The UK government is offering four cities a total of £35 million to encourage the use of electric vehicles, reports Electronics Weekly. The funds will be used in Nottingham, Bristol, Milton Keynes, and London to provide rapid-charging hubs and street lights that double as charging points. In addition, about 25,000 parking spaces will be opened up for those who commute via plug-in vehicles. The initiative is part of a £600 million package that extends through 2020. In related news, the U.S. proposes a $4 billion investment in autonomous-vehicle technology, as previously reported.
The belief that radiation from X-rays, CT scans, and other medical-imaging processes can cause cancer is based on an old, unproven linear no-threshold (LNT) theoretical model, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology. The risk estimates based on this model “are only theoretical and, as yet, have never been conclusively demonstrated by empirical evidence,” author James Welsh, MD, and colleagues write. “Use of the LNT model drives unfounded fears and “excessive expenditures on putative but unneeded and wasteful safety measures.” Dr. Welsh is a Loyola University Medical Center radiation oncologist and a professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
FAA authorities are banning drone flights are banning drone flights before, during, and after the Super Bowl in Santa Clara Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reports. Drones are largely restricted from flying near Levi’s Stadium anyway because of its proximity to San Jose airport. The Journal reports that security fears have spawned an anti-drone industry. Justin Peters at Slate says you can shoot them down with a shotgun, but that’s unimaginative and probably illegal. Netherlands National Police have used trained eagles to take down drones. Slate’s Future Tense has a video (it’s in Dutch).
IEEE Autotestcon 2016 will be held in Anaheim September 12-15, and organizers have issued a call for papers. All submissions should cover appropriate topics dealing with system readiness in general and automatic test technology in particular. Topics include but are not limited to performance-based logistics, health monitoring and diagnostics, embedded instrumentation, support economics, and test-support management. Visit http://autotestcon.com.
