Enzyme Designed Entirely From Scratch Opens a World of Biological Possibility

Whoa...

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/31/enzyme-designed-entirely-from-scratch-opens-a-world-of-biological-possibility/

Separating Science Fact From Science Hype: How Far off Is the Singularity?

Views from different futurists:

https://futurism.com/separating-science-fact-science-hype-how-far-off-singularity/

A CRISPR Future: Five Ways Gene Editing Will Transform Our World

https://futurism.com/crispr-genetic-engineering-change-world/

Your New Best Friend: AI Chatbot

The chatbot is growing up. I've long predicted such A.I. will eventually become the best friends (and lovers) of hundreds of millions of people. I don't think it will be long before that happens:

https://futurism.com/ai-chatbot-meaningful-conversation/

After crash, injured motorcyclist accuses robot-driven vehicle of ‘negligent driving’

Damn, as a motorcyclist, I’m on both sides of this case. But getting liability right for autonomous vehicles is critical:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2018/01/25/after-crash-injured-motorcyclist-accuses-robot-driven-vehicle-of-negligent-driving/

Scientist announces a laser so powerful it can tear empty space

This laser could prove the concept of creating matter from "nothing":

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/scientists-announce-a-laser-so-powerful-it-can-tear-empty-space

But once again, it's the Chinese leading the way....

Here’s What Life Will Be Like With 3D Printers That Can Create Anything

Hey, fully mature 3D printers (in the form of home nanofactories) were projected to arrive around 2025. Not according to these guys:

https://futurism.com/heres-life-like-3d-printers-can-create-anything/

Graphene Girders Could Double the Life of Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries

Yet another promising path:

https://scitechdaily.com/graphene-girders-could-double-the-life-of-rechargeable-lithium-ion-batteries/

New Research Brings Us Closer to Cheap, Transparent, Organic Solar Cells

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/23/new-research-brings-us-closer-to-cheap-see-through-organic-solar-cells/

What it's like to shop at Amazon Go's futuristic convenience store

http://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/is-the-new-amazon-store-a-go

What's most interesting to me about this story is recalling this prophetic ad that nailed it many years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk&feature=youtu.be

Well, except for the receipt part. ;-)

A New Information Engine is Pushing the Boundaries of Thermodynamics

https://futurism.com/information-engine-pushes-thermodynamics/

This Awesome Robot Is the Size of a Penny and Precise Enough to Aid Eye Surgery

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/22/this-awesome-robot-is-the-size-of-a-penny-and-precise-enough-for-eye-surgery/

Metal-Mesh Breakthrough Could Solve Rechargeable Battery Issues

https://scitechdaily.com/metal-mesh-breakthrough-could-solve-rechargeable-battery-issues/

This solar power plant in Nevada could finally wean humanity off of fossil fuels

http://bigthink.com/design-for-good/the-future-of-solar-power-is-already-here

Our memory comes from an ancient virus, neuroscientists say

Thanks to viruses, we remember the last time we had a virus:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/our-memory-comes-from-an-ancient-virus-neuroscientists-say

Machines Teaching Each Other Could Be the Biggest Exponential Trend in AI

Yes, it does look like machines improving machines are what will power the singularity:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/21/machines-teaching-each-other-could-be-the-biggest-exponential-trend-in-ai/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

Guaranteed Minimum Agriculture: Why Basic Jobs might fare better than UBI

Perhaps a better alternative to a universal basic income?

https://medium.com/@simon.sarris/guaranteed-minimum-agriculture-f93a5aa38c97

Remote-controlled DNA nanorobots could lead to the first nanorobotic production factory

This could form the basis for “real” nanotechnology. The video here is crude but nevertheless serves as an excellent visual for understanding how a home nanofactory might work:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/remote-controlled-dna-nanorobots-could-lead-to-the-first-nanorobotic-production-factory

New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Component Doubles Capacity

Another potential game changer...if the degrading problem is solved:

https://scitechdaily.com/new-lithium-sulfur-battery-component-doubles-capacity/

The First American CRISPR Trial in Humans Will Target Cancer

I've been looking forward to this happening:

https://futurism.com/first-american-human-crispr-trial-target-cancer/

A Rescue Drone Saved Two Teen Swimmers on Its First Day of Deployment

And one of the promises starts coming to fruition:

https://futurism.com/rescue-drone-saved-two-teen-swimmers-first-day-deployment/

How Fast Is AI Progressing? Stanford’s New Report Card for Artificial Intelligence

Well, it's really hard to figure out how we're progressing on A.I.:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/18/how-fast-is-ai-progressing-stanfords-new-report-card-for-artificial-intelligence/

Hybrid Perovskites Improve Solar Cell Efficiency

https://scitechdaily.com/hybrid-perovskites-improve-solar-cell-efficiency/

Can Molten Salt Make 24-Hour Solar Energy Possible?

https://futurism.com/molten-salt-make-24-hour-solar-energy-possible/

Ultra-Thin ‘Atomristors’ Pave the Way for More Powerful Computing

https://scitechdaily.com/ultra-thin-atomristors-pave-the-way-for-more-powerful-computing/

New Report Predicts Renewable Energy Will be Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels by 2020

https://futurism.com/new-report-predicts-renewable-energy-cheaper-fossil-fuels-2020/

Are Solar Roads the Highway of the Future, or a Road to Nowhere?

A good snow storm would render solar roads useless:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/15/are-solar-roads-the-highway-of-the-future-or-a-road-to-nowhere/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

Life Is Common in the Universe, New Analysis of Meteorites Suggests

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/life-is-common-in-the-universe-new-analysis-of-meteorites-suggests

Machines Just Beat Humans on a Stanford Reading Comprehension Test

No more reading to your kids at night! A.I. will do a better job of understanding the story:

https://futurism.com/machines-beat-humans-stanford-reading-comprehension-test/

A New Experiment Aims to Cure Aging Once and for All

Not quite as exciting as the title implies:

https://futurism.com/new-experiment-aims-cure-aging-once-all/

New Study Suggests CRISPR-Cas9 May Not Work In Many People

Something of a bummer:

http://bigthink.com/robby-berman/new-study-suggests-crispr-cas9-may-not-work-in-many-people

Hints of the 4th Dimension Have Been Detected by Physicists

An excellent explanation using video game footage to illustrate what it might be like to use a fourth special dimension:

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/hints-of-the-4th-dimension-have-been-detected-by-physicists

This Neural Network Built by Japanese Researchers Can ‘Read Minds’

If computers can do this now, just imagine what another decade will produce:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/14/this-neural-network-built-by-japanese-researchers-can-read-minds/

(Watch the videos)

The Driverless Chevy Bolt From GM Won’t Let You Drive at All

Of course it will lead to this. And it should:

https://futurism.com/driverless-chevy-bolt-gm-wont-drive-at-all/

Aliens, Autonomous Cars, and AI: This Is the World of 2118

https://futurism.com/2118-century-predictions/

Low-Cost Soft Robot Muscles Can Lift 200 Times Their Weight and Self-Heal

Strong, fast, precise and invisible. I smell a new kind of terminator!

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/11/low-cost-soft-robot-muscles-lift-200-times-their-weight/

Algae-Powered Fuel Cells Move a Step Closer to Reality

We have created the Matrix...for algae:

https://scitechdaily.com/algae-powered-fuel-cells-move-a-step-closer-to-reality/

Time Is Actually Slowing Down and Will Come to a Halt, Says a Radical Theory

A unique and bizarre hypothesis:

http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/time-is-actually-slowing-down-and-will-come-to-a-halt-says-a-radical-theory

What a sad end to the universe that would be. Not that any of them aren't....

Climate Models Underestimate the Cooling Effect That Clouds Have

A ray of optimism:

https://scitechdaily.com/climate-models-underestimate-the-cooling-effect-that-clouds-have/

A New AI That Detects “Deception” May Bring an End to Lying as We Know It

The device from the book "The Truth Machine" is on its way:

https://futurism.com/new-ai-detects-deception-bring-end-lying-know-it/

Quantum Computing Is Going to Change the World. Here’s What This Means for You.

A quick quantum computing primer:

https://futurism.com/quantum-computing-qa/

New Research Suggests Immunity to CRISPR Gene Editing Poses a Challenge

Some potential problems with CRISPR:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/08/new-research-shows-crispr-could-do-more-harm-than-good-in-humans/

Maybe Sex Robots Will Make Men, Not Women, Obsolete

I already assumed both men and women would find sexbots appealing (as I indicated in this science and technology vs. religion video I made many years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBKYVwQl3RQ), but here's a female perspective on the topic:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-04/maybe-sex-robots-will-make-men-not-women-obsolete

China Is Building a $2.1 Billion Industrial Park for AI Research

It irks me to say it, but China gets it:

https://futurism.com/china-building-2-1-billion-industrial-park-ai-research/

Solar's Bright Future Is Further Away Than It Seems

Solar is slowing:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-02/solar-s-bright-future-is-further-away-than-it-seems

Laser evaporation technology to create new solar materials

More solar advances:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/1/3/laser-evaporation-technology-to-create-new-solar-materials

Physicists take first step toward cell-sized robots

Another major step needed for the promise of advanced nanotech:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/1/3/physicists-take-first-step-toward-cell-sized-robots

AI Uses Titan Supercomputer to Create Deep Neural Nets in Less Than a Day

Using Deep Thought to create the Earth (Hitchhiker's Guide reference FTW):

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/03/ai-uses-titan-supercomputer-to-create-deep-neural-nets-in-less-than-a-day/

Scientists Claim They Found a Drug That “Significantly Reverses Memory Loss”

A hope for staving off Alzheimer's and dementia:

https://futurism.com/scientists-claim-found-drug-significantly-reverses-memory-loss/

Amazing Achievements Of 2017 Robots

Some new surprises in here:

https://youtu.be/h8pQhcP4HfI

Nobody's Ready for the Killer Robot

An interview with General Robert Latiff on the likely arrival of autonomous killer robots:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-30/nobody-s-ready-for-the-killer-robot?mc_cid=074ede4689&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

Researchers Develop Double-Pane Solar Windows That Generate Electricity

Visibility, light, insulation and solar power all in one. Nice:

https://scitechdaily.com/researchers-develop-double-pane-solar-windows-that-generate-electricity/

When Will We Finally Achieve True Artificial Intelligence?

Not an overly optimistic picture:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/01/01/when-will-we-finally-achieve-true-artificial-intelligence/

Ten years in, nobody has come up with a use for blockchain

https://hackernoon.com/ten-years-in-nobody-has-come-up-with-a-use-case-for-blockchain-ee98c180100?mc_cid=4f6232a7e8