If you're diabetic, you'll know how frustrating it can be to check your blood glucose levels (even before you get your reading!). Plus, the method of
pricking your finger for a reading can lead to other nasty side effects, like possible infections. Fortunately, your iPhone's camera could be your way out of
the finger-pricking mess, with a gadget developed by a team of university researchers. researchers at Northwestern University created an iPhone case that
reads nanosensors used to measure ion and molecule concentrations. The sensors are made out of fluorescent polymer beads that take only seconds to make.
The sensor is then "tattooed" to an area of a patient's skin. With this in mind, a patient would be injected in the tattoo area with the nanomolecules-they
would then attach themselves to glucose in the patient and start releasing ions. Using a special reading case strapped to the iPhone, the patient's arm is
simply scanned by the phone's camera, and it gives a blood glucose measurement. The higher the glucose level, the more fluorescent the tattoo will appear on
the skin-remember the sensors on the tattoo are fluorescent so will be visable under certain light. The iPhone case contains a 9-volt battery, a filter that
fits over the phone's camera, and three different colored LEDs that produce the different levels of fluorescent light.
The LEDs and filter react to outside light and can fade the colors, so the gadget is placed onto the patient's skin at first to prouce a more accurate
reading. So, there may not be an app for that yet, but your iPhone certainly can be used for just about every aspect of your life.
To those who fear flying: Your chances of dying in a hospital because of a medical mistake are much, much higher than going down in an airplane, the World
Health Organization said Thursday. In a news briefing Thursday, WHO's newly appointed envoy for patient safety Liam Donaldson pointed out that the chance of
dying in a plane crash is about 1 in 10 million, but some 1 in 10 patients encounter medical errors at the hospital. The chances of dying from an error are
about 1 in 300, Reuters reports. Donaldson cited the oft-made comparison of the aviation and healthcare industries in an effort to promote the WHO's surgical
safety checklist for hospitals, but there are also several ways patients can protect themselves from errors, and in particular, from infection. Here are a
few tips from the Committee to Reduce infection Deaths: - Ask hospital workers if they've washed their hands, or used an alcohol-based cleaner, before they
touch you.
- If the doctor uses a stethoscope, ask him or her to wipe it with alcohol.
- Avoid putting your hands near your mouth.
- If you're going for surgery, stop smoking in advance smokers are more likely to get infections and take longer to recover.
- Don't shave the area where you'll be having the surgery (bacteria could enter through nicks).
- remind the surgeon that you may need an antibiotic before surgery.
The Agency for healthcare Research and Quality has a list of 20 tips for avoiding errors. And of course, avoiding hospitals cuts down the risk of contracting
a hospital infection. Eating healthily and exercising, so as to avoid chronic illnesses that might bring you to the hospital, can't be bad.
But there's one category of 3D gear for the home that doesn't require a bank loan: 3D video cameras. I'm not talking about James Cameron's Pace camera rigs here; these are ordinary consumer-grade camcorders that are affordable and as easy to use as run-of-the-mill video cameras. They are a surprisingly accessible first step into 3D video. You can see the video�in 3D and without glasses on the cameras' own displays. It's no accident that some of these cameras' manufacturers are also selling 3D TVs they are banking on user generated content partially filling the void until Hollywood produces more 3D Blu-rays.
And that strategy may work: There are already subcultures of 3D enthusiasts shooting everything from homemade 3D nature clips to 3D music videos and distributing them online. As for the cameras themselves, there are several coming to market at prices from a few hundred bucks to just under two thousand. The rough patches have more to do with the half-evolved infrastructure of at-home 3D equipment and software than with the cameras themselves. the cameras. Pricewise, 3D cameras fall into two categories: For $1000 to $1700, you can get a full-feature 3D HD camcorder with optical zoom, high-end sensors and processors that can record at high bit rates which translate directly to higher video quality. Below $1000, there are several easy-to-use 3D video cameras, but what you get varies from device to device.
The most straightforward of the cheaper bunch is the Sony 3D Bloggie, a camera that resembles the once popular but now defunct Flip video camera, but with two stereoscopic lenses. Primarily a 3D video camera, it can shoot 3D stills as well. Reversing those priorities is the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3, a 3D still camera that can also shoot 3D video. Perhaps the weirdest device in the group is the HTC Evo 3D, a full-feature smartphone with integrated 3D camera that takes both still photos and video. If the $1000-and-above 3D camcorders are analogous to SLR still cameras, then these more affordable cameras are comparable to pocket point-and-shooters.
A new regulatory group should be formed to oversee experiments that mix animal and human DNA, British researchers said Friday. While the experiments themselves don't necessarily need stricter regulation, there are a few types of experiments that could approach social and ethically sensitive areas, so they should have an extra layer of scrutiny, the researchers said. In the past few weeks alone, we've seen mice engineered to express a human form of hemophilia, and cows engineered to produce milk with human characteristics. human DNA is frequently inserted into mice to study cancer, and so on. But some experiments are a little more ... bizarre, for lack of a better word.
Or giving animals human like speech or facial expressions. While these types of experiments don�t seem likely, some researchers argue they could be valuable, the Associated Press reports. Injecting human brain cells into rat brains could help researchers study stroke treatments, for instance. Reuters points out that the world's first clinical trial using stem cell therapy in stroke patients was only possible after first testing human brain cells on rats. Where people begin to worry is when you get to the brain, to the germ (reproductive) cells, and to the sort of central features that help us recognize what is a person, like skin texture, facial shape and speech, said Martin Bobrow, a professor of medical genetics at the University of Cambridge, in a news conference.
Bobrow led a working group of Britain's Academy of Medical Sciences that examined creating animals with human facets. Part of the controversy in the UK stemmed from plans three years ago to make human embryos with the nucleus hollowed out of cow eggs, the AP reports. The research was intended to make a new supply of stem cells that could be used to treat a wide range of diseases. The cells were 99.9 percent human and 0.1 percent other animal, the Guardian reported at the time. Other countries should probably follow suit, and come up with their own regulatory mechanisms for overseeing such experiments, Bobrow said.
Google has joined forces with the most famous wizard in the world, Harry Potter, which could mean a big boost for two of its services while also resulting in a huge missed opportunity for Apple and PayPal. The partnership with the new Pottermore website by Harry Potter author JK Rowling will make the e-book version of the seven Harry Potter books available on Google's eBooks reader. The deal also makes Google's payment service Google Checkout the official third-party form of payment for Pottermore. By partnering with Google eBooks, Rowling has found a way to put her seven highly-in-demand books on smartphones, tablets, e-readers and computers without having to split the sales with companies such as Apple or Amazon, who typically keep about 30% of sales. Rowling's distribution method gives publisher's more leverage when it comes to selling e-books, said Craig Vodnik, chief blogger for BuildingKeystones.com, a blog about digital product e-commerce.
"It could be a really, really big deal if this works out based off the titles she's written and she's just so well-known," he said. "From the publisher's perspective it's a big deal because it could give them some control over how they distribute their products." Vodnik said Google landing Rowling is similar to when Apple finally got the Beatles on their iTunes catalog. In what must have been the tradeoff in the deal, Google's payment service Google Checkout appears to be the only way besides debit or credit cards to purchases the books from Pottermore. The inclusion of Google Checkout is a huge snub for PayPal, the original and most used third-party payment service online.
Instead, Google Checkout will be exposed to millions of Harry Potter fans looking to buy digital versions of the wizard stories. In the last few months, Google has been strengthening its push into the e-commerce and mobile payment fields, announcing recently it had begun testing a service called Google Wallet, which allows consumers to pay using their Android phones using a technology called NFC. The Harry Potter books could become the most purchased e-books upon their release if the franchise's performance at the box office and at book stores are any indication. The final Harry Potter film had the best opening of all time, scoring $168.6 million in the U.S. and Canada in three days. Four years ago, the last Harry Potter book had a similar release, selling 8.3 million copies in its first day, according to Guinness World Records.
China's passion for iPads and iPhones has triggered widespread cloning and even brawls. Now, it has gone further with a fake Apple store so convincing even the staff think they work for Steve Jobs. The store, in the southwestern city of Kunming, was uncovered by an American blogger who was initially fooled, before she noticed not everything was as it seemed. At first glance, the signs, computers and layout of the shop all look exactly like a genuine Apple store, says the blogger, who posts under the name BirdAbroad. Photos posted by the blogger show the employees wearing Apple's trademark blue T-shirts with name badges hanging around their necks.
But a closer look reveals the winding stairs going up to the chill-out area are poorly made, the walls have not been painted well, and the shop front sign says "Apple store" whereas the real deal just sports the now-famous fruit logo. The employees, meanwhile, all genuinely believe they work for Apple, said BirdAbroad, who asked to remain anonymous when contacted by AFP on Thursday. "I do not know if the computers were real or fake - they seemed real, but it can be hard to tell," she said. "As of last night, the store was still open." She added that a quick walk around the corner revealed two other rip-off Apple stores - one of which sported a sign saying "Apple Stoer".
The Apple web site lists four official stores in China - two in Beijing and two in Shanghai, and none in Kunming. It has a list of approved retailers that sell its products, but none of those in Kunming corresponds to the fake store's address, according to the blogger. A spokeswoman for Apple China declined to comment when contacted by AFP. China is home to the biggest counterfeit market in the world, and despite repeated government pledges to root out fake goods, these are still widely available throughout the country. As the craze for all things Apple slowly spreads around China, fake iPhones and iPods have also emerged.
A service tech with a local heating and cooling company in Lafayette addresses the common problems he sees with air conditioning units that are not working properly.
Thursday was easily one of the hottest days of 2011 so far. It would not be the day you would want your air conditioner to stop working.
According to M&M Heating and Cooling, that was the case for many of their customers: no A/C during the most intense heat wave in 16 years.
"Very busy. A lot of service calls," said M&M service technician Sean Lewsader.
With the heat wave, our air conditioners are working more than normal.
"You get there and they say, well, just my luck... the hottest week of the year," said Lewsader about his customers' reactions.
NewsChannel 18 tagged along with Lewsader Thursday as he serviced a home in Monticello. While on the job, he told us about the most common problems customers are running into.
Some of those problems are easy fixes, like making sure the power is turned on to the unit. You will also first want to make sure your thermostat is set correctly.
Next, check your air filter. It may be time to replace it.
If you still aren't getting cool air, clear any dirt or debris around the outside unit that could be preventing air from getting in.
"If all those things check out fine, then it probably wouldn't hurt to give somebody a call and have them come out and look at it," said Lewsader.
Lewsader said a diagnostic check to find out what's wrong can cost around $55. Repairs can go up from there and he added that they do get expensive. He suggests getting on a regular maintenance plan for scheduled tune-ups to prevent a problem.
Last week during Google's quarterly earnings call CEO Larry Page laid out a new vision for the company that seemed to signal that the era of Google Labs was at an end. Page called the approach "more wood behind fewer arrows." This new level of focus will mean more support for major Google projects and ideas but it also meant the search giant trim away projects that didn't work. Page tied this new strategy to Google's recent decision to shut down Google Health and Google PowerMeter Services Google introduced to give users easier access to their health care and energy usage information respectively. Now Google Labs is the latest casualty of the "more wood fewer arrows" approach. It's hard not to feel like we've lost something great as the search giant shuts down Google Labs.
I agree that Google should give more time and support to some of its big name projects, and I can already see how that strategy has served them well on projects like Google+. If Google had been able to put more of its programmers on a project like Google Wave, for instance, then we might still be using it today. Who knows, a more focused Google might even have created something like Google+ right off the bat instead of surprising and annoying Gmail users with Google Buzz. If you still have a favorite project in Google's Labs all hope isn't lost. Google has said that while it will be quietly shutting down some of the projects currently in the Labs others will find a new life integrated into the search giant's other projects and services.
It's electric, and like all battery-operated automobiles needs regular charging. "The charging is done wirelessly, you park up, turn off the key and voila... charging starts automatically," says Anthony Thomson, CEO of HaloIPT, a UK company that has installed the technology. The process uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power from a pad built into the ground to another installed in the bottom of the car. The system could be installed in a supermarket parking place, garage floor or the ground at a special charging station. When a driver parks the vehicle, the two pads line up and with a flick of a switch, the charging starts.
In the case of charging a car, the coils are embedded inside the two pads. And although some of the electricity inevitably gets wasted during the charging process, people who have tried it have praised its simplicity. Two of the induction-equipped C1s have been taking part in the Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) consortium - the world's biggest trial of electric vehicles. "City planners don't like the prospect of a line of charge posts down streets, adding to the existing street clutter," said Neil Butcher, the CABLED project leader, who has been driving one of the two cars since May 2011. "There are also obvious health and safety issues associated with many live electric cables hanging between the post and the car, especially in bad weather, including electric shock and trip hazards," added Mr Butcher.
But with wireless power transfer, bad weather is not a problem, claims HaloIPT. Pads remain perfectly operational and safe in any conditions, "sending" the energy up, even through a layer of snow. As simple as the process might sound, there is a catch - there are currently no charging stations in the UK. So Mr Butcher can only feed his hungry Citroen at his garage where the system has been installed as part of a pilot project. As a backup he can switch to a conventional plug-in cable charging point. But HaloIPT is certain that things will improve in the future, and induction stations will become commonplace. The luxury carmaker has equipped its latest electric model, the 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric with a magnetic induction plate.
US pop star Katy Perry leads the way at this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) with nine nominations. The singer's nods include video of the year for Firework, best pop video and best special effects. British singer Adele and Kanye West picked up seven nominations apiece. Other multiple nominees included Lady Gaga, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars. The VMAs are scheduled to take place on 28 August in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live in the US. Perry, who married comedian Russell Brand last year, was also nominated for best female video, best collaboration, best art direction and best cinematography.
I thought that was a typo or something," the star told MTV. In the video of the year category - considered to be the most prominent award of the night - Perry will compete alongside Adele, Mars, the Beastie Boys and Tyler, The Creator. After a record-breaking 13 nominations last year, Lady Gaga received just three. She will take on Perry, Adele, Beyonce and Nicki Minaj in the best female video award. last year the Bad Romance singer dominated the awards ceremony, taking home eight prizes.
Mars and West will do battle in the best male video category, alongside Justin Bieber, Cee-Lo Green and Eminem. And Perry, Adele and Mars will take on Britney Spears and Pitbull in the battle for best pop video.
A man who embarked on a shooting spree in what he claimed was retaliation for 9/11 has been executed at a prison in Texas. The lone survivor of Mark Stroman's attack on convenience store workers in late 2001, Rais Bhuiyan, originally from Bangladesh, unsuccessfully sued to stop the execution, saying his religious beliefs as a Muslim required him to forgive the man. Stroman claimed the shooting spree that killed two men and injured a third targeted people from the Middle East, though all three victims were from south Asia. It was the death of 49-year-old Vasudev Patel, from India, that put Stroman on death row. Stroman's execution was the eighth this year in Texas.
From inside the death chamber, Stroman looked at five friends watching through a window and told them he loved them. The execution was delayed for almost three hours before the Texas court of criminal appeals barred a state judge in Austin from considering Bhuiyan's lawsuit to stop the execution. Bhuiyan had asked the courts to halt Stroman's execution and said he wanted to spend time with the inmate to learn more about why the shootings occurred. He lost sight in one of his eyes when Stroman shot him in the face. Stroman was free on bond for a gun possession arrest at the time of the attack.
Stroman confessed, and court documents show he told authorities he belonged to the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist prison gang. Stroman more recently denied the white supremacist description. Stroman blamed the shootings on the loss of a sister in the collapse of one of the World Trade Centre towers although prosecutors said in court documents that there was no firm evidence she ever existed. Stroman was also charged but not tried in the shooting death of Waqar Hasan. The attack on Bhuiyan came a week later.
As promised, Apple let Mac OS X Lion out of its cage this morning. Version 10.7 of the operating system has more than 250 new features, Apple said, but an installation disc isn't one of them: it's available today for $29.99 as a 3.49GB download only. Apple enjoys pushing the computing industry into the future by dropping technology it deems to be from the past-for example floppy drives missing from the first iMac-and those who want a real-world copy of the OS will have to wait until Apple releases it on a USB thumb drive next month for $69. The Mac OS X download, available through the Mac App Store, dovetails with Apple's new MacBook Air and Mac Mini Lion-based computers. These new models are updated with Intel's modern Sandy Bridge processors and a high-speed Thunderbolt data transfer port-and none has a DVD drive for the next OS upgrade.
One new feature in Lion is a range of multitouch gestures that let people control on-screen content with their fingers. Here, Apple updated its approach to the problem with Mission Control, which provides a glimpse into all the programs running on the Mac. The operating system's Launchpad feature helps to quickly access and launch applications from the operating system. Lion's Versions feature automatically saves people's work and allows them to go back to different versions of a file. A new Resume feature helps users get back to where they left off with their applications after the Mac has been shut down or restarted, similar to how some Web browsers can launch by reopening the tabs a person had been using.
Mac OS X Lion is also the first version of Apple's operating system to come with the Mac App Store built-in. Apple's latest operating system update comes just a day after the company posted an impressive fiscal third quarter. Apple reported yesterday that its revenue hit $28.57 billion during the period, and it earned a profit of $7.31 billion. The company sold 20.34 million iPhones and 9.25 million iPads during the period, representing a gain of 142 percent and 183 percent year-over-year, respectively, but Mac sales were relatively light. During its earnings call yesterday, Apple announced its intention to release Mac OS X Lion today.
Mobile Google+ early users are lauding features such as the app's push notifications for updates so when someone comments on one of your posts or sends you a message from a Huddle chat you can see it on your iPhone without having to open the app. The app's photo viewer also includes an uploader that lets people grab shots from their phone's camera.
Some features from the desktop Google+ don't yet translate to the app experience. CNET's Josh Lowensohn points out that "there's no video chat option to make use of the multiuser video hangouts feature, even if you're on an iPhone 4 with dual cameras. Also, the Circles organizing is just a big list of contacts, versus the drag-and-drop experience you'd get on the desktop. This makes organizing large groups of contacts more laborious but is understandable, given the smaller amount of screen real estate."
Initially, some users complained the app was buggy and frequently crashed but Google has already released a lightning-fast update to take stabilize it.
But before anything happens, as long as Jobs is still around and kicking - and presenting the newest iPads or iPods himself - he will always have the last word. And so he emailed the Wall Street Journal, saying of its story on his successor, "I think it is hogwash." Jobs has managed to defy the odds time and time again, so we're not sure what to think at this point. Every time we think he's down for the count, he pops back up and is at least able to maintain the impression of a man who is fully capable and as excited about Apple as ever. His day will come, but is it so soon that there's a need to pick a new CEO now?
The man who revolutionized the personal computer is putting his efforts — and foundation — to revolutionizing toilets. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he will dedicate $42 million towards reinventing the toilet.
Water hygiene and safe waste disposal are two of the biggest causes of infant mortality in the developing countries. Gates and his foundation hope to create inexpensive toilets to vastly improve the living conditions of millions of people. It may seem like a silly subject but it’s one that could save lives around the world.
“No innovation in the past 200 years has done more to save lives and improve health than the sanitation revolution triggered by invention of the toilet,” said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the president of the Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “But it did not go far enough. It only reached one-third of the world. What we need are new approaches. New ideas.”
The initiative was launched by Burwell on Tuesday in Kigali, Rwanda.
Part of the foundation’s plan is the Reinventing the Toilet Challenge, which funds research at eight universities around the world to develop a toilet that will turn waste into energy, clean water or nutrients. The solution must be a stand-alone unit without piped-in water, a sewer connection or outside electricity. The foundation partnered with USAID to fix water sanitation as part of the UN’s 2015 Millennium Development Goals.
The foundation is prioritizing convenience and affordability in the solutions it considers. The toilets must be easy to install and cost no more than $0.05 a day to maintain.
Months after generating controversy with their union, 16-year-old Courtney and her actor husband, Doug Hutchison, share pictures from their Las Vegas wedding.
After offering their side of the story, teen bride Courtney Alexis Stodden and her husband, Doug Hutchison, are giving the world a look at their wedding through a series of pictures. Coming out via E! News, the photos capture moments from their Las Vegas ceremony back in May.
Less than a week after their "Good Morning America" interview, Courtney and Doug made an appearance on the "Father Albert Show". Speaking about their controversial union, Doug tells host Albert Cutie, "God connects us. When you meet that someone you love, there's something inside that's leading you towards that person."
HTC, one of the most innovative and fastest growing smartphone manufacturers in the world today, recently unveiled a new phone built entirely to be social, combining the simplicity and ease-of-use of HTC Sense with the power and connectivity of Facebook. Having debuted globally at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain earlier this year, the HTC ChaCha features a dedicated Facebook button for one-touch access to the key functions of the Facebook service that are integrated throughout the HTC Sense experience. The new HTC ChaCha offers a new unique way to experience Facebook on a mobile device to communicate with your circle of friends on a brand new level, said Lennard Hoornik, president of HTC South Asia Pacific. With more than 500 million active users worldwide, Facebook has become synonymous with the social Web and we wanted to create the ultimate socially connected phones with mass market appeal, he added. We have worked closely with HTC for several years on bringing Facebook to their devices and HTC ChaCha is the next stage, said Henri Moissinac, head of mobile business for Facebook.
HTC has brought Facebook to the new device in an innovative way enabling people to connect and share easily whenever they want, wherever they are, Moissinac added. The Facebook button on the HTC ChaCha is context-aware, gently pulsing with light whenever there is an opportunity to share content or updates through Facebook. One can take a photograph of friends on their phone and upload it instantly to Facebook by simply pressing the button. Or they can let friends know what song they're listening to by pressing the button while listening to music on the phone. The new device features the latest version of Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 and uses the latest iteration of HTC Sense to integrate Facebook throughout the HTC Sense experience.
It's been all about pool parties and bikinis for Katie Holmes this summer! And there's nothing wrong with that—sounds like a pretty fabulous time to us.
But with every snapshot of this bathing-suit-clad babe, the buzz has been building about how thin Katie's been appearing...
This weekend, while hubby Tom Cruise was busy filming Rock of Ages, the 32-year-old actress stripped down into a skimpy black bikini before hopping into a Miami Beach hotel pool with 6-year-old Suri—and revealing a whole lot of, er, ribcage in the process.
Maybe Katie was just sucking in for a second or flexing her abs?
Google has unveiled an incremental release of the Android platform featuring optimizations for a wider range of tablets and a compatibility enhancement for fixed-size applications.
Android 3.2, which starting becoming available on Motorola Xoom devices last week, offers refinements to ensure a greater user experience on more tablets, said Xavier Ducrohet, Android SDK lead. A new compatibility display mode in version 3.2 gives users a way to view fixed-size applications on larger devices. "The mode provides a pixel-scaled alternative to the standard UI stretching, for apps that are not designed to run on larger screen sizes,"
Version 3.2 also offers an extended screen support API. "For developers who want more precise control over their UI across the range of Android-powered devices, the platform's screen support API is extended with new resource qualifiers and manifest attributes, to also allow targeting screens by their dimensions," Ducrohet said.
On today’s ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ it was all about the best and worst things you can do. During the first segment on the television show, Doctor Mehmet Oz shared what he thought was the best and worst ways a person could go about losing weight.
Doctor Oz said that the best day of the week to start a weight loss program is on Saturday, while the worst day is on a Monday. The most beneficial aisle at the grocery store that will help you lose the pounds is the produce section, while the worst is the checkout stand because of candy temptations. Doctor Oz explained that eating at the dining room offers the best weight loss strategy, while eating in the kitchen can sabotage your dieting because you will be tempted to go back for seconds. Doctor Oz shared a list of the best and worst things you can do to lose weight.
Diet Pills
Worst – – Ephedrine or phed is the worst diet pill said Dr. Oz. He explained that it is very dangerous because the heart can get damaged. The diet pill causes the heart to pump faster and can increase blood pressure. This extra strain on the heart could rip holes in the arteries, which could cause sudden strokes said Dr. Oz.
Best – Glucomannan is a supplement that is also a natural thickening agent. Doctor Oz said this is the best diet pill because it has a lot of fiber and swells up in the stomach. He said that when you take the pill, you should make sure to drink it with a lot of water. Glucomannan comes from a root and cost around $10 for the diet pill supplement.
Exercise
Worst – Sit-ups are the worst exercise to do because he said most people do not do them correctly. The stomach muscles are important to keep toned, but he suggested that a person should do a plank exercise so no injury will happen to the neck.
Best – Doctor Oz pick for the best exercise is to do lunge exercises because it works more muscles and burns more calories than sit-ups do. He demonstrated a front lunge and explained that the knees should not overextend past the toes. Doctor Oz added that these lunges do not cost any money to do. There is no exercise equipment needed to do lunges.
Snacks
Worst – Eating anything that is a bar is bad for weight loss explained Dr. Oz. The reason, he said, is that people may think that what they are eating is good for them. He said that a granola bar can contain sugar alcohols that will cause bloating. There can also be added sugar as well.
Best – Doctor Oz recommends eating Inca peanuts, which are grown in the Andes Mountain in Peru. The reason he recommends this particular nut is that they have both ample amounts of Omega 3 and Vitamin E, which are both good for the heart. Only one ounce has 5 grams of fiber. Dr. Oz said that there is 3 times more omega 3 than what is found in walnuts. He said that Sacha Inca Nuts are usually sold at health food stores.
Metabolism Boosters
Worst – Energy drinks are not good because they cause a temporary boost that does not last. The beverages usually have either caffeine or sugar.
Best – Doctor Oz said that cayenne pepper has been proven to burn fat.
The social networking world may be getting even more interesting. Microsoft confirmed that it accidentally leaked an image of its own social networking platform. Called "Tulalip," the site is designed to enable users to "find what you need and share what you know easier than ever," according to the image of its home page. Judging from the one page, users would be able to sign in to the site using their Facebook or Twitter accounts. If Microsoft is getting ready to release some kind of social network, at least two industry analysts said it looks like they're arriving at the social networking dance a little late.
In an email to Computerworld, a Microsoft spokeswoman wrote, "Socl.com is an internal design project from one of Microsoft's research teams which was mistakenly published to the web. The spokeswoman did not say whether the company is going to launch either a social network or a social search site associated with its Bing search engine. Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web. This development comes on the heels of Microsoft competitor Google's unveiling of its own social network, Google+, two weeks ago. Late Thursday, Google CEO Larry page announced that the company's fledgling site, which is still in field trials, already has gained more than 10 million users.
A direct challenger of Facebook, Google+ is stirring up the social networking world with its quickly found momentum. Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research, said, "It looks like Microsoft is worried that Google is going to suck all the remaining oxygen out of the social networking room." Microsoft And Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with Yankee Group, said, "It's a bit of monkey see, monkey do for Microsoft here." He also noted that he's not surprised to hear that Microsoft is cooking up its own social network or social search site. They might come out with an interesting take on social, but again, it may be too late."
We knew that Marvel had been planning to release a trailer for The Avengers, and assumed that it would play this weekend in front of Captain America: The First Avenger. It just makes sense, after all the word “Avenger” is in the title. In fact there had been reports that it may be shown at the very end of the movie, in the closing credits, which begs the question… what is this?
The following video has popped up all over YouTube tonight. It appears to be some sort of leaked version of The Avengers trailer, but since Captain America hasn’t been released yet and The Avengers trailer definitely hasn’t, you have to wonder where the heck it came from. There were a handful of special Cap press screenings held in LA today, but our own Eric Eisenberg was there and reported back that the post-credits footage wasn't shown to the press. Even if it were, those are usually so heavily policed it’s hard to imagine would be dumb enough to try and recording anything in those, much less get away with it.
So with all that said, we’re not quite sure what this is, or where it came from. It may be The Avengers trailer set to be shown after Captain America this weekend… which may mean it’s a spoiler and you shouldn’t watch it. But… maybe not. So here’s a warning…
WARNING! The following may be a Captain America: The First Avenger spoiler. Click play at your own risk.
Beyond the eclectic nature of its speakers, the conference is unusual in many ways and has become something of a cult for its followers - appropriately known as TEDsters. There is both a big and little TED. Delegates love the coolness of the event; to borrow from a well-known beer commercial - if Apple did conferences it would probably be something very like TED. Those three subjects make up the acronym TED but these days the talks are much wider. Nadia Al-Sakkaf, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Times, gave a moving speech about her desire for a democratic Yemen. Philip Blond, architect of the Big Society idea talked about how society was broken, although there was little insight into how his big idea was going to fix it.
Meanwhile philosopher Alain de Botton talked about the need for religion 2.0 - with one particularly enthusiastic Tedster suggesting later that TED itself could be the new church. This mix of intellect and emotion seems to be a defining feature of TED, which also offers its high-powered, wealthy audience a range of social and cultural distractions, including this year a launch party at Edinburgh Castle. Where other conferences offer Delegates a feedback form, TED invites the audience to select a badge that most reflects their mood. The badges are housed in plastic tubes and at the end of the week TED will assess which was the most popular. TED began life as an elitist club for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs until it was bought by British publisher Chris Anderson in 2001 and turned into a nonprofit organisation dedicated to ideas worth spreading.
He angered some TED purists by agreeing to post videos of all the speakers online for free after the conference. It has opened the event out to a much wider audience and has spawned TEDx, localised independent conferences set up by volunteers around the world. This summer TED is also pondering how it can spread its ideas in schools and an announcement on TED ED is due in the autumn. Cutting-edge tech remains at the heart of TED. Rezero, as it is known, is part of a family of ballbot robots whose design offers a range of real world applications, from guides around museums to intelligent trolleys in hospitals.
Ennis House was originally put on the market in 2009 for $15m but the sale price was later lowered. The building needs substantial restoration work.
It was bought by supermarket tycoon Ron Burkle who will continue renovating it, the building's sellers announced.
Built in 1924, the house overlooks Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.
It has featured in several films including Blade Runner, House on Haunted Hill and Grand Canyon.
But the house was severely damaged after a 1994 earthquake and during record rainfall in 2005 and it has also suffered from delayed maintenance, the Ennis House Foundation said in a statement on its website.
"Mr. Burkle has a track record of preserving important historic homes, and we know he'll be an excellent steward of the Ennis House," the statement said.
'Textile block' icon
The foundation estimates it has already spent $6.5m on repairs for the house.
When the house was first put up for sale the foundation estimated that it would need up to $7m of renovations to return the house to its original state.
At about 6,200 sq ft (576 sq m), it is the largest of Frank Lloyd Wright's four Los-Angeles "textile block" houses.
These experimental houses are made up of patterned and perforated concrete blocks, which lend them a unique textual appearance - Ennis House was constructed from more than 27,000 concrete blocks.
It was originally built for the men's clothing chain owners Charles and Mabel Ennis but it has changed hands several times since then.
It is unclear exactly what the new owner plans to do with the house. But the Ennis House Foundation said that Mr Burkle will provide public access to the house for a minimum of 12 days each year.
A spokesman for the foundation says it expects Mr Burkle will use the house for fundraising and other events, the Associated Press news agency reports.
