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Pay for your train ride with your fitness tracker

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 20 Jan 2017

In this edition of the Worldwide Wrap, fitness trackers in Singapore are the latest contactless payment option for bus and train rides and scientists have built a DNA-analysing smartphone.

Pay for your train ride with your fitness tracker

Fitness trackers in Singapore have been added as the latest contactless payment option for bus and train rides, after credit cards and mobile phones.

Transport ticketing company EZ-Link announced this week that two wearable models will incorporate this function, obviating the need for commuters to carry around their EZ-Link transport cards.
Via: Todayonline

DNA-testing smartphone tackles drugs resistance

Scientists have built a DNA-analysing smartphone attachment that is a fraction of the cost of lab-based kit.

The creators of the phone-powered pathology microscope believe it could be mass produced for less than $500 a unit. They say it could help doctors treat cancer, tuberculosis and other diseases more effectively than is sometimes possible in the developing world.
Via: BBC

Smartphone battery with a built-in fire extinguisher

Stanford University researchers have created a way to preventfaulty batteries from catching fire. The solution involves a failsafe - in the form of a miniature fire extinguisher - built directly into Lithium-ion batteries.

Although the team designed the test for large-scale batteries found in electric cars, the same technology could be applied to smaller devices like smartphones in the future.
Via: CNN

Sweden's fact checker turns out to create false news

A Facebook group called Mediakollen, which promised to debunk false information on the Web by challenging inaccurate articles and statements using the visual cues and language of fact checking is apparently also faking its own facts.

Mediekollen has been labelled a tool of disinformation after a glance at the posts on the Mediekollen page tell most discerning readers that something isn't quite right.
Via: The guardian

Drone photography company to pay $200 000 fine

Chicago-based Skypan International, a drone company specialising in aerial photography has agreed to pay a $200 000 record fine to avoid the risk of an even larger penalty.

The company had been accused of conducting 65 illegal flights in "congested airspace" over its home city and New York.
Via: BBC

Twitter lessons Trump should learn from Obama

In a few days, we will not only see the official transfer of power as President-Elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, but also a transfer of Twitter accounts as @realDonaldTrump will become @POTUS.

Trump, has been called the "Cyberbully in chief," a title based on his habit of using Twitter to attack others, defend himself, and disrespect anyone who disagrees with a word he says, whether it's a Hollywood actress or political pundit.
Via: Refinery29

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