Scientists create fully-functional brain neurons from mouse skin cells
It’s a good excuse to shoehorn Pinky and the Brain on to the site, but scientists have managed to graft neurons reprogrammed from skin cells into the brains of mice. It isn’t the first time that’s been done, but it is the first time the researchers have had any luck with the neurons surviving into long-term stability. Better still, six months after implantation, the neurons had become fully-functional inside the brain. Cell replacement therapy would be able to treat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, replacing non-working neurons with new cells reprogrammed from elsewhere. It’s still a ways off, however, according to stem cell research head Prof. Schwamborn: “I am sure successful cell replacement therapies will exist in future. Our research results have taken us a step further in this direction.”
Filed under: Science
Source: Alpha Gallileo
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Google sheds light on its child porn detector after sex offender arrest
Thanks to Google, a sex offender was recently arrested after the company tipped off authorities about finding illegal photos of children in his email. Despite the good that came out of it, it raised a number of questions, such as “does Google regularly look into the contents of our email?” A Gmail spokesperson has gotten in touch with AFP to clear the air and revealed that each image that depicts child sexual abuse actually has a unique digital fingerprint, which a special Google technology can detect. While the spokesperson didn’t talk about it in detail, that technology might be what the company supposedly developed last year: a system that can trawl the web and email accounts for child sex images. Gmail’s rep made clear, however, that Mountain View only uses the system to detect child porn — it can’t actually parse emails that contain details of any other criminal activity, like burglary.
Source: AFP
.CPlase_panel display:none;
US billboards to display interactive paintings to teach you art history
Several billboards in Times Square displayed something a lot different than the usual on August 4th — instead of ads, they displayed some of the most recognizable American paintings. What happened in Times Square marks the launch of the Art Everywhere US project, which touts itself as the “largest outdoor art exhibition ever conceived.” Its organizers plan to showcase 58 artworks (voted by people out of the original 100, with Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks topping the list) across the country throughout the month of August.
If you slept during most of your art classes and can’t really name many of the paintings to be displayed (the artwork above is called the American Gothic by Grant Wood, by the way), don’t worry: these displays are actually interactive. So long as you have the Augmented Reality advertising app Blippar on your Android, iOS or Windows Phone device, you can just look at the painting through your phone to see its info, along with audio guides and other AR elements. To catch the “art exhibit” as it goes from coast to coast, check out Art Everywhere’s official map or follow the project’s Twitter or Facebook pages.
[Image credit: Art Everywhere US/Facebook]
Filed under: Misc
Via: The Creators Project
Source: Art Everywhere US
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Square just bought a restaurant delivery company
Here’s something unexpected: Square — the company that turned your cell phone into a credit card reader — just purchased Caviar, a company that delivers food from restaurants that don’t normally deliver. It’s an unexpected acquisition; Caviar is a consumer facing service, while Square tends to market its services to independent businesses. Still, Square CEO Jack Dorsey says the purchase is completely on track with the company’s goals.
“Caviar’s curated, seamless delivery experience is exactly the kind of service we want to provide buyers and sellers,” the CEO explained. “By making delivery such a fast, friendly and easy process, Caviar gives time back to restaurants so they can focus on what they do best — cooking great food for their customers.” Caviar will still operate independently of Square, at least for now, but it gives the company one more service to offer to independent businesses to help them grow. Maybe this acquisition makes sense after all.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Filed under: Internet
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Google pulls Gaza-themed Android app from Play Store following outcry
Google regularly screens Android apps in the Play Store, but it’s usually focused on blocking malware and scams rather than the substance of the apps themselves. Today, though, it took the rare step of policing content by removing Bomb Gaza, a game that made light of the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. A spokesman would only tell Reuters that it pulls apps which “violate [the company’s] policies,” but the forced exit came not long after outrage from Play Store users who felt that the game trivialized very real casualties. Most likely, Google took the title down due to terms of service that forbid hate speech and abusive material; users can flag apps they find offensive, so it wouldn’t have taken much to prompt action. While the move isn’t completely surprising as a result, it’s a reminder that Google will clamp down when software is virtually tailor-made for antagonizing entire cultures.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Source: Reuters
.CPlase_panel display:none;
SpaceX’s new rocket facility officially lands in Brownsville, Texas
SpaceX made clear that it was going to put a launch facility in Texas before long, and today we’ve received the full skinny on just where that base is going. As suspected, the Governor’s Office has announced that the commercial spaceport will be built in Brownsville, near the Mexico border. The state says it will pump a total of $15.3 million into the region to help create the necessary infrastructure. This isn’t SpaceX’s first Texan location (it already has a development site in McGregor), but it will certainly be the most conspicuous — especially if rumors of multiple vehicle launches per day ultimately prove true.
Source: Office of the Governor
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Engadget Daily: robotic exoskeletons, what you need to know about EVs and more!
Today, we explore the technology behind electric vehicles, Microsoft puts the Surface in the hands of NFL coaches, and we learn about ship-building robotic exoskeletons and more. Read on for Engadget’s news highlights from the last 24 hours.
.CPlase_panel display:none;
Now you can catch Cat Fact fever from your phone
Did you know that a group of cats is called either a “clowder” or a “glaring?” No? Well, if someone decides to target you with the new Cat Facts app for Android, you’ll know a lot more about cats than that. See, you can anonymously send a series of trivia about our feline friends to anyone you want through the app. You don’t even have to make an effort at sending a stream of annoying cat texts everyday, as you can schedule the app to send out automatically. Cat Facts, for the unaware, is a popular meme that began on Reddit (the seemingly endless source of memes, reaction GIFs and controversies) a couple of years ago.
A user called “imrobert” described how he trolled a stranger with random feline trivia (“Did you know that all cats are born blind? The ability to see comes within the next couple of weeks.”) on a thread asking the best prank one’s ever pulled. His efforts have inspired another user whose Reddit thread, which shows the mental anguish his cousin suffered due to the incessant barrage of useless Felis catus info, took the website my storm. The rest, as they say, is history.
While this new Cat Facts app will make it easier to target several people at once, it only comes with five free anonymous facts, with more available through in-app purchase. If you don’t mind friends knowing that you’re the one filling their inboxes with trash, though, you can send as many texts as they want. Obviously, you can always fire up Wikipedia and DIY it on a day off, but the app saves you the trouble of having to type up cat facts yourself.
[Image credit: Getty/fStop Images – Vladimir Godnik]
Via: TechCrunch, ReadWrite
Source: Cat Facts, Google Play
.CPlase_panel display:none;
WhatsApp for Android Wear will have you talking to your wrist
With over 500 million active users, WhatsApp probably has more than a few customers sporting Android Wear. Starting today, those folks will be able to read and reply to messages directly from their wrist. The new features are launching somewhat quietly though — the App’s Google Play listing hasn’t been updated yet, and the direct link on WhatsApp’s website makes no mention of the smartwatch features — but users who update manually will find a new app installed on their Google Wear device. It’s more than a simple notification push, too: users can read stacked conversation messages and even reply to them using voice. The update will probably hit Google’s servers soon, but if you can’t wait you can grab the official download right here.
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: WhatsApp, 9to5Google
.CPlase_panel display:none;
What’s on your HDTV: ‘Hard Knocks’, ‘Black Jesus’, ‘The Knick’ and Shark Week
Beyond the summer TV shows already running (VH1′s Naked Dating is exactly what you’d expect, The Leftovers and The Strain are improving and FX has two good comedies in Married and You’re the Worst), and Discovery kicking off Shark Week on Sunday night, there are a few new shows this week worth mentioning. Steven Soderbergh and Clive Owen bring The Knick to Cinemax, which puts a twist on the usual doctor drama by transferring the scene back to 1900. Starz is ready with “Scotland’s Answer to Game of Thrones” aka Outlander, a book adaptation about a British Army nurse who time travels from 1945 to 1743. Fans of Grand Theft Auto and The Boondocks should keep an eye out for Black Jesus on Adult Swim, which is created by Aaron Macgruder and stars Gerald “Slink” Johnson (aka Lamar from GTA V and the guy in this Everest College parody). On Blu-ray, Baltimore documentary 12 O’Clock Boys Bill Murray’s The Man Who Knew Too Little and cult classic Phantom of the Paradise are probably more worth your time than Divergent or Need for Speed. Check after the break for a list of what’s new this week plus a few trailers, and drop a note in the comments if you see any highlights we’ve missed.
Blu-ray, Streaming movies & Games
- Divergent
- Oculus
- The Man Who Knew Too Little
- Need for Speed
- 12 O’Clock Boys
- The Full Monty
- Phantom of the Paradise
- The Swapper (PS4, PS3)
- Road Not Taken (PS4)
- Sacred 3 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
Monday
- Switched at Birth, ABC Family, 8PM
- Running Wild with Bear Grylls, NBC, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?, CW, 8PM
- Partners (series premiere), FX, 9 & 9:30PM
- Nixon by Nixon – In His Own Words, HBO, 9PM
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 9PM
- The Fosters, ABC Family, 9PM
- Major Crimes, TNT, 9PM
- Anger Management, FX, 10 & 10:30PM
- Idris Elba: the King of Speed, BBC America, 10PM
- Under the Dome, CBS, 10PM
- Murder in the First, TNT, 10PM
- Teen Wolf, MTV, 10PM
- Longmire (season finale), A&E, 10PM
Tuesday
- Country Music Awards Music Festival, ABC, 8PM
- Food Fighters, NBC, 8PM
- Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family, 8PM
- Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
- Matador, El Rey, 9PM
- Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
- Chasing Life, ABC Family, 9PM
- Royal Pains , USA, 9PM
- Deadliest Catch, Discovery, 9PM
- Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Atlanta Falcons (season premiere), HBO, 10PM
- The Wil Wheaton Project, Syfy, 10PM
- Finding Carter, MTV, 10PM
- Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Perception, TNT, 10PM
- Tyrant, FX, 10PM
- Covert Affairs, USA, 10PM
- Nathan for You, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
- Sullivan & Son, TBS, 10PM
Wednesday
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- Altman, Epix, 8PM
- Unsung: Hi Five, TV One, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Young & Hungry, ABC Family, 8PM
- So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
- Mystery Girls, ABC Family, 8:30PM
- Extant, CBS, 9PM
- 60 Minutes Sports, Showtime, 9PM
- Suits, USA, 9PM
- Dual Survival, Discovery, 9PM
- Sex in the Wild: Dolphins (season finale), PBS, 10PM
- The Bridge, FX, 10PM
- Wilfred, FXX, 10PM
- Taxi Brooklyn, NBC, 10PM
- Motive, ABC, 10PM
- Virgin Territory, MTV, 11PM
- The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, Comedy Central, 12:30AM
Thursday
- The Quest, ABC, 8PM
- Defiance, Syfy, 8PM
- Rush, USA, 9PM
- Dating Naked, VH1, 9PM
- Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
- Welcome to Sweden, NBC, 9PM
- Rectify, Sundance TV, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- Dominion, Syfy, 9PM
- The Sixties (season finale), CNN, 9PM
- Working the Engels, NBC, 9:30PM
- Gang Related, Fox, 9PM
- Married, FX, 10PM
- Satisfaction, USA, 10PM
- Ridiculousness, MTV, 10PM
- NY Med, ABC, 10PM
- Last Comic Standing, NBC, 10PM
- Garfunkel & Oates (series premiere), IFC, 10PM
- You’re The Worst, FX, 10:30PM
- Black Jesus (series premiere), Cartoon Network, 11PM
- Seven Deadly Sins (series premiere), Showtime, 11PM
Friday
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- WWE SmackDown, Syfy, 8PM
- Cold Justice, TNT, 9PM
- L Word Mississippi, Showtime, 9PM
- Almighty Johnsons, Syfy, 10PM
- Jonah from Tonga (series premiere), HBO, 10PM
- The Knick (series premiere), Cinemax, 10PM
Saturday
- Cedar Cove, Hallmark, 8PM
- Hell on Wheels, AMC, 9PM
- Outlander (series premiere), Starz, 9PM
- Stranded in Paradise, Hallmark, 9PM
Sunday
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Watkins Glen, ESPN, 1PM
- Shark Week: Air Jaws, Discovery, 8PM
- Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN, 8PM
- Teen Choice Awards 2014, Fox, 8PM
- Wipeout, ABC, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Shark Week: Shark of Darkness, Discovery, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime, 9PM
- Reckless, CBS, 9PM
- True Blood, HBO, 9PM
- The Last Ship, TNT, 9PM
- The Musketeers, BBC America, 9PM
- Rising Star, ABC, 9PM
- Manhattan, WGN, 10PM
- The Lottery, Lifetime, 10PM
- The Strain, FX, 10PM
- Masters of Sex, Showtime, 10PM
- The Leftovers, HBO, 10PM
- Falling Skies, TNT, 10PM
- The Hunt, History, 10PM
- Halt and Catch Fire, AMC, 10PM
- Reckless, CBS, 10PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
.CPlase_panel display:none;
AIVAnet 