In Brief

Mosquitos are ugly creatures. They buzz, bite, and bother you, but more than just being annoying, they harbor parasites that transmit malaria. A person infected by one of these parasites via a mosquito bite can experience fever, chills, vomiting, and sometimes even death.

The World Health Organization predicts that almost 3.2 billion people thats half the worlds population are at risk of catching this disease, andamong those at risk, 214 million people were infected in 2015. Of those infected with malaria, at least 438,000 people passed away.

While global efforts have successfully reduced the incidences of malaria by 60 percent since 2000, researchers may have just found a way to take that progress even further thanks to a new malaria vaccine.

A malaria vaccine has been particularly elusive in the medical community because malaria originates from a parasite and not a virus. Therefore, a live but weakened form of the parasite that infects humans was used in the creation of this new investigational vaccine, Sanaria PfSPZ. The weakened sporozoites parasite was developed by Sanaria Inc. through a clinical study conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Healths (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases (NIAID) division and the University of Bamako in Bamako, Mali.

The vaccine has shown to be 100 percent effective in U.S. clinical trials and 48 percent effective in those run in Mali. A principal investigator on the Mali trial, Dr. Sara Healy M.D., M.P.H., has noted that this level of sustained efficacy against malaria infection in a region with an intense transmission season has not been seen in previous malaria vaccine studies in Africa, establishing a positive outlook for the newly crafted vaccine.

Sanarias isnt the only malaria vaccine in development.GSKs malaria candidate vaccine,Mosquirix, is expected to roll out to the public in 2018. While its not expected to be as successful as PfSPZ, it is further ahead in development as PfSPZ has only just cleared Phase II clinical trials. Until recently, we had no true preventative measures against malaria, and now we just may have more than enough.

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A New Malaria Vaccine Was 100% Effective in Clinical Trials - Futurism

In Brief

Elon Musk shocked the tech world this pastsummerwhen he explained both the concept and need for a neural lace at the 2016 Recode Code Conference.

The Neural Lace is a concept that has been a staple of science fiction. Its the idea of capturing the processes of the human mind with a tool and enhancing them to better suit our environment and lifestyle in one large, wirelessly connected interface among humans. Recently, this concept has taken a step forward in transitioning from the realm of fiction to non-fiction.

With their results published in Nature Nanotechnology, scientist Charles Lieber and his teamhave developed syringe-injectable electronics. Thus far, they has only been tested on live mice, but the results are promising. These electronics assist in monitoring brain activity, delivering treatment, and can even enhance brain activity. While human trials are years away, and the neural lace is currently a wired technology, the reason why Elon Musk finds it imperative is because of what it coulddo.

Elon Musk is making it very clear that the best way to avoid a dystopian nightmare is to form a symbiosis with machines. The need for this, he said on Monday in Dubai, could achieve a symbiosis between human and machine intelligence, and maybe solves the control problem and the usefulness problem.Since computers are able to transmit information an exponentially quicker than humans, becoming one with them would allow humans to stay relevant in an age where automation and technology threaten our usefulness as organic organisms. Additionally, having a wireless interface would help to keep us on a similar playing fieldessentially by making us part machine. So, while this cyborg idea of a future sounds ludicrous, when you consider how much of our reality is already sci-fi inspired, it makes a little bit more sense.

You can hear more about Musks thoughts on the necessary symbiosis between humans and machines in this recent video from CNBC.

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Elon Musk: If Humans Are to Survive, We Must Merge With Machines - Futurism

In Brief

In an amazing Autobahn maneuver on Monday, Tesla Model S driver Manfred Kick saved the life of 50-year-old man who lost consciousness behind the wheel. The unconscious driver was in a VW Passat station wagon, which the Tesla driver noticed was swerving on the busy road, according to the Munich fire services report.

After alerting the appropriate authorities, Kick slowed his car in front of the station wagon, allowing the Passat to crash into him from behind. He kept his foot on the brakes, forcing both vehicles to a controlled stop. Kicks courage and concern for a fellow driverearned him praise from the authorities and the media, as well as a congratulatory tweet from Tesla CEO and founder Elon Musk himself: Congrats to the Tesla owner who sacrificed damage to his own car to bring a car with an unconscious driver safely to a stop!

Now, it looks like the driver will be getting more than just accolades. Musk has said that Tesla will shoulder the cost of repairs for Kicks Model S. Police estimated the damages for the accident to total around 10,000 ($10,600 USD). Musk also said that Tesla will expedite the repairs for Kicks 70,000 ($74,686 USD) Model S, a surely welcome turn of events considering Teslas can take significant time to repair in certain markets. All proof that not all good deeds go unnoticed.

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Elon Musk: Tesla Will Pay for Damages Caused by Hero Driver - Futurism

In Brief

Were a lot closer to flying cars that we think. In fact, Dubai has already begun testing a prototype of a self-driving hover-taxi with the hope of launching an aerial shuttle service by July.

The autonomous aerial vehicle exhibited at the World Government Summit is not just a model. We have already experimented (with) the vehicle in a flight in (the) Dubai sky. RTA will spare no effort to launch the AAV in July 2017, shares director general of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Mattar Al-Tayer.

To avail of the taxi service, passengers will simply select a destination before they board the vehicle with the help of a ground control center. The EHang 184 quadcoptercan travel on a programmed course at 100 km an hour (60 mph) at an altitude of 300 meters (1,000 feet), the authority said in a statement.

The service is meant to help reduce traffic congestion along the Emirates main thoroughfares, and was built to withstand the countrys extreme temperatures during summer. With this new innovation, Dubai couldreach its goal of becoming a world leader in driverless technology by 2030.

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The World's First Flying Taxis Will Take to the Skies in Five Months - Futurism

Half a century ago, Alvin Toffler published a book about what happens to people when they are overwhelmed by change. Future Shock became a 1970 chart-topper.

Tofflers phrase future shock tells us something of the history of cultural anxiety. It also speaks to our response to change now in 2017, the very adolescence of the 21st century, when to be overwhelmed by change has become the standing condition of modernity.

Tofflers book begat an industry, lodged in no small part in eager business and tech programs, where it has become a commonplace to speak of futurists, meaning people who specialize in the study of our response to rapid change.

Reference books now encode futurist as one whose business is futuring. An aspect of futuring is visioning.

A 2015 article in The Atlantic asks why more women arent futurists, which would of course require them to be futuring, as well asvisioning a lot more than those who count such things imagine women are.

Some readers will call futuring and visioning examples of verbing, making verbs out of nouns, which sounds innocent enough. But I admit that when I hear futuring Im torn between imagining a breathless TED talk and a street-front fortune tellers window.

A century ago, this group of terms signified differently.Futurism or in Italian, futurismo is the early-20th-century art movement that celebrated speed, machines, and violence, sometimes in absurdist juxtapositions. Marinetti, a famous futurist, held forth on many subjects, including food. He hated pasta, for example, because he thought it slowed people down, and he envisioned a future without it.

With a rapidity that Marinetti might have admired, weve gone beyond futuring all the way to the verb form to future. Lets future it, Bob. To future in this instance seems to mean postpone.

Greg Britton at Johns Hopkins University Press, and one of my informants on such things, tells me hes also heard the verbal form parking lot, as in Yes, Ann, were going to parking lot that project. (Presumably in LA this would be Yes, Ann, were going to valet parking lot that project.)

What do early-20th-century Italian futurism and our up-to-the-minute analytic anxiety about futuring have in common? At least a triumphalist idea of smashing models and seeing more clearly.

Seeing clearly is, after all, what a clairvoyant is supposed to be able to do. Thats what the word means.

Im less concerned with policing the line between a) knowing which way the wind is blowing and b) having second sight. But futurists have had an awful lot of air time.

So what are our alternatives? No one yet dares identify as a pastist the word doesnt even look right but it would mean someone who analyzes things that have happened and uses that insight clair or not to help tackle the problems of the moment.

Oh wait, we do have a word for that profession. Its historian.

Most are too modest to call themselves futurists,but historians, whoknow how to think about complex things, are worth listening to now more than ever, when we need an understanding of history to help us sort out an enormous mess we just cant future.

If youre afuturistor planning to become one, put a stack of works by bona fide historians not crackpot real histories by reality celebrities on your bedside table, or download them to your Kindle. Give real history books to the people you love. Even those you only like.

You dont need to hear from Faulkner or MarxsEighteenth Brumaireyet once again to know that history isnt going away, any more than time is.

If you think were running out of time, or future, in which to solve our dilemmas, youve got plenty of company. With apologies to Walt Kelly: We have met the future and it is us.

You can follow me on Twitter @WmGermano. I promise not to use all caps.

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Futurist Shock - Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) (blog)

Recently, Elon Musk had the chance to share his thoughts onuniversal basic income (UBI)at the World Government Summit in Dubai. At the Summit,Musk had the opportunity to talk about the future, and the challenges the world will face in the next hundred years including artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and the job displacement expected to come with it.

When asked about the challenges civilization is set to face in the near future,Musk beganby noting the threat of artificial intelligences that surpass humanity.

He stated, deep artificial intelligence, or artificial general intelligence, where you can have artificial intelligence that is much smarter than the smartest human on Earth, this is a dangerous situation.

He continued by noting the importance of advancing our research into AI with caution: I think we need to be very careful in how we adopt artificial intelligence and that we make sure that researchers dont get carried away. Sometimes what will happen is a scientist will get so engrossed in their work that they dont really realize the ramifications of what theyre doing.

Musk also relayed concerns thatautonomous technology will impact jobs, and he noted that we will likely have intelligent, massive-scale automation for transportation relatively soonwithin the next few decades, in fact: Twenty years is a short period of time to have something like 12-15 percent of the workforce be unemployed, he said, pointing out the extent of how automation will disrupt car-based transportation specifically.

However, displacement due to automation isnt just limited to transportation, it will sweep across a number of industries, and Musk argues that the government must introduce a UBI program in order to compensate for this. I dont think were going to have a choice, he said. I think its going to be necessary. There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better.

Musk believes, however, that the issue goes deeper:

As the UBI discussion continues, various nations and institutions have already began their own pilot programs to test the model. Finland, for example, started its pioneering UBI program this year, which was launched by the federal social security institution,Kela. It will give out 560 ($587) a month, tax free, to 2,000 Finns that were randomly selected. Similarly,eBay founder Pierre Omidyars philanthropic investment firm has given $493,000 to help fund a universal basic income program in Kenya.

In a couple of years (or less?), there might be enough data from these experiments for us to consider just how effective a solutionUBI truly isand whether or not Musk is right.

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Elon Musk: Automation Will Force Governments to Introduce Universal Basic Income - Futurism

If You Cant Beat Them

Without a doubt, computers and machines are besting humans in many ways thanks to developments in artificial intelligence (AI). AIs have beaten their human counterparts at everything from games likeGoandpokertodriving safelyand treating illnesses. Clearly, intelligent machines are increasingly becoming better than humansat so many things, and as the old saying goes, if you cant beat themmerge with them.

Given that AI is expected to surpass humankind at an unprecedented rate,that just might be the best thing we can do, and itsthe idea behind Elon Musks neural lace, an unconventional and highly controversial brain-computer interface. That were even considering such a device highlights this necessity for a symbiosis between humans and machines. This week, speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder raised this point once again: I do think there is a path to having some sort of merger of biological intelligence and machine intelligence.

Musk explained:

To some degree, we are already cyborgs. You think of the digital tools that you have, the applications that you have. You can ask a question and instantly get an answer from Google. You already have a digital tertiary layer. I say tertiary because you think of the animal brain or the primal brain, and then the cortex, the thinking brain, and then your digital self as the third layer.

The potential for this human-machine merger isnt lost on DARPA, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. There are a couple of very interesting things happening as we speak facilitating humans and machines working together in a very different way, said Justin Sanchez, director of DARPAs Biological Technologies Office, in an interview with Computer World.

Indeed, we are already seeing this to a certain extent with the latest developments in exoskeleton technology. We now have smart exoskeletons that help paralyzed people walk again or improve the strength and enduranceof the average person.I think the recent science and technology developments were making at DARPA, as well as the embracing of physiology and A.I., is enabling us to set up the conditions for profound changes on how humans and machines can work together, Sanchez added. We are giving our physiology the opportunity to work with machines in a different way.

DARPA researchers are developing implantable devices that can perform computing functions similar to a desktop or laptop computer. Sanchez even noted that they have researchers working on the possibility of a human-computer interface using devices and chips that neednt be implanted in the body. Another potential technology is a pair of smart contact lenses that allow soldiers to see what a drone sees from above.

Of course, while the technological possibilities are already here, there are other things that need to be considered, such as what these enhanced capabilities would mean for humanity in general. We deeply feel that we cant do this work in a vacuum, Sanchez said. We need to consider all aspects the moment we try to even start thinking about science and technology in this space. Theres a responsibility that goes along with this.

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DARPA: We're Moving to Merge Humans and Machines - Futurism

Animal-Free Meat

The day when even vegans can enjoy a crispy slice of baconis closer than ever as a team of researchers just published a paper in the journal Scientific Reports outlining advancements made in lab-grown meat, specifically from pig cells.

Their paper focused on two particular breakthroughs in testing. The first highlightedthe transformation of adult stem cells from livestock into a pluripotent state so that they could be developed into muscle that would be ideal for cooking. The other was learning how to nurture tissue growth without the use of animal serum, the liquidin which blood cells and platelets float. Animal serum was a key ingredient for the development of tissues in other efforts to grow meat in a lab, but these scientists found a way to create a synthetic formula that has similar components.

Both findings increase the feasibility of creatingmeat that is 100 percent animal free.Ideally, we believe that our process can be much more efficient than (feed) consumption by cattle because were only producing the product that the consumer wants muscle, explains Nicholas Genovese, who authored the paper.

Even with lab-grown meats on the horizon, the worlds livestock industry doesnt seem to be the least bit threatened, nor should they. Taste, cost, and a general reluctance on behalf of the general population would likely be the biggest barriers to widespread adoption should these artificially grown slabs of beef and pork ever make it to the market.

However, the goal right now is simply to produce these animal-free cuts; replicating key elements of meat such as flavor, smell, and texture are concerns for a later time, as is finding a way to get the public to accept cultured meat as a preferred alternative to the real deal.

The current consensus is that lab-grown meats will still be more expensive, and it will take at least half a decade before any real benefits of artificially created meat become evident. Once that happens, however, the cost of producing muscle tissue and bringing it to consumers may actually prove to be significantly cheaper than raising animals and getting them to the market. Growing only muscle tissue means minimizing the logistics surrounding maintaining livestock, such as facility use, storage, and transport. It will also require fewer resources, such as water and land, which will translate tolower greenhouse-gas emissions.

Ultimately, as more advancements are made in this field, lab-grown meat might prove to be better for humans. In a few years, we could see nutrition-packed, lab-grown meats that are cleaner, safer, and healthier to eat. Hopefully, by then, theyll also taste just as good as the real thing.

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Soon, Pig-Free Bacon Might Be on Your Breakfast Plate - Futurism - Futurism

The Economic Development of Space

Former President, Barack Obama is a big advocate of science. During his term, he was a vocal supporter of the burgeoning commercial space industry and supportedprivate and government efforts to send humans to Mars by 2030.

We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of Americas story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time, Obama said in an open letter he wrote last year.

Under Obama, the future of space exploration was bright. So where do all these new policies and initiatives supporting distant space exploration stand under Donald Trumps presidency? Based on a report by Politico, it looks like its back to low-Earth orbit.

In the report, Trump advisers expressed support for sending humans back to the Moon, almost five decades after the US managed to achieve this great feat. The focus, they said, should be the large-scale economic development of space, which means limiting space exploration to the area betweenour planet and the Moon, called the cislunar region.

The direction the administration follows is a more entrepreneurial approach to space, and theyre pretty aggressive about it. Theres a strong focus on leveraging space to create new industries and jobs, with the goal of creating a lucrative space economy, and staking what Trump calls a de-facto claim on the moon.

Trump is bent on dominating space, but his teams approach is centered on privatizing the whole endeavor, calling it the biggest and most public privatization effort America has ever conducted. Following this, theyre targeting private rockets to shuttle civilian astronauts to the Moon by 2020.

While this plan doesnt completely shut down efforts for commercial space flight (in fact, theyre likely to benefit from it), the feasibility of the timeline raises concerns. Two of the biggest private spaceflight companies are barely ready to achieve this goal. Jeff Bezos Blue Origin rockets, scheduled to bring astronauts into space next year, are far from perfect and are already suffering delays. And Elon Musks SpaceX is still reeling from two consecutive rocket explosions. Theres also the matter of the administration wanting to claim property rights on the Moon, which would violate the UN Outer Space Treaty.

All things considered, one glaringly absent element in this whole effort to make America great again in space is the science. This kind of approach to space exploration will be counterintuitive for a scientific field that thrives on continued innovation and discovery. This could ultimately put missions for long term space exploration to a disappointing halt, and put important exploratory initiatives like the James Webb Space Telescope (scheduled for 2018), the next Mars rover (slated for 2020), or sending a lander to Jupiters Europa on the back burner.

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President Trump Wants to Send Humans Back to the Moon by 2020 - Futurism

The Evolution of the Workforce

It almost shouldnt come as a surprise. In an age defined by advancements in the tech industry, it was only a matter of time before the traditional paradigms set by the industrial revolution had to change.

The sophistication of todays technology means factories are turning to computers instead of human employees to get the job done. According to a joint study conducted by Oxford University and the Oxford Martin School, [] 47 percent of jobs in the US are at risk of being automated in the next 20 years. ABall State University studyconcluded that almost nine out of 10 jobs have been lost to automation since 2000, and a factory in China just saw a 250 percent increase in production after replacing 90 percent of its workforce with automated systems.

However, as demand for physical labor goes down, other opportunities are arising, and according to Clive Thompson of Wired, the next big blue-collar job will be coding.

The information technology industry is expected to grow faster than almost any other, with some predicting a 12 percent growth between 2014 to 2024. The problem lies in the fact that coding will require a different technical skill setthan much of todays blue collar work. But thankfully, many employers are responding to the needs of the evolving job market by attempting to make code learning more accessible.

Silicon Valley giants like Google have initiatives designed to engage and teach anyone interested in programming. Schools are working tointroduce codingas early as high school, while various other institutions are offering intensive code-learning programs. This level of education and exposure to coding wont necessarily give these future coders the knowledge to create complex AI algorithms, but it would be enough to qualify them for a well-paying, reliable job in the IT department.

It should also be notedthat coding opportunities reach far beyond the tech industry. Silicon Valley employs only eight percent of the coders in the U.S., andaccording to one study, half of all programming openings are in industries outside of technology, such asfinance, manufacturing, and healthcare. Theres also the draw of compensation. The national average salary for IT jobs is double the national average for all jobs: $81,000 annually.

Its now a matter of demystifying coding as a profession that only gifted computer prodigies are capable of learning. As Thompson points out in his article, several of the skills needed to be successful at blue collar occupations like coal mining intense focus, an ability to function within a team, a level of comfort working with engineering tech, etc. could easily translate into coding. Once people realize that it is a highly specialized skill but one that they can learn to do well, coding has the potential to open more doors to employment in the age of automation.

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The Next Blue Collar Job? Coding - Futurism

In Brief

Researchers have discovered a way to make the promising flow battery much more practical. Flow batteries store energy in liquid-filled tanks. Prior to this most recent discovery, flow batteries, after a number of charge-discharge cycles, would suffer from rapid storage capacity degradation.

In order to overcome the degradation hurdle, the researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) modified the structure of molecules in the solution to make them water soluble. This allowed for the electrolytes to be dissolved in neutral water, creating a battery that only loses one percent of its storage capacity every 1000 cycles. According to the officialpress release, the battery is able to run for ten years with only a minimum amount of upkeep.

Unlike other battery liquids, the solution in this new flow battery is both non-toxic as well as non-corrosive. Spilling it on skin or on the floor causes no injury or property damage.

Any innovations in energy storage will only continue to help renewable energy to become as, if not more, of a viable power source. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has stated that building a battery with the capacity to store energy for less than $100 per kWh would make clean energy from sources like the sun and wind on par with traditional power plants. Imre Gyuk of the DOE stated, I expect that efficient, long duration flow batteries will become standard as part of the infrastructure of the electric grid.

Better batteries are a key component in realizing the full potential of renewable energy. As can be seen with the opening of the first Powerpack station in California, battery storage can help ease the burden of demand on a grid during peak usage times. Developments like this that improve batteries will lead to the use of fewer fossil fuels and decrease overall dependence on environmentally damaging sources of power generation.

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Harvard's Remarkable New Battery Can Run For More Than a Decade - Futurism

Multiple Threats in Modern Warfare

Each year at the Red Flag exercise organized by the United States Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC), the air forces of several NATO countries gather at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada for a series of advanced aerial combat training exercises. This year, one fighter plane took center stage at the event, according to a report by Aviation Week.

Lockheed Martins F-35 Lightning IIstole the show, outperforming its competition with a ratio of 15 kills for every one F-35 that was downed and it all happened in an increased threat environment. In the past, the non-kinetic effects were not fully integrated into the kinetic fight, Air Force Cyber Forward director Col. Robert Cole explained in a statement.

This integration in an exercise environment allows our planners and warfighters to understand how to best integrate these, learn their capabilities and limitations, and become ready to use [these combined resources for maximum] effect against our adversaries, he added.

Lockheed Martins latest fighteris different from those that preceded it precisely because its meant to face multiple threats at a time and react to increasingly complex warfare scenarios. The F-35 is the most advanced multi-role fighter combining advanced stealth capabilities with fighter aircraft speed and agility, fully-fused sensor information, network-enabled operations, and advanced logistics and sustainment, according to Lockheed Martin.

This means that its not just capable of taking on conventional threats and enemy surveillance, it can also deal with cyberthreats and electronic warfare. Before, where we would have one advanced threat and we would put everything we had F-16s, F-15s, F-18s, missiles, we would shoot everything we had at that one threat just to take it out now we are seeing three or four of those threats at a time, Lt. Col. George Watkins told Aviation Week. Just between [the F-35] and the [F-22] Raptor, we are able to geolocate them, precision-target them, and then we are able to bring the fourth-generation assets in behind us after those threats are neutralized.

In short, the F-35s advanced capabilities make it the fighter jet of the future, ready to take on more modern threats. As Watkins said, Its a whole different world out there for us now.

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Lockheed's F-35 Fighter Jet Just Demolished the Competition - Futurism

In Brief

In a rather unromantic gesture, on February 14, SpaceX will be launching an antibiotic-resistant superbug into space. The bug will be living in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The bacterium that will be shot into space will be the, often feared, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Even so much as the mention or MRSA send shivers down the spines of many. MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant staph infection that can represent itself in the human body in the skin as painful, swollen, red bumps; but the infection can also travel further into the body, wreaking havoc on bones, joints, even the blood. This potentially life-threatening infection kills more Americans than HIV/AIDS, Parkinsons disease, emphysema, and violence combinedevery year.

So, why would scientists launch this dangerous bacterium into space and bring it aboard the ISS? Well, not for any nefarious or dastardly reason. The purpose of this project is toaccelerate the mutations of the bacterium, allowing the scientists to watch the progression of the bug quicker than its progression on Earth, getting information ahead of those of us back home.

According to lead researcher Anita Goel, CEO of biotech company Nanobiosym, We will leverage the microgravity environment on the ISS to accelerate the Precision Medicine revolution here on Earth. In other words, using information from this study of the sped up life cycle of a MRSA bacterium, these scientists will be able to understand how bacteria change and mutate at a much faster rate than we would on Earth.

This information could be extrapolated to bacteria besides MRSA, and allow scientists to better understand how MRSA (and, in the future, other infections) travel through the body and mutate throughout their lives. This objective could lead to a medical future where even the most formidable antibiotic-resistant bacteria are no longer a fatal threat.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX is Launching a Superbug Into Space - Futurism

In Brief

Scientists aboard the International Space Station (ISS) recently ran an experiment where they let algae loose into the vacuum of space for a full 16 months. And, surprisingly enough, the simple plants survived the harrowing journey. Despite extreme temperature variations, UV radiation, cosmic radiation, and incredible length of time, the algae were brought back aboard still alive.

The researchers aboard the ISS are currently running experiments as part of the Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX) project. Within this experimental algae portion of the project, they tested the durability of algae species that are known to love freezing temperatures. Since the mixture of extreme conditions found in space is impossible to replicate in a laboratory environment exactly, the crew on the ISS used their location to put these cold-loving species to the test. However, despite knowing what these plants will endure on Earth, the scientists were astonished at how much they can really take.

Post-experiment, the researchers aboard the ISS will send these algae samples back to Earth. There, they will be rigorously tested to see the actual extent that the temperatures and combined radiation impacted them. This information could be crucial to future human missions to Mars. It could help to ensure the safety of humans and any plant-based food to be consumed.

However, beyond the positive benefits that this research could have on future missions of humans in space, it could also potentially tell us a little bit more about alien life. According to many, including famed astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson, thinking that we are somehow the only living creatures in the universe would be inexcusably egocentric. And, while previously, few would have thought that any plants could survive such an extended stay in space, we now know better. And so, while certain environments in space may seem inhospitable, we now know that life could exist in places we never before would have suspected.

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NASA Discovers an Organism That Can Survive 16 Months in Outer Space - Futurism

The Warmest Planet

Even though Mercury is closer to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System.It has surface temperatures of about 460 degrees Celsius (860 degrees Fahrenheit) coupled with a carbon dioxide-rich air that has an atmospheric pressure about 90 times that ofEarths. As such, surface exploration has been virtually impossible in the past, as this extreme heat and pressure woulddestroy scientific equipment. Thatsabout to change.

NASAsGlenn Research Center team has developed extremely durable silicon carbide semiconductor integrated circuits that are tough enough to withstand the harsh conditions on Venus surface far better than any existing tech.

We demonstrated vastly longer electrical operation with chips directly exposed no cooling and no protective chip packaging to a high-fidelity physical and chemical reproduction of Venus surface atmosphere, said lead electronics engineer Phil Neudeck. And both integrated circuits still worked after the end of the test.

This technology, which was only recently demonstrated by NASA, was detailed in the journal AIP Advancesin December 2016.

During the test conducted at NASAs Glenn Extreme Environments Rig (GEER), the engineers were able to prove that their integrated circuits could work under conditions similar to those found on Venus. The chips lasted for 521 hours more than 100 times longer than other electronics previously designed for a Venus exploration.

With further technology development, such electronics could drastically improve Venus lander designs and mission concepts, enabling the first long-duration missions to the surface of Venus, said Neudeck. Though many are making preparations to go to Mars, some researchers suggest Venus as a potential option for human colonization, assuming it could be terraformed.These long-overdue missions would be the first step to exploring that possibility.

The applications of this chip, however, arent just limited to Venus exploration missions. According toGary Hunter, principle investigator for Venus surface electronics development, This work not only enables the potential for new science in extended Venus surface and other planetary exploration, but it also has potentially significant impact for a range of Earth relevant applications, such as in aircraft engines to enable new capabilities, improve operations, and reduce emissions.

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NASA Finally Has a Computer That Can Survive on Venus - Futurism

Record-Breaking Speeds

What are called the5G or fifth-generation mobile networks are set to become available by 2020, with promises of improved connections and faster data transfer rates. But, what if we could get speeds faster than 5G before 2020? Thats the subject of a paper that was delivered this week at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco, California.

The paper talks about a terahertz (THz) transmitter developed by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Panasonic Corporation, and Hiroshima University. This transmitter operates using a frequency range from 290 GHz to 315 GHz and is capable of transmitting digital data at a rate of 105 gigabits per second which is a communication speed thats at least 10 times as fast as 5G networks. The transmitter uses a frequency that falls within a currently unallocated range of 275 GHz to 450 GHz. Its use will be covered in the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) under the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Section (ITU-R).

The researchers were able to reach the speed levels described in the paper by using quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), which enhances the speed of a wireless link in the 300GHz band. These researchers managed to, for the first time, reach speeds exceeding 100 gigabits per second with an integrated circuit-based transmitter.

Most modern data transfer technologies, especially the fast ones, rely on fiber optics. This is where this new research differs. This development explores the potentials of truly wireless technology that pushes past current sluggish speeds.

Minoru Fujishima from the Department of Semiconductor Electronics and Integration Science at Hiroshima University explained:

Today, we usually talk about wireless data-rates in megabits per second or gigabits per second. But I foresee well soon be talking about terabits per second. Thats what THz wireless technology offers. Such extreme speeds are currently confined in optical fibers. I want to bring fibre optic speeds out into the air, and we have taken an important step towards that goal. We plan to develop receiver circuits for the 300GHz band, as well as modulation and demodulation circuits that are suitable for ultra high-speed communications.

However, as much as this study shows promising speeds, the researchers did not cover just how much distance the technology could reach. It wasnt also mentioned at what distance they were able to transmit at 105 gigabits per second. Speed matters, of course, but distance is equally important.

Either way, this development is still an incredible achievement and a notable stepping stone to future technologies. Perhaps, while achievingspeeds faster than existing fiber optics is a monumental challenge, the future of network communications is in wireless transmission.

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New Tech Can Send Data 10 Times Faster Than 5G - Futurism

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FAQ - Futurism

Welcome To A New World

Some time back, Magic Leap raised a staggering $1.4 billion in venture capital in orderto make mixed reality our new reality. Since then, a proverbial firestorm of media coverage has swarmed around them. Part of this stems from the secretive nature of the company.

Part of this firestorm stems from the secretive nature of the company. Few people have tried the tech (and ever fewer journalists), so no one really knows what to expect; however, if the teasers are any indication, whatever they develop is going to be pretty fantastic.

Now, it seems that we may finally be seeing what Magic Leap has really been up to. Business Insider asserts that an image of a prototype was just leaked to them. Their source said that the device is known as PEQ0, which is a stand-in name that was derived from an internal prototype naming scheme that Magic Leap uses.

Business Insider tried to reach out to the company for commentand to verify the information, but they didnt hear anything back by the time the article was released. As you can see in the below image, the prototype

As you can see in the below image, the prototype definitelylooks like a prototype. And this is a bit of a problem.

The issue with this is that, in recent months, Magic Leap has been accused of using erroneous and misleading marketing material to make the public (and reporters) believe that the technology is a lot farther along than it truly is.

Specifically,Reed Albergotti published an article in which he alleged that Magic Leap had oversold its system, using different tech for the demo than what will be used in the final product. In response, in a memo to employees, CEO Rony Abovitz stated that the company shouldnt be sidetracked: Ignore all of this. Focus on what we are doing, and we ship a great product. That will speak loudly and reverberate for many years.

This leak also comes at a prime time, as there is a board meeting next week that is generally seen as a milestone in the products development. In short, itis a chance to show, once and for all, that Magic Leap can truly do all that they claimshrink augmented reality tech so that it is truly portable.

If this prototype is any indication, they have a lot of work to do before next week.

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A Leak Has Finally Revealed What Magic Leap Is Working On - Futurism

The Rise of Renewables

The US renewable energy industry is currently thriving. A survey released by The Solar Foundation shows that the solar industry has nearly tripled employment since they started tracking its growth back in 2010.

According to the study, 260,000 people are now employed by the solar industry. The majority of positions are currently in installation, with workers earning an average of $25.96 per hour. The biggest market so far, is residential, which encompasses 41 percent of available jobs; with the commercial and utility-scale markets trailing behind.

The Solar Foundation reports:

Solar employs slightly more workers than natural gas, over twice as many as coal, over three times that of wind energy, and almost five times the number employed in nuclear energy. Only oil/petroleum has more employment (by 38%) than solar.

To date, California has the biggest solar capacity in the US, accounting for 34 percent of installations in 2016. But as the study notes, states such as New Jersey, New York, Texas, South Carolina, and Utah have also seen a significant rise in solar installations.

Right now, solar energy accounts for only 1.3 percent of the US electricity, but it is poised for unprecedented growth. Case in point, last year, solar only accounted for just one in every 50 jobs in the country. Today, it has already overtaken traditional jobs offered in the coal energy industry.

Since solar is still a burgeoning industry, the physical installation element still keeps costs up. But, as technology advances and the labor-intensive nature of the solar industry lessens,costs will only continue to drop and the renewable resource will be a more prominent source of energy.

Once solar becomes a dominant energy source, its possible that the industry might not deliver the volume of manual job opportunities it initially did. However, as with all industries, advancements in technology will create a need for alternate types of jobs. This transition to renewable resources will not only create new types of jobsbut make current workplace efforts less costly because of lowering solar energy costs. As the future becomes the present and the nature of solar energy work changes, one thing remains

As the future becomes the present and the nature of solar energy work changes, one thing remains constant. The more fossil fuel sources that can be replaced by renewable energy, the better off we all will be. From the financial burden of fossil fuel to the impending realities of climate change, renewable energy like solar will only become a more necessary resource.

See the article here:

The Solar Industry Now Employs Twice As Many People As Coal - Futurism

Tesla in 2016

Tesla has been redefining what it means to be an advocate of sustainability since 2003. Through their innovation and technology, they have built some of the most impressive electric vehicles (EVs) ever to be on the market, carving out a new niche in the transportation industry while ensuring that they maintained a significant lead against competitors, and setting new records for quality and performance.

In 2016, they continued improving their vehicles, expanded further than car manufacturing, made significant strides in renewable energy, and moved even closer to the truly sustainable future that Elon Musk envisions for the world.

This year, Tesla announced a subtle name change that speaks volumes about where Elon Musk plans to take the company. Big pictureits not just about cars anymore; in fact, it hasnt been for a while. Elon Musk has shown that there is a lot to look forward to from Tesla.

For starters, this is the year that we will see a fully autonomous Tesla drive across the countryfrom LA to New York. After thisfeat is conquered, hopefully without incident, and once the company achieves a significant level of autonomy for their vehicles, they will be launching their own ride-hailing network.

Adding to their sedan range, the company is expected to come out with an electric semi truck, the Tesla Semi, which, according to previous reports, is already in the works. Most of their resources are still focused on bringing the Model 3to market, but assures the public that the Tesla Semi is already in early development work. However, speaking of the Model 3, it will be Teslas most affordable car to date, and the company has set production of the vehicle in mid-2017 to meet delivery targets for the end of the year.

Another recent development is the announced partnership between Tesla and Panasonic. This collaboration will have the company ramping up production of battery cells for the companys Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2.

2017 should also be the year that Tesla makes good on its Supercharger network expansion, through which they plan to double the number of Superchargers in 2017.

On the energy front, the production of solar cells by SolarCity is underway and is on track to meet their target timeline. Also, Teslas Solar Roof Tiles, developed in collaboration with SolarCity, are expected to be completed in 2017.

A new Gigafactory is being planned for construction in Europe that will contain the production of both vehicles and batteries, and confirmation of this new site could be as soon as within the year. Tesla is also looking to reach the Indian market, which he hopes will happen towards the second half of 2017. There is even buzz of Tesla securing a manufacturing partner in China, following changes in policy, that will provide incentives for the production of new energy vehicles.

With such a lengthy list of achievements and goals, it might seem that Elon Musk has bittenoff more than he can chew. But, based on the past successes of Tesla, and the incredible progress already being made by the company, few could doubt that Musk and his colleagues will create a lot of positive change within the coming months and years.From the ever-increasing repercussions of climate change to the possibilities of privatizedspace travel, the ambitions of Tesla promise to do a lot more than just build great cars.

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Tesla Has Big Plans for 2017 - Futurism