3 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers.
May 3, 2016
- What might be described as a modern-day genie in a bottle?
Hint:
Answer: Foursquare, the social media app, is making some pretty accurate predictions related to sales & profits of certain entities, such as Chipotle and Apple. Using large amounts of data collected by client smartphones, Foursquare is the equivalent of an analyst in the form of an app. The downside is, huge amounts of data are required to make spot-on predictions, so small or online businesses are difficult to assess (unless, presumably, purchases are made through a smartphone). Nonetheless, if anything is going to figure out the blips, it’s technology. Read more here.
2. What novel diagnostics tool may revolutionize medicine with just a finger-prick?
Hint:
Answer: it all began with using a handheld device to detect the Ebola virus in under an hour, but think of the possibilities. A similar type of device might eventually be designed to detect all kinds of other viruses and diseases such as HIV and cancer. Read the details here.
3. What are transport regulators currently worried about?
Hint:
Answer: as autonomous vehicles continue to be developed and refined by a slew of car manufacturers, regulators are considering “plan C” fail-safe mechanisms for when distracted human drivers are not able to take over control of their autonomous vehicles, if required to do so. Read the story here.