Roborace

Driverless cars have long been a fantasy, and they’re now bordering on the edge of reality. Well, technically, commercial reality— Google has been developing its autonomous driving technology for several years now. While we’re all acknowledging how convenient (and possibly safe) these new machines could be, the minds at Formula E and Kinetik are taking it one step further and considering the recreational implications of self-driving cars.

Formula E and Kinetic have partnered to create Roborace, a racing circuit that uses only driverless cars. Formula E is no stranger to taking chances with its racing technology— the “E” stands for “electric”, since their races feature only electric cars. Roborace would take that one step further, and in the process reshape conventions that we’ve come to expect from automobile racing.

Because the cars are self-driving, there would be no driver actually behind the wheel, and each team gets the same car. This puts an increased focus on the team of engineers who are designing the algorithms that dictate how these vehicles behave on the track and relative to the competition.

The next logical question is, “would anyone actually watch this?” And it’s a fair one, because billing your sporting event as showcasing the “best motor-offerings that engineers have to offer” could be a tough sell to a more traditional sports crowd. Introducing new technology to old sporting traditions is invariably met with some kind of backlash. One only needs to look towards the outcry over instant replay in FIFA to see how negatively some fans react to these kinds of developments.

But Roborace is betting on something else that will draw fans: speed. With no drivers’ lives at risk, old safety regulations can be effectively ignored. Roborace’s vehicles are boasting speeds of almost 200 mph, and there’s no reason to think that as it continues to evolve we won’t see that number increase. It’s delivering the satisfaction of speed in ways that most fans could have only dreamed of, and keeps its participants safe in the process. (featured image courtesy of Flickr)

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AstraZeneca Building Human Genome Library of 2 Million Sequences

Biopharmaceutical titan AstraZeneca is planning to build a massive database of the human genome. With over two million entries, this genetic library would allow researchers to explore under-researched genes that may be linked to certain diseases. If the project is successful, the database would be the largest of its kind. By comparison, it was only a little more than half a year ago that the Wellcome Trust’s Sanger Institute’s UK10K project was considered the largest human genome database and it only contains 10,000 sequences.

Such an ambitious project comes with an appropriate price to match. While the exact number has yet to be disclosed, reports say that the price reaches well into the nine-digit range. Two million complete human DNA sequences is nothing to scoff at, and the the company is getting them from a variety of sources. AstraZeneca itself is supplying the first quarter, which conveniently come from their own patient trials. Human Longevity Inc., the firm that is doing the sequencing, will be supplying another 26,000. University of Helsinki is also providing AstraZeneca it’s own unique database. Finland has a relatively isolated human population, and AstraZeneca is hoping that they will be able to discover genes present in Finnish people that are absent in others.

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Tech, Twitter, and the NFL

Twitter has been struggling mightily as of late. There’s been an apparent revolving door of CEOs, and growth has stalled. Some analysts argue that the problem with Twitter is that the company can’t quite figure out what it’s supposed to do. Instagram is for photography, Facebook is for sharing personal updates and commentary on shared posts, and LinkedIn is for job seekers or those trying to expand their professional networks. Twitter tries to do a lot, but the overload of information, combined with its restrictive length for new posts, severely limits what can be done with the platform. But there may be some hope for the social media platform, and it’s coming from an unlikely source: the NFL.

Last month, Twitter announced a broadcast deal with the National Football League that will allow them to broadcast ten Thursday Night Football games (including the Cardinals at 49ers). This is a major development for both sides. For the reasons discussed above, the benefits for Twitter are many. Streaming the nation’s most popular sport will bring an influx of new users to the platform, and may give their executives some sense of what consumer want from their product. Journalists, celebrities, and spectators are going to be tweeting about every major televised debate from the big game to the big debate, but there are few (if any) legitimate contenders that offer coverage of the event right next to the conversation.

Twitter got the broadcast rights for $1 million per game, which is a relatively generous offer. As Bloomberg points out, Yahoo paid $17 million for the broadcast rights to one of the London games (Jacksonville at Buffalo— a far cry from a marquee matchup).

The upside of this deal is huge for Twitter, but what about the NFL? While they aren’t worrying about declining viewership, they are staying ahead of the competition. The League’s willingness to partner with Twitter over companies that would have offered more money shows that they are thinking of the future, and how consumption of live television factors into the modern (nonexistent) cable package. “Skinny bundling” is quickly become a norm rather than an exception, and it’s wise for the governing body of America’s most popular game to respect the changing viewing habits, rather than force them to remain chained to their couches in the archaic models of an older time.

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Implications of the 2016 49ers Season

Football season can’t come soon enough. The schedules have been released, the draft has ended, and OTAs are just about to begin. Fans just have to wait it out. But of course, that doesn’t put the brakes on chatter for what to expect in the fall. Over at the 49ers’ official website, Senior Reporter Taylor Price has been mulling over the implications of the schedule, and it’s going to be an interesting one.

For starters, the Rams’ move back to Los Angeles puts all the NFC West teams actually on the West. It remains to be seen what the athletic performance benefits are (if any) of the Niners no longer needing to travel to a different timezone to take on an intra-division rival. San Francisco’s very first matchup is at home against LA, on the first Monday Night game of the year. The Rams struck a deal with the Titans for the number one pick, and promptly scooped up quarterback Jared Goff. Here’s to hoping that San Francisco’s first-round pick, defensive end DeForest Buckner, can penetrate the line of scrimmage and play a major role in halting LA’s offensive production.

Also of note is the sheer difficulty that is the 49ers’ schedule. It has the toughest of all the clubs in the league, based on the average win percentages of all their upcoming opponents’ performances in the 2015-16 season. In the first three weeks the 49ers face a rejuvenated Rams team, the defending NFC Champs at Carolina, and an elite Seahawks squad on the road. No one promised the road back to the postseason would be a walk in the park, but getting there by defeating the best competition the league would be a good place to start.

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UK Study Finds Link Between Stroke and Fiber Intake

A recent study out of the UK has suggested an inverse relationship between dietary fiber consumption and stroke. Specifically, consuming between 18 and 25 grams of fiber will reduce the first instance of stroke by seven percent.

Researchers from the University of Leeds compiled data from a series of stroke-related studies that were published between 1990 and 2012. The find that increased fiber consumption reduced risk for stroke is particularly helpful for individuals who already suffer from risk factors for stroke. Those who are overweight, smokers, or suffering from high blood pressure may want to consider getting more dietary fiber into their diets.

The research news website Futurity suggests that in order to reap the benefits, you should be eating about seven more grams of fiber per day. They arrived at this number because the average amount of dietary fiber consumption in the UK (where the study was published) is about 14g, and the recommended is 18-25g. It goes without saying that how much more fiber you should be consuming is dependent on the individual. For example, if your average dietary fiber intake is only 3g, seven more puts you at 10g— far from where the research says you should be.

While the study is correlational and does not prove the linkage, the health benefits of fiber are well established in other disease processes such as colon cancer and Diabetes, and it seems plausible that there may be a relation here to stroke as well. Take a hard look at your nutrient sources, and seek out ways to boost your fiber intake.

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