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The discovery of seven habitable planets just 40 light years away is certainly impressive, but the fact is, they are still 40 light years away. Unless we’re willing and able to spend thousands of years traveling through space, we won’t be rolling into the TRAPPIST-1 system anytime soon. This means that over the coming decades, advanced scientific instruments closer to home will play very important roles in exploring these distant worlds – perhaps none more so than the James Webb Space Telescope. So what can we expect when it is fired into orbit next year? We checked in with some of the scientists behind yesterday’s hugely exciting discovery to learn how astronomers will use NASA’s next-generation space telescope to probe the secrets of the TRAPPIST-1 system.

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The human brain is nature’s most powerful processor, so it’s not surprising that developing computers that mimic it has been a long-term goal. Neural networks, the artificial intelligence systems that learn in a very human-like way, are the closest models we have, and now Stanford scientists have developed an organic artificial synapse, inching us closer to making computers more efficient learners.

In an organic brain, neuronal cells send electrical signals to each other to process and store information. Neurons are separated by small gaps called synapses, which allow the cells to pass the signals to each other, and every time that crossing is made, that connection gets stronger, requiring less energy each time after. That strengthening of a connection is how the brain learns, and the fact that processing the information also stores it is what makes the brain such a lean, mean, learning machine.

Neural networks model this on a software level. These AI systems are great for handling huge amounts of data, and like the human brain that inspired them, the more information they’re fed, the better they become at their job. Recognizing and sorting images and sounds are their main area of expertise at the moment, and these systems are driving autonomous cars, beating humanity’s best Go players, creating trippy works of art and even teaching each other. The problem is, these intelligent software systems are still running on traditional computer hardware, meaning they aren’t as energy efficient as they could be.

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Some #transhumanism futurist stuff midway down the article:

This weekend, the party hosts its big winter meeting in Atlanta with a heavy to-do list and much interest. The big doings drew so many attendees that organizers moved the event from a local hotel to a major trade center.

Dominating the agenda is the election of a Democratic National Committee chairman Saturday; seven hopefuls are in the running. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota is considered the front-runner since he has the endorsements of Sens. Charles E. Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren, among others.

At a candidates debate this week hosted by CNN, Mr. Ellison had this to say: “I think that Donald Trump has already done a number of things which legitimately raise the question of impeachment.” In follow-up coverage, several news organizations declared that the lawmaker had uttered “the I word.”

Continue reading “Divided Democrats look for a leader this weekend, likely Keith Ellison” | >

My apologies ahead of time everyone. LifeBoat is about awareness, discovery, history, social and economics and healthcare. And, I never ever post social situations on our site; however, I must raise this as it is all about humanity, being civilized, showing empathy, and respecting each other for, our passions in tech, science, medicine, etc., and simply for being humans with empathy.

Yesterday, I saw a disgusting report on how an innocent husband and wife who are US citizens and of Pakistan descent where verbally attacked by a horrible man on a flight to Houston, TX.

And, Wednesday a fellow techie lost his life in Kansas for being of Indian descent and his features. The person who shot and killed the young man didn’t even know if the engineer was born in the USA, or immigrated here or a citizen, etc. He just killed him as he verbally attacked him.

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A new technique using liquid metals to create integrated circuits that are just atoms thick could lead to the next big advance for electronics.

The process opens the way for the production of large wafers around 1.5 nanometres in depth (a sheet of paper, by comparison, is 100,000nm thick).

Other techniques have proven unreliable in terms of quality, difficult to scale up and function only at very high temperatures — 550 degrees or more.

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UAE will be a major player in technology innovation of the future as they like Israel, Africa, Eastern Europe, and various parts of Asia such as the current ones of China and India as well as Australia and Vietnam will be the new emerging leaders in tech innovation. We’re entering a period of radical change and a complete overhaul of science (including medical) and technology thanks to the realities and opportunities of Quantum. The following announcement shows US UAE’s own commitment to being a leader and I promise you there is much more to come from these amazing hotspots of innovation and invention.

Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, issued directives to Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre, MBRSC, to lead the Mars 2117 project and prepare a 100-year plan for its implementation.

As per his directives, the centre’s plan will focus on preparing specialised national cadres and developing their capabilities in the fields of space science, research, artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced space technologies.

The centre will also put in place a detailed plan for the next five years that will deal with all technological, logistical and technical aspects of the project. This five-year plan will be carried out alongside a media plan that will keep pace with the project’s implementation programme. The media plan will ensure coverage at local, regional and international levels, taking into consideration how well the project was received when it was announced during the World Government Summit 2017.

Continue reading “VP tasks Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre to lead Mars 2117 project” | >

Is there nothing sacred for goodness sakes anymore! The robots are replacing the University Research Teams. Personally, I will be shocked if it will indeed (on a massive scale) take over all experimental innovation activities in research.

At this past weekend’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, scientists also heard broader warnings about the threats to American workers posed by computerized automation.

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As I shared yesterday with others, the world of tech is about to be flipped on its’ head & even spun around several times. So what is the impact? It means that the companies “big tech” & Silicon Valley will need to change & evolve faster than ever or they could see countries with no old tech products & old tech brand will be given an easier playing field to adapt, quick-to-market due to no legacy noise, & refreshing as the new image brand v. an older stigma-brand tied to the good old days of Moore’s Law. So, I see many new versions of SVs outside the US emerging.

Shanghai’s Pudong will build a Tsung-Dao Lee Research Center in the Zhangjiang area, along with a batch of new world-class scientific institutes in a bid to develop the area into a “national science center.”

The research center is named after the Shanghai-born scientist who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1957 and will focus on particle physics and astrophysics as well as quantum science and technology, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission said.

“The new center aims to enhance China’s influence on the fields of fundamental physics,” a commission official told reporters yesterday.

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