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Aug 7, 2023

Nuclear fusion milestone achieved in huge boost for near-limitless clean energy

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Scientists have achieved a net energy gain in nuclear fusion for the second time, marking major progress towards realising the potential of the near-limitless energy source.

A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, who first achieved the feat last December, claimed to have passed a new milestone with fusion ignition by producing even greater energy output than the original experiment.

The nuclear fusion process has been described as the “holy grail” of clean energy, as it requires no fossil fuels and leaves behind no hazardous waste. Instead it mimics the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, though harnessing its potential has puzzled scientists since the 1950s.

Aug 7, 2023

A Magnetohydrodynamic Drive In The Kitchen Sink

Posted by in category: military

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drive certainly sounds like something out of science fiction — using an array of magnets and electrodes, this high-tech propulsion technology promises to silently propel a craft through the water without any moving parts. As long as you can provide it with a constant supply of electricity, anyway.

Of course, as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Even with the obvious scientific and military applications of such a propulsion unit, scaling MHD technology up has proven difficult. But as [Jay Bowles] of Plasma Channel shows in his latest video, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with the concept at home. Even better, getting verifiable results is much easier than you’d think.

Continue reading “A Magnetohydrodynamic Drive In The Kitchen Sink” »

Aug 7, 2023

Artemis 1 cubesat finishes mission after detecting water and ice on the moon

Posted by in category: space

The mission of an ice-hunting cubesat is officially at an end.

NASA officials announced Thursday (Aug. 3) that the agency had ceased operations earlier this year on its Artemis 1 moon mission ride-along cubesat, called LunaH-Map.

Aug 7, 2023

NASA cautiously tests OpenAI software for summarization and code writing

Posted by in categories: government, robotics/AI

NASA is cautiously testing OpenAI software with a range of applications in mind, including code-writing assistance and research summarization. Dozens of employees are participating in the effort, which also involves using Microsoft’s Azure cloud system to study the technology in a secure environment, FedScoop has learned.

The space agency says it’s taking precautions as it looks to examine possible uses for generative artificial intelligence. Employees looking to evaluate the technology are only invited to join NASA’s generative AI trial if their tests involve “public, non-sensitive data,” Edward McLarney, digital transformation lead for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the agency, told FedScoop.

In June, Microsoft announced a new Azure OpenAI tool designed for the government, which according to the company is more secure than the commercial version of the software. Last week, FedScoop reported that the Microsoft Azure OpenAI was approved for use on sensitive government systems. A representative for Microsoft Azure referred to NASA in response to a request for comment. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

Aug 7, 2023

AI Expert: “I Think We’re All Going to Die”

Posted by in categories: existential risks, life extension, robotics/AI

There’s no shortage of AI doomsday scenarios to go around, so here’s another AI expert who pretty bluntly forecasts that the technology will spell the death of us all, as reported by Bloomberg.

This time, it’s not a so-called godfather of AI sounding the alarm bell — or that other AI godfather (is there a committee that decides these things?) — but a controversial AI theorist and provocateur known as Eliezer Yudkowsky, who has previously called for bombing machine learning data centers. So, pretty in character.

Continue reading “AI Expert: ‘I Think We’re All Going to Die’” »

Aug 7, 2023

The New Climate Norm: Predictable Unpredictability

Posted by in category: climatology

Should we pay attention to António Guterres, ‘global boiling’ hyperbole, or believe the new head of the IPCC who is telling us to chill.

Aug 7, 2023

‘Disease X’: UK scientists begin developing vaccines against new pandemic

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, government, security

UK scientists have begun developing vaccines as an insurance against a new pandemic caused by an unknown “Disease X”.

The work is being carried out at the government’s high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire by a team of more than 200 scientists.

Aug 7, 2023

Senolytic vaccination improves normal and pathological age-related phenotypes and increases lifespan in progeroid mice

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Year 2021 😗😁😘


The authors developed a vaccine against a membrane-bound seno-antigen called GPNMB and show that it can be used as a new senolytic approach. The vaccine led to improvements of several age-related phenotypes and prolonged the lifespan of a progeroid mouse model.

Aug 7, 2023

SpaceX launch sets turnaround record from Cape Canaveral

Posted by in category: space

SpaceX shot up a rocket Sunday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station that set a record for the company’s quickest turnaround ever from a single launch pad.

Aug 7, 2023

Fear of AI in the West is misdirected

Posted by in categories: internet, life extension, robotics/AI

The fear of artificial intelligence is largely a Western phenomenon. It is virtually absent in Asia. In contrast, East Asia sees AI as an invaluable tool to relieve humans of tedious, repetitive tasks and to deal with the problems of aging societies. AI brings productivity gains comparable to the ICT (information and communications technology) revolution of the late 20th century.

China is using AI as an integral part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which brings together different “Industry 4.0” technologies – high-speed (fifth-generation) communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, etc. Chinese ports unload container ships in 45 minutes, a task that can take up to a week in other countries.

Today’s fear of AI has many parallels to the fear of machines at the end of the 19th century. French textile workers, fearing mechanical weaving would endanger their jobs and devalue their craft, threw their “sabots” (clogs) into weaving machines to render them inoperable. They gave us the word sabotage.