It may be possible to create neuromorphic human-level Artificial General Intelligence within 5 to 15 years for 30 to 100 thousand dollars, of marginal cost using memristors. The extreme complexity of the human cerebral cortex,featuring in particular ~10^14 synapses, makes the hardware implementation of neuromorphic networks with a comparable number of devices exceptionally challenging. One …
Last month saw the agreement, in principle, for the conclusion of the China-Australia FTA (ChAFTA [Free Trade Agreement]), nearly 10 years after the start of negotiations. Hailed by Prime Minster Tony Abbott as “the most comprehensive agreement China has concluded with anyone,” ChAFTA does indeed appear to be groundbreaking. Bridging the Pacific looks at progress …
GDP statistics are approximations of economic size. The US made adjustments to GDP statistics that included music and other content which boosted GDP by 3%. China GDP including Hong Kong and Macau will be about $11.6 trillion in 2015. China including Hong Kong is about 61% of the US economy in 2014 and 64% in …
Comcast has given thousands of dollars to political groups to defeat the mayor of Seattle. McGinn’s major opponent, state Sen. Ed Murray (D-Seattle), has committed to honoring the city’s existing contracts for a 14-neighborhood pilot project, but has shown limited enthusiasm about McGinn’s plans to expand the network in the future. So the election could …
The Carnival of Nuclear Energy 154 is at Atomic Power Review Dr Robert Hayes at NewsOK – examines the fact that there haven’t been reports of radiation injury as a result of the March, 2011 Fukushima accident, using UNSCEAR and WHO documents as support; he also briefly discusses low-dose effects. The Japanese tsunami caused the …
Gizmag – The Yumemiru app for iPhones and iPads can detect when you enter dream sleep and then plays a soundtrack to influence what happens in your dreams. The app uses a timer and the Apple device’s microphone to detect when a user has entered REM sleep, which is when they’re most susceptible to dreaming. …
CNET – Boston Dynamics has released new video of its Petman robot. The vid below shows the anthropomorphic bot (aka the Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin) walking on a treadmill, doing squats, and pumping out push-ups without breaking a sweat. Boston Dynamics site description of the PETMAN project PETMAN will balance itself and move freely; walking, …
1. Astronomers studying observations taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission have discovered the first known “Trojan” asteroid orbiting the sun along with Earth. Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same …
Scientists have used a gene therapy tool that acts like intelligent molecular scissors to correct the key gene defect in mice with hemophilia B, a disease that can lead to uncontrolled bleeding. The intervention improved the animals’ blood clotting enough that their severe disease was reduced to a mild form. Hemophilia B affects about 3,000 …
Arxiv – Generation of Medical X-ray and Terahertz Beams of Radiation Using Table-Top Accelerators Theoretical and experimental studies of PXR and diffracted radiation of an oscillator in crystals combined with the development of VFEL generators with photonic crystals give a promising basis for creation of X-ray and THz sources using the same table-top accelerator. Multi-modal …
1. Although the current global oil reserves in place are estimated at 14 trillion barrels, only about 1.2 trillion can be recovered, said Khaled Al Buraik, executive director of the government-controlled Saudi Aramco. However, in the near future new oil technology will enable 2 trillion barrels to be accessed. “Advanced technology in hydrocarbon production could …