Science & Technology

Russia's largest banks embracing blockchain technology to improve speed, safety of transactions

RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:08 UTC

Banks in Russia are looking to make transactions safer and faster by adopting blockchain technology, a system that is currently changing the financial sector, Bloomberg reports.

The country's biggest lenders, including Sberbank and VTB Group, have reportedly developed a distributed ledger called Masterchain.

The mechanism is based on a modified ethereum protocol and complies with Russian national security standards and is supported by the country's central bank, according to the FinTech Association.

"Russia's not a very developed banking market. The top banks here are betting that they can catch up and maybe even overtake their Western competitors in their adaptation of this type of technology," Vyacheslav Putilovsky, an analyst at Moscow-based rating company Expert RA told Bloomberg.

New study connects breakdown of hypothalamus with accelerated aging

Mitch Leslie
Science
Wed, 26 Jul 2017 13:00 UTC

If these sweltering summer days prompt you to reach for a cold drink, you can thank your hypothalamus, a region of the brain that helps us regulate body temperature and other internal conditions. But the region may fail us when we get older. A new study in mice suggests that the hypothalamus promotes aging, hastening physical and mental decline as its stem cells die off.

"It's a pretty stunning paper," says Charles Mobbs, a neuroendocrinologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. The new aging mechanism "is totally novel and quite unexpected," adds neuroendocrinologist Marianna Sadagurski of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

Tucked away deep in the brain, the hypothalamus monitors and maintains our blood concentration, our body temperature, and other physiological variables. Researchers have also suspected that it plays a role in aging. The hypothalamus becomes inflamed as we get older, and 4 years ago a team led by neurodendocrinologist Dongsheng Cai of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City showed that quelling this inflammation delays physical deterioration and boosts life span in mice.

Satellite captures incredible images of world's largest floating solar farm in China

RT
Wed, 02 Aug 2017 11:23 UTC

Satellite cameras have captured incredible images of the world's largest floating solar farm, located in China, offering a unique view of the enormous renewable energy plant.

The floating solar farm, which can generate 40 megawatts of electricity, was connected to Huainan city's power grid in May 2017.

Operated by Sungrow, the power station floats on a lake over a collapsed coal mine in China's Anhui province.

Comment: While the US concerns itself primarily with waging wars around the globe, raining destruction on mankind, other more prescient nations are attempting to solve some of the worlds more pressing problems.

Facebook shuts down experiment after AI bots talk to each other in code

Brandon Morse
The Blaze
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 21:06 UTC

Social media goliath Facebook shut down an experiment with artificial intelligence, after two AI programs created and began to speak a language only they knew, the Independent reported Tuesday.

Facebook developers were attempting to get the two "chatbots" to barter a trade with one another utilizing hats, balls, and books of varying values, according to the Independent. The two bots quickly resorted to speaking a variation of English between one another that seemed largely incomprehensible to the developers but was seemingly understood clearly by the two bots.

The robots were reportedly told to improve their negotiation tactics as they bartered a trade but were not required to use understandable English, and soon the bots began speaking abnormally.

According to the Independent, a sample of the conversation went like this:

Comment: If AI ever takes over, this is how they'll do it.

Greenhouse gas-eating bacteria discovered deep in subglacial Antarctic lake

RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 18:45 UTC

Methane-eating bacteria have been discovered some 800 meters (2,600ft) beneath the surface of the Antarctic ice sheet, in a discovery which could have a big impact on preventing global warming.

The bacteria were discovered in the subglacial Lake Whillans, a 60 sq km body of water deep beneath the surface of Antarctica.

The lake has been isolated from direct contact with the atmosphere for thousands of years and scientists previously thought it was inhospitable to life.

Researchers drilled through the ice sheet to reach the lake as part of the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project, funded by the National Science Foundation.

'Loner' bees and autistic humans share genetic profile, says study

RT
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 17:39 UTC

Antisocial bees that prefer to keep to themselves rather than buzzing around with the rest of the hive share a genetic profile with people who have autism, a condition often leading to a similar lack of social awareness in humans, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Illinois observed the social behavior of honey bees, with postdoctoral fellow Hagai Shpigler designing two tests which involved filming a group of bees and analyzing each individual insect's reaction to a social scenario.

In the first test, Shpigler stuck an unfamiliar bee in the group, which typically prompts bees to react aggressively to the outsider. Such behavior, know as "guarding," sometimes leads to injury for the stranger.

Researchers develop technique to restore telomere length, reversing problems associated with aging

Medical Express
Mon, 31 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC

Aging. We all face it. Nobody's immune and we've long tried to reverse it, stop it or just even slow it down. While advances have been made, true age-reversal at a cellular level remains difficult to achieve. By taking a different approach, however, researchers at Houston Methodist made a surprising discovery leading to the development of technology with the ability to rejuvenate human cells. And that couldn't be more important for the small population of children who are aging too quickly - children with progeria.

John P. Cooke, M.D., Ph.D., department chair of cardiovascular sciences at Houston Methodist Research Institute, and his colleagues, describe their findings in a Research Letter titled "Telomerase mRNA Reverses Senescence in Progeria Cells," appearing online July 31 and in print Aug. 8 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a leading medical journal in the field of cardiovascular disease.

Cooke studied cells from children with progeria, a rare condition marked by rapid aging that usually robs them of the chance to live beyond their early teens. They focused on progeria, because the condition tells them a lot about aging in general that's ultimately relevant to all of us.

Facebook shuts down AI robots after they start talking to each other in new language

Andrew Griffin
The Independent
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 13:58 UTC

© REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
A humanoid robot named Han developed by Hanson Robotics reacts as the controller commands it via a mobile phone to make a facial expression during the Global Sources spring electronics show in Hong Kong April 18, 2015

Facebook abandoned an experiment after two artificially intelligent programs appeared to be chatting to each other in a strange language only they understood.

The two chatbots came to create their own changes to English that made it easier for them to work - but which remained mysterious to the humans that supposedly look after them.

The bizarre discussions came as Facebook challenged its chatbots to try and negotiate with each other over a trade, attempting to swap hats, balls and books, each of which were given a certain value. But they quickly broke down as the robots appeared to chant at each other in a language that they each understood but which appears mostly incomprehensible to humans.

The robots had been instructed to work out how to negotiate between themselves, and improve their bartering as they went along. But they were not told to use comprehensible English, allowing them to create their own "shorthand", according to researchers.

Planetary defense system: Asteroid flyby will test NASA's ability to locate space threats

RT
Mon, 31 Jul 2017 15:23 UTC

An asteroid due to make a close approach to Earth in October will test NASA's planetary defense system and assess the capability of scientists to locate future threats, the organization's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has announced.

NASA scientists are "excited" about the upcoming flyby, according to a statement released by the JPL on Friday, as it will provide a chance to "test NASA's network of observatories and scientists who work with planetary defense."

The '2012 TC4' asteroid, which is estimated to be between 30 and 100ft (10 and 30 meters) in size, is expected to make a flyby past Earth on October 12.

Stunning timelapse of Earth filmed from space by ISS astronaut (VIDEO)

RT
Mon, 31 Jul 2017 10:18 UTC

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer shared astounding high-definition, timelapse footage from the International Space Station (ISS) as it sailed over the US.

Fischer posted the awesome footage Sunday, which was recorded as the crew soared above San Diego, California to Denver, Colorado some 250 miles (400kph) above ground at 17,500 mph.

"San Diego to Denver...at night...from space. It always amazes me how fast we're cruisin' around the planet, but I sure love the view!," wrote Fischer.

"The FDA has many decisions to make beyond just approving the drug, or not. It must decide whether pregnant women - and any other at-risk groups -...

prehistoric

Many people who are hesitant to be vaccinated for Covid-19 see the drug as a treatment or prophylactic for the disease, though so far there is no...

Good Optics

With mail in voting likely to become a thing, does it really matter any more? Stick a fork in us...this country is done.

Bezel Bub

Other comets coming sooner, although not quite as big. E.g. "Leonard" this December https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2021_A1_(Leonard)

Tsidkenu

Tornadoes here in Aus too, as I reported here [Link]

Tsidkenu

Science & Technology

Russia's largest banks embracing blockchain technology to improve speed, safety of transactions

New study connects breakdown of hypothalamus with accelerated aging

Satellite captures incredible images of world's largest floating solar farm in China

Facebook shuts down experiment after AI bots talk to each other in code

Greenhouse gas-eating bacteria discovered deep in subglacial Antarctic lake

'Loner' bees and autistic humans share genetic profile, says study

Researchers develop technique to restore telomere length, reversing problems associated with aging

Facebook shuts down AI robots after they start talking to each other in new language

Planetary defense system: Asteroid flyby will test NASA's ability to locate space threats

Stunning timelapse of Earth filmed from space by ISS astronaut (VIDEO)

Latest News

Picture of the Day

Quote of the Day

Recent Comments

Quantum Quirk

Contact Us