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Dec 8, 2015

Gary McKinnon reveals detail on NASA data breach and ‘extraterrestrial life’

Posted by in category: space

In an recent interview, It expert Gary McKinnon has candidly revealed detail on his NASA data breach and finding documents on ‘extraterrestrial life’.

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Dec 8, 2015

Cyborg Future: Engineers Build a Chip That Is Part Biological and Part Synthetic

Posted by in categories: computing, cyborgs

Researchers just unveil the first biologically powered ‘chimera’ computer.

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Dec 8, 2015

The $75,000 problem for self-driving cars is going away

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

LIDAR units once cost $75,000. Now a $250 LIDAR, with no moving parts, is about to enter the market.


Giving a car “eyes” once cost a fortune. Now it’s affordable, a good sign for autonomous vehicles.

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Dec 8, 2015

Why Algae Could Be the Greatest—and Trickiest—Fuel Source of All

Posted by in categories: climatology, nuclear energy, sustainability

I recall when Venter made the first synthetic unique life form he said biofuels and algae that soaks up carbon dioxide would come out of it. Feels like it has been slow going but here is a why and why no item and please read the comments too as they are also informative.


From powering airplanes to replacing nuclear energy, algae has been touted as a green energy miracle. So if our waterways are already filled with the stuff, why isn’t it filling the world’s skies with biofueled planes? Algae is a tricky creature that presents a lot of challenges and misconceptions. Here’s why it’s difficult to harness—and why it could big a big payoff.

As we previously reported, algae is a fuel source that’s vastly more eco-friendly than oil, and will be crucial as we head into a future filled with climate change and depleting fossil fuels.

Continue reading “Why Algae Could Be the Greatest—and Trickiest—Fuel Source of All” »

Dec 8, 2015

Red Mars: Spike Orders Kim Stanley Robinson’s Epic to Series

Posted by in categories: entertainment, space

Spike is finally getting into the scripted series game and is beginning with a full season order for an adaptation of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars.

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Dec 8, 2015

California firm Hyperloop to test engine in southern Nevada

Posted by in categories: business, transportation

A California company with visions of building a futuristic transportation system to one day zip people and packages at nearly the speed of sound announced Tuesday it is building a test facility in southern Nevada.

Hyperloop Technologies Inc. and the Nevada governor’s office said the 50-acre facility at a fledgling North Las Vegas business park will test a linear electric motor at speeds of about 335 mph—about half the speed envisioned in a full-scale system.

“This decision represents another major milestone in our journey to bring Hyperloop to commercial reality,” Rob Lloyd, CEO of the Los Angeles-based company, said in a statement.

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Dec 8, 2015

Interesting Futurism Animation 7

Posted by in category: futurism

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Dec 8, 2015

Tiny chip that powers itself from radio waves

Posted by in categories: computing, energy

A tiny chip that uses radio waves to make its energy has been developed by Dutch researchers.

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Dec 8, 2015

Laser-Induced Graphene Looks to Displace Batteries With Supercapacitors

Posted by in categories: energy, materials

Researchers continue to refine the process for producing laser-induced graphene that promises big changes in energy storage.

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Dec 8, 2015

IBM to develop hardware to wipe out errors in quantum computing

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

(Image: IBM)

The race to build a full-blown quantum computer is heating up. Tech giant IBM has been working on error-correcting techniques for quantum hardware, and has now won funding from the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) to take it to the next level.

Quantum computers promise to vastly outperform normal PCs on certain problems. But efforts to build them have been hampered by the fragility of quantum bits, or qubits, as the systems used to store them are easily affected by heat and electromagnetic radiation. IBM is one of a number of companies and research teams developing error-correcting techniques to iron out these instabilities.

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