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May 18, 2016

This smart earpiece translates languages as they are spoken

Posted by in category: futurism

Definitely getting a pair. Now, I will know all the gossip in any language-lol.


VIDEO: So long, language barriers.

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May 18, 2016

Gauntlev 1

Posted by in categories: computing, particle physics

A tool able to generate remote forces would allow us to handle dangerous or fragile materials without contact or occlusions. Acoustic levitation is a suitable technology since it can trap particles in air or water. However, no approach has tried to endow humans with an intertwined way of controlling it. Previously, the acoustic elements were static, had to surround the particles and only translation was possible. Here, we present the basic manoeuvres that can be performed when levitators are attached to our moving hands. A Gauntlet of Levitation and a Sonic Screwdriver are presented with their manoeuvres for capturing, moving, transferring and combining particles. Manoeuvres can be performed manually or assisted by a computer for repeating patterns, stabilization and enhanced accuracy or speed. The presented prototypes still have limited forces but symbolize a milestone in our expectations of future technology.

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May 17, 2016

Microsoft’s Predictive Touch Screen

Posted by in category: futurism

Here’s a mobile screen that knows what you want to do BEFORE you touch it.

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May 17, 2016

Size of Brain Region May Impact How Well Exposure Therapy Works for PTSD

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

Interesting read on PTSD. Wonder how much this plays into DARPA’s own research around memory removal on PTSD patients. hmmm.


New research suggests that PTSD patients with a larger region of the brain that helps distinguish between safety and threat are more likely to respond to exposure-based therapy.

The study expands upon prior research that discovered having a smaller hippocampus is associated with increased risk of PTSD.

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May 17, 2016

Will technology allow us to transcend the human condition?

Posted by in category: transhumanism

Transhumanism: A primer.

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May 17, 2016

U.S. startup pursues self-driving semis but big-rig bots still down the road

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

I do see delays of self-driving 18 wheelers across the US. Too many laws & regulations would need to change, consumer safety & protection advocacy groups, etc. will delay this in the US.


SAN FRANCISCO – Picture an 18-wheel truck barreling down the highway with 80,000 pounds of cargo and no one but a robot at the wheel.

To many, that might seem a frightening idea, even at a time when a few dozen of Google’s driverless cars are cruising city streets in California, Texas, Washington and Arizona.

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May 17, 2016

Mason researchers keep networks moving to stay safe from hacker attacks

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, information science, internet, quantum physics

Given the fact that Los Alamos Labs have been and continue to advance cyber security work on the Quantum Internet as well as work in partnerships with other labs and universities; so, why isn’t Mason not collaborating with Los Alamos on developing an improved hacker proof net? Doesn’t look like the most effective and cost efficient approach.


Imagine burglars have targeted your home, but before they break in, you’ve already moved and are safe from harm.

Now apply that premise to protecting a computer network from attack. Hackers try to bring down a network, but critical tasks are a step ahead of them, thanks to complex algorithms. The dreaded “network down” or denial of service message never flashes on your screen.

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May 17, 2016

High-efficiency power amplifier could bring 5G cell phones

Posted by in categories: computing, internet, mobile phones, space, transportation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A new highly efficient power amplifier for electronics could help make possible next-generation cell phones, low-cost collision-avoidance radar for cars and lightweight microsatellites for communications.

Fifth-generation, or 5G, mobile devices expected around 2019 will require improved power amplifiers operating at very high frequencies. The new phones will be designed to download and transmit data and videos faster than today’s phones, provide better coverage, consume less power and meet the needs of an emerging “Internet of things” in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.

Power amplifiers are needed to transmit signals. Because today’s cell phone amplifiers are made of gallium arsenide, they cannot be integrated into the phone’s silicon-based technology, called complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS). The new amplifier design is CMOS-based, meaning it could allow researchers to integrate the power amplifier with the phone’s electronic chip, reducing manufacturing costs and power consumption while boosting performance.

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May 17, 2016

Invention promises rapid detection of E. coli in water

Posted by in categories: innovation, materials

“We have developed a hydrogel based rapid E. coli detection system that will turn red when E. coli is present,” says Professor Sushanta Mitra, Lassonde School of Engineering. “It will detect the bacteria right at the water source before people start drinking contaminated water.”

The new technology has cut down the time taken to detect E. coli from a few days to just a couple of hours. It is also an inexpensive way to test drinking water (C$3 per test estimated), which is a boon for many developing countries, as much as it is for remote areas of Canada’s North.

“This is a significant improvement over the earlier version of the device, the Mobile Water Kit, that required more steps, handling of liquid chemicals and so on,” says Mitra, Associate Vice-President of Research at York U. “The entire system is developed using a readily available plunger-tube assembly. It’s so user-friendly that even an untrained person can do the test using this kit.”

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May 17, 2016

How nanotechnology could detect and treat cancer

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology, neuroscience

The crew of the Proteus has one desperate chance to save a man’s life. Shrunk to the size of a large bacterium, the submarine contains a team of scientists and physicians racing to destroy a blood clot in the brain of a Soviet defector. The group journeys through the body, evading giant white blood cells and tiny antibodies while traveling through the heart, the inner ear and the brain to reach and destroy the blockage.

Although events in the film Fantastic Voyage were far-fetched when it was released in 1966, they’re now being realized every day in labs around the world, particularly in cancer treatment. A growing field called nanotechnology is allowing researchers to manipulate molecules and structures much smaller than a single cell to enhance our ability to see, monitor and destroy cancer cells in the body.

Tens of thousands of patients have already received chemotherapy drugs delivered by nanoparticles called liposomes, and dozens of other approaches are currently in clinical trials. Within the next five to 10 years, our bodies’ biggest defenders may be tinier than we could have ever imagined.

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