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Aug 8, 2018

Can the US stop the scientific brain drain to China?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, innovation

The United States is still the preeminent location for scientific research, but this is not a given, and we should not take it for granted. The new policies being implemented by China, and especially their ambition to attract outside talent, could quickly drain the lifeblood of our scientific institutions. Without a determined effort to attract, support, and retain leading researchers, we cannot expect to drive the breakthroughs, technologies, and medicines of the future. Massachusetts has admirably made a strong commitment to biotechnology through the Life Sciences Initiative. But will this be enough to sustain the scientific ecosystem of the entire country?


The United States is in danger of losing its primacy in scientific research.

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Aug 8, 2018

Astronaut Announcement

Posted by in category: space travel

Don’t Miss This! We’re introducing you to the first astronauts who will launch from U.S. soil since the final Shuttle mission in 2011. Join us live starting at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 3 to meet the Commercial Crew astronauts who will fly on The Boeing Company and SpaceX capsules to #LaunchAmerica to the International Space Station.

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Aug 8, 2018

Journal Club July 2018 — CRISPR may cause unwanted mutations

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics

The July edition of the Journal Club has us taking a look at a recent paper that casts doubt and concern over the use of CRISPR Cas9 for gene editing.

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The paper we are discussing can be found here: https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.

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Aug 8, 2018

‘Rogue Planet’ Travels Universe Without A Parent Star

Posted by in category: space

This ‘rogue planet’ travels the universe without a star.

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Aug 8, 2018

1 Gram Of This Material Is Worth $6.25 TRILLION Dollars

Posted by in category: materials

The most EXPENSIVE Material in the world, priced at more than 6 TRILLION per gram is…?

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Aug 7, 2018

Robot Spiders Could Help Doctors With Surgery

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

These soft robot spiders could change how doctors perform surgery.

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Aug 7, 2018

WWII destroyed optical observatory, Ermita, Manila, Philippines, July 8, 1945

Posted by in category: space

The astronomical observatory was founded by the Jesuits during the Spanish occupation and later transferred to the Philippine Commonwealth Weather Department. This was adjacent to the University of the Philippines campus of today south of Luneta Park. The observatory had a 19-inch refracting telescope, by far the largest in the Orient. The staff of the observatory includes five Jesuit fathers and twenty-five well-trained native assistants. The construction of a 19-inch refracting telescope and dome was in 1897.

US signal corps photo, US national archives.

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Aug 7, 2018

Diving Into That Lake on Mars

Posted by in category: space

Who’s up for a swim?


Our world was rocked by last week’s announcement of good radar evidence for a liquid water “lake” under the Red Planet’s south pole. Senior Editor Emily Lakdawalla introduces us to the story that is then taken up by two of host Mat Kaplan’s favorite Martians. The Goddard Space Flight Center’s James Garvin headed NASA’s Mars exploration program, while NASA Ames astrobiologist Chris McKay co-founded the Mars Underground more than 35 years ago. Look up! Mars is still close by, and the Perseid meteor shower is around the corner. Bruce Betts gives us the What’s Up lowdown.

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Aug 7, 2018

The History of Artificial Intelligence

Posted by in categories: business, robotics/AI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytva8DDV_Ic

This video was made possible by Brilliant. Be one of the first 200 people to sign up with this link and get 20% off your premium subscription with Brilliant.org! https://brilliant.org/singularity

Artificial intelligence has been a topic of growing prominence in the media and mainstream culture since 2015, as well as in the investment world, with start-ups that even mention the word in their business model, gaining massive amounts of funding.

Continue reading “The History of Artificial Intelligence” »

Aug 7, 2018

Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously

Posted by in categories: drones, engineering, information science, robotics/AI

Engineers at Caltech have developed a new control algorithm that enables a single drone to herd an entire flock of birds away from the airspace of an airport. The algorithm is presented in a study in IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

The project was inspired by the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson,” when US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of geese shortly after takeoff and pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles were forced to land in the Hudson River off Manhattan.

“The passengers on Flight 1549 were only saved because the pilots were so skilled,” says Soon-Jo Chung, an associate professor of aerospace and Bren Scholar in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science as well as a JPL research scientist, and the principal investigator on the drone herding project. “It made me think that next time might not have such a happy ending. So I started looking into ways to protect from birds by leveraging my research areas in autonomy and robotics.”

Continue reading “Engineers teach a drone to herd birds away from airports autonomously” »