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Along with new Juggernaut-class ships and various balance adjustments, Ashes of the Singularitys latest update adds a new campaign for dedicated space generals. Named 'Genesis', this new single-player content is fully voiced and free for all owners of Ashes of the Singularity.

Armchair generals should check out our list of the PCs best RTS games.

Genesis features six new missions and continues the Ashes story, as the Substrate and the PHC battle for galactic control. It is the most challenging campaign to date, according to Stardock, with it featuring the new Juggernaut ships. Both factions receive their own Juggernaut, with them providing the huge firepower needed to turn a match around. As they are the most powerful unit in the game, Ashes players will not see Juggernauts in quick matches, due to the large cost of building these massive battle-cruisers. Juggernauts also level indefinitely, with them gaining a 5% bonus to damage and health for every level past level five.

The PHCs Juggernaut is the Leonidas, which comes equipped with a massive beam cannon that can tear through enemy Dreadnoughts. The Substrates Juggernaut is focused on overwhelming the opponent by spawning a constant stream of frigates to harass the enemy, and repair its hull.

Stardock have also gone back and rebalanced much of the old Ashes campaigns to make them more fun to play. Maps have been adjusted to make more sense and expert commanders should find the AI is a lot more challenging on the higher difficulty levels.

Stardock have also added five new maps to Ashes skirmish and multiplayer mode, alongside various quality-of-life improvements to make interstellar warfare that bit more enjoyable. For the full list of bug fixes, balance changes and gameplay additions, check out the official Ashes of the Singularity website.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is available on Steam for $39.99/29.99.

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Ashes of the Singularity gets a new fully-voiced campaign - PCGamesN

Singularity is good friends with Docker. The reason is because the developers use and really like using Docker, and scientists have already put much resources into creating Docker images. Thus, one of our early goals was to support Docker. What can you do?

You can shell, import, run, and exec.

The core of a Docker image is basically a compressed set of files, a set of .tar.gz that (if you look in your Docker image folder on your host machine, you will see. The Docker Registry, which you probably interact with via Docker Hub, serves these layers. These are the layers that you see downloading when you interact with the docker daemon. We are going to use these same layers for Singularity!

The Docker engine communicates with the Docker Hub via the Docker Remote API, and guess what, we can too! The easiest thing to do is create an image, and then pipe a Docker image directly into it from the Docker Registry. You dont need Docker installed on your machine, but you will need a working internet connection. Lets create an ubuntu operating system, from Docker:

Note that the default size is 768MB, you can modify this by adding the --size or -s argument like:

If you arent sure about the size? Try building into a folder first.

Next, lets import a Docker image into it!

Just like Docker has the Dockerfile, Singularity has a file called Singularity that (currently) applications like Singularity Hub know to sniff for. For reproducibility of your containers, our strong recommendation is that you build from these files. Any command that you issue to change a container with --writable is by default not recorded, and your container loses its reproducibility. So lets talk about how to make these files! First, lets look at the absolute minimum requirement:

We would save this content to a file called Singularity and then issue the following commands to bootstrap the image from the file

but just those two lines and doing bootstrap is silly, because we would achieve the same thing by doing:

The power of bootstrap comes with the other stuff that you can do! This means running specific install commands, specifying your containers runscript (what it does when you execute it), adding files, labels, and customizing the environment. Here is a full Singularity file:

In the example above, I am overriding any Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT or CMD because I have defined a %runscript. If I want the Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT to take preference, I would remove the %runscript section. If I want to use CMD instead of ENTRYPOINT, I would again remove the runscript, and add IncludeCmd to the header:

Did you know that you can commit this Singularity file to a Github repo and it will automatically build for you when you push to Singularity Hub?. This will ensure maximum reproducibility of your work.

Docker has two commands in the Dockerfile that have something to do with execution, CMD and ENTRYPOINT. The differences are subtle, but the best description Ive found is the following:

A CMD is to provide defaults for an executing container.

and

An ENTRYPOINT helps you to configure a container that you can run as an executable.

Given the definition, the ENTRYPOINT is most appropriate for the Singularity %runscript, and so using the default bootstrap (whether from a docker:// endpoint or a Singularity spec file) will set the ENTRYPOINT variable as the runscript. You can change this behavior by specifying IncludeCmd: yes in the Spec file (see below). If you provide any sort of %runscript in your Spec file, this overrides anything provided in Docker. In summary, the order of operations is as follows:

In the example above, you probably saw that we referened the docker image first with the uri docker:// and that is important to tell Singularity that it will be pulling Docker layers. To ask for ubuntu, we asked for docker://ubuntu. This uri that we give to Singularity is going to be very important to choose the following Docker metadata items:

When we put those things together, it looks like this:

By default, the minimum requirement is that you specify a repository name (eg, ubuntu) and it will default to the following:

If you provide a version instead of a tag, that will be used instead:

You can have one or the other, both are considered a digest in Docker speak.

If you want to change any of those fields, then just specify what you want in the URI.

For both import and bootstrap using a build spec file, by default we use the Docker Registry index.docker.io. Singularity first tries the call without a token, and then asks for one with pull permissions if the request is defined. However, it may be the case that you want to provide a custom token for a private registry. You have two options. You can either provide a Username and Password in the build specification file (if stored locally and there is no need to share), or (in the case of doing an import or needing to secure the credentials) you can export these variables to environmental variables. We provide instructions for each of these cases:

You can simply specify your additional authentication parameters in the header with the labels Username and Password:

Again, this can be in addition to specification of a custom registry with the Registry parameter.

You can export your username, and password for Singularity as follows:

If you are having trouble, you can test your token by obtaining it on the command line and putting it into an environmental variable, CREDENTIAL:

This should place the token in the environmental variable TOKEN. To test that your token is valid, you can do the following

The above call should return the tags list as expected. And of course you should change the repo name to be one that actually exists that you have credentials for.

Why wont my image bootstrap work? If you cant find an answer on this site, please ping us an issue. If youve found an answer and youd like to see it on the site for others to benefit from, then post to us here.

This entire process will hopefully change in two ways. First, we hope to collapse the image creation and bootstrapping, so you have the option to do them both in one full swing. Second, we hope to eventually figure out some kind of solution to import Docker containers without needing sudo.

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Singularity and Docker | Singularity

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, Stardocks gargantuan RTS, has a new update out today. Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation v2.3 fattens up the game with a new campaign, new ships and tweaks to improve game balance.

The update chucks a pair of Juggernaut-class bruisers into the fray, both of which can level up indefinitely, getting bonuses to health and damage every time that they do. The Leonidas is a PHC ship that boasts an incredibly powerful weapon that can tear Dreadnoughts apart. The Substrate get The Nest of the Queen, a vessel capable of summoning a fleet of frigates to lend it a hand.

We're really excited to introduce the Juggernauts," writes Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. "Fans of the game have been asking about them since we teased them several months ago, and we know these won't disappoint them. These warships are pricey to buildyou won't see them in quick matchesbut the cost is worth it. It takes some serious firepower to stop one of these guys once they hit the field."

The new campaign, Genesis, continues the Ashes story and comes with six missions. Stardock says that its increased the challenge of the higher difficulty level to please more advanced players, so that probably doesnt include me.

Stardocks also tweaked the previous campaigns. Ships and orbitals that previously werent available have been added to missions, while the maps have been tweaked and AI improved.

The update is free and available to all owners of Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation today.

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Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation 2.3 update adds a new campaign today - PC Gamer

A prime example of the strong collaboration between Deloitte and SU is this week's Exponential Finance Conference taking place in New York City. Over 700 global executives, entrepreneurs, financial advisors, insurance and banking executives, and venture capitalists are convening over three days in New York City to explore and create the future of the financial services industry. Participants will learn how disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, Blockchain, robotics, nanotechnologies and crowdfunding, among others, can be leveraged for exponential growth, and to help address the global challenges the world is facing.

Deloitte and SU continue to expand their alliance to empower a global community with the mindset, skillset and network to embrace exponential opportunities, including topics of global importance such as Smart Cities and the Future of Work.

"We live in a time where unprecedented change is disrupting nearly every way we work and live. Our personal and professional lives are shifting in response to new technologies and business models that are changing what's possible and calling for us to respond and adapt, or fall behind. Since 2014, over 1,300 Deloitte clients have participated in SU programs around the world, empowering them to envision and realize significant exponential growth and efficiency opportunities," said Andrew Vaz, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited's Global Chief Innovation Officer. "The Deloitte/SU alliance is critical to our joint mission of helping organizations recognize and embrace opportunities to grow and differentiate themselves during an era of significant disruptions, while making the world a better place."

"We are gratified that our long-term alliance with Deloitte is being renewed and welcome their expanded involvement in new global events and programs," said Rob Nail, CEO and Associate Founder of Singularity University. "Together we bring the technical expertise, global networks, business acumen, and future vision to help organizations of all sizes innovate and grow exponentially."

To learn more about any of the SU programs and events and Deloitte innovation resources, go to http://www.su.org and https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/strategy/topics/innovation-consulting.html.

ABOUT DELOITTE Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies.Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see http://www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

ABOUT SINGULARITY UNIVERSITY (SU)Singularity University is a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world's biggest challenges and build an abundant future for all. SU's collaborative platform empowers individuals and organizations across the globe to learn, connect, and innovate breakthrough solutions using accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital biology. SU was founded in 2008 by renowned innovators Ray Kurzweil and Peter H. Diamandis and has partnered with leading organizations including Google, Deloitte, Genentech, and UNICEF. To learn more, visitSU.org, join us onFacebook, follow us on Twitter @SingularityU, and download our SingularityU Hub mobile app from theApp Store.

MEDIA CONTACTS Anna Roubos, singularityu@ogilvy.com 774-232-2460 Jodie Stern, jodiestern@deloitte.com 414-702-0167

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte-and-singularity-university-extend-their-relationship-to-foster-innovation-worldwide-300471082.html

SOURCE Singularity University; Deloitte

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Deloitte and Singularity University Extend Their Relationship To ... - PR Newswire (press release)

In the movie Office Space, Peter Gibbons has a stroke of genius. Confronted with the utter mundanity of a life slaving away at his office park software company, he convinces his friends to make a computer virus to skim a fraction of a cent off transactions into a shared bank account.

This, of course, goes horribly wrong. But the concept is actually pretty solid.

In the real world, where there are literally billions of transactions crisscrossing the globe every day, you can make a big profit buying and selling securities whose prices barely differ.

But heres the key. You have to be fast. Inhumanly so. Enter physics and computers.

Computerized high-frequency trading was born from a collision of rapidly growing computing power and an influx of math and physics PhDs into finance. These wonks worked out complex quantitative buy-sell strategies, built them into algorithms, and set their software loose.

While the practice is nothing if not controversialand there are quantitative strategies that work over longer time frames tooits impact on the market is undeniable. In any given year, high-frequency trading is responsible for up to half or more of all trades. And of course, notoriously, such algorithmic trading was also involved in 2010s infamous Flash Crash.

But all this is only the beginning of how physics and computers can flip finance upside down.

At Singularity Universitys Exponential Finance Summit this week, Andrew Fursman said quantum computers, which harness natures most basic laws, are coming sooner than you think. And while digital computing was an evolution, quantum computing will be a revolution.

Fursman is CEO and cofounder of 1Qbit, a quantum computing software startup focused on making quantum computing applications practical for industry.

Quantum computing, he said, is just in its earliest stages, more akin to the hulking special-purpose computers of the 40s and 50s instead of the sleeker personal digital machines of recent decades. But he thinks its about to get practical, and itll pay dividends to those paying attention.

In finance, computing power is really a bit of an arms race, Fursman said. And as you all know, in many of these situations, it's winner takes all.

The next revolution has been a long time coming. It began with physicist Richard Feynman.

When modern digital computers were just gaining momentum, Feynman looked far down the roadhe was a genius theorist after alland noted the most powerful computers would not be digital, theyd be quantum. That is, theyd harness the laws of nature to compute.

Its counterintuitive to think of the world as a computer, said Fursman, but its an instructive analogy if you want to grasp the speed and simultaneity of quantum computers.

Complexity is nothing to nature. Just imagine how quickly and effortlessly glass breaks, he said.

In far less time than it takes to blink your eye, the laws of nature instruct the atoms in the glass to fracture into a massively complex spider web. Not unlike a computer, the laws of physics are the underlying logic allowing the glass to compute its complex demise in an instant.

Quantum computers similarly harness natures power to compute. Instead of using 1s and 0s to calculate things, they use the rules of quantum mechanics to compute with 1s, 0s, and both simultaneously. This means they can rapidly solve massively complex problems.

[Go here to learn more about how quantum computers work.]

But todays machines, like D-Waves adiabatic quantum computers, arent like your laptop, which is whats called a universal computer due to its ability to do many tasks. Instead, quantum computers today are specialized, complicated, difficult to program, and expensive.

Fursman thinks well get universal quantum computers in future, but well before then, in something like three to five years, he thinks early quantum computers will get practical. And because they can do things no other computer can, theyll be powerful.

In finance, its often about optimization. And todays quantum machines excel at optimization.

Consider building a portfolio out of all the stocks in the S&P 500, Fursman said. Given expected risk and return at various points in time, your choice is to include a stock, or not. The sheer number of possible portfolio combinations over time is mindboggling.

In fact, the possibilities dwarf the number of atoms in the observable universe.

To date, portfolio theory has necessarily cut corners and depended on approximations. But what if you could, in fact, get precise? Quantum computers will be able to solve problems like this in a finite amount of time, whereas traditional computers would take pretty much forever.

The work is already underway to make this possible.

Fursman noted a paper written by Gili Rosenberg, Poya Haghnegahdar, Phil Goddard, Peter Carr, Kesheng Wu, and Marcos Lpez de Prado in which they outline a new way to solve for an optimal portfolio. Instead of finding the best portfolio at discrete times in the future, they outline a way to find the best portfolio overall through time. Such a portfolio would reduce the transaction costs of rebalancing portfolios and potentially save the industry billions.

To be clear, this isnt ready for prime time yet. But Fursman thinks it will be shortly. The key? Their proposed portfolio optimization method is compatible with existing quantum computers. Specifically, they looked at D-Waves adiabatic machines, and according to the paper, they believe it can scale up in complexity as the underlying technology improves.

It's something that has real ability to impact what's possible within your industry and to make money doing all the things you already dobut in completely new ways, Fursman said.

Exponential Finance, according to Fursman, is a bit ahead of the curve. The event has focused on the possibility of quantum computing in finance for the last several years.

But now, its poised to make an impact. Google recently announced they expect to achieve quantum supremacy by the end of this year. That means theyll have shown a quantum computer capable of solving a problem no conventional computer can.

Fursman thinks the slowing of Moores Law may be lulling some into complacency. Whereas at one point you could barely keep pace, even if you bought a new computer every year; these days, the computer you bought four years ago is basically stillable run whatever you want today.

But for businesses, the pace of progress is about to speed up again.

The quantum computing industry [today] is just [the] spark. Its just the very, very beginning of whats going to be possible, Fursman said. Those sparks are going to turn into a huge explosion, and all of a sudden, youre going to be faced with incredible amounts of computing capabilities that directly tackle the types of problems most relevant to what youre doing.

This isnt going to take 20 years, he said, or even ten years. Itll be here in three to five years. So, now is the time to start thinking about what quantum will do for you.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Quantum Computers Will Analyze Every Financial Model at Once - Singularity Hub

Mass Effect Edit This gravitational power sucks multiple enemies within a radius to a single area, leaving them floating helplessly and vulnerable to attack. It can also attract objects from the environment, such as crates or pieces of furniture; enemies will take damage if they collide with other solid objects in the Singularity field. Talent Ranks Edit

These classes have access to the Singularity talent:

Note: This power travels in the direction of the cross-hair, arcing towards the target. Upon impact, it will create the Singularity. Liara's Singularity travels in a straight line, instantly creating a singularity at the targeted location.

Rank 4

Choose to evolve the power into one of the following,

Create a sphere of dark energy that traps and dangles enemies caught in its field.

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

Increase Singularity's hold duration by 20%. Increase impact radius by 20%.

Duration

Increase Singularity's hold duration by 30%. Additional enemies can be lifted before Singularity fades.

Radius

Increase impact radius by 25%.

Lift Damage

Inflict 20 damage per second to lifted targets.

Recharge Speed

Increase recharge speed by 30%.

Expand

Expand the Singularity field by 35% for 10 seconds.

Detonate

Detonate Singularity when the field dies to inflict 300 damage across 5 meters.

Create a sphere of dark energy that traps and dangles enemies caught in its field.

Increase recharge speed by 25%.

Increase damage by 20%.

Duration

Increase Singularity's hold duration by 150%.

Radius

Increase impact radius by 35%.

Lift Damage

Inflict 50 damage per second to lifted targets.

Recharge Speed

Increase recharge speed by 35%.

Damage

Increase damage by 50%.

Detonate

Detonate Singularity when the field dies to inflict 500 damage across 7 meters.

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Singularity | Mass Effect Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia

In BriefNine experts weighed in on the future of artificialintelligence and machine learning recently for IEEE Spectrum. Theiranswers provide a glimpse into what's coming in the world of AI andwhat to expect from the Singularity. AI Visionaries

Artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing so fast that there are new developments in the field almost every week. The tendrils of AI grow further into human life and continue to rapidly intertwine with our reality, and this process will only accelerate. Some worry about the consequences of a future in which AIs have more capabilities than humans, while some relish this prospect. IEEE Spectrum has just published a special issue for June 2017, which reports on the views of nine visionaries, technologists, and futurists on whats coming in AI.

Each expert was asked, When will we have computers as capable as the brain? Ray Kurzweil thinks this will happen in 2029, while Jrgen Schmidhuber simply agrees that it will be soon, and Gary Marcus estimates that it will happen 20 to 50 years from now. Nick Bostrom predicts within a small number of decades. Rodney Brooks is a little more conservative, estimating 50 to 100 years, while both Robin Hanson and Martine Rothblatt think that it will happen within the 21st century.

Ruchir Puris answer to this question was perhaps the most interesting: A human brain is fundamentally different than being a champion chess, Jeopardy!, or Go player. It is something that entails essential traits like caring, empathy, sharing, ingenuity, and innovation. These human brain traits might prove to be elusive to machines for a long time. . .. Although AIs impact on society will accelerate further. . .it will be a while before we will be able to holistically answer [that] question.

So, How will brainlike computers change the world? Robin Hanson thinks that humans will get rich from robot labor, while Gary Marcus anticipates major advancements in science and medicine and Martine Rothblatt agrees with Kurzweil that we will essentially eventually become downloadable and therefore immortal. Ray Kurzweil sees AI as a massive brain extender, and therefore a problem solver, making every aspect of our lives better. Rodney Brooks thinks making realistic predictions about this isnt possible since its too far off, and instead posits that in 20 years, baby boomers including Kurzweil will be assisted by in-home computers, but wont be immortal. Jrgen Schmidhuber thinks that AIs will be fascinated by the possibilities of space as they become self-motivated and pursue their own goals.

Finally, Do you have any qualms about a future in which computers have human-level (or greater) intelligence? Carver Mead points out that people always fear new technologies, even though history shows that we have continually benefitted from them. Robin Hanson thinks anyone who doesnt have qualms about a change this momentous isnt paying attention, but Martine Rothblatt doesnt have qualms, because she thinks human needs will shape a Darwinian market for robots. Ray Kurzweil thinks we will avoid peril and gain optimally by merging with AI. Nick Bostrom is concerned by the problem of scalable control of AI, while Rodney Brooks says he has no qualms at all, and that qualming is not useful, even for Nick Bostrom. Gary Marcus doesnt see clear solutions to potential problems yet, but thinks that future technologies will provide them.

The experts had different ideas about many things, but there was no dispute about the most important point: the singularity is coming, and its closer than we think.

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Experts Weigh in on AI and the Singularity - Futurism

Singularity University is dismayed by the Trump administrations choice to withdraw from the Paris Accord. Climate change is one of the greatest risks to humankind, and the decisions we make over the next few decades will impact life on earth for thousands of years.

At SU were proud to support the responsible development of exponential technologies, such as AI, robotics, nanotechnology, and digital biology, that may provide solutions to climate change. These exponential technologies should be nurtured in enabling policy environments, but independent of the decisions made by politicians, SU will move forward with our plans to address climate change.

Were proud to see an increase in breakthroughs that greatly improve our stewardship of the planet and global abundance such as in vitro meat production, carbon capture techniques, genetic engineering of climate resilient crops, advances in atmospheric water extraction, and countless others.

While this is a disappointing decision, there are more powerful forces at work. The global response to the federal governments decision has renewed our faith in the common goodness of humankind. Innovation will continue. We will move forward.

We at SU provide access to a deep and broad innovation ecosystem that includes forward thinking corporations (e.g., Deloitte, Google, Lowes), development organizations (e.g., Stockholm Resilience Center, Unicef, World Wide Fund for Nature), and governments around the world. We will continue to work across industries and disciplines to bring abundance to all.

We welcome you to join our bold march into the future.

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Beyond Politics: Innovating for a Sustainable Future - Singularity Hub

Singularity Universitys Exponential Finance Summit begins today and runs through June 9 in New York, the finance industrys bustling capital. You can tune into the summit as it happens from anywhere with this livestream.

Singularity Hub is also covering the event as it brings together financial and technology leaders from across the industry. From exciting startups like Lemonade and HyperScience to established financial institutions such as BlackRock and Bank of America, well be learning about how emerging technologies are changing the workings of the finance industry and how financial services companies do business.

At the summit, experts will dive into:

Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Services, and Sharon Sputz, director of Columbia Universitys Data Science Institute, will discuss the future of financial advice and investing. Angela Strange, partner at Andreesen Horowitz, will break down exponential technology and insurance, and BlackRocks chief talent officer, Matthew Breitfelder, will take a look at the future of work.

Of course, as usual, well also keep an eye on talks and question-and-answer sessions with Ray Kurzweil, Singularity University cofounder and chancellor, and Peter Diamandis, Singularity University cofounder and chairman.

Be sure to join the conversation on the future of finance in real-time on Twitter with@SingularityHuband@xfinanceor using the hashtag#xfin.

Much of the latest technology driving fintech is still new, and its impact has yet to be fully fleshed outwhich should make for an interesting summit.

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Tune Into the Future of Fintech at Exponential Finance This Week - Singularity Hub

Greg Kurtzer invented software called Singularity to enable the use of containers in high-performance computing (Credit: Marillyn Chung/Berkeley Lab)

Scientists used to come to Gregory Kurtzer of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys (Berkeley Labs) IT department a lot, asking for a better way to use software containers in a high-performance computing (HPC) environment. After a while he got tired of saying, Sorry, not possible. So he invented a solution and named it Singularity.

Within a few months of its release last year, Singularity took off. Computing-heavy scientific institutions worldwidefrom Stanford University to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to various sites on the European Grid e-Infrastructureflocked to the software. Singularity was also recently recognized by HPCwire editors as one of five new technologies to watch.

Singularity has been making huge strides in the computing community, Kurtzer said, with some surprise, adding that Open Science Grid, a consortium that provides distributed computing resources for scientific research, has served over 20 million containers with Singularity.

Its now on its seventh release (version 2.2.1) and has caught on so quickly that Kurtzer has launched SingularityWare LLC to further develop and support the open-source software. The company is being funded by RStor Inc., a startup based in Saratoga, California. Kurtzer, the long-time technical lead and architect for the HPC Services group at Berkeley Lab with a joint appointment at UC Berkeley, will shift to an advisory role at the Lab in order to focus on Singularity.

Berkeley Lab makes some Lab-developed software available at no cost to maximize its impact and to participate in the open-source software community, said ElsieQuaite-Randall, Berkeley Labs Chief Technology Transfer Officer. Singularity fosters innovation as open-source software, and now SingularityWare LLClike other Berkeley Lab startupswill set out to expand the reach and adoption of an important technology.

A typical case where users might need Singularity is if they want to run an application such as Googles TensorFlow. They may need a very specific version of Tensor Flow installed, Kurtzer said. They can create a container to do that in about five minutes. Then they can take that container, bring it to our environment and run it, even if we dont have that version of Tensor Flow installed.

Software containers make it possible to take your entire computing environment, including your files and all the applications you want to run, and encapsulate it so it can be easily replicated on another machine without worrying whether the new machine has a compatible operating system, libraries, applications, and so forth.

Containers share some of the use cases of virtual machines but without the code redundancy and performance hit associated with virtualization, Kurtzer said. Singularity containers allow a user to encapsulate an entire OS (operating system) environment and use it on a shared HPC system like any other program, without an admin doing anything.

Another example where Singularity would be useful would be allowing other scientists to reproduce experiments. Say you just published an article. Wouldnt it be nice to have a location you can cite where someone can download the Singularity container and replicate all the experiments? Kurtzer asked. Someone can enter the container, and now theyre sitting in the exact same environment as you were.

Containerization was developed for enterprise environments, where it has become very popular, especially with the rise of Dockers container technology. Dockers container solution is for the enterprise. But the scientific use case is quite different, Kurtzer said. Our goal isnt to run as many containers as we can on a single host, with each having the illusion of sole occupancy and isolation, but to run maybe one, and enable it to utilize all the resources on that host. Its kind of the opposite of isolation!

So Kurtzer started working on his own solution, and four months later, the first version was released last spring. When I started working on it, I asked, what do scientists really need from containers? They need reproducibility, mobility, and also freedomthe ability to install their own applications and run in their own environment, and store it just like any other data file, Kurtzer said. Thats what Singularity solves for scientific computing.

Kurtzer chose the name Singularity for its meaning in astronomy. As I understand it, its the culmination of a whole bunch of matter in the universe forming a single infinitely dense point, he said. Thats what I was thinking when I was creating Singularitytaking everything necessary to create a reproducible scientific environment and putting it in one file.

Singularity also enables users to run legacy workflows easily. Kurtzer cites one example of how his group saved an 18-year-old workflow from failing hardware and was able to convert it to a Singularity container that is still being used in production today.

Kurtzer believes Singularity will benefit scientists who may not even know they need it. Were trying to reach out to more scientists and engage with additional groups, especially those who are not traditional HPC users, also known as the computational long tail of science, Kurtzer said. We have a lot of users that are running computationally intensive jobs on their laptops and workstations and not making use of the dedicated computational cycles that are designed specifically for computing and available to them. With Singularity we can easily make these large computing resources tangible.

# # #

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the worlds most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Labs scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Science. For more, visit http://www.lbl.gov.

DOEs Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

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Berkeley Lab's Open-Source Spinoff Serves Science | Berkeley Lab - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Originally a concept that was conceived by David Tucker, and Richard Platt on a napkin in 1993, the first IP PBX in the world changed the IP network platform. Soon, convergence emerged as a crucial trend, as connecting people through real-time voice became essential for many businesses. As convergence became more popular, companies like Cisco responded accordingly, integrating voicemail, call centre solutions, IM, conferencing, video, and more into a singular platform for enterprise communication.

One of the key elements of Ciscos success has been the use of a teeming system of collaboration solutions and developers. Rich APIs for call management, automation, interoperability, and compliance mean in-house developers and ISVs can mainline business intelligence straight to the communications infrastructure, connecting the IoT, processes, systems, and people.

During its most recent attempt to bring the business world into its network, Cisco Spark has taken the IP collaboration stack out of the server and into the cloud, bringing together consistent chat, WebEx video conferencing, screen sharing, HD video and voice, and a range of unique hardware endpoints into a unique user experience. Cisco Sparks end-to-end encryption solution blurs the lines between WAN and LAN with UC infrastructure interoperability, adaptive bandwidth usage, and reliability-at-scale solutions.

Perhaps two of the most innovative solutions for developers and end-users have been the launch of the Cisco Spark video SDK, and the Cisco Spark Board room-conferencing system. Bringing in fantastic reviews in the world of business equipment, Ciscos Spark Board has changed the environment for many enterprises, as a hugely capable solution for UC.

Using the Cisco Spark Board, customers can connect to the Spark cloud effortless by simply plugging into their network. They then have access to the complete enterprise conference room, with stunning touchscreen collaboration and video conferencing that connects seamlessly to both PC and mobile devices.

Additionally, the Cisco SparkVideo SDK complements the Cisco Spark ability to offer omnipresent video collaboration, giving developers more power to embed their Spark collaboration needs into existing applications. The Spark SDK currently supports Swift/Ios browser apps through WebRTC and JavaScript, but Android will follow soon. The system offers self-contained widgets and frameworks that let coders transform mobile apps and web pages into high-performance, secure tools for collaboration.

When you combine Ciscos existing messaging APIs to Spark to these new solutions, business IM can begin to encounter all the possibilities of chatbots that can be linked to automation and IT systems, delivering a fully pervasive cloud collaboration solution for any agile enterprise.

In a world thats increasingly focused on bringing all of its solutions for unified communications into the same space, Ciscos latest developments, including the acquisition of the MindMeld AI company, shows its devotion to collaboration singularity. Although there are few details on what the future might look like for Cisco, the term cognitive collaboration has been mentioned. Its thrilling to think about convergence, integration, and networks will continue to transform communications in businesses all over again.

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Approaching the World of Collaboration Singularity - CommsTrader

April 6

Game Replays, Huge Balance Updates, New Maps, Modding Support, and More in v2.2 of Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

Game Replay You've been asking, and here it is! The game replays remove the fog of war so that you can see absolutely everything that went on during your game. Scope out what your opponents were building and how they were laying out their strategy and find out where you went wrong - or where you went right! Up to 3 replays will be automatically saved, but you can change the settings in order to save as many games as you like.

Balance Adjustments Callum McCole of General's Gentlemen has joined the Escalation team and made some pretty extensive updates to the game's balance. In addition to adjusting many of the units for both the PHC and the Substrate, he has altered some of the core gameplay values in order to make the game more accessible. This includes refining the counter system, increasing strategic diversity, weakening "cheese" strategies, improving game flow, and much more! If you're curious about the details, you can find them in Brad Wardell's dev diary here.

Modding Support Modders, rejoice! We have added the ability to mod game files, add maps and scenarios, and enable/disable mods for your game. You can see full details in our Modders Guide!

New Maps v2.2 adds three new maps. Manannan, a 12-player Terran map and Aenghus, a 10-player desert map, are both excellent for free-for-all games. Brighid is a smaller arctic map meant for 8 players and is ideal for a tightly enclosed 4v4 or a more widely spread game of 4 teams with 2 players each.

If you've been playing Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation, we want to hear from you! Join the conversation over at Steam.

v2.2 CHANGELOG: Features

Greetings!

One of the most asked-after features for Escalation has been replays. Were happy to announce that theyre coming in v2.2! The opt-in will be available sometime this week and you can try them out for yourself.

v2.2 introduces a feature that will allow you to display a list of mods for the game. There are also tons of balance updates, unit tweaks, map adjustments, and more.

To read about it all in detail, please visit CEO Brad Wardells dev diary on our forums:

http://forums.stardock.net/482164/ASHE-DEV-JOURNAL-March-2017

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Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation on Steam

Overview

Singularity is a first-person shooter developed by Raven Software, creators of Marvel Ultimate Alliance and co-creators of Quake 4, which is also published by Activison. The game takes place during both the past and present, hurling you back and forth between the 1950's and present day, with the main story being focused on the Cold War and some of the secrets that the Soviet Union had been hiding from the rest of the world. The biggest secret of all turns out to be time manipulation, the game's selling point, which was discovered on the remote Soviet island of Katorga-12. The game has many aspects of a first person shooter, including puzzles that you must use your abilities to solve, and aging and renewing items either organic or non-organic, while also bringing in "old-school" shooter elements such as non-regenerating health and med kits that the player has to pick up throughout the levels.

In the year 1950, the leader of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin, is looking for a weapon to give him a military edge over the United States. Stalin finds what he hopes is that weapon, a mysterious new material named Element 99, found on a mysterious island named Katorga-12. Element 99 could produce an unprecedented amount of energy. The new element possessed a grave risk of contamination, but Stalin was willing to take those risks. Stalin orders that investigations and tests be conducted on the new power source. One of the scientists charged with investigating the element was a man named Barisov. On September 21, 1950, Barisov abandoned all safety protocols and

activated an Element 99 device which lead to some sort of catastrophic event that consumed the entire island. Information about the island is ordered to be buried and erased from memory by the Soviet leaders.

The island was all but lost for 50 years until 2010 when an American satellite scans and discovers massive radiation spikes originating from the island. With nothing but a suspicion and radiation readings Titan One sends Captains Devlin and Renko to the island on a reconnaissance mission. Flying into restricted airspace the recon chopper is hit by an E.M.P flinging Devlin into the ocean and crashing Captain Renko on the abandoned dock of Katorga-12

At the beginning of the story in Singularity, the player finds himself in the shoes of Nathaniel Renko, a U.S. black ops soldier who has been sent with his partner James Devlin to investigate the mysterious Katorga-12. The CIA have recently found strange signals coming from it. As the chopper circles the island, it crashes on the edge of the island after a mysterious release of energy. After Renko recovers from the crash, he quickly proceeds to regroup with Devlin in a nearby abandoned school.

However, as he travels through the island, Renko suddenly gets caught in a time paradox that sends him to a burning building on Katorga in the 1950s as a mysterious catastrophe shakes the island. As Renko proceeds through the building, he finds a man hanging on the brink of death in the fire, and quickly proceeds to rescue him. When Renko returns to the present, he realizes that something has changed, since the island becomes filled with statues and iconography of the man he rescued.

After reuniting with Devlin, Renko is ambushed by a huge force of modern Russian spetsnaz. With fire being opened upon them, Renko and Devlin try to escape, but nonetheless get captured and are confronted by a mysterious Russian general. After a short meeting with him, Devlin winds up dead, since the general personally shoots him, and Renko gets rescued by a woman named Kathryn Norvikova.

Katheryn sheds some light on what's going on, saying she works for a group named Mir 12, and explains to Renko that Russia gained a colossal military superiority over everyone else in the Cold War after discovering the mysterious mineral E99 on Katorga. Using E99 powered weapons on the battlefield, the Soviet Union quickly took over the world, led by Doctor Demichev, a key figure who operated on Katorga 12 in the 50s. Katherine informs you that he was helped by Doctor Barisov, a man with good intents who was the only one capable of stopping Demichev, but was shot by the latter during the fall of Katorga. In order to save Barisov from his death in the past, Katherine sends you to find the TMD, or the Time Manipulation Device, which is capable of rewinding time and is possibly the most fierce weapon ever invented.

Upon finding the TMD, Renko quickly proceeds to meet up with Barisov in the 50s, and rescue him from his death by Demichev's hands. Upon meeting Demichev, Renko recognizes that Demichev looks vaguely like the man he rescued in the burning building, but pays little attention to that fact. After rescuing Doctor Barisov, Renko then travels backwards and forwards through time under Barisov's and Katherine's instructions. Although Renko continues discovering more and more grizzly details of the catastrophe that took place on Katorga, his main objective is to find and arm the E99 bomb, a weapon of mass destruction that Barisov believes will wipe Katorga from existence before the utilization of E99 for Demichev's needs to take over the world.

After spending most of the game preparing the bomb, Renko then places it in the center of Katorga in the building that is producing the Singularity, the disruption of time that is responsible for all the anomalies on the island, as well as the catastrophe that took place in the 50s. However, upon placing the bomb, Renko finds that it simply disappears without causing any damage, at which point Demichev finally catches up to you and attempts to kill you and Barisov. He tells you that no matter how many times Renko and Barisov attempted to stop the Singularity, they failed every time, since Demichev has been rescued by Renko from death in a burning building in one of the time lines, allowing him to continue keeping the Singularity alive.

As a result, in the end, Renko has the choice to kill Demichev, travel back in time to the flaming building, and kill his other self that is rescuing Demichev in order to ensure the Singularity never happens. If the player chooses that course of action, he finds himself living in an idealistic Soviet society that still has taken over the world, but is instead led by the noble ideas of Doctor Barisov.

Another option is to shoot Barisov, and then be bestowed all the gifts promised to you by Demichev as a reward. This ending shows Renko leading Demichev's fearless troops across the world, with the TMD in your hand making you the most powerful soldier on the battlefield. However, as you continue getting power, a chasm develops between you and Demichev, and by the end, two Soviet factions appear on the verge on conflict: one in the United States led by Demichev, and another in Russia led by Renko. As a result, the world finds itself on the brink of another Cold War.

In the final ending option, you can kill both men, and leave, mysteriously disappearing. The deaths of both potential leaders for the Soviet empire cause it to collapse into hundreds of warring states, leading the world into anarchy as chaos ensues worldwide. The ending concludes with an implication that someone is trying to restore the American White House, and potentially trying to re-create the country.

Singularity is a linear first person shooter that has players traversing through a destroyed Katorga-12 in the year 2010, periodically traveling through time to a 1950s state of the island, specifically when everything began to fall apart. Players do battle against Soviet troops from the present and past as well as mutated creatures, the aftermath of the cataclysmic event. A variety of weapons are available, from the standard assault rifle and shotgun to more unique weaponry such as the Seeker, a semi automatic rifle that allows the player to guide each bullet to a target. Throughout the game the player can upgrade their weapons and TMD device.

The collapse of the Katorga-12 operation in the 1950s has led to random time warps and rifts that occur throughout the island. With these, the player will be forced into or voluntarily enter the 1950s and back respectively. After acquiring the hand-mounted TMD device, the player can manipulate objects, the environment, and enemies by aging or reverting them. For example, a broken staircase can be mended by warping it back to its 1950s state, enemies can be killed by aging them into dust, and more.

Similar to Bioshock, the player can learn more about what happened to Katorga-12 by listening to audio logs left behind by its inhabitants and researchers. However, these audio logs cannot be picked up, so the player must stand near them to hear it.

Centurion

Six round revolver that does small damage despite shooting E99 slugs. To get the 20 kills achievement, it is recommended to rack up as many of them at the beginning on easy when fighting the mutants. Upgrading it is generally inadvisable, since there are far more powerful weapons that are worth upgrading.

AR9 Valkyrie

The standard assault rifle found on Katorga 12, and carried by most of the enemy forces you encounter. Fits 30 bullets per magazine and has a useful red-dot sight. Generally recommended to upgrade, seeing as to it is easy to scavenge ammo for it, and it becomes absolutely deadly in the later stages of the game.

Volk S4

Automatic shotgun that is deadly on close ranges. While it is generally less useful against soldiers (since you have to come up to them before shooting), it is deadly against most of the mutants, who usually close in for a close combat attack. Since it brings down even the toughest enemies (excluding bosses) in 2-3 shots, it is generally inadvisable to upgrade it. Becomes even more useless after acquiring the autocannon.

Kasimov SNV-E99

The main sniper rifle in the game that is also capable of slowing down time. It can be noted that the rifle does more damage when time is slowed down. Generally, while the sniper rifle is not particularly useful in most shootouts, it is worth considering upgrading because of the high amounts of damage it causes, which can be useful against the more powerful enemies.

Autocannon

If bluntly described, it is in essence a minigun. Found towards the middle of the game, it is advised to exploit it as much as possible for the rest of the trip, since it is similar in behavior to the Valkyrie, but has a much larger magazine and does far more damage upon upgrade. Highly advised to prioritize when distributing tech points.

Spikeshot

Generally, very powerful railgun that deals large amounts of damage. Particularly useful, since it highlights the heat signatures of all enemies in dark areas, but has a large disadvantage in the fact that it

takes a small amount of time to charge upon before shooting. Generally, similarly to the Kasimov, it is not generally advised to upgrade the Spikshot before some other guns, seeing as to the fact that is has a very specific use. However, the one hit kill for most enemies could be a strong bargain.

Dethex Launcher

Special purpose explosive/grenade launcher. It can either act as a typical grenade launcher with a large magazine, it also deploys a bomb that could be controlled manually. Generally inadvisable to upgrade, since it is very hard to find ammo for it, and because the special guided bomb ability is rarely used due to intensity of the combat.

Seeker

A highly powerful gun that shoots one bullet at a time, but it is a one hit kill for all enemies other than bosses. Due to the fact that the bullet is explosive, it deals massive damage to everyone. What makes it even more devastating on the battlefield, is the fact that you can control the trajectory of every bullet from third person view, assuring you can kill enemies hiding behind cover. Due to the amount of damage it does, it cannot be upgraded, and can only be used in certain parts of the game.

RLS-7

All The RLS-7 can only be picked up from fallen enemies, and then be used only for a couple shots. Acting as a typical rocket launcher, it does colossal amounts of damage, but has very scarce ammunition and takes a long time to re-load. Cannot be upgraded. weapons except the Seeker and the Rocket Launcher may be upgraded through the player's weapon locker using found weapon tech. It should also be noted that the Seeker and the Rocket Launcher are not available in the player's weapon locker.

All of these powers use E99 energy, although some (Age on an enemy, Reversion, Impulse) consume far more resources than others.

The game features two multiplayer game types: Extermination and Monsters vs. Soldiers. Multiplayer is class-based. Two rounds make up a match.

Extermination features a team of soldiers who must renew beacons and defend them for 20 seconds. The other team, the monsters, must stop them. There is a time limit of five minutes per beacon. 3 beacons make the match.

Monsters vs. Soldiers is essentially team death match which features a team of soldiers vs. a team of monster.

All soldiers also have access to the Centurion and one other weapon of the player's choice that is chosen through the loadout screen.

*Supported Chipsets for Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7

- All NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB RAM and better chipsets (excluding 9400 cards)

- All ATI Radeon X1800 256 MB RAM and better (excludes X1800 GTO, HD2400, HD2600, and HD3450)

- Motherboard integrated video chipsets not supported

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Singularity (Game) - Giant Bomb

Introduction

This write-up will be primarily concerned with the concept of a space-time singularity, for example the one that lies at the heart of a black hole. As noted above, the singularity is a region of space and time where the current accepted physical models; relativity and the quantum mechanical standard model, can make no predictions and offer no insight to what lies within that region.

When an object forms a black hole its gravity overwhelms its matter, crushing it into a smaller and smaller region, and physics as yet provides no mechanism for this collapse to stop. Logically the matter occupies a smaller and smaller region of space-time, all the way down to infinitely small. In 1965 Roger Penrose in fact proved that singularities must occur in gravitational collapses, regardless of the symmetry or other properties of the initial mass. Right now physics has enough tools to model this collapse right down to the Planck length.When you use a microscope to observe something small, you are limited by the wavelength you are using. A light microscope can only resolve details the size of the wavelength of visible light. Due to the wave particle duality nature of quantum mechanics however, you can use particles such as electrons to resolve smaller details. If you boost these particles to higher energies, their frequency increases, and you can again resolve smaller details. In a way that's what particle accelerators are for; particles of such high energy are used, you can resolve the very fundamental particles that make up everything else. When you get down to regions the size of the Planck length however, the wavelength you need has an mass/energy (E=mc^2) sufficiently large enough to form a black hole! However, if there is (as relativity and the standard model suggest), no limit to the 'smallness' of space, then there is still (in the same way you have an infinite number of integers, and an infinite number of reals between zero and one), the planck volume has still has 'space' for an infinity of things to happen!

The next physical models (such as super-string theory, loop quantum gravity) do not have this problem, as space/time is quantised; there is a fundamental unit to everything, past which or course you can't see. In fact there's hints that the 'theory of everything' must be 'background independent', that is the physics doesn't take place on some abstract mathmatical background, called space/time, rather space/time is a patchwork of discreet entities. As you've defined what the smallest bit of space is, then this must be a singularity in this formulation.

As I said physics can offer no answers as to what lies within the (possibly) infinitely large region from the Planck size to the singularity. For a long time physicists hoped the question was irrelevant as it appears anything massive enough to collapse its matter down to infinity will be a black hole and therefore have an event horizon associated with it. Originally this event horizon was a one-way membrane, you can put matter, energy and information past it, but nothing can come back out of it. Any singularity hidden inside the black hole can therefore never affect the rest of the universe, ever, and can therefore be forgotten about. This cosmic censorship hypothesis (suggested by Penrose in 1969) says you can never have a naked singularity; it must always be clothed by an event horizon.

Of course really you can't just let the problem lie there, several important hypothesis that stem from the accepted correct (if incomplete) physics mean you have to seriously think about the consequences of allowing physics to 'make' a singularity. Firstly cosmology has long sought to explain the origin and evolution of the universe. Observations by Edwin Hubble seemed to suggest all the galaxies are moving away from each other, at a rate proportional to their distance from us. This implied that once they were very close together, in fact tracing backwards infinitely close together...This lead to the formulation of the big bang theory, where the entire universe essentially exploded from an infinitely small region; of course this is a singularity!. Every observation made has so far has confirmed some kind of big bang occurred, refinements such as cosmological inflation don't alter the fundamental fact that the theory must have contain a singularity, a fact proved by Hawking. As you can't see past the Planck length, you can't make predictions what came out of the singularity at the dawn of time, in fact as I said above you could regard the evolution of the universe from the singularity up past the Planck length to have as rich a history as our own universe since the Planck length. As what came before must determine what comes after, cosmology has a real problem with singularities..... Secondly work by Professor Stephen Hawking and other have shown black holes are not in fact completely black, and do in fact radiate at a wavelength proportional to their size. (Please see Hawking radiation for more). A consequence of this is they might radiate away, (over time) all their energy, which could leave a naked singularity behind. What effect a naked singularity would have on the rest of the universe, I don't think anybody knows, I'm pretty sure you can't in fact calculate the effect of this space-time infinity.

Also it's just occurred to me, if you allow sizes smaller than the Planck length to exist, (even if you can't measure them) then when a black hole decays past a certain point, it can emit radiation/particles of sufficient energy to again be black hole, containing a singularity. This would be a self-perpetuating growth, a free lunch of infinite size, something, which I personally do not believe, is possible.

So the 'old' physics seems to predict singularities as a logical consequence, but cannot offer any theories of their behaviour; the mathematics simply breaks down. The current hot 'new' physics is superstring theory and its partner m-theory. In these space-time is quantised in that it can only come in 'packets' limited to about the Planck length in size. These strings or branes do away with the concept of infinitely small and in doing solve a lot of problems in physics. In these theories (and there are many, and no-one knows how the one that describes our universe came to be chosen) a black hole would collapse to a string or a brane and no further. The question then arises can the string/brane that is the end product of the gravitational collapse a.k.a. the singularity, contain the necessary energy and information necessary to describe the black hole?

I think in this string/brane picture the cosmic censorship can be maintained, I believe that the singularity becomes a topologically complicated knot of 11 dimensional space-time. The emission of particles from the event horizon represents decay of this 'singular' knot, as it decays, it loses energy/mass and the horizon shrinks. At the point where the horizon shrinks to nothing, the 'singularity' finally decays in a flash of Hawking radiation. I think by redefining the singularity in such a way might help some of the problems involved in black hole entropy also, (I humbly refer to my node there...). Recent work in knot theory has shown that knots may in fact be quantised also. This would mean that some modes of decay for knot/singularity might well be forbidden, which could give rise to 'absorbance lines' in the spectra of black hole radiation. If two cosmic rays of sufficient energy were to collide they could form a black hole in the order of the Planck size, and the above effect could be seen as it decays....

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Singularity - Everything2.com

SingularityU announced today that it is launching an annual SingularityU Canada Summit.

Canadian SU alumni banded together to bring the Summit to Canada, and the founding members include BMO, CIBC, Deloitte, FairVentures, Goodmans LLP, Google, the Ontario Government, SunCor, RBC, Rogers Communications, TD, and Scotiabank.

Canada is at a critical junction it has the potential to lead the world and solve the biggest challenges that are out there but risks letting other global ecosystems attract better talent and innovation, says Salim Ismail, a serial Canadian entrepreneur and founding executive director of SU. By bringing the best of the world to Canada, and broadcasting Canadas expertise back to the world, the SingularityU Canada Summits will help to drive that critical mindset by transforming participants understanding of where weve come from, where were going, and whats possible.

The Summit is meant to be a jumping-off point for Singularity University to establish a permanent presence in Canada, though how that programming will work and whether the SU will establish physical campuses is still under consideration.

The SU Canada Summit will include sessions on the future of technology, energy, mobility, and healthcare, while exploring emerging tech like AI and nanotechnology. The goal is to inspire attendees to positively impact the world. SingularityU Canada Summit plans to work closely with innovation hubs across Canada.

The Summit will be held on October 11 to 12 at the Evergreen Brickworks in Toronto, with plans to host in a different city each year.

To apply for the summit, check out the website

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Singularity University launches inaugural Canada Summit | BetaKit - BetaKit

From domestication to selective breeding and right up to DNA editing, humans have long sought to bend the genetic makeup of animals and plants to our needs. Now an international team has taken a significant step towards building the genome of a complex organism from scratcha major milestone in the quest for fully synthetic life.

Led by Jef Boeke, a geneticist at New York University Langone Medical Center, the Synthetic Yeast Project (Sc2.0) has now built five new synthetic chromosomes for the single-celled fungus S. cerevisiae, more commonly known as Bakers yeast.

Boekes lab had previously synthesized the first synthetic yeast chromosome in 2014, meaning that more than a third of the organisms genome16 chromosomes in totalhas now been replaced with engineered alternatives. The consortium has also finished designing the entire genome and expects to have synthesized working versions of all the chromosomes within the year.

Sc2.0 is not the first major effort to create synthetic life. In 2010, geneticist Craig Venter manufactured the entire genome of the bacteria Mycoplasma mycoides and transplanted it into another Mycoplasma species, creating the first self-replicating synthetic organism. This genome was almost identical to the original, but then last year his team released new research in which they had whittled down the organisms genome to just 473 genesthe bare bones required for life.

As impressive as these feats are, though, M. mycoides is far simpler than yeast, with just a single chromosome. Yeast is a eukaryote, a group that includes all complex lifelike plants and animalsand is also at the heart of crucial processes like baking, brewing and, more recently, synthesizing chemicals.

The organism has been genetically modified to mass-produce insulin, antibiotics, vaccines, biofuel and even perfume. Lab experiments have shown yeast can be tweaked to produce a wide variety of chemicals, and it has even been used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells.

All of this has been done using established genetic engineering approaches, where sections of the organisms DNA are substituted with useful genes from elsewhere. But the ability to build the organisms entire genome from the bottom up could give scientists far greater control over what the yeast is able to produce.

This work sets the stage for completion of designer synthetic genomes to address unmet needs in medicine and industry, Boeke said in a press release. Beyond any one application, the papers confirm that newly-created systems and software can answer basic questions about the nature of genetic machinery by reprogramming chromosomes in living cells.

The breakthrough was revealed in a series of seven papers published in a special edition of the journal Science last Thursday March 9, featuring more than 200 authors from labs across the world. In the main paper, researchers led by Joel Bader, a professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, explain how the synthetic genome has been redesigned to make it easier to manipulate.

By removing non-coding DNA, the new genome has been made roughly eight percent smaller than the natural one, and also includes 17 rather than 16 chromosomes. Thats because all of the yeasts transfer RNA (tRNA)responsible for putting amino acids in the right order when building proteinsnormally spread out through the genome have all been put into a single extra chromosome. This helps boost the robustness of the genome because tRNA are notoriously unstable and prone to mutation due to how often they are transcribed.

The new design also includes a biochemical system known as SCRaMbLE that makes it much easier to customize chromosomes. Some 5,000 DNA tags placed throughout the genome can be targeted with a mutation that causes protein to randomly modify the organisms genetic code. Scientists can then see if the changes lead to any desirable characteristics, such as producing interesting new chemicals or strains able to survive in extreme environments.

Were shortcutting evolution by millions of years, Patrick Cai, whose lab at the University of Edinburgh is building the 17th chromosome, told Wired. Our goal here is not engineering a particular kind of yeast, but the kind of yeast that is amenable to engineering.

Key to the international collaboration at the heart of the project was the creation of a piece of software called BioStudio. Effectively a piece of version control software, the program allows multiple users to simultaneously edit the genome and accept and reject changes. Most importantly, it allows rollbacks to previous designs when problems crop up.

Translating this code into real-life chromosomes follows a similar incremental process, with small chunks of genome being sequentially introduced into live yeast that is then compared against natural yeast to see how the modified strains do. If the synthetic yeast encounters problems, the researchers know which section is carrying the fault and can go back and debug the faulty code.

One of the most impressive aspects of the research is the wholesale changes the group has made to the organisms genetic code. The fact that they were able to do this across five different chromosomes, and the fitness is still similar to wild-type cells, thats pretty impressive, Dan Gibson at Synthetic Genomics, a biotech company developing synthetic chromosomes in another yeast species, told New Scientist.

Genome synthesis is not simple or cheap, though. Harvard University geneticist George Church told Nature its unlikely to replace tools like CRISPRa workhorse of genetic engineering that allows targeted genetic edits by adding or removing short sections of DNAin anything other than the most complicated rewrites of the genetic code.

Nonetheless, the research has dramatically expanded the scope of whats possible in genetic engineering. Theyve been able to induce radical changes in the code, so it emboldens you to be even more radical, said Church.

Image Credit: CDC/Maxine Jalbert, Dr. Leo Kaufman

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How Fully Synthetic Complex Life Just Got a Lot Closer - Singularity Hub

The towering trees with their sprawling branches in the redwood forests have always reminded me of neurons in the brain.

Like trees, each neuron extends out tortuous, delicate branches in a quest to make contact with others in its ecosystem. By communicating through thousands of contact pointssynapsesdotted along their branches, neurons coordinate their activation patterns across the brain. In this way, bits and pieces of information integrate into unified experiences that are our memories, feelings and awareness of the world.

In other words, the secret of conscious thought may lie in the connections of neuronal trees.

In the 140 years of mapping neuronal projection, scientists have seen it all: stubby ones, lopsided ones, and shockingly long branches that thread all the way from the back of the head, the brainstem, to the very front.

But the brain has more surprises in store.

This week at the BRAIN Initiative meeting in Maryland, Dr. Christof Koch, the president of the Allen Institute of Brain Science based in Seattle, announced the discovery of three neurons with branches that extensively span both hemispheres of the brain.

Incredibly, these neurons sit in the claustrum, a mysterious, thin sheet of cells that Koch believes is the seat of consciousness. Among the three, the largest neuron wrapped around the entire circumference of the mouse brain like a crown of thornssomething never seen before.

A single neuron, projecting across the entire cortex! Absolutely astonishing! Koch exclaimed during his talk.

These results are the latest to come out of a national, concerted effort to map the projections of individual neurons throughout the entire brain.

To hook up or troubleshoot electronic systems, the first step is to dig up their wiring diagrams. The same principle holds for deciphering the brain.

Since information processing in neurons is deeply rooted in their structure, scientists believe that building a map of these connections can eventually help us crack the neural codethat is, the electrochemical language in which neurons talk to one another.

Its a behemoth of a task.

The brain has billions of neurons, including thousands of cell types connected into circuits by trillions of synapses. To trace neuronal projections, scientists generally inject a virus or a dye into a single neuron, and wait for the labeling agent to travel down the projections.

Scientists then thinly cut the brain, image each section under the microscope and manually trace the dye or virus. Its slow, its tedious and scaling the process to the entire brain is completely unfathomable.

To automate the process, Koch and his collaborator Dr. Qingming Luo at Wuhan University in China devised a method that slices and images the brain continuously.

The team focused on neurons in the claustrum, a beautiful part of the brain that doesnt get enough recognition, jokes Koch.

They engineered a line of transgenetic mice so that a drug activates a gene in the brain that produces a green florescent protein. Under UV light, neurons labeled with this protein glow a brilliant green, allowing them to pop out from the dark background.

The researchers then carefully fed the mice a small amount of the drug so that only a few neurons were able to switch on the genes. This is a good thing, since a sea of glowing, intertwined neurons would make it impossible to tease out individual projection trees.

The scientists then embedded the brain in a Jello-like substance, and took an image of the top surface of the brain with a microscope. Next, they used a diamond blade to precisely slice off an ultra-thin layer of tissue, and imaged the next layer. After about 10,000 cycles, the resulting images were stitched back up to digitally recreate, in 3D, the three glowing cells.

This technique allows us to gain structural informationwith uniform precision and high resolution for the individual whole brain, says Luo in an email to Singularity Hub, Our technique is revealing more and more curious structures of neurons and circuits.

The fact that the cells were found in the claustrum is perhaps not that surprising.

The enigmatic claustrum is a thin, irregularly-shaped sheet of cells tucked away under the cortex. The nondescript brain region caught Kochs eye when imaging studies showed that it may be the most connected structure in the brain, based on volume.

[Looking] at the white matter fibers coursing to and from the claustrum reveal that it is a neural Grand Central Station. Almost every region of the cortex sends fibers to the claustrum, explains Koch.

And according to Koch, connection is the secret sauce for consciousness.

Virtually all scholars agree that the defining characteristic of any subjective experience, once it reaches the consciousness level, is that its unified, he says.

When you look at the face of a loved one, for example, brain regions that support sight, smell, memories and emotions all activate individually, and these pieces of informationboth external and internal perceptionintegrate into a unified conscious experience.

The claustrum, given its massive connections, may be coordinating the inputs and outputs like a conductor of consciousness, says Koch.

Kochs theory is hard to prove, though a medical case in 2014 gives it tangential support.

While stimulating various brain regions of an alert epileptic woman to identify the source of her seizures, neurosurgeons zapped the nerve bundles near the claustrum, and the woman became unresponsive.

She stopped reading, stared blankly into space, didnt respond to auditory and visual commands and slowed her breathing, the team reported at the time. As soon as stimulation stopped, the woman restarted all activities, without any memory of the event. The neurosurgeons repeated the test over two days, and 10 out of 10 times the same thing happened.

To Koch, the finding that neurons in the claustrum project so extensively across the brain further adds evidence for his theory.

This really supports, or is at least compatible, with the idea that Francis Crick and I wrote about in terms of the involvement of the claustrum in consciousness, he says.

According to an email from the Allen Institute to Singularity Hub, the team is in the process of packaging up their results into a scientific manuscript, and details of the technique will be released to scientists around the world.

Other neuroscientists are more hesitant to link claustrum neurons to consciousness, but applaud Koch and Luos new imaging technique.

Its quite admirable, says Dr. Rafael Yuste at Columbia University to Nature.

According to Yuste, the technology could help scientists better identify different cell types in the brain based on morphology. The 3D reconstructions can then be compared to other datasets, such as gene expression patterns, to better understand the different neuron populationsand how they interactin our brains.

As for Koch, he plans to keep mapping neurons in the claustrum, although the technology is currently still too expensive to reconstruct the entire brain region. The team is also looking at ways to further develop the technique, so that it can image multiple neurons in multiple brain regions at the same time.

Bit by bit, the goal is to reconstruct the entire brain, says Koch.

If the brain is a language, were still learning the alphabet, remarks Yuste. But every characterization of every single neuron brings us closer to identifying key components of neural networks that control our thoughts, feelings, behavior, and yesmaybe even consciousness.

Image Credit:Shutterstock

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Are These Giant Neurons the Seat Of Consciousness in the Brain? - Singularity Hub

Would your burger taste as delicious if it was made by a robot?

Youll soon be able to find out at CaliBurger restaurants in the US and worldwide.

Cali Group partnered with Miso Robotics to develop Flippy the burger robot, which made its debut this week at the Pasadena, California CaliBurger.

Miso and Cali Group arent calling Flippy a mere robot, though; its a robotic kitchen assistant. And its not the first of its kind. San Francisco-based Momentum Machines has also been working on a burger bot for a few years.

Flippy brings some fresh tech to the table (no pun intended). Whereas in the past a typical assembly line robot (say at a car factory) needed everything lined up perfectly in front of themprecisely and consistently positionedto do their work, robots like Flippy are using the latest round of machine learning software to locate and identify whats in front of them and learn from experience.

That is, Flippys flexibility is a great example of robots becoming more flexible, in general.

Misos CEO compared Flippy to a self-driving car because of the way both use feedback loops to reach higher levels of performance.

Flippy doesnt look much like how you may imagine a robot either. Its body is a small cart on wheels, and it has no legs and just one arm. The arms six axes give it a wide range of motion and allow it to perform multiple functions (as opposed to simply moving up and down or back and forth).

Theres an assortment of detachable tools the bot can use to help it cook, including tongs, scrapers, and spatulas, and a pneumatic pump lets it swap one tool for another, rather than a human having to change it out.

Combined with its AI software, these tools will allow Flippy to eventually expand its chefdom beyond just burgersit could learn to make items like chicken or fish.

Some of Flippys key tasks include pulling raw patties from a stack and placing them on the grill, tracking each burgers cook time and temperature, and transferring cooked burgers to a plate.

Flippy cant single-handedly take a burger from raw to ready, though. Rather than adding extra ingredients itself, the bot alerts human cooks when its time to put cheese on a grilling patty. People also need to add sauce and toppings once the patty is cooked, as well as wrap the burgers that are ready to eat. Reportedly, Momentum Machines is working to include some of these additional burger assembly steps into its system.

Sensors on the grill-facing side of the bot take in thermal and 3D data, and multiple cameras help Flippy see its surroundings. The bot knows how many burgers it should be cooking at any given time thanks to a system that digitally sends tickets back to the kitchen from the restaurants counter.

Two of the bots most appealing features for restaurateurs are its compactness and adaptabilityit can be installed in front of or next to any standard grill or fryer, which means restaurants can start using Flippy without having to expand or reconfigure their kitchens.

CaliBurger has committed to using Flippy in at least 50 of its restaurants worldwide over the next two years.

What does this mean for the chains current line cooks, and for the future of low-skilled jobs in the restaurant industry?

Misos CEO acknowledged that his companys product may put thousands of people out of work, but he also said, Tasting food and creating recipes will always be the purview of a chef. And restaurants are gathering places where we go to interact with each other. Humans will always play a very critical role in the hospitality side of the business given the social aspects of food. We just dont know what the new roles will be yet in the industry.

Cali Groups chairman envisions Flippy working next to human employees, not replacing them completely. But he also noted that the bot is part of a "broader vision for creating a unified operating system that will control all aspects of a restaurant, from in-store interactive gaming entertainment to automated ordering and cooking processes, 'intelligent' food delivery and real-time detection of operating errors and pathogens."

As more restaurant operations become automated, demand for low-skilled jobs like line cooks will decline, but there may be a jump in demand for high-skilled workers like engineers. Even if the number of total jobs stays more or less stable, though, it will be difficult to bridge the resulting skills gap. One possible solution is for the same companies whose technology is eliminating jobs to invest resources in retraining displaced workers to fill newly created jobs that mayrequire different skills.

Meanwhile, robot-made burgers may bring benefits both to consumers and to the restaurant industry; money saved on wages can be applied to sourcing better-quality ingredients, for example, and having machines take over a kitchens most hazardous tasks will improve overall safety and efficiency.

Image Credit: Miso Robotics

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New Burger Robot Will Take Command of the Grill in 50 Fast Food Restaurants - Singularity Hub

As I start to look at the emerging trends of 2017 from the vantage ofIndieBio, where we see hundreds of biotech startup applications and technologies per year, a few key themes are already emerging. Even as political landscapes change, science and technology continue to push forward.

Most of us have seen science fiction shows that show future doctors regrowing and replacing entire organs. That fiction is now becoming a reality with cell therapies from companies like Juno (curing two infants with leukemia of their previously treatment resistant cancers with engineered T-cells), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) pioneered by the Nobel prize winning scientist, Shinya Yamanaka that can becomeany cell in the body, growing organoids (mini organs with some function of a fully grown organ like thestomach organoids grown by researchers in Ohio), and entirely re-grown organs.

There are a plethora of biotechs focused on developing the next generation of regenerative therapies. United Therapeutics is focused on growing humanized organs in Xenograph models (pigs),OneSkinis focused on growing and regenerating human skin, and companies likeScaled Biolabshave grown kidney organoids in the lab (with all 27 cells present in a full kidney present in the mini-organ).

Researchers in Taiwan have managed to sequence a little under half of the simple fruit flys brain with single neuron resolution over the last decade. Thats60,000 neurons with a resolution of 1 gigabyte each. The human brain dwarfs the fruit fly with 86 million neurons. Using the same imaging protocol, it was estimated it would take 17 million years to image the human brain, but luckily, technology continues to advance and accelerate in neuroscience.

Continued improvements in knowledge of other species, better resolution technologies from MRIs, CAT scans and EEGs, combined with machine learning, have resulted in dramatically improved understanding of the human brains functioning. Companies likeTruusthave developed technologies based off of high-dimensional 3D representations of energy flows within the brain (modeled off of the CERN particle accelerator) to improve our understanding of energy flows. The human (brain) connectome is being mapped, and were learning how to expand our treatments to include not just classical therapeutics and electrical stimulation, but also the use of ultrasound and magnetic stimulation (likeBerkeley UltrasoundandNeuroQuore).

Were also now exploring the use of previously banned substances like LSD, psilocybin, ketamine, and other psychoactive compounds for the treatment of depression, PTSD, and other mood and anxiety disorders with very promising results. In one study psilocybin (magic mushroom) caused a remission in previously treatment-resistant depression, an incredible life-changing result for these patients.

Beyond just the understanding and treatment of disorders of the brain, we stand on the cusp of true human enhancement with improved human-machine interfaces directly with the brain. Bryan Johnson founded Kernel, a company dedicated to creating a true implantable brain-machine interface, and Elon Musk claims he will shortly release information on a neural lace interface hes been developing for humanity. Human augmentation of the brain is just a short few years away.

It isnt software that will eat the world, its intelligence. Machine learning started to penetrate biotech R&D a few years back, with AI that could run and test hypotheses, in fact findingnovel regenerative pathwaysin planarium worms (worms that can be cut in half and regenerate).

At the start of this year, we saw the first FDA-approved application ofdeep learning for diagnosing heart conditions.Arterys system takes an average of 15 seconds to produce a result for one case which would take a professional human analyst between 30 minutes to one hour. The most interesting aspect of this is the more data, the better of a cardiologist Arterys system becomes.

Other companies likeMendel.aiare focusing on unleashing machine learning on understanding individual cancer cases and, at first, recommending clinical trials. They aim to eventually recommend treatments for patients that should exceed any one oncologists knowledge base with the latest published data.

Other companies likeAtomwise,GEA enzymes,andA2Aare designing better molecules, enzymes, and peptides for the treatment of diseasesin-silicoand novel foods augmented by machine learning.

This, however, is just the start for machine intelligence, which will affect everything from food, consumer goods, hospital informatics, logistics, diagnostics, treatment, and epidemiology. IBMs Watson is the past. Deep learning algorithms pioneered by GooglesTensorFlowand their new spin-off Verily, which just raised$800m at the start of this year to bring intelligence to healthcare, are the future.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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3 Exciting Biotech Trends to Watch Closely in 2017 - Singularity Hub

March is objectively the worst month in New York City for several reasons, mostly involving weather. But theres one bright spot for brooding New Yorkers this month, and thats The Metrographs latest film series, The Singularity.

The Singularity is a mini sci-fi film festival of sorts, running from March 17th to April 3rd. The series will feature an impressive range of films: classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, campier movies like RoboCop and The Terminator, and art house features like Wong Kar-Wais 2046 and Lynn Hershman-Leesons Teknolust.

Youve got 10 days to prepare

A Metrograph press release says the series contemplates the ever-encroaching future moment when artificial superintelligence will overtake human intelligenceknown as the coming Singularitywith films spanning ninety years of moving image history.

Beginning on March 24th, the theater will also run a one-week revival of Mamoru Oshiis 1995 film Ghost in the Shell in advance of the Scarlett Johansson remake out the following week.

The theater hasnt yet announced times for The Singularity screenings, but the entire lineup is here.

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NYC's Metrograph theater is running a sci-fi film series featuring Blade Runner, Ex Machina, and Metropolis - The Verge