Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication
This 3D printed stethoscope is good enough to use with actual patients, creating potential for better medical care in under-served areas.
Chanel is using a new form of SLS to 3D print mascara brushes.
- While this is a cool new implementation of 3D printing, Chanel has patented the specific process, which means it'll likely be decades before anyone else can use the technology for other applications, such as medical device production and micro-machines.
3D printing - like a lot of the tech world, can frequently feel like a boys club - so here's a list (via The Prepared) of notable women in additive manufacturing.
Software and Programming
Computer-rendered graphics are typically used wen you want very precise designs. Rough.js lets you do the exact opposite.
Another one from The Prepared: LL Bean cancelled a project to implement a blockchain ledger and augment some of their coats and boots with internet-connected sensors... because why not make everything IoT and blockchain at this point, right?
If Facebook's recent Cambridge Analytics scandal was the last straw for you, then I recommend you check out this github, which will help you completely block Facebook.
Speaking of software exploitation, it turns out hackers really like to use PowerPoint to hack personal computers in ransomware attacks.
Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine
If a member of your community turned into a zombie, would you allow them to continue living there? Carpenter ants would. Their infected "zombie ants" experience no discrimination from the rest of the nest.
The Glassdoor reviews for disgraced diagnostics company Theranos are quite a ride.
Piezoelectric materials create voltage when they're deformed and/or deform when exposed to a voltage. Researchers have now discovered a piezomagnetic material, which is like a piezoelectric, but with magnetic fields instead of electric fields.
Researchers from UT Arlington and Texas A&M are developing bone-like materials that can be 3D printed directly into a fracture.
Mapping and Data Science
Are the Arts truly the vanguard of gentrification? A recent study from researchers at universities in Texas and Australia indicates it may be the other way around.
GPS tracking and management company Geotab has complied a map of the least-traveled stretch of highway in each US state.
The severity of traffic summons you receive for a driving offense varies based on whether you're ticketed by a human police officer or an automated traffic camera. The consequence of this disparity, as has been discussed in several forums, including the BetaNYC public Slack group, is that many dangerous drivers end up staying on the road.
Events and Opportunities
- The next NY Hardware Startup meetup is happening this coming Wendesday at Microsoft.
- HITLAB, the digital health incubator spun out of Columbia Med, is continuing their seminar series on Thursday with Josh Stein, the CEO of AdhereTech.
- Mount Sinai's brand new startup accelerator officially launches on 4/12
- Be on the lookout for announcements about Harlem Biospace's next Riverside Chat, which I believe is also slated to happen on 4/12.
- The next Free Friday at the Brooklyn Historical Society kicks off at 6:30 on 4/13.
Map of the Month
What's the most popular type of restaurant cuisine in the US?
Odds & Ends
If you have time to spend half a day optimizing paperclip production with a SuperAI, then I can't encourage you enough to go play this game.