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Apr 4, 2016

Toyota forms company to make technology simpler

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, habitats, health, singularity, transportation

Very nice goal to have “all things connected” in Toyota’s and Microsoft’s case is “Singularity” lite meaning physical structures are connected; however, bio connection does not exist (only consumer profile information is available and integrated). This could be considered an interim state for Singularity.


The company called Toyota Connected has a goal of simplifying technology so it’s easier to use, perhaps even getting rid of distracting and complicated touch screens that now are in most cars and replacing them with heads-up or voice-activated technology, said Zack Hicks, the company’s CEO who also is Toyota Motor America’s chief information officer. Like other automakers, Toyota Connected will research connecting cars to each other and to homes, as well as telematics features that learn and anticipate a driver’s habits. The company, like other automakers, will explore transmitting a driver’s health data to a doctor or driving patterns to an insurance company so people are insured based on where they travel, Toyota said.

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Apr 4, 2016

CT Cosmos to Set up $150m Solar Power Project in Plateau

Posted by in categories: government, solar power, sustainability

Good; more opportunity for the region.


Seriki Adinoyi in Jos.

Panyam community of Mangu local government area of Plateau State came up alive at the weekend as they came out enmasse to receive CT Cosmos Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Communication Towers Ltd, which has indicated interest in establishing a massive Solar plant power project of over $150 million in the community.

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Apr 4, 2016

Mysterious Fast Radio Burst ‘Afterglow’ Was A Supermassive Black Hole

Posted by in category: cosmology

The next step was to then look a bit more closely at the host galaxy. In this case, the scientists found that there was a persistent radio source in the galaxy. If it had been an afterglow, it should have faded away rather than continuing as the scientists observed.

“What the other team saw was nothing unusual,” said Edo Berger, one of the researchers involved in the new study. “The radio emission from this source goes up and down, but it never goes away. That means it can’t be associated with the fast radio burst.”

So what did the emission come from? It was likely from an active center of a galaxy. This center is powered by a supermassive black hole, similar to our own Milky Way galaxy. Twin jets shot out from the black hole, and can create a constant source of the radio waves that the researchers spotted.

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Apr 4, 2016

Admiral Ackbar Voice Actor Erik Bauersfeld Dies At 93

Posted by in category: futurism

May the force be with him; RIP erik bauersfeld aka admiral ackbar.


Erik Bauersfeld, who provided Admiral Ackbar’s voice in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Return of the Jedi,” was 93.

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Apr 4, 2016

Self-Driving Robot Promises To Revolutionize Local Deliveries

Posted by in categories: drones, government, robotics/AI, security

We’re already seeing amazing things in the delivery services space for consumers with drones and self-navigating delivery services by companies like Dominos, etc. I cannot wait until we see more self check in hotels, resorts, and more 24×7 automated stores. Everything will be great, as long as security is great.


This self-driving robot can take the grocery-shopping burden off your shoulders and deliver your goods to your doorstep. Starship Technologies has already launched the intelligent robot and delivery trials have started in Greenwich, London.

Starship Technologies was founded by the same people who founder Skype. Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis plans to reshape local deliveries and also lend a hand in zero-emission deliveries worldwide.

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Apr 4, 2016

CRISPR Dispute Raises Bigger Patent Issues That We’re Not Talking About

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, law, robotics/AI

Good read; and highlights fair arguments around science and technology innovations and their patents. CRISPR was highlighted; however, the same can be applied to things like AI. What happens when a Humanoid robot owned by an investment bank innovates and develops new technology for Wall Street? The humanoid robot was (in this example) created by Microsoft; however, is owned by a Goldman Sachs. Who truly owns this new technology innovation? Could we see Goldman Sachs owning 70% of the patent & Microsoft owning 30%?


The worlds of science, technology and patent law eagerly await the U.S. government’s decision on who deserves patents on what many have referred to as the biotechnology invention of the century: the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique.

Scientists hail CRISPR/Cas9 as more accurate and efficient than other, now-traditional genetic engineering methods. As a result, CRISPR has generated worldwide debate about how it could accelerate the manipulation of plants, animals and even human beings at the molecular level. That some DNA modifications can be passed on to future generations raises particular concern.

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Apr 4, 2016

Quantum computing: Game changer or security threat?

Posted by in categories: computing, finance, quantum physics, security

Definitely a game changer; security threat depends on who gets the technology adopted on a broad scale first prior to other countries (China? USA? Australia? Russia? UK? CAN?, etc.)


Quantum computing offers financial institutions the prospect of faster transactions and lower trading costs, but is it also a threat to security?

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Apr 4, 2016

Cork man helps develop dissolvable brain implants

Posted by in category: neuroscience

A Cork scientist has played a leading role in developing dissolvable brain implants.

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Apr 4, 2016

Nanoparticles can grow in cubic shape

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology

The efficiency of many applications deriving from natural sciences depends dramatically on a finite-size property of nanoparticles, so-called surface-to-volume ratio. The larger the surface of nanoparticles for the same volume is achieved, the more efficiently nanoparticles can interact with the surrounding substance. However, thermodynamic equilibrium forces nanostructures to minimize open surface driven by energy minimization principle. This basic principle predicts that the only shape of nanoparticles can be spherical or close-to-spherical ones.

Nature, however, does not always follow the simple principles. An intensive collaboration between University of Helsinki, Finland, and Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, showed that in some condition iron nanoparticles can grow in cubic shape. The scientists also succeeded in disclosing the mechanisms behind this.

“Now we have a recipe how to synthesize cubic shapes with high surface-to-volume ratio which opens the door for practical applications”, says Dr. Flyura Djurabekova from the University of Helsinki.

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Apr 4, 2016

Bio coding language makes it easier to hack living cells

Posted by in category: bioengineering

A tool for designing computer chips will allow ordinary people to design their own DNA circuits to make smart bacteria perform a range of functions.

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