"Biomeme,
a new company out of Philadelphia, PA, is planning on launching an easy to use
system that can perform real-time qPCR and provide results through any
smartphone without using expensive lab equipment nor requiring an experienced
hand to operate. The goal is to offer medical professionals, regardless of
their location, the ability to do advanced diagnostics and perform disease
surveillance.
Biomeme’s platform transforms a smartphone into a mobile lab for advanced DNA
diagnostics and real-time disease surveillance. The system includes:
a docking station for performing real-time quantitative polymerase chain
reaction (qPCR)
a mobile app to wirelessly control the system, analyze results in real-time and
send them to the cloud
targeted test kits for preparing samples and identifying pathogens or diseases
by their specific DNA or RNA signatures.
The low-cost system requires no special laboratory equipment and could enable
mobile testing at the point-of-need for health care, agriculture, vector
surveillance, veterinary medicine, environmental monitoring, and even education
and citizen science.
Is
the glass half empty or half full? Optimism is a choice that we make in each
situation. Our reaction to how we handle life's events determines our future.
So, if you had the choice to live the brightest possible future, would you want
to? The answer, most likely is, "YES, of course!" And the question,
then, is how do we cultivate more optimism in our lives? A few ways to begin
are to look for solutions instead of problems, take a step back from the situation
at hand and view the bigger picture to see the silver lining, practice
gratitude for all that you have and are in this moment, have patience with
others and yourself, and always trust that the universe has your back no matter
what.
Actress, author and activist Jenny McCarthy shares with us her top ten benefits
of being optimistic:
1. Research shows that optimism increases longevity.
2. It allows you to develop an attitude of thankfulness.
3. It sets a positive tone for your day.
4. It increases your spiritual development and enlightening.
5. It allows for tolerance of others and situations.
6. It promotes positive relationships.
7. It allows you to approach a crisis with strength and resolve.
8. It decreases anxiety, frustration and worries.
9. It allows for forgiveness.
10. It promotes happiness.
The
trio each reflect different aspects of the rise in popularity of camping and
festivals, creating a choice of premium home-from-home options for the
enthusiastic traveller.
* The MINI Clubvan Camper is the world's smallest luxury camper van, packed
with practical solutions that make it ideal accommodation for an individual on
a weekend away.
* The MINI Cowley is a compact yet comfortable caravan for two people, equipped
with a twin-ring gas stove, fridge and sink.
* The MINI Countryman ALL4 Camp with its innovative roof-top tent is the
getaway car for an adventurous couple, evoking images of African safari and
expedition vehicles.
All three models have been styled with MINI's much-loved design cues to the
fore. They display the character and fun personality which motorists have come
to associate with MINI, and which have made the brand such a global success.
The cars have been developed around the 'maximum touring pleasure with minimal
footprint' philosophy, and illustrate the principle of creative space
utilisation for which MINI is renowned. They have been created as concept
vehicles to showcase the depth of the MINI range, as well as the creativity and
skill within the company's design and engineering staff. There are no plans to
offer them as production vehicles at this stage
Is
this a mosquito? No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in
production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is
equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have
the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on
your skin. It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing
until you take it in your home.
Mixture of hoax and facts.The story comes with a picture claiming to show a
Mosquito spy drone that can take photographs and DNA samples of people, and
that it is funded by the U.S government for tracking people.
It is a fact that there are reports suggesting that research is going on to
develop the MAV's, i.e. Micro Air Vehicles in the form of tiny flying objects
like a mosquito. The purpose of these MAVs is to be useful in scientific and
military applications. The micro flying robot can have cameras, microphones and
other sensors that can take pictures, videos and other useful scientific and
biological information from people and places where humans (or the military)
cannot reach. This way the tiny flying robots can also be used as spies and
weapons against enemies.
In 2007, at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
(IROS), the latest developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were
showcased. Scientists talked about the design of micro UAVs of insect-size that
actually flap their tiny little wings, and convey important communication
information in a given mission. Not just from U.S, there were in total 20
UAV-related papers at the conference, from four continents and eight countries,
including Portugal, Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and
Brazil.
In 2008, the U.S. military engineers were trying to design flying robots
disguised as insects which can fly and spy on enemies to conduct dangerous
missions without risking human lives. Refer to an animated picture in the image
section below. Greg Parker, who helps lead this research at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base in Dayton talks about this saying:
"The way we envision it is, there would be a bunch of these sent out in a
swarm. If we know there's a possibility of bad guys in a certain building, how
do we find out? We think this would fill that void."Parker and his team
planned to start and develop such a bird-sized robot as soon as 2015, followed
by the insect-sized models by 2030.
