Category Archives: Futurism

Imaging Pisces

For the first time, NASA managed to map the entire surface of a neutron star (read: the cosmic carcass of a massive star after it detonates in a massive supernova explosion).

The neutron star, J0030+0451 is found within the Pisces constellation. Its only 16 miles wide, according to Astronomy, but still has at least 1.3 times the mass of our Sun. By using NASAs x-ray-measuring satellite NICER, scientists managed to construct a map of unprecedented detail, helping them build out their (and our) understanding of the universe like never before.

The discovery, described in a new series of papers published in The Astrophysical Journal, took about a month to assemble with NASAs supercomputers. Compiling the various recordings and measurements from this project into a coherent map was such a complex task that it wouldve taken about a decade to do on a standard computer, according to Astronomy.

Its unclear what exactly what scientists want to use the new map for. NASA announced plans to recreate the map with more neutron stars, Astronomy reports, but in the meantime, its worth taking a minute and just appreciating how cool this astronomical accomplishment is.

READ MORE: Astronomers map a neutron stars surface for the first time [Astronomy]

More on neutron stars: Scientists Have Learned Why Neutron Stars Shine So Bright

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Stare Into the Brutal Maw of This Barbarous Neutron Star - Futurism

Yeah, Got That Water

After surveying 19 exoplanets, a University of Cambridge-led research team found 14 had water vapor in their atmospheres more than theyd expected. The amount of water vapor, meanwhile? Less than theyd anticipated. Yet: These new insights could go a long way toward narrowing our hunt for extraterrestrial life.

Its important to know about even the most remote presence of water elsewhere [given] that water is a key ingredient to our notion of habitability on Earth, project leader Nikku Madhusudhan said in a press release,

For their survey results of which were published on Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters the researchers gathered spectroscopic data on the 19 exoplanets using numerous telescopes, including Hubble and Chiles Very Large Telescope.

Using that data, they were able to estimate amounts of various chemicals in the exoplanets atmospheres and hope to do the same for additional exoplanets in the future.

We look forward to increasing the size of our planet sample in future studies, Madhusudhan said. Inevitably, we expect to find outliers to the current trends as well as measurements of other chemicals.

READ MORE: Water common yet scarce in exoplanets [University of Cambridge]

More on exoplanets: Exoplanet Water Worlds Could Hold Unfathomably Deep Alien Oceans

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Survey Finds That Water Is Common Around Exoplanets - Futurism

Be the change or be changed, saysNikolas Badminton, futurist and TechTour alumnus.

What does that mean for agriculture? Well, according to Badminton, it means that farmers are either going to have to adapt and evolve their practices, technology, and equipment, or someone else willing to do so will be the one farming and not them.

Its perhaps a strong message for an industry steeped in tradition like agriculture, but history shows that farmers have always been able to adapt, change, and move forward. The rate of that change and the costs associated with it is increasing, however, and farmers are going to have to be nimble in the face of rapidly advancing technology, urbanization, and social shifts.

According to Badminton there are some key areas of advancement that farmers need to pay attention to and adapt with. These are:

All of these areas have big money behind them for research and development, and change is happening at a rapid pace. That said, Badminton doesnt agree with those that are calling for a very abrupt end to how much of the worlds protein is raised as livestock.

Data, too, is already re-defining how most businesses operate and farming is no different. Sensor technology is growing in leaps and bounds, he says, and its this data that will shape technology and push change.

We shouldnt be scared of the opportunity. Yes, we need to work out the business casebut lets pilot projects, lets see what can work, he says, If farmers evolve, theyll flourish, if they dont, businesses will move in and do the work required, Badminton says.

Hear more about what Badminton sees happening and not happening in agriculture in the next 10 years:

Related: What will farmers do when they no longer drive tractors?

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Change or have change happen to you, says futurist - RealAgriculture

Larry Page, one of Googles co-founders who recently stepped down as CEO, has been funneling millions of dollars into flu vaccine research in recent years.

First, Page pumps cash into his charity, the Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation. Then the Foundation gives it to two companies, Shoo the Flu and Flu Lab, according to TechCrunch, which traced Pages money across the organizations. While its unclear exactly how the money is being used, the two companies both focus on flu shot distribution and research, working toward the ultimate goal of developing a universal flu vaccine.

Shoo the Flu, which provides free flu shots in Oakland, California schools, is run by the same person as Flu Lab, and the two groups will soon formally merge, per TechCrunch.

A universal flu vaccine, which would effectively cure a disease responsible for the death of about 80,000 Americans in 2018, is probably still years away, The Verge reports. But if it works, scientists would no longer have to do the annual guesswork of predicting which strains will emerge in a given year while preparing vaccines.

While spending millions on medical research is an undeniably good way to use ones fortune, TechCrunch notes that the way Page has gone about supplying the funds is inherently questionable while his charity has to make its finances public, the private companies to which it basically redirects his money do not.

Even if Page were to choose in the most exceptionally wise and effective way, I would object to the creation of LLCs in which billionaires can hide the exercise of their power, Stanford philanthropy expert Rob Reich told TechCrunch.

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The Co-Founder of Google Is Quietly Trying to Cure the Flu - Futurism

As of Tuesday, 48 people have died from a mysterious lung disease health officials are now callingby the mouthful e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury,often shortened to EVALI.

When researchers first identified the disease this summer, the only link they could find between patients was that they all vaped. But now, theyre starting to home in on exactly what the 2,291 known EVALI sufferers have been sucking into their lungs and a shady vaping brand has emerged as a primary cause of the epidemic.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control released a list of THC vaping brands EVALI sufferers said they used prior to contracting the disease, and Dank Vapes which isnt so much a company as it is a label often used to market black-market cannabis oils accounted for 56 percent of the products.

Other vaping brands used by EVALI sufferers included TKO (15 percent of products), Smart Cart (13 percent), and Rove (12 percent).

This is valuable information, because it could help ensure more people dont fall victim to EVALI but given that 20 percent of the 1,782 hospitalized patients the CDC has information on say they never vaped THC, it doesnt entirely clear up the mystery behind the ongoing vaping epidemic.

THC-containing products continue to be the most commonly reported e-cigarettes, or vaping, products used by EVALI patients, and it appears that vitamin E acetate is associated with EVALI, the CDC wrote on Friday.

However, many substances and product sources are being investigated, and there might be more than one cause, it added. Therefore, while the investigation continues, persons should consider refraining from the use of all e-cigarette, or vaping, products.

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CDC: These Are the Brands Linked to the Vaping Epidemic - Futurism

Old Boy

A fascinating new story in the magazine All About Space looks at HD 140283, a star thats been annoying astrophysicists for nearly two decades because, according to multiple observations, it appears to be older than the universe itself.

Thats obviously impossible. But All About Space delves into the history of research into the star and finds that, though scientists have made some progress toward explaining the bizarre age discrepancy, the mystery remains essentially unexplained.

Astronomers tried to date HD 140283 back in the year 2000, according to All About Spaces story,using the European Space Agencys Hipparcos satellite.

The data suggested that the star was around 16 billion years old, which posed a major problem: the universe itself, according to scientists best estimates, has only been around for about 13.8 billion years and stars only started to form hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang.

In a nod to the apparent discrepancy, they gave the star a jokey nickname: Methuselah, a reference to the oldest character in the Bible.

Subsequent measurements, catalogued by All About Space, have de-aged Methuselah to about 14.27 billion years but that still makes the star substantially older than the universe. Adding to the drama, credible new research has recently suggested that the universe may be as young as 11.4 billion years, expanding the disparity further.

The most likely explanations for the paradox are some overlooked observational effect and/or something big missing from our understanding of the dynamics of the cosmic expansion, physicist Robert Matthews, at Aston University, told All About Space.

READ MORE: How Can a Star Be Older Than the Universe? [All About Space]

More on stars: Astronomers Just Watched a Black Hole Shred a Star

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This Star Appears to Be Older Than the Universe - Futurism

The Money Pit

In May, the Trump administration asked Congress to add $1.6 billion to NASAs 2020 budget to support an ambitious 2024 crewed mission to the Moon. But Congress still isnt convinced the mission needs to happen, let alone worth the extra funds.

NASA has not provided the committee with a full cost estimate despite repeated requests, Rep. Jose Serrano, chairperson of the subcommittee tasked with approving NASAs budget, said during a hearing on Wednesday, later adding that he believes it is better to use the original NASA schedule of 2028 in order to have a successful, safe, and cost-effective mission.

During the hearing, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine claimed the reason for the accelerated timeline was to avoid political risks. However, Serrano noted that approving the budget could put funding for American social programs at risk.

This is not just about finding the money; its about where this president is known to go find moneys when he needs them, Serrano said. I dont want to go to the Moon by taking money from people who cant afford to survive in this society.

By the end of the hearing, the subcommittee still wasnt ready to approve the budget increase but it wasnt ready to completely deny it either.

All these folks are already writing on Twitter, newspaper clippings already went out while were sitting here saying that I just killed the mission, Serrano said near the end of the hearing. I dont have that kind of power. I didnt kill the mission. I just had some questions that I know you know need to be answered before we move forward, or not.

READ MORE: Lawmakers Grill NASA Chief on Moon-by-2024 Budget, Schedule [Space.com]

More on the Moon mission: NASA Budget Billions Short to Return Americans to the Moon

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Congress Is Preparing to Kill 2024 Moon Mission - Futurism

Fords Focus

The spare tire stashed in your cars trunk for emergencies might soon be joined by a drone.

On Thursday, the U.S. Patent and Trademarks office published a patent application submitted by Ford Motor Company subsidiary Ford Global Technologies. It seems the American automaker is developing a system that would allow drivers to deploy and control a drone stored in their cars trunk.

According to the patent application, drivers would use a vehicles onboard computer to deploy and control a quadcopter-style drone. The idea isnt to have a drone following your car around all the time like an animal companion in a video game, though Ford envisions drivers typically deploying the drone in emergency situations.

If a vehicle runs out of fuel or gets involved in a crash, for example, the driver could deploy the drone and direct it to shine a spotlight on the car while sounding an alarm. This could make the vehicle easier for first responders to locate and other drivers to avoid. The drone could also stream real-time footage of a vehicle straight to its owners phone if theyre forced to abandon the car.

The system in the patent application, filed in 2016, has the potential to make roads safer for everyone on them.

However, countless inventions never make it further than the patent stage, so only time will tell whether Fords drone system actually makes it into any of the automakers vehicles.

READ MORE: Ford Patenting a Drone You Can Deploy from Your Cars Trunk [Car and Driver]

More on drones: This Strange Solar-Powered Drone Could Save You in a Disaster

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Ford Patents Drone That Pops Out of a Car's Trunk - Futurism

Big Money

Jackpotting attacks, which are hacks that make ATMs spew money, are becoming increasingly common around the world.

Hackers equipped with black market software are targeting cash machines with dated software and substandard security and walking away with millions over the course of a series of attacks, according to a collaborative investigation by Motherboard and German newsroom Bayerischer Rundfunk. Though law enforcement agencies are tightlipped about the trend, its a sign that banks may be surprisingly vulnerable to cybercrime.

Previous reports claimed that jackpotting attacks have decreased since some high-profile 2017 attacks in Germany, but the new investigation reveals that the opposite is true.

Globally, our 2019 survey indicates that jackpotting attacks are increasing, David Tente, of the ATM Industry Association, told Motherboard.

Othersources, granted anonymity by Motherboard, described the same trend: There are attacks happening, but a lot of the time its not publicized, said one.

The German attacks and others throughout Europe seem to be carried out with Russian software called Cutlet Maker, which Motherboard reports can be bought for $1,000. In the U.S., a program called Ploutus.D is more popular.

Both programs can be installed into ATMs through a USB or other physical access point though the hackers usually need to break into the ATMs hardware to access it.

The bad guys are selling these developments [malware] to just anybody, David Sancho, a jackpotting expert at the cybersecurity firm Trend Micro, told Motherboard. Potentially this can affect any country in the world.

READ MORE: Malware That Spits Cash Out of ATMs Has Spread Across the World [Motherboard]

More on ATMs: Who the Hell Is Using the Worlds 5,000 Crypto ATMs?

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This Malware Makes ATMs Spit Out All Their Money - Futurism

Space Legs

TheUnited Kingdom plans to send its first lunar rover to the Moon in 2021 and the robot is unlike any that came before it.

Not only will the rover created UK-based space startup SpaceBit be the smallest one in history, but it will also have legs rather than wheels a design innovation that could allow it to explore previously unreachable areas of the Moon.

SpaceBit unveiled the rover on Thursday at the science and tech festival New Scientist Live, noting that the bot will hitch a ride to the Moons surface aboard U.S. space robotics company Astrobotics 2021 mission.

The 1 kilogram (2.2 pound) robot is shaped like a cube with four legs, which it will use to gather video and other data for scientists during its 10-Earth-days-long mission.

SpaceBit and Astrobotic are hopeful that the mission will illustrate the benefits of giving rovers legs and lead to future missions in which legged rovers explore the Moons tubular caves.

The legs could be better for steep, rocky terrain, and basically any place where wheels start to struggle, Astrobotics CEO John Thornton told New Scientist.

READ MORE: Plans for UKs first moon rover announced at New Scientist Live [New Scientist]

More on Moon rovers: See the Moon Rover Toyota Is Building for Japans Space Program

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2021 Moon Rover Will Have Legs Instead of Wheels - Futurism