Category Archives: Futurism

"We think Natrium will be a gamechanger for the energy industry."Introducing Natrium

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has decided to fully LARP as Mr. Burns from The Simpsons by starting his own nuclear power plant and hes chosen a tiny Wyoming city to build it in.

The Natrium nuclear power plant will be built in Kemmerer, Wyoming, reports The Guardian. The facility will replace an old coal plant thats slated to shut down by 2025, and is expected to create as many as 250 jobsin the 2,600-population city,once completed and operational.

Behind the operation is TerraPower, an energy company founded by Gates and owned by Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway.

Our innovative technology will help ensure the continued production of reliable electricity while also transitioning our energy system and creating new, good-paying jobs in Wyoming, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesquesaid in a press release.

Natrium itself is going to be a 345-megawatt sodium-cooled reactor that would serve roughly 250,000 homes in the area around Kemmerer, according to The Guardian. This type of reactor allows the plant to quickly shut down in case of a catastrophic Chernobyl-esque emergency,the hope being that itll be safer than older and more traditional reactors.

We think Natrium will be a gamechanger for the energy industry, Gates said during the projects launch event in June.

Meanwhile, others arent so convinced of the technology. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the nonprofit science advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Guardian that he believes using liquid sodium has many problems.

Honestly I dont understand the motivation, Lyman told the newspaper. There are some people who are just strong advocates for it and theyve sort of won the day here by convincing Bill Gates that this is a good technology to pursue.

Regardless, it is a bit confusing why two of the most prominent billionaires in the world have decided to team up to build a nuclear power plant in a tiny Wyoming town it could chart a new course for cleaner energy, but its fair to say that its also giving off big evil-wealthy-supervillain energy.

READ MORE: Bill Gates-backed experimental nuclear power plant heads to tiny Wyoming city [The Guardian]

More on Bill Gates: Bill Gates Was Reportedly Horrible to His Employees

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Bill Gates and Warren Buffet Are Building an Experimental Nuclear Plant in a Tiny City - Futurism

"These should be high-priority sites to target for future landed missions."Carbon Cold Traps

Researchers have discovered that the Moon might have frozen pockets of carbon dioxide and say they could be used to create lunar greenhouses.

A team of scientists identified the CO2 cold traps in a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letter. This is a phenomenon that occurs when gasses like carbon dioxide collect and remain in pockets due to frigid temperatures, lack of atmosphere, and lack of sunlight, according to Salon a development that could chart the course for a long term human presence, or possibly even agriculture, on Earths natural satellite.

I think when I started this, the question was, Can we confidently say there are carbon dioxide cold traps on the Moon or not?' Norbert Schrghofer, planetary scientist at the Planetary Science Institute and lead author of the study, said in a press release. My surprise was that theyre actually, definitely there.

As NASA prepares to launch the Artemis project to return humans to the Moon, the existence of carbon dioxide cold traps could present shall we say a fruitful opportunity.

For one, carbon dioxide could be used as fuel, which means less resources spent launching supplies to future lunar outposts. The gas could be converted into oxygen for astronauts to breathe, too. Carbon dioxide can also be used in greenhouses, which need the gas for plants to grow.

All this means that areas near these cold traps will likely be highly desirable targets for colonization efforts.

These should be high-priority sites to target for future landed missions, Paul Hayne, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado who was not a part of the study, said in the release. This sort of pinpoints where you might go on the lunar surface to answer some of these big questions about volatiles on the Moon and their delivery from elsewhere in the solar system.

READ MORE: The moon has carbon dioxide traps that astronauts could use to make fuel and grow plants [Salon]

More on the Moon: NASA Reveals Moon Location for Ice Drilling Mission Next Year

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Researchers Say CO2 "Traps" On Moon Could Be Used to Grow Plants - Futurism

Facebook is really committed to getting between you and reality, and the gloves are starting to come off or, rather, on.

With its newly announced plans to build out a metaverse, the social network has now announced that its building a haptic glove, a wearable meant to enable you to touch objects in the metaverse.Oh yeah, and its changing its name to Meta.

The value of hands to solving the interaction problem in AR and VR is immense, said Facebook Reality Labs research director Sean Keller in a blog post. People could touch, feel and manipulate virtual objects just like real objects all without having to learn a new way of interacting with the world.

In short, Meta is trying to turn the novel Ready Player One into a reality. Or perhaps, its trying to rip off Nintendos ahead-of-its-time Power Glove.

The companys glove is meant to be light, soft, and also perfectly capture its wearers hand movements. Its being designed to reproduce a range of complex, nuanced sensations for the wearer such as pressure, texture, and vibration to create the effect of feeling a virtual object with your hands, according to the company.

In other words, Meta is setting the bar extremely high.

Were creating almost everything about this discipline from scratch, Keller said. Were learning how people perceive the sensations of touch and how they complete tasks. Were figuring out how to fit the whole variety of human hand shapes and sizes, while maintaining mechanical coupling to the user.

As of right now, the glove is using hundreds of tiny actuators to trick the wearer into thinking theyre touching something in the virtual world. But theyre far from ideal, creating too much heat. Theyre also too bulky, expensive, and power hungry, according to the company.

If you need thousands of tangible forces in different locations at different distances, you either need pneumatics, hydraulics, or high-density electroactive actuators, Reality Labs hardware engineering director Tristan Trutna said in the post.

The team is now looking into using electrical fields and pneumatic actuators to trick your hands into feeling something.

But that leaves one big question still looming: do we need Metas gloves to make its metaverse feel any more real? The company is betting big on virtual reality, arguing that three-dimensional, cartoonized avatars of our physical bodies will eventually replace human interaction we crave so much especially after nearly two years of COVID lockdowns.

Its a bet so big that its starting to annoy the companys own VPs.

Meta has also repeatedly made one thing clear: it cannot be trusted. Despite being used by billions of people around the world, the network has helped drive people apart, profited directly from pushing provocative content, and continuously leaked sensitive personal data.

And the company isnt inviting you to play a game for an hour, then take the VR goggles off. Metas ambitions appear to be much larger in scope than that and its haptic glove is only the latest example.

Allowing the company to take control over our physicality and sense of touch should come as a warning sign. And weshould probably think twice before committing ourselves to its metaverse.

READ MORE: Inside Reality Labs Research: Meet the team thats working to bring touch to the digital world [Facebook]

More on Facebook: Facebooks Top VR Expert Seems Pretty Annoyed by Metaverse Push

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Facebook Shows Off Gloves That Allow You to "Feel" VR Objects - Futurism

When Steve Jobs famously said We want to put an incredibly great computer in a book that you can carry around with you, its hard to believe the iPad wasnt what he had in mind. Containing the processing power of a laptop in the folio-like footprint of a small book or magazine, Apples decade-long list of iPads offers something for everyone.

The gamut of available iPads includes multiple product lines: the entry-level iPad, the iPad mini, the iPad Air, and the mighty iPad Pro. Each series offers its own set of advantages and highlights, though certain featurese.g., a great-looking display or all-day battery lifeare present regardless of the family name or model.

In this article, well help clarify what to look for when shopping for your next iPad, including which features should be prioritized or disregarded. Well also give specific examples of iPads that are better suited for certain uses and applications.

Best iPad Overall: Apple 10.2-inch iPad (9th Generation) Best iPad for Procreate: Apple 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th Generation) Best iPad for Students: Apple 10.9-inch iPad Air (4th Generation) Best iPad for Value: Apple 8.3-inch iPad mini (6th Generation) Best iPad for Kids: Apple 7.9-inch iPad Mini (5th Generation)

When it came to choosing the best iPads of 2021, there was no one answer. After all, whats best for one user might not serve the needs of the next. So, instead of trying to find the one perfect iPad, we highlighted the best iPads for specific-use cases and scenarios.

Per our own research, we divided the audience into the common categories (e.g., kids, students, shoppers on a budget, etc.). Once we established our categories, we began collecting data from multiple sources, including verified customer reviews, colleagues, industry professionals, and so on. We used that data, along with our own criteria and considerations, to make our recommendations. Here are the factors we considered when evaluating each iPad.

Display: An iPads display tells you a lot about what it can do. Resolution, brightness, color supportthese types of traits and characteristics told us whether a particular model of iPad might be good for photo editing or whether we could use it to color grade a video or stream a Netflix show in 4K.

Size: Size matters a lot when it comes to mobile devices like tablets and iPads. Size tells you how big of a canvas youll have to work with if youre a digital designer or how big of a bag youll need to tote your iPad around. Size doesnt necessarily impact performance on a 1:1 scale, but it can impact where and how you work.

Storage: Apple tends to charge a premium for additional memory and RAM, so we made sure to keep an eye on the costs in relation to the amount of storage that was offered. In terms of storage volume: if an iPad didnt ship with at least 64GB of built-in memory, it didnt make our list.

Accessory Support: iPads are truly wondrous machines, and with the right accessories you can enhance them even furtherfrom mobile tablets to full-fledged notebooks and workstations. We paid special attention to ports, connectivity features, and wireless communications, knowing that the right accessory could dramatically elevate the performance of any compatible iPad.

Why It Made the Cut: Featuring a big, beautiful display, a blazing-fast processor, and plenty of storage, the 9th-Generation iPad is the best iPad overall.

Specs: Display: 10.2-inch Retina display Storage Capacity: Up to 256GB Processor: Apple A13 Bionic chip

Pros: 10.2-inch multi-touch Retina display with True Tone 2160 x 1620 resolution with 264 ppi Apple A13 bionic chip with Neural Engine machine learning 12MP Ultra-wide front camera with Center Stage and 8MP rear camera Up to 256GB of storage capacity

Cons: Supports only the 1st-Generation Apple Pencil, not 2nd

The latest iteration of Apples do-everything device includes several notable upgrades that makes it an all-around better tablet than its predecessor and the best overall iPad for most people.

Whats behind the 9th-Generation iPads mass appeal? For starters, it features Apples powerful new A13 Bionic chip, which not only makes the Apple 10.2-inch iPad (9th Generation) more powerful than its predecessor, it also allows the new iPad to perform tasks several times faster than even the best-selling Chromebooks and Android tablets.

Combine that extra speedy performance with a gorgeous 10.2-inch Retina display, an AI-backed camera system featuring Apples popular Center Stage experience, all the benefits of the latest iPadOSincluding a full catalog of powerful multi-tasking toolsand youre talking about a tablet thats faster, more powerful, and more capable than the majority of its peers.

Oh, and did we mention that, this time around, the iPad starts at 64GB of memory? Thats double the paltry 32GB of storage its predecessor offered. Best of all: The starting price is exactly the same, meaning you get all that extra power and performance for no additional cost.

Once you total up all the features (the new chipset and unrivaled performance, the extremely high value, the great setup and double the storage, etc.) what you get is an iPad that will work great for just about everyone, regardless of their needs or budget.

Why It Made the Cut: The 5th-Generation iPad Pro offers a big, objectively gorgeous canvas, along with the most powerful processor ever put in a mobile device, making it the best iPad for Procreate.

Specs: Display: 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR touchscreen Storage capacity: Up to 2TB Processor: Apple M1 8-Core CPU

Pros: 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR touchscreen 2732 x 2048 Resolution with 264 ppi Apple M1 8-Core CPU 12MP front camera, 10MP and 12MP rear cameras Up to 2TB of storage and 16GB of RAM

Cons: Definitely not cheap

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th Generation) is probably the most powerful tablet ever made, which is why its also the best choice for users who need an iPad that can handle graphics-intensive applications, including everyones favorite digital illustration app, Procreate. The iPad Pros massive 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR display uses over 10,000 LEDs to reach a peak brightness of 1600 nits (far higher than many laptops), providing digital artists and illustrators a bright and clear canvas that works better than many dedicated digital painting tablets.

Of course, it will take more than a couple robust applications to stress the iPad Pro. Thanks to its powerful M1 system on a chip (SoC), the 12.9-inch iPad Pro can handle any task or workflow that comes its way. With the M1 chipset, you are getting the power and performance of a desktop computer in a tablet. In addition to being an all-powerful patron of the arts, the iPad Pro also features the best camera setup ever put in an iPad tablet, next-generation connectivity including Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, and Thunderbolt via USB-C (finally!), as well as so, so much more.

Although clearly one of the best iPads, the one drawback to the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is that its not within everyones budget. Turns out you to have to pay for all that power. But, if youre looking for the absolute best iPad for Procreate and any other graphics-intensive application (and the price tag is financially feasible), then there simply isnt a better option.

Why It Made the Cut: The 4th-Generation iPad Air delivers a balanced attack of speed, processing power, and portability, making it the best iPad for students.

Specs: Display: 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display Storage capacity: Up to 256GB Processor: Apple A14 Bionic chip

Pros: 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display 2360 x 1640 Resolution with 264 ppi Apple A14 Bionic Chip with Neural Engine machine learning Up to 256GB storage 7MP front camera, 12MP rear camera

Cons: No face ID

For many students, juggling the responsibilities of school life and life-life can be challenging. To meet those responsibilities head-on, students need an iPad thats powerful enough to tackle any task and portable enough to remain close at hand. Thats why we recommend the 10.9-inch iPad Air (4th Generation), which offers looks and performance thats comparable to the iPad Pro, but in a lightweight 1-pound footprint thats super easy to carry with you.

Comparable might not even be a strong enough word to describe the similarities between the iPad Air and the iPad Pro. In terms of looks, they could very well be mistaken for twins. In particular, the iPad Air features those same super-thin bezels that give the iPad Pro such a sleek aesthetic.

Checking under the hood, youll see that even though the iPad Airs A14 Bionic chipset offers lightning-fast performance, its no match for the iPad Pros revolutionary M1 SoC. In a head-to-head race, the A14 cant beat the M1, but thats OK, because it doesnt have to. Despite having less power overall, the A14 Bionic still has more than enough muscle to handle even the most demanding applications and mobile workflows, so software like Procreate still functions without a hitch.

Why It Made The Cut: The 8.3-inch iPad isnt the cheapest iPad youll find, but the amount of features you get for the price you pay returns more bang for your buck than any other iPad or tablet on the market.

Specs: Display: 8.3-inch Retina display Storage capacity: Up to 256GB Processor: Apple A15 Bionic chip

Pros: 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display 2268 x 1640 Resolution with 264 ppi Apple A14 Bionic chip with Neural Engine machine learning Up to 256GB storage

Cons: No face ID

Even though the new 8.3-inch iPad mini (6th Generation) starts at $100 more than its predecessor, its still an incredible deal thats packed with more value than any other iPad on our list. Dont believe us? Compare last generations model, the 7.3-inch iPad mini (5th Generation), to this years 6th-Generation model.

As we mentioned earlier, the 6th-Generation model does indeed cost more than the 5th-Generation version, but look at what you get for that extra cost. For starters, the 6th-Generations design has been completely overhauled and updated. Its sleeker now, with slimmer bezels and more screennamely an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display that runs almost half an inch larger than its predecessors 7.9-inch Retina (non-Liquid) display.

The new iPad mini also features an A15 Bionic chip, which is the most powerful A-series chip Apple has ever produced and, according to Apple, is 80 percent faster than the A12 chip thats inside the 5th-Generations iPad mini. The chip and screen arent isolated instances, either. Compare the specs between the two models and youll see how much more advanced every component in the current iPad mini is. Youll soon realize what a great deal the price bump is for such a dramatic improvement in power.

Why It Made The Cut: The 7.9-inch iPad mini (5th Generation) is the only iPad on our list thats hardy enough to survive our kids and has enough battery power to keep up with them all day.

Specs: Display: 7.9-inch Retina display Storage capacity: Up to 256GB Processor: Apple A12 Bionic chip

Pros: 7.9-inch Multi-touch Retina display 2048 x 1536 Resolution A12 Bionic chip 7MP Front FaceTime HD camera and 8MP rear camera Up to 256GB of memory storage Up to 10 hours of battery life

Cons: Only supports 1st-Generation Apple Pencil

The 7.9-inch iPad mini (5th Generation) isnt new. Its not even the most current generation of its own subset series, the iPad mini. It was released in 2019, and back then it was cutting-edge. Were approaching the end of 2021, and though its not quite as flashy as it once was, the 5th-Generation iPad mini is still a solid performer, and its the best iPad for kids who are just starting out with their very first iPad.

This model features an A12 Bionic chip, which, though slower than the current A-series chipsets, still performs admirably. Its True-Tone Retina display still works great for streaming cartoons or watching YouTube videos, and even runs Minecraft well at low video settings. The 5th-Generation iPad mini also supports the 1st-Generation Apple Pencil, so kids can use it as a digital art studio for digital painting and drawing.

Another great thing about the iPad mini is that, to a child, its not all that mini. Its especially great for younger children, who cant handle the extra size of even the base model iPad.

Planned Usage: Having some idea of how you plan to use your iPad can help you narrow the selection field considerably. For example, if you know that your next iPad will predominantly be used for web browsing or other basic functionality, then you probably dont need the herculean iPad Pro. For some users who are looking for seamless integration with Google apps, it can also be worth it to explore some of the best alternatives to the iPad.

Display: An iPads display is one of its most critical components. Think about it: Virtually everything you do with your iPad involves the display in some way. To that end, you want to make sure the display is big enough for your needs, whether thats drawing on a digital canvas or binging Netflix. Similarly, youll want to make sure the display has a high enough resolution and can support the color profiles youll be working with if youre an artist or creator. Last but not least, youll want to make sure the display supports your preferred accessories. Some iPads, for example, only support one generation of Apple Pencil. Take time to verify that your prospective iPad will play nice with all your favorite tools and accessories.

Storage: When shopping for your next iPad, be sure to carefully consider how much internal memory youll need, because you wont get the chance to upgrade later. Cloud-based storage services can help you out, but we think its better to find a model that has enough built-in memory to address your needs. At the bare minimum, we recommend you dont pick anything with less than 64GBnot unless youre keen on constantly deleting files and photos.

Q: Which iPad is the best for students?We think the 4th-Generation iPad Air is the best iPad model for students. Not only does it offer power and performance similar to what you see in Apples top-of-the-line iPad Pro, but the lightweight iPad Air travels easily in your backpack, bag, or purse, so taking it to and from class wont be an issue.

Q: How much does an iPad cost?iPads vary in cost, starting out around $300 and going as high as $2,500. As with most things, cost is relative to iPads specs and features. Generally speaking, from low to high, the cost of iPads goes: iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air, and the iPad Pro. Another cost to keep in mind is storage. The more storage you add on, the higher the price becomes.

Q: Is 32GB enough for an iPad?In short, no, its not. We recommend 64GB at the minimum. Why isnt 32GB enough? Well, for starters, its not 32GB. Your iPad comes with preinstalled OS and software, so right out of the box, youve probably only got around 25GBs of free space. Realistically, that is not enough space in the long run, even for those of us who are especially thrifty with our camera roll, apps, etc.

Q: What is the best inexpensive iPad?The 10.2-inch iPad (9th Generation) is the best inexpensive iPad that you can buy right now. Despite its many features, the base model still comes in at just over $300. Thats the same price as the previous generation, which barely holds a flame to this model.

Q: How to recycle your iPad?To recycle your iPad, you should first visit Apples Trade-In website. There, you will find information on how to trade in or recycle your iPad in your area of the world.

Q: Whats the difference between the iPad and iPad Pro?The biggest difference between the iPad and the iPad Pro is the chipset. Both size variants of the iPad Pro feature Apples very own M1 CPU, the fastest, most powerful processor ever put into a mobile device. The current generation of iPad features an A13 Bionic chipset, which is a fast and efficient SoC on its own, however it just cant compete with Apples new top-tier silicon. Few chips can.

Able to meet the wants and needs of almost every type of user, the 10.2-inch iPad is the best choice for most people. Bolstered by its lightning-fast A13 Bionic chipset, the 9th-Generation iPads powerful combination of speed, performance, and display quality means there are few tasks or functions it cannot handle. Add to that the fact the 64GB base model is one of the least expensive iPads you can buy, what were talking about is a device thats both capable and fairly wallet friendly. In other words, the balanced, budget-friendly 10.2-inch iPad (9th Generation) is the best iPad for most people.

Looking for something smaller? Check out our guide to the best tech gifts.

This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurisms owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.

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The Best iPads of 2021 to Stoke Your Creativity - Futurism

David Houle| Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Mainstream media is full of inflation stories. The reporting is shallow and comes with a lot of short- and long-term hand-wringing. I understand short-term concerns, but I challenge the longer-term consequences.

I think that the inflation we are now seeing will be temporary and by spring 2022 will start to rapidly decline. We are moving through a short-term massive disruption in the global economy, not the beginning of baked-in long-term inflation. I think it will slowly fall off starting in January and will be at minimal levels by late spring.

Why I see the rise in inflation as temporary:

COVID-19 renders any year-to-year comparison invalid for 2019-21.

We have not fully moved beyond the pandemic status globally.

When given the cover of inflation, companies will raise prices.

Buying habits will be changing rapidly.

Lets take a closer look.

During the summer and fall of 2020, when speaking to groups of CEOs or C-level executives at corporations, I warned them that any year-to-year comparisons would provide invalid comparisons. It would not be valid to compare September 2020 to September 2019 due to the virus.

It is clear that while prices may be up 6%over 2020-21, they are not up that much when compared to the last non-virus year.

The lack of vaccine distribution in developing countries and the anti-vax movement in the U.S. and elsewhere means that the move from pandemic to endemic is still in the future. Clearly this will affect economic recovery, so while some countries or regions might be reaching 90% vaccination rates, other ones will still have restrictions in place affecting economic growth. This will mean that demand growth will be varied.

Companies will take advantage of the inflation cover. This has happened in the few instances in my lifetime 1970s, late 1980s, late 1990s and mid-2000s when inflation stories in the media gave cover for companies to raise prices or rates. All could say that they had to do so as their costs were increasing due to inflation, whether they were or not.There is anecdotal evidence this is happening today. Once they raise their rates to get ahead, they will not raise them when demand goes down or competition is re-energized.

Current evidence shows that current price increases are more with goods than services. This is a major swing from a year ago or from last winter when large parts of the population were in some form of lockdown or quarantine. While in quarantine the U.S. population spent more money on services delivery, broadband, streaming, video conferencing than goods.

People are now spending money on goods as much as if not more than on services. This is to be expected in the holiday season. After the first of the year, when much of the U.S. and Europe will be in the dead of winter, services could again have rising demand, whiledemand for goods may decrease.

The single largest overarching dynamic, however, is that we are in the 2020s, the most disruptive decade in history. Think of the decade as a transition from the old to the new. A threshold between the room of the past and the room of the future. This means that the metrics of the past may not suit the new reality. The massive amount of creative destruction that always occurs when humanity moves from one age to another will happen in the condensed time frame of a decade, not several decades. This means that industries will collapse and others will emerge, which will upset traditional linear year-to-year comparisons. This will be, as it usually has been, anti-inflationary.

My latest book, The 2020s: The Golden Age of Design and Redesign, has just been published in eBook format. It is available at a promotional price of $2.99at amazon.com.

Sarasota resident David Houle is a globally recognized futurist. He has given speeches on six continents, written seven books and is futurist in residence at the Ringling College of Art andDesign. His website isdavidhoule.com. Email him atdavid@davidhoule.com.

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THE FUTURIST: Current inflation is a short-term blip on economic radar - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Image by Getty / Futurism

A growing number of scientists believe that a sort of feel-good button a device that can be implanted into your brain and automatically trigger feelings of pleasure could become reality in the surprisingly near term future.

In fact, some research, largely stemming from clinical or medical experimentation, indicates that the controversial tech is already on its way here. And multiple experts, including some of the scientists conducting those studies, told Futurism that they think that neural stimulation done purely for recreational purposes will not only be possible but that itll be a hit with the public. But as these technologies become possible, a big question remains: should they?

There are people recreationally using electrical stimulation in several ways, University of Michigan biomedical engineer Tim Bruns told Futurism. It may or may not be recreational, but people are doing stuff off-label to themselves now.

Are we going to see commercials on TV or products on the shelf?he asked. I think so.

Bruns conducted several landmark studies that used electrical stimulation on specific nerves in order to treat and improve bladder function. But he soon realized that those exact same stimulations both near the bladder itself and, mysteriously, on the ankle also seemed to treat sexual dysfunction disorders that make it difficult to experience arousal, especially in women.

And once he or someone else though probably him, since its a small research community given how hard it is to secure funding for female sexual function research unless a spinal cord injury is involved gets to pursue clinical studies and improve the safety and efficacy of such a device, Bruns and his colleagues suspect that a recreational, consumer-friendly version wont be far behind.

Its already happening, Carnegie Mellon University mechanical engineer and neuroscientist Douglas Weber told Futurism.

You can find many neurostimulation devices on Amazon. Some will make you stronger, relieve your pain, help you lose weight, and some will even make you smarter, Weber, who was Bruns former postdoctoral adviser, added. I do not own any of these devices. But I do expect that neurostim devices will be developed, probably in the next two decades, that will offer real and valuable benefits to consumers.

Of course, the mind wanders to sex. But pleasure derived from electrical stimulation can take many forms, whether its being massaged by powerful electrical impulses on your muscles, the dopamine boost from using technology that could make you faster, stronger, and smarter, or tantalizingly an electrical probe deep in your brain that simply makes you happy.

For example, scientists recently treated a patients severe depression with a neural implant that zaps her brain 300 times per day and,she says, has allowed her to spontaneously laugh and feel joy for the first time in years. Of course, the treatment requires an electrode implanted deep into the brain, which currently reserves it for the most extreme medical cases but as brain interface tech inexorably becomes more advanced and widely available, theres no reason such a device couldnt become a consumer gadget as well.

At the researchs current rate of trajectory, experts told Futurism, the tech could conceivably hit the market in just a few years. But what we dont know is what it will mean for us, psychologically as individuals and sociologically as a society, when we can experience genuine pleasure from the push of a button. And all those questions become even more complex, of course, when applied to the messy world of sex.

A big question that remains unanswered is whether sextech will ultimately become a complement to our sex lives or a substitute, Kinsey Institute research fellow Justin Lehmiller, an expert on sex and psychology, told Futurism.

While its easy to imagine how this kind of sextech could benefit people with disabilities or sexual difficulties, there are some concerns, Lehmiller added. For example, if you had access to a device that could give you instantaneous orgasms, would you approach sex differently? How will this affect intimacy?

What the experts who spoke to Futurism agreed on is that this sort of technology is likely going to become popular, whether or not its a good idea. That means that these are important conversations to have now, before the improvements in electrode size, battery strength, and implant safety that will be necessary for creating a consumer device fall into place.

Because, for better or for worse, people will always use medically-derived technology in ways that its creators didnt intend for them to.

I mean everyones got wants and needs, Bruns told Futurism. Some people may go farther for whatever it may be.

He compared the idea of a consumer-friendly feel-good button to people taking Viagra off label. Bruns doesnt necessarily think itll be a disaster, but he does think itll happen soon. He also thinks that as better medical devices emerge, it will be easy for companies to build consumer gadgets and for the public to accept them.

People are also getting more comfortable with inserting tech into their bodies in general when you think about things like pacemakers, contraceptive implants, and insulin implants, Lehmiller said, so the more that people get comfortable with this kind of thing, the more likely it is that theyll be open to other possibilities that emerge.

Human connection is, to put it extremely mildly, important. And as technology like a feel-good button becomes feasible, safe, and popular, people may be at a greater risk of turning inward, of pressing a button to feel good like a cocaine-addicted rat in a psychological study instead of forming connections with others and the world around them.

That could, in theory, be disastrous for public healthand raiseominous questions about whos responsible for well-being: the individual, the company implanting recreational neural technology into their bodies, or the regulatory agencies that will be stepping in to regulate brain tech like they do with drugs today.

Or maybe there wont be a problem at all. Research, after all, has shown that even rats prefer social connection to heroin.In other words, maybe new frontiers of pleasure-seeking tech wont be a problem if we build a society in which people can dabble safely while their basic needs are met.

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What Are the Ethics of an Implant That Delivers Pleasure Directly Into Your Brain? - Futurism

"They may visit Earth the way you would visit Yellowstone National Park."Park Planet

Jeff Bezos thinks the Earth will be like a protected national park in the future and maybe even a hot cosmic tourist attraction.

The Amazon and Blue Origin founder spoke at the 2021 Ignatius Forum last Wednesday about the future of space travel. During the discussion, he made the eyebrow-raising comment that most people wont even be born on Earth one day and that it might even turn into a tourist destination for space colonizers, according to RealClearPolitics.

Over centuries, most or many of the people will be born in space, Bezos said at the forum. It will be their first home. They will be born on these colonies, they will live on these colonies. They may visit Earth the way you would visit Yellowstone National Park.

Bezos stressed that Earth is the most precious planet and that its up to us to preserve it and conserve it. However, he still believes that the future of humanity isnt on Earth but amongst the solar system.

This Earth can support 10 billion people to a certain degree, he said, later adding, The solar system can support a trillion people, and we can continue to grow our civilization and grow our energy intensity.

He believes that taking dramatic actions like terraforming Mars could alleviate much of the stress on our planets ecosystem. While that would be an immense effort, he said, it would also mean a doubling of Earth.

Then youre going from 10 billion to 20 billion people, he added.

Bezos also predicted that there will one day be millions born off world in colonies floating in space. These supermassive structures would rotate to simulate gravity a la Interstellar and might even have rivers and forests of their own.

Its an undoubtedly fascinating discussion with some interesting predictions from Bezos though, if we were him, wed probably try to not get in the way of actual efforts to leave Earth with frivolous lawsuits.

READ MORE: Jeff Bezos: The Solar System Can Support a Trillion People, Earth Will Be Preserved Like Yellowstone National Park [RealClearPolitics]

More on Bezos: NASA Head Says Moon Landing Delayed a Year, Blames Jeff Bezos Lawsuit

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Jeff Bezos Says Most People Won't Be Able to Live on Earth - Futurism

Russia blew up an out-of-commission satellite this week, sending over 1,500 pieces of shrapnel hurtling. It was an unexpected test that could have some serious consequences, endangering not only the lives of NASA astronauts but Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station as well.

It is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement today, but also their own cosmonauts.

Now, Russias Ministry of Defense is defending its reckless actions. Sergei Shoigu, minister-general of Russias army, claimed in a statement that the resulting fragments do not pose any threat to space activities, as translated by Google. Shoigu also called the test successful,in a dubious choice of words.

Russias space agency Roscosmos also issued a statement on Twitter, claiming that the cloud of debris was nowhere near the orbit of the ISS.

Dozens of joint flights to the Mir orbital station and the International Space Station have created the conditions for reliable cooperation and international collaboration even in the most complex situations, Roscosmos said in a separate statement. Ensuring crew safety has always been and remains our top priority.

The statement sounds especially hollow given the circumstances. Forcing astronauts to hunker down after testing a weapon capable of kickstarting a space war is arguably the opposite of ensuring crew safety.

Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin reportedly sat down with Nelson today to talk the situation over on the phone.

In short, in Russian, we are moving on, ensuring the safety of our crews on the ISS, and building joint plans, he wrote in a tweet, as translated by Google.

Its critical that we ensure the safety of our people and assets in space now and into the future, Nelson said.

In other words, given the carefully worded statements, its starting to sound unlikely the US will retaliate.

Despite the muted political chatter, Russia has also fractured any remaining good will with any potential private industry partners keen on expanding their activities into space.

After all, needlessly cluttering our planets already cluttered orbit with debris doesnt just impact operations on the ISS. And weve already seen what happens when pieces of space junk collide with satellites.

Russia appears to be actively distancing itself from the international space community. The news comes after Russian officials confirmed in April that the country will abandon the ISS around2025.

Roscosmos has also turned a cold shoulder to collaborating with NASA in its efforts to return the first astronauts to the Moon since the Apollo missions.

And now, the country has drawn a line in the sand with its anti-satellite test. Whether its actions will lead to real world consequences remains to be seen, however.

READ MORE: Russia defends anti-satellite test amid US criticism [Space.com]

More on the situation: US Agencies, Military Rush to Condemn Russia Blowing Up Satellite

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Russia Says Actually It's Fine That It Blew Up a Satellite, Filled Orbit With Deadly Space Junk - Futurism

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A gruesome new study finds that not only are pregnant women in the United States more likely to die by homicide than maternal illness, but that they are most likely to be killed by their partners.

The new study,in which researchers used death certificates to examine causes of death,is far from the first of its kind but its still an important step in getting at the root causes behind intimate partner violence.

For more than 20 years, researchers have been talking about pregnancy-associated death and homicide of women, Phyllis Sharps, a nurse-scientist at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, told Nature.

Another of the alarming results of the Tulane University study, published in thejournal Obstetrics & Gynecology, confirms what social workers have known for decades: that pregnancy itself seems to carry an increased risk of intimate partner violence.

Nature noted that becoming pregnant increases the risk of death by homicide: between the ages of 10 and 44 years, women who are pregnant or had their pregnancy end in the past year are killed at a rate 16 percent higher than are women who are not pregnant.

While several previous studies have highlighted the correlation between pregnancy and homicide, Natures summary of the study notes that a substantial institutional hurdle prevented researchers from more authoritatively declaring homicide a leading cause of death among pregnant women.

Until 2003, the United States didnt require death certificates to include information as to whether or not a person was pregnant or had recently given birth, which meant that tracking the deaths of pregnant people would have been nigh-impossible. Even after the government began requiring this critical information, it took fifteen years for all the states to implement the requirement. The Tulane study is the first on maternal homicide to be undertaken since 2018, when all 50 states had finally implemented the pregnant-or-not death certificate requirement.

As with most healthcare outcomes, Black women are, according to the study, at an even greater risk of being killed while pregnant than while not pregnant, and are 2.5 times more likely to die of obstetric causes than their white counterparts.

Along with race, age appears to also have an undue influence on maternal homicides as well, with women and girls between the ages of 10 and 24 being more likely to be murdered than older pregnant women.

As Tulane reproductive epidemiologist Maeve Wallace put it to Nature, its an age and race story.

The biggest question that remains when looking at this horrific data is, of course,why theres an apparent correlation between being pregnant and being murdered. While medical and police racism may explain why pregnant women of color are less likely to seek help in cases of intimate partner violence, the underlying causes still appear to elude researchers.

Read more: Homicide is a top cause of maternal death in the United States [Nature]

More information: Study shows mortality rates significantly increased among pregnant women from 2015 to 2019 [Healio]

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Pregnant American Women More Likely to Be Killed By Their Partners than by Illness - Futurism

It'll orbit the Earth for just 300 more years. Quasi-Moon

In 2016, scientists discovered that the Earth has a second Moon that unlike its much morewidely-known siblingthats visible in the night sky circles our planet at 38 to 100 times the distance of our primary Moon.

For years, the origin of this quasi-Moon has eluded astronomers. But now, they might have an answer. In a new study published in Nature, scientists say they found evidence that the quasi-Moon dubbed Kamooalew, the Hawaiian word for a moving space object is an ancient fragment of the Earths primary Moon. They believe that the mini-Moon might have broken off of the lunar surface due to an epic collision,in time immemorial,with an asteroid or other astronomical object.

We see thousands of craters on the Moon, so some of this lunar ejecta has to be sticking around in space, Ben Sharkey, graduate student of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona and lead author of the paper, told Time of the new research.

Using a telescope, the team found that Kamooalew is made up of common silicates not unlike other asteroids, according to Times reporting. However, they discovered that the quasi-Moons infrared signature differed from typical asteroids.

Thatdifference was a mystery until Sharkey compared the data with findings from lunar samples taken during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission. That comparison revealed that the space-weathering that lunar silicates undergo explained the difference in infrared activity meaning that Kamooalew likely came from our primary Moon.

Visually, what youre seeing is weathered silicate, Sharkey said to Time. The eons of exposure to space environment and the micrometeorite impacts, its almost like a fingerprint and its hard to miss.

While the second Moon is undoubtedly cool, we wouldnt get too attached. According to the paper, itll orbit Earth for roughly 300 more years before itll likely yeet itselfinto the void of space.

READ MORE: Earth Has a Second Moon For Another 300 Years, At Least [Time]

More on mini-moon: NASA Just Confirmed That Earth Has a New Mini-Moon

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Study: Earth Has Another Tiny Moon That Broke Off from the Big One - Futurism