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Nov 28, 2021

‘Squeezed’ Light Can Give Nano-Imaging a Much Needed Boost

Posted by in categories: materials, nanotechnology

It’s one thing to produce nano-scale materials, but it’s an entirely different thing imaging them.

Nanomaterials have many applications, especially in electronics, but they have one issue: They are so small that they don’t reflect enough light to show fine details, such as colors, even with the aid of the most powerful microscopes.

Now, researchers from UC Riverside may have come up with a solution. They have conceived of an imaging technology that compresses lamp light into a nanometer-sized spot, holding that light at the end of a silver nanowire. This allows it to reveal previously invisible details such as colors.

Continue reading “‘Squeezed’ Light Can Give Nano-Imaging a Much Needed Boost” »

Nov 28, 2021

The Mystery Behind China’s Secret Cockroach Farms

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

Cockroach farming is practiced in China on a massive scale. At present, there are hundreds of cockroach farms in China, with the total number of cockroaches produced annually exceeding the global human population. The insects produced in these unique farms are mostly used in the production of cosmetics and medicines, or for animal feed.

In 2018, Chinese pharmaceutical company Gooddoctor claims that it has earned US$684 million in revenue through selling a “healing potion” made from cockroaches that is used annually by thousands of hospitals and millions of Chinese patients to treat respiratory, gastric, and other diseases.

Continue reading “The Mystery Behind China’s Secret Cockroach Farms” »

Nov 28, 2021

Worried about AI ethics? Worry about developers’ ethics first

Posted by in categories: business, ethics, health, information science, robotics/AI

How will future AI systems make the most ethical choices for all of us?

Artificial intelligence is already making decisions in the fields of business, health care, and manufacturing. But AI algorithms generally still get help from people applying checks and making the final call.

What would happen if AI systems had to make independent decisions and ones that could mean life or death for humans?

Continue reading “Worried about AI ethics? Worry about developers’ ethics first” »

Nov 28, 2021

Rogue Miners Are Using Google Cloud Servers to Mine Cryptocurrencies

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, cybercrime/malcode, energy

Google’s cybersecurity team warns that this is neither the first nor the last time.

Cryptomining is a very energy-intensive process with analysis by the University of Cambridge showing that Bitcoin consumes more electricity than the entire country of Argentina. Now, Google has released a new report stating that malicious cryptocurrency miners are using hacked Google Cloud accounts for mining purposes.

The report is called “Threat Horizons” and it aims to help organizations keep their cloud environments secure.

Continue reading “Rogue Miners Are Using Google Cloud Servers to Mine Cryptocurrencies” »

Nov 28, 2021

Help us turn December BLUE

Posted by in categories: futurism, space

F4F is launching Blue Marble Night as a new spacer holiday, commemorating the Blue Marble photo taken by Apollo 17 on 7 December, 1972.
Want to help?

We are setting up a celebration of the limitless inspiration of space. One that recognizes the fragility of our world while simultaneously infusing a sense of hope and awe. We will have the Overview Effect and our future in space as the main focuses. :
Here is what you can do:

1. Recruit celebrities and regular people to record 30–60 second testimonials about the Overview Effect or their connection to space.

Continue reading “Help us turn December BLUE” »

Nov 28, 2021

Asteroid twice the size of Big Ben is hurtling towards Earth’s orbit on Monday

Posted by in categories: military, space

Nearly the same size as Blackpool Tower and twice as large as Big Ben, astronomers estimate that if the asteroid were to hit the Earth, the impact would produce the equivalent energy to 77 megatons of TNT.

This is 1.5 times as powerful as the Tsar Bomba, the biggest nuclear weapon ever tested.

Nov 28, 2021

The medical implants of the future: faster, smarter and more connected

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing

In a recently published white paper, imec provided an overview of the building blocks for the next generation of medical implants. Integrating the building blocks into smart chips provides a comprehensive solution that is smaller, smarter and more connected.

Nov 28, 2021

Is Quantum Tunneling Faster than Light? | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios

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

Start your Audible trial today: http://www.audible.com/spacetime.

Hello from the other side. In this episode find out how quanta can can move through solid objects.

Continue reading “Is Quantum Tunneling Faster than Light? | Space Time | PBS Digital Studios” »

Nov 28, 2021

AI discovers over 300 unknown exoplanets in Kepler telescope data

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI, space

The AI algorithm is more efficient in distinguishing false positives from the real stuff than human experts.


A new artificial intelligence algorithm has discovered over 300 previously unknown exoplanets in data gathered by a now-defunct exoplanet-hunting telescope.

The Kepler Space Telescope, NASA’s first dedicated exoplanet hunter, has observed hundreds of thousands of stars in the search for potentially habitable worlds outside our solar system. The calatog of potential planets it had compiled continues generating new discoveries even after the telescope’s demise. Human experts analyze the data for signs of exoplanets. But a new algorithm called ExoMiner can now mimic that procedure and scour the catalog faster and more efficiently.

Nov 28, 2021

A New Kind of Cell Discovered in The Heart Seems to Be Critical For Your Heartbeat

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

A new type of cell has been identified in the heart that is linked to regulating heart rate – and the discovery promises to advance our understanding of cardiovascular defects and diseases, once these cells have been more extensively studied.

The new cell is a type of glial cell – cells that support nerve cells – like astrocytes in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Named nexus glia, they’re located in the outflow tract of the heart, the place where many congenital heart defects are found.

The new cell type was first found in zebrafish, before being confirmed in mouse and human hearts too. Experiments on zebrafish found that when the cells were removed, heart rate increased; and when genetic editing blocked glial development, the heartbeat became irregular.