Month: May 2024
FDA’s review of MDMA for PTSD highlights study bias and safety concerns
FDA advisors will meet June 4 to discuss and vote on the therapy’s effectiveness.
Enlarge / MDMA is now in the FDA’s hands. (credit: Getty | PYMCA/Avalon)
The safety and efficacy data on the use of MDMA (aka ecstasy) for post-traumatic stress disorder therapy is “challenging to interpret,” the Food and Drug Administration said in a briefing document posted Friday. The agency noted significant flaws in the design of the underlying clinical trials as well as safety concerns for the drug, particularly cardiovascular harms.
On Tuesday, June 4, the FDA will convene an advisory committee that will review the evidence and vote on MDMA’s efficacy and whether its benefits outweigh its risks. The FDA does not have to follow the committee’s recommendations, but it often does. If the FDA subsequently approves MDMA as part of treatment for PTSD, it would mark a significant shift in the federal government’s stance on MDMA, as well as psychedelics, generally. Currently, the US Drug Enforcement Administration considers MDMA a Schedule I drug, defined as one with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” It would also offer a new treatment option for patients with PTSD, a disabling psychiatric condition with few treatment options currently.
As Ars has reported previously, the submission of MDMA for approval is based on two clinical trials. The first trial, published in Nature Medicine in 2021, involved 90 participants with moderate PTSD and found that MDMA-assisted psychotherapy significantly improved Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) scores compared with participants who were given psychotherapy along with a placebo. In the second study, published in September in Nature Medicine, the finding held up among 104 participants with moderate or severe PTSD (73 percent had severe PTSD).
Alexa will soon lose a popular shopping list feature
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Starting in July, you won’t be able to add items to lists on third-party apps like Todoist and AnyList with Alexa voice control through their existing Skills. A post on Amazon’s developer site says it’s shutting down access to Alexa Shopping and To-Do lists on July 1st.
List Skills and Alexa Shopping and To-Do Lists
Starting July 1, 2024, you will no longer be able to use List skills or the List Management REST API to access Alexa lists, i.e., the Alexa Shopping and To-Do lists, in your skills or apps. For other ways to build custom voice experiences, see Steps to Build a Custom Skill. Please contact us if you have any questions.
What this means is that unless developers choose to develop a new custom skill, their Alexa integrations will stop working, and you’ll have to rely on the Alexa app’s built-in list feature to use voice to add milk to your grocery list or put “take out the trash” on your to-do list.
Today, if you enable their Alexa Skills, third-party apps can sync with lists in the Alexa app and show that data in their app. I personally use this feature to add items to my shopping list in AnyList. But, as of July 1st, they’ll lose this ability and you’ll either need to use the Alexa app’s lists or hope the developer of your favorite list app builds a custom voice skill to manage lists in its apps.
Amazon told The Verge that developers can still integrate Alexa voice control of lists into their apps, they just can’t have access to Alexa lists anymore. “We are making some changes to the way that developers build lists,” said Sarah Zonouzi of Amazon PR. “Developers can integrate our custom voice interaction model into their skill to enable voice control and management of lists.”
She said this offers similar features to the existing options, with the main difference being the customer will be directly managing third-party lists with voice, not Alexa lists.
However, Todoist tells The Verge it is not planning to develop a new custom skill. “We’ve made the difficult decision to sunset our Alexa integration by July 1, 2024,” said Omar Samuels.
He said they don’t currently have plans to work on a replacement due to the short notice of the shutdown and the resources required. However, he did say “We will be reviewing what possibilities exist to fill any resulting gaps in the future.” I also reached out to AnyList and will update this post if I hear back,
Interestingly — a pop up in the shopping list section of the Alexa app says the company is also discontinuing its Alexa Shopping List Deals feature on July 10th, 2024. This is a program that connects you with deals on Amazon, Whole Foods, and other sources for items on your shopping list.
A shopping list feature is a clear monetization opportunity, so it’s likely Amazon is regrouping here. My guess is we may see a whole new shopping list experience coming to Alexa.
There are going to be a lot of annoyed Alexa users.
In the meantime, there are going to be a lot of annoyed Alexa users. Adding items to lists is one of the most popular uses for voice assistants, along with playing music, setting timers, and asking what time it is.
I find a dedicated list app like AnyList and Todoist much easier to use while pushing a grocery cart than the Alexa app’s list. While it has improved over time — you can now pin the shopping list to the Favorites section in the app, and there’s a homescreen widget — it’s just not as user-friendly as a dedicated list app.
Then there’s the fact that most third-party list apps have multiple ways of adding items to lists — including desktop apps and support for other voice assistants. That’s helpful if you’re in a multi-ecosystem household.
However, Google has also shut down its Google Home voice command integrations with list apps, breaking connections for AnyList and Any.Do users. Both these apps now only work with Apple’s Siri on an iPhone. Todoist, which also works with Siri, does support Google Assistant, but only on Android phones. As a result, it’s getting harder and harder to find a list app that works with more than one voice assistant, and across more than one family of devices.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Starting in July, you won’t be able to add items to lists on third-party apps like Todoist and AnyList with Alexa voice control through their existing Skills. A post on Amazon’s developer site says it’s shutting down access to Alexa Shopping and To-Do lists on July 1st.
List Skills and Alexa Shopping and To-Do Lists
Starting July 1, 2024, you will no longer be able to use List skills or the List Management REST API to access Alexa lists, i.e., the Alexa Shopping and To-Do lists, in your skills or apps. For other ways to build custom voice experiences, see Steps to Build a Custom Skill. Please contact us if you have any questions.
What this means is that unless developers choose to develop a new custom skill, their Alexa integrations will stop working, and you’ll have to rely on the Alexa app’s built-in list feature to use voice to add milk to your grocery list or put “take out the trash” on your to-do list.
Today, if you enable their Alexa Skills, third-party apps can sync with lists in the Alexa app and show that data in their app. I personally use this feature to add items to my shopping list in AnyList. But, as of July 1st, they’ll lose this ability and you’ll either need to use the Alexa app’s lists or hope the developer of your favorite list app builds a custom voice skill to manage lists in its apps.
Amazon told The Verge that developers can still integrate Alexa voice control of lists into their apps, they just can’t have access to Alexa lists anymore. “We are making some changes to the way that developers build lists,” said Sarah Zonouzi of Amazon PR. “Developers can integrate our custom voice interaction model into their skill to enable voice control and management of lists.”
She said this offers similar features to the existing options, with the main difference being the customer will be directly managing third-party lists with voice, not Alexa lists.
However, Todoist tells The Verge it is not planning to develop a new custom skill. “We’ve made the difficult decision to sunset our Alexa integration by July 1, 2024,” said Omar Samuels.
He said they don’t currently have plans to work on a replacement due to the short notice of the shutdown and the resources required. However, he did say “We will be reviewing what possibilities exist to fill any resulting gaps in the future.” I also reached out to AnyList and will update this post if I hear back,
Interestingly — a pop up in the shopping list section of the Alexa app says the company is also discontinuing its Alexa Shopping List Deals feature on July 10th, 2024. This is a program that connects you with deals on Amazon, Whole Foods, and other sources for items on your shopping list.
A shopping list feature is a clear monetization opportunity, so it’s likely Amazon is regrouping here. My guess is we may see a whole new shopping list experience coming to Alexa.
In the meantime, there are going to be a lot of annoyed Alexa users. Adding items to lists is one of the most popular uses for voice assistants, along with playing music, setting timers, and asking what time it is.
I find a dedicated list app like AnyList and Todoist much easier to use while pushing a grocery cart than the Alexa app’s list. While it has improved over time — you can now pin the shopping list to the Favorites section in the app, and there’s a homescreen widget — it’s just not as user-friendly as a dedicated list app.
Then there’s the fact that most third-party list apps have multiple ways of adding items to lists — including desktop apps and support for other voice assistants. That’s helpful if you’re in a multi-ecosystem household.
However, Google has also shut down its Google Home voice command integrations with list apps, breaking connections for AnyList and Any.Do users. Both these apps now only work with Apple’s Siri on an iPhone. Todoist, which also works with Siri, does support Google Assistant, but only on Android phones. As a result, it’s getting harder and harder to find a list app that works with more than one voice assistant, and across more than one family of devices.
Wordle In Legal Row With Geography Spinoff, Wordle
The New York Times, owner of the once-viral, word game Wordle, is suing a geography-based spinoff called Worldle, accusing its similar name of “creating confusion” and attempting to capitalize on “the enormous goodwill” associated with its own brand. Worldle’s creator, Kory McDonald, vows to fight back. The BBC reports: “There’s a whole industry of [dot]LE games,” he told the BBC. “Wordle is about words, Worldle is about the world, Flaggle is about flags,” he pointed out. The New York Times disagrees. Worldle is “nearly identical in appearance, sound, meaning, and imparts the same commercial impression to… Wordle,” it says in its legal document. The paper told the BBC it had no further comment to make beyond the contents of its legal submission.
British inventor Josh Wardle developed Wordle in 2021 as a side project to keep his girlfriend entertained. But since then it has become a behemoth, reaching millions of people worldwide. By contrast, around 100,000 people play Worldle every month, according to Mr McDonald, who is based in Seattle. It is not available as an app and can only be played via a web browser. It contains ads, with an option to play ad-free for 10 pounds per year but Mr McDonald says that most of the money he makes from the game goes to Google because he uses Google Street View images, which players have to try to identify. Other popular [dot]LE games include:
– Quordle, a set of four words to guess at the same time
– Nerdle, a maths-based challenge
– Heardle, which is based on identifying music
“There’s even another game called Worldle, which involves identifying countries by their outlines,” notes the BBC. “The New York Times declined to say whether it intended to pursue them as well.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The New York Times, owner of the once-viral, word game Wordle, is suing a geography-based spinoff called Worldle, accusing its similar name of “creating confusion” and attempting to capitalize on “the enormous goodwill” associated with its own brand. Worldle’s creator, Kory McDonald, vows to fight back. The BBC reports: “There’s a whole industry of [dot]LE games,” he told the BBC. “Wordle is about words, Worldle is about the world, Flaggle is about flags,” he pointed out. The New York Times disagrees. Worldle is “nearly identical in appearance, sound, meaning, and imparts the same commercial impression to… Wordle,” it says in its legal document. The paper told the BBC it had no further comment to make beyond the contents of its legal submission.
British inventor Josh Wardle developed Wordle in 2021 as a side project to keep his girlfriend entertained. But since then it has become a behemoth, reaching millions of people worldwide. By contrast, around 100,000 people play Worldle every month, according to Mr McDonald, who is based in Seattle. It is not available as an app and can only be played via a web browser. It contains ads, with an option to play ad-free for 10 pounds per year but Mr McDonald says that most of the money he makes from the game goes to Google because he uses Google Street View images, which players have to try to identify. Other popular [dot]LE games include:
– Quordle, a set of four words to guess at the same time
– Nerdle, a maths-based challenge
– Heardle, which is based on identifying music
“There’s even another game called Worldle, which involves identifying countries by their outlines,” notes the BBC. “The New York Times declined to say whether it intended to pursue them as well.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
General Catalyst-backed Jasper Health lays off staff
Jasper Health, a cancer care platform startup, laid off a substantial part of its workforce, TechCrunch has learned.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Jasper Health, a cancer care platform startup, laid off a substantial part of its workforce, TechCrunch has learned.
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Netflix’s Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight is postponed
Mike Tyson, Nakisa Bidarian, and Jake Paul pose onstage during a press conference on May 16th, 2024 | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for Netflix
Netflix is increasingly getting into live events, with comedy specials, NFL games, and even the WWE, but live action means unpredictability, and today, the streamer announced that a planned July 20th boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson is being rescheduled. While Tyson recovers from an ulcer flare-up that required medical attention during a recent flight, he has been advised to do “minimal to light training” over the next few weeks.
Due to the interrupted training schedule for the officially sanctioned fight — Tyson’s first since 2005 —they’re now planning on a date later this year, which Netflix said will be announced by the end of next week.
“My body is in better overall shape than it has been since the 1990s and I will be back to my full training schedule soon. Jake Paul, this may have bought you some time, but in the end you will still be knocked out and out of boxing for good. I appreciate everyone’s patience and can’t wait to deliver an unforgettable performance later this year,” said Mike Tyson in a statement.
His rival, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, said, “My fans know I don’t want to face Iron Mike at anything but his best, but let there be no mistake — when he steps into the ring with me, I will be ready to claim my W with a sensational finish. Paul vs. Tyson will be one for the ages, and I promise to bring my best for this once-in-a-lifetime matchup.”
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Mike Tyson, Nakisa Bidarian, and Jake Paul pose onstage during a press conference on May 16th, 2024 | Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images for Netflix
Netflix is increasingly getting into live events, with comedy specials, NFL games, and even the WWE, but live action means unpredictability, and today, the streamer announced that a planned July 20th boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson is being rescheduled. While Tyson recovers from an ulcer flare-up that required medical attention during a recent flight, he has been advised to do “minimal to light training” over the next few weeks.
Due to the interrupted training schedule for the officially sanctioned fight — Tyson’s first since 2005 —they’re now planning on a date later this year, which Netflix said will be announced by the end of next week.
“My body is in better overall shape than it has been since the 1990s and I will be back to my full training schedule soon. Jake Paul, this may have bought you some time, but in the end you will still be knocked out and out of boxing for good. I appreciate everyone’s patience and can’t wait to deliver an unforgettable performance later this year,” said Mike Tyson in a statement.
His rival, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, said, “My fans know I don’t want to face Iron Mike at anything but his best, but let there be no mistake — when he steps into the ring with me, I will be ready to claim my W with a sensational finish. Paul vs. Tyson will be one for the ages, and I promise to bring my best for this once-in-a-lifetime matchup.”
What to Expect From Apple’s 2024 iPad Mini 7
While Apple refreshed the iPad Pro and the iPad Air in May, the iPad mini is still in need of an update. Apple last introduced a new iPad mini in September 2021, so it’s overdue for an overhaul.
Rumors suggest that Apple has plans to refresh its smallest tablet in 2024, and this guide highlights all of the rumors we’ve heard about the device so far.
Display and Design
We haven’t heard rumors of design changes for the iPad mini, which means it will likely feature the same 8.3-inch size and all-display design. The current iPad mini has a Touch ID Power Button, which we’re also expecting for the new model.
According to a 2023 rumor, Apple will make a small tweak to the iPad mini’s display in an effort to cut down on “jelly scrolling.” The screen assembly will be rotated, which is supposed to reduce the effect when using the iPad mini in portrait orientation.
Jelly scrolling refers to noticeable lag when scrolling vertically through text-based context like a webpage. Each line appears to tilt downward toward the left of the screen as it passes, which makes it look like one side of the display is responding faster. Apple says that this is normal behavior for LCD iPads, but the company still wants to make a change to minimize the effect.
A-Series Chip
The iPad Pro and the iPad Air have M-series chips, but we’re not expecting the iPad mini to get a Mac chip this year. Instead, Apple is likely to go with the A17 Pro that was used in the iPhone 15 Pro models, or some other A17 variant.
It’s also possible that the iPad mini will get an A18 chip if it comes after the iPhone 16 lineup, as rumors suggest the iPhone 16 models will have chips in the A18 family.
With an A17 Pro or better, the iPad mini would be on par with or faster than the iPhone 15 Pro models, but it won’t have the speeds of the iPad Air or iPad Pro.
Apple is overhauling iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 with a focus on AI, so high powered chips are a must for upcoming devices.
New Colors
The iPad mini is available in space gray, starlight, pink, and purple right now. Apple often refreshes color options with updates, so new colors are a definite possibility. With the iPad Air, which the iPad mini often mimics, Apple got rid of pink.
If Apple makes the iPad mini available in the same colors as the iPad Air, it could come in space gray, purple, blue, and starlight.
Front Camera
Apple moved the front-facing camera on the iPad Air to the landscape edge of the device, and it could make the same change for the iPad mini. It may make less sense to have a landscape camera on an iPad mini, though, because it’s less often used with keyboards.
The camera could get support for HDR 4 and it could have a wider aperture, if it adopts the camera used in the iPad Air.
Connectivity
Apple has been adding Wi-Fi 6E to each product as it’s updated, and it should be the iPad mini’s turn this year. Wi-Fi 6E will allow the iPad mini to connect to the 6GHz Wi-Fi network on supported routers.
Bluetooth 5.3 is also expected, as that’s another update Apple has been making to new devices, and the iPad mini could lose its nano-SIM slot, with Apple opting only for eSIM.
Apple Pencil Pro
The current iPad mini works with the Apple Pencil 2, so the new model will likely support the Apple Pencil Pro. The Apple Pencil Pro has a squeeze gesture, haptic feedback, a gyroscope for barrel roll support, and Find My integration.
Apple Pencil hover might also be a new feature, as the current iPad mini does not support it.
Release Date
Apple will likely release a new iPad mini toward the end of the year, likely in September or October. In some years, Apple holds a special October event for Macs and iPads, and we could get that in 2024.
MacBook Pro models, the Mac mini, and the low-cost iPad could all be refreshed alongside the iPad mini in the fall.
Future iPad mini Models
There are rumors that Apple is working on a foldable iPad mini and OLED display technology for the iPad mini, but neither of these updates are expected in 2024.
OLED, a foldable iPad mini, or a foldable OLED iPad mini are technologies not expected until 2026, 2027, or even later.This article, “What to Expect From Apple’s 2024 iPad Mini 7” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
While Apple refreshed the iPad Pro and the iPad Air in May, the iPad mini is still in need of an update. Apple last introduced a new iPad mini in September 2021, so it’s overdue for an overhaul.
Rumors suggest that Apple has plans to refresh its smallest tablet in 2024, and this guide highlights all of the rumors we’ve heard about the device so far.
Display and Design
We haven’t heard rumors of design changes for the iPad mini, which means it will likely feature the same 8.3-inch size and all-display design. The current iPad mini has a Touch ID Power Button, which we’re also expecting for the new model.
According to a 2023 rumor, Apple will make a small tweak to the iPad mini’s display in an effort to cut down on “jelly scrolling.” The screen assembly will be rotated, which is supposed to reduce the effect when using the iPad mini in portrait orientation.
Jelly scrolling refers to noticeable lag when scrolling vertically through text-based context like a webpage. Each line appears to tilt downward toward the left of the screen as it passes, which makes it look like one side of the display is responding faster. Apple says that this is normal behavior for LCD iPads, but the company still wants to make a change to minimize the effect.
A-Series Chip
The iPad Pro and the iPad Air have M-series chips, but we’re not expecting the iPad mini to get a Mac chip this year. Instead, Apple is likely to go with the A17 Pro that was used in the iPhone 15 Pro models, or some other A17 variant.
It’s also possible that the iPad mini will get an A18 chip if it comes after the iPhone 16 lineup, as rumors suggest the iPhone 16 models will have chips in the A18 family.
With an A17 Pro or better, the iPad mini would be on par with or faster than the iPhone 15 Pro models, but it won’t have the speeds of the iPad Air or iPad Pro.
Apple is overhauling iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 with a focus on AI, so high powered chips are a must for upcoming devices.
New Colors
The iPad mini is available in space gray, starlight, pink, and purple right now. Apple often refreshes color options with updates, so new colors are a definite possibility. With the iPad Air, which the iPad mini often mimics, Apple got rid of pink.
If Apple makes the iPad mini available in the same colors as the iPad Air, it could come in space gray, purple, blue, and starlight.
Front Camera
Apple moved the front-facing camera on the iPad Air to the landscape edge of the device, and it could make the same change for the iPad mini. It may make less sense to have a landscape camera on an iPad mini, though, because it’s less often used with keyboards.
The camera could get support for HDR 4 and it could have a wider aperture, if it adopts the camera used in the iPad Air.
Connectivity
Apple has been adding Wi-Fi 6E to each product as it’s updated, and it should be the iPad mini’s turn this year. Wi-Fi 6E will allow the iPad mini to connect to the 6GHz Wi-Fi network on supported routers.
Bluetooth 5.3 is also expected, as that’s another update Apple has been making to new devices, and the iPad mini could lose its nano-SIM slot, with Apple opting only for eSIM.
Apple Pencil Pro
The current iPad mini works with the Apple Pencil 2, so the new model will likely support the Apple Pencil Pro. The Apple Pencil Pro has a squeeze gesture, haptic feedback, a gyroscope for barrel roll support, and Find My integration.
Apple Pencil hover might also be a new feature, as the current iPad mini does not support it.
Release Date
Apple will likely release a new iPad mini toward the end of the year, likely in September or October. In some years, Apple holds a special October event for Macs and iPads, and we could get that in 2024.
MacBook Pro models, the Mac mini, and the low-cost iPad could all be refreshed alongside the iPad mini in the fall.
Future iPad mini Models
There are rumors that Apple is working on a foldable iPad mini and OLED display technology for the iPad mini, but neither of these updates are expected in 2024.
OLED, a foldable iPad mini, or a foldable OLED iPad mini are technologies not expected until 2026, 2027, or even later.
This article, “What to Expect From Apple’s 2024 iPad Mini 7” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums