Lifeboat Foundation

Governments around the world are using high-tech surveillance measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak. But are they worth it?

Edward Snowden doesn’t think so.

The former CIA contractor, whose leaks exposed the scale of spying programs in the US, warns that once this tech is taken out of the box, it will be hard to put it back.

Nowadays, artificial neural networks have an impact on many areas of our day-to-day lives. They are used for a wide variety of complex tasks, such as driving cars, performing speech recognition (for example, Siri, Cortana, Alexa), suggesting shopping items and trends, or improving visual effects in movies (e.g., animated characters such as Thanos from the movie Infinity War by Marvel).

Traditionally, algorithms are handcrafted to solve complex tasks. This requires experts to spend a significant amount of time to identify the optimal strategies for various situations. Artificial neural networks — inspired by interconnected neurons in the brain — can automatically learn from data a close-to-optimal solution for the given objective. Often, the automated learning or “training” required to obtain these solutions is “supervised” through the use of supplementary information provided by an expert. Other approaches are “unsupervised” and can identify patterns in the data. The mathematical theory behind artificial neural networks has evolved over several decades, yet only recently have we developed our understanding of how to train them efficiently. The required calculations are very similar to those performed by standard video graphics cards (that contain a graphics processing unit or GPU) when rendering three-dimensional scenes in video games.

The digital court could open up commercial opportunities to those who cannot access traditional legal services. Image CC-0.

In a move to save time, money and effort, economics researchers utilized existing blockchain methodologies to create what they call a digital court. This would provide enforcement of contracts wherever a traditional legal court would currently settle disputes. Examples of areas which could make use of this would be auctions, business contracts and sales. As it is based on existing technology, it could be implemented right now.

Blockchain technology has great potential to impact many areas of life, commerce in particular. Put simply it is a way to ensure that information can be recorded in such a way that it cannot be manipulated afterwards. Blockchain is what is known as a distributed ledger, that is, there is no central authority, it is peer-to-peer, and its most famous application at this time is the online currency bitcoin. However, people find other uses for it.

During development, cells seem to decode their fate through optimal information processing, which could hint at a more general principle of life.

Featured Image Source: SpaceX

SpaceX is in the process of developing its next-generation spacecraft. It will be a two-stage launch vehicle, consisting of Starship (a spaceship), and a rocket booster called Super Heavy. Starship will be capable of conducting voyages to the moon and Mars. Super Heavy will only be needed to take Starship out of Earth’s atmosphere. It will be capable of returning from space in order to be reused. SpaceX has developed some of the world’s most technologically advanced rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage booster is capable of being launched, and return to land vertically on autonomous drone ships at sea in order to be reused again. No one in the rocket industry has achieved that level of reusability. Making Starship reusable is key towards decreasing the cost of spaceflight to make life multi-planetary.

Starship’s development is partially funded by Yusaku Maezawa, a fashion entrepreneur who dreams of going to the moon. Maezawa booked Starship’s first crewed flight, it will be a circumlunar voyage scheduled for the year 2023. SpaceX has an ambitious deadline to meet. The rocket company is manufacturing a production line of Starships at its South Texas assembly facility located in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville, TX. Elon Musk, founder and chief engineer at SpaceX, says a high iteration rate is needed to make rapid progress in the development of Starship. To rapidly innovate, many vehicles must be manufactured and tested rapidly. Therefore, the company aims to ramp up its production to build one Starship per week. “Production is at least 1,000 percent harder than making one of something. At least 1,000 percent harder,” Musk said. This year, the company manufactured three stainless steel prototypes of the craft, two imploded during pressurization tests.

This simple-looking film will probably end up in your next smartphone, laptop, watch, or television. … [+] It’s made by fermentation—the same process used to make bread and beer. The biomanufacturing era has begun.

Among the drugs being investigated is remdesivir, an experimental antiviral made by the US drug company Gilead Sciences. It has been characterized as one of the most promising by health authorities, including WHO officials —though that optimism is inspired only by anecdotal information. US data on remdesivir’s performance in controlled clinical trials is expected next month, and data from late-stage trials conducted in China will be released by the end of April.

The US military, however, has already secured access to remdesivir for its service members.

On March 10, the Pentagon announced a deal with Gilead Sciences in which the pharmaceutical company would supply the military with the intravenous drug at no cost. “Together with our government and industry partners, we are progressing at almost revolutionary rates to deliver effective treatment and prevention products that will protect the citizens of the world and preserve the readiness and lethality of our service members,” Army Brig. Gen. Michael Talley, commanding general of the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) and Fort Detrick, Maryland, said in a media statement at the time.

30 ways to deal with a Corona, Have a great day group.

Algeria and Germany have initiated project DESERTEC, a huge solar panel project that feeds European/North African countries with green power.

It was intially something they should have done in 2011.

Anyhow, good 👍

Continue reading “Algeria and Germany sign agreement to start gigantic Desertec project” »