The Singularity is Coming

How to capture videos of brains in real time http://ift.tt/2sTaUgJ Individual neurons firing within a volume of brain tissue (credit: The Rockefeller University) A team of scientists has peered into a mouse brain with light, capturing live neural activity of hundreds of individual neurons in a 3D section of tissue at video speed (30 Hz) in a single recording for the first time. Besides serving as a powerful research tool, this discovery means it may now be possible to “alter stimuli in real time based on what we see going on in the animal’s brain,” said Rockefeller University’s Alipasha Vaziri , senior author of an open-access paper published June 26, 2017 in Nature Methods . By dramatically reducing the time and computational resources required to generate such an image, the algorithm opens the door to more sophisticated experiments, says Vaziri, head of the Rockefeller Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics . “Our goal is to better understand brain function by monitor

How to capture videos of brains in real time http://ift.tt/2sTaUgJ Individual neurons firing within a volume of brain tissue (credit: The Rockefeller University) A team of scientists has peered into a mouse brain with light, capturing live neural activity of hundreds of individual neurons in a 3D section of tissue at video speed (30 Hz) in a single recording for the first time. Besides serving as a powerful research tool, this discovery means it may now be possible to “alter stimuli in real time based on what we see going on in the animal’s brain,” said Rockefeller University’s Alipasha Vaziri , senior author of an open-access paper published June 26, 2017 in Nature Methods . By dramatically reducing the time and computational resources required to generate such an image, the algorithm opens the door to more sophisticated experiments, says Vaziri, head of the Rockefeller Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics . “Our goal is to better understand brain function by monitor

How to Have the Second Brain to Remember More http://ift.tt/2tq5bjT Your whole life depends on you being able to retrieve things from your memory. I’m sure you know what I mean… “Where are my keys?” “What major tasks do I need to complete today?” “What time is that meeting I need to attend?” Questions such as these bombard our minds daily. If you’re able to recall the relevant information, you’ll keep your life on track. However, if you fail to recall the information – your life will start to move in a confused and unproductive direction. We’d all love to boost our memories, but often we go about it in the wrong way. It’s not about how much information we can absorb into our minds, but how easily we can retrieve this information (which most people aren’t good at). Information Overload = Memory Failure We live in an information age , where our minds are besieged 24/7 by facts, figures, news, drama and trends. To maintain our standing among our peers, most of us strive in vain

Why Victims of Facebook Harassment Will Never Leave Facebook http://ift.tt/2tZMXCV On Wednesday, one day after Facebook had announced that two billion people use its service every month, ProPublica released a bombshell investigation into the company's hate-speech censorship guidelines. The report included documents that revealed that Facebook's rules often end up protecting the rights of those in power over those who are powerless. These two revelations are inextricably entwined, each enabling and necessitating the other. Facebook is the biggest social network on the planet—with over a quarter of the human race using its site—precisely because it so actively censors and curates its community and follows local laws that enable it to exist even in oppressive countries. And because it is so huge, people who most need a platform for expression online can’t afford to not be on it—even if that means enduring seemingly arbitrary censorship. This is the network effect in act

DHS Won't Extend Laptop Ban, But Its New Protocols Will Make Airport Security Extra Annoying http://ift.tt/2sSLW16 Let's start with the good news for international travelers and the airlines that serve them: The Department of Homeland Security has decided not to extend its laptop ban , which prohibits any electronics larger than a phone in the cabin on flights from some Middle Eastern and African countries entering the US. Bad news is, the feds are compensating by demanding new airport security measures that will make getting through to the gate more of a slog than ever. OK, back to good news: When it comes to making flying safer, these measures stand a much better chance than stuffing your MacBook in the cargo hold. On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced more rigorous measures for all commercial flights landing in the US. “The United States and the global aviation community face an adaptive and agile enemy,” it said in a statement. “Terrorist g

Personal assistance relationships are complex and need support, study finds http://ift.tt/2ukukcg Personal assistance relationships are usually empowering and flexible for both employer and workers, but can become emotionally fraught and even wounded, according to a report launched today. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 07:25PM

Instagram Unleashes an AI System to Blast Away Nasty Comments http://ift.tt/2tmpXjE Every word has at least one meaning when it stands alone. But the meaning can change depending on context, or even over time. A sentence full of neutral words can be hostile (“Only whites should have rights”), and a sentence packed with potentially hostile words (“Fuck what, fuck whatever y'all been wearing”) can be neutral when you recognize it as a Kanye West lyric. Humans are generally good at this kind of parsing, and machines are generally bad. Last June, however, Facebook announced that it had built a text classification engine to help machines interpret words in context. The system, called DeepText , is based on recent advances in artificial intelligence and a concept called word embeddings, which means it looks at every word in the context of all the words that appear near it. White, for instance, means something completely different when it’s near the words snow, Sox, House, or powe

Elon Musk's boring machine completes the first section of an LA tunnel http://ift.tt/2tqCinY Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk says his ambitious tunnel-boring endeavor, aptly named The Boring Company, has officially started digging underneath Los Angeles. Musk announced the news on Twitter , where he said “Godot,” the Samuel Beckett-inspired name of the company’s tunnel boring machine , had completed the the first segment of a tunnel in the Southern California metropolis. Prior to today, it was unclear how long it would take Musk to convince the city to allow him to move the experimental effort beyond the SpaceX parking lot in Hawthorne. Musk has made a rather public showing of his offbeat tunnel-digging venture over the last few months, with an occasional flurry of Twitter announcements and Instagram posts to commemorate each new milestone. In May, Musk posted videos of test runs of the electric sled mechanism that would theoretically ferry cars at speeds up to 124 mph. Back

Malaria control in African schools dramatically cuts infection and reduces risk of anemia http://ift.tt/2tqg1q6 Schools that provide prevention education, insecticide-treated nets and antimalarial treatment, in regions where malaria is highly seasonal, could reduce the risk of schoolchildren developing anemia and improve their cognitive performance, according to new research by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 05:46PM

Inequalities in malaria research funding in sub-Saharan Africa http://ift.tt/2tZzF9s A quarter of countries in sub-Saharan Africa receive very little funding for research into malaria despite having high malaria-related death rates. In a new study, led by the University of Southampton and published in The Lancet Global Health , countries have been ranked according to how much research and non-research funding they receive from major public and philanthropic global health funders to combat the disease. The study examined the portfolios of several of the major global health research funders and compared funding levels to national malaria-related burden of disease. They could not find any investment for malaria research in countries such as Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Chad, Congo and Central African Republic. Chad, Congo and Central African Republic are among the countries with the highest malaria death rates in the world at 71.9, 64.84 and 128.34 per 100,000 of the population resp

Study raises concern over accuracy of melanoma diagnoses http://ift.tt/2tqEbB2 Concerns over the accuracy of melanoma diagnoses are raised in a study of US pathologists published by The BMJ today. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 05:46PM

Higher IQ in childhood is linked to a longer life http://ift.tt/2ujVnUV Higher intelligence (IQ) in childhood is associated with a lower lifetime risk of major causes of death, including heart disease, stroke, smoking related cancers, respiratory disease and dementia, finds a study published by The BMJ today. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 05:46PM

WikiLeaks Dump Reveals a Creepy CIA Location-Tracking Trick http://ift.tt/2tZPZHi How many people specifically know where you are right now? Some friends and family? Your coworkers, maybe? If you're using a Windows laptop or PC you could add another group to the list: the CIA. New documents released on Wednesday as part of WikiLeaks' series of CIA hacking revelations detail a method the agency uses to geolocate computers, and the people using them. The agency infects target devices with malware that can then check which public Wi-Fi networks a given computer can connect to at a given moment, as well as the signal strengths of those networks. From there, the malware compares the list of available Wi-Fi options to databases of public Wi-Fi networks to figure out roughly where the device is. The leaked documents detailing the project, which is known as ELSA, date back to 2013, and specifically address laptops and PCs running Windows 7. But experts say that the technique

Reiner_Riedler_Lifesaving_Machines http://ift.tt/2sSMHXQ Singularity via https://www.wired.com June 28, 2017 at 05:15PM

I'm Marc Rogers, Hacker and Head of Information Security for Cloudflare, and This Is How I Work  http://ift.tt/2tZZ5UG Marc Roger’s career spans more than twenty years, including a decade managing security for the UK operator Vodafone. He’s been a CISO in South Korea and co-founded a disruptive Bay Area startup. He’s been hacking since the 80s and is now a white-hat hacker as well as the Head of Security for Cloudflare. In his role as technical advisor on “Mr. Robot,” he helped create hacks for the show. And as if that’s not enough, he also organizes the world’s largest hacking conference. We caught up with Marc to find out how he works. Location: San Francisco Current gig: Head of Information Security for Cloudflare One word that best describes how you work: Relentless Current mobile device: iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy 6, Blackphone Current computer: Apple MBP (Late 2016) First of all, tell us a little about your background and how you got to where you are today

PornHub now has videos that synchronize with connected sex toys http://ift.tt/2s3lui9 If Joseph Gordon Levitt in the movie Don Jon taught me anything about how men watch porn, it’s that some people are willing to put a whole lot of effort in to find the perfect clip and time themselves along with on-camera action. About four years after the film’s release, it looks like PornHub has figured out the ideal solution in the form of interactive videos that synchronize with a connected sex toy. PornHub’s launch partners include Fleshlight and Kiiroo, and there will be a new category on the website which contains videos that can be synced to a toy. Depending on what’s happening in the video, the toys will simulate the action with pulses — removing the need to perform your own manual labor. And yes, it will work with one of Fleshlight’s newest device which looks like more like a wine cooler (if you replace the wine with, well, you, and the thing rumbles a whole lot.) Interactive sex

Turn Your To-Do List Into a To-Do Calendar http://ift.tt/2sSuHgr Do you always install your air conditioner on a sweltering summer day, or rush to do your taxes in mid-April? For absolutely necessary tasks like these, a to-do list isn’t always enough. You need to block out time on your calendar, and treat these tasks like actual appointments. We’ve listed all the best to-do items to turn into calendar items. Chores Infrequent chores : Flipping the mattress and couch cushions, getting your car inspected, using your annual free credit report , cleaning the pool, clipping pet nails, and replacing toothbrushes, razors, smoke detector batteries, air fresheners, and water filters Frequent chores that you forget or put off, like laundry, garbage day, haircuts, moving your car, donating blood, watering your plants, cleaning up (and backing up) your computer, and changing the sheets Doing your taxes (and paying your quarterly estimates if you freelance) Bills that don’t autopay Wi

Study of US seniors strengthens link between air pollution and premature death http://ift.tt/2s3h375 A new study of 60 million Americans -- about 97 percent of people age 65 and older in the United States -- shows that long-term exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone increases the risk of premature death, even when that exposure is at levels below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 04:21PM

NIAID scientists identify cause, possible treatment for life-threatening gut condition http://ift.tt/2tmbTHp Investigators at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and international colleagues have discovered a genetic cause and potential treatment strategy for a rare immune disorder called CHAPLE disease. Children with the condition can experience severe gastrointestinal distress and deep vein blood clots. No effective treatments are available to ameliorate or prevent these life-threatening symptoms. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 04:21PM

Aston Martin’s electric sports car becomes even more elusive, thanks to cash-strapped LeEco http://ift.tt/2sScpfg Aston Martin’s forthcoming electric sports car, the RapidE, will become even more exclusive than originally planned, after the departure of struggling Chinese electronics manufacturer LeEco as an investor on the project. In an interview with Reuters , Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer confirmed that LeEco has pulled out of the electric supercar project, forcing the British carmaker to scale back production. Aston Martin will now only make 155 vehicles, which is about a third of the initial plan, and lean more heavily on Formula One engineering specialist Williams after the departure of LeEco. A spokesperson for Aston Martin said, “The collaboration with LeEco has reached a natural inflection point.” The RapidE, a four-door sports car with the looks and dynamics of Aston’s Rapide S powered by an all-electric powertrain replacing the six-liter V12 engine, will enter prod

Introducing Dear Jane, Jezebel's General Advice Column http://ift.tt/2snaGeq Illustration: Jim Cooke / GMG So, what’s your problem? You don’t have any? OK, what’s your lover’s problem? Oh, crap, they just dumped you. Bummer. Uhh, how about your mom? What’s your mom’s problem? She’s dead!? I’m so sorry. Any problems with your boss? You’re unemployed. Hm. You know what? Let’s start over. What the FUCK is your problem? Write to me and I’ll help you figure it out! I’m starting up a new, regular advice column here at Jezebel that we’ll call DEAR JANE. I’ll take your questions, from the petty to the metaphysical, and dispense guidance and feedback to help you navigate your toughest questions. All you have to do is write in to dearjane@jezebel.com with your questions and I’ll take it from there. Please change names and identifying info; this advice column unfortunately is not aimed at destroying lives. And if you sign your letter with a funny ID, we may or may not use it dependi

UM tesearch: Slow-growing ponderosas survive mountain pine beetle outbreaks http://ift.tt/2tm7nIj Slow-growing ponderosa pines may have a better chance of surviving mountain pine beetle outbreaks in western Montana as climate change increases the frequency of drought and insect pests, according to new research published by a team of University of Montana scientists. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:46PM

Revitalizing Detroit requires development of specific neighborhoods http://ift.tt/2ujv5Cc Debuting a new economic model, a team of researchers from Princeton University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond have identified 22 Detroit neighborhoods that, if developed, could bring in millions of dollars and attract thousands of residents. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:46PM

Now your nightlight can notify you of retweets and emails http://ift.tt/2snFStV Aumi Mini is a new project on Kickstarter from the creator of Aumi, a Bluetooth nightlight which was funded on Kickstarter in 2015 and shipped to backers this year. The new Mini model is way more ambitious, however. It's a USB-powered nightlight that connects to your Wi-Fi, and includes IFTTT support for getting into all sorts of automated shenanigans. The exact sort internet events you'd like a nightlight to inform you of is, of course, entirely up to you. A few examples offered by Aumi include weather alerts, Wi-Fi-is-down notifications, and and smart home integration. Personally I'd like to use one to keep track of my unread emails. A light that will never fade. The nightlight can also trigger its own events based on the built-in ambient light and touch sensors, if you're interested in practicality. An app lets you directly control the nightlight's color, brightness, and mo

Editor's Note: Unicorn-Making Machines http://ift.tt/2snBLhp Over the last decade, one of the major forces driving the explosive growth of the tech sector has been the constellation of companies and founders eschewing safe jobs and venerable institutions and, instead, launching their own startups. But how do you learn how to create a company—let alone an important, influential, and lucrative one? There’s no entry level job or terminal degree to get you started, no readily available Jedi guide with a 1-800 number. This absence of structure has bred new kind of institutions, with remarkable power and influence. Call them incubators, accelerators, seed funds: By whatever name, Silicon Valley is teaming with this new kind of power broker—one that amasses people whose job it is to build and shape the fledgling businesses that may be our future unicorns. In the US alone, there are roughly 700 accelerators, a cluster that grew at a rate of 50 percent each year between 2008 and 201

Weighty matters http://ift.tt/2siyK6Q 'Adolescent weight gain confers long-term increased stroke risk' Dr. Rexrode has co-authored an editorial about new research that highlights the link between adolescent weight gain and stroke risk later in life. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

NSF-funded researchers demonstrate advanced network applications. http://ift.tt/2t27GpA The National Science Foundation (NSF) has long been a leader in supporting research that has formed the basis for smart and connected communities, pushing sensor and networking capabilities beyond today's Internet of Things (IoT) to next-generation technologies able to revolutionize our lives in smart communities across the nation. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

Teenage weight gain linked to increased stroke risk as an adult http://ift.tt/2tlZgMg Kids who become overweight during their teenage years may be more likely to develop a stroke decades later than kids who did not become overweight during those years, according to a study published in the June 28, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

Health insurance expansion linked to fewer sudden cardiac arrests http://ift.tt/2sSp4hY The incidence of sudden cardiac arrest, a sudden and usually deadly loss of heart function, declined significantly among previously uninsured adults who acquired health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as 'Obamacare,' according to a study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

The hippocampus underlies the link between slowed walking and mental decline http://ift.tt/2snTNQJ The connection between slowed walking speed and declining mental acuity appears to arise in the right hippocampus, a finger-shaped region buried deep in the brain at ear-level, according to a 14-year study conducted by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

Health insurance expansion via Obamacare linked to fewer cardiac arrests http://ift.tt/2sSHIqk The incidence of cardiac arrest significantly decreased among middle-aged adults who acquired health insurance after the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) expanded coverage. Among older adults with constant health insurance coverage, the incidence of cardiac arrest remained the same. These preliminary findings highlight the importance of preventive medical care but do not definitively prove that health insurance expansion prevents cardiac arrest, researchers noted. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:25PM

Don't Speak Unless It's Something Worth Saying http://ift.tt/2tlGQeF Cato the Younger at The Louvre. Image via Wikipedia. Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations , Lifehacker’s weekly dip into the pool of stoic wisdom, and how you can use its waters to reflect on and improve your life. Welcome back to Mid-Week Meditations, Lifehacker’s weekly dip into the pool of stoic wisdom, and… Read more This week’s entries comes from the Roman politician Cato the Younger , who’s famously known for opposing the emperor Julius Caesar. These quotes do not come from Cato’s personal writings, but from Plutarch , a famous biographer who spent time with Cato. “I will begin to speak, when I have that to say which had not better be unsaid.” – Cato the Younger, Plutarch’s Lives This is summed up well later on in the medieval Latin text Distichs of Cato , which is thought to have been largely based on Cato the Younger’s teachings: “The primary virtue is: hold your tongue; who knows how

How family and friends influence breast cancer treatment decisions http://ift.tt/2t29PBT When a woman walks into the oncologist's office, she's usually not alone. In fact, a new study finds that half of women have at least three people standing behind them, sitting next to them or waiting at home to help. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:03PM

Decrease in lead exposure in early childhood significantly responsible for drop in crime rate http://ift.tt/2siDEkl Kids exposed to lead as young children are more likely to be suspended or incarcerated during their school years. Singularity via http://ift.tt/orfraw June 28, 2017 at 03:03PM

Teenager charged with manslaughter after failed YouTube stunt http://ift.tt/2s35wEJ A 19-year-old from Norman County, Minnesota, has been charged with manslaughter after accidentally shooting her boyfriend while filming a YouTube video, BuzzFeed News reports . The woman, Monalisa Perez, was arrested on Monday night after calling 911 to report the accident. Her boyfriend, Pedro Ruiz, was 22. The couple was filming a video in which Ruiz was attempting to prove that a book would be able to shield him from a bullet, according to a criminal complaint obtained by BuzzFeed News. Ruiz was holding a book, apparently a “ hardcover encyclopedia ,” in front of his chest when Perez shot him. Perez and Ruiz first began making videos for their YouTube channel, La MonaLisa , back in March. In the about section, the channel is billed as “the real life of a young couple who happen to be teen parents.” Most of the couple’s earlier videos are daily vlogs and simple stunts, like eating a hot pep

How to Get Through Airport Security With Breast Milk http://ift.tt/2tZAuzk It’s perfectly legal to pass through airport security with breast milk, even without a baby in tow, but the rules don’t always hold up in real life when you’re just a parent standing in front of a TSA agent, asking him to let you get on a plane with your ice-cold packs of human sustenance. Last week, a Colorado mom described how the milk she had pumped for her 3-month-old son was thrown out by TSA after it was tested for explosives and set off an alarm. While these types of stories seem to have become less common, perhaps after President Obama signed the training-focused Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening (BABES) Act last year, hiccups and hold-ups happen. Friends told me their own tales from the checkpoint—they’ve cringed as their containers of liquid gold were opened, fumbled with and sniffed by perplexed security agents. One mom was asked to take a sip of the stuff to prove it wasn’t haza

Showtime’s standalone subscription service now has an Xbox One app http://ift.tt/2tZvwTd Showtime’s standalone streaming service is now available on the Xbox One , which joins Apple, Roku, Amazon, Google, and Samsung in offering the over-the-top service. Users will be able to subscribe to Showtime for $10.99 per month directly through the Xbox One application, and there’s a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. So if you’re looking to watch Homeland , Billions, Ray Donovan , The Affair, Shameless , the resurrected Twin Peaks, or anything else in Showtime’s back catalog of movies and TV shows, have an Xbox One, and don’t pay for Showtime through cable already, you can download the new app here . Singularity via The Verge http://ift.tt/1jLudMg June 28, 2017 at 02:53PM