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Jul 8, 2016
Microsoft Testing DNA’s Data Storage Ability With Record-Breaking Results
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: computing, genetics, information science, internet, quantum physics
Biocomputing/ living circuit computing/ gene circuitry are the longer term future beyond Quantum. Here is another one of the many building blocks.
The tiny molecule responsible for transmitting the genetic data for every living thing on earth could be the answer to the IT industry’s quest for a more compact storage medium. In fact, researchers from Microsoft and the University of Washington recently succeeded in storing 200 MB of data on a few strands of DNA, occupying a small dot on a test tube many times smaller than the tip of a pencil.
The Internet in a Shoebox.
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Jul 8, 2016
Aerospace-industry mavens discuss Boeing’s next 100 years
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: futurism, transportation
Jul 8, 2016
Flipping Crystals Improves Solar-Cell Performance
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: computing, solar power, sustainability
New method for solar cells.
New solar cells could lead to improved light-emitting diodes, lasers and sensors.
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis.
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Jul 8, 2016
Hanergy claims solar cars need 5 hours of sun for 50 miles of range
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation
Cats are definitely smarter than dogs if this is true. Guess I should change my cat’s name from Dusty to Einstein or maybe Julius.
New research suggests that your cat might actually have a handle on some very basic physics, and can use it to help them hunt down hidden prey.
If the thought of your cat being better than you at physics — as well as being allowed to sleep all day — is getting you down, don’t worry, because we’re talking very simple cause-and-effect concepts here, and they only work when paired with cats’ extraordinary hearing and eyesight.
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Jul 8, 2016
Illegal gold mining causing mercury contamination in indigenous groups
Posted by Karen Hurst in category: futurism
Jul 8, 2016
Era of conventional wars over: Russia scientist
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: military, robotics/AI, space
Definitely could be tied to and explain some of IARPA’s investment in predictive systems “Robots to determine outcome of future wars: Russian army’s tech chief”
Robots will replace conventional soldiers on the battlefield in the future, says the Russian military’s tech chief.
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Jul 8, 2016
In-Ear EEG Makes Unobtrusive Brain-Hacking Gadgets a Real Possibility
Posted by Karen Hurst in category: neuroscience
Jul 8, 2016
The mind isn’t locked in the brain but extends far beyond it
Posted by Karen Hurst in categories: neuroscience, robotics/AI
There is a lot of truth to this article especially as you look at how the mind responds/ reacts to situations, ideas, etc. has also other factors involved such as how a person overall immune system is responding, chemical balance of a person’s system, etc. So, this reconfirms that thinking and being human goes far beyond a replica of a brain in a system.
Where is your mind? Where does your thinking occur? Where are your beliefs? René Descartes thought that the mind was an immaterial soul, housed in the pineal gland near the centre of the brain. Nowadays, by contrast, we tend to identify the mind with the brain. We know that mental processes depend on brain processes, and that different brain regions are responsible for different functions. However, we still agree with Descartes on one thing: we still think of the mind as (in a phrase coined by the philosopher of mind Andy Clark) brainbound, locked away in the head, communicating with the body and wider world but separate from them. And this might be quite wrong. I’m not suggesting that the mind is non-physical or doubting that the brain is central to it; but it could be that (as Clark and others argue) the mind extends beyond the brain.
To begin with, there is a strong case for thinking that many mental processes are essentially embodied. The brainbound view pictures the brain as a powerful executive, planning every aspect of behaviour and sending detailed instructions to the muscles. But, as work in robotics has illustrated, there are more efficient ways of doing things, which nature almost certainly employs. The more biologically realistic robots perform basic patterns of movement naturally, in virtue of their passive dynamics, without the use of motors and controllers. Intelligent, powered control is then achieved by continuously monitoring and tweaking these bodily processes, sharing the control task between brain and body.
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