Liveblogging the Foresight 2010 Conference – Hod Lipson – Adaptive and Self Reflective Systems

Foresight 2010 Conference speaker Hod Lipson of Cornell University – Adaptive and Self Reflective Systems Talk about adaptation shape and behavior (AI and manufacturing) Adaptive Behavior – Self reflection and learning simulators Adaptive Morphology – Self assembly and programmable matter Most of work initiated in robotics and expanded beyond it. Industrial robots are super human …

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Genone Sequencing Costs and Projects

Illumina Inc. unveiled new technology it says can sequence a person’s entire genetic code for under $10,000. Illumina also said that 128 of its new sequencing systems, called the HiSeq 2000, had been purchased by BGI, formerly known as Beijing Geonomis Institute, which will install most of the machines in a new genome center in …

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Continuing Molecular Nanotechnology Debate and Funding Issue

J Storrs Hall summarizes the Wall Street Journal article by Keiper (already presented here) and one of the articles by Eric Drexler Dexter Johnson, IEEE Spectrum discusses those first two articles by Keiper and Drexler. However, are we really to believe that the lack of real experimental science into the feasibility of MNT (molecular nanotechnology) …

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200 GFlops of Processing and more in Toshiba 3D TV

Wired reports – Toshiba introduced its internet-connected Cell TV at CES Powered by LED (KIRA2) backlighting, the 55- or 65-inch Cell TV features multiple eight-core 3.2-GHz processors. What does that mean? It’s 10 times faster than standard desktop computers and will have 143 times the processing power of today’s televisions, claims Toshiba. (peak 200 gigaflops) …

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Status of Robotics, Automation and Process Change

1. Redbox video kiosks and Netflix are putting the double hammer to Blockbuster and other video rental stores. This and reduction in checkout jobs with more self-check out services at Supermarkets, hardware stores are examples of how “robotics” [actually process changes] are impacting the job market, which was discussed by Marshall Brain. Struggling Blockbuster was …

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Stuck Spirit Rover Analyzes Mars Water Cycle and Improving Evidence of Fossilized Mars Bacteria

1. In 1996, NASA researchers reported that a meteorite contained evidence that life once existed on Mars. But others argued that the evidence was most likely caused by inorganic processes that could be recreated artificially. A second group of NASA researchers (containing some scientists from the first study) has reexamined the 1996 findings using a …

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Monash University of Australia Innovation for Tripling Energy Conversion in Solar Cells

Scientists at Monash University, in collaboration with colleagues from the universities of Wollongong and Ulm in Germany, have produced tandem dye-sensitised solar cells with a three-fold increase in energy conversion efficiency compared with previously reported tandem dye-sensitised solar cells. Lead researcher Dr Udo Bach, from Monash University, said the breakthrough had the potential to increase …

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Stem Cells Help Bone Healing

A novel technology involving use of stem cells, developed by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers, has been applied to provide better and rapid healing for patients suffering from complicated bone fractures. The technology, involving isolation of the stem cells from bone marrow, was developed by Dr. Zulma Gazit, Dr. Gadi Pelled, Prof. Dan Gazit and …

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Intel Predicts Brain waves will replace keyboard and mouse, dial phones and change TV channels by 2020

By the year 2020, you won’t need a keyboard and mouse to control your computer, say Intel Corp. researchers. Instead, users will open documents and surf the Web using nothing more than their brain waves. (H/T Sander Olson) Scientists at Intel’s research lab in Pittsburgh are working to find ways to read and harness human …

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Kazatomprom Uranium Mining

Total uranium production in Kazakhstan for the 9 months of 2009 amounted to 9,535 tU. Thus, the target was exceeded by 3%. The increase, as compared to the corresponding period of 2008, made up 61%, while a gain of U3O8 output in comparison with the corresponding period of 2008 was 50%. Full 2009 production should …

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