The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for five- to 11-year-olds, opening up the shots to a new age group and ending an anxious wait for families of children in that bracket. Children are less likely to have severe symptoms if they contract COVID-19, but they can still catch and spread the disease. Cases and deaths in children peaked in September, which was the worst month for that age group — there were over a million new cases in that group. The authorization makes vaccination available to 28 million new people in the US. Polling…
Author: Mike Harrison
Ever since The Wall Street Journal published internal Facebook research that found Instagram harmed the well-being of teenage girls, the company’s defense has been to minimize and dismiss its own findings — saying documents were only relevant for internal product development. That’s nonsense, social science researchers say. Though Facebook’s work by itself is limited, it fits into a larger set of data — including from researchers outside the company — that suggests social media can have harmful effects on mental health. And even if that context didn’t exist, Facebook’s work alone suggests something bad enough is going on that it…
Spotify believes that the title for the best US podcast platform is now on them. The music streaming company claims that it has already surpassed Apple in terms of its service. Spotify is Close to Becoming Top Podcasting Platform (Photo : Sumeet B from Unsplash)Spotify said that it is close to surpassing Apple in the US in terms of podcast service. Here’s what the CEO thinks about this report. According to a report by 9to5Mac on Wednesday, Oct.27, the firm said that Spotify is now on a transition to overtake the Cupertino company as the best podcasting option globally. During…
Theranos said a lot of things to Lisa Peterson that made the company seem credible when she evaluated it on behalf of the crazy-wealthy DeVos family. One of the things that stood out as a reason to trust Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes? Its devices didn’t need FDA approval. That made it seem more credible that the machines worked, said Peterson, who works on investments for the DeVos clan (including former secretary of education Betsy DeVos), and who testified today during US v. Elizabeth Holmes. The DeVos’ approach to Theranos seemed to be more about shiny things and FOMO Okay, some…
Fully vaccinated international travelers will now be allowed to travel to the United States with proof of vaccination, the CDC announced on Monday. The order will go into effect on November 8th and applies to non-US citizens who are not immigrants, with an exemption for children under 18. The order will require fully vaccinated travelers with FDA-approved and World Health Organization emergency use listed vaccines to have a negative test taken three days before their travel date. Travelers who are not fully vaccinated, including US citizens and permanent residents, will now require a test within one day of their US…
Oura’s Generation 3 smart ring will have a whole new slate of features, including period prediction, blood oxygen monitoring, and real-time heart rate tracking. The new ring will jump from three to seven temperature sensors and add a pulse oxygen sensor, Oura CEO Harpreet Rai told The Verge. A new, green LED light will monitor heart rate throughout the day. Starting at the end of 2021, users will also be able to record their heart rate during exercise and see information about heart rate recovery after a workout is done. The upgrades underscore the company’s focus on health, Rai says,…
Amazon has two new programs that integrate Alexa into hospitals and senior living communities, the company announced today. They’re run through Alexa Smart Properties, which allows organizations to control a centralized Alexa system. “Early on in the pandemic, hospitals and senior living communities reached out to us and asked us to help them set up Alexa and voice in their communities,” Liron Torres, global leader for Alexa Smart Properties, said in an interview with The Verge. Hospitals wanted ways to interact with patients without using protective equipment, and senior living communities wanted to connect residents with family members and staff,…
WhatsApp will reportedly halt support to some outdated iPhones and Android devices for this month. The Facebook-owned app encouraged the users to switch using an updated gadget from its recent list. WhatsApp Says Goodbye to Old Android, iOS Phones (Photo : Alexander Shatov from Unsplash )WhatsApp announced that it will no longer support older iPhones and Android devices in the following update next month. Here is the official list of the smartphones affected by the update. According to a report by News18, WhatsApp is set to cut support for particular smartphones starting November 1. This means that the said models…
Amazon’s Alexa is capable of keeping all your audio recordings, according to a viral TikTok video uploaded by a woman. Upon requesting all the possible data from her smart home gadget, she was shocked after knowing that the company knows almost everything about her. TikTok Video Reveals Scary Part of Amazon’s Alexa (Photo : Find Experts at Kilta.com from Unsplash)A viral TikTok video shows that Amazon could record and save all your audio clips without your permission. The woman reveals the scary part behind the devices. According to a report by The Independent on Friday, Oct.22, a woman on TikTok…
Razer’s Zephyr face mask is available to the public after several months of tweaking features and beta testing with Razer super fans. You can purchase it starting tonight at 11PM ET / 8PM PT from Razer.com in two configurations. The most basic kit for $99.99 includes the mask, a carrying tote, a USB-C charging cable, anti-fog spray, and three sets of replaceable N95 filters that will cover you for nine days of use. If you want more filters included with your purchase, a $149.99 version includes everything mentioned above, plus 33 sets of filters for 99 days of filtered use.…