May Current Events 2024: Science & Technology News
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The world is a very busy place, and it's hard to stay on top of everything. Infoplease has got you covered. Here are the Science & Technology news events you need to know so far for May 2024.
- Apple Reports Its Biggest Sales Drawdown Over The Past One Year
- AstraZeneca Withdraws Covid Vaccine Citing Business Decision
- The European Union Investigates Meta Over Child Safety Concerns
- The Euclid Space Team Reveals New Images Of The Vast Universe
- The US Department Of Justice Shuts Down Global Malware Network
Apple Reports Its Biggest Sales Drawdown Over The Past One Year
Thursday, May 2, 2024 – In the first three months of 2024, Apple's sales fell 4% year-on-year to $90.8 billion (£72.5 billion), due to a sharp drop in demand for iPhones. Executives attributed the drop to Covid-related supply disruptions, which resulted in unusually strong sales during the same period last year.
The company's troubles, which included a string of revenue decreases in five of the past six quarters, stood out from the rest of the market. Smartphone shipments increased 10% globally in the first three months of the year. Apple's quarterly iPhone sales fell more than 10% year on year, with sales declining in every geographic region except Europe, with the firm's important Greater China market falling 8%.
Apple is also facing legal challenges from regulators in the United States and Europe over app store fees. A separate anti-monopoly action filed in the United States against Google challenges Apple's lucrative payments in exchange for making Google the default search engine on Safari, the company's internet browser.
Source: BBC
AstraZeneca Withdraws Covid Vaccine Citing Business Decision
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 – The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being discontinued after three billion doses worldwide. AstraZeneca maintained that it was a purely business decision and that they were satisfied with the performance of the vaccine.
It was called "a vaccine for the world" in November 2020 because it was cheaper and simpler to store than previous Covid vaccinations. AstraZeneca agreed to mass-produce it, and in June 2022, the World Health Organization said that the AstraZeneca vaccine is "safe and effective for individuals aged 18 and above."
It claimed new coronavirus strains have pushed demand to updated vaccinations. While saving millions of lives during the epidemic, the vaccination produced uncommon, occasionally deadly blood clots. It stated a "surplus of available updated vaccines" caused a "decline in demand" for their vaccine, which is "no longer being manufactured or supplied" due to the emergence of new vaccines that match the mutated strains of COVID-19 circulating.
Source: BBC
The European Union Investigates Meta Over Child Safety Concerns
Thursday, May 16, 2024 – The European Commission has launched an inquiry against the owners of Facebook and Instagram, citing worries that the sites are encouraging addictive behavior among minors and harming mental health.
The EU executive stated that Meta may have violated the Digital Services Act (DSA), a major regulation established by the bloc last summer that holds digital enterprises large and small accountable for misinformation, shopping scams, child exploitation, and other online damages. The DSA requires platforms to protect the privacy and safety of minors. Following a preliminary assessment, EU officials are concerned that Facebook and Instagram "may exploit minors' vulnerabilities and inexperience and cause addictive behavior."
They are also suspicious of the platform's age verification features. Users must be at least 13 years old to create an account on Facebook or Instagram. The DSA, which went into effect in February for platforms operating in Europe, was designed to push big internet platforms to accept responsibility for online safety.
Source: The Guardian
The Euclid Space Team Reveals New Images Of The Vast Universe
Thursday, May 23, 2024 – A Durham University-led satellite project to better comprehend the dark Universe has revealed five new and breathtaking photographs. The institution is a main collaborator of the European Satellite Agency's (Esa) Euclid satellite telescope, which is recognized as the costliest camera ever developed and will launch in July 2023.
According to one of the Spearheading members of the Euclid team, Professor Massey: “Euclid was designed over 20 years to withstand its harsh environment for at least six years. Today’s photographs demonstrate Euclid's ability to discern structures and things in the dark Universe with unprecedented clarity. This is a hugely exciting time, which will significantly advance our knowledge and understanding of the evolution of our Universe.”
Its newest images include clusters of thousands of galaxies, star-forming nurseries, and galaxy mergers. The university's researchers will compare previously recorded simulations to actual Euclid sightings to assist them analyze the telescope's data.
Source: BBC
The US Department Of Justice Shuts Down Global Malware Network
Thursday, May 30, 2024 – The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has shut down a worldwide malware network, perhaps the world's biggest, that stole $5.9 billion (£4.65 billion) and was related to other crimes. YunHe Wang, a St Kitts and Nevis citizen, has been charged with creating and operating the network and will be charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, substantial computer fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
The botnet, known as 911 S5, compromised approximately 19 million Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in almost 200 countries and was used for cyber-attacks, large-scale fraud, child exploitation, harassment, bomb threats, and export violations.
The US estimates that over half a million false unemployment insurance claims came from hacked IP addresses, resulting in a loss of more than $5.9 billion. Wang reportedly sold access to the IP addresses for around $99 million, while also purchasing property in the United States, St. Kitts & Nevis, China, Singapore, Thailand, and the UAE. Assets totaling about $60 million have been seized or designated for seizure.
Source: BBC
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