David Lidsky's Blog, page 2841
November 24, 2015
The Latest Breakthrough In Understanding Diabetes Was Made By An Algorithm
Researchers now believe there are three different kinds of type 2 diabetes—a result discovered with help from machines combing through reams of medical data.
With the cost to sequence a human genome dropping by the day and medical records finally going digital, public health experts are excited for a new era of personalized, or "precision," medicine—a big data future in which there is no "average" patient, only individual patients with unique genes, environments, and lifestyles. As a measure of this excitement, this year, President Obama launched a $215 million initiative that will create a health database from 1 million volunteers that is unprecedented in detail. Breakthroughs in prevention, understanding, and treatment of disease are hoped.
A Mother Lets The Balance Tip Toward Work—And Doesn't Apologize
Work and parenting are rarely separate in the life of Austin Film Festival founder Barbara Morgan.
Just after the birth of her daughter, Barbara Morgan held a staff meeting in the maternity ward. The hospital wasn't happy about it, and others may have questioned it later, but Morgan didn't care.
November 23, 2015
FAA Task Force Issues New Drone Guidelines
If bigwigs like Google and Amazon have their way, most drone operators will have to register with the FAA.
The FAA's task force on commercial drone aircraft—which includes representatives from Google, Amazon, and Walmart—has just issued its recommendations for how to operate unmanned aircraft. Although the recommendations are not binding and do not have the impact of a law, they reveal that the largest forces in commercial drone operation in the U.S. want drone operators to register with the government if they are flying an unmanned aircraft that weighs more than half a pound.
Square's New Contactless Card Reader Supports Apple Pay
To make its product compatible with chip-based cards and digital wallets, Square has redesigned its credit card reader.
Just a week after its initial public offering, mobile payments company Square is unveiling its new card reader, which replaces the iconic mini-square mounted on top of a phone or iPad with a bulkier, standalone chip card-friendly reader. The new Square hardware is compatible with Apple Pay and Android Pay as well, and will be rolling out to customers this week.
When Slack Is Down
Popular enterprise chat app Slack experienced technical difficulties on Monday, and aimless office workers took to Twitter.
On Monday, work chat app Slack experienced a connectivity outage. Twitter, though, was up and running:
Today in Tabs: Donald Trump Is A Fascist
It Is Happening Here.
You could watch Amazon's new series, Man in the High Castle, based on the Philip K. Dick novel about an alternate timeline where the Nazis won World War Two, or you could just read the news, where leading Republican presidential candidate and literal fascist Donald Trump continues to lie and lie with no apparent end in sight. This weekend he circulated Neo-nazi propaganda, which was very surprising to anyone who woke up yesterday from the coma they have been in since 1973. Way back in 1990, when Trump was seen as an incipient failure and a pompous blow-dried joke, Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair profile casually noted his Nazi sympathies: "'Donald is a believer in the big-lie theory,' his lawyer had told me. 'If you say something again and again, people will believe you.'" That's Joseph Goebbels's "big lie" theory, and in case it still wasn't clear enough:
Belgians Flood Twitter With Cat Photos In Face Of Imminent Terror Threat
In response to a citywide shutdown, Brussels residents are barraging the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag with kittens. Lots and lots of kittens.
Belgium's capital city, Brussels, has been on lockdown since Saturday, due to a terrorist threat that the prime minister says is "very serious and imminent." Following a number of raids on Sunday evening, Belgian authorities have detained 16 people but have yet to locate Salah Abdeslam, who is believed to have aided in the recent attacks that took place in Paris.
Updated Giphy Cam App Aims To Make GIFs More Personal
Giphy is adding filters and more GIF editing tools to its Giphy Cam app.
Can an animated GIF be as personal as a family video?
Amazing App Turns Your Phone Into Picasso's 3-D Pen
Drawing 3-D sculptures with your phone is as incredible as it sounds.
In 1949, Pablo Picasso teamed up with the LIFE photographer Gjon Mili to paint sculptures with a flashlight. In 2015, Disney animator Glen Keane used an HTC Vive virtual reality headset and a Tilt Brush to draw The Little Mermaid's Ariel in 3-D.
The TSA Is Testing A Better, Faster Way To Scan Bags
Faster lines, less racial profiling. Sign us up.
The Transportation Security Administration's conveyor system looks so efficient on paper—like some assembly line designed by Henry Ford—until you elbowing for the last of the plastic trays behind someone who left a water bottle in their bag and holds up the whole line.
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