Category Archives: Futurist

A new 3D-rendered simulation by Finnish researchers shows how aerosol particles coughed out by a person in an indoor environment can spread terrifyingly far.

The research aims to determine how the coronavirus can spread through the air, and found that aerosol particles carrying the virus can remain in the air longer than was originally thought, so it is important to avoid busy public indoor spaces, according to a statement.

The 3D environment is trying to provide an analogue for the average grocery store with run-of-the-mill ventilation.

In the 3D model, a person coughs in a corridor bounded by shelves under representative indoor ventilation air flow conditions, reads the video. As a result of coughing, an aerosol cloud travels in the air to the corridor. It takes up several minutes for the cloud to spread and disperse.

Someone infected by the coronavirus, can cough and walk away, but then leave behind extremely small aerosol particles carrying the coronavirus, explained Aalto University assistant professor Ville Vuorinen in the statement. These particles could then end up in the respiratory tract of others in the vicinity.

Aerosol particles from a dry cough a common symptom of COVID-19 are so small (less than 15 micrometers) that they float through the air rather than sinking to the floor. Air currents can help them spread. According to the researchers, previous studies have shown that influenza A viruses can be found in even smaller particles less than five micrometers.

The model underlines that avoiding crowded places or nodal points could be an effective way to curb the spread of the virus.

Masks have also proven to be an extremely effective way to curb the spread through aerosol particles and droplets that is, if a recent study published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature is to be believed.

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Terrifying Simulation Shows How Viruses Spread When You Cough - Futurism

Power Creep

Famous whistleblower Edward Snowden has a dire warning for everyone grappling with the coronavirus pandemic: dont let authoritarians exploit the crisis to claim more power.

Snowden told Vice that he sees the rise of emergency laws, increased surveillance, and other ways that governments have suspended civil rights to combat the pandemic as a disturbing power grab.

And, he added, he doesnt expect the leaders behind it to relinquish the newfound power when the coronavirus outbreak finally recedes.

Snowden argued that a global pandemic was readily predictable, and that scientists and intelligence agencies had long been sounding alarm bells. Imposing new emergency surveillance, he argues, is a particularly disturbing play.

As authoritarianism spreads, as emergency laws proliferate, as we sacrifice our rights, we also sacrifice our capability to arrest the slide into a less liberal and less free world, Snowden told Vice.

Ultimately, Snowden fears that the world leaders claiming new emergency authority will hold onto them well after the pandemic ends.

Do you truly believe that when the first wave, this second wave, the 16th wave of the coronavirus is a long-forgotten memory, that these capabilities will not be kept? Snowden said. That these datasets will not be kept? No matter how it is being used, what is being built is the architecture of oppression.

READ MORE: Snowden Warns Governments Are Using Coronavirus to Build the Architecture of Oppression [Vice]

More on COVID-19: A Growing Number of Countries Tap Phone Data to Track COVID-19

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Snowden: Governments Will Use the Coronavirus to Seize More Power - Futurism

April 10th 20__Victor Tangermann__Filed Under: Hard Science

NASAs incredible view of the Pillars of Creation, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope, has become one of the most iconic views of our cosmos since it was first captured in 1995.

The agencys newest image of the Eagle Nebula, however, has left us speechless. It shows the radiating glow of the pillars in infrared light and you can see the infrared light piercing through dust and gas, giving the pillars a spectacular blueish shadow.

The earliest image of the pillars, a composite of 32 different images compiled using visible light, shows the pillars located in the Eagle Nebula throwing off cool hydrogen gas and cosmic dust.

First discovered in 1745 by Swiss astronomer Jean-Philippe Loys de Chseaux, the Eagle Nebula is roughly 7,000 light-years from Earth, a nursery for stars in the Serpens constellation.

The pillar structure is immense. Just the largest pillar on the left is about four to five light-years long.

READ MORE: Eagle Nebulas Pillars of Creation in Infrared [NASA]

More on space images: Scientists Release Incredible Video of Black Hole Spewing Matter

Up Next__Demand for Autonomous Delivery Bots is Expanding Exponentially >>>

<<< Snowden: Governments Will Use the Coronavirus to Seize More Power__Previously

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NASA Releases Breathtaking Infrared Image of Pillars of Creation - Futurism

In a small dark experiment room, Bill, a wheel-chair bound tetraplegic, stares intently at a simulated arm on a computer screen. Two tentacle-like cables protrude from his skull and hook into a nearby computer, which sends messages to electrodes implanted in his arm and hand. If the experiment is successful, Bill will move his limbs again.

This early scene from Futurisms newly released documentary I AM HUMAN sets the stage for jaw-dropping revelations to come. With this technology, Bill may someday be able to move other things with his brain signals. You know, telekinesis. Welcome to the future.

Though Bill doesnt resemble the cyborgs were used to seeing in movies, the image is just as compelling, and representative of a much larger real-world phenomenon. In fact, Bill is one of many first wave pioneers ushering in a biotechnological revolutionpresently, more than 200,000 people in the world have digital chip technology implanted in their brains.

Most of these people are Parkinsons patients, who undergo deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery with the hope of ameliorating tremor and other symptoms. DBS has been a course of treatment for decades now, and opened the door for further trials into brain implants for a host of other ailments, including obesity, addiction, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression.

In the film, we see firsthand the dramatic impact of this technology on Anne, an artist struggling with Parkinsons. We also meet Stephen, a blind retiree who undergoes a retinal prosthesis surgery (in sci-fi fashion, the implant is known as the Argus II.) As one of several hundred blind patients with bionic vision, the technology currently only offers the ability to see outlines and edges of objects. Progress however, is unbounded and accelerating. Within a few years, greater definition and infrared, heat-mapping vision will be just a software upgrade away.

For Bill, Anne, and Stephen three ordinary people robbed of basic function risking their brains is a brave effort to preserve their humanity but their decisions mark thrilling implications for us all. What happens when anyone can upgrade their bodies? What aspects of our humanity will we change? Who will decide who goes forth into our species next evolutionary phase, and who gets left behind?

You can imagine scientists, investors, and ethicists have quite a debate on their hands. While I AM HUMAN acknowledges concerns about playing God, it challenges fear-driven narratives surrounding human-machine evolution with unflinching optimism, grounded in the real-life stories of people whose lives may directly benefit from such scientific breakthroughs.

Watch I AM HUMAN now on your favorite streaming platform.

Disclaimer: I AM HUMAN was produced by Futurism Studios. Futurism has a financial interest in the film.

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The World's First Cyborgs: Humanity's Next Evolutionary Phase Is Here - Futurism

An artificial intelligence created by New York-based risk detection firm Dataminr was able to predict where the next spike in coronavirus cases will be in the UK and US by analyzing social media posts, The Next Web reports.

According to the companys website, growth in clusters of eyewitness, on-the-ground, first-hand public social media posts on COVID-19 allowed their algorithm to detect hotspots 7-15 days prior to exponential growth in COVID-19 official case count.

These social media posts include posts ranging from people indicating they tested positive, people indicating they are experiencing symptoms, people indicating they have been exposed but not tested, first-hand accounts of confirmed cases and so on.

Dataminr also predicted future spikes in 14 different US states. Seven days later, all 14 states were hit hard by the coronavirus, TNW reports.

These kinds of posts appear to be a leading indicator of where case count may be spiking in the future, Dataminr CEO Ted Bailey told Business Insider.

The analysis of social media for predicting outbreaks could allow governments to better prepare for the next big crisis.

But any predictions by these kinds of systems have to be taken with a massive grain of salt. No artificial intelligence in the world can verify with 100 percent accuracy the validity of the claims social media users are making about tests being positive, or relatives showing symptoms.

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COVID AI Data Firm Says Its AI Predicts Where Next COVID-19 Spike Will Be - Futurism

Homeward Bound

As the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult and ill-advised to travel, one group found itself trapped in a particularly inhospitable environment: Antarctica.

The members of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) staff were working at research stations when the pandemic hit. And while plans have been made to bring just about everyone stationed there home, BBC News reports, it was a harrowing endeavor to arrange travel in the midst of a global crisis.

Thecurrent plan is to get BAS workers on a ferry to the Falkland Islands, off the coast of South America, and then fly them home to the U.K. But the BAS is also commissioning a cruise ship, BBC News reports, to accommodate everyone until the ferry arrives and to help keep everyone separated.

The situation has been changing every day, BAS director Jane Francis told BBC News. You think youve got something in place to bring everyone home and then something happens.

Once everyone is home, the next problem is figuring out how to keep Antarctica coronavirus-free when scientists inevitably head back to continue their work.

Were working very hard to do that, Francis told BBC News. Were trying to make sure that anybody that goes to Antarctica is virus-free. So, theyve either not been anywhere where theres been the virus or theyve been in isolation. But that will be our challenge for the forthcoming season, I think.

READ MORE: Coronavirus complicates journeys home from Antarctica [BBC News]

More on COVID-19: Researchers Announce Promising Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate

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The Pandemic Stranded Them in the Worst Place: Antarctica - Futurism

April 6th 20__Jon Christian__Filed Under: Advanced Transport

YouTube science channel The Action Lab had a fun idea: use the physics-heavy driving simulator BeamNG.drive to show what it would be like to drive on various heavenly bodies.

Heres the Earth, for a baseline:

And heres the simulation with gravity set to that of the Moon, making it difficult to even get traction:

Then the YouTubers went hard by flipping on Jupiters gravity, which immediately crushed their simulated truck into the ground:

Things go completely off the rails when they set the gravity to that of the Sun, instantly crushing the test vehicle:

They also try a bunch of other parameters, including lifting the truck up and then dropping it with various gravity settings. The whole thing is worth a watch!

More on gravity: We May Finally Understand the Speed of Gravity

Up Next__Snowden: Governments Will Use the Coronavirus to Seize More Power >>>

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Here's What It Would Be Like to Drive on Different Planets - Futurism

5G Virus

At least three 5G wireless communication towers have been set on fire in three British cities, according to the BBC as discredited conspiracy theories spread on social media claiming theres a link between the technology and the coronavirus outbreak.

UK cabinet office minister Michael Gove calledthe conspiracy theories nonsense, dangerous nonsense as well during a government briefing, as quoted by the BBC.

According to videos uploaded to social media, workers putting up 5G infrastructure were even getting harassed by conspiracy nuts on the streets. In Birmingham, a tower not even capable of providing 5G services was still set on fire, The Verge reports.

This is now a matter of national security, Vodafone UK CEO Nick Jeffery wrote in a statement. Police and counter terrorism authorities are investigating.

Misleading information and conspiracy theories have abounded online during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, many claiming that home remedies and illegal drugs could magically give them immunity.

One theory even claimed that cocaine protects you against the coronavirus a fact that had to be refuted by the French ministry of health on Twitter last month.

READ MORE: British 5G towers are being set on fire because of coronavirus conspiracy theories [The Verge]

More on conspiracy theories: French Government: No, Cocaine Doesnt Cure Coronavirus

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Coronavirus Conspiracy Theorists Are Setting 5G Towers on Fire - Futurism

Even though theres no robust, convincing evidence to suggest that it does any good, President Trump continues to tout the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.

The evidence Trump cites is particularly flimsy, Vox reports. There has yet to be a large enough randomized and double-blinded clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine to definitively conclude what impact the drug has on COVID-19 patients.

So why does Trump keep pushing hydroxychloroquine? A generous interpretation would be that hes eager to find a solution to the pandemic. And because the drug is already FDA-approved to fight malaria and lupus, its simpler to distribute it via an emergency use authorization than it would be to get a new drug approved.

But The New York Times reports that Trump and some of his associates have funds invested in Sanofi, which manufactures the name-brand version of hydroxychloroquine. That means that if drug sales go up, Trump personally stands to profit.

Trump has latched on toone clinical trial that suggested the drug could help. But the trial is so small and shoddy that it cant really be considered evidence, Stat News reports.

Meanwhile, Vox reports that a smattering of other trials, also all too small to be definitive, suggest that the drug is harmless to COVID-19 patients at best and dangerous at worst.

The data are really just, at best, suggestive, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS on Sunday. There have been cases that show there may be an effect, and there are others to show theres no effect. So I think, in terms of science, I dont think we could definitively say it works.

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There's No Good Evidence That Hydroxychloroquine Fights COVID-19 - Futurism

Longtime rivals Apple and Google are officially partnering to develop a coronavirus-tracking app designed to tell you if youve recently been exposed to somebody who has tested positive for COVID-19.

The idea is to leverage the vast market reach of the two megacorporations to track the spread of the coronavirus. The app centers on the idea of contact tracing keeping tabs, essentially, on who has the virus and who they could have spread it to already.

Bluetooth technology allows devices to measure proximity to other devices. Since the coronavirus can be transmitted by being close to those who have it, apps using this technology could indicate if a person has been in close contact with somebody who previously self-registered as testing positive for COVID-19.

According to a press release, both companies are planning to release APIs in May that will allow the app to work across both Apples iOS and Googles Android mobile platforms and devices.

Apps from public health authorities will use the software to start collecting data and potentially prompt users if they are at risk.

A full-fledged Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform will eventually be released in the coming months, according to a statement.

To keep those who are using the app anonymous, Google and Apple claim the information sent out will be designed to protect privacy.

List of people youve been in contact with never leaves your phone, according to official documentation. The app will also require explicit user consent.

READ MORE: Apple and Google are building a coronavirus tracking system into iOS and Android [The Verge]

More on tracking the virus: Top Doctor: Getting COVID-19 Once Probably Means Youre Immune

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Apple and Google to Launch App for Tracking the Coronavirus - Futurism