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Feb 23, 2019

Scientists Warn Self-Driving Cars Could Worsen Inequality

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

“One way or another, this technology is coming. These cars are already being tested in cities,” Richard Ezike, the lead author of the study, said in an organization-published press release. “If we do not plan and set out thoughtful policies, driverless cars could exacerbate the challenges we see in transportation today — especially for underserved communities.”

Take the Bus

The researchers argue that cities that introduce autonomous vehicles should also invest in public transit, to make sure that those who have longer commutes and would get stuck in the newly-introduced congestion can still find and make it to their jobs.

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Feb 23, 2019

Swiss drug giant Roche reportedly readies to buy the biotech behind the first FDA-approved gene therapy, which just became the priciest medicine in the US

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Roche could pay $5 billion for biotech company Spark Therapeutics. The pharma giant likely wants to expand its presence in hemophilia, a lucrative market.

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Feb 23, 2019

Integrative states within the brain

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Neuroscience.

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Feb 23, 2019

Fabiola Gianotti: ‘There is nothing more rewarding than discovering a new particle’

Posted by in category: particle physics

The director general of Cern talks about discovering the Higgs boson, women in science and the next generation of colliders.

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Feb 23, 2019

Solar Powered E-Skin for Prosthetic Limbs

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, health, sustainability, wearables

Recently University of Glasgow developed a Graphene based E-Skin for prosthetic limbs. The research started with making a prosthetic arm that could sense even the minutest of pressure for gripping soft objects. It eventually yielded a prosthetic limb that was also self powering.

This was because of the development of Graphene based supercapacitors.

Continue reading “Solar Powered E-Skin for Prosthetic Limbs” »

Feb 23, 2019

NASA facility in West Virginia renamed after native and ‘hidden figure’ Katherine Johnson

Posted by in category: entertainment

This is awesome and WAY deserved.


A NASA facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, will be renamed after native Katherine Johnson, a pioneering mathematician who was depicted in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures” for her critical role in the success of the U.S. reaching space.

The Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs announced the recognition of Johnson on Friday, according to The Register-Herald.

Continue reading “NASA facility in West Virginia renamed after native and ‘hidden figure’ Katherine Johnson” »

Feb 23, 2019

Say Goodbye to Arab Oil and Hello to Israel’s Car That Runs on Air and Water

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

Phinergy is a leading developer of breakthrough, absolutely zero emission, high energy density systems based on metal air energy technologies, mainly Aluminum-Air and Zinc-Air. Unlike conventional batteries that carry oxygen, these batteries freely breathe oxygen from the ambient air to release the energy contained in metals.

(274361)

Category: Innovation

Continue reading “Say Goodbye to Arab Oil and Hello to Israel’s Car That Runs on Air and Water” »

Feb 23, 2019

YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels

Posted by in category: futurism

Youtube has decided to start demonetizing anti-vaccination videos. They’ll also start running a disclaimer below the videos.


After advertisers complained about programmatic ad placements on anti-vax videos, YouTube removed ads on videos that advocate against vaccination.

By Caroline O’Donovan

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Feb 23, 2019

Jeff Bezos just gave a private talk in New York. From utopian space colonies to dissing Elon Musk’s Martian dream, here are the most notable things he said

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Bezos: “I don’t think we’ll live on planets…I think we’ll live in giant O’Neal-style space colonies.”


  • Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, gave a talk to a members-only event at the Yale Club in New York on Tuesday.
  • During the 30-minute lecture, Bezos said his private aerospace company, Blue Origin, would launch its first people into space aboard a New Shepard rocket in 2019.
  • Bezos also questioned the capabilities of a space tourism competitor, Virgin Galactic, and criticized the goal of Elon Musk and SpaceX to settle Mars with humans.
  • Ultimately, Bezos said he wants Blue Origin to enable a space-faring civilization where “a Mark Zuckerberg of space” and “1,000 Mozarts and 1,000 Einsteins” can flourish.
  • Bezos advised the crowd to hold a powerful, personal long-term vision, but to devote “the vast majority of your energy and attention” on shorter-term activities and those ranging up to 2- or 3-year timeframes.

Jeff Bezos may be the richest human on Earth, as the founder of Amazon, but his ultimate dreams reside within a relatively obscure company called Blue Origin.

In fact, as Bezos told the CEO of Business Insider’s parent company in April 2018, he liquidates $1 billion of stock a year to fund his private aerospace outfit.

Continue reading “Jeff Bezos just gave a private talk in New York. From utopian space colonies to dissing Elon Musk’s Martian dream, here are the most notable things he said” »

Feb 23, 2019

New ‘interspecies communication’ strategy between gut bacteria and mammalian hosts uncovered

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

A study published today in Cell describes a form of “interspecies communication” in which bacteria secrete a specific molecule — nitric oxide — that allows them to communicate with and control their hosts’ DNA, and suggests that the conversation between the two may broadly influence human health.

The researchers out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School tracked nitric oxide secreted by gut bacteria inside tiny worms (C. elegans, a common mammalian laboratory model). Nitric oxide secreted by gut bacteria attached to thousands of host proteins, completely changing a worm’s ability to regulate its own gene expression.

The study is the first to show gut bacteria can tap into nitric oxide networks ubiquitous in mammals, including humans. Nitric oxide attaches to human proteins in a carefully regulated manner — a process known as S-nitrosylation — and disruptions are broadly implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

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