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Dec 22, 2016

Using graphene to detect brain cancer cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Graphene has already proven its importance to brain implants as well as other Synbio technology.


Brain cell culture. Left: Normal astrocyte brain cell; Right: cancerous Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) version, imaged by Raman spectrography. (credit: B. Keisham et al./ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces)

By interfacing brain cells with graphene, University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have differentiated a single hyperactive Glioblastoma Multiforme cancerous astrocyte cell from a normal cell in the lab — pointing the way to developing a simple, noninvasive tool for early cancer diagnosis.

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Dec 22, 2016

Electron-photon small-talk could have big impact on quantum computing

Posted by in categories: computing, employment, particle physics, quantum physics

In a step that brings silicon-based quantum computers closer to reality, researchers at Princeton University have built a device in which a single electron can pass its quantum information to a particle of light. The particle of light, or photon, can then act as a messenger to carry the information to other electrons, creating connections that form the circuits of a quantum computer.

The research, published in the journal Science and conducted at Princeton and HRL Laboratories in Malibu, California, represents a more than five-year effort to build a robust capability for an electron to talk to a , said Jason Petta, a Princeton professor of physics.

“Just like in human interactions, to have good communication a number of things need to work out—it helps to speak the same language and so forth,” Petta said. “We are able to bring the energy of the electronic state into resonance with the light particle, so that the two can talk to each other.”

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Dec 22, 2016

The First Quantum Revolution: Foundational information for the enterprise CTO

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, quantum physics

Bob Gourley

Our report on Naturally Better Security dove deep into ways quantum effects can be leveraged to enhance real world cybersecurity. It was our most popular post in November 2016 and the feedback we received was taken as a signal that we should produce more on what CTOs should know about the quantum world. With this post we are kicking off a series of five pieces that will dive into quantum effects. This first post tackles some foundational background that puts the science into a historical context. The second one will discuss the current revolution in quantum computing. The third focuses on security concerns. The forth dives into quantum key distribution. The fifth hits on the “so-what” of the current revolution in terms of security.

So first, foundational background on quantum mechanics.

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Dec 22, 2016

UW researcher pursues synthetic ‘scaffolds’ for muscle regeneration

Posted by in category: bioengineering

Tissue engineering for muscles.


Tissue engineering in the news again this time its creating scaffolds for muscle regeneration.

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Dec 22, 2016

One of World’s Most Dangerous Supervolcanoes Is Rumbling

Posted by in category: existential risks

Italy’s Campi Flegrei may be awakening from a long slumber, scientists warn.

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Dec 22, 2016

World’s largest hedge fund to replace managers with artificial intelligence

Posted by in categories: finance, robotics/AI, transhumanism

“Bankers will become dinosaurs.” #AI article from The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/22/bridgewat…management #Transhumanism


The company is already highly data-driven, with meetings recorded and staff asked to grade each other throughout the day using a ratings system called “dots”. The Systematized Intelligence Lab has built a tool that incorporates these ratings into “Baseball Cards” that show employees’ strengths and weaknesses. Another app, dubbed The Contract, gets staff to set goals they want to achieve and then tracks how effectively they follow through.

These tools are early applications of PriOS, the over-arching management software that Dalio wants to make three-quarters of all management decisions within five years. The kinds of decisions PriOS could make include finding the right staff for particular job openings and ranking opposing perspectives from multiple team members when there’s a disagreement about how to proceed.

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Dec 22, 2016

Cyrano de Bergerac (1900) — The 1st Movie w/ both Sound & Color — Clement Maurice

Posted by in category: entertainment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_VPh6SAO0I&list=PLEBF14…p;index=46

And, who said we didn’t have motion pictures with color and sound together before 1931!


Believed to be the first ever, or at least oldest surviving, film produced with both color and sound. The color was made by hand-painting the individual frames of originally black & white film. The sound came from an accompaniment of a sound-on-cylinder recording of Benoit Constant Coquelin’s voice reciting one of Cyrano’s speeches.

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Dec 22, 2016

5 Reasons Trump Should Commit To A Crewed Lunar Return

Posted by in category: space travel

A few end of year thoughts on why the incoming Trump Administration should make a crewed lunar return its first priority.


A few reasons why the incoming Trump Administration should make a crewed return to the Moon its first space priority. NASA astronauts should once again trod the regolith.

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Dec 22, 2016

Could Dark Matter Be Powering The EMdrive?

Posted by in categories: cosmology, space travel

Interesting…


It might not work at all, but if the thrust is real and we detect no reaction, could the discrepancy be due to dark matter?

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Dec 22, 2016

The UN Just Gave Scientists the Green Light to Mess With Natural Selection

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, genetics

Of all the potentially apocalyptic technologies scientists have come up with in recent years, the gene drive is easily one of the most terrifying. A gene drive is a tool that allows scientists to use genetic engineering to override natural selection during reproduction. In theory, scientists could use it to alter the genetic makeup of an entire species—or even wipe that species out. It’s not hard to imagine how a slip-up in the lab could lead to things going very, very wrong.

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