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Jul 16, 2018

Watch a self-driving car complete Goodwood’s legendary hill climb

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Want a hint of how the automotive zeitgeist is changing? You only need to look at the just-ended Goodwood Festival of Speed. Roborace has carved out a small niche in history with the first self-driving vehicle to successfully complete Goodwood’s famous hill climb, where vehicles have to tackle a gradual 300-foot ascent that includes narrow hay- and brick-lined passages. It wasn’t a flat-out assault, but the attempt (which was preceded by a practice run) went off without a hitch — which you can’t say for the other autonomous contender at the festival.

Siemens had prepared an autonomous Ford Mustang that carried none other than the festival’s founder, the Duke of Richmond, through the run. Technically, it did complete the run — but only with help from a safety driver, who had to repeatedly take over as the modified coupe threatened to plow into hay bales. This came despite Siemens’ team having 3D-mapped the course and plotted the route in advance.

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Jul 16, 2018

Supercomputer will simulate “entire regions” of the mouse brain

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, supercomputing

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2qTuZlMvFgY

Researchers involved in the Blue Brain Project – which aims to create a digital reconstruction of the brain – have announced the deployment of a next-generation supercomputer.

mouse brain supercomputer future
Credit: HPE

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Jul 16, 2018

NASA Scientists Imagine Studying Venus From A Floating Research Colony

Posted by in category: space travel

NASA engineers have proposed a manned mission to Venus. Though the technology doesn’t exist yet, astronauts would live on a floating research blimp.

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Jul 16, 2018

Robot cat pillow

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

This robot may be the perfect pet!

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Jul 16, 2018

Universal basic income touted as answer to automation

Posted by in categories: economics, employment, food, robotics/AI

My debate on #BasicIncome at the FreedomFest against Dr. Barbara Kolm, director at the Austrian Economic Center (debate moderated by syndicated columnist and scholar Veronique de Rugy) got a write-up in Nevada Current (article by journalist Jeniffer Solis). https://www.nevadacurrent.com/…/universal-basic-income-tou…/ #FFest18


Earlier this month, the Vdara Hotel & Spa added two relay robots that deliver snacks, sundries and spa products directly to guest suites. While charmingly decorated as a Golden Retriever and Dalmatian dog with Vdara-themed collars, the new robots — named Fetch and Jett — may be a sign of what’s next for Las Vegas.

In 20 years, about 65 percent of the city’s jobs could be automated, according to a study by the Institute for Spatial Economic Analysis. That projection may be an outlier – the Organization for Economic for Cooperation and Development, for instance, projects only 10 percent of U.S. jobs are vulnerable to automation.

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Jul 16, 2018

BREAKING: CRISPR Could Be Causing Extensive Mutations And Genetic Damage After All

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

CRISPR has been heralded as one of the most important breakthroughs in modern science, but there could be a hidden and potentially dangerous side effect to the wonders of its genetic editing technology, a new study reveals.

A systematic investigation of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in mouse and human cells has discovered that the technique appears to frequently cause extensive mutations and genetic damage that the researchers say wouldn’t be detected by existing DNA tests.

“This is the first systematic assessment of unexpected events resulting from CRISPR/Cas9 editing in therapeutically relevant cells,” explains geneticist Allan Bradley from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in the UK.

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Jul 16, 2018

Gene Editing Reduces Cholesterol in Animal Models

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

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Jul 16, 2018

Lightning-powered app lets you play roulette on the blockchain

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, climatology

Blockchain developers won’t be at peace until every single thing in the world is on blockchain. Or, so it seems.

Web developer Rui Gomes has created Lighting Spin — a web app that lets you play roulette over Bitcoin Lightning Network.

The app lets you wager anywhere between 1,000 Satoshi (approximately 6¢) to 100,000 Satoshi (approximately $6) per round. All you need to play the game is load your balance using a wallet service with support for the Lightning Network – like Eclair, for instance.

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Jul 16, 2018

Worried About Dementia? You Might Want to Check Your Blood Pressure

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

Keeping Blood Pressure Down Can Help Lower Dementia Risk : Shots — Health News A new public health campaign says controlling high blood pressure is among the best ways to keep your brain sharp. The neurologist in charge aims to lead by example.

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Jul 16, 2018

A Photonic Circuit for Quantum Computers

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Getting photons to interact is a key step toward using them as qubits.

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