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Dec 19, 2018

A Bug-Like Robot Uses Electricity to Walk Upside Down

Posted by in categories: biological, robotics/AI

A bug’s life doesn’t seem half bad, if you can overlook the super-short lifespan or the threat of getting eaten by lizards or swatted at by humans. Flying is nice, as is being able to walk on ceilings. The versatility is enviable, which is why roboticists are on a quest to imbue machines with the power of the bug.

But to harness the powers of nature, roboticists are resorting to very un-biological means. The latest insect-inspired robot tackles the problem of walking upside down using not glue, or a material that mimics the pad of a gecko’s foot as past bot builders have done, but electricity. Specifically, electroadhesion.

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Dec 19, 2018

Tiny Stars, Habitable Worlds: Planet Hunters Chase A Cosmic Connection

Posted by in category: space

Earth-size planets are the target.

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Dec 19, 2018

Robot Car GIF

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Disney’s wall-riding robot.

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Dec 19, 2018

Diwata-2 captures first images of the Philippines

Posted by in category: space

CHECK THIS OUT: Diwata-2’s first images of the Philippines have been successfully captured and downloaded! While things have seemed quiet after Diwata-2’s launch into space last October 29, the team has been busy working on the initial tests and calibration of Diwata-2’s payloads. Stay tuned for more images and updates in the coming weeks! Read more about the first few images here: https://bit.ly/2E9oi6m #Diwata2 #D2nMe

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Dec 19, 2018

Elon Musk unveils his test car tunnel as a fix for traffic in Los Angeles

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

The Loop system from his adjacent Boring Company startup, once up and running, would take vehicles underground on an elevator and then send them zipping along a track to their destination.

An earlier concept of public-transportation-like “skates” based on Tesla chassis was abandoned, apparently, in favor of regular Teslas with the enhanced wheels. Those who tried the tunnel described a very bumpy ride at less than optimum speeds.

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Dec 19, 2018

Self-driving car drove me from California to New York, claims ex-Uber engineer

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

A car has completed the first autonomous coast-to-coast trip in the US. (via The Guardian)


Trip by Anthony Levandowski, controversial engineer involved in Uber-Waymo lawsuit, would be longest without human taking over.

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Dec 19, 2018

10 Craziest Discoveries of 2018!

Posted by in category: futurism

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Dec 19, 2018

🚨 Ring the alarm

Posted by in category: space

Scientists from NASA Goddard have discovered that not only are Saturn’s rings younger than previously thought, but also that the rings are actually disappearing at a rapid pace through a process called “ring rain.”

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Dec 19, 2018

U.S. Grocer Kroger Has Begun Making Autonomous Deliveries

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

No safety driver required.


It’s the first delivery system of its kind.

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Dec 19, 2018

An Interview With Daniel Muñoz-Espín

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, robotics/AI

During the Fourth Eurosymposium on Healthy Ageing (EHA), which was held in Brussels, Belgium last November, we had the opportunity to meet Dr. Daniel Muñoz-Espín from the Oncology Department of the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Muñoz-Espín received his PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, within the viral DNA replication group at the Centre of Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, where he worked under the supervision of one of the most famous Spanish scientists, Dr. Margarita Salas. Dr. Muñoz-Espín’s postdoctoral research resulted in several published papers and a 2013 patent focused on DNA replication; he then joined the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas, or CNIO, the Spanish National Centre for Cancer Research, specifically the team of Dr. Manuel Serrano, co-author of The Hallmarks of Aging. The research that Dr. Muñoz-Espín conducted during this time demonstrated how cellular senescence doesn’t play a role just in aging and cancer but also in normal embryonic development, where it contributes to the shaping of our bodies—a process that was termed “developmentally-programmed senescence”, whose concept was very favorably received by the scientific community.

Currently, Dr. Muñoz-Espín serves as Principal Investigator of the Cancer Early Detection Programme at the Department of Oncology of Cambridge University; with his current team, Dr. Muñoz-Espín developed a novel method to target senescent cells, which was reported in EMBO Molecular Medicine. This topic was the subject of Dr. Muñoz-Espín’s talk at EHA2018 and one of the many fascinating others that he discussed in this interview.

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