Category: Science / Technology

Mexico Gasoline Prices to Surge by the Most in Two Decades

Mexico will raise gasoline prices by as much as 20 percent in January, stoking inflation that’s already running at the fastest pace in almost two years. A month after the increase is implemented, prices will start to adjust on a daily basis as the government loosens its control of the gasoline market, the Finance Ministry said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday.

China’s Zhizhen eyes global push on artificial intelligence

Shanghai-based software company Zhizhen Network Technology, which sued Apple four years ago over a voice recognition patent for the iPhone Siri “personal assistant”, plans to expand into the US in 2017 with ambitions of becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence. It will set up offices in Hong Kong and Silicon Valley to develop software to cater to local clients, a fresh sign that Chinese technology firms are speeding up their “go-global” drive to take on big-names such as Microsoft and Amazon for world markets.

Editorial: End of grocery line?

Americans spend — waste — a year or two of their lives waiting in line, wishing it would move faster, staring daggers at any potential interlopers, fixing with disdain anyone who dawdles or delays the line’s steady clip. For those trying to avoid long queues, the grocery store is one of the most daunting challenges.

Graphene NanoChem wins first order for its smart fluid in China

Shares soared in Graphene NanoChem on Wednesday after the nanotechnology provider announced it had won its first contract order for its smart fluid in the shale gas market in China worth about $360,000. The order is for 4,000 barrels of PlatDrill, a smart fluid that speeds the drilling and quality of shale gas as well proving environmental and economic benefits, at two well in Changning, China.

Stanford scientists see big potential for tiny wires

Assembled with the help of diamondoids, the microscopic nanowires can be seen with the naked eye because the strong mutual attraction between their diamondoid shells makes them clump together, in this case by the millions. At top right, an image made with a scanning electron microscope shows nanowire clusters magnified 10,000 times.

Bringing the Internet of Robotics to Life

KUKA Connect is a cloud-based software platform that securely leverages cloud computing technologies and big data analytics to provide customers maximum visibility into their connected robots. The Internet of Robotics – recently a vision of the future – now has a name: KUKA Connect.

Why this iPhone costs a whopping $6500

The company, known for its encrypted communications gear, has designed the product with military personnel, politicians and businessmen in mind. What makes this modified iPhone so special is that it has been made into a mobile broadband satellite communicator, capable of receiving signal anywhere on the planet.

Patent No. 616696A: Hose Cleaner

Today in 1898, US Patent 616696 A was issued, an invention of John R. Cochran, for his “Hose Cleaner.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims: My invention relates to methods of cleaning and cleaners for the interior of hose or pipe, and more especially such hose or pipes as are used by brewers in racking off beer.

Avatar-Style Manned Robot Takes First Steps In South Korea

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ValueWalk: A robot designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters which bear a striking resemblance to the military robots seen in the movie Avatar has taken its first baby steps . The robot standing in a room on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea stands four meters tall and weighs 1.5 tons.

Bill fast-tracked to attract LakePharma

The bill , filed just earlier this month, emerged Tuesday morning from the House Ways and Means Committee and was whisked through the House by noon. Senate Majority Leader Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, said she hoped to shepherd the bill through the Senate on Tuesday.

The Humble Elevator and the Rise of Modern Civilization

Elevators, though they might not seem like it at first, are one of those inventions-like the telephone, the car, indoor plumbing, or vaccines-that are nearly miraculous in the degree to which they have changed the way we live and yet tend to fade unnoticed into the background of modern life. Nick Paumgarten wrote about the centrality of the elevator to the modern metropolis in his 2008 story ” Up and Then Down .”

Art goes 3D

Ed Hanlon made a big investment in equipment for his art classes at the middle school this year, but in doing so he’s sparked the imagination and creativity of students, teachers and administrators in School District 209-U. Joliet Junior College unveiled its new maker lab last spring, and Hanlon attended an open house to see its 3D printers and laser cutters.

Pluristem Therapeutics And New York Blood Center To Collaborate In…

Pluristem Therapeutics And New York Blood Center To Collaborate In Evaluating PLX-R18 As An Adjuvant Therapy To Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation, Winning $900,000 Funding From BIRD Prior research has suggested that PLX-R18 helps cord blood cells to engraft more rapidly and effectively Grant of $900,000 from Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation to fund the research Constitutes a 3rd potential hematologic indication for PLX-R18 HAIFA, Israel, Dec. 27, 2016 — Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. , a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, today announced that it will collaborate with the New York Blood Center on preclinical studies of its Placental eXpanded -R18 cells to enhance the efficacy of umbilical cord blood transplantation.

How Can Device and Smart Home Solution Developers Help Service…

The smart home market is evolving from a collection of siloed connected devices aS’ each with their own connectivity protocols, their own gateways, and their own monitoring and control apps aS’ into a complete unified solution of services. This new market concept, which is called smart home as a service , changes the entire market paradigm to be more in line with what consumers actually want.

Press release distribution, EDGAR filing, XBRL, regulatory filings

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Reminds Shareholders of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Commencement of a Class Action Lawsuit and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 17, 2017 )–Levi & Korsinsky reminds shareholders of a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. who purchased shares between February 10, 2014 … SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Reminds Shareholders of TerraVia Holdings, Inc. of a Class Action Lawsuit and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 17, 2017 )–Levi & Korsinsky reminds shareholders of a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of TerraVia Holdings, Inc. who purchased shares between August 8,… DPLO SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of a Class Action Involving Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 9, 2017 )–The Law Offices of Vincent Wong … (more)

Recounts or no, US elections are still vulnerable to hacking

Jill Stein’s bid to recount votes in Pennsylvania was in trouble even before a federal judge shot it down Dec. 12. That’s because the Green Party candidate’s effort stood almost no chance of detecting potential fraud or error in the vote – there was basically nothing to recount. Pennsylvania is one of 11 states where the majority of voters use antiquated machines that store votes electronically, without printed ballots or other paper-based backups that could be used to double-check the balloting.

Press release distribution, EDGAR filing, XBRL, regulatory filings

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Reminds Shareholders of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Commencement of a Class Action Lawsuit and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 17, 2017 )–Levi & Korsinsky reminds shareholders of a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. who purchased shares between February 10, 2014 … SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Reminds Shareholders of TerraVia Holdings, Inc. of a Class Action Lawsuit and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 17, 2017 )–Levi & Korsinsky reminds shareholders of a class action lawsuit on behalf of shareholders of TerraVia Holdings, Inc. who purchased shares between August 8,… DPLO SHAREHOLDER ALERT: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of a Class Action Involving Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. and a Lead Plaintiff Deadline of January 9, 2017 )–The Law Offices of Vincent Wong … (more)

Augmented and virtual reality headset market takes off

The worldwide augmented reality and virtual reality headset market is expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 108.3 percent, reaching 76 million units by 2020, according to International Data Corp.’s newly launched AR/VR Tracker. The more affordable VR devices will continue to lead the market in terms of volume, IDC said.

Chinese Hackers Charged With Trading on Stolen Law Firm Data

Three Chinese hackers made more than $4 million in illicit profits after breaking into the servers of top deals law firms in New York, the U.S. said in announcing charges and the arrest of one of the men. The three targeted at least seven major international law firms that had been retained by companies to advise on deals and successfully got into the e-mail accounts of senior lawyers at two of the firms, according to the indictment unsealed Tuesday.

U.S. accuses Chinese citizens of hacking law firms, insider trading

Three Chinese citizens have been criminally charged in the United States with trading on confidential corporate information obtained by hacking into networks and servers of law firms working on mergers, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday. Iat Hong of Macau, Bo Zheng of Changsha, China, and Chin Hung of Macau were charged in an indictment filed in Manhattan federal court with conspiracy, insider trading, wire fraud and computer intrusion.

L’Oreal steps up investments in digital start-ups: Reuters

French cosmetics giant L’Oreal said on Tuesday it was investing in an early stage fund managed by private equity firm Partech Ventures , making its second investment in digital and technology start-ups in less than a year. L’Oreal, which makes Armani perfume and Biotherm cream, said it was investing several million euros in the fund, alongside companies such as Accenture, Nokia and the United States’ Cisco.

How to Become a Rocket Scientist

Jennifer Trosper, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL mission manager, JPL, adjusts the high-gain antenna on a rover model during a news briefing on the last data and imagery from Sol 1 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. // Damian Dovarganes/AP CJ Giovingo’s path to becoming a flight system verification and validation engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory wasn’t a straight line.

First Look: Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points show promise

There’s a lot to like about Wave 2 802.11ac products, including theoretically faster speeds than Wave 1 products and cool new features, such as multi-user MIMO In this review, we look at five Wave 2 wireless access points, comparing prices and features, looking at usability and doing some performance testing. The products in this review are: Amped Wireless AC1300, ASUS EA-AC87, Cisco Aironet 1852i, Extreme Networks AP3935 and the Linksys LAPAC2600.