This week has brought us news of an innovative way to get over your ex with the aid of Facebook, National Toilet Day celebration and FDA-approved, genetically-engineered salmon. Here are just a few of the news you might have missed this week.
FDA approves nation’s first ever genetically engineered animal: AquAdvantage salmon
After two decades of what the FDA calls “exhaustive and rigorous scientific review” the AquAdvantage salmon, which grows twice as fast, will be hitting supermarket seafood cases.
Critics call it “frankenfish,” but the Food and Drug Administration granted its approval on Thursday, saying the faster-growing salmon is safe to eat. This new type of salmon could be in supermarkets in a couple of years.
AquAdvantage is an Atlantic salmon with a Chinook salmon growth hormone that allows it to grow all year and a gene from the eel-like ocean pout to activate that growth hormone, ABC News said. The salmon is engineered by the Massachusetts-based company AquaBounty.
Laws “don’t require stores to label the AquAdvantage,” and it’s likely consumers won’t even know they’re eating it.
Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target and others have already vowed not to sell the genetically altered salmon, the Post reports.
The fish is a “game changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats,” AquaBounty CEO Ron Stotish said in a statement.
Facebook makes breakups easier
If you’re trying to get over your ex, Facebook might be able to help.
Starting Thursday, the social media website will provide features that could help you get over them. You can see less of your former partner’s name and profile picture around Facebook, remove their posts from your News Feed, limit how many of your photos, videos and status updates they’ll be able to see, keep their name from being suggested when people write messages or tag friends in photos and edit who can see your past posts associated with your ex.
These features, for now, are only available on U.S. mobile phones.
Everyone else will need to find other, more traditional, ways to get over their ex.
Microsoft to invest $1 billion on security
CEO Satya Nadella is building a dedicated site and assembling a new group of experts to help Microsoft Corp. respond faster to threats to its various products. This is his first big move towards cybersecurity since earning his position, according to Bloomberg.
Cybersecurity and protection against hacking have been a priority since the recent attacks of Sony Corp., Anthem Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Nadella said the new security strategy centers on a platform that “offers features to protect from, detect and respond to threats,” a network that would be in coordination with other big industries.
“We don’t think of security as being a separate piece of technology,” Nadella said. “It has to be core to the operational systems that you use, where your data resides, where your most critical applications usage is.”
Gov. Greg Abbott said he has the authority to refuse to house Syrian refugees
Abbott said in an interview on FOX News that his authority to block Syrian refugees from settling in Texas is clearly stated in Section 8-1522 of the United States Code. Specifically, he pointed to a provision that says activities by local refugee resettlement agencies “should be conducted in close cooperation and advance consultation with State and local governments.”
According to The Houston Chronicle, more than 30 governors announced a desire to block Syrian refugees in the days after Syria-based Islamic State killed at least 129 people in Paris on Friday.
“The money that flows from the federal government to these agencies goes through the state, and these agencies have to, quote, cooperate with the states,” Abbott told host Sean Hannity. “Because I am saying that we are not going to allow these refugees in the state of Texas, that means that we, as a state, are going to be able to cut this off, and that is pursuant to federal law.”
Thursday was World Toilet Day and organizers hoped to raise awareness for global sanitation
The World Toilet Organization established the day in 2001.
The U.N. recognized it as an official U.N. international day in 2013, and now it is one of those holidays we’re not sure how to celebrate.
Unfortunately, an estimated 2.4 billion people lack access to sanitation facilities. Of the world’s 7 billion people, 2.4 billion do not have access to a basic toilet. Almost 1 billion people still defecate in the open.
This holiday serves as a method to raise awareness and help those who may not have the resources.