Day: August 11, 2017

Year to year, the e-sports championships’ prizes are grow-ing exponentially, the leaders of leading brands are putting their attention on this industry. For example, the prize fund of Dota 2 tournament “The International 7” is equal to $24 018 355 US dollars. For reference, this is 15 times higher than “The International 1” prize fund. … Continue reading A Chance to Win: HuntBet Decentralized Betting eSports Platform Announces ICO

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The wonders of modern science know no bounds. Scientists in the U.S. have managed to grow brain cells from skin cells. They are now using tissue nanotransfection — also known as TNT — to grow brain cells on human skin. As a result, the skin can perform different functions, including boosting one’s cognitive abilities.

Tissue Nanotransfection is an Interesting Concept

The human skin is not something most people think about too often, despite it being the body’s largest organ. We know it keeps our other organs inside of our body and protects us from cold, heat, and other weather conditions. It can also grow hair all over — and even more in certain places — to give us better protection against external threats. However, what it does under the hood is a major mystery to most people walking around on the surface of this planet. That may change pretty quickly thanks to a procedure called tissue nanotransfection.

Scientists have been enamored with this concept for some time now. Being able to make the human skin perform various tasks based on evolving needs would unlock seemingly limitless possibility. The concept of using a microchip to grow brain cells on one’s skin may not sound all that appealing, but it should not be dismissed out of hand either. It is this chip which could make your skin perform all sorts of different functions, including improving your cognitive capabilities for a brief period of time.

Implanting chips within the human body is still a controversial idea. That stigma will remain present for quite some time, but developments such as tissue nanotransfection may help change things for the better. Harnessing this power through embedded microchips will allow humans to grow whatever type of cells they need at any given time. It can be used to speed up recovery from injury, fight off diseases, or even improve your brain capacity. That last one sounds a bit scary, but it could certainly have its benefits.

The nanochip in question was developed by researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This chip uses a small electric current to deliver DNA to living skin cells, and effectively reprogramming them. Touch the chip to a wounded area, for example, and remove it immediately afterwards: the affected cells will start to heal faster and ensure the patient can recover more quickly. It will be interesting to see how human hosts respond to such treatment.

According to Nature Nanotechnology, this technique has been tested successfully on both pigs and mice. Introducing new blood vessels to badly injured limbs saved them from losing said limbs due to lackluster blood flow. Additionally, the same technology has been used to create nerve cells from skin which can then be harvested and injected into animals with brain injuries to help them recover. It shows a lot of potential for the future.

This new method ensures that immune suppression is no longer a necessity for the cells in question. It also bypasses the conversion from skin to stem cell by transforming directly into whichever cell is needed at any given time. This is a very big leap and may ultimately alter the way we think about health care altogether. The goal now is to successfully test the system using human hosts and see how things play out in the long run. 

Bitcoin developer and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have co-introduced Plasma, a scaling framework for the Ethereum Blockchain.

Nvidia’s CEO is bullish on cryptocurrencies following Q2 sales figures that were boosted by GPU sales to miners.

11h August, Chengdu, China,  BlockCDN, the distributed content delivery network has announced its crowd sale scheduled for August 30th. The blockchain-based service aims to allow ordinary web users to speed up their internet connection through its global marketplace for unused bandwidth.

In the years since the Global Financial Crisis, the rise of the Sharing Economy or Collaborative Economy has become well established. Now BlockCDN plan to harness the peer-to-peer nature of blockchain to enable a sharing economy to grow from users excess bandwidth. Ordinary people can connect directly with one another through the BlockCDN marketplace, and start earning revenue from their idle devices. Individuals and businesses seeking faster internet download speeds can use BlockCDN to bypass the normal gatekeepers of such services and enjoy lower costs and improved access.

Traditional CDNs meet the Sharing Economy

Content delivery networks (CDNs) are networks of servers that ensure webpages are delivered reliably to end users. The requirements placed on the distributed network of servers depends on the location of both user and webpage, as well as its content. The bandwidth required will fluctuate according to traffic volumes, requiring the CDN to adapt according to minute-to-minute demand.

This is the space that BlockCDN is seeking to disrupt by merging the Sharing Economy with distributed content delivery.

The Uber of content delivery networks

BlockCDN will allow web users all over the world to use their idle web-connected devices as caching nodes, providing data uploading services to other users in their geographic proximity in return for a small fee. Almost any device can be used, from PCs, smartphones and tablets to routers and TV boxes. These provide valuable unused bandwidth without the user having to make any further investment. Website and end user are connected via a transparent blockchain smart contract.

Like many other instances of the Sharing Economy, this approach has significant advantages over traditional, centralised systems. Dealing direct means there are no middlemen to impose high fees, and the free market ensures efficient price discovery. As a result, users are paid for bandwidth from their unused devices without needing any specialist hardware, whilst web publishers are likely to enjoy savings of up to 90% compared with traditional CDNs – with faster and more reliable access too.

400 million BCDN tokens will go on sale with Early bird bonus of 15% available on 15th and 16th August. A further 8% bonus will be available on 23rd – 24th August. The main token sale will open on 30th Aug for one month. For more information, or to receive updates on the token sale visit
http://www.blockcdn.org/index_en.html

Cointelegraph has compiled a list of top 8 sources where you can get necessary information about Blockchain technology.

Various companies around the world show an interest in cryptocurrency these days. Envoy Group is a company focusing on mining, blockchain, and digital currency. In a recent announcement, the company mentions how they improve the management of their mining infrastructure. A new operating system is in use, which improves efficiency of the entire operation. All … Continue reading Envoy Group Improves Upon Cryptocurrency Mining through Centrally Managed Operating System

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Windows users often find themselves rather annoyed when Microsoft decides to release an update suddenly. Depending on one’s computer settings, these updates may be installed automatically and force a reboot of one’s computer. Some of these updates are more important than others, however. The most recent update is highly important as it fixes a Windows search vulnerability related to addresses remote execution.

Emergency Windows Update Will Save a lot of Users

Virtually every Windows user benefits from the built-in search option the operating system provides. Searching for documents, files, or programs has become a lot more convenient ever since Windows implemented this feature. However, it turns out the Windows search function suffers from a major flaw which allows assailants to remotely execute code against a computer or server. In that scenario, the hacker would gain complete control of the computer in question.

Microsoft’s August Patch Tuesday update includes four dozen different patches. Over half of these are critical updates, most of which directly relate to remote code execution vulnerabilities. Knowing that an attacker could take over your computer and all of its functions without you noticing is worrying. Thankfully, that should no longer be the case for people who installed this update. Of course, there will likely be other vulnerabilities found in the future.

None of the 48 exploits addressed in this update were used by assailants, according to Microsoft. Given the tenacity and creativity of hackers, that is nothing short of a small miracle. The major vulnerability that required fixing was CVE-2017-8620 and related to objects stored in the Windows Search function. A hacker would have needed to send a special message to the Windows Search service. Successfully doing so would have given him or her full control over the computer, whether an at-home device or a company server.

This particular exploit affects multiple versions of Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2016. Anyone running any of these operating systems should update their installation as quickly as possible. Failure to do so allows assailants to leverage SMB connectivity as an attack vector. We have seen what ransomware types such as WannaCry can do with such a flaw, and no one wants a repeat of that scenario by any means.

Issues such as the Windows Search flaw could severely impact cryptocurrency users in particular. If an attacker were to control a computer used to store one or more cryptocurrency wallets, he or she could empty said wallet without requiring additional authentication. This is part of the reason why hardware wallets — or well secured paper wallets — are always the best option when it comes to storing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. These tools interface with a computer yet have remained immune to malware and hacking so far.

It is good to see Microsoft paying attention to potentially catastrophic flaws. It is unclear how long the Windows Search vulnerability has been known, but it will not cause any more harm to people who install these most recent updates. Having such a vital aspect of the Microsoft Windows operating system affected by a loophole could have had disastrous effects. As much as we all hate the computer delays caused by Windows updates, you might want to get this one as soon as possible.

The price of bitcoin reached its highest level ever on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index today, climbing above $3,550 amid a period of strong gains.

India has already finalized as of early August 2017 the draft proposal recommending how to regulate the use of digital currencies in the country effectively.

It is incredibly difficult to find any negative in the cryptocurrency world right now. Bitcoin has finally surpassed the US$3,500 mark, although it is just trading below that value right now. This Bitcoin price surge has been coming for quite some time now, to say the least. There is room for more upside for Bitcoin and other currencies as well. Do not discount he surges by Bitcoin Cash, IOTA, and NEO either, though.

Bitcoin Price Hits Another Milestone, Rankings get Shaken Up

There is no such thing as a boring day in all of cryptocurrency. This week’s Bitcoin price surge goes to illustrate that point once again. After all, we have finally broken the US$3,500 mark, which has proven to be a rather big mental hurdle to overcome. Although Bitcoin is trading a few US Dollars below that price right now, one can’t deny the powerful momentum is still in full effect as we speak. There is no reason to believe the Bitcoin price can’t reach US$4,000 or even more before the year is over.

It has to be said, the Bitcoin trading volume across exchanges is off the charts as well. Nearly US$1.8bn worth of Bitcoin changed hands in the past 24 hours alone. Such volume is not unprecedented, but it is certainly picking up compared to a few days ago. The NEO/BTC market on Bittrex keeps pushing things forward by the look of things. Fiat currency trading pairs all over the world are also doing their part, but no one is close to touching the NEO/BTC volume right now. An interesting trend, to say the least.

Speaking of NEO, one has to admit this altcoin is on fire as of right now. It has the potential to become the Ethereum of China, but with a fixed coin supply in place well before anyone could turn that into an issue. NEO Noted another 28.38% gain over the past 24 hours, pushing the value per coin to US$33. 26 according to CoinmarketCap. Do keep in mind over half of this volume comes from the aforementioned Bittrex trading pair, though. It will be interesting to see how the rebranded Antshares fares if the Bitcoin price were to go down all of a sudden.

Other currencies making some notable gains include IOTA and Bitcoin Cash. IOTA has gone up by another 21.72% and now claims the #7 spot in the cryptocurrency market cap rankings. Bitcoin Cash noted a 17.57% gain, putting it back to a US$6bn market cap. The gap with Ripple is slowly closing for Bitcoin Cash, although it may take some time until we see the gains most people have been waiting for. This is quite an interesting correlation between BTC and BCH as well, as the markets no longer seem to be linked to one another for the most part.

As one would expect, there are some currencies losing value as well. The biggest losses were for NEM, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic. Speaking of ETC, the currency has dropped all the way to the #10 market cap spot. Despite a cap of US$1.43bn, that isn’t enough to be in the top 7 like before. A lot has changed for all cryptocurrencies in this regard, these past few weeks. Not too long ago, not all top 10 currencies had a market cap of over US$1bn. Right now, 9 of them are over US$1.5bn, with the tenth not too far behind.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin price may see a lot more upward momentum in the days and weeks to come, although it is hard to predict. Other currencies are trying to net gains as well, although it isn’t all that easy. Ethereum is still hovering around US$300 but continues to lose ground compared to Bitcoin. Money is pouring into cryptocurrency as a whole, though, that much no one can deny at this point.

While global markets tremor as North Korea and the US flex their muscles, Bitcoin remains unaffected as a true decentralized currency.

An offer of $250,000 to HBO’s Mr. Smith hackers is under consideration despite calls for $6 mln of Bitcoin.