There are many uses for biometric security measures, using scanners that recognize a person’s fingerprints, thumbprints, and iris, for example. Hand-held wands and full body scanners are quite commonplace in airports, and other locations where security is important for detecting and mitigating risk. Most of us accept the need for this technology, even though it may seem somewhat invasive. We live in a world where threats are more common, and most people are willing to give up an ounce of privacy to gain a pound of security. Biometric scanning technology has advanced a great deal in recent years, but can scanning technology do more than detect risk or provide secure access to a facility?  Amazon thinks it can.

In 2019 Amazon developed a patented scanning technology that takes biometrics in another direction, where your palm serves as your credit card. The original scan of your palm, saved on a secure Amazon cloud server, becomes your verification for purchases on your Amazon credit account. The scan apparently includes many details of your palm, such as lines, creases, veins, bones and other structural features beneath the skin. The Amazon palm scan is proprietary and patented, so deep dive technical details are not available.  Amazon is now testing the system in a Whole Foods store in Seattle, after successful use in several Amazon Go stores last year. This new payment system is named AMAZON ONE.

The union representing many Amazon workers claims that this technology is another way for Amazon to eliminate jobs, so job security is part of the discussion, but so is system security. Experts in cyber security point out some of the risks inherent with this system. First is the security of the cloud server, as a hack of the server could expose your palm scan, and lead to that scan being stolen and used nefariously. Other credit verification systems use “replaceable” items, so that if the item is ever compromised it can be replaced. For example, if your credit card is compromised, the card provider will cancel the compromised card and issue a new card with all new numbers, and most providers will guarantee no loss to you if the card is lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised. That’s a very solid system, but what can be done about a compromised palm print? Probably not much, seeing as we all want to keep our palms right where they are – no one is going to easily issue a new one for you.  We all know about book and movie plots where thumbs, fingers, and eyes are “removed” from their owner in order to gain access to a facility secured with biometric scanners. The plots might get a little more bizarre now that palm scans are in the mix.

There are two main drivers for the Amazon One system – convenience, and the perceived need for contact-less purchase verification during a pandemic. The palm reader works by hovering your hand over the reader without touching anything, which meets the need for “no contact”. On the convenience side, this technology allows the customer to make a purchase, on credit, without carrying a credit card, or a wallet or purse to carry it in. We expect the “technology for the sake of convenience” debate to  scale up a bit more, now with Amazon One to illustrate a point.

The aim of TREND DISRUPTORS is to discover, explore, and monitor scientific and technical developments, looking for the best and brightest ideas, so that we can publish useful, actionable, investment recommendations for our subscribers. These kinds of recommendations are speculative, and we advise caution, discretion, and thorough research. TREND DISRUPTORS strives to identify investment opportunities that can lead to success for the well informed investor.    Stay tuned !

It’s a new year and the world’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is having it’s ups and downs, with new variants emerging, and new vaccines being tested. The efforts of the global bio-tech industry, and other industries, to combat COVID 19 continue to be enormous. Years ago there were early warnings about the potential for a deadly global virus infection. The warnings were mostly ignored, but now that this pandemic has been with us for a more than a year, with second and third waves taxing health care systems, governments and populations are taking it very seriously, trying to do more than ever to “prevent, prepare, and mitigate”.

There may be a light at the end of this dark tunnel, and perhaps there is a special light that will contribute to keeping us all safer as we negotiate the dark tunnel, and beyond.  Researchers have known for some time that certain kinds of light can sanitize surfaces, liquids, and the air, but can these sanitizing light rays be used safely, and are they effective when it comes to the new coronavirus and its variants – all those that cause the COVID-19 disease? It has been known for many years that sanitizing light waves are present in the Ultra Violet (UV) light spectrum, but most UV rays are harmful to humans and have only been used in safely enclosed environments, with limited human exposure. In recent years, researchers have discovered that there are 3 different types of light in the UV spectrum:

• UVA – has the lowest amount of energy. We are exposed to UVA when in sunlight. Exposure to this light can cause skin ageing and damage.
• UVB – is in the middle of the UV energy range. A small portion is found in sunlight and this is the type of UV light that can cause sunburn and skin cancer.
• UVC – has the highest level of energy. In sunlight, most UVC is absorbed into the Earth’s ozone layer, so we have very low levels of natural exposure.

It is UVC that is most effective in killing germs (virus and bacteria) on surfaces, in the air, and in liquids.  UVC kills germs by damaging molecules like nucleic acids and proteins, rendering the germ incapable of replicating and surviving.  It’s great to kill off germs, but it is important when using UVC light to use it in a way that does not adversely affect humans. The human-safe form of UVC light is named “far-UVC”, using only wavelengths in the range of 207 to 222 nanometres (nm).

Recent developments include special UVC bulbs and lamps that can be used safely to disinfect. There is an LED version developed to produce human-safe UVC light, and there are other experimental UVC light bulbs that have a potential disinfection rate of 50 to 85% more than standard room ventilation. This light will kill off many germs, leading to a significant reduction in disease contraction and transmission. Disinfecting a room, air and surfaces, can be as easy as screwing in a UVC light bulb and giving it a little time to do its work. Researchers in Canada, UK, USA, and Europe are developing innovative UVC solutions for the world. These UVC light products can be installed to sanitize a room, a car, an airport, an operating theatre, an airplane etc.  More uses are being devised every week, some utilizing mobile robots to cover large areas, and some installed as stand alone lamps or ceiling lights. The aim is to provide a sanitized environment in virtually all spaces where humans congregate, visit, work, play, or reside.

The aim of TREND DISRUPTORS is to discover, explore, and monitor scientific and technical developments, looking for the best and brightest ideas, so that we can publish useful, actionable, investment recommendations for our subscribers.  We seek out companies using innovative technology to DISRUPT a market sector.  As a general rule, our stock recommendations are speculative, and we advise caution, discretion, and thorough research. TREND DISRUPTORS strives to identify investment opportunities that can lead to success for the well informed investor.    Stay tuned !

In the realm of medicine, healthcare, and bio-science, there is a lot of room for knowledge advancement, simply because this broad field has a very large gap between “what we know” and “what we do not know”. This gap is more frustrating for society than most other scientific knowledge gaps because the bio-science gap can have an immediate, intimate, life and death consequence. It is not uncommon for family members and friends to become distraught, bewildered, and angry, that medical science does not yet have an answer or remedy for a particular malady affecting someone close to them.  Scientific knowledge gaps can seem to be less consequential and immediately needed in other fields, like geology or astro-physics, but medical science is a crucial part of our everyday life, and the lack of complete knowledge can easily and often trigger an exaggerated emotional response. Humans are curious, so scientific research keeps moving forward, and on good days there are discoveries and breakthroughs that improve the human condition, helping us to reflect positively on the not-so-good days when we just do not have the answer – yet.

Blindness has never had a “cure”, however recent research using mice with retinal nerve damage has shown that with cell reprogramming, old cells or faulty cells can become “young” again and thus provide these mice with normal vision.  The process involves resetting some of the thousands of markers that accumulate on DNA causing age related decline. The reprogrammed cells behave as if they are young cells, and go about repairing or replacing damaged tissue, restoring abilities that may have declined or disappeared over time – like eyesight. The research so far has only been carried out with mice, so it is not YET known if this approach will translate to humans or to other tissues and organs – but what if it does?

This looks like another major step forward in the quest to know more and accomplish more. The years old quest for a “fountain of youth” has been the stuff of mythology so far, but it is not that long ago that landing on the moon or breaking the sound barrier were considered impossible. As we age, our bodies go about adding, removing, and altering chemical groups such as methyls on DNA, now known as “epigenetic” changes. David Sinclair, a geneticist at Harvard Medical School has co-authored a “NATURE” study titled “Can you reverse the clock?” and asks the question “if epigenetic changes are a driver of ageing, can we reset the epigenome?” If the answer turns out to be YES, perhaps the fountain of youth is waiting for us just around the corner.

The objective of TREND DISRUPTORS is to discover, explore, and monitor scientific and technical developments, looking for the best and brightest ideas, so that we can publish useful, actionable, investment recommendations for our subscribers.  We look for opportunities and seek out companies that utilize technology to be useful and profitable.  As a general rule, our stock recommendations are speculative, and we advise caution, discretion, and thorough research.

TREND DISRUPTORS strives to identify investment opportunities that can lead to success for the well informed investor.

Stay tuned!

Many projects and ideas have been thrown off schedule with the Covid-19 pandemic, but progress is being made on implementing the latest cellular phone network – the fifth generation, euphemistically known as 5G.  As well as the global pandemic, there are other concerns of a geo-political nature to be addressed, such as which countries will allow and trust Huawei equipment on the front end, or anywhere else in their 5G infrastructure.  Everyone wants to have their data SECURE and kept out of foreign government hands, but allegations are easy and proof is hard, so the arguments continue. In the meantime, investors are trying to discern where the best opportunities are to purchase shares and get a good return in this market sector.  Here we break down the 5G market sub-segments in a way that is understandable and actionable.

Front End: You will need a 5G Smartphone to get the full benefits of 5G, to get all that speed, low latency, enhanced security, and connection stability.  There are many choices for buying a phone and we expect the market leaders to continue their dominance, so look for APPLE and SAMSUNG to stay near the top of the list, but there are others that have the potential to move up the list by offering equal or better products at a better price point. We also look for innovation from smaller players, and it only takes one new and popular feature to propel a product into the big leagues.  Companies like Nokia, Huawei, LG, Motorola, and others have that potential.  Supporting the manufacture of Smartphones are several component suppliers like chip fabricators Qualcomm, HiSilicon, and MediaTek.

Network and Other Infrastructure: This is a large sub-segment and includes the big players we all know and love – AT&T, Verizon, Bell, Century Link, Comcast, and Telus, as well as many smaller players like T-Mobile, Wind Mobile, regional nets, and many start-ups that appear and disappear quickly. There are also several large European players in this market, such as Vodaphone and Telekom who will have a large share of the global 5G market. We expect the leaders here to continue being the leaders, as long as they remain aggressive in their development and roll-out of the technology. Back end network technology companies have great profit potential, so we look at companies like Ceragon Networks and Huawei to fare well in this segment, even though Huawei faces strong headwinds on the geopolitical front. Construction of 5G networks includes the need for upgraded and/or new cell phone towers, so a company like American Tower has great potential.

The aim of TREND DISRUPTORS is to discover, explore, and monitor scientific and technical developments, looking for bright ideas that have the potential to “disrupt” a market sector. We publish relevant investment recommendations for our subscribers and publish blog articles discussing a variety of technology developments.  As investors, we look for “disruptive” opportunities and seek out companies that utilize technology to be useful and profitable.  As a rule, our stock recommendations are speculative and we advise caution and discretion and thorough research.

TREND DISRUPTORS strives to identify investment opportunities that can lead to success for the well informed investor.

Note: Trend Disruptor Premium (TDP) has recommended a number 5G related companies to Premium subscribers and is about to recommend a few more.  TDP makes recommendations for disruptive companies in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, Blockchain, and many other new technologies that we believe will have a profound impact on how the world conducts business going forward, similar to how the smartphone and internet re-shaped our lives.

These disruptive technologies are progressing at warp speed, so don’t miss your chance to get positioned early. Join our group of Premium subscribers and receive our  next recommendation. And if you sign up before midnight Friday, November 20, you’ll only pay $399.95 for your TD Premium subscription. But hurry, because after Friday, the price will revert back  to $599.95.

Stay tuned ….

The average human life span is clearly on the increase, with the United Nations predicting there will be 3.7 million people over 100 (centenarians) by the year 2050.  Many developed countries are reporting more supercentenarians every year, they being people over the age of 110.  Since 1900 the average human life expectancy has risen from 31 years to 72 years, more than a twofold increase.  The oldest of all is in Japan – Kane Tanaka at 117 years old.  Japan is a standout country for supercentenarians, having well over 100 of them.  Given the increasing average life expectancy over the last century, and the development of life saving and life prolonging technology, is there truly a finite upper limit on how long a human can live?  There are some who claim that there are people alive today who could reach the age of 1,000.  That may seem far fetched at this point, but there is technology being developed to take us further down this road.

“Cellular Senescence” is a scientific theory that is growing in popularity and can be briefly described as a biological phenomenon where an organism’s cells stop dividing. “Senescence” is defined as the state of being or becoming old.  Back in the 1960’s, scientist Leonard Hayflick postulated that human cells can divide 40 to 60 times before becoming senescent, and this is now referred to as the “Hayflick Limit”.  When a cell no longer divides or replicates many biologists call it a “zombie” cell.

Much like the mythical zombie, these cells are not technically dead, but they no longer behave like young healthy cells – they are alive but they are physiologically useless.  This may go a long way to explaining why certain afflictions become prevalent in older humans.  The zombie cells are accumulating while healthy cells are becoming fewer and fewer. There are many age related diseases, such as dementia, osteoporosis, cataracts, cancer, hypertension, and arthritis.  These and more may have a significant zombie cell causal relationship.

Also, zombie cells can generate harmful chemical signals that infect nearby healthy cells, thereby increasing the total number of senescent cells.  It is easy to theorize that increased zombie cells can lead to problems, like reduced tissue repair, chronic inflammation, formation of cancer cells, cognitive degeneration, bone weakening, and other age related maladies.  When we are relatively young our bodies can naturally remove senescent (zombie) cells, but as we age this natural shedding process slows down and zombie cells begin to accumulate.  The situation can get especially dire when our Immune system cells become senescent and are unable to control the rapid spread of zombie cells.

Bio-technologists are striving to develop a solution to the zombie cell invasion of aging organisms, positing that aging can be treated much like any other disease.  There is an emerging class of medicines named “senolytics” – molecules that selectively induce the true death of zombie cells, allowing them to then be flushed naturally from the organism. The idea is to kill zombies, then evict them from the body, which could make for a very interesting and uplifting ZOMBIE movie – or would ZOMBIES always be scary?

Here is a snip from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine:

“Senolytic drugs are agents that selectively induce apoptosis of senescent cells. These cells accumulate in many tissues with aging and at sites of pathology in multiple chronic diseases. In studies in animals, targeting senescent cells using genetic or pharmacological approaches delays, prevents, or alleviates multiple age-related phenotypes, chronic diseases, geriatric syndromes, and loss of physiological resilience. Among the chronic conditions successfully treated by depleting senescent cells in pre-clinical studies are frailty, car­diac dysfunction, vascular hyporeactivity and calcification, diabetes, liver steatosis, osteoporosis, vertebral disk degeneration, pulmonary fibrosis, and radiation-induced damage. Senolytic agents are at the point of being tested in proof-of-concept clinical trials. To do so, new clinical trials para­digms for testing senolytics and other agents that target fundamental aging mechanisms are being developed, since use of long-term endpoints such as life- or healthspan is not feasible. These strategies include testing effects on multi-morbidity, accelerated aging-like conditions, diseases with localized accumulation of senescent cells, potentially fatal diseases associated with senescent cell accumulation, age-related loss of physiological resilience, and frailty. If senolytics or other interventions that target fundamental aging processes prove to be effective and safe in clinical trials, they could trans­form geriatric medicine by enabling prevention or treatment of multiple diseases and functional deficits in parallel, instead of one-at-a-time.”

 This area of research is still young and may prove to not be a viable treatment for humans, even when animal trials show promising results. Time will tell whether bio-scientists are making a winning investment here.

The aim of TREND DISRUPTORS is to discover, explore, and monitor scientific and technical developments, looking for the brightest ideas – – those that have the potential to “disrupt” a market sector. We publish relevant investment recommendations for our subscribers and publish blog articles discussing a variety of technology developments. The markets today are mired in uncertainty, but as investors looking for “disruptive” opportunities we will seek out companies that are using technology to be useful and profitable. Generally, disruptive technology stock recommendations are speculative and we advise caution and restraint.

TREND DISRUPTORS monitors technology and scientific developments, and identifies investment opportunities that can lead to success for the well informed investor.

Stay tuned!