- How to Create Thermal Images for Millions of Homes
Two startups combine Google Street View method with infrared imaging to show homeowners where energy is being wasted.
One of the well-worn tools of home energy auditors is thermal imaging cameras that show where buildings are poorly insulated. But how do you bring thermal images to thousands or even millions of homes? Two Boston-area startups think they have the answer.
- The Rare Disease Search Engine That Outperforms Google
A powerful new search engine designed to help diagnose rare diseases could prove a boon for both medics and the public
- Where Siri Has Trouble Hearing, a Crowd of Humans Could Help
A program called Scribe harnesses humans on the Internet to generate speech captions in under five seconds.
Computer scientist Jeffrey Bigham has created a speech-recognition program that combines the best talents of machines and people.
- Why We Need More Solar Companies to Fail
Solar manufacturers like Suntech are struggling. Hundreds need to die for the industry to recover.
Suntech, a Chinese company that as recently as 2011 was the world’s largest producer of solar panels, is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. It’s running low on cash, owes bond investors half a billion dollars (which it failed to pay Friday), and is saddled with payments on billions of dollars in loans as it struggles to make money in a market flooded with its product.
- A Cancer Gene Therapy Activated by a Pill
Patients can turn off an experimental treatment if side effects get too bad.
A unique new cancer treatment uses gene therapy to induce a cancer-fighting immune response whose intensity can then be controlled with a pill. The combination could help tailor treatment to a patient’s individual response.
- For Investors, Mobile Startup Boom Gives Way to Caution
Some venture capitalists are avoiding consumer apps and putting their money behind the “picks and shovels” of mobile computing.
Viddy, a mobile video-sharing service that bathed in media attention and more than $36 million in investor funds last year (see “What’s the Next Instagram?”), is facing hard times. Users have abandoned its app by the millions, and last month it had to fire its cofounder and CEO and a third of its staff.
- Photovoltaic Polymer Lets Damaged Retinas See the Light
A light-sensitive polymer could offer a new way to develop artificial retinas.
A team of neuroscientists and materials scientists has shown that a photovoltaic polymer can restore light-sensing capabilities to damaged retinas, offering hope of a simple way to restore vision to many people with degenerative eye disease.
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