Earlier this year, Google announced that Austin, Texas would be the second city to receive its ultra-fast Google Fiber service, and AT and T isn’t far behind. It quickly followed Google’s announcement with news that it too would offer gigabit fiber internet in the city, and today, the telecoms giant detailed what the service will …
Though many gene therapies have been tested in patients around the world in hopes of curing hereditary diseases, few governments have approved their sale, and none has been approved in the United States. That could change in coming years as several therapies enter advanced trials. Experts say it is likely to be a few years …
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used a robotic arm to capture and attach a Cygnus cargo resupply spacecraft Sunday, marking several spaceflight firsts for NASA and its partner, Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. The station’s Expedition 37 crew reported the spacecraft — loaded with about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo — …
A Chinese telecom billionaire has signed a deal with the government of Nicaragua to build a $40 billion canal across Nicaragua. Panama is now trying to complete a $5.25-billion reconstruction by mid-2015 that will greatly enhance the channel’s capacity. It’s not clear that the world’s largest shipping companies will continue, or resume, using the Panama …
Arizona researchers suggest that advances in geometric folding algorithms and computational tools to determine folding patterns for making complex 3D structures from planar 2D sheets may lead to numerous other configurations possible for 3D batteries. Furthermore, with advances in robot manipulation including paper folding by robots, the manufacturability of folded batteries at scale may be …
Future Tense (Slate, New America, University of Arizona) will host an event in Washington, D.C., on how increases in human lifespan could transform public policy, society, and the economy. They have four longevity scenarios for 2030. Some pertinent historical facts that shape The Washington Longevity Scenarios for 2030: * For the last 160 years, life …
For the first time, researchers have built a computer whose central processor is based entirely on carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube computers, created by Stanford University engineers, show that carbon nanotube electronics are a viable potential replacement for silicon when it reaches its limits in ever-smaller electronic circuits. The carbon nanotube processor is comparable in …
Billionaire Paul G. Allen hired Dr. Oren Etzioni as the Executive Director of his artificial intelligence institute.. Etzioni will be in charge of expanding the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence with new hires, and directing and developing a wide range of AI initiatives. Etzioni joins Allen’s institute from the University of Washington’s Computer Science Department, …
1. MIT have come up with a design that may significantly increase the communication range of small satellites, enabling them to travel much farther in the solar system: The team has built and tested an inflatable antenna that can fold into a compact space and inflate when in orbit. The antenna significantly amplifies a radio …
1. The 2014 BMW i8 will have a manufacturer’s suggest retail price of $135,700 plus destination and handling when it arrives in US showrooms in spring of 2014. This is before any federal or state incentives for which the i8 may qualify. This will be the first combination of BMW TwinPower Turbo and BMW eDrive …
1. Entergy plans to close and decommission its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station. The station is expected to cease power production after its current fuel cycle and move to safe shutdown in the fourth quarter of 2014. Cheap Natural Gas and subsidized wind The decision was driven by sustained low power prices, high cost structure …