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May 26, 2018

A sensor could monitor gut health via engineered bacteria

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

Esearchers have devised a new way to get a sneak peek into what’s going on deep in your digestive system, creating a swallowable sensor that, with the help of engineered bacteria and a tiny electrical circuit, can detect the presence of molecules that might be signs of disease and then beam the results to a smartphone app.

The device, which scientists validated in pigs, remains a prototype and needs to be refined before it could be used in people. But the researchers, who reported their work Thursday in the journal Science, combined innovations in synthetic biology and microelectronics to create a modular platform that could be adapted to identify a wide range of molecules.

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May 26, 2018

Three countries are leading the renewable energy revolution

Posted by in category: futurism

When it rains, it powers. Learn more about Chinese investment in renewables: https://wef.ch/2knPJ1f

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May 26, 2018

These Saturn Moons Look Like Ravioli

Posted by in category: space

Saturn has ravioli-shaped moons, but they’re not as delicious as real ravioli. (via Seeker Universe)

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May 26, 2018

#5 Transhumanism, Artificial Intelligence, and Universal Basic Income with Zoltan Istvan

Posted by in categories: economics, geopolitics, policy, robotics/AI, transhumanism

A new podcast I did that talks about #transhmanism:


Zoltan Istvan is a transhumanist, futurist, author, and journalist. He’s a former reporter for National Geographic, ran for president in 2016, and is running for governor of California in 2018 under the libertarian party. In this episode we got into what transhumanism is, what his policy platforms are, and tackled a lot of the questions people generally have around these topics. Enjoy!

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May 26, 2018

This 3D Printer Can Help Grow Organs With Scaffolding Made Out of Sugar

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, biotech/medical

Sugar, that amazingly sweet treat some of us just can’t get enough of, has long been the fascination of children (and those with a child-like sweet tooth).

Its ability to be melted down into a glass-like substance enables confectionery artists to create tasty displays worthy of museums, or being served as a 3D printed dessert.

In fact, the same properties which make sugar so wonderful for cooking and designing also make it great for science.

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May 26, 2018

Asteroid Mining (Phase 1) to Begin in 2020, Says This Space Pioneer @themotleyfool #stocks

Posted by in category: space travel

Planetary Resources plans to begin dispatching spaceships in just two years.

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May 26, 2018

What Countries use US Dollar and Why?

Posted by in categories: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, economics, policy

Other than the United States, 5 U.S. territories and 12 sovereign nations use the US dollar as their legal currency. (Note that Micronesia covers six sovereign countries).

Additionally, I have traveled to island nations and some countries in Asia and Pacific that peg their currency to the US dollar. In these regions, citizens accept US dollars interchangeably with their own national currency, and their governments don’t seem to discourage or prosecute such transactions.

What gives value to paper?

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May 26, 2018

Microchips get under the skin of technophile Swedes

Posted by in category: computing

Swedes have gone on to be very active in microchipping, with scant debate about issues surrounding its use, in a country keen on new technology and where the sharing of personal information is held up as a sign of a transparent society.

Ms Ulrika Celsing, 28, is one of 3,000 Swedes to have injected a microchip into her hand to try out a new way of life.

To enter her workplace, the media agency Mindshare, she simply waves her hand on a small box and types in a code before the doors open.

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May 25, 2018

The strawberry-picking robots doing a job humans won’t

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI, sustainability

The strawberry-picking robots coming to a farm near you. 🤖🍓.


Strawberry producers say labour shortages are driving them to find robotic fruit pickers instead.

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May 25, 2018

The Absolutely Amazing Theory of Almost Everything

Posted by in category: physics

The Standard Model. What dull name for the most accurate scientific theory known to human beings.

More than a quarter of the Nobel Prizes in physics of the last century are direct inputs to or direct results of the Standard Model. Yet its name suggests that if you can afford a few extra dollars a month you should buy the upgrade. As a theoretical physicist, I’d prefer The Absolutely Amazing Theory of Almost Everything. That’s what the Standard Model really is.

Many recall the excitement among scientists and media over the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson. But that much-ballyhooed event didn’t come out of the blue – it capped a five-decade undefeated streak for the Standard Model. Every fundamental force but gravity is included in it. Every attempt to overturn it to demonstrate in the laboratory that it must be substantially reworked – and there have been many over the past 50 years – has failed.

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