Researchers face a number of challenges when conducting a clinical study.1 Investigators spend considerable time and money recruiting and screening viable participants. If recruitment takes too long, important studies can get scrapped before they are even started. Once a study is underway, participants must sacrifice their own time to make clinic visits, which, for long-term studies, can reduce participant retention. Incorporating internet and mobile technologies into a study's design can r ...read more
As February was drawing to a close, heavy rains and melting snow led to extensive flooding in the central and southern United States that was easily visible to orbiting satellites.
The before-and-after animation above is a noteworthy example. The river running from top to bottom is the Mississippi, with Arkansa to the left and Tennessee to the right. Small portions of Missouri, Kentucky and Mississippi are visible as well. Click on the thumbnail at right to see the area covered ...read more
Exosuits may seem the stuff of anime and superhero movies, but the technology is actually used for assisting those who might need a boost to go about their daily lives.
These wearable technologies fit onto the body, usually the legs, much like a high-tech wetsuit. The exosuit is designed to provide supportive force to various points of the leg when needed, helping the user walk more easily and naturally.
Now, new research out of Harvard University published in Science Robotics shows th ...read more
It's still too early to give a definite thumbs up or thumbs down to promises of future driverless cars reducing private car ownership by acting as robot chauffeurs. But evidence from today's ride-hailing services suggests that Uber, Lyft and Waymo may only worsen traffic congestion by crowding roads with robot taxis in the near future.
The latest study from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council Research in Boston found that about 42 percent of ride-hailing pa ...read more
This month marks the 45th anniversary of Pioneer 10's passage through the asteroid belt. It was a key rite of passage in humanity's journey from this blue planet into the deep reaches of outer space. Unlike the crowded swarms of science-fiction movies, the real asteroid belt is overwhelmingly empty space. Still, nobody knew exactly what to expect. Would Pioneer 10 be pelted with dust-speck micrometeoroids? Was the asteroid belt a serious barrier to exploration?
As it turned out, the dust ...read more
Earlier this week, BuzzFeed published a detailed investigation of a prominent food psychologist who massaged and manipulated data to produce media-friendly results. You've probably heard of some of Cornell University professor Brian Wansink's studies. There was the one with the "bottomless" soup bowl that refilled itself while subjects ate, to study portion control; the one about characters on cereal boxes making eye contact with kids from grocery-store shelves; and so on. Se ...read more
The world's largest airplane is taking to the runway.
The massive Stratolaunch aircraft developed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen conducted a taxi test over the weekend in Mojave, California where the aircraft reached a speed of 46 miles per hour. With a wingspan of 385 feet, and powered by six Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines, the ungainly craft is meant to give rockets a ride to the stratosphere, where they will launch into orbit.
Gearing Up For Flight
The test follows earlie ...read more
It’s rough when a pet passes away. For those that can't bear to be apart, they can clone their beloved animal. That’s what Barbra Streisand did — not once, but twice.
She recently revealed to Variety that two of her three Coton de Tulear dogs are cloned. “They have different personalities,” Streisand told Variety. “I’m waiting for them to get older so I can see if they have her brown eyes and her seriousness.”
Cells were taken from the ...read more
Back in the 1980s, S.O.S. calls after midnight were common in the field of infectious disease. And as soon as my pager started to trill, I turned on my bedside lamp and dialed—often within thirty seconds. One night, I connected to an intern I’ll call Paddy. The background din quickly spelled “E.R.”
“Sorry to disturb you, Dr. P, but a woman woke with a rat on her face. Then the rat bit her lip.”
First, I expelled a disgusted “yecchh,” then I asked ...read more
