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Mar 11, 2019

Ultrathin and ultrafast: Scientists pioneer new technique for two-dimensional material analysis

Posted by in categories: materials, particle physics

Discovery allows scientists to look at how 2-D materials move with ultrafast precision.

Using a never-before-seen technique, scientists have found a new way to use some of the world’s most powerful X-rays to uncover how move in a single atomic sheet at ultrafast speeds.

The study, led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and in collaboration with other institutions, including the University of Washington and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, developed a new technique called ultrafast X-ray scattering. This technique revealed the changing structure of an atomically thin two-dimensional crystal after it was excited with an optical laser pulse.

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Mar 11, 2019

Famous Hacker Thinks We’re Living in Simulation, Wants to Escape

Posted by in category: futurism

We’re gonna need something better than “There’s no evidence this is not true.”

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Mar 11, 2019

Physicists solve a beta-decay puzzle with advanced nuclear models

Posted by in category: physics

An international collaboration including scientists at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) solved a 50-year-old puzzle that explains why beta decays of atomic nuclei are slower than what is expected based on the beta decays of free neutrons.

The findings, published in Nature Physics, fill a long-standing gap in physicists’ understanding of beta decay, an important process stars use to create heavier elements, and emphasize the need to include subtle effects—or more realistic physics—when predicting certain nuclear processes.

“For decades, scientists have lacked a first-principles understanding of nuclear beta decay, in which protons convert into neutrons, or vice versa, to form other elements,” said ORNL staff scientist Gaute Hagen, who led the study. “Our team demonstrated that theoretical models and computation have progressed to the point where it is possible to calculate some decay properties with enough precision to allow for direct comparison to experiment.”

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Mar 11, 2019

Few pathways to an acceptable climate future without immediate action

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

A new comprehensive study of climate change has painted over 5 million pictures of humanity’s potential future, and few foretell an Earth that has not severely warmed. But with immediate action and some luck, there are pathways to a tolerable climate future, according to a research team led by Tufts University.

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Mar 11, 2019

A Drone You Control With Your Mind Is About to Hit Kickstarter

Posted by in categories: drones, neuroscience

A Kickstarter campaign is launching on Tuesday for a drone you control with your mind.

The mind-controlled drone is the work EEGSmart, a Chinese company focused on the development of brain-machine interface (BMI) technology — and according to New Atlas writer Loz Blain, who got a chance to test the device, “It’s not perfect, but it does give a glimpse of a mind-controlled future.”

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Mar 11, 2019

Gateway Around the Moon Gains Support

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

I know some people don’t like it but the Lunar Gateway is getting more traction.


The International Space Station partners have endorsed plans to continue the development of the Gateway, an outpost around the Moon that will act as a base to support both robots and astronauts exploring the lunar surface.

The Multilateral Coordination Board, which oversees the management of the Space Station, stressed its common hope for the Gateway to open up a cost-effective and sustainable path to the Moon and beyond.

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Mar 11, 2019

OpenAI LP

Posted by in category: futurism

The fundamental idea of OpenAI LP is that investors and employees can get a capped return if we succeed at our mission, which allows us to raise investment capital and attract employees with startup-like equity. But any returns beyond that amount—and if we are successful, we expect to generate orders of magnitude more value than we’d owe to people who invest in or work at OpenAI LP—are owned by the original OpenAI Nonprofit entity.


We’ve created OpenAI LP, a new “capped-profit” company that allows us to rapidly increase our investments in compute and talent while including checks and balances to actualize our mission.

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Mar 11, 2019

The unusual bacterial link between colorectal cancer and tooth decay

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A common oral bacteria has been found to release a molecule that accelerates the growth of colorectal cancers. The impressive new research could lead to new cancer treatments as well as offer a valuable biomarker to help doctors identify potentially aggressive cancers.

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Mar 11, 2019

Promising compound selectively kills brain cancer stem cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Scripps Research scientists have discovered a compound that potently and selectively kills the stem-like cells that make glioblastoma brain cancers so deadly.

In a study published this week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Scripps Research scientists found that the new compound, which they dubbed RIPGBM, kills stem-like cells cultured from patients’ tumors with more than 40 times the potency of the standard GBM drug . They found too that RIPGBM is highly selective, sparing other types of cells, and that it powerfully suppresses the growth of GBM tumors in a mouse model of the disease.

“Our discovery of this compound and the cellular pathways it affects offers a promising new strategy for treating glioblastoma,” says principal investigator Luke Lairson, PhD, an assistant professor of chemistry at Scripps Research.

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Mar 11, 2019

To Freeze Yourself at Death, There’s an Estate Planning Trust for That

Posted by in categories: cryonics, life extension

How to keep your assets intact if you’re revived through cryonics.

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