Scientists use big data to develop a ‘promising’ blood test for autism disorder

Why it matters to you

Scientists have used big data to develop an algorithm for diagnosing autism based on a blood test.

Scientists at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an algorithm that can accurately predict whether a child has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), based on a blood sample.

The study, published in the open journal PLOS One, represents the world’s first physiological test for autism, and potentially takes researchers one step closer to earlier autism diagnosis and new therapy developments.

More: Algorithm predicts autism diagnosis in young children with 81 percent accuracy

For the work, investigators measured 24 different metabolites in a blood sample, and then used big data techniques to find patterns tied to two connected pathways that have been theorized as being linked to ASD. By using big data, it was possible to establish patterns that may not otherwise have been discovered.

“Instead of looking at the metabolites one at a time, we were able to look at them altogether,” Professor Juergen Hahn, lead author and head of the Rensselaer Department of Biomedical Engineering, told Digital Trends. “By doing that, we were able to find that there is a difference between children who are on the a

When testing the algorithm, it was found to have an accuracy of more than 96 percent in correctly identifying neurotypical and ASD participants. Even with this being the case, Hahn stressed that more work has to be carried out before this can be considered as a clinical tool.

“We’ve shown that this worked extremely well on this one data from this one particular clinical study,” he said. “What we need to do next is to repeat it, as you’d have to do with any medical findings in order to establish credibility. It’s very promising, but that’s all it is for now.”

ASD affects around 1.5 percent of people, and is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how individuals communicate with other people and experience the world around them.

Scientists use big data to develop a ‘promising’ blood test for autism disorder

Why it matters to you

Scientists have used big data to develop an algorithm for diagnosing autism based on a blood test.

Scientists at New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an algorithm that can accurately predict whether a child has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), based on a blood sample.

The study, published in the open journal PLOS One, represents the world’s first physiological test for autism, and potentially takes researchers one step closer to earlier autism diagnosis and new therapy developments.

More: Algorithm predicts autism diagnosis in young children with 81 percent accuracy

For the work, investigators measured 24 different metabolites in a blood sample, and then used big data techniques to find patterns tied to two connected pathways that have been theorized as being linked to ASD. By using big data, it was possible to establish patterns that may not otherwise have been discovered.

“Instead of looking at the metabolites one at a time, we were able to look at them altogether,” Professor Juergen Hahn, lead author and head of the Rensselaer Department of Biomedical Engineering, told Digital Trends. “By doing that, we were able to find that there is a difference between children who are on the a

When testing the algorithm, it was found to have an accuracy of more than 96 percent in correctly identifying neurotypical and ASD participants. Even with this being the case, Hahn stressed that more work has to be carried out before this can be considered as a clinical tool.

“We’ve shown that this worked extremely well on this one data from this one particular clinical study,” he said. “What we need to do next is to repeat it, as you’d have to do with any medical findings in order to establish credibility. It’s very promising, but that’s all it is for now.”

ASD affects around 1.5 percent of people, and is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how individuals communicate with other people and experience the world around them.

Swarovski is indefinitely postponing the launch of its ‘smartwatch for women’

Why it matters to you

Swarovski’s female-focused smartwatch is staying on the shelf for now, and we have no idea how long it will be there.

We’ve been waiting for a smartwatch from Swarovski for some time now, but it looks like we may have to wait a little longer — the company has announced that it is indefinitely postponing the release of its “smartwatch for her.”

The news is a little frustrating. The Swarovski smartwatch was first announced at CES 2017, and at the time was being pitched as a smartwatch specifically for women. It was long expected that we would see the device officially unveiled at watch and jewelry show Baselworld 2017, but now there’s no expected date.

More: Huawei Watch 2 Sport vs. Huawei Watch 2 Classic: Which one is right for you?

“Swarovski has decided to postpone its smart device initiative and will not present new smart device products at Baselworld 2017. Swarovski is simply not ready yet. We cannot yet make any statement regarding the timing of the launch,” said the company in a statement to Wareable.

When the watch is finally launched, it will most likely be an Android Wear device with a Qualcomm chip — as Swarovski first announced the existence of a device through a partnership with the two companies.

Qualcomm and Swarovski offered a teaser of the announcement at CES 2017, and what we know at this point is that the smartwatch will pack a Qualcomm processor. While it’s Swarovski’s first smartwatch, the company has collaborated with Misfit and Huawei in the past on devices such as the Huawei Watch Ladies. It looks like Swarovski will continue to target women with the watch, as it does with most of its products.

This year is a big one for Android Wear due to the anticipated release of Android Wear 2.0, which will feature a major revamp of the operating system. Hardly any Android Wear watches were released in 2016, and the smartwatch market in general is in decline. But Google is optimistic and is expected to release its own smartwatches this year alongside the launch of 2.0. We can expect to see more smartwatches with 2.0 from other manufacturers in the coming months as well.

More: Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 is tailor-made for VR and superfast charging

Android Wear 2.0 features stand-alone apps that do not require the phone to be connected, access to the Google Play Store, support for NFC payments and Android Pay, Assistant integration on select devices, and more.

We’ll update this article as we hear more about the Swarovski smartwatch.

Updated on 03-20-2017 by Christian de Looper: Added news that Swarovski indefinitely postponed smartwatch launch.

AMD found the root problem causing its new Ryzen processors to freeze desktops

Why it matters to you

AMD’s upcoming fix should alleviate any possible system hang caused by Ryzen processors and the FMA3 microprocessor instruction set.

AMD confirmed with Digital Trends on Monday that the company discovered why FMA3 code is causing system hangs on PCs using a new Ryzen desktop processor. Although AMD didn’t provide a detailed report on the problem’s root cause, the company said that BIOS changes will be distributed to motherboard manufacturers to resolve the issue. Customers are encouraged to keep an eye on their motherboard vendor’s website for an update.

“We are aware of select instances where FMA code can result in a system hang,” the company said. “We have identified the root cause.”

AMD released three Ryzen-branded desktop processors at the beginning of March that plug into motherboards based on AMD’s new AM4 socket. The trio of processors include the Ryzen 7 1800X, the Ryzen 7 1700X, and the Ryzen 7 1700. However, all three reportedly cause a hard system lock when running certain FMA3 workloads. The problem was replicated across all three processors and a variety of motherboards.

More: AMD rumored to be working on a 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen CPU due later this year

The first sign of trouble appeared in the open-source processor benchmark Flops (v2) by Alexander “Mystical” Yee. This simple program provides separate versions supporting specific processor architectures, such as Intel’s Haswell, Skylake, and so on. But because the author has yet to upload a version for AMD’s new Zen architecture used in the Ryzen chips, the Haswell-specific binary is the version of choice for testing Ryzen … at least, for now.

Using the Haswell binary is important because it supports the Fused Multiply-Add (FMA) microprocessor instruction set, which is also supported by AMD’s Ryzen processors. The short description of FMA is that the processor can compute A+BxC in one step before rounding the final result. The “unfused” method involves BxC first, rounding the number, adding that to A, and rounding the final result.

However, Ryzen’s issue with FMA3 isn’t locked to the Flops benchmark. Simple apps with basic user privileges can crash a Ryzen-based machine. Even more, code using FMA3 could be executed on virtual machines running on AMD’s upcoming Zen-based “Naples” processors for the enterprise. Thus, finding the FMA3 issue in Flops now saved AMD and corporations from a lot of headache stemming from the security implications alone at the launch of Naples.

“Don’t be fooled by the Haswell binary,” Yee said on HWBOT. “The benchmark is five years old and I’ve largely neglected it for the last three. So I haven’t updated it for Zen yet. Any processor will be able to run any of the binaries if it supports the underlying instruction sets. If it doesn’t, the program merely crashes with an ‘illegal instruction.’ Under no circumstances should a user-mode application be able to bring down an entire system.”

The multiple tests conducted to confirm the FMA3 problem relied on Ryzen CPUs running at their stock speeds. Zee also benchmarked each thread (ordered instruction sequence), and managed to freeze the PC each time no matter what processor core he used.

Microsoft Edge browser fails to fend off five attacks at Pwn2Own hacking event

Why it matters to you

If you’re using Microsoft’s Edge browser, then you could be opening yourself up for attack if successful hacks at the Pwn2Own’s event are any guide.

One of the premier hacking contests is Pwn2Own, where security teams get together and see if they can break into the leading operating systems and web browsers. The 2017 version of Pwn2Own is now in the past, and Microsoft’s Edge is the loser.

Edge is an important browser for Microsoft, representing the next generation of Windows web browser that’s intended to take over from Internet Explorer. Microsoft has touted Edge as safer than Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox, but Pwn2Own has thrown that assertion into doubt, as Tom’s Hardware reports.

More: Hackers take over Touch Bar at this year’s Pwn2Own contest

At last year’s event, Chrome took home the prize by only suffering from one partial hack. Edge was in second place with two hacks, which edged out (no pun intended) both Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer and Safari. This year, on the other hand, Edge was hacked a full five times, due to a number of vulnerabilities in systems ranging from the Chakra Javascript engine to a bug in the Windows kernel.

By far the worst hack, however, was an exploit by the 360 Security team that actually managed to escape a virtual machine and attack its host, which had never happened at Pwn2Own. This kind of attack is particularly troublesome, given that one of the very reasons for running a virtual machine is to sandbox an environment and keep host machines safe.

The 360 Security team netted a cool $105,000 for the exploit. Other prizes included $80,000 for Team Ether’s Chakra exploit and $55,000 for Team Lance’s Windows kernel elevation hack. Of all the browsers, Edge was the most lucrative in terms of money awarded.

Safari was a bit more secure than Edge, with three hacks including one that provided root access to MacOS. Firefox made its way back to Pwn2Own after a yearlong hiatus, and its newly implemented sandbox technology helped it take second place with just two successful hacks. Chrome was again the event’s most secure browser, without a single successful hack against it and only one attempt.

While Pwn2Own doesn’t make any real attempt at fairness by ensuring that every browser is attacked an equal number of times, it’s obvious that Microsoft still has some work to do with Edge. Given its prominence in Windows 10, and the company’s commitment to making its latest OS the most dominant desktop environment ever, Edge needs to live up to Microsoft’s billing as the safest browser if it’s going to gain in market share.

Here’s our best view yet of the Galaxy S8

Front to back, this is the best view of the Galaxy S8 so far.

Well, this is it: without seeing a leaked hands-on video with the device, this is about as good a perspective as you’re going to get of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Courtesy of Evan Blass, here is a series of Galaxy S8 renders (altered slightly by us) giving us a view of both the front and back of the upcoming flagship phone in two colors: black, and silver. It appears that the silver version has a black front face, along with metal sides that match the hue of the rear, while the all-black version maintains the “murdered out” aesthetic that debuted with the Galaxy Note 7 (and was subsequently released on the Galaxy S7).

The leak appears to be sourced from the same place as a previous one, but this time we have the matching rear view to round things out.

We also know, thanks to that previous leak, that the Galaxy S8 will likely debut in Europe at 799€, while the larger Galaxy S8+ will come in at 899€. You can expect a similar breakdown in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

• Latest Galaxy S8 rumors!
• Galaxy S8 announcement coming March 29 in NYC
• Galaxy S8 release date set for April 28
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

8 Important Considerations When Switching To An MVNO

Before you make the switch you need to think about a few things.

Having good cellular service has become an important thing for most people. We use our phones for everything from keeping in touch to keeping entertained when we have a few quiet moments. It’s pretty great that we have such powerful machines in our pockets and nobody is happy when their service lets them down. That’s why it’s worth taking your time and checking out a few things before you switch carriers.

This can be especially important when switching to a prepaid alternative carrier, also known as an MVNO. Because they aren’t the ones installing new facilities and building out the physical networks they operate on, they sometimes have to do things a little differently. These differences usually mean the service is cheaper every month, but it can also pose a few problems if you haven’t done your homework before you made the switch.

What is an alternative carrier?

That’s what we’re here for! Android phones and the service that powers them is our job and our hobby. We love to get in the mix and try things like switching away from the Big Four as much as we like writing about it. With that in mind, here are some things you need to think about when you’re ready to switch to an MVNO as your new carrier.

Picking the carrier that works where you need it to

This needs to be the first thing you look at. MVNOs have the luxury of using the networks the Big Four have rolled out, and we all know that not everyone has equal coverage on every carrier.

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One of the best things you can do is talk to people you know and see what service they are using. If you hear a lot of praise for one particular carrier and complaints about another, you have a good starting point when it comes to picking the right MVNO. You can also check out the carrier coverage maps.

• AT&T’s U.S. coverage map
• Sprint’s U.S. coverage map
• T-Mobile’s U.S. coverage map
• Verizon’s U.S. coverage map

You need to make sure you know what you’re looking at here. Nobody is trying to deceive you but they all want their map to look as good as it can. On each of the coverage map sites, you’ll find some controls to filter the different types of coverage that are being shown. Make sure to have a look and compare the voice calling maps to the data connection maps, and make sure you are filtering to see the high-speed data coverage. And definitely make sure you’re not looking at “partner” or roaming maps, as many MVNO carriers don’t support that part of their parent carrier’s coverage.

Finally, be cautious if you need to use your phone in areas on the fringe or edge of coverage maps. The maps are never exact, and if the map tells you service will degrade just a few blocks from where you need to be covered, you might not get service at all. These maps should be considered as a good estimate rather than any sort of exact science.

Match your phone with the right network

One of the best parts about using an MVNO is that you can save even more money by using the phone you already paid for. As long as your phone works on at least one of the Big Four carriers in the U.S. there’s an MVNO that offers great service for you.

It’s not that difficult to make sure the MVNO you want to use supports the phone you already have. If you’re up on all the technical jargon you can check the radio bands on your phone against the radio bands listed on every alternative carrier’s website. You’ll usually find these on the FAQ portion and if they match you’re in business.

If you don’t want to get bogged down in frequency numbers and all the different network bands, sites like WillMyPhoneWork can tell you if your phone is compatible with most any network worldwide.

We’ve built a list of popular MVNO carriers and which networks they operate on that can answer many of your questions right away!

How to make sure your phone works on a prepaid alternative carrier

You might need to get your phone unlocked

Most phones will need to be SIM unlocked before they can be used on another carrier. This has nothing to do with your phone’s security (that’s a different type of unlocking) and only lets your phone accept programming for a new network. Carriers have their phones SIM locked as a way to cut down on equipment loss — a locked phone only works on the carrier who locked it, and only as long as you’re making the payments.

SIM unlocking won’t affect your phones security.

In the U.S. carriers are required to unlock a phone once it’s paid for. Most will also unlock a phone after you’ve been a customer for a while as a show of good faith. You can get your phone unlocked by the carrier by making a phone call or going into a store. Customer service will be happy to help you provided you’ve met any obligations they require. Because of some rules for using the frequency Verizon uses for 4G service, they are required to sell all their phones unlocked.

Getting your phone SIM unlocked is easy

There are also third-party unlocking services that will send you a code to unlock your phone. If you go this route, be sure to do a quick web search on the company to make sure they have decent customer feedback. Getting your phone unlocked by a third party is exactly the same as having a carrier do it; once the code is entered you’re good and can use a phone on any compatible network.

Know how much data you need

Most of us don’t need unlimited data. The Big Four have brought back unlimited plans for the people who do need them, and we think that’s great! But if you’re not someone who needs a ton of data every month you’re probably overpaying if you sign up for one of them.

You can check how much data you’ve used recently pretty easily. Your phone has a setting in the Wireless and networks section that tells you how much you have used in the past 30 days, but it’s a good idea to get a bigger sample size here. At your carrier’s website you should find a statement for the past few months that will show how much data each phone number on the account used. Get an average for the past couple of months, then add 1GB to it for a “just in case” bumper.

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Take this number and look at the MVNO you’re considering. Chances are there is a plan that will cover what you need. The best part? You don’t have a contract and can adjust things next month if you need to!

Android Nougat gives you a great way to keep your data usage in check

What happens if you use all of your data for the month?

Life isn’t static. Even with careful planning you might have a month where you had to use more data than you budgeted. It’s important to know what happens and how you can add more data on a temporary basis.

Most every MVNO will sell “extra” data in 1GB increments. It’s usually a little more than it would be if it were bundled into a pre-packged plan, but it won’t be outrageous. Most companies charge about $10 per GB.

Buying extra data is always easy, but make sure you know how to do it before you need it.

What you need to do is check how you can add it right from your phone, so when you’re close to using your allotted amount you can tap a few buttons and fill up your data bucket. You’ll find this information on the company’s website along with any other services they offer, such as international roaming or auto-refilling.

This is important because MVNOs aren’t like the Big Four, and won’t keep you connected then charge you overage fees (the good part) and instead usually cut you off completely once you’ve used all you have paid for (the bad part). Don’t get stuck with no data and no way to buy more!

Some things cost extra or are not available

Wireless carriers can be strict about what they allow on their networks, and MVNOs are no different. Their business model — buy wireless service in bulk and resell with no frills — means they will have some restrictions on what you can and can’t do, like tethering your phone or using your phone to call and text with someone outside of the U.S.

Chances are none of us are planning to run a server from our phone, but if you want to tether a laptop or tablet through your phone once in a while or call and text relatives in Mexico, you need to know the rules so you know what to expect. Many MVNOs will have simple and cost effective add-ons you can apply if you need more than just the basic service.

Just take the time to read the terms and see what you can and can’t do while using the service. If you’re unsure of anything you see, call or chat with a sales rep through the website and get squared away.

Advanced features may not work

Many of us have phones that support things like HD voice calls (VoLTE) or Wi-Fi calling. They’re nice features if you use them regularly, but most of the time they are very phone and network specific. An MVNO may not have them at all, or you may need phones designed to run on a specific carrier to use them.

Advanced calling features require very specific phones.

This works the same way for the Big Four. If you want Verizon’s HD Voice, for example, you’ll need to have a phone that says Verizon on the back because it was built to the carrier’s specs to use the service. Because most MVNOs don’t sell phones under their own brand, you’ll have to investigate if any of the features they offer need a specific brand of phone.

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Mint SIM offers Wi-Fi calling, and it works really well — as long as you have a phone that supports T-Mobile’s Wi-Fi calling feature. Verizon offers its own Wi-Fi calling but it’s not supported on Mint SIM. Most phones that support Wi-Fi calling are built to work on both networks so you’re OK with either a Verizon or T-Mobile phone, but not a Sprint or an AT&T phone. It can be a little confusing even to smartphone veterans!

You don’t need any of these extras to have good, cheap cellular service. That’s the best part. But if you see something you don’t understand, you can drop a question in the comments and someone can help give you an answer.

Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Prioritization is a thing

Prioritization means a carrier like T-Mobile identifies which phones using the network are doing it through an MVNO and gives priority to their direct customers. Only a certain number of phones can be connected to a cell tower at a time, and we’re always switching on and off to make sure everyone has a turn. We’ve all probably been somewhere that a lot of people were using their phones and the service got really slow — that’s because the lines to get your turn were long and you noticed the wait time.

When things get extreme, MVNO customers can experience even slower service because direct customers are given priority. I use MVNO carriers almost exclusively because I love the value they offer. But I do get to see prioritization in action every year on The Mall in Washington, D.C. during the annual July Fourth celebration. There are three-quarters of a million people jammed into a four block area, and we’re all on our phones. Folks who pay AT&T (for example) directly for service have very poor service. People like me using an MVNO have practically no service.

There’s nothing you can do about this, and no secret hack you see on the internet is going to work. It just happens when there are way too many people using just a few towers. The rest of the year I get the same service I would have from one of the Big Four at a much lower price.

Bonus number 9 thing!

You’re going to have extra money every month. You’ll have the service you are used to in most every way, but it costs a lot less and you only have to pay for the amount you’ll need. Some MVNOs only charge you for the exact amount you use!

Saving enough for a nice night on the town because you switched phone companies is a great feeling. You’ll love it.

Is Facebook going to show off new hardware products at F8 in April?

Facebook might debut new hardware as early as next month.

Business Insider has reported that Building 8, a year-old unit at Facebook, is working on “at least four unannounced consumer hardware products”, and it suggested more details about these hardware products might be shared at the social network’s annual F8 developers conference, which is slated to be held from 18 April to 19 April at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.

When Facebook launched Building 8 last April, there were several unanswered questions about what it is developing and when we would see the first products. Now, Business Insider’s lengthy piece is speculating about not only what it’s creating, but when we might get to see it. There’s been whispers about brain scanning, drone-related hires, augmented reality, and even an “early-stage medical device”.

• Facebook F8 (2016) explained: Everything you need to know

Ex-Googler Regina Dugan heads up Building 8 and recently teased that new hardware advances could allow people who are far away to connect. Her words made many wonder if Facebook had dreamed up a augmented reality system that lets you interact with friends remotely. Facebook hasn’t confirmed any of these reports, however, so everything amounts to just rumours at this point.

But it looks like we might know more in a matter of weeks.

• Facebook Friends Day: What is it and how do those cheesy videos work?
• Facebook is making a set-top box video app for premium TV content
• Mark Zuckerberg shows off his ‘Jarvis’ home AI in three cute videos
• Facebook Workplace: How does it work and when can you use it?

Instagram now lets you save live videos: Here’s how to do it

Instagram began letting users stream live videos last year, but it didn’t let them save broadcasts.

But the app has now updated, finally allowing users to download broadcasts to their phones once they’ve concluded. Twitter’s Periscope and even Facebook’s own Live have long let users save videos, so this new update helps brings Instagram’s Live Videos more in line with them. Live videos will continue to disappear from the app when you’re done – only now you can hold onto your video and re-watch it later.

• Finally! You can now save Instagram posts to revisit later – here’s how
• Instagram will let you turn off comments on posts – here’s how
• Instagram now notifies you if someone takes a screenshot

Here’s how the new feature works.

How to save Instagram Live Videos

Start a live video

• Tap the Camera icon in the top left of the screen.
• Then, tap Live at the bottom of the screen, then tap Start Live Video.

Save a live video

• After your live broadcast ends, tap Save in the upper right corner.
• After saving, tap Done. Your live video will then be saved to your camera roll.

It may take a minute for a live video to save to your phone, especially for longer videos. Also, you’ll only be able to save video – not comments, likes, or any interactions, and your live video will no longer be available in Instagram.

When will Live Video saves be available?

The ability to save Instagram Live Videos is rolling out now, with in the latest version of Instagram for iOS and Android.

Want to know more?

Check out Instagram’s blog post and Help hub for more information.

Apple might add Snapchat-like AR features to next iPhone camera

Apple has suggested in the past that it is exploring augmented reality, and now a new report has detailed what that might entail.

Echoing previous reports, Bloomberg said Apple is working on augmented-reality glasses, but it also said Apple plans to integrate augmented reality features into the next iPhone. Apple is developing ways to take a picture and then change the depth of image or specific objects in the picture later. It’s also figuring out ways to isolate an object in the image and allow it to be tilted 180 degrees.

Another feature in development would use augmented reality to place virtual effects on a person, kind of like Snapchat Lenses. The company reportedly has “hundreds of engineers” working on these augmented reality technologies, including talent that came from Microsoft’s HoloLens team and Facebook-owned Oculus. Keep in mind the next iPhone is thought to have a “revolutionary” camera.

• 16 Snapchat tips and tricks you probably had no clue about
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus review: Big changes from the big iPhone

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo described the camera as such and said it would feature an infrared projector and receiver, which would allow it to act like Microsoft’s Kinect as well as offer depth sensing and 3D mapping. And if you had any doubts about whether all this will come to fruition, remember that Tim Cook has hinted that Apple thinks augmented reality will be bigger than virtual reality.

See Pocket-lint’s iPhone 8 rumour round-up for more details about what the next iPhone may feature.