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The top 1 percent of Americans are getting a bigger piece of the economic pie — and part of the reason may be Republicans in Congress, according to a new study. The study, detailed this month in the journal American Sociological Review, shows that the income share of the top 1 percent grew rapidly after 1980 — from 10 percent in 1981 to 23.5 percent in 2007, an increase of 135 percentage points. (Since 2007, the wealth held at the top has decreased a bit, due to the financial meltdown of 2008 .) Study co-author Thomas Volscho, an assistant professor of sociology at CUNY-College of Staten Island, finds a Republican majority in Congress is one of the main reasons for the widening rich-poor gap . However, other experts say one factor cannot explain the rise of the 1 percent, and rather a handful of reasons, such as globalization and even technology, play roles. Taxes and the top 1 percent Volscho said he got interested in the topic when he read about gilded-age mansions on … [Read more...] about The Rise of the Super-Rich

By James Dinneen Apr. 21, 2021 , 3:30 PM From the cutting-edge vaccines for COVID-19 to the decades-old ones for poliovirus, most vaccines need to be kept cold to survive the trip from factory to patient. But that poses a major hurdle to even routine immunizations in countries like Mali or Bangladesh, where up to 90% of health facilities lack adequate refrigeration . To solve this problem, some researchers are working toward a radical goal: vaccine formulations that don’t have to be kept cold. Significant hurdles remain, but many scientists are optimistic that 10 years from now vaccination campaigns won’t be quite so hampered by the heat. “I think we are at the limit of how many people we can vaccinate using [refrigerated supply chains],” says Asel Sartbaeva, a chemist at the University of Bath who is working on a molecular “cage” to make multiple vaccines temperature stable. “And this is where we come in.” Most vaccines include biomolecules or weakened forms of pathogens … [Read more...] about Here’s how scientists are designing vaccines that can ditch the fridge

Shelf-scanning robot Tally will be donning a new apron soon. Simbe, the company that makes the robot, announced its first deployment with Save Mart , the largest family owned grocery chain in California, which acquired 132 Albertsons stores in 2006 + has continued growing. Tally robots will be rolling out to 7 stores across all three Save Mart banners in the Bay Area to bring greater visibility to inventory, streamline operations for store teams and improve the customer experience. This is an important milestone for a sector that's been fixated on wider adoption and sees a real opportunity in the shadow of COVID-19, despite notable setbacks and some in the industry questioning the value of retail robotics late last year. In November 2020, Walmart killed a large contract with Simbe competitor Bossa Nova, which also makes a robot for inventory auditing and data-driven inventory insights. "The pandemic has further illuminated the critical need for strong on-shelf inventory data, … [Read more...] about Retail robots coming to these grocery stores

The Australian government has launched a new strategy aimed at uplifting the cybersecurity capabilities of the nation and its international neighbours, pledging an additional AU$37.5 million in funding alongside a handful of greater Indo-Pacific initiatives. Australia's international Cyber and Critical Technology Engagement Strategy, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne, sets out the goals for a "safe, secure, and prosperous Australia, Indo-Pacific, and world, enabled by cyberspace and critical technology". It is hoped the strategy [PDF] will strengthen national security, protect Australia's democracy and sovereignty, promote economic growth, and pursue international peace and stability. The strategy supersedes the 2017 International Cyber Engagement Strategy and is centred on three main pillars -- values, security, and prosperity -- to guide Australia's international cyber and critical technology engagement. The first goal is for technology to be used to … [Read more...] about New Australian cyber package includes AU$37.5m Indo-Pacific investment

Sweden's Ericsson on Wednesday reported first-quarter core earnings above market estimates as strong 5G equipment sales offset a loss of royalty income due to a patent fight with Samsung Electronics . The coronavirus crisis has fast-tracked 5G adoption as governments prioritise digital growth, boosting telecom equipment makers such as Ericsson and Finland's Nokia . Quarterly adjusted operating earnings rose to 5.3 billion Swedish crowns ($627.9 million) from 4.6 billion crowns a year ago, beating the mean forecast of 5.0 billion crowns, according to Refinitiv estimates. Total revenue, which benefited from bans in several countries on the use of technology from China's Huawei , was 49.8 billion crowns, unchanged from last year due in part to currency headwinds. It missed estimates of 53.42 billion crowns. A Swedish court on Wednesday will hear arguments in a case filed by Huawei against a ban in Sweden. Sales at Ericsson's networks unit grew by 15% and adjusted gross … [Read more...] about Ericsson core profit beats forecast, patent fight casts shadow