Daily Roundup: a popular GoPro song, Tesla autopilot mode and more!
In today's edition of the Daily Roundup, find out why a certain song is used in so many GoPro videos, learn about Tesla's new "autopilot mode" and get the scoop on Stanford scientists modifying leukemia to eat itself. Get the details on these stories and more past the break.
Why is this song used in so many GoPro videos?
February 23rd, 2012. Electronic violinist Lindsey Stirling uploads the official music video for "Crystallize" to YouTube. Two days later, user "riley lux" uploads a video titled "DH long boarding on a windy day." In it, a group of friends enjoy some downhill riding set to Stirling's haunting violin-based soundtrack. The video itself isn't remarkable. Some self-shot GoPro footage, with a few edits roughly in time with parts of the song. But, there's something about each pass of Stirling's bow that balances the on-screen energy with a tangible calm.
Tesla's Model S is getting a self-driving 'autopilot' mode in three months
The self-driving future is almost here - if you've got one of Tesla's Model S cars. Tesla CEO Elon Musk just announced that it'll be bringing its new automatic steering mode, simply dubbed "autopilot," to the Model S lineup in three to four months via a software update. Musk says you'll basically be able to "go between San Francisco and Seattle without the driver doing anything."
Stanford scientists make leukemia 'grow up' and eat itself
A team at Stanford's School of Medicine has reportedly uncovered a potent new treatment method for combating one of leukemia's most aggressive forms - and they did it pretty much by accident. While survival rates for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a particularly nasty form of white blood cell cancer, have risen to about 85 percent over the past decade thanks to the advent of stem cell therapies, the prognosis for this disease in the presence of a Philadelphia chromosome mutation remains quite poor.
A single Google balloon delivered internet from Chile to Australia
It's been interesting watching Google's Project Loon progress, and the latest test run for the balloon-based internet service is perhaps the most impressive. A single balloon recently launched from New Zealand and traveled some 5,500 miles (9,000 kilometers) across the Pacific Ocean to Chile where Google started putting it through its paces.
The 'world's smallest' 3D-printed drill is powered by a hearing aid
We've seen teeny-tiny 3D printers before, and now we're getting pint-sized creations to match. An ingenious engineer from New Zealand set out to make the world's smallest cordless drill, and the result is pretty remarkable. The tiny tool measures just 17mm tall, 13mm long and 7.5mm wide, with a 0.5mm twist drill that can pierce soft objects. Creator Lance Abernethy designed the outer shell in Onshape with a regular drill for reference, before printing it with his trusty Ultimaker 2 3D printer.
Android Auto is now live for Lollipop phones and Pioneer head units
Google just proclaimed that Android Auto is ready for the masses... or at least the masses that feel like picking up a separate Pioneer head unit and own a device running Android 5.0 Lollipop. In case your memory of the search giant's in-car plans is a little fuzzy, Google wants you to be able to connect your phone to your stereo with a USB cable - once that's done, you can issue voice commands, sketch out routes and fire up apps like Spotify or Soundcloud.
Robert Downey Jr. wants to weird you into buying an HTC One M9
Two men sit in lawn chairs, one in a merman costume. The other, Robert Downey Junior, fires a blowdart at a moon sculpture, which crashes to the ground. "Shoot for the Moon," says the aspirational HTC slogan. Did that make any sense? If so, you're apparently ready to buy an HTC One M9! Yes, HTCs (rumored) billion dollar marketing campaign with Robert Downey Junior isn't over yet, as the company has just revealed 10 new spots.
