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In-brain electrodes are the latest weapon against opioid addiction
Researchers at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) and West Virginia University Medicine are conducting the first clinical trial in the US that uses deep brain stimulation to treat opioid addiction. The procedure is meant for those who have exhausted all other forms of treatment but still suffer from opioid use disorder. The first patient, a 33-year-old man, has a decade-long history of opioid and benzo abuse, overdoses and relapses.
How electrifying the brain wards off Parkinson's disease
Implanting electrodes in the brain and zapping it helps patients with Parkinson's and other disorders, but doctors have never been sure why, exactly. Now, researchers from UC San Francisco think that the therapy (called deep-brain stimulation, or DBS) works by altering neural timings, in much the same way a defibrillator resets heart rhythms. In a healthy brain, neuron firing is controlled by low frequency rhythms that sync up movement, memory and other functions. But the UC team found that the synchronization is too strong in Parkinson's patients, making it harder for them to move voluntarily.
DirecTV's latest HD interface comes to the five tuner HR34 DVR
Even if you don't have DirecTV, you've probably heard of the HR34 if you're into DVRs. That's because it's the only DVR from a provider that can record five HD shows at once and it also works in multiple rooms of the house thanks to RVU. All that upside came with a big downside, though, the old and ugly DirecTV DVR user interface. We figured it was only a matter of time before DirecTV's new HD user interface made it's way to the big daddy, and now Solid Signal reports that it's everything you've been waiting for with only slight differences from the HR24. No word on exactly when this update will roll out to HR34 DVRs everywhere, but we suspect it can't be long now.
European Parkinson's patients receive first Libra DBS implants to help alleviate symptoms
St. Jude Medical's announced that patients from Austria, Germany, and Greece are among the first to be implanted with Libra Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) devices to alleviate the symptoms of advanced Parkinson's Disease. Specifically, it's able to reduce akinesia, rigidity, tremor, and motor complications associated with taking levodopa.The company's touting Libra and LibraXP as having the longest-lasting battery of any DBS in their class, meaning potentially less surgical procedures needed for for when they gotta be replaced. No word on when they'll be expanding use of the device, but we're sure it's coming.[Via Medgadget]
Jaeger LeCoultre watch unlocks Aston Martin DBS, empties your mistress account
You know that Aston Martin DBS not sitting in your driveway? Here's the watch to not go with it, the €27,500 (more than $40,000) Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX2 DBS Transponder. First spotted last year, the Swiss timepiece capable of locking and unlocking the DBS from a distance of 10-meters has had a rough time making the transponder reliable due to the mechanical watch's impact on electrical fields -- a Faraday Cage of sorts. The solution was to craft a 128-mm sapphire and metal antenna inserted into the curve of the inner bezel ring. Man servants and gold diggers will find the watch at fine retail shops sometime around December.
More Wowhead goodness
Once again, Wowhead has come forward with a few nice new features. First up, we now have dynamic searching (pictured), possibly spurred on by the new competition: just start typing and your search results appear right below the search box, summoned by the power of JavaScript. This even works in the newly updated Firefox search plugin. It doesn't get much more convenient than that, although I am partial to my keyword searches.Secondly, we have scads of new filters, one of which fills a request from the last post to see all items purchasable with Badges of Justice. We can also filter for quest rewards from a given zone. Furthermore, filters are now usable on more pages: quest subset pages, zone page quest tabs, and token pages. There is a useful filter for items that are new in patch 2.4. It is also possible now to see what items share a cooldown with a given item (example). Finally, quest difficulty levels have been added to quest pages, showing at what levels the quests are red, orange, yellow, green and grey, and forming a nice pretty rainbow. Now where are my ponies?
Jaeger LeCoultre watch unlocks, starts Aston Martin DBS
For those sick and tired of living vicariously through James Bond, Aston Martin is giving buyers of the €240,000 ($330,864) DBS coupe the chance to add on a svelte wristwatch that will actually lock, unlock and start their new vehicle. The limited edition Jaeger LeCoultre AMVOX2 chronograph not only boasts "over 200 parts to its casing and an equal number in the watch movement itself," but it will include a miniaturized form of the "DBS transponder electronics" within the base. Owners of the timepiece will be able to leave the key at home in a vault and crank their new ride up with the touch of a watch, but the convenience will cost you a stiff €25,000 ($34,465) on top of the car's purchase price. [Warning: read link requires subscription][Via The Raw Feed]
DirecTV now friendly with Viiv boxes, other PCs to come?
After DirecTV's long-awaited HR20 HD DVR finally got its rightful announcements and actually hit users' hands, it wasn't too long before folks were plugging and praying in hopes of getting their new toy to play nice with that HTPC beside it. While we knew the two firms had gone hand-in-hand awhile back, we finally got the thumbs-up that a new, Viiv-alicious DirecTV Plus HD DVR would be unveiled soon to interact out-of-the-box with Viiv-enabled systems, but more importantly, that a software update was coming to the plain ole HR20s to accomplish the same thing. The time has come, and users are reporting over at DBSTalk that the "0x108 software" has opened up the Ethernet port for use, and allows browsing / connections via a Viiv-certified machine, but definitely made things difficult for those not exactly keen on shelling out for a few new components. Nevertheless, there's already been somewhat of a workaround worked out, which allows PCs with just Windows MCE installed to "see" the HR20, but not "serve up files in a way that HR20 can work with," which we're all but certain will change as the wheels spin in owners' heads. Reportedly, DirecTV is establishing a dedicated website to getting folks up and running with the new connectivity options, and be sure to keep an eye on the linked thread for any "future developments" regarding non-Viiv-savvy PCs.[Via PVRWire]
