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Dec 2, 2021

Black hole conjured up in a lab does the same weird things Stephen Hawking thought it would do

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics, quantum physics

Because leviathan black holes would never fit in a lab, Jeff Steinhauer and his research team created a mini one right here on Earth.


When something rips physics apart, you cross over into the quantum realm, a place inhabited by black holes, wormholes and other things that have been the stars of multiple sci-fi movies. What lives in the quantum realm either hasn’t been proven to exist (yet) or behaves strangely if it does exist.

Black holes often venture into that realm. With these collapsed stars — at least most of them are — being impossible to fly a spacecraft into (unless you never want to see it again), one physicist decided that the best way to get up close to them was under a literal microscope. Jeff Steinhauer wanted to know whether black holes radiate particles like the late Stephen Hawking theorized they would. Because one of these leviathans would never fit in a lab, he and his research team created one right here on Earth.

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Dec 2, 2021

Tesla is now selling a $1,900 electric Cyberquad ATV for kids

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

😀


Tesla hasn’t yet shipped the Cybertruck, or the full-size Cyberquad that made a splashy debut at the introduction of its Blade Runner-esque pickup truck, but you can get a mini Cyberquad designed for the kiddos starting in 2–4 weeks if you order one right now from its website.

The Tesla “Cyberquad for Kids” is available to purchase on Tesla’s site for $1,900 — a steep price relative to your average Power Wheels, but the lowest-priced vehicle in Tesla’s existing lineup by far. And the Cyberquad’s materials are a cut above your average battery electric kid car, with a “full steel frame,” along with cushioned seating and fully adjustable suspension.

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Dec 2, 2021

World’s first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Bongard said they found that the xenobots, which were initially sphere-shaped and made from around 3,000 cells, could replicate. But it happened rarely and only in specific circumstances. The xenobots used “kinetic replication” — a process that is known to occur at the molecular level but has never been observed before at the scale of whole cells or organisms, Bongard said.


The US scientists who created the first living robots say the life forms, known as xenobots, can now reproduce — and in a way not seen in plants and animals.

Formed from the stem cells of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) from which it takes its name, xenobots are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) wide. The tiny blobs were first unveiled in 2020 after experiments showed that they could move, work together in groups and self-heal.

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Dec 2, 2021

This New One-Person Electric Aircraft Will Cost About The Same as a Luxury SUV

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

And you won’t need an FAA pilot’s license to fly it either, since Opener’s Blackfly is certified as an ultralight aircraft.

Dec 2, 2021

A Gun Company Is Now Selling a Handheld Semi-Automatic Railgun

Posted by in categories: chemistry, military, solar power, sustainability

With Gauss Rifles [military squads] could pitch a solar panel, charge their guns’ batteries, and fire nuts and bolts off the ground as ammunition.


“You can hold far more energy in batteries than you can with gunpowder,” Wirth told Futurism. And a battery eliminates the need for “explosive chemical propellants.”

But it’s an entirely new type of armament that could have some potentially dangerous consequences, opening the doors to turn anything from metal rods to nuts and bolts into deadly projectiles. And its creators are already imagining military applications.

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Dec 2, 2021

Why Time “Stops” in a Black Hole

Posted by in categories: cosmology, information science, physics

Blackholes are a breakdown in the equations of spacetime. This means both space and time no longer behave the way we would expect of them.
Today we explore the breakdown in time around blackholes and what it means to interact with the event horizon, or the place where time appears to stand still.

Further Reading/Consumption:

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Dec 2, 2021

SpaceX sends NASA spacecraft directly into an asteroid (on purpose)

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, space travel

SpaceX launches, Tesla updates its terms and conditions, and Elon Musk sighs.


SpaceX launches NASA’s DART spacecraft with its Falcon 9 rocket, Tesla updates its terms and conditions for Full Self-Driving, and Elon Musk sighs about it.

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Dec 2, 2021

Quantum Simulators Create a Totally New Phase of Matter

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

One of the first goals of quantum computing has been to recreate bizarre quantum systems that can’t be studied in an ordinary computer. A dark-horse quantum simulator has now done just that.

Dec 2, 2021

Scientists develop ‘lab on a chip’ that costs 1 cent to make

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, electronics

Circa 2017


“Enabling early detection of diseases is one of the greatest opportunities we have for developing effective treatments,” Esfandyarpour said. “Maybe $1 in the U.S. doesn’t count that much, but somewhere in the developing world, it’s a lot of money.”

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Dec 2, 2021

A comparative study of artificial intelligence and human doctors for the purpose of triage and diagnosis

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Circa 2018 #artificialintelligence #doctor


Abstract: Online symptom checkers have significant potential to improve patient care, however their reliability and accuracy remain variable. We hypothesised that an artificial intelligence (AI) powered triage and diagnostic system would compare favourably with human doctors with respect to triage and diagnostic accuracy. We performed a prospective validation study of the accuracy and safety of an AI powered triage and diagnostic system. Identical cases were evaluated by both an AI system and human doctors. Differential diagnoses and triage outcomes were evaluated by an independent judge, who was blinded from knowing the source (AI system or human doctor) of the outcomes. Independently of these cases, vignettes from publicly available resources were also assessed to provide a benchmark to previous studies and the diagnostic component of the MRCGP exam. Overall we found that the Babylon AI powered Triage and Diagnostic System was able to identify the condition modelled by a clinical vignette with accuracy comparable to human doctors (in terms of precision and recall). In addition, we found that the triage advice recommended by the AI System was, on average, safer than that of human doctors, when compared to the ranges of acceptable triage provided by independent expert judges, with only a minimal reduction in appropriateness.

From: Yura Perov N [view email]

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