Panasonic’s indoor farm, and more in the week that was

Tesla’s groundbreaking affordable electric car is nearly here. This week the automaker announced plans to begin production on the Model 3 by the end of the month. Meanwhile, environmental champion Leonardo DiCaprio just signed up as the official ambassador for BYD’s new line of EVs. Georgia broke ground on a road paved with 18 miles of solar panels, and the tiny TigerMoth camper is an off-grid shelter that generates power while it’s being towed.

Most photovoltaic panels are big and heavy, which limits their applications, but Sandia Labs just developed sticky “solar glitter” that can power just about anything. In other energy news, China is making major investments in clean tech, and it’s paying off: The nation is now the world’s largest producer of solar energy. Here in the States, the solar industry provides twice as many jobs as coal, but the Trump Administration still wants to scuttle clean energy standards. We’re looking at the bright side though: Here are six reasons the clean energy revolution doesn’t need Trump’s blessing

Singapore currently imports 90 percent of its food, but that could soon change. A gigantic vertical farm provides the nation with 80 tons of vegetables every year, and it’s growing larger by the day. In other tech and design news, a Spanish architect gave us a first look at Frank Lloyd Wright’s unbuilt Trinity Chapel through a vivid series of renderings. Researchers developed an innovative new type of paper that can be printed with UV light and reused up to 80 times. And if you’ve ever wanted to get off the grid and live rent free, we have five tips to help you transition to a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.

Awesome tech you can’t buy yet: Supercharge your iPhone photos and air pollution ink

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo, and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. In this column, we cut through all the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

Air-ink — ink made from air pollution

Let’s be honest: Unless you’re the heir to the Bic fortune, there is nothing overly exciting about the way ink is made —  unless, of course, you ask the folks behind Graviky Labs. This group of creatives found a way to recycle air pollution (which causes more than 7.2 million deaths each year) and transform it into something you can write with. The single fluid ounce of ink needed to fill a pen can be gathered from 45 minutes of car emissions. This comes courtesy of Graviky’s proprietary collection process, which was developed while the founders were studying at MIT.

The team created five different grades of Air-Ink for the project, all of which can be used for everything from fabric and outdoor painting to screen printing, and even oil painting.  It functions as both a neat science exercise and a provocative statement on pollution. As co-founder Anirudh Sharma notes in the campaign, “Each stroke made with Air-Ink arrests particulate matter, which would have otherwise ended up in the lungs of common people. Scaling this is saving lives.”

Read more here

Spyware targeted proponents of Mexico’s soda tax

Surveillance-oriented spyware is dodgy in itself, but it’s even worse when it’s abused to intimidate political enemies — just ask Mexican health advocates. The New York Times has learned that someone used commercial spyware from NSO Group to target proponents of Mexico’s soda tax, including researchers and activists, right as they were rallying support for doubling the tax. The attackers sent personalized messages that warned of bogus news (say, a daughter’s accident) and urged the victims to tap a link. If they did, the hostile would infect their devices and track everything from messages to location. It’d even quietly record camera footage.

It’s not clear who the culprit may be. Soft drink industry group ConMéxico says this is the first time it heard of the spyware intrusion, and it’s not clear which government agency would oppose the soda tax so vehemently that it would spy on prominent supporters. While there was a separate incident where a journalist fell victim to spyware after uncovering a presidential housing scandal, there’s no evidence that the soda campaign was ordered at the highest levels.

Whoever’s responsible, there’s one overriding concern: how did NSO Group’s tool find its way into the wrong hands? The company says it only sells to law enforcement agencies after a thorough vetting process, and there are software measures that stop customers from sharing the technology. Either corrupt officials misused the software to further a pro-soda agenda, or some private actor had unauthorized access. And if the government was involved, it suggests that companies like NSO should have a stricter screening process that rules out sales when there’s a realistic chance of misuse.

Source: New York Times

Google adds iconic African landmarks to Street View

It’s not all jungles, mud houses and wild animals in Africa: the continent has cities, art centers, monuments and other landmarks, just like everywhere else in the world. To bust myths going around about African countries and to give more people a chance to get to know what they truly look like, Google has tweaked Street View to add iconic landmarks and monuments in Ghana, Senegal and Uganda.

One of them is a UNESCO World Heritage village built on top of water, while another is the snazzy-looking National Theatre of Ghana. You can also visit Senegal’s 49-meter/161-foot bronze statue called the African Renaissance monument unveiled in the presence of 19 African heads of state back in 2010. There’s also Lake Retba in Senegal that’s known for its pink waters.

If you’re a nature person through and through, you can visit all seven national parks Google and the Uganda Wildlife Authority captured on film, as well. The big G used its famous Street View trekker to film the sights and the wildlife. Dirk Friedrich, Google Street View’s program manager, wrote in the announcement post:

“We’re excited that what began with a few South African cities in 2009, has now expanded to many other cities in seven countries across the continent. From Cape Town to Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and now Ghana, Uganda and Senegal, we’re glad that more people from around the world can get a glimpse of this beautiful continent.”

Source: Google

Old drug gets an absurd price hike to $89,000 per year

Martin Shkreli doesn’t have a monopoly on jacking up drug prices. Marathon Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval for an old drug used to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, deflazacort, and in the process has raised the price to ridiculously high levels. You could previously import the generic medicine for about $1,200 per year, but it now costs a staggering $89,000 per year — “just” $54,000 with discounts and rebates. And since deflazacort (now rebranded as Emflaza) is classified as an orphan drug used to treat a rare disease, Marathon will both have a 7-year exclusive on US sales and a voucher to fast-track a future approval.

The practical cost will be negligible if you have appropriate health insurance, and Marathon contends that this is a low price for a rare disease drug. FDA approval should also increase access to a drug that may be too expensive to buy outright for some, even in its generic form.

However, the price hike underscores a problem with American pharmaceutical companies exploiting the orphan drug label to reap massive profits from medicine. The category was originally meant to encourage companies to develop treatments for rare conditions, but it’s hard to make that case for Emflaza when far less expensive alternatives have been available for years. Moreover, Marathon could sell the review voucher for hundreds of millions of dollars. As helpful as the approval is, it suggests that reform is needed to strike a balance between rewarding scientific research and keeping prices down to Earth.

Via: Washington Post, Ars Technica

Source: Marathon Pharmaceuticals

Paws for a moment to coddle your kitten with our favorite feline-friendly apps

Our furry overlords aren’t always easy to amuse, so you might consider installing some apps for cats on your smartphone or tablet. We’ve been checking out what’s available for our feline friends and their humans, and we’ve found a couple of fun cat games, some music especially for kitties, a game for cat lovers, and a handy first aid app.

More: Bluetooth bow ties, kitty cams, and more weird wearables for your pet from CES

Just be warned — if you are going to let your cat play on your tablet or smartphone, scratches are a very real risk for some of you. Others can expect disdainful looks and general indifference.

Cat Fishing 2

If your cat has ever attacked your phone or tablet screen, then this app is for them. A fish swims around on screen and your cat can paw it to score points. It starts with one fish in the first round, then two, and finally three fish on screen at once. If your feline friend loses interest, then the game emits a meow after 30 seconds to try and tempt them back. It would be better if the fish just swam indefinitely, but sadly there’s a time limit on each round after which they disappear. This means you’ll have to keep restarting it. On the plus side — few cats can resist batting at a little fishy.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Relax My Cat

Music can certainly influence our moods, so why not cats? This app has a few different tunes that have been specially composed for cats. Each one is supposed to evoke a different mood, so there’s a track for making them sleepy, a tune for playtime, and even one for separation anxiety. It’s easy to use — just choose the track you want and set a time limit. Does it really work? That depends on your cat. There’s nothing especially feline-sounding about the music, so you could probably get similar results by creating your own playlists. The Android app is worth a go, because it’s free, but the iOS version is $2.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Cat Alone 2

This simple Android game for cats challenges your kitty to catch different on-screen objects. You can choose from six different options – red light, spider, feather, mouse, dandelion, or water drop. The animations are simple and you can also turn on vibrations to add another dimension. See what piques your cat’s interest. If they like this, then check out the original Cat Alone which features a laser pointer, ladybug, finger, fly, butterfly, or cockroach.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Cat Simulator

This game gives you a taste of what it’s like to be a cat. Pick and customize your feline, then get to work scratching carpets and furniture, catching mice, and generally causing mischief. There are a few different locations to explore and lots of things to interact with. Cat Simulator even has a multiplayer mode, so you can compete with other cat-crazy players. It’s graphically basic, but it’s easy to play and offers a few laughs for kitty fans.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Pet First Aid

Developed by the American Red Cross, this app is packed with practical advice that can help you to diagnose and treat your cat. It contains step-by-step instructions for common emergencies, and there’s a mix of text, photos, and videos to help you identify the issue and deal with it. You can also use the app to create a profile for your pet, track veterinary appointments, and find emergency vet hospitals. To encourage you to learn about pet first aid there are quizzes with badge rewards. It’s completely free and it also covers dogs.

Download now for:

Android iOS

NASA wants to send a life-detecting lander to Europa

Back in June 2016, NASA commissioned 21 scientists to design a lander headed for Europa, conjure up science objectives for it and figure out if the mission is feasible. After around eight months of deliberation, the scientists have finally completed their assignment and presented their report (PDF) to the space agency. As you can see above, they went for a boxy spacecraft with spindly legs to accomplish the mission’s goals, the biggest of which is to find signs of past and present life.

Scientists believe that Europa’s icy crust is hiding a global saltwater ocean. They also believe that ocean is in contact with a rocky, silicate seafloor, which is a necessary source of elements and energy needed to give rise to and sustain life. The only other ocean in contact with a seafloor outside our planet is Saturn’s moon Enceladus, making Europa an ideal world to explore if we want to find extraterrestrial life forms.

Next in the lander’s goal list is assessing whether Europa is habitable by examining its non-ice materials. Finally, it has to characterize the properties of its surface and subsurface materials for future explorations. It’ll be a long time before this lander takes off, though — it was designed to follow the Europa Multiple Flyby Mission that’s scheduled to launch in the 2020s. If it does push through, it’ll be the first mission since the 1970s’ Martian Viking program that’s specifically conceptualized to look for life.

Source: NASA (1), (2) [PDF]

Google hints at Assistant coming to existing Android devices

It’s very likely that you’ll see Google Assistant on new Android devices beyond the Pixel line, but when… and what about the device you already have? The AI helper might be coming sooner than you think. Google has inadvertently given beta testers an alpha release of its Android search app that enables Assistant support on non-Pixel hardware. It’s not working for everyone, but people carrying everything from the Nexus 6P to Alcatel’s Idol 4S say they’ve had success. The software has introductory messages that are clearly targeted at people who previously didn’t have Assistant, so it’s not an accidental inclusion.

The alpha also includes a recent topics section that revisits recent searches, previously mentioned support for payments (not that it’s useful without providers) and a data-saving Lite mode that optimizes pages.

It’s going to be a while before you see an official rollout when the app isn’t even in beta. You may have to wait weeks or months before there’s a version you can reliably use. However, the very fact that wider Assistant support is present at all is important — it shows that Google wants to broaden access fairly quickly.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Android Police

Charge your phone and so much more with this cool little pen

Why it matters to you

Plain old pens can be boring gifts, but the ChargeWrite is anything but — it’s also a powerbank, memory drive, stylus, and more.

You can’t just gift someone a pen these days. It has to be a pen that is also a camera that is also an app that will help you track how many steps you’ve taken. And while the ChargeWrite doesn’t quite check all those boxes, you can rest assured that it is no ordinary pen. With a built-in external 16GB flash memory drive and a powerbank charger, this pen is also a stylus, screen cleaner, powerbank, and storage drive.

The result of a collaboration between Montreal-based entrepreneurs Shaun Teblum and Rob Gold, the ChargeWrite seeks to solve two problems: One, having your phone die midday; and two, never having a pen when you need one (because despite the ubiquity of mobile devices, sometimes you need an actual writing utensils). Now you’ll never forget your pen at home, because your most prized possession (your phone) depends on it.

“It happens to the best of us, we rush through that important call, silently hoping the battery doesn’t die at the worst possible moment.” said Shaun Teblum, co-founder of ChargeWrite. “Whether you’re a student, or a professional, most of us need to give our phone a mid-afternoon boost, and ChargeWrite is an easy way to do that.”

More: Anker 5-port speed charger gives you fast power on the fly at a 67 percent discount

With two months left in its Indiegogo campaign, ChargeWrite has already garnered the support of nearly 500 backers, and has raised over $30,000, which is over 300 percent of its original goal. So what differentiates ChargeWrite from other charging devices? First off, it’s cable free — all the adapters needed to charge both the pen and your smartphone are built in. Further, this writing device features a universal smartphone tip, which means you can plug it into any iPhone lightning port or any Micro USB device, including Android phones. Moreover, the ChargeWrite is there when you need it, as it’s capable of holding its own full charge for over a month.

“We designed ChargeWrite to pack as much battery as possible, yet still be small enough to be comfortable to write with,” explains Teblum. “It’s packed with features, it’s easy to use, and it’s always there when you need it.”

Starting at just $29, ChargeWrite wants to fit any budget, and you can get yours here.

Charge your phone and so much more with this cool little pen

Why it matters to you

Plain old pens can be boring gifts, but the ChargeWrite is anything but — it’s also a powerbank, memory drive, stylus, and more.

You can’t just gift someone a pen these days. It has to be a pen that is also a camera that is also an app that will help you track how many steps you’ve taken. And while the ChargeWrite doesn’t quite check all those boxes, you can rest assured that it is no ordinary pen. With a built-in external 16GB flash memory drive and a powerbank charger, this pen is also a stylus, screen cleaner, powerbank, and storage drive.

The result of a collaboration between Montreal-based entrepreneurs Shaun Teblum and Rob Gold, the ChargeWrite seeks to solve two problems: One, having your phone die midday; and two, never having a pen when you need one (because despite the ubiquity of mobile devices, sometimes you need an actual writing utensils). Now you’ll never forget your pen at home, because your most prized possession (your phone) depends on it.

“It happens to the best of us, we rush through that important call, silently hoping the battery doesn’t die at the worst possible moment.” said Shaun Teblum, co-founder of ChargeWrite. “Whether you’re a student, or a professional, most of us need to give our phone a mid-afternoon boost, and ChargeWrite is an easy way to do that.”

More: Anker 5-port speed charger gives you fast power on the fly at a 67 percent discount

With two months left in its Indiegogo campaign, ChargeWrite has already garnered the support of nearly 500 backers, and has raised over $30,000, which is over 300 percent of its original goal. So what differentiates ChargeWrite from other charging devices? First off, it’s cable free — all the adapters needed to charge both the pen and your smartphone are built in. Further, this writing device features a universal smartphone tip, which means you can plug it into any iPhone lightning port or any Micro USB device, including Android phones. Moreover, the ChargeWrite is there when you need it, as it’s capable of holding its own full charge for over a month.

“We designed ChargeWrite to pack as much battery as possible, yet still be small enough to be comfortable to write with,” explains Teblum. “It’s packed with features, it’s easy to use, and it’s always there when you need it.”

Starting at just $29, ChargeWrite wants to fit any budget, and you can get yours here.