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‘Amplified’ nanotubes may power the future
 | | Scientists
at Rice University say they have achieved a pivotal breakthrough in the
development of a carbon nanotube-based electrical cable that will make
an efficient electrical grid of the future possible, a prediction made
in 2004 by carbon nanotube co-inventor Richard E. Smalley. A prime
technical hurdle in the development of this “miracle cable,” said Rice …
more… |
Brain responses to androids in the ‘uncanny valley’
 | | In
an in-depth study of the “uncanny valley” phenomenon, an international
team of researchers led by the University of California, San Diego has
imaged the brains of people viewing videos of an “uncanny” android
(compared to videos of a human and a robot-looking robot). The term
“uncanny valley” refers to an artificial agent’s (such as a … more… |
Meditation may change brain’s physical structure, strengthen connections
| Meditation
may have potential to change the brain’s physical structure,
researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have found.
People who meditate have stronger connections between brain regions and
show less age-related brain atrophy, according to the researchers.
Stronger connections influence the ability to rapidly relay electrical
signals in the brain. And significantly, these … more… |
Making chips one atom at a time
 | | As
logic chips scale down to the 22nm node and beyond, the heart of the
transistor gate structure, its dielectric film stack, is becoming so
thin that it must be atomically engineered. To meet this challenge,
Applied Materials, Inc. has created advanced atomic layer deposition
(ALD) technology, which builds ultra-thin, hafnium-based layers less
than 2nm in thickness, … more… |
Synthetic vocal cords made from antifreeze chemical
 | | Researchers
at MIT and Harvard University are developing a synthetic material to
revitalize damaged vocal cords. The researchers are developing a polymer
gel that they hope to start testing in a small clinical trial next
year. The gel, which mimics key traits of human vocal cords, could help
millions of people with voice disorders. They chose … more… |
Social networking for locusts
 | | Insect
swarming is created by the same kind of adaptive-network mechanisms
that humans adopt for social networks, researchers at the Max Planck
Institute for Physics of Complex Systems have determined. The
researchers used ideas from studies on opinion formation in social
networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and applied them to a study of
120 … more… |
Atomic structure discovered for a sodium channel
 | | Scientists
at the University of Washington in Seattle have determined the atomic
architecture of a sodium channel at .27 nanometers resolution. Sodium
channels are pores in the membranes of excitable cells — such as brain
nerve cells or beating heart cells — that emit electrical signals.
Sodium channels selectively open and close to allow the … more… |
Lasers create biomimetic scaffolds for growing cells
 | | Research
scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT have
succeeded in producing hybrid biomimetic matrices that can serve as a
basis for scaffold and implant structures on which cells can
grow effectively. The researchers developed a process for producing
biomimetic scaffolds that closely emulate endogenous (within the body)
tissue. This process allows the fabrication … more… |
How to convert human skin cells into neurons
| The
addition of two particular gene snippets to a skin cell’s usual genetic
material is enough to turn that cell into a fully functional neuron,
researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine have found.
Scientists discovered two years ago that they could get similar results
if they transformed the skin cell first into a … more… |
Researchers demystify a fountain of youth in the adult brain
| A
“fountain of youth” that sustains the production of new neurons in the
brains of rodents may also be present in the human brain, researchers at
Duke University Medical Center have found. The existence of a vital
support system of cells around stem cells in the brain explains why stem
cells by themselves can’t generate … more… |
New way to store solar energy for use whenever it’s needed
 | | MIT
researchers have developed a new application of carbon nanotubes that
shows promise as an innovative approach to storing solar energy for use
whenever it’s needed. Storing the sun’s heat in chemical form — rather
than first converting it to electricity or storing the heat itself in a
heavily insulated container — has significant advantages: … more… |
Safer robots will improve manufacturing
 | | Robots
have been considered too unpredictable and dangerous to work alongside
humans in factories, but improved technologies for artificial sensing
and motion are leading to a new wave of safer robots. Last winter, NASA
sent a humanoid robot dubbed Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space
Station. R2, which has only a torso, sophisticated arms and … more… |
Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps
 | | Researchers
at the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center have tested a wireless power system for ventricular
assist devices (mechanical pumps to give failing hearts a boost), or
VADs. VAD were originally developed as temporary measures for patients
awaiting a heart transplant. But as the technology has improved, these
ventricular assist … more… |
Machine-learning system learns language by playing games
 | | Researchers
at University College London have augmented a machine-learning system
so that it could use a player’s manual to guide the development of a
game-playing strategy for the game “Civilization,” causing its rate of
victory to jump from 46 percent to 79 percent. The machine-learning
system began with virtually no prior knowledge about the task it … more… |
Neural networks study reveals hierarchical structure
| Researchers
at Tel Aviv University’s School of Electrical Engineering have
developed a new kind of a lab-on-a-chip platform that may help
neuroscientists understand one of the deepest mysteries of our brain:
how neuronal networks communicate and work together. Using network
engineering techniques, the scientists cultured different sized networks
of neuronal clusters. Once they looked at … more… |
Cannabinoid receptors protect against aging
| Researchers
from the Universities of Bonn and Mainz have discovered a previously
unknown function of the cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1): it can protect
against aging processes. Cannabinoids, such as THC (the active agent in
Cannabis sativa) and endocannabinoids, and those formed by the body bind
to the CB1 receptors. The existence of this receptor is also … more… |
Carbon nanotubes + photoluminescent supramolecules -> new catalysts
 | | Chemists
at Rice University have created a platform to analyze interactions
between carbon nanotubes and a wide range of photoluminescent materials.
The microscopic particles combine single-walled carbon nanotubes with
porous silicate materials that can absorb various molecules such as a
photoactive ruthenium complex. The research involved dissolving the
bundles in chlorosulfonic acid, which added protons (a … more… |
Connection to your future self impacts your financial decision-making
| How
connected consumers feel (or don’t feel) to their future selves impacts
their spending and savings decisions, researchers at Columbia Business
School and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business have
determined. The researchers conducted a series of experiments that
manipulated the degree to which subjects felt connected to their future
selves. When discontinuity … more… |
Molecule found that blocks cholesterol in brain
 | | A
“needle-in-the-haystack” search through nearly 390,000 chemical
compounds has led scientists at the Mass General Institute for
Neurodegenerative Disease to find a substance that can sneak through the
protective barrier surrounding the brain, with promising effects for
new drugs for Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Several other
studies have suggested that too much cholesterol may kill … more… |
Out-of-body experiences linked to neural instability and biases in body representation
| Researchers
from the Behavioural Brain Sciences Centre, School of Psychology,
University of Birmingham, have linked out-of-body (OBE) experiences to
neural instabilities in the brain’s temporal lobes and to errors in the
body’s sense of itself. The researchers tested a group of individuals,
including some “OBEers,” for their predisposition to unusual perceptual
experiences, and found that … more… |
In search of a robot more like us
 | | The
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is underwriting three
competing efforts by SRI International, Sandia National Laboratories,
and iRobot to develop robotic arms and hands one-tenth as expensive as
today’s systems (which often cost $100,000 or more). Designing a robot
to mimic the basic capabilities of motion and perception would be
revolutionary, researchers say, with applications … more… |
25% of US car accidents due to using gadgets
 | | Driving
distractions such as cell phones and other electronic devices cause as
much as 25% of all U.S. car accidents, researchers at the Governors
Highway Safety Association have found, WinBETA notes. A major finding
was that being distracted was the cause of 15 to 25% of all accidents,
ranging from minor property damage to death. … more… |
How to detect where pluripotent stem cells want to go
| Researchers
at the McMaster Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have discovered
how human pluripotent stem cells (those capable of differentiating into
many cell types) make decisions about what cell type to become: the
destination is actually encoded by how their DNA is arranged, and this
can be detected by specific proteins on the surface … more… |
Reprogramming brain cells to become heart cells
 | | The
direct conversion of a non-heart cell type into a heart cell by RNA
transfer has been demonstrated by researchers at the Perelman School of
Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The team first extracted
mRNA from a heart cell, then put it into astrocytes or fibroblasts
(brain cells). Because there were so many more heart-cell … more… |
Nanocrystal transformations observed
 | | The
first direct observation of structural transformations within a copper
sulfide nanocrystal, a semiconductor expected to play an important role
in future energy technologies, has been reported by researchers at the
DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). According to
phase transition theory, a solid crystal will fluctuate between two
equilibrium structures near the phase … more… |
First successful transplantation of a synthetic windpipe
 | | A
36-year-old man has received the world’s first synthetic trachea, made
from a synthetic scaffold seeded with his own stem cells, in an
operation at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden.
Professor Paolo Macchiarini of Karolinska University Hospital and
Karolinska Institutet led an international team, including professor
Alexander Seifalian from University College London, who designed … more… |
Virtual bridge allows strangers in Mideast to seem less strange
| Facebook.com/yalaYL
allows Israelis and Palestinians and other Arabs to connect. Created by
Uri Savir, a former Israeli diplomat, it has 22,500 active users; 60
percent are Arabs — mostly Palestinians, followed by Egyptians,
Jordanians, Tunisians, Moroccans, Lebanese and Saudis. The YL in the
name stands for young leaders (yala means “let’s go” in Arabic), and … more… |
Preventing collisions between robots and humans
 | | Researchers
at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF
have developed a new projection and camera-based system intended to
prevent collisions between robots and humans in the workplace. The
safety system employs conventional projectors and cameras, normally
mounted on the ceiling, that project visible lines in the work area. The
camera immediately detects … more… |
The future of mobile payments
 | | PayPal
predicts that the wallet will be dead by 2015 and has acquired mobile
payments provider Zong for $240 million. The contenders include: Google
Wallet — for Android users. ISIS — a coalition between AT&T,
Verizon, and T-Mobile. Visa Wallet — expected to handle multiple cards
and payment options through many financial networks. Serve by … more… |
New BLOG POSTS
Google is destroying your memory
 | | Well,
OK, maybe not totally destroying it, just making it unnecessary to rely
on friends, libraries, books, notes, and other forms of “transactive
memory” (external systems), thanks to the rise of Internet search
engines, Wikipedia, and other Internet tools. So says Columbia
University psychologist Betsy Sparrow, co-author of an article in
Science Express. “Since the advent … more… |
How to preserve competing memories by zapping your brain
 | | Attention,
mind-control victims: mad scientists want to zap your brain. But you
knew that. It’s a problem every student has when cramming for an exam:
some of the information is usually forgotten. The common belief is that
your brain simply doesn’t have the capacity necessary to process both
memories in quick succession. But is that … more… |
Sex and the Red Queen hypothesis
 | | Biologists
at Indiana University have discovered why it takes two to tango.
(Insert obligatory geeks-who-can’t-get-a-date joke here.) The biologists
claim their research shows that sex allows parents to produce offspring
that are more resistant to co-evolving parasites, while
self-fertilization dooms populations to extinction at the hands of their
biological enemies. It’s the Red Queen hypothesis, a … more… |
Thinking quantitatively about technological progress
 | | I
have been thinking about progress a bit recently, mainly because I
would like to develop a mathematical model of how brain scanning
technology and computational neuroscience might develop. Experience
curves In general, I think the most solid evidence of technological
progress is Wrightean experience curves. These are well documented in
economics and found everywhere: … more… |
Grow a new eye
 | | “I
am attempting to recreate my eye with the help of a miniature camera
implant in my prosthetic artificial eye. The intraocular installation of
an eye-cam will substitute for the field of vision of my left eye that I
lost in 2005 from a car accident.” So says Tanya Marie Vlach, who lost
her left eye in … more… |
New EVENTS
New VIDEOS
New books
100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith
 | |
Amazon | Humanity is on the cusp of an exciting longevity revolution.
The first person to live to 150 years has probably already been born.
What will your life look like when you live to be over 100? Will you be
healthy? Will your marriage need a sunset clause? How long will you have
to … more… |
Latest Kurzweil Collection posts
Blio now available in Apple’s App Store, offering seamless experience to readers
 | |
Baker & Taylor and K-NFB Reading Technology make Blio’s full-color
and interactive digital media content available for use on Apple’s iPad,
iPhone and iPod K-NFB Reading Technology today announced that Blio, a
leading interactive, engaging, and flexible ereading software
application, will be available for download from Apple’s App Store onto
the iPad, iPhone, and iPod … more… |
Transcendent Man Live with Ray Kurzweil — a special one-night movie event
 | |
Transcendent Man: A Conversation about the Future with Ray Kurzweil,
produced by NCM Fathom, Ptolemaic Productions, and Therapy Studios, will
be simulcast to select movie theaters nationwide from Lincoln Center in
New York City on August 3rd, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Central,
6:00 p.m. Mountain, and 8:00 p.m. Pacific (tape-delayed). To buy tickets
to … more… |
The Hollywood Revolt, Part 5: The greatest Walt Disney, the millennial Mark Zuckerberg, and the collapse of the left
 | | Source: Andrew Breitbart Presents: Big Hollywood — July 8, 2011 | David Swindle
Consider Transcendent Man, the recent documentary about inventor and
futurist Ray Kurzweil. The film is based on his 2005 book The
Singularity is Near and builds on his past 20 years of accurate
predictions of technological growth. This is the reality we forget:
technology is constantly getting twice as powerful, half as expensive,
and much … more…
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