If youve been thinking of investing in an Echo smart speaker then now is a good time to go shopping. These popular devices from Amazon have just been cut in price with the entire range now costing a lot less than before. For example, you can currently pick up an Echo Dot for 44.99 - saving 5 - or a standard Echo for 79.99 - saving 10.

Along with these devices getting a reduction, theres also price cuts on the all-screen Echo Show. This means you can buy a Show 5 for 74.99 - saving 5 or a Show 8 for 109.99 - saving 10.

YOU CAN FIND ALL OF AMAZONS PRICE CUTS HERE

These are all good discounts and are certainly worth considering if you were thinking of buying an Echo.

However, there is one more deal that offers the chance to pick up an Echo for free.

Virgin Media is currently running a promotion which includes one of these smart speakers when you sign up to a new broadband bundle.

Virgin says that it is offering this smart speaker on the Big Bundle, Bigger Bundle and Bigger Bundle+ Movies.

If you opt for the Big Bundle or Bigger Bundle youll get a free Echo Dot whilst those opting for the Bigger Bundle+ Movies will be treated to a free Echo Show 8.

Prices for Virgins plans start from 33 per month and include TV and broadband.

YOU CAN FIND ALL THE DEALS HERE

Along with these price cuts and deals, theres more good news for Echo owners in the UK.

First launched in the US, the Whisper Mode is now available on multiple devices in the UK and means that Alexa wont respond quite so loudly when you ask it a question.

The clever update basically allows you to whisper to Alexa with her then responding at a similar low volume level.

The concept is aimed at not disturbing other people in the house when you need something answering late at night or early in the morning.

If you also want to do a series of things with one whispered command, you can set up a routine that is triggered by a whisper. For example, you can set an alarm, turn off lights and play relaxing music simply by saying, Alexa, good night. You can easily create a range of customisable routines using the Alexa app.

Heres how to set up Whisper mode on Alexa: Open the Alexa app > Go to Settings > Next, click Voice Responses > Then activate Whispered Responses.

This mode should work on most of your smart speakers including the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show and new Echo Studio.

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Amazon Echo prices drop, but theres a new way to get one for free - Express

Not being able to get to sleep is one of the most frustrating things, and most people will try pretty much anything to help them nod off.

Anyone who has been failed by the usual tricks, like relaxing music, counting sheep or spritzing your pillow with lavender spray, should give the 4-7-8 method a go.

Fans of the process said it can take less than a minute and it's as simple as changing the way you breathe, said MedicalNewsToday.

Dr Andrew Weil, a specialist in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona explained that this breathing technique comes from Indian yogis who use it during their meditation practices.

Dr Weil said: "Its the single best method that Ive found for dealing with getting back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night".

You simply inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold that breath for seven seconds and exhale slowly for another eight seconds.

Then repeat, until you drift off.

As well as helping insomniacs, it helps to calm over-stressed minds, managing anxiety and controlling anger responses, by forcing your heartbeat to slow down.

Dr Weil continues: "The theory is that by imposing certain rhythms on the breath with your voluntary system, gradually these are induced into the involuntary nervous system.

And that comes with time. So its the regularity of doing this over a period of weeks, months, years that produces the changes that you want."

Dr Weil suggests using the technique twice a day to start seeing the benefits, and only completing the cycle four times when starting out.

And if you start to feel lightheaded, don't worry, that's completely normal - so make sure that the first few times you try this you're laying down.

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Fall asleep in 60 seconds using 4-7-8 method that insomniacs swear by - Scottish Daily Record

Your neighbor could, for all you know, be hunched over her laptop making meticulously crafted post-rock, or editing a track of breathy confessional folk, or futuristic chill hip-hop that samples vintage field recordings of calypso from the Caribbean. Theres no telling.

The internet is big enough for every super-niche taste to have its own special nook with like-minded people there to egg each other on, or offer insightful critiques, whether its in artistic endeavors, obscure politics, romance or how-to fix-it projects. You might not be able to find an audience for avant-noise in your small hometown, but theres a community of listeners and players out there ready to lend an ear to almost anything. A local gig or a receptive slot at the open mic isnt always easy to find for every type of artist, and there are those who actually prefer to work in solitude. Some love to labor away at music-making but dont especially want to get up on stage and perform in front of an audience.

Technology has made it more and more feasible for musicians to create without needing to have access to a practice space or a venue to perform. You dont need musical collaborators or even a traditional instrument, so long as youve got the digital tools to grab and rearrange sound files. Platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud make it easy for artists to make music and share it with listeners from around the world.

Typing in the tag for Greensboro in Bandcamp yields interesting results, a sonic snapshot of music made by people in the region.

A quick search by city was how I discovered Chaucerian Myth, the name under which Greensboro musician Andrew Oliver records. Oliver had been a literature student in college, and he took his love of Medieval and Renaissance writing and used it as a jumping-off point for his music, composing elaborate synth compositions that related to the works of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer or Margery Kemp and others. Oliver makes music that gets labeled dungeon synth, which covers a broad range of styles, some of which draw on aspects of industrial rock, goth, soundtracks, early music and ambient music.

Chaucerian Myth just released a new album in January, Sir Orfeo, inspired by another work of Middle English literature from the 13th or 14th Century. This one is a variant of the Orpheus story from Greek mythology, a story, incidentally, where music and art is enough to overpower the forces of darkness (but other aspects of human nature do us in), only here Orfeo is a king who goes to rescue his wife who has been taken by a fairy king. Olivers music hints toward aspects of baroque style with suggestions of counterpoint and figured-bass style patterns, along with harpsichord and lute-like timbres that signal early music to the listener. But elsewhere, like on the second track, The Tale of Sir Orfeo, things get surprisingly energetic with almost metal-ish drum programming pulling the sounds out of the distant idealized past. (Oliver has said hes a big prog fan.) And the final track moves into almost atonal territory with dense, meandering and spooky melodies that bring to mind horror soundtracks.

Still, on the whole. Chaucerian Myth is like computer-enabled musical-fantasy time-travel, imagining a misty past stuffed with magic, artistry, royalty, enchanted nature and heroism.

While Oliver is conjuring a musical vision inspired by centuries-old poetry, others are engaged in something more abrasively rooted in the ugly present. The same regional search that gets you to Chaucerian Myth will also bring you to Democracy Dies in Stupidity, the new release by Sewer Cult, another project with the Greensboro tag. I know nothing about the people making Sewer Cults music, but it sounds like a caustic firehose of rage directed at Donald Trump and his fans. The album cover shows an image of Trump bringing a fork to his open mouth, and on the fork appears to be a turd. The album opens with a track called The Divider, which starts out with a processed sample of Trump declaring himself to be a very stable genius, after which a flesh-tearing blast beat kicks into hyperspeed.

True to their name, Sewer Cult have a cloacal fixation, blended in with their aggressive anti-fascist vibe. There are songs with titles like Coprophagia look it up and a few on related topics. Another track is called Toilet of the Vanities. With the exception of the title track, none of the songs is much longer than 2 minutes, that duration being a sufficient amount of time in which to let loose with a barrage of blistering grindcore growls and howls.

If all that is too organized, chordal, melodic and patterned for your taste, you can also find the new release from Dysphoria (also tagged as a Greensboro-based project), which is filled with sounds that are a little more in the noise/anti-music realm. The release, God Is A Gateway Drug, sounds like frying circuitry, or multi-tracked static, complete with hisses, shrill whistles and harsh, unrelenting grinding sounds. While the intent might be to generate caustic and abrasive frequencies, listened to at length, some of the tracks, like Swallow, start to have a white-noise quality. For most of us, there are too many abrupt skittering sonic flare-ups for this to be a recording to listen while relaxing. Fans of Throbbing Gristle and even Fennesz might be open to whats happening on a Dysphoria recording, though. Most others would find the sounds off-putting, confrontational, and possibly sociopathic.

But thats the beauty of the digital dynamic: the musics there if you want to seek it out, and easy enough to ignore if you dont. For music makers, streaming platforms offer vast openness, possibility, and the perfect mix of virtual anonymity and potential community for any micro-niche or idiosyncratic style. That can only be a good thing if more people feel free and encouraged to make their own music.

John Adamian lives in Winston-Salem, and his writing has appeared in Wired, The Believer, Relix, Arthur, Modern Farmer, the Hartford Courant and numerous other publications.

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Local lurking on Bandcamp: Greensboro-based artists churn out oddities - Yes! Weekly

When the sun sets on Houston, its only natural to want to grab a drink while happy hour is still in effect. Still, if all youre doing after work is watching your bank account dwindle at one of our many excellent bars, youre missing out. Shake up your after-dark agenda with something a bit more unexpected, like stargazing in the park, catching a jazzy burlesque show, watching a midnight movie, or anteing up at a poker club. While the rest of the city heads home, heres how to make the most out of your post-sunset time in Houston:

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EaDo Because burlesque would feel kinda weird in the daytime, the night is the perfect time to catch a show by sultry burlesque troupe The Moonlight Dolls, who are now performing at Chapman & Kirby while Prohibition Theatre revamps (and eventually takes over) the space. Shows range from glamorous takes on The Jazz Age to a champagne- and booze-filled Almost Midnight show on Friday and Saturday nights.

Brazos Bend State Park Escape the city lights and go stargazing with George Observatorys telescopes in Brazos Bend State Park. Depending on the season and time of the month, you can experience incredible phenomena from bright meteors and eclipses to Saturns rings and Jupiters cloud belts. While the George Observatory main campus is closed until further notice for renovations, it will still be setting up shop at the Nature Center every Saturday from sunset to 10pm (weather permitting).

River Oaks Houston institution Landmarks River Oaks Theatre presents a Midnight Madness movie every Friday and Saturday, with cult sensations like Tommy Wiseaus The Room and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (featuring a live shadow cast). There are also fun throwbacks like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Beetlejuice.

Galleria/Uptown Settle in for an outdoor movie experience at the Rooftop Cinema Club, which rocks skyline views and a curated selection of cult films, classics, and new releases. The spring lineup includes flicks like Selena, Poetic Justice, Pretty Woman, and a You Choose Tarantino feature voted on by the audience. Snag some tickets in advance (the shows are known to sell out), hit the bar, dig into endless popcorn, and show up early to play some corn hole or giant Connect Four.

Various locations While the Houston Improv -- known for booking national acts -- is a good choice here, there are some other, more underground comedic options to explore in this city. Hit The Secret Group, half bar, half entertainment venue with stand-up comedy shows and open-mic nights; go the way of improv (and try a class yourself) at Station Theater; and check out the famous Open Mic Mondays at Rudyards (or the Live Punk Rock Karaoke on the second and fourth Tuesdays, which could also end up being pretty funny).

Downtown Weekends are throwback nights at Etro Lounge, with I Love the 80s video dance parties every Friday and Saturday, and 80s Hip Hop on Sundays. This is your chance to dust off your funkiest dance moves and the neon-coated everything youve been stashing since your last college mixer. Doors open at 9pm, and the tubular times go till 2am.

Downtown During its PacMan Fever events on the first and last Friday of each month, Joystix Classic Games and Pinballs opens up its arcade showroom for unlimited gameplay from 9pm to 2am (for $15 per person at the door). Youll find both new and vintage games, including classics like NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat 2, The Simpsons, Guitar Hero, and Mario Kart DX, and you can always pop over to the adjoining Eighteen Twenty Lounge for drinks.

Various locations Some of Houstons coolest coffee shops keep late-night hours for those last minute study sessions and chill after hours hangs. Head to Penny Quarter on lower Westheimer and you can pair wines with grilled cheese and fries, sip beers and spend the night playing board games at EaDos Coral Sword, or cozy up for Greek wines and good conversation at the quaint Agora cafe in Montrose.

Galleria Youll find members-only poker clubs all over Houston, including two popular ones in the Galleria area. Lions Poker Palace hosts tournaments and cash games, with professional dealers at each table and hours till 3am Sun-Thurs (5am Fri-Sat). Prime Social Poker Club is open 24/7, offering tournament poker, live poker, backgammon, chess, cribbage, dominoes, and pool throughout its facilities, as well as a full bar, upscale lounge, and food delivered straight to your table.

Montrose Dinner, dancing, and drag shows are on the menu at this Montrose hangout. Hit the gayborhood to enjoy a lineup of flamboyant dining experiences, from Dining with the Divas drag shows and Cyn-Ful Fridays to MaryOke-Karaoke and trivia nights.

Various locations Weve got some of the countrys best Vietnamese restaurants in our backyard, and bellying up for some pho before you go belly down for the night is a quintessential Houston experience. Just hit your nearest after-hours Vietnamese joint, including favorites like Mais, Pho Binh by Night, and Pho A Hung By Night; or switch gears and get your noodle fix at Ninja Ramen.

Houston Bowling is making a big nightlife comeback thanks to the a score of fancy bowling alleys, including CityCentres Bowl & Barrel, Memorials Bowlmor, Downtowns Lucky Strike, and Pinstripes over in River Oaks (which offers bocce, too). Each rocks craft brews, cocktails, and tasty pub grub to keep the night interesting even when youre living that #GutterballLife. If golf is more your thing, then the totally fun interactive golf game, TopGolf, is your new thing.

Memorial Park The Arboretum at Night series invites yall to experience the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center after dark, offering night hikes and up-close encounters with live nocturnal animals (plus adult beverages for those 21+). There are a few select dates throughout the year, so be on the lookout for the next available opportunity to enjoy a safe/boozy hike at night.

Northwest Houston Before hitting the hay, hit the GangNam Spa: a 24-hour luxury wellness experience rooted in Korean culture, with over 30,000 square feet of specialty baths, saunas, treatment rooms, lounging space, and dining areas. That includes things like the Topaz Cave, a private relaxing space made of Topaz stones to improve memory and mental concentration and relieve stress; a Himalayan Salt Room made of 350 million-year-old natural salt base rocks for healing; and an Igloo Ice Room to close the pores, smooth skin, and enhance skin elasticity. Access the facilities for $39 on weekdays and $49 on weekends (but note that spa services will cost extra).

Various locations No matter what scene youre after, Houstons got a live music venue for you. Check out the lineup at the indoor/outdoor White Oak Music Hall, located right in the Heights with patio bar The Raven Tower right nextdoor. Over on the Eastside, The Continental Club and Warehouse Live (EaDo) and Satellite Bar (East End) are usually hosting a rock show of some kind; Downtown plays home to Revention Music Center and House of Blues; and youll often find big name acts at spots like the Toyota Center, NRG Stadium, and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in the Woodlands. Country fans will also want to check out The Rustic (Downtown), honky-tonk Goodnight Charlies (Montrose), and McGonigel's Mucky Duck (Upper Kirby).

Montrose Numbers Nightclub hosts a wide variety of events (like Doomsday Wrestling, for instance), but Kinky Tuesdays are one of its most popular. Youll get a kinky-yet-classy and respectful glimpse into the BDSM lifestyle, with local vendors and performers, rope classes, and an open stage for aerial performers. Theres even dungeon equipment available -- and if you have to ask what that means, youre probably not ready for it. Doors open at 8:30pm, and the cover is $7 for singles and $10 for couples (21+).

Northwest Betting on horses isnt the only attraction at this race track; you can also sip 50-cent beers during the live thoroughbred racing events every Friday from 6-9pm. Youll also want to swing by for the live Yorkie, Corgi, Pug, and Wiener races, too -- its quite possibly the cutest way to spend an evening in Houston. The race track is also open for Simulcast Wagering till 2am, 363 days a year.

Buffalo Bayou In the summertime, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership offers 30-minute twilight boat rides along the Buffalo Bayou ($7 for adults, the last tour departs at 8pm). Youll start at Allens Landing, then escape the city and glide along Buffalo Bayous waters, looking out for graceful herons, jumping fish, and if youre lucky (or maybe not), alligators chillin on the banks.

Various locations While you can always check out the current season of productions in the Theater District, with venues including The Hobby Center (favorite plays and Broadway productions), Alley Theatre (Tony Award winner of Outstanding Regional Theatre), Wortham Theater Center and Jones Hall (homes to the Houston Ballet and Houston Symphony, respectively), there are a number of smaller production companies that are worth a visit, too.

Over in EaDo, the funky Rec Room tells innovative stories through theatre, music, dance, and comedy; Midtowns MATCH Houston takes any pretension out of the theatre experience, with affordable options in music, theatre, dance, visual art, and film; and 4th Wall Theatre Company offers cutting-edge live theatre and a Pay What You Can performance of every production (on Mondays in the last week of the run) over in Arts District Houston.

Sign up here for our daily Houston email and be the first to get all the food/drink/fun in town.

Brooke Viggiano is a Houston-based writer who guesses she isnt sleeping anymore. Stay up with her at @brookiefafa on IG or @brookeviggiano on Twitter.

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The Coolest Things to Do in Houston After Dark - Thrillist

IBMs Deep Blue wasnt supposed to defeat Chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov when the two of them had their 1997 rematch. Computer experts of the time said machines would neverbeat us at strategy games because human ingenuity would always triumph over brute-force analysis.

After Kasparovs loss, the experts didnt miss a beat. They said Chess was too easy and postulated that machines would never beat us at Go. Champion Lee Sedols loss against DeepMinds AlphaGo proved them wrong there.

Then the experts said AI would never beat us at games where strategy could be overcome by human creativity, such as poker. Then AI beat us at poker. And atStarCraft. Now its going for even more complex games such as Magic: The Gathering. History shows us that a machine can be developed to outperform a human at any given task.

Apparently the only thing more powerful than humanhubris is our ability to iterate new technologies. At least according Kasparov, who recently told Wireds Will Knight:

1997 was an unpleasant experience, but it helped me understand the future of human-machine collaboration. We thought we were unbeatable, at chess, Go, shogi. All these games, they have been gradually pushed to the side

History repeated itself in 2016 when Sedol lost to AlphaGo. Much like Kasparov, Sedol was shocked at his defeat by a machine. He retired from competitive Go play in 2019 citing the fact that even if he were to become the number one player again, AI is an entity that cannot be defeated.

But Kasparov, whos had more than two decades to reflect on his loss, sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity for collaboration, not a future overlord or oppressor. He predicts that 96 percent of all human jobs (those not specifically requiring human creativity) will be destroyed by AI in the coming years.

Read:This AI suitcase could help visually-impaired people to travel

This isnt a gloomy prediction, as Kasparov told Wired, with every age of major technological advancement the majority of jobs are disrupted and new ones are created. Thats why even small towns have half a dozen automobile mechanics but youll be hard-pressed to find your local farrier or blacksmith unless you live in a farming community or the world of Skyrim.

The real challenge, according to Kasparov, is with creating new jobs that cater to human creativity:

For several decades we have been training people to act like computers, and now we are complaining that these jobs are in danger. Of course they are. We have to look for opportunities to create jobs that will emphasize our strengths. Technology is the main reason why so many of us are still alive to complain about technology. Its a coin with two sides. I think its important that, instead of complaining, we look at how we can move forward faster.

Kasparovs prescription for the future seems to be that we should speed things up. He wants us to develop AI faster because technology is inevitable. And, as the self-professed firstknowledge worker whose job was threatened by a machine, he has a unique perspective.

But speeding things up will, ultimately, displace workers whove been able to rely on their skill-set so far. This leaves CEOs and governments in a predicament where the greater good may ultimately come from ditching humans for machines, but the immediate impact would leave a significant percentage of workers with no means of income.

To this end, Kasparov mentioned that it might be time for governments to consider a universal basic income (UBI). And hes not the only person advocating for a UBI to combat the threat of AI-caused worker displacement.

Former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang ran his now defunct campaign on the promise that hed usher the country into the AI era by providing a monthly freedom dividend of $1,000 dollars to every adult citizen.

What do you think? Is your job AI-proof?

Youre here because you want to learn more about artificial intelligence. So do we. So this summer, were bringing Neural toTNW Conference 2020,where we will host a vibrant program dedicated exclusively to AI. With keynotes by experts from companies like Spotify and RSA, our Neural track will take a deep dive into new innovations, ethical problems, and how AI can transform businesses.Get your early bird ticketandcheck out the full Neural track.

Published February 24, 2020 21:00 UTC

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Chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov predicts AI will disrupt 96 percent of all jobs - The Next Web

The past decade was about the rise of digital health technology and patient empowerment. The next decade will be about artificial intelligence, the use of health sensors and the so-called Internet of Healthy Things and how it could improve millions of lives.

The cultural transformation of health care we call digital health has been changing the hierarchy in care into an equal-level partnership between patients and physicians as 21st century technologies have started breaking down the ivory tower of medicine. But these milestones are nothing compared with what is about to become reality.

With advancements in exoskeleton technology, AIs ever-increasing importance in health care, and technologies like 5G and quantum computing soon going mainstream, theres much to be excited about.

Here are the five biggest themes for health and medicine for the next 10 years.

Artificial intelligence in medicine

Developments in artificial intelligence will dominate the next decade. Machine learning is a method for creating artificial narrow intelligence -- narrow refers to doing one task extremely well and a field of computer science that enables computers to learn without being explicitly programmed, building on top of computational statistics and data mining. The field has different types: it could be supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised or reinforcement learning, among others. It has an unprecedented potential to transform health-care processes and medical tasks in the future and it has already started its invisible revolution.

If we consider how AlphaGo, the AI developed by Googles DeepMind lab, beat world champion Lee Sedol at the classic Chinese game Go by coming up with inventive moves that took experts by surprise, we can get a glimpse at what AI can hold for health care. Such moves were made possible by the combination of neural networks and reinforcement learning that this AI uses. This enabled the software to operate without the restrictions of human cognitive limitations, devise its own strategy and output decisions that baffled experts.

We can expect to see the same surprises in medical settings. Imagine new drugs designed by such algorithms; high-level analysis of tens of millions of studies for a diagnosis; or drug combinations nobody has thought of before. When applied to medicine, an algorithm trained via reinforcement learning could discover treatments and cures for conditions when human medical professionals could not. Cracking the reasoning behind such unconventional and novel approaches will herald the true era of art in medicine.

In global health, for example, an algorithm can provide a reliable map of future measles outbreak hot spots. It uses statistics on measles vaccination rates and disease outbreaks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as non-traditional health data, including social media and a huge range of medical records. Thats just one example, but the field is already buzzing with smart algorithms that can facilitate the search for new drug targets; improve the speed of clinical trials or spot tumors on CT scans.

However, while experts believe that AI will not replace medical professionals, it also seems true that medical professionals who use AI will replace those who dont.

A myriad of health sensors

Medical technology went through an amazing development in the 2010s, and theres now no single square centimeter of the human body without quantifiable data. For example, AliveCors Kardia and Apple Watch measure ECG and detect atrial fibrillation with high sensitivity. The EKO Core digital stethoscope records heart and lung sounds as a digital stethoscope, while blood pressure is monitored with the Omron Blood Pressure Smartwatch, the MOCAcare pocket sensor, and blood pressure cuff, the iHealth Clear, the Skeeper, a pocket cardiologist, or the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, and of course, dozens of traditional blood pressure cuffs.

There are dozens of health trackers for respiration, sleep and, of course, movement. And while researchers cant decipher your dreams yet they are working on it, alongside figuring out all kinds of brain activity. For example, through EEG. Thats a method that records electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached externally to the scalp. The NeuroSky biosensor and the Muse headband use it to understand the mind better and in the latter case allow for more effective meditation. As you see, theres not much left unmeasured in your body and it will even intensify in the future. For example, we expect digital tattoos to become commercially available within five years, which will not only measure the majority of the above-mentioned vital signs, but they will do so continuously. These tiny sensors will notify us when something is about to go wrong and we will need medical advice or intervention.

Moreover, with developments in 3-D printing as well as circuit-printing technologies, flexible electronics and materials, applying so-called digital tattoos or electronic tattoos on the skin for some days or even weeks became possible.

Made of flexible, waterproof materials impervious to stretching and twisting coupled with tiny electrodes, digital tattoos are able to record and transmit information about the wearer to smartphones or other connected devices. While these are only in use in research projects, they could allow health-care experts to monitor and diagnose critical health conditions such as heart arrhythmia, heart activities of premature babies, sleep disorders and brain activities noninvasively. Moreover, by tracking vital signs 24 hours a day, without the need for a charger, it is especially suited for following patients with high risk of stroke, for example. Although we are not there yet, there are certain promising solutions on the market such as MC10s BioStampRC Sensor.

Quantum computing puts medical decision-making on a new level

In 2019, Google claimed quantum supremacy and made the cover of Nature magazine. One example of how this technology will have a major impact on the health-care sector is quantum computing taking medical decision-making to a whole new level and even augmenting it with special skills. What if such computers could offer perfect decision support for doctors? They could skim through all the studies at once, they could find correlations and causations that the human eye would never find, and they might stumble upon diagnoses or treatment options that doctors could have never figured out by themselves.

At the very endpoint of this development, quantum computers could create an elevated version of PubMed, where information would reside in the system but not in the traditional written form it would reside in qubits of data as no one except the computer would read the studies anymore.

In addition, the applications of quantum computing to health care are manifold, ranging from much faster drug design to quicker and cheaper DNA sequencing and analysis to reinforced security over personal medical data. While the technology does hold such promises, we still have to be patient before practical solutions can be implemented in medicine. However, with continued progress in this area, even though quantum computing has been something from a science fiction novel, this decade will see the first such computer used in the clinical practice too.

Chatbots as the first line of care

Symptom checkers that function on the same principle as chatbots are already available, free of charge. However, these rely on the user inputting symptoms and complaints manually. We yearn for one that can make predictions and suggestions based on a users data, like sleep tracking, heart rate and activity collected via wearables. With such features, those bots can help users make healthier choices without having to drag themselves to their doctor.

There was a Black Mirror episode titled Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too that featured an incredibly smart and emotional chatbot that had human-like conversations with the character. Think about having a similar personalized chatbot thats accessible via your smart device and with additional health and lifestyle features. This chatty virtual being can wake you up at the appropriate time based on your sleep pattern and advise you to take your antihistamines as the pollen concentration is particularly high during your commute that day, before you even get out of bed. It can even recommend what you should consume for each meal based on your nutrigenomic profile. It could find the best words for you to motivate you to go to the gym. It could find the best jokes that help you get into a good mood. But would you rather bend to the rules of an AI, essentially forgoing your freedom of choice, than experience life based more on your own will?

5G serving the whole ecosystem of digital health

5G networks will enable data to be downloaded at more than 1 gigabit per second (1gb/s), allowing for downloads 10 to 100 times faster than the currently available 4G services. 4G networks can only serve around a thousand devices within a square kilometer, while 5G can serve a million. It will make the era of the Internet of Things possible by connecting a huge amount of health trackers with laptops, smartphones and many more digital devices. There will be no connection issues or latency, as the trackers will be able to work in harmony while getting the most out of our data.

Such a boost will allow for more reliable communication, which is a must in areas like telesurgery, remote consultation and remote monitoring. With bigger bandwidth and faster connection, there might be a boost in wearables as health IoT networks become more stable and reliable, and further help with patient engagement in relation to their health.

Major applications of 5G are expected to be apparent starting in 2021.

Dr. Bertalan Mesko, Ph.D., is The Medical Futurist and director of The Medical Futurist Institute, analyzing how science fiction technologies can become reality in medicine and healthcare. As a geek physician with a Ph.D. in genomics, he is a keynote speaker and an Amazon Top-100 author.

Read more:

The top 5 technologies that will change health care over the next decade - MarketWatch

DB in Hawaii

Each of us reaches that stage in our careers when we ponder leaving our current job and taking on a new role in a different company. Fear that leaving our job may create conflict or stress with our current employer and colleagues we hold ourselves back from making a needed job change.

However, leaving your job doesnt have to create further stress when you apply some lessons from the practice of yoga. I interviewed Desi Bartlett, a health and wellness instructor, education provider, speaker, inventor, and author, about how to leave your job peacefully.

Q: How can meditation help you know when it is time to leave your job?

Desi: In the practice of yoga, we learn to take time in meditation to hear the inner guru. This means we take a few minutes each day to quiet all of the outside voices and hear our inner voice. Sometimes when we are very quiet and the mind is still, there is a clear message about our path. This is the part of you that knows your hopes and dreams and will gently steer you in the direction that helps you realize your full potential.

Q: How does the physical practice of yoga help with the transition?

Desi: Practicing yoga can be a wonderful stress release. In the physical practice of yoga, we learn about the importance of transitions. The physical transitions from shape to shape are a powerful metaphor for how we exit the old and enter the new. If we are mindful of our choices and our actions, there is a sense of confidence and fluidity.

When we are not mindful of how we exit a relationship with an employer, there is the potential for loss or misunderstanding. Transitioning out of a job and into a new life path is a great opportunity to put practice into action and make sure that each action is done with clarity and respect for yourself and your employer.

Q: What if you like your job and arent sure if you should give up something good for something that might be great?

Desi: We have all had relationships that we knew it was time to transition out of, but the fear of not finding someone or something great held us back from leaving. When we stay in a relationship that has run its course, there tends to be a sense of stagnation. The relationship might feel comfortable for a while, but the inevitable

is unavoidable. There is something to be said for finishing strong, and exiting while you are still standing in your power. Keeping that in mind can help you leave a job you may like for something waiting in the wings that you will love

Q: What are your five best tips for transitioning out of your job?

Desi:

Q: Is there anything else to remember for transitioning out of your job in a peaceful way?

Desi: Yes. Make sure you have money saved if you are leaving your current job and dont yet have a new job in place. Following your heart is admirable and important but so is being able to pay your rent or mortgage. Striking a healthy balance between the emotional and material worlds can help set you up for success.

A Peaceful Approach is a Successful Approach

As Desi explained, when you take a peaceful approach to such a major life event, it can reduce the conflict and anxiety that you might have otherwise felt. Taking a mindful approach, practicing yoga, focusing on the positive aspects of that job, and participating in calming activities provide a way to clear your mind and settle your nerves. As a result, you can leave your job on good terms and pave the way for future opportunities.

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How To Leave Your Job Peacefully; Lessons From The Practice Of Yoga - Forbes

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Of her 101 years, Tao Porchon-Lynch spent 93 of them practicing yoga. That dedication made her the worlds oldest yoga teacher, and on February 21, she took her last breath. The official announcement came from her Instagram page with a photo of her basking in the sun. With great sorrow and heavy hearts, we are writing to let you know that our beloved Tao passed away this morning, the caption read. As she would say, she is now dancing her way to the next planet.

According to her website, Porchon-Lynch became a yogi when she was just eight years old, and spent the rest of her life developing a deeper connection with herself. Born in India, she studied with yoga greats like B.K.S. Iyengar and K. Pattabhi Jois, and marched for social justice with Ghandi.

Before World War II, she moved to France, according to The New York Times, and helped her aunt hide refugees from the Nazis. Later in life, she channeled her activism toward preserving and protecting endangered wildlife, wrote a book of meditations titled Reflections: The Yogic Journey of Life, and became a competitive ballroom dancer. According to Huffington Post, she won over 700 dance competitions, and her impressive footwork was even featured on Americas Got Talent.

Clearly, Tao was incredibly dedicated to everything she did, and nothing could get in her way. Not even a slip on the dance floor and three subsequent hip replacements. I dont believe in calamities, she told Yoga Journal in 2014. I dont want to know what I cant do. Im only interested in what I can do.

Staying active was her key to a long, fulfilling life. She was also a vegetarian, but when asked if she thought the diet contributed to her impressive age, she shrugged. Maybe, she said. I dont believe in getting old. In America, look how many beautiful trees are hundreds of years old. They are losing leaves but they are not dyingthey are recycling. In a few months, spring will start up again. You can learn so much from nature.

Thats whyeven at 101she always wore high heels. They brought her closer to natures most elevated elements. I wear high heels because I climbed Machu Picchu I climbed up into the atmosphere and I felt I was just one with the whole of nature, she said in an Instagram video. It takes me on another level of consciousness.

Every thought and action she put into the world was full of wisdom, but theres one piece of advice that stands out: Wake up every morning with a positive mindset. Whatever you put in your mind materializes, she told The Times. Within yourself, theres an energy, but unless you use it, it dissipates. And thats when you get old.

Tao may have passed away, but she never got old.

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The Worlds Oldest Yoga Teacher Has Died at 101Here Were Her Secrets to a Long Life - Prevention.com

Lacuna Juice and Yoga. Photo by Sara Ford

Meal options abound for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diners at the eight-month old wellness oasis.

Dont let the name fool you: Lacuna Juice and Yoga caters to more than just practicing yogis and steadfast juicers. The spaces bright cafe accommodates an expansive egg, dairy, and, meat-free lineup that gives everyone something to love.

Were not trying to be restrictive or convert people to veganism, says owner Megan Whiteside, who opened the wellness oasis with her husband Trent DeMichele in June. We just want to broaden peoples dietary horizons.

The completely organic menu, much of which is or can be made gluten-free and touts everything from soups and salads to toasts and breakfast bowls, certainly demonstrates the infinite possibilities of plant-based eating. One such prospect is the curry coconut wrap ($11). Inside its paper-thin shell (comprised of raw coconut meat and salt), layers of limey kale, tender tofu, shredded carrots, sliced jalapenos, ground shiitake mushrooms, and a miso-ginger-and-peanut butter spread work together in piquant harmony.

The brainchild of this hand-held delight and the rest of Lacunas culinary offerings is former Table 6 executive chef Carrie Shores. Shores, who sources ingredients from neighboring Altius Farms and Growers Organic, draws on her fine-dining experience and nearly lifelong veganism to lead Lacunas kitchen with minimal food loss. Were working toward zero-waste, says Shores. So I try to cross-utilize ingredients as much as possible.

That means any leftover cashews from the cafes protein-packed golden milk ($11) are incorporated into the shortbread crumble for the dulche de leche apple pie overnight oats ($6) or made into a spicy cashew ranch. The cold-press process, which makes each of Lacunas 10 juices so vitamin-rich, is also unfortunately its biggest food-waste culpritthough thats just about the juices only drawback.

In addition to ample nutrient goodness, the juices are wildly drinkable. For instance the Ruby ($11), which claims benefits such as increased energy, sings with fruity naval orange and Anjou pear while only hinting at its more polarizing components (beet, turmeric, fennel, and lemon). The grass-hued Jade ($11) delivers a tart and citrus-y herbaceousness while packing the superfood punch from greens like spinach and kale.

The yoga classes are similarly approachable, offering a gentle combination of Vinyasa, Hatha, and Katonah techniques. Yoga mats are provided by the studio (!) as well as blankets, blocks, and other props to make the practice as comfortable as possible.

In January, the cafe added gluten-free, almond flour weekend waffles (only available Saturdays and Sundays) to its menu. With vegan-made toppings like sliced bananas, caramel, and chocolate sauce, the dish is yet another reminder from Lacuna that even with dietary restrictions, theres still plenty of deliciousness to be had.

2590 Lawrence St.

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Lacuna Juice and Yoga Defeats Dietary Restrictions - 5280 | The Denver Magazine

Owlwakening meets once a week and promotes the practices as tools for self-development.

Last August, Miriam Shlafman went to La Casa Shambala, a registered yoga school in the Ko Pha-ngan District in Thailand, where she became a certified yoga teacher.

I finally kind of was able to centralize my knowledge in a codified language, and that really helped me to develop further, refine my knowledge and understand better, said Shlafman, a junior human resource management major.

Shlafman returned to Temple University wanting to share her knowledge about spirituality and self-development with other students and created the student organization Owlwakening in Fall 2019. In the organization, she leads a 16-week course that guides and helps students find a purpose and have a better understanding of themselves.

College is a time period when there are so many options and a lot of exciting new opportunities, and it is really easy to get lost, Shlafman said. So, I want to help people find their voices and find themselves, and to not think there is something that society has put on them, but to find something that they are on the inside and bring that out and let that shine through them.

In the organizations first semester Shlafman met one-on-one with students to talk about spirituality and self-development.

This semester, Owlwakening is meeting in small groups. They focus on yoga and also do activities to explore art forms and complete writing prompts.

Kourtney Clark, the universitys fitness coordinator, hopes that having a student-led yoga classes may inspire others.

[Yoga] has a lot of health benefits, improving flexibility and helping improve your longevity and your health as an individual, Clark said. Also, I think for students it is important to do yoga because it can be a stress reliever and they can focus on mindfulness.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes of physical exercise five days a week. It can be a moderate or vigorous activity, and yoga is perfect because it is a moderate level of physical activity but it also has great flexibility component, Clark said.

Yoga helps with stress management, mental and emotional health, promoting healthy habits, sleep and balance, according to National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Because students are focused on their careers, social life and money, college is an intense time period, helping students find a balance in life is one of her goals, Shlafman said.

A lot of our students have a great need for finding ways to practice, to access their spirituality and define to calm down and listen to their inner self and I think the way that the organization is set up for the participants to engage in these processes is very practical and very effective, said Merian Soto, a dance professor and the organizations advisor.

Julia Rudy, a junior Italian major and member of Owlwakening, said yoga has helped her get in touch with her body and feelings. As a transfer student, the club has been beneficial to her, she added.

It helps me feel better when I am focusing on working on myself, and I can do that through this club, Rudy said. It has been a really nice transition for a personal reason and I feel it is a very welcoming community.

Expanded travel ban is dangerous for Nigerians

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Student teaches spirituality, yoga in organization - Temple News