Innovation

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

Americans are always looking for ways to drop weight without actually doing anything. That's why the Calorie Shaper line of underwear out of Japan is so enticing.

The fabric of the unmentionables features a honeycomb structure that theoretically forces your body to work harder to move. All that resistance is supposed to burn calories, but I'm more concerned about chafing.

Calorie Shapers--which, from what we can see online, sell for between $30 and $38 per pair--are available in training and daily-life versions. The daily-life option is designed to hide under your usual clothing so no one will suspect you're actually exercising as you stroll down the office hallway with a doughnut in your hand.… Read more

Sure, you could try chin straps, nasal strips, or surgery. But I think we can all agree those snoring solutions are far less adorable than a robot bear that tickles your face when your breathing approaches wake-the-bedmate territory.

Meet Jukusui-kun, a fluffy white pillowbot that gauges snoring levels and touches offenders (supposedly gently) to get them to roll their head from side to side. This shift in movement, hopefully, helps open the airways so sleepers can stop snoring and enjoy a sounder slumber.

The polar bear-shaped robot out of (you guessed it) Japan, monitors snoring with built-in mics, while a similarly cuddly device worn around the wrist measures blood oxygen levels, which drop when snoring starts. When these benchmarks converge to indicate rising decibels, Jukusui-kun reaches out its paw with a loving little smack. … Read more

Insulin pumps, which deliver fast-acting insulin continuously through a catheter and are often preferred over injections, are still only used by only 20 to 30 percent of the 1.5 million people in the U.S. who are diagnosed with Type I diabetes.

Pumps might start getting more popular as the systems are get smaller, sleeker, and easier to use. Take Tandem Diabetes Care's t:slim, an insulin delivery system that has just been cleared by the FDA.

It's not only the smallest, but also the first to employ touch screen technology. Friends just might get gadget envy.… Read more

Ph.D. student Chris Seaton, who studies computer science at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, witnessed firsthand the horrors of serious burns while deployed in Afghanistan, Kenya, and elsewhere during his four years as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

So with the help of plastic surgeons at the University of Liverpool, Seaton developed Mersey Burns, an app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that helps reduce errors when treating burn victims.

Mersey Burns has already won an innovation award, and it is set to be featured in the January issue of the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons.… Read more

A U.K. company is now unveiling what it calls the world's first prototype handheld device that doubles as a fingerprint scanner and drug testing device.

In a matter of minutes, the portable device can detect the presence of a wide range of drugs using dyed antibodies that, as we reported back in July, stick to metabolites in the sweat of the fingerprints and change color depending on the presence of drugs.

"The launch of this prototype is a significant milestone," Paul Yaltes of development firm Intelligent Fingerprinting said in a statement. "There has already been … Read more

Highly sophisticated robots are being used in a variety of ways: think tsunamis, earthquakes, and land mines, to name a few. In the case of wildfires, though, they wouldn't survive long in the heat of battle.

So a team of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Cincinnati is testing a tiny new aerial system designed to fly above fires to calculate the scope of damage and the anticipated path the fire will take.

"What we are designing is a complete system," says Kelly Cohen, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, in a news release. &… Read more

Could a shot in the arm help destroy a growing tumor? That concept is looking more and more plausible.

Scientists have been investigating the potential of vaccines to prevent various types of cancer for several years. In 2010, one study found that a single vaccination prevented breast cancer tumors from forming in mice.

A team of researchers at the National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology now is reporting in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that a vaccine might show promise in treating (as opposed to preventing) both metastatic breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Led by cancer … Read more

Some people cry over the hue of their eyes.

If only they were blue, rather than muddy brown. And, well, brown eyes don't look so good with your dyed-blonde hair.

An inventor in California believes he has found the solution. Gregg Homer, founder of Stroma Medical, says that, in a mere 20 seconds, he can turn old brown eyes into old blue eyes. Or even young ones.

The way Homer told it to KTLA News, brown eyes are actually blue. Well, beneath the brown pigment that covers the iris, there is apparently a blue-looking orb.

So his procedure … Read more