#Brain training app that could help schizophrenia sufferers live a normal life A new brain training app developed to help improve the memory of people with schizophrenia could save taxpayers thousands of pounds,
a study has claimed. The computer game has been designed by neuroscientists at Cambridge university to help patients recover their ability to carry out everyday tasks that rely on having a good memory.
Its aim is to train the brain in episodic memory, which helps people remember events such as where they parked their car in a multi-storey car park
or where they left a set of keys. Researchers carried out a study which found that schizophrenia patients who played the game regularly for a month were four times better at remembering these kinds of things than non-players.
Schizophrenia is estimated to cost £13. 1billion per year in total in the UK. The long-term mental health condition can cause a range of symptoms including hallucinations and delusions.
But current medications to treat these symptoms cause debilitating side effects including poor memory, which can stop sufferers being able to work or study.
As yet no medication has been developed to treat the impairment -which is why scientists at Cambridge university developed the brain training app to help.
The computer game is called Wizard and is aimed at people who suffer with poor episodic memory-one of the main side effects of schizophrenia drugs.
Researchers assigned 22 participants who had been given a diagnosis of schizophrenia, to either the cognitive training group
or a control group at random. Participants in the training group played the memory game for a total of eight hours over a four-week period.
Those in the control group continued their treatment as usual. Scientists found that the patients who had played the memory game made significantly fewer errors in memory testing.
Those who were motivated most also performed best at the game, which scientists say is important as lack of motivation is another common aspect of schizophrenia.
Professor Barbara Sahakian of the Department of Psychiatry, said:''We need a way of treating the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, such as problems with episodic memory,
but slow progress is being made towards developing a drug treatment.''So this proof-of-concept study is important
because it demonstrates that the memory game can help where drugs have failed so far.''Because the game is interesting,
even those patients with a general lack of motivation are spurred on to continue the training.'
'Professor Peter Jones, also from the Department of Psychiatry, added:''These are promising results and suggest that there may be the potential to use game apps to not only improve a patient's episodic memory,
but also their functioning in activities of daily living.''We will need to carry out further studies with larger sample sizes to confirm the current findings,
but we hope that, used in conjunction with medication and current psychological therapies, this could help people with schizophrenia minimise the impact of their illness on everyday life.'
'The researchers say even small improvements in cognitive functions could help patients transition to independent living and working.
They say this would substantially reduce direct and indirect costs on the country as well as improving the well-being and health of patients.
A professional game designer was used to develop the game, who ensured it was fun, attention-grabbing,
Professor Sahakian and colleagues began a collaboration with the team behind the popular brain training app Peak
and the new game is available through Peak's ios app
#London to New york in just ONE HOUR: Airbus files patent for a hypersonic jet more than double the speed of Concorde A trip from London to New york could take just one hour
if Airbus has its way. The aerospace manufacturer is designing a hypersonic jet that it hopes will take people between the two major cities faster than most daily commutes.
The US Patent and Trademark Office recently approved an application from Airbus for the new jet,
which it says will travel at 4. 5 times the speed of sound. Business Insider points out that this is a major improvement on the 3. 5 hours it took for the now Mach 2 Concorde to make the same trip.
The jet is described as'an air vehicle including a fuselage a gothic delta wing distributed on either side of the fuselage,
would work together to propel the vehicle at speeds of 3, 425mph (5, 500km/h). Two turbo jets would allow the aircraft to climb vertically at takeoff,
before retracting into the fuselage just before it reaches the speed of sound. A rocket motor would take it to an altitude of 100, 000ft (30,000 metres.
Airbus says it has designed the craft's aerodynamics to limit sonic boom, which was a major problem for Concorde
when it flew over land. Passengers on the aircraft will be limited to 20.''In the case of civil applications, the market envisaged is principally that of business travel and VIP passengers,
Airbus thinks the jet would be able to complete trips such as Tokyo to Los angeles in just three hours.
The aircraft manufacturer says the hypersonic jet could also be for military applications, working to transport soldiers at rapid speeds.
But Airbus isn't the only one vying to create hypersonic aircraft technology. Last month, Air force bosses revealed they hope to have a hypersonic plane capable of crossing countries in minutes by 2023.
Several tests of hypersonic projectiles have already been carried out. Air force Chief Scientist Mica Endsley told Military. com that the Air Force and Darpa,
the Pentagon's research entity, plan to have a new and improved hypersonic air vehicle by 2023.
Experimental unmanned aircraft developed for the U s. Air force have gone already hypersonic during tests off the Southern California coast,
flying at more than five times the speed of sound. The Air force said a craft known as the X-51a Waverider flew for more than three minutes under power from its exotic scramjet engine and hit a speed of Mach 5. 1 last year.
The new air vehicle could be used to transport sensors equipment or weaponry in the future, depending upon how the technology develops.
Previously bosses had said only they hoped that missile systems would be available for testing in 2020. n
#Audi, Mercedes and BMW hit back at Google and Appple: Firms buy Nokia's map business in bid to beat tech firms with self driving cars and navigation German carmakers BMW,
Audi and Mercedes, will pay around 2. 5 billion euros ($2. 8 billion) to buy Nokia's maps business,
beating out high-tech rivals for location services seen as key to the future of self-driving cars.
Germany's three premium carmakers will hold equal stakes in the business, known as HERE, clubbing together to keep the assets away from Internet rivals such as Uber of Silicon valley and China's Baidu and Tencent.
The deal has an enterprise value of 2. 8 billion euros including liabilities of nearly 300 million euros, for
which Nokia will compensate the carmakers, the Finnish company said on Monday. Scroll down for video The transaction is expected to close in early 2016.
The purchase allows automakers to offer new premium features, like autonomous driving, in luxury cars, shaking up the pecking order between car makers,
their parts suppliers and software rivals like Uber, Google or Apple.''With the joint acquisition of HERE, we want to secure the independence of this central service for all vehicle manufacturers,
suppliers and customers in other industries,'said Chief executive Dieter Zetsche of Daimler, which invented the motor car in 1886.
But it is unclear how other HERE customers, including rival carmakers, may respond to Germany's carmakers owning map technology,
which many in the automotive, Internet and logistics industries see as key to their own strategies.'
'There is a risk that the other automakers will be pushed further into the arms of Google, 'said Richard Windsor an independent financial analyst who tracks major tech players.
Intelligent mapping systems like HERE's are the basis on which self-driving cars linked to wireless networks can perform functions such as recalculating a route to the nearest electric charging station or around a traffic jam or accident.
They are used also in everything from consumer smartphone navigation to local transport services. At a later stage, the carmakers will invite private equity firm General Atlantic to join the consortium as an investor and potential mediator
two sources familiar with the matter said. HERE is the leading supplier of digital maps for most of the world's top carmakers,
who account for half its expected roughly $1 billion revenues in 2015. In addition, it competes with smaller Dutch mapping firm Tomtom,
which has begun to retool its business to focus on carmakers rather than consumers. Tomtom recently teamed up with Bosch, one of the world's top auto suppliers,
to create an alternative platform to HERE for carmakers. HERE was created via the $8. 1 billion acquisition of Navteq in 2008 by Nokia
which aimed to create consumer map services for mobile phone users but later switched to focus on carmakers.
Nokia is now shedding its maps business as it integrates its purchase of telecom network equipment maker Alcatel Lucent.
The Finnish company, which subsequently wrote down the value of HERE to around 2 billion euros,
said it expected to book a gain on the sale to the carmakers, including cumulative foreign exchange translation differences, of around 1 billion euros.
Analysts said the 2. 5 billion euros in net proceeds for Nokia was at the low end of market expectations
which were between 2-4 billion euros during the auction process. Shares in Nokia dipped 0. 6 percent to close at 6. 39 euros, underperforming a flat European technology index.
Tomtom shares, which have gained 23 percent over the last three months on speculation it could also become a takeover target, ended 2 percent higher following news of the deal.
In bidding for HERE, the German carmakers appeared to use their status as key customers to fend off other bidders,
said analyst Mikael Rautanen of Inderes Equity Research.''That is why the price was lower than initially expected,
'he said. Nokia was advised on the deal by investment bank Evercore and law firm Shearman & Sterling.
Law firm Hogan Lovells advised the overall automaker consortium and Daimler specifically. Self-driving and connected car services could become a $50 billion market analysts at Exane BNP PARIBAS have estimated.
Andreas Tschiesner, head of Mckinsey's automotive practice in Germany, said:''The automotive industry is facing a big disruption through connectivity and connected driving technologies.
These features will become an important source of differentiation.''It comes just weeks after Google has admitted it's self driving cars are being hit'surprisingly often'by other drivers
-and release a simulation showing a recent accident. It shows a self driving Lexus stopping at a junction in Mountain view near the firm's HQ-then being rear ended by the car behind.'
'After we'd stopped, a car slammed into the back of us at 17 mph
and it hadn't braked at all, 'said Google's Chris Urmson. The three Google employees on board complained of minor whiplash,
were checked out at a hospital and cleared to go back to work following the July 1 collision,
Google said. The driver of the other car also complained of neck and back pain.
The simulation shows Google's car being rear ended at 17mph at a junction in Mountain view after stopping at a red traffic lightin a blog post
he says the problem has been common.''Our self-driving cars are being hit surprisingly often by other drivers who are distracted and not paying attention to the road.'
'That's a big motivator for us.''The most recent collision, during the evening rush hour on July 1, is a perfect example.
One of our Lexus vehicles was driving autonomously towards an intersection in Mountain view, CA.'The light was green,
but traffic was backed up on the far side, so three cars, including ours, braked and came to a stop so as not to get stuck in the middle of the intersection.'
'The car's data confirmed it was hit at 17mph.''As you can see from the video above,
our braking was normal and natural, and the vehicle behind us had plenty of stopping distance
but it never decelerated.''This certainly seems like the driver was distracted and not watching the road ahead.'
'Thankfully, everyone in both vehicles was okay, except for a bit of minor whiplash, and a few scrapes on our bumper.'
'The other vehicle wasn't so lucky; its entire front bumper fell off.''New data released by Google reveals other drivers have hit the firm's cars 14 times since the start of our project in 2009,
and it says'not once has the self-driving car been the cause of the collision.''''The clear theme is human error
and inattention,'said Urmson. It comes as the latest version of Google's self-driving car-a pod-like two-seater that needs no gas pedal
or steering wheel-has made its debut on the roads around Mountain view. This prototype is the first vehicle built from scratch for the purpose of self-driving,
Google says. The technology giant's mission is to have driverless cars available to consumers in the next five years.'
'These prototype vehicles are designed from the ground up to be fully self-driving, 'Google said.''They're ultimately designed to work without a steering wheel or pedals,
but during this phase of our project we'll have safety drivers aboard with a removable steering wheel, accelerator pedal,
and brake pedal that allow them to take over driving if needed.''The prototypes'speed is capped at a neighborhood-friendly 25mph,
and they'll drive using the same software that our existing Lexus vehicles usehe same fleet that has driven self over 1 million miles
since we started the project. The new pod isn't designed for a long trip,
or a joyride. It lacks air bags and other federally required safety features, so it can't go more than 25 miles per hour.
It's electric, and has to be recharged after 80 miles. And the pod can only drive in areas that have been mapped thoroughly by Google.
At first it will likely even have a steering wheel and gas pedal-current California regulations require them.
Those regulations also require a driver to be able to take back control of the car at any time.
But Google is lobbying for more flexible regulations. Google will initially build and test 25 pods,
mostly in neighborhoods surrounding its Mountain view headquarters. It will eventually build between 50 and 100,
and will broaden testing to sites that are hillier and rainier. The ultimate goal, says Google cofounder Sergey Brin,
is controlled computer cars that can eliminate human error, which is a factor in an estimated 90 percent of the 1. 2 million road deaths that occur worldwide each year.
Self-driving cars could also improve traffic congestion and transport the elderly and disabled. Google shocked the auto industry in 2010 with its announcement that it was working on a driverless car.
Brin insists Google doesn't aspire to be a car company, but wants its technology to be adopted by automakers.'
'We want to partner to bring self-driving to all the vehicles in the world, 'Brin told a group of journalists
and community members gathered earlier this week to take rides in the prototype. For now the traditional automakers are pursuing their own self-driving technology,
but with less ambitious timeline of 10 to 15 years for a truly driverless car. Chris Urmson, who directs Google's self-driving car project,
says the slow-moving, friendly looking prototype-his young son thinks it looks like a koala because of the nose-like black laser on the front-is a good bridge between the company's current test fleet of 20 specially outfitted Lexus SUVS
and the more advanced, higher-speed driverless cars of its future, which might not even look like anything on the road today.'
'This vehicle is really all about us learning.''This vehicle could go on a freeway, but when we think about introducing the technology,
we want to do that very thoughtfully and very safely, 'Urmson says. Convincing drivers that driverless technology is safe is one of the hurdles the company must overcome.
Earlier this week, in response to questions from The Associated press, Google acknowledged 11 minor accidents in the six years it has been testing autonomous cars.
Urmson says the company is proud of that record, and notes that Google's vehicles have completed more than 1. 7 million miles of testing.
He says all but one of the accidents were caused by drivers in other cars; in the only incident caused by a Google car,
a staffer was driving in manual mode. Consumers question whether they can trust self-driving cars to work all the time,
who will be liable if there's an accident and how self-driving cars will interact with regular cars,
says the consulting firm J. D. Power and Associates. In a 2013 survey of U s. drivers, J. D. Power found only one in five was interested in a fully autonomous car.
Urmson says Google needs to do a better job of educating people about self-driving technology and updating them on Google's progress.
It's building a Web site to teach people about the technology and the site will feature a monthly report that will include details of any accidents involving Google cars.
The site will also have a section where people can send feedback when they interact with the cars.
The prototype cars-assembled in suburban Detroit by Roush Industries-have the same array of radars, lasers and cameras as Google's fleet of Lexus SUVS,
which allows them to share data. If one car's camera spots orange cones and construction signs, for example, it will alert all the others to slow down in that area or reroute around a lane closure.
Dmitri Dolgov the head of software for the self-driving car project, says Google's software has gotten much better over the last year at classifying objects, like trees and mailboxes,
and predicting behavior of pedestrians and other cars. For example, Google's cars will slow down if they sense that a car in the next lane is speeding up to cut in front of them.
And in one recent test, a Google car paused when a cyclist ran a red light.
Another car, driven by a human, went ahead and nearly hit the cyclist. The system isn't perfect.
On a test drive one of Google's Lexus SUVS seemed momentarily confused when a mail truck partially blocked its path.
Later, during a demonstration drive in Google's parking lot, the prototype-without a wheel or pedal-braked
when it spotted a row of folding chairs. It had to figure out that the chairs wouldn't move before it proceeded.
Dolgov says it's impossible to predict everything its test cars might see, so they're programmed to act in the most conservative way
when they confront something unusual, like the time a Google SUV stopped and waited while a woman in a wheelchair chased a duck with a broom.
Google isn't alone in developing self-driving cars. Mercedes-benz Infiniti and other brands already have advanced driver assistance systems, like lane keeping and adaptive cruise control,
that can pilot the car on the highway with minimal input from the driver. Unlike Google, automakers think self-driving cars will arrive feature-by-feature instead of all at once,
giving people plenty of time to adapt to autonomous driving. But Urmson says that approach is'fundamentally wrong.''
''We believe that's like saying, `If I work really hard at jumping, one day
I'll just be able to fly, ''he said. Egil Juliussen, the principal analyst of infotainment and advanced driver assist systems for the consulting firm IHS Automotive,
says Google's'moon shot'strategy is difficult and riskier than just adding features to existing cars.
But he thinks it could ultimately be successful. Google could make self-driving urban pods for universities or urban centers, for example,
or sell its technology to automakers. Brin says the company is still refining its plans for self-driving cars
but he's excited about their potential.''Our goal is to create something safer than human drivers,
'he said
#Neuroon mask helps you avoid jet lag by tricking brain into changing time zones A revolutionary smart mask promises to help you stave off the dreaded effects of jet lag by preparing your body for the time difference before you even board the flight.
It syncs with an app to tell you when to seek light in the days before a journey,
and artificially triggers sensors in your eyes during the flight to trick the brain into adjusting to the new time zone.
The Neuroon mask can also help non-travellers regulate their sleeping patterns and get a better night's kip.
Neuroon was designed by Warsaw-based Kamil Adamczyk 24, from the Intel Clinic. It is fitted with sensors that monitor brainwaves, eye movement,
oxygen levels and the wearer's body temperature before sending this information to an app on their connected phone.
After analysing the data, the mask will wake the wearer up when they are in the lightest stage of their sleep cycle
and therefore closest to being awake. This is done using Bright light Therapy which artificially triggers the light sensors in a person's eyes to make their brain believe the sun is coming up.
This makes their body feel as though it is morning and that they are waking up naturally.
The therapy can be used to rouse people gently so that they feel more refreshed and less tired
Or it can trick the brain into thinking it is in a different time zone. Mr Adamczyk said:'
'The Neuroon is an artificial light source-it activates the light sensitive receptors that send information to our brains.'
'More specifically it targets the pineal gland-the part of the brain that produces melatonin, the sleep hormone.'
'The device understands our body clock and with light therapy it can manage the production of sleep hormone in the brain.'
'Another important feature of the device was the design-the mask is touching your face for the whole night,
so it must be extremely comfortable and functional at the same time.''Mr Adamczyk, from Warsaw in Poland, came with the idea for the Neuroon
when he was struggling to sleep during his exams at a medical university. He said:'
'I was running out of time and skipped sleeping -I was tired constantly and but still had problems falling asleep.'
'I started looking for information about why I couldn't fall asleep even when I'm tired.
That's when I discovered that our body clock could be controlled externally.''The project was funded using Kickstarter
and is currently in the prototype stage. The final product will be sent out in September to those who backed the project on Kickstarter
can be ordered pre on Neuroon's website for $299 (£195) and will be shipped internationally after the initial run is processed.
'The Neuroon gathers data, and with the help of the native app's algorithms, delivers personalised recommendations to the user that can combat these issues.'
'The Neuroon website also lets users calculate when they should seek and avoid light during their stay by using their origin location,
their destination and when they are flying a
#Solar activity is linked NOT to global warming: Sunspot theory of climate change is the result of an ancient error in the data The theory that solar activity is linked to rising global temperatures has been cast into doubt after scientists corrected an ancient error in the calculations.
Until now, the general consensus was that solar activity-in particular sunspots -and temperatures have been trending upwards since the harsh winters of the 17th century when the spots were thought to have been at a low.
But when the error was corrected, the records show there was no such culmination in solar activity in the late 20th century,
suggesting climate change cannot be plotted using this sunspots method. Scroll down for video In fact, solar activity appears to have remained relatively stable
The correction, called the Sunspot Number Version 2. 0 was led by Frédéric Clette, Director of the World Data centre (WDC) SILSO, Ed Cliver of the National Solar Observatory and Leif Svalgaard
The most important correction to the data is'a lowering by about 18 per cent of all numbers after 1947,
The limitations of early telescopes led to questions about the accuracy of the constant counting of sunspots for the last 300 years, leading to the Group Sunspot number being started in 1998.
Astronomers unveil stark new evidence that shows galaxies'energy is half what it was two billion years ago The universe is confirmed slowly dying
Energy generated by the galaxies is only half what it was two billion years ago
'said lead scientist Professor Simon Driver, from the International Centre for Radio astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western australia.'
Researchers collated data from the world most powerful telescopes, including the VIST and the VST at Chile Paranal Observatory, Nasa GALEX, WISE and a European space agency Herschel telescope.
In an unprecedented collection of data, they aimed to map and model all of the energy generated in the universe today.
They will now look into mapping the history of the universe's energy. All the energy in the universe was created in the Big bang that created the cosmos
with some of it locked up as mass. Stars shine by converting their mass into energy,
as described by Albert Einstein's famous equation E=MC squared. However, this energy-making process is steadily in diminishing.
Professor Driver said:''While most of the energy sloshing around was created in the aftermath of the Big bang,
additional energy is constantly being released by stars as they fuse elements like hydrogen and helium together.'
'This newly released energy is absorbed either by dust as it travels through the host galaxy,
or escapes into intergalactic space and travels until it hits something such as another star, planet, or very occasionally a telescope mirror.'
'The fact that the universe is slowly fading has been known since the late 1990s but the new work is the most accurate and prolific study to date.
Professor Driver presented the findings at the International Astronomical Union's general assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii i
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