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Medical Tech 

A Cheap, Portable Test Developed for Zika Virus Infection

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Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a point-of-care device for detecting the Zika virus for under $2 a pop. It’s about the size of a can of coke and can be operated by just about anyone, and even outside the clinic. A patient simply spits into the receptacle and after a while a paper test strip changes its color to a shade of blue if a Zika virus is detected. Previously available tests either take a lot of time, produce too many false negatives, or require expensive equipment…

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Other Tech 

Drone Delivery Startup Takes Aim at Amazon

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A drone delivery startup that carried out the first government-approved test in the United States has recently shown how drones could deliver disaster relief supplies from ship to shore. The startup’s greater ambitions include nothing less than challenging Amazon and Google in the race to get drone delivery services off the ground. The delivery drones belonging to Flirtey, a startup based in Nevada, can carry up to five and a half pounds on round-trip journeys of up to 10 miles. Such figures are significant considering that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said 86 percent of Amazon…

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Other Tech 

Drone flight powered by lightweight hydrogen-producing pellets

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At first glance, hydrogen fuel cells sound like a great power source for fixed-wing drones making long flights – they have much longer run times than batteries, and they emit no emissions other than water vapor. Unfortunately, the hydrogen typically has to be stored in large heavy pressurized tanks. Last month, however, a Raptor E1 electric drone made a successful test flight running on a unique new system that’s actually lighter than the lithium-ion battery it replaced. The flight was carried out on Jan. 19th at Scotland’s Oban Airport, by a team…

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IT 

Nanotechnology and Cancer Medicine

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Nanowerk News) Nanotechnology has many potential impacts on cancer research. In particular, this technology can help facilitate research and improve molecular imaging, early detection, prevention, and treatment of cancer.Nanotechnology is being applied to almost every field imaginable, including electronics, magnetics, optics, information technology, materials development, and biomedicine (read more in our section onNanotechnology Applications). Because of their small size, nanoscale devices can interact readily with biomolecules both on the surface of cells and inside them. As a result, they have the potential to detect disease and deliver treatment in ways…

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Transport Tech 

You Could Roll on Land or the Seafloor in This Fanciful Concept Car

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Most modern vehicles are much too specific: Cars stick to roads, boats are trapped on the water, submarines wander the ocean floor. So I came up with the Libelule: a spherical vehicle with two large wheels that allow it to travel almost anywhere. Feel like roaming the beach? Let it roll. Want to hit the water? The wheels scoop water like a paddle boat, propelling it faster than today’s amphibious crafts. When you feel like a dive, select your desired depth on the (thankfully waterproof) touch screen, let the water…

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Transport Tech 

Review: 2017 Aston Martin DB11

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Aston Martin does two things exceptionally well: soaring success and crushing failure. While stunners like the DBR-1 finished first and second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, the company also seems to have declared bankruptcy nearly as many times as it has won races. These things happen when you’ve been in the business of building cars for 103 years. One thing you can always count on from Aston Martin, though, is style. Its cars have been, for the most part, gorgeous. But since the DB9 ushered in…

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Climate Change

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Climate Change The global warming problem is something people are worried about all the time. There are two articles about climate change, Krauthammer’s article “Myth of ‘Settled’ Science” and McKibben’s article “A Moral Atmosphere”. Both authors expressed their views in the articles. Are there any similar ideas in these articles? Comparing the “Myth of ‘Settled’ Science” and “A Moral Atmosphere” in three ways: tones, opinions and endings. The tone of  “The Myth of ‘Settled’ Science” and the tone of “A Moral Atmosphere ” are different because Krauthammer’s article has an…

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IT 

Facebook’s drones – made in Britain

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In a warehouse in Somerset, the latest phase in Facebook’s bid for world domination has been taking shape. Or, to put it less dramatically, the social network’s plan to connect millions in developing countries is proceeding. It is called Project Aquila and involves building solar-powered aircraft which will fly for months at a time above remote places, beaming down an internet connection. Two years ago Facebook bought small British business Ascenta, which specialises in solar-powered drones, and its owner Andy Cox is now the engineer running Project Aquila. At the…

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Transport Tech 

The EPA’s Fuel Efficiency Testing May Not Work. Like, at All

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In 2012 President Obama instituted new, aggressive fuel economy standards for automakers selling cars in the United States. The executive branch—represented here by the Environmental Protection Agency, basically—mandated that every car manufacturer would have to have a fleetwide average gas mileage of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards (CAFE to transit nerds) take the gas mileage of every car a company sells—from Yaris to Tundra, Verano to Enclave, Golf to whatever—and average it out. You want to build a gas-guzzling, smoke-pumping, V-18 for hauling…

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Other Tech 

Gest glove has gesture control on hand

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There have been numerous attempts over the years to break the decades-long stranglehold the keyboard and mouse have had on the human-to-computer interface by providing some semblance of Minority Report-like gesture control. Apotact Labs recently joined the fray with a four-finger glove-like design called Gest that allows you to control your computer and your mobile devices with your hands. Gest is described as a digital toolkit that consists of two components: a gesture controller that slips onto your hand, and an SDK that allows anyone to build new applications for the…

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