aids

Marvel creates superhero for boy with hearing aid

I defy you not to be moved by this.

Yes, you might be a nerd who is only moved by machines and impossible superheroes.

But here is a small hero, 4-year-old Anthony Smith from Salem, N.H. Anthony wears a hearing aid. He was born with several chromosomal abnormalities. He doesn't have a right ear. He can only hear a little from his left, so he wears a hearing aid.

He calls the hearing aid Blue Ear. But he got fed up wearing it. Why? Because superheroes don't wear hearing aids. They might have been blind, like Daredevil, … Read more

Tiny mic could improve cochlear implants

Cochlear implants, which help 220,000 deaf people around the world hear, come with a few unfortunate side effects.

Because the implants also consist of external parts (the mic, a speech processor, and a radio transmitter coil) worn rather conspicuously behind the ear, users are often unable to swim or wear helmets comfortably, must fully rely on a microphone exposed to the elements, and have to deal with appearing at least somewhat handicapped.

So an electrical engineer at the University of Utah has developed a prototype that moves all these external parts into the middle ear, allowing cochlear implants to … Read more

Flip-top slow cooker

Just like families themselves, family dinners come in all shapes and sizes. Regardless of exactly how families get together, one thing for certain is that there will be a lot of them doing just that during the upcoming days. That and making a mess.

Naturally, that would mean making a mess at the dinner table. As family and friends get together for the holidays, food will be served in abundance. It's as traditional as the yearly argument about whatever the yearly argument happens to be. If that argument happens to be about setting the wet slow cooker lid on … Read more

Biologists one step closer to neutralizing HIV

Researchers around the world have been studying a group of recently-identified antibodies capable of neutralizing most strains of HIV, with the hopes of developing a vaccine that produces antibodies with these same properties.

Now, biologists out of the California Institute of Technology--led by Nobel Laureate David Baltimore--are one step closer to a vaccine with their new method of delivering these antibodies to lab mice, thereby protecting them from HIV.

Their approach, called Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis (VIP) and outlined in today's online issue of Nature, turns the traditional vaccination method on its head.

For the most part, researchers have focused … Read more

Spare a little computing power to fight malaria

After IBM's Watson computing system defeated two human competitors on Jeopardy this year, it partnered with the nonprofit Scripps Research Institute to direct the tournament prize money toward finding a cure for drug-resistant malaria.

Now all the team is asking for is a little help from around the globe. It's using the World Community Grid, described as a "supercomputer of the people," to use spare computing power from volunteered PCs.

Since the Grid was set up seven years ago, some 575,000 people in more than 80 countries have donated spare computing power from nearly 2 … Read more

Scientists pleasantly 'shocked' by skills of Foldit gamers

It's not every day that a news item details the intelligence of the masses, lurking in the brains of unassuming passersby, just waiting to be uncovered for the greater good. But when it comes to the massively multiplayer online game Foldit, this is precisely the story, and it keeps getting better.

Launched in 2008 at the University of Washington, the protein folding game first made news for its potential to use the collective brainpower of gamers everywhere to unlock the fundamental mysteries of certain diseases. Then gamers began to prove this potential, solving various protein riddles that further our … Read more

Food processor flips switch for slicing choices

Kitchens are constantly in a state of flux. Food comes and goes, transforming from raw ingredients into finished plates. Frequently, as the chopping, slicing, and overall prepping occurs, things need to be switched up on the fly. When confronted with change while operating a food processor, home chefs are usually required to exchange attachments, stalling the cooking process. Or they could just flip a switch. More than just a feature for adapting to change, an external lever on the KitchenAid KFP1333 Food Processor allows you to adjust slicing thickness of a variety of foods, whether the need to is foreseen … Read more

Foldit game leads to AIDS research breakthrough

In 2008, University of Washington scientists released the game Foldit, hoping a sort of critical mass of gamers would mess around with proteins and, in the process, uncover some of their intrigue. (We have more than 100,000 types of proteins in our bodies alone.)

Last year, we checked in on the project's progress, and principal investigator Zoran Popovic said that some 60,000 people worldwide had taken on the challenge. Popovic hoped the initial results his team reported on last year would convince those on the sidelines that scientific discovery games could actually lead to important breakthroughs.

Well, … Read more

The 404 906: Where Qwikster delivers the booty (podcast)

Happy birthday to the emoticon, invented 29 years ago today on a computer-science bulletin board at Carnegie Mellon University. Thanks for making parents around the world feel tech-savvy. :)

Before we get into the important Netflix news of of the day, Jeff tells us about his weekend experience at "Sleep No More," an interactive theater experience in New York that's loosely based on the Macbeth story--with a creepy twist. The plot plays out in various acts throughout a three-story abandoned warehouse in Chelsea, so tune in to hear more spoiler-free details and reserve your tickets here!

Next we'll get into the Netflix mea culpa delivered by e-mail and blog post this morning that's giving current Netflix subscribers even more reasons to moan about the recent price hike.

CEO Reed Hastings announced that the company will soon split in two, with the name of the DVD mail rental service changing to Qwikster (not to be confused with Quixtar, QuickStar, Kwikster, Quickster, or Quik-Star), while the video-streaming arm will retain the Netflix name and Web address.

We'll also talk today about a satellite plunging from space, a group of scientists that are poaching PS3 gamers to help find a cure for AIDS, and the last single-space parking meter disappearing in Manhattan today.

The 404 Digest for Episode 906

The emoticon was invented 29 years ago today. Netflix CEO: " I slid into arrogance." PS3 users are helping to find a cure for AIDS. A satellite loosely based on "Donnie Darko" is coming to Earth. World's largest sperm bank refusing donations from redheads. Iguana Fart.

Episode 906 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more