You don't always have to look to the real world to figure out how plagues propagate Scientists in Finland are modeling a very (hopefully at least) fictional scenario to help understand how pathogens spread they're looking at the shambling undead – the ghoulish risen with a taste for human brains – zombies which focuses on individual interactions instead of a population-wide model could reveal insights that aid in the preparation for future pandemics A team led by mathematician Pauliina Ilmonen of Aalto University has been conducting models of a zombie uprising altering the parameters to determine how a plague of undead would unfold across Finland Although the full results are yet to be published the simulations are already ponying up some insights the window of time for containing a zombie outbreak is very narrow; with just a single zombie in Helsinki we'd need to act within just seven hours by destroying the 'infected' agent or quarantining the city zombies overrunning the entire country is inevitable "I shouldn't have found it surprising, but I was surprised at how quickly we have to react to keep our population alive," Ilmonen says "It made me think about moral issues like the rights of individuals versus the rights of a population." But it's surprisingly tricky to design such a simulation that works in a realistic way "What's the right probability for a human winning an encounter with a zombie? The problem is that we're walking blind here, because real data on such questions is severely limited," says mathematician Lauri Viitasaari of Uppsala University Mathematician Natalia Vesselinova of Aalto University adds "The large number of human-zombie interactions that have to be simulated makes this model computationally intensive." The solution was to simplify the model so that it could run on less power Now that the team has shown that their simulations work, they say it can be adapted for other regions of the world, and even other scenarios. For example, it could be used to study how rumors and gossip get around, or the spread of dangerous disinformation this could help develop mitigation strategies It certainly seems like zombies are an underutilized resource in epidemiology We'll be interested to see where this line of enquiry leads Sign In Register It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Kenneth Cornell Edward “Dempsey” Shaffer He was predeceased by his father Edward Shaffer and brother Richard Shaffer He is survived by his daughters Daytona and Dalainee and their mother Danielle Wood Shaffer and nieces Jessica Wilson (Matty Furioso) and Sarah Lepage (Johnny Lepage); his special friend Jessica Robertson (Alexis and Heath) who cared for him to the end; his Dryden family “Chuck” Shaffer Shelley Kiewning (Shaffer) and Ken Kiewning Ricki-Lee Helbling (Kiewning) and Ryan Helbling Cara-Marie Helbling and Rob Shaffer and Janet Shaffer with numerous extended family members and friends in Canada and Finland was the last child of Terttu Viitasaari who came from Ruona He spent countless hours plumbing the watery depths of many inland lakes and rivers in Northwestern Ontario This is what prompted him to attend Fleming College to become an Aquaculture Technician and for 15 years followed his passion driving everyday to the Dorion Fish Hatchery he attended many 5K,10K marathons and cross country skiing events with his daughters He always advocated for and participated in community fundraising events Golf Frisbee with his brother Henry (there was even a special Dempsey basket on their favourite course in B.C.) and spent countless hours testing his metal against the most impossible games and puzzles Donations can be made to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and in addition to that...go fishing Arrangements have been entrusted to Simpler Times Cremation Centre Trade association the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland has awarded Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd during its annual Safety Awards ceremony It honoured Nokian in the large companies category acknowledging the tyre maker’s senior management for their strong commitment to improving safety While Nokian Heavy Tyres had an accident frequency of 53 in 2016 The tyre maker has now achieved two accident-free years “Our entire personnel took safety as their top priority Cooperation within the personnel has been the key cornerstone of our success,” comments Antti Viitasaari Nokian Heavy Tyres’ initial emphasis was upon reactive industrial safety the company switched its focus to a more proactive approach towards safety in 2021 it has spent a significant amount of time on site-specific risk assessments The tyre maker has developed its proactive safety approach by focusing on cooperation and developing its employees’ safety skills and know-how “This provides more tools and know-how for individual decision making and increase our perseverance in case of any disturbances,” Viitasaari emphasises all employees take part in a minimum of two days’ training that includes key safety instruction Many work processes have also been made safer According to industrial safety representative Ari Niemelä various hazards have been eliminated after assessing whether the tools or protective equipment in use are suitable for the purpose “Succeeding at safety has motivated our personnel to make improvements and more safety observations of their working environment They have also become more inclined to report defects,” says Niemelä Nokian Heavy Tyres says it has also succeeded in transferring its good safety culture to its subsidiary wheel manufacturing operation “Big thanks to our entire staff who have made the right choices in terms of safety developing an even safer work environment is a joy,” says Manu Salmi senior vice president of Nokian Heavy Tyres If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com NASA’s Artemis III launcher will land on the Moon: this will mark the first crewed lunar mission since 1972 and the first time in history that a woman will be walking on the Moon In honour and celebration of humanity’s curiosity the Festival of Lights will play out the key events of space travel: the landing the opening of the horizon and the spacewalk Nõo and Tõravere over the horizon to Viitasaari municipality in Finland The tenth edition of the Festival of Lights will take place from 30 September to 6 October this time dedicated to expanding the horizons and discovering new knowledge The festival will open with a large-scale sound and light installation “Touchdown – Coliseum” created in cooperation with Latvian partners Story Hub and Those Guys Lightning on the territory of Tartu Airport and the Estonian Aviation Academy This is a place normally only accessible to people in the aviation industry but the festival gives everyone the chance to explore this new territory Does the new perspective create new opportunities or draw attention to pain points An integral part of the artwork is the specially created music into which composer Taavi Tulev fuses industrial flight sounds The space centre of the University of Tartu aka Tartu Observatory in cooperation with the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) will open the horizon for school students at the career week “Beyond!” scientists and entrepreneurs will be introducing exciting opportunities in space and engineering The youth project will also include mini-performances in Tõravere by the dance club Triiniks and the dance school Just The performances will be directed by students of the Danish Academy of Physical Education in Ollerup In the second half of the week we invite families in Nõo Tõrvandi and Viitasaari to decorate their homes together The community event unites different generations and offers creative pastimes as well as bringing the twin municipalities Nõo and Viitasaari closer together The festival will culminate in an open-air dance performance by Külli Roosna and Kenneth Flak in Nõo the performance explores the common language between art and brings unique events combining art and science to their home region the festival draws attention to the next generation of aerospace professionals as well as to Tartu Airport as a potential connection point with neighbouring countries [email protected] HELSINKI FINLAND JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 58 The Finnish software and information technology industry last year grew by 11.4 per cent in comparison to the previous year driven especially by game studios and small software developers finds a software industry survey published on Thursday is expanding at an annual rate of five per cent Finnish companies have found success especially in cloud computing Cloud computing refers to the use and development of information technology in a distributed online environment the net sales of larger companies in the sector contracted last year “Small and eager-to-grow software companies swim against the current in these difficult times The establishment of new innovative companies is vital for the national economy and it must be promoted with all means possible,” Rasmus Roiha the managing director at the Finnish Software Entrepreneurs' Association a director at the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries points out that it is important that small and medium companies acquire direct customers from abroad to ensure they are not entirely reliant on large companies for growth “Investments in software expertise are one of the most profitable investments in the future for Finland,” Viitasaari views representatives of 293 software companies responded to the survey conducted by research teams at the University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University in co-operation with the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries Finnish Software Entrepreneurs' Association and the Finnish Information Processing Association Jyrki Iivonen – HSAleksi Teivainen – HT© HELSINGIN SANOMATPhoto: Leif Rosas Advertisement inquiries and other after-sales issues: info@helsinkitimes.fi Helsinki Times is the first and only English language newspaper providing news about Finland in English A weekly print edition of Helsinki Times was published from March 2007 up until Feb Helsinki Times is an online-only publication and other groups and individuals interested in Finland from all around the world © Helsinki Times All rights reserved.  Terms of Use | Privacy Policy