TechySci

Facebook Phone a New Concept in Talk

2012-06-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

Those who love social networking a little too much may be pleased to know that there’s something on the Internet that has the potential to satisfy their love for all things Facebook. A new post on Yanko Design, a web-based modern design magazine posted a bunch of images made by one Michal Bonikowski detailing a Facebook phone concept.

The phone has a 4.2-inch touchscreen on its blue metal casing, the same kind of recognizable blue on Facebook’s layouts. The site’s logo can be seen on it as well, and nothing else. It’s also said to have two cameras, a front-facing 5MP shooter and an 8MP camera in the rear. A white docking station is also thrown in, also bearing the Facebook name, and powers up the phone with inductive charging, something that isn’t common when it comes to smartphones.

Unfortunately for fans, there are slim chances of this phone actually being manufactured and released, considering it’s just a concept made by an engineer and not an actual product. It does look good, but it might not come true.

This is not the first bit of news concerning a phone by the networking company, and probably wont be the last. In fact, Facebook is no stranger to this kind of speculation, one of the more popular rumors being that it’s working with HTC to create a device dubbed “Buffy”, which is a nod to the 90′s TV show. Only time will tell if these rumors are true and Facebook is planning on jumping into the mobile device category as well, or if these are just products of wishful thinking.

How to protect your business from online security threats

2012-06-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Nowadays the E-commerce is growing rapidly and even faster than expected. The consumers have realized that online shopping means the better selection, lower prices and easiness of use. That is why more and more digital stores are established in likely every niche. The number of offers becomes really huge and that leads to higher competition on any level and most notably in Google search results. Big and successful companies invest thousands of dollars in online and offline advertisement.
Online expenses include Google pay per click campaigns, search engine optimization, banner advertisement, video ads etc. The hardest part of that is receiving organic traffic from web search. If you target your web store for proper money keywords and region, it will send your website thousands of visitors every day. The visitors are of course your potential customers, so it’s your time to work on traffic conversion. After gaining popularity to your web store you would like to go ahead and not step back. But you as a business owner, should be well prepared to a variety of threats since your business creation. Let’s review the most common online security threats and find the way to secure your website.
Online security techniques are constantly evolving along with the abusers who try to develop theirs. Every E-commerce website gathers and stores customers’ information and this is your concern how you can avoid data loss and data theft. The security protocols should be properly installed to diminish the leakage of sensitive info. This includes the reliable authentication mechanism, fraudulent monitoring, data encryption techniques and data storage.
Your web server should be protected from DDoS – distributed denial of service attacks, any type of malware and virus. DDoS means spamming of your website with the huge amount of “rubbish” traffic that leads to web server productivity loss. In order to protect from DDoS, the most reliable way is using a DDoS protection service, that substantially reduces risks. Sure, there are ways to secure from web attacks yourself. You can use a number of software to monitor your online traffic and implement the techniques on your own web server to filter the real traffic and spam traffic. But using a specific service is hands free. So, you can find cheap DDoS protection service provider and pay a moderate fee for your website 24/7 protection. Building a protection shield around your Internet business project, remember that most shady techniques oriented on a simple human error and carelessness.

Individual and Company Data Protection with Full Disk Encryption

2012-06-08T00:40:00.000-07:00

What a full disk encryption is and how it can benefit us? Full disk encryption is usually called as FDE. It is an encryption of hardware to serve a transparent and automatic security for the information on the end point drive such as erased files, OS files, user data and many others. If we are using full disk encryption, we are highly protected with authentication key that let the data inaccessible. The software might be available in the computer in the first place, but if we cannot find one, we can install it with driver. Why should we consider full disk encryption, anyway?

The most basic advantage of using full disk encryption is definitely data protection when the data or hardware is stolen. It will protect the data if someone breaks in and access our laptop. The full disk encryption can be sued for all platforms whether it is Windows, Linux or Mac OS. The system is able to serve not only small scope-data, but also a big scope of data for companies. Therefore, using full disk encryption will be so beneficial to secure the company’s confidential data. It is actually recommended for all businesses to use full disk encryption due to the sophisticated ways to steal data such as by using a key logger.
A full disk encryption with simple driver installation is perfect for individual usage to protect desktop and laptop. However, when it comes to full disk encryptionfor company, then the company will need network administration to serve the whole systems. The service will also provide and keep the clients’ password just in case the clients forget the password. If we are having sensitive business such as finance business, using FDE is highly recommended. We can find so many services on FDE nowadays, but the recommended one is AlertSec.com. This reputable yet professional company is ready to serve us the best computer safety software.

Amazon Kindle Fire A First Impression

2012-06-07T09:38:00.004-07:00

This is not a problem though (as of this writing) with the non-US Kindle products that includes the all-new Kindle, the Kindle Touch, and Kindle Keyboard 3G (not be confused with Kindle Touch 3G) – in which Amazon allows you to place an order and have it shipped directly in the country. The Kindle Fire, however, has already reached the Philippine shore; in fact, we spotted limited units on display in a local gizmo store. I was able to take a quick hands-on of the tablet, and here’s what I can say about it.

The Kindle Fire 7-inch touchscreen display, showing off a costumed UI that is forked from Android OS, may be fair enough; but I felt a compelling need for Amazon to work on it – certainly on the next version of the tablet. The display is vivid and pretty responsive though (thanks to its TI OMAP 4430 chip), but not yet perfect. For a 7-incher slate, the Kindle Fire appears to be a very portable device that you can hold it comfortably even with just a single hand. The back of the tablet is rubberized, thus it eliminates the need of an external cases, especially those who hate smooth surfaces.

Aside from the power button, micro-USB port, and the 3.5mm audio jack, there’s no other button you can find on every side of the tablet. The frontage doesn’t have any of that either, as you can just use the essential buttons (e.g Home, Back, List, Search) available on the lower portion of the UI.

The Kindle Fire is a Wi-Fi device and this allows you to download apps from Amazon App Store (I didn’t try it though as there are already pre-installed apps) and let you surf the web through Amazon’s Silk browser. Though it got, should I say, a lackluster 8GB internal storage – at least Amazon offers a free cloud storage, which I believe through its Cloud Drive service.

Source

RIM s 16 GB BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

2012-06-07T09:10:00.001-07:00

RIM has stopped making the 16 GB PlayBook tablet, leaving only 32 and 64 GB versions in stock, the company told Engadget.

“RIM will no longer be making the 16 GB model of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. The 16 GB PlayBook will continue to be available for distributors and retailers while quantities last. (…) There is more value for our customers in the higher capacity models (32 GB, 64 GB), and as such we have decided to focus our efforts here,” said RIM in a statement.
Engadget thinks this might be due to the lower profit margins on the 16 GB version, but we can think of another reason for the change — a shift away from the consumer market. The 16 GB model costs ($174 in some places) roughly half as much at the 64 GB one ($300). Price-conscious consumers might have opted for the lower end model.
This would be in line with RIM’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins, announcement from March. RIM “cannot succeed by trying to be everybody’s darling,” Heins said. Instead, it would shift its focus on its core strengths — enterprise devices and services.
RIM’s PlayBook wasn’t a tremendously successful product, but with more than one million sold, it wasn’t a total fluke either. By dropping the cheapest variant, and with BlackBerry 10 around the corner, it seems that RIM will try to push a robust, enterprise-friendly tablet instead of fighting with the Kindle, Nook and iPad 2 for the mass consumer market.

Sony brings World’s First 3D 4K Home Theater Projector in your living room

2012-06-05T04:49:00.003-07:00

Home entertainment is all set to become a whole lot more demanding. As, it’s time now to forget 1080p as the standard for high-definition video in the home, as its replacement, the next-generation of TV technology, 4K resolution, also known as Quad Full HD is already making its presence felt strongly in the home entertainment sector. Already embraced by Hollywood and earlier introduced by Panasonic in its 152-inch 4K resolution TV, the biggest plasma screen in the world, first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in year 2010, the ultra high-definition 4K resolution is the technology in demand. And, considering this, Sony has now introduced a 4K home cinema projector, dubbed as VPL-VW1000ES that offers video quality four times better than HD (1080p) displays. Thus, becoming the world’s first among the consumer electronics companies to release a 4K resolution in a home cinema projector.

However, the merits of packing more than 8 million pixels in to a 20-inch display, or even 3 million into a 9.7-inch display, may be questionable, but projecting this number of pixels on to a screen across a few meters may be a different matter all together. And, Sony’s 3D-capable VPL-VW1000ES justifiably does this work of throwing 8.8 million pixels on to the screen.

Using Sony’s own IRIS3 technology combined with new SXRD 4K panel, this new projector produces 2,000 ANSi-lumens of brightness and dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. Further, it boasts a 2.1 motorized zoom and can easily produce images from 60 to 300 inches in size, diagonally. And, the projector’s bulb is expected to provide brightness from 2,000 to 2,500 hours. Additionally, two HDMI ports, mini D-sub port, Ethernet port, and component input come standard as connectivity options.

The 3D-capable VPL-VW1000ES also features Sony’s ‘Reality Creation’ upscaler that can easily take SD or HD, along with 2D or 3D content and upscale it to ultra HD, 4K resolution. The projector also supports anamorphic films of 2D and 3D, and for the unit’s TDG-PJ1 USB-chargeable 3D glasses, Sony has opted for active shutter technology.

Will Apple TV revolutionize the industry immediately after its launch in 2013

2012-06-04T05:12:00.004-07:00

Everyone knows that the Apple TV will be released next year and may cost between $1500 and $2000, but will it revolutionize the industry?

According to Poper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, the Apple TV may not revolutionize the industry soon and it is a question to wonder how much time this outstanding product iDevice giant takes to do that.

Munster added that initially the Apple TV won’t be so much different than the presently available Apple TV set-top box. It may within the next five years time be ahead of current satellite and cable TV models and would be more toward DVR in the cloud offering unbundled channels to its customers.

Apple may also include Siri, third-party device compatibility, apps and games, about 55-inch screen and few more.

Crossbow Motorbike is the world s first true all weather two wheeler

2012-06-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

Created by industrial designer Phil Pauley, the Crossbow takes the safety and comfort of motorcyclists to another level. To shield the rider from the elements during all kinds of weather conditions, the motorbike comes with a canopy cover that extends overhead and provides shelter from rain, snow and even the sun and allows the rider to focus on the road ahead without being distracted or discomforted.

The innovative protective windshield also adds a playful yet functional element to the design of the electric motorbike. The extreme all-weather vehicle still offers riders all the thrill of a two-wheeler and even maximizes the bike’s aerodynamics by allowing it to cut through the air more smoothly during high speed engagements.

At low speeds, the unique design helps the rider maintain stability and full control over the vehicle by allowing them to comfortably place their feet in an optimum ergonomic position. The beautifully styled automatic canopy adds to the rugged appeal of the all-weather bike and makes it perfect for urban environments, leisurely weekend drives through the countryside as well as the racetrack.

Complete with a windscreen wiper as well as a heating element, the basic comforts of a roof add to the thrill of motorbike riding and the white knuckle ride ushers in a new breed of electric motorcycles that are masculine and stylish and stand out from the crowd. With the retractable canopy protecting you from all sides, you can also drive without helmet at low speeds and your dates will appreciate not being asked to suffer the horrors of helmet hair.

Via: Inhabitat

Tardigrades – The Toughest Little Living Thing on Earth

2012-05-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

Never mind the fascinating story of the frozen Frogs. There are tiny creatures on this planet that are tougher than any other you could name, and you could easily find some in your garden. Known affectionately by many as Water Bears, or Moss Piglets, Tardigrades are without doubt the greatest survivors in all of nature.

These tiny wonders creatures can be found everywhere, be it 20,000ft up in the Himalayas , down to as deep as 13,000ft below the surface of the seas. Studied by biologists in environments ranging from the hottest deserts to underneath the Antarctic ice, but if truth be told water bears are most content when living on damp moss. Being aquatic, they also do well wherever there is moisture available.

Discovered in 1773 by zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze, to date over nine hundred species have been discovered, mostly inhabiting mosses, lichens, and several kinds of sediments. The truly incredible aspect of the moss piglet is their resilience.

You can freeze them, and they can survive temperatures as low as -272 degrees Celsius ( nowhere on earth is that cold naturally, you need to send them into space) or boil them to as mush as 181 degrees Celsius (almost double the temperature of boiling water). You could try to dry them out, but ten years without water will not see them off, or you could expose them to radiation, but they can stand almost 6,000 grays of radioactivity.

When you consider that the most a human can stand before dying is about 20 grays (one gray equaling around five thousand X-rays of the body), you begin to understand just how hardy these unbelievable little beasts are. They can happily withstand life at temperatures that would literally decimate any other life form, either hot or cold, and have life-spans that humanity has dreamed of achieving since the beginning of time.

Be it at the hellish mouths of underwater volcanic vents, wandering through outer space for two centuries, laid deep within the coldest places on the planet, these tiny, 1mm long creatures are so incredibly tough that, no matter what you think of doing to them, they will survive. There could easily be hundreds of them within feet of your present position, and you had no idea.

When it comes to handing out plaudits for survival skills, surely nothing can even come close to rivaling the miniature powerhouses called water bears for being such impressive masters of survival. Nature truly is more diverse and wonderful than any of us can begin to imagine.

Link

Flypad Turn Your iPhone into a Steering Wheel

2012-05-29T08:40:00.002-07:00

Smartphones have a lot of cool technology built in, from high-res touchscreens to gestural command features, like shaking, rocking, or rolling, and motion sensing via accelerometers. Just as mobile computing is revolutionizing the way we communicate and interact with the world, unsurprisingly smartphone technology is also having its way with gaming.

Since we’re rarely without our mobile devices today, mobile gaming (especially social-mobile) is becoming increasingly popular — but thanks to the wizardry of smartphone tech — a number of intrepid souls are turning back to explore the interactive possibilities between our mobile devices and our hardware — our desktops, etc. The most entertaining example of which would be the ability to transform our smartphones into game controllers.

Joypad, for instance, is transforming iPhones into game controllers for iPads, Macs, and PCs by syncing them over BlueTooth or Wi-Fi, just as Brass Monkey is doing for browser-based games.

Today, a member of the current batch of Y Combinator startups called Flypad joins the group of entrepreneurs looking to game-ify smartphones, albeit with a more specific focus. Flypad transforms the iPhone into a steering wheel for PC racing games, allowing gamers to steer their vehicles of choice in games like Need For Speed: The Run — with their iPhones.

Initially, the team was on a similar trajectory to that of Brass Monkey, in that it offered support for Android and iOS that, through apps and Wi-Fi, linked smartphones to browser-based Flash games. However, the team found that browser-based games attracted a more casual gaming audience that didn’t care quite as much about peripherals (devices connected to a host computer) as more hardcore gamers playing PC racing games. To that point, the newest version of Flypad has seen 7,000 downloads in beta testing and is resonating particularly in international markets, where the cost of buying controllers, steering wheels, and the like, are higher.

Going forward, Flypad has two immediate goals, which are to increase the amount of play-able racing games (and beyond) in its bullpen, as well as rolling out a full set of APIs for game developers, which allow them to easily add the iPhone as an input for their games.

Of course, integrating with existing games is just the beginning, as the team’s eventual plan is to enable a whole new class of games to be developed. Typically, game controllers today are simply just pieces of hardware, but eventually controllers themselves will be running their own complex software, opening up whole new ways of interacting with games.
Some of the other solutions out there today, says Flypad Co-founder Ayo Omojola, tend to have heavy developer focuses up front, but, at the end of the day, gamers don’t play games because of the phone or the novelty of the technology, they play because they love the gameplay or experience of their favorite racing games. So Flypad focused on offering a quick way to preload content into the experience, so that gamers don’t have to worry about the technical side, they can just sit down and play.
So, while they initially offered a browser mechanic that enabled gamers to quickly play on the Web, although HTML5 in progressing rapidly, the gameplay just wasn’t the quality as those Steam games, for example, which is why Flypad is currently offering compatibility with some of the games in the Need For Speed series, DIRT3, Burnout, and Ignite. Certainly, Flypad faces some friction in that it isn’t platform or device agnostic, and the fact that many serious gamers prefer fixed-wheel controllers to something more free-wheeling like a smartphone control; however, at this point Omojola says that the team is focused on killing the experience of PC racing games on the iPhone.
Next, the founding team, which also includes Gaurav Namit and Femi Omojola, plans to actually embed themselves in their users’ living rooms, so that they can better observe the habits of gamers, how they play, what their engagement looks like, etc. But for now they know that opening their doors to other game developers represents the best immediate opportunity for increasing the number of games (and features) that they can integrate with their smart, motion-sensing steering wheel. To do so, the team recently released its Flash API, and is looking to launch its Unity API next.
Of course, in the big picture, it might be easy to see Flypad’s technology as an add-on, but in reality, their smart steering solution is meant to get developers excited about creating games for smartphones, and that in turn, hopefully encourage gamers to follow. What’s more, the real nifty bit of the technology Flypad offers is the ability to provide users with dynamic interfaces on their smartphones, which change in realtime, so that, say, if you’re playing Madden, your playbook only shows up on your phone and not that of your opponent.
The technology around mobile device-controlled has so much potential, and although it’s still fairly novel to most gamers, I’m sure we can expect some cool things out of Flypad as they push forward.

More Click Here

Revolutionary concept Spherical Solar Cells

2012-05-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

The rethink certainly goes a long way to making solar energy more accessible and functional as we look towards a future of alternative energy sources. Japanese company Kyosemi has developed a revolutionary spherical micro solar cell that is capable of capturing sunlight from all directions. Called the Sphelar, the cell shuns the traditional flat substrate photovoltaic design and opts for much more efficient shape – the sphere. While traditional flat solar cells are easy to design and produce, their main problem is that their efficiency relies on their relative position to the sun.

There are a variety of benefits to this multi-layered design shift to rounded cells. It means the mini dome shaped collection units don’t need to move to capture sunlight, making full use of the sun’s rays. These mini domes are located on a hemispheric base unit that also maximizes the exposure to the sun. The unique shape reduces the need for motors that often turn the flat panels , and because they units aren’t flat they require less surface area and can pack more units into a smaller space. Maybe the future of these panels!

Link

Was the Pyramid of Giza a Wireless Electricity Transmitter

2012-05-26T01:25:00.000-07:00

Rather strange theories have surfaced over the debate of what the Giza pyramid really was made for and one of the most interesting theories is that it was a wireless electric transmitter. The idea is strange but not too crazy considering that the main stream archeologists want us to believe that the pyramid was made for King Khufu’s tomb while there are no inscriptions of his name inside or outside the pyramid. Therefore I don’t know what is crazier, believing that the pyramid was a tomb with no evidence or speculating that it is a transmitter. What I seen in the short documentary was pretty interesting. Once again and as always, do not believe everything you see and hear, research and question everything and everyone, including yourself.

Link

Lunartic Cycle Bike Without Spokes

2012-05-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

This bike has a really unique combination of different wheel sizes,Toothed belt drives and a hub less rear wheel! The USP being the gyroscopic effect of a large wheel aiding speed and more road-surface contact adding stability. The small front wheel saves space and enhances maneuverability.Hope you guys enjoy the video!The Lunartic Cycle is an entry for the James Dyson Awards.

Nano iPhone to compete with cheaper Android phones

2012-05-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

A nano type iPhone could be unveiled later this year after an Apple source (no pun intended) is alleged to have leaked information to a Chinese website.

Apple is said to be considering the move in an attempt to tackle the growing number of affordable Android smartphones hitting the market.

Since the launch of the first iPhone back in 2007 speculation has been rife that we’d be seeing a smaller version of the device in some shape or form.

Yet Apple has never been one to bow to public pressure, with Steve Jobs famously taking the stance that it is Apple’s role to tell consumers what they want, not the other way around.

Which is why we’re sceptical about these latest rumours. Apple has prided itself on high-end products that have a price to match, so a price war over the lower-end of the market would be out of character.

Yet who knows what goes on in Apple’s HQ? With Tim Cook now in charge, perhaps Apple is taking a different direction.

We’re not so sure.

Do you think Apple will bring out a smaller iPhone? Would you like them to?

Via: rethink-wireless.com Via: bgr.com

5 differences between LCD and LED tvs

2012-05-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

Which one to choose between a LED and LCD television? We will analyse here the pros and cons amidst a never ending war. In the 21st century, there are quite literally hundreds of different LCD TVs you can buy. With the advancements that have been made in backlighting, LED TVs have started to emerge. Many new companies have started to take part in the war. However, there are pros and cons of each.

Dimensions

In terms of size, LCD TVs are usually much bigger. The largest LED is only 80 inches whereas the largest LCD is 108 inches. However, it is not just viewing angles that are looked at in the 21st century. With the improvements in LED technology, LED TVs may not be as big but are definitely thinner than LCD counterparts.

Edge-lit LED TVs have become the thinnest displays available on the market outing the 2.6mm fine LCD. The edge-lit backlighting enables the LED to produce a spectrum of vivid colors and in such a thin frame.
Color

Color

One of the biggest reasons many people are switching from LCD TVs to LED TVs is the color reproduction. One major advantage of tri-color LED TVs is that they can reproduce colors with much greater accuracy as compared to LCD TVs. This is one major drawback of LCD TVs when compared to LED TVs.
Power Consumption

Power Consumption

One of the biggest preferences of LED TVs is their power consumption. When compared to LCD TVs, they consume, at minimum, 40% less energy. This may not seem to be a lot to many people but when its monthly consumption is analyzed, it even the 40% is quite a sizeable amount.
Price

Price

The only reason most people do not buy LED TVs is due to the price tag they entail. LCD TVs have been in production for quite some time and the constant competition between manufacturers has helped drive the price down.

LED TVs on the other hand may be better than LCD variants in almost every other aspect but the price tag really does make people think twice.
Dynamic Contrast Ratio

Dynamic Contrast Ratio

The dynamic contrast ratio is a measure of how crisp and clear your colors will appear. Generally, the higher the dynamic contrast ration, the more vivid and crisp your movies will appear. With the introduction of tri-color LED TVs, the dynamic contrast ratio of LED TVs can reach up to 12,000,000:1. The most expensive and technologically advanced LCD TVs can only reach 5,000,000:1.

Each has its own advantage and its disadvantages. Although LED TVs may be the superior choice, the price tag that comes with it may not be affordable. LED TVs may produce better color but they are still not as large as LCD. Not until LED TVs can be as big and as cheap as LCD TVs, it seems that the war will rage on.

Top 10 Gadgets to Die for in 2011

2012-05-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2011 gadget frenzy!!! Yes…we definitely are crazy about the new releases in the gadget world and no matter if we are at home, or we travel abroad, the little things we cannot do without are surely containing one smart gadget we like to keep at hand.

Regardless if we use it to call somebody, take some cool pictures, get online or optimize out shopping spree, the gadget world has something prepared for us.

Since we are evolving as consumers, we cannot blame the gadgets brands for wanting to keep up with our need to consume. Gadgets are surely fun and most of all they are perfectly capable to entertain us. One has to wonder…how did we manage to exist before they were …invented?

1. Casio Tryx Camera

2. Toyota Entune

3.Intel 2nd Generation Core Processors (“Sandy Bridge”)

4. Palm Pre Plus

5.PlayStation Phone by Sony

6. Nintendo 3DS

7. Apple iPhone 5

8. Qi Wireless Power

9. Google Nexus 3

10. Samsung LED 9000 Series

The Brain Hidden Epidemic:  Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains

2012-05-21T01:04:00.002-07:00

A human brain overrun with cysts from Taenia solium, a tapeworm that normally inhabits the muscles of pigs.

Courtesy of Theodore E. Nash , M.D

Parasitic worms leave millions of victims paralyzed, epileptic, or worse. So why isn’t anyone mobilizing to eradicate them?

Theodore Nash sees only a few dozen patients a year in his clinic at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. That’s pretty small as medical practices go, but what his patients lack in number they make up for in the intensity of their symptoms. Some fall into comas. Some are paralyzed down one side of their body. Others can’t walk a straight line. Still others come to Nash partially blind, or with so much fluid in their brain that they need shunts implanted to relieve the pressure. Some lose the ability to speak; many fall into violent seizures.

Underneath this panoply of symptoms is the same cause, captured in the MRI scans that Nash takes of his patients’ brains. Each brain contains one or more whitish blobs. You might guess that these are tumors. But Nash knows the blobs are not made of the patient’s own cells. They are tapeworms. Aliens.

A blob in the brain is not the image most people have when someone mentions tapeworms. These parasitic worms are best known in their adult stage, when they live in people’s intestines and their ribbon-shaped bodies can grow as long as 21 feet. But that’s just one stage in the animal’s life cycle. Before they become adults, tapeworms spend time as larvae in large cysts. And those cysts can end up in people’s brains, causing a disease known as neurocysticercosis.

“Nobody knows exactly how many people there are with it in the United States,” says Nash, who is the chief of the Gastrointestinal Parasites Section at NIH. His best estimate is 1,500 to 2,000. Worldwide, the numbers are vastly higher, though estimates on a global scale are even harder to make because neurocysticercosis is most common in poor places that lack good public-health systems. “Minimally there are 5 million cases of epilepsy from neurocysticercosis,” Nash says.

He puts a heavy emphasis on minimally. Even in developed nations, figuring out just how many people have the illness is difficult because it is easy to mistake the effects of a tapeworm for a variety of brain disorders. The clearest proof is the ghostly image of a cyst in a brain scan, along with the presence of antibodies against tapeworms.

The closer scientists look at the epidemiology of the disease, the worse it becomes. Nash and other neurocysticercosis experts have been traveling through Latin America with CT scanners and blood tests to survey populations. In one study in Peru, researchers found 37 percent of people showed signs of having been infected at some point. Earlier this spring, Nash and colleagues published a review of the scientific literature and concluded that somewhere between 11 million and 29 million people have neurocysticercosis in Latin America alone. Tapeworms are also common in other regions of the world, such as Africa and Asia. “Neurocysticercosis is a very important disease worldwide,” Nash says.

Cyst Attack  

The alarming illness occurs when tapeworm larvae lose their way. Normally, Taenia solium has a life cycle that takes it from pigs to humans and back to pigs again. Adult tapeworms, living in the intestines of humans, produce up to 50,000 eggs apiece. The eggs are shed in the infected person’s feces. Pigs swallow these eggs accidentally as they rummage for food on the ground. When the parasite eggs reach a pig’s stomach, larvae hatch and burrow their way into the animal’s bloodstream. Eventually they end up lodged in small blood vessels, typically in the animal’s muscles. There they form cysts and wait until their host is eaten by a human. (Pork has to be undercooked for the tapeworms to complete their journey.)

But sometimes tapeworms take a wrong turn. Instead of going into a pig, the eggs end up in a human. This can occur if someone shedding tapeworm eggs contaminates food that other people then eat. When the egg hatches, the confused larva does not develop into an adult in the human’s intestines. Instead, it acts as it would inside a pig. It burrows into the person’s bloodstream and gets swept through the body. Often those parasites end up in the brain, where they form cysts.

The tapeworm larvae often get stuck in ventricles, or fluid-filled cavities, in the brain, sprouting grapelike extensions. In this way the worm actively cloaks itself from immune cells. Protected and well fed, its cysts can thrive there for years.

As a tapeworm cyst grows, it may push against a region of the brain and disrupt its function. It may get stuck in a passageway, damming the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This impasse can cause hydrocephalus, or water on the brain, along with dangerously high pressure. A resulting brain hernia can result in stupor, coma, or death.

If a tapeworm cyst doesn’t cause big troubles, it may go unnoticed for its entire life. Eventually a tapeworm cyst that can’t move on to its adult stage will die; this signals the host’s immune system, eliciting a powerful attack and bringing its covert deception to an end. In many cases, the immune cells swiftly annihilate the revealed cyst, but often damage occurs. The immune system’s attack on the cyst can cause the surrounding brain tissue to swell with inflammation. For reasons unknown, a calcified cyst can keep triggering these immune reactions for years after the parasite’s death.

Although any cyst in a susceptible area of the brain can cause seizures, those lodged near regions that issue commands to muscles can trigger violent convulsions. One of Nash’s patients suffered from tapeworm cysts that twisted around his brain stem. After the tapeworms died, the inflammation that followed was so severe it put the man in a coma.

“Thirty or 40 years ago, these patients just died. Surgeons would go in and see this mess and couldn’t do much,” Nash says. Fortunately, the situation is improving. Even his comatose patient woke up and, after a few years of off-and-on treatment, completely recovered. “Now the guy is doing quite well.”

Breaking the Cycle 

A great step forward came in the mid-1980s when praziquantel, the first drug able to kill tapeworm larvae in the brain, became widely available. But praziquantel proved too effective. It not only kills tapeworms but also triggers an immune reaction that causes brain swelling. “Paradoxically, we produce the disease we want to treat,” Nash says.

Over the years Nash and others refined the treatment by combining praziquantel with other drugs that tamp down the immune system. It is far from a perfect solution, though. Sometimes the immune system still overreacts, requiring years of care for seizures and other symptoms. And immune-suppressant drugs like steroids have side effects of their own.

The hunt for better drugs to fight neurocysticercosis is not an easy process. The best way to test potential medicines on tapeworms is to get living cysts out of infected pigs. Nash and his colleagues recently set up a lab in Peru, where infected pigs are abundant, to do just that.

Although finding a better cure is important, Nash is more interested in preventing tapeworms from getting into human brains in the first place by breaking their life cycle. A favored strategy is identifying people who have adult tapeworms in their bodies and giving them drugs to kill the parasites. It is also possible to vaccinate pigs so that they destroy tapeworm eggs as soon as they ingest them.

None of this is rocket science—which makes Nash all the more frustrated that so little is being done. “I see this as a disease that can be treated and prevented,” he says. But there are precious few resources available for treatment and little recognition of the problem. “All of this seems to be very feasible, but nobody wants to do anything about it.”

BB Empathy Cool Upcoming Phone from Blackberry

2012-05-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

10 Reasons to why people buy iPads

2012-05-18T09:21:00.002-07:00

We have a lot of tablet computer available in the market. I would love to convince everyone to get one, I prefer Ipad, it's my personal choice. Tablet Computer or simply tablet is a complete mobile computer, operated by touching the screen.

If you don't have an Ipad yet and you're not sure that you really need one for yourself, here's 10 reasons why you should buy an Ipad.

    1 - Mobility

    You can take anywhere and work anywhere. Ipad is very light in weight and easy storage. You just need to load up all the necessary applications that you need and take everything with you. You can check your email and you can retrieve your files online using a wifi connectivity or if your ipad has 3G connectivity.

    2 - Stay Connected

    Stay connected 24/7 while on the road. Using Instant Messenger such as yahoo messenger, google talk, facebook, skype and others. Easy connections with your friends or at work when your out of your desktop. You can even do video or voice chat.

    3 - Lot's of Games

    Download all your favorite games through your Ipad device Apps store. Play games in your past time or in your boredom hours. With the multi touchscreen on ipad playing games is truly exciting.

    4 - Movies

    Loading my favorite Korean Dramas and Movies in my Ipad and watch it during my spare time or when I'm in bed lying.

    5 - Music and Podcast

    Listening to music or on my downloaded podcast using earphone or you can attached a mini speaker to boost the volume. You can also download music direct from your ipad using a specified apps.

    6 - E-books and Magazines

    Reading from your collection of ibooks and magazine straight from your ipad.

    7 - Video Streaming

    I can watch my favorite Korean Drama straight from the website in my ipad online anywhere I go and also videos from youtube, dailymotion, and other sites.

    8 - Paper Less

    I don't need some paper and pen if I need to jot down or write some important message or text. I also use this NOTES apps when writing my draft for my blog.

    9 - Apps Galore

    Apple offered a wide range of application at apps store. Apps ranges from free, free version, lite version to full version amounting to $ .99 and above. You can download any kind of application that are useful for your needs.

    10 - Long Battery Life

    What's best about this Ipad, it has long battery life. I can use this Ipad for 8 straight hours before I need to recharge it.

This Ipad is a perfect gadget when I'm out of town or out of the country. All in one entertainment thing for me. Easy to carry and just fit right on my handbag. Useful on my daily basis and very entertaining. My secondary computer from my Macbook Pro especially when I need to search something in an instant.

Reference/Source: Karenjardeleza.com[a.k.a Simply Me] by Karen Jardeleza [09/08/2011]

About Simply Me Personal Journal being Simply Me. I write about my travel, my escapades, my adventure, food, churches, gadgets, lifestyle, drama and other stuff.
About Karen Jardeleza, the author
Karen is from the country that has 7,107 Islands, The Philippines.She is a BS Accountancy graduate, a businesswoman, an entrepreneur, a Korean and Japanese drama enthusiast, a traveller, a gadget enthusiast and a photography enthusiast.

The Audi E-tron Detroit Concept

2011-06-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

DESCRIPTION

According to autoblog ”Étron, in French, is apparently not a word that signifies electric power, sex appeal or innovation. It is, in fact, a word that’s closely associated with the less-than-glamorous act of excretion. If you hit up any one of the numerous online translation tools, you’ll learn that étron has some pretty… crappy synonyms, which include words like “caca,” “excrement,” “dung” and “feces.” Unfortunately, Audi may have inadvertently named its entire lineup of EVs after a bodily function that’s seldom associated with spectacular vehicles. That is, unless the automaker intended that we translate e-tron as, “the Audi that’s as fast as, well, you know.”

Source : autoblog

Chro.mo Digital Watch Looks Like A Bracelet

2011-06-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

DESCRIPTION

Bracelet inspired watches has been a great trend rolling out into the fashion as well as the world of art and jewelery providing more style to your wrist with a touch of tech along with fashion.The designers David Alejandro and Gonzalez Solis have designed a digital wrist watch christened, Chro.mo made with stainless steel and operates onwith miniature photovoltaic cells.The watch tells time in the most unique manner that I have ever seen i.e hours in roman numerals and minutes in a cicle that dills as the time passes.As the time moves ahead the circle gets filled just as the moon grows with each passing day.More elegance has been added to the watch by making beautiful designs above and below the timezone.

Source : behance

Gear 4 House Party Rise iPhone Alarm Clock Dock

2011-06-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

DESCRIPTION

After the introduction of two awesome alarm clocl docks AlarmDock Halo ans AlarmDock Reveal Gear 4 now announces a new addition to their line of iPhone Alarm clock dock,the Gear 4 House Party Rise iPhone Alarm Clock Dock.It has some exclusive features that includes it’s own app which enables the user to control the iPhone when it is docked with another iOS device.The Gear 4 House Party Rise is fully compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch,moreover it has a built-in FM radio with an alarm clock plus an LCD display.Also the Smartlink App will also let you change radio station on the House Party Rise as well as controlling your iPhone or iPod.The Gear 4 House Party Rise will be available shortlywith an estimated price tag of $99.99 and for more information please visit GEAR4.

Source: geeky-gadgets Via GEAR4

The Asus U41JF-A1 Laptop Review

2011-05-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

Introducing another top rated laptop manufactured by Asus,the Asus U41JF-A1 powered with amazingly performance oriented specs and features.Obviously the choice of a good laptop depends on it’s gaming specs if you are a hardcore gamer and for business and office use an average laptop is quite comfortable with suitable specs.But the Asus U41JF can be used as gaming,general purpose as well as for media entertainment also, looking at it’s specs it is powered with Core i3 380M 2.53GHz processor with a ram handling capability from 4GB to 8GB DDR3 SDRAM.Equipped with 14.1 inch bright LCD wide screen having 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) resolution with Nvidia GeForce 425M graphics chip with a video ram of 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM and a storage capacity 500GB.Moreover it has built-in 4-in-1 card reader that supports SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard.It has an integrated camera having 0.3 megapixel sensor resolution and have an impressive battery timing and life.According to PCMAG the Asus U41JF-A1 is available with a price tag of 808$ on Amazon.

Source : PCMAG

The Motorola Droid X2 SmartPhone Review

2011-05-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

DESCRIPTION

The Motorola Droid X2 appears to be the most anticipated smartphone of 2011 after it’s previous version the Droid X and the motorola Droid X2 is the first smartphone by verizon that supports a dual core 1GHZ processor thus delivering dual power as the predecessor Droid X.The Motorola X2 delivers awesomely incredible outcome for for better gaming experiences, web browsing, page rendering and Adobe Flash video performance.Moreover the Droid X2 is the first smartphone on verizon with qHD display that has 26 percent more pixels then the Droid X to provide high and sharper definition.It’s anti-reflective qHD display to give users a sharp, clear view and wide virtual keyboard without compromise and allowing user to experience gaming and web browsing more comfortably.

Now lets talk about the specs and features of the motorola Droid X2 as it powered with a dual-core 1GHZ Tegra 2 processor running on Android 2.2 Froyo OS.Equipped with 4.4 inch qHD display resolution of 960 by 540 pixels and studded with 512MB of ram.Moreover it has a rear facing 8 MP camera with autofocus , Dual LED flash, digital zoom and an 8GB pre-installed microSD card.All in all, this is one of the fastest devices currently available on Verizon Wireless, and whereas it isn’t a 4G phone.

Source : pcworld

FAB-Design Mercedes Mclaren

2011-05-29T22:18:00.000-07:00

The SLR Desire is a creation of Swiss tuners FAB-Design, specialists in Mercedes-Benz customization. The SLR Desire is their first attempt at modifying the SLR and the vehicle was first unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

The FAB-Design Mercedes Mclaren SLR Desire features a very noticeable and polarizing body modification which is sure to have both the "love it" and "hate it" camps split into equal numbers. The styling seems to be partially inspired by the design of the original Mercedes-Benz 300 SL from the 1950s, and the two cars share the same distinctive horizontal wheel arch extensions.

The radical front end of the SLR Desire features enlarged intakes and a much deeper front bumper with an integrated lip spoiler, new vents have also been incorporated into the bumper just forward of the front wheels. Down the sides the new side sills are noticeably deeper and wider and help to connect the front and rear wheel arch extensions. At the rear of the SLR Desire a distinctive 'V' shaped design divides the larger diffuser into two separate side. This v-shaped styling is echoed in the upside-down v-shape of the rear spoiler mounting. The massive 20" wheels of the SLR Desire are also a product of FAB-Design.

Powering the SLR Desire is the same 5.4 litre supercharged V8 found in the standard car, however FAB-Design have managed to up the power output to 750 horsepower and, raise the torque level to an enormous 1,080 Nm. This setup gives the SLR Desire a top speed of 196 mph and a 0-62 mph (100km/h) time of 3.6 seconds.

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About Karen Jardeleza, the author

The Audi E-tron Detroit Concept

Chro.mo Digital Watch Looks Like A Bracelet

Gear 4 House Party Rise iPhone Alarm Clock Dock

The Asus U41JF-A1 Laptop Review

The Motorola Droid X2 SmartPhone Review

FAB-Design Mercedes Mclaren

The Brain Hidden Epidemic:  Tapeworms Living Inside People's Brains