features – Page 4

‘Painless’ dental cavity procedure regrows tooth enamel

When a dentist says the word “cavity” a lot of people sweat thinking about painful injections and relentless drilling. But scientists in Britain have developed a new procedure dubbed EAER, or “Electrically Assisted Enhanced Remineralisation, ” that can repair a slightly decayed tooth before a deep cavity forms. The supposedly painless procedure involves cleaning (not drilling) the tooth of any signs of mild decay, then flushing it with minerals and stimulating it with an electric pulse. This pushes the minerals into the deepest part of the lesion and speeds up a naturally occurring process called “remineralization”. This is where minerals in your saliva and some foods enter the tooth enamel and make it stronger. Source: Reuters

More:
‘Painless’ dental cavity procedure regrows tooth enamel

VW offers $1,000 in gift cards and vouchers to affected diesel owners

Volkwagen’s attempt to compensate vehicle owners who drive one of the models included in the company’s emissions scandal is now official. The initial reports were indeed correct, as the company will offer $1, 000 in gift cards and other incentives to VW customers. On top of a $500 dealership credit, the 482, 000 diesel owners will also receive a $500 Visa gift card that can be used anywhere and free roadside assistance for three years. Audi customers who drive affected vehicles will be privy to the same “goodwill package, ” too. Owners will have to visit a special website to request the items by entering their car’s VIN number and mileage alongside their name and address. Volkwagen says those customers should receive the package in a month. The company is already offering $2, 000 in trade-in credit, and with today’s announcement, the total compensation for owners of vehicles included in the on-going saga can be worth up to $3, 000. [Image credit: Getty Images] Via: Phys.org Source: USA Today

YouTube rolls out support for VR video

Google CEO Sundar Pichai took to Twitter Thursday to announce that YouTube now supports VR video . The site already offers 360 degree video but has now officially added Cardboard support as well. Compatible videos will now display a Cardboard icon at the watch page menu. [Image Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images] Via: Sundar Pichai (Twitter) Source: YouTube Blog

See the article here:
YouTube rolls out support for VR video

Expedia to pay $3.9 billion for Airbnb competitor HomeAway

The short-term rental market is growing, and Expedia understandably wants a piece of it. After snapping up Orbitz and Travelocity earlier this year, it has now decided to purchase HomeAway. It’s an online service that focuses on renting out vacation homes, further intensifying Expedia’s rivalry with Airbnb. The travel empire has been displaying HA properties alongside hotels for a couple of years, but it will now completely own the company and all its brands. In its press release , Expedia admits that it has agreed to pay a hefty $3.9 billion for HomeAway, because it has “long had [its] eyes on the fast growing ~$100 billion alternative accommodations space.” Both companies are expecting to close the deal in 2016, and if they obtain regulatory approval, Expedia will pay in cash and stock worth $38.31 per share. Source: Expedia , Bloomberg , The New York Times , HomeAway , Reuters , USA Today

See more here:
Expedia to pay $3.9 billion for Airbnb competitor HomeAway

Facebook averaged over 1 billion daily users in September

Facebook’s growth shows no sign of stopping. Today is announced that it has over one billion users on average using it everyday . In August it announced it had passed a milestone of having one billion users on the site in a single day. By the next month that was the average. That’s a year-over-year increase of 17 percent. Monthly active users increased by 14 percent to 1.55 billion as of the end of September, an increase of 14-percent from the year before. Meanwhile the company continues to see a majority (78-percent) of its ad revenue come from mobile. In the earnings statement CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, “we’re focused on innovating and investing for the long term to serve our community and connect the entire world.” Source: Facebook

Read the original post:
Facebook averaged over 1 billion daily users in September

Adware found in MacUpdate’s Skype Installer package

Long-trusted software site MacUpdate has apparently gone the way of its competitors: It has been tainted by adware . A Twitter user tried to download a Skype Installer package from the site and discovered that all was not as it appeared . The file looks normal at first and when opened you’re prompted with a user agreement that people generally just click past, but it’s here that gives the installer the right to change browser settings and add a “search-assist” browser extension . This type of software-trickery is identical to those used by InstallCore adware and as soon as the Skype agreement is confirmed, an InstallCore browser is added to Safari. It’s usually wise to download software from the developer’s site but the appeal of MacUpdate was that it acted like a one-stop-shop of sorts, carrying with it a strong reputation for reliable downloads. Now, with this news coming to light, maybe it will have to be added to the boycott list right under Download.com and Softonic . Source: Ciro Urdaneta (Twitter)

Activision bought the ‘Candy Crush’ developer for $5.9 billion

Say what you will about the quality of Activision’s output, but the company makes incredibly smart business moves. Like the announcement that it purchased Candy Crush studio King Digital Entertainment for a cool $5.9 billion. For comparison’s sake, Amazon paid a paltry $970 million for Twitch while Facebook spent $2 billion on Oculus VR and $19 billion on messaging platform Whatsapp. Oh, and Minecraft only set Microsoft back $2.5 billion . Bobby Kotick and Co. definitely think this is a big deal, and considering just how many people play the mindless puzzler this is likely a smart investment. Source: Activision Blizzrd

Taken from:
Activision bought the ‘Candy Crush’ developer for $5.9 billion

Cassini gets cozy with Saturn’s moon, flies 30 miles above its surface

Cassini has just finished the second of three planned Enceladus flybys on October 28th, going as close at 30 miles above the surface of the icy moon’s south polar region. The photo above was taken after the flyby, showing both the moon and Saturn’s rings, but rest assured the probe took a lot of close-up photos. It even grabbed some of the gas and dust that erupted from one of Enceladus’ geysers that typically spew water and other materials up to 125 miles into the sky. NASA will analyze those samples within the next few weeks, which should gives us more details about the composition of the moon’s ocean floor, as well as about any underwater hydrothermal activity. Cassini made the first flyby this early October to take a closer look at Enceladus’ north pole region. It’s scheduled to make its last one on December 19th to measure the heat the moon gives of, after which it’ll move on to other things for the last two years of its life. Source: NASA

More:
Cassini gets cozy with Saturn’s moon, flies 30 miles above its surface

The IRS has used Stingray phone-tracking tech

This year, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have thankfully put into place more stringent regulations on how government agencies can use ” Stingray ” cellphone-tracking devices. However, we’re also learning more about how widespread usage of such tools was within the government: Today, The Guardian reports that the Internal Revenue Service made purchases in 2009 and 2012 of Stingray equipment from manufacturer Harris Corporation. The documents it received as part of a Freedom of Information Act request were heavily redacted but still revealed that in 2012, the IRS paid more than $65, 000 to upgrade previous Stingray equipment to a newer version called the HailStorm. Source: The Guardian

See the article here:
The IRS has used Stingray phone-tracking tech

Nanofiber gel and snake venom work together to stop the bleeding

Researchers at Rice University announced a novel use for batroxobin , a hemotoxic component in the venom of two South American pit viper species. They’ve figured out how to leverage it as a potent anticoagulant — when combined with a nanofiber hydrogel called SB50 — that could save countless lives in surgery. Medical science has actually been employing batroxobin as a topical clotting agent and thrombosis treatment since the mid 1930s. But more importantly, it’s been shown to stop the flow of blood even if the patient is on heparin, a powerful anticoagulant administered before some surgeries. Via: Rice University Newsroom Source: Rice University

Ken May

Tag: features