In the tech world, a lot happens in a week. So much news goes on that it’s almost impossible for mere mortals with real lives to keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a quick and dirty list of the top 10 tech stories from this week. Everything from the future of designer babies to an iPhone storage case with 128GB of storage, it’s all here.
The end of sexual reproduction could be 20 years away, claims bioethicist
In 1997, the film Gattaca warned of a future in which emerging reproductive technologies led to eugenics and genetic discrimination. For Stanford law professor and bioethicist Hank Greely, our future might not be quite so bleak, but the technology involved may be closer than we think. Greely’s new book, The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction, predicts that parents in developed countries will decide to bear children based on genetics rather than by chance, as they select designer babies from petri dishes.
Instagram now has more than half a billion active users
Thought the internet community has had its fill of food, cat, and sunset pics? Think again. Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo network, just crossed an important milestone in its mission for world picture-sharing dominance: it has amassed more than 500 million active users, 300 million of whom use the service “at least once a day.”
Google Fiber hopes Webpass acquisition will bolster its high-speed internet plans
Google Fiber, the search giant’s internet, TV, and phone provider, has agreed to acquire the ISP Webpass to boost its deployment of high-speed internet. “By joining forces, we can accelerate the deployment of superfast internet connections for customers across the U.S.,” Webpass’ founder Charles Barr writes in a blog post. “Webpass will remain focused on rapid deployment of high-speed internet connections for residential and commercial buildings, primarily using point-to-point wireless.”
HBO streaming options boost ‘Game of Thrones’ to massive season 6 audiences
Game of Thrones characters may drop like flies every week, but the HBO fantasy drama series’ audience just keeps growing. Over the course of season 6, the show has averaged 23.3 million viewers across platforms, USA Today reports. The number marks a 15 percent increase from season 5, a new high helped along by a surge in HBO Now and HBO Go use.
Swiss college students set a new world record for the fastest electric car
Students in Switzerland just set a world’s record for an electric car, hitting 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) in just 1.513 seconds. The Formula Student Team at Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ) set the record with the Grimsel race car, according to ETH Zurich. The record holders, students at ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, built the Grimsel. The record-breaking run was completed in just under 30 meters (about 100 feet).
Look out, Facebook! YouTube finally lets you live-stream videos
YouTube took to VidCon today to announce that live-streaming is coming to its mobile apps and will be available to all users. Google’s video platform detailed all the new video formats it was pursuing, including 360-degree videos and VR. The update sees YouTube play catch-up with the likes of Twitter’s Periscope, and Facebook Live. However, YouTube boasts that it has a better infrastructure in place than its competitors to take advantage of live-streaming.
3D printing saves life of baby born with brain outside his skull
Expecting parents Dustin and Sierra Yoder were handed dreadful news during a routine prenatal ultrasound. The pair were told their baby boy had encephalocele, a rare birth defect that causes the brain to grow outside the brain cavity due to a hole in the skull. Normally a fatal condition, this story has a happy outcome thanks to a pair of surgeons who used 3D printing to devise a successful treatment, reports STAT.
Study: Delay your workout for several hours after studying for best retention
So if you’re cramming for a test, can exercise help your memory? If that were the case, would it be better to work out before studying, immediately after, or maybe a while later? Recent research suggests that a delayed period of exercise helps with retention more than just does resting or working out immediately after a study session, according to Ars Technica.
With help from this AI assistant, doctors can diagnose breast cancer with near perfect accuracy
Physicians are pretty damn good at detecting breast cancer, but they certainly aren’t perfect. Human pathologists can accurately identify the disease with 96 percent accuracy by reviewing breast biopsy samples, without even coming in contact with the patient. That’s an impressive rate, given that cancer misdiagnosis can occur up to 28 percent of the time, according to healthcare journal BMJ Quality and Safety.
SanDisk’s new 128GB iPhone storage case has a secret bonus feature
If you went for a 16GB iPhone 6 or 6S and soon found the storage slipping away like sand through your fingers, then you might want to consider an elegant-looking SanDisk solution that’s just gone on sale. SanDisk has come up with a sleek iXpand Memory Case that can give your iPhone as much as 128GB extra storage, leaving you worry-free if shooting lots of photos and video is your thing.
