A startup that charges $8,000 for young blood transfusions swears they’re worth every penny

And so it starts. This company is touting disease-fighting, but as I understand it the benefit that has been proven (at least in mice) is reduced senescence:

https://qz.com/996190/ambrosia-says-a-transfusion-of-young-blood-plasma-lowered-disease-markers-in-a-human-trial/

Things People Believed 10 Years Ago That Ended Up Being Wrong

It's both amusing and disturbing how wrong prognostication can be even just a few years out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shbew3ajiOA&feature=youtu.be

A New Technology Could Provide 40% of the World’s Energy Needs, and It’s Carbon-Neutral

Yet another option:

https://futurism.com/a-new-technology-could-provide-40-of-the-worlds-energy-needs-and-its-carbon-neutral/

MIT Just Unveiled A Technique to Mass Produce Quantum Computers

https://futurism.com/mit-just-unveiled-a-technique-to-mass-produce-quantum-computers/

Google’s AI-Building AI Is a Step Toward Self-Improving AI

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/31/googles-ai-building-ai-is-a-step-toward-self-improving-ai/

CRISPR Gene Editing May Cause Hundreds of Unintended Mutations in DNA

But there's a potential downside to using CRISPR:

https://futurism.com/4-crispr-may-cause-unintended-mutations-new-study-shows/

In Just a Few Short Years, CRISPR Has Sparked a Research Revolution

You don't hear much about this in the popular press, but it is a major game-changer:

https://futurism.com/just-few-short-years-crispr-sparked-research-revolution/

The Solar Industry Is Creating Jobs 17 Times Faster Than the Rest of the U.S. Economy

The boom continues:

https://futurism.com/solar-industry-creating-jobs-17-times-faster-rest-us-economy/

NASA Is Fast-Tracking Plans to Explore a Metal Asteroid Worth $10,000 Quadrillion

What a way to crash the economy:

https://futurism.com/nasa-fast-tracking-plans-explore-metal-asteroid-worth-10000-quadrillion/

These Robots Can Teach Other Robots How to Do New Things

Robots teaching robots by demonstration is cool...but better yet would be a simple transfer of the learned programming from one robot to another:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/26/these-robots-can-teach-other-robots-how-to-do-new-things

Limitless Hydrogen Energy? Breakthrough Seen in Separating H from H2O

This could be game-changing:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/researchers-announce-breakthrough-in-separating-hydrogen-from-h2o

Alphabet Machine Beats World's Top Go Player in a Victory for AI

Don't brag that A.I. will never beat you:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-25/alphabet-machine-beats-world-s-top-go-player-in-a-victory-for-ai

Reporter's notebook: Be warned: $25 oil is coming, and along with it, a new world order

Looking forward to it:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/23/reporters-notebook-be-warned-us25-oil-is-coming-and-along-with-it-a-new-world-order.html

This “Living” Clothing Keeps You Cool by Breathing

Bacterial clothing. Cool (literally and figuratively):

https://futurism.com/this-living-clothing-keeps-you-cool-by-breathing/

Carbon’s Bold Mission to Finally Dematerialize Manufacturing

Not yet a nanofactory, but still cool:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/22/carbons-bold-mission-to-finally-dematerialize-manufacturing

I've officially gone solar

Yup, today the installer (California Solar Electric Company) is finishing up the installation on my rooftop: twelve 345w SunPower panels, which is about the amount of electricity I use yearly.

Why did I pull the trigger now, instead of waiting until viable battery systems become available so I can be completely independent of the grid? Well, several reasons:

1. The 30% federal tax rebate will end in a few years and it may not be renewed, considering solar is now cheaper than any other form of electricity in many parts of the country. 
2. I'm not confident Der Gropenfuror and his spine-challenged GOP shitbirds won't end the rebate sooner. 
3. The cost of electricity from the utility (PG&E, in my case) keeps climbing (an average of at least 5% per year). 
4. PG&E increases the price of energy on the 15 highest-demand (read hottest) summer days between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m....which means the price for electricity quadruples when you need it most. 
5. A fully independent system would require the additional cost of an expensive battery. 
6. I would need to have a much larger solar system to cover my single most energy-using day of the year (and hope there's no solar eclipse), rather than just cover the average energy usage over the entire year. 
7. I received bids from four well-rated solar installation companies, and one of them wanted my business enough to give me a 10% discount (more than the cost of one solar panel). 
8. If I ever sell this place, the solar system should add more value than I spent.

Point #6 deserves some further detail. The program is called Net Metering, and the best way to look at how it works is to think of the grid as a giant battery. During the day, when electricity demand is highest, I sell my excess power to the grid at an expensive rate (say 40 cents per kwh). At night, when my system isn't generating any power but energy demand is low, I buy electricity from PG&E for a low rate (say 14 cents per kwh). At the end of the year, the total is tallied up, and if I used more electricity than I produced, I pay PG&E a little. And if I produced more electricity than I used, PG&E pays me a little. This is called "True-Up," for some reason.

One might think it would be advantageous for home solar systems to produce as much power as possible so you get paid a lot of money at the end of the year. However, PG&E only pays 3 cents per kwh for any energy it buys from the True-Up...which means that if you bought a large system that generates more power than you use on average, it'll take much longer to recoup the cost of the panels that generate that extra energy. Thus, ideally the True-Up is 0 cents. That's hard to calculate exactly, of course, but it's generally better to err on the conservative use side, since it's more cost effective to owe PG&E a little money than to have them owe you.

The system should pay for itself within six or seven years (less time if PG&E keeps jacking its rates). After that I should have at least 15 years of free electricity (although I anticipate continuing improvements in solar technology, and will be able to add them to the system as desired). And when viable batteries become available, they will be easy enough to integrate into the existing system.

So that's why I did it. You may want to consider it for your own neck of the woods. The more electricity you use, the more cost effective it is to switch.

Cheers,
Derek

Can you lengthen your telomeres to live longer?

In case you were thinking it would be great if we could lengthen our telomeres to live longer...well, not so much:

http://www.nutritionaction.com/daily/what-to-eat/can-you-lengthen-your-telomeres-to-live-longer/

Mercedes Just Made a Huge Play That Could Threaten Tesla’s Home-Battery Business

More competition is good for us:

https://futurism.com/mercedes-just-made-a-huge-play-that-could-threaten-teslas-home-battery-business/

Quantum Systems Synchronize Through Self-Organization

This is more science than technology, and who knows what it could lead to, but it's a fascinating phenomenon:

https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-systems-synchronize-through-self-organization/

Scientists Found a Low-Cost Way to Produce the World’s Cleanest Energy Source

https://futurism.com/scientists-found-low-cost-way-to-produce-the-worlds-cleanest-energy-source/

4 Keys to Making the Robots of Our Imagination a Reality

See the video for a soft, pneumatic robot:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/18/four-keys-to-making-the-robots-of-our-imagination-a-reality/

Solar Is Now the Cheapest Energy There Is in the Sunniest Parts of the World

My system is going up as I type this:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/18/solar-is-now-the-cheapest-energy-there-is-in-the-sunniest-parts-of-the-world/

Generating power from polluted air

A nice solution to two problems:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/5/15/generating-power-from-polluted-air

Sorry, Westworld: We Should Be Able to Torture Robots

I think this guy is extremely short-sighted. The Westworld robots that aren't sapient can be abused, sure, but the point of the TV series is that WHEN they become sapient and capable of suffering, THEN torturing them is immoral. Assuming robots won't gain sapience is short-sighted...because you KNOW people will try their best to create A.I. indistinguishable from humans. It's in our nature. It's a technological Mount Everest to be conquered:

https://futurism.com/sorry-westworld-we-should-be-able-to-torture-robots/

Exercise Makes You Younger at the Cellular Level

Forget anti-aging creams and Spanx, it's a whole lot of exercise that keeps you young:

http://time.com/4776345/exercise-aging-telomeres/?xid=newsletter-brief

A Robot Can Print This $32,000 House in as Little as 8 Hours

It's just a small place now, but imagine building multiple small units that fit together:

https://futurism.com/a-robot-can-print-this-32000-house-in-as-little-as-8-hours/

My best friend is a robot – how automatons are infiltrating the family

This fits with my prediction that robots will not only replace servants and lovers, but friends, too:

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/my-best-friend-is-a-robot-how-automatons-are-infiltrating-the-family-1.3036489?mode=amp

This Israeli startup has a battery that can charge an electric car in 5 minutes

Quick charging is a critical component in electric car adoption:

https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/05/11/this-israeli-startup-has-a-battery-that-can-charge-an-electric-car-in-5-minutes/

AI will rob companies of the best training tool they have: grunt work

No more internships = no more training for higher level positions:

https://qz.com/979812/how-ai-will-change-the-shape-of-organizations/

These Cells Are Engineered to Be Controlled by a Smartphone

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/11/these-cells-are-engineered-to-be-controlled-by-a-smartphone/

Elon Musk: Tesla’s Solar Roofs Will Be Cheaper Than Regular Roofs & Have “Infinity Warranty”

This is bold:

https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-announced-that-teslas-solar-roofs-will-have-an-infinity-warranty/

Though I'm not sure how efficient such solar cells would be, considering they need to be kept cool for maximum efficiency, which is a major reason why current cells are raised.

Startup Promises Immortality Through AI, Nanotechnology and Cloning

This is the first company I'm aware of that is explicitly working toward using nanotech to resuscitate frozen brains and provide them with replacement bodies...within 30 years:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/5/10/startup-promises-immortality-through-ai-nanotechnology-and-cloning

Analysis predicts extremely disruptive, total transition to EV / autonomous vehicles in 13 years

This would be the most disruptive technological change since the smart phone:

https://m.techxplore.com/news/2017-05-analysis-extremely-disruptive-total-transition.html

Research Shows Cannabis Restores Memory and Could Reverse The Aging Process

It's high time scientists hash out a way to weed out aging:

https://futurism.com/5-story-research-shows-that-cannabis-can-restore-memory-and-could-reverse-the-ageing-process/

A New “Tube Transport” System Could Get You From New York to Beijing in 2 Hours

I have my doubts a safe and effective vacuum system can be maintained, at least in the near future, but...

https://futurism.com/a-new-tube-transport-system-could-get-you-from-new-york-to-beijing-in-2-hours/

Quantum Computing Demands a Whole New Kind of Programmer

Back to school, code monkeys!

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/09/quantum-computing-demands-a-whole-new-kind-of-programmer/

A “World First” Fusion Reactor Just Created Its First Plasma

Could the end finally be in sight in the long wait for fusion power?

https://futurism.com/a-world-first-fusion-reactor-just-created-its-first-plasma/

Drug Discovery AI Can Do in a Day What Currently Takes Months

Sounds like this heralds a boom in designer medicine:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/07/drug-discovery-ai-can-do-in-a-day-what-currently-takes-months/

An AI just defeated human fighter pilots in an air combat simulator

I'd say this is the beginning of the end for fighter pilots:

https://binaryloom.com/an-ai-just-defeated-human-fighter-pilots-in-an-air-combat-simulator/

The Myth of a Superhuman AI

I don't agree with everything here (since I'm pretty sure for a variety of reasons that there will be a drive to make A.I. that is indistinguishable from humans), but still some good food for thought:

https://backchannel.com/the-myth-of-a-superhuman-ai-59282b686c62

Tricorder XPRIZE Awards $2.5M for Device That Detects Illness Using Your Phone

Take that, Bones!

https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/04/tricorder-xprize-awards-2-5m-for-device-that-detects-illness-using-your-phone/

China’s Tencent is a sleeping giant in the global artificial intelligence race

Yet another player in the A.I. race:

https://qz.com/974408/tencents-wechat-gives-it-an-advantage-in-the-global-artificial-intelligence-race/

An atomically thin layer of water stores more energy and delivers it faster, researchers discover

http://www.kurzweilai.net/an-atomically-thin-layer-of-water-stores-more-energy-and-delivers-it-faster-researchers-discover

Get moving, grandad! Exercise improves brain health in the over 50s

MOVE OR DIE!

https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/apr/26/get-moving-grandad-exercise-improves-brain-health-in-the-over-50s

Robots don’t have to take over jobs in order to be a problem for workers

This essentially flips the script on robots taking over the menial drudge work:

https://qz.com/972812/robots-dont-have-to-take-over-jobs-in-order-to-be-a-problem-for-workers/

DARPA Is Planning to Hack the Human Brain to Let Us “Upload” Skills

Here we go...

https://futurism.com/darpa-is-planning-to-hack-the-human-brain-to-let-us-upload-skills/

A delicious Indian berry contains a crucial ingredient for creating cheap solar cells

Not as efficient as current cells, but cheaper:

https://qz.com/969989/iit-an-indian-berry-contains-a-crucial-ingredient-for-creating-cheap-solar-cells/

How Batteries Could Revolutionize Renewable Energy

This caught my attention: "The largest battery in a Tesla, as one example, can store enough electricity to power the average American home for more than three days":

http://time.com/4756648/batteries-clean-energy-renewables/?xid=newsletter-brief

Electric Vehicles Are on the Rise: Here’s How to Sustain Their Growth

If it weren't for California, Tesla and the Prius wouldn't exist:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/30/electric-vehicles-are-on-the-rise-heres-how-to-sustain-their-growth/

The race to build the world’s first sex robot

Virtually EVERYONE will want a sexbot, or at least the spin-off servant robot, so the pressure to develop them will be relentless:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/27/race-to-build-world-first-sex-robot

Regarding the critics at the end, just as cell phones, nuclear power and pretty much every other technology have changed society mostly for the better but also some for the worse, so to it will surely be with sex robots. Yeah, it's slavery...but it doesn't harm the slave in any way (until robots become sapient).

New Research Shows That Time Travel Is Mathematically Possible

Maybe one day....

https://futurism.com/new-research-shows-that-time-travel-is-mathematically-possible/

You Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Flying Cars

Someone's peed in my popcorn:

http://fortune.com/2017/04/27/uber-kitty-hawk-flying-cars/?xid=newsletter-brief

But when one of their criticisms is fear of pilots getting sick, they're clearly not thinking it through: self-driving flying cars!

MIT Develops a System That Can 3D Print the Basic Structure of an Entire Building

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-develops-a-system-that-can-3d-print-the-basic-structure-of-an-entire-building/

AI will upload and access our memories, predicts Siri co-inventor

http://www.kurzweilai.net/ai-will-upload-and-access-our-memories-predicts-siri-inventor

Creating clean air through artificial photosynthesis

A new way to fight global warming:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2017/4/25/scientist-invents-way-to-trigger-artificial-photosynthesis-to-clean-air

‘Negative mass’ created at Washington State University

This is just plain weird:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/negative-mass-created-at-washington-state-university

The first 2D microprocessor — based on a layer of just 3 atoms

Down to just three atoms thickness. Getting there!

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-first-2d-microprocessor-based-on-a-layer-of-just-3-atoms

What’s wrong with UBI?

More on problems with a universal basic income:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-wrong-ubi-calum-chace

Waymo begins first public on-demand self-driving service test in Arizona

You can use self-driving cars right now! If you live in Phoenix:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/25/waymo-begins-first-public-on-demand-self-driving-service-test-in-arizona/

Watch this Larry Page-backed flying car take to the sky above a lake

Yeah, I want one. See the video:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/24/watch-this-larry-page-backed-flying-car-take-to-the-sky-above-a-lake/

A Real Life, All-Electric Flying Car Just Took Off

https://futurism.com/a-real-life-all-electric-flying-car-just-took-off/

Expert: Human Immortality Could Be Acquired Through AI

https://futurism.com/expert-human-immortality-could-be-acquired-through-ai/

The best showcase of nanotechnology so far may be this race of tiny cars

Just as robot car competitions led us to the cusp of self-driving cars for the masses, so to perhaps this nanocar race could lead to efficient nanoscale transportation:

https://qz.com/964349/the-nanocar-race-will-feature-the-worlds-smallest-cars-compete-on-a-gold-track-at-absolute-zero/

Torching the Modern-Day Library of Alexandria

As a writer who also values free information, I'm of two minds about this. But clearly having a freely accessible library that is the modern-day equivalent of the Library of Alexandria on steroids would be a boon to mankind, and destroying it would be a tragedy:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/the-tragedy-of-google-books/523320/?utm_source=hpfb

Elon Musk’s Neuralink wants to turn cloud-based AI into an extension of our brains

Here's the announcement:

https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/20/elon-musks-neuralink-wants-to-turn-cloud-based-ai-into-an-extension-of-our-brains/

And here is a loooooong but entertaining article on the evolution of thought and why Neuralink's goal is so significant:

http://waitbutwhy.com/2017/04/neuralink.html

Velodyne Announces a Solid-State Lidar

Another step forward in making affordable self-driving cars:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/sensors/velodyne-announces-a-solidstate-lidar

Scientists Just Discovered an Alien Planet That’s The Best Candidate for Life As We Know It

Cool and encouraging...but it's likely to be tidelocked, which may cause all the planet's water to end up as ice on the side facing away from the star, as I understand it:

https://futurism.com/scientists-just-discovered-an-alien-planet-thats-the-best-candidate-for-life-as-we-know-it/

Neuroscientists Can Now Read Your Dreams With a Simple Brain Scan

Based on similarities between patterns in people reporting what they were dreaming about, scientists can figure out some details about what you were dreaming:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/19/neuroscientists-can-now-read-your-dreams-with-a-simple-brain-scan/

Clinical Trials of a New “Cancer Vaccine” Show That It May Actually Work

Live long enough and you're almost certain to get cancer, so finding a way to reliably defeat it is critical:

https://futurism.com/clinical-trials-of-a-new-cancer-vaccine-show-that-it-may-actually-work/

Edible CRISPR Could Replace Antibiotics

This could very well be the solution to the problem of bacteria resistance to antibiotics:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/604126/edible-crispr-could-replace-antibiotics/

These are Tesla’s stunning new solar roof tiles for homes

These would look far more subtle, but I understand that solar tiles lose a lot of efficiency because no air passes under them:

https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/28/these-are-teslas-stunning-new-solar-roof-tiles-for-homes/

Intersolar North America: SmartFlower unfurls its dual-axis tracker

I find this system particularly appealing (and it can come with storage, too!):

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2016/07/13/intersolar-north-america-smartflower-unfurls-its-dual-axis-tracker_100025392/

https://www.smartflowerpacific.com/

And here it is in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIpMSp_zzno

More Americans Work in Solar Power Than for Apple, Facebook, and Google Combined

Nice!

https://futurism.com/more-americans-work-in-solar-power-than-for-apple-facebook-and-google-combined/

FEDOR Is a Gunslinging Robot That’s Just a Skin Suit Away From Westworld

The birth of the Terminator (no matter what the article says)!

https://futurism.com/fedor-is-a-gunslinging-robot-thats-just-a-skin-suit-away-from-westworld/

Watch the whole video. It only appears at the end.

Elon Musk: 100 Tesla Gigafactories Could Power the Entire World

Surely that's doable over the next decade or so:

https://futurism.com/elon-musk-100-tesla-gigafactories-could-power-entire-world/

How to condense water out of air using only sunlight for energy

A game-changer for those living in deserts:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/how-to-condense-water-out-of-air-using-only-sunlight-for-energy

Will Tech-Driven Deflation Export Japan’s Economic Woes to the World?

Advances in automation may cause worldwide deflation and an economic death-spiral:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/14/will-tech-driven-deflation-export-japans-economic-woes-to-the-world/

Solar energy has plunged in price—where does it go from here?

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/04/whats-next-for-solar-energy/

No one is prepared to stop the robot onslaught. So what will we do when it arrives?

Some good detail on the automation of jobs:

https://qz.com/940977/no-one-is-prepared-to-stop-the-robot-onslaught-so-what-will-we-do-when-it-arrives/

With a good point about Trump's ignorance:

"Larry Summers, who held Mnuchin’s job in the Clinton administration, compared his successor’s views on robots with “what global climate change denial is to atmospheric science or what creationism is to biology.”"

Scientists Hacked a Cell’s DNA and Made a Biocomputer Out of It

This is what I think when I think biotech:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/12/scientists-hacked-a-cells-dna-and-made-a-biocomputer-out-of-it/

The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI

This is how Skynet came to be!

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/604087/the-dark-secret-at-the-heart-of-ai/

The first concern that came to my mind was what this could mean for uploading a human brain to a computer substrate, and the second was what this could mean for the prospect of copying A.I.s. Not knowing what's going on could perhaps make it impossible to implement these goals. That would suck.

Tesla Just Unveiled Its Newest Solar Panels

This is getting appealing:

https://futurism.com/tesla-just-unveiled-their-newest-solar-panels/

It will be 25 years before self-driving cars take off in America, says early Uber investor Bill Gurley

It may take a long time before self-driving cars can handle the most extreme last few percentage of driving situations, and China will almost certainly beat us to the punch (but I think 25 years is far too pessimistic, regardless):

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/06/bill-gurley-uber-investor-self-driving-cars-25-years-away-in-us.html

Astronomers detect atmosphere around Earth-like planet

Nice to know another variable falls on the side of greater chances of extraterrestrial life existing:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/astronomers-detect-atmosphere-around-earth-like-planet

Crystalline material could replace silicon to double efficiency of solar cells

With so many promising technologies just ahead, it's hard to know when to make the move to solar. This is a case in point:

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-04-crystalline-material-silicon-efficiency-solar.html

Majority Of Republicans Said ‘No’ When Obama Wanted To Launch A Strike On Syria

Hypocrisy runs so deep in the GOP that only a colonoscopy could find its source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/republicans-strike-syria-trump_us_58e6f71de4b051b9a9da355d 

And here is Trumps healthy dollop of hypocrisy:

http://time.com/4730219/syria-missile-attack-donald-trump-tweets/?xid=newsletter-brief

By The End Of This, Republicans Are Going To Wish Hillary Won.

Ah, so I'm not the only one who sees Trump's win as setting the stage for a much bigger Democratic win:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/04/06/1650568/-By-The-End-Of-This-Republicans-Are-Going-To-Wish-Hillary-Won

Is Universal Basic Income Possible in America?

Another perspective on the UBI:

http://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/is-universal-basic-income-possible-in-america

Where’s the Smartphone Headed and What Comes After? Here’s What’s in the Works.

 A list of ideas of where the smart phone is headed:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/what-comes-after-the-smart-phone-these-tech-companies-have-something-in-mind

We Just Created an Artificial Synapse That Can Learn Autonomously

A rather significant step forward in A.I. development, I would think:

https://futurism.com/we-just-created-an-artificial-synapse-that-can-learn-autonomously/

Old Mice Made Young Again With New Anti-Aging Drug

This could be a game-changer! It DEFINITELY would be...if we were mice:

https://singularityhub.com/2017/04/05/old-mice-made-young-again-with-new-anti-aging-drug/

Scientists Grafted Eyes onto a Blind Organism’s Back, and It Could See

Attaching functional eyes to a tadpole's tail:

https://futurism.com/scientists-grafted-eyes-onto-a-blind-organisms-back-and-it-could-see/

It gives new meaning to the term hindsight....

Personal Jetpacks Are Here!

Not quite as impressive as the Martin Jetpack (http://www.martinjetpack.com/), but this one is at least a "real" jet pack, and a lot smaller:

https://futurism.com/videos/personal-jetpacks-are-here/

Magnetically storing a bit on a single atom — the ultimate future data storage

Finally, a one-atom bit...but just for a bit:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/magnetically-storing-a-bit-on-a-single-atom-the-ultimate-future-data-storage

Detroit Is Stomping Silicon Valley in the Self-Driving Car Race

This is somewhat surprising. I suspect the self-driving developers will end up partnering with the car manufacturers:

https://www.wired.com/2017/04/detroit-stomping-silicon-valley-self-driving-car-race/

MIT Engineers Develop New Technique for Highly Conductive Graphene Wafers

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-engineers-develop-new-technique-for-highly-conductive-graphene-wafers/

How to settle any “is this real AI?” debate — Measuring Artificial Intelligence

The problem with the "artificial intelligence" moniker (and how to fix it...sort of):

https://hackernoon.com/how-to-settle-any-is-this-real-ai-debate-measuring-artificial-intelligence-ee8f939e8e4

Machine learning lets scientists reverse-engineer cellular control networks

Hacking biology:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322132114.htm

For $250,000, You Can Have a Flying Suit Like Iron Man’s

Quite cool, if currently limited:

https://futurism.com/for-250000-you-have-flying-suit-like-iron-mans/

A Company in Japan Just Broke the World Record for Solar Panel Efficiency

https://futurism.com/company-japan-just-broke-world-record-solar-panel-efficiency/