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Helix wants to build a marketplace for your DNA
There are secrets buried deep within our genetic code, and more than a few companies that want to help you learn them. Helix believes that the gaggle of startups vying for your DNA have a problem: they all need an individual sample to use. That's why the company is positioning itself as a marketplace where you take a single DNA swab, and then it shares the information with whoever you choose.
Diet app Lose It introduces DNA-based weight loss plan
Last year, calorie-tracking app Lose It launched a feature called Snap It, which promised to identify the foods you were eating just from a photo. By adding machine learning and computer vision to the mix, it turned the ordinary act of food logging into a high-tech affair. Now, the company is evolving its app with the introduction of more tech: personal genetics. Today, Lose It is introducing embodyDNA, a weight loss plan that's based on your actual, well, DNA.
Lose It app promises to log your meal just by taking its photo
Keeping track of what you eat has proved to be pretty effective at aiding weight loss. Studies show that food diaries not only help people manage their daily caloric intake, but also be generally more aware of what they're putting in their bodies. Unfortunately, logging every meal can be tedious and time-consuming. But what if you could do it just by taking a photo of your food? That's exactly what Lose It, a food-tracking app, is trying to do with a brand new feature called Snap It. Using a combination of machine learning and its own food database, Lose It aspires to figure out what you're eating based on your photo alone.
Lose It! announces a premium service
Lose It! is one of the most popular calorie-counting/weight loss apps on the App Store. It arrived back in the early days of iOS, but consistent updates and a big user base have kept it high up on the charts for a long time. And today, the app's developers, FitNow, have announced that they're expanding the app's functionality and introducing a premium subscription service for Lose It! users. As you'd expect, everything currently available in the app will remain free. But the premium service will add more functionality, including the ability to track things like sleep, nutrients and more. The service also features tie-ins with other popular health and fitness apps and the ability to create groups and challenges for the app's social circles. The subscription will be available for US$39.99 a year, though there's currently a launch special price of just $29.99. And FitNow says it's not a recurring subscription, so users will have the option every year to decide whether they want to renew, or just let the service end. Lose It! is a very popular and exceptional way to track your health and weight on iOS, and it'll be interesting to see how this new option does for them among their already substantial user base.
TUAW Fitness: An Apple a day update
About two weeks ago I pledged to lose weight using my iPhone, AppleTV and Mac. Well, I'm happy to report that I've lost a whopping 6 pounds since then using my iPhone 3GS. Below is a short list of the apps I used as well as a mini-review of each. LIVESTRONG This iPhone app has a great feature set for calorie, exercise and weight tracking, although it is not without its problems. Overall, it needs a little "spit and polish." The foods I logged often failed to save correctly when I initially entered them. Instead, I'd have to save them, then go back and edit them in order to adjust time of day, or servings eaten. It wasn't a huge deal, but calorie tracking should be quick and easy to encourage me to keep doing it. If every entry takes twice as long because of editing, well, I'm probably going to give up eventually. Which I did. In addition, the exercise trackers seem very skewed. LIVESTRONG tells me that a 2-hour bike ride burns about 1,600 calories, while Trailguru gives a much more conservative 750 for the same time and distance. When trying to lose weight, you should overestimate calorie input and underestimate calorie burning in my opinion. I learned pretty quickly to ignore however many calories it said I was burning.
