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Aug 10, 2018

Risks for Life on Habitable Planets from Superflares of Their Host Stars

Posted by in categories: alien life, economics, evolution, existential risks

We explore some of the ramifications arising from superflares on the evolutionary history of Earth, other planets in the solar system, and exoplanets. We propose that the most powerful superflares can serve as plausible drivers of extinction events, and that their periodicity corresponds to certain patterns in the terrestrial fossil diversity record. On the other hand, weaker superflares may play a positive role in enabling the origin of life through the formation of key organic compounds. Superflares could also prove to be quite detrimental to the evolution of complex life on present-day Mars and exoplanets in the habitable zone of M- and K-dwarfs. We conclude that the risk posed by superflares has not been sufficiently appreciated, and that humanity might potentially witness a superflare event in the next $\sim {10}^{3}$ years, leading to devastating economic and technological losses. In light of the many uncertainties and assumptions associated with our analysis, we recommend that these results should be viewed with due caution.

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Aug 10, 2018

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series, Titan RTX and RTX 2080 Performance Rumors

Posted by in category: futurism

A new rumor has suggested that NVIDIA will be using the new GeForce RTX branding on their upcoming GeForce 20 series graphics card lineup.

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Aug 10, 2018

Jeff Bezos shoots for the moon

Posted by in category: space travel

The Amazon.com founder is likely to meet a goal of having his Blue Origin space-travel company work with NASA to return to the moon.

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Aug 10, 2018

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Is Named for Him. 60 Years Ago, No One Believed His Ideas About the Sun

Posted by in category: space

Eugene N. Parker predicted the existence of solar wind in 1958. The NASA spacecraft, scheduled to launch on Saturday, is the first named for a living person.

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Aug 10, 2018

DeepLocker demonstrates how AI can create a new breed of malware

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, robotics/AI

According to Marc Ph. Stoecklin, principal research scientist at IBM Research, DeepLocker is a “new breed of highly targeted and evasive attack tools powered by AI.”

DeepLocker was designed in an attempt to improve understanding of how AI models can be combined with malware techniques to create a “new breed of malware,” Stoecklin explained in a post. This new type of malware can disguise its intent until it reaches an intended victim, which could be determined by taking advantage of facial recognition, geolocation, and voice recognition.

“The DeepLocker class of malware stands in stark contrast to existing evasion techniques used by malware seen in the wild. While many malware variants try to hide their presence and malicious intent, none are as effective at doing so as DeepLocker,” Stoecklin wrote.

Continue reading “DeepLocker demonstrates how AI can create a new breed of malware” »

Aug 10, 2018

Beyond the Wrist: Rethinking Wearable Technology for Mental Health

Posted by in categories: augmented reality, health, neuroscience, wearables

Clothing, skin patches and augmented reality glasses – welcome to the new age of data collection for mental health care.

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Aug 10, 2018

NASA’s first sun probe set to launch

Posted by in category: space

NASA’s first mission to the sun is set to launch on Saturday. The probe will have to withstand heat and radiation never previously experienced by any spacecraft https://cnn.it/2KNGkuQ

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Aug 10, 2018

A Chance Encounter in a Graveyard – Part 1

Posted by in category: habitats

This is a fictional story about a man realizing for the first time, under rather unusual circumstances, that he has a deep desire not to age and die.

It’s been a few months already, yet that day still feels like yesterday. I am still not convinced that I didn’t lose my mind that day, and even if I didn’t, it’s changed my thinking quite a bit.

I was in a green grove in the local cemetery, sitting on a bench. As it is the piece of nature closest to home, I used to go there quite often. A small group of men, all at least in their 40s and wearing black suits and ties, had passed by just as the bells in the nearby church began ringing.

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Aug 10, 2018

Dr. Aubrey de Grey — Rejuvenation is Finally an Industry

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Dr. Aubrey de Grey gives his keynote speech at the Ending Age-Related Diseases 2018 conference in NYC. This was our first conference and we will be back every year from now on.

To learn more about the event check out the conference page here:
https://www.leafscience.org/ending-age-related-diseases-2018/

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Aug 10, 2018

North American diets require more land than we have, study says

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

If the global population adopted recommended North American dietary guidelines, there wouldn’t be enough land to provide the food required, according to a new study co-authored by University of Guelph researchers.

The researchers found that global adherence to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines would require one giga-hectare of additional land—roughly the size of Canada—under current farming practice. Their findings were published in PLOS ONE today.

“The data shows that we would require more land than what we have if we adopt these guidelines. It is unsustainable,” said Prof. Madhur Anand, director of the Global Ecological Change and Sustainability lab where the study was undertaken.

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