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Emma Harrison Clark

Misfit Flash Is a $50 Wearable Fitness Band That Links to Your Phone

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Misfit Flash is an affordable wearable technology band
Wearable technology expert, Misfit, has come out with a new fitness band to attract newcomers to the world of wearable tech. The Flash fitness band is only $50. It has a long battery life and a series of biometric tracking features that you’d only normally see in a more expensive model. The fitness band looks like a watch, but it can be worn in a variety of ways to track the amount of calories you’ve burned, the steps you’ve taken during the day and how far you travelled. Then it tracks the amount of sleep you’ve had and the quality of that sleep.

It’s a hardy device, weighing in at just 6 ounces with an LED screen, which uses 12 lights to show your data. It is crafted out of a combination of a special soft plastic material and the material NASA use to build space suits.

Misfit says, “Flash is comfortable, extremely durable, and waterproof to 30 meters, making it fit for even the toughest uses. It comes in seven fun colors including a lemon-lime Zest, funky Fuchsia, and minimalist Frost. Press Flash to see a halo of lights that shows your progress toward your daily activity goal and tells you the time.”

The most common complaint with wearable devices is the amount of time you need to spend charging them, but misfit has solved this problem with a CR2032 coin battery that will last up to six months. For those who don’t like bright colors or extra accessories, the flash can be worn in several different ways. Apart from around the wrist it can also be clipped on to your sleeve, tagged to your waist, strapped securely on to your shoe, wrapped around your ankle, clipped on as part of your key chain or, for the old fashioned among us, simply placed in a pocket.

The question arises, what will you do with all of this information? Well the Flash can link to your smart phone – both android and iOS – and syncs to an app via bluetooth that can help you strike the optimal balance between exercise and rest to give you the best chance at living a healthy lifestyle.

Gilead Sciences Strikes Deal to Discount Hepatitis C Drug in Developing Countries

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Sovaldi Hepatitis C agreed to generic version for less developed countries
Some welcome news came yesterday for sufferers of Hepatitis C that live in developing countries. Hep C is a liver disease that can cause cirrhosis and death. It has been proven tricky to cure, with pharmaceutical companies investing decades of work without success. However, the last five years have been fruitful and Gilead Sciences was the first to market the drug Sovaldi, which has a high success rate on the most virulent strains of the disease.

The drug offers a realistic solution for hepatitis sufferers, but U.S patients have understandably balked at the $1000 a day price tag. Now, news comes that Gilead has authorised generic drug companies in India to sell the pill in developing countries for a fraction of the cost that Americans will pay.

The deal means sufferers in 91 countries like Honduras, Vietnam and South Africa will have access to a cure for the virus which manifests with symptoms like chronic tiredness, liver pain and bowel problems. As far as the cost, they’ll be paying approximately $10 a day or even less, depending on the version.

It may seem like an altruistic move on behalf of big pharmaceutical, but the Wall Street Journal says it’s simply a justification. “By licensing the sale of less expensive versions, Gilead can blunt criticism that Sovaldi is priced out of reach for patients in poorer countries without undercutting the high prices it is charging in the U.S. and other developed markets. India-based companies can charge a lower price because their manufacturing costs less.”

Gilead is also facing criticism from Rohit Malpani, director of policy and analysis for Doctors Without Borders. He says Gilead’s agreement means many middle income countries will miss out because generic drug companies will not be licensed to sell the drug at an affordable price to patients.

Further to this, Asia Russell, who is the director of international policy at the patient-advocacy group Health Global Access Project says, “Gilead’s deal leaves behind vast patient populations in countries like China, Brazil and Turkey that count tens of millions of hepatitis C patients.” Russell added that in many of the 91 approved countries, “Sovaldi will still be priced well above the cost to manufacture the drug and out of reach of many patients.”

Gilead has sold more than $10 billion worth of Sovaldi this year, but they’ll only receive 7% of the sales in developing countries once they begin next year. The average course of treatment for someone living in one of these locations will be $1,800 and with a 90% success rate in just 3 months of treatment, it could well save their lives.

Rare $25 Million Blue Moon Diamond on Display at LA Museum

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A rare flawless blue diamond will be displayed at a Los Angeles museum
For those who love diamonds, especially rare and beautiful ones, you may want to head to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles when you get a chance. The museum is welcoming a sparkly new attraction to to their gem collection. A rare, blue flawless 12-carat diamond called the Blue Moon Diamond will be in residence at the museum until January 6, 2015, allowing school teachers and their classes, gemologists and diamond lovers alike to enjoy its vibrant sparkle.

The Blue Moon Diamond is worth about $25.6 million and was purchased earlier this year by Cora International, a diamond manufacturer. They originally purchased the diamond as a rough piece, then had the finest diamond craftsmen spend 6 months cutting it from its original 30 karat form to produce the magnificent stone.

Suzette Gomes is the chief executive officer of Cora International, and she says the Blue Moon is such a precious stone because of the combination of its size, clarity and unique color. “You get many different vivid blues, but this blue is an absolutely phenomenal color, the saturation is off the charts. I have never, in all my time in diamonds, seen a color like this.”

The LA county natural history museum is considered an authority on biodiversity and the natural world, but this addition will no doubt pique special interest from mineral scientists.

Eloise Galilou is a mineral sciences expert at the museum, and she says that because diamonds come from so far beneath the earth, anomalies with vivid coloring like this one raise geological questions about what’s happening in the Earth’s core. “The origin of the color blue is boron, a light element that has not much to do so deep inside the earth. Blue diamonds are rare because boron doesn’t happen very often down there, so it’s going to tell us more about the why, how, and maybe the when as well.”

The collection of minerals housed by the museum is over 3,000 gemstones strong. These originated from nearly 150,000 different specimens of mineral, meteorite and rock samples collected from California and beyond. Below you can see an video of the display, and how amazing this diamond really is.

Will Men Be Willing to Use Injection Vaselgel Birth Control?

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Vaselgel birth control for men should be available by 2017
For years, women have born the brunt of the responsibility for birth control. However, this seemingly unfair but unavoidable fact of life may not be the status quo for much longer. There’s been talk for some time that a male birth control pill is coming, and it now appears an injection male birth control called Vaselgel is only a few years away. Yes, the male pill is still in development, but by 2017, Vaselgel, which is a non-hormonal injection administered just above the testicles, should be on the market.

Vaselgel works in a similar way to the vasectomy, by blocking sperm from flowing through the tubes. The main difference is that it takes three months to start working and can be easily reversed. Human testing begins for Vasalgel in 2016 but so far, the injection has worked well on baboons and rabbits, and if those trends continue, we could have a male birth control option as soon as 2017.

The question is, will men actually use it? The Daily Telegraph posed this question to Donna Dawson. She’s a psychologist specializing in behavior and thinks that the odds are not so good for women finally being able to share responsibility for contraception.

“I don’t think men will opt for it,” she says firmly. “They’ll either say it’s the women’s job, or they’ll be too squeamish. They’re not used to taking that amount of responsibility for birth control. They don’t have the pain threshold women have. Women are more conditioned and acclimatized to taking birth control. Men have had no experience of it. Most men won’t even have the snip, making most women have their tubes tied instead.”

So what do men think? A quick ask around the office brings back mixed results. Some say, “No thanks – it’s just too sensitive down there.” One kind fellow says he’s keen to relieve his partner of the dangers of the pill and another says he’d do it, but would probably use condoms anyway so, “What’s the point?”

Ultimately it comes down to having a choice. Once the options start opening up for men, there’s no doubt that women in committed partnerships, especially women who are currently on birth control, will be well within their rights to ask for a break.

Emeritus Professor John Guillebaud, one of the experts currently working on the male pill, says he’s an advocate for sharing the responsibility. “As a choice, it’s been very unfair on women really. In stable couples, where they share their bodies together, why shouldn’t they also share any problems, or risks involved, by six months of the man taking contraception, then six months of the woman?”

This same half yearly formula may not be applicable for Vaselgel, but as 2017 approaches, relief is in sight for the millions of women who suffer silently through the various side effects of birth control because they’ve simply had no other choice.

(Photo courtesy of Tony Alter)

Rare Respiratory Virus Targets Children in Severe Outbreak Across US

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Rare respiratory virus targets children in severe outbreak across the US
Hospitals in Denver, Illinois and clusters of the Midwest have reported an outbreak of what health officials believe is a rare and serious respiratory illness. The virus, which is believed to have started in California, is said to be related to both the human enterovirus 68 (HEV68) and the human rhinovirus, which is also known as the common cold.

Time Magazine reports, “HEV68, which almost uniquely affects children, tends to first cause cold-like symptoms, including body aches, sneezing and coughing. These mild complaints then worsen into life-threatening breathing problems that are all the more dangerous to children with asthma. Since viruses do not respond to antibiotics, hospitals have treated the illness with asthma therapies.”

Since August the 18th the Children’s Hospital in Colorado has treated more than 900 cases of the virus. It’s said to be severe and unpleasant, but there have been no reported deaths from the virus at this time.

Dr. Robert Merrick, an Epidemiologist at Blessings Hospital in Illinois said, “We are restricting children under age 12 from visiting Blessing Hospital patients until further notice to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading the virus for all involved, the children who would be visiting and our patients.”

Blessing and other hospitals will be working with the Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stay on top of the outbreak. This has meant issuing warning posts on social media pages like this one from the Hannibal Regional Healthcare System‘s Facebook page.

“Due to the recent outbreaks of enterovirus infections in Missouri and Illinois, Hannibal Regional Hospital health officials ask that children 16 and under and persons with the following symptoms refrain from visiting patients who are hospitalized at Hannibal Regional Hospital until further notice.”

Symptoms of the virus are similar to the common cold but will increase in severity. If your children are not feeling well, watch out for the following symptoms:

  • Sneezing
  • Coughing
  • Mouth Blisters
  • Muscle Aches
  • High Fever
  • Rashes

The CDC is warning that this virus may ultimately affect thousands of children as it continues to spread. Everyone should take the basic precautions one would take for avoiding the flu such as washing hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands. Symptoms are likely to escalate and worsen if your child is asthmatic. If your child is showing symptoms, immediately contact your doctor for further advice and treatment solutions.

(Photo courtesy of Matteo Bagnoli)

GM Leads the Quest for Self-Driving Cars with Hands-Free Cadillac

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GM Cadillac introducing a hands off self driving car in 2017
It may not be a 100% self-driving car, but when GM releases the Super Cruise Cadillac in 2017, it’ll be the closest we’ve seen yet to this once futuristic technology. They’re calling it “semi-autonomous” which means the car can drive itself in traffic, at speeds of up to 70 mph, without the driver putting their hands on the wheel to steer, or their foot in the pedal to brake or accelerate.

General Motor’s CEO, Mary Barra, who was only appointed this year, made the announcement about the new technology at the Intelligent Transport System World Congress in Detroit on Sunday saying, “With Super Cruise, when there’s a congestion alert on roads like California’s Santa Monica Freeway, you can let the car take over and drive hands free and feet free through the worst stop-and-go traffic around. If the mood strikes you on the high- speed road from Barstow, California, to Las Vegas, you can take a break from the wheel and pedals and let the car do the work. Having it done for you — that’s true luxury.”

GM also plans to install vehicle to vehicle (V2V) transmitting devices in the next two years. This means cars will be able to “talk” to each other and the road environment, or sense hazards before they arise. It will no doubt be a life-saving technology once it becomes a common feature in the vehicles on our roads.

Talking and self-driving cars are on the horizon, though there are several complications and issues that need to be resolved. The first is safety. The technology in automated cars will need to be perfect 100% of the time. And with a record rate of recalls this year (29 million), GM is very aware they are not there yet.

“It’s critical that it works flawlessly every single time. When you look at what has got to come together to make this happen — not just for straight driving on a section of highway, but for every city situation you can imagine — there’s quite a bit of technology that has to come together to make this work.”

The second is efficacy. Self-driving cars need to communicate with each other. So releasing a car with V2V technology is all very well, but unless every car in a driver’s immediate landscape is equipped with the technology, there will be unavoidable blind spots in the system. For example, if no other V2V cars are released prior to 2017, GM’s Cadillac will be left with only other Cadillac models to “talk” with.

Aware of this chicken and egg situation, Barra issued both a challenge and a plea to other automakers saying, “I am asking all of you to accelerate your work in the field as well. Let’s strive to build cars and trucks that don’t crash. Let’s connect our vehicles.”

Money news reports that GM is not alone in the market, “Automakers around the globe are racing to develop self-driving cars to solve the growing problem of global gridlock and help reduce traffic fatalities. There are now more than 1.1 billion vehicles on the road worldwide, Jon Lauckner, GM’s chief technology officer, told reporters in Detroit Sunday. A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study estimated the economic and societal impact of car crashes in the U.S. is more than $870 billion a year – and is especially driven by the high costs of insuring semi trucks.”

Road safety is a cost to us all. There’s the toll of lost lives, increased insurance premiums and more of our valuable time spent on the roads every year. But will self-driving cars and V2V technology solve this problem? Maybe in the long term – when the technology is both affordable and properly tested. In the meantime, we think it’s best not to take your eyes off the road.

(Photo courtesy of That Hartford Guy)