Razer’s popular $100 Zephyr mask isn’t a replacement for PPE (because it isn’t PPE), but its announcement of the Zephyr Pro last week spurred a surge of claims that the company had overstated the masks’ protection. Razer responded by scrubbing every instance of “N95-grade” from the mask’s product page late last week (via PCMag). Previously, Razer used N95 in multiple places to describe the filtration and efficacy of its replaceable filters, which were referred to as “N95-grade” because of their 99 percent bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE). Razer now refers to them as “air purification filters.” While Razer claims that testing…
Author: Mike Harrison
Genetics testing company 23andMe received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its prostate cancer risk test, the company announced today. It’s 23andMe’s third clearance for a cancer risk report — the company also has tests for genes that predict breast and colorectal cancer risk. The test screens for a specific mutation on the HOXB13 gene linked with an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. Men with the mutation, the G84E variant, have around a three-fold higher chance of developing prostate cancer than men without, one study found. Around one in 70 people of European descent have the variant, according to…
Tesla Model 3 is still one of the most popular EV models of Elon Musk’s giant automaker. It allows you to have the best driving experience without worrying about your carbon footprint. (Photo : Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Aside from eco-friendly driving, car owners can also entertain themselves or find their exact destination. Now, some Tesla consumers found another way to use Tesla Model 3. This is quite different from your usual activities since this new trick will allow you to acquire cryptocurrencies. Siraj Raval, a 2018 Tesla Model 3 owner from San Franciso, explained how you could use…
Health platform Binah.ai announced this week that it added blood pressure monitoring to the suite of health tools available on its app, which is available through partnered businesses. The company says it can calculate blood pressure using only video of someone’s face through a smartphone or laptop camera — but experts say they need to see significantly more data from the company before they’d trust the feature. Tracking blood pressure without the usual cuff is a longstanding goal for cardiologists and tech companies — it would eliminate a step in the process and could help people monitor their blood pressure…
After a long trial, former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been found guilty of four out of the 11 charges brought against her, including three counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud investors in her now-defunct blood testing company. The verdict caps a journey filled with both promises and disappointments, one that ultimately led to the downfall of what could have been one of the most successful companies, and entrepreneurs, to come out of Silicon Valley in over a decade. While the verdict is a milestone in holding startup founders accountable for false promises, it actually further complicates the…
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is associated with only a small change to the menstrual cycle, according to a new study using data from the birth control app Natural Cycles. The study follows widespread reports of heavier and longer periods from people who had recently been vaccinated after the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the United States. “This is reassuring for health and reproductive health,” says Alison Edelman, a study author and professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University. “It’s also validating in regard to patients reporting that they’d experienced something.” Longer,…
A chatbot may help reduce the likelihood a person develops an eating disorder, according to a new study. For women at a high risk for an eating disorder, going through a dialogue with a bot developed by researchers reduced concern over body weight and shape — a factor that contributes to their risk. Previous research showed that digital prevention programs are more effective when they’re guided by a human moderator, says study author Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. But it’s hard to get funding in the United States for…
Google has fixed the notorious bug that Pixel users encountered on their smartphones. This weird glitch stopped them from calling 911 if they have a Microsoft Teams app installed on their devices. Google Pixel Android Bug (Photo : Jamie from Unsplash)Google has finally released the January patch for the Pixel bug affecting 911 calls. Read more about this report. According to Ars Technica, Google has released the January security patch for Android this week. It addressed the annoying bug which does not allow users to contact 911 and other emergency service numbers. Earlier in December, Tech Times saw complaints about…
A man in Sweden is alive today thanks to — in part — a drone. The 71-year-old had a heart attack while shoveling snow in December and was resuscitated by a nearby doctor after a drone flew in a defibrillator, Everdrone reported Tuesday. Someone having a heart attack needs help within 10 minutes in order to survive. Everdrone’s Emergency Medical Aerial Delivery (EMADE) service is designed to deliver help as quickly as possible — it allows emergency dispatchers to send a drone carrying the device to a caller’s home, kickstarting the lifesaving process before the ambulance arrives at their home.…
In case you were disappointed that Razer axed the voice amp feature from its Zephyr mask that promised to amplify your voice through speakers, don’t worry. Razer plans to upsell you on its Zephyr Pro mask that has been announced at CES 2022. While it looks virtually identical to the Zephyr, it has two speaker grilles that flank its bottom, replaceable filter. Also, one of the Chroma RGB-lined intakes features a new button that can turn voice amplification on or off. Razer says that the feature can pipe out your voice at 60 decibels at a range of one meter.…