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EyeQue Unveils its VisionCheck 2 Smartphone Vision Test

Andrew Orr ·

EyeQue has a smartphone vision test you can do at home, and the company has a Kickstarter to fund the second-gen product called VisionCheck 2.

Some claim to have online or app-based refraction tests, but they are merely prescription verification services based on visual acuity estimates. EyeQue users are actually performing a self-refraction test while proprietary algorithms process, personalize, and store results.

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Humans Place in Suspended Animation for First Time

Andrew Orr ·

Humans have been placed in suspended animation for the first time, in a technique called emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR).

EPR involves rapidly cooling a person to around 10 to 15°C by replacing all of their blood with ice-cold saline. The patient’s brain activity almost completely stops. They are then disconnected from the cooling system and their body – which would otherwise be classified as dead – is moved to the operating theatre.

A surgical team then has 2 hours to fix the person’s injuries before they are warmed up and their heart restarted. Tisherman says he hopes to be able to announce the full results of the trial by the end of 2020.

Years ago I remember reading in Popular Science of experiments like this involving dogs. It’s amazing that it’s moving to the human stage.

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Facebook is Fine With Political Lies But Bans Pro-Vaccination Ads

Andrew Orr ·

Facebook is happy to let politicians lie in advertisements on the platform, but it bans pro-vaccination ads that are rooted in science.

The study, published today in the journal Vaccine…found that a small group of “well-connected, powerful people” promoting broad anti-vaccination messages had successfully leveraged the platform’s targeted advertising service to reach select audiences…Meanwhile, those behind pro-vaccine messages well far less well funded and centralised, with their advertising often focusing on inoculating against specific conditions.

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EyeQue Launches Vision Monitoring Kit

Andrew Orr ·

Today EyeQue has launched a vision monitoring kit that includes the EyeQue VisionCheck, PDCheck, and the new EyeQue Insight Plus.

The EyeQue Vision Monitoring Kit is available now on Indiegogo, with pledge levels starting at $119 (retail value: $205). The product is slated to ship to backers by the end of November 2019, in time for the holidays (limited quantities). Learn more about EyeQue at eyeque.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more updates.

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Science Journal Admits Those Bone Horns Were Wrong

Andrew Orr ·

Remember the study claiming smartphone usage caused bone horns to grow on millennials? The publisher now admits the conclusion was false. But other scientists say their correction is still false.

While the correction attempts to clarify the record on smartphones, it does not do anything to address the fact that the study’s main finding — that poor posture and age are connected to neck bone spurs — still isn’t supported by the underlying data…

“I actually think Nature should remove the original article as the correction has not proved their point,” said Sara Becker, a bioarchaeologist at the University of California Riverside.

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Your X-Ray Images and Medical Data Are Available on the Internet

Andrew Orr ·

A ProPublica investigation revealed that medical images and health data are often stored in insecure servers that are easily accessible to anyone with a bit of computer knowledge.

We identified 187 servers — computers that are used to store and retrieve medical data — in the U.S. that were unprotected by passwords or basic security precautions. The computer systems, from Florida to California, are used in doctors’ offices, medical-imaging centers and mobile X-ray services.

All told, medical data from more than 16 million scans worldwide was available online, including names, birthdates and, in some cases, Social Security numbers.

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Planned Parenthood's App Comes to All 50 States This Year

Andrew Orr ·

Planned Parenthood Direct is an app that lets you order birth control and get UTI treatment from your phone. It will roll out to all 50 states by the end of 2019.

For either birth control prescriptions or UTI treatment, you’ll need to fill out some personal and medical information, then wait up to one business day for a clinician to decide whether your case is straightforward enough that they can write your prescription. In some states, you’ll need to do a video chat. And depending on the provider’s decision, your request may be turned down and you’ll need to see somebody in person.