Pedro Valenzuela
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Stephen Hawking, science's brightest star, dies aged 76
The physicist and author of A Brief History of Time has died at his home in Cambridge. His children said: ‘We will miss him for ever’<p>Stephen Hawking obituary by Roger Penrose<p>Tributes poured in on Wednesday to Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped …
PhysicsHoneydue is a money management app for couples
Honeydue is a mobile app that aims to reduce money-related arguments between couples by offering tools to share information on respective account balances and spending.<p>The app also lets couples stay on top of money matters in other ways, such as being able to comment on individual transactions and …
Personal FinanceRthm wants to be your comprehensive health AI
If you’re Toronto-based startup MagniWare, you’ve learned some hard truths about the realities of what people will bear in terms of keeping tabs on their general wellness.<p>MagniWare began life with a focus on hardware, looking to solve the problem of wearable fatigue by making a powerful sensor that …
Wearable TechLondon-based Thriva offers a home finger-prick blood test to quantify your bad self
<i>Article updated to address how Thriva is different to U.S.-based Theranos.</i><p>When the ‘quantified self’ involves stabbing your little finger with a sharp object and collecting the resulting blood, it feels like the real deal.<p>Enter Seedcamp-backed Thriva, a new London-startup that offers a home …
TheranosGoogle Fit update adds support for strength training, diet and sleep tracking
The software will also be able to display real-time information on daily activities. Android users can expect it to arrive in the coming days.<p>Google on Thursday announced an update to its Fit app on Android. The health-tracking software will now provide real-time information on your walks, runs and …
Android NewsSee parents of social-media fanatics try selfie sticks for the first time
In the Fine Brothers' latest "Parents React" video, the older generation tries out selfie sticks. "Whoever came up with this is an irritating genius," says one.<p>Selfie sticks are praised, maligned, overused, banned and sometimes dangerous. But what does the older (relatively speaking) generation …
SelfiesIkea designed a better shelter for refugees — here's what it can do
But these aren't any ordinary shelters.<p>These were designed by Ikea and built by Better Shelter, a social enterprise run by Ikea's non-profit foundation, to help refugees fleeing violence and conflict by "putting their needs at the heart of the development process."<p>These Ikea-designed shelters are …
HomelessnessMicrosoft Windows: 30 Years of Hits and Misses
For many who live in a MacBook Pro-iPhone bubble, it’s easy to forget just what a phenomenon Microsoft Windows has been for three decades now. It is, …
Bill GatesAn algorithm might save your life: How the Amazon and Netflix method might someday cure cancer
Algorithms recommend movies, books, dates — even job candidates. In the future, they might cure disease<p>Machine learning plays a part in every stage of your life. If you studied online for the SAT college admission exam, a learning algorithm graded your practice essays. And if you applied to …
Machine LearningHow The Internet’s Most Prolific Map Designer Creates His Viral Worlds
To mark the publication of his first book, 17-year-old designer Martin Vargic tells us what inspires his maps, and how he works.<p>Where once they were done under the quill of cartographers, maps today are made by satellite. But Slovakian designer Martin Vargic’s maps are different. Although they …
MapsChina Is Genetically Engineering Mini Pigs To Sell As Pets
We'd all like our baby pets to stay perpetually tiny, but scientists in China are taking that desire to a whole new level.<p>BGI, a genomics institute located in Shenzhen, announced in late September that it is genetically engineering miniature pigs to sell as pets for $1,600 each.<p>The institute …
GeneticsBrain-computer link enables paralyzed California man to walk
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A brain-to-computer technology that can translate thoughts into leg movements has enabled a man paralyzed from the waist down by a spinal cord injury to become the first such patient to walk without the use of robotics, doctors in Southern California reported on …
The BrainThis time it's true: We're out of IPv4 addresses
North America has run out of Internet addresses, or at least IPv4 internet addresses, according to the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), …
Internet of ThingsMind reading may one day be possible, researchers say
According to a new study, ‘a non-invasive brain-to-brain interface (BBI) can be used to allow one human to guess what is on the mind of another human’<p>Mind reading might not be as far-fetched as many people believe, says a study published by researchers at the University of Washington.<p>Their …
The BrainMeet the guy who's going to protect your email from prying eyes
Will Ackerly is a former National Security Agency tech whiz who’s now in the business of protecting your digital information from hackers’–and even …
SurveillanceChina's replacement for Windows is an XP ripoff
China has been trying to move away from relying on Microsoft's Windows software for its government, enterprise, and education industries. The Chinese government originally partnered with Ubuntu maker Canonical back in 2013 to create an alternative to Windows, codenamed Kylin. While that initial …
SoftwareCodecademy teams with Periscope to create a course that’ll teach you SQL
Codecademy is looking to expand its online learning platform and has begun partnering with industry firms to bring new technical languages to its users. The company has partnered with Periscope (no, not the livestreaming one) to bring SQL-centric training programs to its students.<p>Known as a place …
British 'Karma Police' program carries out mass surveillance of the web
The British government has been running a web surveillance program far more intrusive than anything attempted by the NSA, according to Snowden documents published this morning at <i>The Intercept</i>. Dubbed "Karma Police," the GCHQ program pulls web data from intercontinental data cables landing at …
SurveillanceThese Incredible Saltwater Batteries Are Designed To Store Renewable Energy
Now we can clean power even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.<p>If we’re going to use renewable power in a big way, we’re going to need better battery storage. Because solar and wind are intermittent sources of energy, they need to be backed up for when they’re not there, because, …
NASA releases stunning image of a supernova's remnants
NASA has released a stunning image of the remnants of a supernova taken by the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope.<p>The image reveals a small section of the expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago, according to the space agency. “Called the Veil Nebula, the debris is one …
Cuban internet delivered weekly by hand
<b>Cuba is a land in many ways cut off from the rest of the world. For one thing, general public use of the internet is restricted and most people don't have access to a connection.</b><p>But many have found a surprising way to get their favourite web content in spite of restrictions.<p>Much of the largely …
CubaHow to Stop Hackers from Stealing Your Data on Public Wi-Fi
You enjoy “free internet” through Wi-Fi hotspots libraries, coffee shops, at bars, and other public places. It seems harmless. Little do you know, a stranger could know your birthplace, the schools you attended, and your recent search history in 20 minutes.<p>Just a couple of years ago, strangers …
Microsoft's Clippy returns to kill Siri and hack the world
<i>Hi! It looks like you’re creating a music video. Would you like some assistance today?</i><p>If you activate the maze screensaver, you never know what you might find. Buried deep at the end is Clippy, the Microsoft Office assistant of the '90s, and he’s not happy. He’s stuck on a boring planet with the …
Music VideosHow NASA Got New Horizons To Pluto
A century from now, NASA’s successful flyby of Pluto and its five known natural satellites will rank right up there with the moment Apollo 11 first touched down on the lunar surface and the Viking 1 lander sent its first color photos from Mars.<p>Yet unlike getting to the Moon and Mars, flying within …
Solar SystemBestTechie Founder Creates KYA Analytics To Provide A Better Understanding Of Your Audience
The K-Y-A in KYA Anlytics stands for “Know Your Audience,” and founder and CEO Jeff Weisbein said that’s exactly what he’s trying to help online publishers do.<p>Weisbein has been in those shoes himself, having created and run the tech site BestTechie for more than a decade (though he took some time …
Big DataWill Human Beings Ever Reach 'Earth 2.0'?
Kepler-452b is the most Earth-like planet ever discovered, a place with just enough sunlight to possibly support the crops and house plants of life forms like ourselves.<p>But don't pack your bags just yet. While the planet might seem like a tantalizing target for NASA's next mission, it's extremely …
UniverseA new technology could drastically extend your phone battery — but cellphones companies don’t want to use it
The antenna in your phone is more than just a lazy strip of metal.<p>As Apple's infamous Antennagate fiasco taught us, snatching radio waves out of thin air to transmit thousands of messages a second over miles and miles is not quite that simple.<p>Just as poor antenna design (or an errant hand) can ruin …
Galaxy NoteGoogle adds 'find my phone' to Android app
Google has released a new feature to search for your lost phone or tablet.<p>"We've all been there — you've searched under your car seat, tossed around the sofa cushions and you still can't find your phone," Google said in a message on Google+. "If you know where your computer is, you can now ask …
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