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Jan 7, 2016

Apple Buys Artificial-Intelligence Startup Emollient — By Rolfe Winkler, et al | The Wall Street Journal

Posted by in categories: computing, electronics, machine learning, mobile phones, robotics/AI, software

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“Apple Inc. has purchased Emotient Inc., a startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to read people’s emotions by analyzing facial expressions.”

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Jan 7, 2016

An 18-inch video display you can roll up like a newspaper

Posted by in category: futurism

(credit: LG)

LG is creating a buzz at CES with its concept demo of the world’s first display that can be rolled up like a newspaper.

LG says they’re aiming for 4K-quality 55-inch screens (the prototype resolution is 1,200 by 810 pixels), BBC reports.

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Jan 7, 2016

New synthetic molecular prosthetic cell acts as AND gate for disease treatment

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, singularity

And the Singularity rolls ever on. And on.


“Cytokine converter” AND-gate synthetic-biology prosthesis used to treat psoriasis in mice. Top left: skin before; right: skin after. (credit: Lina Schukur et al./Science Translational Medicine)

An advanced “molecular prosthetic” — a cell with synthetic gene circuits that can be implanted into an organism to take over metabolic functions that the organism cannot perform itself — has been developed by ETH Zurich scientists.

Continue reading “New synthetic molecular prosthetic cell acts as AND gate for disease treatment” »

Jan 7, 2016

This fully autonomous drone taxi is your traffic-jam dream come true

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Yup, you read that headline right. A Chinese UAV company named Ehang just unveiled the world’s first autonomous flying taxi.

The plainly-named 184 drone is essentially a giant quadcopter designed to carry a single passenger — and it needs no pilot. Inside the cockpit, there are absolutely zero controls. No joystick, no steering wheel, no buttons, switches, or control panels — just a seat and a small tablet stand.

To fly it, the user simply hops in the cockpit, fires up the accompanying mobile app, and chooses a destination. From that point onward, you’re just along for the ride. The drone takes care of all the piloting and navigation autonomously — so you supposedly don’t need a pilot’s license to use it.

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Jan 7, 2016

Facebook: The phone number is dying

Posted by in category: mobile phones

Facebook Messenger now has 800 million monthly active users, and it’s a sign that phone numbers will soon disappear, the company says.

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Jan 7, 2016

Self-Driving Cars Will Be on Our Roads Much Sooner than Anticipated

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

When will autonomous cars actually be on our roads? It seems that the date is far closer than anticipated.

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Jan 7, 2016

ili Wearable Translator

Posted by in categories: innovation, wearables

Japanese company creates innovative new translation product. Decides to market it using the most cringeworthy video possible.

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Jan 7, 2016

5 Reasons Millennials Will Probably Never Have To Worry About Dying

Posted by in category: life extension

Science, man.

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Jan 7, 2016

A No Brainer? New Survey Indicates A Majority May Support Healthy Longevity

Posted by in categories: health, life extension, neuroscience

A new survey has discovered a fear of frailty likely prevents widespread support of longevity, but if health is combined with years then it could well be a popular option.

Healthy longevity may convince people

According to the new survey, out of 1500 people 74.4% wished to live to 120 or longer if health was guaranteed, but only 57.4% wished to live that long if it wasn’t.

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Jan 7, 2016

Beyond SpaceX: 10 space companies to watch in 2016 & 2017

Posted by in categories: computing, space travel

While development is happening everywhere, these companies are the next big things to shoot past the stratosphere.

While a lot of end-of-the-year, turn-of-the-calendar roundups try to focus on the year that was or the year ahead, the space industry is very different. Developments are planned further in advance, so some of the qualifying news that gets companies on this list isn’t scheduled to happen until 2017. The industry is small compared to cloud computing or cybersecurity, for example, but the rate of growth is tremendous. There seems to be a cultural solidarity with spacetech on account of its tightly-knit history of cooperation and the still limited number of private companies that can facilitate space flight.

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