The four factors that fuel disinformation among Facebook ads

University of Florida News Before and after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Russia’s Internet Research Agency purchased tens of thousands of Facebook ads in an effort to stoke division among Americans. Their effect on the election is hard to quantify. But their reach is undeniable. “Tens of millions of people were exposed to these ads. So we wanted to understand what made these disinformation ads engaging and what made people click and share them,” said Juliana Fernandes, a University of Florida advertising researcher. “With that knowledge, we can teach people…

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US-based Nigerian professor Saheed Aderinto wins $300,000 history prize


   Saheed Aderinto, a Nigerian professor at Florida International University, has won the 2023 Dan David Prize.    The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognises and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past.    It is considered to be the “largest history prize in the world.”    The 2023 winners were announced on February 28, with Aderinto, who is a professor of History and African Diaspora Studies, making the list.    Each of the winners…

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Chinese University Invents “Kissing Device” That Lets Users Smooch Over The Internet

The device is being advertised as a way to let long-distance couples share “real” physical intimacy. A university in China has invented a unique “kissing device” which has caused a buzz among Chinese social media users, who have reacted with both intrigue and shock. According to CNN, the invention has been patented by the Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology. The device is being advertised as a way to let long-distance couples share “real” physical intimacy.  The unique smooch device has been patented by the Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology.…

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Disney Pays Delaware State University a Visit

Tamia Gregory and Sabree Primus On Thursday, February 16, 2023, representatives from the Walt Disney Company visited the campus of Delaware State University to speak about their College Program HBCU Cohort, powered by the Disney on the Yard Summer Program and in the Education and Humanities Theatre, starting at 8:30 in the morning. Representatives Courtland Jackson and Taylor Barfield, alumni of the Disney Summer Internship program, are HBCU alumni as well, attending Bethune-Cookman University in Florida and Bowie State University in Maryland, respectively. They each spoke about their experiences at…

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Cambridge University PhD students launch Turkey earthquake bursary fund

   Three University of Cambridge doctoral students have launched a bursary fund to help university students affected by the devastating Turkey earthquake and its aftermath.     Elif Yumru, Mehmet Dogar and Zeynep Olgun, who are all History PhD students from Turkey, have created the bursary to collect donations, and show solidarity with those whose lives have been shattered by the disaster. More than 40,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria and hundreds of thousands have been left homeless.      Elif, who is studying at Newnham College, used…

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Nine-year-old Nigerian becomes youngest holder of  high school degree in U.S.

By Opeyemi Babalola       David Balogun, a nine-year-old Nigerian kid born in Pennsylvania has become one of the youngest known graduates to bag a high school degree.     He received a diploma from Reach cyber charter school – based in his state’s capital of Harrisburg – after taking classes remotely from his family home in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem.     He was born to Henry and Ronya Balogun, who own an outpatient psychiatric clinic they run together.     It would be recalled that some…

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Record-breaking detection of radio signal from atomic hydrogen in extremely distant galaxy using GMRT

16th January 2023/From India Institute of Science Press Release Astronomers from McGill University in Canada and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru have used data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune to detect a radio signal originating from atomic hydrogen in an extremely distant galaxy. The astronomical distance over which such a signal has been picked up is the largest so far by a large margin. This is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy. The findings have…

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HKUMed uncovers an unexpected T cell exhaustion factor driving cancer immunotherapy resistance

A research team from the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) has identified an unexpected driver of cancer immunotherapy resistance: the harmful effect of chronic Type I Interferon signalling on tumour-killing CD8+ T cells. These findings provided new insights into the development of exhausted CD8+ T cells, which no longer effectively limit tumour growth, and highlighted a new target for immunotherapy improvement. The research has been published in Cell Reports [link to publication]. Background Immunotherapy, where drugs reactivate the body’s immune system to fight diseases, is an increasingly popular first-line…

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How a 3 cm glass sphere could help scientists understand space weather

UCLA study overcomes the effects of Earth’s gravity, replicating conditions on other planets, stars SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY From UCLA News Key takeaways Solar flares and other types of space weather can wreak havoc with spaceflight and with telecommunications and other types of satellites orbiting the Earth. But, to date, scientists’ ability to research ways to overcome that challenge has been severely limited. That’s because experiments they conduct in laboratories here on Earth are affected by gravity in ways that are so different from conditions in space. But a new study by…

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Bowie State Receives $2.1 Million Grant From the National Science Foundation

Only HBCU to Receive Cybercorps Scholarships for Service Program Funding (BOWIE, Md.) – Students at Bowie State University now have the opportunity to participate in a new program designed to increase the number and diversity of individuals entering the government cybersecurity workforce by offering two-year scholarships for those majoring in cybersecurity under a $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF’s Scholarships for Service (SFS) program is providing more than $29 million in new funding this year to nine universities to support developing students for cybersecurity positions with the…

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