A new TED Talk from the author behind The Social Network features an oddly compelling story about the existence of aliens.
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To understand if the world is getting worse you have to look at the past data to see. So many people suggest we are heading for dystopia especially when talking about increased lifespans through technology but this doesnt really measure up against the facts. Life has never been so good and worth fighting for!
A common objection to increased lifespans is that the world is either already a horrible place or heading into some kind of sci-fiction dystopia not worth living. There are problems in the world but this article shows just how much science and technology has improved lives for decades.
The truth is there are problems in the world but nothing that we cannot overcome if we try. The world is a wonderful place, there is every reason to want to be alive and experience it and technology could let us live longer to enjoy it even more.
“Freedom is impossible without faith in free people. And if we are not aware of our history and falsely believe the opposite of what is true we risk losing faith in each other.”
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More progress in treating MS.
In findings that show the effectiveness of a new strategy for treating multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers are reporting positive results from three large, international, multicenter Phase III clinical trials of the investigational drug ocrelizumab (brand name Ocrevus) in both relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS).
The trial results are published online on Dec. 21, 2016, in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), and are discussed in an accompanying editorial.
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks the body, making it a so-called autoimmune disease. To date, all MS drugs have targeted the immune system’s T cells. Ocrelizumab, in contrast, depletes populations of the immune system’s B cells.
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Seven robots you need to know
Posted in cyborgs, robotics/AI
Humans’ relationship with technology is growing ever-more intimate. In a sense, we have already become cyborgs, tethered to our external electronic devices, outsourcing to them our memories, our sense of direction, our socializing, our lives. But, if the past year’s technological advancements are any indication, our relationship with technology is going to get a whole lot closer. Technology could one day soon become regularly integrated with our biology to manage disease and augment human ability. Here were some of the biggest breakthroughs of the past year on the cyborg front.
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There’s really no sector in the United States (or much of the world) that has been untouched by the development of advanced manufacturing technologies – and no one seems to be underestimating the importance of the further development of those technologies in order to keep the country competitive. To that end, in 2014 the government established the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), more commonly known as Manufacturing USA.
The program brought together the industrial, academic, nonprofit and governmental sectors to establish a network of advanced manufacturing institutes for the purpose of accelerating new manufacturing technologies. President Obama proposed that the network grow to 45 institutes over the course of 10 years, and as of today, 12 have been established. The 12th, which was just announced by the Department of Defense, will be the Advanced Tissue Biofabrication (ATB) Manufacturing USA Institute, and will be led by the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), based in Manchester, New Hampshire.
“The investments we are making in advanced manufacturing, including today’s announcement, will ensure that the innovations needed to develop, manufacture and commercialize cutting-edge processes and materials will happen right here, in America,” said Defense Secretary Ash Carter. “They will provide important benefits to our war fighters and will help strengthen the economy that is the bedrock of our national security.”
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Tech luminaries we lost in 2016
Posted in futurism
LONDON The attack on a Berlin Christmas market showed the devastation that can be wrought by the simple act of driving a truck into crowds, and the problems in preventing another massacre.
The attack in Germany on Monday, in which 11 people were killed by the truck in addition to the murder of the Polish driver, mirrored a militant raid in the French city of Nice in July that killed 86.
Hauliers increasingly track their vehicles in real time but security experts say the technology cannot be used to stop an attack if a lorry has been hijacked to be used as a weapon.
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Excellent.
Researchers at Tohoku University have, for the first time, successfully demonstrated the basic operation of spintronics-based artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence, which emulates the information processing function of the brain that can quickly execute complex and complicated tasks such as image recognition and weather prediction, has attracted growing attention and has already been partly put to practical use.
The currently-used artificial intelligence works on the conventional framework of semiconductor-based integrated circuit technology. However, this lacks the compactness and low-power feature of the human brain. To overcome this challenge, the implementation of a single solid-state device that plays the role of a synapse is highly promising.
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