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AI & Big Data Will Lead to Better Conservation

Jake Bullinger

August 07, 2020 |

Bitterroot |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Naturalists are using technology like smartphone cameras and artificial intelligence to better track animal and plant conservation efforts across the United States. The online platform eButterfly allows users to share photos of butterflies that can inform scientists about how certain species’ ranges are shifting. Colorado Parks and Wildlife use a version of AI to identify and count species photographed by camera traps. While, AI could allow scientists to sort through more images and map out more complex ecological relationships, machine-learning algorithms take time to set up and large datasets to train.

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Building Trees in the Metaverse Might Actually Save the Forest

Teresa Carey

August 02, 2020 |

Freethink |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Southern Pines, North Carolina

By building scientifically accurate virtual tress, NatureXR is providing an opportunity for scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders to use virtual reality to understand ecosystems and model conservation impacts. Creating an authentic 3D-version of a tree can be challenging, but by developing a “procedural” tree, the software can generate a forest of trees that are unique, accurate, and realistic. VR nature can also make the environment accessible for people who might not be able to experience it due to disabilities, distance, or even fear.

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How Facebook is using AI to boost blood donation

Faustine Ngila

June 25, 2020 |

Nation Africa |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya

A partnership between Facebook and the Ministry of Health in Kenya has helped connect blood banks with blood donors. The process uses artificial intelligence and geo-location data to notify Facebook users who have signed up as blood donors when blood banks in their area are in need of donations.

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How ‘Sustainable' Web Design Can Help Fight Climate Change

Clive Thompson

June 23, 2020 |

Wired |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands

As part of a growing movement in sustainable software design, Danny Van Kooten, a Dutch programmer, refactored the code on his website plug-in to reduce the amount of energy expended when someone interacts with it. About 2 million websites use his plug-in and by trimming the code, he estimates that he reduced the world’s monthly carbon dioxide output by 59,000 kilograms. While larger companies like video-streaming services put out more emissions, individual website owners can take steps to reduce their own CO2 footprint.

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Need a Quran teacher? There's an AI for that

Aysha Khan

May 20, 2020 |

Religion News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

An AI app is potentially eliminating the need for Quran teachers by offering precise feedback to those who are learning to recite or memorize the holy book of Islam. Tarteel uses machine learning technology to enable speech recognition, allowing it to test users' knowledge of the Quran and to receive feedback on recitation without a teacher. The tool can identify mistakes and has a memorization mode, only revealing words as they are recited. Building such an accurate tool "requires a vast data set to train a deep neural network" so users who opt in are crowdsourcing the data set needed to power Tarteel.

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Volunteers create world's fastest supercomputer to combat coronavirus

Alex Hern

April 15, 2020 |

The Guardian |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

By allowing volunteers to take part in the scientific task of ‘folding proteins’ while they're abiding by lockdown protocols during the coronavirus pandemic, the "world’s fastest traditional supercomputer" has been achieved. The distributed effort which decentralizes who can take part in downloading and running the software necessary, holds potential for helping researchers better understand how the virus binds to a human cell.

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University of Washington computer game helps crowdsource possible coronavirus treatment

Michael Crowe

April 08, 2020 |

KING-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

At the University of Washington, researchers from the school's school of protein design created a computer game that allows users to fold proteins. This game, which is open to anyone, is being used to crowdsource possibilities that could be used to develop antiviral drugs that would work against the novel coronavirus.

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USC community uses 3D printing to combat medical equipment shortage during COVID-19 pandemic

Karen Wang Olivia Novato Alexander Song

April 01, 2020 |

USC Annenberg Media |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Hospitals throughout the United States are facing a shortage of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic, but communities are trying to help fill the gap. One solution being piloted at universities such as USC is the use of 3D printers to create 3D-printed masks as back-ups at healthcare facilities.

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This ‘airlock' for restaurants ensures that picking up your takeout order is 100% contact free

Adele Peters

March 25, 2020 |

FastCompany |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A restaurant in San Francisco has created a "pressurized transfer chamber" that allows to go orders to be picked up from customers without the risk of transmitting the highly contagious coronavirus or other germs. Although it requires a 3D printer in order to be created, the business has made the design available for other businesses to use.

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Can location data from smartphones help slow the coronavirus? Facebook is giving academics a chance to try

Rebecca Robbins

March 24, 2020 |

STAT |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Facebook collects data from people that choose to share their location with the app, and have started sharing it with various researchers who are trying to track the spread of the novel coronavirus. They share the data anonymously, so as to avoid the privacy issues they’ve faced in the past, and researchers aggregate “the signals into a picture of flows of people” to track connectivity and movement. Beyond researchers, nonprofits are also using it to help disseminate medical resources to highly affected areas.

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