A new study published yesterday in Jama found that a test used to diagnose patients with lung cancer had a built-in racial bias. The algorithm in the software used to diagnose patients assumed that Black people had naturally weaker lung capacity, raising the threshold for recommending care and making it less likely that they would be prescribed medication. According to the study, up to 40 percent more Black men would have been diagnosed with breathing problems if the bias had been corrected. The study also pointed out that this specific test isn't the only place where racial bias affects medicine. Prejudices and assumptions about racial differences affect patients looking for heart and kidney care as well.
WARNING ABOUT PAYMENT APPS
There's a new warning for people who store money in payment apps like Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPC) said that the funds may not be secure in the case of a crisis, because while traditional bank accounts are secured up to $250,000, money held in a payment app doesn't have the same protections. So if one of these companies ever had a funding issue or was forced to close, customers could lose their money.
This viral video shows a terrier getting into a standoff with a huge bear. The dog's owner captured the incident on a ring camera. The video shows the terrier barking at the bear before being chased onto the porch of its Farmington, Connecticut home.
A diver named Gideon Harris stumbled upon a 1,800-year-old Roman-era shipwreck off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea several weeks ago. He recently reported the find to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which confirmed its provenance.
The bullets that an 18-year-old man fired while meandering through a northwestern New Mexico neighborhood struck targets apparently picked at random, including cars, homes and passersby.
