1st December 2018, 1 min read

Science and Technology links (December 1st 2018)

1. Autism affects about 1% of the population and four times as many males as females.
2. In older highly educated people, drinking 2 cups of coffee a day is associated with a reduced mortality rate of 22%. (This does not mean that drinking coffee makes you less likely to die, but it might.)
3. Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is entering the chip-making business with its AWS Graviton processors, designed for cloud servers and based on an ARM architecture (like the processor in your phone). The initial reports are somewhat negative.
4. Student assignments are graded automatically at the University of Cafornia Berkeley, and the result is that
   

ratings for teaching effectiveness have reached their highest level ever in recent semesters.

(Credit: S. Downes)

1. A Chinese professor helped produced two genetically edited babies. The intention is that they be immune to HIV. Harvard’s professor George Church is supportive of this bold move.