Search Results for “https:” – Page 959

Scientists use iPhones to diagnose intestinal worms

“Scientists used an iPhone and a camera lens to diagnose intestinal worms in rural Tanzania, a breakthrough that could help doctors treat patients infected with the parasites, a study said on Tuesday. Research published by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene showed that it is possible to fashion a low-cost field microscope using an iPhone, double-sided tape, a flashlight, ordinary laboratory slides and an $8 cameral lens. The researchers used their cobbled-together microscope to successfully determine the presence of eggs from hookworm and other parasites in the stool of infected children.” Continue reading →

New technology allows the paralyzed to paint with their brainpower

“A computer programme enabling paralysed patients to create artwork using just the power of their brains drew big crowds on Wednesday at the CeBIT, the world’s top IT fair. Under a system pioneered by Austrian firm g-tec, the user wears a cap that measures brain activity. By focusing hard on a flashing icon on a screen, the cap can recognise the specific brain activity connected to that item, allowing the user to “choose” what he or she wants the computer to do. The artist can select various shapes and colours via brainpower and build up a basic picture on the screen, explained g-tec sales director Markus Bruckner. The user can also draw straight lines.” Continue reading →

Google announces experimental superfast Internet service to be installed in Austin, Texas

“Google announced Tuesday that its experimental superfast Internet service will spread to Austin, the Texas home of a South By Southwest festival beloved by technology trendsetters. Google Fiber should start connecting its so-called gigabit Internet to homes in Austin, the Texas state capital and a hotbed for Internet entrepreneurs, by the middle of next year, said vice president of access services Milo Medin. Google Fiber debuted in Kansas City and in November began providing users there with Internet service that moves data at a blazing gigabyte per second, about 100 times faster than the speed provided by typical broadband connections.” Continue reading →

Missouri man arrested at hospital for refusing to leave gay partner

“A gay man was arrested at a hospital in Missouri this week when he refused to leave the bedside of his partner, and now a restraining order is preventing him from any type of visitation. Roger Gorley told WDAF that even though he has power of attorney to handle his partner’s affairs, a family member asked him to leave when he visited Research Medical Center in Kansas City on Tuesday. Gorley said he refused to leave his partner Allen’s bedside, and that’s when security put him in handcuffs and escorted him from the building. He said the nurse refused to confirm that the couple shared power of attorney and made medical decisions for each other.” Continue reading →

Another Federal Housing Bailout: FHA Needs $943 Million

“What’s the problem at the FHA? It’s almost out of money. But what about all those loans it made? Too many of them have gone bad. Sorry about that. For four years, the FHA has assured Congress that this was not a problem. Sorry about that. What will Congress do about that? Hand out our money, of course. Congress will blame the FHA for making all those bad loans. It will blame the FHA for having misinformed Congress. Then it will reward the FHA to the tune of about a billion dollars. Lesson: nothing succeeds like failure.” Continue reading →

Dutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients

“This week, a well-known Dutch bank was the first financial institution to inform its clients that their ‘gold investments’ are no longer physically deliverable, proving that the physical gold and ‘paper gold’ are different commodities with different prices. The world’s financial system is short on gold and no gold bars, except those that are kept by the owners, are safe from confiscation. ABN AMRO, the biggest Dutch bank, has sent a letter to its clients stating that they will no longer be able to take physical deliveries of the gold they have bought through ABN. Instead they are offered money at the current market rate for gold.” Continue reading →

City of Yokohama Mistakenly Tweets of North Korean Missile Launch

“In this environment, it’s easy to make a mistake and jump the gun. And that’s precisely what happened in Yokohama, Japan. On Wednesday, city officials used Twitter to warn of a North Korean missile launch — one that never had happened. At 8:11 p.m. local time, the official disaster management Twitter account of the city prematurely announced: ‘North Korea has launched a missile’. As it turns out, it was just a misfired tweet that was ready in case of a real launch. The tweet stayed up for approximately 20 minutes, when the city took it down and posted an official apology (Google Translate), saying the tweet was delivered by mistake.” Continue reading →

FOIA documents suggest IRS may have ignored court ruling on email privacy

“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commonly thought of as accountants with the power to garnish wages and seize property, is also a law enforcement agency with the power to spy on communications, so it’s not totally surprising that it has typically followed Supreme Court precedent regarding law enforcement’s broad spying powers when it comes to emails more than 180 days old. However, in a ruling issued December 2010, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the IRS to always obtain a warrant before rifling through emails, no matter how old, contained on services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, which otherwise have significantly less privacy protections.” Continue reading →