4th August 2018, 2 min read

Science and Technology links (August 4th, 2018)

1. About 80% of the ocean remains unmapped and unexplored.
2. Even a mild concussion (a fall on your head) can double your risk of dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s).
3. Apple is selling approximatively two smart watches for each laptop. And they are selling about three iPads for each laptops. (I do not own an Apple watch: I don’t know what I’d use it for.)
4. Researchers from OpenAI have trained a human-like robot hand to manipulate objects like we would.
5. Diabetes is not good for your brain:
   

Compared with participants with normoglycaemia, the multivariable-adjusted rate of global cognitive decline associated with prediabetes and diabetes was increased (…) Similarly, memory, executive function and orientation z scores showed an increased rate of cognitive decline with diabetes.

1. We have all been told to eat whole grain cereals. Do they keep the doctor away? Maybe not:
   

There is insufficient evidence from randomised controlled trials to date to recommend consumption of whole grain diets to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, or lower blood cholesterol, or blood pressure.

1. We are using much less land than we used to, which means that there is more land for forest and wild animals. People in 2014 used about a third of the land, compared with people from 1961, on a per capita basis.
2. In the USA, energy use per capita has fallen by 20% since a peak in the late 1970s. In fact, in most occidental countries, energy use per capita has been falling for the last decade. Distance driven by cars, per capita, are also either plateauing or on the decline.