Big News / Small Bytes2. 5. 21 Biological AI2. 5. 213BRAIN AG / FuturismIt's not unusual for artificial intelligence developers to take inspiration from the human brain when designing their algorithms or the circuitry they run on, but now a project is taking that biological inspiration a step further.Scientists from England's Aston University are physically integrating human brain stem cells into AI microchips, . The goal, the scientists say, is to push the boundaries of what AI can do by borrowing some of the human brain's processing capabilities.The project, dubbed Neu-ChiP, sounds like...…Big News / Small Bytes2. 5. 21 Biological AI2. 5. 213BRAIN AG / FuturismIt's not unusual for artificial intelligence developers to take inspiration from the human brain when designing their algorithms or the circuitry they run on, but now a project is taking that biological inspiration a step further.Scientists from England's Aston University are physically integrating human brain stem cells into AI microchips, . The goal, the scientists say, is to push the boundaries of what AI can do by borrowing some of the human brain's processing capabilities.The project, dubbed Neu-ChiP, sounds like...WW…

Big News / Small Bytes3. 31. 20 Mind Reader3. 31. 20Victor TangermannResearchers say they've built a system that can translate brain signals directly into text — a promising step toward a "speech prosthesis" that could effectively allow you to think text directly into a computer."We are not there yet," University of California researcher Joseph Makin , "but we think this could be the basis of a speech prosthesis."Makin and his collaborators described the new system in published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Basically, they recruited four epilepsy patients who had already had electrode...…Big News / Small Bytes3. 31. 20 Mind Reader3. 31. 20Victor TangermannResearchers say they've built a system that can translate brain signals directly into text — a promising step toward a "speech prosthesis" that could effectively allow you to think text directly into a computer."We are not there yet," University of California researcher Joseph Makin , "but we think this could be the basis of a speech prosthesis."Makin and his collaborators described the new system in published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Basically, they recruited four epilepsy patients who had already had electrode...WW…

Big News / Small Bytes10. 2. 20 No Brainer?10. 2. 20 USDA Forest ServiceHeating and cooling a home is costly, and inefficient building materials often make a house's carbon footprint even worse.But thanks to a new generation of futuristic building materials, those materials could be poised for a significant upgrade. A team of researchers at the USDA and several research institutions say they've developed "transparent wood," a glass-like material made almost entirely out of trees that they claim is stronger, safer, more cost efficient and more thermally efficient than glass.It's a...…Big News / Small Bytes10. 2. 20 No Brainer?10. 2. 20 USDA Forest ServiceHeating and cooling a home is costly, and inefficient building materials often make a house's carbon footprint even worse.But thanks to a new generation of futuristic building materials, those materials could be poised for a significant upgrade. A team of researchers at the USDA and several research institutions say they've developed "transparent wood," a glass-like material made almost entirely out of trees that they claim is stronger, safer, more cost efficient and more thermally efficient than glass.It's a...WW…

Twitter CEO Elon Musk just got absolutely roasted on Twitter — a joke that appears to have flown completely over his head. Paul Graham, venture capitalist and founder of Y Combinator, highlighted an extensive list of "unicorn" companies making the rounds on social media that were comprised mostly of software ventures, with a notable lack of manufacturing and other heavy industries in the mix. "Making physical stuff is hard," Graham argued. "But don't let that deter you, if that's what you're interested in." "Major misallocation of capital IMO," replied Musk, a billionaire who is in the...…Twitter CEO Elon Musk just got absolutely roasted on Twitter — a joke that appears to have flown completely over his head. Paul Graham, venture capitalist and founder of Y Combinator, highlighted an extensive list of "unicorn" companies making the rounds on social media that were comprised mostly of software ventures, with a notable lack of manufacturing and other heavy industries in the mix. "Making physical stuff is hard," Graham argued. "But don't let that deter you, if that's what you're interested in." "Major misallocation of capital IMO," replied Musk, a billionaire who is in the...WW…

Galaxy Brain4. 16. 20  by 4. 16. 20  A new study suggests that spending a long time in space is causing the volume of astronauts' brains to expand.A majority of crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) of the optic nerve, along with a surplus of fluid that expands the actual volume of their brains."When you're in microgravity, fluid such as your venous blood no longer pools toward your lower extremities but redistributes headward," Larry Kramer, professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and lead author of published in...…Galaxy Brain4. 16. 20  by 4. 16. 20  A new study suggests that spending a long time in space is causing the volume of astronauts' brains to expand.A majority of crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) of the optic nerve, along with a surplus of fluid that expands the actual volume of their brains."When you're in microgravity, fluid such as your venous blood no longer pools toward your lower extremities but redistributes headward," Larry Kramer, professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and lead author of published in...WW…

Big News / Small Bytes5. 18. 20 Space Flex5. 18. 20Boeing/FuturismThe newly-minted US Space Force launched a secretive Boeing spacecraft this weekend, in a mission that a payload of military and NASA experiments.The spacecraft in question is the Boeing X-37B, an uncrewed space plane that looks like a tiny Space Shuttle and has already in the Earth's orbit under the purview of other branches of the US military.Beautiful slowmo footage from our stream during ... so quick into those clouds!📽️BTS of how we got the shot next tweet⬇️ Congrats ULA , , and the space plane team 🌌✈️ — Cosmic...…Big News / Small Bytes5. 18. 20 Space Flex5. 18. 20Boeing/FuturismThe newly-minted US Space Force launched a secretive Boeing spacecraft this weekend, in a mission that a payload of military and NASA experiments.The spacecraft in question is the Boeing X-37B, an uncrewed space plane that looks like a tiny Space Shuttle and has already in the Earth's orbit under the purview of other branches of the US military.Beautiful slowmo footage from our stream during ... so quick into those clouds!📽️BTS of how we got the shot next tweet⬇️ Congrats ULA , , and the space plane team 🌌✈️ — Cosmic...WW…

Big News / Small Bytes11. 25. 20 Building Supersoldiers11. 25. 20US ArmyThe U.S. Army is pouring money into neuroscience research, in a bid to try and decode the meaning behind different brain signals.The ultimate goal — likely still far in the future — is to build a system that would allow soldiers to communicate with nothing more than their thoughts, . It's a bold initiative that highlights the bizarre ways medical technology could change the very nature of warfare — and soldiers themselves.The Army Research Office (ARO) has committed to spending $6.25 million on the project over the...…Big News / Small Bytes11. 25. 20 Building Supersoldiers11. 25. 20US ArmyThe U.S. Army is pouring money into neuroscience research, in a bid to try and decode the meaning behind different brain signals.The ultimate goal — likely still far in the future — is to build a system that would allow soldiers to communicate with nothing more than their thoughts, . It's a bold initiative that highlights the bizarre ways medical technology could change the very nature of warfare — and soldiers themselves.The Army Research Office (ARO) has committed to spending $6.25 million on the project over the...WW…

Big News / Small Bytes4. 13. 20 Quarantine Nightmares Vol. 14. 13. 20Karsten Paulick via Unsplash/FuturismRats across the globe are turning to cannibalism and even eating their young as a result of the coronavirus outbreak."A restaurant all of a sudden closes now, which has happened by the thousands in not just New York City but coast to coast and around the world," urban rodentologist Bobby Corrigan , "and those rats that were living by that restaurant, some place nearby, and perhaps for decades having generations of rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life is no longer...…Big News / Small Bytes4. 13. 20 Quarantine Nightmares Vol. 14. 13. 20Karsten Paulick via Unsplash/FuturismRats across the globe are turning to cannibalism and even eating their young as a result of the coronavirus outbreak."A restaurant all of a sudden closes now, which has happened by the thousands in not just New York City but coast to coast and around the world," urban rodentologist Bobby Corrigan , "and those rats that were living by that restaurant, some place nearby, and perhaps for decades having generations of rats that depended on that restaurant food, well, life is no longer...WW…

Let's Go to Mars6. 11. 20  Let's Go to Mars6. 11. 20  Image by Bjarke Ingels GroupBack in 2017, architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group were asked to design a prototype of a Martian city by the Dubai government. What they came up with is a stunning vision of what life on the Red Planet could one day be like, .The project is part of the United Arab Emirates' Mars Science City, a space intended for Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre.So far, the city is not much more than a concept — but that doesn't make the vision itself any less beautiful.The architects imagine a...…Let's Go to Mars6. 11. 20  Let's Go to Mars6. 11. 20  Image by Bjarke Ingels GroupBack in 2017, architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group were asked to design a prototype of a Martian city by the Dubai government. What they came up with is a stunning vision of what life on the Red Planet could one day be like, .The project is part of the United Arab Emirates' Mars Science City, a space intended for Dubai's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre.So far, the city is not much more than a concept — but that doesn't make the vision itself any less beautiful.The architects imagine a...WW…

Navigate Amateur photographer Gaurav Agrawal had no idea his spectacular picture of St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana could end up mercilessly crashing countless Android phones. But if it was set as the wallpaper on smartphones running the Android 10 operating system, the phones started acting up, switching off and on repeatedly. “I didn’t do anything intentionally,” Agrawal . “I’m sad that people ended up having issues.” The image, edited in Adobe Lightroom and , didn’t seem to cause any issues on iPhones. But thanks to a tiny snafu during the export of the image, Agrawal...…Navigate Amateur photographer Gaurav Agrawal had no idea his spectacular picture of St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana could end up mercilessly crashing countless Android phones. But if it was set as the wallpaper on smartphones running the Android 10 operating system, the phones started acting up, switching off and on repeatedly. “I didn’t do anything intentionally,” Agrawal . “I’m sad that people ended up having issues.” The image, edited in Adobe Lightroom and , didn’t seem to cause any issues on iPhones. But thanks to a tiny snafu during the export of the image, Agrawal...WW…