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Keith’s note: China is getting ready to launch a new space station which, when complete, will be on par with Mir with many capabilities similar to those offered by the ISS. China is openly seeking governmental and commercial participation. Meanwhile they are about to land a rover on the far side of the Moon as part of a methodical plan to land humans there.
Meanwhile NASA is trying to rid itself of the ISS through various half-hearted efforts to commercialize this amazing resource that rely on smoke and mirrors and faith-based funding plans. NASA is also puffing itself up again for the third time in less than 20 years to #GoBackToTheMoon or something with budgets that do not come close to making such a thing possible. Oh by the way #JourneyToMars is still on the books.
One would think that the prudent thing would be to leverage our interests with those of China as we have done with Russia and many other nations around the world. But short-sighted legislation and targeted xenophobia currently prevents this.
Jun 6, 2018
The LHC Has Detected The Higgs Boson Again, This Time With a Massive Twist
Posted by Michael Lance in category: particle physics
What would it say about the fundamental structure of the universe?
Physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider have made a major new detection of the famous Higgs boson, this time catching details on a rare interaction with one of the heaviest fundamental particles known to physics — the top quark.
The brief mingling of these incredibly rare encounters has provided physicists with important information on the nature of mass, and whether there is more to physics than the existing model predicts.
Continue reading “The LHC Has Detected The Higgs Boson Again, This Time With a Massive Twist” »
Jun 6, 2018
Now that everything can be tokenized, banks are taking notice
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: bitcoin, economics, finance
From the figures above, the past year has highlighted how pretty much anything can be put on the blockchain as a way of raising capital. But as it provides access to greater liquidity to investors rather than a conventional equity investment, it’s also demonstrating how a tokenized world is steadily being seen as the norm.
As Krauwer states, though, for an actual token economy to emerge, buyers would need insight in what they buy. “Token owners would need to know how they can keep track of the underlying asset. In addition, they would need a way to store their tokens and trade them with others.”
Not only that, but sellers would benefit from such a platform that would capture their assets in a token and connect them with possible buyers. Additionally, providing some type of quality assurance on top of the tokens would help too.
Continue reading “Now that everything can be tokenized, banks are taking notice” »
Jun 6, 2018
Terminal breast cancer “cured”
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: biotech/medical, health
Researchers at the US National Cancer Institute have reported in on an experimental breast cancer therapy that achieved remarkable results, rehabilitating Judy Perkins from the brink of death (she had been given two months to live, had tumors in her liver and throughout her body) to robust health two years later.
Jun 6, 2018
Robots Will Be Able to Feel Touch With This Artificial Nerve
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: robotics/AI
When the disembodied cockroach leg twitched, Yeongin Kim knew he had finally made it.
A graduate student at Stanford, Kim had been working with an international team of neuroengineers on a crazy project: an artificial nerve that acts like the real thing. Like sensory neurons embedded in our skin, the device—which kind of looks like a bendy Band-Aid—detects touch, processes the information, and sends it off to other nerves.
Yup, even if that downstream nerve is inside a cockroach leg.
Continue reading “Robots Will Be Able to Feel Touch With This Artificial Nerve” »
Jun 6, 2018
Study finds training-induced neuroplasticity even in patients with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Posted by Alvaro Fernandez in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Very promising since “Identifying what changes are happening in the brain when interventions successfully reduce depressive symptoms could allow us to create more effective, pharmaceutical-free approaches to help alleviate depression in people who experience chronic traumatic brain injury symptoms,” said study author Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth.
Images show prefrontal connectivity patterns after cognitive training in individuals who suffered traumatic brain injury. Kihwan Han et al (2018) _____ Cognitive training reduces depression, rebuilds injured brain structure & connectivity after traumatic brain injury (UT-Dallas release): “New research from the Center.
Jun 6, 2018
Why Children of Men has never been as shocking as it is now
Posted by Derick Lee in categories: entertainment, futurism
Nothing goes out of date more quickly than films set in the future. Big-screen visions of tomorrow always reflect the era in which they were made – hence the disco outfits in Flash Gordon. Most soon become quaint relics rather than uncanny prophecies of the shape of things to come. But then, on the other hand, there is Children of Men. Alfonso Cuarón’s feverish dystopian chase thriller is set in a decade’s time, in 2027, but it also came out a decade ago. By now, we should be chuckling at how far off-target its predictions were, both in their overall picture and their background minutiae. Instead, it’s tempting to ask whether Cuarón had access to a crystal ball.
Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian thriller is one of the 21st Century’s most acclaimed films – and its version of the future is now disturbingly familiar. Nicholas Barber looks back.
Here, Jonathan Carling explains the significance of Tokamak Energy achieving 15 million degrees, a temperature hotter than the centre of the Sun, in their latest device ST40.
Jun 6, 2018
Inside Amazon’s Grand Challenge — a secretive lab working on cancer research and other ventures
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in category: biotech/medical
Amazon has put Google Glass creator Babak Parviz in charge of an ambitious group called Grand Challenge.