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Eco/Invest/Demography

Driverless taxis to cancer drugs: Google’s moonshots are serious business

More than half of that “Other Bets” valuation, though, would come from Waymo LLC, the self-driving taxi company whose chief executive officer John Krafcik stepped down last month after it became clear the promise of self-driving wouldn’t be fulfilled as soon as many tech optimists expected a few years ago. Time was when some investors valued Waymo above $100 billion; that number has reportedly melted to about $30 billion. How the business can make money in the near future is still unclear.

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Chinese scientists discussed weaponising SARS coronaviruses in 2015: Report

Peter Jennings, the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), told news.com.au that the document is as close to a “smoking gun” as we’ve got.

“I think this is significant because it clearly shows that Chinese scientists were thinking about military application for different strains of the coronavirus and thinking about how it could be deployed,” Jennings said.

“It begins to firm up the possibility that what we have here is the accidental release of a pathogen for military use,” Jennings added.

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Tens of millions have plunged into poverty in Covid ravaged India

Economists warn depleting household savings and falling incomes will have an impact on domestic consumption, which accounts for almost 60% of GDP. A study by Nikhil Gupta, an economist at Mumbai-based brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd., found that India’s household savings dropped to 22.1% of GDP in the quarter through December, from 28.1% in the three months ended June last year. Full-year numbers show India’s savings growth lagged behind the likes of the U.S., the U.K. and Japan, he said.

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Covid-19 treatment now covered under Goa government’s health scheme

The notification said all charges, including admission, those related to medical consultancy, nursing, beds, diet, PPE kits, X-Ray, ECG and cardiac monitor, among others, will be covered under the scheme’s package.

It offers health insurance coverage between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh, depending on the number of family members, and provides benefits on a cashless basis.

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Moderna vaccine 96 percent effective in 12-17 year-olds, study shows

The pharmaceutical company said that any side effects had been “mild or moderate in severity,” most commonly pain at the injection site. With the second shot, side effects included “headache, fatigue, myalgia and chills,” similar to those observed in adults who had received the vaccine.

“No serious safety concerns have been identified to date,” it said.

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