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October 20, 2016

NYSE Suspends Trading of MGT Capital Investments

The NYSE suspends all trading of MGT Capital Investments.

The NYSE announced on Wednesday that the NYSE Regulation committee has decided to delist the common stock of MGT Capital Investments and all trading will be immediately suspended. The NYSE Regulation committee has determined that the company is no longer suitable for listing and the pursuant to the Section 1002(c) of the NYSE MKT Company Guide, which applies to a company which has sold or otherwise removed of its principal operating assets, or has ceased to work as an operating company.

MGT initially began as a gaming company that developed and monetized online and mobile gaming applications. The company had a portfolio including a social casino platform called Slot Champ and other minority stakes in skill-based gaming platforms such as MGT Play and DraftDay Gaming Group, Inc.

The company suffered record losses and zero revenue for several quarters. But, the company announced a plan to bring on the John McAffee, creator of McAffee Anti-Virus that was later sold to Intel, as the chief executive officer and change it from a video game company to a cybersecurity company.

mcafee — HANNOVER, GERMANY – MARCH 10: stand of McAfee on March 10, 2012 in CEBIT computer expo, Hannover, Germany. (A.Penkov / Shutterstock.com)

“MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MGT) is in the process of acquiring a diverse portfolio of cyber security technologies,” MGT announces on their website. “With cyber security industry pioneer, John McAfee, at its helm, MGT Capital is positioned to address various cyber threats through advanced protection technologies for mobile and personal tech devices, including tablets and smart phones. The Company is currently in the process of acquiring D-Vasive, a provider of leading edge anti-spy software, and Demonsaw, a provider of a secure and anonymous file sharing software platform. “

The announcement to delist MGT came as company announced to release their first product, Sentinel. MGT announced on Wednesday the commercial release of its security product to defend businesses and companies from getting hacked.”

“Simply put, Sentinel is the first user-friendly security device to provide actionable intelligence before companies are hacked.

Prices for the new Sentinel package start at $4,995 per unit and require a renewable contract. But, assembly requires “no set or user configuration.”

“The user merely plugs it in and it instantly begins communicating anomalous packets to a secure MGT server, where they are analyzed and appropriate alerts are instantaneously transmitted to the IT administrator.”

Starbucks is the Most-Tweeted Fast-Food Restaurant in America

Business

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October 17, 2016

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Starbucks is the Most-Tweeted Fast-Food Restaurant in America

A new study examined 80 million tweets and found the most tweeted-about foods in the United States.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Public Health and Surveillance, found Starbucks was the most-tweeted fast-food restaurant and coffee was the most talked about consumable on Twitter. The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the health of people across the United States.

Assistant professor at the University of Utah College of Health, Quynh Nguyen, and the lead author of the study explained the mission of this study was to examine health beyond diseases and traditional traits.

“Increasingly we’re seeing more and more studies looking at health beyond just disease, incorporating indicators of wellbeing,” says Quynh Nguyen, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Utah College of Health.

Her team of researchers analyzed tweets about food, physical activity and happiness and then compared the information to previous health surveys. The results of the study not only found Starbucks was the most popular fast-food restaurant on Twitter, but the most-tweeted about foods included coffee, beer, pizza, wine, chicken, ice cream and tacos. However, only 16% of food related tweets were considered healthy. In addition, 9% of tweets analyzed in the study were about fast-food.

Researchers also examined tweets by locations across the United States and found people in poorer neighborhoods were less likely to mention healthy foods. Areas with healthy-food related tweets had fewer rates of chronic diseases such as obesity and fewer deaths.

twitter-food-study — A new study examined 80 million tweets and found the most tweeted-about foods in the United States. (1000 Words / Shutterstock.com)

Outside of food, researchers also analyzed exercise tweets and found walking, dancing, running, hiking, swimming, and golf as the most tweeted kinds of physical activity. However, just like healthy tweets analyzed in the study, in poorer neighborhoods were less likely to tweet about engaging in any kind of physical activity.

“What was kind of nice, from a health and emotion perspective, was that tweets that mentioned food were actually happier than tweets that did not mention food, and tweets that mention healthy foods were the happiest,” Nguyen says. “Healthy food and physical activity were the happiest kind of tweets.”

Nguyen argues that this is just the start and social media platforms like Twitter can provide information about our health that is not traditionally studied or analyzed in other major studies. “So far, we are finding that they do predict area-level health outcomes at various levels: zip code, census tract, county and state,” she says. “Our next set of analyses examine whether these social environment variables predict individual-level health outcomes.”

St. Jude Medical Announces New Treatment for Chronic Pain

Business

Megan Diane

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October 15, 2016

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St. Jude Medical Announces New Treatment for Chronic Pain

St. Jude Medical announced a new therapy designed to effectively reduce chronic pain. The therapy is a type of spinal cord stimulation (SCS), called BurstDR stimulation. BurstDR therapy is an FDA approved SCS therapy, exclusive to St. Jude Medical. SCS therapy allows physicians to place a small device underneath the skin; the device sends mild electric current to the nerve fibers of the patient’s spinal cord, therefore alleviating chronic pain.

BurstDR is aimed to provide physical relief to individuals, as well as, any additional pain associated with chronic pain. St Jude Medical mission is to provide and create treatments at a reduced cost. Treatment at reduced cost allows more individuals to reduce or eliminate the pain many individuals experience on daily basis.

Chronic pain is defined as persistent pain that lasts for weeks and even years. More than 3 million people are diagnosed with chronic pain every year in the United States and at the moment there is no cure. Many people experience pain in their joints, back, neck and muscles. In addition, studies have shown chronic pain also causes psychological harm leading to anxiety, fatigue and depression. The current treatment for chronic pain can range from physical exercise to medications.

One of the most common medications to treat chronic pain includes Fentanyl, Tramadol, Hydromorphone, and Hydrocodone. It is important to note that Fentanyl, a prescription opioid, is actually more powerful than heroin. It is sometimes used to treat chronic pain patients who are physically tolerant to traditional pain relievers.

However, in the United States more than 28,000 people have died from an opioid overdose, prompting the U.S Department of Health & Human Services, HHS, to declare the opioid addiction an epidemic in America. Not only have more people died from prescription drugs, according to the HHS, heroin-related deaths have tripled since 2010. According to a study by the HHS, more than 650,000 opioid prescriptions are dispensed and 580 people start using heroin for the first time every day. In addition, nearly 80 people die from an opioid-related overdose a day causing $55 billion in health and social costs and $20 billion in emergency department and inpatient care for opioid poisonings.

HHS suggests prevention and treatment are critical to fighting the growing opioid epidemic. But, the lack of funding has made it difficult to stop this growing problem. In a statement, HHS says “Our ability to do more to turn the tide of the opioid epidemic is significantly limited without adequate funding to support expanding access for individuals with opioid use disorder to seek and complete treatment, and sustain recovery.”

Snapchat is the Most Popular Social Network Among Teens

Business

Jonathan Antonio

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October 15, 2016

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Snapchat is the Most Popular Social Network Among Teens

According to a new survey by investment bank Piper Jaffray, millennials are spending more of their time on Snapchat than Facebook.

Piper Jaffray surveyed 10,000 teenagers across the United States and found that Snapchat was the most popular social media app among teenagers.

The results of the survey showed that 80 percent of teenagers said they checked Snapchat at least once per month. Meanwhile, only 52 percent of teens said they checked Facebook once per month, which is a 15 percent drop from last Spring’s survey on teen social media use.

Ultimately, Snapchat is growing year after year. In 2015, 18 percent of teens said Snapchat is their favorite social network. Now, 35 percent of teens say Snapchat is their favorite social network.

Despite the drop in Facebook usage, Instagram is still a popular social media app among teens. 79 percent of teens said they check Instagram at least once per month. This news comes after Instagram released Instagram Stories two months ago and now has over 100 million daily active users are now using the new feature. That is more than two thirds of the daily active user population for Snapchat.

Meanwhile, teens’ usage of Twitter, Pinterest and Google has either dropped or remained relatively low. 56 percent of teens report using Twitter once per month, while Pinterest’s growth among teens has remained at 25 percent.

Three years ago, Facebook offered to buy Snapchat for $3 billion. But, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel turned down the Facebook offer. Now, Snapchat’s company Snap Inc. is currently working on a potential initial public offering that could value the social media company at $25 billion.

Snapchat is a social network that is a video and photo messaging application. However, in comparison to Instagram and Facebook, photos and videos shared on the mobile app are short-lived and are automatically deleted after 48 hours. The temporary nature of the photos and videos are reported to encourage more usage and natural interactions among followers and users.

Financially, Snapchat launched their first advertisement in 2014, and in a statement the company said they were interested in providing a different kind of advertising experience, “if we can deliver an experience that’s fun and informative, the way ads used to be, before they got creepy and targeted.”

Study: 37 Percent of Teens Watch Netflix Everyday

Business

Jonathan Antonio

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October 15, 2016

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Study: 37 Percent of Teens Watch Netflix Everyday

According to a new survey by investment bank Piper Jaffray, Netflix is the most popular streaming service among teenagers.

Piper Jaffray released their semi-annual survey of 10,000 American teenagers and the results of their study showed 37 percent of teens watch Netflix everyday. In comparison, only 3 percent of teenagers watched Amazon Prime Video or Hulu. In terms of daily use, Netflix is over 1,200 percent more popular than its big competitors among teens.

This news comes after Netflix content has only 31 movies from IMDB’s top 250 movies list, after the streaming service cut nearly 50 percent of their streaming library since 2012 in order to produce more original content. Two years ago, Netflix had 49 movies from IMDB’s top 250 movies list. Fast forward to 2016, Netflix dropped to 31 of the the most popular movies among fans and critics. But, Netflix original series such as Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black and Marvel’s Luke Cage have shown to be extremely popular among the service’s audience, which would explain why so many teenagers are watching the streaming service everyday.

Following Netflix, YouTube came in second with 26 percent and cable TV with 25 percent. The data from the Piper Jaffray study show there is an upward trend for more teenagers watching more content on YouTube and less television everyday.

A recently released study by Google shows the growing influence YouTubers have on consumers. Among Australians who watch or subscribe to YouTube, 77 percent said YouTubers are more like “one of us” than traditional celebrities. In addition, 34 percent said their favorite YouTuber understands them better than their friends.

The difference between YouTube and other types of content is the fact that YouTube is built on a social network, which fosters a community between content creators and their fans. As Google points out, “Because creators foster strong ties with fans, they have more engaged audiences.” The research also showed that videos created by YouTubers had three times as many views and 12 times as many comments in comparison to traditional celebrities. In addition, 48 percent of Australians who watch or subscribe to YouTubers will watch new videos within 24 hours.

Testosterone-Lowering Prostate Cancer Treatment May Increase Dementia Risk

Business

Brent Edward

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October 14, 2016

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Testosterone-Lowering Prostate Cancer Treatment May Increase Dementia Risk

A new study researching the health records of prostate cancer patients finds a common prostate cancer treatment may be linked to increasing the risk of dementia.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine examined medical records of men diagnosed with prostate cancer and who were also treated with testosterone-lowering drugs. The research results found that those patients receiving testosterone-lowing drugs were twice as likely to develop dementia within the next five years in comparison to prostate cancer patients who did not receive testosterone-lowering drugs.

Testosterone can promote the growth of tumors in the prostate. Oncologists have used androgen deprivation therapy, ADT, to lower testosterone levels and other androgens linked to prostate cancers. It was a common treatment since the 1940s. In the United States, about 500,000 men receive ADT therapy as a treatment for cancer.

The study was published in JAMA Oncology by lead author Kevin Nead, MD, a resident at the University of Pennsylvania who got his medical degree at Stanford. Researchers examined nearly 10,000 patients with prostate cancer. Of the 1,829 patients who received ADT therapy, 7.9 percent developed dementia within five years, comparison to the 3.5 of those not treated with ADT.

“The risk is real and, depending on the prior dementia history of the patient, we may want to consider alternative treatment, particularly in light of a recent prospective study from the U.K.,” said Shah, associate professor of biomedical informatics research at Stanford and the paper’s senior author.

A man’s prostate produces the flood that helps transport sperm. However, prostate cancer affects more than 2 million people in the United States and more than 200,000 men are diagnosed every year. Typically, prostate cancer causes symptoms such as problems urinating and has the possibility of spreading to other parts of the body. Prostate cancer is typically rare in men younger than 40 but, the chances of having prostate cancer increase as men get older. Research has shown that 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men 65 and older. In addition, prostate cancer tends to occur more often in African American men and men of African Ancestry than in men of other races. African American men are are also more than twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than Caucasian men.

If cancer is detected and localized to only the prostate, then the disease is curable through surgery or radiation. However, studies have shown that a patient’s life expectancy should be greater than 10 to 20 years from the time of the prostate cancer diagnosis because, prostate cancers are grow slowly and many men are more likely to die from other diseases before they die from prostate cancer.

Dementia is a general term linked to symptoms of memory loss and abnormal behavior. Dementia is caused to physical changes in the brain. There are several different types of Dementia diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. However, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia accounting for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Symptoms including difficulty remembering conversations, names or even events. Later symptoms including poor judgement, confusion and behavior changes.

Despite the results, Nead and Shah cautioned prostate cancer patients who are receiving ADT treatment should talk to their physician before making any changes to their medications.

U.S. Presidential Election is Causing Americans to Stress, Study Finds

Business

Brent Edward

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October 14, 2016

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U.S. Presidential Election is Causing Americans to Stress, Study Finds

A study by the American Psychological Association suggests that more than 50 percent of American adults are feeling stressed because of the 2016 Presidential election.

The study from the American Psychological Association examined people who frequently used social media versus those who did not and found a 54% of social media users felt more stressed about the upcoming Presidential election. In addition, the study showed 55 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Republicans felt significant stress.

While men and women are equally likely to feel stressed. It is important to point out that Millennials reported feeling more stress than Generation Xers and baby boomers. According to the study, 59 percent of Millennials reported feeling stressed in comparison to 50 percent of baby boomers.

It is important to point out that even though Millennials feel more stressed about the 2016 Presidential election, studies have shown they are less likely to vote. This has prompted Facebook and the Ad Council to promote innovative voters registration programs such as GoVoteBot – the Ad Council’s automated service that provides voters registration information and polling location details.

Researcher Lynn Bufka argued the reason behind the increase in stress levels is due to social media. “Election stress becomes exacerbated by arguments, stories, images and video on social media that can heighten concern and frustration, particularly with thousands of comments that can range from factual to hostile or even inflammatory.”

The American Psychological Association offers tips and advice to help Americans manage their stress during their election. Suggestions include limiting media consumption, avoiding getting into political discussions, and channel your stress into something positive.

“Whatever happens on Nov. 8, life will go on. Our political system and the three branches of government mean that we can expect a significant degree of stability immediately after a major transition of government. Avoid catastrophizing, and maintain a balanced perspective,” the APA says in the recent study.

Ultimately, it comes down to voting. The APA suggests voting will help people decrease their stress levels. “By voting, you will hopefully feel you are taking a proactive step and participating in what for many has been a stressful election cycle.”

Tinder’s New Algorithm Change Helps Users Match More Often

Business

Megan Diane

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October 13, 2016

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Tinder’s New Algorithm Change Helps Users Match More Often

Dating app, Tinder, has recently changed their matchmaking algorithm to help more users find more matches.

Tinder is a mobile dating app that helps connect mutually interested users. The app is commonly used as a dating services app and was launched in 2012. By 2014, the website was registering about a billion “swipes” per day. But, in order to stay competitive in the dating market, Tinder has introduced a new algorithm to make it easier for a user’s profile to stand out among the million users on the platform.

The new algorithm is called Smart Photos and works by reorganizing the user’s pictures so that their “best” photo is seen first by other Tinder users. Tinder does this by tracking which of the user’s photos get the most swipes, and then automatically placing that photo first. So far, users who have Smart Photos enabled get 12% more matches, than users do not have the feature enabled.

“We’re working our magic to make swiping more fun and more effective. Tinder’s Smart Photos feature is designed to bring you more matches, but it’s also a great way to see which way of presenting yourself is the most compelling to others,” the company said in a statement.

Algorithms are utilizing user’s data in order to provide more accurate and detailed information. Studies have shown that if a photo shows someone in a group picture, wearing a hat or sunglasses, or even not smiling, then those users are less likely to match, according to Tinder.

While this new algorithm change may be working for Tinder users, Facebook’s Trending News algorithm is causing problems for the social media company. Recently, Facebook algorithms pushed a fake Megyn Kelly story about Fox News having fired her for supporting Hillary Clinton, even though the news organization had not. In addition, a news story from the satire site Faking News also climbed the Trending Stories feature after getting picked up by Facebook’s algorithm. This occurred after Facebooked removed any human intervention in the news stories process saying, “A more algorithmically driven process allows us to scale Trending to cover more topics and make it available to more people globally over time.” But, this has led to several trending stories that were not true.

Google Acquires YouTube Advertising Platform, FameBit

Business

Reginald Edward

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October 11, 2016

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Google Acquires YouTube Advertising Platform, FameBit

On Tuesday, Google announced their acquisition of FameBit an advertising company directed towards YouTube content creators.

Google said in a statement that FameBit is an “influencer marketing platform for branded company.” By acquiring FameBit, Google will take over a platform that allowed for YouTubers to earn additional income off of the Google owned video community, YouTube.

Google explains, “Creators will always have the choice in how they work with brands, and there are many great companies who provide this service today. This acquisition doesn’t change that. Our hope is that FameBit’s democratized marketplace will allow creators of all sizes to directly connect with brands, as well as provide a great technology solution for companies like MCNs and agencies to find matches for their creators and brand partners.”

Once a YouTuber reachers a certain number of subscribers they are able to apply for an account on FameBit. FameBit then works with brands and connects companies with popular YouTubers in order to advertise their products. Currently, there are over 45,000 content creators on the FameBit platform. YouTuber Beautycakez praised working with the advertising company. “FameBit is great at connecting brands and influencers with each other. I have been able to work with lots of cool brands I wouldn’t have heard of if it weren’t for FameBit.” In addition, FameBit has worked with several popular companies including Paramount Pictures, Marvel, Fiji, Gamely and Adidas.

Ad Blockers have become extremely popular. The computer software allows many people avoid video and display ads. Consequently, websites and publishers have lost millions of potential income thanks to these tools. Recently, one popular YouTuber, Felix Kjellberg aka PewDiePie commented on AdBlock programs saying “It’s a number that has grown a lot over the years, from roughly 15-20 percent when I started. And it’s not unlikely that it will keep growing. What this means is that YouTubers lose about 40 percent of their ad income.” However, by acquiring FameBit, Google is able to overcome Ad-blockers by integrating advertisements with content.

Google said in a statement that “Our hope is that FameBit’s democratized marketplace will allow creators of all sizes to directly connect with brands, as well as provide a great technology solution for companies like MCNs and agencies to find matches for their creators and brand partners.”

Researchers Say Traveling to Mars May Cause Brain Damage

Business

Jonathan Antonio

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October 10, 2016

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Researchers Say Traveling to Mars May Cause Brain Damage

According to a new study by the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine astronauts traveling to Mars may suffer brain damage.

The Earth’s atmosphere protects human beings, animals and other living things from cosmic radiation. However, the magnetosphere on Mars is different than planet Earth, which may put human beings at risk. In order to determine whether future astronauts traveling to Mars could be impacted by cosmic radiation, researchers exposed rodents to radioactive chemicals and measured the results. University of California researchers found the animals had suffered impaired memory and brain damage.

The study was published in the journal of Science Reports. In a statement, Charles Limoli, a professor of radiation oncology at the University of California argued that “This is not positive news for astronauts deployed on a two-to-three-year round trip to Mars.” Limoli added, “The space environment poses unique hazards to astronauts. Exposure to these particles can lead to a range of potential central nervous system complications that can occur during and persist long after actual space travel – such as various performance decrements, memory deficits, anxiety, depression and impaired decision-making.”

The researchers also stated rodents began experiencing anxiety and fear issues after being exposed to the radiation, which could be a serious problem for astronauts traveling to Mars.

It is important to note that the study used rodents and not human beings for the experiment. However, the study explains the possible issues astronauts may experience traveling and colonizing Mars. “The Mars mission will result in an inevitable exposure to cosmic radiation that has been shown to cause cognitive impairments in rodent models, and possibly in astronauts engaged in deep space travel,” the study states.

NASA is currently planning an unmanned mission to Mars by 2018 and a manned mission by the 2030s. However, some entrepreneurs are far more ambitious. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, has announced a plan to send people to Mars and colonize the planet. In a speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, Musk announced that SpaceX is planning on moving 100 people and their cargo to the red planet, calling the mission “super-exciting”.

Mars is over 140 million miles away from Planet Earth and the journey would take nearly a year to complete. Musk said the trek would occur every two years and the mission would start as soon as 2023. However, that timeline is dependent on funding as it would cost $10 billion per person to colonize the planet.

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