Category Archives: Futurism

In BriefAutomaker Lucid Motors just shared a clip of its all-electricAlpha Speed Car clocking a speed of 217 mph. This achievementdemonstrates the ability of electric cars to meet the sameperformance standards set by their traditional counterparts. One Super-Fast EV

Lucid Motorsjust unveiled its luxury Lucid Air and an Alpha Speed Car prototype during the annual New York International Auto Show. Now, the California-based luxury automaker hasshared a video of the vehiclesfirst high-speed stability test.

During the test at the Transportation Research Center test track in Ohio, the all-electricAlpha Speed Car clocked a speed of 350 kmh (217 mph). Thats the same as a Ferrari LaFerrari.

These tests are relevant to the engineering process of the vehicle as they will allow the team to combine computer simulation models with real-world data to improve performance. According toLucid Motors website:

The test, software-limited to 217 mph (350 km/h), was successful in demonstrating the capabilities of the car and in finding areas for improvement that could not be properly evaluated in static bench tests [] The collected data will now be used to finesse thermal and aero computer simulations and to make further performance improvements that will be tested later this year at higher speeds.

The company assures potential drivers, however, that the Air is more than just fast: High-speed capability does not compromise our mission to develop a highly efficient vehicle. On the contrary, the focus on maximizing range provides the high power and aerodynamic efficiency that enables higher speeds.

TheLucid Air is scheduled for production in 2019 and is largely considered a strong competitor for Teslas Model S. Priced at $52,500, the vehicle is expected to come equipped with autonomous-ready hardware. It will have a 400-mile range, a 1,000-horsepower engine, anda strong focus on passenger comfort and luxury.

The diversity of electric vehicles (EV) coming onto the market demonstrates the increased demand for electric alternatives to traditional high-performance transport.

If we really want to reduce carbon emissions, ending our reliance on traditional forms of transportation is one way to do it, so the arrival of numerous EV options is certainly welcome. In addition, many of these cars are being built with advanced autonomous capabilities, which could mean that traffic jams, a perennial problem in urban areas, will be considerably reduced.

Furthermore, the governments support for self-driving technology is drawn from its potential to help address common pedestrian and road safety issues. Given that most traffic-related accidents and fatalities are caused by human error, the rise of autonomous vehicles on the road would ultimately save lives.

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An All-Electric Vehicle Just Reached 217 MPH in a High-Speed Test - Futurism

In BriefResearchers have found traces of organic materials in samplesof mineral-rich mud from a mud volcano near the Mariana Trench. Ifthese samples prove to be evidence of life, it would be the deepestform of life ever found on our planet. Early Life Surviving Below

While the average depth of the ocean is just 2.2 miles, youd have to travel another four or so to reach the bottom of the massive underwater canyon known as the Mariana Trench. This underwater world isthe deepest known place on Earth today, and now, scientists are reporting that the mysterious canyon may also tell the story of how some of the earliest lifeforms on our planet survived in the past.

The Mariana Trench is part of a subduction zone where the sea floor is cluttered with mud volcanoes and hydrothermal vents evidence of our planets molten core. The entire region is located directly over the friction point between the Philippine Sea and Pacific tectonic plates.

Approximately four billion years ago, nascent life on a much younger Earth was hard-pressed to survive thehostile surroundings. The planet endured frequent asteroid strikes and was pock-marked with craters and molten rock. Livable spaces and food were scarce, even for microbes, so researchers think some early lifeforms managed to survive despite these challenges by going deep and calling the Mariana Trench home.

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that researchers found traces of organic materials in samples of mineral-rich mud from a mud volcano near the Mariana Trench. Although they did not find actual microbes intact, the organic material could indicate that even the most extreme environments may be able to support life. If these samples do prove to be evidence of life, it would be the deepest form of life ever found on our planet.

This is another hint at a great, deep biosphere on our planet, study leader Oliver Plmpertold National Geographic. It could be huge or very small, but there is definitely something going on that we dont understand yet.

Subduction zones like the one in which the samples were discovered are relatively cool what we understand to be the temperature limit for life, 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit), wouldnt be reached untilsix or more miles below the floor of the ocean. Furthermore, the mineralsin which the organic materials were found are formed through a process known asserpentinization, which produces both methane and hydrogen gases that microbes can then consume as food.

Since they started to look for it inthe 1960s, scientists have found serpentinization all over the planet: where continents meet and form, inside mountain ranges that were once at the bottom of the ocean, and near hydrothermal vents.

Because serpentinization is fairly common and can support life in extreme conditions, scientists think it might be the key to finding life on other worlds. Both Saturns moon Enceladus and Jupiters moon Europa likely have deep liquid oceans underneath their icy exteriors, and Enceladus appears to have some tectonic activity, the source of subduction zones like those of the Mariana Trench.

However, scientists in search of microbial life deep within the trenches of other worlds would need to conquer the same challenges as scientists studying the Mariana Trench here on Earth. Reachingdeep enough for direct study isnt possible, so youre limited to interpreting evidence spewed from geysers and extracted from rock. I think of it kind of like a message in the bottle, explained Plmper. We have this container coming up, and we are opening it up and trying to figure out whats going on.

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We May Have Just Discovered the Deepest Traces of Life on Earth - Futurism

In Brief An Italian judge banned Uber's services across the country last Friday in a ruling favoring major Italian taxi associations. The ban covers all of Uber's ride-hailing services and gives the company 10 days to respond.

The ride-hailing company Uber is no stranger to controversy and regulatory issues. The latest of these roadblocks now comes from Italy, as the European country decided on April 7 to ban Ubers service nationwide. The ban came as a Rome judge ruled in favor of major Italian taxi associations, a report by Reuters noted. The court cited Uber as unfair competition for taxis in Italy.

Were shocked, Ubers lawyers said in a statement, which Italian dailyCorriere della Sera obtained. We will appeal this ruling that is based on a 25-year-old law. Now the government cant waste more time and needs to decide whether it wants to remain anchored to the past, protecting privileged profits, or whether it wants to allow Italians to benefit from new technologies.

The ban extends across all the ride-hailing services Uber offers Black, Lux, Suv, X , XL, Select, and Van and also prohibits the company from advertising in Italy. Uber has 10 days to appeal the decision or to cease operations in the country in order to avoid paying up to $10,600 worth of fines for every day it continues to operate.

Meanwhile, the lawyers of the major taxi associations hail this as a victory. It is the fourth decision of an Italian judge who establishes unfair competition from Uber, they told Corriere della Sera.The last battle of a legal battle started in 2015 to block the most striking form of unfair competition ever recorded on the Italian transport market.

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Italy Has Banned Uber From All Its Streets - Futurism

In Brief A team of researchers from Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's want to drill into the Earth's mantle in the 2020s. The goal is to understand volcanic phenomena and to see if there's microbial life deep below the planet's crust. Digging Deep

Theres still much to be discovered about the Earth, from the deep seas which has been likened to our very own deep space to the planets rocky layers. A team of scientists from Japans Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) wants to explore the Earths mantle by drilling into it for the first time, using its largest drilling ship called Chikyu.

The JAMSTEC team wants to start drilling by the 2020s. To do this, they need to explore potential underwater drill sites. This September, a two-week preliminary study to find such asite will be done by JAMSTEC deep-sea research vessel Kairei in the waters northeast of Hawaii, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun. Other candidate drill sites have been identified in Mexico and Costa Rica, in case the one in Hawaii wont work.

There are still issues to be resolved, particularly the cost, said petrology professor Susumu Umino from the Kanazawa University. The research team estimates that around 60 billion (roughly $542 million) would be needed for the project. However, the preliminary study will be a big step forward for this project to enter a new stage, Umino added.

The decision to drill through the oceanic crust is a practical one, as its thinner (around 6 kilometers [4 miles] thick) than the continental crust. To reach the mantle, the Chikyus drill must pass through 4 km (2.5 miles) of water and 6 km (3.7 miles) of crust.

The Earths mantle is located beneath the crust, and comprises about 80 percent of the planets total volume. Its a flowing silicate rocky shell thatis known to affect volcanic activity. As such, one practical consequence of exploring the mantle is to be able to understand such surface phenomena. Theresearchers also want to understand how the crust was formed by investigating the boundary between oceanic crust and the Earths mantle.

Apart from this, the scientistsalso want to find out if microbial life could survive deep inside the planet. Such a discovery could yield information useful in the search for extraterrestrial life, as theconditions inside the Earths mantle could simulate those found on other worlds.

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Scientists Want to Search for Life Deep Below the Earth's Surface - Futurism

In BriefGoogle is partnering with China's top Go players and AIexperts for a five-day Go festival this May. The festival's purposeisn't just to pit human pro players against AlphaGo, but to testthe AI's creativity and adaptability, also. Winning Streak

Googles DeepMind artificial intelligence (AI) wowed the world when it won in a series of Go against 18-time world champion Lee Sedol. The historic win was a first for DeepMinds Go-playing AI, AlphaGo, but it wasnt its last. Earlier this year, it defeated more than 50top Go players online.

AlphaGo is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the world of Go, and now, Google is partnering with the best human Go players to explorethe AIs capabilities and how human players could learn from it.

Clearly, there remains much more to learn from this partnership between Gos best human players and its most creative A.I. competitor, according to Googles DeepMind. Thats why were so excited to announce AlphaGos next step: a five-day festival of Go and artificial intelligence in the games birthplace, China.

The Future of Go Summit, a collaboration between the Chinese Go Association, the Chinese government, and Google, is scheduled to run from May 23 to 27, 2017. Aside from Chinas top Go players, leading AI experts from both Google and China will also be in attendance. The idea is to test AlphaGos creativity and adaptability, plus its ability to work in tandem with human players.

The summit will feature a variety of game formats involving AlphaGo and top Chinese players, specifically designed to explore the mysteries of the game together, Googles blog post said. Those include Pair Go, a format in which Chinese pros will compete against each other while partnered with an AlphaGo teammate. Then, theres Team Go, during which AlphaGo will compete against a five-person team ofChinas top pro players. Lastly, the main event will be a match between AlphaGo and the worlds top ranked Go player, Ke Jie.

AI is advancing rapidly and not justin the realm of games like Go. More and more frequently, were seeing AI that can do tasks previously exclusive to humans, such as writing stories, creating movies, composing music, and even conducting behavioral analysis. The exponential growth of AIis due, in large part, to rapid improvements in machine learning algorithmsand neural network systems.

Googles DeepMind is a prime example. Apart from dominating atGo, DeepMind has shown that its possible forAI to have a memoryfrom whichit can learn. The AI has alsooutperformed human lip readers,contributed to medical research, and even revealed that AI couldhave killer instincts a scary affirmation for those dreadingthe singularity. Thats just a sampling of whatDeepMind AI has been able to accomplish, and it isnt the only AI pushing research forward.

The Go festival in May will be another opportunity for AI research to grow. [W]e will explore how AlphaGo has created new knowledge about the oldest of games, and how the technologies behind AlphaGo, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, are bringing solutions to some of the worlds greatest challenges into reach, Google said.

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Google's AI Is Changing the Way a 3000-Year-Old Game Is Played - Futurism

In Brief Following the successful reuse of one of its Falcon 9 rockets, Elon Musk took to Twitter to share SpaceX's next goal: to turn around its rockets for reuse within 24 hours of landing. Leading the Revolution

Elon Musks SpaceX is currently basking in the light of its latest achievement. The company succeeded in starting a spaceflight revolution by being the first entity to launch a mission into space using recycledrockets. The success of this historic mission will significantly lower the cost of space travel. Estimates say the launches could cost up to 30 percent less, saving companies or other organizations millions of dollars.

Musk may still be celebrating the launch, but hes not at all content with just being the first. In a tweet sent out shortly after the successful landing of the refurbished Falcon 9 rocket, he revealed the companys next goal for its rocket line: 24-hour turnaround.

SpaceX is looking to make space travel akin to air travel. Were really looking for true operational reusability, like an aircraft, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said prior to the launch. An aircraft lands, goes to the gate, passengers come off, passengers go on, you refuel, and then you fly again. What were looking to do is exactly that. We land and relaunch on the same day.

Even after this goal is achieved, SpaceX isnt going to be done wowing the world. In fact, theyll be more concerned about impressing other worlds. The company is planning to put a human on the Red Planetpossibly as soon as 2025.

Not only will more economical rockets make it easier for SpaceX to get to Mars, they will also fast-track the ability of humans to stay there, setting up colonies beyond Earth. Musk wants to launch an Interplanetary Transit System (ITS) to keep a steady supplyline operational between the planets.

As SpaceX is a private, not government-operated, company, it can achieve greater levels of collaboration with other countries to make the mission to colonize Mars a truly international effort. Cheaper flights will be a huge part of that.

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Elon Musk Has Announced a New Goal for SpaceX, and It's Utterly Revolutionary - Futurism

In BriefOn March 28, NASA published an article outlining its mostrecent plans to get to Mars. The plan consists of two phases, anexploratory stage and the actual mission to Mars phase, with bothhinging upon the creation of a "gateway" in lunar orbit. The Long Game

When Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, revealed his plans to make humans an interplanetary species by going to Mars, the whole world took notice. But when NASA unveiled its new plans for getting to Mars, they barely registered on the global radar.

These details on just how NASA plans to bring humans to the Red Planet came viaan article published on the organizations official websiteon March 28. While the agency may be treading lightly in the publicity department these days due to the political climate, it has already receiveda clear mandate from the government to get humans to Mars by 2033.

Theres now a sense of urgency, according to NASA associate administrator Bill Gerstenmaier. The hope is weve created enough of a framework that folks can see that theres a real plan worth executing.But also, its not so defined that it if some piece changes, the entire plan gets thrown away and we start all over again.

NASA has been busy preparing for next years test flight of its Space Launch System (SLS) and the Orion spacecraft. Both the SLS and the Orion are critical elements ofNASAs new plans, which still followthe basic program the agency previously outlined. During the 2020s, NASA will focus onlearning how to live and work in lunar orbit. Then, by the 2030s, it will start heading to Mars.

The first phase of NASAs plan is to build what its calling a deep space gateway (DSG), which would essentially bea small space station orbiting the Moon.The plan is to assemble it over the course of three SLS flights and have it completed by 2025. The DSG is meant to be staffed on a continuous basis and could sustain a crew of four, with the Orion docked, for 42 days,according to Planetary.org. It would have a propulsion module, a habitation module, and perhaps an airlock for spacewalks.

The DSG would serve as a space port or launch base for potential lunar landing missions, as well as for a deep space transport (DST) spacecraft. This is phase two of NASAs plan. Planetary.orgreports that the DST would be able to support a crew of four for as long as 1,000 days at a time. Between missions, supply and refurbishing runs would be done at the DSG.

The DST would be massive, with a predicted bare weight of about 41 metric tons. The plan is to launch it into lunar orbit in 2027 via a single SLS mission. Theres really no [other] vehicle today, or even planned, that can launch 41 metric tons (to the Moon) in one piece, said Gerstenmaier. We think that that is the minimum size for this Mars-class transport. If all goes well up to that point, NASA expects the DST to survive three trips to Mars and back.

Despite the agencys understated approach to sharing its plans for Mars, Gerstenmaier is confident that NASA is well-equipped to pull them off. Theres nothing this agency cannot do, he said. If you can give us a clear direction and give us reasonable resources, this agency and its contractor base will accomplish what you want.

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NASA Just Released Their Latest Plans to Get Humans to Mars - Futurism

In Brief Scientists have used a new drug to reverse diabetes in mice. The drug inhibits the enzyme LMPTP, which contributes to the development of Type 2 diabetes by weakening the body's sensitivity to the hormone. Defining Diabetes

In the global community, the number of people with diabetes has been on the rise since1980, with 422 million people diagnosed by 2014.The U.S. alone has experienced a substantial rise in the incidence of diabetes, with the number of Americans diagnosed increasing from 5.5 million in 1980, to 22 million in 2014a more than 300percent increase in less than 40 years.

Ateam of researchers, led by Stephanie Stanford at the University of California, San Diego, is proposinga solutionin the form of a single pill that aims to restore insulin sensitivityin diabetic patients. Type 2 diabetes develops when the bodys response to insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating sugar in our blood, weakens.A number of genetic and lifestyle factors will influence whether or not someone developsthis type of diabetes in their lifetime.

Up until now, drugs were unable to restore the insulin signaling function in diabetic patients instead, theywork by filtering out excess glucosein the blood that comes as a result of the dysfunction. The drug produced by Stanfords team, on the other hand, hopes to restore function.

The drug inhibits an enzyme called low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP), which is suspected to contribute to the reduction in cell sensitivity to insulin. With reduced LMPTP activity, the drug reenables insulin receptors on the surface of cells particularly those in the liver which in turn restores the cells ability to regulate excess sugar. When the body can once again regulate blood sugar levels, the condition of Type 2 diabetes is effectively reversed.

The researchers fed lab mice a high-fat diet that made them obese, which subsequently caused them to develop high blood glucose levels. The drug was given to themice on a daily basis and successfully restored insulin sensitivity withoutproducing any adverse side effects.

While the mouse trials results are exciting, the team must continue testing the drug for safety, sohuman clinical trials are still some time away. But Stanford is confident that the drug could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for treating type 2 diabetes,

While we have seen diabetes reversal in patients before,it has never been achieved through medication alone. So, if this drug is approved for use in humans it would be a truly revolutionary treatment.

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A New Drug May Be Able to Completely Reverse Diabetes - Futurism

In Brief A team of researchers has developed artificial synapses that are capable of learning autonomously and can improve how fast artificial neural networks learn. Mimicking the Brain

Developments and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been due in large part to technologies that mimic how the human brain works. In the world of information technology, such AI systems are called neural networks. These contain algorithms thatcan be trained, among other things, to imitate how the brain recognizes speech and images. However, running an Artificial Neural Networkconsumes a lot of time and energy.

Now, researchers from the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)inThales, the University of Bordeaux in Paris-Sud, and Evry have developed an artificial synapse called a memristordirectly on a chip. It paves the way for intelligent systems that requiredless time and energy to learn, and it can learn autonomously.

In the human brain, synapses work as connections between neurons. The connections are reinforced and learning is improved the more these synapses are are stimulated. The memristor works in a similar fashion. Its made up of a thin ferroelectric layer(which can be spontaneously polarized) that is enclosed between two electrodes. Using voltage pulses, their resistance can be adjusted, like biologicalneurons. The synaptic connection will be strong when resistance is low, and vice-versa. The memristors capacity for learning is based on this adjustable resistance.

AI systems have developed considerably in the past couple of years. Neural networks built with learning algorithms are now capable of performing tasks which synthetic systems previously could not do. For instance, intelligent systems can now compose music, play games and beat human players, or do your taxes. Some can even identify suicidal behavior, or differentiate between what is lawful and what isnt.

This is all thanks to AIs capacity to learn, the only limitation of which is the amount of time and effort it takes to consume the data that serve as its springboard. With the memristor, this learning process can be greatly improved. Work continues on the memristor, particularly on exploring ways to optimize itsfunction. For starters, the researchers have successfully built a physical model to help predict how it functions. Their work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Soon, we may have AI systems that can learn as well as out brains can or even better.

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We Just Created an Artificial Synapse That Can Learn Autonomously - Futurism

In BriefInspired by Wolverine, the ultimate self-healing hero, aresearcher has created a self-healing polymer that conductselectricity. This material may one day be used in smartphones thatcan repair themselves. Wolverine-Inspired Material

A researcher inspired by the X-Mens self-healing hero, Wolverine, has created a self-healing polymeric material for use in soft robotics and electronic devices like smartphones. Chao Wang, Ph.D. presented his teams research yesterday at the 253rd National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

When I was young, my idol was Wolverine from the X-Men, Dr. Wang said in a press release. He could save the world, but only because he could heal himself. A self-healing material, when carved into two parts, can go back together like nothing has happened, just like our human skin.

Chemical bonding is the key to self-repair, and materials can have two types of bonds: covalent bonds, which are stronger and dont easily reform once they are broken, and non-covalent bonds, which are weaker but more dynamic. The challenge with many non-covalent bonds is balancing that desirable flexibility with the ability to conduct electricity. Most self-healing polymers form hydrogen bonds or metal-ligand coordination, but these arent suitable for ionic conductors, explained Dr. Wang.

Wangs team looked for an alternative approach and settled upon an ion-dipole interaction. Ion-dipole interactions have never been used for designing a self-healing polymer, but it turns out that theyre particularly suitable for ionic conductors, said Dr. Wang. To that end, the team combined a stretchable, polar polymer with a mobile, ionic salt. The polymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene), contains polar groups that interact with the ionic salt to create the ion-dipole force.

The result is a material that is conductive and extremely flexible, capable of stretching up to 50 times its starting size and stitching itself back together again completely within the space of a single day after being ripped in half. The material is also conductive enough for use with electronics and artificial muscles.

The researchers plan to alter the polymer to improve its properties next. For example, they are working toward achieving functionality in very humid conditions and other harsh environments. Previous self-healing polymers havent worked well in high humidity, Wang said. We are currently tweaking the covalent bonds within the polymer itself to get these materials ready for real-world applications.

The team also acknowledged that, while the material was able to self-heal without the application of intense pressure, exactly how much pressure must be applied for it to self-heal is unknown. This remains an area for further study.

All of the materials used to create the polymer are commercially available, so manufacturing it should remain inexpensive, especially at scale. However, the researchers acknowledge that there are many practical hurdles to clear before the material will be available commercially. I think we still have a lot of things to do before we can really use it for smartphones, Wang said at yesterdays press conference.

However, if this material lives up to its promise, dropping your expensive phone might not be such a tragedy one day soon.

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Scientists Just Created a Material for Self-Healing Smartphones - Futurism