Menu
Blog Archives
Alien Technology Achieves Record Broadband Speed
February 9, 2014
A joint French and British project has achieved broadband speeds of 1.4 terabytes per second over a 255 mile distance, which the companies are claiming as a record. The speeds are apparently the result of an “alien super channel.” The project is the work of French firm Alcatel-Lucent and British Telecom. They carried out the tests over an optical fiber cable running from the BT Tower (a London landmark, pictured) to a research facility in Ipswich. Staff described the transmission as being...
February 9, 2014
A joint French and British project has achieved broadband speeds of 1.4 terabytes per second over a 255 mile distance, which the companies are claiming as a record. The speeds are apparently the result of an “alien super channel.” The project is the work of French firm Alcatel-Lucent and British Telecom. They carried out the tests over an optical fiber cable running from the BT Tower (a London landmark, pictured) to a research facility in Ipswich. Staff described the transmission as being...
Mindfulness: Six Steps to Better Memory, Verbal Reasoning and Improved Concentration
February 9, 2014
Being mindful In the research, 48 participants were assigned either to a mindfulness class or to a course on nutrition (Mrazek et al., 2013). Both courses were only two weeks long and the classes met for 45 minutes over 8 sessions. Students in the mindfulness group were asked to practice mindfulness outside the class and to apply what they’d learned to their everyday life. The results of the study were striking. Those who’d practised mindfulness: had better short-term memory, improved...
February 9, 2014
Being mindful In the research, 48 participants were assigned either to a mindfulness class or to a course on nutrition (Mrazek et al., 2013). Both courses were only two weeks long and the classes met for 45 minutes over 8 sessions. Students in the mindfulness group were asked to practice mindfulness outside the class and to apply what they’d learned to their everyday life. The results of the study were striking. Those who’d practised mindfulness: had better short-term memory, improved...
More Alimony Recipients are Men
February 9, 2014
From Money News: Divorce attorneys across the country are seeing a rise in men asking ex-wives for spousal support, also known as alimony. Up-to-date numbers are hard, if not impossible, to come by. According to 2010 Census records, of the 400,000 people receiving spousal support, only 3 percent were men. Last year, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers surveyed its 1,600 members and found that 47 percent had noticed an increase in the number of women who are paying alimony. Still,...
February 9, 2014
From Money News: Divorce attorneys across the country are seeing a rise in men asking ex-wives for spousal support, also known as alimony. Up-to-date numbers are hard, if not impossible, to come by. According to 2010 Census records, of the 400,000 people receiving spousal support, only 3 percent were men. Last year, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers surveyed its 1,600 members and found that 47 percent had noticed an increase in the number of women who are paying alimony. Still,...
Israel’s New Organ Donation Nudge
February 9, 2014
Israel, which has a history of creatively incentivizing organ donation, will soon be implementing yet another organ “nudge.” Al Roth shared a recent email from Israeli transplant surgeon (and Freakonomics podcast guest) Jay Lavee explaining the new policy (which is based on unpublished research by Roth and Judd Kessler): Just a short note to let you know that the Israeli Minister of Health has adopted this week my recommendation to establish by law the modified mandated choice model...
February 9, 2014
Israel, which has a history of creatively incentivizing organ donation, will soon be implementing yet another organ “nudge.” Al Roth shared a recent email from Israeli transplant surgeon (and Freakonomics podcast guest) Jay Lavee explaining the new policy (which is based on unpublished research by Roth and Judd Kessler): Just a short note to let you know that the Israeli Minister of Health has adopted this week my recommendation to establish by law the modified mandated choice model...
Advanced Sleep Analysis is Here
February 8, 2014
We’re excited to officially release Advanced Sleep Analysis today. Leveraging our Body IQ™ technology, Basis now captures every aspect of your sleep: REM Sleep, Deep Sleep, Light Sleep, Toss-and-Turn, Interruptions and Duration. To help you understand and improve your sleep quality, Basis also provides a personalized sleep dashboard with a summary of these metrics and an easy-to-understand Sleep Score, your benchmark for sleep quality. For a product overview, check out our previous blog post or...
February 8, 2014
We’re excited to officially release Advanced Sleep Analysis today. Leveraging our Body IQ™ technology, Basis now captures every aspect of your sleep: REM Sleep, Deep Sleep, Light Sleep, Toss-and-Turn, Interruptions and Duration. To help you understand and improve your sleep quality, Basis also provides a personalized sleep dashboard with a summary of these metrics and an easy-to-understand Sleep Score, your benchmark for sleep quality. For a product overview, check out our previous blog post or...
Jet Lag May Disrupt Genes [Science!]
February 8, 2014
Disrupted gene activity may be the reason jet lag kicks our butts so badly according to research from a British university. They found that both jet lag and working nightshifts affected the activity of more than 1,500 genes. The Surrey University study looked at the levels of gene expression, in which a gene’s information is used to create either a protein or RNA, one of the most fundamental steps in the body’s operation. The study involved 22 people staying in an indoor facility where the lighting...
February 8, 2014
Disrupted gene activity may be the reason jet lag kicks our butts so badly according to research from a British university. They found that both jet lag and working nightshifts affected the activity of more than 1,500 genes. The Surrey University study looked at the levels of gene expression, in which a gene’s information is used to create either a protein or RNA, one of the most fundamental steps in the body’s operation. The study involved 22 people staying in an indoor facility where the lighting...
65% of All Email Gets Opened First on a Mobile Device
February 8, 2014
While composing email on mobile phones is still a tricky mire of text prediction and flawed virtual keyboards, email reading is quickly shifting away from the desktop. According to data from the US Consumer Device Preference Report: Q4 2013 from Movable Ink, way more than half of all email — a full 65 percent — is now being accessed via mobile devices in the U.S. That’s up relatively steeply from just 61 percent for the third quarter of 2013. Of the 65 percent of email that gets...
February 8, 2014
While composing email on mobile phones is still a tricky mire of text prediction and flawed virtual keyboards, email reading is quickly shifting away from the desktop. According to data from the US Consumer Device Preference Report: Q4 2013 from Movable Ink, way more than half of all email — a full 65 percent — is now being accessed via mobile devices in the U.S. That’s up relatively steeply from just 61 percent for the third quarter of 2013. Of the 65 percent of email that gets...
LexRedux | The Why, Who, and How
February 8, 2014
“LexRedux is an event for the bold, the courageous, and for those that DO rather than just talk. Is it exclusive? You bet it is. Each...
February 8, 2014
“LexRedux is an event for the bold, the courageous, and for those that DO rather than just talk. Is it exclusive? You bet it is. Each...
February 8, 2014
55Josh King @joshuamking 11h Official footage of @scottgreenfield at #reinventlaw. Note the name tag. pic.twitter.com/N5wMsIkQqT Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More Retweeted by Scott Greenfield and 1 other 50Right Brain Law @rightbrainlaw 12h My favorite picture from #reinventlaw today. Stoked that @ScottGreenfield showed up! pic.twitter.com/eIMz2j4izO Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More Favorited...
Make Passwords More Secure Than House Keys
February 8, 2014
Take a moment and reach into your pocket, or wherever you keep your keys, and take a close look at your front door key. Unless you are a locksmith, a burglar, or a hacker you have probably never given that key much thought. You place the key in the lock, turn it, and the door opens! Engineering at its most elegant and deceptive simplicity—it just plain works. Hold the key so you can see the peaks and valleys. Reminiscent of an Alpine horizon, these notches are what enable the key to line up a set of tumblers...
February 8, 2014
Take a moment and reach into your pocket, or wherever you keep your keys, and take a close look at your front door key. Unless you are a locksmith, a burglar, or a hacker you have probably never given that key much thought. You place the key in the lock, turn it, and the door opens! Engineering at its most elegant and deceptive simplicity—it just plain works. Hold the key so you can see the peaks and valleys. Reminiscent of an Alpine horizon, these notches are what enable the key to line up a set of tumblers...
