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Jul 18, 2016

Can we find a quantum-resistant algorithm before it’s too late?

Posted by in categories: computing, information science, internet, quantum physics, security

The warning from QuintessenceLabs’ CTO John Leisoboer is stark. “When sufficiently powerful quantum computers become generally available,” he says, “it’s guaranteed to break all existing cryptographic systems that we know of.”

In other words, he adds, “Everything that we’re doing today will be broken.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Google’s Chrome security software engineer Matt Braithwaite who wrote in a blog post earlier this month that “a hypothetical, future quantum computer would be able to retrospectively decrypt any internet communication that was recorded today”.

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Jul 18, 2016

DARPA’s New Robot Is Ready To Go Submarine Hunting

Posted by in categories: military, robotics/AI

DARPA’s newest Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) can travel on the high seas at speeds up to 27 knots for months on end without a single crew member.

DARPA's New Robot Is Ready to Go Submarine Hunting

The 39.62m ACTUV can be remote-controlled, but its primary use is as an autonomous vessel that can operate safely near manned ships and accommodate all weather conditions. No crew means greater safety for potentially dangerous missions like countermining and submarine tracking.

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Jul 18, 2016

Indian-origin researchers find cyber security risks in 3D printing

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, cybercrime/malcode

The researchers have found a way a hacker can create sub-millimeter defects between printed layers that can create fatigue in the product.

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Jul 18, 2016

5 Reasons To ‘Farm’ In Low-Earth Orbit

Posted by in categories: food, habitats, space travel, sustainability

Large Earth-orbiting greenhouses will someday likely be as commonplace as peanut acreage on Georgia’s coastal plains.


Low-Earth orbit (LEO) would hardly appear to be the best place to take up farming. But both NASA and the burgeoning commercial space industry are already planning for a time when in addition to on-orbit space hotels and new research stations, there will also be Earth-orbiting greenhouses. Such structures will provide a horn of plenty for growing numbers of LEO residents and astronauts venturing beyond Earth orbit to the Moon, Mars or even the Main Asteroid Belt.

The initial case for LEO agriculture would be to feed a growing population of space-dwellers — either using a greenhouse that remained permanently attached to the LEO habitat, or a greenhouse that was free-flying and uncrewed.

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Jul 17, 2016

SpaceX successfully lands Falcon 9 rocket on solid ground for the second time

Posted by in categories: drones, robotics/AI, space travel

SpaceX has successfully landed another Falcon 9 rocket after launching the vehicle into space this evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Shortly after takeoff, the vehicle touched down at SpaceX’s Landing Complex 1 — a ground-based landing site that the company leases at the Cape. It marks the second time SpaceX has pulled off this type of ground landing, and the fifth time SpaceX has recovered one of its rockets post-launch. The feat was accomplished a few minutes before the rocket’s second stage successfully put the company’s Dragon spacecraft into orbit, where it will rendezvous with the International Space Station later this week.

It’s also the first time this year SpaceX has attempted to land one of its rockets on land. For the past six launches, each rocket has tried landing on an autonomous drone ship floating in the ocean. That’s because drone ship landings require a lot less fuel to execute than ground landings (something we explain here). If a rocket has to accelerate super fast during launch — such as those going to high orbits or ones carrying heavy payloads — it uses up a lot of fuel during the initial takeoff. That leaves less fuel for the rocket to land back on Earth, which means a drone ship landing is sometimes the only option. But for this launch, the mission requirements allowed for a successful landing on ground.

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Jul 17, 2016

The Scientific Mystery of a Man Living with 90% of His Brain Missing

Posted by in category: neuroscience

The man has a wife and kids and works as a civil servant while his brain is mostly filled with fluid.

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Jul 17, 2016

I-Road Motorcycle-Car Hybrid

Posted by in category: transportation

Toyota’s latest vehicle is both a car and a motorcycle.

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Jul 17, 2016

Researchers say an Alzheimer’s vaccine is possible within 5 years

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

The potential vaccine would address a protein buildup that occurs when two proteins, amyloid-beta (a-beta) and tau, die and create plaques that block connections between brain nerve cells, says the study from researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide Australia in partnership with a research team at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, and University of California, Irvine. Autopsies have shown that these plaques are always present in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients, although Medical News Today reported that it is not clear if there are other underlying processes also contributing to the disease.

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“Essentially what we have designed is a vaccine that makes the immune system produce antibodies, and those antibodies act like tow trucks so they come to your driveway, they latch on to the breakdown protein or car and they pull it out of the driveway,” said Flinders University medicine professor Nikolai Petrovsky, ABC News reported.

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Jul 17, 2016

Nintendo Is Bringing Back the NES This Fall

Posted by in category: entertainment

Nintendo fans may be anxiously awaiting next March’s supposed NX launch (and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild), but the Japanese gaming giant has a little something up its sleeve in the meantime: a re-release for the iconic NES. Dubbed the Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, the console comes in the form of a miniaturized, HDMI-equipped take on the original and comes with 30 games built right in. Said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime:

We wanted to give fans of all ages the opportunity to revisit Nintendo’s original system and rediscover why they fell in love with Nintendo in the first place. The Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition is ideal for anyone who remembers playing the NES, or who wants to pass on those nostalgic memories to the next generation of gamers.

Players will even be able to pick up a second controller for just $10 USD when the revamped NES drops this fall. And best of all? The mini console will only run you $60 USD.

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Jul 17, 2016

Primitive Quantum Computers Are Already Outperforming Current Machines

Posted by in categories: computing, information science, particle physics, quantum physics

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jg8iCnQTLfM

A team has used simple quantum processors to run “quantum walk” algorithms, showing that even primitive quantum computers can outperform the classical variety in certain scenarios—and suggesting that the age of quantum computing may be closer than we imagined.

By now, most readers of Futurism are probably pretty well acquainted with the concept (and fantastic promise) of quantum computing.

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