This incredible miniature technology powers everything from printers to COVID-19 tests

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When you think of micro- or nanotechnology, you likely think of small electronics like your phone, a tiny robot, or a microchip. But COVID-19 tests—which have proven to be central to controlling the pandemic—are also a form of miniaturized technology. Many COVID-19 tests can give results within hours without the need to send a sample to a lab, and most of these tests use an approach called microfluidics . Anything that moves or processes tiny amounts of fluid is a microfluidic device. [Photo: Chris Neils/Albert Folch, CC BY-ND ] I am a professor of bioengineering and work with microfluidics for my research. Everything from pregnancy tests to glucose strips to inkjet printers to genetic tests rely on microfluidics. This technology, unbeknownst to many people, is everywhere and critical to many of the things that make the modern world go round. What are microfluidics? Microfluidic systems are any device that processes minuscule amounts of liquids. The fluids travel through channels thinner than a hair, and tiny valves can turn the flow on and off Read More …

How Apple’s new audio subscriptions are upending podcasting

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Back in 2005, an ebullient Apple CEO Steven P. Jobs announced the integration of podcasting into Version 4.9 of its desktop iTunes software, calling podcasting “TiVo for radio.” Sixteen years later, during its April 20, 2021, “Spring Loaded” event, Apple has once again signaled a long-term corporate commitment to podcasting. But this time, instead of introducing listeners to the medium, Apple is creating the technical infrastructure for paid subscriptions through its Apple Podcasts service. Creators will now have the option to require a payment for audiences to access their content on Apple’s platform, with Apple taking a 30% cut of the revenue . Paid subscriptions aren’t new. But as scholars who study the podcasting industry , we believe the integration of paid subscriptions into podcasting’s most powerful platforms could reshape the medium in significant ways. Read More …

Miller Genuine Draft and the black hole of space advertising

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This week Miller Genuine Draft aimed to be the latest brand to launch a seltzer. Just not the brand extension product you can buy at a store. No, Miller was going to launch a seltzer into space. The brand had spent the preceding days hyping its stunt of launching a hard seltzer—beer’s latest trendy rival—as a gesture of hostility toward yet another tasteless carbonated beverage in a can. Miller has seen the proliferation of hard seltzer, like so many boozy bunny rabbits, increasingly take shelf space and cultural real estate from the original suds. Perhaps the bulk of its disdain is saved for beer brands that have jumped on the clear bevvie bandwagon such as Michelob Ultra, Bud Light, Corona, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. T-minus 45 minutes until MGD launches a hard seltzer. Into oblivion. Tune into @MillerLite 's page to watch it all go down! pic.twitter.com/nGUTycScvx — Molson Coors Beverage Company (@MolsonCoors) May 13, 2021 This was going to be the “beer’s beer” brand’s own little “Stratos” moment. A live broadcast across social media of an elaborately expensive and ultimately pointless stunt. “We brew beer, it’s what we do, it’s what we love,” says the spokesman. “But then so many other brands started hopping on that bandwagon, then all of a sudden there came this overwhelming expectation for us to do the same.” It wouldn’t have to look far for that expectation. Miller parent company Molson Coors has been more than happy to jump on the trend, with hard seltzers such as Vizzy and Coors Seltzer. Sofia Colucci, VP of the Miller Family of Brands, told AdAge , “This program is really meant to reinforce the role of one of our key brand portfolios—the Miller Family—and that we’re a beer’s beer. The only seltzer launch we’re planning is this launch into oblivion, so yes, Miller will remain dedicated to beer and beer only.” Live at 4pm EST. Seltzer gets the launch it deserves ????. https://t.co/yMNtBbmqaO — Miller Lite (@MillerLite) May 13, 2021 When it finally came time to follow through on this elaborate gimmick, though, the brand blinked. There was no real launch. The rocket exploded before taking off. Read More …

The CDC’s new masking rules don’t mean you can unmask just yet

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On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued huge news: If you’ve been fully vaccinated, you can stop wearing a mask. Now, health experts are expressing concern about the new rule and telling Americans to proceed with caution. The CDC’s new guidelines come with a few caveats. Americans must follow the rules of local businesses and mask up on planes, trains, buses, and other transit. But for the most part, vaccinated people can go back to the way they lived life before the pandemic. What these broad recommendations don’t account for, health experts say, is how much COVID-19 is spreading in a given community versus how many people are vaccinated. I remain concerned that we will see summer surges in states with low vaccine rates… but again, those states were largely unmasked to begin with. ????‍♀️????‍♀️????‍♀️ But – at some point, people can do unsafe things ***as long as*** it doesn’t endanger the rest of us. — Megan Ranney MD MPH ???? (@meganranney) May 14, 2021 The problem is the way the recommendation bifurcates Americans into two health statuses: vaccinated and unvaccinated. There are people who do not want to get vaccinated and the new guideline may alienate unvaccinated Americans. The hope is that the recommendation will incentivize unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated. But that may not be the way it works out. “These guidelines rely on unvaccinated people to keep masking, and to be forthcoming about that status,” writes pediatrician Daniel Summers, in an opinion piece for The Daily Beast . “If you believe the same people who think Naomi Wolf is making good sense about the vaccines are going to cough up the truth to a maître d’ before taking their seat at a restaurant, please see me about a hot new purchase opportunity for shares in a diamond mine.” Doctors and health experts are worried there may be COVID-19 case spikes in areas with low vaccine rates and higher case numbers Read More …

A 20-year Apple veteran just unveiled a wild new kind of speaker

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From the still-iconic iPod to the human curation of Apple Music to the meticulous design of the digital instruments in Logic X, it’s pretty clear that music is deep in Apple’s DNA. That’s why it’s worth paying attention when a 20-year veteran of the company’s industrial design group goes off to start his own audio hardware company. [Photo: Cell Alpha] Christopher Stringer helped design the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch, and other Apple hits. Now he’s the cofounder and CEO of Syng , which is unveiling its first product, a large round speaker called Cell Alpha that sits on a stand on your living room floor or a tabletop. The round enclosure contains woofers on the top and bottom and a trio of mid-range drivers in the middle. The design has a retro-future vibe, as if someone set out in 1970 to envision the sound system of 2050. Stringer believes audio hardware has fallen way behind advances in sound design coming from the entertainment industry today. Audio modes are still basically confined to mono, stereo, or surround sound. “It’s not obvious how limiting that is,” he says. Read More …