NEWS : TECH (NFPC)

CES 2013: Smart Fork Tracks Your Eating Habits

The body's a strange thing. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you're full, so during that time, you're just scarfing away unnecessary calories. But this new electronic fork, which had everyone abuzz at the CES press preview, tackles the overeating problem most people are blissfully unaware of.

The HAPIfork (pronounced happy fork) uses gentle vibrations to nudge eaters into slowing their chomping down, this smart fork purports to help digestion and weight control by providing insightful analytics about your food schedule, measuring:

• the time it takes to finish a meal
• the number of "fork servings" per minute
• fork serving intervals

After collecting this information, users upload their stats either through USB, which is how this smart fork charges up, or Bluetooth.

The fork costs $100, and admittedly, that's a pretty penny for an eating utensil -- especially given how many of us have drawers of overflowing plastic ones from take-out joints. But for anyone who is part of this newfound, quantified-self movement, it might be the perfect addition to other gadgets that collect data, like smart pedometers and sleep monitors.

The HAPIfork, which won CES' Innovations Design and Engineering Award, is part of a suite of other HAPI-health products, including an activity tracker and a watch that monitors stress levels and sleep. HAPIfork is expecting to crowdfund production on Kickstarter in the spring.

Credit: Alice Truong/DNews

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Electrical Current Releases Happiness

Totally trippy: A group of neuroscience researchers succeeded in releasing natural opiate-like substances from the brain using a constant low electrical current. This gives self-medicating a new meaning.

A group from the University of Michigan, Harvard, and CUNY led by senior researcher Alexandre DaSilva and Dr. Jon-Kar Zubieta, experimented with an application called "transcranial direct current stimulation" or tDCS. They studied a patient with severe chronic facial pain, first administering a radiotracer and then applied electrodes that stimulated a specific area of the skull with a very small current for 20 minutes.

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That current released the brain's natural painkillers known as endogenous opioids. One session improved the patient's pain threshold by 36 percent, according to an article (full article link) the researchers published recently in the journal Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Imaging and Stimulation. A PET scan during the session showed what was happening.

While that first session didn't alleviate the clinical pain, the researchers think that repeated sessions would have a lasting effect. According to Michigan University's news service, another study on more patients was just completed and initial results showed that more tDCS did help.

Brain stimulation might have crazy uses beyond treating pain. The BBC's Tom Feilden reported last year that tDCS has the potential to enhance overall cognitive performance, depending on where the current is applied. Try that one on for size.

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For now, though, I think it's good that scientists are focusing on tDCS for people who have mind-melting pain. Imagine being able to book tDCS sessions instead of taking strong medications, which have all kinds of side effects and can be addicting. Maybe our brains already contain the cure.

Photo: An example of a positron emission tomography (PET) brain scan. Credit: TRIUMF Lab

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Robots Fight Superbugs in Hospitals

One of the biggest worries about American's obsession with antibacterial soaps is the possibility that viruses and bacteria will develop into "superbugs." At Johns Hopkins Hospital a new method is being tested to prevent the rise of superbugs by using robot-like devices that spray hydrogen peroxide.

These bots are about the size of a washing machine and weigh nearly 60 pounds each. Two bots are placed in a sealed room that has had its vents covered. One device sprays a light bleaching agent into the air to kill and prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria. A thin layer of the hydrogen peroxide agent, about 2 to 6 microns thick, coats all of the surfaces in the room, including equipment, tables and chairs. A second vaporizer breaks down the bleaching agent into its water and oxygen components, making it non-toxic to humans. The entire process takes about an hour and a half to complete.

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The vaporizers were first developed in Singapore in 2002 to combat the spread of SARS and were stocked in U.S. government agencies in case of an anthrax outbreak.

The team at Johns Hopkins found the rate of patients contaminated with drug-resistant diseases dropped by 64 percent. The vapor also proved effective against bacteria like Staphylococcus, which causes staph infection, and its super cousin MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is resistant to antibiotics and causes flesh-eating disease.

The study's senior investigator Trish Perl said in a press release that, "Our goal is to improve all hospital infection control practices, including cleaning and disinfection, as well as behavioral and environmental practices, to the point where preventing the spread of these multiple-drug-resistant organisms also minimizes the chances of patients becoming infected and improves their chances of recovery."

The positive results of the study has lead the hospital to purchasing two decontaminating units to be used in rooms that have a high-risk of drug-resistant bacteria. Further testing will be done to see if the bots are useful for decontaminating the outside packaging of unused but potentially exposed hospital equipment.

Credit: BioQuell 

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Detector Alerts Asthmatics to Nasty Air

Asthmatics often feel like we're gambling, discovering triggers a breath too late. AT&T Labs recently developed a prototype for a device that can detect nasty air and alert us before things get bad.

Some asthma are blatant and obvious, and yet every once in a while I've been blindsided by an attack that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Volatile organic compounds or VOCs are a common asthma trigger found all over the place but they can be tricky to spot. AT&T Labs might have a solution.

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A prototype for a trigger detection device, led by head of communications technology research Bob Miller, can pick up on the presence of cleaning products, fragrances, smoke, and even troublesome carpet. Then the portable device can wirelessly transmit data to an online health network so my doctor could potentially spot patterns over time.

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Although the device hasn't been publicly named yet and there are no images available, AT&T Labs did indicate that it will contain a VOC sensor, a microcomputer, a battery and a Zigbee wireless modem. The VOC sensor contains a chip that is heated by a small current.

Talking to Technology Review's Susan Young, Miller said the device could prevent asthmatics from staying in a place where the trigger level is too high. Miller added that one day it might even be connected to a home network and automatically start up the furnace blower to clear the air.

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Asthma is so prevalent in the U.S. that one in every 12 Americans has it. Better prevention means fewer ER visits, fewer absences from school, fewer sick days from work. A device to prevent that first ominous wheeze could help us all breathe easier.

Credit: Jonathan Kos-Read

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Foam Stops Internal Bleeding

If you've ever used a can of Great Stuff, you know what an amazing job the foam insulation does sealing up gaps and cracks around the house.

In similar fashion, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has developed their own spray foam; only their version can be injected into a wounded soldier's abdominal cavity to help stop internal bleeding.

When soldiers are wounded on the battlefield, getting them to advanced-level treatment facilities within the first 60 minutes of injury often makes the difference between life and death.

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During this "Golden Hour," internal bleeding -- particularly in the abdominal cavity -- is life-threatening because there is little that can be done to stop the bleeding. Internal wounds can't be compressed like external wounds, nor can they be treated with tourniquets and hemostatic dressings, which require a medic to access to the injury in order to dress it.

DARPA hopes their new foam can help the wounded survive until they get to treatment facilities. Designed by Arsenal Medical as part of DARPA's Wounded Stasis Program, the polyurethane polymer foam can be injected by a field medic in two liquid phases, a polyol phase and an isocyanate phase. When the liquids mix, they expand to 30 times their original volume.

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As it expands, the foam fills the abdominal cavity and conforms to the surface of the injured tissue and organs. The foam then hardens, providing resistance to intra-abdominal blood loss. DARPA says the foam can even expand through pooled and clotted blood.

During tests, removal of the foam took less than one minute after an incision by a surgeon. Only minimal amounts of the foam remained in the abdominal cavity and no significant amount of tissue stuck to the foam.

No human tests have been conducted yet. However, tests on swine did show that the foam raised survival rates for liver injuries after three hours from eight to 72 percent and reduced blood loss by six fold. DARPA recently awarded Arsenal Medical a $15.5 million contract for Phase II of the project to continue development in hope of future FDA approval of a prototype device.

via Gizmag

Credit: DARPA

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Alzheimer's Patient Gets Brain Pacemaker

By 2050, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's is expected to triple -- from roughly 5.2 million to potentially 16 million people. While there is still no cure for the disease, researchers continue to forge ahead with the belief that their innovative methods could lead to medical breakthroughs.

The latest effort comes from researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine and neurosurgeon William S. Anderson, M.D. who recently implanted a pacemaker-like device into the brain of an early-stage Alzheimer's patient. The device, which has already been used to treat people with Parkinson's disease, provides deep brain stimulation in the form of low-voltage electrical charges to boost memory and reverse cognitive decline.

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Preliminary safety stages of the research began in 2010, when similar devices were implanted in six Canadian patient's afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that over a 13 months, patients showed sustained increases in glucose metabolism, which indicates neuronal activity. In most Alzheimer's patients, glucose metabolism decreases over that same time frame.

The most recent surgery performed at Johns Hopkins Hospital was one of the first such operations in the United States.

The procedure involves drilling holes into the patient's skull and implanting wires into the brain's fornix, the pathway essential to bringing information to the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain where learning begins and memories are made. It's also where the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer's start to appear.

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Wires connected to the "brain pacemaker" emit small electrical impulses 130 times a second. Patients don't even feel the current, according to Paul Rosenberg, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

"Recent failures in Alzheimer's disease trials using drugs such as those designed to reduce the buildup of beta amyloid plaques in the brain have sharpened the need for alternative strategies," Rosenberg said in a press release. "This is a very different approach, whereby we are trying to enhance the function of the brain mechanically. It’s a whole new avenue for potential treatment for a disease becoming all the more common with the aging of the population."

via Extreme Tech

Credit: ABK/BSIP/Corbis

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Edible Deodorant: The Perfume Candy

We all know what to do when we encounter someone with bad breath. Politely give 'em a breath mint and perhaps extol the virtues of flossing, right? But what about a person with B.O. so funky it could peel wallpaper off the wall? Then what?

Simple. Give them a few pieces of Deo Perfume Candy, a new confection billed as edible deodorant.

Beneo, an American nutrition and health company partnered with Bulgarian candy maker, Alpi, to develop sweets that will leave you smelling like a bed of roses.

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"The innovative technology behind Deo Perfume Candy is based on research by Japanese scientists," explains Deo's website. "Their studies showed that when ingested, rose oil exudes aromatic compounds, such as geraniol, through the skin. When evaporating through the skin, geraniol aromatizes it with a beautiful rose fragrance."

One serving size (four pieces) contains 12 mg of geraniol. While the strength and duration of the perfume depends on body weight, developers say one serving size eaten by a person weighing 145 pounds could last up to six hours.

While this all sounds like something whipped up in Willy Wonka's dream factory, the science is nothing new. Anyone who's ever chowed down on garlic, asparagus or cumin know how easily different foods can effect body odor and fluids.

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And, as the Guardian points out, Deo Perfume Candy is not alone in world of edible deodorants. There's Swallowable Parfum, a Dutch company developing a similar concept and the now-defunct Japanese chewing gum, Otoko Kaoru, which translates as "man scent."

Bags of Deo are already sold in shops in Spain, Germany, China, Korea, Armenia and are expected to soon be available in the U.S. However, for those that can't wait, the $10 bags are available for sale online.

via the Guardian

Credit: Deo Perfume Candy

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Sex Ed Hooks Up With The Internet

Why gym teachers and football coaches are routinely tapped to helm the great ship of pubescent awkwardness known as Sex Education certainly is one of God's own private mysteries. Anyone who ever remembers watching their bewhistled P.E. teacher clumsily draw fallopian tubes on a chalkboard knows that maybe a face-to-face setting might not always be the best way to teach the birds and the bees.

But rejoice blushing middle schoolers, a new study may have delivered your salvation. Researchers from the University of Toronto and Yale recently conducted a randomized and controlled trial that found Internet-based sex education effectively improved students' knowledge and attitudes toward sex.

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The study included 138 ninth graders from 69 different schools in Colombia, a country where 60 percent of young people are sexually active by the age of 18 and only 55 percent of young women reported using a condom during their first sexual experience. 

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The semester-long course, designed by Profamilia, a local nonprofit affiliated with Planned Parenthood, covered topics such as sexual rights and freedoms, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and contraception. Students could access online tutorials from school or personal computers and could email questions to remote tutors.

"The sensitive nature of this issue can create discomfort and lead students to avoid engaging with the material or participating at all," states the study's paper, written by Alberto Chong, Marco Gonzalez-Navarro, Dean Karlan and Martin Valdivia. "The anonymity and privacy which are possible with computer-based learning may actually be better suited to teaching adolescents about sexual health."

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Six months after it ended, researchers found the "course showed itself effective in improving students' knowledge and attitude indicators in the short and medium term, and led to a reduction in self-reported STIs among the sexually active at baseline."

Student were given condom vouchers six months after the course ended. Researchers found that "treated students" -- those who participated in the course -- redeemed their vouchers at a rate 10 percent higher than those in the control group.

Researchers also found "strong indication that effects of the course were reinforced when treated individuals had larger percentages of their friend networks in treatment classrooms."

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Anything that improves sexual health knowledge and awareness, I'm all for. However, I'm a bit wary of face-to-face interaction being replaced entirely with online telecommunication, especially when it comes to education. A subject such as sex is already taboo enough. Is retreating behind an online veil of privacy really the best way to promote an open and honest dialogue?

I'm not sure. I could argue both sides of that debate, which makes it an interesting question. However, as a former educator, I've witnessed too many teachers and mentors take the easy way out by sticking a kid in front of a computer screen -- to the point where logging in really meant tuning out.

Besides, everyone needs to witness a jittery football coach unroll a condom on a banana at least once in their life.

Credit: Fabio Cardoso/Corbis

via Coexist

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Donate to Red Cross with iTunes: DNews Nugget

Donate to Red Cross in iTunes: As the United States deals with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, iTunes now allows users to donate to the Red Cross as easily as buying a song, reports The Verge.

"You can donate anywhere from $5 to $200 via iTunes, but Apple warns that it 'may not qualify for any tax deduction or other tax benefits,'" their post reads. In addition to iTunes donation, you can give directly to the Red Cross through their website, RedCross.org or through any number of other foundations.

With regard to food drives you might be seeing on television, the Red Cross would prefer cash or blood and does NOT accept food donations.

Equally important to a cash gift is blood donation. To find a blood drive near you or make an appointment at a nearby office visit their website RedCrossBlood.org. via The Verge

You can also make a quick donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999. This will give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. The $10 will then show up on your phone bill. Regular message and data rates will also apply.

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Skullcap for Sports-Related Head Injuries

It's way too often that we hear of athletes getting hurt on the job, especially football players. Whether it's high school, college or a professional team, the risk of head injuries and concussion from high-impact sports is a growing concern. Reebok and Massachusetts start-up MC10 teamed up to create an impact-sensing skullcap for players that can be worn with or without a helmet.

The cap, set to release in 2013, will fit much like the ones swimmers use. It's outfitted with sensors and stretchable electronics to measure and detect when an injury has occurred. LED lights on the cap flash red, yellow or green to advise on the severity of the injury.

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The driving force for the creation of this product was the lack of biometric data for head injuries in sports. There are helmets that already have biometric sensors embedded in them, but they are costly and usually only limited to one sport.

The cap costs a lot less than current technology. This makes it more accessible to all sports, regardless of budget constraints so that every player -- from the kid on a pee-wee football team to the professional hockey player -- will have the same opportunities to monitor and manage their safety.

via Technology Review

Credit: Chabruken / Getty Images

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