Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 6th, 2024. Well, this is the last one. You’ll …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku’, Plus New Releases, Sales, and Good-Byes"

For a lot of folks who have been following Capcom’s fighting games over the years, the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting …

Continue reading "Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Review – Switch, Steam Deck, and PS5 Covered"

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics ($49.99) As a fan of Marvel, Capcom, and fighting games back in the …

Continue reading "SwitchArcade Review Round-Up: ‘Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection’, ‘Yars Rising’, & ‘Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland’"

Back in December, I reviewed Square Enix’s monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch. I loved …

Continue reading "‘Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince’ iOS Review – Much Better Than Switch, but Lacking in Two Ways"

Outgoing firm Principal Service Solutions says incoming staffing agency Manpower may bring the workers back.

Should the BBC pass the torch to a seasoned veteran or opt for a fresh voice when Lineker steps down?

The former footballer has hosted the show since 1999

As Lineker prepares for life away from the BBC, his podcast empire is proving there is life away from football

Gary Lineker is leaving ‘MOTD’ at the end of this season, after a glittering 25-year tenure as the host of the BBC’s flagship football show. Nick Hilton looks back at the pundit’s highs and lows, from predatory striker to top broadcaster and media mogul

The former striker will depart the programme at the end of the 2024/25 season

The original 2021 ruling ordered Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. The appeals court said there is "insufficient consensus" on a specific reduction percentage.

He has a good chance of getting the case reversed on appeal — but he can’t appeal until after Judge Merchan sentences him.

As the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Switch is over seven years old, so it’s due for a refresh. Nintendo Switch 2 rumors have been swirling for years, but now they are really heating up. A sequel to Nintendo's most successful home console ever is coming and it’s likely coming sooner rather than later.

Will it be a straight up sequel to the Switch with updated specs while retaining the same hybrid functionality or will Nintendo get weird with it? Will it even be called the Switch 2, or will the company go with something like the Super Switch or even the New Nintendo Switch? You can never tell with Nintendo. Heck, maybe it’ll call the thing the Switch U.

In any event, recent weeks have brought feverish speculation regarding all aspects of the forthcoming gaming console. It’s important to note, however, that very little information has been confirmed by Nintendo. The company operates on its own timetable. With that said, here are all of the rumors that are most likely to come true, given industry analysis.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be announced?

As previously mentioned, Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum. We don’t exactly know when it’ll hold an event to reveal the console. It likely won't be in 2024, as the tech year is winding down and it's rare to get announcements of new harder in late November and December. 

Even Nintendo has trouble keeping the lid on a major console release, so we could learn something before the official reveal. There are parts that have to be sourced and shipments that have to be made. A senior analyst at MST Financial noted a spike in production equipment spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

Once again, this is more or less a mystery. We aren’t totally in the dark, but it’s mostly rumor and speculation. One thing we know for sure is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Switch 2 (or whatever it chooses to call it) by March 2025, as the company confirmed back in May. Some are saying there will be a March release date, which makes sense given the OG Switch came out on March 17, 2017. However, other reports put the console’s release window later in 2025.

We can infer a lot from the announcement date. If the console is announced this year, March would be a safe bet, given that the original Switch was officially confirmed in October of 2016. However, the console likely won't be announced until next year, at this point, so expect a late 2025 release. 

Will it even be a proper Switch sequel?

Nintendo has a weird track record here. The baffling Wii U followed the massive success of the Wii. The Wii itself followed the more traditional GameCube. In other words, it’s possible it’ll be something out of left field and not exactly a true sequel to the Switch. However, this is unlikely this time around. As much as I would love to see wacky VR glasses or a completely bonkers console concept, all points indicate a more traditional approach.

Developers have already seen the hardware, though in a much earlier form, and it seems to be a regular old console. While Nintendo hasn't confirmed hybrid functionality, it’d be a weird omission given the absolute financial firestorm of the Switch. We’ve also heard rumors of a Mini-LED display, which would track for a hybrid console. It’s highly likely this will be a straight-up Switch 2, or something like it, calling to mind the Super Nintendo.

To that end, recent rumors suggest a design that recalls the original Switch. According to reporting by VGC, photos of the console have appeared online and they show an 8-inch screen and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There looks to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing player LEDs on these controllers. 

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?

If it’s a sequel to the Switch, the next question has to be about backwards compatibility. The Switch’s library is absolutely massive, and continues to grow, so gamers would be rightfully peeved if they couldn’t play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. There’s good news on this front.

The company has officially announced in a recent earnings report that the console will be fully backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles. 

What about specs?

The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so it’s tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: It’ll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console would include 12GB of RAM. 

Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We actually wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series back in 2018.)

There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers.

As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display LCD display, but there have also been rumors about an 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Some analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of (surprise!) mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black. I’m hedging my bets here. I think it’ll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so that’s certainly a possibility at launch.

As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch. 

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300. 

However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Numerous outlets have reported it'll be $400, or potentially even more expensive. However, the same analysts who say the console will be $400 were also fairly certain it would be out by the end of 2024 and, well, it looks like that ain't happening. 

Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make it nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck. 

Do we know about any launch games?

Nope! But it’s certainly been a long time since we’ve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure, right? That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch. 

If there’s a gimmick or hook involved with the console, we’ll also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility.

---

That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.

Update, November 11, 2024, 9:00 AM ET: This story has been updated with details about the Switch 2's backwards compatibility as well as more details about the current expected announcement and release timeline.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-everything-we-know-about-the-coming-release-110023903.html?src=rss

For the first time in over two years, Overwatch 2 players will be able to group up in teams of six. A three-week event featuring that format starts tomorrow, November 12. But there’s a twist: you won’t be able to select Kiriko or Sombra, or battle it out with an additional player on each side on Push maps just yet. That’s because in Overwatch 2’s first real taste of 6v6, Blizzard is taking us all the way back to the beginning with a limited-time mode called Overwatch: Classic.

You will be able to experience Overwatch almost exactly as it was upon its May 2016 debut. That means you can choose from the first 21 heroes, who all have their original kits and abilities. That means Hanzo loses his Lunge jump but regains his dreaded Scatter Arrow, Bastion and Torbjorn are vastly different than they are now and Cassidy's Flashbang once again stun locks enemies for a moment. 

Symmetra reverts to being a support who can teleport allies almost anywhere on the map from the spawn room, while Mercy can will once again bring five dead teammates back to life. Ultimate abilities will charge up faster too.

In addition, just like in Overwatch for a brief period at the very beginning, there are initially no limits on hero selection. So if you and your teammates want to run with a composition of four Winstons and two Lucios, have at it. However, this will only apply for the first few days, after which Blizzard will apply the single hero limit rule for the rest of the event. Games will take place under the Quick Play ruleset, rather than the Competitive format.

The original 12 maps will be available too — including the assault maps that Blizzard retired from the main modes during the transition to Overwatch 2. While assault maps are still available in the Arcade and custom games, you'll once again be dealing with the notorious choke points of the otherwise gorgeous Hanamura, Temple of Anubis and Volskaya Industries.

Blizzard Entertainment

Things won't be exactly as they were in May 2016, however. Original maps that have seen major reworks over the years — Dorado, Numbani, Route 66 and Watchpoint: Gibraltar — will appear as they are in the current game. You'll only be able to use the original default Overwatch skins and no, there are no loot boxes. The user interface remains the same too, which hopefully means the ping system will still be in place.

Blizzard doesn't plan for this to be a one-and-done deal. There will be other Overwatch: Classic events in the future, focusing on various moments in the game's history, like the infamous triple-tank, triple-support GOATS meta. This limited-time mode is also separate from the other 6v6 tests Blizzard plans to run in the coming months as it looks to measure players' interest in that format and garner feedback.

There's a good chance that this limited-time mode will bring some lapsed players back into the mix, even just for a sip of nostalgia. I first played Overwatch several months after its debut, so it'll be fun to see roughly how the game felt at the very beginning. I will be instalocking Mei every match so I can remember what it's like to freeze an opponent before giving them a cheeky wave and firing an icicle into their skull. Ah, memories...

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/an-overwatch-classic-event-will-take-fans-all-the-way-back-to-the-beginning-171538261.html?src=rss

Apple sells just three models of smartwatches — the Series 10, the Ultra 2 and the SE — and they fall pretty neatly into the categories of flagship, premium and budget, respectively. But if you’re wondering whether the adventure-ready features of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 are worth the price bump, or if the just-the-basics tools of the Apple Watch SE will be enough, Engadget is here to help. We’ve been testing and reviewing Apple wearables since the beginning and we have lots to say about them. Ultimately we think the Apple Watch Series 10 is the best Apple Watch for most people — in fact, it’s our pick for the best smartwatch you can buy from any brand — but read on to dive deeper into the chips, sensors, displays and fitness tracking features each Apple Watch model offers.

What to look for in an Apple Watch

Chips and sensors

The new Apple Watch Series 10 has an S10 SiP (system in a package) chip with a four-core Neural Engine. The Ultra 2 was updated last September with Apple’s S9 SiP. Both chips allow for on-device processing of Siri requests as well as dictation, translation, automatic workout detection and the Double Tap gesture that lets you answer calls or stop an alarm by tapping your thumb and forefinger together twice. It also enables faster machine learning performance for interpreting sensor data, speech recognition and performing other “thinking” tasks. The Apple Watch SE still relies on the S8 SiP, which was also used in the Series 8 and the original Ultra.

Both the Series 10 and Ultra 2 can take an ECG and have temperature sensors to help track ovulation and both support fall-detection and crash-detection as a safety feature. All three models have a compass and altimeter. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has an onboard SOS siren, as well as dive features like a depth gauge. Water features were added to the Apple Watch Series 10, but with a shallower depth rating (just six meters, as compared to 40 meters on the Ultra). The Ultra includes sensors to measure blood oxygen, but a recent patent dispute has forced Apple to disable that health feature on new models sold in the US and the hardware isn’t present in the new flagship model.

All three models support near field communication (NFC), the chip that enables Apple Pay. Once you set it up using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, you can pay for stuff at any store that accepts Apple Pay, even if you don't have your phone with you. 

Displays and case sizes

The wide-angle OLED display on the Apple Watch 10 lets you see the always-on display from more angles. The Ultra 2 also has an always-on display, but you’ll have to lift your wrist to tell time or read notifications on the SE. The SE can reach a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits, the Series 10 can get as bright as 2,000 and the Ultra 2 hits 3,000 nits. Both higher-end screens can dim to a single nit, making them less distracting in the dark.

The Apple Watch Series 10 came with a new finish and case material — a glossy anodized jet black finish on the aluminum model and the option for a titanium case. The Ultra 2 also got a new finish, satin black, that utilizes a PVD (physical vapor deposition) process to apply the color.

As for case sizes, the SE is available in 40 or 44mm. The Series 10 increased in size from the prior generation and now has a choice of a 42 or 46mm case. The Ultra 2 comes in just one size measuring 49mm. You also get the opportunity to pick the length and style for watch bands. The SE and Series 10 come in small/medium or medium/large and the Ultra 2 gives you the choice of small, medium or large.   

Battery life

Since it’s the largest wearable, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 sports the biggest battery and can last for a claimed 36 hours on a charge. That number jumps up to 72 hours if you turn on low power mode. Both the Apple Watch 10 and the SE are rated by Apple to go for 18 hours before they need a visit to the charger, and longer when using battery saver mode.

Cherlynn Low for Engadget

Fitness features

Believe it or not, all three Apple Watches have similar fitness tracker chops. The Activity app uses three “rings” to keep tabs on how much you’re moving in a day: The Move ring tracks your active calories; the Exercise ring monitors the minutes you’ve spent walking, running, doing yoga and so on; and the Stand ring tells you how many hours in a day you’ve stood up and moved around for at least one minute.

Different internal sensors detect those activities, for example the accelerometer senses when you’re moving versus sitting still, and the optical heart rate sensor judges how hard you're working out and how many calories you’ve burned. You can set your goals for each ring and you’ll earn badges and animations when you hit them.

The Workout app lets you start and track an exercise session. The sensors can even auto-detect when you’re working out, tapping your wrist to suggest you track the activity. Apple Watches will integrate with Apple’s Fitness+ subscription, displaying real time heart rate and calorie burn data on your iPhone, iPad or even Apple TV 4K as you take a class. Fitness+ also includes audio-guided walks and runs with just your watch and Bluetooth earbuds. All three models support the Activity and Workout apps for free. The Fitness+ app also works with all Apple Watches, but costs $10 per month.

New features enabled with watchOS 11 include Training Load that gauges your body’s response to workouts over time, which could help athletes better prepare for events like marathons. Users can also now skip a day (or more) from fitness tracking metrics when they need to rest or aren’t feeling up to the challenge of closing their rings.

Siri

You can get the weather, start a workout, identify a song and dictate a text just by asking Siri. All Apple Watch models support the Raise to Speak feature that bypasses the need to say “Hey Siri” and will instead listen for your request when you lift your wrist near your mouth.

Both the Series 10 and the Ultra 2 utilize onboard processing of Siri requests. That means executing simple requests like starting workouts and timers are quicker, as they won’t need to access external networks. However, requests like sending texts or getting weather forecasts still need to communicate with Wi-Fi or cellular, so you’ll need to have your phone nearby if you have a GPS-only model.

Price

There’s a $550 difference between the cheapest and most expensive Apple Watches. For $250, you can get the 40mm Apple Watch SE with GPS-only connectivity; adding cellular connectivity ups the price by $50. The Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for the 42mm, non-cellular model in aluminum and goes as high as $749 for the 46mm titanium case (which is only available with GPS and cellular). The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has just one price: $799 for a titanium 49mm case with both GPS and cellular power.

Best Apple Watch in 2024

How we tested Apple Watches

Engadget has been reviewing Apple Watches since the first one came out in 2015. Since then, we’ve tested every subsequent model Apple has released, including the Ultra and SE models, spending at least a few days or even a couple weeks with one strapped to our wrists. During that time, we run, hit the gym, go on hikes and wear it while sleeping, all the while gauging how it tracks various metrics, integrates with the iPhone and performs every other trick Apple claims its smartwatches can do.

Since we also review smartwatches from other companies, such as Samsung and Google, our editors can compare Apple Watches not just to previous generations, but also to other wearables on the market.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/best-apple-watch-160005462.html?src=rss

Today's edition of things I suddenly really really need comes courtesy of LG Display. The company has developed what it claims to be the first display capable of stretching up to 50 percent. The screen is able to expand from 12 inches to 18 inches and can bend, twist and stretch — basically the Bop It of the tech world. LG Display unveiled another model in 2022, which stretched from 12 inches to 14 inches — about 20 percent longer.

 So, how did it go from 20 percent to 50 percent stretch capabilities? According to the company, "By applying a number of new technologies, such as improving the properties of a special silicon material substrate used in contact lenses and developing a new wiring design structure, LG Display improved the panel’s stretchability and flexibility, exceeding the original national project’s target of 20 percent elongation."

The free-form screen technology, as LG Display calls it, has full red, green and blue color with a resolution of 100ppi. The display also uses a micro-LED light source smaller than 40 micrometers, allowing the screen to be stretched over 10,000 times. The company claims it should still have high quality images even if it undergoes an external shock or is in more extreme temperatures than normal. 

Unfortunately for me (though certainly good for my wallet), the stretchable display is currently just a prototype. However, it could be used for flexible items like clothing, car panels and more in the future. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-new-display-stretches-from-12-to-18-inches-124504018.html?src=rss

Climate activists won against Shell in 2021 when a Dutch court commanded the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030. Three years later, Shell managed to win its appeal against this ruling. In the court's view, Shell doesn’t have a “social standard of care” to curtail emissions, the BBC reports.

The 2021 ruling was noteworthy, as it was the first time a court made a private company obey the 2015 Paris Agreement in addition to Dutch law. However, the appeals court judge said that while Shell had an obligation to reduce emissions, a 45 percent cut could not be established as there is no universally accepted amount. Shell’s statement says it’s planning to reduce its products’ carbon intensity by a comparatively paltry 15 to 20 percent by 2030 compared to a 2016 baseline.

The 2021 ruling would only be effective in the Netherlands as well. Shell wouldn’t have been legally obligated to follow the lower court's ruling for its operations outside Dutch territory. Now even that small gain is off the table for now.

The activists, who are largely associated with Milieudefensie (the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth), issued a statement promising to continue the fight against climate change. “Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them,” said Donald Pols, Director of Milieudefensie. They’re now trying to take the case to the Supreme Court, but getting a final verdict will likely take years.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/shell-wins-appeal-in-dutch-court-after-three-year-battle-against-green-groups-165543894.html?src=rss

Paris, France (SPX) Nov 03, 2024
ESA's Proba-3 mission, designed to create a solar eclipse in space, is leaving Europe to head to its Indian launch site. The mission's two spacecraft, designed to align precisely in orbit so one will block the Sun for the other, have departed from Redwire Space's facilities in Kruibeke, Belgium. The pair will be transported to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre near Chennai, India, to prepare for th

In honour of the icon's 81st birthday, we're celebrating the best music she's made — so far.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford appears to be dipping his toe into new territory — talking about removing Mexico from the North American trade agreement.

SURFING legend Kelly Slater has revealed how miserable he was starring alongside Pamela Anderson on Baywatch.

A RUSH is on to convert the nation’s mothballed wheat silos into the world’s biggest art gallery.

Many parents opt for more expensive baby milk, equating higher costs with better quality, the watchdog found.

A court throws out a ruling that the gas and oil giant cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Engineers at the University of British Columbia have collaborated with the Japanese automotive company Honda to develop an e-skin for robotic prostheses that allows such devices to sense their environment in significant detail. The soft skin is highly sensitive, letting robotic hands to perform tasks that require a significant degree of dexterity and tactile feedback, […]

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the redacted version of administrative complaint against the three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The FTC rightly calls out how the gross-to-net bubble can raise patients’ out-of-pocket costs, while also acknowledging how rebates can reduce a plan's (but not the patient’s) costs. Apparently, the FTC believes that PBMs’ customers are pretty dumb, because PBMs are able to prevent plans from “appreciating” such healthcare financing dynamics.

Section V.E. of the complaint (starting on page 23) focuses on the PBMs’ alleged unlawful conduct related to preferring high-list/high-rebate insulin products over versions with lower list prices. I thought it would therefore be fun to take the Wayback Machine to November 2021, when I wrote about this specific topic.

Below, you can review my commentary about the warped incentives behind Viatris’ dual-pricing strategy for its interchangeable biosimilar of Lantus. Much of the FTC’s description of the drug channel aligns with my commentary. But before you fist pump too hard for Ms. Khan’s FTC, you should pause to reflect on the agency’s legal theories in light of plans’ revealed preferences.

---

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first interchangeable biosimilar insulin product: the insulin glargine-yfgn injection from Viatris. Read the FDA’s press release.

Alas, I’m sad to report that the warped incentives baked into the U.S. drug channel will limit the impact of this impressive breakthrough.

Viatris is being forced to launch both a high-priced and a low-priced version of the biosimilar. However, only the high-list/high-rebate, branded version will be available on Express Scripts’ largest commercial formulary. Express Scripts will block both the branded reference product and the lower-priced, unbranded—but also interchangeable—version. Meanwhile, Prime Therapeutics will place both versions on its formularies, leaving the choice up to its plan sponsor clients.

Consequently, many commercial payers will adopt the more expensive product instead of the identical—but cheaper—version. As usual, patients will be the ultimate victims of our current drug pricing system.

Below, I explain the weird economics behind this decision, highlight the negative impact on patients, and speculate on what this all could mean for biosimilars’ future. Until plan sponsors break their addiction to rebates, today’s U.S. drug channel problems will remain.
Read more »

Today’s guest post comes from Kimberley Chiang, Vice President of Biopharma Commercial Solutions at CoverMyMeds

Kimberley highlghts the crucial roles of field reimbursement managers in removing access and reimbursement barriers. She then identifies the keys to successful implementation of field reimbursement services.

To learn more, register for CoverMyMeds' November 13, 2024, webinar: Specialty Therapies & Field Reimbursement Services: Driving Better Outcomes for Brands and Patients.

Read on for Kimberley’s insights.
Read more »

Agencies with healthcare clients in pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, digital health apps, or health-related connected devices such as wearables should take note that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) final rule updating its Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) that took effect on July 29, 2024. The FTC considers a breach to include a covered entity’s unauthorized disclosure […]

Effective on October 21st of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new final rule that is intended to better combat ​“fake” reviews and testimonials by prohibiting the sale or purchase of “fake reviews” as well as granting the agency the opportunity to seek civil penalties against ​willful violators. The FTC made only […]

Note to readers: After a period of inactivity CardioBrief is coming back, but with some big differences. This website, CardioBrief.Org, will remain my personal website. A new website, CVCTCardiobrief.com, will be the new home for my “professional” blogging activities. To develop this website I have joined forces with the global CVCT Forum. I look forward to...

Click here to continue reading...

Jerry Matczak passed away suddenly last Thursday at the much-too-young age of 54.

I can say, without exaggeration, that Jerry embodied pretty much everything I aspire to be in my professional life. The MedCityNews headline called him a “social media guru”, but in reality he was temperamentally the exact opposite of a "guru":

He was constantly curious; it seemed that every conversation I had with him was composed mainly of questions. Many of us try to be “listen first, talk second” types, but Jerry was a “listen first, ask questions, listen some more, then talk” type.

He also never stopped trying to figure out how to improve whatever he was working on. He participated in a lot of pilot projects, which means he was a part of a lot of projects that didn’t meet their objectives – but I never witnessed Jerry being the least bit negative or frustrated. Every project was just another opportunity to learn more.

Mostly, though, Jerry was remarkable in his ability to connect with patients, even patients who were deeply distrustful of his employer and industry. If nothing else, I hope you read the words of two such patients, coming from very different places, with remarkably similar reactions to Jerry:

• What Would Jerry Do? (by ALS Advocacy)
• Patients, Pharma, Partners (by AfternoonNapper)

Angela @radclipatra & I rocking our #WalkingGallery of Healthcare jackets. Learn more https://t.co/uFZHW81Cts #SCOPE2017 @ReginaHolliday pic.twitter.com/6kamYOW2VZ

— Jerry Matczak (@gmatczak) January 25, 2017

Journalist Annie Lowrey has a rare disease that causes a near-constant itch that doesn't respond to most treatments. She likens the itchiness to a car alarm: "You can't stop thinking about it."

If you’ve ever tried to get a bandage to stick to your elbow, you understand the difficulty in creating wearable devices that attach securely to the human body. Add digital electronic circuitry, and the problem becomes more complicated. Now include the need for the device to fix breaks and damage automatically—and let’s make it biodegradable while we’re at it—and many researchers would throw up their hands in surrender.

Fortunately, an international team led by researchers at Korea University Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology (KU-KIST) persevered, and has developed conductor materials that it claims are stretchable, self-healing, and biocompatible. Their project was described this month in the journal Science Advances.

The biodegradable conductor offers a new approach to patient monitoring and delivering treatments directly to the tissues and organs where they are needed. For example, a smart patch made of these materials could measure motion, temperature, and other biological data. The material could also be used to create sensor patches that can be implanted inside the body, and even mounted on the surface of internal organs. The biocompatible materials can be designed to degrade after a period of time, eliminating the need for an invasive procedure to remove the sensor later.

“This new technology is a glimpse at the future of remote healthcare,” says Robert Rose, CEO of Rose Strategic Partners, LLC. “Remote patient monitoring is an industry still in its early stages, but already we are seeing the promise of what is not only possible, but close on the horizon. Imagine a device implanted at a surgical site to monitor and report your internal healing progress. If it is damaged, the device can heal itself, and when the job is done, it simply dissolves. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s now science fact.”

Self-healing elastics

After being cut a ribbonlike film was able to heal itself in about 1 minute.Suk-Won Hwang

The system relies on two different layers of flexible material, both self-healing: one is for conduction and the other is an elastomer layer that serves as a substrate to support the sensors and circuitry needed to collect data. The conductor layer is based on a substance known by the acronym PEDOT:PSS, which is short for Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate. It’s a conductive polymer widely used in making flexible displays and touch panels, as well as wearable devices. To increase the polymer’s conductivity and self-healing properties, the research team used additives including polyethylene glycol and glycol, which helped increase conductivity as well as the material’s ability to automatically repair damage such as cuts or tears.

In order to conform to curved tissues and survive typical body motion, the substrate layer must be extremely flexible. The researchers based it on elastomers that can match the shape of curved tissues, such as skin or individual organs.

These two layers stick to each other, thanks to chemical bonds that can connect the polymer chains of the plastic films in each layer. Combined, these materials create a system that is flexible and stretchable. In testing, the researchers showed that the materials could survive stretching up to 500 percent.

The self-healing function arises from the material’s ability to reconnect to itself when cut or otherwise damaged. This self-healing feature is based on a chemical process called disulfide metathesis. In short, polymer molecules containing pairs of linked sulfur atoms, called disulfides, have the ability to reform themselves after being severed. The phenomenon arises from a chemical process called disulfide-disulfide shuffling reactions, in which disulfide bonds in the molecule break and then reform, not necessarily between the original partners. According to the KU-KIST researchers, after being cut, their material was able to recover conductivity in its circuits within about two minutes without any intervention. The material was also tested for bending, twisting, and its ability to function both in air and under water.

This approach offers many advantages over other flexible electronics designs. For example, silver nanowires and carbon nanotubes have been used as the basis for stretchable devices, but they can be brittle and lack the self-healing properties of the KU-KIST materials. Other materials such as liquid metals can self-heal, but they are typically difficult to handle and integrate into wearable circuitry.

As a demonstration, the team created a multifunction sensor that included humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors that was approximately 4.5 square centimeters. In spite of being cut in four separate locations, it was able to heal itself and continue to provide sensor readings.

Implant tested in a rat

To take the demonstration a step further, the researchers created a 1.8-cm² device that was attached to a rat’s bladder. The device was designed to wrap around the bladder and then adhere to itself, so no adhesives or sutures were required to attach the sensor onto the bladder. The team chose the bladder for their experiments because, under normal conditions, its size can change by 300 percent.

The device incorporated both electrodes and pressure sensors, which were able to detect changes in the bladder pressure. The electrodes could detect bladder voiding, through electromyography signals, as well as stimulate the bladder to induce urination. As with the initial demonstration, intentional damage to the device’s circuitry healed on its own, without intervention.

The biocompatible and biodegradable nature of the materials is important because it means that devices fabricated with them can be worn on the skin, as well as implanted within the body. The fact that the materials are biodegradable means that implants would not need a second surgical procedure to remove them. They could be left in place after serving their purpose, and they would be absorbed by the body.

According to Suk-Won Hwang, assistant professor at KU-KIST, a few hurdles remain on the path to commercialization. “We need to test the biocompatibility of some of the materials used in the conductor and substrate layers. While scalable production appears to be feasible, the high cost of disulfide derivatives might make the technology too expensive, aside from some special applications,” he says. “Biocompatibility testing and material synthesis optimization will take one to two years, at least.”

Surgical stitches that generate electricity can help wounds heal faster in rats, a new study from China finds.

In the body, electricity helps the heart beat, causes muscles to contract, and enables the body to communicate with the brain. Now scientists are increasingly using electricity to promote healing with so-called electroceuticals. These electrotherapies often seek to mimic the electrical signals the body naturally uses to help new cells migrate to wounds to support the healing process.

In the new study, researchers focused on sutures, which are used to close wounds and surgical incisions. Despite the way in which medical devices have evolved rapidly over the years, sutures are generally limited in capability, says Zhouquan Sun, a doctoral candidate at Donghua University in Shanghai. “This observation led us to explore integrating advanced therapeutics into sutures,” Sun says.

Prior work sought to enhance sutures by adding drugs or growth factors to the stitches. However, most of these drugs either had insignificant effects on healing, or triggered side-effects such as allergic reactions or nausea. Growth factors in sutures often degraded before they could have any effect, or failed to activate entirely.

The research team that created the new sutures previously developed fibers for electronics for nearly 10 years for applications such as sensors. “This is our first attempt to apply fiber electronics in the biomedical field,” says Chengyi Hou, a professor of materials science and engineering at Donghua University.

Making Electrical Sutures Work

The new sutures are roughly 500 microns wide, or about five times the width of the average human hair. Like typical sutures, the new stitches are biodegradable, avoiding the need for doctors to remove the stitches and potentially cause more damage to a wound.

Each suture is made of a magnesium filament core wrapped in poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanofibers, a commercially available, inexpensive, biodegradable polymer used in sutures. The suture also includes an outer sheath made of polycaprolactone (PCL), a biodegradable polyester and another common suture material.

Previously, electrotherapy devices were often bulky and expensive, and required wires connected to an external battery. The new stitches are instead powered by the triboelectric effect, the most common cause of static electricity. When two different materials repeatedly touch and then separate—in the case of the new suture, its core and sheath—the surface of one material can steal electrons from the surface of the other. This is why rubbing feet on a carpet or a running a comb through hair can build up electric charge.

A common problem sutures face is how daily movements may cause strain that reduce their efficacy. The new stitches take advantage of these motions to help generate electricity that helps wounds heal.

The main obstacle the researchers had to surmount was developing a suture that was both thin and strong enough to serve in medicine. Over the course of nearly two years, they tinkered with the molecular weights of the polymers they used and refined their fiber spinning technology to reduce their suture’s diameter while maintaining strength, Sun says.

In lab experiments on rats, the sutures generated about 2.3 volts during normal exercise. The scientists found the new sutures could speed up wound healing by 50 percent over the course of 10 days compared to conventional sutures. They also significantly lowered bacteria levels even without the use of daily wound disinfectants, suggesting they could reduce the risk of post-operation infections.

“Future research may delve deeper into the molecular mechanisms of how electrical stimulation facilitated would healing,” says Hui Wang, a chief physician at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital.

Further tests are needed in clinical settings to assess how effective these sutures are in humans. If such experiments prove successful, “this bioabsorbable electrically stimulating suture could change how we treat injuries in the future,” Hou says.

The scientists detailed their findings online 8 October in the journal Nature Communications.

In 2018, opioid overdoses in the United States caused one death every 11 minutes, resulting in nearly 47,000 fatalities. The most effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) are three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.

Jardiance is a popular drug used to treat type 2 diabetes and help reduce cardiovascular risk. DTC campaigns […]

The post Jardiance DTC Ads: Consumer Reactions on Social Media appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.

Dec 18, 2016

"2016 was a big year for agriculture in Africa with some notable 'wins' across the continent. One of the most important gains was the increased use of emerging technologies beyond the traditional use of mobile phones in agriculture. The range includes precision agriculture, sensors, satellites and drones."

Dec 20, 2023

Amy Harder, the founding Executive Editor of the climate policy publication Cipher News, expressed her surprise with several positive outcomes from the recent 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 28) in Dubai during a special episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Preparations for a live screening of the Fight of the Century on a remote island in the Philippines

The Thumb Loop system is designed to meet the maximum wind energy potential of Michigan�s Thumb region as well as contribute to regional system reliability and facilitate wholesale market competition.

European Business Award Teaser 2015

Monster and Brandwatch break down exactly how Americans are feeling about their jobs.

No Blank Screens, London

Shay Mitchell Free The Children empowerment PSA

Chef Antonio Iocchi from Zo�s Kitchen introduces new ways to taste the Mediterranean

The New KitchenAid� Artisan� Mini Stand Mixer: Small Yet Mighty

New Craft Coffee Products from KitchenAid