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Feb 20, 2016

‘Giant nose in the sky’ ready for lift-off in mission to sniff out traces of life on Mars

Posted by in category: space

The giant nose is going to Mars.


The ExoMars probe will seek evidence of methane gas, which is seen as a crucial signpost of life.

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Feb 20, 2016

“The Universe is Shrinking” –A Radical Alternative to Big Bang Theory (Weekend Feature)

Posted by in category: cosmology

Here’s a concept; the Universe is Shrinking.


“The field of cosmology these days is converging on a standard model, centered around inflation and the Big Bang,” says physicist Arjun Berera at the University of Edinburgh, UK. “This is why it’s as important as ever, before we get too comfortable, to see if there are alternative explanations consistent with all known observation.”

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Feb 20, 2016

Cybercrime bill faces First Amendment questions

Posted by in categories: cybercrime/malcode, government, internet

Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain, has introduced legislation to increase punishment for those who engage in Internet crimes. HB225, Cybercrime Amendments, specifically targets crimes known as “doxing” and “swatting.” The bill has been assigned to be heard by a House committee.

Doxing is the act of releasing personal information about a person publicly online. Oftentimes, these releases are accompanied by intimidating threats toward the targets of doxing. Releasing personal information online while encouraging others to commit crimes against the victim is understandably dangerous. However, issues have been raised concerning First Amendment rights.

Originally, HB225 included criminal charges against those who release personal information with the intent to “annoy, offend, and frighten.” Lifferth is removing these phrases particularly as they don’t necessarily indicate malicious intent. Critics have expressed that HB225 would be a violation of freedom of speech.

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Feb 20, 2016

Robots could learn human values

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Scientists have been running tests where artificial intelligences cultivate appropriate social behaviour by responding to simple narratives.

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Feb 20, 2016

Wireless Power Transmission Market (2015−2020) — Valued at $0.72 Billion in 2014 & Is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 51.5%

Posted by in categories: electronics, energy

Wireless Power Transmission Market reach $13.11 Billion by 2020. This is an area that I plan to keep a closer eye on especially since IEEE’s recent approved standards on sensors. I have a feeling that we could start seeing some major progress in this space.


DUBLIN, Jan. 27, 2016 /PR Newswire UK/ — Wireless Power Transmission Market (2015−2020) — Valued at $0.72 Billion in 2014 & Is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 51.5%.

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Feb 20, 2016

How genetics regulate ageing

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

“Finding that GDF11 levels are under genetic control is of significant interest. Since it is under genetic control, we can find the genes responsible for GDF11 levels and its changes with age,” said the study’s senior author Rob Pazdro, assistant professor at University of Georgia in the US.


Scientists have shown that a hormone instrumental in the ageing process is under genetic control, introducing a new mechanism by which genetics regulate ageing and disease.

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Feb 20, 2016

India to Change Its Decades-Old Reliance on Female Sterilization

Posted by in category: health

For decades, India has relied on female sterilization as its primary mode of contraception, funding about four million tubal ligations every year, more than any other country. This year, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a major step toward modernizing that system, introducing injectable contraceptives free of charge in government facilities. The World Health Organization recommends their use without restriction for women of childbearing age.

New birth control options have long been advocated by international organizations, among them the United States Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They say Indian women — often worn out, anemic and at higher risk of death because they bear children young and often — urgently need methods to delay or space pregnancies.

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Feb 20, 2016

Lost Tapes Reveal Apollo Astronauts Heard Unexplained ‘Music’ On Far Side Of The Moon

Posted by in categories: media & arts, space

Crazy stuff!


“If you’re behind the moon and hear some weird noise on your radio, and you know you’re blocked from the Earth, then what could you possibly think?”

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Feb 20, 2016

Two-stage power management system boosts energy-harvesting Efficiency

Posted by in category: energy

Interesting read on 2 stage power management systems; especially the research done at GA Tech.

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Feb 20, 2016

A Scientist Fulfills a Promise To His Dead Wife In Short Film Goldilocks

Posted by in categories: entertainment, space

In this intriguing short film, Goldilocks, Earth has been devastated by solar storms, prompting a search for another home planet for humanity. In orbit, a scientist named Kharon is working hard to adapt plants to a new world, fulfilling a promise to his long-dead wife.

There’s some hints of 2001: A Space Odyssey here, and this is an interesting short film with some striking visuals. There’s some stretches of the imagination here, starting with the very notion of a space station being a bit more secure for research in orbit than on Earth (you know, with a magnetic field to protect you), but we’ll let it slide.

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