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Apr 29, 2020

DARPA Names SEAKR Pit Boss Prime for Blackjack

Posted by in categories: engineering, military, robotics/AI, satellites

SEAKR Engineering, Inc. has been awarded as the prime contractor for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Pit Boss contract to further expand its contractual work supporting the Blackjack program. The award for Phase I Option II is part of a three-phase effort seeking on-orbit demonstration of full processing capability in a multi-satellite constellation. SEAKR was first awarded a DARPA Pit Boss contract in October 2019.

DARPA’s Blackjack program focuses on integrating commercial satellite technologies into a constellation of military satellites. As sole prime, SEAKR will continue developing it’s Pit Boss solution to support the Blackjack program’s mission as a next generation on-board processor.

SEAKR said the solution will leverage off-the-shelf electronics adapted through design implementation to function reliably in space. The company said this award validates its program success in seeking on-orbit demonstration of state-of-the-art processing capability incorporating autonomous operations, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning techniques, and bridged terrestrial and on-orbit technologies.

Apr 29, 2020

DARPA Project Producing Tool to Help Anticipate Military and Industrial Systems’ Cyber Threats

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, military

The VERDICT tool aims to allow systems engineers to assess cybersecurity even without deep expertise.

Apr 29, 2020

The US government is helping get cash to private space companies, replacing frozen venture capital

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, business, economics, finance, government, military

Investment in the fast-growing space industry was booming well into the first quarter of 2020 but private capital has largely frozen as the coronavirus pandemic strikes the U.S., leading both civil and military agencies to step up funding for corporate partners.

“We kicked into high gear as soon as it was apparent a lot of companies were not going to be able to conduct business as usual due to distancing requirements,” Mike Read, International Space Station business and economic development manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, told CNBC.

U.S. equity investment in space companies totaled $5.4 billion across 36 deals in the first quarter, according to a report Friday by NYC-based firm Space Capital. But the second quarter is likely to just see a fraction of that investment, according to Space Capital managing partner Chad Anderson, as deal flow in the U.S. will follow China’s path. Chinese investment in space was climbing by record amounts until the first quarter, when “activity in China was basically shut off,” Anderson said.

Apr 29, 2020

Pentagon’s DARPA Plans To Create COVID-19 ‘Temporary Vaccine’ Until Regular Vaccine Is Developed

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military

DARPA is working on a “temporary vaccine” that would serve as a “firebreak” that would provide immunity for several months until a regular vaccine is made available. The researchers used two different methods to manufacture and clone the most potent antibodies of coronavirus patient survivors. The.

Apr 29, 2020

These Mathematicians Think the Universe May Be Conscious

Posted by in categories: mathematics, space

Needless to say, not everyone’s convinced.

Apr 29, 2020

Binance Sees Record High Trading Volume as Investors Flood into Crypto

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies

The crypto market has been able to add on over $20 billion to its total capitalization, with the upswing seen today by Bitcoin and many of its smaller counterparts marking a full erasure of the losses incurred during the mid-March meltdown.

The significance of today’s price action extends far beyond just boosting the market’s technical strength, as it has also revitalized investors – an occurrence indicated by trading volume on crypto exchange Binance hitting a fresh all-time high today.

This comes as the benchmark cryptocurrency’s fundamental undercurrent grows stronger, with the influx of new retail investors into BTC suggesting that there may be a shifting market dynamic that ultimately allows it to continue climbing higher.

Apr 29, 2020

Bitcoin surges above $8,000 for the first time in 2 months ahead of a key halving in Currency News | Financial and Business News Insider

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, business, finance

Bitcoin crossed the $8,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday since March ahead of ‘bitcoin halving’ that will take place on May 12. Som…

Apr 29, 2020

Link identified between dietary selenium and outcome of Covid-19 disease

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Apr 29, 2020

Stanford University lab repurposes scuba gear into reusable PPE

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical

Bioengineering professor Manu Prakash runs a lab at Stanford University that uses low-cost materials to create effective scientific devices. He returned from a recent vacation with some scuba gear — as well as a cold. While he tested negative for COVID-19, he stayed cautious and self-quarantined for two weeks. During that time, he reworked his snorkel mask into a reusable face shield for healthcare providers by combining it with a medical-grade filter. Dubbed the Pneumask, Prakash and his team tested the device and sent their findings to the FDA, which cleared it as a face shield or surgical mask, but not as a respirator. According to The Washington Post, this decision was made so that the masks could go out to healthcare workers immediately, as clearing the device as a respirator would require more time.


Manu Prakash and his team at Stanford University have turned a standard scuba mask into a reusable medical face mask.

Apr 29, 2020

Robots will feed, teach & exercise one in three kids by 2050, expert claims

Posted by in categories: health, robotics/AI

ROBOTS will raise one in three children in the future, an AI expert says.

Dr Michelle Tempest says the droids will feed, exercise and teach kids.

They will also change nappies and tell stories and artificial uteruses will develop foetuses.

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