Lifeboat Foundation

**Spanish architect Alberto Villanueva’s Mars Utopia concept would see the planet transformed into an inhabitable environment using towers formed by bacteria**

Villanueva, who works at Idea Architecture Office, created the project while completing a masters in Environment Design at London’s Ravensbourne College. “As an architect I am worried about the overpopulation issue”. “I was studying how the most populated cities around the world are growing non-stop. At the same time I realised that at least 30 per cent of territories are in extreme environments and I wanted to understand how, with my responsibility as an architect, I could think in new ways to build in these areas,” he added.

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Loving the progress around Quantum.

Today, a group of scientists — John A. Rogers, Eric Seabron, Scott MacLaren and Xu Xie from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Slava V. Rotkin from Lehigh University; and, William L. Wilson from Harvard University — are reporting on the discovery of an important method for measuring the properties of nanotube materials using a microwave probe. Their findings have been published in ACS Nano in an article called: “Scanning Probe Microwave Reflectivity of Aligned Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Imaging of Electronic Structure and Quantum Behavior at the Nanoscale.”

The researchers studied single-walled carbon nanotubes. These are 1-dimensional, wire-like nanomaterials that have electronic properties that make them excellent candidates for next generation electronics technologies. In fact, the first prototype of a nanotube computer has already been built by researchers at Stanford University. The IBM T.J. Watson Research Center is currently developing nanotube transistors for commercial use.

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Too cool.

Nanotechnologists at the University of Twente research institute MESA+ have discovered a new fundamental property of electrical currents in very small metal circuits. They show how electrons can spread out over the circuit like waves and cause interference effects at places where no electrical current is driven. The geometry of the circuit plays a key role in this so called nonlocal effect. The interference is a direct consequence of the quantum mechanical wave character of electrons and the specific geometry of the circuit. For designers of quantum computers, it is an effect to take account of. The results are published in the British journal Scientific Reports.

Interference is a common phenomenon in nature and occurs when one or more propagating waves interact coherently. Interference of sound, light or water waves is well known, but also the carriers of electrical current — electrons — can interfere. It shows that electrons need to be considered as waves as well, at least in nanoscale circuits at extremely low temperatures: a canonical example of the quantum mechanical wave-particle duality.

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Wow — now, I know who to blame for my hay fever allergy.

If you want someone to thank for your immunity to a whole host of pathogens — or, someone to blame for your allergies — look no further than Neanderthals.

Humans carry three important genes that hail from two ancient, human-like species: Neanderthals and Denisovans, both of which have been extinct for tens of thousands of years.

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Truly a potential bummer for Car-T as a result of the risk in creating immune defiancy disease such as CRS.

A win and loss for marijuana, a big advance in Alzheimer’s disease, and the next big thing are among some of the market-moving things I expect to see happen this year.

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Really nice. I may actually see the day that I can climb Everest or K2 at 100 yrs old with my cyborg body.

I like to joke that I’m technically 33 years old, but on the inside I’m 65. I’m less inclined to make that joke after spending 20 minutes or so inside Genworth’s “Aging Experience” exoskeleton. The R70i, which apparently is a barely coded reference to the fact that 70 percent of Americans will need some sort of long term care as they age, is a full body simulator that lets you experience what its like to lose your sight, hearing and even range of motion as the effects of aging creep in.

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This is a nice concept especially when you’re on vacation or traveling and need to be mobile.

A new portable fuel cell charger can charge a smartphone or tablet by combining saltwater and oxygen, say while you’re basking in the sun on the beach.

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Glad folks have awaken to the reality of our dated technology. The real question is will they truly be logical in their approach or believe more nuclear bombs are the answer.

The USA has been researching ways to enhance the biology and performance of soldiers for decades.

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work warned that America would soon lose its military competitive advantage if it does not pursue technologies such as employing artificial intelligence.

Continue reading “USA, Russia and China among early entrants in race for Super Soldiers and Artificial Intelligence” »

Everyone today claims they are a digital disruptor or have AI; even if they have call forwarding on their Skype phone thay claim to have AI. So, I do believe there do needs to be better standardized definitions around some of these terms in order to keep confusion down plus not comprimise the real value that these areas bring into the marketplace.

When we talk about artificial intelligence (AI) — which we have done lot recently — what do we actually mean? AI experts and philosophers are beavering away on the issue. But having a usable definition of AI – and soon — is vital for regulation and governance because laws and policies simply will not operate without one.

Creepy robots image from Shutterstock.

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