Asia

See the following -

3D Printers: A Revolutionary Frontier for Medicine

Mission control on earth receives an urgent communication from Mars that an astronaut has fractured his shinbone. Using a handheld scanning device, the crew takes images of his damaged tibia and transmits them to earth. Orthopedic surgeons then use a 3D printer to create an exact replica of the astronaut’s leg from medical imaging files obtained before the voyage. Surgeons on earth use a robot to stabilize the bone with a metal plate on the 3D replica. The data is transmitted back to Mars, where surgical instruments, a personalized plate and screws are 3D printed. Finally, a surgical robot operates on the injured astronaut...

A Disease That’s Three Times More Deadly Than SARS Just Reached The United States

Lily Kuo | Quartz | May 3, 2014

A viral and often fatal respiratory disease in the Middle East has taken a turn for the worse and is spreading throughout the region, as well as to parts of Asia, Europe and now the United States. US officials have just confirmed that a man who fell ill after returning from Saudi Arabia about a week ago has Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). 

Read More »

Asia Foundation At Google’s Big Tent On Open Data, Disasters

Michelle Chang Rodriguez | The Asia Foundation | June 27, 2013

On July 2 in Sendai, Japan, nearly a year and a half after the tragic earthquake and tsunami devastated the region, The Asia Foundation will participate in a Google conference to examine using open data in disaster relief. [...] Read More »

Driving innovation with Open Source

Clarice Africa | Asia-Pacific FurtureGov | May 23, 2013

For the last ten years, Estonia has been ranked as the ‘Best of the Best’ for e-government applications by the United Nations. Sikkut said part of their success can be attributed to the use of open source in projects such as: e-health; e-police and e-justice; national citizens and business portals; e-procurement; document exchange systems; and digital culture portals and systems. Read More »

Ending Poverty: There's an Open Source App for That!

Rural Africa presents changemakers with intractable challenges across sectors, but one American investor, Grameen Foundation, believes it all comes down to access to information. Grameen Foundation has invested millions to develop mobile-phone applications that leapfrog over a lack of electricity, education, and income. Building on their legacy of leading-edge ideas, Grameen Foundation has evolved from funding microfinance to designing disruptive solutions to the kind of poverty that's most challenging to reach, in remote rural areas, and to the poorest of the poor. Since more people have access to cell phones than toilets in Africa, Grameen Foundation brings increased agricultural productivity, access to prenatal and infant healthcare, and a portfolio of financial services, to the poor--right into the palm of their hands.

Read More »

Enterprises See Growing Open Source Cloud Appeal

Jamie Yap | ZDNet | August 27, 2012

The maturing of open source software (OSS) and increasing support from mainstream IT vendors mean that cloud architectures built using OSS tools will grow on companies looking to avoid vendor lock-in, but they will need to assess whether they have the internal know-how to manage such deployments. Read More »

Feeding A Disease With Fake Drugs

Roger Bate | New York Times | February 5, 2013

Thanks to billions of dollars spent on diagnosis and treatment [for tuberculosis] over the past decade, deaths and infections are slowly declining. Yet a disturbing phenomenon has emerged that could not only reverse any gains we’ve made, but also encourage the spread of a newly resistant form of the disease. Read More »

Firefox OS And Medic Mobile Use The Web To Connect The World To Healthcare

Staff Writer | The Mozilla Blog | April 9, 2014

At Mozilla, we are dedicated to putting the power of the Web in people’s hands in support of our mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web. We’re pleased to announce today that we’re partnering with Medic Mobile, a leader in mHealth solutions for developing countries, to take that mission to the world’s most remote and underserved communities.

Read More »

Gates Foundation Spends Bulk Of Agriculture Grants In Rich Countries

John Vidal | The Guardian | November 3, 2014

Most of the $3bn (£1.8bn) that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given to benefit hungry people in the world’s poorest countries has been spent in the US, Britain and other rich countries, with only around 10% spent in Africa, new research suggests...

Read More »

Google To Fund, Develop Wireless Networks In Emerging Markets

Amir Efrati | The Wall Street Journal | May 24, 2013

Google Inc. is deep into a multipronged effort to build and help run wireless networks in emerging markets as part of a plan to connect a billion or more new people to the Internet. Read More »

Health IT Market in Growth Mode

Erin McCann | Healthcare IT News | May 20, 2013

The healthcare IT applications market continues to grow, according to a new Research and Markets report, which projects that by 2017 the global market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 7.0 percent . Read More »

Health Nuts Are Guzzling Coconut Water Faster Than Aging Palm Trees Can Produce It

Lily Kuo | Quartz | November 5, 2013

The world’s supply of coconut water—along with the myriad foods, oils, cosmetics, fibers and fuels made from coconuts—could be under threat. The United Nation’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Nov. 1 that global demand for coconut products is outpacing the rate of production in Asia, where about 85% of the world’s coconuts are grown. Read More »

India’s ‘hackathon for women’ tries to solve issues with technology

Pankaj Maru | Tech In Asia | November 14, 2013

Most hackathons bring together software coders, techies or geeks to develop applications for specific tech platforms, software languages, or business areas. However this ‘hackathon for women’ organized by Grace Hopper India is quite unique. Read More »

Is The Pharmaceutical Industry Doing Enough To Increase Access To Essential Medicines?

Charles Moore | Bio News Texas | April 8, 2014

A report in The Lancet Global Health journal, citing the World Health Organization’s World Medicines Situation, notes that despite progress in many countries, about a third of the world’s population still has no regular access to essential medicines, and says responsibility to resolve this problem lies with many, including the pharmaceutical industry.

Read More »

Open Source Thrives in Asia

Kirsten Newcomer | Open Source Delivers | June 13, 2012

The [LinuxCon Japan] conference was truly an excellent experience. It’s great to see the tremendous energy around FOSS here in Japan. There’s no question that Asian companies are taking full advantage of the innovation and game-changing opportunities that FOSS creates. Read More »