A man under Coronavirus lockdown used a drone to walk his dog đ¶.
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Mar 25, 2020
Scientists âResetâ The Age of Stem Cells From a Supercentenarian Who Lived to 114
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: biotech/medical, life extension
For the first time, scientists have reprogrammed the stem cells of a 114-year-old woman, the oldest donor to date.
After first transforming cells from her blood sample into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), the researchers then generated mesenchymal stem cells, which help to maintain and repair tissues like bone, cartilage and fat.
âWe set out to answer a big question: Can you reprogram cells this old?â says stem cell biologist Evan Snyder at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in California.
Mar 25, 2020
Coronavirus: Nobel Prize winner predicts US will get through crisis sooner than expected
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry
A Nobel Prize winning biology professor has provided a bit of good news amidst the coronavirus gloom; the US may see a downturn in new cases sooner than some models have predicted.
Michael Levitt, a Stanford University biology professor and a 2013 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, said his models predict the virus is not likely to dwindle on for months or years and â most importantly â is not likely to cause millions of deaths.
Mr Levitt previously predicted â correctly â when China would experience and endure the worst of its coronavirus crisis.
Mar 24, 2020
7.8 magnitude earthquake near Russia, Japan
Posted by Prem Vijaywargi in category: futurism
Mar 24, 2020
Raspberry Pi Project Uses Artificial Intelligence to Detect License Plates
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: 3D printing, information science, internet, robotics/AI
When youâre a software and hardware engineer sometimes you need a little challenge. Engineer Robert Lucian Chiriacâs latest Raspberry Pi creation can detect license plates and read the characters with fairly decent accuracy. This is an involved project that relies on machine learning to properly interpret images from the camera into discernible text.
The primary license plate reading function is constructed using three separate applications (there are more used throughout the project, but these three are critical). Chiriac used the YOLOv3 object detection algorithm to create a bounding box around each license plate it detects from the camera input. The image within the bounding box is sent to CRAFT, a text detecting application. Once the location for each character in the plate has been identified, the information is passed along to CRNN to predict the actual text.
Chiriac mounted the Raspberry Pi, GPS module, 4G module and Pi camera to his carâs rear-view mirror with a 3D-printed unit he designed. The Pi camera is even adjustable with a ball-joint swivel mount.
Mar 24, 2020
Astronauts know how to handle isolation: Here are tips from Scott Kelly, Peggy Whitson and more
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: futurism
[Isolation is] actually very doable, but itâs very important to be able to interact well with the people youâre staying with, living with.
Mar 24, 2020
UPS partners with Wingcopter to develop new multipurpose drone delivery fleet
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, drones, robotics/AI
UPS is working with German startup Wingcopter to develop a new type of delivery drone, to be used for the logistics companyâs growing commercial drone delivery efforts both in the U.S. and globally. Wingcopter has already designed an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that has a range of up to 75 miles and can achieve speeds as high as 150 miles per hour in conditions that include wind speeds of up to 45 miles per hour.
Wingcopter will be working closely with UPSâ Flight Forward subsidiary, the dedicated drone delivery unit that UPS developed last year in July to house its commercial drone delivery program. In October, Flight Forward received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to effectively operate a full-scale âdrone airlineâ at scale for the purpose of package delivery.
Wingcopter has already demonstrated how its drones could operate in commercial settings, including during a demonstration with Merck earlier this year that saw its autonomous eVTOLs carry small packages between the drug companyâs various office locations in Darmstadt in Germany. It also used its aircraft to deliver critical medical supplies and life-saving equipment to hard to reach areas, including through partnerships with UNICEF and other relief organizations.
Social distancing is seen as the most effective way of slowing the spread of the virus causing COVID-19, and is strongly advised by the World Health Organization and the CDC. At Unacast, we wanted to understand which areas of the country are best at exhibiting social distancing behavior. Our hope is that these insights will empower organizations and companies to understand and measure social distancing initiatives and ultimately, save lives.
Mar 24, 2020
FDA Grants Experimental Coronavirus Drug Benefits For Rare Disease Treatments
Posted by Omuterema Akhahenda in categories: biotech/medical, health
The agencyâs decision would provide lucrative incentives to the drugâs maker, Gilead Sciences, and could keep lower-priced generic versions of the medicine off the market for several years if remdesivir is approved for use, public health advocates say.
Remdesivir Gets Rare Disease Perks From FDA : Shots â Health News Gilead Scienceâs remdesivir, an antiviral medicine being tested for treatment of COVID-19, would get a seven-year monopoly if approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Mar 24, 2020
You could be spreading the coronavirus without realising youâve got it
Posted by Nicholi Avery in category: biotech/medical
Such undocumented cases are still contagious and the study found them to be the source of most of the virusâs spread in China before the restrictions came in. Even though these people were only 55 per cent as contagious as people with symptoms, the study found that they were the source of 79 per cent of further infections, due to there being more of them, and the higher likelihood that they were out and about.
âIf somebodyâs experiencing mild symptoms, and I think most of us can relate to this, weâre still going to go about our day,â says Shaman. âThese people are the major driver of it and theyâre the ones who facilitated the spread.â