December 2010
11 posts
3 tags
A Look Inside China’s Robot Restaurant (video) →
A restaurant in the city of Jinan in China is making international news by employing some unforgettable waiters. The Dalu Robot Restaurant features six custom built robot servers with some that resemble the classic automatons from 1950s science fiction, and others that are basically wheeled tables. There are also two more feminine robots that greet customers as they enter. While people cook the...
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Carbon Nanotubes Could Create World's First Space... →
Space elevators are incredibly tall theoretical structures that stretch beyond the earth’s atmosphere to transport satellites and shuttles into outer space without the cost and environmental impact of rocket fueled launches. The idea has always been more science fiction than science fact, however a team from King’s College London could change that — they claim that advances in carbon nanotubes...
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Could We Transport Our Consciousness Into Robots? →
Every Wednesday, Michio Kaku will be answering reader questions about physics and futuristic science. If you have a question for Dr. Kaku, just post it in the comments section below and check back on Wednesdays to see if he answers it.
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Michio Kaku: If You Can’t Beat the Singularity,... →
Are you worried about the coming robot apocalypse? Does research into artificial general intelligence freak you out? Do you look at computers and start dreading for the safety of your children? If so, world renowned physicist and science champion Michio Kaku has a message for you: instead of fearing technology, humanity should learn how to become part of it. Kaku hosts a great TV show called Sci...
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Photons vs. protons for treatment of spinal cord... →
A study comparing the long-term outcomes of patients with spinal-cord tumors following radiation therapy suggests that certain subsets of patients have better long-term survival. It also suggests that photon-based radiation therapy may result in better survival than proton-beam therapy, even in patients with more favorable characteristics.
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Robotic surgery for head and neck cancer shows... →
Less-invasive robotic surgery for upper airway and digestive track malignant tumors is as effective as other minimally invasive surgical techniques based on patient function and survival, according to University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers.
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No black holes found at LHC – yet →
The Large Hadron Collider has not yet seen any of the microscopic black holes that inspired numerous scare stories in recent years.
Many theorists actually hope the collider, based near Geneva, Switzerland, will create short-lived, miniature black holes. These would not pose a threat to Earth, but they would provide evidence for hypothetical extra dimensions that might lie beyond the 3D world we...
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Jumping beats moonwalking – for a virtual robot →
A humanoid robot has just emulated Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap” – though only in a simulation. It’s one small step towards developing a robot that can handle the unusual challenges of walking on the moon.
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Tech to End Tire Burning →
The smell of a burning tire is unforgettably putrid, but so far recycling technology has been unable to resurrect dead wheels. Millions and millions get discarded every year. Now a Malaysian startup says they have an answer.
Tires are a combination of natural rubber and petroleum products, and when they’re at the end of their useful lives, if they are recycled, they’re usually ground...
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Theoretical physics breakthrough: Generating... →
Under just the right conditions — which involve an ultra-high-intensity laser beam and a two-mile-long particle accelerator — it could be possible to create something out of nothing, according to University of Michigan researchers.
