Menu

Blog

Page 8872

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.

Read more

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.”

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Read more

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.

Continue reading “Promising compound selectively kills brain cancer stem cells” »

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.

Read more

Mar 11, 2019

Breakthrough process welds metal and glass together using ultrafast lasers

Posted by in categories: innovation, materials

Traditionally, welding has been limited to materials that share similar properties, so it’s tough to make even aluminum and steel join forces. But now, scientists from Heriot-Watt University are claiming a breakthrough method that can weld together materials as different as glass and metal, thanks to ultrafast laser pulses.

Read more

Mar 11, 2019

MetaFly is that flying robotic insect you’ve been looking for

Posted by in categories: cyborgs, robotics/AI, transhumanism

Five years ago, French aeronautical engineer Edwin Van Ruymbeke successfully crowdfunded his Bionic Bird – it’s a remote-control model that flies by flapping its wings, just like a real bird. Now he’s back, with the insect-inspired MetaFly.

Read more

Mar 11, 2019

Sound May Be Carried by Tiny Particles With Negative Gravity

Posted by in category: physics

The research contradicts a major assumption in physics.