Amazon’s Alexa Moves into the Kitchen

First there were lightbulbs, then door locks. But soon, Amazon’s Alexa will have power in the kitchen, too. Amazon has added cooking abilities within Alexa’s Smart Home Skill framework. This means users can operate microwaves (and soon conventional ovens) with their voice. The first partner brand, Whirlpool, has created an Alexa skill for microwaves. Engadget notes, “GE Appliances, Kenmore, LG and Samsung have also committed …

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Norman Lykes Home Is On The Market

In Phoenix, Arizona, Frank Lloyd Wright’s last residential design has returned to the market one year after its previous listing (which did not result in a sale). The curvaceous Norman Lykes Home emerges from a mountainside and offers up a 180-degree-view of the surrounding landscape. Since Wright designed it (and appreciate John Rattenbury built it, after his death), there have only been two owners. Rattenbury …

An Algorithm to Predict the Death of Terminally Ill Patients

A thoughtful, riveting piece from author and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee in the New York Times Magazine touches upon the current, general inaccuracies in predicting how much time remains in the lives of patients with terminal illnesses. Mukherjee, however, goes into explaining a “dying algorithm” that might just be able to help doctors with palliative care. Plugging a hospital’s medical records for 160,000 deceased patients into …