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<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-flash-mob-robbery-nordstrom-hit-two-years-ago-2023-8">Shocking incidents of retail crime</a> have many companies getting creative with new anti-theft tech.</li><li>One such system fills a space with a dense, dry fog to reduce visibility and disorient criminals.</li></ul><p class="p1">Confronted with rising concerns over <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-shows-flash-mob-robbery-nordstrom-hit-two-years-ago-2023-8">smash-and-grab robberies</a>, some US retailers are installing a literal cloud security system in their stores.</p><p class="p1">While police response times vary <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/17/1149455678/why-data-from-15-cities-show-police-response-times-are-taking-longer">widely</a>, one system made by a company called Density could put thievery on pause until they arrive. The security device emits a dry, dense fog that can fill a store in a matter of seconds, rendering visibility effectively to zero and disorienting would-be criminals. </p><p class="p1">"The Density Security Fogger is effective at stopping roughly 97% of burglary loss, versus the usual security alarm system alone, which is about 17% effective," said Mike Egel, president of DensityUSA, in a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://densityusa.com/2023/06/21/press-release-density-security-foggers-authorized-for-sale-in-north-charleston-sc-and-prince-george-county-md-cloned/">statement</a>.</p><p class="p1">Egel was not immediately available for comment.</p><p class="p1">The fog is also made with the same chemicals as that used in concerts or theatrical performances, which is considered harmless to humans, merchandise, and property, and dissipates after about an hour.</p><p class="p1">The company has reported an expanding US presence this year, and says the technology has previously been deployed in more than 80 countries.</p><p class="p1">In particular, the system was so effective at curbing cigarette theft from UK convenience stores, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://densityusa.com/how-it-works/">said</a>, that thieves began targeting stores without the tech. When those stores installed foggers, the thieves broke into warehouses, which were then fitted with the devices.</p><p class="p1">Large retailers including Target and Dick's Sporting Goods have blamed a rise in retail theft for taking <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/target-says-shoplifting-retail-crime-cause-million-dollar-profit-hit-2023-5">a larger bite out of profits</a>, as well as jeopardizing the safety of workers and customers.</p><p class="p1">Industry groups estimate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/organized-retail-crime-theft-walmart-target-2022-12">inventory shrink costs companies more than $100 billion</a>, with external theft contributing about 37% of that figure.</p><p class="p1">The baseline Density fogger unit is optimized for smaller stores — about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet —  and demonstration <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfEOiYs1gOY">footage</a> shows a larger model clouding up the electronics section of a big-box store.</p><p class="p1">The company has 3,500 installations in the US so far, and a deal with a mobile phone carrier is slated to add 6,500 more, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/retailers-fog-machine-to-stop-robbers">Washington Examiner.</a></p><p class="p1">The tech is one of several <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-home-depot-lowes-deter-shoplifting-with-anti-theft-measures-2023-1">countermeasures companies are using to combat retail crime</a>, including lockable displays and merchandise that won't work without proof-of-purchase.</p><p class="p1">A small business owner in Chicago told the local <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEfeX4wZVmk">CBS</a> affiliate she installed the Density system after her store was hit with a pair of robberies within one year.</p><p class="p1">"It just gives me peace of mind — I sleep better," she said.</p>

Fog is the latest tool retailers are deploying to fight theft

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11903597" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="security" source="Orion">Security</keyword> company: "There's no other vulnerable situation on the planet like being on a superyacht." </li><li>Billionaires spend $10 million and more to protect guests and information on their superyachts.</li></ul><p>Former Austrian military commando Matthias Fitzthum tells all of his "billionaire" clients the same thing in the wake of a possible drone attack on their superyacht, better known as a code yellow.</p><p>"Play a song you normally don't hear or enjoy, like AC/DC's 'Hells Bells,'" the CEO of <a href="https://www.bespokehomesecurity.com/yacht-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bespoke Home &amp; Yacht Security</a> told Insider about the agreed-upon protocol to file into the ship's armored serenity zone. "The song is a very clear alarm for all family members to retract immediately." </p><p>With <keyword id="11893298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crime" source="Orion">crime</keyword> rising around the country and the globe, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Fin-chicago-wealthy-neighborhoods-hire-their-own-private-police-as-crime-rises-11651237201" target="_blank" rel="noopener">particularly in affluent areas</a>, the wealthy are <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/safe-rooms-demand-homeowners-1235111722/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sparing no expense</a> to safeguard their homes with panic rooms and a building a veritable citadel to protect their properties.</p><p>Now they're doing the same with their superyachts ahead of <a href="https://www.traveller.com.au/the-uberrich-are-clogging-up-the-french-riviera-with-luxury-superyachts-h1yf7x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cruising season this summer</a> in places like the Mediterranean and French Riviera.</p><p>In other words, the uber-wealthy are creating "floating fortresses."</p><div type="image" title="Drone attacks are the greatest threat for yachts nowadays." height="2160" width="2880" msid="91869335" hostid="261"></div><p>Security firm, Bespoke Home &amp; <keyword id="12378789" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="yacht" source="Orion">Yacht</keyword> Security, told Insider that inquiries have jumped 1,000% in the past six months. "They say, 'We're scared, we're fearful.' It's wealthy areas around the world," said Fitzthum, adding, "There's no other vulnerable situation on the planet like being on a superyacht."</p><p>The super-wealthy are shelling out upwards of $10 million to <a href="https://www.bespokehomesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/BESPOKE-HOME-YACHT-SECURITY_-SECURITY.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tactically fortify their vessels from every angle</a>. The sophisticated — and unregulated — drone culture, which can carry bombs and chemical weapons, coupled with piracy and snipers, are the greatest threats today, according to Bespoke. </p><p>"Drones are and will probably be the biggest threat going forward for superyachts," said Dean Cryer, VP of International Operations for Bespoke, whose company counterpunches with specialized anti-drone equipment.</p><p>Bespoke is one of the multiple security companies that handle security for the ultra-wealthy,  according to Sam Thompson, a Monaco-based manager at <a href="https://www.jmsyachting.com/">JMS Yachting</a>, a management company that looks after clients' yachts. "These yachts are targeted," said Thompson, adding, "there's an increased vigilance onboard these yachts."</p><div type="image" title="Bespoke panic rooms and armored serenity zones are part of the security package." height="2460" width="3281" msid="91869336" hostid="261"></div><p>The goal? "We're creating a Fort Knox," said the 51-year-old Fitzthum, who was former special forces for the Austrian military. "Superyachts are at hyper high risk," he added, explaining that the risk today is "multiplied by a factor of 10 or 15" compared to a few years ago because they need to protect assets and information as well as lives.</p><p>While Bespoke declined to comment on the nature of their clients, the company told Insider, "Most of our clients are billionaires, ultra-high net worth — a home in LA, London, Monaco, Caribbean, with a private jet and superyacht," said Cryer.</p><p>Knowing any and all weak spots of their clients' lives is also critical, Fitzthum said, which requires intimate knowledge.</p><p>"I must know more than the client's lawyer or wife. I have to know about their second and third lives. Any sexual topics, any mistresses, any apartments nobody knows about because he's meeting [his mistress]," said Fitzthum of a client's risk assessment. </p><div type="image" title="Matthias Fitzthum, a former Austrian military commando, takes on the bad guys looking to pounce on superyachts." height="1771" width="2362" msid="91869337" hostid="261"></div><p>Fitzthum said clients rarely balk at the eye-popping price tag, which can easily crack $1 million and go as high as $10 million and more to install Bespoke's "unique universe of security." Given the valuables on board, it gives new meaning to the term "precious cargo."</p><p>"I've seen art worth hundreds of millions of dollars — whatever you can imagine," said Fitzthum of the world-class sculptures and paintings on board makeshift floating museums. "I've seen Picassos and Van Goghs on board of superyachts."</p><p>It's a drop in the bucket to protect physical assets, to say nothing of the safety of the lives aboard — as some 20 guests and 100 crew members are typically on these vessels.  </p><p>Though Bespoke declined to detail any instances with clients due to strict NDAs, the principals noted today's biggest risk can be when superyachts dock at ports to refuel. "The amount of attacks on superyachts is heavily increasing, especially in a harbor or at anchor in a bay. This is new," said Fitzthum, calling it a "big problem of piracy, of opportunity."</p><div type="image" title="Cruising season will be safer this year as yacht owners turn to military-style security." height="511" width="682" msid="91869338" hostid="261"></div><p>Protection includes long-, medium-, and close-range detection, perimeter detection and defense as well as underwater detection. There's no fingerprint reader to open doors on these vessels. "The fingerprint reader is bullshit because an intruder can cut off your fingers and open any device," said Fitzthum, noting his preferred palm vein scanner. "It can only open the door while you're alive because the veins are only readable when you're alive. Once someone cuts off your arm, it's useless."</p><p>A package can include a highly trained crew of former Royal Marines, maritime cyber security, bulletproof floodlights and sirens, thermal cameras to help identify intruders through bad weather, and heavy engineering in armored and bulletproof panic rooms and safe-havens.</p><p>"They're sealed in a way that no gas or fog can get through these doors. No liquids — that's key," said Fitzthum. Armored and bulletproof tenders — the smaller boats used to ferry passengers to port from larger vessels — are a must when a client wants to dine onshore for dinner. </p><p>Fitzthum, who compared his layered systems of protection to the net of a spider, imparted a final warning: "Wherever someone tries to attack this net, they're in deep shit." </p>

Billionaires worried about their safety on superyachts are creating 'floating fortresses'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/planes">Planes</a> are designed with many safety features - from flame-resistant seat cushions to hidden bathroom locks.</li><li>Other safety features include <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meaning-of-airplane-cabin-triangles-2017-6">black triangles</a> and yellow hooks.</li><li>Airplanes also don't have oxygen tanks, but they have ashtrays.</li><li>This video reveals 8 secret <a href="https://www.insider.com/surprising-secrets-about-flying-2018-7">safety features</a> you probably didn't know existed.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p><em>Following is a transcript of the video.</em></p><p><strong>Narrator: </strong>This is the bathroom door on an airplane and it can save your life. Not because it's the only thing standing between you and the guy that ate an airport burrito before he got on board. It actually has a hidden safety feature. Can you figure it out?</p><h2>1. Yellow hooks</h2><p>In case of an emergency that requires the pilot to land on the water, you'll be grateful for these little yellow hooks. The number and placement of hooks on each wing vary from plane to plane, but they all do the same thing: help passengers to safety. They're an anchor for ropes, which passengers use to steady and pull themselves across the wing especially during a water landing. The ropes and hooks can also be used to tether rafts to the plane so they don't float away as passengers board.</p><h2>2. No oxygen tanks</h2><p>Let's say your plane does depressurize. You know the drill - pull down on the mask to extend the tube, cover your nose and mouth with the yellow cup, and always put your own mask on first. But wait, why do you have to pull down on the mask? It's not to reach your face. It's actually to start a chemical reaction. T</p><p>here are no oxygen tanks on airplanes. They're just too heavy and bulky to be practical. Instead, the panel above your head contains a chemical oxygen generator. It's a small canister that holds sodium chlorate, barium peroxide, and a pinch of potassium perchlorate. And when all three mix together, the extremely hot chemical reaction lets off oxygen.</p><h2>3. Fire-resistant cushion</h2><p>Your seat cushion functions as a flotation device, but did you know it's also fireproof? Let's take this back a few decades. During a 1967 test for the first Apollo moon mission, three astronauts were killed when the interior of the capsule caught on fire. An investigation showed that the craft was filled with highly flammable materials including the foam in the seat cushions.</p><p>This led NASA to conduct a whole slew of research for a way to cover flammable things with a fire-resistant material. So in 1984, the Federal Aviation Administration issued new regulations regarding the flammability of airplane seats. And in fact, it's estimated that 20 to 25 lives are saved each year because their seats don't catch on fire.</p><h2>4. Black triangle</h2><p>Above some of those flame-resistant seats, you might see a little black or red triangle. Those triangles actually signify what's nicknamed "William Shatner's seat." It's a reference to a 1963 episode of "The Twilight Zone," in which Shatner's character sees a gremlin on the wing of the plane. The triangles signal to the crew which windows have the best view of the wings in case a flap malfunctions or to check to see if they've been deiced.</p><h2>5. Little window hole</h2><p>While you're staring at the gremlin on the wing, you might notice a small hole in the window. Usually not a good feature for a window, but necessary in this case. It's called a bleed hole. And it prevents your airplane window from blowing out. That's because the air pressure inside the plane is so much greater than outside, which would cause any normal window to explode.</p><p>But the windows on an airplane are made up of three panes: inner, middle, and outer. The outer pane takes the pressure, the middle acts as a fail-safe, and the inner is just there so passengers don't mess with the other two. The hole also lets moisture escape from the gaps so the windows don't fog up or freeze.</p><h2>6. Dimming lights</h2><p>If the idea of your window popping out mid-flight causes you stress, just try to keep the shade up anyways. That simple action could give you peace of mind and potentially save your life. Before taking off and landing at night, crews will often dim the cabin lights and ask passengers to open their shades. This is to give their eyes time to adjust to the darkness. In case of evacuation, passengers' eyes will already be acclimated to the blackness outside. If the lights stayed on, their eyes would need time to adjust and they'd end up wasting precious seconds stumbling blindly instead of quickly evacuating.</p><h2>7. Hidden bathroom lock</h2><p>While joining the mile-high club might seem like a fun idea, you won't get the kind of privacy you might expect. In fact, a crew member could open the bathroom door at any moment no matter if you locked it or not. On the outside of most airplane bathroom doors is a little plate that says "LAVATORY." And under that little plate is a latch that unlocks the door from the outside. This allows the crew to access the bathroom in case of an emergency.</p><h2>8. Ashtray</h2><p>While you're in the bathroom, you might notice an ashtray. "But wait," you think to yourself, "I thought it was illegal to smoke on planes!" You're right! Smoking on an airplane has been banned on US airlines since the late 1980s and could saddle you with a fine of up to $25,000. Even with the threat of a fine, the Federal Aviation Administration isn't taking chances. It lists ashtrays in bathrooms as legally required to meet the minimum equipment needed for a plane. Trash cans on a plane are mostly filled with flammable materials, like cocktail napkins. So tossing a cigarette butt into one of those would not be good.</p><p>After all, there are still plenty of things in a plane that aren't covered in flame-resistant material.</p> <p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/future-of-retail?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=transportation&amp;itm_campaign=future-of-retail-2"></a></p>

8 secret airplane safety features you didn't know existed

Have you been looking for a smartphone to buy this season? Global technology brand <keyword id="2210217" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="oneplus" source="Orion">OnePlus</keyword> just launched the <keyword id="9374259" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oneplus-nord" source="Orion">OnePlus Nord</keyword> 2T, and its flagship features can put a lot of premium smartphones to shame.<br /><br />Packed with the necessary flagship essentials, the OnePlus Nord 2T takes all the things that made the OnePlus Nord 2 a screaming success to offer something even better. It’s an all-round upgrade with faster charging, faster performance and a stunning display. <br /><br />Here’s why the OnePlus Nord 2T is the smartphone to buy this season -<br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="80W SUPERVOOC fast charging" comment="subhead" text="80W SUPERVOOC fast charging"><span data-til="noop">80W SUPERVOOC fast charging</span></cmsannotation><br />If you are a big proponent of smartphones always in your hand and not found charging – the OnePlus Nord 2T does just that. Borrowing the flagship 80W SUPERVOOC fast-charging from the OnePlus 10 Pro, the Nord 2T’s 4500mAh dual-cell battery can charge from 1-100% in just 27 minutes. Just a 15-minute charge gets you a full day's usage. The brand claims it is 120% faster than the original OnePlus Nord. <br /><br />Also, you do not need to fret about the batteries overheating with such powerful charging because the OnePlus Nord 2T is TUV Rheinland certified for safe fast charging and usage. The phone has nine built-in temperature sensors to monitor the charging temperature in real-time, ensuring the phone stays safe and cool during the charging process. There’s also an independent integrated circuit which manages the charging system to ensure safety and stability.<br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Flagship triple cameras" comment="subhead" text="Flagship triple cameras"><span data-til="noop">Flagship triple cameras</span></cmsannotation><br />The OnePlus Nord 2T features a powerful 50MP Sony IMX766 primary camera sensor with optical image stabilisation (OIS), same as the more premium OnePlus 10R, along with a 120-degree wide-angle camera and a 2MP mono lens. The primary camera has a large 1/1.56-inch sensor with 1.0um pixel size, which combined with the OIS, lets in 56% more light allowing the OnePlus Nord 2T to capture brighter and more detailed photos, even in dimly lit environments. <br /><br />The camera also supports Nightscape mode, which relies on the computational photography capabilities of the chipset to deliver high levels of details and natural colours in low light. <br /><br />There’s also the AI highlight mode which leverages Sony’s DOL-HDR image processing to improve the brightness, colour, contrast of videos, even in backlit environments, uneven lighting or at night time.<br /><br />On the front is a 32MP selfie shooter, same as the OnePlus 10 Pro that supports EIS and AI-deblurring algorithm to greatly improve the clarity and sharpness of photos and videos.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="OnePlus Nord 2T" msid="92675596" hostid="261" sizebytes="422631"></div><br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Flagship performance" comment="subhead" text="Flagship performance"><span data-til="noop">Flagship performance</span></cmsannotation><br />The OnePlus Nord 2T’s fast and smooth performance comes from the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, a chipset with an octa-core CPU going up to 3 GHz in speed. The chipset is made on a 6nm TSMC process, promising higher power efficiency and stable gaming performance. It also ensures stable temperatures thanks to MediaTek’s HyperEngine 5.0. The chipset is combined with up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage to ensure the performance remains fast and smooth.<br /><br />Furthermore, the OnePlus Nord 2T supports Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Hybrid 2.0 technology that allows for more consistent data speeds on Wi-Fi networks and lowers audio latency when the smartphone is connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices simultaneously.<br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Flagship Display" comment="subhead" text="Flagship Display"><span data-til="noop">Flagship Display</span></cmsannotation><br />The OnePlus Nord 2T features a large 6.43-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate that facilitates the fast and smooth experience. It also features HDR10+ support on popular streaming apps like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix with richer and more vivid colours. There are dual ambient light sensors on the front and back of the device to accurately adjust the brightness of the display for a better, more comfortable visual experience.<br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Flagship Design" comment="subhead" text="Flagship Design"><span data-til="noop">Flagship Design</span></cmsannotation><br />The OnePlus Nord 2T weighs just 190 grams and is just 8.2mm thick, making it extremely comfortable in hand. The phone is offered in two colours - Gray Shadow and Jade Fog. The former features a dark sandstone with an anti-glare treatment offering resitance to sweat and fingerprints, reminiscent of the aesthetics of the OG OnePlus One. The Jade Fog variant features a glossy jade green finish and misty undertones, for a flashy and elegant aesthetic.<br /><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Pricing" comment="subhead" text="Pricing"><span data-til="noop">Pricing</span></cmsannotation><br />The OnePlus Nord 2T is available starting at ₹28,999 for the 8+128GB variant from July 5, 2022 on Amazon.in, <keyword id="12229264" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oneplus-store-app" source="Orion">Oneplus Store app</keyword> and in <keyword id="10118403" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oneplus-experience-stores" source="Orion">OnePlus Experience stores</keyword> and authorised partner stores. <br /><br />If you are looking to buy OnePlus Nord 2T 5G this month, there are some incredible offers available -<br /><br /><ol><li><strong>For ICICI credit &amp; debit card users (from July 5 - 11)</strong></li></ol><ul><li>ICICI credit and debit card users will be eligible for an instant bank discount of ₹1,500 on Amazon.in, OnePlus.in, <keyword id="2615013" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oneplus-store" source="Orion">OnePlus Store</keyword> App, OnePlus experience stores and other major offline partner stores*.</li><li>ICICI credit and debit card users can also avail no cost EMI for up to 3 months till the end of July.<br /></li></ul>2. <strong>Exclusive oneplus.in and OnePlus store app offers</strong><ul><li>From July 5-14: Old OnePlus device users can save additional ₹3000 with exchange bonus on oneplus.in and OnePlus Store App.</li><li>The first 1000 shoppers on OnePlus Store App will get a OnePlus Nord Handy Fanny Pack.<br /></li></ul>3. <strong><keyword id="8484347" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="red-cable-club" source="Orion">Red Cable Club</keyword> members can also avail the following exciting offers and benefits</strong><ul><li>OnePlus Nord 2T buyers can also get the Red Cable Care plan for ₹749 when purchased as a bundle on oneplus.in and the OnePlus Store App and for ₹ 999 at Amazon.in and select OnePlus Experience Stores.</li><li>Get benefits such as 12-month extended warranty, 120 GB cloud storage, dedicated customer helpline, and many more exclusive benefits!</li><li>Offer valid for limited duration.</li><li>Existing Red Cable Club members can save up to ₹1000 using RedCoins on purchase of</li><li>OnePlus Nord 2T on oneplus.in and OnePlus Store App. Offer valid till July 11, 2022.</li></ul><strong><em>Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in partnership with OnePlus India</em></strong><br />

The OnePlus Nord 2T is the ultimate smartphone to buy this season

<p class="source"><span>Andrew D. Bernstein/NBA Classic/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Kobe Bryant poses in front of a branded helicopter he took to his last game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before retiring in April of 2016. The helicopter is a different model to the Sikorsky S-76 which crashed near Los Angeles with Bryant on board.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>A helicopter carrying NBA legend Kobe Bryant wasn't equipped with a warning system that would tell the pilot if he was flying too close to land.</li><li>But even if the chopper had it, that may not have prevented its fatal crash, experts told <a href="https://apnews.com/ef9ec9fd525263023619ff236cd22b45">The Associated Press</a>.</li><li>Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on Sunday.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-sikorsky-s-76-2020-1">Sikorsky S-76A helicopter</a> that was carrying NBA legend Kobe Bryant wasn't equipped with a crash warning system that is meant to tell a pilot if they are flying too low and could hit something.</p><p>But federal regulators are unsure whether the device, known as a Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS), would have helped the pilot make it through the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-crash-dangerous-fog-helicopter-too-low-2020-1">foggy weather</a> on the day of the crash, <a href="https://apnews.com/ef9ec9fd525263023619ff236cd22b45">The Associated Press</a> (AP) reported.</p><p>While using a TAWS is not required for commercial helicopters, it has long been recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and is compulsory for medical helicopters.</p><p>The device sets off alarms in the cockpit if the pilot is flying to close to a building or hillside.</p><p>Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-crash-victims-john-altobelli-gigi-bryant-2020-1">passengers</a>, including the pilot, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-dead-helicopter-crash-in-calabasas-california-2020-1">were killed when the Sikorsky S-76A</a> crashed in Calabasas, California, on Sunday.</p><h2>TAWS critics say it is prone to distracting false alarms</h2><p>Although the TAWS equipment can warn pilots avoid crash situations, the Federal Aviation Administration has acknowledged that it comes with the pitfall of occasional off false alarms that can be distracting, according to the AP report.</p><p>"Another warning system screaming at you isn't going to help," Brian Alexander, a helicopter pilot and aviation lawyer, told the AP. "You don't want to inundate the pilot."</p><p>Mike Sagely, a former military pilot based in LA, told the AP he does use the system, but the frequency of the warnings could desensitize pilots from taking them seriously.</p><p>"People, they get complacent with it because they hear it all the time," Sagely told AP. "They get so used to hearing it that when they do hear it, and they might even be in a dangerous profile, they may not react to it."</p><p class="source"><span>Danny Moloshok/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Officials at the helicopter crash site of NBA star Kobe Bryant in Calabasas, California, on January 27, 2020.</p><p>However, former NTSB managing director Peter Goelz told AP that the "nuisance" is worth the safety.</p><p>"From a safety perspective, you want all the safety enhancements that are available," he said. "The trade-off is worth it."</p><h2>Too early to know if TAWS was relevant</h2><p>Bill English of the NTSB's Major Investigations Division told AP that it is still not clear whether the TAWS - or the lack thereof - contributed to the crash.</p><p>The NTSB said it could release a preliminary report as soon as this weekend. But it could take as long as 18 months to produce a definitive cause for the crash as investigations continue, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/29/kobe-bryant-death-crash-calabasas/">The Washington Post</a> reported.</p><p>Its pilot, Ara Zobayan, was trying to fly the helicopter out of the fog when it suddenly banked left, setting off a quick and steep descent from 1,200 feet, the AP reported.</p><p>The downed chopper hit a shrouded hillside near Calabasas, killing everyone on board and scattering debris over several hundred feet. Investigators said the chopper missed clearing the hilltop by only <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-crash-helicopter-didnt-have-terrain-warning-system-2020-1">20 to 30 feet</a>.</p><p>"This is a pretty steep descent at high speed," NTSB member Jennifer Homendy told AP. "We know that this was a high-energy impact crash."</p><p>Zobayan was given <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-given-permission-fly-in-fog-2020-1">special clearance</a> to continue to fly in poor weather, though it is unclear why.</p><p>Pilot Kurt Deetz, who used to fly with Bryant until 2017, told the AP he doesn't believe Bryant pressured Zobayan to fly in the fog - one reason a pilot could press on despite higher-than-usual risk.</p><p>"There was never any pressure Kobe put on any pilot to get somewhere - never, never," he said.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-investigators-recover-bodies-2020-1">Investigators have recovered all 9 bodies from the Calabasas site where Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-crash-helicopter-didnt-have-terrain-warning-system-2020-1">Investigators say the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant missed clearing a hilltop by 20 to 30 feet</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-sikorsky-s-76-2020-1">Kobe Bryant was famous for using his Sikorsky S-76 private helicopter, a type that has a strong safety record</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-no-black-box-on-board-2020-1">The helicopter that carried Kobe Bryant and 8 others before crashing on a hillside did not have a black box on board, investigators say</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-what-one-witness-heard-beforehand-2020-1">'My alarm bells went off': One witness offers his account of Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash</a></li></ul>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hydrogen-fuel-cell-cars-teslas-biggest-threat-2019-12">Why hydrogen cars will be Tesla's biggest threat</a></h3>

Kobe Bryant's helicopter lacked a crucial crash warning system - but even that may not have saved him

<br />The <keyword id="6355455" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-railways">Indian Railways</keyword> has received a lot of flak not only from passengers but also from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that lashed out at it for failing to meet the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/now-cag-criticises-indian-railways-over-dirty-linen-blankets-and-pillows/story-g9UMcL4c4qll5PwYrpbwbJ.html">basic hygiene standards</a> and highlighted critical safety <a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-after-andheri-rob-collapse-audit-reports-of-overbridges-come-into-limelight-2633028">flaws</a> in the <keyword id="17408" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="infrastructure">infrastructure</keyword>.<br /><br />And while there are numerous examples of how the railways is trying to spruce things up a bit and get their act together, fact is, apart from the relatively lighter changes like placing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-railways-is-going-to-live-stream-its-kitchens-to-the-world-to-ensure-transparency/articleshow/64600841.cms">cameras in kitchens</a> and acquiring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/blankets-provided-on-trains-by-indian-railways-will-soon-be-fresher-and-cleaner/articleshow/64764828.cms">blankets</a> that can be washed twice a month, the railways is engaged in some heavy duty changes that are geared towards safety, convenience and basic timeliness of the <keyword id="6360847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="trains">trains</keyword>.<br /><br />According to a report by the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/how-aging-creaking-crumbling-railways-is-getting-a-new-life/articleshow/64852991.cms">Economic Times</a>, here are ten key changes the Indian Railways is currently indulging in.<br /><br /><ol><li><strong>Eliminating unmanned railway crossings:</strong> A little over two months after the unfortunate <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/kushinagar-accident-14-children-killed-as-train-hits-school-bus-at-railway-crossing-1729955.html">Kushinagar train accident</a> when a train rammed into a school van killing 14 children at an unmanned railway crossing (UMLC), the railways is aggressively working on eliminating all unmanned railway crossings. To achieve this it has given itself a deadline of 31 March 2020. In fact, the railways has already <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/railways-eliminates-all-unmanned-level-crossings-from-4-zones-5239251/">eliminated</a> all UMLCs in four zones on <keyword id="409555" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="broad-gauge">broad gauge</keyword> routes in July — West Central Railway, Central Railway, Eastern Railway and South East Central Railway — and is well on its way to eliminating unmanned level crossings in 11 zones by September 2018.<br /><br /><div type="image" title="pexels-photo-892541." tempid="406286" msid="64859688" hostid="261"></div>

<br /></li><li><strong>Giving old, worn-out tracks an upgrade:</strong> A <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/586-train-accidents-in-last-5-years-53-due-to-derailments/articleshow/60141578.cms">Times of India</a> report in October 2017 claimed that almost 53% of the 586 train accidents in the last five years were due to derailments. And ageing and/or defective railways tracks is one of the primary causes of derailments. Therefore, the railways has boosted its efforts to replace its ageing tracks and repair defective ones. In fact, the railways claim that there is a 50% increase in rail track renewal from 2,926 kilometres in 2013-14 to 4,405 kilometres in 2017-18.<br /> </li><li><strong>Construction of foot-over-bridges:</strong> In September 2017, a stampede at <keyword id="6358070" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="mumbai">Mumbai</keyword>’s Elphinstone Railway Station foot-over-bridge claimed 22 lives. The cause of the stampede is not clear but it is quite apparent that the bridge was too narrow and clearly not sufficient to handle the daily footfall of the station. In fact, a <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/sep/29/mumbai-elphinstone-station-stampede-railways-ignored-warning-that-its-foot-over-bridges-are-narrow-1664659.html">CAG report in 2006</a> had flagged that the railways had reduced the width of the bridges and stated that foot-over-bridges should be at least 6 m width at all suburban railway platforms. However, now the railways claims that they have managed to up its game and has constructed 74 bridges per year between 2014-18 which is a 221% jump from 23 per year during 2009-14.<br /> </li><li><strong>Device to guide train drivers through fog:</strong> Come winters, rail travel becomes a massive nightmare. Lack of visibility thanks to extreme fog inevitably leads to delays and accidents. But in December 2017, the national transporter installed <a href="http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/dec/12/indian-railways-to-use-gps-enabled-devices-to-fight-fog-this-season-1725490.html">4,920 GPS-enabled FOG PASS devices</a> to help loco pilots navigate through the fog. The gadget displays a map of tracks, signals, stations and level crossings and alerts drivers of approaching signals 500 meters ahead, which in turn helps the driver increase or decrease the speed of the train. Believe it or not, before these devices, the common practice to alert drivers was to tie <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railways-tie-crackers-to-beat-fog/articleshow/45526196.cms">crackers</a> to the tracks.<br /><br />
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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<br /><em>Photo by : <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/n9dBt4g2Ss4?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Vignesh Moorthy</a> on </em><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/india?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"><em>Unsplash<br /></em></a><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/india?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText"></a></li><li><strong>Improved signalling system:</strong> In order to eradicate outdated manual signalling, the government pumped in a whopping ₹12990 million to modernise the system. This new automated signalling system aims to enhance safety and speed up train movement in a congested network. Apart from this, the railways intends to provide electronic interlocking systems, introduce European Train Control System technology and mobile train radio communication systems as a part of its five-year upgradation agenda.<br /> </li><li><strong>Waterproof engines:</strong> Heavy rainfall has historically added to the woes of Indian commuters. Waterlogging not only on roads but also on railway tracks lead to delays and brings cities like Mumbai to a standstill. However, the Indian Railways plans to remedy the issue by introducing waterproof locomotive engines to basically tow stranded trains that. Four inches of water can bring a standard train engine to a standstill, however, these <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/take-a-look-at-indian-railways-waterproof-engine-than-can-haul-rakes-stranded-in-rains/saviour-engine/slideshow/64573538.cms">new engines</a> are equipped to operate in 12 inches of water.<br /> </li><li><strong>Measure to make purchasing tickets easier:</strong> To nudge people towards a cashless system, the national transporter has installed 9,100 point of sale (POS) machines at about 4,000 locations including rail ticket counters.<br /> </li><li><strong>Station facelift:</strong> The railways plans to spruce up major railway stations big time. The revamped stations will ape modern airports and will therefore include modern facilities like escalators, lifts, subways, ramps, AC VIP lounge, AC waiting room and rest rooms and shopping malls. Apart from this, the stations will will be beautified with local artworks.</li><li><strong>Cleanliness:</strong> In order to implement the Swachh Railways mission, the railways has introduced mechanised cleaning system at 488 stations and has started using an automatic rail-mounted machine to keep its tracks at platforms clean. And to keep a check on freelance housekeeping contractors, passengers will be asked to rate the cleanliness based on which the contractor will be paid.</li><li><strong>Increasing rail connectivity:</strong> The Prime Minister’s ‘Act East Policy’ has given a much-required boost to the infrastructural development in northeast India. The first priority was to convert the entire North East rail network to a broad gauge system which it aims to do by 2020.</li></ol>

Indian Railways is planning a major overhaul: Here's what's in store

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="9918784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="clearmask">ClearMask</keyword> — the first US Food and Drug Administration-approved transparent surgical face mask, according to the company — has sold over 12.5 million see-through masks since April.</li><li>Transparent masks help a wide variety of people, from those who are deaf and hard of hearing, to young children, to the neurodiverse population.</li><li>ClearMask currently offers two types of face coverings: the FDA-approved medical mask and a non-medical iteration.</li><li>"The ClearMask enables those who rely on visual communication to continue thriving in the workplace and empowers them to adapt into a radically different new world as we fight a global pandemic," ClearMask's president and co-founder Allysa Dittmar told Business Insider in an email interview.</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.theclearmask.com/">ClearMask</a> — the first US Food and Drug Administration-approved transparent surgical face mask, according to the company — has sold over 12.5 million see-through masks since April.</p><p>The <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic has created a notable demand for medical masks. But unsurprisingly, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clear-face-mask-covid-19-hello-mask-2020-6">push for</a> another type of face-covering also went up: transparent masks, which help a variety of people from those who are deaf and hard of hearing, to children undergoing "early language and socio-emotional development," to the neurodiverse population, according to ClearMask.</p><p>"The ClearMask calms anxious patients through a visible, reassuring smile at the hospital, connects educators and childcare professionals with their students and children, and provides critical accessibility to the <a href="https://www.nad.org/2020/08/03/nad-sues-white-house/">48 million Americans</a> who have hearing loss, including older people, those with dementia, veterans, and many more," ClearMask's president and co-founder Allysa Dittmar told Business Insider in an email interview. </p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clear-mask-deaf-lip-reading-built-business-in-the-pandemic-2020-11?r=bc-sub"><em>A deaf woman's 'dehumanizing' surgical experience led her to start a clear face mask company that just shipped 12 million units in 7 months. Now her team is scaling to keep up with demand.</em></a></p><p>The Baltimore-based company currently offers two types of face coverings: the FDA-approved medical mask and a non-medical iteration. The non-medical masks <a href="https://buy.theclearmask.com/">currently start</a> at $67 for a pack of 24, and this price then rises up to $87 for the pack of 24 medical masks. </p><p>The medical mask version — classified by the FDA as a single-use Class II medical device — comes with an anti-fog coating to keep the mask fully transparent. Customers can also pick between two strap options: EZ-adjusters and tie-ons.</p><h3>The importance of a transparent face mask</h3><div type="image" title="clear mask" height="1666" width="2222" msid="79341155" hostid="261"></div><p>The ASTM Level Three masks can be used in a variety of settings, including hospitals and schools. According to Dittmar, half of the company's orders go to healthcare and hospital segments, 30% to the government, and the rest to a variety of customers "including education and corporate." </p><p>These days, <keyword id="1252845" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="face-masks">face masks</keyword> are at the forefront of daily conversations. However, ClearMask has a history that spans a couple of years before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>The ClearMask team — composed of Johns Hopkins graduate students and alumni — started creating the mask in September 2017 after Dittmar had "an adverse experience during her surgery," according to the company.</p><p>"For someone who depends on facial expressions, visual cues, and lip-reading daily, traditional surgical masks blocked Dittmar's providers' faces, impeding effective communication and safety," according to ClearMask.</p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-evolvetogethers-medical-grade-masks-became-coveted-by-celebrities-2020-8?r=bc-sub"><em>How this designer created the 'it' medical-grade face mask coveted by celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevingne, and Ariana Grande</em></a></p><p>As a solution to this issue, the transparent face masks were designed to "help improve visual communication and make healthcare more human," according to Dittmar.</p><p>"We all rely on critical visual cues to fully communicate, including facial expressions and lip-reading," Dittmar wrote.</p><h3>Rising demands and future predictions</h3><div type="image" title="Box of ClearMask" height="1875" width="2500" msid="79341158" hostid="261"></div><p>ClearMask started preparing its FDA approval application in 2019 but did not receive clearance until April this year as the coronavirus pandemic rippled across the country.</p><p>Before receiving the FDA clearance, the company had no revenue because it hadn't started selling its product yet, according to Dittmar.</p><p>Dittmar says that the website went from 6,000 unique visitors a year in 2018 and 2019 to more than 2 million from April to September alone in 2020.</p><p>To match this rising demand, ClearMask expedited the creation of its masks and expanded its originally predicted target group from "specialized populations in healthcare" to consumers outside of this field. Originally, the team didn't plan on releasing two different mask types, but the decision to unveil a more affordable non-medical version came in April due to rising mask demands, according to Dittmar.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/googles-eric-schmidt-thinks-businesses-can-reopen-under-3-conditions-2020-9?r=bc-sub">Google's first CEO Eric Schmidt says businesses can safely reopen if they meet 3 conditions</a></em></p><p>Because ClearMask has offices in both the US and overseas, the company has also been able to "bypass the PPE restrictions and raw material shortages [to] help other governments" such as Canada and the UK, therefore aiding in international PPE shortage issues, according to Dittmar.</p><p>The company is now continuing to expand outside of the US by working with different international governments and officials, according to Dittmar.</p>

This company says it makes the first FDA-approved transparent face mask and has sold more than 12.5 million since April — see why it's become so popular

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As the novel coronavirus continues to spread around the world, the airline industry continues to be impacted by country-wide lockdowns and declining travel demand. </li><li>John, a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, described to Business Insider what a day in his life looks like, and how the airline is taking precautions to protect its staff still flying amid a pandemic.</li><li>John said he chooses to continue flying because he believes flight attendants are risking their health and safety to ensure that people abroad can return home and that medical equipment and personnel can be <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia/2020/03/31/georgia-health-care-workers-fly-into-new-york-city-to-help-with-coronavirus-outbreak/">transported to hospitals around the country</a> that need help.</li><li>"We're also on the frontlines of this crisis," he said. "Obviously not at the same level as doctors or nurses, but we're doing our best to keep people safe."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Industries around the world are being impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/13-retailers-announce-temporarily-store-closures-to-fight-coronavirus-2020-3">forcing stores to shutter</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-layoffs-companies-laying-off-employees-list-2020-3">employees to be laid off</a>, and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-stock-futures-index-reaction-coronavirus-stimulus-package-congress-2020-3-1029020820">stocks to plummet</a>. </p><p>The airline industry has been particularly hit by the major societal changes brought on by the coronavirus. The number of cases around the world has seen exponential growth in recent weeks, leading to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-europe-travel-ban-uk-exception-2020-3">travel bans</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-global-airlines-suspending-operations-as-demand-worsens-2020-3">flight cancellations</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/countries-on-lockdown-coronavirus-italy-2020-3">country-wide lockdowns</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-airlines-that-failed-bankrupt-covid19-pandemic-2020-3">Several airlines</a> in the United States and the United Kingdom have already collapsed due to declining travel demand. </p><p>But some airlines have continued flying despite the uncertainty surrounding the virus spread, and airline CEOs <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/strategy/airline-ceos-promise-no-furloughs-if-aid-flows-quickly/137456.article">have pledged to avoid mass layoffs</a> if the government can provide critical aid money to protect the industry from collapse. </p><p>"It's such a scary and uncertain time for everyone," Delta Air Line flight attendant John told Business Insider. John, not his real name, asked that his identity be protected for fear of retribution at work. </p><p>"Flight crews are on the frontlines of it all," he added. "We've seen things change here so quickly." </p><p>John says the magnitude of the coronavirus spread hit the airline industry about three weeks ago, shortly after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-europe-travel-ban-uk-exception-2020-3">President Donald Trump suspended travel to Europe</a>.</p><p>"Everything went downhill so quickly, people stopped booking leisure flights," John said. "That's when everything became real."</p><p>The State Department has since <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/travel-advisory-alert-global-level-4-health-advisory-issue.html">raised its global health advisory to Level 4</a>, which means "do not travel," and has advised US citizens to avoid all international travel. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/01/trump-domestic-air-travel-restrictions-160612">Trump said on Wednesday</a> that he was also looking at expanding air travel restrictions to include some domestic travel.</p><p>Delta has since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-parks-fleet-and-furloughs-workers-amid-coronavirus-slowdowns-2020-3">taken some drastic measures to cut costs</a>, including parking half of its fleet, slashing executive pay, and sending 10,000 employees on unpaid leave. The world's largest airline also planned to reduce its seat capacity by 70% and cut international flights by 80%. </p><p>"Most of our flights now don't have more than 20 people on them," John said. One of his most recent flights had less than five passengers. </p><p>John said he noticed the biggest changes to his schedule.</p><p>"Everybody used to know exactly what days they were supposed to work with exact destinations," he said. "Then all of a sudden, trips started being canceled in our schedules for April." </p><p>Flight schedules are usually sent out a month in advance, according to John, and he says that he has regularly scheduled flights throughout April. He has yet to receive his schedule for May, and worries about increased travel restrictions and flight cuts. </p><p>John said he's had to adopt a more flexible arrangement in order to stay rostered on. He said that many of his flights have been rerouted or canceled, sometimes mid-flight. </p><p>"So right now I'm on reserve, or like on call, for whatever days I am supposed to work," he said. "So if they call me to work, I go and they pay me for the hours that I was supposed to get paid for initially."</p><p>"Things are just changing quickly, so you have to go in keeping an open mind that you may not do the exact thing you thought you were going to do and they might just throw you somewhere else completely," he added. </p><p>Additionally, the airline has stepped up its safety precautions to ensure its flight attendants and passengers don't get sick. </p><p>Delta has <a href="https://news.delta.com/coronavirus-update-aircraft-fogging-enhances-customer-safety">expanded its cabin cleaning processes</a>, including using a fogging device to disinfect high-traffic areas on the plane and thoroughly cleaning its cabin surfaces including tray tables, seatback screens, and lavatories, after each flight.</p><p>John said the company also provides its crew with gloves to wear throughout the flight, though masks are optional. </p><p>"We can wear a mask," he said. "They haven't provided them to us yet, but they said they would start." </p><p>He added that the meal services on domestic flights have become less frequent and that the variety of selection has been greatly reduced. </p><p>"We used to go with our carts and offer any type of soda, coffee, water, snacks, and food for sale. First-class passengers used to be offered full meals. That's all been stopped, and we're just doing little bottles of water and a snack to each person in order to reduce contact between passengers and crew."</p><p>Crew members try to observe social distancing measures in the air and on the ground. John said most airports look like "ghost towns."</p><p>"It's mostly crew walking around," he said. "Most of the restaurants are closed, except for a few large chains."</p><p>"It's all very weird and scary," he said.</p><p>The US recently passed a stimulus package known as the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/coronavirus-aid-bill">CARES Act</a>, which states that airlines accepting federal aid cannot reduce workforces before September 30, 2020, though it's unclear what might happen to workers beyond that point.</p><p>John said that some of his colleagues remain worried about losing their jobs, and many have chosen to stop flying due to the risk of contracting the disease in transit.</p><p>"Nobody has been forced out, but a lot of them have taken unpaid leave," he said.</p><p>John said he chooses to continue flying because he believes flight attendants are risking their health and safety to ensure that people abroad can return home and that medical equipment and personnel can be <a href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia/2020/03/31/georgia-health-care-workers-fly-into-new-york-city-to-help-with-coronavirus-outbreak/">transported to hospitals around the country</a> that need help. </p><p>"There are people calling for all flights to stop because travel can contribute to spreading the disease," he said. "But other people want to continue helping bring people home." </p><p>"We're also on the frontlines of this crisis," he said. "Obviously not at the same level as doctors or nurses, but we're doing our best to keep people safe."</p><p class="tagline"><i>Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email <a href="mailto:covidtips@businessinsider.com">covidtips@businessinsider.com</a> and tell us your story.</i></p><p><i>And get the latest <a href="/coronavirus-business-impact">coronavirus analysis and research</a> from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.</i></p>

A Delta flight attendant describes what it's like flying during the coronavirus pandemic with near-empty planes and 'ghost town' airports

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/32312416415/">SpaceX/Flickr (public domain)</a></span></p><p class="caption">A Falcon 9 rocket launches with cryogenic fog trailing it into the sky on January 14, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div>There's a problem with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets that could pose "a potentially major threat" to future NASA astronauts, government investigators <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/congressional-investigators-warn-of-spacex-rocket-defects-1486067874" target="_blank">told The Wall Street Journal</a> on Thursday.</p><p>However, the company's final version of the Falcon 9 rocket - which SpaceX founder Elon Musk aims to launch before the end of 2017 - will allegedly fix the issue, the company told Reuters on Thursday.</p><p>The potential problem is with cracks inside devices called turbopumps.</p><p>Falcon 9 rockets burn a kerosene-like liquid fuel, but it doesn't simply fall out of the bottom and ignite. Instead, it has to be pumped at high pressure into cone-shaped engines - so engineers use bladed, jet-engine-like turbine wheels to get the job done.</p><p>But during inspections by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), cracks were found in Falcon 9 turbopump blades.</p><p>While the GAO has not yet publicly released its report at the time of publication, the office is expected to flag the cracks as a safety issue.</p><p>In an email to Reuters, SpaceX spokesperson John Taylor said the company has "qualified our engines to be robust to turbine wheel cracks. However, we are modifying the design to avoid them altogether."</p><p>Put another way: A new version of the rocket will replace the current turbopumps, among other design modifications to improve safety and performance.</p><p>SpaceX uses the current version of its Falcon 9 rockets to launch commercial satellites, US Air Force payloads, and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. But within a year or two, it will begin loading astronauts into its Dragon space capsules, launching them into orbit, and bringing them back to Earth.</p><p>"SpaceX has established a plan in partnership with NASA to qualify engines for manned spaceflight," Taylor said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/24159153709/">SpaceX/Flickr (public domain)</a></span></p><p class="caption">A SpaceX Dragon capsule during a hovering test-fire on November 23, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The cracks are significant, given the explosion of an uncrewed Falcon 9 rocket during a routine launchpad test on Sept. 1, 2016.</p><p>It took a 4.5-month-long investigation to get to the bottom of the blast (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-spacex-aims-for-jan-8-return-to-flight-with-falcon-rocket-2017-1">a super-cooled internal helium tank</a>), suffering <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-financials-rocket-accident-costs-revenue-2017-1">a $260 million financial hit</a> before getting back to flying rockets and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/falcon-9-rocket-landing-image-2017-1">landing the boosters</a>.</p><p>The company <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launched-its-first-rocket-since-the-explosion-2017-1">successfully returned to flight</a> on January 14, 2017, deploying 10 Iridum telecommunications satellites at once into orbit.</p><p>The accident was SpaceX's second since the Falcon 9 debuted in June 2010. The company's next launch is targeted for February 14.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/32394687645/">SpaceX/Flickr (public domain)</a></span></p><p class="caption">The successful Jan. 14, 2017, landing of a Falcon 9 rocket's first stage on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-lands-falcon-9-rocket-first-time-2017">SpaceX just completed a flawless rocket landing - here's the incredible footage</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="QzOXF3ODE6EKQFKBMuvbRB_utwJzn94y" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A vital part of SpaceX rockets keeps cracking - but the company says it has a fix

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"><html><body><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Political upheaval. When you're overseeing operations for a global business with customers thousands of miles away, you may stay up nights thinking about the major unpredictable disasters events that could put your supply chain at risk.</p><p>But the truth is, an everyday event like a power outage is far more likely to cause disruption of your global supply chain - and such disruptions happen more often than you think. According to <a href="http://www.pwc.com/us/en/risk-regulatory-consulting/pwc-ethisphere/supply-chain.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">study by PwC and the Business Continuity Institute</a>, 75% of companies experience at least one major supply chain disruption a year. If you don't have contingency plans in place for even seemingly mundane events, the business consequences could be enormous.</p><p>Here are some minor events that could put a global supply chain at major risk.</p><h2><strong>Power outages</strong></h2><p>Today, there is more reliance than ever on digital systems to facilitate real-time, accurate data that's a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-to-avoid-inventory-missteps-2016-10" target="_blank">critical component to inventory management</a>. As supply chains become more complex and borderless, technologies that include GPS tracking and wireless sensor networks help deliver information that's essential to important business decision-making.</p><p>When a power outage disrupts access to your digital information supply chain, chaos can ensue - especially if there isn't a backup system in place. Companies, and their supply chain partners, can use cloud-based technology to ensure data is protected. For example, if your supply chain depends on digital data, it's critical that all connected parties sync their cloud backups. Otherwise, there could be a mismatch in data that could cripple an organization, and ultimately a cause loss in time, money, and customers during times of disruption.</p><p>Additionally, businesses that rely heavily on virtual infrastructures should seriously consider spreading the storage and transmission of their data to multiple hubs rather than solely relying on a single, distant cloud server. </p><p>When you rely on one data center that's far away, in closer proximity to another business than your own, the speed and reliability of that data can be impacted if there's a problem with the bandwidth or connection.</p><p>Think about it this way: Your smart devices don't have enough built-in storage to maintain all of your data every time you need to transmit data wirelessly; it is routed to a large-scale cloud center. The problem with this is that if an outage causes the cloud to go down, your business' virtual infrastructure goes down with it. But with a redundancy option called <a href="http://dataconomy.com/fog-computing-future-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">"fog computing" or "edge computing,"</a> a power outage isn't going to affect you as much because you've stored your data in multiple regional data centers close to you (i.e. your phones and tablets can still access data if there's an outage in the cloud). With fog computing, data is routed and accessed more speedily and reliably since the bulk of your data is processed in a centralized server closer to the data source (each phone or smart device has its own network to process information). No longer do you have to worry about numerous other devices trying to access the same cloud center, slowing down your connection, or an outage bringing your entire system down. </p><h2><strong>Extreme weather</strong></h2><p>The beginning of 2014 was difficult for several supply chains <a href="https://www.wpr.org/extreme-winter-delays-shipping-upper-mississippi-river" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">around the US</a> and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/11/ice-melt-great-lakes-delays-shipping-season/7586209/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">North America overall</a> because of an especially brutal winter. It severely delayed transportation, and many companies discovered they didn't have adequate contingency plans.</p><p>A <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate3136.epdf?referrer_access_token=HnYfYi-BykTYIDfdxIlQodRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0MkzCzc3z7ZLHX13VkjcRLMAvMosySuuqodqaHrWHQhAVVQlKKmYFh_9lnpoPWw6Wq8EyUAh3wqMTnN0R4oMmELBNPTN1X-jDEMHEMTf1ic_uv7lW7kk6IFBtlosLofhfXuSheOU108c33jtQYz-e14jnh-cSZK-SEvWSKKmdnu8natyYde6ZhszcxCpjWzvUzmJyqg-ZibO2B4huWtKyRXQpr3I9HEMQ-D7VTYKxxe0gKwNu47GxiOJlVHyX4hqI8%3D&amp;tracking_referrer=thinkprogress.org" rel="nofollow">new study predicts that</a> climate characteristics like the Polar Vortex will make winters longer and colder in March, and even April. It is also predicted to cause unpredictable and potentially disruptive weather patterns. Kevin McCormack, assistant professor at Northwood University, says supply chain problems, such as those caused by bad weather, are predictors of future business issues. </p><p>"A supplier that has constant weather issues causing delays … can either plan for these through safety stock or change the route, or supplier," he says. "[Weather issues] will not go away by themselves." Having flexibility and diversified transportation options from air, ocean, and ground modes could be a company's saving grace during uncertain times.</p><h2><strong>Employee sickness </strong></h2><p>Could your supply chain survive weeks or months of absentee employees? This might not be something businesses deem as a huge threat, but the last thing you want is a supply chain paralyzed by widespread illness.</p><p>A harsh flu season or widespread food poisoning could keep large numbers of employees away from the office for days. A more serious illness could take a critical employee out of work for months. For companies with multiple complex inventory systems, cross training workers is crucial to protect the efficiency of the supply chain - and the bottom line. </p><h2><strong>What you can do</strong></h2><p>Companies can make their supply chain more resilient from everyday disruptions by having a contingency "playbook" or plan in place that lists every knowable risk. Here are four main aspects of that plan.</p><p><strong style="color: #000000;">1. Identify the risk.</strong><span style="color: #000000;"> At the very least, suggests J. Paul Dittman, executive director of the Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Tennessee, call your department leaders into a conference room to "brainstorm it, list it, and decide what could possibly impact you with your global supply chain."</span></p><p>One way to help identify risks, advises McCormack, is to ask your subcontractors detailed questions about their process. "Understand what's coming into their supply chain," he says, adding that most businesses often don't even ask that question. "They think, 'Well, that's a small subcontractor, and they're only 5% of our business. But that 5% can nail you to the wall, reputation-wise. Just ask the questions."</p><p><strong style="color: #000000;">2. Plan your risk response.</strong><span style="color: #000000;"> You don't know when these everyday risks will happen, but you </span><em style="color: #000000;">do</em><span style="color: #000000;"> know that they will happen, so it's important to be ready. Dittman suggests thinking about the most likely issues your business will encounter, and ensure you have a plan in place. These should include a way of determining the threat level and response, as well as a unified way of processing and sharing that information with all partners.</span></p><p><strong style="color: #000000;">3. Mitigate the risk.</strong><span style="color: #000000;"> You may focus on the effects only once an issue arises, but there are things you can be doing now to mitigate risks, says Dittman. When putting together your contingency plan, design strategies with countermeasures that lessen costly disruptions, like adding more labor if you have complex products and processes. Companies that use improved visibility can detect potential disruptions in the supply chain before they happen and find ways to avoid those potentially devastating incidents. For example, in the case of extreme weather, find alternate routes ahead of time and create protocols that keep transport operatives able to change routes quickly, should a short-term recovery plan be needed.</span></p><p><strong style="color: #000000;">4. Expand your risk response team.</strong><span style="color: #000000;"> Businesses that don't have the expertise in house to deal with these ongoing risks may want to collaborate with a third-party logistics provider (3PL), such as UPS, who can set up contingency plans to keep your supply chain running smoothly. For example, an experienced 3PL will be able to offer redundancy and flexibility through the use of multi-client facilities from which they can store a portion of your inventory and dispatch your products when you aren't able to do so. The vast networks of 3PLs can also help provide resilience disruptions go from risk to reality. When a major supply disruption of mere hours can potentially take years to recover from economically, it's worth the time spent to make sure you have the right plans in place - and the right 3PL in place - to handle those risks and keep business running smoothly.</span></p><p><strong><a href="http://bs.serving-sys.com/BurstingPipe/adServer.bs?cn=tf&amp;c=20&amp;mc=click&amp;pli=19673924&amp;PluID=0&amp;ord=%5Btimestamp%5D" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Find out how to make sure your supply chain is ready for any disruption - big or small.</a> </strong></p><p><em>This post is sponsored by UPS. To read more from UPS, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/unlocking-logistics" target="_blank">click here</a></em></p></body></html><p class="tagline">Find out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sponsor-posts">more about Sponsor Content</a>.</p>

These everyday disruptions could put your supply chain at risk

62 things you can do with your old mismatched socks

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Skye Gould/Tech Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>There are several things you can do right now to clear up brain fog that makes it hard to keep up with everything you have to get done.</p><p>You could go for a run or hit the gym - <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/how-exercise-affects-your-brain-2016-3">exercise has been shown</a> to effectively boost cognitive ability. You could <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-sleep-is-important-2014-12">get a good night's sleep</a>, something that refreshes energy levels, is essential for memory, and makes it significantly easier to focus. You could have a cup of coffee and <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/how-caffeine-affects-the-body-2015-8">benefit from that proven</a> little helper, caffeine.</p><p>But sometimes none of that seems like enough. It makes you want an additional solution, a pill that can boost you for long enough to get you over that hump.</p><p>While students and overworked employees frequently experiment with substances like Adderall or Ritalin in an attempt to do just that, it hasn't been shown that most of these "cognitive enhancers" actually make anyone's brain work "better."</p><p>But there's one substance that a <a href="http://www.europeanneuropsychopharmacology.com/article/S0924-977X(15)00249-7/abstract">recent review published</a> in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology found actually does improve attention, memory, learning, and other cognitive abilities - modafinil. </p><p>Pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement isn't a new idea. People have used drugs to try to boost their brainpower for more than 100 years. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Addiction-Sigmund-William-Halsted/dp/0375423303?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0375423303&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;redirect=true&amp;ref_=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl&amp;tag=openculture-20">Early in his career in the late 1800s</a>, Sigmund Freud experimented prolifically with cocaine, which he described at the time as his "most gorgeous excitement." Mathematician Paul Erdos had such a serious relationship with amphetamines that when he once stopped taking them for a month to win a $500 bet, he immediately got back on drugs afterwards. He <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hoffman-man.html">famously told the friend he bet</a>: "You've set mathematics back a month."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/125992663@N02/14414381350/in/photolist-nXKtoo-JCakm-y8ZH9n-6i1vfv-HuQG8-qDbwbV-9nwqUd-8GHvmm-dzN74C-68HeNX-5jFQMP-68xLrq-Cia48C-fyG71q-4UwSna-aZBubt-8AtdcS-Cc6SQU-95NQwj-8totWB-dmm23d-8xWZxS-b33XC2-6zc9GK-box9Jy-cV2cr-7ozE8f-A5fg1S-k7im-qLFBAT-bgpTAi-cVJN4-cUFXxq-r3XnZR-dwUQB-dKgNM-aFhdE5-C5HwSr-dYAJjD-qM3en6-gXGXqd-6F7N2v-kUNJK7-21FqDe-4PTLMq-8GHBuQ-ujYiAY-8VeL2z-8DygD1-eYKxyV">synapse on Flickr</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Those substances, however, come with significant negative side effects. That's what makes modafinil so interesting.</p><p>In their review of the literature on modafinil, Oxford researchers Ruairidh Battleday and Anna-Katherine Brem found that it didn't seem to have any particularly serious side effects and didn't seem likely to cause dependency - though there are still unanswered questions there.</p><h2>How modafinil affects your brain</h2><p>Battleday and Brem reviewed 24 studies that assessed how modafinil affected healthy non-sleep deprived people's minds (they considered 267 studies, but rejected those that weren't placebo controlled, used unhealthy subjects, or tested animals and not people). The fact that subjects were healthy is an important distinction - many of the ways we look at drugs that affect thinking ability are designed to assess people with cognitive deficiencies.</p><p>Most studies could be broken down into either "basic" or "complex" tests of cognitive function, Brem and Battleday tell Tech Insider.</p><p>Basic tests assess just one sub-component of cognition and tend to be very simple tasks. On these tests, the effects of modafinil were mixed. It was on complex tests that the authors found consistent improvement, especially in terms of attention, the ability to focus on a task and process relevant information; learning and memory; and executive function, which includes the ability to take in information and use it to come up with plans or strategies.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN7ksFEVO9U">Universal</a></span></p><p class="caption">Films where characters suddenly gain access to new mental powers take the idea to an extreme, but cognitive enhancement is a real possibility.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>These complex tasks are much better ways to answer the question of "does this substance actually improve cognitive ability" than the basic ones, the authors tell Tech Insider.</p><p>"Rarely in life do we spend an entire day using a sole cognitive sub-domain - attention, for example. Rather, we constantly plan, predict, and problem solve - all of which involve marshaling subdomains of cognition and integrating their output - over varying tasks and difficulties," they wrote in an email. "It is in this sense that complex tasks can approximate everyday functioning better than simple."</p><p>As for how modafinil works, we still really don't know. It was originally designed as a treatment for narcolepsy to keep people awake. But no one is entirely certain how it affects cognition.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matt Cardy/Getty</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"The best idea we have is that by directly altering the concentration of a group of chemicals in the brain - called 'catecholamines' - modafinil upregulates activity in attention and executive control networks in the brain," the authors tell Tech Insider. "These changes are then hypothesized to allow individuals to perform better on cognitive tasks: particularly those requiring good focus and problem solving."</p><h2>Can I take it?</h2><p>So, will your doctor write you a <span>modafinil </span>prescription?</p><p>The answer for now is no, unless you have narcolepsy. But that may not always be the case.</p><p>When it comes to safety, Brem and Battleday said that the studies they reviewed didn't note serious side effects. </p><p>Most studies reported a slight boost to positive mood and no adverse effects. In the studies that found adverse effects, a small number of participants reported insomnia, headache, stomach ache or nausea, and dry mouth.</p><p>That may not sound great, but in context, those effects aren't such a big deal. That's essentially like having an extra cup of coffee that you didn't need, UCLA clinical <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/08/the-rise-of-work-doping/402373/">psychiatrist </a><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/08/the-rise-of-work-doping/402373/">James McGough told</a> The Atlantic's Olga Khazan.</p><p>Only one study assessed the potential for abuse, and reported that it was low.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexdoddphotography/3196151008">Alex Dodd/flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Substances like Adderall have a higher risk of abuse.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But none of these studies tested long term use, so we don't know if it's safe for someone to take modafinil over an extended period of time. As the authors point out, most of these studies only tested one single dose, which comes nowhere close to assessing risks of regular use. </p><h2><strong>Funding is scarce for drugs that help healthy people</strong></h2><p>Interestingly, Battleday and Brem point out that there isn't much research on cognitive enhancement for healthy people and that there's a lack of funding and perhaps even a bit of a taboo on studying the topic.</p><p>"It appears that funding for drug-based studies on healthy individuals fails to attract typically medical-oriented grants and awards," they say.</p><p>That's why they say it was hard to find good complex tests of cognitive enhancement, and they hope that perhaps their work will encourage researchers to further investigate the topic. </p><p>If that does happen, there may be surprises out there - perhaps some of the other drugs used for cognitive improvement, things like Adderall, work better for healthy people than we think they do despite their potential dependency risks.</p><p>But even if modafinil were to be proven safe long term and its cognitive boosting ability affirmed by further studies, there are still reasons why - for now - doctors aren't going to start prescribing it to healthy people.</p><p>At the recent annual meeting of the American Medical Association, the <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/news/news/2016/2016-06-14-ama-confronts-nootropics.page">group decided to adopt a policy</a> "discouraging the nonmedical use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement in healthy individuals."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Dylan Love</span></p><p class="caption">There's little evidence so far that tells us how effective many other nootropics are or are not.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Of prescription stimulants, they say that the cognitive effects appear limited for healthy people. Of other supplements and "smart drugs," known as nootropics, they say that there's limited research right now and that more analysis is needed before anyone can conclude that they are safe. </p><p>So don't expect a modafinil prescription soon. Not that that stops many users. There are healthy internet communities <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/nootropics">dedicated to nootropics</a>, and plenty of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/afinil">user reports on modafinil specifically</a>.</p><p>Most of those users order it off the internet from somewhat-shady pharmacies, a practice <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/march/pharmacy_030309">strongly discouraged by law enforcement</a>, since it's illegal and potentially dangerous.</p><h2>Will you someday be able to take the smart pill?</h2><p>Let's say it turns out that multiple studies show that it's safe to take modafinil occasionally over long periods of time - for the rest of your life, even. Let's say that there are no additional negative side effects that come with that use.</p><p>If that's the case, should you be able to use the drug?</p><p>"That is a very interesting question, and one society must properly address in the near future; not just for modafinil, but for all potential neuroenhancement agents," say Battleday and Brem. But they point out that even if something proves to be safe for an individual, that doesn't answer all questions about how its use affects the rest of society.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/ Morris MacMatzen</span></p><p class="caption">A number of other devices might be able to stimulate the brain as well.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Some people fear that if we permit any use of cognitive enhancing drugs for individuals, it will eventually lead to people being required to use those substances, even if they don't want to. That could be due to internal pressure that comes from a fear of keeping up - if my co-workers are taking this brain-boosting drug and I'm not, will I be judged as not working hard enough? </p><p>There's even a concern that people in certain professions might be compelled to use brain-enhancing substances. Could we get to the point that it's considered unsafe for pilots to fly or surgeons to operate without using focus- and attention-boosting drugs? </p><p>In <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-cognitive-enhancers-is-a-mass-social-experiment-40072">The Conversation</a>, researchers Emma Jane and Nicole Vincent describe how the use of beta-blockers became widespread among classical musicians. While some people first used these drugs to get over performance anxiety, they were so effective and had minimal enough side effects that other musicians felt they were losing out by not using beta-blockers as well.</p><p>"Just as the use of beta blockers has become widespread in the classical music scene, so too cognitive enhancement threatens to become a new 'normal', a de facto standard that pressures everyone to bio-hack their brains to keep up," they write.</p><p>And the ethical questions don't stop there. There are questions about justice - if wealthy people can easily afford cognitive enhancement but no one else can, that's likely to create an even more unequal society. </p><p><span>Cognitive enhancing substances are already out there and more are likely to become available in the near future. These questions about how to use them or how to regulate them are important.</span></p><p>"This is not a future but already a present scenario," say Brem and Battleday. </p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/making-healthy-chocolate-electricity-science-2016-6">Scientists discover how to make healthy chocolate using electric fields</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lzNnJiNDE6NJt-oaaJpxFROcjr1K-fnQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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