Lifeboat Foundation

When people talk about the next-generation of computers, they’re usually referring to one of two things: quantum computers – devices that will have exponentially greater processing power thanks to the addition of quantum superposition to the binary code – and optical computers, which will beam data at the speed of light without generating all the heat and wasted energy of traditional electronic computers.

Both of those have the power to revolutionise computing as we know it, and now scientists at the University of Technology, Sydney have discovered a material that has the potential to combine both of those abilities in one ridiculously powerful computer of the future. Just hold on for a second while we freak out over here.

The material is layered hexagonal boron nitride, which is a bit of a mouthful, but all you really need to know about it is that it’s only one atom thick – just like graphene – and it has the ability to emit a single pulse of quantum light on demand at room temperature, making it ideal to help build a quantum optical computer chip.

Read more

Liz Parrish in another excellent interview. Bioviva is daring to push ahead and test telomerase therapy to see if it works.

Dr. Ed Park of Recharge Biomedical interviews LIz Parrish, CEO of BioViva and the first person to receive telomerase gene therapy. Clinical signs indicate this revolutionary therapy may be working.

Continue reading “PODCAST 50: Telomerase Gene Therapy” »

The first global autonomous car racing championship will start in 2016, the creators of Formula E have announced.

Known as RoboRace, the series will see completely autonomous electric cars compete in one-hour races designed to test artificial intelligence.

Races, which will take place on the same day and circuits as the Formula E championship, will have 10 teams and 20 cars competing.

Read more

Humai, a technology company based in Los Angeles, says that it is working on a project known as “Atom & Eve” that would let human consciousness be transferred to an artificial body after their death.

Artificial intelligence, the most important and major discovery of science will be one of the most helpful things in the whole project. The Humai have already started working on human rebirth using artificial intelligence.

The three technologies collectively used by the tech giant company are “Nanotechnology, bionics & artificial intelligence”. The company is expecting the whole system to be ready in 3 decades and, of course, this type of work requires this much time.

Read more

Russell also signed the letter, but he says his view is less apocalyptic. He says that, until now, the field of artificial intelligence has been singularly focused on giving robots the ability to make “high-quality” decisions.

“At the moment, we don’t know how to give the robot what you might call human values,” he says.

But Russell believes that as this problem becomes clearer, it’s only natural that people will start to focus their energy on solving it.

Read more

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4fCInX116os

Kool, the sooner we can stop worrying about our effects on the carbon cycle so greatly the better. We can grow algae in the oceans.

Hydrogen is a very clean fuel that is increasingly being used as vehicle fuel and to generate electricity. The problem is how to produce it efficiently without generating significant carbon emissions and at a competitive cost. A team of researchers at Imperial College is currently looking at the problem and think they know how to do it.

Read more

The double-walled, translucent space igloos feature a “contemplative yard” meant to feel like the outdoors.

Read more

If the Airbus patent ever becomes reality, this boarding style would be a thing of the past. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Unless you’re deathly afraid of planes, one of the worst things about flying is the sheer tedium of it. It’s nothing but indeterminate waiting — waiting for security, waiting to board, waiting to reach your destination.

Airbus has just been granted a patent for a wild new way to try to speed up boarding on planes — and as Ars Technica points out, it’s just like something out of the classic kids TV show Thunderbirds.

Read more

“Stanford and UC Berkeley researchers have a solution to the problem of storing energy from wind, water and solar power overnight (or in inclement weather): store it underground. The system could result in a reliable, affordable national grid, replacing fossil fuel, they believe.”

Read more