Study provides new estimates of breast cancer risks associated with HRT

A new study published by The BMJ today provides new estimates of the increased risks of breast cancer associated with use of different hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations in the UK.

Health workers and their families account for 1 in 6 hospital COVID-19 cases

Healthcare workers and their families account for a sixth (17%) of hospital admissions for COVID-19 in the working age population (18-65 years), finds a study from Scotland published by The BMJ today.

Australia cheers end of Melbourne lockdown but virus ravages Europe, US

Champagne corks popped in Australia's second-biggest city as a months-long coronavirus lockdown ended on Wednesday, contrasting with deepening gloom in Europe where France and Germany were set to reintroduce curbs.

Zeta takes aim at a hurricane-weary Gulf Coast

Louisiana braced Wednesday for what is expected to be its third hurricane strike this year as Zeta, the 27th named storm of a historically busy Atlantic hurricane season, headed toward an expected landfall south of New Orleans.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-zeta-aim-hurricane-weary-gulf-coast.html

Sony first-half net profit doubles, forecast revised up

Japan's Sony on Wednesday reported net profit doubled in the April-September period and revised up its full-year net profit forecast, citing growth in key sectors—including gaming—and financial factors.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-sony-first-half-net-profit.html

US senators to quiz Big Tech CEOs on legal protections

Tech platform CEOs on Tuesday defended a US law making them immune from liability for third-party content ahead of a hearing where senators are expected to rebuke the Silicon Valley firms over their handling of social media.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-senators-quiz-big-tech-ceos.html

Europe to send modules, astronauts to NASA moon station

The European Space Agency says it has agreed to provide several modules for NASA's planned outpost around the moon, in return for a chance to send European astronauts to the lunar orbiter.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-europe-modules-astronauts-nasa-moon.html

Here's why Ant Group is about to shatter IPO records

Stella Su, who lives and works in Shanghai, has used an ATM only once in the past year. Instead of cash, in recent years she has done almost all her business using the digital wallet Alipay –- shopping in a mall, buying stuff online or transferring money to friends.

source https://techxplore.com/news/2020-10-ant-group-shatter-ipo.html

How computer scientists and marketers can create a better CX with AI

Researchers from Erasmus University, The Ohio State University, York University, and London Business School published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines the tension between AI's benefits and costs and then offers recommendations to guide managers and scholars investigating these challenges.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-cx-ai.html

Reforestation plans in Africa could go awry

The state of mature ecosystems must be taken into account before launching massive reforestation plans in sub-Saharan Africa, according to geo-ecologist Julie Aleman, a visiting researcher in the geography department of Université de Montréal.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-reforestation-africa-awry.html

Coral researchers find link between bacterial genus and disease susceptibility

Corals that appear healthy are more prone to getting sick when they're home to too many parasitic bacteria, new research at Oregon State University shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-coral-link-bacterial-genus-disease.html

Mountain gorillas are good neighbours—up to a point

Mountain gorilla groups are friendly to familiar neighbours—provided they stay out of "core" parts of their territory—new research shows.

source https://phys.org/news/2020-10-mountain-gorillas-good-neighboursup.html

Sony first-half net profit doubles, forecast revised up

Japan's Sony on Wednesday reported net profit doubled in the April-September period and revised up its full-year net profit forecast, citing growth in key sectors—including gaming—and financial factors.

US senators to quiz Big Tech CEOs on legal protections

Tech platform CEOs on Tuesday defended a US law making them immune from liability for third-party content ahead of a hearing where senators are expected to rebuke the Silicon Valley firms over their handling of social media.

Merkel eyes 'lockdown light' to tame virus

Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to push for a "lockdown light" in crisis talks with Germany's regional leaders Wednesday, as the number of coronavirus cases soars and hospital beds fill up.

Here's why Ant Group is about to shatter IPO records

Stella Su, who lives and works in Shanghai, has used an ATM only once in the past year. Instead of cash, in recent years she has done almost all her business using the digital wallet Alipay –- shopping in a mall, buying stuff online or transferring money to friends.

Greater prostate cancer incidence; mortality among Black men linked to genetic alterations

Prostate cancer tumors from African American men had higher frequencies of certain genetic alterations that may be associated with aggressive disease, compared with prostate cancer tumors from white men, according to results from a study published in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Experts outline key challenges for assessing clinical efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

Collaboration and standardised approaches for assessing different vaccine efficacy endpoints are key for meaningful comparison of different COVID-19 vaccine candidates to ensure that the most effective vaccines are deployed, say authors of an opinion piece based on a review of evidence, and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

Residential context important factor in risk of COVID-19 mortality among older adults, Stockholm study suggests

Older people living with or in close contact with people of working age may be at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality in Stockholm, Sweden, according to an observational study published today in The Lancet Healthy Longevity journal.

COVID-19: Call for millions spent on failing system to be diverted to local services

A group of doctors is calling on the government to divert the hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on the failing centralised privatised COVID-19 national test and trace service into local primary care, local NHS labs and local public health services. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the doctors say this would avoid the fragmentation created by private companies, restore and rebuild much needed service capacity and reintegrate management of COVID-19 into health services.