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Walmart unveils $9 billion makeover for 1,400 stores - here's what to expect from redesigned locations
UPDATED: 14:36 EDT, 31 October 2023
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The retailer reopened 117 locations in 30 states at a cost of half a billion dollars
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Walmart has invested $9 billion over the past two years to upgrade 1,400 stores
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The stores have new 'dollar shop' sections and touch-and-feel displays
Walmart has unveiled over 100 revamped stores - as part of a $9 billion investment over the past two years to upgrade more than 1,400 of its 4,700 locations nationwide.
The chain is devoting more of its floor and retail space to online grocery pickup and delivery in its modernized stores, and has added new 'dollar shops' next to checkout.
Walmart pharmacies have been moved towards the front of the remodeled stores, the company said in a statement Monday, with new private screening rooms for pharmacist consultations and services.
The retail giant reopened 117 stores in 30 states at a cost of half a billion dollars, in a bid to boost sales.
Hunter Hart, senior vice president at Walmart Realty said: 'Each store is designed to deliver a more modern shopping experience and improve the lives of our associates and customers from the moment they step into the new space.'
Alongside fresh exteriors, signs, more shopping carts and more grab-and-go food and beverage options, other changes include touch-and-feel displays for home goods such as bedding.
The retailer said it was pulling big and bulky merchandise from boxes and onto corner displays so shoppers can imagine how it could fit into their home.
Digital touchpoints have also been placed throughout the store to provide more information on products and services, the company said.
Walmart also said customers will benefit from more checkout options, including both staffed registers and self-checkouts, in the new stores.
The retailer is making more room for online grocery pickup and delivery in the new stores, as its e-commerce business is growing.
As of figures from August, the company's US e-commerce sales grew 24 percent from the year before.
This is compared to growth of 6.4 percent for comparable in-store sales.
It comes after it emerged Walmart rival Target was testing a major self-checkout change at some of its stores in a bid to speed up the shopping process for customers.
The retailer is limiting the self-service lanes to customers who are purchasing 10 items or fewer - to try and reduce lengthy lines that can build up in store.
The company confirmed to DailyMail.com that it was testing the limit on items in order to reduce wait times and better understand guest preferences.
It did not confirm the specific Target locations where the trial was taking place, or whether the policy would later be rolled out nationwide.
Many big-name retailers are making changes to store layouts as companies across the US are battling against a rising wave of crime - forcing many outlets to close.
A recent report from the National Retail Federation said the sector is under an 'unprecedented' threat from crime and violence, with store owners fearing for their livelihoods as well as their safety.
It found that shrink, the total losses incurred by retailers, rose by $20 billion in a year to an eye-watering $112.2 billion in 2022.
And with up to 70 percent of shrink accounted for by theft, it means retailers lost approximately $78.4 billion to shoplifters.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-12693705/Walmart-makeover-redesigned-locations.html
Researchers use Artificial Intelligence to identify potential vaccine for STD that infects 700k Americans each year
UPDATED: 16:05 EDT, 31 October 2023
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Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease, affects 80million people a year
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The STD has become resistant to almost all known antibiotics
Artificial intelligence (AI) could pave the way for a vaccine against gonorrhea, researchers say.
The sexually transmitted disease is raising concerns among doctors because it is resistant to nearly all antibiotics, with experts fearing that if a super-strain gains a foothold in the US they may be left unable to treat it.
But researchers from Massachusetts and Denmark say they have used AI harnessing technology similar to facial recognition to detect two antigens on gonorrhea that could be used to develop a vaccine to protect against the STD
'That really was a surprise,' said author Sanjay Ram, an infectious diseases expert at UMass Memorial Medical Center.
'Nobody would have predicted that these two proteins that were believed not to be surface exposed would work in vaccines.'
In the study, published Tuesday in the journal mBio, scientists fed AI data on proteins from gonorrhea.
The AI, called Efficacy Discriminative Educated Network (EDEN), uses a feature similar to face recognition technology to understand the difference between proteins, said Andreas Holm Mattson, the founder of AI immunology startup Evaxian.
The technology analyzed different combinations of proteins from the surface of gonorrhea to suggest the best formula for a vaccine.
Scientists then immunized mice with one of 11 combinations of two to three antigens recommended by the AI.
The mice were given three doses with three weeks between each dose.
Two to three weeks after the final dose, blood was then collected from the mice and exposed to the bacteria.
Scientists measured the immune response and found that mice immunized with the proteins FtsN and NGO0265 had the strongest immune response.
FtsN is involved in the division of gonorrhea cells. Scientists are not certain of the role of NGO0265, but say it is also displayed on the cell surface of gonorrhea.
The researchers then combined the two proteins into a chimeric protein - a protein created through the joining of two genes - which induced a similar immune response.
The scientists said they were now considering a Phase 1 clinical trial of their vaccine to ensure it is safe to use in humans. Any vaccine based on this research is years away, they said.
About 700,000 Americans get gonorrhea every year, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest.
Gonorrhea infections reached record levels in the 1970s and 1980s with around 400 cases per 100,000 people at its peak.
But with the advent of technologies such as condoms, increased awareness of STDs and infection control programs, annual infections had plummeted by 74 percent since 1996.
Over the last few years, however, infections have started to rise again with factors like having more sexual partners, using condoms less often, a lack of testing and the emergence of antibiotic resistance all fueling the rise.
People can only become infected with gonorrhea via vaginal, anal, or oral sex when the bacteria is passed in bodily fluids from an infected person.
Early warning signs of infection include experiencing pain while urinating, having an abnormal discharge from the penis or anus and a redness or swelling in the urethra or vagina.
Infections are treated with a round of antibiotics. But in recent years, with the emergence of antibiotic resistance, doctors are beginning to warn that an alternative is needed.
If left untreated, long-term gonorrhea infections can raise the risk of complications during pregnancy like low birthweight and raise the risk of contracting other STIs like HIV by making it easier for the virus to enter the bloodstream.
In some cases, infections can lead to infertility in men by forming scar tissue in the urethra — which can reduce how many sperm exit the body during ejaculation.
In women, the bacteria can move through the cervix into the upper reproductive organs leading to inflammation and scarring, which can affect fertility.
Earlier this year in Boston, two people were diagnosed with a 'concerning' strain of super gonorrhea.
There was no connection between the pair, suggesting the super strain is circulating more widely in the community.
Dr Margaret Cooke, head of Massachusetts' health department, said the discovery was a 'serious public health concern.'
In addition to Boston, the strain was previously diagnosed in the UK and Austria.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12690685/gonorrhea-artificial-intelligence-vaccine.html