drag2share: A Material Found In Silly Putty Could Triple Your Smartphone's Battery Life

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/silly-putty-material-in-smartphone-batteries-2014-5

Silly Putty is more than just a child's toy, at least that's what researchers at The University of California believe.

A team of scientists in the university's Riverside Bourns College of Engineering have discovered a way to use an ingredient found in Silly Putty to make batteries that are more energy efficient for smartphones.

Lithium ion batteries based on this Silly Putty material are said to last three times as long as the industry standard smartphone battery, according to UCR Today, a campus publication.

"We are taking the same material used in kids' toys and medical devices and even fast food and using it to create next generation battery materials," Zachary Favors, the lead author of a paper that was just published on the research, said to UCR.

The substance, called silicon dioxide, was attractive to the team because it's abundant, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly, according to UCR.

Silicon dioxide has been used in lithium ion batteries previously, but the effects haven't been as impressive.

That's because the engineers at the University of California have found a way to use silicon dioxide in nanotube form— a shape that allows lithium ion batteries to produce more energy, as Gizmag reports.

The researchers not only found that these silicon nanotubes were extremely stable for use in lithium ion batteries, but that they can be cycled 100 times without losing their maximum capacity. 

The team at the University of California are now focused on finding a way to scale up production of these silicon dioxide-based nanotube anodes to create a commercially viable product.

This isn't the first time we've heard of silicon dioxide nanotube anodes being used in smartphone batteries. A team of Stanford resea! rchers < a href="http://www.extremetech.com/computing/129299-silicon-nanotube-lithium-ion-battery-stores-10-times-more-power-lasts-6000-charges">made a similar discovery regarding the use of silicon nanotubes in 2012, but the substance hasn't been commercialized yet.

SEE ALSO: Researchers Are Testing A 'Wonder Material' That Could Make Your Smartphone Better Than Ever

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drag2share: An Amazing Cancer Treatment Based On The Measles Virus Saved A Woman's LifeWhy the measles virus?If this didn't cure cancer, what did it do?What this means

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/uivXxTYKvL0/using-measles-virus-to-treat-cancer-2014-5

After years of cancer treatments failed, Stacy Erholtz was out of options. So she let doctors at the Mayo Clinic infect her with a genetically engineered version of the measles virus.

As the virus spread through her blood stream it specifically attacked her cancer cells, shrinking tumors, putting her cancer in remission, and triggering a slew of headlines saying that measles cured her cancer and claiming that her cancer was "killed" or "destroyed."

Yes, it's an amazing story. It showed cancer can be treated with a virus but calling it a "cure for cancer" goes way too far. Nowhere in the study do the researchers claim that the woman's cancer was "cured."

Why the measles virus?

The idea isn't a new one. For decades, scientists have been researching how they could take viruses that target specific cells and use them to fight cancer by modifying them so they only infect and kill the rapidly spreading tumor cells and leave the healthy ones alone, according to Justin Kline, a blood cancer specialist at the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the research.

As the researchers point out in the study, this technique has been effective in mice and in treating tumors in one location, like a melanoma on the skin. But it hadn't been shown to work with a cancer that has spread, like multiple myeloma — which targets blood plasma cells in bone marrow in locations through! out the body.

The modified virus that the researchers chose — which is routinely administered to humans as a measles vaccine — was selected because it targets cells with a specific protein that is common in these myeloma cancer cells but not in healthy cells. That means the virus targets the cancer without making the person sick.

The two women in this study were both "at risk for imminent death" after other cancer treatments failed. That alone is a reason to try an experimental therapy, but there was another important factor at play: their own immune systems.

These women weren't immune to the measles virus like most of us are. That's lucky because doctors believe immunity would prevent the virus from gaining a foothold in the patient's system. The study doesn't say why they weren't immune — either they were never vaccinated in the first place or they might have lost their immunity due to cancer or a side effect of treatments they'd undergone, according to Kline. He says that people who receive chemo are usually later vaccinated again, since they can lose past immunity.

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drag2share: Zagg Invisible Shield Glass: Perhaps the best investment for a new iPhone

Source: http://gigaom.com/2014/05/16/zagg-invisible-shield-glass-perhaps-the-best-investment-for-a-new-iphone/

I’m such a bad iPhone owner. I generally take good care of my handsets, mainly because I sell them to upgrade from one iPhone to the next. But I’m not big into cases. And screen protectors? Don’t get me started: They’ve generally made my screen look or feel worse in the past. After installing a Zagg Invisible Shield Glass protector on my iPhone 5s, though, I’m having second thoughts.

Zagg sent me a Glass protector to try out and I wish I had one when I first bought my iPhone 5s. The protector itself is made from tempered glass, which should completely protect my iPhone’s screen from scratches. And a scratch-free iPhone can be sold for more money than an iPhone that shows some wear. You can remove the protector at any time; I’d do that before selling my iPhone 5s.

The Glass protector was simple to install; it took all of three minutes. The process involves cleaning your iPhone display with an included damp cloth, drying the display with a microfiber cloth — also included — and then placing the Glass protector on your iPhone. Once attached, you simply rub from the center to the edges to remove any trapped air bubbles. The end result? You can’t tell there’s a screen protector at all.

You’ll be adding 0.4 millimeters of thickness to your iPhone with this screen protector, but you’d be hard pressed to realize it. The Glass is silky smooth and has rounded edges. My iPhone 5s display is just as clear and bright as it was before; viewing angles are unchanged. Zagg says the Glass protector is oil-resistant and I’d agree: I see very few smudges or fingerprints on my iPhone display. And my hope is that in the case of a drop or fall, the tempered glass protector will break before the actual iPhone 5s screen cracks because that’s not cheap to replace. Zagg has a lifetime guarantee on the Glass protector.

The Zagg Invisible Shield Glass screen protector for iPhone 5s costs $34.99 directly, which is on the high side for such a product. But this is tempered glass, not a layer of strong plastic like many other protectors. The company also offers a Glass protector for the iPhone 4 and up as well as several Samsung and HTC Android phones such as the new Galaxy S 5 and HTC One M8. For $49.99 you can even buy a large one for the iPad Air.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed by how invisible this solution is, and even though I typically pass on such products, I think Glass is a solid investment to virtually eliminate scratches on my iPhone 5s display.

Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research:
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• What first-quarter 2014 meant for the mobile space
• What the global tablet market will look like by 2017
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drag2share: Google Has Most of Your Email, Even If You Don't Use Gmail

Source: http://gizmodo.com/google-has-most-of-your-email-even-if-you-dont-use-gma-1577324127

Even if you're careful about choosing how and where your email is sent, chances are you reply to plenty of messages sent from Gmail. And, as it turns out, that probably means that Google has most of your email, whether you like it or not.

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drag2share: Amazon Studios' first-ever kids series will premiere this summer

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/15/amazon-studios-original-kids-series/

Over a year ago, Amazon Studios expanded its original content lineup and made a big push for kids programming with five pilot episodes. The company even sought help from children's entertainment experts like Angela Santomero, the creator of Blue's Clues, and the Jim Henson Company. Now, three of the studio's five original titles, Tumble Leaf, Annedroids and Creative Galaxy, are premiering exclusively on Prime Instant Video (meaning, you'll a Prime membership to watch them). The first six episodes of each show will debut before summer's end, following their respective launches on May 23rd, July 25th and June 27th. In total, that's only 18 episodes for the entire vacation season. But if your preschooler takes fancy, don't worry -- Amazon says there's more to come.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

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Source: Amazon

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