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Oct 17, 2018

Stephen Hawking´s words from beyond the grave bring tears to

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Speaking from beyond the grave, Professor Stephen Hawking has told a new generation growing up in an increasingly insular world: ‘Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.’

The eminent cosmologist, who had motor neurone disease and died in March, had his final public thoughts broadcast at a special event to launch his last book, Brief Answers To The Big Questions.

Prof Hawking’s words of advice and defiance, echoing from an Imax screen at London’s Science Museum, brought tears to the eyes of his daughter Lucy.

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Oct 17, 2018

Stephen Hawking left us bold predictions on AI, superhumans, and aliens

Posted by in categories: climatology, genetics, robotics/AI, sustainability

The good news: Humanity will survive climate change. The bad news: The only ones who do will be genetically modified superhumans.

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Oct 17, 2018

Weird state of matter produced in space for first time

Posted by in categories: particle physics, space

Atoms cooled to make a Bose-Einstein condensate during on brief rocket flight.

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Oct 17, 2018

What is the speed of gravity?

Posted by in categories: physics, space

According to Einstein’s General Relativity, gravity travels at the speed of light. Proving it is far from simple, though: unlike light, gravity can’t simply be switched on and off, and is also extremely weak.

Over the years, various attempts have been made to measure the speed using studies of astronomical phenomena, such as the time delay of light as it passes through the huge gravitational field of Jupiter. While the results have been broadly in line with Einstein’s prediction, they’ve lacked the precision needed for compelling evidence. That’s now been provided by the celebrated detection of gravitational waves. Analysis of the signals picked up by the two giant LIGO instruments in the US has confirmed that gravity does indeed travel through space at the speed of light.

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Oct 17, 2018

We can now customize cancer treatments, tumor

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

But can any company afford to manufacture one-off medical care?

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Oct 17, 2018

Organs are not just bystanders, may be active participants in fighting autoimmune disease

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Findings from mouse study suggest organs affected by autoimmune disease suppress immune cells using methods similar to those used by cancer cells to evade detection.

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Oct 17, 2018

West Coast earthquake warning system becomes operational

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Developers testing an earthquake early warning system for the West Coast say its automated alerts are ready to be used more broadly, but not for mass public notification.

U.S. Geological Survey official Doug Given told reporters Wednesday at California Institute of Technology that the ShakeAlert system has transitioned from a production prototype to operational mode.

The system built for California, Oregon and Washington detects an earthquake is occurring and send out alerts that may give warnings of few seconds to perhaps a minute before shaking arrives at locations away from the epicenter.

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Oct 17, 2018

Could this venture-backed zero energy house revolutionize the home building industry?

Posted by in categories: energy, habitats, sustainability

Backed by startup incubator Y Combinator, Acre Designs is poised to transform the house building industry with prefabricated, net zero energy homes that are affordable and sustainable.

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Oct 17, 2018

AI will impact 100% of jobs, professions, and industries, says IBM’s Ginni Rometty

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Give me my data and no one gets hurt (I’ll lease it back to you, no problem:-)


At the Gartner Symposium/ITExpo, Rometty laid out three principles for companies working ethically with AI.

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Oct 17, 2018

Extraterrestrials Might Look Like Us, Says Astrobiologist

Posted by in categories: alien life, evolution, information science, physics

Maybe they’re not alien doppelgangers — mirror images of us.

But extraterrestrial life—should it exist—might look “eerily similar to the life we see on Earth,” says Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Indeed, Cockell’s new book (The Equations of Life: How Physics Shapes Evolution, Basic Books, 352 pages) suggests a “universal biology.” Alien adaptations, significantly resembling terrestrial life—from humanoids to hummingbirds—may have emerged on billions of worlds.

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