Rush North: See the Northern Lights Before They Dim - http://clapway.com/2015/11/13/rush-north-see-northern-lights-dim-decade/

The northern lights are predicted to dim for the next decade, making it much harder to see them on a clear, starry night up North.

Don’t worry, they are not disappearing. They’re just muting their vivid glory for a decade, kind of like Adele taking a four year break from the music industry. Except for ten years instead of four. It’s okay, we’ll survive… I hope.

According to Peter Delamere, associate professor of space physics at the Geophysical Institute, the northern lights are beginning their downward leg of a natural 11-year solar cycle. Solar activity, including enormous solar eruptions, can happen anytime and produce intense aurora, but they are unpredictable and irregular.

Aurora borealis, the phenomenon otherwise known as the northern lights, will begin to dim after 2016. The effect is estimated to last until 2024 or even 2026. During that time, the lights will be less frequent and bright. Currently, the lights are a bit like a groundhog in February–not quite sure whether it should pop its head out or not. Conditions required to see the lights include a clear night sky and the lights’ willingness to show up.

Thankfully, the northern lights will still be putting on a spectacular show through Winter 2016, so start planning your trip now.

The best places to see the northern lights before they dim, and probably after:

Alaska

A great choice for North American dwellers. There are many options to get yourself to Alaska in the next year: cruise, fly, or drive. Fairbanks is the suggested destination to get the best show and not freeze.

Northern Canada

Another option that’s close to home. In the city of Churchill, Natural Habitat Adventures offers an aurora pod made of glass and a view of the lights waving over polar bears and lots of ice. While you’re in Northern Canada, check out dog-sledding and any kind of skiing you can dream up.

Scotland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVsONlc3OUY

One of my personal favorite countries in the world. In the summer, Scotland’s so far north, the sun doesn’t set till close to midnight. In the winter, the darkness is all encompassing. Head toward Inverness or the Coast of Caithness.

Norway

Beautiful in summer and winter, Norway offers great views of the northern lights. You can go so far North here that you can also experience the Polar Night–a 24 hour-long night.

Finland

The most infamous place too view the lights because of its fantastically luxurious accommodations–personal igloos. Sit under fur blankets and view the beautiful phenomenon from the comfort of a very warm bed.

Iceland

Head over to Iceland, not only to see the northern lights, but also to explore the seat of the North from the hit HBO show Game of Thrones. Now, if I can find Jon Snow out there, I’ll be set for life.

If you’re looking to catch the northern lights before they dim, or any time, make sure to check the aurora forecast before you go.

Rush North: See the Northern Lights Before They Dim

Canadian Company Patents a Space Elevator - http://clapway.com/2015/08/15/canadian-company-patents-a-space-elevator543/

On July 21 Thoth Technology, a Canadian space and defense company, was granted a US patent for a space elevator. This freestanding structure would stand 20 km (12 miles) high, and be used for ‘wind-energy generation, communications and tourism,’ said Thoth in its blog.

Ditching Rockets

Space elevators certainly aren’t a new concept. Russian scientists have been exploring the idea of space elevators since 1895. It is important to note that this structure isn’t a literal elevator leading straight to space. The idea is that the elevated launch platform will reduce fuel costs, and make traveling to space much more routine than the dramatic launches we have now. According to Thoth, the proposed technology could save up to 30 percent of the fuel it typically takes to get spacecraft into space. Unfortunately, the patent doesn’t go into much detail on how exactly it plans to do this aside from simply skipping over those first twelve miles. The patent says that the space elevator will use “gravity-defying technologies,” but as CNET’s Erik Mack discusses, “Technically speaking, getting to space hasn’t become any easier over the past half century or so. It still requires using huge rockets to create a massive enough amount of force to push a payload beyond the grip of Earth’s gravity.” Learning what technologies Thoth has developed should prove interesting.

Objectives

The space elevator will be using modular tubes of Kevlar polyethylene composites filled with pressurized gas (helium). These tubes are light enough that the helium actually helps keep the space elevator stable. This essentially allows the launch pad to stay elevated while allowing the base of the structure to ‘guide’ it. Dr. Brendan Quine, the inventor, says, “Astronauts would ascend 20 km by electrical elevator. From the top of the tower, space planes will launch in a single stage to orbit, returning to the top of the tower for refueling and reflight.”

Looking to the Future

NASA is currently working on its largest rocket to date to reach Mars, so it’s interesting to see other companies exploring alternative options that might lead to lower cost mission later down the road. Thoth President and CEO Caroline Roberts believes the space elevator will introduce a new era of space transportation, but we’ll be waiting with bated breath until then.

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Canadian Company Patents a Space Elevator

Phantom Planet Posited as Fifth Outer Giant - http://clapway.com/2015/08/15/phantom-planet-posited-101/

An amalgamate of icy bodies occupying roughly the same region of space as Pluto might be proof that the early solar system used to be home to a fifth giant planet, scientists have hypothesized. If it exists, this mystery giant’s gravity might have had a brief but major interaction with Neptune’s gravity well while Neptune was already on its migration away from the sun 4 billion years ago. This would have caused the ice giant to jump to its current, more distant orbit, and scattered a cluster of its satellites into the Kuiper belt, and the far reaches of our own solar system.

THEORIES OF PLANET FORMATION INSUFFICIENT

This cluster of thousands of icy rocks, lovingly known by the name “kernel,” has been a source of mystery for astronomers for quite some time. The rocks composing the kernel huddle together, and never stray from the orbital plane of the planets, much different from other bodies of ice present in the belt. Studies performed before have hypothesized that such kernels of ice are the result of violent collisions of bigger parent bodies of ice, but this proposal could not stand up to scrutiny after scientists learned that these descendants of collision should then be scattered across the entire Kuiper belt.

NEPTUNE WAS AN UNSTABLE PLANET

However, recently one scientist in particular believes he’s discovered an empirical narrative that happens to fit the facts of this Kuiper belt mystery. An astronomer named David Nesvorny at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, thinks the jumping Neptune theory (published in the September issue of The Astronomical Journal) has merit. Tracing the kernel’s movements back 4 billion years with the help of computer simulations, David discovered that such icy objects were swept up in Neptune’s gravitational field as it moved farther from the sun, long, long ago. Originally (if such an adjective makes sense on a solar scale), the blue gas giant orbited near Saturn and Jupiter, but as it left their vicinity, Neptune tugged pieces of the early star system with it, and they began to follow a revolve around the sun at about twice the pace of Neptune.

PHANTOM PLANET WREAKS HAVOC

Roughly 4.2 billion kilometers (2.61 billion miles) from the sun, having nearly reached its current home about halfway to the Kuiper belt’s present edges, Neptune’s orbit was jerked out of normal sync, and migrated out an additional 7.5 million kilometers (4.66 million miles). This happened faster than the cluster of icy bodies could cop, so they were suddenly launched out of their orbit to one 6.9 billion kilometers (4.29 billion miles) from the sun, where they remain to the present day.

Nesvorny believes the only possible way such a sudden alteration in the kernel’s orbit could have occurred is if Neptune experienced a gravitational distortion from another body, of comparable gravitational force. It can’t have been the work of Uranus, Saturn or Jupiter, since their orbits have never interacted with Neptune’s in a way specific enough to create this cluster’s behavior. It thus must be David’s giant phantom planet.

Scientists are unsure what might have happened to the phantom planet, but Nesvorny’s earlier planetary model from 2011 could only account for the present’s orbital patterns by positing a fifth giant planet.

WHERE IS THE PHANTOM PLANET NOW?

It’s likely that the phantom planet was ejected from the solar system after changing the orbits of the surviving planets, said Nesvorny. Not all planets formed in an early solar system survive the process of settling orbits.

“The Kuiper belt is the clue,” Nesvorny explains. “You see the structures there, and you try to figure out what kind of evolution would fit those structures.”

HISTORY OF PLANET MODELS

Before choosing his current model of Kernel formation, Nesvorny tested 100 other alternative models. JJ Kavelaars of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, Canada levels that one of the most difficult parts of modeling is to successfully predict the motion of multiple objects in the solar system so that they still end up in their present locations, with the same velocities, with the same trajectories.

Nesvorny’s next step is to identify more Kuiper belt objects, specifically those still within the kernel. This will in turn assist future scientists as they endeavor to improve model accuracy, and David believes studying the origins of the outer solar system at summer’s end is the way to go.

Phantom Planet Posited as Fifth Outer Giant

HitchBOT: The Revival - http://clapway.com/2015/08/08/hitchbot-the-revival/

Watch the Phoenix rise from ashes because hitchBOT looks like it might have another go at life in 2016.

HitchBOT’s Inconvenient Decapitation

Last week we reported that the beloved hitchhiking robot, hitchBOT, had met an unfortunate demise in Philadelphia as it was trying to make its way cross-country to San Francisco, California. HitchBOT was a world traveler — having previously trekked across Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands — and was mourned by people across the globe.

HitchBOT was meant to be a social experiment. One that would study how humans might interact with robots in a very natural environment. In a series of unfortunate events, hitchBOT discovered one of the darkest sides of humanity moments before the robot was decapitated by vandals.

The hitchBOT team in Ontario, Canada says they still don’t know who is responsible for the violent attack, but they’re not worried about finding out who it was either. After all, part of hitchBOT’s reason for existing was to study human behavior.

The Rebirth of HitchBOT

The previous vessel that carried the traveling robot’s mind was damaged beyond repair, according to hitchBOT co-creator Dr. David Harris Smith.

In a recent conversation with Mashable, Smith talked about what it would take to reignite the project. According to Smith, hitchBOT only cost the team around $3,000, but that the two creators spent quite some time on programming the robot. At their best estimate, it would take them at least three months to get another hitchBOT up and running again.

When news hit about the team having an interest in putting another robot together, lots of people took to Twitter in order to tweet their support for the project. Many people who either had experience building robots, or knew someone interested, said that they would be more than happy to help contribute to the project in any way they could.

The team still hasn’t given the green light on the project, but things are looking promising.

Where is hitchBOT Now?

Surprisingly, the team still hasn’t seen the destroyed hitchBOT outside of pictures that fans have submitted. In a press release addressing the incident, the team said that the mangled robot’s body had been found by fans, and was in the process of being sent back to be reunited with its family in Canada.

The team also made mention that they are considering an idea that involves introducing hitchBOT to schools to interact with children. One way or the other, fans are looking forward to seeing hitchBOT back in action real soon.

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ROBOTS CAN BE CUTE, TOO

 

HitchBOT: The Revival

Why can"t we all get along with our #robots? The fate of #hitchBOT. - http://clapway.com/2015/08/02/the-beloved-hitchbot-has-been-vandalized-to-death-366/

HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, has had its cross-country trip in the US end abruptly due to an incident involving vandalism in Philadelphia.

What happened?

The story of hitchBOT is one shared with many other poor, unfortunate souls. As innocent as the hitchhiking robot was, humanity still managed to find a way to assert itself on the unassuming robot. HitchBOT started its journey in Boston just two weeks ago.

On Saturday, the Canadian researchers responsible for creating hitchBOT reported that it was involved in an act of vandalism that left the robot in such a sad state of condition that the research team would be unable to repair it; hitchBOT never had a chance to make it out of the Northeast.

What was the purpose of hitchBOT?

HitchBOT was a child-sized robot created to participate in a social experiment that would help the research team understand how humans would interact with robots. It stood approximately 3 feet tall, and only weighed 25 pounds.

The robot also sported many features to help it interact with humans on a basic level, which included camera vision, a microphone, a speaker system, 3G and GPS capabilities.

Believe it or not, hitchBOT actually had a year’s worth of incident-free hitchhiking experience prior to the incident in Philadelphia. The world traveling robot had its first trip when it managed to hitchhike across Canada in 26 days. The trip started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and ended in Victoria, British Columbia, which spanned a total of about 10,000 km.

After its trip to Canada, hitchBOT took a short break before heading across Germany in February of this year, and then setting out across the Netherlands in June.

Whether hitchBOT’s untimely demise is a product of American culture or if the robot just found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time is unclear.

What Does the Future Have in Store for HitchBOT?

The trip across the United States started in Marblehead, Massachusetts on July 17, and hitchBOT found itself equipped with a sign that read, “San Francisco or bust.” The robot took a decent tour around Boston — even catching a Red Sox Game — before it ultimately ended up in Philadelphia.

Currently, the creators of the project have no idea where hitchBOT has ended up since its battery is completely dead. The team of researchers will be conducting interviews tomorrow, where they will go into more detail about the future of hitchBOT.

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A story MUSIO would be distraught by:

The Beloved HitchBOT Has Been Vandalized to Death

Climate Change: Arctic Ice Melting and Five Nations" Deal - http://clapway.com/2015/07/16/climate-change-arctic-ice-melts-and-five-nations-make-deal678/

With the effects of global climate change mounting, international politics are being forced to adapt to the migration of other species caused by human pollution. Specifically, currently, the Arctic ice sheets are breaking down into ice floes and arctic ice melting. The United States and Russia are two among three other countries whom have signed a major deal to prohibit commercial fishing in the Arctic sea ice surrounding the North Pole.

ARCTIC SAVVY NATIONS CONVENE IN OSLO

Other signing nations include Norway, Canada and Denmark. The agreement took place in Oslo, Norway. One might think coming this far in talks regarding fishing rights and prohibitions is premature because the Arctic is not predicted to have reliable fish stocks for a long time, but scientists have recently suggested the opposite more likely because of the thinning ice expected to occur this summer.

WHY CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG UP THERE

The deal became necessary when several neighboring nations all submitted claim over Arctic territory. Considering these contradictory claims is a 21-member UN arbitration panel. A main geographic object of legal elocution is the Lomonosov Ridge, which is a 1,120 mile (1,800 km) long underwater mountain range, splitting the Arctic into two halves.

VARIOUS CLAIMS AND TRANSGRESSIONS

Denmark claims right over Arctic territory by proxy of Greenland, which is technically an autonomous Danish territory. Increasing complicity is the fact that earlier this year the Russian Deputy Prime Minister named Dmitry Rogozin actually opened a drifting Russian base on an Arctic ice flow, defying an already established Norwegian travel ban.

There was a deal almost completed last year which would have successfully barred fishing, but it was halted in March 2014 when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula.

US WANTS INTERNATIONAL CONSENSUS IN ARCTIC

US support the creation of a “precautionary approach” in the Arctic area, as a fail safe to any uncomfortably political encounters or transgressions that may still be yet to come. A US statement said that these five countries involved in the deal agree to allow fishing in the area “only once one or more international mechanisms are in place to manage any such fishing in accordance with recognised international standards.”

NORWAY WANTS GLOBAL CONSENSUS

Boerge Brende, the Norwegian Foreign Minister also added in a statement that it’s imperative to persuade other nations not part of the deal to respect these five countries’ agreement; to stay their fishing hands when it comes to the Arctic.

GREENPEACE IS DISCONTENT

Greenpeace was thrilled about the agreement, but when they learned it was only temporary, they protested that most of the involved countries were merely doing this to preserve to possibility of resource extraction indifferent to local populations, and that the “protect the Arctic” theme was just a façade.

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Climate Change: Arctic Ice Melting and Five Nations" Deal

T-Mobile Customers Can Use Phones in Canada and Mexico at No Charge - http://clapway.com/2015/07/10/t-mobile-customers-can-use-phones-in-canada-and-mexico-at-no-charge654/

One of T-Mobile’s latest moves was to add more services to its customers without adding any other charges to customer bills. The mobile carrier will now include texting, calling, and 4G LTE data to and from Mexico and Canada for all customers who have Simple Choice calling plans with the carrier.

SIMPLE CHOICE PLANS WITH T-MOBILE NOW COVERS NORTH AMERICA

This news was all released in a July 9 announcement by T-Mobile. The “no extra charge” initiative for no roaming charges is called “Mobile without Borders” and will begin on July 15th for all T-Mobile customers. The plan covers both sending and receiving calls or texts between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico on T-Mobile phones.

All T-Mobile Simple Choice plan members, regardless if they have a prepaid or billed account, will automatically receive the new calling features at no extra charge as a part of their calling plans. Current Simple Choice customers can join online, in store, or by phone. Business customers can add coverage and calling across North America to their Simple Choice plans at no extra cost for the first 10 lines and only $1 a month for each line beyond that.

IN 2014, THERE WERE OVER $10 BILLION IN GLOBAL ROAMING CHARGES

This is great for customers who frequently make and receive calls and texts from Canada and Mexico, especially when they are traveling between the three countries. Around 55 percent of all international travel and 35 percent of international calls from the United States involved Canada and Mexico. This led to nearly $10 billion in global roaming charges at over 90 percent higher rates for mobile carriers in 2014.

T-MOBILE ACTS 4 MONTHS AFTER AT&T BOUGHT NEXTEL MEXICO

This latest T-Mobile announcement arrives shortly after AT&T, one of T-Mobile’s competitors, announced that it was acquiring the assets of Nextel Mexico for over $1 billion. The AT&T and Nextel Mexico deal was described by AT&T as a step towards the creation of the first North American Mobile Service.

John Legere, CEO and President of T-Mobile mentioned the AT&T acquisition when he discussed the new T-Mobile ‘Mobile without Borders’ services. Legere said that they beat AT&T to the punch and, are doing so in the better way because they are providing these services to and from Canada as well without charging customers more money for them.

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T-Mobile Customers Can Use Phones in Canada and Mexico at No Charge

Finally! An app every group of friends could use... - http://clapway.com/2015/07/07/microsoft-tossup-hassle-free-planning-app-for-messy-groups-of-friends-123/

Find it unmanageable to make plans with a large group of friends? You are not alone. Fortunately, a solution exists, and it’s Microsoft Tossup. This new app allows friends to research venues, vote on plans and chat, all from their smartphones.

The latest app released by Microsoft Garage lets everyone make decisions easily while on the go.

Making life easier for groups of unorganised friends

“Everyone has been through the tedious experience of planning a get-together which results in long email threads or text messages that go on and on without any resolution. We’ve built an app that helps people in these everyday scenarios,” says Ashok Kuppusamy, a group program manager whose team is focused on building mobile apps, within the Outlook team based in Silicon Valley.

Microsoft Tossup helps to poll friends, make and vote for plans

Users can make decisions about timing, availability, group activities, nearby venues and spending limits. Information for restaurants is pulled from Bing to help make decisions en masse. For indecisive friends, groups can add a countdown clock, to get answers quickly and turn those plans into reality.

According to Jennifer Shen, the principal program manager lead whose team built Tossup, the app removes the friction around planning. “It’s really about connecting with people, removing barriers that cause plans to fall through. Our aim is for you to spend more time hanging out with friends rather than coordinating schedules.”

But according to Microsoft it doesn’t just have to be about planning. People can use Tossup to ask for friends’ opinion on shoes to buy or to find out which team is the favourite to win the Big Game.

No stress: removing the friction about planning

Microsoft Tossup has already been tested by early adopters at the University of Washington in Seattle and Santa Clara University in California – as well as through Microsoft employees, their friends and families.

Do you hate making plans or simply need a tech organiser? If you want to give the latest Garage product a go, Microsoft Tossup is now available to download on iPhone and Android phones in the U.S. and Canada.

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For more technology-related news, Clapway Trends is your source!:

Microsoft Tossup: Hassle-Free Planning App for Messy Groups of Friends

Wall decor just got simple. - http://clapway.com/2015/06/30/photo-enthusiasts-meet-flixi-the-user-friendly-picture-frame-123/

Canadian company Toboggan has just launched a Kickstarter campaign promoting FLIXI, a product that allows framing and hanging a photo, in less than a minute, without any tools or holes in the wall.

Usually the products originating from technology and design merging together are impressive. This is no exception. FLIXI has all the characteristics to make our lives easier.

Re-imagining the traditional photo frame

Let’s be honest. Framing and hanging photos starts as an exciting task but slowly turns into a tedious and stressful one for most people. Either the frame is not straight or your landlord asks you to pay hundreds of dollars from your pocket because the wall is now full of holes.

A group of Montreal industrial designers and avid photographers came up with a solution: making framing photos “just as simple, spontaneous and stylish as posting to your virtual wall”.

You don’t need any tools

Unlike conventional picture frames that use nails and hooks, FLIXI attaches to the wall with a double-sided tape and can be easily removed without leaving residues on the wall. No holes, no damage.

We all know how challenging it can be to place a single picture using traditional frames. For some paranormal reasons most of the time the picture frame doesn’t look straight. That “often goes beyond the limit of our patience,” according to Toboggan’s founders, Laurent and Kurt.

So imagine perfectly leveling and aligning a series of pictures to form a gallery of frames without any guesswork. With FLIXI you can. The product has an anchor and built-in level incorporated into the frame as well as a WallSnap system preventing the adhesive from sticking to the wall until it’s in the right spot and level.

Furthermore, FLIXI is flexible, easy to insert and remove; it’s stable and solid unlike the thin glass of conventional frames, thus making it completely safe even to have an army of kids running around your house.

Fully committed to local manufacturing, this group of designers made sure that FLIXI also works as a tabletop frame, and that it comes in 8 colours.

Use an app to preview your future wall

The company created a web application that helps users preview their future wall. You can upload pictures and build your own gallery wall.

Over the past 16 years, this group of Canadian designers has been creating playful and mindful interactive experiences and objects, such as the award-winning Xenith football helmet and Capsul Case, for many the best minimalist wallet in the world.

For more information about FLIXI check out their Facebook page, Twitter account and Kickstarter campaign.

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Photo Enthusiasts! Meet FLIXI the User-Friendly Picture Frame

What do you think about the Facebook Messenger app? - http://clapway.com/2015/06/29/facebook-messenger-and-whatsapp-same-same-but-different-234/

Facebook is now allowing anyone to use Messenger, even if they’re not a part of the 1.44 billion users social network. This is Facebook’s latest step in making the messaging app an independent and self-sustaining product.

MESSENGER NOW JUST LIKE WHATSAPP

Just like for WhatsApp, to sign up to Messenger without a Facebook account, a name, phone number and a photo will be enough. Facebook wrote on the news section of its website that with Messenger, they’ve been dedicated to creating the best messaging experience possible for users.

With this update, more people will be able to enjoy the innumerable features available on the app, regardless of their social media preferences. The option, however, is currently available only in Canada, the United States, Venezuela and Peru.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Now, on Messenger’s initial screen, users will find a “Not on Facebook?” option. Subsequently, one can sign up, without necessarily being a member of the social network. The app will create a friend list based on phone book contacts for users to share photos, videos, enjoy group chats, and make voice and video calls with their network of friends.

COMPETITION ON THE RISE

Facebook already owns photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app, WhatsApp which has now increasingly similar features to Messenger, such as sending photos, stickers and videos, group chats, voice and video calling.

But the competition is getting fierce. Facebook Messenger must increasingly play the game with other popular messaging services such as WeChat and SnapChat.

Consequently, the company wants to turn Messenger into one of its most vibrant and dynamic components.

The recent strategic move to make Messenger accessible to virtually everyone will help Facebook to make the app available to all new kind of users who will join a ‘global army’ of 700 million people who already use the chat service.

Facebook recently opened its Messenger doors to developers, as well as businesses, allowing them to use the app to handle customers. The company also unveiled a number of new features and objectives for its different apps at its annual meeting. Guess what? The spotlight is increasingly on Messenger.

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It’s not enough to have Facebook’s Messenger app without a full charge. Lepow Poki External Battery Charger could help with that. Check out more tech-related news at Clapway Trends:

 

Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp "Same Same but Different"

Forget smartphones? Here"s a s small, smart DNA sequencer. - http://clapway.com/2015/06/15/game-changer-dna-sequencer-the-size-of-a-smartphone-325/

Researchers in Canada and the U.K. have sequenced and assembled de novo, the first full genome of a living organism using a DNA sequencer that can fit in your pocket. If when you hear the word ‘minion’ you think of those small yellow creatures in the upcoming computer-animated comedy film ‘Minions’, you will be surprised by what you read next…

It could turn out to be a significant scientific leap forward: a team of scientists has used a mobile-phone-sized DNA sequencer called MinION to assemble a complete bacterial genome. Hard to imagine if we consider competing machines that can be as big as closets.

A REVOLUTION IN DNA-BASED DIAGNOSTICS

The cost-effective device, which has already been used by epidemiologists to read the genomes of Ebola viruses in West Africa and sequence patient DNA, will trigger what some have called a “democratization” of sequencing. Experts believe that with the combination of affordability, long-reads and portability, this USB thumb-drive genetic testing device, is primed to disrupt the way scientists do genomics.

Findings published today in the journal Nature Methods suggest that the DNA sequencer marketed by Oxford Nanopore allows room to scale up and sequence larger and more complex samples of genomes in organisms, eventually including human beings.

CHEWING GUM PACKET-SIZED DNA SEQUENCER

According to Dr. Jared Simpson, Principal Investigator at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, this chewing gum packet-sized DNA sequencer is designed to generate real-time data streaming and read long enough stretches of the genome allowing complete reconstructions off a tiny device.

Although some scientists don’t see the groundbreaking adoption of the device at a clinical level, the MinION definitely has an amazing ‘hip’ factor since it is so small and portable, and could be a game-changer due to its relatively affordable price. Traditional sequencers could cost as much as US $1 million, while researchers could use this DNA sequencer for a US$1,000 deposit.

Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research believes that the technology has incredible potential. If scaled up, it could sequence tumour genomes and deliver tailor-made diagnosis and treatment to patients across the globe.

A shortcoming of the technology is that the single reads it produces are currently much less accurate than the reads produced by larger devices. Yet, with a jump in accuracy to match its competitors, this DNA sequencer has the potential to be used by scientists as an alternative or supplement to current options.

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Eventually we’ll neeed Urban Armor Gear for our smart, portable DNA sequencers (one hopes):

GameChanger: DNA Sequencer the Size of a Smartphone