Menu

Blog

Page 8162

Oct 2, 2019

‘New kinds of organic compounds’ found on alien moon, says NASA

Posted by in category: alien life

“This work shows that Enceladus’ ocean has reactive building blocks in abundance, and it’s another green light in the investigation of the habitability of Enceladus,” added co-author Frank Postberg.

Oct 2, 2019

Even the AI Behind Deepfakes Can’t Save Us From Being Duped

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

Google and Facebook are releasing troves of deepfakes to teach algorithms how to detect them. But the human eye will be needed for a long time.

Oct 2, 2019

Arrowverse ‘Crisis’ Event: Lyla Michaels Confirmed to Fill Key Role, as [Spoiler]

Posted by in category: entertainment

If you’re going to do right by DC Comics’ “Crisis on Infinite Earths” saga, you need the Monitor, yes. But you also need a Harbinger at his side. And now, it has been confirmed that Lyla Michaels, a character who has been played on Arrow over the years by Audrey Marie Anderson, will fill that role in the Arrowverse’s next, five-part crossover.

We say “confirmed” because while it did seem that Oliver Queen, in fulfilling his deal with the Monitor, might serve as an ersatz Harbinger, the fact is that in the comic books Lyla Michaels became Harbinger, and the Arrow character has used that codename since Season 1.

You can get a look at Anderson’s full costume here; Arrowverse EP Marc Guggenheim said they explored the idea of a comics-accurate helmet but it “didn’t look right.”

Oct 2, 2019

Li-CO2 Batteries Promise 7 Times The Energy Density Of Lithium-Iion

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

You may think that lithium-ion batteries are the best man can create, but researchers believe otherwise. There are other combinations of elements that are very promising. What about a cell with potential for seven times more energy density than Li-Ion could ever achieve? State of the art for current batteries would be 256 Wh/kg. Lithium-Carbon Dioxide batteries – or Li-CO2, for short – can theoretically reach 1,876 Wh/kg. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago created the first usable Li-CO2 battery. It was tested to up to 500 cycles, and it worked, which is great news.


Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago created the first usable Li-CO2 battery. It has 7 times the energy density of a Li-Ion battery.

Oct 2, 2019

Josh Mitteldorf — Cracking the Aging Code

Posted by in categories: evolution, existential risks, genetics, life extension, sustainability

New interview with author and researcher Dr. Josh Mitteldorf who runs the aging research blog Aging Matters.


Interview with author and researcher Dr. Josh Mitteldorf who runs the aging research blog ‘Aging Matters’.

Dr. Josh Mitteldorf is an evolutionary biologist and a long-time contributor to the growing field of aging science. His work in this field has focused on theories of aging. He asks the basic question: why do we age and die?

Continue reading “Josh Mitteldorf — Cracking the Aging Code” »

Oct 2, 2019

The world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht was unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show. Here’s a look inside the game-changing 367-foot vessel concept

Posted by in category: futurism

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fCoU617GJG8

The potentially monumental 367-foot superyacht with state-of-the-art technology and design was presented as a 6.5-foot model at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Oct 2, 2019

Quantum vacuum: Less than zero energy

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Energy is a quantity that must always be positive—at least that’s what our intuition tells us. If every single particle is removed from a certain volume until there is nothing left that could possibly carry energy, then a limit has been reached. Or has it? Is it still possible to extract energy even from empty space?

Quantum physics has shown time and again that it contradicts our intuition, which is also true in this case. Under certain conditions, negative energies are allowed, at least in a certain range of space and time. An international research team at the TU Vienna, the Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) and the IIT Kanpur (India) have now investigated the extent to which negative is possible. It turns out that no matter which quantum theories are considered, no matter what symmetries are assumed to hold in the universe, there are always certain limits to “borrowing” energy. Locally, the energy can be less than zero, but like money borrowed from a bank, this energy must be “paid back” in the end.

Oct 2, 2019

Quantum destabilization of a water sandwich

Posted by in categories: food, quantum physics, sustainability

From raindrops rolling off the waxy surface of a waterlily leaf to the efficiency of desalination membranes, interactions between water molecules and water-repellent “hydrophobic” surfaces are all around us. The interplay becomes even more intriguing when a thin water layer becomes sandwiched between two hydrophobic surfaces, KAUST researchers have shown.

In the early 1980s, researchers first noted an unexpected effect when two hydrophobic surfaces were slowly brought together in . “At some point, the two surfaces would suddenly jump into contact—like two magnets being brought together,” says Himanshu Mishra from KAUST’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center. Mishra’s lab investigates water at all length scales, from reducing in agriculture, to the properties of individual water molecules.

Researchers were unable to explain the phenomenon at the , so in 2016, Mishra organized a KAUST conference on the subject. “We brought together leaders in the field—experimentalists and theorists—leading to intense debates on the understanding of hydrophobic surface forces,” he says.

Oct 2, 2019

Humans Produce 100x More CO2 Than All Earth’s Volcanoes Combined

Posted by in category: sustainability

According to a decade-long study by an international team of researchers, human CO2 emissions total 100 times more than the planet-warming effects of all volcanoes combined.

The total amount emitted by volcanoes is only about 0.3 gigatons a year — a tiny fraction of the 37 gigatons humankind produced in 2018 alone.

That means they’re not nearly as big of a contributor to global emissions as some prevailing theories hold.

Oct 2, 2019

F.A.A. Allows U.P.S. to Deliver Medical Packages Using Drones

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, drones

After a year of working with the Federal Aviation Administration, United Parcel Service was awarded a certification that allows it to use drones on medical campuses.