Micromote now one cubic millimeter computer with a megabyte of flash memory using a few nanowatts of power

In 2015, the Michigan Micro Mote constituted the first complete, operational computer system measuring as small as two millimeters across. “To be “complete,” a computer system must have an input of data, the ability to process that data – meaning process and store it, make decisions about what to do next – and ultimately, the …

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Fewer high paying oil rig jobs because of robots and process improvement

The robot on an oil drillship in the Gulf of Mexico made it easier for Mark Rodgers to do his job stringing together heavy, dirty pipes. It could also be a reason he’s not working there today. The Iron Roughneck, made by National Oilwell Varco Inc., automates the repetitive and dangerous task of connecting hundreds …

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AI could be hugely impactful on jobs but we can compare to past innovations and dot.com era

Andrew Ng, chief scientist at Chinese Internet search giant Baidu and co-inventor of the Google Brain, believes there are other, more immediate risks concerning AI that aren’t getting enough attention. “I think that the conversation is distracting governments and society from the real ethical issues facing AI,” Ng tells TIME. “And we shouldn’t whitewash these …

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D-Wave Systems Previews 2000-Qubit Quantum System and Early tests show new features have up to 1000 times performance improvement over 1000 Qubit system

D-Wave Systems Inc., the world’s first quantum computing company, announced details of its most advanced quantum computing system, featuring a new 2000-qubit processor. The announcement is being made at the company’s inaugural users group conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The new processor doubles the number of qubits over the previous generation D-Wave 2X™ system, …

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Electric “Pulse” Technology May Replenish Skin’s Collagen

A team of Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Harvard Medical School researchers has now devised a non-invasive technique that harnesses pulsed electric fields to generate new skin tissue growth. According to their research, the novel non-invasive tissue stimulation technique, utilizing microsecond-pulsed, high-voltage, non-thermal electric fields, produces scarless skin rejuvenation and may revolutionize the treatment of …

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Stratospheric Dual-Aircraft Platform for a station-keeping aircraft substitute for satellites

The Dual-Aircraft Platform (DAP) is a patented concept for achieving a low-cost atmospheric satellite which utilizes wind shear as the primary energy source, and has the potential to stationkeep without a substantial energy storage system. DAP consists of two glider-like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) connected via a thin, ultra-strong cable which literally sails without propulsion, …

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China, Europe and Japan are stimulating their economies

China’s central bank unexpectedly slashed interest rates on Friday to re-energize the world’s No. 2 economy, joining a growing list of major economies that are trying to encourage growth in the face of a global slowdown. China’s bank cut the rate on a one-year loan by commercial banks by 0.4 percentage points to 5.6 percent. …

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Bad Choices, bad regulation, incompetence and corruption in San Francisco, California result in Inferior Public Transportation and more expensive housing

Shuttle buses for technology companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter use 250 of the 2500 Muni bus stops in San Francisco. The Municipal Transportation Agency has proposed an 18-month test of a shuttle policy designed to support the private buses, which transport as many as 35,000 workers a day, mostly to and from tech companies …

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Antiaging conference SENS6

The SENS6 (strategies for engineered negligible senescence, engineered repair of aging damage) conference was held Sept 3-7, 2013. The purpose of the SENS conference series, like all the SENS initiatives, is to expedite the development of truly effective therapies to postpone and treat human aging by tackling it as an engineering problem: not seeking elusive …

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Former US Congressman and Navy Admiral Joe Sestak discusses his views on Thorium nuclear energy

Former U.S. congressman, Navy admiral and senatorial candidate Joe Sestak addresses Thorium Energy Alliance in Chicago. “This issue of thorium with rare earth minerals has to be looked at as a national security issue. I believe that thorium, with rare earths is a way to enhance, greatly, the accessibility of our energy in so many …

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Robots for Precision Agriculture

New Scientist – Automation is the key to precision farming. Specifically, say agricultural engineers, precision farming needs robot farmers. Soon, we might see fields with agribots that can identify individual seedlings and coax them along with tailored drops of fertiliser and measured sips of water. Other machines would distinguish weeds and dispatch them with a …

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