This App Can Detect Skin Cancer In 7 Out Of 10 Cases: Here's How It Works | ||
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Treating melanoma in the UK costs more than £100 million every year, but the skin cancer can be treated easily and at less cost if detected in advance. An app developed by a team from Romania's University of Bucharest, called SkinVision, provides a new weapon against the disease, and is capable of detecting melanoma with an accuracy of 73% with just a picture. The app is not a replacement for a dermatologist, but should raise awareness about the risks of melanoma, which killed an estimated 2,000 people died in the UK in 2012, according to figures from the country's Cancer Research center. SkinVision is based on a technology called "fractal geometry" — a branch of mathematics that can be used to simulate the natural growth of tissue. The SkinVision team used it to develop an algorithm that analyzes tissue growth using a picture of a mole that is uploaded to your smartphone. The algorithm can detect symptoms that are generally associated with risky moles. "The skin is made up by cells that have replicated over and over again by following a rule," SkinVision co-founder Mircea Popa told Business Insider UK. "That leads to patterns that are measurable in a mathematical way." Malignant cells are diverted cells and they replicate in a different way so the patterns get mixed up when you look at both the skin and the mole. Shape and colour are the both dependent on these patterns, and those are the characteristics the app targets. In 2012, the SkinVision won a startup award from Dutch investment firm Personal Health Solutions. While researchers, led by Polytechnic of Bucharest professor Andreea Udrea, continued to work on algorithm in Romania, the enterprise arm of the company relocated to Amsterdam. In June, a panel of lecturers from the University of Munich in Germany prasied the app, calling it "a promising tool in the pre-evaluation of moles." They found that out of all melanoma cases the app had been used on, 73 out of 100 were correctly detected. We tried the app using the Google Android version. There is also an app available for the iPhone. It costs $4.99. The opening screen lists its features. Users press the biggest button the screen to take a picture of their skin. The picture is used to provide an analysis of the mole or growth: | ||
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30 Crazy Things You Didn't Know About Russia | ||
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Back in 1939, Winston Churchill famously remarked that Russia was "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." For most people, his words ring true to this day. Although Russia is the largest country in the world and has the eighth-largest GDP, little is widely known about the nation and its culture. Because Russia has increasingly made international headlines, it's a good idea to know a few things about the country. To help you out, we've compiled a list of some of the craziest facts about the Russian language, culture, politics, and statistics. Beer wasn't considered an alcoholic drink in Russia until 2011. In 2011, then-President Dmitry Medvedev officially signed into law that beer was in fact an alcoholic beverage. This law finally put limitations on where beer could be sold. Source: Christian Science Monitor One out of four Russian men die before their 55th birthday. The life expectancy for men in Russia is 64 years old, a total among that of the 50 lowest countries in the world. Only 10% of men in the US die before their 55th birthday, and 7% of men in the UK do. And the risk of dying before 55 is exacerbated by those "who said they drank three or more half-liter bottles of vodka a week." Source: The Guardian There is no word for "fun" in Russian. There is the word "веселье," which translates to "joy" or "merriment," and there's also the verb form "веселиться." One huge difference between the words "веселье" and "fun" is that you can have fun at work, but you can't "веселиться" at work. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (DIA, SPY, SPX, QQQ, YHOO, AOL) | ||
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Good morning! Here's what you need to know. Five Massive Banks Were Fined For Allegedly Manipulating Currency Markets. UBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, HSBC and Citibank were all fined more than of $3.2 billion by authorities in Switzerland, the UK, and the US this morning. The US And China Made A Landmark Joint Deal On Climate Change. China will aim for a peak in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, while the United States will strive to cut total emissions by more than a quarter by 2025, as the two countries try to drive through a new global climate pact in Paris next year. Don't Expect A Bank Of England Rate Hike Any Time Soon. In its latest Inflation Report, the Bank of England cut its outlook for both inflation and growth. This suggests the central bank won't hurry tighter monetary policy via rate hikes. UK Unemployment Rates Holds At 6%. While the unemployment rate in September remained at 6%, it's down significantly from a year ago. Wages climbed 1.0% year-over-year. Eurozone Industrial Production Climbs. Production in the troubled region increased by 0.6% in September, missing slightly the expectation for 0.7% growth. "[T]ogether with the revision for August, the trend in production looks slightly less alarming than before, though the picture is still pretty grim," Pantheon Macroeconomics' Claus Vistesen wrote. "We are cautiously optimistic, though, that output can recover modestly in the coming months." Japanese Shares Hit 7-Year Highs. The Nikkei climbed 0.43%, after trading higher during the day, hitting the highest levels in 7 years. In other Japan news, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may call an emergency election to justify delaying or scrapping the second sales tax hike planned for the country. Markets Are Down. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 is down 0.4%, France's CAC 40 is down 1.0%, and Germany's DAX is down 1.3%. US futures are in the red with Dow futures down 58 points and S&P futures down 7.4 points. BB&T Will Buy Susquehanna. "BB&T Corp said it would acquire Susquehanna Bancshares Inc in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $2.5 billion," Reuters Amrutha Gayathri reported. "Susquehanna shareholders will receive 0.253 shares of BB&T and $4.05 in cash for each share held, valuing the deal at $13.74 per share based on BB&T's closing price on Tuesday." Yahoo Investors Want An AOL Rescue. "At least two top-10 Yahoo Inc. shareholders are so unhappy with chief executive Marissa Mayer's turnaround efforts that they are making a direct plea to AOL Inc. CEO Tim Armstrong to explore a merger and run the combined company," Reuters' Nadia Damouni and Jennifer Saba reported. "Their move follows an activist campaign by the hedge fund Starboard Value LP, which is pushing Yahoo to consider a deal with AOL and unlock Yahoo's valuable stakes in Asian Web companies." Shell Says It's Focused On Deep Water Oil Projects In Mexico. Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world's largest oil companies, is most interested in new oil and gas projects in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico following a major sector opening finalized earlier this year, a top executive said on Tuesday. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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This Toyota Recall Shows How Common The Practice Is | ||
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Auto recalls have been very much in the news lately. General Motors is still dealing with a massive recall of older model vehicles, many now discontinued, for an ignition-switch problem that can cause a loss of power and prevent airbags from deploying in a crash. Numerous automakers are currently recalling cars that have installed airbags made by the Japanese company Takata. The airbags can malfunction, explode, and send shard of metal flying into the passenger cabin. While these recalls are ongoing, more typical recalls are also happening. In the auto industry, recalls are announced all the time. They can be for problems that are both serious and mundane. Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday it would recall a combined 361,800 vehicles globally, including the Camry sedan, covering three separate defects. Subject to the recalls are 170,000 Camrys to fix a faulty ball joint that could cause a loss of control of the vehicle. Europe accounts for the majority with about 120,000 vehicles, followed by 40,000 in Japan, Toyota said. This is a fairly serious problem; the ball joint is a critical component. Another recall covers 105,800 Hiace, Regius Ace and Dyna models, mainly in Japan, to replace the fuel pipe. The third recall is for 86,000 Crown and Crown Majesta models in Japan to replace the outer seat belt assemblies. Toyota said it was not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths from the three recalls. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Chris Gallagher) SEE ALSO: Toyota Recalls 1.67 Million Cars For Three Separate Defects Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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There's A Government-Funded Phone Line For People Worried Their Pub Is Closing Down | ||
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The British government is helping fund a telephone support line for people who are worried their local pub might be closing down. Community Pubs Minister Kris Hopkins says an extra £50,000 will be spent on the service, which is run by rural support organisation the Plunkett Foundation. The group provides "community enterprise experts" to help locals set up cooperatives and take over their pubs if the area's alcohol supply is under threat. Hopkins says hundreds of drinking spots have been protected under the scheme. For residents to save their establishments there's also a how-to guide, published by Pub is the Hub — another organisation supported by the government's Department for Communities and Local Government. Hopkins, MP for Keighley in West Yorkshire, announced the funding in a statement on Tuesday and comments: "The great British pub is a national treasure, playing a crucial role at the heart of our communities, while providing thousands of jobs and boosting the economy by £21 billion a year. "A lot of hard work has been put in by communities up and down the country to protect their beloved local from sell off and I am delighted we have passed this latest milestone of 500 pubs being afforded protection." When talking, Hopkins was visiting the Fox and Goose in Hebden Bridge, a pub dating back to 1702 that many people feared might shut when the landlady fell ill. But it's been saved by 262 locals who pitched in to make sure their beer and wine still flows. Since the recession British pubs have been closing at a rapid rate and it seems the government is now better equipping the public in responding to the crisis. There are now more than 10 policies linked to safeguarding the country's much-loved bars. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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NATO says Russian military equipment entering east Ukraine | ||
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Sofia (AFP) - NATO has observed columns of Russian military equipment including tanks, artillery and combat troops entering eastern Ukraine in the past two days, the military alliance's supreme allied commander said Wednesday. "Across the last two days we have seen the same thing that OSCE is reporting. We have seen columns of Russian equipment, primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defence systems and Russian combat troops entering into Ukraine," US General Philip Breedlove said in Sofia. "We do not have a good picture at this time of how many. We agree that there are multiple columns that we have seen," he added. Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reported on Tuesday seeing a convoy of 43 unmarked military trucks -- five towing Howitzer heavy artillery pieces and another five multi-launch rocket systems -- travelling into the rebel stronghold of Donetsk. It was the latest in a string of recent sightings of unmarked trucks and heavy weapons heading towards the frontline in rebel-controlled areas. Heavy artillery fire rocked Donetsk on Wednesday. Ukraine's military said one soldier had been killed and two wounded, including one at the airport, as its positions came under repeated shelling around the region. "What worries me the most is that we have a situation now that the former international border between Ukraine and Russia is completely porous, it is completely wide open," Breedlove said. "Forces, money, support, supplies, weapons are flowing back and forth across this border completely at will and that is not a good situation," he said. "We need to get back to a situation where this international border is respected and that will help us to contain the problem of re-supply into eastern Ukraine." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 30 Most Prosperous Countries In The World | ||
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According to Legatum Institute's annual Prosperity Index, Norway is still the most prosperous nation in the world. For the sixth year in a row, the Scandinavian country claims the top spot over 142 countries, which account for 96% of the world's population and 99% of global GDP. The Prosperity Index measures countries based on 89 different economic analysis variables that measure success in industry, education, health, freedom, opportunity, and social capital. Of the top 30 nations listed, almost two thirds are European. The US ranks 10th overall and is followed closely by the United Kingdom (13th) and Germany (14th). Here are the top 30 most prosperous nations (and the full report):
And here's a graphic showing the change in annual rankings over the last 5 years:
SEE ALSO: Here's A Snapshot Of Global Prosperity Right Now Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Read Traders' Ludicrous Chat Transcripts In Currency Manipulation Probe | ||
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Authorities in Switzerland, the UK, and the US were all involved in the investigation, which resulted in the biggest set of charges ever levied by British financial regulators. One regulator, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said that in a five-year period between January 2008 and October 2013, "ineffective controls at the Banks allowed G10 spot FX traders to put their Banks' interests ahead of those of their clients, other market participants, and the wider UK financial system." The FCA continued: "These failings allowed traders at those Banks to behave unacceptably. They shared information about clients' activities which they had been trusted to keep confidential and attempted to manipulate G10 spot FX currency rates, including in collusion with traders at other firms, in a way that could disadvantage those clients and the market." Such examples of "unacceptable banker behaviour" are captured in chat transcripts among traders and released by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission as part of its investigation. In the clip below traders from two different banks manipulate fixing windows and proceed to congratulate their team's effort.
In another instance of misconduct, three traders from Citibank, JPMorgan, and UBS discuss whether to invite a fourth trader ino their private chat room because they aren't sure whether they can trust him. At one point, Bank Y tells Bank Z (who presumably knows the fourth trader) that he trusts Bank Z's judgment. Bank X later weighs in, asking whether the fourth trader "is gonna protect us" just like "we protect each other against our branches."
The examples go on and on, we suggest you head over to the CFTC website for more. All of the listed banks cooperated with the investigation. According to the FCA, the fines would have been 30% higher if the banks listed hadn't cooperated with the probe. An investigation into Barclays, one of the large banks notably not mentioned in the list, is still ongoing. The investigation has resulted in the largest charges ever levied by British financial regulators. Here are how the charges break down:
For each bank, this is the combined charge from the three regulators, according to Bloomberg.
These banks and plenty of others have been reporting that they've set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare for these charges, which have been a long time coming. Jakub Lichwa at Daiwa Capital Markets warns that it's not all over yet in a note this morning: "In addition, we note that there are 2 further agencies – the US Securities Commission and the Federal Reserve – which have still not announced settlements and therefore the ultimate extent of losses of this FX probe could well be higher depending on the outcome of these investigations." RBS is the first bank to report that it's reviewing the conduct of some staffers still at the bank: it's got 50 former and current employees under investigation. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Five major banks — including UBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, and Citibank — 
