We explore some of the ramifications arising from superflares on the evolutionary history of Earth, other planets in the solar system, and exoplanets. We propose that the most powerful superflares can serve as plausible drivers of extinction events, and that their periodicity corresponds to certain patterns in the terrestrial fossil diversity record. On the other hand, weaker superflares may play a positive role in enabling the origin of life through the formation of key organic compounds. Superflares could also prove to be quite detrimental to the evolution of complex life on present-day Mars and exoplanets in the habitable zone of M- and K-dwarfs. We conclude that the risk posed by superflares has not been sufficiently appreciated, and that humanity might potentially witness a superflare event in the next $\sim {10}^{3}$ years, leading to devastating economic and technological losses. In light of the many uncertainties and assumptions associated with our analysis, we recommend that these results should be viewed with due caution.
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Jeff Bezos shoots for the moon
Posted in space travel
The Amazon.com founder is likely to meet a goal of having his Blue Origin space-travel company work with NASA to return to the moon.
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According to Marc Ph. Stoecklin, principal research scientist at IBM Research, DeepLocker is a “new breed of highly targeted and evasive attack tools powered by AI.”
DeepLocker was designed in an attempt to improve understanding of how AI models can be combined with malware techniques to create a “new breed of malware,” Stoecklin explained in a post. This new type of malware can disguise its intent until it reaches an intended victim, which could be determined by taking advantage of facial recognition, geolocation, and voice recognition.
“The DeepLocker class of malware stands in stark contrast to existing evasion techniques used by malware seen in the wild. While many malware variants try to hide their presence and malicious intent, none are as effective at doing so as DeepLocker,” Stoecklin wrote.
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NASA’s first sun probe set to launch
Posted in space
NASA’s first mission to the sun is set to launch on Saturday. The probe will have to withstand heat and radiation never previously experienced by any spacecraft https://cnn.it/2KNGkuQ
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This is a fictional story about a man realizing for the first time, under rather unusual circumstances, that he has a deep desire not to age and die.
It’s been a few months already, yet that day still feels like yesterday. I am still not convinced that I didn’t lose my mind that day, and even if I didn’t, it’s changed my thinking quite a bit.
I was in a green grove in the local cemetery, sitting on a bench. As it is the piece of nature closest to home, I used to go there quite often. A small group of men, all at least in their 40s and wearing black suits and ties, had passed by just as the bells in the nearby church began ringing.
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Dr. Aubrey de Grey gives his keynote speech at the Ending Age-Related Diseases 2018 conference in NYC. This was our first conference and we will be back every year from now on.
To learn more about the event check out the conference page here:
https://www.leafscience.org/ending-age-related-diseases-2018/
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