Scientists want to perfect humanity with synthetic DNA

Following a controversial top-secret meeting last month, a group of scientists have announced that they’re working on synthesizing human genes from scratch. The project, currently titled HGP-Write, has the stated aim of reducing the cost of gene synthesis to “address a number of human health challenges.” As the group explains, that includes growing replacement organs, engineering cancer resistance and building new vaccinations using human cells. But in order for all of that to happen, the scientists may have to also work on developing a blueprint for what a perfect human would look like.

In some ways, the concept is just an extension of current gene editing (CRISPR) techniques that are proving their worth by saving lives. CRISPR has already been used to save the life of a one-year-old girl with a terminal case of drug-resistant leukemia. Other initiatives using the system involve curing hemophilia and HIV, although the latter has proven capable of fighting back against attempts to kill it. This new project, meanwhile, will devote time and resources to examining the ethics and economics of how far we should go with gene editing.

HGP-Write is being led by DNA pioneer George Church, a Harvard biologist who is already working on various projects to tweak humanity. In a profile, Stat revealed that the scientist published a paper in 2014 pushing “de novo synthesis,” the concept of creating perfect genes from scratch. In early 2015, he used CRISPR to implant wooly mammoth DNA into a living Asian elephant as the first step toward bringing extinct animals back from the dead. Which, when you write it down like that, makes him sound like a less plausible version of John Hammond, the fictional creator of Jurassic Park.

Via: Stat

Source: Science

Target has an in-store space for explaining the smart home

Last year Target unveiled its Internet of Things “Open House” experiment in San Francisco. The goal was to create a shopping experience that would help customers figure out how connected devices work with each other. In the confusing and fragmented world of IoT, the retailer carved out a little corner of knowledge. Now it’s moving past the testing phase and opening a “connected living experience” in a suburban Minneapolis store.

The Minneapolis setup won’t be as elaborate as Open House in San Francisco with its touchscreen tables. Instead it will have large displays above the products that explain how a gadget interacts with other devices. Target will also make sure the staff is up to speed.

But it will still be more than just a fancy display. Scott Nygaard, Target senior vice president of hardline told Engadget everyone in the department will be ready. “All of them will have special training, and there will be dedicated staff there at all times.”

The Ridgedale store will be the first in what could be a major change to how the retail chain sells electronics. Like Google, Apple and Amazon, Target sees the connected home as one the next big things in tech. But the company has found that its shoppers are confused not only about how these devices work together, but where they’re actually kept in the store. Would a smart thermostat be in the electronics or home section?

Putting all the devices together in one spot and creating scenarios that emphasize how a smart light and a connected garage work together not only highlights what’s possible, it helps sell stuff. “When we have working displays in-store we see a significant sales increase,” Nygaard said. “It shows what the experience is like. That’s where we really see the benefit.”

Target plans on bringing its connected experience to other stores to see how shoppers react. Cupertino, California, and Tribeca in New York City are the next two locations, according to Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Casey Carl. After that? “We want to become the go-to resource that’s credible in this space,” Carl said.

Avegant’s wearable cinema gets more game-friendly features

Avegant’s wearable cinema is getting a software update that makes it an even more tempting purchase, especially for gamers. The new firmware adds plug-and-play 3D support, enabling you to enjoy 3D content on the PlayStation 4. In addition, the gear now works with any PC game that’s compatible with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision, and all units now get head tracking, which you can activate by holding the bottom left button in video mode. As Polygon explains, it’s this latter feature that has the most potential, since users can control their PC’s mouse pointer with their head.

It’s not a full-fat virtual reality device like the Rift or Vive, but the addition of head tracking does make it possible to play games with similar immersion. For instance, Polygon used the feature to play both Overwatch and Doom and said that while it took time to get used to, it does make you more precise. The update is available in both the iOS and Android apps and should be fairly easy to get your hardware ready for a good weekend of gaming.

Source: Kickstarter

Walmart is testing grocery deliveries with Uber and Lyft

Online grocery deliveries are commonplace in Europe, but America’s size makes it difficult for even the largest firms to offer it nationwide. That’s why Walmart is teaming up with Uber and Lyft to test a delivery service for online shoppers. All a user has to do is order their usual groceries online and a Walmart employee will gather all of it together. When ready, an Uber or Lyft will be called and dispatched to your home with a trunk full of pizza rolls, toothpaste and Kleenex.

So far, this limited trial is kicking off with Uber in Denver and, according to Business Insider, Lyft in Phoenix. Rather than paying the driver directly, Walmart shoppers will be charged between $7-10 per delivery. The company is also testing a similar service with Deliv, out of its Sam’s Club stores in Miami. Grocery deliveries are becoming a big deal, with firms like Target and Amazon hoping to elbow-out more established players in the market. The fact that Walmart is leveraging Uber and other ride-sharing companies is, in a way, a tacit indictment of its failure to get this going with this soon enough.

Via: Business Insider

Source: Walmart

The best cable modem

By David Murphy

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.

After researching 88 cable modems this year, the Arris SURFboard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 remains the cable modem we recommend for most people. It’s compatible with seven of the nine biggest ISPs—including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, and Charter—and it supports the Internet speeds available to the vast majority of Americans. Our pick is popular and reliable, and it gives you the most flexibility for switching providers if you move somewhere else (or if you’re lucky enough to have multiple ISPs to choose from).

Who should (and shouldn’t) buy this

If you’re paying a fee to rent a cable modem from your ISP, you should buy a cable modem. For example, Comcast and Time Warner Cable charge between $8 and $10 per month to rent a modem, so if you buy a $70 cable modem, you’ll start saving money within one year. (Though some ISPs, like Charter, integrate the modem rental fee into their prices, so you won’t save any money if you buy your own.)

You should also get a new modem if yours doesn’t support DOCSIS 3.0, the current iteration of the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification that governs how cable operators deliver high-speed Internet. If you’ve had your modem for a few years, give the model name a quick Google search; you might still be using a modem that supports only DOCSIS 2.0.

Don’t buy our cable modem picks if you’re using DSL or fiber, which use entirely different standards from DOCSIS. Also, don’t buy it if you use your cable provider for telephone service: The models we cover here don’t have phone ports. Finally, if your Internet plan has download speeds of 150 Mbps or greater, you’ll need a higher-end modem like the Arris SURFBoard SB6183.

How we picked

All DOCSIS 3.0 modems support at least four downstream channels and four upstream channels. Downstream channels are more important because they impact streaming and download speeds—and your new cable modem should support at least eight.

An 8×4 cable modem—with eight downstream channels and four upstream—gives most people plenty of overhead to upgrade to faster service later. It also does a better job of handling your ISP’s network congestion than a 4×4 cable modem, because each channel is almost like a separate connection: If one channel is congested, another channel may have capacity. Although Comcast recommends people buy a 16×4 modem, and Cox prefers a 24×8 model, those are both overkill for most Internet plans slower than 150 Mbps.

We started our research by going through all of the DOCSIS 3.0 modems that work with the nation’s eight biggest ISPs—Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cablevision, Suddenlink, Mediacom, WideOpenWest, and Cable One—as well as Cox. We didn’t include (and don’t recommend) modems that double as wireless routers.

Nobody really reviews cable modems—it’s difficult to do because you can’t know whether it’s the modem or your ISP that’s to blame for slower speeds, so the few reviews that exist aren’t very scientific. We also don’t have the ability to test multiple modems on multiple ISPs ourselves. We looked at the Amazon reviews of these modems to be sure that people who owned them didn’t have any issues with the devices or their manufacturers’ customer support.

Our pick

Before January 2016, SURFboard SB6141 modems like this one were co-branded with Motorola, but new ones have only the Arris brand. Photo: Grant Kindrick

The Arris SURFboard SB6141 cable modem is the best choice for most people because it’s compatible with six of the eight biggest US cable ISPs—including the top three—as well as Cox. It supports speeds much faster than most people’s Internet plans, and it has thousands of glowing Amazon reviews and a history of reliability.

The SB6141 has an 8×4 channel configuration, which means it should work for all Internet plans up to about 150 Mbps. It’s also less expensive than an a 16×4 modem, letting you recoup your money faster. Plus, if your Internet plan doesn’t require a 16×4 modem, you’re unlikely to get a speed boost by using one instead of an 8×4 modem.

Our pick is the most popular purchase for visitors at Buy A Cable Modem. On Amazon, the SB6141 is the site’s best-selling cable modem, with a rating of 4.4 stars (out of five) across 9,450 reviews. Though the SB6141’s one-year warranty seems short, cable modems are extremely reliable—so much so that you could even buy a refurbished or used version of the SB6141 to save money. If it works for the first week, chances are it will work for a long time because there are no moving parts to wear out.

For high-speed plans

You’ll need the SB6183 for very fast Internet plans like Comcast’s 250Mbps or Time Warner Cable’s 300Mbps offerings.

The Arris SURFboard SB6183 is a 16×4 cable modem that works with the fastest listed Internet plans from the nation’s three biggest ISPs (Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Charter), as well as from Cox, Suddenlink, and Cable One.

The SB6183 has 16 downstream channels—twice as many as the SB6141. Very few people have an Internet plan fast enough to need a 16×4 modem, but some ISPs require one for plans that an 8×4 modem could theoretically handle. For example, you’ll need a 16×4 modem like the SB6183 on Comcast’s Extreme 250 plan, Time Warner Cable’s 300Mbps plan, and Cox’s Ultimate tier.

On Amazon, the SB6183 is the second best-selling cable modem (after the SB6141), with a rating of 4.5 stars (out of five) across 1,473 reviews. On Buy A Cable Modem, the SB6183 is the best-selling 16×4 cable modem.

Care, maintenance, and setup

A cable modem doesn’t have any settings you need to adjust; you don’t even update the firmware yourself. Your modem’s manufacturer will deploy firmware updates for your ISP to send to your modem (as long as your ISP still supports the modem). Just connect the modem to your cable company’s coaxial line, connect your modem to your router with an Ethernet cable, and plug the cable modem and the router in.

Because its configuration page does not require a login, the Arris SURFboard SB6141 is vulnerable to cross-site-scripting attacks that trick you into rebooting your modem or restoring it to factory settings. Such an attack is more annoying than dangerous, but it can cause you to lose your Internet connection for anywhere from a couple of minutes to half an hour. To prevent this kind of attack, go into your router’s configuration page and block access to the IP address 192.168.100.1 (the modem’s configuration page) for anyone inside your network.

This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

Uber’s food delivery service is coming to London

In some parts of the world, Uber is known for more than just helping people get from A to B. UberEats, for example, is a food delivery service the company runs in various large North American cities, Paris, and as of a week ago, Singapore. It even has its own dedicated app in some places, and there are more than a few clues knocking around that point to the service launching in London in the near future. Uber is currently recruiting a “restaurant partnerships manager” and “marketing manager” for UberEats, both based in the capital, and according to BuzzFeed News, cyclists and scooter riders that will end up doing the legwork are being encouraged to pledge their allegiance prior to the service going live.

Regarding the mounting evidence, an Uber spokesperson said:

“UberEats has been hugely popular in every city around the world we have launched it in, so the fact we are exploring the UK market shouldn’t come as a surprise. We’re always looking at what other services we can bring to the market here.”

UberEats will have some tough competition on its hands in the form of Deliveroo, the popular food delivery outfit that serves as an up-market alternative to the kind of grub you can get through Just Eat and Hungryhouse. Considering there are senior UberEats roles still up for grabs, though, we don’t expect an imminent launch. But the fact Uber is seeking out two-wheeling “delivery partners” could also help the company expand beyond just food. They sound like the perfect group to have on hand if Uber wanted to bring its courier service to London, for instance.

Source: Uber (1), (2), BuzzFeed News