“In an increasingly post-truth media landscape, the end-users arguably suffer the most. And as we’re inching toward a new era of content manipulation, the ability to screen the information you receive—and the source content itself—may be a necessary skill required anytime one chooses to navigate the online world.
The good news is the democratization of all these capabilities is leveling the playing field like never before. And with each new possibility of misuse, we’re also learning how to fight harder to make sure these tools are used for good.”
2. Metamaterials Power Semiconductor-Free Electronics
In related metamaterial news, a microscale metamaterial device functions as a semiconductor via the application of a low voltage and low power laser, which boosts electrical conductivity by 1,000% http://jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/news/news_releases/release.sfe?id=2060. The metasurface is designed such that the influence of this light and low voltage causes certain spots to generate very high electric fields able to pull electrons from a metal and liberate them. An interesting novelty at this stage it’ll be interesting to see what applications are developed: where do you need semiconducting properties but can’t have semiconducting elements?
3. Hybrid Laser Anti-Lasers
A new device demonstrates both laser and anti-laser capabilities for telecommunications applications, and would enable the development of devices that can flexibly operate as lasers, amplifiers, modulators, absorbers, and detectors http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2016/11/07/lasers-anti-lasers-one-device/. While a laser amplifies a certain frequency of light, an anti-laser completely absorbs a certain frequency of light and can pick up signals among noisy backgrounds. The architecture of the device, a microscale alternating array of two materials, is the first to achieve what is known as “parity-time symmetry” in which an amplifying gain medium can also be a absorbing loss medium.
A tiny 29 gram cyclocopter drone has been developed that utilises a novel lift and thrust mechanism based on a single cycloidal rotor that can generate instant vector thrust http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/drones/worlds-smallest-cyclocopter-brings-unique-design-to-microdrones. Check out the video, it is pretty cool. The cyclorotor design provides excellent maneuverability and efficiency, as well as more stability, lower noise, and faster than helicopters. We might even see this design adapted to carry humans at some point given the key hurdle of large centrifugal bending loads can be overcome with better composite materials.
6. Cloned Animals Age Normally
Latest research suggests that cloned animals age at the same rate and achieve the same lifespan as normal animals https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2016/11/do-cloned-animals-age-normally/. There had been concerns over many years as to whether this was the case but it appears that once the cloned animal reaches adulthood most problems that might arise from the somatic cell nuclear transfer and reprogramming procedure are effectively overcome and a normal life outcome should be expected. Addressing the rates of reprogramming errors are of course important and an ongoing research area, but for those animals who reach maturity telomeres and other cellular degradations appear to be restored.
As expected, functional magnetic resonance imaging has proven to be significantly more effective at spotting lies than typical polygraph tests http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2016/11/langleben/. In the comparison study neuroscientists reviewing fMRI scans were 24% more likely to detect deception than professional polygraph examiners reviewing polygraph recordings. Interestingly, in 17 subjects in which the polygraph and fMRI agreed on the particular lie, they were 100% correct. Still, it is unsure whether fMRI scans will ever be admissible as evidence in court.
9. Zika Antibody Therapy
A new antibody has proven effective in tests in mice to protect babies in the womb from the effects of Zika Virus, effectively transferring from the mother’s blood, through the placenta, and into the baby’s brain http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37897617. This is in addition to a promising Zika Virus vaccine being developed to prevent infection in the first place http://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/999584/human-trials-begin-for-army-developed-zika-vaccine. While Zika proves catastrophic in babies with rapidly growing brains (by targeting neural stem cells), adults also have neural stem cells needed throughout life, and I suspect Zika may result in long-term neurological conditions so any therapy will be doubly beneficial.
10. Pressurising Carbon Nanomaterials
First, applying high pressure (55 GPa) to multi-walled carbon nanotubes results in the walls of different carbon nanotubes fusing together to create an ultrastrong bulk material and opening the possibility of covalent inter-tube bonding for polymerised carbon nanotubes https://mipt.ru/english/news/pressure_welding_nanotubes_creates_ultrastrong_material. Second, applying a pressure difference across graphene membranes results in the perceived colour of the graphene shifting colour (a type of strain-tronics or strain-optics in this case) and is a phenomena that might be exploited in displays http://phys.org/news/2016-11-graphene-balloons.html.
We are definitely in need of some artificial wisdom. Or any wisdom at all, really.
Originally shared by Yonatan Zunger
Eight Open Problems (And a Call for More)
Once a year, I try to do an exercise of scanning through major problems in the world and identifying important ones, to make sure that what I’m doing aligns with real priorities. This year, I came up with a short list on the eve of the election, and the results seem to remain meaningful even afterwards.
Below is that list, and the article linked is a discussion of what each of those eight bullet points mean. The list isn’t in any ranked order, and it was chosen based on importance rather than urgency, so you shouldn’t take it as a “do this now;” but I think it’s a good basis for some discussion.
Let me throw this question open to the wider group, as well: What are the most important problems facing the world today? Can we concretely identify the things that have to be dealt with? Are there things which the list below doesn’t capture?
Inaccurate headline is inaccurate. The article is talking about Universal Basic Income, which is (arguably) life after capitalism, or at least capitalism as we presently understand it. It has nothing to do with democracy.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that the state of our microbiome has a significant impact on our physical and psychological health. There’s a theory that it plays an important role in obesity, too.
Engineered gut bacteria could be huge.
Originally shared by Singularity Hub
Prescription: one pill with 100 billion modified E. coli.
I’ve long been interested in alternative models of collective effort (apart from the for-profit corporation, the nonprofit, and government), though any of those could, and does, work with the idea of a Massive Transformative Purpose.
