Lifeboat Foundation

Music has proven time and again to be an important component of human culture. From its ceremonial origin to modern medical usage for personal motivation, concentration, and shifting mood, music is a powerful balm for the human soul. Though traditional “music therapy” encompasses a specific set of practices, the broader use of music as a therapeutic tool can be seen nowadays as doctors are found recommending music for a wide variety of conditions.

The link between music and better academic performance is studied in a new research study.

It might be a fun game for film fans, but how will “deep fake” technology actually change the future of filmmaking?

In a viral sensation that has been bouncing around the internet, some very popular and very interesting videos have used this budding “Deep Fake” technology to superimpose different people and actors into some of our favorite film scenes.

Found by the Ultimate Action Movie Club, here’s an example of the tech at work replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous intro scene in Terminator 2 with Sylvester Stallone.

Researchers at MIT have developed a system for converting the molecular structures of proteins, the basic building blocks of all living beings, into audible sound that resembles musical passages. Then, reversing the process, they can introduce some variations into the music and convert it back into new proteins never before seen in nature. Credit: Zhao Qin and Francisco Martin-Martinez.

Want to create a brand new type of protein that might have useful properties? No problem. Just hum a few bars.

Continue reading “By turning molecular structures into sounds, researchers gain insight into protein structures and create new variations” »

Five years ago, Yandex was just a search engine trying hard to fend off Google in its local market. Since then it has bought Uber Technologies Inc.’s Russia business, built its voice assistant into cars and home appliances, and more than doubled its revenue. Yandex now claims to have 108 million monthly users, which is about 75% of Russia’s population.

I’m woken up by an alarm on a home speaker designed by Yandex NV. I go to work in Yandex taxi listening to the company’s music-streaming service. My lunch is delivered by Yandex. Eats. I buy sneakers on the company’s Beru marketplace, and catch up on a series on its Kinopoisk smart-TV app in the evening.

You get the picture. Not so long ago, most decisions in Russia were decided by the state. Now, Russia’s largest tech company can cater to your every need.

Continue reading “How Russia’s Citizens Can’t Escape Their Largest Tech Company” »

First “What-the-dolphin-saw” Image of a Submerged Man: Cymatic-Holographic Imaging Technique.

Home of Cymatics and the Cymascope for Research into sound and vibration creating Sonic Apps developed by John Stuart Reid, inspired by Dr. Hans Jenny.

Scientists have figured out how to use a laser to transmit audio, ranging from music to speech, to a person across a room without any receiver equipment — a potential breakthrough for the future of audio and communication.

“Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology research Charles M. Wynn said in a press release. “It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.”

People who appreciate the beauty of mathematics activate the same part of their brain when they look at aesthetically pleasing formula as others do when appreciating art or music, suggesting that ther.

Self-driving cars could revolutionise people’s lives. By the end of the next decade, or perhaps even sooner, they could radically transform public spaces and liberate us from the many problems of mass car ownership. They’ll also be much better behaved than human drivers.

Robot drivers won’t break the speed limit, jump the lights, or park where they shouldn’t. They won’t drive under the influence of drink or drugs. They’ll never get tired or behave aggressively. They won’t be distracted by changing the music or sending a text, and they’ll never be trying to impress their mates.

Driverless cars could also change the face of public spaces. Private cars are very expensive items that do absolutely nothing 95% of the time. They are economically viable only because paying a taxi driver for all your car journeys would be even more expensive. Once cars don’t need human drivers, this cost balance should tip the other way.

Continue reading “Driverless cars: once they’re on the road, human drivers should be banned” »