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Feb 21, 2019
Israel to launch first privately funded moon mission
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: government, space travel
While it is not a government-led initiative, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) corporation joined as a partner. If the mission is successful, Israel will become the fourth country, after Russia, the US and China, to reach the moon.
Attempt to become fourth country to send spacecraft to lunar surface blasts off this week.
Feb 21, 2019
Chinese news station unveils world’s first female AI news anchor
Posted by James Christian Smith in category: robotics/AI
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua has unveiled “the world’s first female AI news anchor.” The computer-generated journo will team up with Xinhua’s existing male AI anchors at an upcoming series of political meetings in China.
The virtual reporter, named Xin Xiaomeng, was developed by Xinhua, in conjunction with a search engine company called Sogou. Developers modeled her speech and mannerisms on Xinhua news anchor Qui Meng, and showed her off in a video released on Tuesday.
Xiaomeng is lifelike, blinking and adjusting her hands as she speaks into the camera. Save for some rigid mouth movement, she could pass for the real thing.
Feb 21, 2019
Common acid reflux medications linked to increased kidney disease risk
Posted by James Christian Smith in category: biotech/medical
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which include well-known brand names Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the world. Approximately 10 percent of adults in the United States take these drugs for frequent heartburn, acid reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Given their prevalence, researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego mined the FDA Adverse Effect Reporting System (FAERS) database for unexpected consequences of PPI consumption.
In the study, published February 19, 2019 by Scientific Reports, the team found that patients who took PPIs were more likely to experience kidney disease than people who took histamine-2 receptor antagonists, another form of antacid that treats the same conditions and includes the brands Pepcid and Zantac.
“Post-marketing data collected by the FDA and deposited in the FAERS database allows us to look for potential adverse effects beyond what was found in a clinical trial, which may not have lasted as long or included as much diversity as the FAERS does,” said senior author Ruben Abagyan, Ph.D., professor of pharmacy.
Continue reading “Common acid reflux medications linked to increased kidney disease risk” »
Feb 21, 2019
Is It Time For A National Space Lottery?
Posted by Bruce Dorminey in category: space travel
A space lottery where proceeds support space and astronomy research and exploration might just be the winning ticket.
Feb 20, 2019
Amazon Pays No Tax For Second Year In A Row
Posted by Michael Dodd in category: futurism
We have come to the point where we need an Alt Min Corporate Tax. It is time to take away the Welfare Payments that these parasite Corporations receive.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon has found a way to not paying Corporate taxes for the 2nd year in a row.
Continue reading “Amazon Pays No Tax For Second Year In A Row” »
Feb 20, 2019
This Spider Has Been Dead For 110 Million Years, But Its Eyes Still Shine in The Dark
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: cyborgs
Soft, squishy, ancient spiders are hard to investigate — they don’t fossilise as easily as bones or exoskeletons. So you can imagine how excited researchers were to find 10 brand new spider fossils in a relatively unexplored area called the Jinju Formation.
The Jinju Formation is a geological area of South Korea from the Mesozoic era, between 252 and 66 million years ago. This new spate of fossils, which researchers from the Korea Polar Research Institute and the University of Kansas found in shale, has increased the number of known spiders in the Jinju Formation from just one to a whopping 11.
But two of these spider finds were even more exciting than the rest – their eyes still reflected light 110 million years after they died.
Feb 20, 2019
Association between Alzheimer’s and high brain iron to be tested in new clinical trial
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
A new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry is suggesting high iron levels in the brain may fundamentally trigger the progressive neurodegeneration associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A clinical trial is now underway exploring whether Alzheimer’s-related cognitive decline can be slowed by lowering brain iron levels.
Feb 20, 2019
10 Ways Space Could Destroy Civilization As We Know It
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space
A starry sky on a warm summer’s night is a beautiful view to behold. We tend to focus mainly on the wonders of space—how it could save our planet, how we could make contact with other friendly civilizations, and how we could learn about natural marvels that we can only begin to imagine.
However, behind the twinkling lights hide some of the most dangerous phenomena that we, as a species, have ever witnessed. From burning balls of gas to violent bursts of deadly radiation, here are 10 terrifying ways that space could destroy civilization as we know it.
Feb 20, 2019
Samsung Just Revealed a $1,980 Folding Smartphone
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: mobile phones
Korean tech giant Samsung officially announced its take on the growing foldable smartphone trend at its Galaxy Unpacked event today in San Francisco: the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The device will go on sale for $1,980 on April 26.
We first got a glimpse of the device in November, but the brand has likely been working on the concept for almost half a decade.