Think of it as Alexa for your health records. Through the Apple Health app, which is undergoing pilot testing, patients can aggregate their health records from a variety of institutions to create a more comprehensive view of their health, due to the collaboration between Apple, healthcare organizations and EHR vendors. Data from EHRs can...
Fitness trackers can tell you a lot about your body — your heart rate, your steps, even your REM cycles. Now, they can potentially track the environment around you, helping users understand the impact our surroundings have on their health. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a wristband that tests the air around it for harmful...
The FDA has cleared a direct-to-consumer hearing aid, developed by speaker manufacturer Bose, potentially opening the door for other consumer-focused electronics companies. The de novo clearance makes it the first hearing aid authorized by the agency that allows users to fit, program and control the device on their own, without help from a...
There are a wide variety of biometric tools available, including fingerprint scans, iris scans and facial recognition. Now, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi have developed a biometric system based on footsteps.The new system uses a geophone. This is a transducer that converts ground movement into electrical signals...
Can technology protect you from the jaws of a one-ton great white shark? Several Australian tech startups say yes. They’re using artificial intelligence, drones and electric force fields to try and prevent sharks from eating human bathers. In January, the Ripper Group, which operates search and rescue drones in Australia, launched SharkSpotter...
Think of it as a non-digital wearable device. While exposure to some sunlight is necessary for the body to produce Vitamin D, we all know that getting too much sun is not a good idea – among other things, it can cause sunburn, skin cancer and premature aging of the skin. With that in mind, a cheap new paper wristband has been designed to let us...
In many parts of the world, mosquitoes are more than just a campsite nuisance — they carry that cause an estimated 725,000 deaths per year. In Singapore, the effect isn’t so terrible — some mosquitoes carry dengue fever, but it affects less than a dozen people per year. But because it’s a city and an island, Singapore is the perfect testing...
Two hydrogen-powered locomotives are now zooming along a 62-mile stretch of track in Germany. Created by French company Alstom, the two trains are running on a stretch of track previously used by diesel powered vehicles. The hydrogen engines can hit a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour (87 miles per hour) and the trains have a range of about...
Next year, owners of certain late-model BMWs will be able to turn on their HVAC system, adjust the lighting, or change the radio all without lifting a finger. Today, the German automaker announced the launch of a proprietary digital voice assistant, which will be available for models featuring BMW’s latest 7.0 operating system, starting in...
In a bid to reduce waste and be more green, the French government is requiring bottles made from recycled plastic to be cheaper than those made from new plastic. Specifically, this movement hopes to reduce the price by up to 10 percent. Depending on what you’re buying to begin with, this could be a significant discount. Either way, it’s clearly...