars for the U.S. in Mexico, he said, but Ford has extra capacity in China and the move frees up capital for the company immediately.

Ford isn't the first car company to export vehicles to the U.S. from China. Volvo Cars made the move in 2015. General Motors Co. started importing the low-volume Buick Envision midsize SUV from China in 2016. GM also imports small numbers of a plug-in hybrid-electric Cadillac CT6 sedans from China.

Output: Automaker Ford has announced plans to import more of its vehicles to the US from China. Beginning in 2019 Ford Focus production for then US market will be shifted to China, where the automaker already manufactures the model for the Chinese market. The decision was prompted by the drop in small car sales in the US and a desire to reduce the costs of producing the vehicles. The move will save the company $1bn, according to Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of global operations. Ford says the change will not result in job losses as the factory where the Focus is currently made will be reconfigured for the manufacture of Ford Ranger pickups and Ford Bronco SUVs in 2018.


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Rubius raises $120m for its red blood cell therapy project
 On Wednesday, day three of the 2017 BIO International Convention, Flagship Pioneering is poised to make a splash.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based venture capital firm has announced a mega $120 million Series B for Rubius Therapeutics, a startup founded out of its innovation VentureLabs hub.

In line with Flagship’s model for innovation, Rubius is working on a novel technology with a plethora of possible applications.

It all centers around the company’s Rubius Erythrocyte Design (RED) platform, which reengineers red blood cells into purpose-built therapeutic machines. The idea is appealing on a number of fronts, not least because red blood cells are naturally allogeneic — they don’t trigger an immune response. Any subsequent products could theoretically be used off-the-shelf.

In a phone interview, Torben Straight Nissen, president of Rubius and a Flagship venture partner, noted that two major innovations have made the somewhat intuitive approach possible.

The first is the company’s ability to engineer red blood cells. If you took biology 101, you’ll recall that they don’t have a cell nucleus. There’s no one in the cockpit to give your orders to. To create a malleable cell, Rubius makes its intervention earlier on in the maturation process before the nucleus is expelled. That allows the team to engineer proteins within the cell or on the cell surface — even multiple different proteins if required.

The end product can interact with many different cells, for many different therapeutic applications.

“We can express enzymes within RED cells, whereby they are shielded from the immune system and also they will be circulating with the RED cell for up to 120 days,” Straight Nissen explained.

Enzyme replacement therapies are just the beginning. The RED cell therapeutics (RCTs) could be used to activate T-cells as part of a cancer immunotherapy approach. Or they could be programmed to bind tumor cells and trigger apoptosis directly. As Straight Nissen noted, solid tumors typically have well-established and leaky vascular systems, which makes RCTs the perfect therapeutic solution. For blood cancers, a blood-based approach is a no-brainer.

In other fields, Rubius has performed some preliminary work gauging RCT’s potential in autoimmune, metabolic, rare, and infectious diseases.

The second technological leap Rubius has made relates to the final product. It also goes a long way to explaining the investor enthusiasm.

“What we’ve then been able to show reasonably, is that we can manufacture these engineered RED cells in bioreactors,” Straight Nissen said. “That now allows us to produce large quantities of cells and move into the clinic with a scalable manufacturing process.”

To further guarantee compatibility with all patients, Rubius is manufacturing its product using precursor cells from universal O-negative donors. Each patient will also undergo additional cross-matching prior to their first dose.

“One thing that makes us excited about this platform and working with RED cells is that there are decades, if not hundreds of years, of experience with blood transfusions and we’re really leveraging that whole infrastructure that already exists in the medical community to deliver our product,” he said.

At $120 million, the biotech’s financing was one of the largest recorded thus far in 2017 and “highly oversubscribed.” Straight Nissen said the company garnered a lot of interest from institutional investors and could have raised “significantly” more than the final sum. As it stands, he believes Rubius is well-positioned to execute on its strategy for the next three years, to the end of the first clinical readouts.

It’s a pat on the back for Flagship, which made an initial $25 million downpayment to launch the company in 2015.

Photo: virusowy, Getty Images

Output: Massachusetts-based biotech start-up Rubius Therapeutics has raised $120m in a series B round led by parent company Flagship Pioneering; marking one of the highest sums raised in 2017. Considerable interest surrounds the company's Rubius Erythrocyte Design platform, which manufactures significant amounts of red blood cells and re-engineers them at an early stage for different therapeutic purposes, from activating T-cells as part of a cancer immunotherapy to binding with tumour cells and triggering apoptosis - the natural death of cells that occurs during growth.


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Government must enforce gig economy workers' rights: Law Society
 Government-backed inspectors should be able to investigate companies and entire industries to prevent unscrupulous companies falsely labelling workers as self-employed, according to a leading legal body.

In a submission to the independent review of employment practices led by Matthew Taylor, the Law Society also recommends the immediate scrapping of employment tribunal fees, which have led to a 70% fall in claims in the last three years. It also says every worker should receive written clarification of their employment status.

It suggests that the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, which already has some investigatory powers over food and farming operators, could be handed responsibility to carry out investigations into employment status in all businesses.

The Taylor review, which was commissioned by the government last year, is expected to publish recommendations in the next few weeks.

“Our rights at work are not optional – they are the minimum standard to which we are entitled,” said the Law Society president, Robert Bourns. “Our law relies on individuals taking their employer to court to get their rights recognised – a task that is simply beyond most people. Bad employers know this and take advantage of it to cut corners and underpay people, knowing they’ll probably get away with it.

“An independent government inspector who can go into a business to ensure staff are being given their proper workplace rights will help put a stop to this exploitation, and put everyone on a fair and even playing field.”

The rise of platforms including Uber, Deliveroo and online retailers, most of which say their drivers and riders are independent contractors, has led to growing concern that millions are stuck in insecure and stressful work in the gig economy.

Self-employed independent contractors are not entitled to holiday pay, sick pay or pension contributions. In contrast those categorised as workers have a degree of independence and can be self-employed but they are also entitled to limited rights including the national minimum wage and holiday pay. The most secure are employees, who have full rights including entitlements to flexible working, maternity pay and sick pay.

The importance of these categories has been highlighted by a string of tribunals led by trade unions questioning the status of drivers and riders including successful cases brought by cycle couriers at CitySprint and Excel and drivers for taxi app Uber. All three cases found the riders and drivers were workers.

Evidence suggests a significant minority of employers are circumventing employment protection legislation. Research from Citizens Advice in 2015 suggested that one in 10 people, or about 460,000, have been mislabelled self-employed. In January, the TUC reported that the number of people without guaranteed hours or baseline employment rights had risen by more than 660,000 (27%) over the past five years.

The Law Society suggests a comprehensive review of employment legislation and clearer definitions of employment categories. It says all businesses should be forced to clarify the status of their workers in writing.

Taylor has said he is considering allowing workers to check directly with the government whether attempts by companies to class them as self-employed are legitimate. He is also considering whether to give agency workers on variable hours the right to request a permanent contract after a certain period.

Output: Companies and industries falsely designating workers as self-employed should be subject to investigation by government inspectors, according to the Law Society. The representative body for solicitors in England and Wales submitted its recommendation, along with proposals for written clarification of each worker’s employment status and the scrapping of employment tribunal fees, to Matthew Taylor’s independent review of employment practices. The Law Society also suggested that the existing Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, which investigates food and farming companies, could inspect employment status in all sectors.


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Government must enforce gig economy workers' rights: Law Society
 Illegal Migration Bill – 86% of Britons say its important that their MP votes to uphold the rule of law

Around 9 in 10 Brits (86%) say that it is important to them that their local Member of Parliament (MP) votes to uphold the rule...

26 Apr 2023

Output: Companies and industries falsely designating workers as self-employed should be subject to investigation by government inspectors, according to the Law Society. The representative body for solicitors in England and Wales submitted its recommendation, along with proposals for written clarification of each worker’s employment status and the scrapping of employment tribunal fees, to Matthew Taylor’s independent review of employment practices. The Law Society also suggested that the existing Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, which investigates food and farming companies, could inspect employment status in all sectors.


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Hanson Robotics' Sophia android freaks out Piers Morgan
 Piers Morgan veered between chuckling and looking freaked out as he interview robot Sophia and her creator Dr David Hanson on GMB

"This is freaking me out!" Piers Morgan unsettled by eerily life like female robot on Good Morning Britain

Piers Morgan appeared both totally freaked out and utterly intrigued by a life like female robot who joined him on the Good Morning Britain sofa.

The television presenter and journalist was tasked with interviewing Sophia and her creator, Dr David Hanson, who devised Sophia to talk, smile and even tell jokes using artificial intelligence.

And Piers made it clear from the start it was slightly unsettling!

"This is freaking me out, this is the nearest thing to a human I've ever seen in robot form," he said.

"You're a little freak, aren't you?" he told Sophia.

"This is great!"

Image: ITV) ITV) Image: ITV) ITV) Image: ITV) ITV)

Piers and co-host Susanna Reid interviewed Sophia, who had been pre programmed with certain answers to their questions which included whether she knew what show she was on (she did) and what she thinks of the UK ("brilliant, splendid architecture, art, technology and, of course, the people.")

Things got a bit flirty when Piers asked the best thing about the UK compared to America and Sophia replied: "I love your posh English accent, it has a really nice ring."

As for whether she's single, she said: "I'm technically just a little more than a year old. A bit young to worry about romance."

Piers replied: "Look at her smile! Oh God, this is freaking me out!"

Image: ITV) ITV)

Piers then asked Sophia how she'd handle a strong, confident man who likes the sound of his own voice, to which she said: "I would ask him to focus on observing and listening rather than talking."

"Sounds like terrible advice to me!" quipped Piers.

He wasn't the only one who wasn't sure what to make of Sophia.

Others were in awe of Sophia and her creator.

Explaining his work, Dr Hanson said: "We’re working to make relationship machines that can understand us and then ultimately care about us.”

On whether these relationships could be romantic, Dr Hanson said: “While AI [artificial intelligence] is getting smarter, it’s going through a childhood and we want to respect that so maybe someday they’ll reach an age of consent but not yet.”

* GMB airs weekdays at 6am on ITV1

Output: Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has admitted feeling "freaked out" by a human-like female robot called Sophia, which appeared on the talk show. Morgan and co-host Susanna Reid interviewed the robot and her creator, Dr David Hanson, who built Sophia using artificial intelligence. Asked by Morgan whether she was single, Sophia responded: "I'm technically just a little more than a year old. A bit young to worry about romance."


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Stanford team develops copper catalyst to make ethanol from CO2
 “One of our long-range goals is to produce renewable ethanol in a way that doesn’t impact the global food supply. Copper is one of the few catalysts that can produce ethanol at room temperature,” he said. “You just feed it electricity, water and carbon dioxide, and it makes ethanol. The problem is that it also makes 15 other compounds simultaneously, including lower-value products like methane and carbon monoxide. Separating those products would be an expensive process and require a lot of energy,” said study principal investigator Thomas Jaramillo, an associate professor of chemical engineering at Stanford and of photon science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Researchers at Standford University have designed large-format, thin-film copper catalysts for the electroreduction of CO 2 to ethanol. The results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The electrochemical reduction of CO 2 (CO 2 R) is a process that could couple to renewable energy from wind and solar to directly produce fuels and chemicals in a sustainable manner. However, developing catalysts is a major challenge for this reaction, and significant advances are needed to overcome the issues of poor energy efficiency and product selectivity. One reason for these issues is that there are a limited number of catalysts that can effectively convert CO 2 to products that require more than two electrons (>2e− products), e.g., methane, methanol, ethylene, etc.. Therefore, developing catalysts that are effective for CO 2 R to >2e− products would greatly improve prospects for utilization, and such an endeavor requires a deeper understanding of the relevant surface chemistry.

Out of the polycrystalline metals, Cu is the only one that has shown a propensity for CO 2 R to >2e− products at considerable rates and selectivity. To date, its uniqueness is reflected by how nearly all work on catalysts with improved activity and selectivity for >2e− products is based on Cu. However, poly-crystalline Cu is not particularly selective toward any one >2e− reduction product. Thus, it is critical to understand what active site motifs lead to this unique selectivity for further reduced products and to apply this knowledge to develop new materials with this electrocatalytic behavior.

… In this study, we use electron-beam (e-beam) deposition to epitaxially grow large-format single-crystal analogous Cu thin films on Si and Al 2 O 3 single crystals. After growth, a combination of X-ray pole figures and electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy are used to correlate the bulk and in situ surface structures. After physical characterization, we use our previously reported electrochemical flow cell design with high product detection sensitivity to examine the dependence of CO 2 R activity and selectivity on surface structure. Using these results, we confirm the dependence of C–C coupling on surface structure, and provide insights on surface motifs that govern selectivity between >2e− oxygenates and hydrocarbons. —Hahn et al.

For the PNAS study, the Stanford team chose three samples of crystalline copper, known as copper (100), copper (111) and copper (751). Scientists use these numbers to describe the surface geometries of single crystals.

Copper (100), (111) and (751) look virtually identical but have major differences in the way their atoms are arranged on the surface. The essence of our work is to understand how these different facets of copper affect electrocatalytic performance. —Christopher Hahn, co-lead lead author of the study

In previous studies, scientists had created single-crystal copper electrodes just 1-square millimeter in size. For this study, Hahn and his co-workers at SLAC developed a novel way to grow single crystal-like copper on top of large wafers of silicon and sapphire. This approach resulted in films of each form of copper with a 6-square centimeter surface, 600 times bigger than typical single crystals.

To compare electrocatalytic performance, the researchers placed the three large electrodes in water, exposed them to carbon dioxide gas and applied a potential to generate an electric current.

The results were clear. When the team applied a specific voltage, the electrodes made of copper (751) were far more selective to liquid products, such as ethanol and propanol, than those made of copper (100) or (111); Cu(751) had the highest oxygenate/hydro-carbon ratio of the three Cu orientations.

Ultimately, the Stanford team would like to develop a technology capable of selectively producing carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals at an industrial scale.

The eye on the prize is to create better catalysts that have game-changing potential by taking carbon dioxide as a feedstock and converting it into much more valuable products using renewable electricity or sunlight directly,” Jaramillo said. “We plan to use this method on nickel and other metals to further understand the chemistry at the surface. We think this study is an important piece of the puzzle and will open up whole new avenues of research for the community. —Tom Jaramillo

Funding was provided by the US Department of Energy and the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project.

Resources

Output: A copper catalyst for the electroreduction of CO2 to ethanol has been developed by Stanford University researchers. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is a process that could be coupled with renewable energy from wind and solar power to produce fuels and chemicals in a sustainable manner, said a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. By developing a thin-film copper catalyst, scientists hope to have greatly improved the prospects for CO2's successful conversion into ethanol.


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Cowarobot introduces autonomous baby stroller
 Freeing up your hands to enjoy an organic soy latte and gluten-free banana bread, Chinese company Cowarobot's autonomous stroller follows you around the factory outlets with your precious cargo in tow.

Unveiled at the CES Asia technology show in Shanghai earlier this month, the motorised smart baby stroller follows you at arm's length, using built-in cameras to track your every move and hopefully avoid bumping into things and waking the baby.

Should the smart stroller lose sight of you, it homes in on your wrist bracelet to ensure you don't accidentally leave bub behind. You can also double-tap on the bracelet to call the stroller to your side.

The control bracelet has a 30-metre range, should the stroller decide to stroll away, but as a fail-safe the stroller also has built-in GPS. So there's no need to panic, as you can always pull out your smartphone to check on your baby's adventures while you grab another latte and peruse your baby's Instagram account to see if it's spotted any bargains in the vintage clothing store.

Output: Shanghai-based robotics company Cowarobot has unveiled a robot baby stroller at the CES Asia technology Show. The smart buggy has built-in cameras and a smart bracelet to track the owner's position, ensuring they do not leave the buggy behind. A user can also double-tap the bracelet to call the buggy to his or her side from up to 30 metres away. The stroller has a maximum speed of 7km/h and a built-in rechargeable battery which gives a 2km range.


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Belarus targets Chinese market for beef and dairy export
 Belarus Looking to Export Broiler, Beef and Dairy to China BELARUS - Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats said that broiler farms in Belarus plan to pass certification to supply products to the Chinese market.

20 June 2017 20 June 2017 1 minute read 1 minute read Europe

The minister told reporters at the international agricultural expo Belagro 2017 that the Chinese market is one of the most promising for the supply of Belarusian agricultural products.

Mr Zayats said that Belarus had strengthened its supplies to China.

The official informed that on 16 June, experts from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China conducted inspections in Belarus for the accreditation of local meat processing enterprises.

The minister noted that in July, an agreement is to be signed that gives the right to Belarusian companies to supply beef to the Chinese market.

He also recalled that 34 dairy enterprises are already certified to supply milk to the Chinese market.

Belarus actively diversifies the supply of its agricultural products, Zayats concluded.

TheCattleSite News Desk

Output: Belarusian broiler farms are preparing to pass certification in order to export goods to China, according to Belarus' Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats. In an agreement set to be signed in July, Belarusian companies will be permitted to supply beef to the Chinese market, alongside milk exports from 34 already-certified dairies.


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Indian committee close to defining cryptocurrencies' legal status
 Shreya Nandi Moneycontrol News The government will soon take a call on whether India should regulate virtual currencies such as bitcoins—a cryptocurrency used as a digital mode of payment. A committee comprising officials from finance ministry, NITI Aayog, ministry of information technology, State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is giving final touches to a report on the way forward for virtual currencies in India and whether or not to legalise or regulate them. The panel is also examining the existing international framework on virtual currencies and will suggest measures on consumer protection and prevent money laundering. "We have had five meetings and have consulted all ministries, public, stakeholders (exchanges such as Zebpay and Unocoin). We will submit the report by July-end," a senior government official told Moneycontrol. The crucial task for the committee is to fix the accountability for the transactions carried out through virtual currencies and a body needs to regulate them, the official explained. “SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) can be asked to regulate virtual currencies as transactions are currently done through unregulated exchanges. RBI may step in if the government plans to regulate them or accept them as currency,” the official said. Currently, India does not have any monitoring mechanism for virtual currencies. Most countries are yet to determine the legality of bitcoin--the most commonly used virtual currency. Countries like the US, European Union, Australia have indirectly given nod to the legal usage of bitcoins by introducing regulatory mechanism, while Russia and Iceland have banned them. The government panel is said to be exploring the possibility of various options. One of them being hiring an agency that would monitor the trading guidelines and finalise the laws governing virtual currencies. "We may monitor these currencies for some time and then see how it progresses. It can then be concluded if at all there is a need for a regulator,” the official said. However, chances of legalising currencies like bitcoins are very bleak, the official said. On the other hand, banning bitcoins is not easy. Simply because one doesn't know who is trading or operating it, he explained. A comprehensive framework for regulating such currency transactions is likely to take long time as the legal structure doesn't exist to deal with them. Time and again, the RBI has warned traders of the perils of using virtual currencies. In 2013, the apex bank had cautioned the users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including bitcoins, about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to. Such currencies are stored in electronic wallets and are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, compromise of access credentials, and malware attack, RBI had said. “...VCs, including Bitcoins, are being used for illicit and illegal activities in several jurisdictions. The absence of information of counterparties in such peer-to-peer anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws,” it had then warned. The government also echoed similar views recently. “RBI has cautioned the users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies(VCs), including Bitcoins about the potential financial, operational, legal customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to. The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment have not been authorised by the RBI,” Arjun Ram Meghwal, minister of state for finance, had told Lok Sabha in a written reply in February this year.

Output: The Indian government will soon decide how to regulate transactions carried out with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, a senior government official has said. A committee made up of officials from India's finance ministry, the National Institution for Transforming India, the ministry of information technology, the State Bank of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reviewing India's policy on cryptocurrencies and will suggest measures on consumer protection and to prevent money laundering. If the government plans to accept bitcoin as a currency, the RBI may be asked to regulate transactions, the official said.


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Flexible batteries show potential for wearables
 In recent years, electronic devices have migrated into all sorts of strange areas — smart underwear, for instance, that can measure your heart rate, calorie consumption, and posture. As such, batteries are changing too. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a new kind of stretchy battery specifically designed for wearable devices and clothing that require more flexibility than old-school electronics. In fact, the engineering team has come up with two new stretchy battery designs that can expand, contract, and bend while preserving the cost-efficiency and safety of traditional batteries. Originally developed by Alla Zamarayeva, a Ph.D candidate at the university, the batteries use helical springs in a stretchable S-shape or flexible linear wire that can be incorporated into clothing, bracelets, and other wearable objects. The batteries can also be used for certain medical devices. “We developed stretchable batteries to power stretchable wearable electronics, including devices for health monitoring and sensing,” Zamarayeva said. “Having electronics in a stretchable format provides comfort to the wearer and often improves signal to noise ratio of the sensors, if the electronics is worn directly on the skin.”

The flexible silver-zinc batteries — a common type of high-performance battery used in electronics — can withstand repeated bending without loss of structural integrity or performance. The researchers used a custom-built flexing apparatus to approximate repeated use: 17,000 flex cycles at 0.5-centimeter radius, if you're keeping score at home. “The market for flexible and stretchable batteries is still in its infancy, but there are no products with similar mechanical properties, as we know of,” Zamarayeva said. RELATED: MIT Has Designed a Workout Suit Covered With Living Cells to Keep You Cool The flexible batteries can be plugged in and charged up like other rechargeable units, but the Berkeley team is looking farther ahead by incorporating solar power too. Fellow researcher Aminy Ostfeld specializes in the intersection of solar cells and batteries, and said that such options will be critical for real-world applications. “For the applications we're targeting in wearables and the internet of things, it would be highly impractical to plug the batteries into the wall whenever they need charging,” she said. “Although there have been many efforts to develop high-performing batteries and high-performing solar cells, relatively few of them have focused on designing batteries and solar cells that perform well together, integrated into a single system for a given application.”

Output: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed two stretchy batteries for use in wearable devices and clothing, according to an article published in the journal Science Advances. The batteries were created using helical springs in a stretchable S-shape or flexible linear wire, and are ideal for wearables requiring close skin contact. The team is already looking to add solar capacity to its offering and is building a flexible prototype wearable with a battery that stores solar energy, which in turn powers medical sensors.


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EU ineffective against Asian traffickers: Court of Auditors
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Output: The European Union has been targeted by human traffickers from Asia and must improve its anti-slavery programmes, according to a report from the European Court of Auditors. The research found that imprecise objectives and lack of local commitment meant that the €31m ($35m) spent on projects in South and Southeast Asia from 2009 to 2015 had been ineffective. The Court called for adjustments to be made to initiatives to make them more responsive to local needs. Nearly 46 million people worldwide are victims of slavery and trafficking according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index.


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Coming up: Tesla to unveil affordable Model 3 in July
 Tesla's big selling point for the Model 3 is its affordability, with a starting price of $35,000 before tax incentives. But for customers who want the full Tesla experience, however, the final price will most likely surpass $40,000.

A Tesla Model 3 sedan, its first car aimed at the mass market, is displayed during its launch in Hawthorne, California, March 31, 2016. REUTERS/Joe White/File Photo

It's unclear whether customers who buy the Tesla Model 3 will be eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax incentive — that credit applies only to the first 200,000 cars a manufacturer sells domestically.

Tesla globally sold about 80,000 vehicles in 2016 and about 50,000 vehicles in 2015. Factoring cars sold since 2008, Tesla will be cutting it close to 200,000 vehicles by the time deliveries begin at the end of the year.

But the credit doesn't disappear the second an automaker hits 200,000 vehicles. Instead, the credit would first fall by 50%, CNN reported.

On its website, Tesla doesn't make any guarantees about the federal tax incentive.

"We are committed to providing you with the most current information about incentives at the time of purchase. We'll do the same when it's time for confirming your Model 3 order," the website says.

Tesla's new Autopilot system will also cost at least $7,100, but more on that later.

Output: Tesla is set to unveil it's most affordable car, the Model 3, in July. With a starting cost of $35,000 before tax incentives, the vehicle is considered a challenger to the Chevy Bolt, which starts at $37,495. The Model 3 battery is said to have a range of 215 miles on a single charge (against the Bolt's 238 miles) and will come with a supercomputer that can run Tesla's extras including the Enhanced Autopilot system, which Tesla states will eventually enable Level 5 autonomy; a fully driverless system.


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Institutional Shareholder Services purchases climate data firm
 A leading shareholder advisory firm is buying up environmental data and analytics companies, because its says investors are increasingly concerned about the impact climate change will have on their portfolios.

Institutional Shareholder Services said it is buying the investment climate data division of South Pole Group, a Zurich-based environmental advisory firm on Monday.

The division, formerly known as Climate Neutral Investments, provides data and analytics to asset owners and investment managers on the impact of climate change on portfolios.

ISS said the company built the world's largest database of company-level climate change data and pioneered investment carbon screening tools that can screening for climate change implications for more than $2 trillion of assets under management.

"We can come in and work with an investment manager now, and say, we have helped to identify governance risk, now we can actually build a view of the climate footprint of your portfolio and provide insight into where specifically that is coming from," ISS Chief Operating Officer Stephen Harvey told CNBC in an interview.

This would allow a manager to find some way to offset the risks or recalibrate the portfolio, he added.

Though it may be known mostly as a proxy advisory firm, ISS has been aggressively growing two other businesses: one in governance data and analytics, and another in responsible investing, Harvey told CNBC.

This is the third socially and environmentally focused firm ISS has bought — the company bought Scandinavian firm Ethix SRI in 2015, and acquired Maine-based IW Financial in early 2017.

ISS has seen "huge interest" in risks related to climate change, despite "political headwinds in the U.S.," Harvey said.

"We see asset managers who care about things like board diversity and CEO pay alignment, which are more traditional," Harvey said. "But increasingly we see some who care also about the potential impact of climate change, and whether companies are taking a sustainable approach to growing."

The firm is targeting asset owners, such as pension funds, investment managers and alternative investors, such as hedge funds.

The data can also help inform investment managers of environmental issues that might arise at a company's annual general meeting. In some cases, for example, managers may even use a shareholder meeting to raise issues around a company's environmental footprint, Harvey said.

The firm has also seen demand for these kinds of extra-financial data among investment firms trying to evaluate particular risks with a company, or some other information that might be relevant.

For example, the tools could help investors identify or filter out companies that had fallen afoul of a certain global norms.

For its proxy voting advisory business, ISS typically works with institutional investors to determine what they care about when evaluating governance issues, Harvey said.

"We already have a couple of environmental companies, now we have a company that focuses on carbon," he said. "Now we can start to place some of those signals into a custom policy a customer might have, particularly around companies they are concerned about."

Output: Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the major shareholder advisory firm, is buying Climate Neutral Investments, the climate data division of Zurich-based environmental advisory company, South Pole Group. The division provides asset owners and fund managers with data relating to the impact of climate change on investment portfolios. ISS also acquired socially and environmentally focussed firms Ethix SRI and IW Financial in 2015 and 2017 respectively. ISS states that it has experienced “huge interest” in climate change risks and is now targeting asset owners, including pension funds, investment managers and hedge funds.


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Meat labelled ‘raised without antibiotics’ to be sold in UK

A ‘raised without antibiotics’ label has been launched on packs of pig meat in the UK. The first ‘antibiotic-free’ products will be bacon sold in supermarkets including Morrisons and Tesco, as well as at smaller retailers and through online shops.

The antibiotic-free meat comes from the Spoilt Pig / Brydock farms partnership (owned by the Karro group). The higher welfare pigmeat is covered by the RSPCA Assured scheme.

Under the new Brydock system, piglets are farrowed outdoors and brought indoors at weaning age. They are then kept at low stocking densities, on deep-straw bedding and with natural ventilation. On intensive farms, piglets can be weaned as early as 21 days, though the average weaning age in the UK is 26 days, and Brydock Farms’ pigs are weaned at 28 days.

There is no tail docking or teeth clipping on the farms and pigs are treated with antibiotics only when necessary, usually on an individual basis, with any treated pigs being sold separately under a Freedom Food label, but without the antibiotic-free label. In total, 85-90% of pigs raised receive no antibiotics.

Whilst the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics welcomed the launch of the new range, stating that “The initiative shows how major improvements in animal husbandry and welfare can greatly contribute to reducing farm antibiotic use, while still delivering affordable meat,” the National Pig Association (NPA) said the antibiotic-free label “Must not be used as a gimmick just to sell a product.”

NPA’s chief executive Zoe Davies said the label could confuse customers.

Coilin Nunan, Scientific Advisor at the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, commented,“The Spoilt Pig/Brydock partnership provides an excellent example of how higher welfare standards help reduce the need for antibiotics. As the wider pig industry starts to reduce its overuse of antibiotics, let’s hope it is willing to learn from initiatives like this.”

Output: Pig meat labelled as antibiotic-free is to go on sale in the UK. The meat is produced by the Spoilt Pig/Brydock farmers partnership and is covered by the high welfare RSPCA Assured scheme. The first products available will be bacon, which will be sold online, in small retailers and in Morrisons and Tesco. The partnership’s pigs will receive antibiotics only when required and typically on an individual basis. Meat from treated pigs will be sold under the Freedom Food rather than the antibiotic-free label. Overall, it is expected that 85-90% of the partnership’s pigs will not receive antibiotics.


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Tesla offers to share its Supercharger network with other automakers
 Tesla officials have been talking about the possibility of opening up their Supercharger network to other automakers for years, but it never resulted in anything. In the meantime, it remains the undeniable leading electric vehicle fast-charging network in the world – both for coverage and for charge rates – and one of Tesla’s main competitive advantages.

But now Tesla CTO JB Straubel says that they are “actively talking to other car makers” about using the network.

The Tesla executive made the comment during a Q&A at Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s 28th Annual Energy Fair in Wisconsin on Saturday. When talking about Tesla sharing its IP with other automakers, Straubel said:

“For things like Supercharger, we are actively talking to other car makers and we are trying to figure out a structure to work with them.”

Though he also acknowledged that congestion was still a problem on the network.

The last time that the possibility of Tesla sharing the network was brought up was back in September 2015. During a press conference in Germany, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla is in talks with “some [auto] manufacturers” about sharing the network.

Musk said Tesla would still own and operate all of its Supercharger locations and would only ask of other manufacturers to contribute to maintenance and electricity costs based on the usage of their vehicles on the network, but it never happened.

While the Supercharger network has been expanding significantly since Musk made the comment, it remained overcrowded. Therefore, it didn’t make much sense to add even more vehicles on the network by opening it up to other vehicles.

Today, all electric vehicles on the road other than Tesla’s are not capable of taking more than half of the Supercharger’s maximum charge rate, which means the vehicles would have stayed longer at the charging stations and it would have crowded the network even more than it already is. Here’s a line of Tesla vehicles waiting for a spot at a Supercharger in the Bay Area earlier this month:

But Tesla has since announced even further expansions of the network and they have also introduced a new pay-per-use system that could facilitate the introduction of new vehicles from other automakers on the network.

It makes Straubel’s new comment that Tesla is still talking to other car makers about using the network even more interesting.

Tesla has also joined the CCS charging standard association, which means that they plan to take steps to promote the system, which could, in turn, mean broader compatibility at their Superchargers than their current proprietary connector.

Furthermore, if we are to believe several automakers, Tesla will soon not be the only electric automaker with vehicles capable of charging at 100kW+ charge rates. Especially German premium automakers, like Porsche, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz, have all announced new electric vehicles coming in the next 2 years (some as soon as next year) that should be able to accept significant DC fast-charging.

Could one of them end up having access to Tesla’s Supercharger network?

Right now, it sounds like a worrying idea for current Tesla owners, but if the company follows through with its latest expansion plan, which aims to double the number of chargers by the end of the year, it should fix most of the current congestion problems.

But then the Model 3 is set to come on the network in masses by the end of the year. Though it’s important to note that Tesla has already warned that the vehicle will not have free access to the network like almost all Model S and Model X vehicles on the road today. It should result in lower usage per vehicle on the Model 3 fleet than the Model S and Model X fleet.

What do you think? Could Tesla open the Supercharger network to other automakers? Let us know in the comment section below.

Output: Tesla has begun discussions with other automakers about the possibility of sharing its Supercharger network, according to the company's CTO JB Straubel. Tesla's creation of a payment and tracking system for Supercharging, and its commitment to the Charging Interface Initiative – which advances the Combined Charging System universal fast charging standard – could be significant indicators that the company is primed for collaborating with other vehicle manufacturers to improver technology and service for all.


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Tesla offers to share its Supercharger network with other automakers
 Tesla has brought up the idea of opening up its Supercharger network to other automakers several times over the years, but a recent comment by CTO JB Straubel has fueled conjecture that talk may soon evolve into action.

Speaking at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s recent Energy Fair in Wisconsin, Straubel said, “For things like Supercharger, we are actively talking to other car makers and we are trying to figure out a structure to work with them.”

Actually, Elon Musk said something similar back in 2015. However, Electrek points out that there are three reasons to believe that the time is ripe. In the past, Supercharging was free, so allowing drivers or other brands to use the network would have required developing some kind of tracking and payment system. Now Tesla has established a payment structure, and has introduced such a system, which could presumably be easily adapted to accommodate vehicles from other automakers.

Tesla has also joined the Charging Interface Initiative, which promotes the CCS fast charging standard used by other US and European automakers (and now by one Japanese brand), a sign that it’s open to collaborating with other automakers to help improve charging technology for the good of all.

Finally, several automakers are experimenting with higher charging power levels. One argument against opening the Supercharger network to other brands was that none of them could take advantage of Tesla’s higher charging rates (up to 145 kW). However, Porsche recently demonstrated an 800-volt charging system (double the voltage of the current CCS standard), and Audi and Mercedes have each announced upcoming EVs that will be able to handle higher DC charging rates. As the technology develops, more cooperation will surely benefit everyone – especially EV drivers.

Source: Electrek

Output: Tesla has begun discussions with other automakers about the possibility of sharing its Supercharger network, according to the company's CTO JB Straubel. Tesla's creation of a payment and tracking system for Supercharging, and its commitment to the Charging Interface Initiative – which advances the Combined Charging System universal fast charging standard – could be significant indicators that the company is primed for collaborating with other vehicle manufacturers to improver technology and service for all.