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Jun 12, 2019

MIT Used a Laser to Transmit Audio Directly Into a Person’s Ear

Posted by in categories: innovation, media & arts

Scientists have figured out how to use a laser to transmit audio, ranging from music to speech, to a person across a room without any receiver equipment — a potential breakthrough for the future of audio and communication.

“Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology research Charles M. Wynn said in a press release. “It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting.”

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Jun 12, 2019

Ebola-ravaged Congo now hit with 87,000 suspected measles cases, officials say

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A measles epidemic has been declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country struggling to contain the world’s second-largest and second-deadliest Ebola outbreak.

Add Measles as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Measles news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

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Jun 12, 2019

Study shows recent plant extinctions much more extensive than thought

Posted by in categories: existential risks, habitats

A team of researchers with the Royal Botanic Gardens in the U.K. and Stockholm University has found that plant extinctions over the past two and a half centuries have been more extensive than previous estimates suggested. In their paper published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the group describes their exhaustive study of plants and which have gone extinct, and what it might mean for future plant life.

In recent years, botanists have estimated that fewer than 150 have gone extinct in modern times—most due to human activities. In this new effort, the researchers have found that the real number is closer to quadruple such estimates—they found 571 plants that have gone extinct since 1753. That was the year that famed botanist Carl Linnaeus published his Species Plantarum—a collection of all known plant at that time. The researchers also claimed that approximately three species of plants have gone extinct on average each year since 1900—a rate that they note is approximately 500 times the natural rate of plant . The group came to these conclusions using information from a database started back in 1988 by workers at the Royal Botanic Gardens who have had the goal of adding every known plant on the planet. Since that time, over 330,000 plant species have been added.

The researchers also created a map showing where the extinctions have occurred, noting that most are in the tropics and on islands. The map also highlights some interesting hotspots as well, such as South Africa, Australia, India and Hawaii. They add that the main culprit is habitat destruction, though some have also suffered from being too popular with humans—the Chile sandalwood tree, for example, was harvested for its exotic aroma.

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Jun 12, 2019

Earth Is Now Approaching The Same ‘Meteor Swarm’ That Wiped-Out A Siberian Forest

Posted by in category: space

Are ‘one-in-a-thousand-year’ catastrophic impacts by meteors actually more frequent? Earth’s close call this summer with a meteor swarm will give astronomers a chance to figure out the risk potential.

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Jun 12, 2019

The Genomics Future & The Future of Sci-Fi: A Transhumanist Perspective

Posted by in category: transhumanism

Free Event — Register Now: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-future-of-sci-fi-a-trans…2707878954 Thursday, 27th June 2019 from 6pm Future Faqtory Level 1B/311 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000.

Drinks and pizza will be provided.

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Jun 12, 2019

NASA Invests in Concepts Aimed at Exploring Craters, Mining Asteroids

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, space travel

Robotically surveying lunar craters in record time and mining resources in space could help NASA establish a sustained human presence at the Moon – part of the agency’s broader Moon to Mars exploration approach. Two mission concepts to explore these capabilities have been selected as the first-ever Phase III studies within the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.

“We are pursuing new technologies across our development portfolio that could help make deep space exploration more Earth-independent by utilizing resources on the Moon and beyond,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “These NIAC Phase III selections are a component of that forward-looking research and we hope new insights will help us achieve more firsts in space.”

The Phase III proposals outline an aerospace architecture, including a mission concept, that is innovative and could change what’s possible in space. Each selection will receive as much as $2 million. Over the course of two years, researchers will refine the concept design and explore aspects of implementing the new technology. The inaugural Phase III selections are:

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Jun 12, 2019

Are Humans Really On The Brink Of Achieving Immortality?

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

This week, UK-based futurologist Ian Pearson announced humanity will achieve immortality by the year 2050. Is he right?

According to the former rocket scientist and IT engineer – who claims to have an 85 percent success rate “when looking 10–15 years ahead” – recent advances in biomedical and computing technology will inevitably lead to victory over death via one of three means:

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Jun 12, 2019

Scientists solve the mystery of hardening arteries, and find solution in a common drug

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A landmark study, led by a team of scientists from King’s College London and the University of Cambridge, has described the mechanism responsible for the hardening of arteries. The research also points to a common antibiotic as a potential new treatment to prevent this condition.

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Jun 12, 2019

Ebola makes much-feared jump into Uganda

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Boy from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who crossed border with family has a confirmed infection.

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Jun 12, 2019

Uber Air announces first international city to trial flying taxis

Posted by in category: transportation

Dallas, Los Angeles, and now an Australian city.

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