Jan 30, 2021
Secretive agency uses AI, human ‘forecasters’ to predict the future
Posted by Prem Vijaywargi in categories: government, robotics/AI
A U.S. government intelligence agency develops cutting-edge tech to predict future events.
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Jan 30, 2021
‘Organs-on-a-chip’ system sheds light on how bacteria in the human digestive tract may influence neurological diseases
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
In many ways, our brain and our digestive tract are deeply connected. Feeling nervous may lead to physical pain in the stomach, while hunger signals from the gut make us feel irritable. Recent studies have even suggested that the bacteria living in our gut can influence some neurological diseases.
Jan 29, 2021
US Labs Paving Way for Quantum Internet
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: internet, quantum physics
A breakthrough in advanced quantum technology frequently compared to fictional elements of popular science fiction show ‘Star Trek’ could revolutionize everyday life around globe #quantumtechnology
Jan 29, 2021
Vincent Callebaut’s stunning twisting tower finally nears completion
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, solar power
Some four years after it was originally due to be completed, and over a decade after first being commissioned, Vincent Callebaut’s twisting Tao Zhu Yin Yuan (aka Agora Garden Tower) in Taipei, Taiwan, is finally nearing completion – and it’s looking like the wait has been worth it. The high-rise residential project has an ambitious DNA-inspired form incorporating thousands of plants on its facade and sustainability features including solar power, rainwater collection, and more.
Rising to a height of 93.2 m (305 ft), Tao Zhu Yin Yuan consists of 21 floors (plus four basement levels), and is defined by an unusual twisting design inspired by the DNA double helix. Twenty of the floors twist 4.5 degrees per floor as the building rises, for a total of 90 degrees from bottom to top.
Though it’s not looking quite as green as was suggested in early renders, this is understandable as the 23000 trees, shrubs and plants that are planted throughout the ground floor garden, balconies and terraces, still have some time to grow. SWA is leading landscaping duties and Vincent Callebaut Architectures (VCA) reckons that all those plants will remove significant amounts of CO2 from the local atmosphere each year.
Jan 29, 2021
U.S. commission cites ‘moral imperative’ to explore AI weapons
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: biotech/medical, ethics, government, military, robotics/AI
Beyond AI-powered weapons, the panel’s lengthy report recommended use of AI by intelligence agencies to streamline data gathering and review; $32 billion in annual federal funding for AI research; and new bodies including a digital corps modeled after the army’s Medical Corps and a technology competitiveness council chaired by the U.S. vice president.
The United States should not agree to ban the use or development of autonomous weapons powered by artificial intelligence (AI) software, a government-appointed panel said in a draft report for Congress.
Jan 29, 2021
SpaceX V/S Blue Origin: Who Will Win The Space Race?
Posted by Alberto Lao in category: space travel
Jan 29, 2021
AI Poised to Revolutionize Longevity, Scientists Say
Posted by Dan Kummer in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, robotics/AI
I realize this will step on a lot of toes, but, its time to accept that the AI will be what solves it.
Targeting aging may extend the average life expectancy more substantially than prevention or treatment of individual diseases.
Jan 29, 2021
SpaceX has two Starship prototypes on the pad at the same time
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space travel
Behold, Starships SN9 and SN10.
SpaceX has two Starship vehicles, SN9 and SN10, on the test pad at the same time at its South Texas facility, a first for the company.
Jan 29, 2021
Perl.com domain stolen, now using IP address tied to malware
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: cybercrime/malcode
Jan 29, 2021
Lab-grown wood could let us grow furniture in a lab instead of in a forest
Posted by Brent Ellman in categories: biotech/medical, engineering
“In a paper recently published the Journal of Cleaner Production, the researchers detail how they grew wood-like plant tissue from cells extracted from the leaves of a zinnia plant, without soil or sunlight. “The plant cells are similar to stem cells,” says Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories and co-author of the paper. “They have the potential to be many things.” With the ability to “tune” the plant cells into whatever shape they decide, Ashley Beckwith, mechanical engineering PhD student and the paper’s lead author, says they could use this process to grow more efficient materials. “Trees grow in tall cylindrical poles, and we rarely use tall cylindrical poles in industrial applications,” she says. “So you end up shaving off a bunch of material that you spent 20 years growing and that ends up being a waste product.” Instead, their idea is to grow structures that are more practical, like rectangular boards or eventually an entire table that doesn’t need to be assembled, which would reduce waste and potentially let land currently used for logging instead be preserved as forest.”
Why cut down trees when you can grow wood in the exact shape you need?
