Technology

University’s suit claims Alzheimer’s scientist conspired to take study data with him to new employer

A noted Alzheimer’s researcher’s leap to a new university has spawned a lawsuit that claims he conspired to take data, federal funding and employees along with him. The suit filed by the University of California at San Diego takes aim at neuroscientist Paul Aisen and his new university, the University…

Jul 8, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Google Earth’s digital tack, used to show location, wasn’t hearsay, 9th Circuit rules

A “digital tack” on Google Earth used to pinpoint the location of an arrest isn’t an inadmissible statement governed by hearsay rules, a federal appeals court has ruled. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case of a defendant, Paciano Lizarraga-Tirado, who claimed he was…

Jun 22, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Smartwatch makers should fund $1B education campaign about driving dangers, lawyer’s suit says

A California lawyer has filed a nuisance suit to require the makers of smartwatches to fund a $1 billion public education campaign about the dangers of distracted driving while wearing the devices. “The temptation to check the tiny screen immediately after receiving a notification is virtually irresistible,” says the suit…

Apr 21, 2015 1:35 PM CDT

Infographics make the complex simple for a jury, presenter says

There are few things in litigation more difficult than making the complex simple, says veteran trial lawyer Randy Juip, a partner at the Livonia, Mich., firm Foley, Baron, Metzger & Juip, but it’s part of a trial lawyer’s job. And the best way to do that, Juip said in an…

Apr 18, 2015 12:50 PM CDT

8th grader charged with cybercrime says he only intended to annoy his teacher

An eighth grader in Holiday, Florida, is facing a felony charge after accessing the school’s computer network and changing the background image on his teacher’s computer screen. The 14-year-old was charged with an offense against a computer system and unauthorized access, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Other publications with stories…

Apr 13, 2015 11:56 AM CDT

Does Facebook’s facial recognition technology violate privacy laws?

An Illinois man is suing Facebook, contending that its facial recognition technology violates the state’s privacy laws, the Chicago Tribune reports. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, argues that the social media company was required by Illinois law to inform Carlo Licata in writing that it would collect and retain his “biometric…

Apr 6, 2015 5:30 AM CDT

Homeowner’s ‘electromagnetic hypersensitivity’ suit against neighbor fails on appeal

A homeowner who claimed he suffered “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” as a result of his neighbor’s cellphone and Wi-Fi has lost an appeal. A trial court had tossed the $1.43 million suit filed in 2010 by Arthur Firstenberg, and the New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld the decision in a March 5…

Mar 26, 2015 5:50 AM CDT

Private texts transferred to workers’ corporate iPads led to wrongful firing, suit claims

Two former employees of Anheuser-Busch claim in a lawsuit that they were wrongly fired for private text messages transferred to a corporate-issued iPad through the iMessaging application. The suit by former New Jersey employees Victor Nascimento and Audry Yule says their employer discovered texts criticizing fellow employee Alex Davis when…

Mar 24, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

Scientists call for moratorium on DNA editing that can be passed to future generations

Biologists are calling for a moratorium on a DNA editing technique which makes genetic changes that can be passed on to future generations. In a paper published Thursday in the journal Science, the group of prominent biologists said safety and ethics need to be assessed before the technique is used…

Mar 20, 2015 9:19 AM CDT

Law partner creates SheStarts, a group to help female entrepreneurs

Women starting companies just don't get the breaks men do.

According to a 2014 Babson College study, startups with women on their executive team are three times more likely to get venture capital funding now than 15 years ago. However, 85 percent of businesses that received venture capital had no women on their executive team. Overall, startups with female chief execs got only 2.7 percent of investments.

Mar 1, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Can DNA be used to generate sketch of possible suspect? Cops in South Carolina give it a try

Police in Columbia, South Carolina, have released a sketch of a suspect in a 2011 double murder, even though there were no eyewitnesses and no videotape showing a person of interest. Police relied on DNA phenotyping provided by Parabon NanoLabs, report the New York Times and Fox News. Parabon and…

Feb 26, 2015 5:45 AM CST

Still battling code-theft case, former Goldman Sachs programmer sues bank for legal fees

A former computer programmer for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ultimately prevailed in a federal prosecution over claims that he stole source code from his employer. But Sergey Aleynikov is still battling Goldman to obtain reimbursement for some $3 million he says he has expended in legal defense fees, reports Reuters.…

Feb 10, 2015 3:50 PM CST

Britain nears legalization of ‘three-parent babies’

British lawmakers in the House of Commons approved legislation on Tuesday that would allow an in vitro fertilization technique intended to combat genetic diseases passed from mothers to children. The procedure uses DNA from three people to make so-called three-parent babies, report the New York Times and the Washington Post.…

Feb 4, 2015 7:20 AM CST

How should states regulate drones and aerial surveillance?

With a police helicopter hovering over his Taos County, New Mexico, home, Norman Davis consented in 2006 to allow a platoon of law enforcement officers, armed with A-15 semi-automatic weapons, to search his premises. The choppers had spotted marijuana plants that Davis, then 72, claimed he grew for medicinal purposes.

Feb 1, 2015 6:24 AM CST

People with disabilities want the Internet to be more accessible

When Donna Hill self-published a book, The Heart of Applebutter Hill, in May 2013, she arranged for it to be distributed on electronic platforms, including Scribd, an online service that hosts digital books and other online documents, including court rulings. But when the legally blind 64-year-old author tried to use…

Feb 1, 2015 3:00 AM CST