Brain Human

As Intel steps up their investment in driverless technology with a $15 billion acquisition of Mobileye, so have automotive supplier Bosch and NVIDIA teamed up to manufacturer driverless car systems with the much-awaited Xavier chip. The Xavier chip is the NVIDIA AI complete s ...more

Every year, 100-200 people in the US contract leptospirosis, but usually 50% of the cases occur in Hawaii where outdoor adventurers are exposed to Leptospira bacteria found in freshwater ponds, waterfalls, streams, and mud. That's why it's so alarming that two people in the Br ...more

A new study just out reveals that HIV takes hold in the human body with the help of cells that usually work to heal, not kill. HIV invades the body through genital or rectal mucous membranes. Exactly how that occurs on a molecular level was not understood until now. The study ...more

Lighthouses and signal fires may have been the first social media. Without the ability to share language, a distant light meant "humans here." A new study from the University of California, San Diego, finds that bacteria can also send out a universal sign to attract the attent ...more

We all know you are what you eat—or so the expression goes—but it's good to remember that what you are (at least intestinally) is mainly bacteria. A new study has shown that what you eat, and how your gut microbiome reacts to that food, might be a key player in your risk of de ...more

Findings from a mouse study suggest that the Zika virus infection may have serious reproductive consequences for men. Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that often produces no symptoms in men or women. Those who do have symptoms usually experience a minor rash, low-grade fever, p ...more

You're all kale-d out, you've had it up to here with golden milk, and you're on the prowl for the next superfood. Well, get ready for some unicellular goodness: the next superfood is an algae named Spirulina, also known as Blue Majik. (Kudos to the marketing exec that came up ...more

Imagine that you're the last person alive. After losing all of your loved ones, you thought you'd never see another human being in your life. Then, they arrive. The hoard of 15-year-old zombies looking for a cute British YouTuber so they may feast on his brains. This may soun ...more

Merely fidgeting and shivering can burn calories, but now you can add trembling in fear to the list too. Just pop in a good horror movie and turn down the lights to burn off up to 200 calories. What would you rather do? Walk for over 30 minutes or watch a 90-minute scarefest? ...more

We've been so worried about volumetric scans possibly robbing celebrities and performers of their agency and right to control their image that, somewhere along the way, we forgot that scans may not always be necessary to produce passable holographic performances. That's the d ...more

When it comes to the business of augmented reality, companies that aren't already introducing new products or apps are focused on producing the AR technology of the future. But in the realm of real products and apps, Magic Leap continues to show off what its headset can do, th ...more

Scientists know that bacteria create their own energy, get nutrients to run their cellular processes, and multiply. But, bacteria haven't been shown to respond to external mechanical stimulation or signals in a way that's similar to how our bodies respond to touch, until now. ...more

Infections with group A streptococcus, like Streptococcus pyogenes, claim over a half million lives a year globally, with about 163,000 due to invasive strep infections, like flesh-eating necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Distinctive substances on ...more

A week into my internship, I experienced pretty serious back pain and slight difficulty breathing. I scheduled a doctor's appointment to make sure nothing was wrong, and I got a surprising diagnosis: bad posture. Yep, slouching at my desk had caused all of my maladies. In an ...more

The herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cause devastating complications for infected newborns whose mothers have genital herpes. Understanding risk and research can help you, and your baby, when the time comes. In the US, about one out of six people aged 14 to 49 have genital herp ...more

Just like your gastrointestinal tract, and the soil we walk on — a dust storm has a collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses all its own called a "dust microbiome." Think of a microbiome as a community of microbes living and working in a shared environment. In your gut, the ...more

Bone loss and belly fat may no longer be certain fates of menopause, thanks to new research from an international team of scientists. Researcher Mone Zaidi from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sina and colleagues describe the discovery of an antibody that reduced fat and in ...more

In the US, ticks can spread several pathogens in one bite. A new test offers physicians the ability to identify what infections ticks are carrying and can detect if one of the pathogens could be the spreading Powassan virus. Ixodes scapularis, better known as the black-legged ...more

The ability of one microbe to adapt is giving it a whole new career as a sexually transmitted disease. Usually content with the back of the throat and nose of those who carry it, the dangerous pathogen Neisseria meningitidis has adapted to cause an illness that looks a lot lik ...more

Viral infections have been the focus of attention in the development of autoimmune diseases—diseases where the body's immune system reacts to the body's own cells—because they trigger the immune system into action. In a study published in Science, led by senior author Dr. Ban ...more

Within the coming months, software startup Neurable plans to introduce the next paradigm in virtual and augmented reality: the brain–computer interface (BCI). A BCI interprets brain signals so that devices can understand user intention from predefined selections. Relying on s ...more

Phase 2 of a Zika vaccine trial began in the United States this week, along with Central and South America. The vaccine was developed by expert scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, ...more

The search for a cancer treatment that selectively finds and kills only the cancerous cells has just made a giant leap forward. A new study published in Nature Communications, by a group of researchers from the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute, Barcelona Insti ...more

Tremendous strides have been made in the treatment and outlook for patients infected with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. Treatment with a combination of antiretroviral drugs can keep patients with HIV alive for decades, without symptoms of the infection. The trouble is ...more

In the past, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) commonly led to dementia as the virus made its way to the brain. Even in effectively treated people, HIV can hide out and replicate in places like the brain, where it's tough to detect. That's why it's very concern ...more

With new diet and health claims coming at you everyday, it's sometimes hard to know what to believe. Well, here's a bright spot: A pair of studies confirm that whole grains are healthy for you, and for the diversity of microbes living in your gut. Grains, and the breads made ...more

Over 1.2 million people in the US are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—and one out of eight of them don't know it. Even after decades of intense research into the virus, there's still no cure for it. One of the big problems is that the virus hides out in certai ...more

As researchers learn more and more about our intestinal bacteria—also called the gut microbiome—we're finding out that these microbes aren't just influencing our health and wellness, they're a useful tool for improving it, too. The bacteria in our intestinal tract must proper ...more

To much of the United States, Zika seems like a tropical disease that causes horrible problems in other countries but is nothing to be worried about stateside. It may make you rethink your beach vacation abroad, but not much more than that. However, if you live in Florida or T ...more

The future of augmented and mixed reality offers many possibilities, mostly because we're still figuring out everything it can do. While Meta is open to exploration, they've spent a lot of time thinking about what the future of this technology will be. We spoke to Ryan Pampli ...more

The world of augmented reality has seen a myriad of different products, from sensor-laden smartphones to robust holographic headsets, but Google Glass's failures nearly killed the middle ground. Based on our hands-on time with a prototype, LAFORGE Optical did what Google coul ...more

Willpower is a pretty significant word. It's the difference between sticking with a clean eating diet and diving face-first into a plate of brownies. It's what drags you out of bed on Monday mornings and into work rather than letting you stay snuggled under the covers asleep. ...more

As someone who's dependent on glasses to see on an everyday basis, losing or misplacing them is obviously a bad thing. I can't even see clearly enough to find the glasses that I just lost, so I'm pretty much blind now. Without your prescription eyewear, the world is a blur. P ...more

MIT artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman recently asked SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk possibly the best question he's ever been asked: What would he ask a hypothetical AGI system (an AI system with human-level intelligence and understanding) if he only had one q ...more

Last year's augmented reality investments roundup was impressive. And in 2018, the dollars flowing toward AR haven't decreased, as venture capitalists and strategic investors continue to aggressively fund AR startups at a rapid pace. And while the technology still has yet to ...more

Nineteen days ago, several hundred people could have been exposed by a traveler with measles in Nova Scotia, Canada. The next day, someone flying from Minnesota to Nebraska may have spread the measles to other passengers. A couple weeks ago, it's possible that a man and his si ...more

YouTube's massive user base comprises almost one third of all people on the internet, and collectively, users spend well over 100 million hours on the site watching billions of videos each day. Add it all up, and this means that YouTube is viewed by more people than any U.S. c ...more

Your brain holds a lot of precious information and is capable of great feats. However, there's one quality that doesn't lie among its strengths—memory security. Yes, that's right, your brain can be hacked, and it doesn't take a psychologist to do it. Anyone with the right know ...more

We all know that it's important to drink water regularly throughout the day. After all, it has so many benefits, including flushing toxins out of the body and maintaining kidney health and good bowel movements. Turns out that's only part of the story. While being properly hydr ...more

It may not be as large as the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, but the Galaxy S3's screen size is still big enough to make iPhone owners cry themselves to sleep. The 4.8-inch AMOLED display with 720 x 1280 pixels makes the GS3 a great mobile companion—and an even better portable gaming ...more

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous characters in modern history, and has appeared in film more often than any other character. No less than 78 different actors have taken their turn at portraying the enigmatic deduction machine in various mediums, and each has brought t ...more

The worlds of augmented reality and virtual reality are closely linked in many ways. That means it's smart for AR insiders to keep a close on new developments in VR. If you have been paying attention, you know that Oculus CTO John Carmack is one one of the most important think ...more

You can almost detect the collective breath-holding of the augmented reality industry as it waits for Apple's inevitable entry. A new Apple wearable built with augmented reality technology is likely the device that will finally make the smartphone take a backseat. Apple's for ...more

Cruise Automation, the driverless car startup General Motors (GM) bought for $1 billion in 2016, is readying a formidable fleet of robo-taxis for rollout in cities throughout the US. But when it comes to details about how the company plans to realize these lofty goals, it's be ...more

There are all kinds of theories—many supported by science—about what causes Alzheimer's disease. Tangles of protein called ß-amyloid (pronounced beta amyloid) plaques are prominently on the list of possible causes or, at least, contributors. An emerging theory of the disease s ...more

When shopping for a new smartphone, you'll encounter comparisons and spec sheets that are filled to the brim with values like mAh, GB, and GHz. To the average consumer, however, these values are meaningless, so we end up looking at which device has the specs with the highest a ...more

Climbing into bed and shutting your eyes each night is heavenly—but waking up the next morning isn't. We all hate dragging ourselves out of the comfort of sleep and into the groggy, exhausting work day. Yet starting your day doesn't have to be awful if you know how to hack you ...more

Although your friends might roll their eyes every time you talk about playing Clash of Clans, Call of Duty, or Candy Crush Saga, your excessive gaming habits might actually be making you healthier than everyone else. I've got your attention now, right? Read on for 8 insanely ...more

It's a controversial headline, I know, but bear with me and I'll explain in due course. Disclaimer: I was once a child, and I played lots of video games. I didn't look anything like this child. Are Video Games Good or Bad? Ah, video games: that perennial time-waster that chi ...more

As people continue to upgrade their PCs to Microsoft Windows 8, more and more developers are adding content to the Windows Store. While the offerings are not as vast as Google Play or the iTunes App Store, it does have some solid apps for both productive users and those lookin ...more

While Apple has been rather secretive about its work on AR wearables (despite the abundance of leaks revealing details about their unannounced devices), Facebook has been rather chatty about its plans for smartglasses. The company's latest missive on its AR wearables developm ...more

One could argue that, at least for the moment, software development is more important to the augmented reality experience than hardware. Since a viable augmented reality headset has yet to emerge for the broader, mainstream consumer market, currently, the same devices that mak ...more

Give an 18-month-old a shoe, check back 10 minutes later, and it's a very big maybe he will have it on his foot. But give him your smartphone, and in a mere five minutes, he can take 100 pictures of the carpet, send weird messages, and delete essential apps. Imagine what your ...more

If we were to assign a theme for the 2019 edition of the Next Reality 30 (NR30), it might be something along the lines of, "What have you done for me lately?" Many of the top names in the industry from the 2018 edition remain the same, but their positions have shuffled. The p ...more

Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians acro ...more