At Home: Robot Attendant
Just when you thought the age of full-service fuel attendants was over, a Canadian technology is changing the game. But there’s a catch: It only works in space.
As the CBC reports, Dextre, a ?Canadian-built robot handyman? working on the International Space Station, will ?[attempt] to demonstrate for the first time that a machine can carry out the delicate task of refuelling a satellite in orbit.?
During the course of the five-day mission, Dextre, ?supporting a 250-kilogram, washing machine-sized, module . . . That’s equipped with 28 different tools,? will refuel a satellite with 1.7 litres of liquid ethanol in much the same way that you might gas up your car.
Working with Dextre will be another piece of Canadian technology: Canadarm2, ?the robotic arm . . . that helps with assembly and maintenance.? On the human side, controllers in Houston and Quebec will be operating the robotics.
Around the World: Diagnose Me
Got a funny ache in your leg? Fever and chills? Weird rash? If the first place you turn for answers is the web, You’re part of a growing trend.
As the CBC reports, ?one in three adults in the U.S. have used Dr. Google or other search engines to try to figure out a medical condition.? Users, known as ?online diagnosers,? went online to look up issues ranging from ?a specific disease or medical problem? to weight loss to ?food safety or recalls.?
Hypochondriacs? Not necessarily; 38 per cent of users decided that the issue ?was something they could take care of home.? And for those who decided to involve a medical professional, nearly half of the diagnoses were confirmed.
While search engines are still ?the most popular way to search for health information,? there are new trends: 13 per cent of online diagnosers used a site like WebMD, and some turned to social networking for answers to their questions.
For the most part, users seem primarily concerned with the facts. As study author Susannah Fox, of the Pew Internet Project, told reporters, ?[the] social life of health information . . . ? personal stories, peer support, user-generated reviews of clinicians, drugs, medical facilities? are important to . . . a minority of U.S. adults.?