The Futurism blog, which describes itself as reporting on the breakthrough technologies and scientific discoveries that will shape humanitys future, has published a post on basic income as a response to increasing automation of the workplace.

Although universal basic income (UBI) is neither a technology nor a scientific discovery, Futurisms FAQ page lists UBI as one of the topics that it is particularly interested in.

The article sets out the nature of basic income, explores arguments for and against it, lists a number of recent and upcoming experiments, and provides quotes from a number of supporters of UBI throughout history. It is written by Luke Kingma, Futurisms Head of Creative and a former copywriter for companies such as Hasbro, Toyota and Warner Brothers.

Futurism has appeared in a list of top futurist blogs on Quora, a popular question-and-answer site. It states that it has approximately 200,000 subscribers to its regular newsletter.

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Luke Kingma, Universal Basic Income: The Answer to Automation?, Futurism, 22th April 2016

Claire Bott has written 6 articles.

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Universal Basic Income Examined by Futurism Blog - Basic Income News

In Brief In an open letter addressed to a special convention set up by the United Nations to study the implications of autonomous weapons, a group of 116 AI experts urged decisive and immediate regulation. A Clear Danger

Elon Musk has long been warning us against the dangers he believes to be inherent to unregulated artificial intelligence (AI) development. Hes called the threathumankinds biggest risk, and even said that its greater than any threat posed by North Korea. While some AI experts have criticized Musk for this, the OpenAI CEO is hardly the only one in the industry thats offered warnings about the potential danger of AI systems.

In fact, 115 other experts including DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman have joinedMusk in calling for stronger regulation for AI. As companies building the technologies in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics that may be repurposed to develop autonomous weapons, we feel especially responsible in raising this alarm, the group wrote in an open letter to the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare.

The UN has just created the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS), which will discuss and study the implications of modern weapons powered by AI. Musk, Suleyman, and the other experts urge the UN to act decisively and clearly on the matter, urging them to work hard at finding means to prevent an arms race in these weapons, to protect civilians from their misuse, and to avoid the destabilizing effects of these technologies.

The group of experts, obviously, arent against developing AI after all, theyre all involved in AI work from 26 countries. The problem is how AI is used: the group is wary of is using the technology to build autonomous weapon systems, a trend thats already begun.

Unlike other potential manifestations of AI which still remain in the realm of science fiction, autonomous weapons systems are on the cusp of development right now and have a very real potential to cause significant harm to innocent people along with global instability, Clearpath Robotics founder and one of the signatories Ryan Gariepytold The Guardian.

Their letter continues: Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways.

And asMusk has been sayingin regards to AI all along nows the best time do implement all the regulation necessary. We do not have long to act, he said earlier this month, Once this Pandoras box is opened, it will be hard to close.

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Elon Musk Leads AI Experts With Letter Urging UN to Consider Threat of Autonomous Weapons - Futurism

In Brief Innovative artificial womb technology successfully incubated lambs for one week and might soon be helping preterm babies to fully develop. The device and its accompanying unique method was developed by a collaboration of scientists from Australia, Japan, and elsewhere. An Innovation in Artificial Incubation

Around 15 million babies are born preterm or premature every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This number is expected to rise, bringing moreinfants into the world before completing 37 weeks of gestation. How we are going to care for a growing number of premature infants is a real concern: preterm birth complications were responsible for almost a million deaths in 2015, making it the leading cause of death among children below 5 years of age.

Thankfully, there are a number of interventionsthat can help, many of whichinvolve developing better incubation chambers evenartificial wombs and placentaswhere the premature infants can continue their growth outside the womb. One of these is an artificial womb developed by a combined team of researchers from the Women and Infants Research Foundation, the University of Western Australia, and Tohoku University Hospital, Japan.

Designing treatment strategies for extremely preterm infants is a challenge, lead researcher Matt Kemp said in a press release. At this gestational age the lungs are often too structurally and functionally under-developed for the baby to breathe easily. Their work, published in The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, took a different approach. The key was treating the preterm infants not as babies,but as fetuses.

Their device and method successfully incubated healthy baby lambs in an ex-vivo uterine environment (EVE) for a one-week period. At its core, our equipment is essentially is a high-tech amniotic fluid bath combined with an artificial placenta. Put those together, and with careful maintenance what youve got is an artificial womb, Kemp explained.

He added in the press release, By providing an alternative means of gas exchange for the fetus, we hoped to spare the extremely preterm cardiopulmonary system from ventilation-derived injury, and save the lives of those babies whose lungs are too immature to breathe properly. The end goal is to provide preterm babies the chance to better develop their lungs and other important organs before being brought into the world. Its this approach that makes it revolutionary.

The scientists hope that this EVE therapy could soon help bring preterm human babies to term. We now have a much better understanding of what works and what doesnt, and although significant development is required, a life support system based around EVE therapy may provide an avenue to improve outcomes for extremely preterm infants, Kemp said.

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Further Research into Artificial Wombs Brings Us Closer to a Future Where Babies Grow Outside the Body - Futurism

In BriefFor any Mars exploration plans, surviving on the Red Planet isas important as getting there. This is why NASA is looking forwardto its Mars 2020 Rover mission, which would include a test formaking oxygen on the Red Planet's surface. Small Steps for Man

Getting humans to land on Mars is the biggest space project this generation will ever see. Such a bold endeavorgetting humans to another worldcomes with a cornucopia of nitty-gritty details to iron out. These details need to be set before we can even begin to proceed with a manned mission.

The most obvious is the needto build rockets and spacecraft able to ferry probes (carrying food and other supplies) and people. For NASAs mission to Mars, this also entails the construction of a lunar space station thatll serve as a jump-off point to the rest of the solar system.Click to View Full Infographic

Speaking to Futurism after the successful launch of SpaceXs CRS-12 mission on Monday, NASA Acting Chief Administrator Robert Lightfoot, Jr. explained how getting to Mars requires small, incremental steps, and he noted that NASA has a remarkable project in the works. When you look at our plans today [for getting to Mars], we use the International Space Station as much as we canfor example, our life support systems, we test them up there. He added that the Moon would be the next logical step in this process.

But getting to Mars and surviving there are two disparate yet equally important aspects of the same mission. We try and make sure that, when we do a science mission or a human spaceflight mission, that we have a cross between the science and the human exploration, Lightfoot explained.

Now no one wants to fly to Mars, land on the ground, yawp I did it!and then turn around and head home. Space exploration is more than symbolic pretense. We want to stay on Mars and install a colony. Of course, the eventual plan is to terraform Mars, but that could take thousands ofyears to accomplish if its at all possible.

So, in Lightfoots mind, we ought to start small, and theres nothing more basic for survival on Mars (or anywhere) than having a secure source of air to breathe. The next lander that is going to Mars, Mars 2020, has an experiment where we are going to try and actually generate oxygen out of the atmosphere on Mars, clearly thats for human capability down the road, Lightfoot said.

What we know is that the Red Planets atmosphere is thinner than Earths, with some 95.32 percent carbon dioxide, 2.7 percent nitrogen, 1.6 percent argon, and about 0.13 oxygen, plus a bunch of other elements in even smaller amounts. By contrast, the Earths atmosphere has 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen. Water wont be much of a problem, though.

Is it possible to make oxygen from Mars atmosphere? NASAs had plans for this since 2014, when it first revealed the Mars 2020 Rover. It involves bringing some microbial life to Mars, perhaps bacteria or algae, that would would use Martian soil as fuel and then pump out oxygen as a product. The oxygen could then be harnessed and made available for breathing and also to make rocket fuel for return flights to Earth.

It may sound like science fiction right now, but lab experiments have shown that its possible. Thats why the Mars 2020 Rover mission is crucial. Other efforts to make Mars habitable include plans of building a magnetic shield around the planet, similar to Earths, building a nuclear reactor, as well as growing potatoeslike in Matt Damon inThe Martian.

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NASA: We're Going to Try and Make Oxygen From the Atmosphere on Mars - Futurism

In Brief After 6 years, China is reclaiming its title for the world's fastest train. In September, a new series of bullet trains capable of reaching speeds of 400 km/h (248 mph) will go into operation.

China once held the title for the worlds fastest train, but a devastating crash in 2011 forced the country to slow down their transits, lest they experience another tragic event.

Next month, however, China will regain is lost title, as it plans to introduce several new bullet trains that will move at the speeds necessary to once again be the worlds fastest. Prior to the aforementioned accident, Chinas bullet trains traveled at 350 km/h (217 mph), but were then reduced to 250-300 km/h (155-186 mph).

Come September 21, when the new trains are up and running, speeds will return to 350 km/h, but will be capable of going 400 km/h (248 mph). For comparison, the still-in-development Hyperloop One recently reached speeds of 308 km/h (192 mph), though the plan is to hit 402 km/h (250 mph) while still in testing.

Zhao Jian, Beijing Jiaotong University professor and a leading researcher on Chinas high-speed railway network, told the South China Morning Post that in order to avoid more accidents at higher speeds, the railway operator will need to reduce the number of trains in use at one time.

According to the Associated Press, China has laid over 20,000 kilometers (12,400 miles) of high-speed rail, and intends to add another 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) by 2020. To date, over $360 billion has been spent on the railways creation.

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China Is Reviving the World's Fastest Train - Futurism

In BriefAstrophysicists have discovered a probable Earth-likeexoplanet that is 23 light-years closer than the Trappist-1 system.It has sparked new hope for finding extraterrestrial life in theuniverse. Hope for Exoplanets

Last year, the Trappist-1 system was discovered, and it reignitedhumanitys hope of finding planets that could one day (or currently) sustain life. Butthere has been much debate over the probability that planets within that system, which is located 39 light-years away,could hold life as we know it. While Trappist planets might fall within what is known as the habitable zone, other factors, such as the factthat they orbit a red dwarf, might make them less prone to sustaining life than initially thought.

This uncertainty might get you down until you read that astrophysicistsat the University of Texas at Arlington(UTA) have predicted the existence of a much closer planet that is Earth-like in nature. Published as Dynamics of a probable Earth-Like Planet in the GJ 832 System in The Astrophysical Journal, this planet is only 16 light-years away, within the star system Gliese 832, and it appears to be both stable and Earth-like.

Lead author Suman Satyal, UTA physics researcher, stated in an UTA press release that, According to our calculations, this hypothetical alien world would probably have a mass between 1 to 15 Earths masses.

This is an important breakthrough demonstrating the possible existence of a potential new planet orbiting a star close to our own, UTA Physics Chair Alexander Weiss said in the press release.The fact that Dr. Satyal was able to demonstrate that the planet could maintain a stable orbit in the habitable zone of a red dwarf for more than 1 billion years is extremely impressive and demonstrates the world class capabilities of our departments astrophysics group.

According to Satyal, The existence of this possible planet is supported by long-term orbital stability of the system, orbital dynamics and the synthetic radial velocity signal analysisAt the same time, a significantly large number of radial velocity observations, transit method studies, as well as direct imaging are still needed to confirm the presence of possible new planets in the Gliese 832 system.

So, it is not yet 100 percent certain that this unicorn of a planet exists. However, these predictions are strongly supported by evidence garnered by the research group. But what could this mean if and when these scientists prove the existence of such a planet?

Technologies which allow us to explore further and further into the cosmos continue to develop. From SpaceXs advances to the Breakthrough Initiatives, it is becoming ever-more possible to reach previously unseen corners of the universe. Now, Mars is only an average of 12.5 light-minutes from Earth, so 16 light-years might seem like an unconquerable distance.

However, compared to the distances of other promising exoplanets, this could be one of the best shots we have to survey and study an exoplanet that fits many habitable criteria. The exploration of the universe is a never-ending journey that will only continue to further our knowledge and curiosity.

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Astrophysicists Believe They've Found Another Earth-Like Planet in ... - Futurism

In Brief In a meeting of the American Chemical Society, researchers presented their work on a paper sensor that can tell you when your food is spoiled. The technology could also help spot infectious bacteria or find medicinal herbs in the Amazon. Best Before is No Longer Good Enough

Many of us have struggled to figure out if a food item sitting in our fridge is ok to eat. Now, with a little help from science, theres an easy, low cost sensor that could replace those unreliable dates printed on our favorite foods. Research presented at todays 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) by Silvana Andreescu of Clarkson Universitys Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Science goes into how these sensors work, and many of the possible upcoming real-world applications for the technology.

My lab has built a versatile sensing platform that incorporates all the needed reagents for detection in a piece of paper. At the same time, it is adaptable to different targets, including food contaminants, antioxidants and free radicals that indicate spoilage, she said. We use stable, inorganic particles that are redox active. When they interact with the substances we want to detect, they change color, and the intensity of the change tells us how concentrated the analyte (the substance being measured) is.

This tech is in its infancy, but the researchers envision incorporating this development into future labels to give clear readouts of when its time to toss spoiled food or cosmetics. The sensors are also good for more much more than keeping you from drinking curdled milk. Other possible applications include authenticating teas and wines by their antioxidant content, searching for new medicinal herbs in the Amazon, or eventually detecting salmonella and E.coli to prevent food poisoning.

Lately, paper-based technologies have been bringing new, cheap technologies into the world. Researchers are working on paper based batteries that can charge in seconds or even be powered by your spit. The relatively low costs of these devices open up a wide variety of possibilities for remote areas of the world, and could even help to save lives.

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A Smart Label Can Sense When Your Food Has Gone Bad - Futurism - Futurism

In Brief Bitcoin software company Blockstream announced that its Blockstream Satellite network will transmit the cryptocurrency down from space, enabling people in places with little support for the blockchain network to access bitcoin. Blockstream Satellite Network

On August 15, Blockstream, a Bitcoin software company, announced the launch of its Blockstream Satellite network that broadcasts bitcoin to people just about anywhere in the world irrespective of their internet connection for free. This will make the cryptocurrency more accessible to almost anyone, even in places where data costs are high and living standards and incomes are low.

The Blockstream Satellite network will transmit the cryptocurrency down from space, enabling people in places where few people are supporting a blockchain network with their computers to access bitcoin anyway. And, because Bitcoin is decentralized, it works as users run full nodes on their computers all over the world. These nodes contribute to community decisions about the blockchain, keep the network safe, and confirm transactions.

While running a full node is easy where the internet is fairly cheap and accessible, it does demand that you have a complete version of the Bitcoin blockchain, with all records of each bitcoin transaction since 2009 on your machine constantly. This task becomes very costly, or even impossible in some areas, either because the internet is too difficult to access, or because the people local to the area do not have 100$ every month so spend on running bitcoin nodes.

With the help of Blockstreams satellite network, it is now possible to receive this cryptocurrency directly from space for free, but only after investing in some fairly expensive hardware. The projects GitHub documentation indicates that to run a bitcoinnode, youll need a computer, a receiver, a TV satellite dish, and a USB stick that allows your computer to pick up radio frequencies.

According to Blockstream, current satellite coverage by the network includes much of the US, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe. Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Motherboard Vice that the company plans to extend that coverage to envelope most of the world within a year, although he joked, I guess there might be some research scientists in Antarctica who wont be able to use bitcoin.

Several members of the Futurism team are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Bitcoin Now Comes From Satellites in Space. Welcome to the Future. - Futurism

In Brief Toyota is developing a device that would allow objects to turn invisible, or at least transparent. The Japanese car maker recently received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a device meant to improve the visibility of drivers. For Better (In)Visibility

From cloaking devices that conceal spaceships, to Harry Potters hand-me-down disappearing blanket, or even the One Ring and its power to conceal its wearer, invisibility is a staple in science fiction and fiction in general. Scientists have been hard at work, however, to bring such a technology into reality. Joining the research and development of cloaking technology is Japanese car manufacturer Toyota.

The company recently acquired a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for Apparatuses and methods for making an object appear transparent, which Toyota filed last June 17. Seems exciting, especially since its a car maker working on an invisibility tech or cloaking device. It actually is interesting, but not because its meant to turn Toyotas cars invisible well, at least not all of them.

The patent describes a cloaking device designed to turn vehicles A-pillars to the left and right of the cars dashboard invisible, improving road visibility for the driver. Seems ironic that a cloaking technology would improve visibility, right? Toyota thinks that its the way to go, especially since A-pillars have become rather large following crash-safety standards. The wider they are, the more they end up obscuring a drivers vision.

According to Toyota, such a technology is already possible like the Rochester Cloakbut it would require video cameras and other expensive equipment for it to work in cars. This cloaking device, on the other hand, would be a less expensive solution. It would use mirrors to bend visible light around the A-pillars to allow the driver to see through them. This would give drivers a wider view of the road and their surroundings. It also benefits pedestrians, as drivers would see them better.

Light from an object on an object-side of the cloaking device [i.e., facing the road] is directed around an article [the A-pillars] ]within the cloaking region and forms an image on an image-side of the cloaking device [i.e., facing the drivers seat] such the article appears transparent to an observer looking towards the object, according to a description of the device in the patent.

Making things invisible is all about manipulating light. The other invisibility technologies currently being developed do the same thing, albeit using different methods or materials. For instance, researchers from the Max Planck Institute are working on mimicking the biology of moths eyes to turn lenses and glass invisible. Meanwhile, a group from the University of California, San Diego is controlling how light reflects on objects using a thin carpet cloak made form Teflon and ceramic particles.

All of these studies bring us closer to a working invisibility cloak, or at least a technology which allows us to see through objects by making them bend light like Toyotas device. We will have to wait and see.

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Toyota Just Patented a Cloaking Device - Futurism

In Brief CRISPR co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna stressed the importance of using the technology with proper consideration at CrisprCon this week. Pushing the Pace

The CRISPR gene editing tool has already been used to perform some incredible feats of science, from manipulating the social behavior of ants to making superbugs kill themselves. Its an incredibly powerful asset, but this week at CrisprCon, there was plenty of discussion about where we should draw a line on its usage.

Ive never seen science move at the pace its moving right now, said CRISP co-discoverer Jennifer Doudna, who has spent recent months touring the world campaigning for a global consensus on appropriate implementations of gene-editing technologies. Which means we cant put off these conversations.

CRISPR has already been used to edit harmful conditions out of animals and even viable human embryos. From this point, it wouldnt take a great leap to start using the technology to enhance healthy organisms which is why now is the time for discussions about the consequences.

While medical uses of CRISPR are perhaps the most ethically urgent, the conversation about its usage goes beyond medicine. Companies like Monsanto and Cargill have already licensed CRISPR technologies to help with their agricultural efforts. However, early attempts at genetically modified crops struggled to gain mainstream acceptance, and thats something these firms need to keep in mind as they implement the latest techniques.

It was a convenience item for farmers, observed organic farmer Tom Wiley at the convention, according to Wired. And a profit center for corporations. To combat genetically modified foods perception problem, companies using CRISPR will have to make sure that the technology benefits the consumer, not just the production process.

The convention addressed CRISPR usage in many different fields: from the importance of ensuringit is used to address the widest range of medical conditions as possible, to the potentially damaging effects of gene drives on a delicate ecosystem.

Science is moving at a rapid pace, and CRISPR is too but if we dont carefully consider which applications are safe and valid, it could quickly cause as many problems as it solves.

Crispr is not a light on the nation, its a mirror, said CrisprCon keynote speaker Greg Simon, director of the Biden Cancer Initiative;Wiredreporter Megan Molteni interpreted those words as,its just another technology thats only as good as the people using it.

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CRISPR Co-Discoverer: "I've Never Seen Science Move at the Pace ... - Futurism

In BriefA new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute reveals thatstem cells taken from younger rats provided older rats withyouthful vigor when injected into their hearts. After a month, therats ran longer, and regrew hair faster. To Be Young Again

Old hearts may find new life, according to a new study, which shows that stem cells taken from younger hearts can be used to reverse the aging process. This could potentially cause older hearts to act and perform like younger ones.Click to View Full Infographic

The study, conducted by the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and published by the European Heart Journal, set out to observe the effects of cardiac stem cells on various aspects of the heart, including its function and structure. Prior applications of Cardiosphere-derived cells (CDC) resulted in positive effects, but this was the first time its effects in the aging process were tested. This is different from the tests performed last month at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where the hypothalamus region of the brain was discovered to be a key part of aging in mice.

Cedars-Sinai researchers instead took CDC cells from newborn mice and injected it into the hearts of older mice, while another group of older mice were injected with saline. Blood, echocardiographic, haemodynamic and treadmill stress tests were performed on all mice after injections, with the older groups tested 1 month later.

The mice given the Cardiosphere-derived cells saw a number of benefits compared to their saline counterparts. They had improved heart functionality, were able to exercise 20 percent longer, regrew hair at a faster rate, and had longer heart cell telomeres. This is important because telomeres are compounds found at the ends of chromosomes whose shortening is directly correlated to the aging process.

The way the cells work to reverse aging is fascinating, said Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute Director and Lead Researcher Eduardo Marbn, MD, PhD. They secrete tiny vesicles that are chock-full of signaling molecules such as RNA and proteins. The vesicles from young cells appear to contain all the needed instructions to turn back the clock.

Tests on ratshave shown that CDCs have shown cardiac and systemic rejuvenation on the aging process, but there is much work to do before the anti-aging treatment is tested on people, let alone over the table. Lilian Griorian-Shamagian, MD, PhD, who was co-primary researcher on the study, notes that its still unclear if the cells actually extend the lifespan of the rats, rather than simply providing a new heart in an old body. Its also unknown if CDCs need to be taken from younger hearts in order to be effective. If any CDCs, regardless of their origin, can be used, it could lead to a new round of tests comparing the effects of CDCs from the young to the CDCs from the old or middle-aged.

If stem cells were used for medical purposes, they couldhelp those suffering from heart failure, or the Duchenne muscular dystrophy Marbn and his team are hoping to treat. Beyond that, it could lessen the number of deaths caused by heart disease, which is currently responsible for over 610,000 deaths a year.

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New Study Reveals Stem Cells from Young Hearts May Help Reverse the Aging Process - Futurism

In Brief Vincross hopes to bring advanced robotics to the masses with HEXA, a spider-like robot small enough to fit in a backpack. The robot is sold with a software developer kit that owners can use to program new capabilities for it, which they can then share with other owners via a Skills Store. Six Legs Can Be Better Than Two

Consumer robotics company Vincross has introduced a new bot to the world, and people with entomophobia might want to steer clear of it.

HEXA is a small, six-legged robot that resembles a crab or a spider to the point that it even moves at the same deliberate pace. The bot is just under 12 centimeters (4.72 inches) tall and 50.8 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter, which makes itcompact enough to fit in your backpack, according to the Vincross website.

While moving around on itssix legs, HEXAuses a range of sensors to see. These include a 720p camera with night vision, a 3-axis accelerometer, a distance-measuring sensor, and an infrared transmitter. Vincross claims the device has a high degree of maneuverability and can nimbly handle different environments and terrains. Again, much like a spider.

HEXA doesnt compare to therealness of some humanoid robotsor match the complexity ofrobots like ANYmal or the ostrich-like Cassie, but thats not Vincross goal. Instead, the company is hoping to use HEXA to help bring robotics to the masses.

Advanced robotics are costlyand building them can require access to expensive equipment and advanced engineering knowledge. Those barriers are enough to make the field intimidating, and they limit the number of people who can contribute to the robotics industrys growth.

Vincross is circumventing those complexities by providing consumers with not just HEXA, but also MIND, the bots operating system and software developer kit.

Based on Linux, MIND will let people create new movements and applications (or Skills), thereby expanding the robots capabilities. A Skills Store willhost these programs, making it easy for HEXA owners to share and test new programs and ideas. The store can be accessed via the HEXA app, which is also used to control HEXAs movements.

A Kickstarter is up now to help fund the projects development, and $499 will get you a HEXA, the complete software developer kit, a cable charger, and a few other bonus gifts. Theyve already raised more than$82,000 with 28 days left in the campaign, so the odds that Vincross reaches their goal of $100,000are looking good.

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HEXA Is an Agile, Spider-Like Robot That You Can Program Yourself - Futurism

In BriefPhysicist have learned how to use light to create quantumstates that flow from one point to another. This puts us one stepcloser to living in a world with quantum computers. From Light to Super-Proton

Five years ago, Martin Weitz and his team accomplished what other physicists had thought impossible: they created a photonic Bose-Einstein condensate, a completely new source of light.

A photonic Bose-Einstein condensate is when individual photons are collected together in a single location, cooled, and brought together to create what is known as a super-photon. Recently,Weitz of theInstitute of Applied Physics at Germanys University of Bonn set out to conduct an experiment with a newly made one.

In this new experiment, Weitz and his team were able to create wells that allowed super-photons toflow from one well to the next, an achievement that could one day lead to much-anticipated quantum computing.

The team accomplished this task by bouncing a laser between two mirrors, moving the light through a pigment between the mirrors thatcooled the light and turned it into a super-photon.Before introducing the laser light, a polymer was mixed in with the cooling pigment used to cool the light.Using this polymer allowed Weitz to influence the experiments refractive index using heat; increasing the temperature would let longer light wavelengths travel back and forth between the two mirrors.

By inducing different temperature patterns, Weitzs team was able to induce apseudo-warping effect in the polymer, creatingwells at certain points that had a different refractive index than the polymer as a whole. The team then found that the super-photon would flow into the wells, just as a liquid might flow into a hollow space.

The special thing is that we have built a kind of optical well in various forms, into which the Bose-Einstein condensate was able to flow, Weitz said in a press release. With the help of various temperature patterns, we were able to create different optical dents.

Following the creation of the photonic Bose-Einstein condensate, Weitz team of researchers observed the behavior of two adjacent optical wells. By adjusting the temperatures of the polymer, the light in both wells came to have similar energy levels, thereby allowing the created super-photon to move from one to the other.

According to Weitz, thisinnovation could be the precursor for quantum circuits, which are expected to play a large role in the future of quantum computers and communication.

The work done by Weitz and his group could also lead to better developed lasers, such as ones used for welding or drilling.

Computing applications of this technology arent expected for quite a while, but some believe the first true quantum computers may debut as early as next year. It was only in July that two Swedish PhD studentsbroke a quantum computing record, nudging use slightly closer to such a reality.

Its currently a race to see who gets us to that point first, but its only a matter of time before we figure out how to create the right machines capable of handling quantum circuits. When we do, whole new aspects of our universe may become open to us, as our computer systems inevitably become faster and more powerful.

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Physicists Have Made Exotic Quantum States From Light - Futurism - Futurism

In Brief A bitcoin trader with a reputation for accurate predictions now claims the cryptocurrency will be worth $15,000 before the end of 2017. Masterluc expects the value to continue to increase until 2019, at which point it will top out somewhere between $40,000 and $110,000.

Late last week, the price of bitcoin rose beyond $3,500, and it currently sits slightly above$4,200. While some are skeptical of this steady increase in value, according to an expert observer,itwont be endingany time soon.

Veteran trader masterluc predicts that bitcoin will be worth $15,000 before the end of the year. He believe the cryptocurrencys current bull run will then continue into 2019, at which point its price will top out somewhere between $40,000 and $110,000.

Masterluc has historically been adept at predicting bitcoins future value. He was able to accurately predict in March 2013 that the crypto would enter into a bear market in November 2013, and then in May 2015, he made a prediction that proved to be just slightly off point,missing the start of the cryptos current surge by just two months.

Masterluc isnt the only pundit expectingbitcoin to go from strength to strength. Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs analyst Sheba Jafari predicted that the currency could reach $4,800, having previously forecast a highof $3,691 as recently as July.

Bitcoin is on a roll at the moment, and predicting when this run will start to drop off is no easy task. Masterluc has a history of being right in his predictions, and many experts agree that the uptick will continue for at least a little while longer, which could have some major ramifications for traditional currency.

Disclosure: Several members of the Futurism team, including the editors of this piece, are personal investors in a number of cryptocurrency markets. Their personal investment perspectives have no impact on editorial content.

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Get Ready. Renowned Bitcoin Trader Says the Currency Will Hit $15000 in 2017. - Futurism

In BriefRetired astrophysicist Daniel Whitmire re-examined the FermiParadox, and why the universe is silent if there is alien life outthere. He believes that it's possible that humanity was the firstto have become technologically advanced. The Sound of Silence

For retired astrophysicist Daniel Whitmire, currently a mathematics professor at the University of Arkansas (UARK), humanity is typical. Not exactly in the sense that were ordinary; were typical in a statistical sense, following a concept in modern cosmology called the principle of mediocrity. This principle suggests that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, we should consider humanity to be a typical member of a certain reference class.

This was Whitmires conclusion, in a study published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, when he revisited his thoughts on the Fermi Paradox that we havent encountered alien life, despite the high probability of it existing and again asked if theres alien life out there. With all the billions of stars in billions of galaxies, chances are theres bound to be other intelligent life in the cosmos. So, where are they?

I used to tell my students that by statistics, we have to be the dumbest guys in the galaxy,Whitmire said in a UARK press release. After all, we have only been technological for about 100 years, while other civilizations could be more technologically advanced than us by millions or billions of years.

But Whitmire changed his mind on this concept based on two observations: Firstly, that humanity was the first technologically advanced civilization that evolvedon Earth, and were currently in our early technological development. (Technological, here, is to be understood as biological species that developed electronic devices and are capable of significantly changing the planet.)

On the surface, this may seem like an obvious observation. However, based on the Earths habitable time span from around 5 billion years ago, and for an estimated billion years in the future it would have been possible for other technological civilizations to precede us on this planet. The thing is, theres no geologic record that shows someone else came before us. Wed leave a heck of a fingerprint if we disappeared overnight, Whitmire said.

But what about life outside of the Earth? Following the same principle of mediocrity, technological civilizations that lasts millions of years or longer are atypical, Whitmire says. If one considers a bell curve of all supposedly extant technological civilizations in the universe, humanity would fall in the middle 95 percent.

If that is the case, the lack of communication from similar civilizations around us does not bode well. Whitmire explains the silence of the cosmosas a product of how typical technological civilizations work: They usually go extinct after attaining technological knowledge. This is the same explanation held by other scientists, and one even suggests that we should look for traces of alien technology instead of alien life.

The Great Filter hypothesis is another possible explanation. It suggests that before any life in the universe becomes technological or before technological life goes beyond the bounds of its own planet, it had to overcome some extremely difficult evolutionary threshold. Some even think that climate change is humanitys great filter.

For resident Science Guy Bill Nye, the Fermi Paradox should push humanity to explore further. The reason why we havent found intelligent extraterrestrial life or even simple alien life is because we havent been looking hard enough. Theres still a big chance that theyre somewhere out there.

Yet these theories assume that were not a typical representative of life in the cosmos. If were not typical then my initial observation would be correct, Whitmire said. We would be the dumbest guys in the galaxy by the numbers.

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A New Theory Suggests We May be the Only Technologically Advanced Civilization Still Around - Futurism

In Brief Australian company Euclideon has created the first real multi-user hologram table in the world, and it's going to change gaming, business, and so much more. This new tech solves previous problems with holographic images using motion-tracking glasses. Interactive Holographic Images

A working prototype of what will be the first real multi-user hologram table in the world has been created by theAustralian company Euclideon. Wearing only a small pair of glasses, up to four people can interact with the tables holographic images and each other, making this a major advancement from the experience provided by current AR technology. The company estimates that in 2018, the table will be up for sale for $60,000 Australian.

The concept of the hologram table in film and science fiction is hardly new, but because of the many technical difficulties inherent to executing the concept, the idea has yet to be realized. This difficulty originates from the fact that holograms are computer-generated stereo images, dependent on the perspective of the viewer. When a group of people in different positions look at a hologram, the illusion breaks as they dont get the same perspective on it and it doesnt change as they move. Computer-generated holograms work by tracking the viewer but which viewer does the computer track when theres more than one?

Euclideon has solved this riddle in a worlds first without a gigantic helmet that no one wants to wear, which is the fatal flaw of many multi-user VR/AR systems. After all, its hard to interact with your friends if youre all inside helmets.

The Unlimited Detail (UD) 3D graphics processing engine is what first brought Euclideon renown in the gaming community. The UD engine made it possible for users to be immersed in huge, amazingly detailed, 3D virtual environments, without special graphics cards or high-end computers. And while it didnt excel with the dynamic motion of objects or physics, its strength in geospatial imaging forms the basis for the new table.

Euclideons table requires that users wear only a small, light pair of motion-trackable glasses, which look and feel a lot like 3D glasses. These are much more practical for meetings and social events than huge VR/AR helmets, not to mention more comfortable. As users wear the glasses, the table tracks their eye positions, building a custom image for a potential total of eight user eyes. The table itself is a screen, and the device is made up of projectors that rest beneath a unique film which is sandwiched between two pieces of glass. The result is a mass of mixed up, colored images that the glasses separate out for users, enabling them to see binocular stereo holograms specific to their location.

The glasses themselves have special crystal film layers over them, which can change the frequencies of light waves. When users wear the glasses, the computer can tell which light waves belong to which users. The glasses have small boxes at the temples which contain tiny microcomputers and microchips similar to the VR headsets tracking jiggers, signaling the users position to the table.

Euclideon is currently about to begin the manufacturing process and expects their tables to be ready in February of 2018.

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The First Truly Applicable Hologram Tech is Here - Futurism

In BriefExperts predict that if we do not establish space coloniessoon, humanity could be wiped out by a single disaster perhaps inthe next 100 years. But will we board our rockets in time? Here's atimeline for when you can expect to see the first space settlementestablished, and perhaps become a colonist yourself. The Final Frontier

Our days on Earth may be numbered. Great minds have postulated that humanity must spread itself across multiple planets in order to avoid being entirely wiped out by one natural disaster. Physicist Stephen Hawking has gone so far as to predict such a catastrophe will occur on Earth in the next 100 years, which doesnt give us much time to pack our rocket ships.

Will humanity be ready to colonize space before doomsday? We asked Futurism readers when they thought humans will colonize off-planet, and the results revealed quite a consensus.More than 70 percent of people who took the poll thought acolony will be established during the first half of the 21st century, and the decade with the most votes a whopping 36 percent of participants was the 2030s.

Satish Varma, a software engineer, explained why he voted for this decade.Varma wrote in his response that our technological advances in spacecraft design, artificial intelligence (AI), and bionics will be the driving forces that finally propel us into space long term. Currently there are some promising advances in space exploration and artificial intelligence by companies like SpaceX, Google, and Tesla in a short time frame, Varma wrote.

Varmas observations are right on both SpaceX and Blue Origin have recently reached significant milestones in developing reusable rockets, which will be key in making space travel economically viable. Google has recently developed an AI that can learn almost as fast as we can, making the technology much more promising for real-world applications, like flying spaceships.

The technologies have enticed governments and companies around the world to take the idea of space colonization seriously. The two most popular targets for human occupation are currently Mars and the Moon. The Moon gets a little less attention these days, but scientists have estimated that we could build a colony there over the pan of six years and for as little as $10 billion. The Chinese and European space agencies are carefully examining the possibility of a Moon base, as such a resource would greatly reduce the cost of traveling to other planets including Mars.

On the Mars front,the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its intention to establish a settlement on the Red Planet by2117. Other nations are likely to beat the UAE in reaching this goal, however, as the U.S. government has tasked NASA with getting humans on Mars by 2033, and China has set aneven more ambitions goal: by the end of the decade. These government efforts align with readers predictions.

But SpaceX CEO Elon Musk hopes to prove just how much more efficient private companies are thangovernment bureaucracies. His plan, too, is to sendhumans to Mars by 2020, but that isnt his only goal. He wants to make travel to the Red Planet affordable, setting the price cap at $200,000 in his new plan that focuses on establishing a self-sustaining space civilization rather than a simple exploratory expedition. Such an establishment will be paramount to the future of the human species, Musk said.

History suggests there will be some doomsday event, and I would hope you would agree that becoming a multi-planetary species would be the right way to go, Musk said at a press conference last year. I want to make Mars seem possible like something that we can do in our lifetimes.

With all these efforts to get humans off world over the course of the next few decades, it seems like a good bet a Martian colony is not only something this generation could see, but something it will.

See all of the Futurism predictions and make your own predictions here.

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When Will the First Human Space Colony Be Established? - Futurism

In BriefResearchers from UCLA have found a way to successfullyreactivate stem cells in dormant hair follicles to promote hairgrowth in mice. Through this research, they've developed two drugsthat could help millions of people worldwide treat conditions thatlead to abnormal hair growth and retention. External Problem. Internal Solution.

Researchers have already explored ways to use stem cells totreat everything from diabetes toaging, and now, ateam from UCLAthinks they could potentially offer some relief for people suffering from baldness.

During their study, which has beenpublished in Nature, the researchers noticedthat stem cells found in hair follicles undergo a different metabolic process than normal skin cells. After turning glucose into a molecule known as pyruvate, these hair follicle cells then do one of two things: send the pyruvateto the cells mitochondria to be used as energy or convert it into another metabolite known as lactate.

Based on these findings, the researchers decided to see if inactive hair follicles behaved differently depending on the path of the pyruvate.

To that end, the UCLA team compared mice that had been genetically engineered so that they wouldnt produce lactate with mice that had been engineered to produce more lactate than normal. Obstructing lactate production stopped the stem cells in the follicles from being activated, while more hair growth was observed on the animals who were producing more of the metabolite.

No one knew that increasing or decreasing the lactate would have an effect on hair follicle stem cells, co-lead on the study and professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology William Lowry explained in a UCLA press release. Once we saw how altering lactate production in the mice influenced hair growth, it led us to look for potential drugs that could be applied to the skin and have the same effect.

Based on their study, the researchers were able to discovertwo different drugs that could potentially help humans jumpstart the stem cells in their hair follicles to increase lactate production.

The first is called RCGD423, and it works by establishing a JAK/STAT signalling pathway between the exterior of a cell and its nucleus. This puts the stems cells in an active state and contributes to lactate production, encouraging hair growth.

The other drug, UK5099, takes the opposite approach. It stops pyruvate from being converted into energy by the cells mitochondria, which leaves the molecules with no choice but to take the alternate path of creating lactate, which, in turn, promotes hair growth.

Both of the drugs have yet to be tested on humans, but hopes are high that if tests are successful, they could provide relief for the estimated 56 million people in the U.S. alonesuffering from a range of conditions that affect normal hair growth and retention, including alopecia, hormone imbalances, stress-related hair loss, and even old age.

However, as undoubtedly pleased as many of those people would be to stimulate their hair growth, the potential relevance of this research stretches far beyond hair loss. The new knowledge gained regarding stem cells, specifically their relation to the metabolism of the human body, provides a very promising basis for future study in other realms.

I think weve only just begun to understand the critical role metabolism plays in hair growth and stem cells in general, noted Aimee Flores, first author of the study and a predoctoral trainee in Lowrys lab. Im looking forward to the potential application of these new findings for hair loss and beyond.

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We Just Figured out How to Activate Stem Cells to Treat Baldness - Futurism

In BriefSouth Australia has announced plans to construct the world'slargest single-tower solar thermal power plant in Port Augusta. Theplant will use technology developed by SolarReserve to store energyin molten salt, giving it the ability to operate 24 hours a day. Sun and Salt

The government of South Australia has announced plans to construct the worlds largest single-tower solar thermal power plant in Port Augusta. California-based solar tech company SolarReserve will be responsible for both the build and upkeep of the facility.

The Aurora Solar Energy Project is based on plans that weredeveloped as part of the Rice Solar Energy Project in California, which stalled as a result of changes to tax credits related to renewable energy.

Once built, arrays of heliostats will focus solar energy onto a central tower, which uses molten salt technology to store that energy as heat. These molten salts will provide 1,100 megawatts of energy storage capacity, which equates to eight hours of full load storage. This will allow the facility to generate electricity during the night as well as during the day when sunlight is shining down.

Aurora is projected to have an output of 150 megawatts and an ability to generate 495 gigawatt hours of electricity each year. The station will be able to service 90,000 homes and is expected to be able to cater to around five percent of South Australias total energy needs. Construction on the $650 million plantwill begin next year, with the expectation that Aurora will be producing electricity by 2020.

The Aurora Solar Energy Project wont be the first major renewable energy project for South Australia. In July, the local government inked a deal with Tesla to install a Powerpack system that will work alongside the Hornsdale Wind Farm.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been very clear about the potential for solar to help the U.S. meet its own energy needs,assertingthat the entire nation could be powered by an area measuring 25,600 square kilometers (10,000 square miles) filled with solar panels.

Despite these claims and the assertions of other experts, however, U.S. President Donald Trump appears determined to try to revive the coal industry.

That hasnt slowed the adoption of renewable energy in other parts of the world, though. Morocco is currently building the worlds largest traditional solar plant, Chinas massive floating solar power plant just went online, and Indias record-holding solar farm can power 150,000 homes.

Despite a lack of federal support, individual states and cities within the U.S. are committing to fossil fuel alternatives as well just this month, Orlando, Florida, became the fortieth city in the country to make a commitment to completely transition to renewables within the next several decades.

A primary contributor to this increased adoption is cost. For a long time, a mainargument against renewable energy sources has been their high cost when compared to fossil fuels.

Now, the solar panels that weve become accustomed to seeing atop residential homes have dropped in price significantly, and building a new commercial solar plant is also cheaper than building a plant thats powered by fossil fuels. Experts are predicting that solar energy will actually be cheaper than coalwithin the next four years.

This increased affordability will no doubt lead to the creation of more projects like the one in Port Augusta, and that will go a long way toward helping the world meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and stem the damage weve done to the planet through the use of fossil fuels.

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Engineers Are Building the World's Largest Single-Tower Solar Thermal Plant - Futurism

In Brief Tesla's putting a "Tiny House" on tour today in Australia, as it unveiled a project that would demonstrate its solar roof panels and Powerwall home energy storage batteries. Tesla wants to demonstrate how a sustainable energy home could work.

Australia enjoys a healthy does of sunshine for most of the yearin fact, it has the highest average solar radiation persquare meter than any other continent on Earth, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. This makes the Land Down Under an ideal place for solar energy farms and home solar products.

However, while public demand for renewables are up, the Australian government has kept energy prices low to maintain reliance on coal. This has created a troublesome energy situation throughout most of the continent. Realizing, perhaps, that Australia needs to be more at home with solar energy, Tesla decided to put up what it calls the Tesla Tiny House and its going to tour some of the major cities in the continent.

Tesla is hitting the road across Australia in a tiny house powered by 100% renewable energy, the company says on its website, as well as in a press release after launching the Tiny House on Sunday. Pulled by a Model X, the house features a Tesla mobile design studio so visitors can check out and learn how to set up their own Tesla solar and energy storage system.

The Tiny House is powered by solar energy using a six-panel 2kW solar system attached to a Powerwall battery, where energy can be stored throughout the day and night, Tesla said, according to Electrek. This energy cycle can be controlled and monitored through the Tesla mobile app. Oh, and its also built from locally sourced timber thats chemical free, just to complete that sustainable touch. In short, its a renewable ecosystem on wheels.

This renewable ecosystem is what Tesla hopes to build into homes throughout Australia, where over two million households already have rooftop solar. While Tesla has yet to offer rooftop solar installations, it has already partnered with a local home builder to include the Powerwall as a standard feature. Establishing solar as a standardcould provide a sustainable source of clean energy, and would greatly lessen dependence on coal-generated electricity.

Teslas also working on large-scale energy projects in Australia, building a Powerpack system for a wind farm in South Australia which would be the worlds largest and most powerful lithium-ion battery storage system. Teslas also installing Powerpacks in various sites in New South Wales.

The Tesla Tiny House, which is parked at the Melbournes Federation Square until 15 August, will soon begin a tour of eastern Australian cities, with the option for Australians to actually book it to visit their town.

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Tesla Just Made A Futuristic Tiny House - Futurism