Singularitarian

Cloned Human Embryo Study Comes Under Fire

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:22:20 -0700

Cloned Human Embryo Study Comes Under Fire:

A week ago, scientists from Oregon Health and Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center announced that they had successfully used human skin cells to clone embryonic stem cells. In the few days since the researchers’ work came online, though, the research has been found to contain a few key errors.

Stitching defects into world’s thinnest semiconductor

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:05:50 -0700

Stitching defects into world’s thinnest semiconductor:

In pioneering new research at Columbia University, scientists have grown high-quality crystals of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), the world’s thinnest semiconductor, and studied how these crystals stitch together at the atomic scale to form continuous sheets. Through beautiful images of strikingly symmetric stars and triangles hundreds of microns across, they have uncovered key insights into the optical and electronic properties of this new material, which can be either conducting or insulating to form the basic “on-off switch” for all digital electronics.

Air Force Jet X-51A Goes Hypersonic, Zooms Five Times Speed Of Sound

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:52:59 -0700

Air Force Jet X-51A Goes Hypersonic, Zooms Five Times Speed Of Sound :

The United States Air Force has a serious need for speed. On May first their X-51A Waverider zoomed to an amazing Mach 5.1 – more than five times the speed of sound. While there was no pilot behind the stick of the hypersonic jet, the knowledge gained in developing and flying the X-51A paves the way for the hypersonics of the future.

Cast AR Glasses Bring Us One Step Closer to Augmented Reality

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:32:09 -0700

Cast AR Glasses Bring Us One Step Closer to Augmented Reality :

Technical Illusions’ Cast AR glasses, shown for the first time at Maker Faire —a festival that highlights invention, creativity and resourcefulness — in the Bay Area this past weekend, aims to bring gaming into the real world using augmented reality.

futurescope: Meet Eesha Kare, who invented a device that...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:55:09 -0700

futurescope:

Meet Eesha Kare, who invented a device that charges cell phone battery in under 30 seconds

Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, Calif. received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000. With the rapid adoption of portable electronics, Eesha recognized the crucial need for energy-efficient storage devices. She developed a tiny device that fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to fully charge within 20-30 seconds. Eesha’s invention also has potential applications for car batteries.

[read more @HuffPost]

Wi-Fi Network Breaks Speed Record

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:50:56 -0700

Wi-Fi Network Breaks Speed Record :

Think your network is fast? Getting a gigabyte-sized movie over your local wireless network to your hard drive in a few seconds is old hat. Now there’s a network that can push a 2-hour, high-definition movie to a computer a mile away in less time than it takes to read a single word.

At the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, a new record has been set: 40GB per second over a distance of about .6 of a mile. That’s like sending 10 high-def feature films.

Stanford physicists develop revolutionary low-power polariton laser

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:58:28 -0700

Stanford physicists develop revolutionary low-power polariton laser:

Stanford physicists have created a new method of producing coherent matter beams. The new laser system would use a hundredth the power of conventional lasers and could one day be used in many places from consumer goods to quantum computers.

Advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:17:18 -0700

Advance in nanotech gene sequencing technique:

The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in electrical current as they are threaded through a nanoscopic hole.

Drone-Vision Rifle Goes On Sale For $22K

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:06:12 -0700

Drone-Vision Rifle Goes On Sale For $22K:

The most inaccurate component of a rifle is the human behind the trigger, but starting Wednesday hunters can turn to drone-inspired vision for a little help. Provided they have $22,000 on hand for a new rifle, that is.

Predictions for Privacy in the Age of Facebook (from 1985!)

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:54:55 -0700

Predictions for Privacy in the Age of Facebook (from 1985!):

“The ubiquity and power of the computer blur the distinction between public and private information. Our revolution will not be in gathering data — don’t look for TV cameras in your bedroom — but in analyzing information that is already willingly shared.”

Are these the words of a 21st century media critic warning us about the tremendous quantity of information that the average person shares online?

Nope. It’s from a 1985 article for the Whole Earth Review by Larry Hunter, who was writing about the future of privacy. And it’s unlikely Mr. Hunter could have any more accurately predicted the Age of Facebook — or its most pervasive fears.

JPL BioSleeve Enables Precise Robot Control Through Hand and Arm Gestures

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:05:08 -0700

JPL BioSleeve Enables Precise Robot Control Through Hand and Arm Gestures:

No matter how capable you make a robot, its effectiveness is limited by how well you can control it. And until we’ve got this whole general autonomy thing nailed down (better not hold your breath), that means a lot of teleoperation. JPL has been working on a new gesture-based human interface called BioSleeve, which uses a [insert collective noun for sensors here] of EMG sensors, IMUs, and magnetometers to decode hand and arm gestures and map them to an intuitive robot control system.

Concept skyscraper generates its own energy using wind

Sat, 18 May 2013 08:49:24 -0700

Concept skyscraper generates its own energy using wind :

Belatchew Architects presents the concept STRAWSCRAPER, the first project to come out of the fledgling business Belatchew Labs. STRAWSCRAPER is an extension of the south tower on Södermalm in Stockholm with a new energy-producing shell covered with hairs that can extract wind energy.

Thin-film solar cells could become more efficient – thanks to moths' eyes

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:32:54 -0700

Thin-film solar cells could become more efficient – thanks to moths' eyes:

Because moths need to use every little bit of light available in order to see in the dark, their eyes are highly non-reflective. This quality has been copied in a film that can be applied to solar cells, which helps keep sunlight from being reflecting off of them before it can be utilized. Now, a new moth eye-inspired film may further help solar cells become more efficient.

Lifelogger reveals the day's emotional highs and lows

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:16:45 -0700

Lifelogger reveals the day's emotional highs and lows :

How was your day? Fine? Stressful? Boring? It might soon be a bit easier to flesh out your answer, or find out how someone else’s day really went.

All you need is a smartphone, a sensor and a high-tech “mirror”.

Bionic superhumans are on the horizon?

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:25:53 -0700

Bionic superhumans are on the horizon?:

We’re in the midst of a bionic revolution, yet most of us don’t know it.

Around 220,000 people worldwide already walk around with cochlear implants — devices worn around the ear that turn sound waves into electrical impulses shunted directly into the auditory nerve.

"It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:04:00 -0700

“It seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powers… They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the machines to take control.”

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Alan M. Turing

Hedonistic Robots Could Destroy Humanity

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:35 -0700

Hedonistic Robots Could Destroy Humanity:

Complex robots are like animals: They learn by doing. Future robots may even respond to reward systems: complete a task with aplomb, and a gain a “feeling” of satisfaction for a job well done.

NASA buys into 'quantum' computer

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:31:45 -0700

NASA buys into 'quantum' computer:

A $15m computer that uses “quantum physics” effects to boost its speed is to be installed at a Nasa facility.

Electrical Brain Stimulation Can Help You Learn Math

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:32:49 -0700

Electrical Brain Stimulation Can Help You Learn Math :

What if a painless zap to the brain could improve your ability to do math? Would you do it?

It may sound weird, but a new, small study of 25 people has shown that something like this may work. Researchers from the U.K. and Austria found that something called transcranial random noise stimulation helped people learn certain arithmetic faster. The effect still appeared when the researchers tested their study volunteers again six months later.

Scientists create human stem cells through cloning

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:12:55 -0700

Scientists create human stem cells through cloning:

After more than 15 years of failures by scientists around the world and one outright fraud, biologists have finally created human stem cells by the same technique that produced Dolly the cloned sheep in 1996: They transplanted genetic material from an adult cell into an egg whose own DNA had been removed.