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Vape maker PAX launches PodID to explain what's in your cannabis oil
Consumers want to know what's in the stuff they buy and where it comes from, whether that's food, electricals or clothing -- so why should cannabis be any different? Vape company PAX Labs is rolling out a new feature for its mobile app which gives users detailed information about what makes up their oil concentrate.
Weather Channel app uses Watson to tell you when flu season is coming
Are you the sort who grows wary around other people when flu season hits? You now have another tool in your (slightly anti-social) arsenal. The latest version of the Weather Channel app for Android and iOS now includes a Flu Insights feature that uses IBM's Watson to warn you when influenza is likely to be on the warpath. The team-up wields machine learning to provide a 15-day flu forecast as well notifications that pop up at key moments, such as the start of flu season or confirmed outbreaks. Ideally, this will keep you from going to a house party full of soon-to-be-sick virus carriers.
Self-driving cars make me nauseous
One of the major benefits of our self-driving future is how much more gosh-darn productive we're all going to be. Instead of wasting brain power driving our cars to work, we'll sit back and let the ride do it for us. Suddenly, that time can be harnessed for our leisure or, more likely, to cram even more work into our days. But what will happen to all the people like me, who get sick at the thought of sitting in a car?
Smart thermometer is ready to track your kid's fever all day long
You no longer have to disturb your kid's sleep just to see if that fever is getting any better. Months after its CES debut, Blue Spark's TempTraq thermometer is available for a fairly reasonable $25. The Bluetooth patch keeps tabs on a child's temperature in relative comfort for a full 24 hours, giving your progeny a chance to rest instead of enduring yet another probe in the ear. It can warn you if the temperature gets above a certain level, and you can use the Android and iOS apps to log when your tiny patient eats or takes medicine. This won't track the illness from start to finish, unfortunately, but it might be all you need for that one day when you're worried your little one's condition might get worse.
Defiance gets sick and asks players for a cure [Updated]
We're going to give it to you straight: Defiance has a fever, and the only prescription is... um... well, that's actually a good question. Nobody is sure. The entire focus of the new in-game event is trying to figure out how this fever can be treated. Presumably attempts involving bottles of Sprite and bed rest were inconclusive, and now you're going to have to go shoot some things to try to find the cure. This mini-event offers characters a new Pursuit, which can be cleared to improve your EGO rating, with players seeking out three data recorders to help assemble a cure to the sickness sweeping the Bay area. Triage centers have been established in both Top Notch and Shandu's Consulate. Avid players should get in on this event while it lasts -- there have been no dates given, but it seems this disease will either burn out or get worse fairly quickly. [Update: This event starts on June 3 and the corresponding TV episode runs on June 17.]
Canon recalls 68,200 EOS Rebel T4i DSLRs, says rubber grips can lead to skin rash
We've covered our fair share of product recalls over the years, but this one almost certainly takes the cake when looking at pure zaniness. Canon has recalled its EOS Rebel T4i -- some 68,200 units -- "due to a risk of allergic reaction." You read that right. As the story goes, a chemical used in the camera's rubber grips "can result in a reaction that changes the grips from black to white and poses a risk of skin irritation to the consumer," and while the company has only received a single report of a consumer developing a "minor rash" after contact, that's obviously enough to issue to recall. It involves T4i units with a 12-digit serial number that contain a second digit that is a "3" or "4" and a sixth digit that is a "1." If that's you, you're advised to stop using the camera and ping Canon USA to have replacement rubber grips installed free of charge. Specifically, you can ring 855-902-3277 and be prepared to be placed on hold for the better part of your adult life.
Scientists attempt to predict flu spread, give ZigBee radios to 700 high school students
This is the Crossbow TelosB wireless remote platform, and it did an important job for science in January of last year -- it monitored the close proximity interactions among 788 students and staff at one US high school to track a virtual flu. After collecting over 762,000 sneeze-worthy anecdotes among the module-toting teachers and teens, Stanford researchers ran 788,000 simulations charting the path the virus might take and methods the school might try to keep it in line. Sadly, the scientists didn't manage to come up with any easy answers, as virtual vaccination seemed to work equally well (or poorly) no matter who got the drugs, but that if only we could actually monitor individuals in real life as easily as in a study, prevention would be much easier. But who will bell the cat, when it's so much less political to ionize?
Breakfast Topic: WoW as rehab
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. When my fiancée and I first met, we exchanged stories, talked about our career choices and what we've gone through over the years. After some time, WoW came up in our discussion. I explained to her how I first got started in WoW and how it has actually helped me quite a bit over the years. When I first started playing, I was recovering from a major surgery and was mostly confined to my house. You can only watch the same movies and read the same books so many times before you're bored with nothing to do. Enter WoW -- and everything changed. All of a sudden, I had a connection to the outside world. Not only was I talking to people from all over the country, but I was also making myself think. Every move I made had a consequence to some degree, and much like everyone else, I learned early on that murlocs are not your friend. Fast-forward nine months and I was cleared for work and school. I went back to work and started my fall quarter refreshed and eager to learn. People were asking if I had really had surgery, because they couldn't tell a difference. Unfortunately, I fell ill a year ago and was off work yet again. WoW was my saving grace (next to my fiancée, of course), and it helped me keep my head above water. I had a connection to the outside world, was able to talk to friends that lived hours away and wasn't sitting around the house bored out of my mind.
Japanese company to sell Swine Flu-resistant suit -- because nobody wants their clothes to get sick
Japan's been particularly hard hit with this H1N1 influenza marching around the globe, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising that one of its companies has come up with an "anti-flu" suit... but it still is. Japanese clothier Haruyama Trading Company has developed and is now selling a men's suit which will supposedly ward off the H1N1 virus -- not the first time we've seen this idea. The suit, which looks exactly like any other, is coated in titanium dioxide (a popular ingredient found in sunscreen and toothpaste) which reacts when exposed to sunlight and kills the virus. Nobody's really checked into whether or not these things actually work, of course, but hey -- that's part of the fun, right? If you live in Japan, you can grab one for somewhere in the neighborhood of $580. [Via Cnet]
Top 5: Infections
After visiting friends and relatives this Thanksgiving, I was left with something special inside. Was it fond memories? Was it a deeper connection with those who I love? Was it several containers of leftovers? Sure, I received a fair share of those, but the most significant thing I received this Thanksgiving was the flu. I should have known. At least five different folks I saw over the course of the day claimed to be recovering from some form of the dreaded virus. Sure enough, by Friday evening I was sweating and freezing at once, aching all over, and debating on which end to point at the toilet (too much?). Whenever I get sick, I tend to feel very isolated. While everyone else was out enjoying their four-day weekend, I was tethered to the bed. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I'm certainly not alone. Everyone gets sick sooner or later, and no one is truly immune. In fact, even our video game counterparts have their fair share of sicknesses that affect their goals. And thankfully, just like said counterparts, the infections are usually brief. Here's our Top 5 sicknesses to avoid. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Cornell designer concocts garb that prevents colds, shuns pollution
We've seen sensor-laden, iPod-friendly, and electroluminescent garb in years past, but a crafty design student over at Cornell University wasn't satisfied with stopping there. Olivia Ong is hoping to get her career in fashion off to a very safe start, as her functional clothing lines include "a garment that can prevent colds and flu and never needs washing," and if that wasn't fresh enough, she's also conjured up another that "destroys harmful gases and protects the wearer from smog and air pollution." The prototype Glitterati garb was showcased at the school's Design League fashion show, and both articles contained "cotton fabrics coated with nanoparticles" that give them the unique qualities. No word on whether or not we can expect such protective (albeit stylish) threads to hit the strip anytime soon, but considering that "one square yard of nano-treated cotton would run you about $10,000," we doubt us common folk would be selling off assets to take it home anyway. [Via MedLaunches]
Radiofrequency treatment curbs asthma attacks
Sure, there's quite a few way to circumvent the effects of asthma, but a new development coming out of McMaster University in Canada suggests that radiofrequency treatment can actually curb the amount of asthma attacks suffered by asthmatics. The device, which "uses radio waves to heat the muscle lining of patients' airways," is used to administer a trio of sessions, and while the actual root cause is still unknown, it seems to cause a reduction in the smooth muscle lining the airways, subsequently making breathing less of a chore. The probe isn't the most comfortable, however, as it must first make its way through your nose or mouth in order to reach the lung airways, after which the tip is "heated using radio waves." The procedure is known as bronchial thermoplasty, and while the funding company (Asthmatx) has yet to elicit a thumbs-up from the FDA, it could certainly become a viable alternative for asthma sufferers. It's about time these free-flying transmissions made up for the harm they've caused, eh?
