Tag: getflix-instead

Laser shines through fly’s skin, controls its heart by activating doped cells

Eliza writes, “A researcher from Lehigh University has invented a light-based pacemaker for fruit flies, and says a human version is ‘not impossible.’ The pacemaker relies on the new technique of ‘optogenetics,’ in which light-sensitive proteins are inserted into certain cells, allowing those cells to be activated by pulses of light. Here, the proteins were inserted into cardiac cells so the researchers could trigger the contractions that produce heartbeats.” (more…)

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Laser shines through fly’s skin, controls its heart by activating doped cells

Saudis halved the death toll in Hajj stampede: true count is 1453

After reporting 700 pilgrims dead in a stampede near the holy city of Mecca two weeks ago , Saudi authorities have come clean with the true number killed after pressure from investigators: 1,453 were killed and hundreds remain missing. Indeed, Shiite Iran in particular has challenged its Sunni arch-rival’s status as the custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, warning that if diplomacy doesn’t yield an independent investigation, “the Islamic Republic is also prepared to use the language of force.” Nearly one-third of the deaths in the incident were pilgrims from neighboring Iran. Given all of this, it’s not terribly surprising that a more accurate accounting of the tragedy had to come from an outside source. As Ruth Graham noted last month in The Atlantic, Saudi officials weren’t eager to take responsibility: “In Saudi Arabia, the country’s health minister chalked up the latest incident to a failure to follow instructions, and the head of the Central Hajj Committee blamed ‘some pilgrims from African nationalities.’” In the meantime, hundreds of worshipers still remain missing and so the true extent of last month’s disaster is not fully known.

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Saudis halved the death toll in Hajj stampede: true count is 1453

Amazon launches “Etsy-killer” Handmade at Amazon, a marketplace for handmade goods

Online retail giant Amazon is launching a marketplace for handcrafted goods: Handmade at Amazon . It’s “an arts-and-crafts bazaar online that squarely takes aim at a niche but growing market dominated by the Brooklyn-based Etsy,” as the New York Times puts it . Handmade at Amazon went live early Thursday more than 80,000 items from roughly 5,000 sellers in 60 countries around the world. Crafters can sell their crocheted pants or 3D-printed succulent cozies on the new Amazon marketplace, just as they’ve been able to for years at Etsy, a $2bn-a-year business. Amazon’s business is a lot bigger: $75 billion in annual sales. And Amazon’s is growing, while some recent changes at Etsy have been followed by challenged growth. Is this the end of Etsy? Amazon will start out with six categories — home, jewelry, artwork, stationery and party supplies, kitchen and dining, and baby — Mr. Faricy said. One distinct advantage Amazon will bring is reach. Its 285 million active customer accounts dwarf Etsy’s 22 million, giving artisans access to far more traffic and potential customers. And Amazon is also offering logistical backing to its sellers, allowing them to ship products, in lots, to one of the company’s many fulfillment centers around the country. Amazon will then ship out those products as part of its Prime service, which offers members unlimited free shipping for an annual fee. Most sellers are likely to give Amazon a bigger cut of their sales for that reach, however. Etsy charges a 20-cent fee for each item a seller lists on its site and takes a 3.5 percent cut of the sales. For now, Amazon will charge no listing fee but take 12 percent of sales, which it says covers all costs, including payment processing, marketing and fraud protection. ” Amazon Challenges Etsy With Strictly Handmade Marketplace ” [nytimes]

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Amazon launches “Etsy-killer” Handmade at Amazon, a marketplace for handmade goods