News: Tesla Says New Autopilot Is Now as Good as Old One
Tesla says the new version of Autopilot is now as good as the previous one, after having completed over-the-air updates of the driverless software during the past few days.
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News: Tiny Cameras for Your Next Phone Could Be Here Sooner Than You Think
Researchers have created a possible replacement for traditional camera lenses, using an "optical phased array" to function as both a lens and sensor of a camera.
News: EU Driverless Tech Could Knock the US Off Its Pedastal
The US driverless market has become a competitive – and crowded – arena, with big names like Google, Apple, Uber, and even Intel intent on leading the pack. Not to be outdone, the EU is also getting in on the automated car action with self-driving fleets launching in both the UK and the Netherlands within the next two years.
News: Teeny Sponges Being Created to Float in Your Blood, Sop Up Bacterial Toxin & Prevent Flesh-Eating Disease
It's not the bacteria itself that takes lives and limbs during invasive flesh-eating bacteria infections. It's the toxins secreted by the group A Streptococcus bacteria invading the body that causes the most damage.
News: Zika Won't Contaminate US Blood Banks, Say Officials
US blood banks have assured the American public that they have the tools to prevent a Zika contamination, despite the rapid spread of the disease.
News: Early Treatment with Vaccine Could Slow Precancerous HPV
Usually, we think of vaccines as preventative, a shot we get to prevent the flu or some childhood disease like measles or mumps. But there are vaccines for other purposes, such as the ones studied by researchers from the Netherlands.
News: Researchers Discover Key Proteins Malaria Uses to Infect the Liver—A Key Step in Stopping the Parasite
When the mosquito that carries the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) bites someone, the parasite must travel to the liver where it undergoes part of its lifecycle before infecting red blood cells and spreading to its next host. Until now, the first step of how the parasite gets to the liver hasn't been clear.
News: The Next Big Antibiotic Could Come from the Gut of an Insect
No one can dispute the evolutionary success of bugs. The oldest insect fossils were found encased in crystallized mineral silica in Scotland in 1926, and they're between 396 and 407 million years old.
News: The Latest Pairing for Your Cookies: Cockroach Milk?
In the Western world, the only time you'd associate food with cockroaches is health code violations. And while other cultures and countries are more open to cooking with and eating these and other little buggers, insects are probably not a food trend that will be adopted by the West anytime soon.
News: Strange New Technologies Explore the World of Virtual Taste, Touch, & Smell
Virtual, mixed, and augmented reality all provide different but compellingly immersive experiences that draw us in through sight and sound. But what about our other senses? A few strange inventions are already exploring the possibilities.
News: How Virtual & Mixed Reality Trick Your Brain
Our brains do a magnificent amount of work to process visual stimuli, but they aren't difficult to fool. Optical illusions can trick our minds into believing what we're seeing is real, even if it's not—and virtual and mixed reality technologies take advantage of this little loophole in our brain to help us accept the unreal.
News: Why Cold, Leftover Pizza Always Tastes So Damn Good
Cold pizza is the holy grail of leftovers. That's a statement that elicits a slew of impassioned feelings. Either you love the idea of biting into soft crust and cold, fatty cheese, or scowl at the idea of pizza that isn't hot, crisp, and melty. Yet if we were to stand by the former sentiment, how would we argue on its behalf? Food Science Explains Why Cold Pizza Rules
News: We Went to the Google Glass Film Festival—Don't Expect Glass-Made Movies Anytime Soon
It was a chilly but otherwise beautiful night at YouTube Spaces LA—food trucks, ping pong, a photo booth, and the chance to view film school projects created completely with Glass. About a year ago, the Glass Creative Partnership was formed to explore how Glass could be used in filmmaking, with partnerships spanning from the American Film Institute to CalArts and UCLA. On July 16, 2014, the products of that partnership were screened under the Southern California night sky. Three films were sh...
Cook Like a Chef: Use Ratios, Not Recipes
Recipes are invaluable to cooks who are just starting out, but what if you want to get to the next level? Then it's time you learn how to apply simple math to food. In other words, learn how to cook using ratios, not recipes.
Snack More, Fight Less: The Science Behind Being "Hangry" & How to Cure It
True story: a friend of mine regularly started a fight with her boyfriend everyday at 4 p.m. Every day. This went on for years until he finally got the bright idea of shoving a granola bar at her the minute she came home from work. Shazam! The fights were a thing of the past.
News: 5 Ventilator Hacks Doctors & DIYers Are Sharing in the Face of Shortages to Try & Help Save COVID-19 Patients
With the nation facing a shortage of ventilators for COVID-19 patients and no apparent ramp-up in the production of new ones, engineers, medical resistents, and do-it-yourselfers are sharing plans for homemade versions.
News: Good News Update — Amazing Recovery, Free NBA TV, Vaccines Coming & the Return of the Drive-in Theater
Hey, you, still stuck at home? Cheer up, today is the first day of spring. Yes, really. And since you're probably locked in on TV, we're guessing you need a break from some of the less than sunshiney news reports rolling in. Well, no worries, because there's actually some good news to report.
News: Good News Update — Coronavirus Couple Recovery, Comedy vs. Virus, Researchers Make Breakthrough & the Terminator's Tips
You need a break from gloomy coronavirus updates. We all do. The unrelenting stream of doom and negative news is both helpful in terms of keeping ourselves and our families safe, but it also has the unfortunate effect of increasing our anxiety. When will this end? How bad will it get? Is there reason to be hopeful?
News: Vuzix Reveals Next-Gen M4000 Enterprise Smartglasses, Shows Off Smart Swim AR Wearable for Aquatic Athletes
While consumer-grade smartglasses are the holy grail for tech companies, smartglasses maker Vuzix knows where its bread is buttered, and that's in the enterprise segment.
News: Facebook's Brain Control Interface Research Could Eventually Produce Thought-Controlled AR Wearables
Who's ready to let future Facebook augmented reality smartglasses read their brain? Well, ready or not, the tech giant is making progress in the area of brain control interfaces (BCI) by funding research.
How To: Top 10 Exploit Databases for Finding Vulnerabilities
Hundreds of Windows 10, macOS, and Linux vulnerabilities are disclosed every single week, many of which elude mainstream attention. Most users aren't even aware that newly found exploits and vulnerabilities exist, nor that CVEs can be located by anyone in just a few clicks from a selection of websites online.
News: Illumix Emerges from Stealth with $8.6 Million in Funding to Build a Mobile AR Gaming Platform from the Ground Up
Apple often cites its tight integration of hardware and software for its success. Startup Illumix is looking to do the same thing for AR gaming by building an AR platform for its apps.
News: Deadly Fish Virus May Take Pacific Salmon Off the Menu
A virus easily spread among trout and salmon could make it harder to keep your favorite fish on the menu.
News: Researchers Look to Cows to Create Vaccine for HIV
A vaccine against HIV might prevent the disease that we can't seem to cure. Some HIV patients make antibodies that can take down the virus, much the way a vaccine might. But, scientists haven't been able to provoke that type of response in other people. However, in a process that might work in humans, a group of researchers has successfully generated antibodies in cows that neutralize multiple strains of HIV.
News: A New Set of Cancer Drugs May Work Against Viruses, Too
How can a drug used to treat cancer be effective against viruses, too? The answer lies in the drug's shared target — specifically, cellular components that control the activity of genes. A new research study showed that one such type of drug, histone methyltransferase inhibitors used in cancer clinical trials, has activity against herpes simplex virus, too.
News: Scientists See Bacteria Responding Electrically to Physical Stimuli for the First Time
Scientists know that bacteria create their own energy, get nutrients to run their cellular processes, and multiply. But, bacteria haven't been shown to respond to external mechanical stimulation or signals in a way that's similar to how our bodies respond to touch, until now.
News: Replacement Joints with Antibiotics on Board Mean Lower Chance of Infection & Fewer Surgeries
For about a million Americans each year, a joint replacement brings relief from pain and restored mobility. But, 5–10% of those people have to endure another surgery within seven years, and most of those are due to an infection in their new joint. If doctors could treat infections more effectively, patients could avoid a second surgery, more pain, and another rehabilitation.
News: Penis Microbiome Could Enhance Risk of Infection with HIV
New research explores how the bacteria on the penis can leave men more susceptible to infection with HIV.
News: Every Hour Untreated Sepsis Survival Drops 4% — Here Are the Symptoms to Watch For
Twelve-year old Rory Staunton took a dive for a basketball during gym class and came up with a cut on his arm. The school nurse applied a couple of band-aids, without cleaning the cut, and off he went. In approximately three days, hospital physicians told his parents there was nothing else that they could do for their son; he was dead.
News: The Scariest LiDAR Vulnerability We've Seen Yet
A vulnerability in the design of LiDAR components in driverless cars is far worse than anything we've seen yet outside of the CAN bus sphere — with a potentially deadly consequence if exploited.
News: Microbots to the Rescue! Swimming Bots Kill Bad Water Microbes
Look no further than Flint, Michigan, to discover the serious consequences of contaminated drinking water. Around the world, water polluted by pathogens and toxins sickens people or cuts them off from safe drinking water. Looking for a solution, researchers created tiny, swimming robots that pack a powerful punch against waterborne pathogens.
News: Tesla Seeks Deep-Dive Research Lead with Autopilot Firing & Hiring
Tesla hopes high-level personnel changes will help it gain an edge in neural network knowhow for its models' self-drive features, following the replacement of its Autopilot chief and the appointment of a recent Stanford grad to head its AI and Autopilot vision research.
News: Common Soil Microbe Produces New Antibiotic Effective Against Resistant Bacteria
Significant strides have been in the race to find antibiotics to treat superbug infections — those caused by bacteria resistant to the antibiotics used to treat them. Now, an international team of scientists has discovered a new antibiotic produced by a microbe found in Italian soil.
News: New Vaccine Takes Down Toxic Plaques Associated with Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease — an irreversible, progressive brain disorder — is the sixth leading cause of death in the US and more than afflicts 5 million Americans. As if those numbers aren't scary enough, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect that number to nearly triple by 2050.
News: Don't Believe That Whole Wheat Is Healthier — Your Gut Bacteria May Think Differently
Move over whole wheat — white bread may be back in style after a new study shows that it may be your gut microbes that decide what kind of bread is best for you.
News: A Common Cancer-Causing Mono Virus Has a Special Trick to Hide from the Body's Defenses
Most of us have already had an encounter with the Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV, for short. As part of the herpes family, it's one of the most common disease-causing viruses in humans. We get the disease with (or without) some nasty symptoms, then we recover. However, EBV stays in our body after the illness has ended, and it's one of the few viruses known to cause cancer.
News: The Body's Own Cells Can Be Engineered to Protect Against HIV Infection
The problem with HIV is that it attacks and kills the very cells of the immune system that are supposed to protect us from infections — white blood cells. But a new technique, developed by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La Jolla, California, offers a distinct HIV-killing advantage.
News: Hybrid Molecule Delivers 1-2 Punch to Find & Attack Nasty Staph Bacteria
Drug-resistant bacteria have made curing some infections challenging, if not nearly impossible. By 2050, it's estimated that 10 million people will be dying annually from infections with antibiotic-resistant organisms.
News: Rocking 'Radiohead' Ant Farms Fungus for a Living — & It Might Help Fight Superbugs
Long admired for their active and cooperative community behavior, some types of ants also wear a gardening hat. Nurturing underground fungus gardens, these ants have a win-win relationship that provides food for both ants and fungi. If we humans understand it better, it may just help us out, too.
News: Scientists Find an Unusual Reason for Toxic Ocean Contamination
We've worked hard to reduce the flow of toxic chemicals into our waterways, which means no more DDT and other bad actors to pollute or destroy wildlife and our health. But one observation has been plaguing scientists for decades: Why are large quantities of one toxic chemical still found in the world's oceans?