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Archive for the ‘education’ category: Page 171

Jan 8, 2017

Hour-Long Nap May Boost Brain Function in Older Adults

Posted by in categories: education, health, life extension, neuroscience

My grandparents taught me the importance of a power nap; and it does help.


We’re not sure what the boss would have to say about it if you suddenly downed tools and made a decision to have a little sleep, but new research has found that taking an hour’s nap after lunch can have a number of health benefits, including preventing brain ageing.

The study conducted among the older Chinese men by a team of worldwide researchers concentrated mainly on post-lunchtime napping and its impact on the health of elderly people.

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Jan 8, 2017

The Message of Thomas Friedman’s New Book: It’s Going to Be O.K

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, education, law, sustainability

Friedman argues that man is actually a fairly adaptable creature. The problem is that our capacity to adapt is being outpaced by a “supernova,” built from three ever faster things: technology, the market and climate change.

Man has sped up his own response times. It now takes us only 10–15 years to get used to the sort of technological changes that we used to absorb in a couple of generations; but what good is that when technology becomes obsolete every five to seven years? The supernova is making a joke of both patent law and education. Governments, companies and individuals are all struggling to keep up.


Friedman’s main cause for optimism is based on a trip back to St. Louis Park, the Minneapolis suburb where he grew up. This is perhaps the most elegiac, memorable part of the book — a piece of sustained reportage that ranks alongside “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” Friedman’s masterly first book about the Middle East. He points out that the same communal virtues that made Minnesota work when he was young have survived — and are still useful. But somehow, the passages that lingered with this reader were the ones about the good old days that have disappeared — when baseball used to be a sport that everybody could afford to watch, when local boys like the young Friedman could caddy at the United States Open, when everybody in Friedman’s town went to public schools.

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Jan 7, 2017

The Lifeboat Foundation and LEAF join Forces

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, education, existential risks, life extension, lifeboat, nanotechnology, robotics/AI

I figured they would post it themselves but I got too excited and decided to spread it around.


The Lifeboat Foundation is a nonprofit organization devoted to encouraging the promotion and advancement of science while helping develop strategies to survive existential risks and the possible abuse of technology. They are interested in biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics and AI and fostering the safe and responsible use of these powerful new technologies. The Life Preserver program is aligned with our mission to promote and develop rejuvenation biotechnology capable of combating age-related diseases.

We believe that a bright future awaits mankind and support the ethical and safe use of new medical technologies being developed today, thus we consider the goals of the Lifeboat Foundation to be compatible with ours and are pleased to move forward with them in official collaboration. As part of our commitment to the ethical progress of medical science LEAF promotes scientific research and learning via our crowdfunding website Lifespan.io and our educational hub at the LEAF website. A number of LEAF board members are already on the Scientific Advisory board for the Lifeboat Foundation and we look forward to working closely with them in the coming year.

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Jan 2, 2017

Amino Labs present the Amino

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biological, education

Amino is a bioengineering platform that allows anyone to learn and create with synthetic biology and bioengineering, at home, school or in the lab!

Find us on Indiegogo http://igg.me/at/amino

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Dec 26, 2016

2016: The year artificial intelligence exploded

Posted by in categories: business, education, robotics/AI

Not sure that I would claim 2016 as the year that AI exploded; I believe a better term for 2016 is the year that AI reinvented itself. I still see us in an evolution trend in 2017 as we still need to see more AI technology embedded in our back office platforms and apps than where we are today to claim we’re in a real AI explosion. Once we start seeing more IT organizations and CxOs embracing it in lowering their operational costs then we can claim we’re in an explosion.


Artificial intelligence isn’t a new concept. It is something that companies and businesses have been trying to implement (and something that society has feared) for decades. However, with all the recent advancements to democratize artificial intelligence and use it for good, almost every company started to turn to this technology and technique in 2016.

The year started with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing his plan to build an artificially intelligent assistant to do everything from adjusting the temperature in his house to checking up on his baby girl. He worked throughout the year to bring his plan to life, with an update in August that stated he was almost ready to show off his AI to the world.

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Dec 21, 2016

Xinhua: China launches carbon-tracking satellite into orbit

Posted by in categories: climatology, education, satellites

Hmmm; there is another use for this type of satellite just can’t openly state.


SHANGHAI—China launched a satellite to monitor its greenhouse gas emissions early on Thursday, the latest step in efforts to cut its carbon footprint, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The launch follows the United States joining China in formally ratifying the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions. It also comes as large sections of northern China have been shrouded in near-record levels of air pollution for most of the past week, disrupting flights, closing factories and schools, and forcing authorities to issue red alerts.

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Dec 21, 2016

The White House’s Fix for Robots Stealing Jobs? Education

Posted by in categories: education, employment, robotics/AI

UM NOVO RELATÓRIO da Casa Branca alerta que milhões de postos de trabalho podem ser automatizado e deixar de existir nos próximos anos.

O relatório, publicado esta semana pelo Conselho de Assessores Econômicos do presidente, se junta a um crescente corpo de trabalho prevendo enormes perdas de empregos devido à automação e inteligência artificial.

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Dec 15, 2016

The neuroscience behind imagination

Posted by in categories: cosmology, education, neuroscience

Trying to simplify and understand imagination isn’t that easy. Should be a great read for my tech friends trying to replicate this process.


Imagination… we can all imagine things – even things we have never seen before. Even things that don’t exist. How do our brains achieve that?

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Dec 13, 2016

Why Machines Should Go To The University of Google, School of Artificial Intelligence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, education, information science, robotics/AI

Now that’s an idea; education for systems. I can see the online university advertisements now showing an autonomous car beeping and flashing its lights over the enjoyment of graduating.


What if I told you to tie your shoes, but you had no laces? Or to cook dinner, but you had no pots or pans.

There are certain tools we need to succeed, which we often don’t have access to or are held back by a gatekeeper.

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Dec 10, 2016

Google, Sony And Oculus Unite To Establish VR Industry Standards

Posted by in categories: business, education, virtual reality

Some of the biggest names in the business are teaming up to secure the future of virtual reality.

Google, Sony, Oculus, Samsung, Acer and HTC have combined their efforts in order to create a healthy and equal industry for virtual reality hardware and software to develop and expand. The result is the Global Virtual Reality Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the growth of the virtual reality industry by providing educational resources, connecting developers with necessary resources and much more.

“The organization will foster dialogue between public and private stakeholders in VR around the world and make education and training material available to the public. Working groups will be organized around important topics for the industry, enabling us to produce relevant research and guidance. We will also host and participate in international discussions on important topics in VR to shape the public discussion on the technology. Ultimately, the group will develop best practices and share them openly.”

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