/oss/taxonomy/term/223/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-technology/repronizer-merits-reproach <p>We have become accustomed to seeing a lot of gobbledygook online. But the jargon that purports to explain the workings of the “Repronizer” elevates bunk to new heights. What is the Repronizer? A device to “bioprogram hair.” Not a hair dryer, the profusion of ads proclaim, although it sure looks like one. But if you are going to pay about $1200 for a gizmo, you do expect it to do more than dry hair. And Lumielina, the Japanese manufacturer, claims it does. Not only does it not damage hair like a hair dryer, it improves the quality of hair with each use!</p> Wed, 28 Feb 2024 16:57:46 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9847 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience-technology/gadget-scam <p>Anyone who owns a car and who lives in snowy climes will be tempted by this. What if you could buy a small device that you left in your car and that magically melted the snow off of it and prevented your car from freezing? You may think this is the sort of thing you would see on <i>Star Trek</i>, yet I can point you to <a href="https://fivfivgo.com/products/pro-electromagnetic-molecular-interference-antifreeze-snow-removal-instrument">a website</a> where you can acquire this incredible device today for only USD 26.97.</p> Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9739 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-technology/looping-chat-gpt <p>Like so many, I have been experimenting with Chat GPT, the artificial intelligence technology that can answer questions or produce articles on a given topic in humanlike conversational language. In some cases, I have been impressed, much less so in others.</p> Wed, 24 May 2023 19:57:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9519 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-technology/digital-amnesia-has-been-exaggerated <p>Do you know your best friend’s phone number? In the 1990s, I had my best friend’s phone number memorized, and I’m pretty sure I remembered it just now after thinking about it for a minute. But the phone numbers I use today? They don’t live in my head. They live on my phone.</p> Fri, 24 Feb 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9416 at /oss /oss/article/technology/reflections-modern-life <p>I opened my eyes this morning and asked Alexa to tell me the news, which she promptly did. She wasn’t in my bed, in fact, she wasn’t even in the bedroom. Despite having no ears, she heard me. Her response was loud and clear, even though she has no mouth. In fact, she doesn’t even really have a body. Alexa is just a small, albeit cute, cylinder that is described by her developers as an “intelligent personal assistant.”</p> Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:05:56 +0000 Joe Schwarcz Phd 9296 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/apple-watch-isnt-great-medical-device <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>​</em><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-apple-watch-isnt-great-as-a-medical-device">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:11:48 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8009 at /oss /oss/article/technology/what-kind-sunglasses-do-i-really-need <p>The sunglasses at the dollar store feel flimsy, yet I buy a pair. It costs me $1.43. The sticker on one of the lenses states “UV 400 Protection”. I walk over to a fancy sunglasses store and ask the employee if she would trust this pair to filter out UV light. She says no. I ask why not. “Because they’re from the dollar store.”</p> <p>The cheapest pair she sells is a Ray-Ban that retails for $190. Do I need it if I want to protect my eyes?</p> <p><b>The Sun is not your friend</b></p> Fri, 24 May 2019 16:53:02 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7779 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/can-these-glasses-put-end-colour-blindness <p>Serendipity plays a big role in science. Many discoveries begin with a puzzling observation followed by, “That’s weird”. Don McPherson developed special lenses for surgeons to use when employing lasers and he lent them to a colour blind friend on a Frisbee field. His friend reported he could now see the orange cones on the field. He’d never seen them before. That’s weird.</p> <p>But not every “that’s weird” moment results in game-changing technology.</p> Wed, 12 Dec 2018 19:13:47 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7485 at /oss /oss/article/videos/cracked-science-21-scienceploitation-stem-cells <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-h5xk8lnkt5y" width="640" height="390" title="The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/H5xk8lnkT5Y?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-h5xk8lnkt5y&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of The Scienceploitation of Stem Cells (CS21)</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 30 Nov 2018 18:04:54 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7469 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology/fingerprick-blood-sugar-tests-how-they-work-and-why-we-still-use-them <p>We are living in the future. We have <a href="https://store.google.com/product/google_home">robotic personal assistants</a>, <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/watch/">watches</a> that replace credit cards, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-ca/ht208108">phones</a> that recognize our faces, and <a href="https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/autopilot">self driving cars</a> are just around the corner. But for all our advancement, patients with diabetes still need to stab themselves multiple times a day to check their blood glucose levels. There has to be a better way, right?</p> Tue, 17 Jul 2018 16:09:16 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7172 at /oss /oss/article/technology/e-readers-are-more-paper-you-think <p><span>Our days are dominated by screens: the morning news, ads on the metro, work documents at the office, the dozens of texts we send a day, and to top it off, a good TV show in the evening. But for a lot of people, novels are best enjoyed on paper. And that’s even after the invention of electronic book readers (e-readers like Kobo’s or Amazon’s Kindle), which can hold all the books in the world in a single lightweight device.</span></p> Tue, 13 Feb 2018 16:53:23 +0000 Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 6921 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/what-bone-conduction <p>There are some <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zungle/zungle-wear-the-beats">cool products</a> on the market right now that <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vue/vue-your-everyday-smart-glasses">claim to conduct sound through the bones</a> in your face or head, allowing the wearer to hear music or phone calls, but not allowing others to listen, all while keeping the ears free to hear their surroundings. Sounds cool and futuristic right?</p> Wed, 31 May 2017 21:38:56 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2519 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/airplanes-turbulence-0 <p>Turbulence during a flight may make plates crash to the floor but it doesn’t make planes crash. Airplanes are built to withstand turbulence, but people aren’t, so it can make for a most unpleasant experience. Temperature changes attributed to global warming are expected to make for more turbulent skies.</p> Sun, 14 May 2017 02:34:20 +0000 OSS 2450 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-technology/noise-cancelling-headphones <p>The precious noise-cancelling headphones that every seasoned traveller carries in their bags are actually quite an incredible piece of technology. These headphones work by listening via microphone to the surrounding sound waves, and then creating and playing the exact opposite waves, in order to cancel them out. This process is quick, but not instant, which is part of why noise-cancelling items work best on constant noises, like airplane engines or traffic, but might struggle more with sudden noises like babies crying.</p> Thu, 11 May 2017 19:33:31 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2439 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-household-products-news-technology/ophone <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=6920"><img alt="ophone" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2014/11/ophone-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Your cell phone wakes you up in the morning. No big deal. You reach over to turn off the alarm, touch another button, and suddenly the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts into your nose. But no point reaching for the cup, there isn’t one. The scent is drifting out from the phone! If you would rather wake up to the odour frying bacon and toast, that’s possible too. Welcome to the wonderful world of the “oPhone.” And we are not talking science fiction here; the oPhone already exists and will be hitting the market soon. Not only will you be able to entertain your nasal passages with a multitude of fragrances, you will also be able to send scent messages. Imagine irritating your friends back home with the scent of tropical fruit along with a picture of yourself swinging in a hammock and sipping a pina colada somewhere in the tropics. Of course your friends will have to be equipped with an oPhone.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">So what makes this magic happen? A set of eight replaceable chips, each containing four “building-block scents” that can be dispensed in response to an electronic signal. The 32 basic smells can be combined to dispense a fantastic array of aromas. Select “meaty,” “cheesy” and “grilled toast,” and you’ll conjure up the odour of a cheeseburger. And of course you can experiment. Who knows what sort of a whiff you’ll get by pushing the “cocoa beans” and “meaty” buttons?</p> <p style="text-align:justify">It sounds like the oPhone could be a lot of fun, but can this technology be put to some useful purpose? Maybe. You just finished dinner and there is that delectable dessert staring you in the face. You know you shouldn’t indulge, but it looks so good. Perhaps you’ll whip out your oPhone, push a button and the unpleasant smell of rotting meat will kill your appetite. There is even the possibility of diagnosing early Alzheimer’s disease. The inability to recognize certain scents has been linked with the early stage of this disease. And maybe the oPhone can even deal with the situation by helping with memory. Studies have shown that reading something while being exposed to a scent can lead to improved recall in the presence of the same scent. Trigger a smell from your phone as you put down your keys. When you want to find them again, push the button for the same scent and you’ll remember where you put them. Maybe. Of course this method won’t work to find a lost oPhone.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2014/11/21/the-ophone">Read more</a></p> Fri, 21 Nov 2014 22:23:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2212 at /oss