medicine – Page 4 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

The ‘Game of Thrones’ credits are more fun in 360-degrees

There are still ten days to go until Game of Thrones season six debuts, but HBO is doing its best to keep fans’ appetites for new footage satiated until then. After dropping a dingy new trailer on Monday, and some behind-the-scenes footage yesterday, it’s now released a 360-degree video of the show’s opening credits on Facebook. The extended sequence lets you explore the famous clockwork map of Westeros and Essos. The map is arranged inside a sphere, which means looking in the right direction will give you a little peek across the water at Sothoryos and the Basilisk Isles. Many of the show’s iconic locations are there, from King’s Landing and Winterfell to Dorne. There are more than a few easter eggs to discover just by looking around as well, including a glimpse of an unnamed direwolf by the wall — make of that what you will — and a PG-13 view of the Titan of Braavos. Via: Deadline Source: Game of Thrones (Facebook)

‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

If you need knee replacement surgery in the future, doctors may be able to create a custom-made joint from your own stem cells. A team from St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, have developed the Biopen, a type of 3D printer that uses “ink” made from hydrogel and stem cells. While 3D printing stem cells isn’t new , the exact shape of a patient’s cartilage often can’t be known until they’re cut open. Using the device, surgeons can precisely customize the joint to the patient with surgical “scaffolds, ” then permanently harden the biogel using ultraviolet light. Built from medical-grade plastic and titanium in consultation with doctors, the Biopen is supposedly up to the challenges of an operating room. “The development of this type of technology is only possible with interactions between scientists and clinicians — clinicians to identify the problem and scientists to develop a solution, ” says Professor Peter Choong, Director of Orthopaedics at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. The process yields a very high 97 percent survival rate for the cells. Doctors developed a Biopen prototype several years ago (see the video, above), but refined it considerably, according to a new research paper . The same device could be used in other forms of surgery where custom tissue regeneration is needed, but there’s no word yet on when it will be tested on patients or commercialized. Via: IB Times Source: Pubmed (subscription)

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‘Biopen’ lets doctors 3D print cartilage during surgery

Sonos announces layoffs, refocuses on streaming and voice tech

Sonos has announced that it will be “letting go of some employees, “; forming part of reshaping the company in a new direction. In an (admittedly vague) blog post , CEO John Macfarlane doesn’t say exactly how many jobs are going to be cut, but he says its’s a consequence of the still in-transition music industry. “Everyone in the ecosystem is adjusting to a world of streaming services, ” he added, citing the addition of The Beatles back-catalogue across the top music streaming services. Macfarlane says it’s an inevitable change — and that’s why the company is now focusing on these users over customers that are playing from non-streamed files and physical music collections. How? He’s not saying, but it’ll apparently involve “building incredibly rich experiences that were all but unimaginable when we started the company.” (The company recently added Apple Music to its list of compatible services .) The second target is voice. Explicitly mentioning Amazon’s Echo products , the CEO said that voice recognition will be a big change for the company best known for speakers. Macfarlane adds that the company is investing into the technology to make sure it works like it should, reaffirming that the company wants to ensure it’s a sustainable, profitable one — and that means catering to the music streaming revolution. Source: Sonos

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Sonos announces layoffs, refocuses on streaming and voice tech

$350 million Nintendo land coming to Universal Japan’s park

When Nintendo announced it was granting Universal Studios the rights to some of its properties for theme park rides, it was anyone’s guess where they’d show up first. Now we know that they’ll debut in the gaming juggernaut’s back yard: Japan. Regional news outlet Sankei (Japanese) reports that the attraction is scheduled for completion by 2020, the year Tokyo is slated to host the Olympics. And lest you think this will be a simple statue of Princess Peach and a Mario Kart -themed go-kart track, the publication says this should be on par with the likes of Universal’s Harry Potter -themed zone but focused entirely on everyone’s favorite Italian plumber. Hell, it could even be called “Super Mario World.” Crazier things have happened! Need more evidence for how serious of a deal this is? Universal is putting up ¥40 billion ($351, 509, 200) — given Nintendo’s current financial woes , the company is probably happy someone else is footing the bill. For that amount, maybe we’ll see a full scale version of the entire Mushroom Kingdom in a few years. 4) Busy start of 2016 for Nintendo. See the picture below for details (from Sankei: https://t.co/NRejTXGL6Q ) // end pic.twitter.com/EMHunhgYFa — Dr. Serkan Toto (@serkantoto) March 5, 2016 Via: Dr. Serkan Toto (Twitter) Source: Sankei (Japanese)

Netflix to stream original anime by ‘Attack on Titan’ producer

Netflix is preparing to release its new, 12-part original anime series Perfect Bones. It’s not the streaming service’s first original anime, but it’s the first time the company is launching a whole series in 190 countries simultaneously. Netflix’s first “original” title, Knights of Sidonia, can be more appropriately described as an exclusive, since it already aired in Japan before it arrived on the platform. This one will completely bypass Japanese TV. Netflix VP Erik Barmack said in a statement: In an era where the Internet knows no bounds, we are proud to deliver high quality original Anime to fans all over the world, at the exact same time , no matter where they live whether it be Japan, France, Mexico, the US, and beyond. Perfect Bones is directed by Kazuto Nakazawa (who also did Kill Bill 1’s animated sequence) for Production I.G. That’s the famed anime studio behind several popular titles, including Attack on Titan and Psycho Pass , as well as sci-fi classic Ghost in the Shell . In the world of Perfect Bones, geneticists are on a quest to create the “perfect human” to maintain universal peace. Unfortunately, their research subjects are kidnapped by an evil organization that plan to use them to achieve a “new world order.” Netflix didn’t say when the series will be available, so keep a close eye on the app or website to catch it as soon it’s up. Source: Netflix

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Netflix to stream original anime by ‘Attack on Titan’ producer

OpenGL’s successor is ready to improve gaming graphics

Games on devices of all kinds could soon be running better because Vulkan , the successor to OpenGL, has finally been released officially. The new standard gives developers low-level access to discrete and on-chip graphics, helping them avoid the layers of hardware overhead that normally slow things down. Khronos, the open-source group behind the standard, says it also reduces CPU overhead and improves multi-threaded performance. Delayed for several months, the version 1.0 driver is based on AMD’s proprietary Mantle standard. Similar technology is used in the Xbox One and PS4 consoles to help them make the most of their relatively modest specs. On the PC side, Vulkan will support Linux and Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. So far, official drivers are available for Intel graphics and NVIDIA products. AMD has beta drivers but still hasn’t released a final conforming version, ironically. The low-level hardware support in Vulkan makes it similar to DirectX 12 , which Microsoft released in 2014. DirectX 12 will still be popular with Windows 10 game developers, but Vulkan has the advantage of working with older Windows systems. As the successor to OpenGL, it could also attract developers like Adobe, which uses OpenGL for Photoshop and other apps. For apps that don’t need maximum performance, Khronos will still support and update OpenGL. On mobile, today Qualcomm is announcing that its flagship Snapdragon 820 processor will be the first to play nice with Vulkan. More specifically, the Adreno 530 GPU inside will support both the graphics framework and compute, which means that applications that require additional processing power can tap into the GPU. The company is also pledging to add drivers for other Adrenos in the 4xx and 5xx range, and we imagine more chip-makers — not least Intel and Nvidia — will offer support soon. Apple was initially a part of the Khronos working group, but stepped away from it to develop its Metal API (it’s still a member of the Khronos consortium). Both Macs and mobile iOS devices use Metal, which offers developers a mix of low- and high-level graphics access. That said, Imagination, which designs the PowerVR cores inside the iPhone and iPad, is part of the Khronos group, so support for the standard could come at some point. The Vulkan standard is also important to Valve, who wants it to bring big performance improvements to the modest hardware in its Steam Machines . However, so far there are no Vulkan games that use Valve’s Source 2 engine, nor are there any on Unity or Unreal Engine. For now, the only Vulkan-based game to officially launch is The Talos Principal (pictured above) which should be available soon on Steam. Source: Khronos

AT&T matches Verizon’s $650 offer to swap carriers

AT&T has announced that it’ll hand you up to $650 in credit should you choose to switch from another mobile carrier. If you’re prepared to jump through the various hurdles, you’ll be entitled to a pre-paid gift card equal to the value of your ETF or device balance. In addition, the network is letting you pair the deal with its buy one, get one free offer, enabling you to grab two shiny new devices at the same time. The offering is the latest in a long series of credit offers, with Verizon pushing its own offer to $650 last December . America’s mobile market is now so saturated that customers that are willing to switch provider are worth their weight in gold. At first, it was just ETF-based skirmishes between T-Mobil e and AT&T , but things really warmed up when device subsidies went out the window. Then, every network was using its spare cash to get you out from under the yoke of their rivals . It wasn’t long before everyone was escalating the amount of money they’d promise you, and now $650 seems to be the new normal . Of course, the question we feel we have to ask is: how sustainable is all of this? Source: AT&T

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AT&T matches Verizon’s $650 offer to swap carriers

The people who reportedly never sleep. Ever.

Vietnamese gentleman Thái Ngọc claims that ever since he suffered a terrible fever in 1973, he hasn’t slept a wink. There’s also Ines Fernandez who says she’s been awake for decades. Of course, these curious individuals and others with similar stories may actually be suffering from a very strange sleep disorder called sleep state misperception (SSM) in which the individuals think they were up all night but actually slept just fine. At Mysterious Universe, Martin J. Clemens looks at SSM and the very scary rare disease called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), presented as total insomnia that can last the rest of the person’s life, which is usually only 18 months or so after the onset of symptoms. From Mysterious Universe : FFI is a neurological condition caused by a misfolded protein in the DNA of the afflicted, of which there have been only about 100 cases. That protein, called a prion protein, is known as PrPSc (PrPC in non-FFI subjects). Essentially, the prion form of the protein causes a change in certain amino acids – due to the protein strand folding incorrectly – which, when combined with other genetic markers, then affects the brain’s sleep centers. FFI is genetic, and therefore hereditary, but there is an even rarer form known as Sporadic Fatal Insomnia (sFI) that occurs spontaneously, the cause of which is not understood. You may wish to know that PrPSc is the same protein that’s responsible for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as Mad Cow Disease. ” The Woman Who Stayed Awake for 30 Years…Or Did She? ”

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The people who reportedly never sleep. Ever.

Researchers Uncover the Genetic Roots Behind Rare Vibration Allergy

derekmead writes: A team of National Health Institute researchers has for the first time uncovered the genetic roots of one of the strangest allergies: vibrations. The vibration allergy, which is just as it sounds, may be quite rare, but understanding it more completely may yield important insights into the fundamental malfunctioning of immune cells in the presence of allergens. The group’s findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In addition to being uncommon, the vibration allergy is not very dangerous. In most cases, the allergic response is limited to hives—the pale, prickly rash most often associated with allergic and autoimmune reactions. Other less-common symptoms include headaches, blurry vision, fatigue, and flushing. The triggering vibrations are everyday things: jogging, jackhammering, riding a motorcycle, towel drying. Symptoms appear within a few minutes of exposure and are gone usually within an hour. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Researchers Uncover the Genetic Roots Behind Rare Vibration Allergy

Electronic music gets its own televised awards show

Variety is reporting that Fox will broadcast the inaugural Electronic Music Awards on Saturday, April 23rd at 8pm. The network has teamed up with superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold to create the event as a celebration of the genre. It’ll feature red carpet coverage, interviews, the ceremony itself and performances from the world’s biggest artists. Read between the lines and you’ll assume that the move was born out of frustration with the Grammy’s traditional disdain for electronica. As Oakenfold says, he’s “thrilled to be part of an awards show that finally ” (emphasis ours) “recognizes and celebrates… one of the biggest music genres in the world.” You can feel the heat radiating off that burn from a mile away. Stuff that’s been made by a computer has always been treated as a poor cousin of things that are made more “traditionally.” Despite its pervasiveness, CGI gets a bum rap compared to practical effects , and it’s taken years for eSports to receive any degree of recognition from traditional broadcasters . Take a cursory look at the Grammy award categories and you can see where Oakenfold’s annoyance comes from. For instance, R&B and jazz both get five categories a piece, while electronic has to share a table with dance and has just two measly categories. Which seems a little bit unfair, don’t you think? Source: Variety

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Electronic music gets its own televised awards show