
AI will soon eclipse traditional weather forecasting, says expert
The weather app on your phone could be largely powered by artificial intelligence rather than traditional forecasting methods within just two years, an expert has claimed.
Paris Perdikaris, of the University of Pennsylvania, has created an AI model that appears to predict global weather patterns more accurately than today's best supercomputer-based forecasts.
The Aurora model, developed by Microsoft, worked particularly well at forecasting extreme events such as Storm Ciarán two years ago.
• 'It will probably lead to the end of the world' — what tech bros really think about AI
'If traditional weather models miss the mark by 100 miles for a hurricane's path in five days, Aurora might miss by only 75-80 miles. It also better captures wind speeds in severe storms —
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The Sun
19 minutes ago
- The Sun
Sleep problem that affects 10million people in UK could trigger world's deadliest cancer, first-of-its-kind study warns
HEAVY snorers could be at risk of the world's deadliest cancer, a shock new study has revealed. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has previously been linked to an increased risk of certain cancers. 1 Now, in a world-first trial, a "significant" link has been found between the condition and lung cancer. US researchers, who assessed the health records of more than 2.4 million adults, say they're not exactly sure why it raises the risk. But they believe it could be due to a lack of oxygen people with the condition get during the night - or lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. Scientists present urged policymakers to consider screening those with OSA for the cancer, and to tackle the condition early, soon after diagnosis. Globally, an estimated 936 million adults aged 30-69 years are affected by OSA. The condition occurs when the muscles in the throat relax too much during sleep, causing the airway to narrow or close, interrupting breathing. This can happen due to several factors, including obesity, a large neck or collar size, structural abnormalities like a small lower jaw or a large tongue, and other medical conditions. Common symptoms include breathing stopping and starting, making gasping, snorting or choking noises, waking up a lot, and loud snoring, says the NHS. According to the Sleep Apnoea Trust, as many as 10 million people in the UK suffer from OSA – with up to four million of these suffering either severely or moderately - although it's considered to be underdiagnosed. I'm a doctor and these 5 changes could be a sign of deadly lung cancer It's important to note while snoring is a common symptom of OSA, it's not a guaranteed sign. In the study, researchers at Marshall University in West Virginia tracked lung cancer diagnoses and separated those diagnosed with OSA and those without. After accounting for different influential factors, such as age, people with OSA were found to be 1.21 times more likely to develop lung cancer compared to those without the sleep disorder. Dr Jowan Al-Nusair, study co-author and physician at Marshall University told MailOnline it was "one of the first statistically significant studies" to prove a link between the condition and lung cancer. She added: "While further studies are definitely now needed to investigate just how the significant the link truly is, this suggests OSA may be a preventable risk factor for lung cancer. "We should be more closely monitoring patients with OSA. Patients would definitely benefit from screening and early intervention to combat OSA. "Additional studies are essential to understand exactly why OSA may increase this risk. "We really hope this will pave the way for future research and testing." Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. In the UK, around 35,000 people die from lung cancer each year. The primary cause of lung cancer is tobacco smoke, accounting for the vast majority of cases. But lung cancer cases are now rising among young people who have never smoked, with some experts attributing this to factors like air pollution. Do you have obstructive sleep apnoea? Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops and starts while you sleep. The most common type is called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Sleep apnoea needs to be treated because it can lead to more serious problems. Symptoms mainly happen while you're asleep, they include: breathing stopping and starting making gasping, snorting or choking noises waking up a lot loud snoring During the day, you may also: feel very tired find it hard to concentrate have mood swings have a headache when you wake up It can be hard to tell if you have sleep apnoea. It may help to ask someone to stay with you while you sleep so they can check for the symptoms. If a GP thinks you might have sleep apnoea, they may refer you to a specialist sleep clinic for tests. Source: NHS


The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Truth is revealed — How Trump posts to his social site a whopping 17 times a day as he governs by social media
Nearly a decade after his twitchy Twitter fingers helped him shock the world by defeating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump 's social media habit is playing an even larger role in his messaging and governing during the opening months of his second term. Since returning to the White House on Jan. 20, Trump has taken to the social media site he owns, Truth Social, for a total of 2,145 original posts, which he has used to announce hirings and firings, launch an unprovoked trade war with China (and most of the world), roll out policy changes and threaten friend and foe alike, often with the curt sign-off: 'Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Over his first 100 days, The Independent found he had posted to his site more than 1,600 times, or at least 15 times a day on average through the end of April with the most frequent subject being illegal immigration. A Washington Post review of his Truth Social output that includes his 'retruths' — reposts of content posted by another user on the platform — brings his total to 2,262 posts and reposts starting from the day he was sworn in until this past Sunday. That's more than three times the number of posts to his former favorite platform, Twitter (now known as X), during the same time period in his first term, for an average of 17 posts to his Truth Social account on any given day. Some of his posts are mundane announcements that any of a wide range of Republicans running for offices at every level have received his 'complete and total endorsement' in whatever race they are running. Others, like those marking holidays, have become a genre of their own in which he marks the holiday but then launches into a screed against various enemies, real or perceived. He most recently added to the ranks of this set of posts last week on Memorial Day with a 172-word, all caps rant: 'Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 million people to illegally enter our country, many of them being criminals and the mentally insane.' But it's the reposts that often raise eyebrows as Trump shares content from any of his millions of followers on the Truth Social platform, some of which crosses into the conspiratorially bizarre. In one repost last weekend, he shared a post from a follower who claimed that his successor turned predecessor, former president Joe Biden, had actually been replaced by a 'soulless mindless' robot clone because the real Biden — according to the user — was put to death in 2020. The White House declined to say whether Trump believes Biden, who hosted him at the White House after he won the 2024 election and accompanied him to his swearing-in at the Capitol this past January, was actually a robot clone. Instead, a White House spokesperson, Taylor Rogers, claimed that Trump's social media use makes him 'the most transparent president in history and is meeting the American people where they are to directly communicate his policies, message, and important announcements.' Trump's prolific use of his Truth Social site, on which he boasts more than 10 million followers, theoretically lacks the reach of his previous favorite megaphone on X (formerly Twitter) which can immediately broadcast his missives to 104 million people — approximately 20 million more than the 80 million-plus who followed him when he was banned from the platform in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a riotous mob of his supporters. Though he was reinstated to the platform after it was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022, he has continued to post first on Truth Social, possibly due to contractual obligations that require him to post to Truth Social before any other platform. In total, his posts to X since returning to the White House number around 100, and those are largely copied from his Truth Social output. According to a White House official who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, Trump's social media posting is still managed in part by Dan Scavino, the longtime aide who has worked for the president since he was hired as the manager of his Westchester, New York golf club in 2008 but first encountered him years before as a golf caddy at another one of his courses. Scavino, who ended Trump's first term as deputy chief of staff for communications, still holds a position as an assistant to the president with the title of deputy White House chief of staff. And he still has access to Trump's Truth Social and other social media accounts. But the days where he was the main author of Trump's posts are over. Now, Scavino works with other loyal staffers, including Natalie Harp, the former right-wing broadcaster who sits close to the Oval Office as one of Trump's closest aides. Trump's been filmed dictating posts to both advisers, but the official stressed that many of Trump's most bombastic posts are from the president's own thumbs, particularly ones that come late at night or early in the morning as he is watching television.


Telegraph
34 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Man responsible for US disaster response ‘didn't know it was hurricane season'
The acting head of Fema told colleagues he was not aware America had a hurricane season, according to a report. Staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) were left baffled when David Richardson, who has led the agency since early May, said he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season during a briefing on Monday, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The US hurricane season officially began on Sunday and lasts through November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes. A spokesman for the department of homeland security (DHS) which oversees Fema insisted Mr Richardson was joking when he made the remark. Mr Richardson said during the briefing that there would be no changes to the agency's disaster response plans despite having told staff to expect a new plan in May, the sources told Reuters. There is mounting concern that the departures of a raft of top Fema officials, staff cuts and reductions in hurricane preparations have left the agency ill-prepared for a storm season forecast to be above normal. Hurricanes kill dozens of people and cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually across the US every year. The storms have become increasingly more destructive and costly. A DHS spokesman said: 'Despite mean-spirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what Fema will be doing this hurricane season. 'Fema is laser focused on disaster response, and protecting the American people.' Mr Richardson's remark spurred confusion among agency staff and reignited concern about his lack of familiarity with its operations, three sources told Reuters. Mr Richardson, who has no disaster response experience, said he will not be issuing a new disaster plan because he does not want to make changes that might counter the Fema review council, the sources said. Donald Trump created the council to evaluate Fema. Its members include Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, governors and other officials. In a May 15 staff town hall, Mr Richardson said a disaster plan, including tabletop exercises, would be ready for review by May 23. The back-and-forth on updating the disaster plan and a lack of clear strategic guidance has created confusion for Fema staff, said one source. Mr Richardson has evoked his military experience as a former Marine artillery officer in conversations with staff. Before joining Fema he was assistant secretary at the department for homeland security's office for countering weapons of mass destruction, which he has told staff he will continue to lead. Cuts to Fema Mr Richardson was appointed as the new chief of Fema last month after his predecessor, Cameron Hamilton, was abruptly fired. Mr Hamilton had publicly broken with Mr Trump over the future of the agency, but sources told Reuters that Trump allies had already been manoeuvring to oust him because they were unhappy with what they saw as Hamilton's slow-moving effort to restructure. Mr Trump said Fema should be shrunk or even eliminated, arguing states can take on many of its functions, as part of a wider downsizing of the federal government. About 2,000 full-time Fema staff, one-third of its total, have been terminated or voluntarily left the agency since the start of the Trump administration in January. Despite Ms Noem's prior comments that she plans to eliminate Fema, in May she approved Mr Richardson's request to retain more than 2,600 short-term disaster response and recovery employees whose terms were set to expire this year, one of the sources said, confirming an earlier report by NBC News. Those short-term staff make up the highest proportion of Fema employees, about 40 per cent, and are a pillar of the agency's on-the-ground response efforts. Fema recently sharply reduced hurricane training and workshops for state and local emergency managers due to travel and speaking restrictions imposed on staff, according to Reuters.