All posts tagged: repurposed

I repurposed 4 old Apple devices, and now they all do something useful in my home

I repurposed 4 old Apple devices, and now they all do something useful in my home

Published by skeptic

Apple hardware tends to stick around. The build quality is good enough that these devices don’t break — they just get slower, lose software support, and eventually end up in a desk drawer because something newer replaced them. I had four of them in exactly that situation: a first-gen iPad Pro, a 9th-generation iPad, a 7th-gen iPod Touch, and a 2017 MacBook Air. All functional. All ignored. Rather than sell them for whatever eBay or Facebook Marketplace would offer — which isn’t much once the scratches and years of use are factored in — I found specific jobs for each one. Every device is still in active daily or weekly use, doing something genuinely useful. Here’s what each one does now. iPad Pro (1st gen) — portable second display and smart home hub Two jobs, one screen This 12.9-inch iPad does two completely different jobs depending on where I am. When I’m traveling with my MacBook Pro, it comes along as a secondary display via Sidecar. Wired beats wireless here — the connection stays solid, …

Repurposed drugs could improve treatment for rare infant leukaemia

Repurposed drugs could improve treatment for rare infant leukaemia

Published by skeptic

A research team identified three genes connected to a rare form of childhood leukaemia and found that clinically available drugs had a positive influence on these genes in tests on mice, increasing rates of survival. KMT2A::AFF1 positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL) is a rare but severe form of infant leukaemia, caused by changes in the KMT2A::AFF1 gene. Characterised by rapid disease progression, a high risk of relapse and limited treatment options, BCP-ALL requires equally aggressive chemotherapy, although this can in turn cause serious side effects. BCP-ALL is also the most common genetic driver of leukaemia in infants, occurring in the majority of cases diagnosed in children aged one and under. Acetazolamide and tacrolimus could be alternatives to intense chemotherapy drugs However, research from the University of Edinburgh has shown promise for developing more effective treatments. In studies on mice, three microRNA molecules (miR-194, miR-99b and miR-125a-5p) that are found at unusually low levels in BCP-ALL sufferers, were restored and consequently displayed slowed growth and survival of cancer cells. Three genes linked to this …

The US is using repurposed Iranian drone technology to attack Iran – a military expert explains why

The US is using repurposed Iranian drone technology to attack Iran – a military expert explains why

Published by skeptic

Amid the biggest concentration of American military power in the Middle East in decades, the significance – and irony – of one aspect of the US war on Iran has gone largely unnoticed. In the opening salvoes of the attack, the US quietly introduced its Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (Lucas), a one-way attack drone modelled on the cheap technology that Iran itself has been developing since the 1980s. Those Shahed drones were said to have been inspired by technology developed by Israel, which has co-led the assault with the US. Necessitated by sanctions, Shahed drones have become (along with ballistic missiles) Iran’s primary domestically produced air weapon – a relatively cheap system designed not so much as to outmatch western defences as exhaust them. The original model (Shahed-131) made its operational debut in September 2019, during an attack on a Saudi oil refinery. But what began as a military workaround has become a global weapon – used first by Iran’s regional proxies such as the Houthis in Yemen, then by Russia in its war …