Google’s got a big new project and it’s you. Well, not just you, but a genetic and molecular study of humanity that aims to grasp at what a healthy human should be. It’s in its early days, collecting anonymous data from 175 people, but it plans to expand to thousands later. The project is headed up by molecular biologist Andrew Conrad, who pioneered cheap HIV tests for blood-plasma donations. According to the WSJ , the team at Google X current numbers between 70 and 100, encompassing experts in physiology, biochemistry, optics, imaging and molecular biology. The Baseline project will apparently take in hundreds of different samples, with Google using its information processing talents to expose biomarkers and other patterns – the optimistic result hopefully being faster ways of diagnosing diseases. Biomarkers has typically been used with late-stage diseases, as these studies have typically used already-sick patients. “He gets that this is not a software project that will be done in one or two years, ” said Dr. Sam Gambhir, who is working with Dr. Conrad on the project. “We used to talk about curing cancer and doing this in a few years. We’ve learned to not say those things anymore.” Information from the project will remain anonymous: Google said that data won’t be shared with insurance companies, but the shadow of privacy issues hang over pretty much anything the company touches. Baseline started this summer, initially collecting fluids such as urine, blood, saliva and tears from the anonymous guinea pigs. Tissue samples will be taken later. “With any complex system, the notion has always been there to proactively address problems, ” Dr. Conrad said. “That’s not revolutionary. We are just asking the question: If we really wanted to be proactive, what would we need to know? You need to know what the fixed, well-running thing should look like.” Filed under: Science , Alt , Google Comments Source: WSJ

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Google wants to define a healthy human with its new baseline genetic study

You may think that the 3GB of memory in your new smartphone is hot stuff, but that pales in comparison with what Rice University has in store. Its scientists have detailed a form of resistive RAM (RRAM) that can be made using regular equipment at room temperatures, making it practical for everyday gadgets. The trick is the use of porous silicon oxide where metals (such as gold or platinum) fill the gaps. Using the silicon material doesn’t just give manufacturers something familiar to work with; it requires much less power than previous techniques, can last through 100 times as many uses and isn’t fazed by heat. It’s also far denser than earlier RRAM, storing nine bits per cell where even conventional flash storage stops at three. The result should be an easy-to-make RAM chip with the kind of capacity that you’d normally expect from much larger permanent storage, like an SSD — as the company Crossbar hinted when it first discussed this approach, you could stuff 1TB into a component the size of a postage stamp. That’s just about ideal for mobile devices, and could mean that future phones and tablets won’t have to worry about low memory errors for a long, long time. Crossbar’s technology is due in later this year in chips destined for embedded uses like appliances and cars, so the breakthrough won’t be noticeable at first. Research lead James Tour tells MIT that he expects a deal with an unnamed manufacturer in the next couple of weeks, though, so it’s entirely possible that this super-capacious memory will become commonplace. Filed under: Storage , Science , Mobile Comments Via: MIT Technology Review Source: Rice University

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Future phones could house a terabyte of memory

We’re not sure how many of the new Oculus Rift VR kits have shipped out to developers already , but it looks like a healthy amount are in San Diego right now. That’s where Comic-Con is happening this week and, following the X-Men VR demo we already heard about, Legendary Pictures and Oculus have teamed up for Pacific Rim: Jaeger Pilot . It lets attendees take control of the 250-foot tall Jaeger “Gipsy Danger” (no drift connection necessary) and do battle in a virtual reality combat simulator against the kaiju Knifehead (the first one you see in the movie). The whole experience is built in Unreal Engine 4 using the same assets Industrial Light & Magic worked with for the movie. Sure, you’ve seen the movie, and maybe even in IMAX 3D, but we’re pretty sure even Guillermo del Toro’s directing tricks can’t add up to feeling like you’re there, fighting an 8, 700 ton monster off the coast of Alaska. It’s all in Legendary’s booth #3920 for all four days the show is open, from Thursday through Sunday. Don’t have a ticket? There’s a video preview embedded after the break, but it can’t compare to diving into a VR world with Oculus — maybe we’ll be able to enjoy it at home by April 2017 when Pacific Rim 2 arrives. Join the fight! ‘Drift with the Rift’ exclusively at the @Legendary booth (#3920) & prepare to pilot a 250ft Jaeger. http://t.co/C6CeXE7ldp – Legendary (@Legendary) July 24, 2014 Filed under: Displays , Gaming , Home Entertainment , HD Comments Source: Legendary Pictures (YouTube) , Legendary.com

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You can pilot one of the robots from ‘Pacific Rim’ in virtual reality at Comic-Con