- When Code Can Kill or Cure (The Economist) — I’ve linked to the dangers of closed source devices before, but this caught my eye: “In the 1990s we developed an excellent radiation-therapy treatment-planning system and tried to give it away to other clinics,” says Dr Mackie. “But when we were told by the FDA that we should get our software approved, the hospital wasn’t willing to fund it.” He formed a spin-off firm specifically to get FDA approval. It took four years and cost millions of dollars. The software was subsequently sold as a traditional, closed-source product.
- Gut Fungus (Wired) — the microbiome of bacteria in your body is being studied, but now researchers have scoured the poop of different species and found different mycological populations in each, and linked them to diseases.
- Evaluating the Harm from Closed Source (Eric Raymond) — whether or not you argue with his ethics, you will appreciate the clear description of the things you’re trading off when you choose to use closed source software.
- PyBossa — a free, open-source, platform for creating and running crowd-sourcing applications that utilise online assistance in performing tasks that require human cognition, knowledge or intelligence such as image classification, transcription, geocoding and more! (via The Open Knowledge Foundation)
ENTRIES TAGGED "health"
Hawaii and health care: A small state takes a giant step forward
Hawaii's new law cuts through health care complexity. It's a move that should be lauded and copied.
In an era characterized by political polarization and legislative stalemate, the tiny state of Hawaii has just demonstrated extraordinary leadership. The rest of the country should now recognize, applaud, and most of all, learn from…
Solving the Wanamaker problem for health care
Data science and technology give us the tools to revolutionize health care. Now we have to put them to use.
By Tim O’Reilly, Julie Steele, Mike Loukides and Colin Hill
“The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” — Jeff Hammerbacher, early Facebook employee
“Work on stuff that matters.” — Tim O’Reilly
In the early days of the 20th century, department…
StrataRx: Data science and health(care)
A call for data scientists, technologists, health professionals, and business leaders to convene.
By Mike Loukides and Jim Stogdill
We are launching a conference at the intersection of health, health care, and data. Why?
Our health care system is in crisis. We are experiencing epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes, and other preventable conditions while at the same time…
Why microchips in pills matter
Microchips embedded in pills can ease medicine management and empower patients.
Earlier this week, Proteus announced that they have been approved by the FDA to market their ingestible microchips for pills.
Generally, the FDA approval process for devices that are totally new like this is a painful one, with much suffering. So it…
Health records support genetics research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Michael Italia on making use of data collected in health care settings.
Michael Italia from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia discusses the tools and methods his team uses to manage health care data.
Four short links: 11 June 2012
Open Source Implants, Gut Fungus, Closed Source Damage, and Microtask Framework
Four short links: 1 June 2012
Health App, The Met 3D Scanning, Skinnerian Apps, and Visual Programming
- BeWell App (Google Play) — continuously tracks user behaviors along three key health dimensions without requiring any user input — the user simply downloads the app and uses the phone as usual. Finally, someone tracking my behaviour for my own good.
- Met 3D — the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts its first 3d printing and scanning hackathon. [O]n June 1 and 2, approximately twenty-five digital artists and programmers will gather at the Met to experiment with the latest 3-D scanning and replicating technologies. Their aim will be to use the Museum’s vast encyclopedic collections as a departure point for the creation of new work. THIS. IS. AWESOME. (via Alison Marigold)
- The Perfected Self (The Atlantic) — everything you knew about B. F. Skinner was wrong, and you should know about him because you’re using his techniques to lose weight, stop smoking, and do your homework. (via Erica Lloyd)
- Google Blockly — (Google Code) A web-based, graphical programming language. Users can drag blocks together to build an application. No typing required. Open sourced.
Top Stories: April 23-27, 2012
Gracefully failing websites, big data in Europe, and why simple code matters.
This week on O'Reilly: Etsy's Mike Brittain explained how to allow for graceful website failures, the organizers of Big Data Week examined Europe's data scene, and author Max Kanat-Alexander discussed the considerable benefits of simple code.
Fitness for geeks
Bruce Perry on how to get away from the computer, eat well, and live a healthy life.
Programmers who spend 14 hours a day in front of a computer know how hard it is to step away from the cubicle. But as "Fitness for Geeks" author Bruce Perry notes in this podcast, getting fit doesn't need to be daunting.
The rise of programmable self
Quantifying your changes + motivational hacks = programmable self.
Taking a cue from the Quantified Self movement, the programmable self is the combination of a digital motivation hack with a digital system that tracks behavior. Here's a look at companies and projects relevant to the programmable self space.
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