What do you think? Would the development of smarter-than-human A.I. cause a nerdocalypse?
- Ancient escape tunnel found in Jerusalem.
- The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico is the largest and most sensitive radio telescope on Earth, conducting searches of the galactic frontier for intelligent life and potentially destructive asteroids, but due to cuts in funding, the project is now in jeopardy, sending ripples of despair through the scientific community.
- Greenland ice cap is melting so quickly it’s triggering earthquakes.
- ‘Beyond Einstein’ research should begin with mission to study dark energy.
- Hunting the holy grail of fusion.
- Rain Mice: Mutated human gene turns mice into autistic savants.
- Microchip for people may cause cancer: Company didn’t tell public of decade-old studies tying device to rat tumors.
- Techies ponder computers smarter than us at The Singularity Summit: AI and the Future of Humanity.
- Brilliant Houdinis of the Deep: A leading indicator of octopus intelligence is that they get bored. Close-up of Shania the octopus being entertained by a smelt-filled Mr. Potato Head.
- ‘Systems Biology’ poised to revolutionize understanding of cell function and disease.
- Study finds good first-year teachers make the biggest, longest-lasting difference for primary school students.
- Women’s health is much more at risk from sleep deprivation than men’s.
- Depression found to cause more physical damage than angina, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes.
- From coffee and nicotine to pathogens and traces of explosives, newly modified device can identify substances on any kind of surface, including skin, within seconds. More.
- Engineers use new technique to extend the service-life of aging satellites.
- Company’s patent claims new ultracapacitor will replace the electrochemical battery, meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip without gasoline.
- By shining a laser on surface veins, such as those on the wrist and inside the cheek, researchers are able to reveal and count circulating tumor cells.
- Prion proteins may activate endogenous retroviruses in infected brain cells.
- Psychological studies show that, for all their intuitive appeal, denials and clarifications paradoxically contribute to the resiliency of popular myths.
- Got kids? Science Theater’s videos (mp4) explain various scientific concepts. Not quite as sexy as Bill Nye or Marc Abrahams, but then, few are.
- In this CSpan RealPlayer video, William Rodriquez, the last person to get out of the World Trade Center alive, talks about his experiences in the WTC on 9/11, and explains why he doesn’t believe the official 9/11 narrative. (The link above worked for me – no webpage loads, but RealPlayer pops up with the right video. To skip the lengthy intro, scroll forward to 26 minutes. If all else fails, go to www.cspan.org, and do a search for “William Rodriguez”.)
Quote of the Day:
Technology is heading here. It will predictably get to the point of making artificial intelligence. The mere fact that you cannot predict exactly when it will happen down to the day is no excuse for closing your eyes and refusing to think about it.
Eliezer Yudkowsky, co-founder of the Palo Alto-based Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
