Daily Archives: September 27, 2023

Philips Hue / Signify Ecosystem: ‘Collapsing Into Stupidity’

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The Philips Hue ecosystem of home automation devices is “collapsing into stupidity,” writes Rachel Kroll, veteran sysadmin and former production engineer at Facebook. “Unfortunately, the idiot C-suite phenomenon has happened here too, and they have been slowly walking down the road to full-on enshittification.” From her blog post: I figured something was up a few years ago when their iOS app would block entry until you pushed an upgrade to the hub box. That kind of behavior would never fly with any product team that gives a damn about their users — want to control something, so you start up the app? Forget it, we are making you placate us first! How is that user-focused, you ask? It isn’t.

Their latest round of stupidity pops up a new EULA and forces you to take it or, again, you can’t access your stuff. But that’s just more unenforceable garbage, so who cares, right? Well, it’s getting worse.

It seems they are planning on dropping an update which will force you to log in. Yep, no longer will your stuff Just Work across the local network. Now it will have yet another garbage “cloud” “integration” involved, and they certainly will find a way to make things suck even worse for you. If you have just the lights and smart outlets, Kroll recommends deleting the units from the Hue Hub and adding them to an IKEA Dirigera hub. “It’ll run them just fine, and will also export them to HomeKit so that much will keep working as well.” That said, it’s not a perfect solution. You will lose motion sensor data, the light level, the temperature of that room, and the ability to set custom behaviors with those buttons.

“Also, there’s no guarantee that IKEA won’t hop on the train to sketchville and start screwing over their users as well,” adds Kroll.

Source: Is the Philips Hue Ecosystem ‘Collapsing Into Stupidity’? – Slashdot

World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

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The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner.

A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects.

Toregem Biopharma is slated to begin clinical trials in July of next year after it succeeded growing new teeth in mice five years ago, the Japan Times reports.

Dr. Katsu Takahashi, a lead researcher on the project and head of the dentistry and oral surgery department at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital, says “the idea of growing new teeth is every dentist’s dream.”

“I’ve been working on this since I was a graduate student,” he told Japan’s national daily news site, the Mainichi, earlier this year. “I was confident I’d be able to make it happen.”

 

In his research, which he’s been conducting at Kyoto University since 2005, Takahashi learned of a particular gene in mice that affects the growth of their teeth.

The antibody for this gene, USAG-1, can help stimulate tooth growth if it is suppressed – and scientists have since worked to develop a “neutralizing antibody medicine” that is able to block USAG-1.

Now, his team has been testing the theory that “blocking” this protein could grow more teeth.

After their successful tests on mice, the team went on to perform similarly positive trials on ferrets – animals who have a similar dental pattern to humans.

The front teeth of a ferret treated with tooth regrowth medicine. The medicine induced the growth of an additional seventh tooth (centre).

The front teeth of a ferret treated with tooth regrowth medicine. The medicine induced the growth of an additional seventh tooth (centre). Courtesy / Dr. Katsu Takahash

Now, testing will turn to healthy adult humans and, if all goes well, the team plans to hold a clinical trial for the drug from 2025 for children between two and six years old with anodontia – a rare genetic disorder that results in the absence of six or more baby and/or adult teeth.

According to the Japan Times, the children involved in the clinical trial will be injected with one dose of the drug to see if it induces teeth growth.

If successful, the medicine could be available for regulatory approval by 2030.

Takahashi hopes the new medicine could be just another option for those who don’t have a full set of teeth.

“In any case, we’re hoping to see a time when tooth-regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants,” Takahashi told Mainichi.

Source: (1) World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials – National | Globalnews.ca