NIH might start funding human-animal chimera studies
The NIH could start funding experiments that inject human stem cells in animal embryos to create hybrids called “chimeras.” It issued a blanked ban on chimera research last year, but it looks like the organization changed its mind after examining the science behind it and talking to lead experts in the field. Carrie D. Wolinetz, NIH’s Associate Director for Science Policy, wrote in a blog post that the “formation of these types of human-animal organism, referred to as “chimeras,” holds tremendous potential for disease modeling, drug testing and perhaps eventual organ transplant.”
While the NIH is now more open to the possibility of creating hybrids for disease research and organ transplants, that doesn’t mean it’s funding even studies that could lead to our sci-fi-esque apocalyptic end. To start with, it still wouldn’t earmark money for experiments aiming to develop and breed animals with human sperm and egg cells.
It also plans to form a committee tasked with examining every study that falls into these two areas of research: first is the type that introduces stem cells into non-human vertebrate embryos. Scientists will be allowed to inject cells into embryos before the animals’ organs start developing, so long as they’re not experimenting on non-human primates like chimpanzees. Anybody working on monkeys or chimpanzees will have to wait until the embryos are further along.
The second area of research the committee will keep a close eye on is introducing stem cells into animals to grow organs for transplant. In at least one previous experiment, researchers were able to grow rat pancreas in a mouse that lacks the genes to grow them. Scientists are hoping to replicate that feat on pigs. If they could grow, say, human liver or kidneys in pigs whose genes were tweaked not to grow them, then the organs could eventually be transplanted into human patients.
As you can imagine, though, studies like these raise a lot of ethical concerns. What if the stem cells turn into part of the animal’s brain and it ends up developing a consciousness comparable to ours? “What makes us human?,” Jeffrey P. Kahn, the director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, asked The New York Times. “Is it having 51 percent human cells?” He explained people’s concerns to the publication, one of which is the possibility of creating chimeras that are more human than not.
The NIH is now seeking public comments on its proposal. If you want the agency to hear your thoughts, you have until September 4th to send them in.
Via: The New York Times
Source: NIH
NASA celebrates Curiosity’s fourth year on Mars with a game
The glitch that shut down Curiosity in July was thankfully a temporary issue, else NASA would have mourned its loss rather than celebrating the rover’s fourth year on Mars by releasing a game. It’s simply called Mars Rover, and it’s probably your only chance to pilot Curiosity. Mars Rover has a pretty straightforward gameplay — you just have to press arrow keys to drive the vehicle and find underground pockets of water — but it’s harder than it seems. The virtual rover’s wheels crack and break if they slam hard against rocks or heels, and when they do, it’s game over.
NASA derived these mechanics from Curiosity’s actual mission and experiences on Mars. The rover has been looking for water and signs of life, and the planet’s rocks have been chipping away at its wheels. Unlike its game counterpart, though, the real rover has missions other than finding water: its current task is drilling into a rock called “Marimba” to obtain samples for analysis. If you want a shot at driving a space vehicle, you can either load the game right on your desktop or download the Gamee app on iOS or Android.
Via: Gizmodo
Apple Offers $5 Photo-to-Painting App ‘Brushstroke’ for Free Through the Apple Store App
While yesterday’s update to the Apple Store iOS app introduced some significant alterations to the interface, one thing Apple didn’t change is its tradition of occasionally offering select paid apps for free through the Store for a limited time.
Right now, users who scroll down the Discover tab can find an option to download photo painting app Brushstroke for free, instead of paying $4.99 when downloaded in the typical way through the App Store.
With Brushstroke, you can transform your favorite photographs into beautiful paintings. With a slew of presets and tools, creating the perfect look is a breeze. And when your masterpiece is complete, you can even order a canvas print to hang on your wall.
Users of Brushtroke can choose photos to convert into ‘paintings’ from their Camera Roll and other albums, or shoot pictures and then edit them from within the app.
A number of color palettes and canvases are on offer to experiment with, and finished paintings can be signed and then shared over social media. Users can also pick a frame and size for their painting, and order a canvas print from CanvasPop for home delivery.
The offer to download Brushstroke for free through the Apple Store iOS app expires on September 1, 2016. You can download the new update for the Apple Store app from the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]
MacRumors went hands-on with Apple’s new Apple Store app to show off all the new features. Make sure to check out the video below.
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Tag: Apple Store
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Christoph Waltz talks about America’s tireless ambition in Galaxy Note 7 commercial
Samsung brought in Christoph Waltz for its Galaxy Note 7 commercial. You should just watch it.
The advert highlights the Note 7’s multitasking abilities, S Pen, IP68 water resistance, Samsung Pay, and camera. Like what you see? The Galaxy Note 7 is now up for pre-order in the U.S., and will be hitting shelves on August 19.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 hands-on preview
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- The Galaxy Note 7 uses USB-C
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
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Android dominates in India with 97% market share
The latest numbers from Strategy Analytics show Android controlling 97% of the smartphone market share in India. 30.7 million phones were shipped in Q2 2016, of which Android phones accounted for 29.8 million units.
From Strategy Analytics’ senior analyst Rajeev Nair:
Total smartphone shipments in India grew a healthy 19 percent annually from 25.8 million units in Q2 2015 to 30.7 million in Q2 2016. India is currently the world’s third largest smartphone market, after China and the US. India is growing quickly due to low smartphone penetration rates, an expanding middle class with more disposable income, and intense competition among major vendors, retailers and operators.
Meanwhile, Apple’s market share has halved from 4% in Q2 2015 to 2%, with the company selling 800,000 iPhones in the country during the quarter. The iPhone SE was meant to boost iPhone sales in the market, but absurdly high pricing led to meager sales of the 4-inch phone.
A majority of sales in India are in the highly-competitive entry-level and budget segments, where there is an abundance of choice.
Samsung gifts limited edition Galaxy S7 edge to 12,500 Olympians
Back when it announced the limited edition Galaxy S7 edge designed for the Rio 2016 Olympics, Samsung said that it would gift the phone to all 12,500 athletes competing in this year’s games. And the manufacturer has done just that.
All athletes will also receive Samsung’s IconX earbuds. The phone itself features a black metal frame with colored accents for the volume, power, home buttons and the camera housing. Blue Olympic rings at the back round out the design changes for the commemorative edition.
If you like the design of the Galaxy S7 edge Olympic Games Limited Edition, you can get your hands on the phone from Best Buy for $849.
See at Best Buy
MORE: Best apps for the 2016 Olympics
Amazon launches ‘Prime Air’ with a cargo plane, not a drone
The first time we heard about Prime Air it was emblazoned on drones Jeff Bezos showed off for 60 Minutes in 2013. Now Amazon is revealing the logo on a flying machine that operates on a much larger scale. Amazon One is just one of its 11 dedicated planes, and the Boeing 767-300 will be flying this weekend at a Seattle airshow. The company says that maintaining its own air cargo network — the planes are leased from shipping partners, with plans to expand to 40 over the next couple of years — will help it keep shipping speeds up.
While we’re still waiting to hear more about those delivery drones, Amazon has made several moves to take control over other steps in the delivery process. The mega-retailer is getting involved in oceanic freight shipping, and rolled out thousands of Amazon-branded semi-trailers at the end of last year, around the same time rumors that it would lease jets started popping up. Those
Source: Amazon
‘Pokémon Go’ dev says it needed to block scrapers to expand
Niantic Labs is still facing backlash from some players over blocking many third-party Pokémon Go services, but insists that the moves are necessary. In a blog post it provided a graph (without any numbers) that it says shows how much traffic dropped off after it blocked many scraper services. It says that “freeing up those resources” is what enabled it to launch in Central and South America earlier this week, and blamed scrapers for delaying the rollout in the first place.
There’s no indication of whether this strategy will change in the future, but it’s still insisting it will continue work on new features once the game is “on stable footing.” Finally, in something that will probably affect all players, it confirmed that a bug is causing an increase in the odds of escape and omitting the XP bonus, so you’re not imagining it — those Pidgeys and Rattatas really are harder to catch than they should be. It’s working on a fix, but there’s no word yet on when it will roll out, so you may want to save your Pokéballs when and where you can.
Trainers, a new bug affecting throw accuracy increases the odds of escape and omits the XP bonus. We are working on a fix, stay tuned…
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) August 4, 2016
Source: Pokemon Go
Disney launches its own family-friendly messaging app
Although there’s already a crowded field of messaging apps out there, Disney has just announced its own contribution: Disney Mix, which aims to stand out from the pack by being safest, most family-friendly one of the bunch. That means Disney Mix brings along additional games and playful meme-creating features, as well as moderation tools and educational resources to make the place feel more like an online community for kids than a simple messaging app.
As TechCrunch notes, Disney Mix is approved for children “4+” on the app store, although older kids and pre-teens will probably get the most use out of it. When kids sign up, they are presented with straightforward reminders to stay safe, be respectful and “keep it clean.” Bullying and harassment especially will not be tolerated. So kids can help keep their community a safe place, chat threads include a “Whistle” icon at the top of the screen that they can use to essentially call up an adult moderator to step in. Disney is also encouraging parents to talk to their kids about the community rules and to submit feedback if the app isn’t making the grade.
On a more fun note, the app boasts a cache of digital chat stickers from basically any Disney franchise you could think of. Kids also have the ability to build their own custom cartoon blockhead avatar that can compete alongside their friends in original and movie tie-in games right in the chat. In the future, Disney plans to add even more features, plus the ability to share photos and videos in the same safe community.
Disney Mix is available now on the App Store and Google Play.
Beat the world at ‘Forza’ and drive away with a Ford Focus RS
Your skills at driving supercars around on Forza’s meticulously detailed racetracks could net you a real ride. The top prize in the first-ever Forza Racing Championship is a 2017 Ford Focus RS — an almost $40,000 and 350 HP hatchback built with pure performance in mind. Sign-ups are open right now for the ESL-ran event, with the first Elite Cup races starting August 8th.
Qualifying rounds will follow each week after and the top four competitors from each event will go onto the Grand Finals. Oh, right: This only applies to last year’s Forza Motorsport 6, so if you were hoping all that time spent in Forza Horizon 2’s Nice, France would pay off, you’re out of luck. Maybe next year?
Source: Xbox Wire, ESL
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