Category Archives: Futurism

In BriefJuno has revealed data from its first 5 flybys of Jupiter, andscientists are surprised that much of what we believed about theplanet was wrong. Juno's ultimate goal is to reveal more aboutplanet formation and the origins of the Solar System. Junos Revelations

NASAs Juno spacecraft has just revealed a wealth of new information about our Solar Systems biggest resident, Jupiter, and its now clear that everything we thought we knew about the gas giant may have been wrong. The first observations were made when the spacecraft dipped closer to the tops of the clouds covering the planets surface and passed over the poles.

What weve learned so far is Earth-shattering. Or should I say, Jupiter-shattering, Junos principal investigator at the South Research Institute, Scott Bolton, said in a press release. Discoveries about its composition, magnetosphere, and poles are as stunning as the photographs the mission is generating.

At the planetspoles, there are massive, oval-shaped cyclones, completely different from the polar regions observed on Saturn. Some of these cyclones were observed to be so enormous that they approached widths of 1,400 kilometers (900 miles), making them 10 times larger than the most massive cyclones seen on Earth. These storms also soar so high that they were observed leaving Jupiters atmosphere, extending almost 100 kilometers (62 miles) high.

The entire gaseous planet is enveloped by a powerful magnetic field, and solar winds cause the magnetosphere itself to expand and contract. Passing through the field, the spacecraft detected odd sounds. Jupiter is also home to strange northern lights totally different from those here on Earth.

Perhaps the strangest surprise was revealed beneath the planets clouds, where Juno measured the atmospheres thermal structure. The probe sent microwaves into the deep atmosphere and detected gigantic weather systems created by ammonia plumes emanating from the equatora wider version of Earths own trade winds.

Juno explored the Jovian magnetic field the Solar Systems largest object in the second study. Although researchers knew the field was massive, they were surprised to learn that it is actually twice as powerful as predicted with previous models, 10 times more powerful than Earths, and far more uneven and dynamic than before believed. And, while Earths magnetic field originates from its core, Jupiters varied, patchy magnetosphere may originate closer to its surface.

The real purpose of the Juno mission has been to learn more about how the planets in our Solar System formed. This, in turn, can allow us to better understand how all planets form, and better comprehend the nature of the Universe. The craft is doing this by mapping the gas giant in detail and gathering data on the atmosphere, magnetic field, and inner structure of the massive planet.

Earth and Jupiters different magnetospheres produce vastly different bow shock experiences as spacecraft pass through the magnetic fields. In fact, while passing through Earths magnetic field is a uniform experience, passing through Jupiters changes, depends on whether the magnetosphere is expanding or contracting in response to solar winds. Differences in the auroral emissions of the two planets are also striking.

Jupiter has more to tell us, and Juno is on the case. It has thus far completed only 5 of 33 planned flyby investigations, so we can expect more strange revelations. Next up, on July 11, Juno will pass over the Great Red Spot, and hopefully tell us more about the most famous storm in the Solar System and perhaps about our Universes origins as well.

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NASA's Juno Reported Back, and Things Are Getting Weird - Futurism

Nor-Shippings opening conference asked whether shipping is in a state of denial when it comes to disruption. Seba: Why do smart people at smart organisations consistently fail to anticipate or lead market disruption?

Panellists in Oslo agree disruptive change is inevitable, but have very different details in mind

IS shipping in a state of denial when it comes to disruption or has the echo chamber of glib futurist forecasting misunderstood the inherent adaptability of an industry built on constantly changing trade patterns?

That was the crux of the debate as Nor-Shippings opening conference got under way in Oslo on Tuesday.

Disruptive talks had been promised by the event organisers and were duly delivered in bulk as keynote speaker and self-styled disruptive guru Tony Seba launched into a compelling treatise on the inevitable epoch shift looming large for shipowners.

Why do smart people at smart organisations consistently fail to anticipate or lead market disruption? he asked, before explaining why interlocking technological advances will result in self-driving electric vehicles dominating the global market by 2030.

Electric vehicles are 10 times cheaper to power than their fossil fuel equivalents, he argued, adding that self-driving models effectively render the decision to own a car economically senseless.

Its a basic economic choice and we have already gone from ownership to on-demand models everywhere else, he said.

By 2030, 95% of passenger kilometres will be in autonomous electric vehicles, resulting in 80% fewer cars on the road.

Nor-Shipping 2017

Read our dedicated page on the international maritime community in Oslo, for a week of top-quality exhibition, high-level conferences and prime networking opportunities.

The implications of such a shift are obvious enough, not least in terms of massively reduced oil demand, radically reduced component shipping and significant shifts in trade patterns.

However, Mr Seba took the argument further, suggesting that electric, autonomous shipping was not the fanciful prediction of a far-out futurist, but an economic inevitability.

Heading up the counter-argument to the increasingly herd-like disruptive lobby, Grieg Group chair Elisabeth Grieg pointed out that change has been something of a constant theme in shipping over the centuries and disruption was hardly an alien concept to most shipowners.

Profound change is happening and will fundamentally change how we do business, she conceded, but those with the foresight to adapt and change will always survive.

Digitalisation will change what our businesses do, but global transportation will remain in some form, she said.

Tsakos Energy Navigation president Nikolas Tsakos was less measured in his response, arguing that autonomous very large crude carriers were never going to happen and shipowners were always on their feet when it comes to shifting markets and black swan risks.

I would like to start smoking whatever youre smoking, he quipped in response to the Californian professors forecast.

Nevertheless, the shipping representatives all conceded that disruptive change was not just likely, but inevitable and the impact on their businesses would be significant.

I see an acceleration in the changes we are facing as an industry, said Gulf Navigation chief executive Khamis Juma Buamim. Shipping is going through a transformation right now, but a significant part of it is cost cutting, not just technology and digitisation.

One point that did strike a chord with both the panel and the wider audience was Mr Sebas response to the question of whether there was any room to invest in ships any more.

Do you need to invest in ships? Yes. Just not the ones you have now, he said referring to a slew of forecasts anticipating a gravitational shift towards different vessel types, smaller parcel sizes and, in many segments, fewer cargoes shipped.

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Disruption denial vs fanciful futurism: Nor-Shipping debate continues - Lloyd's List

In Brief British researchers have found that the amount of coffee you drink correlates to your chances of developing liver cancer. The research claims the same applies for Decaf, but don't drink it all day just yet... A Dose-Dependent Cancer Cure?

Researchers from the University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh have found that its possible that the more coffee you drink, the less likely you are to develop hepatocellular cancer (HCC) the most prolific form of liver cancer. Analyzing data from 26 studies, which involved more than 2.25 million participants in total, they concluded that people who drink 1 cup of coffee per day have a 20% reduced risk, 2 cups per day reduces risk by 35%, and 3 cups per day decreased risk by 50%. These findings showed that decaffeinated coffee also affects your risk, but the team could not deduce the precise amount.

Lead author Dr. Oliver Kennedy, a member of the Primary Care and Population Sciences Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton, told The Guardian: Coffee is widely believed to possess a range of health benefits, and these latest findings suggest it could have a significant effect on liver cancer risk. Coffee has also been said to havepainkilling capabilities and the potential toprevent heart attacks.

The main consequence of this study is that doctors may be able to use coffee tohelp in the prevention of liver cancer. Its a step that is both inexpensive and easy for people to incorporate into their daily lives, if they havent already. These benefits are also present in decaffeinated coffee, meaning that this means of prevention would also be accessible to those who cant or do not drink caffeinated coffee.

The study authors wrote It may be important for developing coffee as a lifestyle intervention in chronic liver disease, as decaffeinated coffee might be more acceptable to those who do not drink coffee or who limit their coffee consumption because of caffeine-related symptoms.

Now, this development is not necessarily an encouragement to drown yourself in Starbucks. There are dangers in consuming too much caffeine, and much more research still needs to be done before coffee can be used medically with certainty. There is not enough existing research into the possible repercussions of consuming large quantities of caffeine over time, especially as a preventative medical measure. Hopefully in the future, preventing liver cancer will be cheap, easy, and delicious.

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Scientists Just Found a New Weapon That Can Combat Cancer: Coffee - Futurism

In Brief Cryptocurrencies are rising in popularity, thanks to Bitcoin, the world's most famous decentralized digital coin. With growing mainstream uses and increasing market value, could Bitcoin be the future of financial transactions? The Cryptocurrency Trend

The rise of Bitcoin has become undeniable: while it was once notoriously relegated to the darkest corners of the web, its ascension to become one of the worlds most popular cryptocurrencies has been rapid. Its become even more difficult to deny in the last few months.

In 2016, Bitcoin surged past the value of all bank-issued currency. Its been breaking all-time high market valuation recordssince February even momentarily surpassing goldbackin March. Currently, Bitcoin is at valued at $2,482.05 (at time of publication).

Things have been downright phenomenal for Bitcoin as of late. Its hit another record just this week, landing on the top 5 Google searches in the United States on Monday. Those of you whove been following Bitcoins growing legacy are probably already familiar with why last Monday was special: seven years ago, on May 22, 2010, someone bought two pizzas using 10,000 Bitcoin. Today, that would be worth some $20 million. That date is now celebrated among Bitcoin users as Bitcoin Pizza Day a remembrance of possibly the most expensive pizzas ever bought and for Bitcoins meteoricrise to fame.

Bitcoin may have some competition hot on its heels, though: anothercryptocurrency called Ethereumis coming in at number 18 in the top search results. Ethereums rising popularity isespecially of interest among enterprise users.

Bitcoins growing popularity isnt just a testament to the future of cryptocurrency; its also proof of the reliability of the technology behind it called blockchain. As a potentially more secure and decentralized system of data ledgers, blockchain has attracted a great deal of attentionfrom a number of sectors, although its becomeespecially popular in finance. Still, its proving to not be limited to such fiscal ventures. Indeed, the future of financeas a whole could be in cryptocurrency and a blockchain-based economy.

Originally posted here:
Bitcoin and Ethereum Were Two of Google's Most Popular Searches This Week - Futurism

In Brief

This week Mark Zuckerberg spoke to the latest class of Harvard graduates, offering advice about the future and inspiration to grow on. Among his ideas was the notion that universal basic income (UBI), a standard base salary for each member of society that can help meet our basic needs regardless of the work we do, is worth exploring.

UBI pilot programs are sprouting up all over the world, including one in Oakland, California sponsored by Y Combinator. Many are modeled in part after the State of Alaskas long-term Permanent Fund which distributes a dividend to every resident so they can share in the wealth gleaned from the states natural resources equally.

While the successfulness of such initiatives can be analyzed several different ways,Zuckerberg emphasized to graduates the need for metrics that go deeper than standard economic measures metrics that can help foster innovation.

We should have a society that measures progress not just by economic metrics like GDP, but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful, Zuckerberg told the Harvard graduates and their guests. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to make sure everyone has a cushion to try new ideas.

This idea that basic income supports more innovation as well as human rights is perhaps what has made it such a popular idea among Silicon Valley tech minds. In fact, this public endorsement from Zuckerberg is not all that cutting edge he is one of the later proponents of UBI by Silicon Valley standards, joining the likes of Teslas Elon Musk, eBays Pierre Omidyar, and Y Combinators Sam Altman. Bill Gates agrees that UBI is a good idea, and that well be ready for it soon.

UBI isnt justa Silicon Valley thing. Andy Stern, the President Emeritus of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), has recently written a book that sets out a detailed plan for making UBI work here in the U.S. Timotheus Httges, the CEO of Germanys largest telecommunications company, Deutsche Telekom (DT), also supports UBIbecause it supports social stability in the age of automation.

UBIpilot programs will hopefully show strengths and benefits of different strategies, and data from Alaska can suggesthow such programs can survive the test of time. As pilot programs succeed and early results seem to indicate that they will expect more experts to endorse UBI.

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Mark Zuckerberg Just Voiced His Support for Universal Basic Income - Futurism

In Brief SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed via Twitter on Monday that details about the company's BFR and ITS are coming soon. The rocket and spacecraft, respectively, would be SpaceX's major transportation systems for Mars colonization missions. Mission to Mars

Marsrelative closeness to the Earth and ample distance from the Sun have made it humanitys best target for off-world colonization. While a number of institutions are working hard to make a Mars colony a reality, SpaceX was the first to reveal a concrete plan to get to the Red Planet.

That plan has been outlined pretty clearly, but two important parts still lack detail: the spaceship that will transporthumanity to Mars and the rocket that would launch that spaceship. While the plan is short on details, it includes plenty of acronyms, specificallyMCT, ITS, and BFR.

The first two are actually one and the same. The Interplanetary Transport System, formerly known as the Mars Colonial Transporter, is the supposedlyreusable spacecraft that would ferry people to Mars for $200,000 a head.

That transporter would reach space via the BFR, which stands for no joke Big F*cking Rocket, which should live up to its name. Its expected to be bigger than the Falcon 9 and more powerful than the Falcon Heavy, which would make it the most powerful rocket ever built.

Right now, we dont know too much about the ITS and the BFR. Thanks to a recent Twitter conversation, however, we do know that answers are forthcoming.

When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was asked for updates about the architectural changes for the ITS and the BFR by Twitter user @RITSPEX, he responded with a promising timeline of a few month.As Inversepointed out, that timeframe would place the announcement inSeptember, one year after Musk first revealed his plans for Mars.

In the months since SpaceXs plans were revealed, other agencies have been working on their own missions to Mars. NASA has recently detailedits two-phased plan to get to the Red Planet. Elsewhere, China has shared its plans to reach the Marsby the end of the decade, andthe United Arab Emirates (UAE)has also joined the race. Among private space agencies, veteran aeronautics firm Boeing isintent on going head-to-head with SpaceX in getting to Mars.

All these efforts are varied, of course, but one thing is for sure. To get to Mars, well need more than just a big f*cking rocket.

See the rest here:
Elon Musk: SpaceX Is Almost Ready to Update the World on Its Plan to Get Humans to Mars - Futurism

In Brief Scientists from the University of Washington have constructed digital logic gates in living cells. Though they're not the first to do so, the researchers' living circuitry is the largest and most complex of any created thus far. Living Circuits

Thanks to projects like Elon Musks Neuralink, a future in which humankind merges with machinesis on everyones minds. While a brain computer interface (BCI) like the one Musk is proposing would involve making acomputer function as part ofa human body, other researchers are taking an opposite route. Instead of making machines that can imitate biology, theyre looking for ways to make biological systems function more like computers.

One such project is the topic of a study by researchers from the University of Washington (UW)that was justpublished inNature Communications. They have developed a new method of turning cells into computers that process information digitally instead of following their usual macromolecular processes. They did so by building cellular versions of logic gates commonly found in electric circuits.

The team built theirNOR gates, digital logic gates that pass a positive signal only when their two inputs are negative, in the DNA of yeast cells. Each of these cellular NOR gates was made up of three programmable DNA stretches, with two acting as inputs and one as an output. These specific DNA sequences were targeted using CRISPR-Cas9, with the Cas9 proteins serving as the molecular gatekeeper that determined if a certain gate shouldbe active or not.

This UW study isnt the first to buildcircuits in cells, but it is the most extensive one to date, with seven cellular NOR gates in a single eukaryotic cell. This added complexity puts us one step closer to transforming cells into biological computers witha number of potential medical applications.

While implementing simple programs in cells will never rival the speed or accuracy of computation in silicon, genetic programs can interact with the cells environment directly, senior author Eric Klavins explained in a press release. For example, reprogrammed cells in a patient could make targeted, therapeutic decisions in the most relevant tissues, obviating the need for complex diagnostics and broad spectrum approaches to treatment.

If given the ability to hackour biology in this way, we could potentially engineer immune cells to respond to cancer markers or cellular biosensors to diagnose infectious diseases. Essentially, wed have an effectiveway to fight diseases on the cellular level, ushering in a new era in human evolution.

The rest is here:
Scientists Are Using CRISPR To Program Living Cells - Futurism

In Brief SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed via Twitter on Monday that details about the company's BFR and ITS are coming soon. The rocket and spacecraft, respectively, would be SpaceX's major transportation systems for Mars colonization missions. Mission to Mars

Marsrelative closeness to the Earth and ample distance from the Sun have made it humanitys best target for off-world colonization. While a number of institutions are working hard to make a Mars colony a reality, SpaceX was the first to reveal a concrete plan to get to the Red Planet.

That plan has been outlined pretty clearly, but two important parts still lack detail: the spaceship that will transporthumanity to Mars and the rocket that would launch that spaceship. While the plan is short on details, it includes plenty of acronyms, specificallyMCT, ITS, and BFR.

The first two are actually one and the same. The Interplanetary Transport System, formerly known as the Mars Colonial Transporter, is the supposedlyreusable spacecraft that would ferry people to Mars for $200,000 a head.

That transporter would reach space via the BFR, which stands for no joke Big F*cking Rocket, which should live up to its name. Its expected to be bigger than the Falcon 9 and more powerful than the Falcon Heavy, which would make it the most powerful rocket ever built.

Right now, we dont know too much about the ITS and the BFR. Thanks to a recent Twitter conversation, however, we do know that answers are forthcoming.

When SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was asked for updates about the architectural changes for the ITS and the BFR by Twitter user @RITSPEX, he responded with a promising timeline of a few month.As Inversepointed out, that timeframe would place the announcement inSeptember, one year after Musk first revealed his plans for Mars.

In the months since SpaceXs plans were revealed, other agencies have been working on their own missions to Mars. NASA has recently detailedits two-phased plan to get to the Red Planet. Elsewhere, China has shared its plans to reach the Marsby the end of the decade, andthe United Arab Emirates (UAE)has also joined the race. Among private space agencies, veteran aeronautics firm Boeing isintent on going head-to-head with SpaceX in getting to Mars.

All these efforts are varied, of course, but one thing is for sure. To get to Mars, well need more than just a big f*cking rocket.

The rest is here:
Elon Musk: SpaceX Is Almost Ready to Update the World on Its Plan ... - Futurism

Blockchain And Driverless Cars

At Consensus 2017 on Monday, Toyota announced a plan to useblockchain to amass driving data that will help themdevelopment driverless cars. The move could also decrease insurance costs for drivers, as well as pave the way for new carpooling solutions.Chris Ballinger, chief officer of Strategic Innovation at Toyota, said in a statement from the company:

Hundreds of billions of miles of human driving data may be needed to develop safe and reliable autonomous vehiclesBlockchains and distributed ledgers may enable pooling data from vehicle owners, fleet managers, and manufacturers to shorten the time for reaching this goal, thereby bringing forward the safety, efficiency, and convenience benefits of autonomous driving technology.

Customers willhave access to their own data, Toyota confirmed. If the information derived from sensors in a car is stored in a blockchain, customers will be able to give their insurance companies increased transparency to reduce fraud, plus granting them access to driving data to measure safe driving habits, Toyota wrote in the statement.Neha Narula, director of the Digital Currency Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, said in the statement that she was excited Toyota is spearheading this initiative that uses blockchain technology to create an open platform where users can control their driving data.

Toyotas use of blockchain shows that the system can extend far beyond the financial and cryptocurrency. It has the potential to be applied and revolutionize almost any sector. Its significance lies in its security, speed, and lack of middlemen or bureaucracy.

Simon Taylor, a former executive of Barclays who helped lead the banks blockchain efforts, said in a U.K. Government Office for Science video that if the internet bought us near instant digital communications, then the blockchain brings us near instant asset transfer, asset movement, and security of data movement.

Blockchain has already been used effectively in a number of areas: The U.N. is using Ethereum (one of the biggest blockchains) to ensure money reaches the people it was intended to, and they estimate they will help 500,000 by 2018; Imogen Heap is applying it to the music industry to try and ensure artists get paid fairly; and Walmart isusing it to track down contaminated food sources.Blockchains applications continue to expand, with some saying it evenpotentially has the power to change the very nature of the internet.

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Toyota Is Using Blockchain to Get Its Self-Driving Cars on the Roads Sooner - Futurism

Spooky Action

Perhaps one of the most intriguing and interesting phenomena in quantum physics is what Einstein referred to as a spooky action at a distance also known as quantum entanglement. This quantum effect is behind what makes quantum computers work, as quantum bits (qubits) generally rely on entanglement to process data and information. Its also the working theory behind the possibility of quantum teleportation.

The long and short of it is this: entangled particles affect one another regardless of distance, where a measurement of the state of one would instantly influence the state of the other. However, it remains spooky because despite following the laws of quantum physics entanglement seems to reveal some deeper theory thats yet to be discovered. A number of physicists have been working on determining this deeper theory, butso far nothing definitive has come out.

As for entanglement itself, a very famous test was developed by physicist John Bell in 1964 to determine whether particles do, in fact, influence one another in this way. Simply put, the Bell testinvolves a pair of entangled particles: one is sent towards location A and the other to location B. At each of these points, a device measures the state of the particles. The settings in the measuring devices are set at random, so that its impossible for A to know the setting of B (and vice versa) at the time of measurement. Historically, the Bell test has supported the spooky theory.

Now, Lucien Hardy, a theoretical physicist from the Perimeter Institute in Canada, is suggesting that the measurements between A and B could be controlled by something that may potentially be separate from the material world: the human mind. His idea is derived from what French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes called the mind-matter duality, [where] the mind is outside of regular physics and intervenes on the physical world, asHardy explained.

To do this, Hardy proposed a version of the Bell test involving 100 humans, each hooked up to EEG headsets that would read their brain activity. These devices would be used to switch the settings on the measuring devices for A and B, set at 100 kilometers apart. The radical possibility we wish to investigate is that, when humans are used to decide the settings (rather than various types of random number generators), we might then expect to see a violation of Quantum Theory in agreement with the relevant Bell inequality, Hardywrote in a paper published online earlier this month.

If the correlation between the measurements dont match previous Bell tests, then there could be a violation of quantum theory that suggests A and B are being controlled by factors outside the realm of standard physics. [If] you only saw a violation of quantum theory when you had systems that might be regarded as conscious, humans or other animals, that would certainly be exciting. I cant imagine a more striking experimental result in physics than that, Hardy said. Wed want to debate as to what that meant.

What it could mean is this: that the human mind (consciousness) isnt made up of the same matter governed by physics. Furthermore, it could suggest that the mind is capable of overcoming physics with free will. This could potentially be the first time scientists gain a firm grasp on the problem of consciousness. It wouldnt settle the question, but it would certainly have a strong bearing on the issue of free will, said Hardy.

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Scientists Have an Experiment to See If the Human Mind Is Bound to the Physical World - Futurism