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18th August 2017
Where is everybody? Implications of cosmic silence
If the potential for intelligent life to exist somewhere in the universe is so large, then where is everybody? In a new paper, an astrophysicist argues that species such as ours go extinct soon after attaining high levels of technology.
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14th August 2017
100 times faster Wi-Fi may soon be possible
Scientists report the transmission of data through a terahertz multiplexer at 50 gigabits per second, which could lead to a new generation of ultra-fast Wi-Fi.
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12th August 2017
AI defeats world's best players in competitive eSports
A major breakthrough in artificial intelligence has been announced, with a computer beating the world's best players at competitive eSports for the first time.
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12th August 2017
U.S. Army lab discovers new energy source
Scientists and engineers at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Maryland have demonstrated a new nanomaterial powder that creates large amounts of energy by simply mixing it with water.
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11th August 2017
Smart windows could save 20% in energy costs
Researchers have created "smart windows" that rapidly change opacity, depending on how sunny it is. This new technology could cut utility costs.
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10th August 2017
Four Earth-sized planets found orbiting the nearest Sun-like star
Four Earth-sized planets have been found orbiting the nearest Sun-like star, Tau Ceti, which is 12 light years away and visible to the naked eye.
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10th August 2017
Youthful plasticity restored to brains of aging mice
Manipulating a single gene can restore brain plasticity in aging mice, scientists in the U.S. report. The breakthrough could one day be replicated in humans.
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3rd August 2017
Hyperloop One completes phase 2 of testing
Hyperloop One – a new transportation system that could revolutionise how people and cargo move around the world – has completed its second phase of testing, with a 2.7 times faster speed.
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2nd August 2017
CRISPR removes disease from human embryos for the first time
For the first time, scientists have used the CRISPR system in human embryos to "delete" faulty DNA responsible for a hereditary heart condition.
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1st August 2017
New efficiency record for perovskite solar cells
Researchers in South Korea have announced a new world record efficiency of 22.1% for perovskite solar cells.
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29th July 2017
Earth just had near-miss from undetected asteroid
Astronomers have announced the surprise detection of a large rock, possibly up to 93 m (305 ft) in size, which hurtled past Earth last week.
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27th July 2017
Brain stem cells found to control aging
Researchers have discovered that stem cells in the brain's hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body.
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26th July 2017
The last surviving species on Earth may be tardigrades
Tardigrade micro-animals may be one of the most resilient lifeforms on Earth, able to withstand global mass extinctions due to astrophysical events, such as supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, large asteroid impacts, and passing-by stars.
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24th July 2017
Carbon sequestration made 500 times faster
Researchers in California report how carbon sequestration in the ocean can be made 500 times faster, by simply adding a common enzyme to the process.
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23rd July 2017
Star Trek: Discovery – official trailer
Netflix has released a trailer of the new Star Trek series, Discovery, which is set to debut on 25th September.
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19th July 2017
Wearable electronics on skin can provide long-term health monitoring
Researchers have made a "breathable" nanoscale mesh with an electronic sensor that can be worn on the skin for a week without discomfort, and could potentially monitor a person's health continuously for long periods.
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18th July 2017
Genetically modified bananas high in pro-vitamin A developed
Researchers have announced the development of a GM banana with higher levels of pro-vitamin A, which could improve the nutritional content of bananas in Africa.
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14th July 2017
Luxembourg becomes the first European country to pass space mining law
Luxembourg yesterday passed a draft law on the exploration and use of space resources.
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13th July 2017
The first ever movie encoded in DNA
Scientists at Harvard have used the CRISPR gene-editing system to store a GIF animation in the DNA of bacteria.
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13th July 2017
Smallest-ever star discovered
The discovery of the smallest star able to sustain nuclear fusion has been announced; its diameter is just slightly larger than that of Saturn.
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10th July 2017
Large Hadron Collider detects new particle
Physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider report the detection of a new particle, Xi-cc++ (pronounced ka-sigh-see-see-plus-plus), containing two charm quarks and one up quark.
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9th July 2017
China to build first "forest city" in 2020
The masterplan for an eco-friendly "forest city" in China has been revealed.
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6th July 2017
Volvo Cars to go all-electric
Volvo Cars has announced that every car it launches from 2019 will be electric or hybrid, marking the historic end of cars that only have an internal combustion engine and placing electrification at the core of its future business.
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5th July 2017
Future pavements could generate electricity from footsteps
Imagine a city where simply walking on pavements and other flat surfaces can make usable power. One company has demonstrated just such a concept in London's West End.
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3rd July 2017
Select memories can be erased, leaving others intact
A study of snail neurons, published in Current Biology, suggests memories that trigger anxiety and PTSD could be "erased" without affecting normal memory of past events.
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1st July 2017
Climate change will increase inequality in the USA
Unmitigated climate change will exacerbate inequality in the USA, with southern states losing up to 20 percent of their income by century's end.
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30th June 2017
Rising seas could result in 2 billion refugees by 2100
New research concludes that rising sea levels will displace up to 1.4 billion people by 2060 and 2 billion by 2100.
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29th June 2017
No detectable limit to how long people can live
Maximum and average lifespans could continue to increase far into the foreseeable future.
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28th June 2017
"Mind reading" technology can decode complex thoughts
New research by Carnegie Mellon University builds on the pioneering use of machine learning algorithms with brain imaging technology to "mind read." For the first time, thoughts containing several concepts can be decoded.
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27th June 2017
World population to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100
The United Nations has released its latest population forecast for the 21st century.
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25th June 2017
2042 – NASA Uranus mission
One of NASA's longer term mission proposals involved an unmanned spacecraft to Uranus, including a detachable probe descending into the atmosphere. More than half a century after Voyager 2, a new mission is finally undertaken to this remote icy giant.
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22nd June 2017
Gravitational wave observatory to launch in 2034
The European Space Agency has confirmed the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) as the third large-class mission in its future science programme, with launch planned for 2034.
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21st June 2017
Entangled photons sent between suborbital space and Earth
Chinese scientists report the transmission of entangled photons between suborbital space and Earth, using the satellite Micius. More satellites could follow in the near future, with plans for a European–Asian quantum-encrypted network by 2020, and a global network by 2030.
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20th June 2017
Graphene transistors could mean computers that are 1,000 times faster
Next-gen, carbon-based transistors would far outperform today's silicon versions, according to a new research paper from the University of Central Florida.
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19th June 2017
New VR headset will feature "human eye resolution"
Varjo, a Finnish tech startup, has unveiled a new VR/AR technology it has been developing in secret. This features nearly 70 times the pixel count of current generation headsets and is sufficient to match human eye resolution.
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18th June 2017
Drones with defibrillators could speed response times for heart emergencies
In a study involving simulated out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, drones carrying an automated external defibrillator arrived in less time than emergency medical services.
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18th June 2017
New moons found orbiting Jupiter
Two new moons are reported to be orbiting Jupiter, bringing the gas giant's total number of known natural satellites to 69. Several "lost" moons have also been rediscovered.
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14th June 2017
Insomnia genes identified
Researchers from the Netherlands and Germany have identified seven risk genes for insomnia.
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13th June 2017
Future milestones in AI predicted by experts
A large survey of experts in artificial intelligence suggests there is a 50% chance of AI outperforming humans in all tasks within 45 years and of automating all human jobs in 120 years.
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11th June 2017
2043 – The Chang'e-3 lander is shutting down
After 30 years of operation, China's first probe to land on the Moon is finally drained of power.
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10th June 2017
Record-breaking year for renewable energy
As the price of installation continues to fall, renewable power has set another new record, with 161 gigawatts (GW) being added in 2016 – increasing total global capacity to more than 2 terawatts (TW).
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5nd June 2017
Exponential wisdom – longevity escape velocity
Peter Diamandis talks about his belief that if we can stay alive for the next 50 years, we will have access to converging technologies that keep us alive indefinitely – a point known as "longevity escape velocity".
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4th June 2017
Intel reveals Core i9 – the next generation of high-end processors
Intel has announced a new generation of processors, including the Core i9 series, its first teraflop desktop CPUs.
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2nd June 2017
Construction begins on the European Extremely Large Telescope
The largest optical and infrared telescope ever to be built is on track for operation in 2024. It will feature 256 times the light gathering area of the Hubble Space Telescope and provide images 16 times sharper.
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