geekosystem

Beer is wonderful and good for you -- I've always known this, and I've said it regularly and loudly to anyone who will listen. Also, to people who would rather not listen. Now, science offers the latest proof that beer is medicine. Or rather that the structure of some of the molecules that make up beer and give hops it's bitter bite, could be, in moderation and after years of careful research, used to offer treatments for diabetes. If the research pans out, it could mean a brand new breeds of drugs. If it doesn't, that's a shame, but we could still finally develop the world's first truly perfect IPA. While that outcome is certainly less good than new lifesaving drugs, I would humbly submit that that doesn't make it "not good."

Jay Radcliffe, a diabetic security researcher, gave a presentation at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas that exposed the vulnerabilities of insulin pumps with wireless capabilities. Inspired by his experience with his own pump, Radcliffe delved into the system and found that the pumps are susceptible to hacks that can alter the pump's function and possibly kill the wearer. The hack works by intercepting the pump's wireless signal, then broadcasting a stronger one so that the pump responds to the unauthorized remote instead of the real one. The false signals could be delivered from a distance of a few hundred feet to half a mile with the use of more powerful antennas.

Radcliffe told the Associated Press:

My initial reaction was that this was really cool from a technical perspective. The second reaction was one of maybe sheer terror, to know that there's no security around the devices which are a very active part of keeping me alive.