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For Devices, Your Brain as Control Pad - NYTimes.com

Last week, engineers sniffing around the programming code for Google Glass found hidden examples of ways that people might interact with the wearable computers without having to say a word. Among them, a user could nod to turn the glasses on or off. Taking a picture might be accomplished with a single wink.

But don?t expect these gestures to be necessary for long. Soon, we might be interacting with our smartphones and computers simply by using our minds. In the next couple of years, we could be turning on the lights at home just by thinking about it, or sending an e-mail from our smartphone without even pulling the device from our pocket. Further into the future, our robot assistant will appear by our side with a glass of fresh lemonade simply because it knows we?re thirsty.

Researchers in Samsung?s Emerging Technology Lab are testing tablets that can be controlled by your brain, using a cap that resembles a ski hat studded with monitoring electrodes, the MIT Technology Review, the science and technology journal of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reported this month.

The technology, often called brain computer interfaces, was conceived to enable people with paralysis and other disabilities to interact with computers or control robotic arms, all by simply thinking about such actions. Before long, these technologies could well be in consumer electronics, too.

Some crude brain-reading products already exist, letting people play easy games or move a mouse around a screen with their mind.

NeuroSky, a company based in San Jose, Calif., recently released a Bluetooth-enabled headset that can monitor slight brain movements and allow people to play concentration-based games on computers and smartphones. These include a zombie-chasing game, archery and a game where you dodge bullets ? all these apps use your mind as the joystick. Another company, Emotiv, sells a headset that looks like a large alien hand and can read brain waves associated with thoughts, feelings and expressions. The device can be used to play Tetris-like games or search through Flickr photos by thinking about an emotion the person is feeling ? like happy, or excited ? rather than searching by keywords. Muse, a lightweight, wireless headband, can engage with an app that ?exercises the brain? by forcing people to concentrate on aspects of a screen, almost like taking your mind to the gym.

Car manufacturers are exploring technologies packed into the back of the seat that detect when people fall asleep while driving and rattle the steering wheel to awaken them.

But the products commercially available today will soon look archaic. ?The current brain technologies are like trying to listen to a conversation in a football stadium from a blimp,? explained John Donoghue, a neuroscientist and director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science. ?To really be able to understand what is going on with the brain today you need to surgically implant an array of sensors into the brain.? In other words, to gain access to the brain, for now you still need a chip in your head.

Last year, a project called BrainGate pioneered by Dr. Donoghue, enabled two people with full paralysis to use a robotic arm with a computer responding to their brain activity. One woman, who had not used her arms in 15 years, could grasp a bottle of coffee, serve herself a drink and then return the bottle to a table. All done by imagining the robotic arm?s movements.

But that chip inside the head could soon vanish as scientists say we are poised to gain a much greater understanding of the brain, and, in turn, technologies that empower brain computer interfaces. An initiative by the Obama administration this year called the Brain Activity Map project, a decade-long research project, aims to build a comprehensive map of the brain.

Miyoung Chun, a molecular biologist and vice president for science programs at the Kavli Foundation, is working on the project and although she said it would take a decade to completely map the brain, companies would be able to build new kinds of brain computer interface products within two years.

?The Brain Activity Map will give hardware companies a lot of new tools that will change how we use smartphones and tablets,? Dr. Chun said. ?It will revolutionize everything from robotic implants and neural prosthetics, to remote controls, which could be history in the foreseeable future when you can change your television channel by thinking about it.?

There are some fears to be addressed. On the Muse Web site, an F.A.Q. is devoted to convincing customers that the device cannot siphon thoughts from people?s minds.

These brain-reading technologies have been the stuff of science fiction for decades.

In the 1982 movie ?Firefox,? Clint Eastwood plays a fighter pilot on a mission to the Soviet Union to steal a prototype fighter jet that can be controlled by a brain neurolink. But Mr. Eastwood has to think in Russian for the plane to work, and he almost dies when he cannot get the missiles to fire while in the middle of a dogfight. (Don?t worry, he survives.)

Although we won?t be flying planes with our minds anytime soon, surfing the Web on our smartphones might be closer.

Dr. Donoghue of Brown said one of the current techniques used to read people?s brains is called P300, in which a computer can determine which letter of the alphabet someone is thinking about based on the area of the brain that is activated when he sees a screen full of letters. But even when advances in brain-reading technologies speed up, there will be new challenges, as scientists will have to determine if the person wants to search the Web for something in particular, or if she is just thinking about a random topic.

?Just because I?m thinking about a steak medium-rare at a restaurant doesn?t mean I actually want that for dinner,? Dr. Donoghue said. ?Just like Google glasses, which will have to know if you?re blinking because there is something in your eye or if you actually want to take a picture,? brain computer interfaces will need to know if you?re just thinking about that steak or really want to order it.

Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/disruptions-no-words-no-gestures-just-your-brain-as-a-control-pad/

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Moniker and SnapNames Announce Premium Spring Domain Name ...

[news release] Moniker? and SnapNames?, both KeyDrive S. A. companies and leading providers of domain name solutions, today announced their Premium Spring Auction. The online auction showcases some of the most sought after domains on the market and provides businesses, including start-ups and established companies, access to domain names for long term, strategic growth initiatives.




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?We strongly believe a premium domain name is the foundation for growth on the internet today. From e-commerce sites to brick and mortar establishments seeking an online presence, a premium domain provides tangible benefits unlike that of traditional customer acquisition methods,? said Craig Snyder, CEO of Moniker and SnapNames. ?The SnapNames auction platform and our world-class brokerage team connect established businesses and early stage start-ups with assets that drive go-to-market strategies and create launch pads for products and solutions. Making that process globally accessible has been the driving force for our success and this auction is no exception.?

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For more details visit: https://moniker.com/domainauction/events/2013-04-spring-premium/

About Moniker and SnapNames

Moniker? and SnapNames?, both KeyDrive S.A. companies, offer registries, registrars, businesses and individuals an array of services for domain registration management, acquisition, brokerage and sales. Moniker introduced the live domain name auction concept and is a top worldwide registrar. SnapNames pioneered and operates the largest online auction of registered, expired and deleting domains, giving its customers access to the world?s best selection and most valuable names every day. For more information visit www.moniker.com and www.snapnames.com.

This news release was sourced from:
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Source: http://www.domainnews.com/en/moniker-and-snapnames-announce-premium-spring-domain-name-auction.html

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শুক্রবার, ২৬ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩

Amanda Knox Contemplated Suicide in Prison, Wants Meredith Kercher's Dad to Read Book

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/amanda-knox-contemplated-suicide-in-prison-wants-meredith-kerche/

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Scientists confirm new H7N9 bird flu has come from chickens

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens.

In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese officials that there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus.

The H7N9 strain has infected 109 people in China since it was first detected in March. The WHO warned on Wednesday that this strain is "one of the most lethal" flu viruses and is transmitted more easily than the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed hundreds around the world since 2003.

Kwok-Yung Yuen of the University of Hong Kong, who led the study, said its findings that chickens in poultry markets were a source of human infections meant that controlling the disease in these places and in these birds should be a priority.

"Aggressive intervention to block further animal-to-person transmission in live poultry markets, as has previously been done in Hong Kong, should be considered," he told the Lancet.

He added that temporary closure of live bird markets and comprehensive programs of surveillance, culling, biosecurity and segregation of different poultry species may also be needed "to halt evolution of the virus into a pandemic agent".

"The evidence ... suggests it is a pure poultry-to-human transmission and that controlling (infections in people) will therefore depend on controlling the epidemic in poultry," he said.

Yuen's findings do not mean all cases of human H7N9 infection come from chickens, or from poultry, but they do confirm chickens as one source.

The WHO has said 40 percent of people infected with H7N9 appear to have had no contact with poultry.

Other so called "reservoirs" of the flu virus may be circulating in other types of birds or mammals, and investigators in China are working hard to try find out.

CASE STUDIES

Yuen's team conducted detailed cases studies on four H7N9 flu patients from Zhejiang, an eastern coastal province south of the commercial hub Shanghai.

All four patients had been exposed to poultry, either through their work or through visiting poultry markets.

To find out whether there was transmission of the virus from poultry to humans, the researchers took swabs from 20 chickens, four quails, five pigeons and 57 ducks, all from six markets likely to have been visited by the patients.

Two of the five pigeons and four of the 20 chickens tested positive for H7N9, but none of the ducks or quails.

After analyzing the genetic makeup of H7N9 virus in a sample isolated from one patient and comparing it to a sample from one of the chickens, the researchers said similarities suggest the virus is being transmitted directly to humans from poultry.

The team also checked more than 300 people who had had close contact with the four patients and found that none showed any symptoms of H7N9 infection within 14 days from the beginning of surveillance. This suggests the virus is not currently able to transmit between people, they said.

But they noted that previous genetic analysis shows H7N9 has already acquired some gene mutations that adapt it specifically to being more able to infect mammals - raising the risk that it could one day cause a human pandemic.

"Further adaptation of the virus could lead to infections with less severe symptoms and more efficient person-to-person transmission," the scientists wrote.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-confirm-h7n9-bird-flu-come-chickens-134334449.html

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Popular discovery app Drippler heads to iOS, touts 5 million downloads on Android

Popular discovery app Drippler heads to iOS, touts 5 million downloads on Android

Drippler's been relatively successful on Android, with more than five million downloads to date, but now the team behind the recommendations app is looking to test different waters. Earlier today, Drippler announced an iOS equivalent is now available, which will bring many of the features that made it as popular as it is on Android. What this means, essentially, is the application will tailor itself for your particular device, helping discover different types of things which relate to you -- such as tips, games, services and news articles. At any rate, it'll be folks like yourself who determine whether Drippler can also be a hit on iOS, so feel free to sound off in the comments below after you've taken it for a quick whirl.

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Source: App Store, The Next Web

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qK3XtGi2o0I/

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