Month: September 2017

Enlarge / So do the Lasker awards. (credit: Getty | NurPhoto)

For 72 years, the prestigious Lasker Awards in biomedical research and public service have gone to top researchers and leaders “who have made major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of human disease.” The awards are seen as “America’s Nobels” by some and many winners also win Nobels—87 of them, to be exact.

This year’s winners are no different. But their awarding comes with a hint of a political message.

The winners are Douglas Lowy and John Schiller, National Cancer Institute researchers who worked to develop a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and other tumors caused by caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV); Michael Hall, a molecular biologist who made advances in understanding fundamentals of cell growth controlled by nutrient-activated TOR proteins; and Planned Parenthood for “providing essential health services and reproductive care to millions of women for more than a century.”

Enlarge / Shannon Liss-Riordan, who has brought lawsuits against GrubHub and other firms, seen here in 2012. (credit: Boston Globe / Getty Images News)

SAN FRANCISCO—The first trial over the status of workers in the "gig economy"—or one worker, anyhow—has begun here. The sole question to be decided is this: During the few months Raef Lawson drove for food-delivery company GrubHub, beginning in late 2015, was he an employee or an independent contractor?

It's an intensive, deep dive into one tiny slice of the new breed of apps that make up the gig economy. And if Lawson is successful, it could make the industry more vulnerable to other, similar litigation.

The financial stakes in the case aren't high. Lawson's case failed to win class-action status, so he can't ask for damages for anyone but himself. His lawyers' pre-trial brief (PDF) acknowledges there's less than $600 in damages on the line, at the moment.

The Nissan Leaf may have neither the range nor cachet of a Tesla, but that hasn't stopped Nissan selling almost 300,000 Leafs (Leaves?) since the car's introduction in 2010. But seven years is a long time in the car world, to say nothing of the gains in lithium-ion battery technology since then. On Wednesday morning in Tokyo, Nissan unveiled the second-generation Leaf. It has more range and more power than the old car, yet it will cost slightly less when it goes on sale in Japan next month, then in the US, Canada, and Europe in this coming January.

More range!

As you might expect (or demand) it has had a range boost. At launch, the Leaf will have a 40kWh pack, good for about 150 miles here in the US once it gets homologated by the EPA. (If you need a vivid reminder of the differences between regulators, Nissan says that the car gets 400km on the Japanese JC08 test and should achieve 380km when Europe's NEDC homologates it.) Charging times are 16 hours at 3kW, 8 hours at 6kW, and you can get an 80 percent charge in 40 minutes on a fast charger.

Enlarge (credit: Ira Gelb)

Many technology companies consider Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to be the a foundation of the Internet economy. The 1996 law gives website owners broad immunity for content submitted by users. Advocates say that allows websites to host a wide variety of user-generated content without worrying about getting sued.

Now, Congress is considering the first significant change to the law in its 21-year history. Critics say certain websites have hidden behind the law while publishing ads for the sexual exploitation of children. Activists are pushing for legislation that would carve out a sex trafficking exception to Section 230, allowing state prosecutions and private lawsuits against websites that host ads for sex with children.

"We've crafted a law that protects a sector of business with complete immunity against civil actions by victims even where there's evidence that that company has knowingly facilitated the trafficking of that child," says Samantha Vardaman of the advocacy organization Shared Hope.