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Dec 30, 2024

The Million Year Ark

Posted by in category: space travel

A Journey to the Edge of Time and Space.
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As we continue our look at Generation Ships, vast vessels designed to carry many thousands of colonists to distant and alien worlds centuries away, we must ask just how far and how long such ships can be made to last? Can space ships be made that will endure even longer voyages of thousands or even millions of years in the void of interstellar or even intergalactic space? Will ships, and their crews, fall apart or turn into Cargo Cults who no longer remember how their technology functions or what their mission was?

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Continue reading “The Million Year Ark” »

Dec 30, 2024

What Would a Generational Space Ship Actually Look Like?

Posted by in category: space travel

Is a generation ship the key to interstellar travel? Explore the challenges of building and sustaining a massive spacecraft for multiple generations in this thought-provoking video. From technical hurdles to ethical dilemmas, discover the truth behind our dreams of colonizing distant worlds.

Dec 30, 2024

Crossing the Uncanny Valley: Researchers develop technology for lifelike facial expressions in androids

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Even if an android’s appearance is so realistic that it could be mistaken for a human in a photograph, watching it move in person can feel a bit unsettling. It can smile, frown, or display other various, familiar expressions, but finding a consistent emotional state behind those expressions can be difficult, leaving you unsure of what it is truly feeling and creating a sense of unease.

Until now, when allowing robots that can move many parts of their face, like androids, to display for extended periods, a “patchwork method” has been used. This method involves preparing multiple pre-arranged action scenarios to ensure that unnatural facial movements are excluded while switching between these scenarios as needed.

However, this poses practical challenges, such as preparing complex action scenarios beforehand, minimizing noticeable unnatural movements during transitions, and fine-tuning movements to subtly control the expressions conveyed.

Dec 30, 2024

The Last Question — Isaac Asimov — Read by Leonard Nimoy

Posted by in category: media & arts

The science-fiction short story “The Last Question”, written by Asimov and read by Nimoy.

Dec 30, 2024

The Machine at the End of Time — The Last Question Explained

Posted by in categories: evolution, space

The Last Question is a short story by Isaac Asimov which details the evolution of humanity and our journey to answering the one question that will determine the fate of the universe.

Thumbnail art: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vgwvY

Continue reading “The Machine at the End of Time — The Last Question Explained” »

Dec 30, 2024

Generative AI is now a must-have tool for technology professionals

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Generative AI has only been around for two years as an emerging technology, but it has already taken its place as a must-have tool for technology professionals. Job postings mentioning gen AI increased by a factor of 3.5x over the past year. For technology professionals, this points to a shift in emphasis in their day-to-day work. But given that it is now a mainstream skill, is it even necessary to include gen AI competencies in postings anymore?


In just two years, AI has gone from hype to essential skill, offering massive productivity gains and increasing creativity among teams who use it. Here’s how.

Dec 30, 2024

AT&T and Verizon say networks are secure after being breached by China-linked Salt Typhoon hackers

Posted by in category: futurism

U.S. telecom giants AT&T and Verizon say they have secured their networks after being targeted by the China-linked Salt Typhoon cyberespionage group.

In a statement given to TechCrunch on Monday, AT&T spokesperson Alexander Byers said the company detects “no activity by nation-state actors in our networks at this time.”

Verizon spokesperson Richard Young said in an emailed statement to TechCrunch on Sunday that the organization has “contained the cyber incident brought on by this nation-state threat actor,” and that it has not detected any threat actor activity on its network “for some time.”

Dec 30, 2024

Vitamin D: Supplements unlikely to prevent fractures or falls

Posted by in category: health

Vitamin D supplements with or without calcium, while necessary for overall health, have no effect on preventing falls or fractures in older adults, according to a new draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force.

By analyzing 20 unique randomized, controlled studies in 54 different publications, reviewers determined that additional vitamin D supplementation for postmenopausal women and older men — given that those populations had normal vitamin D levels, no previous fractures, and no issues with bone density — was unnecessary and had no bearing on the severity of injuries from falls.

The finding was an update from a 2018 recommendation that postmenopausal women should not supplement with 400 units or less of vitamin D and 1,000 milligrams or less of calcium for the primary prevention of fracture; men were not included in that recommendation.

Dec 30, 2024

Temporal Mechanics Redefined: The Emergent Nature of Time and Its Implications for Reality

Posted by in categories: quantum physics, robotics/AI, time travel

What if our understanding of time as a linear sequence of events is merely an illusion created by the brain’s processing of reality? Could time itself be an emergent phenomenon, arising from the complex interplay of quantum mechanics, relativity, and consciousness? How might the brain’s multidimensional computations, reflecting patterns found in the universe, reveal a deeper connection between mind and cosmos? Is it possible that advancements in our understanding of temporal mechanics could one day make time travel a practical reality rather than a theoretical concept? Could Quantum AI and Reversible Quantum Computing provide the tools to simulate, manipulate, and even reshape the flow of time, offering practical applications of D-Theory that bridge the gap between theoretical physics and transformative technologies? These profound questions lie at the heart of Temporal Mechanics: D-Theory as a Critical Upgrade to Our Understanding of the Nature of Time, my 2025 paper and book. D-Theory, also referred to as Quantum Temporal Mechanics, Digital Presentism, and D-Series, challenges conventional views of time as a fixed, universal backdrop to reality and instead redefines it as a dynamic interplay between the mind and the cosmos.

Dec 30, 2024

The Strange Chemistry behind Millennia-Old Human Brains That Haven’t Rotted

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, neuroscience

Misfolded proteins may preserve postmortem brains well after other tissues have decayed.

By Kermit Pattison edited by Tanya Lewis

No part of our body is as perishable as the brain. Within minutes of losing its supply of blood and oxygen, our delicate neurological machinery begins to suffer irreversible damage. The brain is our most energy-greedy organ, and in the hours after death, its enzymes typically devour it from within. As cellular membranes rupture, the brain liquifies. Within days, microbes may consume the remnants in the stinky process of putrefaction. In a few years, the skull becomes just an empty cavity.

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