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Apr 29, 2020

Apple steering towards smart automobile windows

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

A recent patent filing offers a window into future forays by Apple into automotive design. Apple is exploring artificial intelligence systems that will enable future motorists to enjoy windows that continuously change characteristics as they drive.

Titled “Systems with adjustable windows,” U.S. Patent No. 10,625,580 envisions glass components that control light, reflection and heat conductance based on both user preference and sensory input.

The would contain multiple adjustable layers sandwiched between two panes of glass that could perform such functions as keeping a cool interior, providing privacy to occupants, allowing viewing through haze and blocking harmful sunlight radiation.

Apr 29, 2020

30 Years Later, This Big Boy Fusion Reactor Is Almost Ready to Turn On

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Could nuclear fusion finally be right around the corner… in 2035?

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is a 30-year-old project started by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. With tens of billions of dollars on the line, this experimental tokamak fusion reactor—a nuclear fusion plasma reactor where extremely hot, charged plasma spins and generates virtually limitless energy—is one of a handful of extremely costly “miniature suns” around the world.

Apr 29, 2020

Rare Birds With “Vantablack” Feathers Absorb 99.95% of Light

Posted by in category: futurism

Learn more about two exceptions birds-of-paradise, the Superb and the Vogelkop. With Vantablack feathers and elaborate mating rituals, they’re very unique.

Apr 29, 2020

Machine Learning Engineers Will Not Exist In 10 Years

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The landscape is evolving quickly.

Apr 29, 2020

How the quantum computing race will change our lives

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Quantum computing could help companies without billion-dollar budgets design superbatteries, create complex chemicals and understand the universe.

Apr 29, 2020

What is a mask valve, and why are cities banning them?

Posted by in category: futurism

Valves will keep you more comfortable, but endanger those around you.

[Source Images: 3M, snake3d/iStock].

Apr 29, 2020

Long March 5B rolled out for crewed spacecraft, space station test launch

Posted by in category: satellites

HELSINKI — China rolled out a Long March 5B launcher Wednesday for a mission to prove space station launch capabilities and test a new spacecraft for deep space human spaceflight.

Images of the Long March 5B shared on Chinese social media indicated that the rollout at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center was completed early April 29.

Launch from the coastal Wenchang launch site can now be expected around May 5. However, an official announcement has not yet been made.

Apr 29, 2020

Tesla owners are falling in love with driving, and they have the miles to prove it

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

A recent analysis from a UK-based firm has determined that Tesla owners love to drive their vehicles, so much so that they actually rack up the most miles per year among specific car brands. This is a notable observation, and one that bodes well for the personal transportation industry as a whole.

Before the ongoing lockdown in the country, the RAC Foundation conducted an analysis of the Ministry of Transportation’s (MOT) data. According to the data presented, British car owners drive just a little bit over 10,000 miles per year on average during the first three years of vehicle ownership. A closer look into the data shows that this average is partly caused by the annual mileage of diesel and gas drivers.

On their own, diesel drivers average 12,496 miles annually during the first three years of ownership. This contrasts significantly with the figures from drivers of gasoline-powered cars, who average just 7,490 miles per year. This discrepancy is not that surprising, partly since diesel is usually much cheaper than gasoline, making them ideal for long trips. What is surprising is the data that came out from EV drivers.

Apr 29, 2020

Deep-space travel, colonization may rely on genetically engineered life forms

Posted by in categories: alien life, genetics, sustainability

On Earth, there are organisms that resist radiation, heat, cold, and drying, even to the point of being able to live in the space vacuum.


Genetic biotechnology is usually discussed in the context of current and emerging applications here on Earth, and rightly so, since we still live exclusively in our planetary cradle. But as humanity looks outward, we ponder what kind of life we ought to take with us to support outposts and eventually colonies off the Earth.

Continue reading “Deep-space travel, colonization may rely on genetically engineered life forms” »

Apr 29, 2020

Dr. Fauci backed controversial Wuhan lab with millions of U.S. dollars for risky coronavirus research

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

“just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses.

In 2019, with the backing of NIAID, the National Institutes of Health committed $3.7 million over six years for research that included some gain-of-function work. The program followed another $3.7 million, 5-year project for collecting and studying bat coronaviruses, which ended in 2019, bringing the total to $7.4 million.”

Continue reading “Dr. Fauci backed controversial Wuhan lab with millions of U.S. dollars for risky coronavirus research” »