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May 18, 2019
How Uber and other digital platforms could trick us using behavioral science – unless we act fast
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: science
This is one of the reasons Uber will soon be among the most valuable companies in the world after its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Denys Prykhodov / Shutterstock
May 18, 2019
Mapping historical changes in dark matter
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: cosmology, mapping
Combining Einstein’s theory of relativity with one of the most powerful telescopes in the world has helped an international team of researchers measure where and how dark matter structures grow in the universe. Their analysis suggests cosmic structures might be evolving more slowly than previously predicted.
May 18, 2019
Tesla driver killed after smashing into truck had just enabled Autopilot – US crash watchdog
Posted by Amnon H. Eden in categories: robotics/AI, transportation
A.I. is yet to prove the safety of self-driving cars.
“Shortly following the accident, we informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board that the vehicle’s logs showed that Autopilot was first engaged by the driver just 10 seconds prior to the accident, and then the driver immediately removed his hands from the wheel,” a Tesla spokesperson told The Register in an emailed statement. “Autopilot had not been used at any other time during that drive. We are deeply saddened by this accident and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.”
May 18, 2019
Scientists ‘went rogue’ and genetically engineered two human babies—or at least claimed to
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics
In the past 24 hours, a story of potentially world-changing import has surfaced. First reported by the MIT Technology Review and then not long after by the Associated Press, who seem to have been sitting on the story for a while, the news that a Chinese scientist named He Jiankui led an unprecedented experiment to edit human embryos and see them carried to term rocked the genetics community. Here’s what you need to know about this evolving story.
The science
Besides He, the most important players in this story may be twin baby girls named Nana and Lulu. As far as we know the twins were edited as embryos using CRISPR-cas9, a gene editing tool. The stated purpose of the edit was to disable CCR5, a gene involved in allowing HIV to invade cells, which is how a virus infects a host.
May 18, 2019
BioHiTech supplies food waste digesters to grocery chain
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: food
Chestnut Ridge, New York-based company to install Sapling digesters at six locations.
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As many as 2 billion people could be fed from the estimated 1.4 billion tons of food waste the world generates each year.
May 18, 2019
How Feynman Diagrams Revolutionized Physics
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: particle physics
In the late 1940s, Richard Feynman invented a visual tool for simplifying particle calculations that forever changed theoretical physics.
May 17, 2019
Architect Designs a Minimalist Modern House Inside a Giant Ancient Rock
Posted by Quinn Sena in category: futurism
May 17, 2019
Citrus Farmers Facing Deadly Bacteria Turn to Antibiotics, Alarming Health Officials
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, food, health
Deadly Germs, Lost Cures
In its decision to approve two drugs for orange and grapefruit trees, the E.P.A. largely ignored objections from the C.D.C. and the F.D.A., which fear that expanding their use in cash crops could fuel antibiotic resistance in humans.
An orange picker collecting oranges on a grove in Zolfo Springs, Fla. Credit Credit.