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A predictive algorithm developed by University of Maryland machine learning researchers to improve Facebook’s notification system for blood donations prompted 5% more people to roll up their sleeves in a test last year—an increase that could mean 140 million more lifesaving donations worldwide if applied to all of the social media platform’s 2.8 billion users. Their results are detailed in a working paper presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Conference on Economics and Computation.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Monday announced two new world records for “megaflashes” of lightning in notorious hot spots in North and South America, and a University of Maryland scientist helped certify the results, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society:

Say hello—or hola, bonjour, привет or 你好—to a new tool that transports you to cultures across the globe while fitting in your hand, pocket or purse.