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Apr 14, 2021

SpaceX adds to previous equity round, pushing Elon Musk’s last raise total to nearly $1.2 billion

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, internet, space travel

Elon Musk’s SpaceX added more money to its February equity raise, with the amended total reaching nearly $1.2 billion.


Elon Musk’s SpaceX added more money to its most recent equity raise, according to a securities filing on Wednesday.

SpaceX held a second close of about $314 million, adding to the $850 million that CNBC reported the company raised in February. The amendment brings the round’s new total equity raised to $1.16 billion, which the company raised at a valuation of about $74 billion.

Continue reading “SpaceX adds to previous equity round, pushing Elon Musk’s last raise total to nearly $1.2 billion” »

Apr 14, 2021

Gene therapy offers hope to those with ultra-rare genetic illnesses

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

The reality is Benny and Josh both have Canavan disease, a fatal inherited brain disorder. They are buckled into wheelchairs, don’t speak, and can’t control their limbs.

On Thursday, April 8, in Dayton, Ohio, Landsman and his family rolled the older boy, Benny, into a hospital where over several hours, neurosurgeons drilled bore holes into his skull and injected trillions of viral particles carrying the correct version of a gene his body is missing.

Apr 14, 2021

All Eyes on Alpha Centauri

Posted by in categories: futurism, innovation

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_jkWzgfSk

Future Breakthroughs in Technology and in the Search for Life: Take Aways from the last two days at the Breakthrough Discuss Meeting.


Takeaways from this week’s Breakthrough Discuss meeting.

Apr 14, 2021

Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nanotechnology

The material is one of the thinnest antimicrobial coatings developed to date and is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacteria and fungal cells, while leaving human cells unharmed.


Importantly, the BP also began to self-degrade in that time and was entirely disintegrated within 24 hours—an important feature that shows the material would not accumulate in the body.

The identified the optimum levels of BP that have a deadly antimicrobial effect while leaving human cells healthy and whole.

Continue reading “Superbug killer: New nanotech destroys bacteria and fungal cells” »

Apr 14, 2021

Plastic Is Falling From the Sky. But Where’s It Coming From?

Posted by in categories: food, particle physics

At any given time, 1100 tons of microplastic are floating over the western US. New modeling shows the surprising sources of the nefarious pollutant.


If you find yourself in some secluded spot in the American West—maybe Yellowstone, or the deserts of Utah, or the forests of Oregon—take a deep breath and get some fresh air along with some microplastic. According to new modeling, 1100 tons of it is currently floating above the western US. The stuff is falling out of the sky, tainting the most remote corners of North America—and the world. As I’ve said before, plastic rain is the new acid rain.

But where is it all coming from? You’d think it’d be arising from nearby cities—western metropolises like Denver and Salt Lake City. But new modeling published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that 84 percent of airborne microplastics in the American West actually comes from the roads outside of major cities. Another 11 percent could be blowing all the way in from the ocean. (The researchers who built the model reckon that microplastic particles stay airborne for nearly a week, and that’s more than enough time for them to cross continents and oceans.)

Continue reading “Plastic Is Falling From the Sky. But Where’s It Coming From?” »

Apr 14, 2021

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin lands a Pentagon contract to design nuclear-powered spacecraft

Posted by in categories: military, nuclear energy, space travel

I don’t see why he needed a NASA contract when he could easily pay for this himself, but whatever.


Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, was one of three companies to land the Pentagon contract for a rocket powered by a nuclear reactor.

Apr 14, 2021

Change Your Diet Change Your Life

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, life extension

How seriously do you take your diet?

It is one of the foundations upon which everything else stands.

Continue reading “Change Your Diet Change Your Life” »

Apr 13, 2021

RC — Rotating Wing — Vector Controlled Experimental Aircraft

Posted by in category: transportation

This ball-shaped rotating wing rc-aircraft was designed and built to learn about the flight behavior of constantly horizontally rotating wings.

It flies with a remarkable stability in winds up to 1bft. Flightweight is around 650grs. and it is powerd by a 3D vector control unit, permanently stabilized by a 3S-1050mA LiPo (120 grs.) as a pendulum. The rotating ball is made from 6mm DEPRON and cf-rods.

Apr 13, 2021

World’s First: Forze VIII Hydrogen-Electric Race Car Beats The Petrol-Powered Competition

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Circa 2019


The “Forze VIII”, a hydrogen-electric Le Mans style prototype, became the first-ever hydrogen-electric vehicle to beat petrol-powered cars in an official race.

The car, that was designed, built, tested and raced by a group of students from Delft University of Technology, finished second in the Supercar Challenge at the TT Circuit in Assen, the Netherlands.

Continue reading “World’s First: Forze VIII Hydrogen-Electric Race Car Beats The Petrol-Powered Competition” »

Apr 13, 2021

OpenAI Founder Sam Altman Chalks Out A “Wealth For All” Plan

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Altman suggests taxing capital rather than labour. And, these taxes can be used to distribute ownership and wealth to citizens. Altman said his idea is nothing new but is more critical than ever as AI applications outclass their contemporaries. “If everyone owns a slice of American value creation, everyone will want America to do better,” wrote Altman.

“We should therefore focus on taxing capital rather than labor, and we should use these taxes as an opportunity to directly distribute ownership and wealth to citizens.”

Pinning careers and hopes to Moore’s law does sound like utopia, and even Altman admits it. He also believes that the AI revolution will compensate for the disruption by generating new jobs. Jobs, which we haven’t heard of yet (think: urban rodentologist). That’s why the OpenAI co-founder stresses establishing a system that will result in a society that is “less divisive” and enables everyone to participate in its gains. According to him, this technology revolution is an eventuality, and nothing can stop it. The revolution will be further accelerated as machines that make machines get smarter. For example, OpenAI’s GPT-3 was used to generate machine learning code, a million-dollar startup idea in itself. One application can put many developer jobs at risk.