Tech Beat by Namecheap – 4 November 2022

Technology and innovation in the healthcare industry are accelerating like never before. In particular, wearable health tech provides new insights to transform how we monitor our health. This week we look at how people with diabetes experience life-changing technology through the use of continuous glucose monitoring devices. This tech reduces the need for constant finger pricks while providing around-the-clock information about blood sugar trends.  

In other news

• Jack Dorsey’s decentralized social media platform is now in beta. Twitter’s co-founder and former CEO has made strides with Bluesky Social app, a blockchain-based social media platform founded in 2019. According to Gizmodo, recently the company called for people to join closed beta testing while revealing details about how the platform will work. It will have a federated network, allowing multiple sites to support the same network. Users will have a global ID that exists between different platforms. One of its most exciting features is “algorithmic choice,” which lets users choose what kind of content they receive and where it comes from. Will this be the next hot social platform, or will it fizzle out like so many that have come before? We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

• Meta loses $80bn in market value. The owner of Facebook and Instagram has suffered a blow from investors. The Guardian reports that investors began selling off stocks following Meta’s announcement that profits had halved during the third quarter of 2022. The financial dropoff was due in large part to advertisers slowing spending in the current unstable economic climate. After Meta’s revelation, its share price also dropped — by 25%. At one point, shares fell below $100, the lowest Meta’s share price has been since 2016. The losses have also impacted the personal wealth of Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive and largest shareholder. Zuckerberg’s 13% stake in Meta was worth $125bn at the start of 2022 but has now dropped to a paltry $35bn.

• NASA has launched a “full-force” UFO study. A team of 16 diverse scientists, from former astronauts to physicists, plans to research unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). According to Vice, the team will focus on unclassified data, working independently from the Pentagon. It will examine how data gathered by civilian government agencies could be used to investigate these mysterious sightings. Describing the project’s aim in a statement, NASA’s associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, said, “Understanding the data we have surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena is critical to helping us draw scientific conclusions about what is happening in our skies.” The study’s findings will be published in 2023.

• Advancements in e-noses could help COVID survivors smell again. A neuroprosthetic nose could soon replace biology with technology for people who have lost their sense of smell. The loss of smell and taste have been dominant symptoms of COVID since the beginning of the pandemic, and current sufferers have few options. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) have spent three decades developing a neuroprosthetic for smell and finally have a working prototype. First, the e-nose sensor detects odors. Then the processor sends signals to an implanted receiver. Here’s where the VCU science advances on current tech. Unlike current e-nose sensors, which only detect certain smells, an implanted electrode array stimulates the olfactory bulb with patterns corresponding to specific odors, allowing patients to distinguish among many scents. The VCU researchers have already met with regulators from the US Food and Drug Administration and started the early steps of s for approving an implanted medical device.

Tip of the week: Stay hydrated with the help of your smartphone

Drinking enough water is an essential part of staying healthy, and tracking your water intake can be a helpful way to stay on track. It’s a recommended daily practice to help with everything from stabilizing blood sugar levels to recovering from a loss of smell. 

Water tracking apps can help you keep monitor how much water you’re drinking throughout the day, and they can also help you identify patterns in your consumption that might indicate a need for more or less intake. With Aqua Alert, for example, you are notified throughout the day to ensure that you are properly hydrated. Your daily water requirements are calculated based on your activity level so that you receive what you need. You can see your hydration level and daily consumption on a graph to ensure that you stay on track and disable alerts while you sleep.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get another glass of water!