In Jungle Long Known for Cocaine, a Rare Nut Is Now All the Rage (BusinessWeek)

Harvested cacay nuts.

For decades, if not centuries, the Amazon dwellers of southern Colombia didn’t make too much of the cacay nut. They fed it to their livestock, used it to treat wounds and chopped down its trees for firewood.

But then, a few years ago, the global jet-setting crowd found out what the yellow-ish oil from the protein-rich nut could do for their skin. And suddenly, the cacay (pronounced kahk-ai) has become a red-hot commodity, providing the key ingredient to anti-aging facial creams that can fetch $200 an ounce in beauty shops in Los Angeles and London.

While most of the nuts come from wild trees in remote areas, new plantations are popping up in impoverished parts of Colombia that were better known for cocaine and anti-government rebel groups. Vitaliano Ordonez, a farmer who used to give the nuts to his cows, sold eight of the animals to buy 120 saplings. Because only a few are mature enough to produce this year, he’s scavenging every kernel from two old trees on his small dairy farm in Puerto Rico, Colombia, 300 kilometers (190 miles) southeast of Bogota.

‘No Waste’

“I won’t let even one nut go to waste,” said Ordonez, 70. Each apple-sized nut pod contains three seeds, each bigger than an almond. He expects to collect about 60 kilograms (133 pounds) of cacay kernels this year. That may generate as much as 300,000 pesos ($198), or the equivalent of almost half the country’s minimum monthly wage.

The boom is in part the work of Alberto Jaramillo. While scientists have highlighted the nut’s virtues for more than a decade, it was Jaramillo, the head of Bogota-based Kahai SAS, who found a market for the oil after attending trade shows and hiring a trial study of the oil’s use in skincare. Kahai, which buys nuts from growers and scavengers, including Ordonez, expects to double sales this year.

Motorcycle Scavengers

Jaramillo’s Kahai sends workers through the countryside on motorcycles and trucks, sometimes driving more than 250 kilometers to hunt for trees and pick up nuts. During the harvest season from February to April, one mature tree can yield 400 kilos of nuts. Kahai pays 1,000 pesos a kilo for whole nuts, so about 400,000 pesos per tree. He’s also encouraging farmers like Ordonez to plant more trees.

Native to parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, the cacay nut was long used by indigenous people to treat wounds and light lamps. As those uses faded, trees that reached 40 meters (130 feet) high became appealing targets for loggers. That’s begun to change with the renewed appeal of natural oils as beauty treatments.

Sales of face oils are rising, sparking new products from cosmetics-maker L’Oreal SA and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Olay brand made of everything from grape and apricot seeds to lavender and marjoram. Beauty-oil sales at retailer Sephora SA tripled in three years.

Face-Oil Boom

In the U.S., where high-end facial skincare sales have largely been flat over the past year, face-oil sales surged 24 percent to $42 million, data from NPD Group show. They’ve more than doubled over the past two years.

The small but growing appeal of cacay in the $465 billion personal-care market has been fueled by the increased popularity of Morocco’s argan oil, which got picked up by hair-care makers such as L’Oréal and Unilever NV, and is now included in 14 percent of new hair treatments, according to market research from Mintel. Cacay contains key ingredients in anti-aging products, including antioxidants and retinoids, according to Kahai.

‘New Wave’

“It’s going to be the new little wave,” said Jamie Sherrill, who uses cacay in some of theNurse Jamie skincare products she sells at her Santa Monica spa. “I was always a fan of retinol and argan oil, and we were initially searching for ways to improve on these two ingredients.”

Sherrill, who appeared with socialite Paris Hilton on the reality show “The Simple Life,” offers 1-ounce “facial elixir” with cacay for $198 and a men’s shaving oil version. A three-item set of anti-aging products with cacay retails for 1,060 pounds ($1,555) at Harrods department store in London.

The venture isn’t without risk for Kahai and small growers. While plant oils are hot now, cosmetics fads often change, and there is lots of competition from other plant oils.

“It’s more expensive than a lot of your regular oils,” said Judi Beerling, a research manager at the London-based consulting firm Organic Monitor. “As more becomes available, obviously the prices will become less of an issue.’

Jaramillo said some companies are holding off on using cacay because there isn’t enough stable supply. It could take another three years, he said.

Sales Double

‘‘Our plan is to have enough volume for the boom that’s going to come from the cosmetic market, and anything leftover we can sell just as the edible nut,” Jaramillo said.

Kahai forecasts oil sales of 1.2 metric tons from this year’s harvest, double last year, and output will expand as the 100 hectares (247 acres) already planted with cacay trees start producing. It takes 2 kilos of kernels to make 1 liter of oil. The nut is about 53 percent oil, and Jaramillo says his next plan is to target the protein-rich flour thats leftover as a nutritional supplement.

New Hope

The cacay revival also has given hope to environmental groups seeking to slow deforestation. Luis Eugenio Cifuentes, a Colombia adviser for the Arlington, Virginia-based Amazon Conservation Team, has been promoting cacay as a profitable alternative to logging. He talks to farmers in remote areas and is organizing a plan to buy trees that will connect isolated patches of rainforest.

For farmer Ordonez, cacay offers the chance of supplementing the income he earns from milk and cattle sales.

“That’s how I live, with little money,” he said. “Cacay is something I think a lot about because I have a lot of faith that it will work out for me.”

20 of the world's most connected, innovative cities (TechRepublic)

1.- Seul, South Korea. One of the largest metro areas in South Korea, Seoul has almost ubiquitous Wi-Fi, media poles, and smart transportation. City commuters use RFID cards for public transportation that calculate and charge for exact distance.

2. Hong Kong, China. China's "Fragrant Harbour" offers free Wi-Fi networks, including one on the city's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) public transportation. Internet companies such as Tencent and Alibaba have offices there.

3. Tokyo, Japan  Tokyo residents have access to decent Wi-Fi speeds at a pretty good price, and heavy users can get a broadband fiber to the home (FTTH) connection. New transportation technology, such as the magnetic levitation train, and fields like robotics, are also key innovations.

4. Singapore  Since its split from Malaysia, Singapore has worked to become one of the most technologically savvy cities in the world. Singapore is well-connected, but it also focuses on integrating technology into education and encouraging new startup companies.

5. Barcelona, Spain  The city known for hosting the Mobile World Congress show every year is an innovation hub in its own right. City-wide Wi-Fi powers smart parking meters, and a big-data system built on Microsoft Azure helps analyze all the data received by different points in the city, like sensors connected to public utilities.

6. Montreal, Québec  In addition to providing some free public Wi-Fi, Montreal is also part of the Connecting Citiesnetwork, which builds out connected facades for social and artistic content.

7. Seattle, Washington  Home to Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks, the Emerald City of Seattle is one of the most broadband-connected cities in the US. Seattle also has an abundance of public Wi-Fi spots.

8. Geneva, Switzerland  Geneva boasts one of the highest internet penetration rates in the country. To address both growth opportunities and risks associated with the internet, the Geneva Internet Platform was initiated by Swiss authorities and is operated by DiploFoundation.

9. Stockholm, Sweden  As far as internet usage rates go, Stockholm is one of the top-rated cities in the world. Additionally, the city has been experimenting with WiMAX and hosts some of the top cyber cafés in the world.

10. Helsinki, Finland  In 2010, Finland became the first country in the world to make broadband internet connection a legal right. Helsinki, the capital city, is one of the leading forces behind the country's advancement.

11. Paris, France  With over 200 public hotspots, Paris is an internet-savvy city. The city also hosts the LeWeb conference for innovation and startups.

12. Florence, Italy  One of the most historically significant cities in Italy is also one of its most connected, boasting many free Wi-Fi access points.

13. Prague, Czech Republic  Prague is well-wired and connected throughout. Companies such as Siemens and Honeywell have locations there and the city has a high average connection speed.

14. Amsterdam, Netherlands  Also a leader in average internet speed, Amsterdam also has many innovative initiatives such as Amsterdam Smart City. The city is also home to theAmsterdam Internet Exchange, a not-for-profit organization connected to some of the biggest names in tech.

15. Atlanta, Georgia  Atlanta is one of the most wired cities in the US, with a plethora of options for connecting. The city is also being targeted for a Google Fiber rollout.

16. Vienna, Austria  High average Wi-Fi speeds and readily available Wi-Fi are helping make Vienna a city that is driven by, and focused on, innovation.

17. Tel Aviv, Israel  Tel Aviv is the innovation capital of Israel. It has birthed many successful startup companies and the city offers free public Wi-Fi to residents.

18. Dubai, UAE  Dubai hasn't always been known as the most connected city, but it has made huge strides over the past few years and is working its way to becoming one of the world's major connected smart cities.

19. Taipei, Taiwan  One of best examples of free public internet, Taipei has a government-backed network that contains more than 5,000 hotspots. The service can be registered for in advance by visitors as well.

20. Munich, Germany  The Bavarian capital of Munich is consistently on the front lines of connectivity and innovation. The city has been working on a smart grid and is known for embracing open source technologies.

The U.S. Government's $800 Billion Gamble on Student Loans (BusinessWeek)

The U.S. currently makes a small profit on the loans it extends to students

One of the big potential costs to U.S. taxpayers over the next years is an enterprise that's currently estimated to be even a bit profitable for them: financing student loans. 

Right now, the federal government borrows money at interest rates that are lower than the rates it charges students. That means the U.S. makes about 14 cents on every dollar lent, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  

It's a win-win for the government -- make a little cash while helping young Americans pursue an education so they can earn more down the road. 

There's no guarantee this will stay this way, however, if more students start to delay or renege on their obligations. While the CBO expects the government to continue to make money on the business until at least 2025, gains are forecasted to shrink. On subsidized student loans (the most basic kind), the government is forecast to start losing money as early as next year. The CBO already revised up its estimate of how much the loans will cost the government for 2016-2025 by 30 percent, citinghigher estimates of the number of loans in default (which in turn would mean the government won't be able to collect on as many payments as initially thought). 

There's already almost $800 billion in student loans that's directly on the government's balance sheet, according to Wall Street experts  who advise the U.S. Treasury on its borrowing strategy. And that represents a ballooning share of the debt that the government has issued. Student loans loans in February were worth more than half the value of outstanding Treasury debt with a maturity of 10 years or more. 

"If you were fairly confident that all those loans are going to be paid back, then it wouldn't be that big of an issue," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. "But I think the problem is that we've got double-digit delinquencies on student loans, and the problem only seems to be getting worse."

Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show that 11.3 percent of student loans were delinquent in the final three months of 2014, up from 11.1 percent in the prior quarter. The federal student loan default rate declined to 13.7 percent for borrowers who would have begun paying in 2011, the Education Department said in September. The rate was 14.7 percent a year before. 

"If there are a lot of defaults, that would impact the fiscal situation, because the taxpayer would lose money in that deal," Stanley said. 

Student debt will probably continue to grow because of the country's soaring cost of college tuition. Treasury's Wall Street advisers point to estimates of additional $1 trillion in direct student debt over the next decade.

The U.S. Treasury and the Fed are now encouraging both the public and private sectors to boost research and collect more data on education financing. The goal is to stay on top of emerging trends and be ready for upticks in potential defaults and other cash flow troubles. Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin hosted a round-table discussion on servicing and collection of student loans on Monday.

10 ways virtual reality is revolutionizing medicine and healthcare (TechRepublic)

Virtual reality isn't just about gaming. Here are 10 ways VR is, and has been, seeping into the way medical professionals train, diagnose, and treat. 

When people experience virtual reality for the first time, a common reaction is to start imagining all the different uses the technology might hold. Even within one industry, healthcare, the potential is open-ended. The good thing is that scientists and medical professionals have been at the drawing board for years now, developing and implementing virtual reality in ways that can help them train, diagnose, and treat in myriad situations.

Here are just ten of the use cases that are currently in practice and continually developing as the technology itself develops too.

Exposure therapy

One treatment for patients with phobias is exposure therapy. In one instance, psychiatrists at theUniversity of Louisville are using VR to help patients deal with fears of things like flying and claustrophobia.

The VR experiences provide for a controlled environment in which patients can face their fears and even practice coping strategies, as well as breaking patterns of avoidance -- all while in a setting that's private, safe, and easily stopped or repeated, depending on the circumstances.

Treatment for PTSD

Similar to exposure therapy for phobias and anxieties, virtual reality is being put to use to help soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A paper from the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies cited virtual reality's use in PTSD treatment as far back as 1997 when when Georgia Tech released something called Virtual Vietnam VR.

More recently, clinics and hospitals are using virtual reality simulations of warfare akin to Iraq and Afghanistan to help veterans who are, in many ways, continually reliving the traumatic events they experienced. In a safe and controlled environment, they can learn how to deal with instances that might otherwise be triggers to behavior that could be destructive to themselves and others.

See: Virtual reality spotlight: What can VR bring to the enterprise? (Tech Pro Research)

Pain management

For burn victims, pain is an ongoing issue. Doctors are hoping distraction therapy via virtual reality could help them get a handle on that pain. A VR video game from the University of Washington called SnowWorld, which involves throwing snowballs at penguins and listening to Paul Simon, could alleviate pain during tasks that can be excruciating, like wound care or physical therapy, by overwhelming the senses and pain pathways in the brain. A 2011 study the military conducted showed that for soldiers with burn injuries from IED blasts, etc. SnowWorld worked better than morphine.

Surgical training

Training for surgeons usually involves cadavers and a gradual process of assisting more experienced doctors before taking over tasks and bigger portions of the surgery. Virtual reality could provide another means of practice, without any risk to real patients.

Stanford University, for one, has a surgery simulator that even includes haptic feedback for those doing the training. Stanford's endoscopic sinus surgery simulation uses CT scans from patients to create 3D models for practice, and it's been in use since 2002. While this technology doesn't use a head mounted display, the groundwork that's been done could further the effectiveness of future virtual simulations.

Phantom limb pain

For people who lose a limb, a common medical issue is phantom limb pain. For example, someone without an arm might feel as though he is clenching his fist very tightly, unable to relax. Frequently, the pain is more sharp than that, even excruciating. Past treatments have included mirror therapy, where the patient would look at a mirror image from the limb they still have, perhaps, and find relief as the brain syncs with the movements of the real and phantom limbs.

In a similar vein, medical journal Frontiers in Neuroscience published a study last year on the role virtual reality games may play in helping alleviate phantom limb pain. It works like this: sensors pick up on the nerve inputs from the brain. In the game, patients use a virtual limb and must complete tasks. It helps them gain some control and learn, for example, how to relax that painfully clenched fist.

Brain damage assessment and rehabilitation

CyberPsychology & and Behavior published a roundup for virtual reality experiences in use for not only assessing impairments, but also in retreating them. One example has to do with executive function, or "impairments in the sequencing and organization of behavior and includes problems with planning," the paper said. Scientists created a virtual reality experience in which users had to reach the exit of a building using doors of different colors. It was supposed to be similar to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, a neuropsychological test where participants match cards. They're not told how, only if the match is right or wrong. "The authors concluded that their test measures the same cognitive functions as the WCST and may prove to be more ecologically valid," CyberPsychology & Behavior wrote.

Social cognition training for young adults with autism

Professors at the University of Texas, Dallas created a training program to help kids with autism work on social skills. It uses brain imaging and brain wave monitoring, and essentially puts kids in situations like job interviews or blind dates using avatars. They work on reading social cues and expressing socially acceptable behavior. The study found that after completing the program, participants' brain scans showed increased activity in areas of the brain tied to social understanding.

Meditation

One treatment for general anxiety can be meditation. A new app for Oculus Rift called DEEP aims to help users learn how to take deep, meditative breathes by making breathing the only control for the game. The app works with a band worn around the chest that measures breathing. The VR experience is something like being in an underwater world. Breathing is what gets a user from one place to another. The other benefit to the game is that breathing as a controller allows participation from those who might not be otherwise able to use a joystick or controller.

Opportunities for the disabled

It's not a new concept -- the New York Times ran a story in 1994 describing multiple uses, like a VR experience that let a 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy take his wheelchair through a grassy field, or another that let 50 children with cancer spend some time "swimming" around an animated fish tank.

In a more recent example, headset maker Fove,undertook a crowdfunding campaign to create an app called Eye Play the Piano which would allow kids with physical disabilities to play the piano using the headset's eye tracking technology.

Opportunities for the homebound

There's a certain amount of fretting which surrounds virtual reality that has to do with what will happen when people can go anywhere and do anything through a VR headset -- maybe they won't go anywhere in real life in favor of retreating into an ideal virtual world. The thing is, for those who don't have the ability to get out in the real world, whether they be disabled or elderly, virtual reality could improve their quality of life when they'd otherwise be confined to a single residence, room, or even a bed.

Last year, Stanford University engineering studentscreated an immersive virtual reality experience for seniors that let them experience the outside -- like a bike ride or a walk on the beach. SUSIE, or Senior-User Soothing Immersive Experience, incorporates sound, light, wind, and even temperature changes, and used a large wall-mounted display meant to fill the normal field of vision.

The Hottest Cars at the 2015 New York Auto Show (PCMagazine)

Amazon's Apple Watch killer will be free and sell you everything (ZDNet)

Summary:Yes, Fire Phone failed. But an Amazon smartwatch could rule the wearables market, leveraging the analytics power of AWS and the company's massive ecommerce.

Yesterday, I talked a bit about why I think the current generation of smartwatches, the Apple Watch in particular, are ridiculously overpriced.

To get the price of these things down, certain obstacles are going to have to be overcome. The main issue will be scaling out production so that component integration costs are minimized, much like that has been done with smartphones and tablets today with SoCs (Systems on a Chip).

However, there are other ways of bringing the costs down, and that would be to use the smartwatch/sports band device as a means of pushing product, services and generating follow-on revenue.

Traditionally, this has been known as the "Give away the razor but sell the blades" approach.

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Apple Watch wants to provide an iPhone level of engagement in a way "that's a little more human." Assuming the Apple Watch can even do that will consumers play along?

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The company that has mastered this technique is Amazon, which has proven to be a formidable force in consumer electronics with its Kindle e-readers and tablets, and also recently their Fire TV, Fire Stick and their Echo media player and intelligent agent, the latter which will be shipping in volume to customers early this summer.

Now, I know what you are thinking. Their entry into the smartphone market was a total bust.

That's certainly true. But I think the Fire Phone design was over-engineered, and aside from a 3D visualization gimmick that developers had little interest in exploiting showed little differentiation from other Android products on the market, the kiss of death for the device was that it was hampered with a contract commitment on a single carrier, AT&T.

If Amazon were to produce a smartwatch, however, I think things would be quite different.

Ideally, I think Amazon would take more of a sports band/minimalist approach than a fully independent device approach. Like the Microsoft Band, it would have to be cross-platform compatible, and would need to be able to inter-operate with any iOS or Android smartphone on the market, just as their Store and Kindle apps do today.

Amazon has a few things that would make a "Fire Watch" or "Fire Band" a compelling product. The first of which is that the company runs the 800 pound gorilla of cloud services in the form of AWS, which could be used for personal data health analytics gathered from the watch's sensors which would be synced to the cloud via the smartphone or tablet of your choice using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connectivity.

But even more importantly is what this means as a revenue generation opportunity for Amazon's ecommerce business. Your personal analytics would indicate calories burned and how many miles you walked, ran, or biked. It would know how many hours a night you've slept and could even constantly monitor your body temperature, oxygen levels and other key metrics, which could give you important notifications about your overall vitals.

That's a perfect opportunity for the watchface, at the appropriate time, to show you protein bars, athletic clothing and fitness accessories and all kinds of other stuff, which you could buy instantly with just a tap of a finger on the watch.

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Wearables: Fit For Business?

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That's just what Amazon itself could do with health analytics. 3rd party developers could plug into this analytics cloud and sell Fire Watch apps that could do all sorts of other things depending on what you were interested in.

Besides body sensors and GPS, the watch could conceivably be equipped with a small laser diode or a low-resolution camera good enough to do UPC scans of products, so that whenever you were in a brick and mortar store, you could do instant price checks and then buy it cheaper on Prime, straight from the watch.

Because the purpose of this device would be to ultimately sell you products and services -- just like the Kindle, the Kindle Fire, the Fire TV and the Echo does -- the price of such a smartwatch could be well below its competitors. Amazon could conceivably offer this at a steep discount to existing Prime members, as it does with the Echo.

Or it could sell the watch with a free year of Prime to new customers.

Amazon also knows that people use their devices outside -- which is why that it is likely they would offer a touchscreen e-Ink version in addition to a color version, to cover the sporty/battery life conscious crowd at the lower end and the more fashionable types at the higher end.

Apple Watch may very well be front and center of consumers minds right now when considering a smartwatch. But don't count out what the folks in Kirkland's skunkworks are planning, because if Amazon is anything, it's a market disruptor.

The Cuban Money Crisis (BusinessWeek)

Havana’s Vedado neighborhood in March 2015.

The currency crisis starts about 75 feet into Cuba. I land in the late afternoon and, after clearing customs, step into the busy arrivals hall of Havana’s airport looking for help. I ask a woman in a gray, military-like uniform where I can change money. “Follow me,” she says.

But she doesn’t turn left, toward the airport’s exchange kiosk. Called cadecas, these government-run currency shops are the only legal way, along with banks, to swap your foreign money for Cuba’s tourist tender, the CUC. Instead, my guide turns right and only comes clean when we reach a quiet area at the top of an escalator. “The official rate is 87 for a hundred,” she whispers, meaning CUCs to dollars. “I’m giving you 90. So it’s a good deal for you.”

I want to convert $500, and she doesn’t blink an eye. “Go in the men’s room and count your money out,” she instructs. “I’ll do the same in the ladies room.”

The bathroom is crowded, with not one but two staff and the usual traffic of an airport in the evening. There’s no toilet paper. In an unlit stall I try counting to 25 while laying $20 bills on my knees. There’s an urgent knock, and under the door I see high heels. “I’m still counting,” I say.

She’s back two minutes later and pushes her way into my stall. We trade stacks, count, and the tryst is over. For my $500, I get 450 CUCs, the currency that’s been required for the purchase of almost anything important in Cuba since 1994. CUCs aren’t paid to Cubans; islanders receive their wages in a different currency, the grubby national peso that features Che Guevara’s face, among others, but is worth just 1/25th as much as a CUC. Issued in shades of citrus and berry, the CUC—dollarized, tourist-friendly money—has for 21 years been the key to a better life in Cuba, as well as a stinging reminder of the difference between the haves and the have-nots. But that’s about to change: Cuba is going to kill the CUC. Described as a matter of fairness by President Raúl Castro, the end of the two-currency system is also the key to overhauling the uniquely incompetent and centrally planned chaos machine that is the Cuban economy.

Photographs by Sebastián Liste for Bloomberg Businessweek

Lining up to exchange ­currencies in Old Havana.

Even in Cuba there are markets, and the effects of Castro’s October announcement of a five-step plan for phasing out the CUC are already rippling out to every wallet in the country. The government has issued notifications and price conversion charts, and introduced new, larger bills to supplement the low-value national peso. Over the next year, the CUC will be invalidated—what Cuban economists call Day Zero—and then, in steps four and five, the regular Cuban peso will become exchangeable and be floated against a basket of five currencies: the yuan, the euro, the U.S. dollar, and two others to be named later.

Thanks to the expected normalization of relations with the U.S., tourism, already the engine of Cuba’s current economic boom, is expected to grow enormously—though by this time next year foreigners will be required to negotiate their visits with mounds of regular pesos. Raúl Castro is effectively gambling that he can release some control over the economy in exchange for growth, ensuring the regime’s survival.

The reality, however, may be anything but orderly. During my visit, I witness the hoarding of dollars, an unstable black market, and a deep distrust of the government’s financial speculations. Get out of CUCs, the rumors urge, and into dollars. For a 3 percent spread, a woman will even follow you into a bathroom stall.