Move over, antibiotics! Cold plasma could be the next great way to treat wounds

Here in 2018, plenty of the Star Trek technologies which once seemed the stuff of science fiction are now science reality. Technologies like universal translators and mobile communicators are part of our everyday lives, while we’ve also covered the likes of real life tractor beams and holodecks. Now a German company called Coldplasmatech wants to add one more Star Trek technology to the real world. And this one could help transform wound treatment in hospital emergency rooms — and maybe even save some lives.

“The easiest way to explain our technology to someone is by comparing it to the dermal regenerator in Star Trek,” Dr. Carsten Mahrenholz, CEO of Coldplasmatech, told Digital Trends. “The dermal regenerator is a handheld device which emits a blue light. If someone receives a cut, the dermal regenerator can be used on the wound to close it. Basically, that’s what we’ve developed.”

Well, kind of. In fact, the technology is a cold plasma patch made of silicone, which uses ions and UV radiation to treat infections in chronic wounds as an alternative to antibiotics. At the same time, it greatly speeds up the healing process.

Cold plasma is an ionized gas, a state of matter that remains mysterious to most people, compared to more widely understood states of matter. The wound dressing comprises a silicone part which applies plasma to the wound, and a power supply. The patch converts the oxygen and nitrogen mixture which makes up the air we breathe into a bioactive ionized gas. This bioactivity results in faster wound healing, while also killing bacteria extremely efficiently — in as little as just two minutes.

“For various reasons, in a hospital today you do not have time for a physician to treat one wound for 45 minutes or so,” Mahrenholz continued. “You want the physician to look at the wound, and then for a nurse to be able to do the treatment. That way, the physician gets to see more patients.”

The patch was recently shown off at the Athens Science Festival in Greece. Later this year, it will be part of a clinical trial at two hospitals in Germany. “We’ve been very lucky because we have received funding from the Federal Ministry of Science and Education in Germany,” Mahrenholz said. “They are helping us set up and pay for clinical and economic trials in Germany. That second part is very important because not only is it crucial to show the clinical success of a new technology, but also what it means in terms of economic value.”

Provided all goes well with these trials, Mahrenholz hopes that the technology will become more widely used around the world in the near future.

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NFC tech in official World Cup match ball draws fans even more into the games

Every four years, the FIFA World Cup brings millions of people together to bond over a shared interest in soccer and a fierce devotion to their country. But how do you drum up even more interest in one of the most popular sports on the planet? To Adidas and the software company BlueBite, the solution comes down to innovating the fan experience. Specifically, the duo injected the official World Cup match ball with a bit of cutting-edge (see: NFC) technology capable of allowing fans to unlock exclusive, tournament-themed content.

While Adidas supplied the balls, BlueBite created the software built into the NFC chip. By activating a special identifier via a smartphone, fans can unlock exclusive information about the World Cup and even the ball itself. Don’t think of it as just a one-and-done experience, either. BlueBite designed the software to allow fans the opportunity to revisit and unlock new content daily.

“The entire idea behind the ball is to get fans engaged and excited about the World Cup before it starts,” said Rachel Furst, BlueBite’s director of product Marketing, to Digital Trends. “So, leading up to the tournament, fans will have access to a variety of different challenges — challenges designed to bring them back every day. Some unlock exclusive videos of World Cup players using the ball or showing off their own unique goal celebration while others have users post specific photos with the ball itself.”

Similar in function to how Nike leveraged NFC technology in its line of NikeConnect jerseys, the Adidas World Cup ball is purely for consumer use — i.e., it won’t have any impact on the matches themselves. Despite this, the integration of the chip is so subtle that anyone kicking it around (or using it in a match) won’t notice the difference. The shape hasn’t been altered, its physics remain the same, and it’s no heavier — even if you know where to look for the chip, you won’t see it.

“The chip is extremely light and won’t affect the weight or performance of the ball,” Furst added. “Additionally, we had to make sure that all parts would be functional in case the ball gets wet and also took into account fluctuations in temperature or movement, to ensure the internal components wouldn’t become damaged.”

Fans of the World Cup don’t have to be in Russia to have access to Adidas’ NFC-enabled ball either, as it’s currently available via the Adidas website for $124. Host country Russia kicks off the global tournament on June 14 as it takes on Saudi Arabia.

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The Titan underwater drone promises to go deeper than its rivals

The majority of drones are designed for the sky, hence the phrase UAV (read: “unmanned aerial vehicle”) being used as a synonym. However, there are also a growing number of drones created for exploring underwater locations, too. The latest of these is an underwater drone named Titan, which recently splashed down on Kickstarter with the goal of raising funds to go into production.

“Titan can dive up to 150 meters (490 feet), which provides users more space to explore and more choices,” Alan Wang, the chief technical officer for manufacturer Geneinno, told Digital Trends. “Other drones can only take people down to 50m or 100m. Some people will say 100m is enough, but we believe exploring the unknown is human nature and [something a lot of people want to do]. The only reason they haven’t done it yet is because they don’t have the right tools to achieve it.”

As Wang makes clear, Titan’s big selling point is the fact that it can go really, really deep underwater. It can then document this undersea world with the aid of a high-end 4K camera, which is capable of capturing both video and still images. Moving around is accomplished with six thrusters that give Titan a high degree of movement and impressive maneuverability at a speed of up to two meters per second. There are even, handily, a couple of LED spotlight which throw out a combined 3,000 lumens of illumination so that you can see where you’re going.

“Titan [is] more stable than other underwater drones, because we know that stability means everything,” Wang continued. “No matter how good your camera is, without stability, there is no way you can get good pictures, especially underwater.”

As ever, we advise that would-be customers are aware of the risks inherent in crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you’re nonetheless keen to get involved you can head over to the project’s Kickstarter page to pledge your support (and cold, hard cash). Prices commence at $1,199 for an all-in-one kit containing the drone, a 50-meter tether, and everything else you need to get started. Other price options are also available. Shipping is set to take place in September.

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How to use the cut, copy, paste, and undo keyboard shortcuts in Windows

Cut, copy, paste and undo — they’re four of the most powerful and most commonly used commands in any application. If you’re typing, these are keyboard shortcuts you should know, both to save time and correct mistakes. Let’s go over how to use them!

Important note: Most keyboards support the CTRL/Control shortcuts that Windows uses. However, there are some exceptions. The Apple keyboard, for example, uses the Command key instead of CTRL. You may have to change keyboard shortcuts in settings or get used to a slightly different layout if your keyboard is the odd man out.

Cut

Press: CTRL + X

This keyboard shortcut has no alternative inputs (Shift + Delete was once a thing, but is now used for other commands). Note that cutting text will delete that text at the target location, but you can paste it multiple times in other areas, since a version of that text remains stored on your clipboard. This is a great way to re-arrange text in a report, or take a piece of information from one area and populate multiple forms with that same data.

Remember that Windows does not automatically keep a history of items on your clipboard. If you cut text and then cut a second piece of text, the first content will be lost.

Copy

Press: CTRL + C

Alternatively, you can also use “CTRL + Insert.” “Insert” is found on expanded keyboards that include number pads (usually on “0”), and may be a more useful option of you are dealing with a lot of numeric data and your fingers rarely leave the number pad.

Remember, you can only store one copy of data on your Windows clipboard at a time (although apps and plugins can change this). This also means that cutting text will replace any copied text, so be careful switching back and forth between them.

Paste

Press: CTRL + V

Alternatively, you can use “Shift + Insert,” which again may be more useful if you spend a lot of time on the numeric keypad. The content will be pasted wherever your cursor is, so make sure you’ve picked the right spot. Remember that formatting and spacing frequently carry over with the text, which may lead to a couple formatting issues when pasting into a new field or form. You can usually copy and paste an unformatted version of the text to help avoid these issues.

Undo

Press: CTRL + Z

This will undo the last action you made in your document. If you were typing, it will remove the last section of text you typed without pausing, which could be fairly long. Most Windows applications support repeated Undos, which means you can delete your last action, the one before that, and the one before that, and so on — as long as the history of your actions has been kept. However, this isn’t a guaranteed function for every app.

Extra tip on working between apps

Cut, copy, paste and undo tend to be universal across all operating system apps. In other words, the keyboard shortcuts do the same thing whether you are writing an email, filling out an Excel spreadsheet, or typing a document in Word.

Online forms and web apps are a bit more hit or miss: Many support these shortcuts, but it’s not quite guaranteed. A little experimentation may help when first working in a new app, just to see how these basic commands perform. You may also want to check out other Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts!

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The best apps for the 2018 World Cup

Simon Hofmann – FIFA/Getty Images

The 2018 World Cup kicks off June 14, and for soccer fans around the world there is no bigger event. A total of 32 teams, each representing a different country, will gather in Russia to kick, slide, and flop their way to what is arguably the highest honor in the world of soccer. The tournament consists of many games taking place over the course of a month, so if you want to keep up with everything, there are a few apps you might find convenient. If you’re looking for a great soccer game to keep you busy, we’ve also reviewed EA Sports’ FIFA 18.

Onefootball Live Soccer Scores

The World Cup is a massive tournament, and it can be hard to keep up with every game. Onefootball, despite its goofy name, is an excellent app for staying up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of soccer, whether you’re looking for recaps, scores, or the news. The UI is clean and easy to navigate, and you can choose which teams you want to follow to get information about them first and foremost.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Goal Fantasy Football

What’s better than watching soccer? What about managing your own team? Most people won’t have the opportunity to manage a pro team in their lifetimes, but that’s why fantasy leagues exist. Goal Fantasy Football gives you a budget with which to construct a team. Forming a team is an easy process, and you can quickly join or create a “mini-league.” Goal even offers “achievements” for those who want goals to work toward.

Download now for:

Android iOS

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

For constant World Cup coverage, it’s a good idea to go to the source. FIFA’s official app for the 2018 World Cup offers comprehensive news updates, scores, and information on players and teams. You can read in-depth profiles of players, check the current standings, and learn the start times for upcoming matches.

Download now for:

Android iOS

BBC Sport

Soccer is popular in Britain, so it’s no surprise that the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) supplies a wealth of soccer coverage. In addition to scores and news updates, BBC Sport provides in-depth analysis, including previews for various teams and features. There are even podcasts.

Download now for:

Android iOS

ESPN

ESPN is probably the biggest name in American sports media, and the network has made its mark on the digital space with an app that offers constant coverage of every major sport, including soccer. The ESPN app has a dedicated section for the World Cup, so you can view the schedule of upcoming games, keep track of scores and standings, and read articles from ESPN writers. The app is free, but does include some ads.

Download now for:

Android iOS

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Even in the desert, an innovative device pulls fresh water out of thin air

On any given day, you’re surrounded by of water suspended in the air as imperceptible vapor. The idea of harvesting this water has deep roots in the sci-fi culture — when we first met Luke Skywalker on his desert home planet, Tatooine, he was toiling away on his uncle’s vapor farm — but similar devices have also taken shape in the real world.

One of the biggest challenges engineers face when designing water harvesters is how to keep the device cool. To form water vapor, the device has to be cooler than the air around it. That might mean using a cooling fan, which would prove feasible in areas with easy access to electricity but not in undeveloped regions, where water scarcity is at its worst. Finding another solution is key.

In a study published last week in the journal Science Advances, University of California, Berkeley researchers demonstrated a unique approach to water harvesting that let them extract drinkable water from desert air without the need for external energy. The proof-of-concept device could pave the way for cheaply supplying clean water to arid regions.

“For the first time, we are demonstrating that you can harvest drinkable amount of pure water from the dry desert air every day, using essentially just a simple cheap box, with no additional energy and electricity required other than the natural sunlight,” Omar Yaghi, a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley who invented some of the underlying technology, told Digital Trends. “All of these are possible because of a revolutionary porous novel material inside the box called metal-organic framework.”

A metal-organic framework (or MOF) is a highly porous material with internal cavities and channels that give it immense surface area. An MOF the size of a sugar cube has the internal surface area of a full football field, Yaghi said. “This high surface area ensures high capacity for the captured water.”

The device developed by Yaghi and his team is, strictly speaking, a box within a box. The internal box is filled with MOFs made up, in this case, of organic material and the expensive metal zirconium. The lid of the outer box is left open at night (when cool, humid air rushes in and is absorbed by the MOF), and closed during the day (when sunlight heats the box, the water molecules escape the MOF, and condense as droplets on the inside of the outer box). From there, Yaghi and his team manually collected the droplets with a pipette.

In a trial in Scottsdale, Arizona, the harvester yielded just about seven ounces of water — not enough to quench someone’s thirst but enough to show feasibility.

“This [device] is especially important for regions where access to clean water is limited,” Yaghi said. “My vision is to achieve ‘personalized water,’ where people in water-stressed regions have a device at home running on ambient solar, delivering the water that satisfy the basic needs of the individuals.”

He acknowledged the many steps ahead before such a device could come to market — including scaling up the device to capture more vapor and experimenting with newer, cheaper MOFs — but Yaghi is optimistic that such technology could someday provide potable water to people in need.

Intel “forgot” to mention its 28-core CPU demo was bogus

Intel CEO, Brian Krzanich Intel

Remember that 28-core high-end-desktop CPU that Intel wowed everyone with at Computex? It was supposed to be capable of running at 5GHz and offer performance that was leaps and bounds ahead of its previous top-tier offerings in the Core i9 series. It turns out that chip was based on server hardware and was heavily overclocked to hit that kind of frequency.

That might be excusable if it hadn’t required a phase change cooler with a power rating that could be measured in horsepower to keep it running at manageable temperatures. But here’s the real kicker: According to Tom’s Hardware’s report on the matter, Intel claims it “forgot” to tell the crowds about the kind of cooling and aftermarket enhancement that such a chip would require to hit the levels of performance it displayed on stage.

Because of that cooler and the server-grade CPU that this “new” design is said to be based on, it may have required as much as 2,300 watts of power just to turn the system on, making it laughably unfeasible for anything but that very specific show debut. Considering the reveal of this supposedly groundbreaking design appeared to be cobbled together and tacked on the end of Intel’s stage show, its timing just before AMD’s own Threadripper 2 reveal is incredibly suspect.

Whether it was an attempt to take the wind out of AMD’s Ryzen 2 sails though doesn’t matter, because if anything Intel’s announcement made AMD’s even more exciting. Theadripper 2 has up to 32 cores and though we don’t know the clock speeds, they should be higher than the first-generation as all Ryzen 2 chips have been. It may not be 5GHz on all cores, but 4.5GHz on some is certainly feasible.

Most importantly though, those chips are real and definitely coming this year. Dell told us in a recent media briefing that it already planned to use Threadripper 2 chips in Alienware desktops in 2018. First generation Threadripper CPUs are competitive with Intel’s offerings that cost more than twice as much; Threadripper 2 could break new boundaries of consumer performance.

With Intel’s best efforts at combatting that seeming to be an effectively fictional CPU that certainly will not be released this year, AMD could well be poised to take the ultimate CPU performance crown in the next few months. In comparison, Intel, by showing us that 28-core, super-chilled, heavily overclocked CPU as the only working hardware that could even hope to steal some of AMD’s thunder — which it didn’t — has effectively ceded the floor to AMD to become the more affordable and exciting CPU manufacturer in the next few months.

Intel will certainly offer stiff competition and likely better gaming hardware in the mid to high end of the consumer space, but AMD Threadripper 2 is currently poised to steal the top spot for high-end desktops and power users.

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Best Screen Protectors for Moto G6

Keep your display protected with a tempered glass screen protector!

The Moto G6 is one of the best budget phones around. But just because the price is cheaper doesn’t mean it’s not worth protecting. For under 10 bucks, you can get a set of tempered glass screen protectors to protect that Moto G6 display from anything that life throws at it.

• Supershieldz Tempered Glass [2-pack]
• IQ Shield Tempered Glass [3-pack]
• Mr. Shield Tempered Glass [3-pack]
• TopACE Tempered Glass

Supershieldz Tempered Glass Screen Protectors [2-pack]

Supershieldz is a popular maker of screen protecting accessories and they offer a two-pack of tempered glass screen protectors for the Moto G6. The edges are rounded for comfort around the earpiece and home button cutouts.

It’s a good value from a trusted brand that’s backed by a lifetime replacement warranty. Available for just $7 on Amazon.

See at Amazon

IQ Shield Tempered Glass Screen Protectors [3-pack]

IQ Shield offers screen protectors for a wide variety of smartphone brands, and typically offers both tempered glass and film options. For the Moto G6, they offer a Full Bodyskin Protector ($16) and a Matte finish screen protector ($8). But the best value by far is the three-pack of tempered glass.

Tempered glass offers the best protection for your phone, and IQ Shield offers an impossibly thin screen protector. Best of all is you’ll have two backups as needed. Get your kit for just $8.

See at IQ Shield

Mr. Shield Tempered Glass Screen Protector [3-pack]]

The installation is the most important part of using a screen protector — you don’t properly clean that screen and you’re going to have dust and weird streaks appear.

That’s why Mr. Shield includes a complete installation kit that includes a cleaning cloth, dust collecting stickers, and an alcohol prep pad. The glass is laser cut to provide as much coverage as possible for the Moto G6.

These will be in stock and shipping from Amazon by June 16. Get yours for just $8.

See at Amazon

TopACE Tempered Glass Screen Protector

TopACE makes the list for offering a slightly more curved set of “horns” around the earpiece cutout. Otherwise, it’s another solid tempered glass screen protector for the Moto G6 that offers everything you’d expect in a screen protector.

Designed to be case friendly, this pack includes cleaning wipes and dust re for installation. Get yours for $10, or consider the two-pack of film screen protectors included on this Amazon listing for just $7.

See at Amazon

Are you getting a Moto G6?

Let us know if you’re buying the G6 and whether you plan to buy a screen protector for it.

Updated June 2018: Updated our list with the freshest links and updated pricing information.

How to change exercise shortcuts on Fitbit Versa and Ionic

Exercise shortcuts on the Versa and Ionic are great, but changing them is a little tricky.

Your Fitbit Versa or Ionic can be used for a ton of different things, but at the end of the day, they work best when helping you stay active and healthy. It’s really easy to start tracking a workout on either watch, but did you know you can actually add and remove these shortcuts as you see fit?

Fitbit doesn’t really make this super apparent, so we’re here to walk you through the process step-by-step.

How to change your workouts

Tap on your Versa/Ionic icon near the top right.

Scroll down and tap Exercise Shortcuts (it’s the third-to-last option).

From here, you’ll see a list of the workouts currently on your watch. You can move the position of how they appear on your watch by dragging the four bars next to each one, and if you want to remove one, swipe it to the left.

You can have up to seven workouts on your Versa/Ionic at a time, and if you have room to add more, you’ll see a + icon near the top right.

To add more workouts to your watch:

Tap the + icon.
Select the workouts you want to add.

Tap Add to Versa / Add to Ionic.

How to sync your watch

After you’ve updated your workouts, you’ll want to manually sync your Versa/Ionic to ensure your changes are added to it.

Tap on your Versa/Ionic icon near the top right.

Tap Sync Now.

Need more help?

Need more help with anything we covered here? Just want to say hi? Leave a comment down below!

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Asus ZenFone 5Q now available for $299 in the U.S.

You can buy it at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Newegg.

During MWC 2018, Asus announced the ZenFone 5, 5Z, and 5 Lite. The 5 and 5Z picked up a lot of attention for being shameless iPhone X clones, but the 5 Lite ditched the notch in favor of a basic, functional budget offering. Today, it’s been confirmed that the phone is now available in the U.S.

Launching in the States as the ZenFone 5Q, the phone is available for purchase right now at Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Newegg for $299.

For just shy of 300 bucks, the 5Q offers a 6-inch 18:9 LCD display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080. There are also dual cameras on both the front and back, with the 16MP rear shooter and 20MP selfie cam each paired with a secondary wide-angle lens.

Inside the ZenFone 5Q is the Snapdragon 630 processor paired with 4GB RAM, 64GB of storage, and a decently-sized 3,300 mAh battery.

Other goodies include a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card expansion up to 1TB, NFC, and Android Oreo.

Amazon, B&H, and Newegg are selling the ZenFone 5Q in its Midnight Black and Midnight White colors, but Best Buy only has the Midnight Black option.

See at Amazon

Updated June 11, 2018: Tweaked this article to reflect the ZenFone 5Q now being available for purchase at multiple retailers across the U.S.