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New research from the University of Liverpool, published in the journal Nanoscale, has probed the structure and material properties of protein machines in bacteria, which have the capacity to convert carbon dioxide into sugar through photosynthesis.

Cyanobacteria are a phylum of bacteria that produce oxygen and energy during photosynthesis, similar to green plants. They are among the most abundant organisms in oceans and fresh water. Unique internal ‘machines’ in cyanobacteria, called carboxysomes, allow the organisms to convert to sugar and provide impacts on global biomass production and our environment.

Carboxysomes are nanoscale polyhedral structures that are made of several types of proteins and enzymes. So far, little is known about how these ‘machines’ are constructed and maintain their organisation to perform carbon fixation activity.

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Samuel West is obsessed with failures. In fact, the innovation researcher and organizational psychologist collects them—and now his collection is on display.

The Museum of Failure, West’s brainchild, celebrates the absurd and hilarious wrong turns that companies have taken in their product development—from Colgate’s unappetizing beef lasagna, to Harley Davidson’s leathery-scented perfume, to Bic’s sexist “for Her” lady’s pen.

But it’s more than that, too. West’s bigger point, he says, is he’s sick of everyone worshipping success. Every failure is uniquely spectacular, says West, while success is nauseatingly repetitive. True innovation requires learning from the complexities of each failure—a skill that, he says, most companies fail to hone. Opening this June in Helsingborg, Sweden, the museum seeks to de-stigmatize personal and professional failure.

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Should of gone to an American defense contractor, but at least it gets out from under the mismanagement of the silicon valley lunatics.

Here’s a surprise turn of events: Softbank — maker of the friendly Pepper robot and a major M&A player in the tech world — has just announced that it is acquiring two more robotics companies from Google owner Alphabet as part of its own deeper move into the field: it is buying Big Dog developer Boston Dynamics and the secretive bipedal robotics firm Schaft.

A spokesperson for Softbank has confirmed to us that the terms of the deal are not being disclosed, but we will try to find out.

“Today, there are many issues we still cannot solve by ourselves with human capabilities,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., in a statement. “Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution, and Marc and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots. I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling.”

Continue reading “Softbank is buying robotics firms Boston Dynamics and Schaft from Alphabet” | >

Arlan Robotics is developing a robot just for adults, and yes, you know what that means.

The Service Droid (now a crowdfunding project on Indiegogo) started life as a personal project by Arlan Robotics, created out of curiosity given the complete lack of quality male ‘toys’ on the market. What the company claim to have created is an incredibly realistic droid that when assembled looks, smells, feels and moves like a real human.

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What is the ultimate goal of Artificial General Intelligence?

In this video series, the Galactic Public Archives takes bite-sized looks at a variety of terms, technologies, and ideas that are likely to be prominent in the future. Terms are regularly changing and being redefined with the passing of time. With constant breakthroughs and the development of new technology and other resources, we seek to define what these things are and how they will impact our future.

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