Category: technology

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After Almost Losing His Mother, This Teen Invented a Bra That Can Detect Breast Cancer Early

I bet we’ll be hearing from this young man for many years.

After Julián Ríos Cantú watched his mother endure two bouts with breast cancer, the 18-year-old from Mexico decided he wanted to help out other women who might not have access to affordable healthcare.

Posted by Julián Ríos Cantú on Monday, November 20, 2017

Cantú’s mother ended up having a mastectomy. Standard screenings missed the lumps in his mother’s breasts because her high breast density obscured the growths. Cantú said, “At that moment, I realized that if that was the case for a woman with private insurance and a prevention mindset, then for most women in developing countries, like Mexico where we’re from, the outcome could’ve not been a mastectomy but death.”

Cantú took matters into his own hands, inventing Eva, a “bio-sensing bra insert” that uses thermal sensing and artificial intelligence to create a thermal map of women’s breasts. Abnormal temperatures and tumor growth are related, and an Eva insert can help women detect cancerous growths. It also helps with the self-examination process.

As things stand today, patients don’t have a lot of options for early detection of breast cancer. If you’re under 45, you can’t receive mammograms due to concerns about exposure to radiation. Even if you’re over that age, mammograms can be very expensive.

The Eva technology does not emit any radiation, and women of all ages can wear the insert.

The company has performed clinical trials on more than 2,000 women in Mexico. Eva’s website says,

“Eva’s technology is approved by the FDA as an adjunct method for breast cancer detection in section 884.2980 Teletermographic Systems. Similarly, Eva Clinic operates under the highest ethical standards, strictly following the Official Mexican Standard NOM-041-SSA2-2011, for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, control, and surveillance of breast cancer.”

The product is now available for use at certified Eva clinics, but who knows? Maybe someday it’ll be in our houses, helping women detect breast cancer even earlier.

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This Is Why Airplane Engines Are Never Painted on the Front Edges

Look closely at the engines on the planes at the gates next time you’re at the airport. All of them will have an unpainted band near the front edge. As sleek as this kind of paint job may look, the reasons behind the styling goes beyond just looking trendy.

Photo Credit: Needpix

YouTuber Mentour Pilot, who runs a channel about everything to do with being an airline pilot, created a video explaining why the front edge of the engine is never painted when the rest of the aircraft is.

It’s something I’d never have thought about in a million years, but someone clearly did.

The first explanation is because of the heat the engines generate. Ice can form quickly on engines and wings when flying through clouds, creating a real safety hazard. Planes use the heat already coming from their engines to keep dangerous ice from accumulating.

Small holes in the unpainted ring of the engine, as well as on the wings, help the ice melt. If this part of the engine is left naked, then the metal heats best for minimized ice formation. Paint would only protect the ice from heat by creating an intermediate layer.

Not safe.

Another reason is that eventually the paint on the intake would begin to degrade, and chips of paint could get sucked into the engine. As this happened, the uneven coats of paint would affect how air flows into the engine, creating mini vortices and disrupting overall efficiency.

Photo Credit: YouTube

He also touches on why most planes are painted white or predominantly white. This one’s a little easier to guess: white paint reflects heat. If a plane is painted white, the air-conditioning system doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the interior cooled – thus better engine efficiency.

Painting an aircraft white is also faster and cheaper, and airlines can place and replace branding as needed without repainting.

If this is interesting, deifnitely check out more of Mentour Pilot’s channel – aside from his cool airplane knowledge, he wears his uniform, has a great accent and an adorable apricot poodle-ish dog, and generally makes you feel good about who is at the controls of these high flying tubes.

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After Just One Use, Vaping Can Damage Your Blood Vessels

A lot of bad news about vaping has come out lately, and here’s some more.

A new study published in Radiology claims that vaping one time – even without nicotine – can damage blood vessels, reduce blood flow, and create dangerous toxins.

The researchers found that the heat created by e-cigs meant to turn liquid into vapor also stirs the compounds into toxic particles. They studied MRI scans of 31 healthy non-smokers before and after vaping nicotine-free e-cigs to come to their conclusions.

After the participants took 3-second drags 16 times from e-cigs loaded with tobacco flavoring and sweeteners, researchers found they had significant decreased blood flow in the femoral artery – the main artery that delivers blood to your thigh and leg.

Felix Wehrli, the study’s principal investigator, says their study defeats “the notion that e-cigarette vaping is harmless.”

“Beyond the harmful effects of nicotine, we’ve shown that vaping has a sudden, immediate effect on the body’s vascular function, and could potentially lead to long-term harmful consequences.”

The researchers observed an average 34% reduction in the artery’s dilation, and found vaping led to a 17.5% reduction in peak blood flow and a 20% reduction in oxygen in the veins.

Author Alessandra Caporale expanded on their findings in a statement:

“E-cigarettes are advertised as not harmful, and many e-cigarette users are convinced that they are just inhaling water vapor. But the solvents, flavorings and additives in the liquid base, after vaporization, expose users to multiple insults to the respiratory tract and blood vessels.”

With the recent issues sweeping the nation – 100 teens in 14 states have reported lung damage after vaping (including 14 hospitalizations and a number of deaths) – these findings are especially troubling.

Earlier this spring, another study found that flavored e-juice also had toxic effects, like weaker cell survival and increased inflammation.

The American Lung Association has joined with the CDC and others in warning care when turning to e-cigs.

“Inhaling chemicals into your lungs is dangerous. E-cigarettes are guilty until proven innocent, and we are very much in the guilty stage,” says one spokesperson.

Dr. Robert Jackler, founder of Stanford Research Into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising, has dark warnings, as well.

“Nobody knows what it does to the human lung to breathe in and out aerosolized propylene glycol and glycerin over and over. It’s an experiment, frankly. We will find out, years from now, the results.”

And since those results could be “it kills you, in time” avoiding the products altogether seems the smartest course of action.

To me, anyway.

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There’s a “Ghost-Detecting” Stone for Sale That Claims to Sense Visits from the Beyond

October is right around the corner, which means those of us who revel in all of the Halloween goodness are about to have their month in the sun (or the darkness).

If that means doing a little ghost hunting, well, you could always pick up this Baketan Reiseki from Amazon.

The stone, which allegedly detects the presence of ghosts via “crystals” and colorful lights, could be the perfect addition to your holiday decorations – and it just might let you know why it always sounds like someone’s knocking on the walls at night!

Image Credit: Amazon

According to a press release, the ghost detector became “a big hit in the sub-culture market” in Japan, with people everywhere sending in “ghost reports” after having the little device in their homes.

They sold more than 200,000 of the Baketan Reiseki in Japan before trying their luck on Amazon.

The name of the device has a literal meaning: Baketan = to search for a monster, Reiseki = stone. So it’s a stone that searches for ghosts.

If you’re looking to check your immediate surroundings for paranormal visitors, the stone uses a color-coded light system to do just that. It lights up green when there’s nothing unusual around, turns blue if there’s an “angel” present, and flashes red if a “ghost” enters the area.

Image Credit: Amazon

You can also operate your stone in three different modes. The first is “search mode,” activated by pressing a button, for when you want to manually check the area around you. Next is “automatic search mode,” which means the stone scans the area every ten minutes and flashes the appropriate color afterward. Lastly, you can run it in “barrier mode,” which claims to protect you from spirits (no word on how).

The makers of the Baketan Reiseki claim its power comes from a center made from cracked quartz (the most abundant mineral on Earth), which many believe harbors supernatural healing powers.

Image Credit: Amazon

Website Energy Muse states that quartz is “versatile and multidimensional,” functioning as “a stone of amplification, clarity, and focus.”

Cracked quartz, however, represents “the life lessons, barriers, and obstacles.”

So, you know…it might work. Or it might not do anything. But even if the latter is true, it’s still a fun thing to keep on your coffee table during the month of October.

And if it turns red, well, then you might need to invest in some sage and learn how to use it.

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Facebook Rolled out Education Features to Combat Anti-Vax Propaganda

It’s amazing that in 2019, a lot of parents out there buy into the anti-vaccination rhetoric and expose their kids (and others’) to potential harm.

That’s why it’s encouraging that Facebook has taken steps to fight harmful misinformation and “fake news” that appeals to these anti-vaxxers. On Facebook, informational windows will pop up when a person searches for anything related to vaccines, taps related hashtags on Instagram (which Facebook owns), or visits vaccine-related pages and groups.

Furthermore, in the U.S., users can use pop-up windows to connect to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to read about accurate, credible information about vaccines. If you live outside the U.S., you can connect to the World Health Organization through the pop-up windows.

A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the organization is fully onboard with the move by Facebook:

“We know that parents often turn to social media to access health information and connect with other parents, and it can be difficult to determine what is accurate and who the credible sources of information are. [Combating] vaccine myths and misinformation is a shared responsibility and we applaud these efforts.”

A new feature is rolling out on Facebook and Instagram to combat the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation.Facebook,…

Posted by Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services on Friday, September 6, 2019

Health experts have said that anti-vaccination information online has played a large role in fewer people getting vaccinated against diseases and that has led to outbreaks in measles and other illnesses—in fact, the US is close to having its status as a measles-free country. So this is very timely and very important.

Nice work, Facebook. Let’s see more of this in regard to the spread of misinformation, because we all know how harmful that can be to Americans and others around the world.

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This German Train Only Emits Water

With the climate change debate heating up around the world, it’s no surprise that some countries are looking for more and better ways to cut carbon emissions from the transportation sector.

The train, dubbed the Coradia iLint, was developed over the course of just two years and runs on hydrogen fuel cellls combined with a lithium-ion battery to run its engine.

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Germany launched world's first Hydrogen powered train today . Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, on Monday began running a 62 mile (100km) route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude in northern Germany – a stretch normally plied by diesel trains . Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions. Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train. . The Coradia iLint trains can run for about 600 miles (1,000km) on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to the range of diesel trains. #quizx #sustainabletransportation . #hydrogen #hydrogenpowered #locomotive #automobile #train #travel #industry #technology #sustainability #cleanenergy #lithiumbattery #germany🇩🇪 #france #coradiailint #energy #electricity #alstom

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Right now, Germany alone employs 4,000 diesel trains, but the iLint is expected to change that – and to drastically reduce the country’s carbon emissions in the process.

The trains have hydrogen fuel tanks on the roof and huge lithium ion batteries as part of their engines; they can travel 500 miles per day at speeds of up to 87 miles per hour. They give off only steam as a byproduct, and the only sound you’ll hear on board or as they whoosh past is the wheels and the air resistance.

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#zeroemissions #train that runs on just #steam and condensed #water has successfully completed its first test run in #Germany. The Coradia #iLint is the world’s only #fuelcell #passengertrain, according to its French makers Alstom, who design #environmentallyfriendly rail solutions. Testing was carried out on the company’s own track in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, with passenger test runs set to begin at the start of 2018. “This test run is a significant milestone in environmental protection and technical innovation,” said Didier Pfleger, vice president of Alstom in Germany and Austria. “With the Coradia iLint and its fuel cell technology, Alstom is the first railway manufacturer to offer a #zeroemission alternative for mass transit trains. “Today our new traction system, so far successfully proved on the test ring, is used on a train for the first time – a major step towards cleaner mobility in Europe.” The Coradia iLint, which is silent and can reach speeds of up to 140 km/h, is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which produces electrical power for the traction. It is set to run on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony. The Coradia iLint is the first low floor passenger train worldwide powered by a #hydrogenfuelcell, which produces electrical power for the traction. This zero-emission train is silent and only emits steam and condensed water. #CoradiaiLint is special for its combination of different innovative elements: a clean energy conversion, #flexibleenergy storage in batteries, and a smart management of the traction power and available energy. Based on Alstom’s flagship Coradia Lint diesel train, Coradia iLint is particularly suited for operation on non-electrified networks. It enables sustainable train operation while maintaining high train performance. “This test run is a significant milestone in environmental protection and technical innovation. With the Coradia iLint and its fuel cell technology, Alstom is the first railway manufacturer to offer a zero-emission alternative for mass transit trains. Today our new traction system, so far successfully proved on the test ring, is used on a train for the first time 🛂🆕⬇

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Alstom (the company that builds the iLint), issued the following statement:

“Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation. It shows our ability to work in close collaboration with our customers and develop a train in only two years.”

Hydrogen power works when hydrogen is burned with oxygen to produce huge amounts of energy. NASA has used liquid hydrogen and oxygen to propel rockets since the 1970s, but cost (and probably political lobbying) has kept it from being widely used in the consumer market until very recently.

There’s also the fact that in order to get hydrogen, you have to use electricity to split water into its constituent elements – and if you’re using electricity from a coal plant, hydrogen doesn’t wind up being that clean of a fuel. But if you’re using wind power, it can be totally emissions free!

Now, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway are all interested in buying some iLint trains of their own, and I can only assume more countries will follow.

Maybe there is some hope for the future after all.

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Check out This Artist’s Amazing Steampunk Sculptures Made out of Broken Watches

Dan Tanenbaum‘s work is pretty mindblowing. The Toronto-based artist utilizes old watch parts and makes incredible “steampunk“-inspired art pieces.

A lot of Tanenbaum’s creations are miniature motorcycles, but, as you’ll see in these photos, he makes plenty of other one-of-a-kind objects as well.

Take a look at these, you’ll be blown away.

1. A mini chopper.

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Custom chopper

A post shared by Dan Tanenbaum (@watchpartsmotorcycles) on

2. Steampunk teddy bear.

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Custom KAWGS holiday

A post shared by Dan Tanenbaum (@watchpartsmotorcycles) on

3. The details are amazing.

4. Rip it up!

5. Big wheel bagger.

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Custom big wheel bagger

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6. Sweet pair of Jordans.

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Baby Jordan1s “sneakgear III” @nike #nike #jordan1 #HSKicks

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7. A pride motorcycle.

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Custom “Pride MotorcycLGBTQ”

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8. The Knight Rider.

9. Heart like a hand grenade.

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Time bomb IV

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10. Get a load of this skull.

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My one and only encrusted skull

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11. Luke, I am your father.

12. A café racer.

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Custom cafe racer

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13. Vintage hot rod.

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Watch parts rat rod

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14. Encrusted concrete robot.

15. This is so cool.

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throwback to the custom full encrusted Watch parts camera I made

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I’m blown away by how amazing Tanenbaum’s work is. Simply incredible!

Which piece is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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A Corpse on a Body Farm Was Caught Moving

This can safely be filed under: Nightmare Fuel.

Apparently, corpses don’t stop moving for up to a year after death, due to the various decomposition processes they go through.

Which makes me wonder how many of those bells rang at Victorian gravesides even though the people in the coffins were, in fact, dead.

Yikes.

The research that brought you this lovely tidbit of macabre information comes from an Australian body farm (a place where scientists study how bodies decompose in order to improve forensic techniques.

In a time-lapse video containing images taken every 30 minutes over a period of 17 months, researchers saw movement for far longer than they expected to – over a year and a half in some cases. In an interview with ABC News Australia, the authors said they believe the movements were mostly the result of drying ligaments.

“What we found was that the arms were significantly moving, so that arms that started off down beside the body ended up out to the side of the body.”

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So from Obesity TV programmes I go straight onto food!!: This is an amazing "5 Stages of Decay Cookie" by Claire Ratcliffe for the special Halloween event I'm holding at Barts Pathology Museum where I work: "Delicious Decay – The Edible Body Farm!!! The event (Friday night 28th and all day Saturday 29th) will feature edibles – savoury and sweet – based only on human decay and decomposition. The point is to raise awareness for the need, in the UK, for a Body Farm (or Taphonomy Research Facility) that actually uses human remains, like the one in Tennessee. We use pigs at the moment and they're consistently unreliable. That's why I'm working with @conjurers_kitchen (amazing food artist) and Dr Anna Williams (Forensic Anthropologist) to make this incredibly realistic. We even have the scents used to train cadaver dogs and a make up artist to make you look "decomposed"! www.deliciousdecay1.eventbrite.co.uk and www.deliciousdecay2.eventbrite.co.uk (I'll talk about the 5 stages in another post 💀⚰) #humanremains #decomposition #remains2beseen #ediblebodyfarm #decay #deliciousdecay #taphonomy #bodyfarm #anthroplogy

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They’ve yet to publish their study, but hope their findings will continue to add to a body of research that helps police solve murders, among other things.

“This research is very important to help law enforcement to solve crime and it also assists in disaster investigations. It’s important for victims and victims’ families, and in a lot of cases it gives the victim a voice to tell their last story.”

Just an FYI: Body farms exist all over the world, and they depend on body donations from people looking to assist science after they’ve expired.

I say you might as well be helpful. Either way, you’re just going to be decomposing.

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A Tree-Planting Search Engine Saw a 1150% Increase in Use After the Amazon Rainforest Fires

Step aside, Google. An eco-friendly search engine saw a 1150% increase in daily downloads in a single day after the Amazon rainforest fires.

Ecosia is a search engine that uses 80 percent of its profits from advertisements to plant millions of trees in Brazil, Ethiopia, and other emerging economies, Business Insider reports. The website claims to have planted 65 million trees to date – an impressive number.

Usually, Ecosia sees about 20,000 downloads per day. But recently, large swaths of the Amazon went up into flames in an urgent environmental disaster. As more people became aware of what was going on, people began using Ecosia en masse in an attempt to help combat the damage.

Photo Credit: iStock

On August 22, the company experienced 250,000 downloads in a single day, but the record-breaking moment was bittersweet for Ecosia.

“We had our team meeting and people were, on the one side, very happy because of the numbers but also very sad because of the forest fires,” Christian Kroll, Ecosia’s chief executive, told Business Insider. “So it’s both exciting and a tragic occurrence.”

The sudden burst in popularity is largely thanks to word-of-mouth. The app is frequently mentioned by Instagram and Twitter users who are spreading the word about the rainforest fires. Ecosia is now the top-ranked iOS app in Brazil.

Photo Credit: iStock

The Amazon rainforest experienced over 72,000 fires this year so far, an 83 percent increase from 2018. This is partly because of dry weather, and party because Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has walked back a decade’s worth of environmental protections. His actions have given cover to thousands of illegal farmers and ranchers to light fires to burn down forest to create more arable land for them to use. It’s a difficult situation because many of them have no other way to earn income, but the damage they’ve done to the forest – and thus to the world – is enormous.

Christian says he was inspired to start Ecosia after learning about environmental damage during his travels to South America and Nepal.

“In my opinion, planting trees helps people and the environment at the same time,” he said. He’s right.

He founded Ecosia in 2009, but it doesn’t do all that search work on its own. It partners with Microsoft’s search engine Bing to power its search results and display ads.

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