Taiwan Quietly Urges US to Calm Rhetoric on China Chip Dangers（メモ）

Taiwan Quietly Urges US to Calm Rhetoric on China Chip Dangers

Officials in Taiwan are privately urging the US to tone down its warnings about the dangers of relying on chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and top Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul are among those to have called US dependence on Taiwanese chips “untenable” and “unsafe.”

The warnings come as the US seeks to reduce its dependence on Taiwan’s microchips, while at the same time promising to defend the island against any Chinese invasion.

Taiwanese officials are worried that the US warnings are damaging their business interests.

Vocabularies:

• urging: The act of strongly encouraging someone to do something.
• encouraging: giving someone support, confidence, or hope to do something. It can also mean showing approval or praising someone for their efforts.
• rely: To depend on something or someone to achieve a goal or to get something done.
• among: Used to indicate that someone or something is a part of a group or collection.
• indicate: to point out or suggest something, usually by signs or signals. It can also mean to show or express something indirectly or briefly.
• dependence: The state of relying on someone or something to do something.
• seek: To try to find something or someone.
• invasion: An act of forcefully entering or taking over a place or a situation without permission or welcome.

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Apple Is the One Big Tech Company Without a Clear ChatGPT Strategy（メモ）

Apple does not have a clear strategy for ChatGPT, a type of generative AI that has attracted significant attention from Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

Apple's AI today is mainly used to improve the day-to-day experience of its products rather than within Siri, its AI-powered voice assistant.

Although Apple has made strides to improve its AI, it has yet to produce anything in the genre of generative AI.

This could be due to Apple's investment in other initiatives such as the augmented-reality headset and autonomous vehicles.

However, if AI evolves to become the post-mobile platform, as projected by industry pioneer Kai-Fu Lee, Apple may feel less comfortable.

Vocabularies:

• strategy: a plan of action or a way to achieve a goal.
• attract: caused someone or something to be interested or drawn towards something else.
• significant: important, noteworthy, or having a major impact.
• attention: focus or concentration on something or someone.
• mainly: mostly or primarily.
• stride: advances or improvements in a particular area.
• genre: a particular category or type of art, music, literature, or film.
• investment: the act of putting money or resources into something in order to gain a profit or advantage in the future.
• initiative: new projects or programs intended to achieve specific goals or solve problems.
• evolve: develops or changes gradually over time.
• industry: a particular field of business or commerce.

Massive mosquito factory in Brazil aims to halt dengue（メモ）

Massive mosquito factory in Brazil aims to halt dengue 

The non-profit World Mosquito Program (WMP) is set to release modified mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacterium, which prevents the insects from transmitting viruses, in many of Brazil's urban areas over the next 10 years.

A mosquito factory will be built to supply the initiative, with the facility expected to produce up to five billion mosquitoes annually.

Brazil has one of the highest rates of dengue infection, reporting more than two million cases in 2022.

Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes have been shown to reduce the incidence of dengue by 77%, but researchers warn operating the technology on such a large scale may be challenging.

Vocabularies:

• prevent: to stop something from happening or someone from doing something
• annually: once every year

COVID-origins data from Wuhan market published: what scientists think（メモ）

COVID-origins data from Wuhan market published: what scientists think

The first peer-reviewed analysis of the Chinese swabs collected from the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan confirms the presence of animal DNA in the samples that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

The study analyzed 60 positive samples and 112 negative swabs and found that many wild-animal species were present in the market, including raccoon dogs that have the potential to transmit the virus.

The study supports the natural-origin hypothesis and suggests that the market may have acted as an amplifier of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

However, there are concerns about the quality of the analysis, and further forensic analyses could reveal whether any animal DNA in the swabs bears signs of immune-system activation, indicating active infection.

The data do not clearly identify a specific animal as an intermediate host, but the results highlight the need to study animals, including raccoon dogs, to understand how well they transmit the virus.

Vocabularies:

• peer-reviewed: having been read and checked by another scientist or expert working in the same subject area
• swab: a small piece of soft material used for cleaning a cut or for taking a small amount of substance from a body, or the substance itself that can then be tested
• presence: the fact that someone or something is in a place
• species: a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and can breed with each other
• concern: to cause worry to someone
• further: to a greater distance or degree, or at a more advanced level
• immune-system: the cells and tissues in the body that make it able to protect itself against infection