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Jul 29, 2020

Airbus to build ‘first interplanetary cargo ship’

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space

“This is not just twice as difficult as any typical Mars mission; it’s twice squared — when you think about the complexity involved,” said Dr David Parker, the director of human and robotic exploration at the European Space Agency (Esa).

“And this satellite that Airbus will build — I like to call it ‘the first interplanetary cargo ship’, because that’s what it will be doing. It’s designed to carry cargo between Mars and Earth,” he told BBC News.

Dr Parker announced the European aerospace company’s role in the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO) at a NASA-Esa briefing with reporters just ahead of Thursday’s launch of the Perseverance robot.

Jul 29, 2020

Bitcoin wallet Ledger’s database hacked for 1 million emails

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, finance, security

Bitcoin hardware wallet maker Ledger revealed today that its e-commerce database was hacked last month, leaking 1 million emails and some personal documents. No user funds were affected by the breach.

Ledger said the attack targeted only its marketing and e-commerce database, meaning the hackers were unable to access users’ recovery phrases or private keys. All financial information—such as payment information, passwords, and funds—was similarly unaffected. The breach was unrelated to Ledger’s hardware wallets or its Ledger Live security product, the company added.

“Solely contact and order details were involved. This is mostly the email address of approximately [1 million] of our customers. Further to the investigation, we have also been able to establish that a subset of them was also exposed: first and last name, postal address phone number, and product(s) ordered,” said Ledger in its announcement.

Jul 28, 2020

MIT Dream Research Interacts Directly With an Individual’s Dreaming Brain and Manipulates the Content

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, wearables

Device not only helps record dream reports, but also guides dreams toward particular themes.

The study of dreams has entered the modern era in exciting ways, and researchers from MIT and other institutions have created a community dedicated to advancing the field, lending it legitimacy and expanding further research opportunities.

In a new paper, researchers from the Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces group introduce a novel method called “Targeted Dream Incubation” (TDI). This protocol, implemented through an app in conjunction with a wearable sleep-tracking sensor device, not only helps record dream reports, but also guides dreams toward particular themes by repeating targeted information at sleep onset, thereby enabling incorporation of this information into dream content. The TDI method and accompanying technology serve as tools for controlled experimentation in dream study, widening avenues for research into how dreams impact emotion, creativity, memory, and beyond.

Jul 28, 2020

Coronavirus vaccine hope rises after a flurry of positive results

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

AMID rising global numbers of daily coronavirus infections, a fresh flush of vaccine trial results is offering hope for the longer run.

There are more than 160 coronavirus vaccines in development around the world. About 140 of these are at the preclinical stage, meaning they are still being looked at in laboratories and in animal tests. Another 25 are already being tested in people.

Jul 28, 2020

Russia aims to approve Covid-19 vaccine

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Okay now this vaccine thing is just comedy:

Russia intends to be the first in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine, in less than two weeks — despite concerns about its safety, effectiveness and over whether the country has cut essential corners in development, CNN has learned.


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Jul 28, 2020

Coast Guard To Deliver Nuclear Icebreaker Plan to White House

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

The plan will include options to lease new breakers or build new nuclear-powered ships as Russia and China leap ahead of US capabilities in the Arctic.

Jul 28, 2020

China fears: Scientists warn volcano extinct for 500,000 years ‘appears to be recharging’

Posted by in category: futurism

CHINA could face a huge natural disaster in the future after scientists warned a volcano — thought to be extinct — “appears to be recharging” after discovering two magma chambers deep below the surface.

Jul 28, 2020

Decline of bees, other pollinators threatens US crop yields

Posted by in categories: biological, evolution, food, habitats

Crop yields for apples, cherries and blueberries across the United States are being reduced by a lack of pollinators, according to Rutgers-led research, the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

Most of the world’s crops depend on honeybees and for , so declines in both managed and wild bee populations raise concerns about , notes the study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

“We found that many crops are pollination-limited, meaning would be higher if crop flowers received more pollination. We also found that honey bees and wild bees provided similar amounts of pollination overall,” said senior author Rachael Winfree, a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Managing habitat for and/or stocking more honey bees would boost pollination levels and could increase crop production.”

Jul 28, 2020

Breakthrough in autism spectrum research finds genetic ‘wrinkles’ in DNA could be a cause

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

TORONTO — In a lab at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, scientists went on a hunt through the DNA of some 10,000 families — many whom have children with autism.

Through this research, they identified something they call “genetic wrinkles” in DNA itself, a breakthrough they believe could explain why some individuals find themselves on the autistic spectrum.

The hope is that this could be an important new clue into how to diagnose autism spectrum disorder (ASD) early, or even treat it.

Jul 28, 2020

Artificial intelligence to enable fast-track review of COVID-19 research proposals

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

An Artificial Intelligence tool to help funders identify specialists to peer-review proposals for emergency research has been developed by Frontiers. It aims to help fast-track the allocation of funding, and in turn, accelerate the scientific response.


An Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool to help funders identify specialists to peer-review proposals for emergency COVID-19 research has been developed. It aims to help fast-track the allocation of funding, and in turn, accelerate the scientific response to the virus.

The open-access publisher Frontiers has specifically developed the recommendation tool to aid funders during the crisis by helping them identify new reviewers. Under normal circumstances, the review process for research funding typically takes place by committee and can take a matter of months. However, since the COVID-19 outbreak, experts have become less available, and the urgency of this situation commands a tighter timeframe.

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