Wendy's customer hospitalized after ordering cheeseburger sues food fast chain - Fox Business

Dairy farmer Stephanie Nash criticizes the USDA and Biden administration over food production policies and calls on more support for American grown products, warning of food shortages into 2023.

A Wendy's customer is suing the fast food chain after she was hospitalized after eating a contaminated burger.

Court documents obtained by McClatchy News allege that customer Jena Vogt has been plagued by long-term health issues and staggering medical bills as a result of her meal, which contained a preformed toxin.

Jena Vogt ordered a medium double cheeseburger combo from a Wendy's restaurant in St. Rose, Louisiana on July 27. The plaintiff says that the burger was contaminated due to "poor handwashing procedures" and that food was not properly washed, inspected or ensured to be safe.

"Within (24) hours of consuming the Wendy’s double cheeseburger, Mrs. Vogt felt nauseous and began to have gastrointestinal abnormalities," the lawsuit says.

TACO BELL BRINGING BACK '90S HIT IN BLAST FROM THE PAST MENU

A Wendy's Co. classic double cheeseburger and french fries are arranged for a photograph at a restaurant location in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday,  (Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Vogt was then diagnosed with a host of medical issues, including severe sepsis, E.coli, septic shock, cerebral hemorrhage, and acute GI bleeding.

The customer spent roughly two months in hospital care, being transferred to a second hospital on August 28. She was released to at-home care on September 28.

The complaint alleges that not only has Vogt suffered physical impairment and mental anguish, but her husband Michael was suffered as well.

FAMOUS NEW YORK CITY PIZZA CHAIN RAISES DOLLAR SLICE PRICES TO $1.50, CITING INFLATION

FILE PHOTO: A Wendy's sign and logo are shown at one of the company's restaurant in Encinitas, California, May 10, 2016.  (Reuters/Mike Blake/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

"[He] endured changes in their marital relationship including a loss of consortium," the complaint alleges. The lawsuit also references medical expenses and "past and future lost opportunity for income and loss of enjoyment of life" as damages.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS 

The couple is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

Sign for the fast food brand Wendy's on 18th May 2022 in London, United Kingdom. Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas in 1969.  (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images / Getty Images)

FOX Business has reached out to Wendy's for a statement, but has not heard back.

Adblock test (Why?)

Wendy's customer hospitalized after ordering cheeseburger sues food fast chain - Fox Business
Read More

University of Toronto study finds 'forever chemicals' in several fast food packaging items - CityNews Toronto

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

University of Toronto study finds 'forever chemicals' in several fast food packaging items  CityNews Toronto
University of Toronto study finds 'forever chemicals' in several fast food packaging items - CityNews Toronto
Read More

Fast radio bursts used as 'searchlights' to detect gas in Milky Way - University of Toronto

University of Toronto researcher Amanda Cook has found a way to use bright signals coming from across the universe to weigh the atmosphere of the Milky Way galaxy.

The radio signals she used come from the astronomical phenomenon known as fast radio bursts (FRBs) – enigmatic celestial objects that generate brief flashes of radio waves and are considered one of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.

Since an FRB simultaneously generates both high frequency radio waves (the equivalent of blue light) and low frequency radio waves (the equivalent of redlight), the different colours of radio waves might be expected to arrive at a telescope at the same time. But that’s not what happens. As an FRB passes through gas, it slows down – more so for the high frequencies than the low frequencies. The result is a delay between the different frequencies or colours reaching our telescope, effectively smearing the radio burst’s signal out in time.

Astronomers like Cook call this smearing “dispersion” and are able to use it as a tool to detect otherwise invisible gas throughout the cosmos.

“Using smearing to study the universe is like using your home heating bill to work out what the weather must have been like over the winter,” says Cook, who is a PhD candidate in the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics, and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, in the Faculty of Arts & Science. “In the same way that your heating bill tells you whether it was a harsh winter or a mild winter – but not what the temperature was like on any individual date – the smearing that we see allows us to infer the total amount of material that the FRB signal has encountered on its journey from the FRB to Earth. It just can’t tell us how that material was distributed along the way.”

“The key thing is that regardless of how gas in front of the FRB is distributed, an FRB signal that is smeared more by the time it reaches our telescopes must be produced by an FRB that is farther away in the same way that an expensive heating bill must have meant a cold winter overall.”

An illustration of a radio signal from a fast radio burst as it moves toward telescopes on Earth (image courtesy of J. Josephides/Swinburne University of Technology, with minor edits from the Dunlap Institute)

In this case, Cook used the dispersion method to measure how much gas is present in the Milky Way’s halo – an “atmosphere” of the Milky Way that extends outwards by around a half a million light-years in all directions.

Using FRB signals collected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) radio telescope, Cook and her team discovered that the Milky Way’s halo contains much less gas than previous models had predicted. The results were published in the Astrophysical Journal  in a study titled, “An FRB Sent Me a DM.”

Though there had been earlier studies applying related techniques, this is the first time that the halo’s gas has been measured using a large uniform sample of FRBs – thanks to the CHIME telescope.

The team used FRB signals at different distances from Earth to get the result. Cook likens this approach to trying to work out the average driving distance from different Canadian border crossings to Toronto by having friends from different American states drive to Toronto, telling you only the total distance they drove. The information from your Texan friend is not going to be particularly useful, but the experience from your Michigan and New York friends may be far more insightful. And if you have friends that live right on the border, in Buffalo or Detroit, then their answers will pretty much give you the information you need.

Cook and her supervisor, Professor Bryan Gaensler, have been working on this research since she was a first-year graduate student. “It ended up being a lot more difficult than we thought,” Cook says.

Difficult enough, that she, Gaensler and their colleagues actually stepped outside of conventional astronomical models. They turned to researchers in an entirely different field – statistics – and asked those colleagues for a new set of methods to apply to their approach.

“This is an exciting new way of studying our Milky Way,” says Gaensler, who is also an author on the publication. “We’re still trying to figure out what fast radio bursts actually are, but in the meantime we can use them as searchlights to study things much closer to home.”

Cook and Gaensler note that FRB signals could be used to study the structure of everything that the FRB signal passes through on its long journey, including the material between galaxies, the halos of other galaxies and the gas inside of galaxies.

Meanwhile, many more FRB discoveries are anticipated. With even more data, Cook and her team hope to create a 3D map of the Milky Way halo. “Each FRB gives us a measurement of the Milky Way halo in one direction, so as we continue to collect them, we can build up a detailed picture,” Cook says.

Beyond that, she notes that these clues contribute to our understanding of the early universe.

“Improving our knowledge of the Milky Way halo helps us learn about the formation of our galaxy as a whole.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Fast radio bursts used as 'searchlights' to detect gas in Milky Way - University of Toronto
Read More

McDonald's new advertisement is like abstract art - Fast Company

McDonald’s latest ad campaign turns the Big Mac into abstract art. Here’s why it’s a savvy move.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

By Elissaveta M. Brandon2 minute Read

If you find yourself zipping past Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square, or sprinting through the city’s Union Station, don’t be surprised if you get a sudden craving for McDonald’s.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

Earlier this month, the fast-food giant rolled out an advertisement to market its partnership with DoorDash Canada that highlights the benefits of a speedy McDelivery via the service. The campaign developed by creative agency No Fixed Address, called “Faster Food,” conveys the element of speed by rendering the ingredients in two McDonald’s staples into a series of horizontal stripes.

The result looks less like a fast-food ad and more like an abstract painting. It’s a savvy move that elevates the brand—and people’s perception of it—far beyond what it actually is: no drippy, greasy burger; just a minimalist, almost poetic, rendition of a Big Mac and an Egg McMuffin that appear as if they’re whizzing past you on their way to being delivered.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

The McDonald’s partnership with DoorDash actually dates back to the end of 2020, but as Alexis Bronstorph, No Fixed Address’s co-chief creative officer, explains, this campaign is designed to “hype” the collaboration. To achieve the stretched-out look, the team broke down the individual components of, say, a Big Mac, into color blocks—including highlights and shadows—and stretched each of those colors into thin, long stripes. They then animated those stripes so they look as though they’re streaming across the screen.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

This isn’t the first time that a fast-food ad has had the feel of a poster from art school. In fact, consumer brand ads have been getting more and more artsy of late. In 2014, Ogilvy & Mather New York cleverly used negative space to promote Coca-Cola’s then-new eco-friendly packaging. And in 2021, Pepsi commissioned an origami artist to fold the wrappers of famous burger chains and hide the Pepsi logo in those folds (suggesting a burger is better with Pepsi than Coke).

McDonalds, in particular, has taken a liking to abstract ads that riff on the brand’s immense recognizability factor. In 2020, ad agency TBWA\San Juan presented some of the brand’s food icons as blurry paintings, complete with paint streaks, with the words “Say no more” at the bottom. A year later, creative agency Leo Burnett London and designer David Schwen launched billboard ads depicting a stack of words, piled like the ingredients of a burger: think “muffin, egg, sausage, cheese, muffin” for an Egg McMuffin. And in 2021, TBWA\Paris teased the opening of a new McDonald’s in France with a series of pixelated posters of a cheeseburger and french fries.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

The new Canadian campaign seems cut from the same cloth, emphasizing that this bold approach could only work for the kind of brand that serves 70 million people across the world in more than 38,000 restaurants and 120 countries. “The Big Mac . . . you can say that in any country and people know what that is,” says Reid Plaxton, a senior art director at No Fixed Address.

[Image: courtesy No Fixed Address]

And sure enough, going abstract means that some people just might not get it—but there’s something to be said about an ad that stops you in your tracks, even if it is to puzzle out its meaning. “When we create any piece of work, that’s part of the fun, for people to make that connection,” Bronstorph says. “The best work doesn’t tell you what you need to know, it gives you a little moment to go ‘ah,’ and that’s what makes it more memorable.”

Adblock test (Why?)

McDonald's new advertisement is like abstract art - Fast Company
Read More

That was fast: Nikola Jokic retakes the NBA MVP lead over Joel Embiid in betting odds - Yahoo Sports

Joel Embiid was the betting favorite to win NBA MVP, and a pretty significant favorite at that. Embiid's time at the top spot lasted two weeks.

The NBA MVP betting market is fascinating. By this point in the season we usually have a good idea who is going to win. This year, it's practically a dead heat.

Nikola Jokic has regained his spot as the betting favorite. He's +110 odds at BetMGM. Embiid isn't far behind at +125. Giannis Antetokounmpo has a great argument but at +450 odds, it seems he's on the outside.

This has turned out to be one of the best NBA MVP races in recent history, with seven games to go for each of the top two contenders.

Nikola Jokic is the MVP favorite again

Embiid took over as the favorite on March 16. Jokic's Denver Nuggets had been in a short slump, which opened the door for Embiid. Embiid's odds went all the way to -200, before settling back to -150 on Monday. That's when Jokic and Embiid were supposed to face off in Denver. It was supposed to be Jokic's chance to even up the head-to-head meetings, after Embiid outplayed him in January and his Philadelphia 76ers won.

But Embiid didn't play in Denver. He was ruled out with a calf injury. That might be smart for Embiid and the 76ers shortly before the playoffs start, but it clearly didn't help his MVP case.

Jokic had 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists as the Nuggets won, 116-111. It would have been much worse for Embiid to play Monday and be outplayed by Jokic than sitting out. But as Embiid sat, Jokic put up a triple double and the odds flipped.

The good news for Embiid is there's still time for the odds to flip again.

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is again the NBA MVP betting favorite. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Who will win NBA MVP?

The biggest factor working against Jokic is that he has won two straight MVPs. Don't underestimate voter fatigue. Or East Coast bias.

Embiid has a good case for MVP. He leads the NBA in scoring. He has been a force all season and he did outplay Jokic in the one meeting. The gap in the odds isn't wide. One signature performance from Embiid in the final seven games could flip the odds yet again. The question is how many games Embiid will play down the stretch. Philadelphia has an eye on the playoffs and Embiid has a long injury history.

Voters can make a reasonable case for any of the three players still in the MVP mix (Antetokounmpo is putting up monster numbers for the team with the best record in the NBA, which should be more relevant than it has been), and the race does seem like a toss-up with a couple weeks to go.

The odds change this week might not be the last one. This is a heck of an MVP race.

Adblock test (Why?)

That was fast: Nikola Jokic retakes the NBA MVP lead over Joel Embiid in betting odds - Yahoo Sports
Read More

Rand Paul blocks Josh Hawley's attempt to fast-track TikTok ban, exposing GOP split - CBS News

Washington — Republican Sen. Josh Hawley's effort to fast-track a ban of TikTok's app in the United States hit a snag from within his own party after Sen. Rand Paul objected. 

Hawley, who introduced the "No TikTok on United States Devices Act" in January, tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent on Wednesday, but Paul opposed. 

"It's time to act now," Hawley argued. "The intent of China in all of this is quite clear. They want to build a profile on every single American." 

Paul has said in recent days that a ban would violate the First Amendment, but Hawley argued Wednesday that the "First Amendment does not protect the right to spy on American citizens." 

"I'm unlikely to take First Amendment advice from someone who believes that the First Amendment doesn't protect the Communist Party," Paul said Wednesday. "If someone doesn't understand that communism actually is included under the First Amendment — that terrible speech we object to is included under that — this is something we should be very wary of." 

Paul said the accusations against TikTok involving data collection and algorithms could also be leveled against American companies and called it a bad political move for Republicans. 

"If Republicans want to continuously lose elections for a generation, they should pass this bill to ban TikTok," he said. "Many Democrats have joined Republicans in calling for this ban, but like most issues, the blame will stick to the Republicans more." 

Hawley's effort comes a week after TikTok's chief executive Shou Zi Chew was grilled by lawmakers about the company's ties to China and handling of user data. The hearing held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce was a bipartisan rebuke of TikTok as momentum grows on Capitol Hill to ban the app used by 150 million Americans.  

Federal lawmakers have introduced several bills that would empower the Biden administration to ban it nationwide, with a bipartisan Senate bill from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican Sen. John Thune garnering bipartisan support. Warner told "Face the Nation" on Sunday he thinks the White House "is very in favor of this bill." 

Hawley's bill differs from the Warner-Thune measure in that it specifically targets TikTok, while the other proposal would apply to technology tied to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela that poses a national security risk. 

The app is already prohibited on federal government devices, including military devices, and a growing number of states have implemented it on state government devices.

Trending News

Caitlin Yilek

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital. Reach her at caitlin.yilek@cbsinteractive.com. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hausofcait

Adblock test (Why?)

Rand Paul blocks Josh Hawley's attempt to fast-track TikTok ban, exposing GOP split - CBS News
Read More

Starbucks' Howard Schultz testifies about union activity in the U.S. S - Fast Company

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Starbucks' Howard Schultz testifies about union activity in the U.S. S  Fast Company
Starbucks' Howard Schultz testifies about union activity in the U.S. S - Fast Company
Read More

Canucks sign fleet-footed, fast-thinking NCAA blueliner Akito Hirose - The Province

'I’m most impressed that he’s killing penalties at an elite level now. You combine that with a guy who can think that way, and you get a pretty special player.' — Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings.

Defenceman Akito Hirose celebrates a goal for Minnesota State Mavericks. Photo by Jackson Forderer /SPX

Article content

Akito Hirose can wheel and deal in the NCAA.

Advertisement 2

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

• Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account
• Get exclusive access to The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
• Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
• Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
• Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword

SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

• Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account
• Get exclusive access to The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
• Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
• Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
• Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword

REGISTER TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

• Access articles from across Canada with one account
• Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
• Enjoy additional articles per month
• Get email updates from your favourite authors

Article content

However, can the fleet-footed Minnesota State Mankato University left-shot defenceman defend in the NHL?

Article content

That was the question facing the Vancouver Canucks as they pursued the undrafted Calgary native, who put up 27 points (4-23) in 38 games in his third college season and was named to the league’s second all-star team. The Canucks officially signed him Wednesday to a one-year contract.

“As we continue to look at ways to improve the depth of our organization, signing a defenceman with this type of skill set is an important move for our hockey club,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a statement. “Akito is a strong skater and he has put up impressive numbers on both sides of the ice in the NCAA and BCHL.

“We feel that our coaches and development team will provide him with the help and support he needs to start his pro career off in the right way.”

Article content

Advertisement 3

Article content

For purposes of the entry-level contract, Hirose will be 24 as of Sept. 15, which is why the ELC is one year. The year is used up no matter how many NHL games he plays and he will need a new contract this summer. His salary is US$855,000 with a $95,000 signing bonus. Due to signing the deal with a signing bonus during the season, actual cap hit is $1.953 million.

Advertisement 4

Article content

Hirose’s ability to pace and process the game at a high speed level is already at an NHL level.

The 6-foot, 170 pound defender also played four seasons in the B.C. Hockey League with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, culminating with 51 points (9-42) in 57 games during the 2019-20 season. He earned top rookie and top defenceman honours while taking that development step.

“He’s a mobile puck-moving defenceman, who’s not big and will have to defend with mobility,” an NHL prospects scout told Postmedia. “He’s going to need good gaps and a good stick and projects as a second-pairing defenceman in the AHL and should get a second unit power play look.”

After that, it’s up to Hirose to develop into a poised NHL blueliner.

The ability for Hirose to log major minutes and excel in big games, in a top pairing with Creston, B.C. native Jake Livingstone, is what attracted several NHL suitors. Hirose helped his club get back to the NCAA tournament this season before falling to St. Cloud State last week. Last season, he was instrumental in Minnesota State advancing to the NCAA championship game.

Advertisement 5

Article content

After scoring an overtime goal this season, Hirose also showed a humble side.

“I’m not a goal scorer,” he told reporters. “I don’t like talking to the media, but if I keep scoring goals, I’m going to keep doing it.”

By that, we assume scoring a hopefully talking about his game and an NHL aim.

“His ability to see the game and his decisions have been outstanding,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. “The thing that I’m most impressed about is he’s killing penalties at an elite level now. He’s defending at a much better intensity.

“You combine that with a guy who can think that way — see the game all the way — all of a sudden you get a pretty special player.”

The #Canucks signed undrafted UFA 23 y/o LD Akito Hirose to 1 year Entry Level deal for the current season (22-23):

Salary 855K
Signing Bonus 95K

Due to signing 1-year deal w/ SB's during season, cap hit is $1.953M

Rep'd by Allain Roy @rsghockeyhttps://t.co/eTBwLAsDHJ

— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) March 29, 2023

Advertisement 6

Article content

Hirose is the younger brother of Taro Hirose, 26, a left winger in the Detroit Red Wings organization, who has 54 points (15-39) in 64 AHL games. He played three seasons at Michigan State and two with the Silverbacks.

OVERTIME — Earlier this week, the Abbotsford Canucks signed Minnesota State defenceman Andy Carroll, 26, to an amateur tryout agreement. The 6-foot, 185 pound Northfield, Minn. native had 25 points this season (5-20) in 39 games. He played five NCAA seasons.

bkuzma@postmedia.com
twitter.com/benkuzma

1. 

   Canucks schedule: More focus on the hurry to finish audition season with flurry

2. 

   Canucks Q&A: Jack Studnicka's patient plan to champion the lineup process

3. 

   Canucks prospects tracker: The Jonathan Lekkerimaki comeback special

---

Support our journalism: Our in-depth journalism is possible thanks to the support of our subscribers. For just $3.50 per week, you can get unlimited, ad-lite access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Share this article in your social network

Advertisement 1

Adblock test (Why?)

Canucks sign fleet-footed, fast-thinking NCAA blueliner Akito Hirose - The Province
Read More

Alibaba shares soared Tuesday, but 'Fast Money' traders are wary of snapping up shares. Here's why - CNBC

Adblock test (Why?)

Alibaba shares soared Tuesday, but 'Fast Money' traders are wary of snapping up shares. Here's why - CNBC
Read More

Fast radio burst linked with gravitational waves for the first time - Astronomy Magazine

For years, astronomers have been detecting incredibly powerful pulses from the cosmos, without a confirmed source. Recent advances in astronomy are getting us closer to the solution.

We have just published evidence in Nature Astronomy for what might be producing mysterious bursts of radio waves coming from distant galaxies, known as fast radio bursts or FRBs.

Two colliding neutron stars — each the super-dense core of an exploded star — produced a burst of gravitational waves when they merged into a “supramassive” neutron star. We found that two and a half hours later they produced an FRB when the neutron star collapsed into a black hole.

Or so we think. The key piece of evidence that would confirm or refute our theory — an optical or gamma-ray flash coming from the direction of the fast radio burst — vanished almost four years ago. In a few months, we might get another chance to find out if we are correct.

Brief and powerful

FRBs are incredibly powerful pulses of radio waves from space lasting about a thousandth of a second. Using data from a radio telescope in Australia, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), astronomers have found that most FRBs come from galaxies so distant, light takes billions of years to reach us. But what produces these radio wave bursts has been puzzling astronomers since an initial detection in 2007.

The best clue comes from an object in our galaxy known as SGR 1935+2154. It’s a magnetar, which is a neutron star with magnetic fields about a trillion times stronger than a fridge magnet. On April 28, 2020, it produced a violent burst of radio waves — similar to an FRB, although less powerful.

Astronomers have long predicted that two neutron stars — a binary — merging to produce a black hole should also produce a burst of radio waves. The two neutron stars will be highly magnetic, and black holes cannot have magnetic fields. The idea is the sudden vanishing of magnetic fields when the neutron stars merge and collapse to a black hole produces a fast radio burst. Changing magnetic fields produce electric fields — it’s how most power stations produce electricity. And the huge change in magnetic fields at the time of collapse could produce the intense electromagnetic fields of an FRB.

The search for the smoking gun

To test this idea, Alexandra Moroianu, a masters student at the University of Western Australia, looked for merging neutron stars detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the U.S. The gravitational waves LIGO searches for are ripples in space-time, produced by the collisions of two massive objects, such as neutron stars.

LIGO has found two binary neutron star mergers. Crucially, the second, known as GW190425, occurred when a new FRB-hunting telescope called CHIME was also operational. However, being new, it took CHIME two years to release its first batch of data. When it did so, Moroianu quickly identified a fast radio burst called FRB 20190425A which occurred only two and a half hours after GW190425.

Exciting as this was, there was a problem – only one of LIGO’s two detectors was working at the time, making it very uncertain where exactly GW190425 had come from. In fact, there was a 5 percent chance this could just be a coincidence.

Worse, the Fermi satellite, which could have detected gamma rays from the merger — the “smoking gun” confirming the origin of GW190425 — was blocked by Earth at the time.

Unlikely to be a coincidence

However, the critical clue was that FRBs trace the total amount of gas they have passed through. We know this because high-frequency radio waves travel faster through the gas than low-frequency waves, so the time difference between them tells us the amount of gas.

Because we know the average gas density of the universe, we can relate this gas content to distance, which is known as the Macquart relation. And the distance travelled by FRB 20190425A was a near-perfect match for the distance to GW190425. Bingo!

So have we discovered the source of all FRBs? No. There are not enough merging neutron stars in the Universe to explain the number of FRBs — some must still come from magnetars, like SGR 1935+2154 did.

And even with all the evidence, there’s still a one in 200 chance this could all be a giant coincidence. However, LIGO and two other gravitational wave detectors, Virgo, and KAGRA, will turn back on in May this year, and be more sensitive than ever, while CHIME and other radio telescopes are ready to immediately detect any FRBs from neutron star mergers.

In a few months, we may find out if we’ve made a key breakthrough — or if it was just a flash in the pan.

---

Clancy W. James would like to acknowledge Alexandra Moroianu, the lead author of the study; his co-authors, Linqing Wen, Fiona Panther, Manoj Kovalem (University of Western Australia), Bing Zhang and Shunke Ai (University of Nevada); and his late mentor, Jean-Pierre Macquart, who experimentally verified the gas-distance relation, which is now named after him.

Clancy William James, Senior Lecturer (astronomy and astroparticle physics), Curtin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Adblock test (Why?)

Fast radio burst linked with gravitational waves for the first time - Astronomy Magazine
Read More

Microsoft says its new version of Teams is twice as fast - CNBC

In this article

• MSFT

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during an interview in Redmond, Washington, on March 15, 2023.

Chona Kasinger | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microsoft said Monday it is starting to roll out a faster new version of its Teams communication app for Windows to commercial clients enrolled in a preview program. The software will become available to all customers later this year, and Microsoft also promises new versions of Teams for Mac and the web.

Since its 2017 debut, Teams has become the jewel of Microsoft 365, the subscription-based productivity software bundle formerly known as Office 365. Companies rushed to adopt Teams to keep workers connected through video calls and text chats during the Covid pandemic. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in January that more than 280 million people use Teams every month, even though many workers are again commuting to offices.

Microsoft Teams had some performance issues in 2020, which the company resolved. In 2021, with Teams usage still rising, Microsoft began building a second generation of the software with an eye toward improving performance, Jeff Teper, president of collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft, said in an interview with CNBC.

Reports of a new version of Teams circulated earlier this year. Teper said this prompted "a lot of agitation" but that he did not want Microsoft to announce the update until the program had achieved an internal goal of being twice as fast as before while using half the memory as before.

The new version also includes enhancements meant to simplify Teams, building on the more than 400 feature updates Microsoft delivered last year, some of them meant to help Microsoft catch up with rivals, Teper said. Competition comes from the likes of Cisco, Google, Salesforce-owned Slack and Zoom.

Microsoft

Instead of displaying a kind of ribbon of functions for a chat, Teams will hide several options behind a plus sign that people can click on. It's a concept people have become accustomed to on other messaging applications, Teper said. For example, in Slack, users can upload documents or set reminders after clicking on a plus sign under the area where they type messages.

During Teams video calls, the software will show every participant on screen in a box of the same size, rather than giving more space to participants with their cameras on. Until now, Teams calls have sometimes resembled Piet Mondrian paintings characterized by their squares and rectangles of varying sizes and colors, Teper said.

Microsoft is also adjusting Teams so that people who belong to multiple organizations can more easily stay on top of what's going on.

"Instead of logging in and out of different tenants and accounts, you can now stay signed in across them all — receiving notifications no matter which one you are currently using," Teper wrote in a blog post.

Corporate workers who get access to the new version of Teams will see a switch at the top of the application window that will enable them to go back to what Microsoft is calling the classic version, he wrote in the blog post.

WATCH: Satya Nadella reflects on his nine years of leading Microsoft

Adblock test (Why?)

Microsoft says its new version of Teams is twice as fast - CNBC
Read More

Ikea's generative AI furniture designs are trippy, retro, inspiring - Fast Company

Meet the Ikea researchers exploring generative AI for furniture design. Your Billy shelf may never look the same again.

[Images: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

By Janko Roettgers4 minute Read

Artificial intelligence has shown itself to be really good at writing essays, generating artwork, and even composing music. But are algorithms capable of designing a new Ikea chair?

That’s a question the Ikea-funded Swedish design agency Space10 has been exploring on behalf of the furniture giant. Space10 recently began a series of experiments on creativity in the Age of AI, which included training AI models on photos taken from decades-old Ikea catalogs. 

The resulting AI-generated images not only look like they would be right at home on Ikea’s show floors, but they’re also teaching Space10’s staff how machine learning could become a useful tool for any designer, whether they’re working on a personal passion project or the next Billy shelf.

[Image: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

Retro-futuristic AI design

Space10 recently collaborated with video journalist Joss Fong and designer Áron Filkey to explore the potential of using generative AI for design. Instead of just starting from scratch with a publicly available generative AI model, the duo trained the Stable Diffusion image-generation model on Ikea catalogs from the 1970s and 1980s. “That really showcased the potential use of training data,” says Space10’s Alexandra Zenner.

[Image: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

Images generated with these two distinct data sets reflect the general aesthetic of those time periods. AI-generated furniture designs inspired by 1970s Ikea catalogs are colorful, with lots of rounded corners and a general playfulness, while the 1980s catalogs led to a more minimal design with clean lines and 90-degree angles. At the same time, the resulting images still have an Ikea-like quality to them, which includes the use of natural woods and an embrace of smaller spaces.

Ikea CBF innovation manager Sebastian Welter believes that these AI-generated designs could foreshadow a democratization of the design process. “Rather than only allowing designers to imagine new forms, anyone who will at one point be part of design projects can now join the process from the beginning,” he says. “It immediately invites many more people into the concept phase.”

[Image: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

AI loves three-legged stools

To further illustrate the potential of AI in the design process, Space10, Fong, and Filkey also made a short film about creativity in the Age of AI. The film makes clever use of generative AI for image creation, scripting, and even voice-over, causing the viewer to question the role of human creativity in the design process altogether.

However, a closer look at the AI-designed Ikea furniture also shows some of the shortcomings of generative AI to date. Images of existing furniture can teach algorithms a lot about basic design concepts, but not necessarily the laws of nature. A number of the AI-designed chairs, in particular, look great but impractical, if not downright dangerous. Some are missing legs, while others don’t have a secure center of gravity, which inevitably would result in people falling over as soon as they sit down.

Generative AI makes it easy for anyone to come up with new visual ideas, but fine-tuning queries and then refining the resulting ideas still requires expertise, says Space10’s Ryan Sherman. “You need the knowledge of a designer to curate and create these concepts.”

At this point, AI seems best suited as a partner for early brainstorming sessions rather than as a replacement for designers, argues Zenner. “I’m viewing AI right now as more of a collaborator,” she says. “Something to augment our own creativity versus necessarily something that’s going to eradicate it or change it entirely.”

[Image: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

At the same time, generative AI could lead to designers move more into the role of art directors. “Designers can definitely take on more of a curatorial role when it comes to these platforms,” Zenner says. This includes filtering out those unsafe three-legged stools, but also crafting the right queries and continually refining the training data to make sure an AI doesn’t get stuck reinventing the same kind of furniture over and over again.

“Data sets need to be constantly trained and untrained,” Zenner says. “That curatorial role is going to be vastly important (to ensure) that you aren’t just getting stuck and pigeonholed into one idea or concept.”

[Image: Joss Fong and Áron Filkey/courtesy Space10]

Not just aesthetics, but also ethics

Ikea has been using Space10 for several years as an outside research and design partner to explore such cutting-edge technologies as AI, augmented reality, and Web3. “The way Space10 is set up is to imagine what the Ikea of tomorrow could look like,” explains Sherman.

This complements Ikea’s own internal efforts, which already include the use of AI for automation, among other things. “We are exploring the use of more AI across the entire value chain,” Welter says. As part of that process, the company has also established an internal data ethics team, which is meant to ensure what Welter calls “a fair, responsible, and transparent approach to AI.”

Space10, for its part, wants to keep exploring the possibilities of AI, including for architecture and the design of 3D spaces. The agency is looking to launch an AI design competition soon and has further AI experiments planned for the near future.

“The space is moving incredibly fast,” says Zenner. “We’re constantly learning. The AI is learning, and we’re learning about the AI. It’s (a) mutual relationship.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Ikea's generative AI furniture designs are trippy, retro, inspiring - Fast Company
Read More

What is the healthiest fast food? This is the kind of menu you should be on the lookout for. - USA TODAY

Ikea's generative AI furniture designs are trippy, retro, inspiring - Fast Company

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Ikea's generative AI furniture designs are trippy, retro, inspiring  Fast Company
Ikea's generative AI furniture designs are trippy, retro, inspiring - Fast Company
Read More

Breaking barriers: Muslim inmates observe fast during Navratri and Hindus participate in roza for Ramzan - Indiatimes.com

AGRA: A heartwarming display of communal harmony and brotherhood was witnessed at the central jail in Agra as some Muslim inmates observed the fast of Navratri alongside their Hindu fellow prisoners. This gesture was reciprocated by a few Hindu prisoners who observed 'roza' during Ramzan.
The nine-day Hindu festival of Chaitra Navratri, which commemorates the victory of good over evil, began on March 22. The Muslim holy month of Ramzan started the following day.
Radha Krishna Mishra, the deputy inspector general in-charge at Central Jail, told PTI, "Muslim inmates are observing fast for Navratri and also taking part in 'bhajan (devotional songs)' being organised at the temple on the premises."
Mishra pointed to the Hindu prisoners who were participating in roza and said, "It is a good idea where prisoners from both the religions are generating a message of Hindu-Muslim unity".
Naushad, a prisoner, gave his opinions on fasting during Navratri in a video that the jail's administration released.
"I kept a fast on the first day of Navratri and will keep one on the last day. In jail, we all live with unity and respect everyone's religious sentiments.
"We take part in the bhajans organised at the temple and sing with the Hindu inmates."
Alok Singh, the jailor, said the facility has 905 inmates. Of them, 17 Muslim inmates observed a fast on Navratri while 37 Hindus observed roza.
The jail administration has made arrangements for fruits and milk for inmates fasting for Navratri. For the inmates observing roza, the authorities have arranged for dates to break their fasts.
Since Friday, the jail authorities have also been organising 'Bhagwat Katha' for the prisoners. On March 31, a 'bhandara' will be organised.
"It brings positivity among the inmates and keeps them motivated," Singh added.
Vartika Nanda, founder of Tinka Tinka -- a social organisation that works for the welfare of prison inmates -- said jail is the perfect place for the exchange of religious festivals and rituals.
"When inmates from different religions take part in each other's rituals, it is a perfect example of solidarity and mutual respect," she said.
(With inputs from PTI)

Adblock test (Why?)

Breaking barriers: Muslim inmates observe fast during Navratri and Hindus participate in roza for Ramzan - Indiatimes.com
Read More

A Dietician Has Revealed The 'Healthy' Fast Food She Orders At Canada's Most Popular Chains - Narcity Canada

If you're watching what you eat but love a cheat meal, you might be wondering what the healthiest fast food dishes in Canada are.

To get the low down, Narcity spoke to a Canadian dietician about the relatively healthy meals she orders from fast food restaurants in Canada, and so many of her choices actually look delicious.

Registered dietician Abbey Sharp has been sharing videos on TikTok via the handle @abbeyskitchen, and she recently dished on what she orders at popular chains in Canada, and why.

So, we got in touch to see if she would list out her all-time favourites.

Here's a look at her top choices from places like Domino's and Wendy's, that are not just easy on the pocket, but dietician-approved too!

Thin crust Pacific Veggie pizza from Domino's

@abbeyskitchen

Picking up pizza from @Domino’s Pizza Canada for me and my love…if the pie makes it home that is 🍕😋 #couldntresistit #veggiepizza #datenightfood #dominos #pizzahacker #dominospizza #pizzanight

If pizza is your ultimate guilty pleasure, then here's some good news — it doesn’t have to be guilty!

Sharp says her go-to pizza order is Domino's thin crust Pacific Veggie pizza, which she adds chicken to.

"This pizza is the perfect balanced meal," she explains.

"I have fibre in the veggies, protein in the chicken, fats in the olives and cheese and just enough carbs in the crust to keep me satisfied."

And it looks pretty tasty, too!

Chicken sandwich from Nando's

@abbeyskitchen

Omg guys that @nandosuk Chicken Sandwich SLAPS. Here’s to another balanced takeout meal! #nandos #nandoschicken #chickensandwich #healthyfastfood #fastfood #takeaway #takeout #takeoutfood

Known for its spicy grilled chicken, it will come as no surprise to chicken-lovers that Nando's made this list.

Sharp recommends ordering the chicken sandwich with two sides – the Casa Salad and the cauliflower.

"This meal packs plenty of fibre in the veggies and salad, protein in their chicken, carbs in the bun and healthy fats in the dressing," she adds.

The Green Goddess chicken salad from Panera Bread

@abbeyskitchen

Love a @panerabread lunch moment! This meal was delicious and super satisfying (love the green goddess dressing!) A salad and soup combo for fall just hits different. #panerabread #soupseason #soupszn #avocadosalad #takeout #nutritiontok

This salad from Panera Bread is a favourite for Sharp.

The dietician says that while she loves all the salads from the American chain, this one is especially recommended because "you get protein in the chicken, healthy fats in the avocado and green goddess dressing, lots of fibre in the salad."

Meanwhile, she recommends adding a side of chicken noodle soup and bread for that carb intake.

The apple pecan salad from Wendy's

@abbeyskitchen

I honestly forget how good @wendys chilli is! And that little junior frosty is the perfect sweet! I ordered the apple pecan salad, chilli and junior frosty for a balanced satiating fast food lunch on the go. #wendysdrivethru #frosty #fastfoodhacks #healthyfastfood

Panera Bread is not the only chain doing salads right, it would seem.

Wendy's apple pecan chicken salad comes highly recommended by Sharp, who usually orders it with a small chili and a junior Frosty.

"I love that I get lots of fibre in the salad, protein in the chicken and chilli, and healthy fats in the pecans and dressing," she says.

And as for the Frosty, she says that's a personal preference. "I can’t go to Wendy’s without getting their frosty, and the junior is the perfect size."

Egg white bites and oatmeal from Starbucks

@abbeyskitchen

It’s fast food Friday! My usual order at Starbucks: soy latte, egg bites & oatmeal. It’s a delicious hunger crushing combo that keeps me going. #healthystarbucks #starbucksorder #drivethru #fastfood #starbuckshacks

And finally, if you're looking for a place for the so-called most important meal of the day, then Starbucks is the one to check out, according to Sharp.

The dietician says that a Starbucks soy latte, egg white bites and oatmeal with nuts are all on her go-to breakfast order.

"I am usually a whole egg girl, but the egg white bites are so fluffy and soft and are packed with protein," she explains.

"The oatmeal with nuts provides fibre and healthy fats, and I go for soy milk in my latte for an extra eight grams protein per cup."

There you have it, Canada.

Hopefully this list will help you out next time you're wondering what to order for a healthy takeout or treat.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering about the best fast food dishes in Canada overall, we asked top chefs in the country the same question, and they had some insightful answers!

From Your Site Articles

Adblock test (Why?)

A Dietician Has Revealed The 'Healthy' Fast Food She Orders At Canada's Most Popular Chains - Narcity Canada
Read More