Scientists Discover a High-Performance, Low-Cost Sodium-Ion Battery

And yet another potential game changer:

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-confirm-century-old-speculation-chemistry-high-performance-battery/

Nanostructure Increases Solar-to-Hydrogen Conversion Efficiency by a Factor of Eleven

Another potential game changer:

https://scitechdaily.com/nanostructure-increases-solar-to-hydrogen-conversion-efficiency-by-a-factor-of-eleven/

Not Just Gene Editing—CRISPR Toolkit Expands With Trio of New Tricks

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/27/not-just-gene-editing-crispr-toolkit-expands-with-trio-of-new-tricks/

Low-cost EEG can now be used to reconstruct images of what you see

Getting closer to mind reading:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/low-cost-eeg-can-now-be-used-to-reconstruct-images-of-what-you-see

The Verdict Is In: AI Outperforms Human Lawyers in Reviewing Legal Documents

Another domino falls:

https://futurism.com/ai-contracts-lawyers-lawgeex/

Wind and Solar Power Could Generate Most But Not All of the Electricity in the USA

https://scitechdaily.com/wind-and-solar-power-could-generate-most-but-not-all-electricity-in-the-united-states/

Artificial Photosynthesis Is Solar Energy’s Forgotten Cousin—and It’s Making a Comeback

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/25/artificial-photosynthesis-is-solar-energys-forgotten-cousin-and-its-making-a-comeback/

Putting AI in Your Pocket: MIT Chip Cuts Neural Network Power Consumption by 95%

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/26/putting-ai-in-your-pocket-mit-chip-cuts-neural-network-power-consumption-by-95/

Cubic Crystal Layer Improves Lithium Ion Battery Efficiency

Yet another potential improvement. One of these days something has to break out:

https://scitechdaily.com/cubic-crystal-layer-improves-lithium-ion-battery-efficiency/

Silicon Valley Is Winning the Race to Build the First Driverless Cars

Imminent from one of them, I'd say!

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/23/silicon-valley-is-winning-the-race-to-build-the-first-driverless-cars/

Man-Made Whirlpool Can Power Homes Without Harming Wildlife

Very cool alternative...to those not living in drought-prone areas:

https://futurism.com/videos/whirlpool-electricity-power-wildlife/

Tech companies should stop pretending AI won’t destroy jobs

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610298/tech-companies-should-stop-pretending-ai-wont-destroy-jobs/?mc_cid=d2ce1380d7&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

Boston Dynamics is teaching its robot dog to fight back against humans

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop...ever, until you are dead!"

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/21/boston-dynamics-teaching-robot-dog-fight-back-humans

Cancer Vaccines May Overhaul Cancer Therapy in the Next Decade

VERY encouraging:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/21/cancer-vaccines-may-overhaul-cancer-therapy-in-the-next-decade/

Tesla's latest smart power grid experiment begins in Canada

Cool to see. It's been working very well for me:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-apos-latest-smart-power-220500916.html

New Sensor Reveals Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Safely Charge 5 Times Faster

Well this is a major battery advance that should be doable right now:

https://scitechdaily.com/new-sensor-reveals-lithium-ion-batteries-can-safely-charge-5-times-faster/

How Exercise May Help Protect Your Brain From Cognitive Decline and Dementia

If you want to live long enough to live forever, you gotta protect the brain:

http://time.com/5162477/exercise-risk-dementia/

The “Father of Artificial Intelligence” Says Singularity Is 30 Years Away

Several futurists predicting the technological singularity within a few decades:

https://futurism.com/father-artificial-intelligence-singularity-decades-away/

SunPower solar panels and Tesla Powerwall battery system information

For anyone thinking of getting a home solar system, here's an update you may find interesting and hopefully useful:

I live in Northern CA, and in 2017 I decided to go solar. I bought a 4.1kW system (twelve 345W panels) for $16.5K (actual cost about $11K after tax breaks). Any power I don't use is fed to the grid, and at the end of the year the amount of grid power I've used vs. the amount I've sent to the grid is calculated to determine whether I have to pay or whether I get paid something (it's best to put into the grid exactly as much power as you use, since the amount PG&E pays for any overproduction is paltry). Regardless, there is a $10 per month service charge just to remain connected to the grid.

Although the system works fine, there is no way to know how much power you're producing vs. using until the end of the year. Also, if the grid power ever suffers an outage during the day, the solar system ceases to function (apparently it needs SOME grid power to access the solar production...which is strange and annoying).

So I looked into getting a battery system. The Tesla Powerwall 2 had recently come onto the market, and although it's expensive (around $12K fully installed), here in CA it came with a huge tax break and a rebate, reducing the cost to less than $5K. I was one of the first few hundred people in CA to order a Powerwall.

The battery holds a 13.5 kWh charge. To put that into perspective, that's enough energy to power my home for around 30 hours of normal use.

So the way this works is you set the Tesla phone app to the percentage you always want to remain in reserve for power outages. I've set mine to 25%, since outages are extremely rare and never for more than a few hours (FYI, in case of an outage, the switch to battery power is almost instantaneous and without any interruption). The remaining 75% is more flexible, and is used to power my home whenever there is insufficient or no solar power generation.

During the shortest day of the year, the battery uses a maximum of about 60% of its charge to get me through the darkest hours. It only gets better than that every other day of the year, weather permitting. As long as the sky isn't covered with dark clouds during the day (thin cloud cover is okay), there's enough solar power generated to refill the battery. That keeps me 99% free of grid power, although I'm still connected to the grid (for $10/month) for the times when it's too cloudy for too long or if I need to put more of a drain on the system than the battery can handle (that includes, unfortunately, most air conditioning systems if they need to run when there's insufficient solar power generation). I also need a grid connection to feed excess power to the grid (which should pay for that monthly fee, although we'll see once air conditioning season hits).

So for about $16K, I have a solar and battery system that should pay for itself within a decade or so (although it's hard to say for sure yet, since I don't have a full year on the system to properly calculate the costs). Your costs may vary, but it may be worth looking into such a system.

Attached are some pictures of the Tesla app (which is unexpectedly addicting, since you can see which appliances are using the most electricity by watching the usage in almost real time). The first pic shows the percentage of power available in the Powerwall, as well as whether it's charging, discharging or standing by. The second pic shows the power flowing from the solar to the house and the battery. The third pic shows the power flowing from the solar to the house, with excess power feeding to the grid (because the battery is full). The fourth pic shows the battery discharging to power the house at night. And the fifth pic shows how you can monitor the daily power dynamics for solar, house, battery and grid.

FYI, a TV, receiver, DVR, fridge and a few lights use about 0.3 kW (it varies somewhat). A microwave or a treadmill can add around 1 kW. Oddly enough, a computer with a couple monitors, a space heater or a hair dryer add almost nothing. I don't think I've ever used more than about 2.5 kW at a time, and I average about 10 kWh per day (that'll go up during A/C season).

I hope you find this info useful.

Why the Rise of Self-Driving Vehicles Will Actually Increase Car Ownership

Yeah, I never really bought the idea that car ownership will drop off with autonomous cars. I would add to this list the fact that some people (myself included) don't enjoy sitting in a seat that thousands of others have sat in:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/14/why-the-rise-of-self-driving-vehicles-will-actually-increase-car-ownership/

We Read This 800-Page Report on the State of Longevity Research So You Don’t Have To

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/14/we-read-this-800-page-report-on-longevity-research-so-you-dont-have-to/

The cancer-fighting nanorobots that seek and destroy tumors

Not exactly the kind of droids we're looking for, but they evidently do the trick:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/2/14/the-cancer-fighting-nanorobots-that-seek-and-destroy-tumors/

New Process Allows 3-D Printing of Nanoscale Metal Structures

It can't be that much farther before they're assembling individual molecules...and that's where the promise of nanotech begins:

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/2/12/new-process-allows-3-d-printing-of-nanoscale-metal-structures/

Hey Buddy, Can You Give Me a Hand?

Robots can be polite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUyU3lKzoio

New therapy cures cancer with just one injection

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/new-therapy-cures-cancer-with-just-one-injection

How the United States Plans to Reclaim Its Supercomputer Dominance

I'm not sure the claims here add up, but...

https://futurism.com/how-united-states-plans-reclaim-supercomputer-dominance/

The 10 Grand Challenges Facing Robotics in the Next Decade

https://singularityhub.com/2018/02/06/the-10-grand-challenges-facing-robotics-in-the-next-decade/

For the First Time Ever, Scientists Found Alien Worlds in Another Galaxy

Truly a mind-boggling feat for a bunch of naked apes:

https://futurism.com/first-time-ever-scientists-found-alien-worlds-another-galaxy/

Texas A&M Chemists Develop Powerful New Type of Battery

Another potential battery game-changer:

https://scitechdaily.com/chemists-develop-powerful-new-type-of-battery/

Caltech Discovery Moves Solar Fuel Production Closer to Reality

A potential game-changer for producing hydrogen fuel through solar power:

https://scitechdaily.com/caltech-discovery-moves-solar-fuel-production-closer-to-reality/

The Driverless Revolution Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon

A reality check?

https://medium.com/@parismarx/the-driverless-revolution-isnt-coming-anytime-soon-fdf569cd6c6f?mc_cid=68b92f9877&mc_eid=c4215c6c8c

Penn researchers create first optical transistor comparable to an electronic transistor

http://www.kurzweilai.net/penn-researchers-create-first-optical-transistor-comparable-to-an-electronic-transistor

Cancer “Vaccine” That Wipes out Tumors Ready for Human Trial

Hot damn!

https://futurism.com/cancer-vaccine-wipes-out-tumors-ready-human-trial/

New A.I. police car brings us one step closer to Robocop

That doesn't look creepy....

http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/new-ai-police-car-brings-us-one-step-closer-to-robocop

MIT Launches Intelligence Quest To Advance Human and Machine Intelligence Research

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-launches-intelligence-quest-to-advance-human-and-machine-intelligence-research/