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Mar 11, 2022

Researchers boost human mental function with brain stimulation

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

In a pilot human study, researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital show it is possible to improve specific human brain functions related to self-control and mental flexibility by merging artificial intelligence with targeted electrical brain stimulation.

Alik Widge, MD, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and member of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction at the U of M Medical School, is the senior author of the research published in Nature Biomedical Engineering. The findings come from a human study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston among 12 patients undergoing for epilepsy—a procedure that places hundreds of tiny electrodes throughout the brain to record its activity and identify where seizures originate.

In this study, Widge collaborated with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Sydney Cash, MD, Ph.D., an expert in epilepsy research; and Darin Dougherty, MD, an expert in clinical brain stimulation. Together, they identified a brain region—the internal capsule—that improved patients’ mental function when stimulated with small amounts of electrical energy. That part of the brain is responsible for cognitive control—the process of shifting from one thought pattern or behavior to another, which is impaired in most .

Mar 11, 2022

Future Evolution: How Will Humans Change in the Next 10,000 Years?

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, climatology, evolution, existential risks

READER QUESTION: If humans don’t die out in a climate apocalypse or asteroid impact in the next 10,000 years, are we likely to evolve further into a more advanced species than what we are at the moment? Harry Bonas, 57, Nigeria

Humanity is the unlikely result of four billion years of evolution.

From self-replicating molecules in Archean seas, to eyeless fish in the Cambrian deep, to mammals scurrying from dinosaurs in the dark, and then, finally, improbably, ourselves—evolution shaped us.

Mar 11, 2022

SLS vs. Starship: How NASA’s rocket could fuel ambitious space missions

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

NASA wants to launch its Space Launch System on a trip to the Moon. Here’s how the agency’s giant rocket compares with SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket, which Elon Musk wants to use to go to Mars and beyond.

Mar 11, 2022

Ford and Purdue University Solved the Biggest Problem With Electric Vehicles

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Ford and Purdue University researchers have developed a new, patent-pending charging system that solves one of the biggest problems with electric vehicles. Of course, we’re talking about the charging time it takes to top off a battery versus spending a few minutes at a gasoline pump.

Aside from range, charging time is one of the biggest problems for current electric vehicles. There’s plenty to love about EVs, but having to sit for 20–30 minutes and wait for the battery to recharge isn’t ideal, which is why Ford’s new cooling cables promise to recharge an electric vehicle in roughly 5-minutes.

Even with DC fast charging appearing at more Tesla stations, most vehicles with ideal battery, charger, and cable conditions still take upwards of at least 20 minutes. The video below explains how most Tesla systems can handle upwards of 520 amps of current, which is quite a lot. However, Ford and Purdue can deliver over 2,400 amps to their vehicles, resulting in drastically faster charging times.

Mar 10, 2022

Boeing’s B-52 Bombers Took Down Fighter Jets in Vietnam War Dogfights

Posted by in category: military

Mar 10, 2022

Clearview AI fined €20M for collecting Italians’ biometric data

Posted by in categories: privacy, robotics/AI

The Italian privacy guarantor (GPDP) has imposed a fine of €20,000,000 on Clearview AI for implementing a biometric monitoring network in Italy without acquiring people’s consent.

This decision resulted from a proceeding that launched in February 2021, following relevant complaints about GDPR violations that stemmed directly from Clearview’s operations.

More specifically, the investigation revealed that the American facial recognition software company maintains a database of 10 billion images of people’s faces, including Italians, who had their faces extracted from public website profiles and online videos.

Mar 10, 2022

Dr. Nour E. Raouafi

Posted by in category: space

Tue, Mar 15 at 5 PM PDT.


Project Scientist of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission.

Mar 10, 2022

Hibernation found to naturally stop the aging process

Posted by in category: life extension

What if you were told there was a completely natural way to stop your body from aging? The trick: You’d have to hibernate from September to May each year.

Mar 10, 2022

Virgin mouse gives birth after gene-editing experiment: scientists

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University altered a mouse’s DNA to impregnate it through asexual reproduction.

Mar 10, 2022

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems

Posted by in category: space travel

Check out this time lapse showing the retraction of half of Platform C in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building today at.

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. On March 17, NASA’s Space Launch System & Orion Spacecraft will roll out to Launch Pad 39B for wet dress rehearsal for Artemis I.