IBM’s new virus filter could lead to home diagnostic tools

The best way to treat any disease, beyond avoiding getting sick in the first place, is to catch it early. You can always go to the hospital and have expensive tests run, but we can do better: New research from IBM could lead to lab-on-a-chip virus detection technology that would enable let patients monitor their health by analyzing saliva or urine samples at home.

Specifically, IBM has made a breakthrough in nanoscale deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) — a method of separating viruses and other health threats from DNA in fluid samples. The process kind of works like a pachinko machine, albeit less random: Fluids are filtered through a series of tiny pillars that separate elements by size. The technology has been used in the past to isolate parasites and other larger targets. Now, IBM has used silicon technologies to build a nanoscale DLD process capable of targeting exosomes, demonstrating that a DLD can be used to filter obects in the 20 to 110 nanometer scale. That’s small enough to detect viruses or markers that could be associated with potential cancers.

Naturally, it’s pretty early in the research, and IBM says it will need more time to figure out if this kind of technology could feasibly and reliably be used to analyze fluids. If it can, however, it could lead to more affordable, compact methods of detecting illnesses — and possibly in-home devices for self-monitoring, and open the door for new early-treatment options. Check out the full paper for yourself at the source link below.

Source: Nature, Spectrum

New Frank Ocean Album Coming Exclusively to Apple Music on Friday

R&B singer Frank Ocean’s next album, “Boy’s Don’t Cry,” is set to be released this Friday through an exclusive deal with Apple Music, reports The New York Times. The release will include a major music video and a printed “Boys Don’t Cry” publication to be distributed at Apple retail stores.

According to a source who spoke with The New York Times, Frank Ocean’s album will be an Apple Music exclusive for two weeks before it becomes available on other music services.

“Boys Don’t Cry” is Frank Ocean’s first album since his 2012 release “Channel Orange,” which won a Grammy Award for best urban contemporary album. The album has seen several delays so far and The New York Times warns that its release could potentially be put off. Ocean’s website was, however, updated this morning with a new promotional video hosted by Apple Music.

In addition to “Boys Don’t Cry,” Apple has secured a number of high-profile exclusive releases for Apple Music in the past, debuting content like Drake’s “Views” album, Taylor Swift’s “1989 World Tour LIVE” film, and Katy Perry single “Rise.”

Apple Music, now over a year old, boasts more than 15 million subscribers as of June 2016.

Tag: Apple Music
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CDC warns against visiting a Zika-hit Miami neighborhood

Reports of the first active Zika transmissions in the US are leading to some far-reaching precautions in Miami. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning both pregnant women and their partners to steer clear of the city’s Wynwood neighborhood (including The Shops at Midtown Miami) out of concern that they might be infected. The CDC is also asking future mothers to get Zika tests in their first or second trimesters if they’ve been in the area from June 15th onward, and to use condoms (or other barrier-based contraceptives) if they have sex.

The warning extends to couples even thinking about having children. You should wait at least 8 weeks to try if you’ve been in the area, the CDC says. And if you’re a man who has exhibited symptoms, you should wait a minimum of 6 months.

Disease control experts don’t expect to see American Zika outbreaks on the scale of those seen in Central America, the Caribbean and South America. Better overall sanitation and anti-mosquito protections (such as window screens) should reduce the odds of infection. However, it’s clear that the CDC isn’t taking any chances — it wants to contain even the slightest hint of Zika before it becomes a serious crisis.

Via: Associated Press

Source: CDC

The lab-made Impossible Burger is a meatless treat for everyone

Every October two vegetarian friends of mine from Michigan spend a week at my place while they attend New York Comic Con. Because I take my hosting duties very seriously, I always try to find good places for them to eat here in New York. It’s not too hard, as you can find vegetarian and vegan restaurants for pretty much every major cuisine here. But one thing that I haven’t been able to locate is a good meat substitute. That changed last week when a restaurant here in the city became the first and (so far) only location to offer the Impossible Burger, a lab-developed patty that claims to replicate the taste and texture of real beef using similar proteins found in plants. I dropped by for lunch to test this assertion — and to scope it out for my friends, of course.

The Impossible Burger was created out of a desire for more environmentally friendly food production. You see, it takes a lot of resources to raise animals for consumption. That includes obvious assets like land and water, but also the fuel needed to run the various machines that make farming possible. You can produce a lot more food from a crop of wheat than you can from a herd of cattle.

However, it’s hard to shake the habit of eating meat; it’s such a big part of various cultures’ cuisine, and it just tastes good. Meat substitutes have arisen to try and bridge that gap, and while products like tofu and seitan can function as a protein in many dishes, they just don’t impart the same amount of oomph as red meat or poultry in a dish.

The team at Impossible Foods spent five years in a lab trying to unlock that secret, studying every facet of the burger experience including its look, smell and taste. Eventually they were able to isolate heme protein as the root of the meat’s flavor. It’s abundant in animal flesh — the word comes from the Greek for ‘blood’ — but it also occurs in plant matter as well.

Plant heme protein makes up less than 2 percent of the Impossible Burger, but it’s a vital 2 percent. What makes up the rest of it, nailing down other essentials such as smell and texture? Protein from wheat and potatoes, coconut oil and various vitamins. Apologies to Celiac sufferers and other non-gluten-eating people: Even without its bun, the Impossible Burger isn’t gluten-free. It also contains some soy protein, a common allergen. Happily for my tree nut and peanut allergies, those ingredients are absent here.

The Impossible Burger is currently being served at Momofuku Nishi, the newest of chef David Chang’s “New Asian” family of restaurants. Most of the menu consists of traditional Asian dishes like kimchi and ramen, so the $12 Impossible Burger stands out — it’s listed under “buns & noodles,” as there’s no other place to put it. According to Impossible Foods’ spokesperson Lance Ignon, David Chang was chosen for this initial run of the burger due to being “one of America’s most respected, innovative and creative chefs.” The values that govern Momofuku also mesh well with Impossible Foods’ own, most notably the chain’s support for sustainable, responsible food sourcing.

While waiting outside for the restaurant to to open, I heard various other diners describe the product as “a new vegan burger” or “new fake meat,” neither of which really imparts the full depth of the accomplishment. Additionally, Lance Ignon wants this to be absolutely clear: “We don’t make imitation meats. We make meat from plants.”

I didn’t have to wait long to find out how true this was, as my friend and I got our food about 10 minutes after placing our order at the bar. That’s a fairly standard wait for a burger, which makes sense because the plant-based beef cooks just like cow meat, starting out pink and slowly browning on the griddle.

Each burger came on a metal tray with a side of thin fries and a little cup of ketchup. The fries were fairly standard and I only munched on a few. As for the burger, it came on a soft potato bun topped with a fairly standard compliment of lettuce, tomatoes and dill pickles. The bottom of the patty is slathered with a good helping of “special sauce.” The Impossible Burger can be ordered with cheese as well, though you need to specify if you want a vegan option. I opted for regular cheese: Not just because I like the taste of dairy, but because vegan cheese tends to use nuts like cashews and almonds so I can’t eat it.

At first blush the Impossible Burger looked like a regular burger. There was one small annoyance in my particular helping: Some of the cheese appeared to have burned on the grill, leaving a crispy wafer sticking out from the side. After poking and prodding at my food for a bit I finally took a bite of the burger. There was some initial weirdness with the texture — a bit of extra chewiness that surprised me because to all my other senses, this was a piece of beef. So I can’t say with total confidence that it’s completely indistinguishable from cow flesh. However, if you were to give it to someone without revealing that it’s plant-based, there’s a good chance they’d never know (unless they are allergic to soy or have sensitivity to wheat, so don’t do a blind taste test without checking first).

I admit it was hard to stop and take photos, because it was delicious and all I really wanted to do was stuff it in my face. The nice thing is that Momofuku Nishi didn’t dress up the Impossible Burger in any particular special way, so you aren’t judging it based on its dressings. The simple toppings made it taste akin to some of my favorite burgers in the city, like Five Guys or Petey’s in Queens.

The one thing missing from the Impossible Burger is fat. It’s generally acknowledged as the ingredient that makes meat taste good, but the burger seemed to be doing just fine there thanks to the plant heme. However, researchers at Purdue University have postulated that there might a sixth taste besides sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami called “oleogustus,” which means “oily taste.” And that was definitely absent from the Impossible Burger, though that wasn’t a dealbreaker for me. You see, usually after eating a burger I feel kind of greasy and overstuffed; I usually crave a long walk and a good shower. I decided to walk back to the Engadget office for that exact reason, only to realize after a block or two that I felt fine. For some the absence of the fat might be a negative, but it was a huge positive for me because I don’t enjoy feeling gross because of something I ate.

Momofuku Nishi’s price of $12 is a bit high compared to something like Five Guys, but that’s more because of where you’re eating than what: It’s actually one of the lower-priced items on the restaurant’s menu. (For contrast, a Shake Shack burger will run you $5.29, while high-end joint Park Avenue will sell you its copy of an In-and-Out burger for $23. They’re both good, but you’re paying more for the latter place’s image and ambiance.) The cost to consumers of the plant-based Impossible Meat should be fairly low once it’s more widely available — especially compared to previous attempts at lab-developed meat, which cost as much as $325,000 a patty and didn’t even taste very good.

For now New York is the only place you can buy an Impossible Burger, with a location in San Francisco to be announced soon. And due to limited quantities and high demand (some customers have asked for 10 to go), each diner is only allowed one burger. Let’s hope that changes soon, because the first thing I wanted to do when I finished mine was to eat another one.

iOS 10 Beta 4 Tidbits: Redesigned Emoji and New Emoji Characters, Revamped Keyboard Sounds, and More

Apple released iOS 10 beta 4 to developers today and as with any major beta update, it includes several small changes and tweaks as Apple aims to refine the operating system ahead of its public release this fall.

Today’s update, available as an over-the-air download for those who installed the first three betas or the beta configuration profile, features new emoji, new keyboard sounds, Notification Center tweaks, and more.

We’ve rounded up all of the new features in beta four in the video below, so make sure to check it out to get a quick look at what’s changed. We’re also listing all of the changes in the post below.

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Emoji – There are new emoji designed to promote gender equality. Many professions and activity emoji are now available in both male or female options. Emoji have a new texture and many emoji have seen slight design tweaks.

New emoji textures. Old emoji on left, new emoji on right.
Control Center – There’s an intro screen when opening Control Center for the first time that instructs people to swipe left to access the different Control Center cards.

Haptic feedback – In iOS beta 3, Apple added haptic feedback when pressing the power button on the iPhone to lock it. In beta 4, this feature has been removed. There’s no longer a haptic feedback buzz when locking an iPhone.

Accessibility – In the Accessibility section of the Settings app, the Color Filters option includes a set of colored pencils to show off the different color options instead of a color grid. This gives a better idea of how each setting is actually displayed on an iOS device.

Notification Center – The widgets screen, accessible by swiping to the right in the Notification Center, now displays the date. In previous versions of iOS 10, the date was not available.

Home – In the Control Center, the Home app icons have been tweaked again.

Keyboard sounds – Keyboard sounds have been slightly tweaked. Backspace now has a distinctive sounds unique from other key press sounds, and there’s a new sound for space, return, shift, and number/emoji shift.

Wallpaper – Some older wallpaper options have been removed and the mountain wallpaper with stars from an earlier version of iOS has been re-added.

Related Roundup: iOS 10
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Let’s talk about LG building the first phone with Android 7.0 Nougat — and what may lie ahead for Nexus

Korean firm says its V20 will be the first new phone to run Nougat out of the box. But what does that mean for Nexus — and for everyone else?

LG this morning dropped quite the news bomb on the Android world, announcing that the V20 — the successor to last year’s V10 — “will be the first device to feature Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box” when it ships this September. That’s a pretty big deal for bunch of reasons. That honor usually goes to a new Nexus handset (or more recently, handsets), developed in partnership with one of the major Android device makers. With reliable sources pointing to final, stable builds of Nougat arriving in August, we’ll have an unusual situation where a major new Android version drops well in advance of the new Nexus.

It’s also a coup for LG, which scores an important differentiator for its upcoming phone — at least in the eyes of enthusiasts. If the rumors are to be believed (and we’ll know soon enough if they are) the V20’s major rival, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7, will launch on the older Marshmallow release.

It’s unlikely LG was given any special treatment by Google in order to claim its first with Nougat. Most big manufacturers have access to the code for a new version of Android well in advance of the public release. It’s more likely LG, knowing Google’s timetable, decided to work that into its development roadmap for the V20.

LG gets a PR win. Google gets stable code in manufacturers’ hands.

As for Google, it’s significant to see Nougat likely launching in August, with the widely-rumored duo of HTC Nexuses apparently hanging back until at least September. You have to go all the way back to 2009 and the original Droid for the last time a new Android version arrived without a Nexus (or equivalent — hi Motorola Xoom) in tow.

But in the greater scheme of things it could be a smart move. Shipping Nougat in August gets stable code in the hands of phone makers ahead of the late-September/early-October rush of new devices. Meanwhile, sticking to the usual fall release window for Nexus phones gives engineers time to finish work on — well, everything else Google might want to ship on its 2016 Nexuses. Think Allo, Duo, Google Assistant and Daydream.

The core of Nougat may be done, but there are lots of other Googley things that probably aren’t.

In this context, it’s also worth remembering this year’s big Google release party is about way more than phones. Think back to everything the company announced at May’s I/O conference, most of which was given a vague “later this year” release timetable: The arrival of stable Android app support on Chromebooks. Google Home. There’ve even been credible rumors Google is making a pair of Android Wear watches. Even if Nougat is basically done at this point, there’s no guarantee any of this other stuff is. So if Google wants to do the smart thing and launch all its new consumer products at the same time, it makes little difference if the operating system behind some of it goes out a little earlier.

Hell, it’s entirely possible the upcoming HTC Nexuses won’t even ship with the initial Android 7.0 build. If there’s going to be a gap of a month or more between the initial Nougat release and new Nexus phones, they’d likely skip straight to the first MR (maintenance release) — a possible Android 7.0.1 or 7.1. If that happens, well… it becomes very interesting when you recall reports this summer claiming pressure-sensitive display support, originally planned for Android 7.0, had been held back for just such a maintenance release.

Who knows what else we might see in an Android 7.1 or 7.0.1 — or how Google might choose to differentiate its new phones in other ways. The company has hinted at extra software coming to Nexus phones beyond barebones stock Android. In an interview this June, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told The Verge: “You’ll see us hopefully add more features on top of Android on Nexus phones. There’s a lot of software innovation to be had.” Once again: Just because Nougat is done, doesn’t mean this extra software is.

Everyone benefits in the long run, hopefully.

We’re throwing around some speculation here, but the bottom line is this: LG gets a nice publicity victory out of aligning its new phone launch with Google’s roadmap for the stable Android 7.0 release — something it badly needs after the flop of the G5. Google gets the important bits into phone makers’ hands earlier than in previous years, (hopefully) meaning fewer new phones launching in Q4 on Marshmallow.

Meanwhile Google engineers get a little more time readying important companion apps and services like Assistant, Allo/Duo, Android Wear, Daydream and Google Home without holding back the Nougat source code drop. And who knows, maybe Google will have something extra special waiting on those new Nexuses when they do arrive.

Android Nougat

Android N (currently in Developer Preview status) is now Android Nougat! It’s the 12th nicknamed version of Android and will be released to the public in the fall of 2016. Here’s everything you need to know so far!

• What’s new in Android Nougat
• All Android Nougat news
• Should you use the Android N Dev Preview?
• About the Android Beta Program
• Join the Discussion

The best fantasy football apps for Android

Football season is back, baby!

The kickoff to the 2016 NFL season is rapidly approaching, and from office leagues to public leagues, we’re sure there’s a lot of you looking to get in on the fantasy action. We’ve gathered up our favorite Android apps to help you dominate this year’s fantasy football draft (and hopefully, the season that follows it)! You’ll find plenty of options here, each letting you drill down into player statistics, latest news, and updates to your draft.

Note: these apps are for season-long fantasy football, not daily fantasy sites like FanDuel and Draft Kings.

Yahoo Fantasy

Yahoo Fantasy includes fantasy leagues for more than just the NFL; you can get in on MLB, NBA and NHL at the same time, too. Before the league actually starts towards the end of the month, you can work on mock drafts, check in on player news and score updates, and see what the experts are saying about the latest progress.

Download Yahoo Fantasy Football (Free)

NFL Fantasy Football

The official NFL Fantasy Football app features live and mock drafts, live scoring, in-game video highlights, the ability to join and create leagues, quickly choose your weekly lineup, and tweak your player lineup. There’s lots of timely player news available and expert analysis to help you in your game.

Download NFL Fantasy Football (Free)

ESPN Fantasy Football

ESPN’s Fantasy Football app leverages the network’s extensive news teams to provide real-time alerts of trades, injuries, and scores for your favorite teams. You can also check in on live auctions and gut-wrenching snake drafts in addition to participating in mock and live drafts. Of course, you can set your weekly players and follow the latest NFL news from within the app.

Download ESPN Fantasy Football (Free)

CBS Sports Fantasy

CBS Sports Fantasy is a great football reference that provides projections, 2016 stats, and outlooks by CBS experts. You can play around with mock and live drafts, and dive in with full team management, live scoring, and chat with other players in the league. CBS Sports fantasy allows for on-the-go trades for your multiple teams, spanning football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

Download CBS Sports Fantasy (Free)

Fantasy Draft Dominator

The Fantasy Draft Dominator is a cheat sheet to help you make the best picks for your draft. Players are scored across 20 positions within 19 categories of passing, 12 categories of rushing, 12 categories of receiving, 7 categories of kicking, and 27 categories of defense. You’ll have more data than you’ll know what to do with once this is installed. This is one of the highest-rated fantasy football apps in the Google Play store, and one of the most expensive, too, but really, what’s five bucks if it can help you get an edge in a thousand dollar league?

Download Fantasy Draft Dominator ($4.99)

So what’s your favorite?

There are a lot of ways to get in on fantasy football. What are yours? Who are you eyeballing for your draft? Which leagues do you play in? Hop into the comments and let us know!