People have been known to survive with huge pieces of their brains missing, but just which brain parts could we live without? Strange but true: when half a brain is better than a whole brain. The operation known as hemispherectomy, where half the brain is removed, sounds too radical to ever consider, much less perform. However, in the last century, surgeons have performed it hundreds of times for disorders uncontrollable in any other way. Unbelievably, this type of brain surgery where half of your brain is removed has no apparent effect on personality or memory.
Above: How We Can Never Become An Advanced Civilization Until We Solve The Big Picture.
The first photograph taken of earth, from space, caused a profound shift in our understanding of ourselves and the universe — an ontological awakening.
An estimated 37 million people around the world have HIV. Around 17 million of them are taking prescription drugs to treat their condition, with the majority of those HIV drugs having been developed by Gilead Sciences. In fact, the total global HIV drug market totals more than $20 billion annually, with Gilead Sciences claiming the highest market share of any HIV drug maker in the entire world. This big biotech company had eight HIV drugs combine for sales of more than $12.8 billion in 2016, with Gilead’s Truvada being the top selling HIV drug in the world.
While the growth of Gilead Sciences was due primarily to its HIV franchise for much of the company’s history, in recent years its hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs have made even more money. In 2016, Gilead’s hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs combined to generate revenue of $14.8 billion. However, hepatitis C virus (HCV) sales are falling significantly, partially because of increased competition but resulting even more from lower patient starts, as the sickest hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients have already been cured by Gilead Sciences.
Finding The Cure For Hepatitis C
Throughout the course of human history, there have been plenty of drugs developed to treat diseases. However, there haven’t been nearly as many drugs that actually cured a disease. That is especially the case for a chronic disease like hepatitis C, which affects millions of people across the world. But Gilead Sciences changed history by introducing a cure for hepatitis C.
In December 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Sovaldi, and Gilead quickly launched the drug. To say that Sovaldi was successful would be a huge understatement. The drug enjoyed the fastest launch ever, and in its first quarter, Sovaldi became a mega blockbuster, generating sales of $2.27 billion.
Gilead Sciences followed up on that success with Harvoni, which launched in the fourth quarter of 2014. Harvoni is a combination of Sovaldi and another Gilead drug, Ledipasvir. In 2015, sales for Harvoni reached a whopping $13.9 billion, with Sovaldi adding another $5.3 billion. However, there is a big problem for a biotech or pharmaceutical company that sells products that cure a disease. After a period of time, there aren’t as many patients to use the products, and that is exactly what happened with Gilead Sciences. The company became a victim of its own success. Sales for its hepatitis C drugs are falling, weighing down Gilead’s overall revenue and earnings.
Gilead’s best hope now for returning to growth is to make one or more biotech acquisitions. The company has indicated that’s exactly what it plans to do in the near future. The good news is that Gilead Sciences has a pretty good track record of making deals. In 2011, Gilead Sciences spent $11 billion to buy Pharmasset, which owned the drug that would eventually be called Sovaldi, a drug that would eventually cure hepatitis C for millions of people suffering from the disease around the world, and making the shareholders of Gilead Sciences very wealthy in the process.
Above: The Future Of Artificial Organ Transplants | The Age Of Artificial Organs | Why Do Organ Transplants Fail So Often?
Scientists are finding newer, cheaper, and safer ways to create artificial organs in ways that could reduce the wait for organ transplants and transform surgery as we know it today.
Welcome To The Age Of Artificial Organs
Scientists are successfully creating artificial hearts, livers, lungs, urethras, and more in laboratory settings. Although science must overcome many obstacles before these artificial organs enter everyday hospitals, amazing medical accomplishments have occurred during the past decade.
In 2006, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the Children’s Hospital of Boston, and Harvard Medical School successfully created artificial urinary bladders in a laboratory and transplanted them into patients. These bladders (which were grown in a small laboratory vessel from a sampling of the patient’s own cells) where transformative. Rather than being built from mechanical components, as previous artificial organs have been in the past, these organs came from lab cultured cells.
The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh is one of the world’s top research facilities for artificial organs, and a place where researchers are investigating functional artificial hearts, livers, and other organs.
These artificial livers are generated from a patient’s own cells or from artificial materials, and are designed as a temporary solution. By implanting these livers in sick patients, surgeons hope to create temporary solutions that save lives while patients wait for organ donations. Alternately, patients with liver damage could be implanted with temporary artificial livers to take the load off their damaged organs.
Above: Mini Human “Brain” Grown In A Laboratory.
Efforts are also underway to perfect bioartificial hearts at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. The University of Pittsburgh implanted the second Jarvik artificial heart in the United States in the 1980’s and has never stopped innovating in this area. These days, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine researchers are focusing on advanced mechanical circulatory support devices that offer better patient quality of life after a heart transplant. Meanwhile, the famous Mayo Clinic is working on a different approach: generating bioartificial livers that use pig liver cells to filter patients’ blood.
Although artificial hearts have been successfully used since the 1980’s, and “organs-on-chips” like those produced by Harvard’s Wyss Institute have transformed pharmaceutical research and development, the biggest benefits for patients and scientists are yet to come in the near future. It would be a stretch to say that cloned organs will be easily available in the near future. Organs are highly complex structures, and even initially successful efforts face long regulatory hurdles. However, the techniques behind them are fueling medical research and development. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is expected to approve an artificial pancreas in the year 2018, which if successful, would for the first time let patients live their lives without self-monitoring their blood sugar levels.
In 1969, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were working as Alice in Wonderland characters at their local shopping mall for $3 an hour. Little did Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak know that they would soon start the most profitable company in human history. Find out how Apple became the most valuable company in the world, and discover the true size of Apple.
Above: Qualcomm Versus Intel | Why Wait for the Internet of Everything?
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) have been locked into processor and modem battles for years, but both companies have their own unique business segments despite some overlapping pursuits. Because of that, investors often consider one stock while looking at the other, so let us take a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of both Qualcomm and Intel based on their long term potential.
The Case For Qualcomm
Sales of mobile processors and modems have been a driving force for Qualcomm’s revenues. Qualcomm has managed to add additional Chinese smartphone makers onto its list of customers and expand those sales. That’s come at a time when Qualcomm is just getting over some of its litigation nightmares in China concerning antitrust laws. With Qualcomm adding more China based mobile device makers, the company can continue to tap that growing market, particularly as more companies expand their list of mid-range and high-end devices. Most importantly, we can’t talk about Qualcomm’s mobile ambitions without talking about Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Apple released its new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus this month, and Qualcomm’s modem has a spot in some (but not all) of the iPhone devices. The rest of the modems are supplied by none other than Intel. Qualcomm was previously the exclusive modem supplier for the iPhone, so this isn’t exactly good news for Qualcomm.
The Case For Intel
Many in the tech world like to to say that Intel missed the cell phone and mobile revolution, and it’s mostly true. While Intel dominated the desktop and PC chip market, it failed to get on board with mobile devices fast enough, and Qualcomm happily took the dominant position. But some of that is changing, and the recent modem win in some of Apple’s iPhones is evidence of these changes. It is still unclear concerning exactly what percentage of new iPhones have Intel modems inside, but it is believed that Apple added Intel’s modems into the new phones despite the fact that they don’t support Sprint or Verizon Communications networks (which both work on CDMA technology). This gives Apple the leverage of having two companies competing for a spot in their mobile devices.
However, the real growth story for Intel will come from using its chips to power the Internet of Things devices and servers. Intel is pivoting away from PC processors to focus on the Internet of Things devices, servers, and data centers. Intel already has a dominant position in server chips (just over 99% in 2015), but it still remains to be seen if device makers will look to Intel for the Internet of Things devices. Thus, Intel investors will need a strong stomach to weather the company’s changes over the next few years as Intel continues its restructuring and figures out how to best use its chip expertise to build new revenue sources.
The Verdict: Qualcomm Versus Intel
Intel appears to be handling its transition away from PC computers relatively well and certainly has enough leverage with device manufacturers to gain more mobile, Internet of Things, and server business. But at the end of the day, Qualcomm’s businesses appear to have much more stability.
It is true that Qualcomm isn’t without its own problems, such as losing the iPhone exclusivity, but the company is still benefiting from its mobile processors, modem sales, and lucrative 3G and 4G patent licenses. These can’t be the only revenue drivers for Qualcomm going forward, but they should provide Qualcomm and its investors with more stability than Intel.
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most well known brands today, but how did it all begin and how big is The Walt Disney Company today? The answer may surprise you.
About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American multinational media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, Southern California. It is one of the world’s largest media conglomerates in terms of revenue. The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. The company also operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio, then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused on theater, radio, music, publishing, and online media.
In addition, The Walt Disney Company has since created corporate divisions in order to market more mature content than is typically associated with its flagship family oriented brands. The Walt Disney Company is best known for the products of its film studio, Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best known movie studios in American cinema. The Walt Disney Company’s other three main divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media.
The Walt Disney Company also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network, cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, A+E Networks, and Freeform (formerly ABC Family) in addition to having publishing, merchandising, music, and theatre divisions. The Walt Disney Company also owns and licenses 14 theme parks around the world with Mickey Mouse, an early and well known cartoon creation of the company, being its primary symbol and mascot.
The Walt Disney Company has been a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since May 6, 1991 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIS. The Walt Disney Company has a market value of approximately $160 billion United States dollars (this is how much money it would cost you if you wanted to purchase the entire Walt Disney Company).
Above: Opia | The Ambiguous Intensity Of Eye Contact.
I really hate making eye contact with people, I’m not sure I can physically do it for extended periods of time. Society says its rude to be staring off into the distance or at your feet but when I try to look at someone directly in the eye its like this intense weight is pushing on me until I have to look away.
Its a similar feeling to look out a window at night, the certain fear of the unknown beyond the dark little window, or the unsettling feeling when looking into a mirror too intently for too long, when everything kinda melts away into a dark blur and only the eyes remain. Maybe in a way by having my own existence observed so strongly it makes me question what my existence really is and the lack of answers is sometimes frightening.
The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable. Their pupils glittering, bottomless, and opaque, as if you were looking through a hole in the door of a house, able to tell that there is someone standing there, but unable to tell if you are looking in or looking out.
Above: Why Is Gold The Perfect Element For Currency?
Is gold money? If there were to be one element to use as a currency gold would be that element. Gold is malleable, rare but not too rare like platinum, not dangerous to humans, and pretty. But why do we value gold, and is gold truly the perfect currency in an age of funny looking paper money? Continue reading →
So how big is Samsung? The answer may surprise you.
About Samsung
Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in South Korea. Samsung comprises numerous subsidiaries and affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol (business conglomerate).
Samsung was founded by Lee Byung-chul in 1938 as a trading company. Over the next three decades, the group diversified into areas including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail. Samsung entered the electronics industry in the late 1960’s and the construction and ship building industries in the mid-1970’s; these areas would drive its subsequent growth. Following the death of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul in 1987, Samsung has increasingly globalized its activities and dominance in electronics, particularly mobile phones and semiconductors, which have become its most important source of income.
Notable Samsung industrial subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics (one of the world’s largest information technology companies measured by revenues and market value), Samsung Heavy Industries (one of the world’s largest ship builders measured by revenues), and Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T (two of the world’s largest construction companies). Other notable Samsung subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance (one of the world’s largest life insurance companies), Samsung Everland (operator of Everland Resort, the oldest theme park in South Korea), and Cheil Worldwide (one of the world’s largest advertising agencies measured by revenues).
Samsung has a powerful influence on South Korea’s economic development, politics, media, and culture and has been a major driving force behind the “Miracle on the Han River”. Samsung affiliate companies produce around a fifth of South Korea’s total exports, and Samsung’s revenue was equal to 17% of South Korea’s $1,000+ billion GDP.
Above: Medtronic | History Of The World’s Largest Medical Technology Company.
If you are searching for a medical device company that offers regular dividend increases and stable cash flow, consider medical device king Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). Medtronic has increased its dividend for 39 years in a row, averaging annual increases of 12 percent over the past five years. Medtronic is a medical device company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Their operational headquarters is in Fridley, Minnesota in the United States.
Medtronic is the world’s largest medical technology company, operates in more than 140 countries, employs over 85,000 people, and has more than 53,000 patents worldwide. Medtronic has a giant global footprint in the medical device industry, with its product portfolio ranging from pacemakers to insulin pumps and pretty much everything in between. Its stake in nearly every medical device market gives it economies of scale and pricing power. Although Medtronic’s top line hasn’t quite performed as expected in recent quarters, new product launches should help boost revenue over the long term. Continue reading →
