Tectonics in the tropics trigger Earth's ice ages, study finds

A fascinating observation, perhaps indicating a way to counteract climate change:

https://phys.org/news/2019-03-tectonics-tropics-trigger-earth-ice.html

Giant murals beautify Mexico City and help improve air quality

Light on details, but interesting partial solution to pollution:

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/murals-beautify-and-help-improve-air-quality/

Research: Planting Trillions of Trees Could Cancel Out CO2 Emissions

This is reason for optimism...although that is a LOT of trees:

https://futurism.com/planting-trillions-trees-cancel-co2-emissions

Scientists grow 'mini-brain on the move' that can contract muscle

I would think this could help the development of A.I.:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/mar/18/scientists-grow-mini-brain-on-the-move-that-can-contract-muscle

You Have No Idea What Artificial Intelligence Really Does

Sigh. Well, we could always reverse-engineer the human brain. 'Course we don't know how that works exactly either....

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence-hype

Genetic Secrets to Whole-Body Regeneration Uncovered

One day this may lead to regeneration in humans:

https://scitechdaily.com/genetic-secrets-to-whole-body-regeneration-uncovered/

First Graphene-Based Device Is A "Few Months” Away, Says Startup

The "miracle material" is finally ready to be mass produced:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/produce-graphene-based-device-paragraf

New Google App Describes Objects to Blind People

This is rather brilliant:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/lookout-google-app-blind-people

A quantum experiment suggests there’s no such thing as objective reality

Good! Then I reject your reality and substitute my own.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613092/a-quantum-experiment-suggests-theres-no-such-thing-as-objective-reality/

Physicists reverse time using quantum computer

Time travel! But even more limited than that microscale full invisibility cloaking:

https://phys.org/news/2019-03-physicists-reverse-quantum.html

Mammoth moves: frozen cells come to life, but only just

There's progress, but we're still a ways from cloning a woolly mammoth:

https://www.afp.com/en/news/826/mammoth-moves-frozen-cells-come-life-only-just-doc-1ei3xa1

"Halo Drive" Would Use Black Holes to Power Spaceships

https://futurism.com/the-byte/halo-drive-black-holes-power-spaceships

These injectable nanobots can walk around inside a human body

These are really microbots, not nanobots, but their potential is still cool:

https://www.slashgear.com/these-injectable-nanobots-can-walk-around-inside-a-human-body-08569270/

Transparent Aluminum - Star Trek Technology is now Real

Who'd a thunk it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DduO1fNzV4w

A sky-full of cars

This may come sooner rather than later, although there are still some major hurdles to deal with, of course:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-da1b2467-fe06-4afb-8cb6-0778d5b3c5a0.html

The Speeder: Jetpack Aviation opens pre-orders on jet powered flying motorcycle

Want!

https://newatlas.com/flying-motorcycle-jetpack-aviation-speeder/58752/

6 Super Cool Robots With Artificial Intelligence From Festo Robotics

Robot designers are making animal locomotion more and more lifelike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzS3YPLJNnE

A New Battery Could Store Ten Times the Power as Lithium-Ion

Still years away, unfortunately, but if successful it would solve...almost every alternative energy problem:

https://futurism.com/new-battery-ten-times-power

Piëch's electric coupe charges to 80 percent in five minutes

Needs the right charger, but this could be a tipping point for a lot of potential buyers:

https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/03/piech-mark-zero-ev-sports-car/

Don’t Bother Trying to Outrun This Creepy Spiderbot That Transforms Into a Rolling Wheel

This would make a good addition to the Terminator universe:

https://gizmodo.com/don-t-bother-trying-to-outrun-this-creepy-spiderbot-tha-1824104899

This Remarkably Agile Robot Hand Teaches Itself How to Handle Objects

And it's soft enough to pose no danger to humans:

https://gizmodo.com/this-remarkably-agile-robot-hand-teaches-itself-how-to-1832960417

Scientists Develop Modular Approach to Engineering Immune Cells

"Yale researchers have developed a new way to efficiently engineer immune cells, an advance which enhances the ability to fend off cancer and other diseases":

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-develop-modular-approach-to-engineering-immune-cells/

How I Became a Robot in London—From 5,000 Miles Away

The promise of telerobotics is here:

https://www.wired.com/story/how-i-became-a-robot-in-london/

The big American robot push

We're doing better, but we have to make a concerted push in order to beat China:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-97db92c4-0aaa-4aa3-9fa8-263e28492fcd.html

Chemists Grew A “Synthetic Brain” That Stores Memories in Silver

An interesting option worth pursuing:

https://futurism.com/self-assembling-circuits-resemble-brain-stores-memories/

Quantum Computing, Now and In the (Not Too Distant) Future

A quick primer on quantum computers:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/26/quantum-computing-now-and-in-the-not-too-distant-future/

US Military Files Patent for Room-Temperature Superconductor

This is exciting:

https://futurism.com/room-temperature-superconductor-patent

IBM’s ‘Project Debater’ AI Lost to a Human—But Put Up Quite a Fight

And now A.I. is coming after our arguing skills. My YouTube channel may soon be rendered obsolete:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/25/ibms-project-debater-ai-lost-to-a-human-but-put-up-quite-a-fight/

Major breakthrough may lead to universal flu vaccine

Here's one way to save a few hundred thousand lives each year:

https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/major-breakthrough-may-lead-to-universal-flu-vaccine

Scientists Have Created Synthetic DNA with 4 Extra Letters

VERY curious to see what characteristics could be ultimately generated by this:

https://www.livescience.com/64829-hachimoji-dna.html

The Pediatric AI That Outperformed Junior Doctors

A.I. is going to replace a lot of those in fields requiring some of the highest levels of education:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/20/the-pediatric-ai-that-outperformed-junior-doctors/

Official statement cautioning consumers against receiving young donor plasma infusions

Just in case anyone is thinking of spending the thousands of dollars required for "young blood":

https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm631568.htm

Machine learning 'causing science crisis'

I'm not happy about this:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47267081

Elon Musk-backed AI Company Claims It Made a Text Generator That's Too Dangerous to Release

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-backed-ai-company-claims-it-made-a-text-gener-1832650914

Scientists Are Totally Rethinking Animal Cognition

Just interesting stuff:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/what-the-crow-knows/580726/

Deepfakes go bigger

Welp, we writers are going to be rendered obsolete before too long:

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-7bf5eca2-acb4-40fd-bd45-b5382c1af0b4.html

This Walking Robot Navigates Using the Sun, No GPS Required

https://gizmodo.com/this-walking-robot-navigates-using-the-sun-no-gps-requ-1832599931

China Is Building a Solar Power Station in Space

By 2025. I was really hoping we would be first on this:

https://futurism.com/study-microdosing-fights-depression-improves-focus

Anti-Aging Drug That Kills Old Cells Passes First Human Trial

Anti-aging and no real side effects? I'm interested:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/anti-aging-drug-old-cells

New Artificial Leaf Design Could Absorb Far More CO2

10x as efficient! This could be the path to reversing climate change:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/artificial-leaves-convert-co2-fuel

NASA's Opportunity Rover Declared Dead After Record-Breaking 15 Years on Mars

R.I.P. Opportunity. That was a long three months:

http://time.com/5528877/nasa-opportunity-rover-dead/

The Great Myth of the AI Skills Gap

"Our current situation isn’t any different than the past. The nature of technology has always been to create high-skilled jobs and increase worker productivity. This is good news for everyone."

I disagree. This guy is only thinking a few years into the future. But the thing is, A.I. will surely soon be smart enough to do ALL the jobs better than we can.

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/13/ai-wont-create-a-skills-gap-heres-what-will-happen-instead/

Stealth Assassins: Could the Air Force Arm F-35s with Laser Weapons?

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/stealth-assassins-could-air-force-arm-f-35s-laser-weapons-44157

Demystifying GMOs: New Research Shows Unexpected Changes in Plant DNA

CRISPR likely offers greater precision:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/11/demystifying-gmos-new-research-shows-unexpected-changes-in-plant-dna/

Mysterious Blobs Around M-Dwarf Stars May Be Bad News for Alien Life

Unfortunately, the odds of extraterrestrial life evolving may have gotten a lot smaller:

https://www.space.com/42945-mysterious-blobs-dwarf-stars-and-alien-life.html

Artificial Intelligence, China And The U.S. - How The U.S. Is Losing The Technology War

If China's aging population problem doesn't cause them to stumble, we are in trouble:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveandriole/2018/11/09/artificial-intelligence-china-and-the-us-how-the-us-is-losing-the-technology-war/#193d00061957

Fox & Friends host says he hasn’t washed hands in 10 years: ‘Germs are not a real thing — I can’t see them’

Fox taking anti-science to the next level:

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/02/fox-friends-host-says-hasnt-washed-hands-10-years-germs-not-real-thing-cant-see/

U.S. Wind Turbines Are Getting Less Powerful—and That's a Good Thing

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a23120126/us-wind-turbines-are-getting-less-powerfuland-thats-a-good-thing/

What Games Are Humans Still Better at Than AI?

There aren't many left:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/10/what-games-are-humans-still-better-at-than-ai/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

Penny-Sized Ionocraft Flies With No Moving Parts

Impressive but inherently small:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/drones/pennysized-ionocraft-flies-with-no-moving-parts

Longevity & Vitality Part 3: AI Augments Healthcare and Longevity

Using A.I. to cure ANY disease:

https://www.diamandis.com/blog/longevity-blog-part-3-artificial-intelligence

China's second-mover leapfrog

Ugh.

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-3a957d89-11b8-4dde-ade1-876e6179a9f0.html

Take a look at the world's largest 3D-printed rocket engine

The technology is maturing nicely:

https://futurism.com/orbex-3d-printed-rocket-engine

The first dexterous and sentient hand prosthesis has been successfully implanted

The Bionic Woman is almost here:

http://www.detop-project.eu/news/the-first-dexterous-and-sentient-hand-prosthesis-has-been-successfully-implanted/

Controversial ‘Gene Drives’ Just Worked in Mammals for the First Time

How to speed up evolution to an insane rate:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/06/controversial-gene-drives-just-worked-in-mammals-for-the-first-time/

Chess schmess. AI tries Pictionary

Try the game (there's a bit of a learning curve for being the drawer):

https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-4d2b3b34-d0f5-4c70-921b-445deb07a23a.html?chunk=0#story0

US Army soldiers will soon be armed with these game-changing drones that fit in the palm of your hand

I could see these being highly effective in combat:

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-soldiers-will-soon-receive-these-awesome-new-pocket-sized-drones-2019-2

Neuroscientists Just Found a Way to Image the Brain 1,000 Times Faster Than Ever Before

https://singularityhub.com/2019/02/04/neuroscientists-just-found-a-way-to-image-the-brain-1000-times-faster-than-ever-before/

Watch a Super-Fast 3D Printer Scientists Call the "Replicator"

https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-replicator-3d-printer-light

English’s Reign as the “Global Language” Might End, Says Expert

Because of technology, not demographics:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/translation-tech-english-language

Physicists Made a Flying Army of Laser Schrödinger's Cats

Quantum mechanics is just plain weird:

https://www.livescience.com/64610-schrodingers-laser-cat.html

From Parkour to Surgery, Here Are the Top 10 Recent Advancements in Robotics

It's worth watching the videos:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/29/from-parkour-to-surgery-here-are-the-top-10-recent-advancements-in-robotics/

Advancing Vehicle-to-Grid Tech: Why Solar Energy Needs Your Electric Car

Or a home battery:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/27/advancing-vehicle-to-grid-tech-why-solar-energy-needs-your-electric-car/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

How Microrobots Will Fix Our Roads and Save Us Billions

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/25/how-microrobots-will-fix-our-roads-and-save-us-billions/

Boeing’s pilotless vehicle flies for first time

Battery technology really needs to improve by an order of magnitude:

https://www.axios.com/boeing-pilotless-vehicle-flies-first-time-f5e18206-0750-4822-bbbe-48c7dd1a0702.html

CRISPR Just Got More Powerful With an “On” Switch

CRISPR just gets more and more interesting:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/23/crispr-just-got-more-powerful-with-an-on-switch/

The Top Biotech and Medicine Advances to Expect in 2019

Some cool stuff here:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/22/the-top-biotech-and-medicine-advances-to-expect-in-2019/

San Diego Has Vast Solar Parking Lot Potential

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/01/18/san-diego-has-vast-solar-parking-lot-potential/

The speed of light is torturously slow, and these 3 simple animations by a scientist at NASA prove it

Cool way to give you some perspective:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-fast-speed-light-travels-earth-moon-mars-nasa-2019-1

Big Brother Nation: The Case for Ubiquitous, Open-Sourced Surveillance in Smart Cities

This is similar to what David Brin proposed in The Transparent Society:

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/13/big-brother-nation-the-case-for-ubiquitous-open-sourced-surveillance-in-smart-cities/#sm.0001p9abvhotbf0jwc02kzluw8213

Delivery robot prototype

The future creeps in, step by step:

https://twitter.com/sokane1/status/1083436778353127426

Rotating black holes may serve as gentle portals for hyperspace travel

Ah, so the potential is there!

https://theconversation.com/rotating-black-holes-may-serve-as-gentle-portals-for-hyperspace-travel-107062

Watch Video of Hyundai’s Walking Car Concept in Action

Now this is what I would call a true "robot car" (watch the videos):

https://futurism.com/the-byte/walking-car-hyundai-video

Our universe has antimatter partner on the other side of the Big Bang, say physicists

https://physicsworld.com/a/our-universe-has-antimatter-partner-on-the-other-side-of-the-big-bang-say-physicists/

Scientists engineer shortcut for photosynthetic glitch, boost crop growth 40%

This is a game-changing way to feed the world:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103142306.htm

How kugelblitz black holes could power future spacecraft

Cool concept:

https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/making-a-kugelblitz-black-hole

Rolls Royce Is Building the World’s Fastest Electric Airplane

If we can just increase the energy density of batteries....

https://futurism.com/the-byte/electric-airplane-rolls-royce-accel

Expert: “I’m 100 Percent Confident” Fusion Power Will Be Practical

Well, at least it is within our lifetimes:

https://futurism.com/fusion-power-practical

AI Will Create Millions More Jobs Than It Will Destroy. Here’s How

https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/01/ai-will-create-millions-more-jobs-than-it-will-destroy-heres-how/

The problem I have with this claim is that in each case where automation increases jobs, the automation frees up humans to do what automation can't. But what happens when A.I. becomes vastly smarter than humans in EVERY way? As I see it, any job increases would just go to more A.I.

Scientists can now bottle solar energy, turn it into liquid fuel

This is the first time I ever heard of such a technology:

https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/liquid-solar-fuel-storage

Too bad it's only really useful for heating houses or water, but it's still useful.

Why the Future of Solar Power Is from Space

The only major obstacle is price:

https://singularityhub.com/2018/12/31/why-the-future-of-solar-power-is-from-space/

New Equations Go Beyond Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity

https://scitechdaily.com/new-equations-go-beyond-einsteins-theory-of-general-relativity/

Alien Hunters, Stop Using the Drake Equation

I grew up believing the Drake Equation indicated the galaxy was surely filled with thousands of civilizations. Not so fast....

https://www.space.com/42739-stop-using-the-drake-equation.html

Quantum Communication Just Took a Great Leap Forward

"Large-scale quantum communication may now be possible sooner than we thought":

https://singularityhub.com/2018/12/26/quantum-communication-just-took-a-great-leap-forward/

Congress Passes $1.2 Billion Quantum Computing Bill

Very cool. Here's hoping that Trump doesn't fuck it up by not signing it into law:

https://futurism.com/the-byte/quantum-computing-bill-congress

New steps toward brain-like computing

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/12/17/new-steps-toward-brain-like-computing

MIT invents method to shrink objects to nanoscale using basic lab equipment

Using a laser to shrink simple objects to 1/1000 of its original size:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/17/us/mit-nanosize-technology-trnd/index.html

Researchers Use Gelatin to Make Powerful New Hydrogen Fuel Catalyst

https://scitechdaily.com/researchers-use-gelatin-to-make-powerful-new-hydrogen-fuel-catalyst/

Smart dust

This is the stuff that makes the privacy-free society envisioned in The Transparent Society (David Brin) possible, even likely:

https://qz.com/emails/quartz-obsession/1494837/

Tasting the World’s First Test-Tube Steak

We are graduating from lab-grown beef burgers and chicken nuggets to actual steaks, with accurate steak texture:

https://youtu.be/bjSe-0vSRMY

Revolutionary graphene lithium battery launched

https://nano-magazine.com/news/2018/12/10/revolutionary-graphene-lithium-battery-launched

Forbes | the World in 2033

Some perspectives on different aspects of culture in the future:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/forbes-the-world-in-2033

But I'm highly skeptical of the geologist weighing in on climate change.

A New Battery Could Store Ten Times the Power as Lithium-Ion

Exciting...but still probably a decade away, assuming it pans out:

https://futurism.com/new-battery-ten-times-power

“Sun in a box” would store renewable energy for the grid

Another potential game-changer in large-scale energy storage:

https://news.mit.edu/2018/liquid-silicon-store-renewable-energy-1206

Bizarre ‘dark fluid’ with negative mass could dominate the universe – what my research suggests

A solution to the dark energy and dark matter issue?

https://theconversation.com/bizarre-dark-fluid-with-negative-mass-could-dominate-the-universe-what-my-research-suggests-107922

Listen To An AI’s Nightmarish Beatboxing

Okay, so now we know the soundtrack to the A.I. takeover of the world:

https://futurism.com/ai-baby-spawn-holly-herndon-jlin-godmother

The Military Is Investing Millions in Exoskeleton “Super-Soldiers”

Another exoskeleton, but this one seems more focused on the most important task:

https://futurism.com/exoskeleton-super-soldiers-military

Researchers Just Overcame a Key Barrier to Fusion Power

Inching closer:

https://futurism.com/researchers-overcame-key-barrier-fusion-power

New AI Dreams Up Trippy Video Games Based on Real Life Video

A promise of things to come:

https://futurism.com/ai-dreams-trippy-video-games-based-real-life

Toyota taps Docomo 5G to remotely control its humanoid robot

"As for what such a robot might actual be good for (beyond knocking the snot out of pint-sized kaiju), Toyota sees potential in homes and healthcare, with an eye on “a prosperous society of mobility.”"

Oh, I can see many more uses than that! How about sending them into dangerous situations where human dexterity and agility are necessary? Like shutting down a radioactive power plant, fighting fires, dealing with active shooters, going into battle (like Predator and Reaper drones, only for foot soldiers), etc.:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/30/toyota-taps-docomo-5g-to-remotely-control-its-humanoid-robot/