The Singularity is Coming

How Crowdfunding Has Changed the Startup Game http://ift.tt/2eOrBRR The development of innovative technology — from virtual reality headsets to space exploration to solar-powered roadways — is no longer the province of companies with big R&D budgets or venture capitalists with deep pockets. Many of today’s tech entrepreneurs don’t stand on the shoulders of giants — they surf a crowd of people to find success. Crowdfunding has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, funneling millions of dollars into thousands of projects. Technology in particular is one... read more Singularity via Singularity HUB http://ift.tt/IPZgnq October 25, 2016 at 04:00AM

The Gilmore Girls revival trailer is here and everyone, everyone, everyone is back http://ift.tt/2dSJSP9 The official trailer for Netflix's much-hyped Gilmore Girls revival is here, and if you're the sort of person that interests, you might want to sit down and take a deep breath before you watch it. Everyone is back. All of the casting rumors were true, and you'll see Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore, Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James, and, crucially, Sean Gunn as Kirk. All of Rory's old loves are accounted for as well, though Jess is the only one who speaks (to reassure Rory that she's "still a contender.") Jess would quote On the Waterfront in his two seconds of trailer time. There's also a Ben Affleck joke, because Rory and Lorelai are obviously Team Jen! Emily is packing up and clearing out her house after the death of her husband Richard (who was played in the original series by the late Edward Herrmann), so that's sure to be an ...

Study identifies 2 new genes responsible for Alzheimer's disease among African-Americans http://ift.tt/2ekiYit (Boston)--Researchers have identified two new genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) among African Americans. The findings, which appear online in the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia , may lead to the development of new therapies specifically targeting those genes. Despite the fact that AD is more common in African Americans than Caucasians, the AD genetic risk profile for African Americans is more poorly understood. While more than 20 genes have been identified as risk factors for AD in Caucasians, fewer than five have been identified for African Americans. In 2013, a genome-wide association study of AD in more than 5,500 African Americans identified two genetic risk factors for AD. This study looked at genetic variants across subjects' entire genome and compared their frequency in cases versus controls. Researchers from Boston University...

Study gives tips for avoiding mistakes in pediatric chest radiography http://ift.tt/2ekaZSw Leesburg, VA, October 25, 2016--While radiography remains the gold standard in pediatric imaging, it is rife with opportunities for error because cooperation and positioning are often challenging for such patients. In response, a group of pediatric radiologists practicing in Seattle, WA, published a paper that outlines pitfalls in pediatric chest radiography while offering tips and tricks for avoiding potential errors. The paper, titled " Pediatric Chest Radiographs: Common and Less Common Errors ," was published in the October 2016 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology and is available for viewing through open access . "Having a thorough understanding of normal pediatric anatomy and developmental changes along with a good command of the entities unique to children is essential for the pediatric and general radiologist to avoid significant interpretive errors,...

UCI and NASA document accelerated glacier melting in West Antarctica http://ift.tt/2ekfIU9 Two new studies by researchers at the University of California, Irvine and NASA have found the fastest ongoing rates of glacier retreat ever observed in West Antarctica and offer an unprecedented look at ice melting on the floating undersides of glaciers. The results highlight how the interaction between ocean conditions and the bedrock beneath a glacier can influence the frozen mass, helping scientists better predict future Antarctica ice loss and global sea level rise. The studies examined three neighboring glaciers that are melting and retreating at different rates. The Smith, Pope and Kohler glaciers flow into the Dotson and Crosson ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea embayment in West Antarctica, the part of the continent with the largest decline in ice. "Our primary question is how the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica will contribute to sea level rise in the future, particul...

Controlling ultrasound with 3-D printed devices http://ift.tt/2ekeKHu WASHINGTON, D.C., October 25, 2016 -- Ultrasound is more than sound. Obstetricians use it to peer inside a woman's uterus and observe a growing baby. Surgeons use powerful beams of ultrasound to destroy cancer cells. Researchers fire ultrasound into materials to test their properties. But these high-frequency acoustic waves can do even more. Researchers have now 3-D printed a new kind of device that can harness high-pressure ultrasound to move, manipulate, or destroy tiny objects like particles, drops or biological tissue at scales comparable with cells. By providing unprecedented control of photoacoustic waves -- which are generated by lasers -- such a device can be helpful for performing precise surgery, analyzing the properties of materials, and for scientific research in the lab, such as in the field of microfluidics. "The advantage of acoustics is that it's noninvasive," said Claus-Die...

Providing interventions during pregnancy and after birth to support breastfeeding recommended http://ift.tt/2ekb1d6 The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends providing interventions during pregnancy and after birth to support breastfeeding. The report appears in the October 25 issue of JAMA . This is a B recommendation, indicating that there is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate, or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. There is convincing evidence that breastfeeding provides substantial health benefits for children and adequate evidence that breastfeeding provides moderate health benefits for women. However, nearly half of all mothers in the United States who initially breastfeed stop doing so by 6 months, and there are significant disparities in breastfeeding rates among younger mothers and in disadvantaged communities. To update its 2008 recommendation, the USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the effectivenes...

UK approves third runway for London's Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport http://ift.tt/2eFTuwn The UK has approved the addition of a third runway to Heathrow airport in London — a decision that has taken  decades to come to and that has already been heavily criticized by members of the government. Businesses have said increasing airport capacity in London is a must, but expanding any of the city's existing airports (there are six in total) means clashes with nearby residents. Environmental campaigners have also objected to the new runway, which will hamper the UK's pledged reductions to greenhouse gas output. The earliest the new runway can be built is thought to be around 2025, with construction not beginning for another four or five years. A public consultation will need to be held on the plans, and it's possible that objections from politicians could also delay work. London's former mayor and the current British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson labele...

Scientists root for more cassava research to help meet greater demand for food http://ift.tt/2eOhDzJ Global food demand is expected to grow by 110 per cent over the next 30 to 35 years, and for many of the poorest people on the planet, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, cassava is the most important source of calories. Cassava is also important as a crop that is resistant to climate change, but it has not received the same amount of attention as other staple food crops. A new review brings together research on the potential for improving cassava yields, such as by boosting the efficiency with which the plant captures sunlight and converts it into sugars. "Here we have summarized and integrated scientific knowledge of the crop as a basis for understanding how sustainable yield improvement might be achieved and to identify critical gaps in knowledge," said Dr. Steve Long, senior author of the New Phytologist article. ### Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not ...

Supersonic phenomena, the key to extremely low heat loss nano-electronics http://ift.tt/2erawiA Freak waves, as well as other less striking localised excitations, occur in nature at every scale. The current theory and models of such waves can be applied to physics and, among others, to oceanography, nonlinear optics and lasers, acoustics, plasmas, cosmological relativity and neuro-dynamics. However, they could also play a significant role at the quantum scale in nano-electronics. In a recent study, Manuel G. Velarde from the Pluridisciplinary Institute of the University Complutense of Madrid, Spain, and colleagues, performed computer simulations to compare two types of localised excitations in nano-electronics. Their findings, published in a recent study in EPJ B , confirm that such localised excitations are natural candidates for energy storage and transport. These, in turn, could lead to applications such as transistors with extremely low heat dissipation not using silicon. S...

How food affects political regimes http://ift.tt/2eOi50Z Apparently, a richer diet is associated with an increase in the middle class, which tends towards economic and political independence and democracy-fostering values. Andrey Shcherbak, Senior Research Fellow, Laboratory for Comparative Social Research of the Higher School of Economics, has found, based on a cross-country comparative study using data on 157 countries, that a change in people's eating habits can serve as a predictor of impending political change. His findings are published in the working paper ' A Recipe for the Democracy? The Spread of the European Diet and Political Change ' (the paper is in preparation for publication) and were presented during the regional conference of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) which was held on September 15-17 in Moscow, Russia . Diets Drive Politics According to Shcherbak, the recipe for democracy is fairly simple: above all, people should...

Low-dose estrogen therapy shown to be very effective on vasomotor symptoms http://ift.tt/2eOfVhY CLEVELAND, Ohio (Tuesday, October 25, 2016)--For early postmenopausal women concerned about the effectiveness of low-dose estrogen therapy for alleviating menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and irritability, data from the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) was used to compare the efficacy of two forms of hormone therapy (HT) on menopause symptoms compared with placebo over 4 years. Results of the study were published today in the journal of The North American Menopause Society, Menopause . Most perimenopausal women will experience some type of menopause symptom. The onset or significant increases of vasomotor symptoms (VMS; hot flashes and night sweats) are reported by up to 85% of women at menopause, and although the link between lowering estrogen levels and VMS is well known, fewer studies have examined the link between hormones and less pr...

Making silicon-germanium core fibers a reality http://ift.tt/2eNsvg1 Glass fibres do everything from connecting us to the internet to enabling keyhole surgery by delivering light through medical devices such as endoscopes. But as versatile as today's fiber optics are, scientists around the world have been working to expand their capabilities by adding semiconductor core materials to the glass fibers. Now, a team of researchers has created glass fibers with single-crystal silicon-germanium cores. The process used to make these could assist in the development of high-speed semiconductor devices and expand the capabilities of endoscopes says Ursula Gibson, a physics professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and senior author of the paper. "This paper lays the groundwork for future devices in several areas," Gibson said, because the germanium in the silicon core allows researchers to locally alter its physical attributes. The article, "Las...

Researchers identify genes for 'Help me!' aromas from corn http://ift.tt/2erdp2Y ITHACA, NY--When corn seedlings are nibbled by caterpillars, they defend themselves by releasing scent compounds that attract parasitic wasps whose larvae consume the caterpillar--but not all corn varieties are equally effective at giving the chemical signal for help. Researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, Cornell University and the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) used 26 corn varieties to identify genes responsible for sending out this "Help Me!" signal to parasitic wasps. Their study, published in The Plant Cell , fills in several gaps in our knowledge of the enzymes that generate these scent compounds, which are called terpenes. By breeding for the most effective genes for terpene production, breeders could develop corn varieties that are better able to protect against caterpillar attacks. "This research very nicely demonstrates how collaborat...

Mice Born From Artificial Eggs a ‘Stunning Achievement’ http://ift.tt/2e78d1j Last month, a team of British scientists successfully made healthy, fertile mice from pseudo-egg cells that resembled fertilized embryos. The story made waves: compared to normal egg cells, the pseudo-eggs were more similar to non-sex cells such as skin cells. The implications were tantalizing: one day, in the far future, we may be able to make “motherless” babies without the need for eggs. Welcome to the future. This week, a team from Kyushu University in... read more Singularity via Singularity HUB http://ift.tt/IPZgnq October 25, 2016 at 02:59AM

The Beloved Composition Notebook Gets a Slick Redesign http://ift.tt/2e6Yqbk A graphic designer gives the composition notebook a much needed update. The post The Beloved Composition Notebook Gets a Slick Redesign appeared first on WIRED . Singularity via https://www.wired.com October 25, 2016 at 02:51AM

NASA's Aqua satellite sees Tropical Cyclone 3B developing in Bay of Bengal http://ift.tt/2ek8hMI A tropical low pressure area previously designated System 99B has been lingering in the Northern Indian Ocean's Bay of Bengal for days and as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead, the storm was consolidating into a tropical storm. On Oct. 25 at 3:25 a.m. EDT (07:25 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Storm 3B (TS3B) as it was quickly consolidating. Strong thunderstorms with tightly curved banding was wrapping into a defined low-level circulation center. The MODIS image captured the image of TS3B just west of Burma's Ayeyarwady region. At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Oct. 20, TS3B's maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph (~40 knots/75 kph). TS3B was centered near 60.7 degrees north latitude and 90.6 degrees east longitude, about 340 nautical miles sou...

Genome editing: Efficient CRISPR experiments in mouse cells http://ift.tt/2dFqc2t In order to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system to cut genes, researchers must design an RNA sequence that matches the DNA of the target gene. Most genes have hundreds of such sequences, with varying activity and uniqueness in the genome. The search for the best sequences is therefore hardly achievable by hand. The new "CrispRGold" program helps scientists to identify the most effective and specific RNA sequences. It has been devised by a group of researchers headed by Prof. Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), and is now described in the journal PNAS . The team has also developed a new mouse model that already carries the Cas9 protein. Combining this mouse model with the reliable RNA sequences allowed an efficient inactivation of genes in primary cells. This has enabled the researchers to discover new genes involved in the regulation...

State partnerships can promote increased bio-energy production, reduce emissions http://ift.tt/2dFp7rN COLUMBIA, Mo. - Under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan, states soon could be mandated to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified the most effective ways for various Midwest states to partner and share resources in order to increase the amount of renewable energy they produce through burning woody biomass, which is recognized as a carbon neutral source of energy. Francisco Aguilar, an associate professor of forestry in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, says that by finding effective and efficient partnerships, states can greatly improve the environment by maximizing renewable energy production and reducing carbon emissions. "Wood biomass already contributes about a quarter of all renewable energy consumed by the U.S. and often is overlooked by public policy ini...

3-D-printed magnets http://ift.tt/2ek824l Today, manufacturing strong magnets is no problem from a technical perspective. It is, however, difficult to produce a permanent magnet with a magnetic field of a specific pre-determined shape. That is, until now, thanks to the new solution devised at TU Wien: for the first time ever, permanent magnets can be produced using a 3D printer. This allows magnets to be produced in complex forms and precisely customised magnetic fields, required, for example, in magnetic sensors. Designed on a computer "The strength of a magnetic field is not the only factor," says Dieter Süss, Head of the Christian-Doppler Advanced Magnetic Sensing and Materials laboratory at TU Wien. "We often require special magnetic fields, with field lines arranged in a very specific way - such as a magnetic field that is relatively constant in one direction, but which varies in strength in another direction." In order to achieve such requirements, m...

Here's when powerful people have trouble making a decision http://ift.tt/2ekcb8g COLUMBUS, Ohio - Although powerful people often tend to decide and act quickly, they become more indecisive than others when the decisions are toughest to make, a new study suggests. Researchers found that when people who feel powerful also feel ambivalent about a decision - torn between two equally good or bad choices - they actually have a harder time taking action than people who feel less powerful. That's different than when powerful people are confronted by a simpler decision in which most evidence favors a clear choice. In those cases, they are more decisive and act more quickly than others. "We found that ambivalence made everyone slower in making a decision, but it particularly affected people who felt powerful. They took the longest to act," said Geoff Durso, lead author of the study and doctoral student in psychology at The Ohio State University. The study was publish...

Sleep loss tied to changes of the gut microbiota in humans http://ift.tt/2eCFMJl Results from a new clinical study conducted at Uppsala University suggest that curtailing sleep alters the abundance of bacterial gut species that have previously been linked to compromised human metabolic health. The new article is published in the journal Molecular Metabolism . Changes in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota have been associated with diseases such as obesity and type-2 diabetes in humans. These diseases have also been linked with chronic sleep loss. However, it is not known whether sleep loss alters the gut microbiota in humans. With this in mind, Christian Benedict, associate professor of neuroscience, and Jonathan Cedernaes, M.D., Ph.D, both from Uppsala University, collaborated with researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke. In their study, the researchers sought to investigate in nine healthy normal-weight male participants whe...

Adolescents do not 'get the gist' when it comes to making risky decisions online http://ift.tt/2eCHuKA Adolescents are more likely than adults to take online risks, regardless of the gamble involved, according to new research by the University of Plymouth. The study, led by Claire White from the School of Psychology, was carried out to explore the psychological mechanisms underpinning why teenagers are more likely to take risks online when compared to young adults. The study gave adolescents (aged 13-17) and young adults (aged 18-24) the same online quiz gambling scenario, framed in two different ways - one highlighting what could be won, and one highlighting what could be lost. After dealing with both scenarios, the overall results showed adolescents demonstrated the riskier behaviour. These results were partially linked to sensation seeking, but more fully explained by Fuzzy Trace Theory - the notion that people process information in both a verbatim (quantitative) ...

Molecular origins of allergy to house dust mites discovered http://ift.tt/2eCJ2UN The study team was lead by Professor Paolo Maria Matricardi, head of the Molecular Allergology Group at the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and Immunology of the Charité and included researchers from the Medical University of Vienna, lead by Prof. Rudolf Valenta, and statisticians from Rome, Italy. The team examined the data and blood samples prospectively collected over 20 years from a cohort of 722 German children born in 1990 and monitored since their birth in the framework of the Multicenter Allergy Study (MAS). Purified or engineered molecules of the mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus were used with nanotechnology procedures to characterize the origins and evolution of the antibody response during the children's first decades of life. The scientists found that IgE-antibodies against three dust mite molecules (Der p 1, Der p 2 and Der p 23) appeared very early in the children's b...

Lessons learned from the Fukushima accident http://ift.tt/2eCDvhe A recent article provides an overview of the impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station accident in Japan in 2011 and subsequent remediation measures, comparing similarities and differences with the lessons learned from the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident in Ukraine. Both the Fukushima accident and remediation measures had serious societal impacts and raised questions about the ethical aspects of risk management. "Assessment and management of radiation risk is about more than becquerels and doses. Both Chernobyl and Fukushima demonstrated the need to listen to the concerns of affected populations, address the indirect impacts of evacuation and health surveillance programs, and involve a broader range of stakeholders in decision-making," said Prof. Deborah Oughton, author of the Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management article. ### Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not...

Research provides new insights on the impact of wild birds' social networks http://ift.tt/2eBbWHV New research looks into how social networks among wild great tits, as they forage in flocks during the winter, carry over into shaping the set locations at which the birds breed and raise their young during the spring. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw October 25, 2016 at 02:24AM

Many kids not ready for kindergarten http://ift.tt/2eCFRwu Many children are still learning to control their behavior as they enter kindergarten and may need educational support to develop that critical skill, indicates one of the most conclusive studies to date of early childhood self-regulation. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw October 25, 2016 at 02:24AM

How often do quantum systems violate the second law of thermodynamics? http://ift.tt/2eB6Tad The likelihood of seeing quantum systems violating the second law of thermodynamics has been calculated by UCL scientists. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw October 25, 2016 at 02:24AM

Carpenter ants: When social instructions may be dangerous http://ift.tt/2eCGztD Why do social beings sometimes put their own common sense aside to follow the lead of others, even though by doing so they could be brought to death's door? Research on carpenter ants (Camponotus mus) led by Roxana Josens shows that so-called social information delivered by other ants often overrides an individual's assessment that a certain food source is toxic. The findings are published in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw October 25, 2016 at 02:24AM

UK and France see highest number of imported malaria cases http://ift.tt/2eBaxB3 An international study, led by the University of Southampton, shows the UK and France experience the highest number of malaria cases imported from other countries. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw October 25, 2016 at 02:24AM

Can a brain-computer interface convert your thoughts to text? http://ift.tt/2eB6Rz7 Ever wonder what it would be like if a device could decode your thoughts into actual speech or written words? While this might enhance the capabilities of already existing speech interfaces with devices, it could be a potential game-changer for those with speech pathologies, and even more so for "locked-in" patients who lack any speech or motor function. "So instead of saying 'Siri, what is the weather like today' or 'Ok Google, where can I go for lunch?' I just imagine saying these things," explains Christian Herff, author of a review recently published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience . While reading one's thoughts might still belong to the realms of science fiction, scientists are already decoding speech from signals generated in our brains when we speak or listen to speech. In their review, Herff and co-author, Dr. Tanja Schultz, compar...