Nintendo will close its Wii Shop Channel in 2019

A month after Nintendo launched the Wii in November 2006, the company introduced the Wii Shop Channel, a marketplace for downloading apps to the system. Over a decade and two console generations later, Nintendo is shutting it down…eventually. Today, the company gave notice that users won’t be able to add points to their Wii Shop accounts after March 26th, 2018, and won’t be able to purchase on the channel beyond January 31st, 2019.

That includes all Wii Shop services, including the purchase of WiiWare, Virtual Console games, downloading Wii Channels and, crucially, the Wii U Transfer Tool. You’ll still be able to redownload WiiWare and Virtual Console software that you’ve already bought, but Nintendo noted in its press release that this won’t be possible once they completely shut down the Wii Shop channel at an undisclosed date in 2019 — so buy, redownload and transfer your software from Wii to Wii U before then.

Frankly, it’s amazing that Nintendo’s kept the Wii Shop channel alive this long. It started sunsetting the aging console’s channels back in 2013, then killed the system’s WiFi multiplayer in 2014. The shutdown will be a sad day for the remaining Wii contingent, but at least Nintendo is starting to release classic titles for the Switch, even if they aren’t the full Virtual Console experience everyone has wanted.

Via: Gamespot

Source: Nintendo

Long-delayed Thirty Meter Telescope gets the go-ahead, for now

Building the world’s largest telescope has proven to be even more difficult than one might expect. The Thirty Meter Telescope, which has been planned for construction atop of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, has hit a number of snags, but it got a major approval this week. The state’s land board granted the project construction approval in a 5-2 vote, but those that have challenged it from the beginning plan to keep fighting.

The telescope’s construction was initially approved in 2011, but protesters who were against the project from the get go due to the sacred grounds it’s planned to be built on blocked construction attempts numerous times. The project’s website was even hacked in 2015. However, the state’s supreme court nullified the project’s permit in December of 2015 because it had been granted without giving the opposition a chance to officially air their concerns.

The Thirty Meter Telescope stands to give us a deeper view into the universe than we’ve been able to achieve before. It would be three times wider than the current largest visible-light telescope and have a resolution over ten times better than the Hubble Space Telescope’s. Mauna Kea was selected because it offers clear views for the majority of the year with very limited light and air pollution. It’s so ideal, there are already 13 telescopes built on it.

The Associated Press reports that the new permit stipulates the project’s employees must commit to cultural and natural resources training and adhere to strict environmental regulations. Local residents must also be hired for jobs generated by the project “to the greatest extent possible.”

But for many, those requirements aren’t enough to justify continued loss of sacred land. Protest leader Kahookahi Kanuha said, “For the Hawaiian people, I have a message: This is our time to rise as a people. This is our time to take back all of the things that we know are ours. All the things that were illegally taken from us.”

Via: Earther

Source: Associated Press

Why buy the cow when you can biofabricate the milk for free?

Thought to have been Lord Krishna’s favorite animal, the cow has achieved a uniquely sacred status in India. Their slaughter is prohibited through most of the country, beef consumption is largely outlawed as well and woe be the unlucky soul accused of breaking those taboos. In the US, however, that’s not the case. We Americans love our cows. We love them so much that we ate a whopping 25.668 billion pounds of beef in 2016, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. There are 93.5 million heads of cattle in this country, but thanks to emerging biofabrication technologies, they could soon be as safe from the slaughterhouse as the cows of Delhi.

The issues commonly raised against modern cattle farming are not just the matter of the near genocidal numbers of bovines that are led to slaughter each year to feed America’s need for red meat but that the cattle business in general is an environmentally-intensive industry.

“The livestock industry is changing really rapidly in this country and elsewhere,” Walter Falcon, deputy director of Stanford’s Program on Food Security and the Environment, said in 2011. He points out that many of the smaller family farms have steadily conglomerated into huge factory farms over the past four decades. This has exasperated the effects of each farm’s impact on the environment. “Issues, like runoff and odor… have now become concentrated and significant,” he said.

More than two-thirds of the world’s available agricultural land is used for livestock production with just 8 percent being used for directly-consumable foods like grains and vegetables, per a study from the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative. The LEAD study also found that meat production accounts for 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and 37 percent of methane emissions. But what if we could still get all the milk, meat and leather we want, without needing to raise a single steer?

Take Real Vegan Cheese, for example. Unlike the wide array of dairyless cheese substitutes that you can find on grocers shelves, RVC uses real cow’s milk — just, no real cows. This project, a collaboration of more than two dozen researchers and citizen scientists, instead leverages genetically-modified baker’s yeast to produce milk proteins.

The process is surprisingly simple. It’s the same CRISPR-based technology that enabled this reporter to make antibiotic-resistant e. Coli and for his boss to make glow-in-the-dark beer. It’s also quite similar to how the medical community has leveraged yeast colonies to produce everything from vaccines to human insulin for years.

After identifying the genes responsible for milk protein production, they’re spliced into living yeast cells. As the cells culture, they produce the milk proteins which can then be separated out from the yeast. Interestingly, though the proteins themselves are produced by a GMO (genetically modified organism), the cheese itself is not considered GMO since the yeast is not incorporated into the final product. In order to make that, the proteins are mixed with vegetable butter (for fats), vegan sugar (a lactose stand-in) and water. This creates vegan milk which can be turned into cheese the same way its bovine-sourced relative has for thousands of years.

RVC isn’t the only group trying to corner the animal-free milk and cheese markets. Berkeley-based Perfect Day has been working to create vegan cheese since 2014. Their system uses a dairy yeast modified to produce proteins like casein, a major component of cow’s milk and cheese. Once there’s a sufficient quantity of protein, it’s mixed with plant-based fats, vitamins, minerals, and sugars to create vegan milk. Perfect Day told Fast Company last year that it expects its first product to be a cheese or yogurt concoction and will likely have it to market by the end of 2017.

The company figures that it can produce the same amount of milk and cheese as a conventional dairy while using 98 percent less water, 91 percent less land, and 100 percent less cows. That translates into an 84 percent smaller carbon footprint than traditional milk production, according to the organization’s website.

“We’re not going to call it milk,” CEO Ryan Pandya told Fast Company. “Because it’s way more than that. We would be selling ourselves short if we just called it milk and we dropped the mic and walked away,”. No matter what they end up calling it, the company will also need to discuss the matter with the FDA regarding safety testing and labelling requirements.

Yeast cultures can make more than milk proteins, mind you. The New York-based startup, Modern Meadow has managed to cajole the fungi into creating collagen as well. You know, the stuff that leather’s made from.

A traditional leather tannery, Morocco

The traditional method of making leather is a rather noxious process. First, the pelt is soaked in brine or packed in salt to extract moisture. Then a mixture of calcium hydroxide (milk of lime) and sodium sulfide is applied to remove hair, grease, fats and certain proteins ahead of the actual tanning process. The skin is then submerged in a highly acidic bath and Chromium(III) sulfate is introduced. The chromium penetrates the skin and causes the individual collagen molecules to “cross-link” with one another, effectively stabilizing the material and keeping it from decaying over time or shrinking when exposed to heat.

The process can be toxic, to say the least. The wastewater left over from the tanning process is often contaminated with chromium(III), lead, anthracene, formaldehyde and arsenic. What’s more, if chromium(III) is heated too much, it can oxidize into the highly carcinogenic form of chromium(VI), also known hexavalent chromium. The environmental effects of these chemicals can be mitigated to a degree through responsible waste management. However, in many developing nations, such environmental protection laws are either nonexistent or poorly enforced.

Modern Meadow’s method, on the other hand, eliminates the need for skin scraping, salting and liming. These proteins group into the conventional triple helix collagen molecule and, in turn, clump into collagen fibrils. Modern Meadow then employs a proprietary process to arrange the fibers into sheets which can be tanned to create leather. Not only does this produce uniform-quality skins without the nicks or scars one would find on a normal cowhide, it drastically reduces the environmental impact of the leather fabrication process.

A close-up of Modern Meadow’s leather

Milk and leather aren’t the only cow products that are being eyed for replacement. Bovine-based burgers could soon be on the chopping block as well. Remember Hampton Creek, the Silicon Valley-based science startup that sold vegan mayonnaise until Target pulled the product over safety concerns? The company announced in June that it is working to put lab-grown meat on American tables by 2018. That’s three years before San Francisco-based startup, Memphis Meats, is expected to get its product to market. That seems a bit over-aspiring, especially given the company’s past issues with food safety, Hampton Creek appears confident that it will meet its deadlines. “It’s an ambitious goal for sure, but yes, with the right resources, it should be achievable,” Bruce Friedlich, executive director of the Good Food Institute, a food tech non-profit working with the company, told Business Insider.

This is an incredibly rapid pace of progress given that the first lab-grown burger wasn’t created until 2013. That 5-ounce patty cost a jaw dropping $325,000. Today, lab-grown meat runs just over $11 a pound — that’s 30,000 times cheaper than in 2013 but still around 3 to 4 times as expensive as regular ground chuck, according to ABC News. In Memphis Meat’s case, the meat is grown in a bioreactor (essentially, a climate controlled fermentation vat) that has been seeded with stem cells, which will be coaxed into forming muscle tissue, as well as the nutrients necessary to nurture their growth. There are a couple of challenges with this setup, however. For one, the meat has to be grown in very thin strips to ensure that they remain sufficiently oxygenated. This slows the pace of production. For another, those cells have to be bathed in fetal bovine serum which, you guessed it, has to be extracted from fetal cows. This stuff is basically what remains from fetal cow’s blood after you centrifuge out all of the red blood cells. It’s typically used as a nutritional supplement for cell cultures (as it is in this case). But not only is this stuff insanely expensive, it’s ethically repugnant to people looking to eat cruelty-free and negates the meat’s entire “animal-free” premise.

Announcing the world’s first chicken and duck made without the animals. #cleanmeat #memphismeats #futureoffood #food #chicken #duck #friedchicken #southernfriedchicken #meat #yum

A post shared by Memphis Meats (@memphismeats) on Mar 16, 2017 at 9:17am PDT

Other companies have foregone the meat-based approach entirely and simply set about fooling our tastebuds into thinking it’s beef. The Impossible Burger, from San Francisco-based Impossible Foods, is very much a veggie burger. It’s made from a mix of wheat, coconut oil, and potatoes as well as heme.

Heme is an iron-containing compound that helps red blood cells transport oxygen. It’s abundant in animal muscle and can be found in plants as well. Impossible Foods managed to extract and ferment the heme from plants. By adding it to their patties, the heme provides the sizzle, color and “bleeding” effect that the American people have come to expect from their burgers. Compared to the real thing, the company estimates that it uses 5 percent of the land, 25 percent of the water, and produces 12 percent of the carbon emissions that would take to produce a conventional burger. However, given that the patty is sold in just 10 states currently, the comparative scale of those benefits versus what it takes to produce conventional beef burgers is negligible.

Clearly, cattle are only the start. In addition to beef, Memphis Meats recently unveiled its animal-free duck and chicken, and is working on bio-fabricating pork. What’s more, Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest meat producers announced last December that it too is jumping into the animal-free meat game with an investment in plant-based meat maker, Beyond Meat, as well as launching a venture capital fund focused on sustainable food products. It will likely still be a couple of decades before these foods are commercially viable but given how quickly the human population is increasing (and how quickly the planet’s temperature is rising), a more efficient means of feeding the world can’t come soon enough.

‘Mario Bros.’ is The Switch’s first classic game

Nintendo has added the first classic game you can buy on the Switch Eshop: The original Mario Bros (the arcade game, not the NES platformer). The title was announced during Nintendo Direct earlier this month as the first of several quarter crunchers headed to the Switch. It’s not be the Virtual Console that Nintendo fans have wanted on the company’s flagship system, but it’s something.

The original arcade Mario Bros. features the titular brothers hopping around an unchanging screen as monsters pop out of sideways pipes. One or two players can grab a Joy Con each to control Mario and Luigi, respectively. Remember that you couldn’t hop on Goombas to kill them in this version: You’ve got to punch the ground from underneath enemies to flip them, then boot them before they get back on their feet.

Technically, Nintendo didn’t bring it back — you can thank Hamster, the same developer that’s been resurrecting Neo Geo titles under the ‘Arcade Archives’ banner on other consoles for years. You can snag Mario Bros for $8 in the Switch Eshop. As Gamespot points out, we saw other arcade classics in this month’s Nintendo Direct that’ll be coming to the Switch, including Vs. Super Mario Bros., Vs. Balloon Fight, Vs. Ice Climber, Vs. Pinball, and Vs. Clu Clu Land.

Via: GameSpot

Source: Switch Eshop

Uber offers basic sign language tips so you can talk to deaf drivers

Back in 2015, Uber added some features for drivers who were deaf and hard of hearing, including visual notifications of impending rides. Today, as a wrap-up for National Deaf Awareness Month, Uber has updated its main app to teach riders how to sign basic phrases like “hello” and “thank you” for drivers with hearing impairments.

When you’re using the Uber app to hail a ride, you’ll now see a special card in your feed. Tapping it will show you some screens where you can select the phrases you want to learn. You can even learn how to spell out your name. Once you do so, you’ll get a gif with the words you typed in so you can spell them out in American Sign Language. It seems like a great way to foster positive interactions with drivers who experience hearing impairments.

Uber isn’t the only ride sharing company to focus on drivers who are deaf. Lyft’s dashboard display was updated in April to support accessibility. The gadget was also just updated with a new “flash-on request” for Lyft drivers that will light up their sign along with their phone’s screen and flash.

“Actions mean more than words,” writes Uber on its announcement page, “and we’re excited to create new and meaningful ways for people to earn money and connect, regardless of how they communicate. We hope this small update will contribute to a much larger conversation between riders and drivers around the world.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Uber

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a MyMe Unity Case System With Stand for Your iPhone

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with MyMe Unity to give MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company’s Unity case systems with a Unity Case for your iPhone, a Cradle to use as an accompanying stand, and a matching cable for charging.

The Unity Case offers dual-layer protection with an inner silicone case and an outer shell, for superior impact resistance. It comes in a range of stylish two-tone color options, has a raised bezel for screen and camera protection, and it ships with a screen protector for the display for complete device safety.

A strong magnet is built into the center of the Unity Case’s outer shell, allowing it to attach to metal surfaces like a refrigerator. It ships with two Metal Mounting Plates that can be placed anywhere in your house or car to mount your phone for hands-free access.

The Unity Case is priced at $25 and is available for the iPhone 5 and later, and the cases for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus also work with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. It’s not clear, though, if these interfere with wireless charging.

In addition to attaching to anything metal, the Unity Case pairs with the Unity Smart Cradle, which attaches to the case with a metal ball joint that allows the case to be positioned in any orientation and at several angles.

The Cradle, priced at $12-$24, comes in a range of colors and styles to match the cases and it can be placed on flat surfaces or surfaces like car windshields and mirrors. There are also Cradle and Unity Case bundles available for $35, a discounted bundle price.

MyMe Unity also offers a $20 5-ft tangle-free magnetic Lightning cable that goes along with the whole Unity setup. It has a magnet at the top to allow it to attach to the cradle when not in use, keeping it within reach at all times.

The whole Case, Cradle, and Cable setup costs about $60, making it more affordable than some standalone case and mount options. We have 10 Case, Cradle, and Cable bundles to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winner and send the prize. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (September 29) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 6. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 6 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tag: giveaway
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TouchArcade iOS Gaming Roundup: Flower, Modern Combat Versus, Inside, and More

It’s been another busy week in the world of iOS gaming, so let’s hop right into it: As usual, we’ve had our eyes closely on the “Updates” page of the App Store looking for 32-bit favorites to reemerge as 64-bit titles. The Mikey Shorts Trilogy, the majority of the Radiangames library, and Dragon Fantasy all finally made their way to 64-bit.

Any of these games are effortless recommendations, particularly as they’re from the good ol’ days of the App Store before freemium shenanigans took over. Dragon Fantasy is particularly good if you’re looking for a modern spin on retro RPGs. It hit the App Store back in 2011 and since has been ported to Vita, 3DS, Android, and PC.

The most unexpected surprise of the week, without question, was Annapurna dropping Flower onto the App Store. It’s by Thatgamecompany, who is also responsible for the upcoming game Sky that was teased back at the iPhone reveal keynote. One of the main reasons we’re super excited for Flower to hit the App Store is what it means for speculating on what other games of theirs might come in the future as it seems like the sky is the limit. I’d love it if Journey eventually made its way to iOS.

Modern Combat Versus also hit the App Store, which thematically speaking is the complete polar opposite of blowing petals around on the wind in Flower. Versus is an online team-based multiplayer shooter, set in a futuristic and gritty military environment.

Gameplay is sort of similar to titles like Overwatch or Team Fortress 2, but it’s on your iPhone. It has a Clash Royale-ish chest unlocking system to divvy out loot, and we’re really curious to get deeper into the game to see how much or how little these freemium shenanigans impact overall balance if you don’t empty your wallet.

Super Mario Run got a huge update, which not only comes packed with loads of new content, but the whole game unlock is on sale for $4.99, down from its original $9.99. Super Mario Run was pretty controversial in the TouchArcade community when it was first released as it wasn’t seen as a “real” Mario game, but given the constraints of virtual controls I think it’s definitely worth trying out if you still haven’t yet, regardless of whether or not you end up paying for it.

This week Blizard released the Blizzard Battle.net app, which basically just serves as a chat client for Battle.net. One thing I hadn’t realized which came out when we published this story is just how many people had Hearthstone on their phones specifically to communicate to their Blizzard game friends, even if they don’t play Hearthstone. If that describes you, well, you can now save gigs of space on your phone by deleting Hearthstone. (But, really, Hearthstone is great and you should really play it instead of deleting it.)

In other Blizzard news, rumors are flying surrounding a new mobile game that Blizzard is working on. A job posting recently appeared (which is now removed) where Blizzard was searching for a Unity mobile engineer to work on a unannounced “MMO RTS project.” Whether this is going to be an adaptation of their existing IP, or like Overwatch, a totally new Blizzard IP is totally up in the air. Given how well Hearthstone has done, it seems supremely inevitable that Blizzard will release something else on mobile though, whatever it turns out to be.

Limbo has been on the App Store for ages now, but Playdead just announced plans to bring its PC and console game Inside to both iOS and Switch. There isn’t a ton to go off of here aside from a vague announcement, but both Limbo and Inside have massive fan followings so we’re going to be watching this one closely.

Last, but not least, is a teaser for an upcoming puzzle game called Campfire Cooking. I absolutely love how developers on the App Store continue to find new ways to reinvent grid-based puzzles, and in this one you’re moving food around a grid that represents a campfire. Check out the trailer — it’s super clever, as “fire and food management” isn’t something I think I’d ever thought of for a puzzle game.

Those are the big stories this week, but as usual, if you’re into these sort of things be sure to head over to TouchArcade where we post this kind of stuff day in and day out.

Tag: TouchArcade gaming roundup
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Adobe Illustrator and InDesign Not Working Properly with macOS High Sierra

Adobe this week recommended customers using its Illustrator and InDesign software hold off from updating to the new macOS High Sierra operating system. Illustrator and InDesign have not been updated for High Sierra and there are some incompatibility issues that prevent the apps from working properly.

With Illustrator, users are seeing errors after upgrading to the new Apple File System. Illustrator pops up errors during installation, and, for already-installed software, there are problems with launching the app, opening a file, and creating a document. A separate problem leads to color management issues, while a third affects the rendering of Brushes, Live Corner widgets, and more.

While there are workarounds for the GPU issues in Illustrator, there is no fix for the problem with APFS. Adobe says its engineers are working on a complete solution for a future Illustrator CC update.

As for InDesign, the cursor appears as a pixelated box, also a problem with no current solution. Adobe engineers are working on a fix to correct the problem as soon as possible.

Adobe recommends customers test their software on a non-production partition to make sure the update is compatible with current hardware and drivers before committing to a macOS High Sierra install. The company also says customers may wish to remain on an older version of macOS until the issues are addressed in updates.

Following the release of a new Mac update, there are often problems with software for a few weeks as developers work to add in support for new features and address incompatibilities.

For other apps that have issues, take a look at our forums, where MacRumors readers have compiled a comprehensive list of apps that have bugs or are incompatible with the macOS High Sierra update.

Other major apps that don’t work properly right now include Autodesk AutoCAD 2017, Civilization V, DiskWarrior 5.0, Ulysses 3, 2Do, and Transmit Version 5, among others.

Also of note, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is no longer being updated and is not compatible with macOS High Sierra. Microsoft does not plan to add support for the High Sierra update.

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
Tag: Adobe
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How to Use Third-Party Integrations in macOS High Sierra to Make Photo Projects

macOS High Sierra adds integrations with several third-party apps that let you do all kinds of fun things with your photos, from making photo books to putting them on t-shirts and coffee mugs.

Third-party apps supplement the existing built-in tools that allow you to make prints or create books, slideshows, cards, and calendars

You can use these tools directly in the Photos app without having to visit a third party site, and there’s even a special spot in the Mac App Store to download the integrations. Here’s how it works:

Starting a Project – Downloading Apps

Open Photos on Mac.
Scroll down to “My Projects.”
Click on “Go to App Store.”
Clicking the link from Photos brings up a list of all Mac apps that integrate with Photos.
Choose an App and click to download.

If you’ve already created a project, accessing a list of available apps is done by going to File –> Create and choosing the “More” App Store option.

Available Apps

Right now, there are six apps that are offering integration with Photos, but more apps will likely implement compatibility in the future. All of the apps are free, with the exception of the GoodTimes collage maker, which is priced at $19.99.

Wix

Wix is an app that lets you arrange your photos into albums that can be published online on a website using Wix’s website creation tools. [Direct Link]

Mimeo Photos

Mimeo Photos has tools and templates for creating photo books, calendars, and cards with unique layout options and editing tools. [Direct Link]

WhiteWall

WhiteWall is for creating photo prints that can be hung on a wall, either solo or in photo arrangements with a wide range of frames and mounting options available. [Direct Link]

Shutterfly Photo Books

Shutterfly is for creating photo books using the Shutterfly service, which often has competitive pricing options. [Direct Link]

GoodTimes – Collages

GoodTimes is the sole paid app available for Photos right now, and it costs $19.99. It can be used to create scrapbooking pages, photo arrangements, and photo collages. [Direct Link]

Mpix Photo Prints

Mpix lets you create standard prints, framed prints, metal prints, canvas prints, wood prints, collages, posters, cards, and a wide range of other projects. [Direct Link]

Using an App to Make a Project

Open the Photos app.
In the Photos menu bar, choose File –> Create
Under Create, choose the third-party app you want to use for your project.
Click done.
Drag photos from your Photo Library to the Project. These photos are the photos that the app will be able to use — it doesn’t have access to your full photo library.
Re-open the project by clicking on it from the “My Projects” list.

When you use one of these integrated third-party Photos apps, all of the project creation is done entirely in the Photos app.

For example, with Mpix, I chose a Metal Print from the list of options, provided access to my Photo Library, added photos, chose a photo for the project, resized it, and proceeded to purchase options all without opening a different app.

These same simple project creation tools are available for all integrated apps, making it simple to do a lot more right in the Photos app without having to fuss too much with third-party services.

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
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FDA approval of the FreeStyle Libre may spell end of finger-sticks for diabetics

Why it matters to you

Rather than pricking their fingers every day, diabetes patients can now use this continuous blood sugar monitor.

Monitoring your blood sugar level no longer requires you to draw blood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a device that will bring diabetes patients into the 21st century of at-home medical care. It’s called the FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System, and it promises to allow diabetes patients to check glucose levels “with a painless, one-second scan instead of routine fingersticks.”

This is the first continuous glucose monitoring system capable of being used by adult diabetes patients without calibration using a blood sample. Instead, users insert a small sensor wire under the skin, and a wand-like device is waved atop the sensor to report glucose levels.

The small sensor promises to be both painless to apply and easy to wear, and it is water resistant, which means you can keep it on throughout your day. In fact, the FreeStyle Libre sensor is meant to stay on your body for up to 10 days, allowing for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The benefit of this method, the FreeStyle team notes, is that it allows for glucose levels to be tracked continuously, which means patients can observe patterns and trends that could result in better diabetes management.

“The FDA is always interested in new technologies that can help make the care of people living with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, easier and more manageable,” said Donald St. Pierre, acting director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health and deputy director of new product evaluation in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “This system allows people with diabetes to avoid the additional step of fingerstick calibration, which can sometimes be painful, but still provides necessary information for treating their diabetes — with a wave of the mobile reader.”

This approval could be a boon for the more than 29 million Americans living with diabetes. In conducting their testing, the FDA reviewed the FreeStyle Libre’s performance by comparing its readings to those from an “established laboratory method used for analysis of blood glucose.” Clearly, these results were comparable to one another. The FDA does note that potential risks include hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia should data be inaccurate (though this is a risk with any such reader), as well as mild skin irritation around the sensor’s insertion site.

The FreeStyle Libre should be coming to a pharmacy near you in the near future, but pricing has yet to be revealed.