Be your own doctor: The next medical revolution - Maclean's

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Andrew Tolson; Photo Illustration by Lauren Cattermole

In 2005, Walter De Brouwer?s five-year-old son was rushed to the hospital with a severe head injury after falling more than 30 feet out of a window. In the three months that his son spent in the intensive care unit, De Brouwer, a Belgian tech entrepreneur transplanted to Silicon Valley, took to learning the myriad hospital machinery that tracked his son?s vital signs. He began bringing his laptop to the hospital, copying the reams of data into an Excel spreadsheet to study the relationship between his son?s blood pressure and heart rate, or the way his condition seemed to decline around the same time each night.

When his son was well enough to be discharged to a regular hospital room, De Brouwer panicked. ?I knew this environment and these numbers and then I had to go to a room with no numbers, not even a computer,? he says. ?I thought, ?Why do I only have a thermometer at home?? Perhaps we should know more about our health before it gets bad.?

The experience gave him the idea for the Scanadu Scout, a futuristic palm-sized device that can monitor five different vital signs, including temperature, heart rate and blood oxygenation level, by just holding it to your temple for 10 seconds. It then transmits the results wirelessly to your smartphone so you can track your health information over time, seeing, for instance, if a certain medication makes your heart rate climb, or what?s going on inside your body on those nights when you can?t fall asleep.

Pending approval by U.S. regulators, De Brouwer hopes to have the Scout on the market at the end of the year for $150. Getting regulatory approval to sell the device in Canada is the next logical extension, he says.

The company offers the promise of ?sending your smartphone to med school? in recognition of the fact that today?s smartphones, with their powerful processors and high-speed Internet connections, have the potential to become pocket-sized, wireless diagnostic machines. That idea, says De Brouwer, is already having a profound effect on medicine. ?In the next three to four years a big part of preventative medicine will be taken up by the Internet of things around us, which will communicate with our phone,? he says. ?When we have an accident and people rush to us they won?t be coming to feel our bodies, but to look at our phone.?

Scanadu is developing disposable test strips that can be scanned at home by your phone to analyze saliva for different strains of the flu or strep throat, or to check urine samples for urinary tract infections, renal failure or complications from pregnancy.

De Brouwer is hardly the only Silicon Valley entrepreneur working to revolutionize the doctor-patient relationship. There are now as many as 18,000 medical apps aimed at consumers that promise to diagnose illness, suggest appropriate treatment or monitor a patient?s health status. While they range from free programs based on pseudo-science, to apps designed by some of the continent?s top medical research universities, all are part of a broader movement to fundamentally shift power away from doctors and into the hands of patients themselves.

Even as technology is opening new opportunities for medicine, it is also creating new dangers. As is the case with flesh and blood doctors, the diagnosis is only as good as the app or device you?re using. With regulators struggling to keep up with the hundreds of new health-related apps uploaded to the Internet daily, it means personal health care is becoming something of a Wild West frontier. But it also means the days of relying on your family doctor to figure out what?s wrong with you?a diagnostic process virtually unchanged for generations?are quickly coming to an end.

Consumer devices that track your vital signs have long been popular among amateur and professional athletes who use heart-rate monitors and GPS-enabled wristbands that measure speed and distance travelled during training. But as the technology has evolved, it has also attracted those with chronic health conditions. These ?e-patients? are part of a more wide-ranging shift in the health care system driven by consumers themselves.

?If you were to pick one thing to correlate with how good a doctor is going to be, a pretty good pick is how many cases of a particular condition and a particular treatment they have seen,? says Sean Ahrens, a San Francisco-based software engineer. ?What if there was a doctor who could see a million patients, or every single case in the world? It?s impossible for a human to do that, but maybe software can pull off that feat.?

After suffering a painful flare-up of Crohn?s disease, an incurable chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, Ahrens did what millions of people do every day: he went online in search of help.

Source: http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/03/04/the-smartphone-will-see-you-now-2/

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Coffee Talk: Online Dating | The Everygirl

You?ve Got Mail. Online dating is becoming increasingly popular especially for young professionals who have little spare time to invest in meeting that special someone. While some are avid online daters, others argue for a more organic approach to dating. Juggling careers and relationships can be challenging, making online dating a practical alternative that has proven successful for many. But can we all expect to find a connection like that of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks? famous characters, Kathleen and Joe?

So why the hesitation? Have you ever tried online dating? Would you if you were single and looking for a relationship? Has it worked for you or someone you know?

image via

Source: http://theeverygirl.com/coffee-talk-online-dating/

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The Birth of WebComm - Web Community Communications

I wrote this yesterday ? Sunday, March 3.

A good part of traveling alone (the travel part of traveling) is getting time to think.

I?m on my way to the Houston Texas area to teach a two day session on Effective Social Media for Advanced Community Development.

That?s kind of a cool audience because these are offline professional community developers thinking about ways to build online community development.

I taught to this group two years ago. They were great then. I have no doubt they will be great this time too.

?Effective social media for Advanced Community Development.? I think about what this means in my own life constantly.

It?s truly a complicated, philosophically profound question. I?m teaching to a group of libraries in Toledo in April on this very same topic? How social media impacts the future of libraries.

I feel a certain amount of trepidation trying to tackle this topic. This isn?t really about learning how to use kik and Keek. I believe the question is: what do these tools mean to humanity? And how do we effectively use them in our organizations.

It?s not about how to use a tool. It?s about how to use a concept.

The answer now in March 2013 is different than February 23rd, 2011 and the entire online run up to that date.

First, the language can?t keep up with the changes.

A social media expert of today is more of a search engine optimizer than any SEO expert of February 23rd, 2011 and before.

As a person who works in search and social, I honestly don?t know what it means to be an seo or social media expert. How can they not be the same thing and therefore much more than the sum of their parts?

The Google Panda update that occurred on February 24th, 2011 changed the entire online landscape and ultimately caused these blendings between social and search.

In a nutshell Google was able to effectively weed out low quality content from its search results. This included much content that was written on the cheap by people who really didn?t have any business writing about the topics they were writing about.

Brokerage sites easily connected low priced writers from around the world with anyone that was looking for a solution to their lack of content that was negatively effecting them on the search engines.

To make matters worse, it worked. Google was ranking this stuff. It generated traffic cheaply that ultimately brought in sales. This was the crystal meth of marketing. A cheap fix that got the job done.

But the February 24th, 2011 Panda Update went a long way to clean that stuff up. Google said that update effected 12% of search results. That?s a massive set of data.

On top of that they are continually rolling out Panda updates to further clean up their results. Google continues to be refining their warpath to rid their index of low quality content. They seem to be getting better and better at it.

It?s the search engine optimizers that advocated these low quality techniques (driven by a client that questioned the cost of any action). A downward pressure on low price work helped force the hand of the search optimizer. Constant spam from India promising great search results had clients questioning why their American counterparts cost so much. So the American and European optimizers gave it to them.

Today, if you are doing anything specifically for the search engines you most likely will meet with failure. Techniques like content spinning, blog comment spam, reciprocal linking, buying links, 3rd world content creation? They are either already found out by Google or are short for this world.

Further, Google continues to put their trust in brand names and actual publishers. A small shop trying to get their products to the top of Google by shuffling around some words is likely to be disappointed.

A good social media expert solves that problem. Their focus is mostly on engaging visitors with a variety of content served in a variety of different media sets.

They are trying to tell a story that?s interesting to people. That philosophy is more in line with what Google is looking to achieve: serving the most relevant content possible.

But ?social media expert? is a bit of an oxymoron.

What does that mean? Someone who is expert at navigating the tools of social media? That suddenly qualifies about a billion people on the planet as ?social media experts.? If not more.

A good one of these people aren?t expert in the tools. They are expert at making the tools work for their clients. They are more like a liaison. ?Client: this is what your audience expects from you. You no longer dictate the message. The audience tells you what and where they want to see you interact with them.

The other issue with a social media expert is that they rarely have any understanding of how search engines produce results. So their work is often not up to the full potential it could be.

And on top of all this, search optimizers and social experts typically don?t understand how to effectively use the paid sponsored opportunities in search, social and retargeting. This too limits the effectiveness of the overall results.

The language needs to stop being defined by the tools: search engines, social sites, and online advertising. They are quickly all becoming the same thing. Where is there not a search engine of some kind? And what search engine doesn?t want part of the social media phenomenon? And which of these sites does not want you to augment your presence by buying sponsorships?

The language needs to be defined by what the expert does. In this case the person is working online. Specifically, they are working on the web. They navigate the world Tim Berners Lee created: the World Wide Web. They are not working through ftp or Gopher. It?s the Web. Not the Internet. Not online. Those are the foundations of the web. The Web rides on the Internet.

Additionally, these people are in the Communications business. They are not trying to manipulate the search engines. They are not teaching the techniques of the latest tool. While today we lump many of these into the social media category, that?s most certainly just a temporary label. There will be another name describing another set of tools probably not in the very far future.

And finally, these people are in the Community business. The people we are selling to or offering services to are our constituents. They are the people who agree to pay our tax for the services or products we offer. We are all in the business of the charging a tax in exchange for products or services.

Web, Communications and Community. These are the areas a modern day search engine optimizer and social media expert, along with online advertisers guide our clients. I think the word could be: WebComm.

WebComm expert, WebComm optimizer. This is who we are in the world. This is a word that should withstand the next 10 to 20 years, if not longer.

Marketing, PR, seo, social media. These are all nouns that are outdated. We are stretching their meanings too far.

Marketing and public relations both have a meaning and implication of a top down manipulation of the message. That, plain and simple, does not happen on the Web anymore. If you think you control the message of your organization you have not witnessed the wrath of a wronged online hoard of citizens. Those stories exist everywhere today. From fallen governments in the Middle East, to brands worldwide.

To be a marketer or to say you are in public relations overstates your power and demeans your audience when you are talking about this WebComm environment.

That?s not to say marketing and public relations are dead. They certainly have their role, and especially in large organizations. But when talking with the Web audience they should be working with the WebComm director. Small businesses might not do much traditional marketing or PR at all. They likely might be totally focused in WebComm.

And we already discussed the inherent flaws of the words seo and social media.

The language is important. The words we use have undertones and history that taint the meaning. We simply can?t force an outdated language into a new world. We need new words to describe new concepts.

WebComm seems to do it.

I would also think that there would be an offline counterpart to the WebComm specialist.

This person has yet to even be thought about in the organization. But it?s only a matter of time that someone makes the connection that if we are building a community online that there would be value to do this in the real world. Barack Obama mastered this in the 2012 election.

But the words become harder to describe this.

To say offline or real world puts the language as a response to some other place. It is defining it as the opposite of the online world. Further, many people would argue that their online world is just as real as their offline world.

The difference is that those interactions happen in the physical world. They happen with our bodies. They happen on the earth, on terra firma.

These people work in communications and community on terra. TerraComm seems to describe these folks. Community and communications people who work with constituents on earth, not on the Web.

And finally, these people would be overseen by the Comm Director. Community communications. Real relationships. Real connection. Not PR stunts. This isn?t about giving to charities. This isn?t about sponsoring at NASCAR. This is about reaching, listening adding value to the lives of your constituents? your audience, your customer.

It?s tempting to simply use the word community or communications. But those are distinctly different disciplines. A community director is thought of very differently than a communications director.

The Comm people would be in charge of both communication and community. Communicating with the community.

So, WebComm. It seems to do a decent job of describing this Web world in which we work. That?s what I?ll be talking about this week in Texas and on the blog.

Me teaching for the Community Development Institute in The Woodlands Texas, March 2013

Source: http://www.sagerock.com/blog/the-birth-of-webcomm/

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ScienceDaily: Top Science News

http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ Top science news, featured on ScienceDaily's home page.en-usMon, 04 Mar 2013 08:35:22 ESTMon, 04 Mar 2013 08:35:22 EST60http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gifhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily.http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303172640.htm Researchers have described the first documented case of a child being cured of HIV. The case involves a two-year-old child in Mississippi diagnosed with HIV at birth and immediately put on antiretroviral therapy. At 18 months, the child ceased taking antiretrovirals and was lost to follow-up. When brought back into care at 23 months, despite being off treatment for five months, the child was found to have an undetectable viral load. A battery of subsequent highly sensitive tests confirmed the absence of HIV.Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:26:26 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303172640.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303155002.htm Scientists have produced the most comprehensive virtual reconstruction of human metabolism to date. Scientists could use the model, known as Recon 2, to identify causes of and new treatments for diseases like cancer, diabetes and even psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:50:50 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303155002.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154958.htm Researchers have applied a recently developed technique to directly measure for the first time the polarization states of light. Their work both overcomes some important challenges of Heisenberg's famous Uncertainty Principle and also is applicable to qubits, the building blocks of quantum information theory.Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:49:49 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154958.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154859.htm Scientists have artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications.Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:48:48 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154859.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301153645.htm 3-D printing lets anyone make almost anything with a simple machine and a roll of plastic filament. Now researchers have found a way to drive costs down even further by recycling empty milk jugs into filament. The process reduces landfill waste, saves on energy compared with traditional recycling, and makes 3-D printing and even better deal.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:36:36 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301153645.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301153245.htm The world?s shark populations are experiencing significant declines with perhaps 100 million ? or more - sharks being lost every year, according to a new study.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:32:32 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301153245.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123308.htm A new study is the first to show that dust and other aerosols from one side of the world influence rainfall in the Sierra Nevada.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:33:33 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123308.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123048.htm Scientists looking for clues about why Earth did not warm as much as scientists expected between 2000 and 2010 now thinks the culprits are hiding in plain sight -- dozens of volcanoes spewing sulfur dioxide.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:30:30 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123048.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123042.htm A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern US and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:30:30 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301123042.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301122512.htm The interplay between an infection during pregnancy and stress in puberty plays a key role in the development of schizophrenia, as behaviorists demonstrate in a mouse model. However, there is no need to panic.Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130301122512.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228171504.htm A paleontologist and his team have discovered a new species of herbivorous dinosaur and published the first fossil evidence of prehistoric crocodyliforms feeding on small dinosaurs.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228171504.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155624.htm Two biologists at Washington University in St. Louis were delighted to discover a meticulous dataset on a plant-pollinator network recorded by Illinois naturalist Charles Robertson between 1884 and 1916. Re-collecting part of Robertson's network, they learned that although the network has compensated for some losses, battered by climate change and habitat loss it is now weaker and less resilient than in Robertson's time.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:56:56 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155624.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155622.htm Researchers studying data from 600 fields in 20 countries have found that managed honey bees are not as successful at pollinating crops as wild insects, primarily wild bees, suggesting the continuing loss of wild insects in many agricultural landscapes has negative consequences for crop harvests.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:56:56 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155622.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155430.htm NASA's Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within these hazardous regions of space.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:54:54 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155430.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228124138.htm New research on bacteria examines how primordial cells could have evolved without protein machinery or cell walls. While the vast majority of bacteria have cell walls, many bacteria can switch to a wall-free existence called the L-form state, which could mirror the structure of primordial cells. A new study reveals how bacteria in this L-form state divide and proliferate, shedding light on how the earliest forms of cellular life may have replicated.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:41:41 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228124138.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228124132.htm Much to the chagrin of parents who think their kids should spend less time playing video games and more time studying, time spent playing action video games can actually make dyslexic children read better, new research suggests. In fact, 12 hours of video game play did more for reading skills than is normally achieved with a year of spontaneous reading development or demanding traditional reading treatments.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:41:41 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228124132.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113447.htm A new model suggests that inhospitable hydrodgen-sulfide rich waters could have delayed the spread of complex life forms in ancient oceans. The research considers the composition of the oceans 550-700 million years ago and shows that oxygen-poor toxic conditions, which may have delayed the establishment of complex life, were controlled by the biological availability of nitrogen.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:34:34 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113447.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113436.htm Using new technology at the telescope and in laboratories, researchers have discovered an important pair of prebiotic molecules in interstellar space. The discoveries indicate that some basic chemicals that are key steps on the way to life may have formed on dusty ice grains floating between the stars.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:34:34 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113436.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113401.htm An international team of scientists have discovered a meteorite with a mass of 18 kilograms embedded in the East Antarctic ice sheet, the largest?such meteorite found in the region since 1988.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:34:34 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228113401.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228103341.htm Astronomers have obtained what is likely the first direct observation of a forming planet still embedded in a thick disc of gas and dust. If confirmed, this discovery will greatly improve our understanding of how planets form and allow astronomers to test the current theories against an observable target.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:33:33 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228103341.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093833.htm The acceleration of a free electron by a laser is a long-time goal of solid-state physicists. Physicists have established that an electron beam can be accelerated by a laser in free space. This has never been done before at high energies and represents a significant breakthrough, and may have implications for fusion as a new energy source.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093833.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093829.htm In a significant advance for brain-computer interfaces, engineers have developed a novel wireless, broadband, rechargeable, fully implantable brain sensor that has performed well in animal models for more than a year.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093829.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093823.htm Researchers have electronically linked the brains of pairs of rats for the first time, enabling them to communicate directly to solve simple behavioral puzzles. A further test of this work successfully linked the brains of two animals thousands of miles apart -- one in Durham, N.C., and one in Natal, Brazil.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093823.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093509.htm The salinity difference between fresh water and salt water could be a source of renewable energy. However, power yields from existing techniques are not high enough to make them viable. A solution to this problem may now have been found. Researchers have discovered a new means of harnessing this energy: osmotic flow through boron nitride nanotubes generates huge electric currents, with 1,000 times the efficiency of any previous system.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:35:35 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228093509.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228080242.htm Order tends towards disorder. This is also true for quantum states. Measurements show that in quantum mechanics this transition can be quite different from what we experience in our daily lives.Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:02:02 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228080242.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htm Bearded capuchin monkeys deliberately place palm nuts in a stable position on a surface before trying to crack them open, revealing their capacity to use tactile information to improve tool use.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:35:35 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183502.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htm For the first time, scientists have shown that transplanted eyes located far outside the head in a vertebrate animal model can confer vision without a direct neural connection to the brain. Biologists used a frog model to shed new light -- literally -- on one of the major questions in regenerative medicine and sensory augmentation research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:33:33 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227183311.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htm Researchers have achieved a major advance in understanding how genetic information is transcribed from DNA to RNA by providing the first step-by-step look at the biomolecular machinery that reads the human genome.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:13:13 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227151306.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htm Unique fossils literally 'lift the lid' on ancient creature's head to expose one of the earliest examples of food manipulating limbs in evolutionary history, dating from around 530 million years ago.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:44:44 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134425.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htm After four years of confinement to a wheelchair, Rick Constantine, 58, is now walking again after undergoing an unconventional surgery to restore the use of his leg.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134340.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htm As a bird sings, some neurons in its brain prepare to make the next sounds while others are synchronized with the current notes?a coordination of physical actions and brain activity that is needed to produce complex movements. The finding that may lead to new ways of understanding human speech production.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htm A new study reports that a viral predator of the cholera bacteria has stolen the functional immune system of bacteria and is using it against its bacterial host. This provides the first evidence that this type of virus, the bacteriophage, can acquire an adaptive immune system. The study has implications for phage therapy, the use of phages to treat bacterial diseases.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134334.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htm Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:25:25 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227132544.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htm While water bottles may tout BPA-free labels and personal care products declare phthalates not among their ingredients, these assurances may not be enough. According to a new study, we may be exposed to these chemicals in our diet, even if our diet is organic and we prepare, cook, and store foods in non-plastic containers. Children may be most vulnerable.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227121903.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htm A look at how the brain processes information finds distinct pattern in autistic children. Using EEGs to track the brain's electrical cross-talk, researchers found structural difference in brain connections. Compared with neurotypical children, those with autism have multiple redundant connections between neighboring brain areas at expense of long-distance links. The study, using "network analysis" like with airlines or electrical grids, may help in understanding some classic autistic behaviors.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:20:20 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227102022.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htm Oocytes of lions, tigers and other cat species survive the preservation in liquid nitrogen. Scientists have now succeeded in carrying out cryopreservation of felid ovary cortex.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101951.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htm Older people who have low expectations for a satisfying future may be more likely to live longer, healthier lives than those who see brighter days ahead, according to new research.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227101929.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htm A new study offers the first evidence of source memory in a nonhuman animal. The findings have fascinating implications, both in evolutionary terms and for future research into the biological underpinnings of memory, as well as the treatment of diseases marked by memory failure such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's, or disorders such as schizophrenia, PTSD and depression.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085944.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htm Scientists are using a novel fabrication process to create ultra-efficient solar energy rectennas capable of harvesting more than 70 percent of the sun's electromagnetic radiation and simultaneously converting it into usable electric power.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:59:59 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085942.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htm Continuing a tradition stretching back more than 25 centuries, astronomers have used the new 2.3-meter 'Aristarchos' telescope, sited at Helmos Observatory (2340m high) in the Pelοponnese Mountains in Greece, to determine the distance to and history of an enigmatic stellar system, discovering it to likely be a binary star cocooned within an exotic nebula.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085842.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htm Pregnant women should avoid taking vitamin D supplements, new research suggests. Substitution appears to raise the risk of children developing a food allergy after birth.Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:58:58 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227085838.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htm A study finds an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents who received the A/H1N1 2009 influenza vaccine (Pandemrix) during the pandemic in England.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226194006.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htm An international team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has documented a 78 percent decline in the number of nests of the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) at the turtle's last stronghold in the Pacific Ocean.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 14:12:12 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226141233.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htm Researchers are testing the power of holography to artificially stimulate cells in the eye, with hopes of developing a new strategy for bionic vision restoration. Computer-generated holography, they say, could be used in conjunction with a technique called optogenetics, which uses gene therapy to deliver light-sensitive proteins to damaged retinal nerve cells. In conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), these light-sensing cells degenerate and lead to blindness.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:42:42 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226134259.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htm Plentiful food can accelerate the spread of infections, scientists have shown in a study of water fleas. Scientists studying bacterial infections in tiny water fleas have discovered that increasing their supply of food can speed up the spread of infection.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:05:05 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226120551.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htm Glass doesn't have to be brittle. Scientists propose a way of predicting whether a given glass will be brittle or ductile -- a property typically associated with metals like steel or aluminum -- and assert that any glass could have either quality.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114023.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htm Scientists have developed a new method that better preserves the units necessary to power lightning-fast electronics, known as qubits. Hole spins, rather than electron spins, can keep quantum bits in the same physical state up to 10 times longer than before, the report finds.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:40:40 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226114021.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htm Fresh insights into the protective seal that surrounds the DNA of our cells could help develop treatments for inherited muscle, brain, bone and skin disorders. Researchers have discovered that the proteins within this coating -- known as the nuclear envelope -- vary greatly between cells in different organs of the body.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113830.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htm Researchers have demonstrated a stretchable lithium-ion battery -- a flexible device capable of powering their innovative stretchable electronics. The battery can stretch up to 300 percent of its original size and still function -- even when stretched, folded, twisted and mounted on a human elbow. The battery enables true integration of electronics and power into a small, stretchable package that is wirelessly rechargeable.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:38 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226113828.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htm Firefighters now have a new tool that could help save lives. A team of researchers have developed a new technique using digital holography that can "see" people through intense flames -- the first time a holographic recording of a live person has been achieved while the body is moving. The new technique allows imaging through both.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101454.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htm Scientists have long been dreaming about building a computer that would work like a brain. This is because a brain is far more energy-saving than a computer, it can learn by itself, and it doesn't need any programming. Scientists are experimenting with memristors -- electronic microcomponents that imitate natural nerves.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:14:14 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226101400.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htm Researchers have successfully generated human kidney cells from human embryonic stem cells in vitro1. Specifically, they produced the renal cells under artificial conditions in the lab without using animals or organs. This has not been possible until now.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092142.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htm Researchers have succeeded in showing experimentally that vacuums have properties not previously observed. According to the laws of quantum mechanics, it is a state with abundant potentials. Vacuums contain momentarily appearing and disappearing virtual pairs, which can be converted into detectable light particles.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:21:21 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226092128.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htm During sleep, our brains store what we have learned during the day a process even more effective in children than in adults, new research shows.Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:11:11 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130226081155.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htm Results of a major study aimed at assessing the efficacy of the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases show that such a diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or tree nuts reduces by 30 percent the risk of suffering a cardiovascular death, a myocardial infarction or a stroke.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:15:15 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225181536.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htm Researchers have found significantly higher levels of toxic metals in children with autism, compared to typical children. They hypothesize that reducing early exposure to toxic metals may help lessen symptoms of autism, though they say this hypotheses needs further examination.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:22:22 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225162231.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htm For decades scientists around the world have attempted to regenerate primary liver cells known as hepatocytes because of their numerous biomedical applications, including hepatitis research, drug metabolism and toxicity studies, as well as transplantation for cirrhosis and other chronic liver conditions. But no lab in the world has been successful in identifying and growing liver stem cells in culture -- using any available technique -- until now.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153130.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htm The world has suffered from severe regional weather extremes in recent years, such as the heat wave in the United States in 2011. Behind these devastating individual events there is a common physical cause, propose scientists in a new study. It suggests that human-made climate change repeatedly disturbs the patterns of atmospheric flow around the globe's Northern hemisphere through a subtle resonance mechanism.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153128.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htm Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, climate scientists from France have found. Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Nino and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153126.htmhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htm Scientists have concluded that during the Late Archaic, maize (corn) was a primary component in the diet of people living in the Norte Chico region of Peru, an area of remarkable cultural florescence in 3rd millennium B.C. Up until now, the prevailing theory was that marine resources, not agriculture and corn, provided the economic engine behind the development of civilization in the Andean region of Peru.Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 ESThttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130225153124.htm

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/rss/top_news/top_science.xml

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The Hidden Meaning Behind Andrew Mason's ... - Business Insider

Michael Seto for Business Insider

Andrew Mason at Business Insider's Ignition Conference in November.

After a disappointing earnings call last week, Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason was fired.

Shortly after the news broke, Mason published an amusing goodbye letter to his colleagues.

While some of it was straight forward ("I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today"), other parts were vague.

Tech investor Marc Andreessen took to RapGenius, a startup his VC firm invested in, to uncover the hidden meaning behind Mason's farewell memo.

Here's what Andreessen thinks Mason really meant, but didn't directly say (his comments are in red, Mason's original letter is in black).

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and?wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to?spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. [Andreessen: "Over the last 20 years it has become customary in business for executives to claim to be ?resigning to spend more time with my family? when they have actually been fired. It has become such a cliche that it is now a sort of running joke in corporate-speak.?(The additional subtext to the joke is that most executives are not liked by their families, who would prefer that they not spend more time at home and try to get them into a new job as quickly as possible.)"]

If you're wondering why...?you haven't been paying attention. From?controversial metrics in our S1?to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and?a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves.?As CEO, I am accountable.?[Andreessen: "Andrew is referring to the use of non-standard financial metrics in the company?s SEC filings, particularly in the IPO filing (S1).?As someone who was in the room as an observer at the Groupon board when the decision to use these metrics was made, I think Groupon was honestly trying to provide additional information that investors would find useful, which mirrored the way management thought about running the business.?However, no good deed goes unpunished, and widespread media paranoia about business metrics still lingering from the 2000 dot com crash combined with other missteps on Groupon?s part combined to make the use of those non-standard metrics highly controversial and ultimately negative for the company."]

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve?the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we've shared over the last few months, and I've never seen you?working together more effectively as a global company?- it's time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise. [Andreessen: "At one point, Groupon was sort of two companies in one ? the US operation that was built and run by a team of executives recruited by Andrew, and the international operation that resulted from an acquisition of a company founded by the famous Samwer brothers. The Samwers enjoyed broad autonomy to run the international operations largely separately from the US operations for several quarters.?In the last year, one of Andrew?s big challenges was to integrate the US and international operations into a single global business."]

For those who are concerned about me,?please don't be?- I love Groupon, and I'm terribly proud of what we've created. I'm?OK with having failed?at this part of the journey. [Andreessen: "This is probably the one disingenuous note in the entire letter. (Versus resignation letters from most other CEOs which would be 100% disingenuous.)?However, the underlying truth is that the creation and growth of the company under Andrew as CEO from inception through last year was a miracle of accomplishment."]

If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through.?I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I'll now take some time to decompress?(FYI I'm looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then?maybe I'll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there's one piece of wisdom that this?simple pilgrim?would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer.?My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what's best for our customers.?This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness - don't waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,
Andrew

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hidden-meaning-behind-andrew-masons-charming-goodbye-letter-to-groupon-2013-3

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Syria: Troops seize control of key road in north

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? Syrian army officials say troops have regained control of several villages along a strategic highway near the embattled northern city of Aleppo.

The highway links the central city of Hama with Aleppo's International Airport, the second largest in Syria.

Rebels have been trying to storm the airport for weeks. They ousted troops from several military bases protecting the facility and cut off a major highway the army used to supply its troops inside the airport complex.

In a statement Saturday, the Syrian Army's General Command said its troops had carried out special operations in towns and villages along the road, restoring stability there and at the airport.

The statement was carried Saturday by the Syrian state-run SANA news agency.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syria-troops-seize-control-key-road-north-142336434.html

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Exclusive: Jaguar Land Rover studying full production in India - sources

MUMBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is investigating the potential of manufacturing cars in India, company sources said, as the British luxury carmaker looks to build on its growth in emerging markets with the help of Indian parent Tata Motors.

JLR, which has ridden a wave of surging demand in China and other emerging markets to post record profits over the past year, is "actively exploring the possibility" of building cars from scratch in India, said one company source.

"The idea is being looked into, with the (Jaguar) XF and (Land Rover) Freelander the obvious candidates," said another source with knowledge of the matter.

The British brands, which already assemble two models in India using parts and engines shipped from factories in the UK, will also begin assembling its popular Range Rover Evoque in the country soon, the first source said without providing details.

Building cars in India, which has developed into an emerging market export hub for many global carmakers, would allow JLR to skirt high import taxes on luxury cars, which the country's finance minister proposed raising to 100 percent from 75 percent in his budget speech last week.

"Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans to expand its manufacturing footprint and increase production in markets outside Britain," Del Sehmar, a Mumbai-based spokesman for the company, told Reuters. "We continue to examine options to expand our range of locally assembled products," he said, referring to India.

JLR will exhibit a new 9-speed automatic Evoque and an electric-powered version of its Land Rover Defender at the Geneva Motor Show next week.

INVESTMENT DRIVE

Bought by Tata for $2.3 billion from Ford in 2008, JLR has defied those skeptical of its future under Indian ownership to roar back into profit over the past three years as the main growth driver for its now-struggling parent.

Continued growth in emerging markets such as India and China, which accounted for 22.3 percent of its sales in the December quarter, is key for JLR as it embarks on an expensive overhaul of its production and product clout. The carmaker is investing $1.7 billion with local partner Chery Automobile Co in a factory in China.

JLR lags rivals BMW AG, Volkswagen AG's Audi and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz in assembling cars in India, where the luxury market is expected to swell by around six times by 2020 to 300,000 cars a year, according to business consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

JLR, with sleek sedans favored by British prime ministers and luxury SUVs born of desert and jungle combat, has factories working around the clock in England to meet demand, bucking the trend of sluggish demand for European automakers.

The company has repeatedly stressed that its overseas ambitions will not lead to job losses in Britain. JLR employed close to 24,000 people at the end of March last year.

Earlier this year JLR started the assembly of the 2.2-liter (0.58 gallon) diesel version of the Jaguar XF sedan at a plant in Pune, west India, tucked away in a corner of a sprawling production site where Tata builds its heavy duty trucks and hatchbacks.

Screwed together using engines and components shipped from JLR's Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, central England, the company has also been assembling its Land Rover Freelander 2 in Pune since May 2011.

The XF and the Freelander 2 are JLR's best-selling models in India, where it sold 2,288 cars in the year to March 2012, up 157 percent from the previous year.

The carmaker, which warned in January of negative free cash flow next year as it invests in production facilities, is also exploring the feasibility of a factory in Saudi Arabia. After the signing of a deal with JLR in December, the Saudi commerce and industry ministry said the $1.2 billion plant would start making vehicles by 2017.

"At the moment, we've signed a letter of intent to do a study," Kenneth Gregor, JLR chief financial officer, said last month. "That is and remains a study."

(Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-jaguar-land-rover-studying-full-production-india-061028623--sector.html

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